Daming Military Empire

Chapter 375
The development of transportation in Daming has even surpassed some backward countries in later generations, such as railways. Although they have not yet covered all state capitals, all provinces are connected, that is to say, even the most remote state capitals are far away from the railway. The distance will not exceed eight hundred miles.

For eight hundred miles, it would take at least two or three days for ordinary people to drive fast, but if it is a courier, that is, the current post office clerk, if you change horses quickly and change horses along the way, you can really drive eight hundred miles in one day. This is the so-called eight hundred miles. Hurry up, anyway, many state capitals now have railways, and most of the fast horses in the post office have been transferred to the state capitals without railways. There is really no shortage of fast horses.

With this terrifying transmission speed, even in the most remote state capital of Ming Dynasty, as long as the calligraphy and painting works are prepared within five days, they can definitely be transmitted to the capital within fifteen days. Therefore, starting from the sixth day, The General Post Office of the General Administration of the General Administration in Xicheng continuously received calligraphy and painting works from all over the country. On the seventh day, the number of works received exceeded [-]. The review process begins.

In a huge lecture hall of the Imperial College, a hundred officials dispatched in an emergency sat neatly under the podium, and the invited ten masters of calligraphy and painting, Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, and Wu Meicun also sat in two rows on the podium On the stage, students from Guozijian continued to bring up unpacked works in piles. After the initial review by the audience, they were delivered to the stage for further evaluation. send back.

The busiest people at this time are not the officials judging the works in the lobby, but the Guozijian students who are dismantling them outside. The works sent over are all packaged in cardboard tubes, and they have to be careful with the seals on the paper tubes. Cut open, take out the works inside, flatten and stack them on a large wooden tray, and then send them to the lobby. Unqualified ones have to be brought back, rolled up, stuffed back into the original paper tube, sealed with glue, and returned to Tongzheng As the officials of the envoy, one can imagine the huge workload involved.

At this moment, Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, and Wu Meicun sat on the stage the most relaxed. They were only responsible for the final checks. Although the number of works sent over every day was as many as [-] or even hundreds of thousands, Daming did not have so many Calligraphy and painting masters, most people come here for the third prize, just want to try their luck, there are not many real masterpieces, and very few of them can pass the preliminary review of the [-] officials below. The size is not bad.

Therefore, only a thousand pieces of works can be passed on to the stage every day, and more than half of them will be brushed down by ten masters of painting and calligraphy. Only two or three hundred pieces of works can be passed on to them for viewing a day, and they even have time Holding a few of the best masterpieces, appreciating them carefully, and then commenting on each other, the expressions are happy and intoxicated, so comfortable.

After nearly half a month of selection, all the works of the "Prosperous Ming Dynasty" calligraphy and painting competition have finally been reviewed. Xu Guangqi, Huang Daozhou, Wu Meicun, Luo Yang and Xu Erjue jointly brought 24 works that were proposed to be the first prize and [-] works that were proposed to be the first prize. The works of the second prize came to the palace and handed over to the emperor for final decision.

As far as Zhu Cijiong's calligraphy and painting skills are concerned, after so many years of training, there is still a little bit, especially in painting, he has studied under Liu Ruozai, a master of calligraphy and painting, and has practiced hard for several years. Although he can't say that he has reached the master level, professional level The level is definitely there.

He originally thought that he was only interested in paintings, so he admired the award-winning paintings first. These paintings, no matter in terms of conception, layout, technique, etc., are enough to make people overwhelmed. The application of lines is so subtle, he feels that just by looking at these paintings, his painting level has improved!
When he looked at the paintings admiringly, and then came to look at the calligraphy works, he specially asked his teacher Xu Guangqi to give advice, for fear that his level was limited and he would not be able to see the mystery in them. Paintings are also put in.

Chinese characters do have their unique charm. After thousands of years of painstaking research by countless literati, the writing of Chinese characters has already risen to the height of art.

After Zhu Cijiong gave some pointers, he seemed to really see that his strength penetrated the back of the paper, his pen was like a dragon and a snake, and his pen and silver hook jumped off the paper. Looking at it, he gradually became addicted to it. This kind of enjoyment is like the rain after a long drought. , heartily.

After he finished reading, more than an hour passed. Looking at the expectant eyes of everyone, Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but praised: "Okay, these works are very good, and people will be addicted to them without knowing it. A great pleasure."

Unexpectedly, just after he finished admiring, his mentor Xu Guangqi sighed: "Oh, it's a pity that this kind of competition is only one time. If it can be held for a long time, the painting and calligraphy circles of Ming Dynasty will definitely shine brilliantly and shine in future generations. In this rare peaceful and prosperous age, It is a pity not to leave more masterpieces handed down for future generations. I boldly suggest to the emperor to continue to hold this calligraphy competition, preferably every three years, so as to encourage calligraphy and painting lovers to continuously hone their skills and create More good work."

Zhu Cijiong heard the words and immediately made a decision: "The teacher is right. In this peaceful and prosperous age, we should create more cultural heritage for future generations. Not only can we hold calligraphy and painting competitions, but we can also hold poetry competitions, song and prose competitions, and even prose competitions." Well, it's more comprehensive."

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he cupped his hands excitedly and said, "The emperor is wise."

Zhu Cijiong hurriedly cupped his hands in return and said: "It all depends on the teacher's teaching, I just make the best use of the situation."

Xu Guangqi was a little embarrassed when he heard the words: "The emperor's reputation is too high, and I don't dare to take credit for it, but how will the rewards of the competition be determined in the future? This time it is mainly for the issuance of new bank notes. What about in the future?"

Naturally, Zhu Cijiong will not be troubled by this question. There will be more competitions like this in later generations. He said without hesitation: "This is simple. The reward silver can be found in merchants for cooperation. This is a great opportunity for publicity. If they don't come out, there will be four royal families." The company takes turns. As for the glory, the winning works of the poetry competition can be edited into poetry collections and published, songs and prose can be compiled into operas and recited, and articles can also be compiled into books and handed down."

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he couldn't help but praised: "Poetry collections, operas, books handed down from generation to generation, good, good, not in vain of the prosperous age, not in vain of the prosperous age!"

Zhu Cijiong was about to say a few words of modesty, when he suddenly felt blessed, he thought for a while, and said loudly: "How about this, the four companies of the royal family will each contribute 100 million taels a year to help each yamen organize various competitions. For example, the Ministry of Rites can Organize chess competitions, piano competitions, the Ministry of Industry can organize professional skills competitions, equipment development competitions, the Ministry of Households can organize abacus competitions, etc., so that it can not only promote the development of all walks of life, but also enrich the lives of ordinary people. What a waste of prosperity!"

When everyone heard the words, they all praised the emperor for his wisdom, and the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty was just right!
(End of this chapter)