Chapter 469 468 No Elder Yan

Time is slowly coming to the end of February, and the results of the Beijing Examination will be announced soon.

The day before, Wei Guangde took leave of absence from King Yu and Yin Shizhen, and went to the Jiujiang Guild Hall in the evening to wait for the results of the examination with the candidates who were rushing to take the exam. Naturally, Lao Kan, Ouyang Yijing and others were also with him.

Ouyang Yijing had been moved back to the capital by Wei Guangde from the post of magistrate of Xiaoshan County, and was placed in the Sixth Section. He was currently assigned the post of Shizhong in the Criminal Section.

"I heard that fathers from three provinces are also participating in this examination?"

Sitting at the table, Lao Kan suddenly asked.

The three provinces he mentioned were Zeng Shengwu, the current magistrate of Fuchun County, which is interesting to say. Zeng Shengwu was admitted as a scholar in the 35th year of Jiajing, but his father took the examination in the 41st year of Jiajing.

"I received letters from three provinces before. I went to see him at the Huguang Guild Hall a few days ago."

Wei Guangde smiled and nodded and said, although he is now registered in Anlu, Huguang, he is still a branch of Peng Zezeng's family.

In the past few years, the Peng Zezeng family has not produced many talents, and they have all fallen to the Anlu branch.

"Their family is also very powerful. Three generations of their family have been successful candidates, and they were admitted first in the three smallest provinces."

Thinking of what he knew, Wei Guangde smiled and said to Lao Kan and others, "I don't know if uncle Zeng can pass the test this time."

"Yuan Shu and the others are still studying for the provincial examination. If they find out, they will be ashamed."

At this time, Ouyang Yijing suddenly interrupted.

"Being able to pass the hospital examination actually shows that you have reached the level. The subsequent provincial examinations and general examinations are more about luck. Just like me, I missed a beat during the provincial examination, and then luck came and I couldn't stop it. "

Wei Guangde said with a smile.

Although he said this to be true, he also wanted to show some mercy and open his mind to them. They were all taking part in the imperial examination for the first time. It was impossible to say that they were not nervous. That is to say, Zhu Shilong and Duan Mengxian, who had passed the mathematics examination. This is the first time I have tried, and my mental quality has been trained. I seem to be able to accept whether I pass or fail this time.

Wei Guangde's self-deprecating words caused a burst of laughter from Lao Kan, Zhu Shilong and others.

Of course they know Wei Guangde's level, but as Wei Guangde said, luck came, and he was finally appointed by the emperor as a passerby. Who can explain this? It is said that he is a third-level person, and it is impossible for him to get into the second-level. One goes.

There was also the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing. This year, the Hanlin Academy had no intention of selecting concubines, and it was also forced into it by Emperor Jiajing.

"It depends on the time, it's time for the results to come out."

Lao Kan looked at the dim light outside and made some mental calculations.

"It's yours, so you can't run away."

Wei Guangde just said with a playful smile.

Days like this only happen once every three years. Now that he is with everyone, Wei Guangde misses those days very much, waiting with anxiety and hope.

"We won two of them last time?"

Hukou Zhangdao suddenly asked.

Wei Guangde did not answer. He pointed at Ouyang Yijing next to him and said, "Ask him."

Ouyang Yijing was one of the people who was lucky enough to pass the exam last year, so he naturally had the most say when asked about their subjects.

Nodding, Ouyang Yijing said with a smile: "There are two of them. Fortunately, we have entrusted the charity to let them be blessed. Before them, we in Jiujiang Prefecture had no one on the list in several subjects."

"Don't be nervous, learn from Mr. Zhu, look how calm he is."

Wei Guangde saw Zhang Dao getting a little nervous and hurriedly smiled and comforted him.

Not long after, there started to be noisy outside, and there was the sound of playing and drumming. Wei Guangde and the others knew that someone had already announced the names of the candidates for the current examination from the Gongyuan and began to deliver good news.

This is the second time Wei Guangde has participated in such an event. He was a little nervous the last time, but now he is completely calm.

After a burst of noise in the street outside, no one knows how many teams passed by to announce the good news. Just as disappointment gradually rose in everyone's hearts, a team of people finally entered the Jiujiang Guild Hall. This also represented the Jiujiang Prefecture's participation in the meeting. Some of the candidates who took the exam passed the general exam.

"In the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, the Renxu Science Examination has been successful. Congratulations to Mr. Duan Mengxian of Hukou County, Jiujiang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province for being ranked No. 211 on the first-class list. The Beijing News has been listed as the first-class scholar."

Two hundred and eleven, a fate for the top three, but the position is still very high among the top three.

Wei Guangde and others hurriedly stood up and congratulated Duan Mengxian, followed by the candidates like him, and finally the businessmen from Jiujiang Prefecture in the corner of the hall.

