I studied in modern times

Chapter 977: Commoners and Imperial Clan

When Zhao Xu was inspecting Jinming Lake.

In a foot inn next to a stacking yard in the city of Bianjing, twenty or so idle men were sitting at several tables, drinking wine, roasting over charcoal fires, and eating roasted meat made from various pork and mutton offal.

After swallowing two ounces of horse urine, these idle men, who had no work to do because the Bian River was frozen and could only live on the thirty cents a day they received from the government, naturally began to engage in keyboard politics.

"Have you heard? The government is going to give clothes to those tribute students!"

"Not only clothes, but also books! It is said that even pens, ink, paper and inkstone will be given by the court in the future!"

"The government is so generous..."

"is not that right?"

The idle men were talking about it, their eyes full of envy.

Someone secretly did the math in his mind and found that the clothes, books, pens, ink, paper and inkstone would cost at least five strings of cash.

Five strings of cash!
These idle guys work so hard carrying bags in the stacking yard. Even if they carry bags every day, it will probably take them three to five months to save up so many copper coins!
But those tribute students only need to go to the imperial examination hall to get it!
The current emperor is truly benevolent and wise!
Just as these idle men were sighing, a dark and strong man appeared beside them.

The man first coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention, and then he sighed: "It's a pity that those useless kids in my family have no talent for studying!"

As he said this, he felt very regretful: "Otherwise, I would work like a slave to support them to study!"

"Even if it's just entering the Imperial Examination Hall once and receiving a reward from the Heavenly Family, it's enough!"

This dark and strong man is a regular customer of this foot shop.

His surname was Han, and because he was the fifth child in the family, his name was changed to Han Wu.

Han Wu is considered a well-known figure in this area.

This was probably because his eldest brother passed the civil service examination of Kaifeng Prefecture last year and now worked as a clerk in the Street Office.

Thanks to Brother Nai, this dark and strong man also followed suit and covered himself up.

He was hired by Mr. Wang in Zhaoqingfang to be the foreman of the workshop. I heard that he could earn six or seven strings of cash a month!
Originally, such a person should not continue to hang out in the foot shop with these coolies who have no food to eat, drinking tasteless and cheap wine that costs only ten cents per hectoliter.

But Han Wu is a nostalgic person.

After the extravagant life, he did not forget his roots. Instead, he would return to the inn every now and then to drink and eat meat with everyone else, and chat on the keyboard.

Everyone also likes Han Wu.

Because of his generosity, he often treats everyone to drinks and meat.

Therefore, it earned the nickname "timely rain" in this street.

Naturally, the idle guys would support Han Wu's words.

Someone immediately laughed and said, "Wu Lang, am I not the same?"

"If the boys in my family are blessed by their ancestors and the Bodhisattva, and have the talent to study..."

"I would rather be treated like a slave than a cow, than be unable to rest day and night, and I would be willing to do that!"

The others who listened felt the same way.

Bianjing City was the most prosperous commercial city in the Song Dynasty.

The literacy rate of the city's permanent residents is very high.

Even many women who worked as servants and cleaners could read.

This is easy to understand.

As a commercial city, Bianjing City basically required brokers to be used for both hiring and being hired.

The broker has to sign the deed.

The contract itself contained countless traps.

If you sign without knowing how to read, you may be easily cheated.

Therefore, under the pressure of life, most people begin to learn to read passively or actively.

Of course, it’s just recognizing words.

However, those who have enjoyed the benefits of learning to read and write will basically choose to have their children learn and recognize words as well after they have children.

If a person has talent, we will basically sell everything we have to support his or her studies.

However, there is only one person in a hundred who has that kind of talent for studying!

no way!
The road to the Confucian imperial examination is full of thorns and difficulties.

Those who can embark on this path despite being from a humble family are all outstanding people.

There is only one person like this in ten thousand!

So everyone just sighed.

They are very clear about the quality of their children.

Want to achieve fame in the imperial examination?

