Sun Zhuangyuan was attacked by Zhou Shi'an and San Yuangong together, learned from the pain, and decisively increased the difficulty of the entrance examination for Zhixing Academy.
It was the end of another month, and there were entrance exams one after another.
When the candidates walked into the dormitory of Zhixing Academy and got the test papers, more than 90% of the candidates were stunned.
Zhixing Academy is the easiest entrance exam, and the exam questions are very gentle...
How can there be any gentleness, it is clearly ferocious like a monster.
MMP, the questions are so difficult, how to test.
It's over, it's over.
Those who haven't even finished a problem set can't take this exam!
This time it's really over.
More than 90% of the candidates showed expressions of despair.
Sun Zhuangyuan patrolled the examination room with his hands behind his back.
Seeing the expressions of the dead parents on the candidates, he showed a satisfied smile on his face.
good, very good.
As the difficulty increased a little, the group of candidates immediately showed their true colors.
snort!
Treat Zhixing Academy as a second-rate academy, without preparing for the exam, I will let you know whether it is good or bad.
Passing the rather difficult entrance examination and brushing away all the candidates who fished in troubled waters, it is hard to believe that Zhou Shi'an and San Yuangong would dare to despise the poor level of students at Zhixing Academy.
The one-day exam is over.
When the candidates walked out of the examination room, they were all wailing.
"This test is too difficult!"
"It is said that the entrance examination of Zhixing Academy is the easiest, but it feels more difficult than the entrance examination of Shanhe Academy."
"It is indeed more difficult than the entrance exam of Shanhe Academy two days ago."
"Brother took the entrance exam for Shanhe Academy? How do you feel?"
"not feeling good!"
"Then today's exam..."
"I'm afraid I have to prepare for another month, and I will take the exam next month."
"Together! I don't know where Xiongtai lives?"
"Live in Xinmin County."
Rich man!
The rent in Xinmin County is several times that of Zhixing Academy.
"I can't compare to Xiongtai, so I live near Zhixing Academy. If Xiongtai doesn't dislike it, let's find a tavern to drink."
"Why don't you follow me to Xinmin County, and I'll invite some friends to get to know each other."
"OK!"
The two rushed to the station, bought tickets, and took a double-track carriage to Xinmin County.
Better still, Xinmin County!
It was getting dark, but the market was still full of people, as lively as a city that never sleeps.
"There is no curfew in Xinmin County, you can have fun all night. There is no exam tomorrow, so you must not get drunk tonight."
"Brother Tai is right."
Seven or eight scholars rushed into the restaurant, ordering with pride.
Chatting and chatting, we chatted about today's exam.
"Zhixing Academy still wants to compare with Shanhe Academy. The exam questions are so difficult. Let's see who will apply for Zhixing Academy in the future."
"With such difficult exam questions, it is better to study Shanhe Academy than Zhixing Academy. Anyway, Shanhe Academy has already made a name for itself, and it is a well-known school all over the world."
"That statement makes sense."
"The people who write the questions at Zhixing Academy should listen to the voices of the students. No one will apply to Zhixing Academy for such difficult exam questions in the future."
"This is too absolute! For some people, Zhixing Academy is also a good choice."
"Brother Tai's statement is fallacious! If Zhixing Academy will have this difficult exam questions in the future, if you can be admitted to Zhixing Academy, you will definitely be admitted to Shanhe Academy. Since you can study Shanhe Academy, why bother to Zhixing Academy."
"Shanhe Academy is very competitive, and it is extremely difficult to get a scholarship. Zhixing Academy has little competition. If you can pass the Shanhe Academy's level and go to Zhixing Academy, you should be able to get a scholarship easily. Monthly awards, annual awards, subject awards, imperial examination awards, etc. Adding it up, it’s an objective income. If Zhixing Academy can maintain the difficulty of the current entrance examination and improve the reputation and level of the college, many people should be tempted for the scholarship.”
what!
This angle is strange.
"Brother Tai is right."
"Ah, Zhixing Academy is so difficult. I think it's better to give up the imperial examination and go home to farm. Anyway, whether you take the imperial examination or not, you have to pay taxes. Studying is boring."
