Section 2053 Wang Quantai's Years

Mr. Wang was originally named Wang Quantai. In the past, he could be regarded as a guy who could be called loudly in the court, and his name was not bad. Of course, he was also considered a genius when he was young. It is definitely creditable, but no one has been with him in the past ten years, not for anything else, just because of the things this guy said, this **** is going to die, there are ten people who think His Majesty the Emperor Ten people understand it, but this old guy doesn't understand it, and he doesn't know what's going on in his head. What His Majesty is afraid of is that there is no gap between him and the other three empires, but what are you doing now? ? You are trying to shorten the gap. It would be strange if this **** can let you continue to be an official.

When Wang Quantai was ten years old, he already showed signs of genius. Back then, all four of his brothers were studying in school. It is a pity that the other three younger brothers have no talent for studying at all. It is not because they skipped class today That is, Mr. Tomorrow found a home. For Wang Quantai, after getting in touch with books, he felt that this is where he needs to work hard. It can be said that the ancestors of the Wang family have not had a scholar for thousands of years. Most of them are farmers in the field, and there are more people who deal with the land, but the current social atmosphere is like this. Since Mr. Lian said that this kid has the talent for reading, this is amazing. This old man of Wang Quantai immediately Just let the other brothers stop studying, let Wang Quantai start his study time with all his strength, and the other brothers immediately responded to his father's call. This is what saved them. For them, let them Working in that room for a day is simply killing them. Not to mention how uncomfortable they are all over the body. It is obvious that they are not working hard one by one, but now they say that they let this matter out. The three of Wang Quantai After Wang Quantai returned home, the younger brothers told their children one by one. It was they who gave up the opportunity to study at the beginning, and this uncle had the opportunity to study and go to the capital, but now it is such a scene, which undoubtedly means that their elder brother will not seize the opportunity, so that they can have a good life. It was also affected.

Wang Quantai was really capable back then. There were about fifty students in the school at that time. Let's go to the township exam together, which is the lowest exam in the imperial examination system of the Eastern Empire. There are more than 500 students in the entire township, ten of them can have the title of scholar, and that ratio is also very difficult. There is a one-fiftieth chance that Wang Quantai actually got it, which makes his father happy. I don't know, there hasn't been a scholar in this old Wang's house for many years, and now they have appeared, such a thing has actually appeared in their old Wang's house. All of them are very happy. His brothers have also received a lot of admiration, because this society is like this. As long as there is a scholar in your family, the status of the whole family will be affected. They can all be improved a lot. Wang Quantai still remembers the scene when the mayor visited the door in person. There were only ten of them in the whole town. These ten scholars will definitely have better achievements in the future, and it is also possible to pave the way now. It is also the first time that Wang Quantai has received a "donation".

This donation can be said to be a special thing in the Eastern Empire. Generally speaking, scholars do not have the ability to do work to support themselves. If the family conditions are good, the family will give him money to continue his studies. But if the family conditions are not very good, a good seedling may be delayed. Therefore, in order to encourage the people below to study, the high-level officials of the Eastern Empire,

Generally speaking, some chief executives and wealthy families will spend a certain amount of money every year to subsidize these poor families. This is the so-called donation. Of course, the person who accepts the money must also remember his benefactor of the name. In the future, if there is something famous in the court, it will be repaid. Although this method will help the education of the Eastern Empire a lot, it will also connect these new champions with some powerful people in the court. Anyway, no matter what happens, there are pros and cons. In order to allow more talents to emerge in the Eastern Empire, the disadvantages of such a connection can be tolerated. The emperor of the Eastern Empire also thinks so.

According to the old practice, the annual salary of the mayor was only 150 taels of silver. At that time, the price of grain in the Eastern Empire was 18 cents per catty of wheat. The court stipulated that every scholar should have 20 cents of the mayor’s salary. One, the mayor of this money is enough to pay for it himself first, and there will be other ways to make up for the mayor in the coming year. Seventy-two five silver is the money that Wang Quantai should have taken back then, but among the ten talents Those who have a good family background, according to another unspoken rule, these people don’t need the money, and their money will be taken out. This is also a good rule, at least the money goes to those who need help. It won't be wasted, just like the few scholars back then. Their families had hundreds of acres of land. The money is really nothing, and they don't need it at all, so they don't want it, and the money is divided equally In the hands of other scholars, Wang Quantai had twelve taels of silver.

