I want to be emperor

Chapter 832 Sun Xu Breaks into Songjiang ([-])

In the wilderness of the south of the Yangtze River, a steam train, braving a faint white mist, made a bang bang bang bang sound and kept moving towards the east.

The morning winter sun splashed on the dark train, exuding the original industrial color.

On this passenger train with more than ten large and long carriages, many passengers from different places rushed to their respective destinations with different thoughts.

Sun Xu is also one of the many tourists!
At this time, he was sitting in a carriage in front of the train. There was a faint smell of soot in the carriage, and black soot was still stained in the gaps in the windows.

This is the passenger car closest to the locomotive in the whole train. It is noisy and dusty, but it is also the cheapest car!
For a coal-burning steam train, the closer you get to the locomotive, the worse the ride experience. Therefore, the few carriages in front of the train are generally the cheapest third-class tickets.

After that, there are second-class seat tickets, first-class seat tickets, and the last few cars of the train will be first-class sleepers or second-class sleepers.

It's just that the long-distance sleeper on the train is expensive, and it's not something that people like Sun Xu with little money in their pockets can afford.

Sitting on the train that rattled and shook slightly from time to time, Sun Xu looked through the window at the field outside the railway.

The wilderness in the south of the Yangtze River made him a little bit unbelievable, it was already the cold winter.

The winter in his hometown in northern Shaanxi is extremely cold and there is not much green. Sometimes the ground is white after a heavy snowfall.

But in Jiangnan, there are still large green plants in the field outside.

Just from the color of the field outside the window, you can see the huge difference between the two.

And where the railway line passes, cities and villages can be seen from time to time. There are many people here, and there are many houses and buildings, and there are more tall and magnificent buildings.

This also made Sun Xu full of expectation and confidence in his trip to the south of the Yangtze River!
Sun Xu hoped that when he arrived in Songjiang, he could find a good job and earn more money to send back home, so that his parents would not have to work so hard, and his younger brother, who was smart and studious since he was a child, would not have to think about dropping out of school all day I'm working.

My younger brother is so smart, and his academic performance is so good, he shouldn't have dropped out of high school before finishing high school, and he still has to graduate from high school.

As for university, Sun Xu didn't expect his younger brother to be able to go to university. It's not that he couldn't pass the exam, but that the university tuition is too expensive. Although his younger brother is smart and eager to learn, he is not at the point where he can get a full university scholarship...

Even if his younger brother is studying science, there are more scholarships for science.

But...many students from poor families or even middle-class families will choose to study science...because the tuition is cheap and there are more scholarships.

As more people read this, the competition will naturally increase.

As for the liberal arts...don't even count on it.

There are very few liberal arts scholarships. The huge Guozijian University enrolls only four or five liberal arts full scholarship students every year, and only a dozen half scholarships. The rest are self-financed students, 380 Chu yuan a year. It's food and lodging!

At least three or four hundred Chu Yuan tuition fees per year... Not to mention a poor family like Sun Xu, even an ordinary middle-class family supporting a self-funded liberal arts college student would have to go bankrupt...

As far as science is concerned, although the competition is also high, at least there is still some hope.

Sun Xu thought that with his younger brother's grades, it was hopeless to get a scholarship in a four-year university, but there was still hope in those three-year normal schools.

Well, it is not a full scholarship, but a half scholarship with more places.

All the provinces in the Great Chu Empire have three-year normal colleges, and the tuition fees are relatively cheap. Self-financed students cost about a hundred Chu Yuan per year. If you can get a half scholarship, Sun Xu and his father will work hard to make money, plus With previous savings and borrowing some money, you can afford it even if you grit your teeth.

As long as he can get a college degree, his brother's life will be completely different!
Not to mention college, even if he finished high school and got his diploma, his brother's life would be much smoother than his own.

Because a high school degree is enough to enter most companies, and even to take the imperial examination.

In the empire, you need to apply for the imperial examination, general examination and rural examination, and you need a college degree to apply for the examination, but you only need to graduate from high school to apply for the local college examination.