"That's wrong! With fame, you can justifiably own more land, and you can justifiably buy slaves."
"What is the use of that little land?"
"The new land law promulgated by the imperial court is really trying to kill the people. The officials of the imperial court are silent, they are really incompetent and cowardly!"
"I think the new land law is very good! Since the first day of August, the annual tax has been reduced by more than two-thirds. In a year, my family can save thousands of catties of grain, which is enough for the summer harvest."
One of the plainly dressed students whispered.
Everyone looked at him in unison.
He said weakly: "My family is a self-cultivator. There are 20 to 30 acres of paddy fields and a hillside land. It is very distressing to pay taxes every autumn. Ten taxes are one, and I support it with both hands. Even if I get a job in the future, I still agree with ten taxes and one. Everyone pays taxes, and when there is a war, the imperial court does not need to increase taxes, and they will be apportioned to me and other small people."
"Brother, according to your accent, aren't you from the north?"
"I'm from the Southwest."
"I heard that you are fighting over there?"
"The fight has long been over. Yang Xianggong's army has long since fought outside the border and occupied dozens of cities. We have a lot of rural farmers, dozens of people, and hundreds of people form a caravan to transport goods to the border. For the soldiers, the business is pretty good. A letter from my family recently said that the Sihai Road Bridge is building a road on our side. It is said that a concrete road leading to the outside world will be built. It is said that it will be built all the way to the sea. Many people apply for road repair work, and the salary is good. , good food."
"Oh! Do you really think that scholars should pay taxes?"
"Shouldn't it be?"
"Of course not. For thousands of years, when did scholars pay taxes after obtaining fame? Are you stupid?"
"But none of the court officials objected. We are just students who have not yet obtained the honors. No matter how much we object, we are just doing nothing."
"Tsk tsk! Forget it, forget it, we are not the same way."
"I didn't expect that someone would agree with the court to collect taxes from scholars."
After talking here, Southwest came to the student and knew that he was disgusting, so he took the initiative to get up and leave.
He walked alone on the street alone.
The streets are densely populated, and everyone's face is full of yearning for a better life. It made his loneliness more and more obvious.
"Brother, wait a minute."
The student turned his head and looked at the kid from a rich family who was running towards him.
"Brother called me?"
"Exactly! I don't know how to call you brother?"
"My surname is Ma!"
"It turned out to be Brother Ma, my surname is Hu, Hu Tianyou. Just now in the restaurant, I heard Brother Ma say that cement roads are going to be built in the southwest, all the way to the seaside?"
"Exactly!"
"That's a long road to build!" Hu Tianyou sighed again and again.
Ma Xuezi thought for a while and said, "It's a few thousand miles away, but if you take a longer detour, you can reach tens of thousands of miles."
When Hu Tianyou heard this, his heart shook.
He put his arms around Xuezi Ma's shoulders, "Let's go, let's find another place to drink. The cement road stretching thousands of miles is a big deal! The imperial court spent so much money building this road, so it must not let him go to waste. That being said, there is going to be a big commotion in the southwest. Brother Ma is a local, so why not tell me about it in detail.”
Hu Tianyou, a son of a rich family, was one of the first batch to wander around Jiangling Mansion with money and servants because of a copy of "Mr. Yang Talks about Jiangling".
Unexpectedly, he found a business opportunity, got a name as Boss Hu in Jiangling Mansion, and made a lot of money.
Of course, his status in the family has also increased.
After experiencing the thrill of making money and the change in status brought about by making money, Hu Tianyou became more determined to do business.
Jiangling's business has reached saturation, there is no need to stay there. He handed over Jiangling's business to the steward, and brought his servant back to the capital to look for opportunities.
He has been thinking about the new land law that has been making a lot of noise recently, but he hasn't figured it out.
Shao Fu, he really wanted to make a relationship, but he didn't have such a relationship, so it was useless.
Overseas, many people have mentioned it recently. He has been hesitating, unable to make up his mind.
Today, I was inviting someone to dinner in a restaurant, and I happened to hear the students sitting next door talking loudly, so he dismissed it at first.
It wasn't until Xuezi Ma mentioned all kinds of things in the Southwest that he finally changed his mind.
