Chapter 319: The Purpose of Discipline (V)
More than 1,100 people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces took the exam, and 99 passed, 49 of whom were former military personnel and 49 were local scholars.
Gao Pang looked at the name ranked first and was speechless. He didn't expect that the first place was his junior sister Miss Chen. Of course, on the test paper, Miss Chen had a school name. Gao Pang knew that his junior sister had a name, Chen Jiaojiao. But this was a maiden name, which was the name given to her by her parents at home.
The scientific name is different from the name used in social interactions. So before taking the exam, Chen Mingtai gave his daughter a scientific name, Chen Tuiyi.
The first place in the exam is called Chen Tuiyi... This name also has an indescribable magical feeling.
"As expected of you, Lao Gao, you are my junior sister. You have quite a lot of knowledge. Your answers to the big questions are quite interesting." Hu Yue praised.
Gao Pang was one of the examiners. After opening the sealed papers, he carefully read the answers of his junior sister. Although many of the explanations seemed a bit childish, the answers to several major questions were indeed very insightful. Especially the questions related to science and democracy, Gao Pang seemed to see the shadow of his teacher.
Seeing that Gao Pang didn't say anything, Hu Yue continued, "Old Gao, three women have passed the exam this time, so we need to publicize it! Should we wear red and colorful ribbons and parade them through the streets to praise the officials?"
Gao Pang immediately shook his head like a rattle, "No, no."
Hu Yue raised his eyebrows, "Hey! After you became the top scholar, you went to the Golden Palace and rode a horse in front of the Imperial Street. Why do you pretend that a woman who passed the examination to become an official does not exist?"
Gao Pang knew his teacher's character, and he was firmly against any boasting. Just as he was about to continue to object, seeing Hu Yue's expression, Gao Pang had an idea and sighed, "How about, the committee vote."
In addition to the normal rank system, there is also a voting system in the current Chinese court. Having the right to vote itself means the right to speak. Voting is of course the minority obeys the majority, but Huo Chong specifically talked about the scope of application of this voting. All content that has not been regulated for the time being can be voted on. However, if there are regulations, they must be followed.
After hearing this, the committee members immediately became interested and began tearing up the papers to vote. Even though it was a secret ballot, Gao Pang felt that these people were just watching the fun and didn't mind making trouble, so everyone voted in favor except Gao Pang.
There was no other way , so Gao Pang invited the teacher to come in the evening. When Chen Mingtai heard that his daughter was going to be paraded in red and colorful clothes to show off her official title, his face turned very unhappy. However, Gao Pang thought that the teacher would object, but unexpectedly the teacher sighed, "Since you want to do this, then do it?"
"Teacher! This... this doesn't sound like something you would say." Gao Pang was a little confused.
"I'm not as aloof as you. In terms of knowledge and talent, I know I'm just an average person. Only someone as conceited as you dare to be so self-righteous. Since I've asked your junior sister to take the exam, of course I'll do whatever the court says."
Hearing the teacher speak so modestly, even a little servilely, Gao Pang was surprised and puzzled, and asked quickly: "Teacher, I think that although I am not steady, at least I am not ungrateful."
"Tsk! Mr. Top Scholar, if Mr. Huo conquers the world in the future, you will definitely make a great entry in the history books. You passed the imperial examination and were discarded like a worn-out shoe. You are probably the only one in thousands of years. Haha." Chen Mingtai said sarcastically.
Gao Pang didn’t know how to respond to the teacher, but he still disagreed.
I thought there would be an awkward silence, but unexpectedly the teacher asked calmly: "What is this voting you are talking about? Can such a big thing be treated so lightly?"
Gao Pang took this opportunity to get rid of the embarrassment and explained. The scope of voting is not large, and it is completely for things that everyone does not know how to deal with. According to Huo Chong, when there is no theory or precedent, and it does not involve a core concept, at this time, everyone has to rely on their intuition to decide.
