Emperor Ming Dynasty

"Qin official?" Zhao Cheng looked shocked.

"That's a vassal state, what are you doing there?"

"They are all officials, so they don't care about Ming Dynasty or Qin Dynasty." Qi Cong said indifferently: "Besides, His Highness the King of Qin is the eldest son of the current Ming Dynasty, and he is also the Ming Dynasty."

With that said, he sat down and said plausibly: "Scholars like us are just teachers in the Ming Dynasty. If we want to become an official, we have to take the provincial examination."

"That's no less than a provincial examination."

"But over there in the Qin State, scholars like us are treated as candidates for promotion. Foreign monks who like to chant sutras are given official positions casually."

"A certain person is the magistrate of Jialin County, Beijiang Prefecture."

Qi Cong said proudly: "I have an annual salary of five hundred dan, a thousand acres of food land, and some filial piety on weekdays. It can be said that I have no worries about food and clothing, and I am very prestigious."

"Then why did you return to Qiongzhou Mansion?" Zhao Cheng was envious and at the same time he breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter how prestigious the officials of the vassal state were, they were still low-level officials, and their official rank was naturally one level lower than that of the Ming Dynasty.

"I haven't been promoted for many years and I have returned home, so I came back to have a look and visit relatives and friends!" Qi Cong said without hesitation:

"You, Zhao Cheng, are a scholar and a social studies teacher. You are very famous in the countryside!"

"Where!" Zhao Cheng laughed.

The two talked about the past again, not too sad.

Qi Cong talked about his rule: "Qin has 21 prefectures. Although each prefecture is smaller than the imperial court, it is still a big country thousands of miles away."

"For example, Beijiang Prefecture where I am is [-] miles north of the capital. There are seven counties, including Jialin, Chaolei, Xijiang, Shancai, Dong'an, Cishan, and Shanshu. Because it is a mountainous area, the number of people is not large. , only about half a million."

"There are more than [-] people in Jialin County under a certain rule. How do you think this is different from the counties in Qiongzhou Prefecture?"

"It's pretty much the same!" Zhao Cheng said truthfully, "It's also a good place to go."

Although the number of people is smaller, they are still officials after all.

Guangzong Yaozu!
With that said, the stewed chicken is cooked.

It is said to be a table of dishes, but in fact there is only a stewed chicken, a plate of tofu, a plate of fish, as well as pickles and wild vegetables.

But the chicken was brought by Qi Cong.

The family looked at a pot of chicken, and there was no idea how much saliva had accumulated in their mouths, but there were guests here, so they had to be polite.

Seeing this, Qi Cong smiled inwardly, pulled off two chicken legs and gave them to the child, and then took a few pieces of meat to the two elders, and then said:
"Brother Zhao and I are close friends, so there's no need to be polite."

Now, the atmosphere immediately became relaxed.

The whole table was eaten cleanly.

However, half of the chicken was kept and put into the well water for preservation. Otherwise, due to the climate of Qiongzhou Prefecture, it would spoil in an hour.

The two of them were sitting in the courtyard enjoying the cool air. At this time, Qi Cong didn't hide anything anymore and said seriously: "Brother Zhao, as the saying goes, if you learn martial arts, you can sell goods to the emperor's family."

"This Qin State is also part of the Zhu family. If we go to Qin State to serve as officials, we won't lose the face of our ancestors, and the court also encourages us."

"You have an upright and upright personality. Once you become an official, you will definitely benefit the people."

With that said, he stood up and said bluntly: "With my brother's talent and reputation as a scholar, wouldn't it be easy to capture a county magistrate?"

"The Qin State has 21 prefectures and 180 nine counties. Why is there no place for my brother to display his talents?"

"The King of Qin treated his scholars very well and was not stingy with money and money for rural parties like us. I went to the State of Qin and met His Highness the King of Qin within two days. After observing the government for three months, I went to Renzhi County. His Highness was afraid that I would not be accustomed to the local environment. He even arranged for an imperial doctor to attend him, and gave him three hundred silver dollars to settle down..."

Qi Cong had tears in his eyes: "In Hanoi, which is the capital of Qin, the vassal court has already arranged a house for the slaves to live in."

"Brother Zhao, why are you hesitant? Do you want to teach social studies for the rest of your life? Then find a talented student to inherit your legacy?"

These words made Zhao Cheng excited but silent.

After a long time, after he left, Zhao Cheng fell asleep with deep thoughts.

Seeing this, his wife Zhang Erniang could only lie on his chest and said: "Husband, do you want to go to Qin?"

"I can't bear to leave my family and my parents."

Zhao admitted the true way.

"Husband, go with peace of mind, I am at home."

Zhang Erniang said softly: "Men should be ambitious. If my sister marries an ordinary book clerk, she will show off to the heavens."

"If you are the county magistrate and you are promoted in the future, you can bring our whole family there to save you a hard life."