Unless smoke comes out of your ancestral grave and a Wenquxing descends from your home, it is absolutely impossible!
So everyone hung their heads, looking dejected!
At this moment, Han Wu suddenly stood up and slapped his thigh in an exaggerated manner: "No!"

"Those boys in my family are not good at reading poetry, literature, etiquette and music, nor can they write good articles..."

"But the government nowadays values ​​talent and does not stick to any rules when selecting people!"

"Those guys in my family don't necessarily have to spend their whole lives studying literature!"

"There are still two subjects left to study: Law and Mathematics!"

"It just so happens that my eldest son seems to have some talent for calculations..."

“No…No!”

"I can't let my talent be buried!"

"I have to go home quickly and find a good teacher for my Dalang to teach him well. Maybe one day he will be called out at the Donghua Gate!"

"Even if he can't, he can still take the civil service exam and follow in his uncle's footsteps!"

Having said that, Han Wu walked out in a hurry.

Others looked at Han Wu's anxious figure, and most of them just smiled without any feeling.

After all, their first priority is survival.

It is to support my wife and children.

The imperial examinations, mathematics and law are too far away from them.

But there are also some people whose eyes gleam with a certain brilliance.

Because their family does have one or two children who are talented in arithmetic or criminal law.

This is the special thing about Bianjing City!

As a city with a population of one million, it has a strong business atmosphere and even the embryonic form of capitalism.

Children who grew up in the city of Bianjing were exposed to the strong commercial atmosphere of Bianjing. The stories they heard most often were about someone making a lot of money through a certain industry or something and marrying a county lady, or about brothers fighting over inheritance and becoming enemies.

This is a huge sieve.

It is easy to pick out those who are sensitive to numerology or criminal law.

In the past, the imperial court did not attach much importance to the subjects of law and mathematics.

Therefore, even if there are talents in arithmetic and criminal law among the people, these people will not have the opportunity or possibility to cultivate.

But now, the situation has changed.

The current government has shown more than once how much importance it places on talents in criminal law and mathematics!

As for the imperial examination, it all comes down to one sentence - learn the civil and martial arts, and serve the emperor!

As long as they can sell it and exchange it for official titles and fame, no matter whether they are common people or scholars and nobles, it doesn’t matter what they want to learn.
Think about the Southern Han during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, where one had to castrate oneself if one wanted to become an official!
There was no resistance from the scholars of Southern Han.

On the contrary, there are countless people who castrate themselves for the sake of official positions!
In other words, those with vested interests will be wary of this.

But it's just a warning.

After all, today's imperial examinations are still based on selecting candidates based on their knowledge of classics and determining their merits and demerits based on their policy essays.

Whether they are knowledgeable about law or knowledgeable about classics, they are all mixed up.

Whether in terms of future prospects or social status, the Mingfa and Mingjing Jinshi are not as good as the Zhengming Jinshi.

So, no one cares.

……

Except for the people.

The court's orders and the articles in the Bian Jing Xin Bao and Bian Jing Yi Bao also caused countless ripples among another group.

This group is the royal family!

Guangqin Residence was rebuilt from the residence of the former Prime Minister Wang Qinruo during the Qingli period of Renmiao.

It was built specifically for the imperial court to honor and support the descendants of Zhao Defang, the fourth son of Taizu and the King of Chu.

Therefore, all the clan members living here are descendants of Taizu.

They are the most neglected branch of the royal family in the Song Dynasty.

Not only is this branch of the family very distant from the current imperial lineage in terms of blood relationship, but it is also because Zhao Shiju, a member of the Guangqinzhai clan, once committed treason and is feared by the current royal family. Last year, during a corruption case involving government officials, it was discovered that someone had privately kept a map made by Zhao Shiju.

Then, the clan members in Guangqin's house launched another heavy blow.

Not only did he face challenges himself, but he also started to be deliberately made difficult by the Zongzheng Temple.

It also became more difficult for the clan's sons and daughters to be included in the imperial edict.