Generally speaking, the rural people usually use copper coins, 18 cents a catty of rice. They have the impression of silver, but they don’t have that kind of thing at home. One tael of silver is nearly 60 catties of grain. You must know that in their era, the grain in the field is only a few hundred catties a year, but it is not as terrible as the grain on the earth. Many people can’t eat enough at home. There are more than a dozen taels of silver, which is considered a sudden wealth for the people at the beginning, and according to the regulations of the court, there will be a subsidy of one tael of silver every month in the future, which is also the honor of the Eastern Empire court for these people. It's a kind of compensation. It can be said that Wang Quantai didn't need his family to support him at this time, and he was already able to support himself. However, Wang Quantai naturally knew the situation of his family. I didn't keep any money, and gave it all to my father. This is how the Wang Family Courtyard came into existence. Good guy, there were a few big tile-roofed houses at the beginning, which made the surrounding villagers envious for a long time. The education of children is to learn from Wang Quantai. What is the use of working in the crops for a lifetime? Look at others, and they have brought such good benefits to the family after studying for a few years.

In addition to the one tael of silver given by the court, every month thereafter. The mayor also gave a tael of silver, and some rich locals around wanted to get in touch with the future officials and lords. This month, they gave a hundred catties of grain, and then they gave a set of four treasures of the study. The Wang family is very popular in this town. This was brought by Wang Quantai back then, but this is just the initial stage. They don't know that the greatest achievements of scholars come later.

Three years later, the county examination began. This can be said to be one of the most important components of the imperial examination system in the Eastern Empire. The scholars of the entire county will gather together. This is the time for them to really enter the political stage. Often even the county The order has to give face, the entire county has a population of one hundred thousand, and there are thousands of scholars. This is much better than the college entrance examination on the earth. After all, most of the college entrance examinations on the earth are for fresh graduates. Here There are plenty of old talents in their sixties. In addition, the lifespan of people on this planet is much longer than that of people on the earth, so there are a lot of students. Many old scholars are even more talented than some masters, but they are all unlucky. That's all, besides, in the past few years, there have been a lot of frauds and so on. This thing and that thing add up. The difficulty has increased a lot.

Back then, Wang Quantai was very high-spirited. He was only nineteen years old, but he was the youngest scholar in the entire county. At that time, many people were not optimistic about this young man. Very good, but that year there were four. Because the master examiner came from the province's academic administration, the articles of the three old scholars in the county are already very good, but he is also very satisfied with Wang Quantai's articles, especially the handwriting, which is also very good. It's amazing, there is no one better than him in the whole county, since all the Xuezheng adults in the province have spoken. The officials in their county naturally didn't have the guts to stop them. In this way, Wang Quantai became the youngest Juren in the history of their county. There are three people, so since the beginning of history, there is only one time in ten thousand years. How many times can there be in this **** ten thousand years? There are only a dozen or so alive, and most of them have already gone to other places. In fact, there are only two people in the county who have achieved fame, but it is not bad to add a few of them now. Yes, especially Wang Quantai, this powerful guy, young boy, a lord who is only 19 years old, not to mention the history of their county, even in the province, he is very powerful.

This is not just a problem of smoke from the ancestral graves. This matter is a bit noisy. Now Wang Quantai still remembers that his father was very happy at the time, especially when the hundred taels of silver from the imperial court was delivered to his home. Covered with a yellow cloth, there are two big characters on it, Imperial Citation, this is an unprecedented honor, given by the emperor? There are tens of thousands of common people around here. The reason is to see what the emperor gave them. New clothes may not be much better than those worn by the rich and nobles in the county. A pair of court boots may not be so beautiful, although one hundred taels of silver is a lot, but this rich family has seen many, but why so many people come? Not for anything else, just for one thing, that is, all these things were transported from the capital, and these were all given by the emperor, which is amazing.