As she spoke, she said with some sadness: "The provincial examination is in Guangzhou. My husband, you have failed in the examination many times. It is not a human fault, but a lack of good teachers and friends. Therefore, you cannot compete with those scholars in Guangdong."

"Instead of doing this, why not go to the Qin Kingdom and gain so much wealth so that my eldest brother can have someone to rely on and be better than his predecessor?"

The writing style of Qiongzhou Prefecture was pioneered by Su Dongpo.

In the more than 100 years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there was no Jinshi. After he was demoted to Danzhou, he was enthusiastic about teaching and taught the first Jinshi.

Even so, it's too late.

In the 300 years before the Ming Dynasty, there were only 64 Jinshi, not to mention the number one scholar, and even the third flower was not touched. It can be said to be very shabby.

Although there is a factor of sparse population, the more important reason is the scarcity of educational resources.

The simplest example is the Shiwen (paper volume of imperial examination) written by Xinen Jinshi of the imperial court. In less than half a month, Jiangnan had already published it, and scholars rushed to buy it.

And what about Qiongzhou Prefecture?
The fastest is a year later, and sometimes it is even necessary to wait until a certain country party returns home and brings Shi Wen back with him.

You must know that officials who have retired or returned home are top scholars, and their teaching resources are unparalleled.

This creates a vicious cycle.

Poor educational resources have resulted in few Jinshi and few officials, and Qiongzhou’s educational resources have prevented promotions.

So if Zhao Cheng went to Qin and became a high official, when he returned home, the educational resources he brought with him would be no worse than those of Jinshi.

Furthermore, if you become a high official and have money, you will naturally hire famous teachers to teach your children and grandchildren, which greatly increases the chance of developing talents.

After hearing the words about descendants, Zhao Cheng's mind immediately moved.

The next day, Old Man Zhao asked his son to become an official for the sake of his grandson:

"The King of Qin is the eldest son of the emperor. The country is a province, and it must obey the emperor's words. It will not be an insult to you to become an official."

"Our Zhao family has never produced an official in our lifetime, so you have to be careful."

Immediately, Zhao Cheng agreed.

Qi Cong was not idle either, wandering around several counties in Qiongzhou, persuading those scholars with a good reputation to become officials.

However, although Qiongzhou Prefecture has always been called a land of barbarians, Qiongzhou considers itself a land of internalization, which is much stronger than vassal states like Qin.

The state of Qin is a place with poor mountains and harsh rivers.

So he worked hard for more than half a month and only managed to persuade three people.

After contacting each other, we hurriedly took a boat to Qin.

When they arrived in Hanoi City, they were stunned when they saw the bustling crowds and row upon row of houses:
This is much better than the capital city of Qiongzhou, and only slightly behind Guangzhou.

"There are 30 people in Hanoi."

Qi Cong smiled and said: "There are over [-] troops stationed in Jiaozhou Prefecture, which can be said to suppress all directions."

"Now, after several years of changing customs and customs, the appearance of the Qin State is the same as that of the Ming Dynasty."

"Let me tell you something to be honest, there are more people speaking Mandarin in Qin than in Guangdong."

Everyone nodded numbly.When they saw Qi Cong's San entered the house, they were dazzled by the carved buildings, painted buildings, rockeries and flowing water.

Not to mention, there are those obedient slaves.

Only then did I really realize that being an official in the Qin State was really good.

Within three days, King Qin indeed received them.

Zhao Cheng had never met Emperor Shaowu, and to be honest, only a handful of people in the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture had met the Emperor.

But when he saw the King of Qin, he felt that the emperor should look like this.

Wearing a yellow dragon robe, a golden belt, and a good-looking crown, he has a majestic and kind face that makes people want to kneel down.

As the emperor's eldest son, King Qin is at least sixty-seven points similar to the emperor. Couldn't the emperor estimate this?
"Be flat!"

King Qin took the time to meet these three scholars. He was not impatient at all, but felt happy in his heart:

Qin was finally able to attract talents from the Ming Dynasty.

Yes, although the Jinshi of the Qin State is equivalent to the Juren of the Ming Dynasty, when it comes to talent, it is far behind.

In the words of Chief Assistant Liu Guan, a scholar can only be regarded as proficient in writing, but his talents are not as good as those born in the south of the Yangtze River.

As for Jinshi, they can only be the scholars at the bottom of the Yangtze River, and they can't even think of eating Lumi.

But there was no way. The literary style of the Qin State was not prosperous. The previous knowledge had always been in the hands of aristocratic families, and ordinary people did not even have surnames.

In this case, even if he admitted 300 people in three years, it would still be useless to Qin.

The Qin State followed the example of the Ming Dynasty and counted officials in terms of official status. There were 600 million people and the total number of officials was about 3.

However, the number of replacements over the years is less than one tenth, plus the number of officers who have retired from the military.

A large number of local officials were former court officials, that is, people from local wealthy families, and the Jinshi could only compete with them as sitting officials.

