The current development of transportation in the Ming Dynasty has even surpassed some backward countries in later generations, such as railways. Although the railways have not yet covered all prefectures, all provinces are connected, which means that even the most remote prefectures will not be more than 800 miles away from the railways.

Eight hundred miles, if an ordinary person whips up the horse, it takes at least two or three days. However, if it is a postman, the current post office clerk, and the current post office clerk, constantly changing horses along the way, can really rush 800 miles in one day. This is the so-called 800 miles of speed. Anyway, many prefectures now have railways, and most of the post office’s fast horses have been transferred to prefectures where there is no railway connection, and there is really no shortage of fast horses.

At this terrifying speed of transmission, even if the capital in the most remote state in the Ming Dynasty was ready within five days, it would definitely be transmitted to the capital within fifteen days. Therefore, from the sixth day, the General Post Office of the Tongzheng Envoy Department in Xicheng continued to receive calligraphy and painting works sent from all over the country. On the seventh day, more than 100,000 works were received. After Xu Guangqi and others urgently entered the palace to consult with the emperor, the review of the works began on the eighth day.

In a huge teaching lobby in the Imperial College, a hundred urgently selected officials sat neatly under the podium. Ten masters of calligraphy and painting, Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou and Wu Meicun were invited to sit in two rows on the podium. Students from the Imperial College kept bringing up the unpacked works in a stack. After the preliminary review from the audience, they would be delivered to the stage for further evaluation. If they failed, they would be put back on the wooden plate and repackaged and sent back.

At this time, the busiest thing is not the officials who evaluate the works in the lobby, but the students of the Imperial College who disassembled and installed outside. The works sent by them are all encapsulated with paper tubes. They must first cut the seal on the paper tube, take out the works inside and spread them flat on a large wooden plate, and then send them to the lobby. Those who fail must be brought back, rolled up and stuffed back to the original paper tube, sealed with glue, and handed back to the officials of the Tongzheng Department. The huge workload in this can be imagined.

The easiest thing at this time was Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou and Wu Meicun on the high-rise stage. They were only responsible for the final inspection. Although the works sent by as many as 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of yuan every day, there were not so many masters of calligraphy and painting in the Ming Dynasty. Most people just came for the third prize and wanted to try their luck. There were not many real masterpieces. There were very few who could pass the preliminary review of the one hundred officials below. It would be good if there were one or two of the one hundred works.

So there are only a thousand works that can be passed on to the stage every day, and most of them have to be painted by ten masters of calligraphy and painting. Only two or three hundred works can be passed on to them in a day. They even have time to take a few of the best works, appreciate them carefully, and then savor each other. The expression was intoxicating and so comfortable.

After nearly half a month of selection, all the works in the "Prosperous Ming Dynasty" calligraphy and painting competition were finally evaluated. Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, Wu Meicun, Luo Yangxing and Xu Erjue jointly brought twenty-four works that were planned as the first prize and two hundred works that were planned as the second prize, and handed them over to the emperor to the final decision.

If you talk about Zhu Cijiu's calligraphy and painting skills, after so many years of training, there is still a little bit, especially in painting. He studied under the master of calligraphy and painting, Liu Ruozai, and has been practicing hard for several years. Although he dare not say that he has reached the master level, he is definitely at the professional level.

He originally thought that he would only be interested in paintings, so the first thing he admired was the award-winning paintings. These paintings, whether in terms of conception, layout, techniques, etc., were enough to make people amazed. The processing of some details and the application of some lines was extremely subtle. He felt that just by looking at these paintings, his painting level was improving!

When he finished reading the paintings and then looking at the calligraphy works, he specially asked his mentor Xu Guangqi to give advice, for fear that his level would be limited and he could not see the mystery. Unexpectedly, once his mentor's guidance, he could read more than his paintings.

Chinese characters do have their unique charm. After thousands of years of careful study by countless literati and poets, the writing of Chinese characters has long reached the height of art.

After some guidance, Zhu Cijiu seemed to really see his strength penetrated the back of the paper. His pen was like a dragon and a snake, flowing clouds and water, and the iron pen and silver hook were vividly displayed on the paper. As he looked, he gradually became addicted to it. This kind of enjoyment was like a long drought and rain, full of joy.

After he finished reading it, more than an hour passed. Looking at the look of everyone's expectation, Zhu Cijiu couldn't help but praise: "Okay, these works are all very good, and people are addicted to it unknowingly after reading it. It's simply a great enjoyment."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished his praise, his mentor Xu Guangqi sighed: "Alas, it's a pity that such a competition is only once. If it can be held for a long time, the calligraphy and painting circles of the Ming Dynasty will definitely shine and shine in future generations. It is a pity that it will not leave many masterpieces for future generations. I dared to suggest that the emperor continue to hold this calligraphy competition, it's best to be held every three years, so as to inspire calligraphy and painting enthusiasts to constantly hone their skills and create more masterpieces."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cijiu immediately made a decision: "What my teacher said is right. In this peaceful and prosperous era, we should create more cultural heritage for future generations. Not only can we hold calligraphy and painting competitions, but also poetry competitions, song competitions, or even prose competitions, so that it will be more comprehensive."

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he bowed excitedly and said, "The Emperor is wise."

Zhu Cijing quickly bowed and replied, "This is all thanks to the teacher's teaching, I'm just taking advantage of the situation."

Xu Guangqi said embarrassedly when he heard this: "The emperor is too proud, and the empress do not dare to take credit, but how can the rewards for the competition be determined in the future? This time it is mainly for issuing new silver notes. What will happen in the future?"

This problem is naturally not difficult for Zhu Cijiu. There are many such competitions in later generations. He said without thinking: "This is simple, you can go to merchants to cooperate with the silver medal. This is a great opportunity for publicity. If they don't come out, four royal companies will take turns. As for glory, the winning works of the poetry competition can be edited into poetry collections and published, songs can be compiled into operas and chants, and articles can be compiled into books and passed down from generation to generation."

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he couldn't help but praise: "Collected poems, operas, books passed down from generation to generation, good, good, it's not in vain, it's not in vain!"

Zhu Cijiu was about to say a few words of modesty when he suddenly felt that blessings came to his heart. He thought for a while and said loudly: "It's better to do this. From now on, the four royal companies each spend 1 million taels each year to assist the government agencies in organizing various competitions. For example, the Ministry of Rites can organize chess and piano competitions, the Ministry of Works can organize professional skills competitions, equipment development competitions, the Ministry of Revenue can organize abacus competitions, etc. This can not only promote the development of all walks of life, but also enrich the lives of ordinary people. Wouldn't it be even more worthwhile to have a prosperous era!"

When everyone heard this, they praised the emperor for his wiseness and prosperity in the Ming Dynasty, which was just like this!
Chapter completed!