Fierce “Husband”

If you want to make money, you must first understand the market here. Although the original owner's memory can give him a little reference, he still has to see it with his own eyes. Whether Yongxiu County is big or not, Shao Yunan can't compare it, but it is quite lively. This is also related to the geographical location of Yongxiu County. After strolling two streets, Shao Yunan saw a building with a special shape. After a closer look, the plaque on the gate reads "Yongxiu Academy". He knew where this place was, and Wang Zhisong should be studying here.

The imperial examination system of Yan State was divided into two forms. Usually, all students who study in a school designated by the government are Tongsheng. However, in order to take the exam, one must first pass a formal Tongshenglang certification exam. Only by passing the county examination and the prefectural examination can he be regarded as a formal Tongshenglang, and only have the qualifications to be admitted as a scholar. When formally applying for a scholar, a guarantee (certificate) certificate issued by the school must also be obtained. This kind of guarantee is provided by the master who directly teaches knowledge. As long as you study in the school and pass the test of Tong Shenglang, the master will issue such a guarantee, unless you are notorious.

This approach is mostly aimed at underprivileged students. If you study in the Imperial College or above, you can skip the Tongsheng Examination and directly participate in the twice-three-yearly scholarly examination. If you study in the Gongyuan of the capital, as long as you graduate from the Gongyuan, you will have the qualifications to be an official, and the status is equivalent to that of a person. You can directly serve as an official, or you can continue the scientific examination. In addition, there is another qualification that is recommended by a well-respected Confucian scholar. You can also skip the Tongsheng test and start the test directly from the scholar. But these two methods are difficult for the underprivileged children. First of all, whether it is recommended by Guozijian or a great scholar, such a person must be extremely good. It is very difficult to get in and out of the Imperial College. The level of education that such a person has received since childhood is definitely not comparable to that of a poor family who came out of a village. On the recommendation of the great Confucian, there are several poor families who have the opportunity to contact the great Confucian-level characters.

The imperial examinations in the Yan Kingdom can be seen as a stage of transition from the recommendation system of aristocratic families to the complete imperial examination system. The roles of Guozijian and Great Confucianism are similar to those of the former clansmen. The colleges affiliated to the imperial court in various places also provided the possibility for the children of the poor family to enter the officialdom.

In Yan Kingdom, reading is a very sacred thing, and the status of scholars is also quite high. In Yan State, among scholars, peasants, and businessmen, the division of the latter two is not so clear, and the status of merchants in Yan State is not so unbearable, and there is no such thing as emphasizing agriculture and ignoring business, but scholars are definitely superior to others.

Regardless of whether it was the previous dynasty or the current dynasty, the selection of the imperial examination was extremely strict. Even the students who came out of the Imperial Academy were very few if they could pass the examination as a tribute scholar, and then had the hope of entering the imperial examination to become a jinshi. In the imperial examination held every three years, the number of students who became Jinshi was at least a few, and in many cases, only a dozen or twenty. More than half of them were selected from the talents recommended by Guozijian and Daru.

In the past century, Xiushui Village has produced only two scholars. One of the two scholars belonged to the Zhao clan and the other belonged to the Wang clan. It was also because of these two scholars that the Zhao clan and the Wang clan became big clans that could form their own clan in Xiushui Village, which was originally dominated by the Sun clan. For the underprivileged children, being able to pass the childbirth test is first and foremost an honor. Both the Tongsheng Exam and the Xiucai Exam are held twice every three years, but they are staggered. You must first obtain the qualifications for the Tongsheng Examination before you can take the Xiucai Examination in the coming year, and only after you have obtained the qualifications for the Xiucai can you take part in the official big exam that takes place every three years. Wang Zhisong passed the childbirth test at the age of fifteen, which can be called a child prodigy among many students who are still taking the exams in their thirties.

The Tongsheng Exam is held every August 12 every year. There are two consecutive exams in the county, prefecture and prefecture to which they belong. Students who have obtained the Tongsheng Lang qualification can participate in the college examination in August of the following year. Those who pass the academy examination are called "Xiu Cai", and then they can take part in the autumn and winter exams, which are held once every three years - the township examination -- and those who pass the examination are called "Juren". Juren will then go on to the Spring Festival-Meeting Exam in April of the following year, and those who pass are [Gongsheng]. Finally, Gongsheng will participate in the palace examination, and the emperor or someone appointed by the emperor will conduct the final assessment and select the top three [Jinshi]. For every student, becoming a jinshi is the ultimate goal of their efforts, and one of the first, top and third-class jinshi, the champion, the second place or the third flower, is their ultimate goal.

But even so, even if it is just a scholar, it is a great honor. Not only can the tax of 30 mu of land be exempted, but there is also a monthly stipend of 20 taels of silver and a certain amount of grain. Rich people look down on this thing, and it is different for poor disciples.

