The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 341: Imperial Examinations, Who is the Fellow Traveler?

After making up his mind to deal with Li Guidun and his group, Mo Zibu carried out the first batch of imperial examinations in Beihe at an extremely fast speed.

The first thing to be done is to select the high-ranking families. Those who can pass this selection are the high-ranking families that Mo Zibu intends to retain.

Including the Qingwei Wu family of Wu Shishi and his son, the descendants of civil and military officials of the former Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Office headed by Chen Shaochang, such as the Haiyang Chen family, the Cishan Liang family, the Qingchi Ruan family, etc.

Pei Shida and other high-ranking officials of the Zheng family, who followed Zheng Sen's orders and came to serve Mo Zibu, were also pardoned.

Overall, Mo Zibu retained nine out of more than eighty high-ranking families, but this retention also had a prerequisite.

After these people were appointed to high positions through the imperial examination, Mo Zibu personally hosted a banquet to entertain them and persuaded them with kind words:
"As you all know, the Le family is the descendant of a traitor. Le Loi acted against the will of Heaven, and it is a blessing from Heaven that his descendants have enjoyed the country for over three hundred years.

The Zheng family lacked the aura of a king, so they could only act as usurpers. They had been able to control the fertile land of Beihe for two hundred years, and their descendants had multiplied and prospered. This was enough.

However, these two surnames gained wealth and status in the world by defying heaven's will, so they can only rule over those above them but cannot pacify those below them. Their unified tax system is laughable and despised by meat-eaters.

You are all the pillars of the country and should know the significance of taxes to the country. Our Annan has been in chaos for hundreds of years and must not be like the Li and Zheng families. "

As he spoke, Mo Zibu stretched out three fingers of his right hand and waved them in front of them.

"Three thousand acres, this is the highest number I can accept. Anything above this number should be handed over. I will have my people investigate and then divide it among the poor families of your clan.

I, the king, have granted you permission to collect taxes on your three thousand acres of land. If you agree, you will be promoted to high positions from now on, and after you have made contributions, you will be given many honors and titles, which will be passed down to your descendants."

This means cutting off the roots of these high-ranking families, breaking their monopoly on land and their personal control over farmers. From now on, they will have high positions and generous salaries, but their power over people and wealth will be gone.

Some families still felt a little uncomfortable because the gap was too big. After all, what they were about to lose was the family business accumulated over hundreds of years.

But before these people dared to say anything, they saw a group of people in brocade clothes walking in, and they seemed to be attending the banquet as well.

When these nobles saw them, they realized that they were a group of Mo family members, plus some...hiss, they were people from the nobles of Hue, including Tao Weide, who was influential in Bac Ha, and Chen Taixing, the son of Chen Taili.

Suddenly, they dared not speak. I, King Mo, really need them to stabilize the situation in Beihe, but there are also alternatives.

When Chen Shaochang saw the time had come, he immediately came out and prostrated himself on the ground. "The Chen family of Haiyang, upholding the wishes of our ancestors, is willing to hand over 31,000 mu of clan land to the court and serve as loyal subjects to the king."

"Shan, you are indeed the descendant of a loyal minister!" Mo Zibu praised him highly. "My dear minister, you are very understanding of justice. You will surely be rewarded in the future."

After Chen Shaochang came out, the descendants of the civil and military officials of the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration also came out to donate their family property.

Then the Wu father and son also came out. Although they were from a noble family, the Wu family was a family of historians with a history of four or five hundred years, but they were not very rich. They only had to hand over less than 5,000 acres, so they had nothing to be unhappy about.

The only one who was reluctant to give up was Pei Shida. His family was the largest family in Haiyang. Their land accounted for more than half of the entire Haiyang Town and Jingmen County, a total of 190,000 acres of land. If they gave it up now, they would suffer a lot.

But Pei Shida knew very well that the reason he was still here was, firstly, because he was very tactful after Mo Zibu entered Beihe, and secondly, because he had the credit for informing Mo Zibu during the battle of Shunzhou.

"The Pei family of Haiyang is also willing to hand over their land. We ask that Your Majesty, please consider the many descendants of the Pei family and give them more consideration when dividing the land."

"Of course this is not a problem!" Mo Zibu agreed readily. As long as these high-ranking families handed over their land and lost their personal control over the people below, they could still be used.

