If you want to make money, you must first understand the market here. Although the memory of the original owner can give him a little reference, he still needs to see it with his own eyes. Whether Yongxiu County is considered big or not, Shao Yun'an can't compare it, but it is quite lively. This is also related to the geographical location of Yongxiu County. After strolling through two streets, Shao Yun'an saw a building with a rather special shape. Looking carefully, the plaque on the gate said "Yongxiu Academy". He knew where this place was, Wang Zhisong should be studying here.
The imperial examination system in Yan State is divided into two forms. Usually, all students studying in schools recognized by the government are Tongsheng. However, in order to be a scholar, one must first pass a formal Tong Shenglang certification exam. Only those who have passed the county examination and the government examination can be regarded as an official Tong Shenglang, and only then can they be qualified to be a scholar. When formally applying for the scholar examination, a guarantee (certificate) certificate issued by the school is also required. This kind of guarantee is provided by the master who directly teaches knowledge. As long as you study in the school and pass the Tong Shenglang exam, the master will issue such a guarantee unless you are notorious.
This method is mostly aimed at poor students. If you are studying in the Imperial College above the state capital, you can skip the Tongsheng Examination and directly participate in the Xiucai Examination twice every three years. If you study in the Gongyuan of the capital, as long as you can graduate from the Gongyuan, you will be qualified to be an official, and your status is equivalent to Juren. You can become an official directly, or you can continue the scientific examination. In addition, there is another kind of qualification that is recommended by highly respected Confucian scholars. You can also skip the Tongsheng examination and start directly from the scholar. But these two methods are very difficult for the children of poor families. First of all, whether it is recommended by Guozijian or Daru, such a person must be extremely good. It is very difficult to get in and out of the Imperial College. The level of education that such a person has received since childhood is definitely not comparable to that of a poor family who came out of a village. With the recommendation of the Great Confucianism, there are a few poor families who can have the opportunity to get in touch with the Great Confucian level figures.
The imperial examination in Yan State can be regarded as a stage of transition from the recommendation system of powerful families to the complete imperial examination system. The roles of Guozijian and Daru are similar to those of the powerful families in the past. The academies affiliated to the imperial court in various places provided the possibility for the children of poor families to become officials.
In the country of Yan, reading is a very sacred thing, and the status of a scholar is quite high, and it is even more unusual if one has fame. In Yan State, among scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen, the distinction between the latter two is not so clear, and the status of businessmen in Yan State is not that bad, and there is no such thing as emphasizing agriculture and despising business, but scholars are absolutely superior.
Regardless of whether it is the previous dynasty or the current dynasty, the selection of imperial examinations is extremely strict. Even if the students who come out of the Imperial College can pass the exam and then have the hope of entering the palace examination to become Jinshi, the students who really enter the officialdom are rare. In the imperial examination held every three years, there were at least a few students who became Jinshi, and sometimes no more than a dozen or twenty students. More than half of them were selected from the talents recommended by Guozijian and Daru.
Xiushui Village has only produced two scholars in the past century. One of the two scholars belonged to the Zhao family and the other belonged to the Wang family. It was also because of these two scholars that the Zhao family and the Wang family became independent clans in Xiushui Village, which was originally dominated by the Sun family. For children from poor families, being able to pass the childbirth test is first of all an honor. Both the Tongsheng Examination and the Xiucai Examination are held twice in three years, but they are staggered. You must first obtain the qualifications of the Tongsheng Examination before you can pass the next year's Xiucai Examination, and you must obtain the qualification of Xiucai before you can participate in the three-yearly official examination. Wang Zhisong passed the Tongsheng Examination at the age of fifteen, which can be called a child prodigy among many students who are still in the examination for talent in their thirties.
The Tongsheng examination is held on the twelfth of August every other year. There are two consecutive examinations in the counties, states, and prefectures to which they belong. Students who have obtained the Tongshenglang qualification can participate in the college examination in August of the following year. Those who pass the college examination will be called "Xiu Cai", and then they can take the three-yearly autumn exam - the rural examination - and those who pass will be called "Juren". Juren then went to the Chunwei Examination in April of the following year, and those who passed were the [Gongsheng]. Finally, the Gongsheng participated in the palace examination, and the emperor or someone appointed by the emperor conducted the final assessment, and selected the top three [Jinshi]. For every student, becoming a Jinshi is the ultimate goal of their efforts, and one of the first-class and third-class Jinshi, the number one scholar, the second place in the list, or the third-ranked flower is the ultimate goal of their ultimate goals.
But despite this, even if it is just a scholar, it is a great honor. Not only can the tax on 30 mu of land be exempted, but also a monthly salary of two taels of silver and a certain amount of grain. Rich people look down on this thing, but it is different for poor disciples.