However, if it involves concepts, then of course it won’t work. For example, whether the earth beneath our feet is a sphere or not cannot be decided by voting.
"Oh? This is quite interesting." Chen Mingtai said with a smile.
Gao Pang also thought Huo Chong's idea was great, so he said, "The governor said that voting, where the minority obeys the majority, cannot be expanded indefinitely. If elections in democracy are used without limit, it is not elections, but voting. That would become so-called democracy, where the people have the power to be stupid and do whatever they want. If there is such power, democracy becomes a farce, a system where a minority plays tricks to rule the majority."
Chen Mingtai laughed out loud and nodded repeatedly when he heard this.
Gao Pang was getting interested. "The governor agrees with the republic, not the democratic voting system. The republic first has a standard, and talents are selected through the standard. After these people are selected, there is democracy and voting on the basis of a common foundation. If there is no foundation, it is just a simple democratic voting system. That kind of system is a system that suffers from its own actions."
"Does such a system still exist in the world?" Chen Mingtai asked sarcastically.
"Yes, it does. It is said that two thousand years ago, in a corner of Europe, there was a country called Greece that used this system. It was called citizen elections, where all national affairs were decided through a system where every citizen voted."
Chen Mingtai was stunned for a moment, and asked in surprise: "Then what? How ?"
"That country was first defeated by another country, and then both countries were destroyed and annexed by a monarchy."
Hearing about Greece's ending, Chen Mingtai sneered, "Hehe, virtue matches position, that's how it should be."
Gao Pang always felt comfortable chatting with a scholar like the teacher. Even if the words were vicious, they could be said elegantly. However, if one carefully savored the malice in them, it was really refreshing.
But after a moment of comfort, Gao Pang began to admire his teacher and couldn't help but sigh, "Teacher, I am so far from your attitude of being content with whatever happens."
"I used to dislike you because of your self-righteous nature. Things that others have to go through a lot of trouble to get are worthless in your eyes. Gao Pang, you are lucky. I dare not do that. Since I let your junior sister go to the court, of course I have to listen to the court's useful matters. This has nothing to do with whether I am willing or not."
Gao Pang lowered his head and dared not speak. Every time the teacher showed his morality, Gao Pang felt that he was not as good as the teacher. In front of such brilliance of human nature, what else could he do except bow his head?
If it came to using one's official position to bully others, Gao Pang felt that he had not yet fallen to that level.
What happened next caused a sensation in the three cities. One of the three women was from Zhenjiang, one from Hangzhou, and one from Suzhou. The fact that the three women passed the exam and became official officials was publicly boasted for three days, so that Jiangsu and Zhejiang could see this fact.
Gao Pang thought he would be scolded, so he waited for Huo Chong's document to arrive. Gao Pang read it carefully, but did not see Huo Chong mention it at all. Huo Chong raised the issue of the official's origin.
The fact that local scholars and military personnel performed equally well in this exam has proven that local scholars have shown a huge advantage. Although the number of people is not much different, military personnel have studied for a long time, especially with internal training.
Under such circumstances, the fact that military personnel did not have a huge advantage meant that the military was already at a disadvantage. The fact that the scores were evenly matched proved that at least in this time, among the group of people who passed the exam, the local scholars in Zhejiang showed their advantage in learning ability.
Gao Pang didn't know how to respond. He could only hold a meeting to convey Huo Chong's opinion. Everyone didn't know what to say, so in the end, the matter was temporarily closed after listening to it.
Everyone was discussing how to use these people who passed the exam. Hu Yue was the first to say, "Since the governor is a little worried, let's follow the normal regulations. These people will start from the grassroots."
"Right, right, right! They can't become officials directly just because they have received education."
"Our people have grassroots experience, so I think we can skip that for now."
Hu Yue's opinion was immediately supported.
Gao Pang expressed his opposition, "Our people have fought in wars. I have looked at their resumes and have never seen them work at the grassroots level. In this case, we should all start from the grassroots level."