After a meal of wine, Hu Tianyou poured out all the contents of Xuezi Ma's stomach.
Two days later, Hu Tianyou confessed to his family, took the money and the servants in charge, and drove all the way to the southwest to make a fortune.
…
Balipu toll booth.
After years of hard work and many shifts, Li Dashan finally got the position of the toll station chief.
The salary has been greatly improved, and the wife and children have followed suit.
His wife works at a rest station, and his son has also passed the exam as a toll collector. He is currently working at a toll station 200 miles away from Balipu.
Early in the morning, Li Xiaoshan, the younger brother of the clan, came to the Balipu toll station to ask Li Dashan for help.
"Brother, that ten tax one, I want to hear your thoughts."
Li Dashan looked at the mountains in the distance, the weather is fine today, and he can see far away.
He patted Li Xiaoshan on the shoulder, "Come in and tell me. What are your plans?"
"Well, a few days ago, the guys from Four Seas Meat and Vegetables went to the village to collect wild goods, and they talked about the ten taxes and one tax. Brother, is what they said true?"
"Of course it is true. Didn't I ask someone to bring you a letter?"
"I thought brother was coaxing us."
"Coax you! I can coax you with such a big matter. Have you got pig feet in your head? You can read the black and white words in the newspaper."
Li Dashan slapped the newspapers from the past few days in front of him, "Look carefully, whether I have coaxed you."
Li Xiaoshan smiled awkwardly but honestly, "Brother, you know I can't read."
"You're so stupid! You know the ten taxes and ones. Here, look clearly, the ten taxes and ones are clearly written on it."
"Really!" Li Xiaoshan was shocked.
"Such a big thing can be fake. It's only a few days since the first day of August. Remember, if the government dares to go to the village to collect taxes before the first day of August, ignore them. From the first day of August, Ten taxes and one, this tax is less collected by the government."
"What kind of Yamen is the Shaofu?"
Li Xiaoshan has never traveled far, the farthest place he has been to is the county seat, followed by Balipu.
He is illiterate, and has little curiosity about the outside world. Satisfied with the life of facing the loess and back to the sky, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.
Shaofu is strange and scary to him.
Li Dashan hummed twice, he was very iron.
At the beginning, he also wanted to recruit the brothers in the clan. Once the toll booth recruited people, he asked the brothers in the clan to sign up for training.
As a result, one and two were as stupid as pigs, and they were eliminated in the first round.
In the words of the steward, the talent is dull, and it really can't be helped.
Li Dashan had no choice but to say that this was fate.
He bit the bullet, learned to read and write, suffered the greatest hardship in his life, and passed the entrance examination as a toll collector.
However, the brothers in the clan have neither talent nor perseverance.
After several times of urging, the person involved didn't pay attention, so he gave up.
Li Dashan told him, "The Shaofu is the emperor's steward. You should know the Shaofu Bank, it is the property of the Shaofu."
Speaking of the Shaofu Bank, Li Xiaoshan immediately understood.
"So it's true that ten taxes are one?"
"Before I dared to say so much, you didn't listen to a single sentence."
Li Dashan's face was full of heartache. No wonder the steward would say that Li Xiaoshan was stupid. This is more than stupid, this is a fool.
Li Xiaoshan smiled honestly, "Brother, you also know that I donated the few acres of land I had to Zhang Ju's family in order to avoid taxes and corvee. Can you help me get it back? Ten taxes and one, I will Don’t rely on Zhang Juren to pay taxes. If you donate to Zhang Juren, at least 40% to 50% of the food will be given every year, which is more ruthless than the government.”
Li Dashan sneered, "I told you not to donate at the beginning, but you didn't listen. Now you come to ask me for help, I knew why I did it before!"
"I, I, I will listen to you from now on. Brother, please help me. If you don't help me, I won't be able to get those fields back."
"You are a pig. Wrong, pigs are smarter than you. The autumn harvest is about to come. If you want to take the field back at this time, the other party will definitely not agree easily. Prepare to bleed."
"Will you promise to help me? Thank you brother! As long as I can get Tian back, I'm willing to bleed no matter how much."