At the same time, the treatment of Guangqin’s family was also artificially reduced.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he began to distribute the original rice to all clan relatives, but now it has been changed to a discounted amount.

Moreover, what was distributed were copper coins, not Jiaozi.

As a result, many people have to go to the Jiaozi Office every month to queue up to exchange Jiaozi.

Every time you change it, you have to pay another sum of money to the court.

Although it’s not much, only twenty-five coins per string.

However, this small amount still adds up to a large number.

Of course, clan members can also choose not to exchange Jiaozi.

But copper coins are too heavy and difficult to keep.

Unlike Jiaozi, you can just carry it with you and go away.

Whether buying rice or charcoal, it is very convenient.

Under such circumstances, life for the royal family living in Guangqin's house was naturally not easy.

Those royal family members who are of higher generation and have been promoted to remote counties or even horizontal classes after twenty or thirty years of polishing and polishing may continue to live a carefree life.

If they really can't do it, they can always marry their daughters!
A county lady is worth one thousand strings of cash!

But life was very difficult for the lower-ranking royal family members.

The family was already experiencing a shortage of income, and the whole family was even squeezed into a tiny courtyard. Even filling their stomachs was a luxury for this royal family.

Zhao Lingjue is such a member of the royal family.

As the fifth-generation grandson of King Chu Zhao Defang, Zhao Lingjue is a descendant of Zhao Defang's second son Zhao Weixian.

"Brother...Brother..."

Zhao Lingjue had just received this month's salary from the Zongzheng Temple - only fifteen strings of cash.

Among them, six strings of cash were "snow and cold money" given by minor officials, the empress dowager and the grand empress dowager to the royal family because of the "long cold".

Once the weather clears up, the money will be gone.

Therefore, his actual monthly salary was only nine strings of cash.

However, it was very difficult to support a royal family member's life in Guangqin's house with these nine strings of money.

Not to mention anything else, just the interpersonal relationships alone are enough to make him suffer.

Especially this month, another cousin is getting married, and as a cousin, Zhao Lingjue has to prepare some gifts.

Thinking of this, Zhao Lingjue frowned so much that he could not hear the call from behind.

Fortunately, the person behind him was chasing him.

Finally caught up.

"Brother...Brother...why don't you answer me?"

The visitor was Zhao Lingjue’s cousin Zhao Lingying.

"Shiwulang, what's wrong?" Zhao Lingjue turned around and looked at Zhao Lingying who was panting.

"Brother, you don't know?" Zhao Lingying gasped.

Zhao Lingjue shook his head.

Zhao Lingying stuffed the tabloid in his hand into Zhao Lingjue's hand and said, "I heard that you have the manuscripts of Zhu Taishi in your home?"

Zhu Taishi is Zhu Ji. He and Jia Xian were both students of Chu Yan, a great strategist during the Renmiao period, but both of them had little reputation.

It was only in recent years that Jia Xian's reputation gradually grew because Jiangning Academy used Jia Xian's "Huangdi Jiuzhang Suanxi" to teach arithmetic.

But Zhu Ji remained unknown.

Because he left no manuscripts.

"Huh?" Zhao Lingjue asked in confusion, "That's exactly what happened!"

In the Song Dynasty, the royal family's relatives lived a very empty life.

Therefore, everyone is looking for their own hobbies to pass the time.

Some people love painting, some love calligraphy, and some love mathematics.

Zhao Lingjue's grandfather, Zhao Congyan, was a member of the royal family who was fond of astronomy and calculations.

He spent almost his entire life on arithmetic and astronomical observations.

Therefore, he became good friends with Zhu Ji.

The court encouraged royal family members to interact with calligraphers, painters, mathematicians, doctors, etc.

After all, the royal family's obsession with calligraphy and painting can be considered as medicine, which is better than going to brothels and listening to music every day.

Therefore, before Zhu Ji died, he entrusted his manuscripts to Zhao Congyan.

Influenced by his grandfather, Zhao Lingjue's father and Zhao Lingjue were also enthusiasts of arithmetic.

