Chapter 984 Waiting for sale

Compared with the students in the junior and ultimate classes, the academy actually has little knowledge to teach those who are already famous in the senior class. Letting these people stay in the academy is on the one hand to show the teaching achievements of the academy, and on the other hand, some teaching work can also be left to them to do to offset their expenses in the academy. Of course, the most fundamental reason is the choices made by these people themselves.

For these scholars in the senior class, it is somewhat unprofitable to give up the fame and fortune that has been studied hard for several years and defect to Hai Han to start over. After all, their fame is not valuable in the eyes of Hai Han people, and they have to start from the lowest level of scholars after going there. But if they can get good grades in the next provincial or imperial examination, they will immediately become phoenixes, and there will be more ways to choose from, at least they will not fall to the point of relying on street selling words as a means of making a living.

All are inferior, but only high school students. These two sentences have always been regarded as the golden rule by scholars of all dynasties. However, since the Tang Dynasty, they have only been admitted to the "Jinshi" exam and can only be an official position after passing the "Jinshi". The admission rate of Jinshi has always been very low. Only a very small number of scholars in the world can receive such honors, and most people will not be able to get into the system through this single-plank bridge throughout their lives.

This fierce competition is of course a cruel reality that every scholar must face when choosing the path of imperial examinations. Therefore, in addition to the ultimate goal of being a Jinshi, most scholars still have more realistic plans, such as after obtaining the best fame and fortune, they will change careers and engage in other careers.

A more decent and income-protected profession is probably the master of the incumbent officials. Officials from the Academic School studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and only knew how to write eight-part essays. Some officials who relied on the bank to pay the silver to go to the official career could not even write eight-part essays. After taking office, these rookies took office, they would handle grain collection, tax collection, review cases, welcome and send off, report drafts, and issue notices, and most of them could only be blind. Therefore, they had to find some educated and practical assistants to assist them in handling political affairs.

If you are just a bookworm and do not have certain social experience, it is difficult to get favor from officials. After all, the position of a master does not belong to the orthodox yamen. The salary is paid by the employer and official, rather than public expenses. It is definitely not possible without some real skills. The imperial examination does not have age restrictions, so you can continue to participate in the imperial examination after becoming a master. You can continue to study while taking generous treatment while waiting for the next exam opportunity. This is indeed an excellent way out for scholars.

Of course, if you have an official fame and honor, then the starting point of being a master will definitely be higher. Officials in prefectures and counties generally hire scholars with practical experience, while officials above the provincial road and above are basically juren hired by officials, and these senior masters will more or less control some of the official power, and their status is by no means comparable to ordinary scholars. Moreover, the example of jumping from a master to an important minister in a country has not appeared in history. For example, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty were both humeral ministers from the master.

But then again, the number of officials is limited, so not everyone can hold the master's job and eat it. There is also competition in this industry. The proportion of scholars who can be hired as masters is actually not much higher than those who pass the imperial examination and become officials. Therefore, most people have to find other ways out in the end.

For example, scholars with good writing skills can write official documents professionally. Li Yong, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote more than 800 official documents in his life. The "New Book of Tang" records that "Li Yong received a huge amount of silver for the time being, and he was a rich man based on this." Such official documents masters, including He Zhizhang, Song Zhiwen, Luo Binwang and others, relying on this special ability, could also make a living without worries.

In addition, there are also literati who failed to pass the precedent, who opened a college or tutored the powerful and became rich by relying on the education industry. For example, the position of the chief of Bailu Academy has always had to be qualified to take over the position of Juren. However, the founders of this two-digit academies in Danzhou, which are of all large and small, are almost all the literati who failed to pass the exam from all dynasties. If you think it is troublesome to run a college, you can also find a rich family to be a tutor. Just manage a few students and you can also have enough food and clothing.

Of course, there is another type of people who choose to make a living that is more direct, that is, go into business. Literati who walk this path generally have a wealthy family background, and it is indeed not something that ordinary people can imitate. For example, Shen Wansan of the Ming Dynasty and Wu Bingjian of the Qing Dynasty all chose to follow their parents to do business after they had no hope of imperial examinations, and then they became business giants at that time.

