1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 984
Compared with the students in the elementary class and the ultimate class, the academy actually doesn't have much knowledge to impart to the already famous scholars in the advanced class.Letting this group of people live in the academy, on the one hand, is to show the teaching achievements of the academy, and on the other hand, some teaching work can also be entrusted to them to offset their expenses in the academy.Of course, the most fundamental reason is the choices made by these people themselves.

For these scholars in the advanced class, it feels a bit uneconomical to give up the fame obtained through years of hard study and go to Haihan to start all over again.After all, their fame is not worth much in the eyes of Haihan people, and most of them have to start from the lowest level of clerks.But if he can get good grades in the next provincial or general examination, he will be transformed into a phoenix immediately, and there will be more ways to choose. At least he will not be reduced to relying on selling calligraphy on the street as a means of earning a living.

Everything is inferior, only reading is high.These two sentences have always been regarded as the golden rule by scholars in the past dynasties, but since the Tang Dynasty opened a course to obtain scholars, only after passing the "Jinshi" examination can one be an official.The admission rate of Jinshi has always been very low. Only a very small number of scholars in the world can obtain this honor, and most of them will not be able to get into the system through this single-plank bridge throughout their lives.

This kind of fierce competition is of course the cruel reality that every scholar must face when choosing the path of imperial examinations. Therefore, apart from the ultimate goal of becoming a Jinshi and becoming an official, most scholars actually have more realistic plans. , For example, after obtaining the fame and fame within one's ability, you change careers to engage in other occupations.

A relatively decent job with guaranteed income is probably to be a mentor to an incumbent official.Officials from Kejia studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and could only write stereotyped essays, and some officials who got into official careers with money and donations could not even write stereotyped essays. These rookie officials were required to handle grain collection and taxation after taking office Most of the practical affairs such as reviewing people and handling cases, welcoming and sending them, submitting drafts, and issuing notices can only be done blindly.Therefore, it is necessary to find some educated and practical assistants to assist them in handling political affairs.

If you are just a bookworm and do not have certain social experience, it will be difficult to get the favor of officials. After all, the position of master is not part of the orthodox establishment of the yamen, and the salary is paid by the employer officials themselves rather than public funds. It is not true. This is definitely not possible.There is no age limit for the imperial examination, so you can still continue to take the imperial examination after becoming a master.It is indeed an excellent way out for scholars to be able to take further studies and wait for the next exam opportunity while holding a generous salary.

Of course, if one has an officially recognized fame, then the starting point for being a master will definitely be higher.Officials in prefectures and counties generally hire talents with practical experience, while officials above the provincial roads and platforms hire masters who are basically Juren, and these senior masters will also more or less control part of the real power of the government, and their status and status are by no means Ordinary readers are comparable.Moreover, there have been examples in history of jumping from the status of a master to an important minister of a country. For example, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty were both humerus ministers who were born as masters.

But having said that, the number of officials is also limited, so not everyone can eat the bowl of rice master, and there is also competition in this industry. Officials are not much higher.So most people end up having to find another way out.

For example, scholars with good writing skills can write official documents professionally. Li Yong, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote more than [-] official documents in his life. ” Similar to this kind of official document masters, as well as He Zhizhang, Song Zhiwen, Luo Binwang and others, relying on this special ability, can also live comfortably.

In addition, there are also literati who failed to follow the precedent of the sages, opened their own academies or tutored the powerful, and made a fortune relying on the education industry.For example, the position of the head of the mountain in Bailu Academy has always been qualified to take over only after a person has made a name for himself.And the founders of the large and small double-digit academies in Danzhou are almost all literati who have failed in the past dynasties.Those who feel that running an academy is troublesome and want to be lazy can find a rich family to be their tutor. They only need to manage a few students, and they can still live well.

Of course, there is another type of people who choose a more direct way of making a living, that is, doing business in the sea.Literati who take this path generally have a well-to-do family background, and it is indeed not something that ordinary people can follow.For example, Shen Wansan in the Ming Dynasty and Wu Bingjian in the Qing Dynasty chose to follow their parents to do business after failing the imperial examination, and then became the business tycoon at that time.