When Zhao Lingying heard Zhao Lingjue's affirmative answer, he was immediately overjoyed: "Brother, please lend me Zhu Taishi's manuscripts to study for a few days..."

Zhao Lingjue looked at Zhao Lingying in confusion: "Why does Shiwulang suddenly like Shusuan?"

Zhu Ji's manuscripts are in Zhao Lingjue's home and are not a secret in his family.

No one cared in the past.

Now, why is this Shiwulang so concerned?

Zhao Lingying laughed and pointed at the tabloid that was stuffed into Zhao Lingjue's hand: "Brother, just read the Bian Jing Xin Bao and you will know!"

Zhao Lingjue looked at the new report of Bian Jing with suspicion and was immediately surprised.

"The government is extending favors to the royal family, increasing the quotas for the two subjects of Mingfa and Mingsuan?!"

"All members of the imperial clan who are willing to participate in this year's imperial examination can go to the Zongzheng Temple to declare their intention. From now on, they will no longer be granted official titles, but can participate in the examinations hosted by the Hanlin Academy... All members of the imperial clan who are in the top 20 in mathematics and law are allowed to participate in this year's imperial examination..."

"If there are members of the royal family who can pass the Mingfa or Mingsuan Jinshi exams, they can all be awarded Mingsuan Jidi/Mingfa Jidi..."

"The government will extend special favors to those who have passed the imperial examinations and appoint them to the Ministry of Revenue, the Department of Stores and Houses, or other special departments!"

"He passed the imperial examination and was appointed to the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Honglu Temple!"

Seeing this, Zhao Lingjue's eyes widened, staring at [The Ming Suan Ji Di was appointed as an official in the Ministry of Revenue, a store and house official, or a special official in various departments]

As everyone knows, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Stores and Houses are both lucrative jobs. As for the Ministry of Various Departments, it is the agency in charge of reviewing and distributing the salaries of various departments and civil and military officials in Beijing.

It is a department directly under the emperor.

This made Zhao Lingjue's hands tremble a little.

He raised his head and looked at Zhao Lingying: "Shiwulang, you want to participate too?"

"I have to give it a try!"

Zhao Lingying raised his head and said, "At the beginning, the late emperor showed favor to the royal family and allowed them to take the imperial examination. Zhao Lingshuo passed the imperial examination and the late emperor was very happy. He regarded Zhao Lingshuo as a role model for the royal family..."

"Not only did his career go smoothly, but his father and brother also received many favors!"

Zhao Lingshuo's father and brother were originally from impoverished royal families just like them.

But now, because he cultivated Zhao Lingshuo, the pride of the royal family, he was constantly promoted by the late emperor and the current emperor.

They saw all these things and naturally wanted to follow suit.

Unfortunately, in the past, the imperial examinations only tested essays on the interpretation of classics, so it was impossible for these royal family members to win no matter how hard they tried.

The fact that no one else except Zhao Lingshuo passed the imperial examination is proof of this!
but……

These two subjects, law and mathematics...

The royal family is not necessarily weaker than the scholars!
Especially Zhao Lingjue - his father and grandfather for three generations have all studied mathematics, and it is a family tradition!
Zhao Lingjue nodded: "Good!"

"Shiwulang, come home with me!"

"I am willing to teach you all the manuscripts left by Mr. Zhu!"

Although Zhao Lingying did not study arithmetic systematically.

But his three sisters all married merchants in Bian Jing.

Moreover, starting from his great-grandfather, his lineage has always been very close to merchants.

I do have a talent for arithmetic!
As for the art of calculation, nothing else matters but talent.

If there is, there is. If there is not, there is not!
For a genius in mathematics, the learning results in three days may exceed what the average person gains in three years!
Therefore, as long as Zhao Lingying's talent was indeed outstanding, Zhao Lingjue knew that one month would be enough for him to master the contents of those volumes of Zhu Taishi's manuscripts.

(End of this chapter)