Although they are rich and powerful, they are still the lowest-ranking people here.

Wei Guangde was familiar with them, and he only went over and said a few words at the beginning. This was because they were as old as his father, otherwise he would really ignore them.

After Duan Mengxian wanted to give the good news, no one entered the Jiujiang Guild Hall again.

The eyes of candidates such as Zhu Shilong, Lao Pi, Zhang Dao and others were filled with despair at this time. Duan Mengxian, who received the good news, did not look as high-spirited as before and sat there quietly.

"Okay, if you don't pass the gold test, you'll have to wait for the next one. Everyone is still young. Come on, let us drink from this cup. We will definitely pass the next test."

At this time, Wei Guangde had already stood up, picked up the wine glass in front of him and raised it to the people at several tables and said.

The results of the general examination have come out. Although I am a little disappointed, it is better than nothing. Finally, someone is on the list and everyone is not allowed to sit here all night.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the other people in Beijing, but for the candidates taking the exam, they could only pretend to smile at this time, raise their glasses to greet Wei Guangde, and then drink the wine in one gulp.

In the 41st year of Jiajing, on the 2nd day of the 2nd month, the Ministry of Rites held the joint examination, and Wang Xijue and three hundred other candidates passed the examination.

The joint examination was over, but Duan Mengxian still had to prepare for the palace examination. Wei Guangde and the others returned home to rest at dawn. He had asked for leave today, so he didn't have to work at Prince Yu's mansion.

He came back early, and went straight into the backyard after entering the house. He had a good sleep under the service of Xu Jianglan. After all, he had stayed up all night, so he was really sleepy at this moment.

Perhaps, only Duan Mengxian and other candidates on the list would be so excited that they had no sleep at this moment. They should have already set off to the Imperial Academy to wait for the announcement of the results. Wei Guangde came here in the past.

In the afternoon, Wei Guangde woke up from his dream, got up, washed, and took a nice bath. Only then did he feel comfortable all over.

"Master, there is a letter from Nanjing."

While Wei Guangde was eating, Xu Jianglan came in with an unopened letter in her hand.

Wei Guangde was eating with chopsticks in his right hand and a steamed bun in his left hand. He glanced at the letter and said, "It's from home, why didn't you open it to see what it's about."

"Since you said you had to open the letter yourself, I was too lazy to read it."

Xu Jianglan put the letter on the table and sat on an empty seat beside her, watching Wei Guangde eat voraciously.

It was rare to see Wei Guangde eating at home during the day, after all, he was in Prince Yu's mansion most of the time.

Wei Guangde just looked up and smiled at her, ate the steamed bun in his hand in two or three bites, and then picked up the envelope on the table. He had a premonition that this letter might be related to the news he sent back last time.

The maid next to him began to clean up the dishes under Xu Jianglan's instructions, and Wei Guangde took the letter directly to the study.

After opening it and seeing the contents of the letter clearly, Wei Guangde was secretly surprised.

Nanjing actually wants to transfer 100,000 taels of silver to the capital as activity funds, but the money is placed in a business in the capital, and Wei Guangde can go directly to get it when he needs it.

The letter also directly points out the people he wants to visit, including two cabinet elders and the senior officials of the Ministry of War.

Touching his already hairy chin, Wei Guangde wondered where to use so much silver.

Whether it is Xu Jie or Yuan Wei, sending 3,000 to 5,000 taels of silver is the most, as for the Ministry of War, 1,000 to 2,000 taels is enough. I really don’t understand what my father-in-law is thinking, and he actually brought so much silver to the capital.

It seems that the trade route they operate is really profitable.

As for the business of selling private salt along the Yangtze River, it actually developed gradually during the Japanese invasion a few years ago.

The private salt snatched back from the Japanese pirates was directly pulled out by Zhang Fugui to sell, thus initially establishing a sales network.

After that, merchants kept asking if they could still get private salt, which led to Nanjing's contact with Yan Maoqing, the prime minister of salt administration, to directly sell the surplus salt from the four major salt fields for profit.

Ordinary people can't do such business, of course. In the past, those who could do surplus salt business were either big salt merchants who were willing to spend a lot of money to make arrangements, but the salt permits they could get were limited after all, and most of them sold private salt directly.

After all, the silver for buying salt permits had to be paid to the capital, and private salt sales in private did not need to be recorded at all, and the silver could be divided after passing through.

As for whether there is a market for so much salt, it can only be said that the government is so fucked up.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, a census was conducted throughout the country. Zhu Yuanzhang personally took charge of this matter. On this basis, he compiled the "Yellow Book of Taxes and Services", which registered household registration based on households, including the names, genders, ages, occupations, addresses, population, land, real estate and household levels of family members.

This operation was supervised by the emperor, and a large number of supervisory censors were sent to participate in and supervise the census, so the data was very authentic. The census population at that time was close to 60 million.