"Are we going to let those three little girls run back to the village as well?" Hu Yue asked.
The others laughed out loud after hearing this. Gao Pang felt the frankness of the illiterate guys. But this attitude was not wrong. Three girls working at the grassroots level did not sound very reliable. In Gao Pang's mind, the girls working at the grassroots level must be people like Qian Qing. Not only was she capable, but she was also skilled in martial arts.
As he was thinking, he heard the committee member laugh and say, "Mr. Zhuangyuan, don't accuse us of making things difficult for those girls. Rules are rules. All of us have to start from the grassroots. It was like this for my eldest sister, and it is the same for other women. All the female officials in our Chinese court have been on the battlefield. Let's not talk about how many battles they fought or how well they fought. They have all fought and killed enemies."
Gao Pang was helpless after hearing this. After thinking it over, he could only bring up Huo Chong's order, "Let's just follow what the governor said and follow the rules."
"Rule one of the rules is that everyone must participate in military training." Hu Yue replied with a sly smile.
When Gao Pang heard this, he suddenly felt relieved.
When Chen Tuiyi received the order to report, she felt uneasy. The matter of being praised as an official was like a dream to her, and it was not a beautiful dream. Being stared at and booed by countless people. This kind of pressure was really unpleasant.
However, my father said that since I have decided to become an official, I have to face this situation. There will be more unpleasant things in the future.
After receiving the order to report, they were immediately called to assemble. The leader was a soldier, who told everyone with a stern face, "From now on, you will receive military training. Remember, in our Chinese court, everyone is a soldier. What is a soldier? It means that through learning and training, you have the ability to protect yourself and others. You can actually protect yourself and others. Now, divide into classes."
Miss Chen originally thought that being an official meant doing clerical work, but unexpectedly she was being driven around like a flock of sheep.
We were divided into classes, received military uniforms, and chose dormitories. After that, we received military supplies including washbasins, teacups, toothbrushes, towels, etc.
That afternoon, we started training in the queue.
Military training was really hard. Counting and looking left and right were easy. But the standing posture, marching in step, and running after three days made Miss Chen feel like her whole body was falling apart.
These were no longer something that could be endured simply by gritting one's teeth. Even in such arduous torture, the captain in charge of training yelled at Miss Chen: "Louder! Louder! Don't whisper, shout it out with your throat."
After saying that, he patted the area under his neck and said, "Don't shout with your vocal cords, or your throat will be broken. Use here, use the force here!"
Miss Chen has never shouted loudly in her life. When she was young, her parents asked her to speak softly and not to rush.
The requirements in the military are completely different. You have to speak not only clearly but also loudly. You have to shout so that everyone can hear you.
Miss Chen tried many times, but she had no idea how to shout with the part below her neck. In the end, she could only lower her head, tears welling up in her eyes and almost crying out loud.
"I'll say it again, our Chinese court wants everyone to speak. But you have to speak loudly. You can cry! But cry loudly!" the captain shouted.
Miss Chen felt a surge of anger in her chest. She reached out to wipe her tears, raised her head and said as clearly as she could: "I won't cry anymore! I just don't know how to make a sound the way you said!"
"That's a very good answer! Remember, make it clear as you can." The captain praised.
This compliment puzzled Miss Chen, who was originally prepared to be scolded by the captain because in many cases, the captain would severely scold those men who did not perform the movements properly.
Just as he was surprised, he heard someone mutter something. The captain turned around and shouted at the person, "If you have anything to say, say it loudly! Say it loudly!"
The man who was mumbling was a man from Jiangnan. He was young but had a feminine air. Being scolded by the captain, he muttered, "I just can't stand steadily..."
"Speak louder! Speak louder!" the captain continued to shout. His voice was loud, but not shrill. It sounded full of power.
The man had to shout: "Captain, why can't I stand for long? You said it's because I don't have enough strength, but it's impossible for me to be weaker than a woman."
This guy's voice was loud but sharp, sounding unhappy, but not as deep as the captain's.