Wang Zhisong passed the entrance examination for children this year, and he will be able to take the entrance examination in August next year. But he is only fifteen years old, not to mention the Wang family now, the entire Wang clan and Xiushui Village are looking forward to Wang Zhisong becoming another scholar in a hundred years, and may even be the first master in the history of Xiushui Village. It may be possible to go one step further and become a Gongsheng student or even win the champion.
Regarding this, Shao Yunan pouted in his heart. It's not that he looks down on the poor family's children, but with Wang Zhisong's personality and the Wang family's top-notch tutoring, it may be possible for such a person to be a scholar, but don't even think about it. With such a strict imperial examination system, everyone has sharpened their heads to take the exam. As long as someone has the heart to expose the Wang family's affairs, Wang Zhisong's disrespect to his elder brother is enough for him to drink a pot.
Because it is difficult to become an official, the reputation and character of the students are extremely valued, and the selection of officials by the imperial court should also avoid selecting people with poor character and bringing disasters to the emperor's country. It can also be seen from this that Wang Zhisong and the Wang family, including the entire Wang family, are short-sighted, thinking that the family affairs may become a disaster that will affect Wang Zhisong's official career in the future.
If the members of the Wang family and Wang Zhisong honestly don't provoke them in the future, Shao Yun'an won't care what step Wang Zhisong can get in the exam; but if the members of the Wang family think they are smart, he doesn't mind being the one who stabs them in the back.
From the imperial examination system of Yan State, it can be seen that the social development level of Yan State is not too backward and primitive. Paradoxically, Yan's productivity and economic level are indeed underdeveloped. The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the period when the imperial examination system was developed and perfected, but Yan’s productivity and economic level were far inferior to those of the Ming Dynasty, not even the Tang Dynasty, let alone the richest Song Dynasty. The grain output of Dayan State is not high, and rice, millet, millet, wheat, bean, corn, etc. are all planted, but ordinary people still mainly eat miscellaneous grains at home. There are not many kinds of vegetables, including potatoes, cabbage, white radish, mallow, soybean sprouts, leeks, spinach, eggplant, and several wild vegetables. There are no cucumbers or tomatoes.
In this era, productivity and people's livelihood are still very low. In his later years, Emperor Xian was dizzy and had a lot of troubles, which affected the stability of Yan. Later, the first emperor finally died, and the prince came to the throne. The new emperor can be regarded as a wise king, and he has made great efforts to change the country, and finally there is a turn for the better. However, in the later years of the late emperor, there was a great deal of construction work, and many projects were not completed until his death. It is a pity that these projects are abandoned, and it will cost money to continue. Some of these projects are still useful to the people's livelihood and the development of the country. The new emperor gritted his teeth, allocated a sum of money from the national treasury, and then took some from his own private treasury. The construction was completed, which is why Wang Shijing served in corvee for two years.
The project has not yet been completed, foreign enemies are ready to move, and there are also large and small natural disasters every year. Even if the new emperor knows that it may cause dissatisfaction among the people and turmoil in the country, he can only increase taxes again. Those big projects need money, war needs money, disaster relief needs money, and maintaining the operation of the country needs money. Shao Yun Anguang can think about how worried the emperor is.
Because of the increase in taxes, prices are also higher than before. Many peasant households could not pay taxes and had to sell their land cheaply and leave their homes. Yongxiu County's geographical location is relatively good, and it can be regarded as a major traffic route between the north and the south. In addition, the land is relatively fertile and the population is large, so it can be regarded as a relatively rich place. Xiushui Village is not far from Yongxiu County, and it is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is a wealthy village under the jurisdiction of Yongxiu County, so relatively speaking, everyone's life is not so difficult. If it is the border gates and the places that have been hit by disasters for years, the houses will be empty and the people will be displaced. Mrs. Wang's family has 27 mu of land, which belongs to the upper middle class in Xiushui Village—it was considered a big family at first, because it sold a lot of land for Wang Zhisong's medical treatment.
The geographical location of Yongxiu County determines that ordinary farmers will not have too little land. Shao Yun'an didn't know how much Mrs. Wang's family's annual family income was. The Shao family had 28 mu of land, and old man Shao and Shao Dahu would go to do part-time jobs. If they worked hard, they could earn 20 to 30 taels a year. But now the taxes are heavy, and the year is not good. The annual land tax, poll tax and other exorbitant taxes are deducted. After a year, it is too much to get a dozen taels. You still have to eat, drink, and wear clothes. , Now that the price of goods is high, in the end there is only a balance of two or three taels of silver. If you pay corvee tax, conscription tax, etc., you have to borrow money. This is still around Yongxiu County, including Chinan Mansion, which can be regarded as a relatively wealthy state capital in Dayan. If it is a poor place, then life will be difficult. I don’t know how many people have to leave their homes and become refugees.
On the one hand, this is related to the unstable situation at home and abroad in Yan. On the other hand, the most important aspect is that Yan's business is underdeveloped. Most of the imperial court's taxes were collected from the peasants. As a result, the life of the peasants became more and more difficult, the imperial court's taxes became more and more difficult to collect, and the country became poorer and poorer.