After all, although there are many talented children from poor families, most of them still lack some upper-level vision. It would be fine to use them as county magistrates, village elders, etc., and let them initiate land reform at the grassroots level.

However, it is not appropriate to promote them to the highest level of the country all at once, as that would be like forcing them to grow too fast and harm them.

Therefore, at the national level, we still need to allow some reliable high-ranking officials to hold the line temporarily.

After the selection of candidates from wealthy families, it was the imperial examination for those from poor families.

In the past imperial examinations in Beizheng, even for the provincial examination, as long as you paid the fee, you could take the exam even if you couldn't read a single word. Although you might not pass, it would still disrupt the solemnity of selecting talents for the country.

Therefore, Mo Zibu certainly couldn't do it this time, so not only was the scale of the exam grand, but the review was also very strict. Only scholars from poor families could take the exam, and no one else was allowed.

. . . .

Ruan Zhuang wiped the sweat from his back. In order to save money to buy pens and ink, he had not eaten for a day and was already very weak.

The seven or eight poor scholars who traveled with him were all similar. Most of them came from Xialei Township, Zhen'anlang County, Shanxi Province. They were all considered fellow villagers, so they traveled together.

It is not a short distance from Shanxi Town to Tokyo. Many people even wore out their shoes as they walked along the way.

When they appeared at the west gate of Tokyo wearing tattered robes and covered in dust, they really didn't look like scholars, but more like beggars.

"Gudong!" Ruan Zhuang suddenly heard his best friend Chen Huilin swallowing violently.

Ruan Zhuang turned around in surprise, only to see Chen Huilin, who had been hungry for more than a day like him, staring blankly at a small shed in the distance.

Ruan Zhuang also looked in the direction of the sight, and his eyes fell on a large tent with a fluttering sign. The tent was full of people sitting in it, all of them holding a large earthenware bowl and swallowing it with a slurp.

This is a bowl of the best rice noodles. The noodles are as white as jade. The fried fish fillets are white and tender with a hint of golden color. The river fish are cooked red. The fish sauce is accompanied by fresh chili, lemon, mint leaves, and a handful of crushed peanuts. Ruan Zhuang swallowed hard. There is no better food in the world than this.

Chen Huilin walked over in a daze. Having not eaten for over a day, his mind was already in a state of chaos, and every cell in his body was screaming for food. Ruan Zhuang was better off than him, still retaining a little bit of rationality. Just as Chen Huilin was about to enter the shed, Ruan Zhuang grabbed him.

"Lin, don't go. After we buy the pens and ink, if we have any money left, let's buy a bowl of wild vegetable porridge to fill our stomachs."

The reason why he had to buy pens and ink first was because Ruan Zhuang had no idea whether the prices of pens and ink in Tokyo City would rise to the sky again. In any case, they would rise sharply during previous competitions.

"Money? Our rice noodles are free." The cook in the shed heard the conversation between the two and immediately interrupted.

"No money!" Ruan Zhuang and Chen Huilin exclaimed at the same time, and their companions behind them gathered around them. Some of them were so anxious that they even wanted to sit down and wait for the food to be served.

However, the cook took one look at their tattered clothes and dusty beggar appearance and said with a smug smile, "It's free, but this rice noodle is not something that ordinary people can eat!"

Chen Huilin was so hungry that he couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Excuse me, sir, who can eat this rice noodle of yours?"

The cook pointed his hand to the upper left, and everyone realized that there was something that looked like an imperial edict. The cook looked at them with contempt.

"You see, this is a rice noodle shop built by the king with his own money, specially for the gentlemen who are taking the imperial examination this year. Look at yourselves, are you gentlemen? Do you look like gentlemen?"

Ruan Zhuang was stunned for a while, and suddenly realized that he was here to participate in the science competition.
"Master?" This word nearly made his CPU burn out. Aren't those from wealthy families the only ones to be called "masters"?
He was lost in thought. Chen Huilin beside him had already taken out the travel permit and the examination certificate. "We are all scholars from Shanxi Town who came to take the exam. Don't look down on us. Hurry and cook the rice noodles!"

The cook took it and looked at it. It was indeed real. He asked hesitantly, "Are you really all here for reference?"