The captain responded, "Although the woman is not as strong as you, she is light and does not put too much strain on her body. This is actually a good question. We can show you why when we take a break. Also, since you can speak loudly, next time you have a problem, say report first! Saying the word report will also help people know what you are going to do."
"Is it not okay to talk like this?" the Jiangnan man asked in confusion.
The captain did not scold, but answered the question straightforwardly, "There are battlefield disciplines on the battlefield. You are not allowed to talk privately. Whenever you speak, you must first indicate that you want to speak. This is the discipline."
After training for a while, it was time to rest. The captain brought some small sticks and wooden blocks. The more straw sticks were needed to support the wooden blocks of the same weight. However, the lighter the wooden blocks, the fewer straw sticks were needed.
After doing such a clear experiment, the captain explained why Miss Chen could stand longer. Because she was light in weight, her muscles were not strong enough, but the burden was small. The muscles could bear it.
Everyone looked at the chubby man and then at Miss Chen's slender figure, and they all laughed. With the theory and the experiment, everyone could naturally understand why the results were different.
On the fourth day, everyone was tortured by muscle pain. When they trained again, it was no longer physical training. The captain invited several opera singers to let them use different parts of their bodies to make sounds. Everyone could use their fingers to press on their necks, larynxes, and the area below their necks to feel it.
After these vivid experiments, everyone had some feeling, and then the opera singers taught everyone how to adjust the different positions to make sounds.
Miss Chen originally said that she couldn't do it, of course because she really couldn't, but also because she was angry. Thinking back privately, Miss Chen felt that she was a bit like what her father criticized her for, a bit of a broken pot and a self-destructive person. She was really not satisfied with herself.
However, as she learned how to sing from the opera, Miss Chen realized that although her mood was self-destructive, it was right for her to frankly admit that she did not know how to sing.
It turns out that if you want to make a sound effectively, it is not the mouth that matters, and it may not even be the neck that matters. The most powerful way to make a sound is to use the chest and pectoral muscles to exert force in a relatively small area.
The actors also showed off, using a loud and beautiful voice that the military training members could not imitate. This is not just the chest, but starts from the dantian. Although actors are looked down upon, the skills they show are really amazing.
After the actors received their pay and left, the captain took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body. The men were dumbfounded by his muscular body, and Miss Chen felt her heart fluttering.
The captain did not have any erotic elements in it. He explained the body muscles to everyone through actions. After explaining it, he mocked those who were still acting mysterious. In fact, there is no real Qi sinking into Dantian in this world. These are all using the core triangular muscle groups of the chest and abdomen to exert force.
After giving a brief introduction, the captain put on his clothes and said, "If you train hard, everyone can have muscles. The so-called lack of strength is actually insufficient muscle mass. If you want to have enough muscle mass, there is no other way except to train hard. Our military training is not only to let you understand those military movements, but also to let you understand what these movements are and how to complete them by mobilizing the muscles of the body."
Days passed, and the four-week military training finally came to an end. It was almost New Year's Day, and everyone went home for the holiday.
Seeing his daughter coming back, Chen Mingtai was happy and simply took his family to the street.
The streets of Zhenjiang are crowded with people, all of whom are buying New Year goods. The whole family is happy, preparing to celebrate the New Year after buying goods.
Soon, the cart was full of things. Just as Chen Mingtai was paying, someone suddenly jumped out, snatched the purse from Chen Mingtai's hand and left.
Chen Mingtai and the others were shocked, but the guy was walking very fast, he must be a thief. He was running far away. Miss Chen was furious, and saw the figure of a patrolman in the street in the distance. She jumped to the middle of the street, facing the patrolman, and shouted loudly with the strength of her chest under her neck: "Patrolman in front, there is a thief passing by, catch the thief!"
Chen Mingtai was standing next to his daughter. He saw her slender body with her chest and head held high, and her voice was high and pleasant, so loud that it even made his ears buzz.