Shao Yunan remembered that 70% of the fiscal revenue in the Song Dynasty was from commerce, and agriculture only accounted for 30%, so people in the Song Dynasty were very rich. But no matter how underdeveloped, there are still rich people. Shao Yun'an was thinking about ways to make money in the future while walking. As he was walking, he suddenly had an idea when he saw two people. He bought five big meat buns from a steamed stuffed bun stall on the street, and holding four copper coins in his hand, he walked towards the two of them.
The two beggars huddled at the base of the wall, waiting for alms from passers-by. A young man in ordinary clothes walked up to them, smiling so much that he put a paper bag that smelled like meat buns in front of them, and the two beggars hurriedly expressed their thanks.
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
Shao Yun'an didn't dislike their dirty smell either, when the two beggars grabbed the buns with their dark hands and ate them, he said: "Brothers, I have something I want to inquire about."
A beggar swallowed the meat buns whole, nodded sharply: "This little brother just asks."
The other beggar also nodded fiercely. They had met many people who gave alms, but this was the first time they saw a young man who was willing to smile at them without dislike or disgust in his eyes. This young man was still very handsome!
Shao Yun'an was very happy and said: "This is my first time in the county seat, and I want to know about the situation in the county seat. Tell me what you know, the more detailed the better." After finishing speaking, he put down the four copper coins in his palm, " This is a thank you fee."
Thank you fee
This word sounded fresh, but the two beggars shook their heads: "No, no, you've already bought buns for us, so I can't ask for any more money from you."
"It doesn't matter, not much. Maybe I will ask the two big brothers Yuan to help me find out the news in the future."
The two beggars looked at each other and did not refuse. With buns to eat and money to take, the two beggars immediately told Shao Yun'an everything they knew about Yongxiu County. Shao Yun'an sat on the side casually, attracting the attention of passers-by. Is such a clean young man a beggar
There were two beggars who knew everything, and Shao Yun'an asked a few more questions, and he had a relatively clear understanding of Yongxiu County. This knowledge also gave him a little more intuitive understanding of the world.
After getting the information he wanted to know, Shao Yun'an bought some meat buns for the two of them before leaving. He walked away without seeing the two beggars watching him until he disappeared into the crowd. One beggar put away all four copper coins, and another beggar helped him stand up.
"Brother, that little brother is a good man."
"Well. I hope that good people will be rewarded."
There are two jewelry shops in Yongxiu County, one is run by a local, and the other is run by a foreign businessman. Yongxiu County has a lot of people traveling from south to north, and there are all kinds of shops. Of course, in Shao Yun'an's eyes, it is still very backward. According to the instructions of the two beggars, Shao Yun'an found one of the jewelry shops - "Butterfly Makeup Pavilion". This "Butterfly Makeup Pavilion" was opened by foreign businessmen.
As soon as he walked into the shop, a waiter immediately came over to say hello: "Guest officer, please, what do you want to see?"
Xiao Er didn't chase away the guests because of Shao Yun'an's plain clothes, at least he still had a courteous smile on his face. Shao Yunan also smiled and said, "Let me take a look first."
Xiao Er's smile remained unchanged: "Please."
Shao Yunan followed Xiaoer to the shelf. There is no glass here, so there are no containers, and all the products are placed on the shelves. There is not only one waiter in the store, but also two tall men who look like townspeople at first glance. Shao Yunan first went to the gold and silver jewelry side to have a look, and then followed Xiao Er to the jade side.
The gold, silver and jade wares at this time were all handmade, but they looked very delicate, much more beautiful than those mass-produced jewelry in jewelry shops in modern society. Shao Yun'an secretly thought that when he had money, he would buy some beautiful jewelry, all of which were exquisite antiques. After looking around, Shao Yunan said to Xiao Er: "I have a set of jade pendants, and I want to show it to your shopkeeper."
Xiao Er was taken aback for a moment, and then said: "Guest officer, if you want to pawn, there is a pawn shop on the street where you turn left at the fork in front of you."
Shao Yunan said: "I'm not here to pawn money, I'm here to show you novelties."
"Looking novel?" Xiao Er didn't understand.
Shao Yun'an smiled: "I can't buy this set of jade, it's unique."
Xiao Er hesitated, when a voice came from the stairs on the second floor: "Unique jade, this guest officer, come upstairs."
Shao Yun'an looked up, Xiao Er also looked at it, and immediately said: "This is our shopkeeper."
"Thank you." After thanking Xiao Er, Shao Yun'an walked over, and the other party went downstairs and clasped his fists: "My surname is Zeng, I don't know the name of the guest officer."
"My surname is Shao. Thank you Shopkeeper Zeng for giving me a chance."
"Master Shao, please."
Shao Yunan followed Shopkeeper Zeng upstairs.