After many years of imperial examination reform in the empire, the imperial examinations of today are completely different from those of the previous dynasty. The current imperial examinations of the Great Chu Empire are divided into three categories.

The general examination, a four-year undergraduate degree, students under the age of 35 from all over the country can participate. After winning the examination, they are usually directly assigned to various ministries in Gyeonggi Province. For example, the famous Hanlin Academy selects a few candidates from the general examination every year.

The general examination is aimed at cultivating senior officials. Those who pass the exam will start high, get promoted quickly, and have high ceilings.

Township examinations, students from the province who graduated from a three-year college or a four-year undergraduate program can apply for the exam under the age of 35. They are generally assigned to work in provincial government offices and some are assigned to local government offices. The probability of being promoted to middle-level and high-level officials is relatively high. big.

College examinations, graduates from high school or three-year vocational colleges, students under the age of 35 can apply for the exams, and are generally assigned to serve in grassroots yamen in counties and towns after being passed the exam. , except for those with outstanding grades, other people will not be able to pass the threshold of the seventh rank in their entire lives.

The courtyard test was originally used to recruit ordinary staff in the Great Chu Empire...

But even if he is an ordinary staff member of the ninth or eighth rank, such a person belongs to the serious middle class in the society of the Great Chu Empire.

The income is not very high, but it is definitely much better than ordinary wages. There are various benefits and benefits, the work is easy and decent, the social status is high, and there are various legal holidays and so on.

And even if the grade is low, he is still an official, and he eats the emperor's food seriously. As long as he doesn't make a big mistake, or break the law or discipline, he can't lose his job...

Of course, if you go too far, or offend others, you may be transferred to the unpopular Qingshui Yamen, or the extremely hard-working Yamen, forcing you to take the initiative to become an official.

After all, officials have not signed a labor contract with the state...they don't have the right to choose their own jobs, you have to do whatever your boss sends you to do, and if you don't want to do it, you can resign and leave...

Just like the many officials sent by the empire to serve overseas every year, these officials are not happy to go overseas, but the superiors let you go, what can you do, unless you resign.

In the contemporary Great Chu Empire, it is still the dream of most young people to become an official through the imperial examination, even if it is just a small staff member.

And reading can change destiny, which is completely feasible and exists on a large scale in the contemporary Great Chu Empire.

After all, the empire has only been in existence for more than 30 years, and the class is far from being solidified. At the same time, it is still in the period of the industrial revolution with great changes in social development... For ordinary people, but poor children, as long as you work hard and have a certain talent, There are still opportunities to get ahead.

For example, in the two major military officer schools in the Great Chu Empire, most of the students in them are actually from ordinary families, and some of them are even poor children.

Quite a few of them are ordinary children who came to school with a full free scholarship all the way.

And the military academy of the empire does not require tuition fees, and even enrolls in active duty soldiers, and directly pays wages.

This is also the reason why in the Great Chu Empire, countless ordinary and outstanding children dream of applying for the two major military academies...

As for the non-excellent students... don't dream about it, the two major military academies are comparable to any university, even Guozijian University is difficult to pass.

Sun Xu couldn't do it himself, he came out to work as an apprentice without even graduating from junior high school, but his younger brother had hope.

Whether his old grandson's family can turn around and become a decent family depends on his younger brother.

However, even if you want to study in a three-year junior college, even if the science tuition is lower, even if you can get a half scholarship, the tuition expenses will cost tens of Chu Yuan a year, plus the cost of food. It is still a huge expense for the Sun family.

Sun Xu's father is a shoemaker. He makes very good leather shoes and is well-known in the local area. His income is actually not small. It is much more than ordinary part-time jobs. But in the past few years, in order to support their brothers to study, Still cash-strapped.

Later, Sun Xu went to work instead of studying, and became an apprentice in a small local machinery factory, learning to repair all kinds of textile machinery, but apprentices didn't have much salary, only pocket money.

After Sun Xu's younger brother entered high school this year, the pressure on the family became even greater.