Where is the capital? Except for the county magistrate who went to the capital when he became the county magistrate, it is estimated that more than 99% of the people in this county have never been there, and they have all thought about it. It is really too far away. Senior fighters can still pass, but what about ordinary people? It will take one or two years to go, and this is still the speed of a fast horse. If the person is older, it is estimated that they may be given something directly on the road. These things are just hung with a name, basically. They were all sent from the province. A Juren is rare for them, but it is nothing to the entire empire. The empire produces a lot of Juren every year. Are they all prepared by the emperor? Then the emperor didn't have to do other things.

Mr. Wang was so happy that day that he didn't know what to say. One hundred taels of silver was a huge sum of money. For the peasant households back then, these things were their lifeblood. Of course, the honor of Mr. Juren is also very important. What's amazing is that the mayor who supported Wang Quantai back then had to start saluting when he saw Wang Quantai, and all the people had to kneel down when they saw the county magistrate. But Wang Quantai doesn’t have to. According to the laws of the Eastern Empire, Wang Quantai doesn’t need to kneel now. In some government offices below the county seat, he doesn’t need to kneel. Even in the provincial capital, he has his own status.

From this time on, it can be said that Wang Quantai is already a member of the court. You can have the right to report some local matters, of course, you must obtain some certificates from the local administrator. And you have to go through layers of audits before you can go to the capital. Generally speaking, these are impossible to achieve, but anyway, people have this right, and they are no longer ordinary people. They can already be regarded as half officials. In terms of salary, there was eighty taels of silver per year, and Wang Quantai's three younger brothers were exhausted every year, and they couldn't save ten taels of silver in the end. This guy doesn't do anything, the court gives 80 taels of silver a year, including other festival expenses and so on, there are a hundred taels of silver a year, plus some local officials and gentry, a little advice For the nephews of those rich families, this is another sum of money, after obtaining the qualifications for juren that year. Wang Quantai's annual income is definitely more than four hundred taels of silver. If other people encounter some unsolvable problems and need to communicate with the government, Wang Quantai's words are very useful, and even the county magistrate is also very face-saving. Only nineteen years old. I only got this seat when I was forty years old. If this kid won the Jinshi of the provincial examination three years later, this would be a great thing. At least this would be the same level of treatment as myself. It's not the best thing, if a big family takes a fancy to it, it will be recruited as an assistant or something. This is even more remarkable. Don't look at the lack of grades, but the words may be much better than those with grades.

In fact, there is such a person in their county. He also obtained the qualification of Jinshi a hundred years ago, but he did not continue to go up. Instead, he became the companion of a rich and powerful child. It is said that now the rich and powerful child has already reached the position of governor. Come on, isn’t it better to be an assistant to the governor than to be a county magistrate? Naturally, it is necessary to make arrangements for the people around him, in order to leave a good reputation for himself, so that his son can use it in the future, and this is definitely not something a county magistrate can handle. Yes, such a thing is impossible to find. The future of this kid is limitless.

Back then, Wang Quantai could be said to be very proud. His family also saw that it was time for him to get married. When Wang Quantai was young, his grandfather made a marriage for him. The other party was the granddaughter of a hunter who hunted with his grandfather. Now it's time to get married. The other party has never come to urge this matter, but the girls in their family dare not make an appointment with others. They all know that the current Wang family is different from the previous one. If you marry someone's master Juren, they will definitely say that you are flattering. Even if this girl is married, she may not have a good life, but she does not dare to marry herself. If she finds someone to marry casually, this In case Wang Quantai still remembers what happened back then, it’s their fault. If he went to the Yamen to sue their family, it would be a big deal. Seeing that the daughter is getting older and older, this The people in the family are also anxious, but what's the use of being anxious, they can only wait for Wang Quantai to have a daughter-in-law, and their family is discussing this matter. This daughter's life may be so delayed, but there is nothing else There is a way.

The Wang family also has different views on this matter. Although there are not many people who propose marriage to Wang Quantai now, there are only a few families, but all of them are heavyweights, and they are already some good families in the province. Of course, they are not from the government, they are just wealthy businessmen, which is not bad. Wang Quantai knows what these businessmen are thinking. Although the businessmen have a good life, their social status in their families is not very high. Yes, if there is a son-in-law like Wang Quantai, it will be very good for their family. Of course, this is also because their sons are useless. If their sons are useful, they will naturally not need a son-in-law Blocked the door for myself.