However, the above examples are difficult for local scholars in Danzhou to realize. The main reason is that the ruling power of Danzhou no longer belongs to Ming Dynasty.The Ming officials on the entire Hainan Island either chose to join Haihan, or they were in a state of unemployment. There was no market demand for the profession of master, and naturally there was no way to talk about employment opportunities.As for the writing of official documents, even the yamen has stopped operating, so there is no official document to be written. All the official documents reported in the past two years have been handled by the special department of Haihan, and the folk literati are even doing odd jobs. There is no chance.

As for the way of doing business in Haihan, Haihan welcomes it very much. In the past two years, there have indeed been some wealthy and flexible scholars who have seized business opportunities and become distribution agents or plantation farmers who cooperate with Haihan.But this method is not suitable for everyone. After all, most scholars in this era still insist that merchants are relatively humble occupations, and they are unwilling to let go of their dignity as literati.And those who have such a plan may not have the corresponding ability and starting capital, and may not even be able to cross the threshold of entry.

If none of the above roads work, or if you don’t want to go, and you don’t want to put down your body to work for Haihan, then you can only stay here for a while, anyway, relying on the income of being a substitute teacher for the academy, at least one Three meals a day can still pass.Fan Changyi didn't really want to arrange for Ning Qi to visit the advanced class, but he changed his mind later - if the Haihan people took a fancy to someone during this period, it would be very good for the reputation of White Deer Academy.

This is not impossible. After all, scholars who can obtain fame in the imperial examinations are not too poor in cultural quality, and everyone here can only stay in the academy to continue studying the subset of classics and history after Fan Changyi approves.Fan Changyi thinks that although these people still want to obtain the fame of Daming, it does not mean that they are loyal to Daming, otherwise how could they willingly stay and live in the "enemy-occupied area", they should have moved out of here long ago.The greater possibility is that these people hold the mentality of waiting for a price, hoping to get a better offer by virtue of their status as scholars or candidates.

Judging from Ning Qi's previous attitude, Fan Changyi feels that this high-ranking Haihan official is still very interested in the students of Bailu Academy, and those in the advanced class can be regarded as elites in the academy, and they often study Haihan on weekdays. If Ning Qi asked them questions like before, these people's answers would be more organized.

Ning Qi also learned about the situation of this senior class when he came, and he went straight to the topic when he arrived in class: "Everyone here is a cultural person who has been to the provincial capital and even the capital, and has seen the world, so I will not present any official lords in front of you. shelf."

Everyone in the hall laughed a few times appreciatively, and felt that the attitude of this big man was quite approachable, at least much better than those Ti Xueguans who used to look at people with their nostrils.

Ning Qi continued: "I have visited the elementary and intermediate classes of the academy before, and I have also communicated with the students, and I have a general understanding of the educational methods of the academy. I don't want to randomly check everyone's understanding of Haihan. The familiarity of the textbooks has increased. Since the Four Books and Five Classics can be memorized backwards, the new textbooks that are only a few dozen pages will definitely not trouble you. I want to hear what you think of the current Haihan, good or bad. You can talk about it. You don’t have to worry about being punished because of this, we Haihan don’t talk about literary prisons, as long as you tell the truth and make sense, you still have a chance to be rewarded.”

Ning Qi's idea is to use today's opportunity to understand the real thoughts in the minds of folk intellectuals, especially those who have not yet chosen to work for Hai Han.However, he also knew that he had a high position and authority, and the people below might not dare to tell the truth to his face, so he emphasized it.

The literary inquisition of the Ming Dynasty was no weaker than that of other dynasties. Because of his background, Ming Taizu was particularly sensitive to words such as monk, thief, robber, and bandit, and he would not let go of connected fake characters or homophones.Words such as "ze" and "thief", "sheng" and "monk", and "dao" and "robber" are also forcibly regarded as disrespectful.During the reign of Ming Taizu, there were as many as several people who were sentenced to beheaded for this reason.And the unlucky ghosts who were executed because of the literary inquisition include Hanlin editors, censors, magistrates and other high-ranking court officials.