His younger brother is also sensible. He has mentioned several times this year that he will not be able to go to school. It is also possible to start working as soon as possible, and find an ordinary clerical job with a junior high school diploma.

But every time he mentioned it, he was rejected by his grandfather. A month ago, he even got angry because of this matter, saying that he had suffered all his life and dared not eat or wear it. Why?
Isn't it for the sake of letting our old grandson's family produce a college student and lead a decent life in the future.

He said that if his younger brother dared to drop out of school, his legs would be broken, and the relationship between father and son would be severed.

In the end, his younger brother packed up his things and went back to school with tears streaming down his face!
Sun Xu thought for a long time, and finally went to his younger brother's school to talk to his younger brother, so that he could study with peace of mind. As for the tuition fee, he and his father will settle it, so he doesn't have to worry.

After chatting with his younger brother, Sun Xu resigned from his original job in the small factory, packed his luggage and got on the train!

He is going to Songjiang to find a job with higher wages.

He worked as an apprentice in a small machinery factory in his hometown for several years, and he worked hard and studied hard. He has already graduated from a teacher, but even if he graduated, the small machinery factory he worked in could not give him a job with a high salary.

After all, a small factory in a small place is small in scale and doesn’t make much money. Even if it makes money, the boss will not be so generous to give you a salary of a new mechanical repairman who has just graduated from the school. Basically, it is based on the local average salary. The standard payment is only three yuan and eight anise per month.

Although the money was much higher than that of ordinary workers, it was still not enough for Sun Xu!
The family has to live, and the daily expenses are not small. In addition, the younger brother is studying, even though the younger brother is now receiving part of the scholarship, the high school tuition, board and lodging expenses are still a lot.

Not to mention having to save money for my younger brother's college tuition!
Usually, he is not even willing to eat meat, and he is only willing to buy meat back during the holidays.

Looking at his father, who was only in his forties, but with graying hair and a vicissitudes of face, Sun Xu finally decided to go out to Songjiang to find a job.

He had a letter from Faxiao who went to work in Songjiang the year before last, and he kept in touch with him. In the letter, Faxiao said that the salary level in Songjiang is very high, and even ordinary unskilled workers can get a job in a month. Three or four Chu Yuan.

Skilled jobs like Sun Xu have higher wages!

Moreover, there are many machinery factories of all kinds, and these factories also have a large demand for technicians. When publishing novels, you can often see inspirations posted by machinery factories to recruit mechanics, and some salaries can reach more than ten Chu yuan.

Fa Xiao has persuaded him to come to Songjiang more than once, saying that he can have a future in his hometown. What you learn is to repair machinery. There is only a small machinery factory in your hometown. nothing……

Sun Xu also knew that in order to persuade him to go to Songjiang, Fa Xiao's words might be exaggerated. You can't believe the words of a mechanic who has more than ten Chu Yuan... You don't need to think about it to know that these must be those skilled and experienced mechanical repairers the price that can be had,
It is basically impossible for a repairman who has studied for several years and has only been working independently for a year to get this salary.

It's impossible even in Songjiang!
But... Fa Xiao's saying is true, Songjiang has more opportunities and great prospects, and the salary must be higher than that of his hometown.

Therefore, he still sent a letter back to Fa Xiao, saying that he would go to Songjiang to find a job in the near future.

Fa Xiao soon wrote a letter, saying to let him come as soon as possible, don't worry, he will live with him first when he comes, and move out when he finds a job.

Under such circumstances, Sun Xu bid farewell to his family and embarked on the train to Songjiang alone.

In order to save money, he still bought the cheapest third-class ticket... The taste of this third-class ticket is not pleasant.

Couldn't even lie down and sleep.

This is good or bad, the train has finally entered Jiangnan Province.

After another day, Sun Xu's train finally arrived at Songjiang North Station.

Carrying his own package, Sun Xu got out of the car following the flow of people and looked at the gray sky ahead. Although his body seemed extremely tired from the long-time ride, he was extremely excited mentally!

Matsue, here I come!

