Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 85: The Scholars of Dingwei
It was the sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1607).
In the early morning of this day, after the large-scale fireworks display on the Lantern Festival last night, the capital returned to silence and ordinary people fell asleep. The eunuchs of the palace, as well as the Jinyiwei, the three major camps and many other civil servants took to the streets. Some were cleaning, some were raising flags, and even the Han generals of the palace drove out of the imperial city around the hour of Yin and began to stand guard on the imperial road.
Residents of any country's capital city are naturally sensitive to politics. Not to mention that the Crown Prince's departure to Nanjing was already a well-known event. So when the common people in the capital got up and went out at dawn, they saw such a scene. They immediately understood: the Crown Prince was heading south today!
What else can I say? Anyway, today is the 16th, so I'll just take it as an extra day off. The procession of the Crown Prince's departure is something I must see.
Then, the long imperial road from Chengtian Gate in the imperial city to Yongding Gate in the outer city was suddenly crowded with people pouring in from all over Beijing.
This year is a year of great examinations, so among the crowd watching the ceremony today, a considerable number are candidates from all over the country who came to Beijing. They are all waiting for the Dingmo examination in early February.
"Alas, now that the Crown Prince has gone south, there will be trouble in Jiangnan."
"Brother Zhiwen, you are talking about this again. Keep your voice down. This is not a place for us to talk in private. Be careful that there are ears!"
"What are you afraid of? As scholars, there is nothing we cannot speak out." The young man, courtesy name Zhiwen, heard his companions' advice, but instead of restraining himself, he raised his head high and said, "Look, everyone, the procession of the crown prince is so extravagant. The main character hasn't even appeared yet, but the flags in front have already covered the entire imperial road. Sigh, I wonder what kind of storm this prince will stir up after he goes to Jiangnan."
"Haha, brother, what you said is quite biased. Although His Royal Highness is only six years old this year, he has done a lot for the people of the world. But from what you said, it seems that he is not very happy to see His Royal Highness go south? Haha, I wonder how you think His Royal Highness's departure to Nanjing will cause trouble in Jiangnan?"
A relatively standard official language came from the side. The young man with the courtesy name Zhiwen raised his eyebrows and said, "May I ask what is your name, brother?"
"That's right. I'm Li Biao from Gaoyi, Shuntian Prefecture, Northern Zhili. My courtesy name is Ruli. I ranked seventh in the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination last year."
"I am Qian Longxi from Huating, Songjiang Prefecture, Nanzhili, with the courtesy name Zhiwen. I ranked 15th in the provincial examination in Yingtian Prefecture last year."
"Oh, Brother Zhiwen was able to get fifteenth place in Yingtian Prefecture, that's really amazing."
"I'm ashamed. Although the imperial examinations of our Ming Dynasty have been strong in the south and weak in the north for many years, Shuntian Prefecture is the capital after all, and there are many talented people in the prefecture. It's amazing that Brother Ruli can get seventh place in Shuntian Prefecture."
When scholars communicate with each other, they will of course compare their grades with each other first. After confirming that the other party and oneself are both at the level of ordinary academic masters, the conversation can continue.
"Brother Ruli, since you are from Shuntian Prefecture, you are very close to the Crown Prince. What? Didn't you see the strange phenomenon when the Crown Prince was born? Even the saints said that ghosts and gods should be respected and kept at a distance. The Crown Prince has done so many things in the two years since he was born. Didn't you turn a blind eye to them?"
"I have only heard about the strange phenomena in the world when His Royal Highness was born." After a faint reply, Li Biao said, "As for what His Royal Highness has done in the past two years, well, the smallpox vaccination method has benefited all people in the world, and the promotion of sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn has also benefited the people. This time His Royal Highness went to Nanjing to restore the ancestral system of the country. Second, in my humble opinion, I am afraid it will be good for Jiangnan, right?"
"Haha... I'm afraid what Brother Ruli said is not entirely true. The smallpox vaccination method, the promotion of grains, etc., even those who have prejudices against His Highness cannot say a word against His Highness. But!" Qian Longxi said solemnly: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is good in many ways, but there is one bad thing! He loves things too much! Brother, please look at these soaps, glass, mirrors, toothpaste and toothbrushes, candles, bone china and many other things, all of which are produced by His Highness's imperial farm. Moreover, these items related to people's livelihood have not yet been open to the public. The production technology is used to make huge profits by operating exclusively! Brother Ruli, do you know? An ordinary citizen in the folk wants a piece of soap but can't get it? If His Highness is willing to spread this technology to the world, wouldn't it benefit the people?"