Wang Quantai's old man was hesitating, and he didn't know what to say. Ordinarily, his son was so present, so he should be looking for a good wife. But his father is also very filial. The marriage was settled when Wang Quantai was born. If he didn't do it, wouldn't it be disobedience? Will Wang Quantai's grandfather be safe there? It shouldn't be possible, but I don't understand this political matter, but the county magistrate told himself. This matter should be carefully considered, if it is the right way. It may be another situation for Wang Quantai, and this day will definitely be very good.

Wang Quantai's younger brothers naturally don't remember the poor sister-in-law at the beginning. In their view, these three families are all okay, and the families are all families with hundreds of thousands of silver. If the elder brother can marry there Sister-in-law, they can all go to work in the city. Although they are all good now, if there is better development. No one will refuse, right?

However, Wang Quantai's choice was different from theirs. This guy bought 30 acres of land, brought two hundred taels of silver, and then pulled his father and his aunt to be matchmakers. People just went, this incident made their people dumbfounded, even Wang Quantai's wife's family was also dumbfounded. If these peasants marry a daughter-in-law, they can manage well with at most twenty taels of silver. How could they spend so much money? Because Wang Quantai's arrival also made his wife's life very difficult. Well, such things spread quickly. The younger brothers in the family complained that the father was too much like the eldest brother, and that such things can be messed up, and the future things will be great. Although the father felt that he had done the right thing, but after the sons said I also feel that I am wrong.

But soon they knew that what Wang Quantai did was right, and this matter was quickly spread by the county magistrate, some high-ranking officials in the provincial capital. Of course, there are also some scholars, all of whom are highly praised. They may also think of themselves in the past, and each of them drove a carriage here to get to know Wang Quantai well in autumn. Yes, although many people here are not very big officials in the province, to the county magistrate, everyone is a great person, and they must be respected, even the highest fifth-rank officials Well, the highest county magistrate is the seventh rank official, the gap is very big.

Wang Quantai's three younger brothers also stopped talking. There are so many great figures, all of whom are scholars, and they are all more educated than his brother, but they all said that his brother did the right thing, so this thing may be done by him By the way, of course you have to listen.

As for the positions they all hoped for, they didn't have any because their elder brother didn't marry their daughter. They all got their wish and went to the city and lived the life of city people, but they felt far worse than those at home. The time is comfortable, Wang Quantai knows that it is his own reasons for the lives of his younger brothers, but the younger brothers are not bullying people, it is good to let them go out to exercise, Wang Quantai himself did not change himself because of outside things , or continue to read and write honestly at home, waiting for the arrival of the next exam, the next time will be my real success, and now it is just the beginning.

Many people lost themselves at this time, which is why there are several candidates in each county, but there are only a few Jinshi in a province. Many people can feel that their days are now It is already very good, the days of hard study are too boring, why should we fight hard when we have more enjoyment? If Wang Quantai wants to live comfortably in a county, he is now basically If you don’t want to move forward with an income of several hundred taels of silver per year, you can open a library to teach the children of rich families. It’s also possible to earn thousands of taels of silver every year, and keep talking to the provincial capital Some of the high-ranking officials and dignitaries in China, even if something happens in the future, this is probably the idea of ​​those who are stagnant. Wang Quantai himself is not that kind of person, so he continues to work hard.

Three years later, Wang Quantai stood out among thousands of applicants, and became the number one Jinshi in their province this year with the first place. The family members who got married regretted it to death. Did I run more diligently at the beginning, and if I could take out the daughter born in my own family, would this Jinshi master be my son-in-law? You must know this Jinshi has a high social status, even the governor's office of the Governor's Mansion can enter, and they are now equivalent to seventh-rank officials. According to the regulations of the imperial court, they can get an annual salary of 2,000 taels of silver every year, which is already half of the county magistrate's annual salary. Of course, they don't have other gray income from the county magistrate, but many county magistrates are not from the background of scholars. Yes, many people came out through other heretics, and those scholars who came out were registered in the capital. The empire treats officials who rely on their ability and those who come from their families in two ways. These people rely on their ability to make a living. If you want to get them down, you need hard evidence, especially for the number one like Wang Quantai. It is estimated that the governor of the province is concerned about it. How could it be possible to mess around, so it is basically flattery. of.