The succeeding Ming Chengzu Zhu Di also completely inherited Zhu Yuanzhang's literary prison tyranny. After killing Fang Xiaoru, he also ordered that "those who hide Fang Xiaoru's poems and essays will be guilty of death." Many people lost their lives because of this.In the later Wuzong and Shizong, there were also similar atrocities of literary prisons. Although in the late Ming Dynasty, because of the chaos in the world, the emperor didn't have the heart to think about these things, but the cautious words and deeds of the folk literati have become a reality. I have gotten used to it, and always remember not to discuss government affairs indiscriminately.

After Ning Qi finished speaking, the audience was instantly stunned, and the reaction was even far inferior to the two classes he had seen before.These scholars have been to big cities and seen the big world, and at the same time they know better what to do and what to say. The long-term habit makes them have no sense of trust in Ning Qi's comfort, and naturally they will not immediately accept it. Respond to the topic he initiated.

Seeing this, Fan Changyi was a little anxious. He knew that this high-ranking Haihan official was really talkative. If he missed this opportunity, these poor scholars might not have such a good opportunity to perform well in the future, so he hurriedly said: "Mr. Ning However, the big figures in charge of culture and education in the Haihan Executive Committee, you can meet Chief Ning, it is a blessing from several lifetimes, so don't cherish it!"

After Fan Changyi's scolding, finally a bold person raised his hand.After Ning Qi nodded, the man stood up and gave a deep bow, and then said: "Student Pan Mo, dare to ask a few questions. If there is anything inappropriate, I will also look to Chief Haihan."

Ning Qi said: "You can speak freely, don't have any scruples."

Then Pan Mo made another bow, and then said in a deep voice: "The student is from Mutang Town, Danzhou. He passed the provincial examination in the fifth year of Chongzhen. At that time, Haihan sponsored most of the expenses for going to Guangzhou to take the examination. The student has been Very grateful."

Ning Qi responded slightly: "Our Haihan has always attached great importance to culture and education. Of course, for the imperial examination held every three years, the local candidates must be able to rush to the examination room in the best condition to take the exam."

Pan Mo said: "Students just don't understand here. Since Haihan intends to recruit scholars, why send me and other scholars to take the exam? It must be known that the higher the fame in Ming Dynasty, the lower the possibility of serving Haihan Yes. Chief Ning, can you explain the reason?"

Ning Qi responded: "Before answering your question, I would also like to ask you to answer a few questions for me first. Pan Mo, you should be in your twenties, so you must have participated in the Qiu Wei more than once?"

Pan Mo replied: "The student was selected as a scholar. After that, he took part in Qiuwei three times, but his qualifications were stupid, and he won the Juren after the third time he went to the exam."

Ning Qi said: "Then let me ask you, what has changed in the number of people going from Danzhou to Guangzhou for the three exams?"

Pan Mo said: "In the sixth year of Tianqi's provincial examination, there were about a hundred people in Danzhou taking the exam. In the second year of Chongzhen, the students remembered that there were about 80 to [-] people. However, this time in the fifth year of Chongzhen, there were only a few thirty in Danzhou. People go to the exam."

Ning Qi asked: "Then do you know why the number of students going to Guangzhou to take the exam is less and less every time even though the traffic conditions have become more convenient in recent years?"

Pan Mo thought for a while before answering: "Students think that it may have something to do with Haihan's arrival. Before Haihan arrived in Danzhou, he hired literati to work in Sanya at a high price, which attracted many scholars who failed the rankings to abandon their studies and join Haihan. . Later, after taking over the local area, more people chose Haihan instead of Daming as their service object."

"You're right." Ning Qi took over the conversation and said, "On one side is the single-plank bridge with little hope, and on the other side is the generous treatment within reach. I think most people will choose the latter out of practical considerations. Going to the exam The number of people is decreasing year by year, which shows that the conditions we offer are enough to meet the needs of most people and make them give up seeking a way out from Daming. But no matter how good the conditions we offer, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, and we I don’t intend to force all scholars to work for us. To provide a little help to scholars who are willing to continue taking the imperial examination, maybe some of them will really develop into imperial officials in the future. This is also a good relationship.”

(End of this chapter)