However, for local scholars in Danzhou, it is difficult to realize it. The main reason is that the rule of Danzhou is no longer due to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming officials on the entire Hainan Island either chose to surrender to Haihan or were in an idle state. The profession of the master has no market demand at all, so naturally there is no way to talk about employment opportunities. As for writing official documents, even the yamen has stopped operating, so there is no official document to write. In the past two years, all the official documents reported were done by the special departments of Haihan, which has not even had the opportunity to do odd jobs.

As for the road to going into business, Haihan is very welcome. In the past two years, some scholars with wealthy and flexible minds have seized the business opportunities and become distribution agents or plantation farmers who cooperate with Haihan. But this method is not something that everyone can use. After all, most scholars in this era still insist that merchants are relatively low-level professions and are unwilling to give up their dignity as literati. People with such plans may not have the corresponding ability and starting capital, and may not even be able to cross the threshold for entering the industry.

If the above paths cannot be understood or are unwilling to go, and are unwilling to give up their status and serve Hai Han, then you can only stay here for a gangster. Anyway, by earning from being a substitute teacher for the academy, you can still get through at least three meals a day. Fan Changyi didn't want to arrange for Ning Qi to visit the advanced class, but later he changed his mind - if the Hai Han people like someone during this period, it would be of great benefit to the reputation of Bailu Academy.

This is not impossible. After all, scholars who can achieve fame and honor in the imperial examination will not have too bad cultural quality. Moreover, everyone here can only stay in the academy and continue to study the classics, history, and collections after Fan Changyi recognizes. It is a bit of skill. Fan Changyi believes that although these people still want to get fame in the Ming Dynasty, it does not mean that they are very loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, how could they stay in the "enemy-occupied area" willingly and should have moved away from here long ago. The greater possibility is that these people are waiting for a price, hoping to get a better offer with their identity as scholars or juren.

Judging from the attitude that Ning Qi showed before, Fan Changyi felt that this senior official of Hai Han was still very interested in the students of Bailu Academy. The senior class people were considered elites in the academy and they often studied various policies of Hai Han. If Ning Qi asked them as before, the answers of these people would be more organized.

Ning Qi also learned about the situation of this senior class when he came to the hall. When he arrived, he went straight to the topic: "Everyone here has been to the provincial capital and even the capital, and has seen the world-class cultural people, so I will not put on the airs of an official in front of you."

Everyone in the hall laughed a few times in the venue, but they felt that the big man's attitude was quite approachable, at least it was much better than those who had seen the school officials who looked at people with their nostrils before.

Ning Qi continued: "I have visited the junior and intermediate classes of the academy before, and also communicated with the students and had a general understanding of the academy's education methods. Here I don't want to randomly check your familiarity with the Haihan textbooks. Since you can memorize the Four Books and Five Classics, the new textbook with only a few dozen pages will definitely not be difficult for you. I want to listen to it today. What do you think of the current Haihan? You can talk about the good and bad ones. You don't have to worry about being punished because of this. We Haihan does not have the word "literary inquisition". As long as you say the facts and make sense, you will have the chance to get rewards."

Ning Qi's idea was to take today's opportunity to learn about the real thoughts in the minds of folk intellectuals, especially those scholars who have not yet chosen to serve Hai Han. However, he also knew that he was of high status and power, and the people below might not dare to tell the truth in front of him, so he emphasized it especially.

The literary inquisition in the Ming Dynasty was not weaker than other dynasties. Because of his background, the Ming Taizu was particularly sensitive to the words "女", "女", "女", "女" and "女" and "女" and "女" were particularly sensitive to the words "女", "女", "女" and "女" and "女" would be forcibly regarded as disrespectful by him. During the reign of the Ming Taizu, there were several teachings of the official school who were sentenced to be executed. And the unlucky people who were executed because of the literary inquisition were also executed, including Hanlin editors, censors, prefects and other senior officials of the court.

Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, fully inherited Zhu Yuanzhang's literary inquisition. After killing Fang Xiaoru, he also ordered that those who had hidden Fang Xiaoru's poems and essays be punished until death. Therefore, there were many people who lost their lives. Later, Wuzong and Shizong also had similar literary inquisitions. Although in the late Ming Dynasty, the emperor had no intention of thinking about these things that were not available, the cautious words and deeds of folk literati had become a habit, and they always remembered that they should not discuss the government affairs.

After Ning Qi finished speaking, the conversation was in a flash, and his reaction was far less than that of the two classes I had seen before. These scholars have visited big cities and saw the world, and they also know better what they can do and say. The habits they have developed for a long time have made them not feel trust in Ning Qi's comfort, and naturally they will not respond to the topics he initiated immediately.

Fan Changyi was a little anxious when he saw this. He knew that this senior official of Hai Han was really easy to talk to. If he missed this opportunity, these poor scholars might not have such a good opportunity to perform in the future. He quickly said to him: "Chief Ning is a great figure in charge of culture and education in the Hai Han Executive Committee. It has been a blessing for you to meet Chief Ning for several lifetimes, so you won't cherish it!"

After Fan Changyi scolded him, a brave man finally raised his hand. After Ning Qi nodded, the man stood up and bowed deeply, and then said, "Student Pan Mo, dare to ask a few questions. If there is any inappropriateness, I hope the leader will be willing to let him go."

Ning Qi said: "You can speak freely and don't have any scruples."

Pan Mo bowed again and then said in a deep voice: "The student is from Mutang Town, Danzhou. He passed the provincial examination in the fifth year of Chongzhen. At that time, most of the fees for going to Guangzhou for the exam were sponsored by Hai Han, and the students were always very grateful."

Ning Qi responded little by little: "We Haihan have always attached great importance to culture and education. The imperial examinations once every three years must of course allow local candidates to rush to the examination room to take the exam in the best condition."

Pan Mo said: "Students don't understand it here. Since Hai Han wants to recruit literati, why should I send us scholars to the exam? It is important to know that the higher the fame and reputation you have achieved in the Ming Dynasty, the lower the possibility of serving Hai Han. Can Chief Ning explain the reason?"

Ning Qi replied: "Before answering your question, I would like to ask you to answer a few questions first. Pan Mo, you should be in your twenties, so I must have participated in the autumn examination more than once, right?"

Pan Moying said: "The student passed the scholar at the age of 18. After that, he participated in the autumn examination three times. He was just stupid in qualifications and passed the imperial examination for the third time."

Ning Qi said: "Then let me ask you, what changes have occurred in the number of people who went from Danzhou to Guangzhou for the exam in these three exams?"

Pan Mo said: "In the sixth year of Tianqi, there were about 100 people in Danzhou who took the exam. By the second year of Chongzhen, the students remembered that there were about 70 or 80. However, this time in the fifth year of Chongzhen, only a few 30 people in Danzhou were on the exam."

Ning Qi asked: "Then do you know why transportation conditions have become more convenient in recent years, but fewer scholars go to Guangzhou to take the exam every time?"

Pan Mo thought for a while before answering: "Students thought it might be related to the arrival of Hai Han. Before Hai Han arrived in Danzhou, he hired literati to work at Sanya at a high price, which attracted many failed literati to abandon their studies and join Hai Han. Later, after taking over the local area, more people chose Hai Han instead of the Ming Dynasty as their targets of service."

"You are right." Ning Qi took over the conversation and said, "One side is a single-plank bridge with slim hope, and the other side is a generous treatment that is within reach. I think most people will choose the latter out of realistic considerations. The number of people taking the exam year by year, which shows that the conditions we have offered are enough to meet the needs of most people and make them give up seeking a way out from the Ming Dynasty. But no matter how good the conditions we offer, it is impossible for everyone to be satisfied, and we do not intend to force all scholars to serve us. Provide a little help to scholars who are willing to continue taking the imperial examination. Perhaps some of them will really become the imperial court official in the future, which is also a good fate."

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!