Wang Quantai's three younger brothers were also happy at this time, because none of them were married yet. Even if they wanted to curry favor with Wang Quantai, they would not let their daughters from the concubines be Wang Quantai's concubines, but what about the daughters from the concubines? It is estimated that Wang Quantai didn't even look at it after sending it over. At this time, they took a fancy to the three younger brothers of Wang Quantai's family. The concubine's daughter from the rich merchant's family followed the younger brother of the Jinshi master. Three years later, when he reached the age of marriage, Wang Quantai's father was very happy to be treated like this. The average farmer has four sons, that's really worrying. If nothing else, just say that these sons have to sell their old bones when they get married. Now I don't need to worry about anything. There is really a A son who studies is better than the other three sons who farm.

After being admitted to Jinshi. Wang Quantai has three different options. Either he can wait for other county magistrates to become vacancies after participating in one-year training, and then he can go to other places to become an official. This is a three-year term, and it is enough to be born slowly. After decades, it is always possible to get into the position of governor, and there are many such things. The county magistrate is the seventh grade, and the governor is the second grade. There are ten grades in the middle. According to the requirements of the Eastern Empire court, only those who are excellent in the three-year evaluation can be promoted. This kind of excellence does not happen every year, at most it is a few years. One time is enough, so it is almost enough to reach the position of governor in 50 years. Most people basically choose this, because they can taste the benefits of having rights.

The second is to choose to enter a big family to act as an aide, just like the Governor’s Mansion, there are more than 30 aides, and they are all in charge of a piece in their own hands. There are hundreds of millions of people in a province. It is impossible for the Governor to pay attention. There are so many, so the staff in the Governor's Mansion began to help the Governor manage such and such things. At the beginning, they were just asking them to give advice, but later the Governor also needed to rest, and these big and small things were theirs. That's right, the governor gave them a salary of more than ten thousand taels of silver every year, and their life was very good, except that they didn't have the title from the court, but they were much better than ordinary county magistrates. When leaving, some of them will continue to go with the governor, but the other part will choose to stay when they are older or in poor health. The governor will generally arrange for them, which is at least better than the county magistrate. The position of the county magistrate is high, and people can't let people hang around here for nothing, so their lives are good. Even if they come out to be officials now, they will live better than those who directly work as county magistrates. After all, they The connections here are here. If the governor is promoted, the people here will give face. Of course, there are also those unlucky ones. The governor is dismissed, and their Jinshi status may also be directly pulled down. , this is all possible.

These two can be said to be good choices, but in addition to these two, there is a third choice, which is to continue to study. Of course, there are regulations for this, and this road can also be said They are the most promising, but also considered the poorest. They have to take part in the palace examination every five years, which means that they are about to leave for the capital now. On the way to the capital, they must study hard. It is a very difficult thing to travel across the country, not to mention studying. Although the local officials will be responsible for their food and drink, and the food and drink at home are also in charge, but the one or two years on the road is really not enough. How is it so easy? Many Jinshi gave up on the road because they couldn't stand the long distance. After they returned, they started to take the two roads in front one by one. But this time is different from the previous time. , Many people know that they can't stand the toil on the road to the capital, so they come back one by one. For such people, although they don't say anything, they still look down on them somewhat in their hearts, and they will arrange a job for them, but they have lost the previous opportunity, and no one values ​​them in their hearts. .

Wang Quantai's family didn't give him any advice at this time. In their opinion, Wang Quantai's choice was right. It can be seen from his marriage that everyone in the family actually wants him to choose the first one. Because then Wang Quantai will be the county magistrate, and they can also live there with Wang Quantai. Their elder brother is the county magistrate, so how comfortable they are here.