Wang Zhisong passed the Tongsheng test this year, and he will be able to take the academy test in August next year. But he is only fifteen years old. Not to mention the Wang family now, the entire Wang clan and Xiushui Village are looking forward to Wang Zhisong becoming another scholar in a hundred years, and maybe even the first master in the history of Xiushui Village. Maybe he could go further and become Gongsheng or even get the champion.

In this regard, Shao Yunan pouted in his heart. It's not that he looks down on the underprivileged children, but with Wang Zhisong's character and the Wang family's top-notch tutoring, it may be possible for such a person to be talented, but don't think about it further. With such a strict imperial examination system, everyone sharpened their heads and took the test. As long as someone had the heart to stab the affairs of the Wang family, Wang Zhisong's disrespect to his brother was enough for him to drink a pot.

Because it is difficult to enter the official position, the reputation and character of the students are highly valued, and the selection of officials by the imperial court must also avoid selecting people with poor character who will bring harm to the emperor's country. It can also be seen that Wang Zhisong and the Wang family, including the entire Wang family, are short-sighted, and the family affairs they think are likely to become a disaster that affects Wang Zhisong's entry into office in the future.

If the Wang family and Wang Zhisong honestly don't provoke them in the future, Shao Yunan won't care which step Wang Zhisong can pass the exam; but if the Wang family is smart, he doesn't mind being the one who stabs him in the back.

From the imperial examination system of Yan State, it can be seen that the social development level of Yan State is not too backward and primitive. But paradoxically, the productivity and economic level of Yan country are indeed underdeveloped. The Ming and Qing dynasties were the period when the imperial examination system was developed and perfected, but the productivity and economic level of the Yan Kingdom were far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, even the Tang Dynasty, and even less than the most wealthy Song Dynasty. The output of grain in Dayan is not high. Rice, millet, millet, wheat, glutinous rice, corn, etc. are all grown, but ordinary people still eat mainly miscellaneous grains. There are not many kinds of vegetables, that is, potatoes, cabbage, white radish, mallow, soybean seedlings, leeks, spinach and eggplant, as well as several kinds of wild vegetables. There are no cucumbers and tomatoes.

In this era, productivity and people's livelihood are still very low. In the later years of the emperor, his head was dizzy and he struggled a lot, which affected the stability of the Yan Kingdom. Later, the late emperor finally died, and the prince ascended the throne. The new emperor is a wise man, and he worked hard to change the country, and he finally got better. However, in the later years of the Emperor Xiandi, there was a great deal of construction, and many projects were not completed until his death. It is a pity to give up these projects, and it will cost money to continue. Some of these projects are still useful for people's livelihood and for the development of the country. The new emperor gritted his teeth and allocated a sum of money from the national treasury, then took some from his own private treasury, and then collected donations from the common people. The construction was completed, which is why Wang Ishijing served as corvée for two years.

This project has not been completed yet, the foreign enemy is just around the corner, and there are large and small natural disasters every year. Even if the new emperor knew that it might lead to dissatisfaction among the people and turmoil in the country, he could only increase taxes again. Those big projects need money, wars need money, disaster relief needs money, and the maintenance of the country's operations needs money. Shao Yunan can only think about how worried the emperor is.

Because of the increase in taxes, prices are also higher than before. Many farmers could not pay the taxes and had to sell their land at a low price and leave their homes. Yongxiu County's geographical location is relatively good. It can be regarded as a north-south traffic artery. In addition, the land is relatively fertile and the population is large, so it can be regarded as a relatively rich place. Xiushui Village is not far from Yongxiu County, and it is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is a wealthy village under the jurisdiction of Yongxiu County, so relatively speaking, everyone's life is not so difficult. If it were the border gates and places that had been hit by disasters year after year, there would be ten rooms and nine empty spaces, and the people would be displaced. Mrs. Wang's family has 27 acres of land, which belongs to the upper middle class in Xiushui Village. It was originally a big family because it sold a lot of land to Wang Zhisong's medical treatment.

The geographical location of Yongxiu County determines that the land of ordinary farmers will not be too small. Shao Yunan didn't know how much the family income of Mrs. Wang's family was in a year. The Shao family had 28 acres of land, plus the old man Shao and Shao Dahu would go to work part-time, so they could earn twenty or thirty taels a year if they worked hard. But now the tax is heavy, and the years are not good. After the annual land tax, poll tax and other extortionate taxes are deducted, it is more than a dozen taels in one year. , Now the price is high, and in the end it is only a balance of two or three taels of silver. If you pay corvage tax, conscription tax, etc., you have to borrow money. This is still around Yongxiu County, including the Chinan Prefecture to which it belongs, which is considered to be a relatively prosperous state in Dayan. If it is a poor place, I don’t know how to endure that day, and I don’t know how many people have to leave their homes and become refugees.