As the flow of people getting off the train continued from the platform, after entering the train station, he found that the train station was really big, and there were a lot of people!

When he got on the train in his hometown, the train station in his hometown was quite small, and there were not many passengers.

I also passed many large railway stations on the way, but I have never seen such a large railway station. Even the Jingshi Jiangpu Station that I passed by before was not so large!
The flow of people is not as large as Songjiang Shanghai North Railway Station!
In the contemporary Great Chu Empire, Songjiang North Railway Station is the largest and most crowded railway station in the country.

What supports this is that it is the city with the most developed economy, the most industry and commerce, and the most densely populated city in the Great Chu Empire: Songjiang!

Today's Songjiang has a resident population of more than 300 million, which is quite a scary number!

Moreover, with a population of more than 300 million, the primary industry population in rural areas accounts for a very small proportion, and most of them are urban population, relying on the secondary and tertiary industry population for their livelihood.

It has the densest population in the Great Chu Empire, as well as the densest and most complete variety of factories.

Basically, you can basically find anything on the market in Songjiang, whether it is various industrial products or various novelties from overseas, you can basically find it.

As a comparison, Jinling City, the capital of the Great Chu Empire, now has a population of just over 80... not even a million.

This is because Jinling City is not an industrial city in the high-level urban layout of the Great Chu Empire. Except for a Jinling Arsenal, there are no large factories.

Jinling City was positioned as a political and cultural center in the Great Chu Empire, not an economic center, let alone an industrial center.

Because there are few factories and the overall population is relatively scattered, this is also the city with the best environment and the most suitable place to live among the large cities in China.

Other big cities, such as Songjiang...the city center is really not suitable for human survival, because the air pollution caused by a large amount of industrial coal and a large amount of residential coal burning makes the sky in the center of Songjiang from year to year The tail is so gray that you can't even see a few stars at night.

In addition, in order to maintain the living needs of millions of people and the operation of a large number of enterprises, there are a large number of horses in Songjiang City, which pull countless carriages around the corners of the city every day.

And horse excrement can be a lot, horse manure is fine, it can be collected and processed, but horse urine is not easy to deal with, because horse urine can evaporate naturally... This is a little bit okay, but hundreds of thousands of horses do this every day Urinating, and the stench of horse urine radiating into the air... that would be scary.

So much so that in addition to the smell of charred coal in the air of big cities these days, there is also a strong stench of horse urine that cannot be dispelled!

How many horses are there in Songjiang Mansion?

It's hard to say the exact number, but hundreds of thousands of horses are definitely indispensable... And these horses often don't live long because of heavy labor, which means that Songjiang Prefecture has to clean up a large number of horse carcasses every year!

Songjiang City in the 35th year of Chengshun is a city surrounded by the smell of coal char, coal dust, horse dung, horse urine, and horse corpses... Not only Songjiang City is like this, but in fact, other densely populated industrial cities are basically the same.

This is the inevitable result of the rapid development of modern industry and the high population density, but the lack of progress in heating and cooking methods, production methods and short-distance transportation methods.

When you use a large amount of coal as a driving force for production and transportation, and as a heating dye for cooking, you have to endure the smell of coal burnt and coal dust in the air...

When you use a large number of horses as the main driving force for short-distance transportation, you have to endure horse manure, horse urine, and horse corpses.

Why is Luo Zhixue unwilling to develop industries in Jinling City, and to disperse the population density... It's because he doesn't want to live in the smell of charred coal and horse urine.

If we want to change all this, it can only be technological progress, such as using automobiles as transportation power, and using gas and natural gas as cooking and heating dyes.

As for the current Great Chu Empire, it is natural that these technical requirements cannot be met. Therefore, the environment of the big cities of the Great Chu Empire these days is basically not good, especially Songjiang City!
Some people even pessimistically believe that if Songjiang City continues like this, it may be completely covered by horse manure in another 50 years... and the thickness of horse manure must be at least two meters thick...

It's just that Sun Xu didn't have deep feelings for a while, and now he is only shocked by the splendor and prosperity of Songjiang City!
(End of this chapter)