But as mentioned earlier, it is easier said than done due to lack of talent.

For example, in the Ming Dynasty, when a case occurred, ordinary people would contact the family. If it was a murder case, it could only be the court.

And what about Qin?Everything is controlled by local wealthy families, people like the cave master.

Thirty miles outside the county seat, no one in the court listened to what he said, and no one even dared to speak loudly.

To collect taxes, the county government invites cave owners one by one to estimate a figure to see if they can accept it. If they can accept it, they will pay the money and grain. If they can't, they will rebel.

Therefore, it is a great test of the court's prestige and the wisdom of the county magistrate.

Smart people are good at reading. They can learn anything quickly, and naturally they can become officials quickly.

After retracting his thoughts, King Qin learned that several people were from Qiongzhou, and couldn't help but sigh: "In the past, I thought that the ends of the world were in Qiongzhou Mansion, but now I am vassal of Qin State, and I know how big the South China Sea is!"

After saying that, he comforted her a few more words and left directly.

Although the time was short, it gave them great motivation.

When they left the palace, Huo Ran and several eunuchs blocked them in front and said with a smile: "Your Highness has arranged a house for several of your husbands."

Entering the third courtyard, there are about twenty rooms, a dozen servants, rockeries, and even a large study room.

This made several poor scholars very happy.

You must know that this is the royal capital, a place richer and more noble than Guangzhou City.

Zhao Cheng couldn't help but ask: "How much does it cost?"

"The huge city of Hanoi is basically owned by the imperial court."

Qi Cong said with emotion: "With the expansion of the royal capital, Hanoi City became an inner city. Many houses were demolished and mansions were gradually built, just to reward meritorious people."

"In Hanoi, [-]% of the houses are occupied by King Gongcheng. It's very tight. This apartment is worth seven or eight hundred silver dollars. Don't think it's too small. In the Qin State, silver is expensive and grain is cheap. It's more than two or three thousand. "

For a while, everyone sighed.

This house is worth their lifetime efforts.

This time I was on official duty.

At this time, King Qin heard that Prime Minister Liu Guan was seeking an audience.

His words are the taxes of Qin.

The Qin State inherited the Ming Dynasty and did not restrict land annexation. Taxes were based on the amount of land, so it was a two-tax system.

However, some areas owned by the Qin State collected taxes three times a year. In order to appease the people and reduce exploitation, they still had two taxes instead of three taxes.

In this way, Qin's annual tax revenue was as high as 800 million shi, far higher than in previous years.

However, due to the scarcity of currency, there were only a mere two million yuan in silver dollars.

"Prime Minister, there should be more than enough food!"

The King of Qin said solemnly: "Our Qin State's 21 prefectures should have 600 million people, with two crops a year, and there are no disasters. According to the Ming Dynasty, it is no less than the land of Jiangxi."

"These 800 million stones are too little. At least 1000 million is appropriate."

Food in Qin was so cheap that one silver dollar could buy three stones, so the actual price was only about five million yuan.

Too little, too little.

Ming Dynasty will be [-] million a year!

Thinking of this, King Qin couldn't help but be envious.

This is still handed over to the court, and it is still kept in the local area, and can be used in emergencies.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

"I think so too." Liu Guan said honestly:
"As far as I know, our Qin State has many paddy fields, especially the Red River Plain, which is no less than the Taihu Plain. It can be said to be a first-class paddy field."

"The same is true. The imperial court received 300 million shi of grain and nearly one million hectares of land in Jiaozhou Prefecture alone."

Speaking of this, he sighed with emotion: "If there was no handover to the state capital, the Qin State would be destroyed."

One government accounts for [-]% of taxes. No one would believe it, but it is a fact.

The Red River Plain has been developed for thousands of years, and now more than two million people live here. It is the inevitable center of politics and economy.

After all, the future Mekong Delta has not yet been developed!

"The imperial court's control over each county is limited to thirty miles. Thirty miles away is the world of each cave. The imperial court can only eliminate the northern caves by sending millions of troops at any cost and lasting ten years."

"And in the south, it doesn't take a hundred years to achieve success."

After the Qin Dynasty was unified, it gradually became a habit that the place where the Zheng family was formerly called the north was called the north, and the place where the Ruan family was called the south.

Upon hearing this, King Qin immediately stopped and said: "Forget it, let's recuperate now!"

He couldn't bear the price.

Liu Guan said seriously: "Your Highness has done a good job before. He dispatched capable officials and generals to the back counties and stationed a large army to stabilize the situation in each county and collect taxes."

"If things go on like this, Qin's tax revenue will surely increase day by day."

Obviously, Liu Guan agreed with the King of Qin sending people to seduce people in the country.

Compared with the natives of the Qin State, the Ming Dynasty scholars were more disgusted with the returnees and tribal chiefs.

King Qin could only lament that this could only be a waste of time.