On the one hand, it is related to the unstable situation at home and abroad. On the other hand, the most important aspect is that the commerce of Yan country is underdeveloped. Most of the taxes of the imperial court were collected from the peasants. As a result, the peasants' life became more and more difficult, the taxes of the imperial court became more and more difficult to collect, and the country became poorer and poorer.

Shao Yunan remembered that 70% of the Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue was commerce, and agriculture only accounted for 30%, so the people of the Song Dynasty were very rich. But no matter how underdeveloped there are, there are also rich people. Shao Yunan thought about how to make money in the future as he walked. As he walked, he saw two people, and he suddenly had an idea. He bought five big meat buns at the bun stall on the street, and with four copper coins in his hand, he walked towards the two of them.

Two beggars huddled at the base of the wall, waiting for passers-by to give alms. A young man in ordinary clothes walked up to them and put the paper bag with the smell of meat buns in front of them with a smile, and the two beggars hurriedly thanked them.

"Thank you sir, thank you sir."

Shao Yunan didn't dislike them either. When the two beggars grabbed the steamed buns with their dark hands and ate them, he said, "Big brothers, I have something to ask about."

A beggar swallowed the meat buns and nodded sharply: "This little brother just asks."

Another beggar also nodded sharply. They had met many people who gave alms, but this was the first time they saw a young man who smiled at them, and there was no disgust or disgust in his eyes. This young man was handsome!

Shao Yunan was very happy and said, "This is the first time I have come to the county seat, and I want to know about the situation in the county seat. You can say whatever you know, the more detailed the better." After that, he put down the four copper coins in his hand, " It's a thank you fee."

Thanks for the fee?

This word sounds fresh, but the two beggars shook their heads: "No, no, you have already bought us buns, and you can't ask for your money anymore."

"It doesn't matter, it's not much. Maybe in the future, I will trouble the two big brothers to help us find out the news."

The two beggars looked at each other and did not push back. With steamed buns to eat and money to take, the two beggars immediately told Shao Yunan everything they knew about Yongxiu County. Shao Yunan sat on the side casually, causing passers-by to look at him, is such a clean young man also a beggar?

There are two beggars who know everything, Shao Yunan asks a few more questions, and he has a clearer understanding of Yongxiu County. This knowledge also gave him a more intuitive understanding of the world.

After getting the information he wanted to know, Shao Yunan bought a few more meat buns for the two of them before leaving. As he walked away, he didn't see the two beggars watching him until he disappeared into the crowd. Four copper coins, one beggar put away all, and the other beggar helped him to stand up.

"Big brother, that little brother is a good man."

"Well. I hope good people can get good rewards."

There are two jewelry shops in Yongxiu County, one is run by local people and the other is run by businessmen from other places. Yongxiu County has a lot of people going from south to north, and there are all kinds of shops. Of course, in Shao Yunan's eyes, it is still very backward. According to the instructions of the two beggars, Shao Yunan found one of the jewelry shops - "Die Zhuang Pavilion". This "Butterfly Pavilion" was opened by foreign businessmen.

As soon as I walked into the shop, a junior came to say hello: "Please, what would you like to see?"

Xiao Er did not chase away the guests because of Shao Yunan's simple clothes, at least he still had a diligent smile on his face. Shao Yunan also smiled and said, "I'll take a look first."

Xiao Er's smile remained unchanged: "Please."

Shao Yunan followed Xiao Er to the shelf. There is no glass, so there are no containers, and all the goods are on the shelves. There is not only one junior in the store, but also two big men who are tall and handsome. Shao Yunan first went to the side of the gold and silver jewelry, and then followed Xiao Er to the side of the jade.

At this time, the gold, silver and jade wares were all hand-made, but they looked very delicate, much better than the mass-produced jewelry in jewelry stores in modern society. Shao Yunan secretly thought that when he had the money in the future, he would buy some beautiful jewelry, which were all exquisite antiques. After looking around, Shao Yunan said to Xiao Er, "I have a set of jade pendants, and I want to show them to your shopkeeper."

Xiao Er was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Keguan, if you want to pawn, turn left at the fork in front of the intersection, and there is a **** shop on that street."

Shao Yunan said, "I'm not here to **** money, I'm here to show your shopkeeper something new."

"Look at novelty?" Xiao Er didn't understand.

Shao Yunan smiled: "I can't buy this set of jade, it's unique."

Xiao Er hesitated, when a voice came from the stairs on the second floor: "The unique jade, this guest officer, come upstairs."

Shao Yunan looked up, and Xiao Er also looked at it, and immediately said, "This is our shopkeeper."

"Thank you." To thank Xiao Er, Shao Yunan walked over, and the other party went downstairs and clasped his fists: "My surname is Zeng, I don't know your surname."

"My surname is Shao. Thank you, Manager Zeng, for giving me a chance."

"Young Master Shao, please."

Shao Yunan followed Shopkeeper Zeng upstairs.