Hearing the word "Master," Ruan Zhuang, Chen Huilin, and eight other impoverished scholars from Zhen'anlang County, Shanxi, straightened their backs and answered in unison, "Of course it is! Everything else may be fake, but the certificate cannot be faked!"

The cook was overjoyed, the look of disdain on his face disappeared, and he immediately put on a big smile, "Okay, eight bowls of rice noodles for eight masters from Zhen'anlang County, Shanxi!"

As he spoke, the cook bowed and saluted to the eight people, "Our rice noodles are praised by everyone in Tokyo who has eaten them. You are lucky this time. This is a gift from the king. You will all be successful after eating it."

I'm sorry for being so slow just now, so I'll give each of you an extra egg to express my apology."

Now it was the turn of Ruan Zhuang, Chen Huilin and others to feel embarrassed. They had never been flattered like this in their lives. While feeling elated, they were also a little nervous and uncomfortable.

Not long after, the rice noodles were served. Looking at the bowl of rice noodles with egg custard added, which was bigger than his head, Ruan Zhuang sobbed twice and then burst into tears. This was a delicacy that he could only eat during festivals!

This time, he had not done anything, but he was able to receive the king's reward, and the king even treated these poor scholars as his masters. Thinking of this, Ruan Zhuang suppressed his hunger, knelt down with a plop, and kowtowed three times in the direction of the palace.

"Ruanzhuang, Shanxi, thanks the king for his generosity!"

Chen Huilin had already picked up his bowl. Seeing Ruan Zhuang bowing, he quickly knelt down and said with a choked voice, "Chen Huilin of Shanxi, I bow to thank the king for his grace and reward!"

After three bows, the two men stood up, smiled at each other, and then began to swallow the food in a whirlwind, while their companions had already eaten half of it.

At this time, the cook walked to the back kitchen, lifted the door curtain a little, and pointed at Ruan Zhuang and Chen Huilin and said to a long-faced man:

"Captain, those two bowed three times in thanks before eating the noodles. From what I heard from them, they seemed to be better than ordinary people."

The captain nodded and said, "Write down your name and place of origin, sketch your appearance immediately, and send it back to the security department for them to register. This way, they can give you special attention during the competition.

Go and tell them that the writing materials for this imperial examination were also given to them by the king from the imperial treasury."

It turns out that all eighteen free rice noodle shops around Tokyo City are operated by the Palace Security Department.

The purpose is to screen these scholars, see their true intentions, and show some favor. This kind of imperial examination will naturally select people with the same path, because there are many people from poor families who are confused.

Three days later, Ruan Zhuang and Chen Huilin were about to enter the examination hall. During these three days, they had four meals of rice noodles, all of which were rewards from the king.

As for why they only had four meals in three days, it was because they were too embarrassed to eat unless they were extremely hungry.

Holding the rewarded pen and ink, Ruan Zhuang bowed again in the direction of the palace. Looking at the students from poor families around him, he had a feeling that this competition was different from the previous ones.

He vaguely felt that the day that belonged to people like them from a poor family was about to come.

Sure enough, when I arrived at the examination room, the questions were very simple. Apart from the usual questions from the Four Books and Five Classics, there were only two extra questions.

One is "The mountains and rivers were unified, let's discuss the achievements of Hongwu Taizu."

The second is "When both sides lose the world, we should ask about the debate between Chinese and barbarians in the world."

You still have to take sides!
Ruan Zhuang quickly understood what this meant. Recalling the delicious rice noodles he had eaten this morning, Ruan Zhuang quickly took the pen and ink given by King Mo Enshang and began to write.

"Emperor Hongwu recovered Henan and Hebei, which had existed for 200 years, and Hexi and Longyou, which had existed for 400 years, and he made great contributions to rebuilding China. But why did he abandon Annan, which had existed for 500 years?"

"The Master said: If the princes adopt the customs of the barbarians, then they are barbarians; if the barbarians advance into China, then they are Chinese.

However, when the Manchu Qing invaded China from the east, they pretended to respect Confucius and orthodox teachings and treated them as Chinese, but in fact they launched a literary inquisition, silenced the people, shaved their heads, changed their clothes, and abolished Chinese etiquette and clothing. They were far inferior to the Mongols.

They appear to be Chinese, but are in fact barbarians. It is time for a hero to rise up and expose their false face for the world to see."

(End of this chapter)