But they also thought of it, if the elder brother married the daughter-in-law of the wealthy businessman's family back then, the praise would be gone. They all remember the incident very clearly. The elder brother is a scholar, and he has more brains than them. . One by one, they didn't say anything. They were brothers with Wang Quantai for more than 20 years, and they still knew about this brother. They probably chose the road to Beijing. Although it was a bit difficult, they could do it. I understand, and one by one I thought that if I pass the imperial examination. That is the number one scholar, but the Jinshi of the entire empire is eligible to go, although only one percent of them go, but the number of people is quite a lot after all, it is said that there are tens of thousands of people, these tens of thousands There are only a few dozen people here. Brother can you? They have never doubted their elder brother's ability, but it is not enough to show it on the huge stage of the empire, but if they get the title of champion, it will be a big deal , the fifth-rank official is their first title, and these people are all registered in the imperial court. The rising speed of each one is very fast. In a few years, he will be the governor of a province. As long as there are no mistakes, it is very possible to continue to rise. I haven't seen the current few ministers and Are the prime ministers all educated? The children of big families may become officials, but they cannot be too high-ranking officials, because high-ranking officials are all chosen by the emperor himself, and they are chosen to govern his own empire. , how can ordinary people do it? Send money? Forget it, people don't need it, favors? The emperor owed favors to someone, and even if he owed them, he would not give favors from his own empire. This matter is not usually difficult.

After all, on a sunny morning, Wang Quantai still told his family members about his decision. His father and younger brothers naturally all agreed. The three younger brothers have already said that Wang Quantai does not need to worry about family affairs. , he just set out on his own, no matter if it’s his father, his sister-in-law, or even his newborn nephew, everything has been taken care of by himself, and his brother doesn’t need to worry about it. Wang Quantai remembers very clearly the friendship between his younger brothers back then. , otherwise, I wouldn't take care of them so much in the future. Thinking of that time, Wang Quantai really misses it.

Wang Quantai also thought about this road, but he never thought it would be so hard. According to their journey, he had to walk eighty miles a day. He himself was a scholar and couldn't ride a horse. Besides, if he rode a horse, he would Those who cannot study, although there will be a section of the road where you can take a boat, but after all, you have to take a carriage for nearly seven months. The Governor’s Mansion provided these things for the road, and the carriage looks very good. It's comfortable, but if you really sit on it, it's fine for a day or two. How long does it take? Don't talk about studying, even if you can stay in it honestly, it's not easy.

But if Wang Quantai was an ordinary person, Li Cong would look down on this guy. Of course he has his own skills, if not, how can he be the servant of the household department? Although it is also the second grade, how many governors are there in the Eastern Empire? There are a total of 3,000 people, but how many servants of the household department are there? There are only four people, and Wang Quantai has his own ability to become this quarter. During those seven months, Wang Quantai was studying hard and never did anything else, even if he was passing by. There is no intention of going into a big city. In fact, these Jinshi who are determined to go to Beijing are watched by His Majesty the Emperor and some people from big families. This journey is also a way to test them. In fact, their The exam has already started since they set out on the road. There are also many people from big families among Jinshi. Their road is different from Wang Quantai's. They are proficient in everything. Don't want them either.

Some of Wang Quantai's performances are recorded in the book. Although they are not very good, they are okay. After reading the report, the emperor only clicked two points. Generally speaking, one point is what needs to be seen. , don’t need to pay too much attention, the article written with two points will be handed over to the emperor, the one with three points is also highly valued by the emperor, and the one with four points can almost be admitted directly, such a person There is not one in a year. The emperor knows that these young people are arrogant, and they can't be praised too high. If they want to enter the officialdom, they still have a lot of experience.

Wang Quantai's performance on the road was quite satisfactory. He spent almost seven months in the car. Even when he was sick, he didn't delay walking. Even the officers and soldiers who sent him off were exhausted. It's amazing, but for Wang Quantai, entering the capital is what he thinks in his heart. As for some other things, it's better to forget them. There is no need for those at all. As long as he can get along well in the future, everything is fine. some.

Two years later, Wang Quantai entered the largest city on the mainland as a young Jinshi, with a population of more than two billion. This is the capital of the Eastern Empire. Of course, he is not qualified to enter the inner city, so he can only be outside. Stay in the city honestly, Jinshi is considered a very good person in the local area, but in the capital, it is nothing, just a little better than ordinary people, and the people living in the outer cities are the family members of officials. some type of. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. )