"This brother's words are very kind!"
Li Biao and Qian Longxi were talking in a low voice. When this voice sounded, it was like a thunderclap above their heads. So they both frowned at the same time, a little dissatisfied with this guy who suddenly interrupted them. But no matter what, the young and middle-aged people who spoke with foreign accents and elegant words should be candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam. Who knows, they might be in the same year in the future. So, no matter how dissatisfied they were, the two of them had to turn around and bow: "Who is this?"
"I am from Yingcheng, De'an Prefecture, Huguang. My surname is Yang, my given name is Lian, and my courtesy name is Wenru. I ranked 46th in the Huguang provincial examination in the 32nd year of the Wanli reign."
"Oh~~ Nice to meet you." Damn, the imperial examinations in Huguang in recent years are still pretty good, but compared to Jiangnan, they are still far from perfect. You only ranked 46th in a province with average overall strength in the imperial examinations, and you failed the imperial examination three years ago. Well, judging from your appearance, you must be in your thirties. Hehehe...
No wonder Li Biao and Qian Longxi were not interested in Yang Lian: they were 25 and 28 years old at the time. They both qualified from the fiercely competitive imperial examination districts with high rankings. Two young ordinary-level academic masters faced a middle-aged (Yang Lian was 35 years old at the time) poor student, and they naturally felt superior.
So, after a hasty greeting, the two turned their heads back. Li Biao continued, "Brother Zhiwen , His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once said that promoting smallpox vaccination and grain planting both require money. And since the money doesn't come from the national treasury, it has to be spent somewhere, right? These money-making things launched by the Crown Prince are not actually necessities for the people. Before the 32nd year of the Wanli reign, when did we have soap or glass? Isn't our Ming Dynasty the same as a country rich and strong? So, there is nothing wrong with what Your Royal Highness did."
"Hahaha, so Brother Ruli only knows , but not the other."
" Hmm?" Seeing Qian Longxi's expression that said "you are still too young", Li Biao did not get annoyed and said, "Could you please teach me, Brother Zhiwen?"
"I don't deserve your advice." After all, the other person ranked better than him in the provincial examination, so Qian Longxi didn't dare to be too arrogant: "Brother Ruli, did you notice? Last year, the emperor issued an imperial decree. It once again clearly announced that the mining tax would be suspended nationwide. And the commercial tax would be transferred to local officials, and no longer collected by the eunuchs in the palace. And unlike the decree in the 33rd year that suspended the mining tax but did not recall the mine supervisors, last year's imperial decree clearly named all the mine supervisors and asked them to return to the palace."
"Yes! There is indeed such an order. Hey, the emperor finally accepted the request of his subjects. He is indeed a wise ruler!"
Needless to say, Yang Lian interrupted again in such an impassioned roar. The two were too lazy to respond, and Li Biao smiled and said, "Brother Zhiwen, do you want to say that the emperor's nature of loving money has not changed. It's just that the collection of mining taxes has caused unrest in the world. So he had to stop the mining taxes. And at this point in time, the emperor mentioned the ancestral system of the crown prince guarding Nanjing. In fact, he wanted to send the grandson to the south to make money and make up for the loss of mining taxes? The reason for sending the grandson is because the grandson has shown, uh, strong economic ability in the past two years?"
"Uh...Brother Ruli hit the nail on the head. I am from Jiangnan...Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the four provinces of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang alone have already borne 50% or even 60% of the taxes of the dynasty. The people of Jiangnan have long been overwhelmed, and now the crown prince wants to go south, ah..."
"What's going on? Is the Crown Prince's trip to the south to restore the ancestral system just in name? Is the real purpose to collect taxes? Brother, could you explain it more clearly?"
I've already gone too far. If I continue, I'm afraid I won't even be able to take part in the imperial examination! Who the hell is in the mood to nag at an old, poor student like you?
Although he was very unhappy, Qian Longxi still smiled gently: "Brother Ruli, Brother Wenru, please follow me. I just saw Huang Shijun and Zhang Ruitu, the governors of Fujian. The writing styles of these two are the best in Jiangnan. Who knows, this year's top scholar will be one of them."
"Oh? There is such a person nearby? Brother Zhiwen, please introduce him to us!"