Because the cover of the book sent to the Ministry of Households was made of yellow paper, it was called the Yellow Book.

According to regulations, the Yellow Book is made every ten years, and each book is in quadruplicate, and is reported to the central Ministry of Households and the provincial, prefectural, and county household offices for archiving.

However, according to the information Wei Guangde could find, the Ming Dynasty seemed to have the largest population in the first year of Yongle, and the Yellow Book recorded a population of 11 million households and more than 66 million people.

The world has been peaceful for a hundred years. The latest Yellow Book ten years ago clearly showed that the population of the Ming Dynasty was more than 63 million, which was actually three million less than the Yongle period.

Because the population of the Ming Dynasty has not changed much in more than a hundred years, the salt production of major salt fields is naturally fixed, and the salt price is stabilized by controlling the salt.

When Wei Guangde was still in Bengshanbao, he knew that there were hidden households in his hometown. They had no property or jobs and were not recorded in the Yellow Book. Such a phenomenon was not limited to his family, but was the case in all provinces across the country.

No one knew how many people the Ming Dynasty had at that time, but the official Yellow Book always showed more than 60 million people.

In the future, when the Qing Dynasty entered the pass to seize the world, it took over the Yellow Book managed by the Ministry of Households of the Ming Dynasty. Someone actually found the Yellow Book of Taxes and Services in the 24th Year of Chongzhen from this pile of the most important documents of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the names of people and households in the Yellow Book during the Chongzhen period, they were exactly the same as those during the Hongwu period, which was not surprising.

The hidden population naturally had a huge demand for salt, which was why private salt was so popular, and official salt was not enough to sell.

As for the salt tax of the Ming Dynasty, which was only more than one million taels of silver a year, naturally no one had any objections. Of course, the salt tax had to be linked to the population. Without the population, how could the salt tax increase?

At first, Wei Guangde listened to Zhang Fugui and thought that he could earn tens of thousands of taels of silver by running salt once. However, the demand was limited every year, and he could only run a few times. Therefore, after he passed the imperial examination and entered the Hanlin Academy, he did not think about the salt administration.

It seems that the family can only earn a dividend of tens of thousands of taels of silver from this business every year. This is already a huge fortune, which was unimaginable in the past.

But this time, the generosity of his father-in-law Xu Pengju really shocked Wei Guangde. Can they take out so much silver just to keep the golden waterway?

The letter clearly stated that he should first send a few thousand taels of silver to Xu Jie and Yuan Wei to test their tone. After all, he was going to talk to Yan Song, who had invaded the court and the country. If he did not give enough silver, they might not be willing to buy it. But this was too much.

After a little calculation, Wei Guangde roughly set the price. Xu Jie would give 3,000 taels of silver, and Yuan Wei would give 2,000 taels of silver first, and let the people of the business exchange them for bills and go to get them themselves.

However, no matter what reason was used, Wei Guangde felt annoyed.

Nanjing's idea was good, but the Ministry of War had not yet issued an official document to Nanjing, and it seemed that it was a little early.

However, it was no wonder that Xu Pengju was so nervous. After all, it was a long way from the capital, and he was afraid that if the emperor was tempted by Yan Song, he would make a dictatorship and not give them a chance to speak.

The matter was a bit difficult to handle, and it was not easy to send the silver. Wei Guangde was still thinking about it, and a few days passed quietly.

"Lord Yin, Lord Wei, this is the decree that just came out from Xiyuan."

Just when Wei Guangde was reading in Prince Yu's Mansion, a eunuch panted and sent in a note.

Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhe both put down their books. Wei Guangde was a little closer to the eunuch, so he reached out and took the note and looked at it.

It's no big deal, the palace examination is the same every year.

The content of the note is very simple, Emperor Jiajing sent a reader for this year's palace examination.

"It's the order of the reader."

Wei Guangde said nonchalantly, and handed the note in his hand to Yin Shizeng, but before Yin Shizeng took it, Wei Guangde suddenly became alert.

"Not right."

As he spoke, Wei Guangde had already taken back the note he handed out and looked at it carefully again.

Wei Guangde's startled look aroused Yin Shizeng's curiosity, "What's wrong?"

Before Wei Guangde handed out another note, he stood up and walked to Wei Guangde, his eyes fell on the note.

"No Lord Yan."

Yin Shizeng was startled when he heard Wei Guangde's words, and then looked at the note and looked at it carefully.

"Order Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, Minister of Personnel, Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace Xu Jie, Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince, Minister of Revenue, Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace Yuan Wei, Junior Guardian and Grand Guardian of the Crown Prince, Minister of War Yang Bo, Guo Pu, Gao Yao, Cai Yuncheng, Lei Li, Pan En, Dong Fen, Gao Gong, Wan Cai, and Pei Yu to read the papers."