The daily routine of the ancient imperial examination

At the end of September, General Shi took his soldiers back to the border. In addition to Emperor Ming and all the civil and military officials, the people in the capital also came out to send them off spontaneously.

In addition to these large armies going to the border, the tribes of the Sirius, the Lion Clan, and the Goutai Tribe also went back. After this war, the border should be peaceful for a period of time.

After the gang of barbarians left, Emperor Ming also began to reward everyone for their performance during this period.

The people in the city well reflected their spirit of being united in the Qing Dynasty. They selected a few of the most outstanding people to award honor medals. The money was not much, but it was mainly awarded by Emperor Ming himself. In this era, it can be regarded as a family heirloom.

Among them, Lu Xiuyuan, who suggested military training performances, was directly promoted to the Minister of Rites of the third rank by the Emperor Ming fulfilling his previous promise.

The former Zhao Shilang was directly sentenced to death for the crime of collaborating with the enemy and beheaded at noon.

After Lu Xiuyuan thanked him, he saw the sudden frowning look on Emperor Ming's face, and he couldn't help asking curiously: "Your Majesty, now that the foreign troubles have been eliminated, why do you still have this look?"

Emperor Ming glanced at him, and shook his head helplessly: "Erlang has contributed the most this time, I think this time the reward is a bit low, wouldn't it be better to add more?"

Hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan quickly waved his hand and refused: "No, no, His Majesty has given enough rewards during this time, there is no need to give additional rewards."

He has only been an official for two years, and he has already become the third rank, which has broken their rules for promotion in the Qing Dynasty. If this reward continues, I am really afraid that other people will be dissatisfied and come to find fault.

Besides himself, his second brother-in-law and Ah Chen all received rewards. From an outsider's point of view, the family seemed to be a bit of a threat to the imperial power at this time.

"You always think too much? Isn't the more rewards the better?" Emperor Ming patted Lu Xiuyuan on the shoulder: "Between you and me, why should you care about other people's opinions?"

In fact, he doesn't have a strong desire/desire for money, as long as he has enough, not to mention the money Yan Ruyu earned from writing his scripts, the rewards from the old emperor and Emperor Ming after he became an official are enough for his small family for most of their lives that's it.

"Your Majesty, if you really want to spend money, it's better to spend the reward money on construction."

After all, if you want to be a Mingjun, you can't just rely on the previous slogans and marketing. You must let the people really benefit, so that you can work together.

"Construction? What to do?" Emperor Ming didn't quite understand what this had to do with rewards.

Lu Xiuyuan directly explained the theory that the country is the people and the people are the country to Emperor Ming, and combined with history, he gave the other party examples to demonstrate how important the people's hearts are.

Water can carry a boat and overturn it. Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. If they do not serve the people, they will lose the hearts of the people and the country.

After a series of his party's ideological dissemination, Emperor Ming listened with a serious expression.

"I have also thought about changing the status quo, but the class is severely solidified, and the reform is like cutting the flesh of those nobles. How could those people be willing."

A community that is not handled properly and has finally stabilized will be in turmoil again: "Just to give you the simplest example, taxation. Now that the Qing Kingdom is constantly reclaiming wasteland for planting, there are more and more arable land, but the taxes collected every year are getting higher and higher. Less and less, tax evasion is serious, but I have no good way to deal with it..."

The reason why tax revenues are getting less and less is actually related to the promotion of scholars and local gentry who have achieved fame.

As the saying goes, a poor scholar is a rich man, not only because he can become an official, but also because he can exempt nearly a thousand acres of tax after being admitted!

Why are there countless strangers rushing to give you things after you get admitted to Juren?Isn't it because the other party has too much land tax in his hand, so you can evade taxes by giving Juren some gifts and putting the land in Juren's name!

Although apart from this, those people have other ulterior motives, but making money from land is considered a lot of default benefits in the reading circle.

After Emperor Ming finished talking about these scholars helping landlords and gentry to evade taxes, he took a special look at Lu Xiuyuan. ? ?Emperor Ming, what does this mean?Although he didn't understand, he still explained: "Your Majesty, there is less than a hundred acres of land under my name..."

When the news of his admission to Juren reached his hometown, many people came to give gifts, but at that time there was Mrs. Zhang in charge, and the other party felt that he could not give his son any excuses, so naturally all those who gave gifts politely invited them out.

Seeing his nervous expression, Emperor Ming smiled: "Erlang, you have misunderstood. The look in my eyes just now was to ask if you have any good solutions?"

Really?Why did Lu Xiuyuan feel a little disbelieving.

But this question is indeed a headache: "The previous ones are not easy to spit out, but His Majesty can change the rules later. When the rural examination is over next year, the tax exemption for Juren will be reduced from a thousand mu to a hundred mu."

"Anyway, this tax exemption is not hereditary. After the deaths of the previous Juren, the land tax will naturally come back, but it will take a long time..."

Emperor Ming was still frowning when he heard this. The other party knew that this was the most stable method, but it would take decades for it to take effect, so he couldn't wait.

Looking at this expression, Lu Xiuyuan knew that the other party was not satisfied with this method, so he simply suggested: "Your Majesty, why should you only focus on this basket of eggs, there are duck eggs and goose eggs in other places, can we find a way to get these?"

"Duck eggs and goose eggs from other places?" Emperor Ming was puzzled.

He simply analyzed to the other party: "Comparing the Qing Kingdom's money to a basket of eggs, the total amount is almost the same on the common people's side, more on the nobleman's side, and less on your majesty's side, but even if you give the whole basket of eggs For His Majesty, it’s actually not much.”

"As the saying goes, money is earned, not saved. It's better to break your thinking and think of ways to make more money."

"Where did you come from?" Emperor Ming laughed and said, "The national treasury basically depends on taxation. Recently, the national treasury is not empty because of the magic medicine, but it is probably a little difficult to make it sufficient."

"The frontier has been in a struggle before, and now the barbarians have been seriously injured. In the past few decades, the other side is expected to be very honest. Your Majesty might as well open up official business routes, rebuild the Silk Road, and form an imperial merchant to trade and make money."

After hearing Lu Xiuyuan's proposal, Emperor Ming was obviously moved.Qing Kingdom used to be very relaxed towards businessmen, so when there was no chaos on the border, those businessmen made a lot of money.

But after all, it was all earned by the merchants, and their treasury did not have much money from taxes alone, so when he heard that the royal family had established the Imperial Merchant to make money, Emperor Ming was inevitably moved.

"When the Silk Road is restarted, His Majesty can send troops to escort the imperial merchants to safety, and protect other caravans at the same time, but the merchant tax on them will be doubled in the future."

Lu Xiuyuan gave the other party an analysis with a serious look: "Your Majesty, don't worry about those merchants disagreeing. To be a merchant is to put your head on your trousers waist to make money. As long as you can protect those people's safety, you will have no complaints if the merchant tax is doubled."

Everyone earns money together, coupled with the official certification of the imperial merchants, it is definitely a big deal to buy goods outside, and those caravans just follow behind and drink soup.

"When His Majesty has made money, he will coerce and lure the land back from the squires. When the land is in the hands of the state, His Majesty will set up Huangzhuang to hire people to plant the land and store grain. In case of a catastrophe in the future, prices can be stabilized." .”

There is food in hand, and there is no panic in the heart. Only when there is enough food, the people's hearts will not be chaotic!

"In the past, all the money was earned by merchants. If His Majesty formed the Imperial Merchant himself, the national treasury would be relieved, and His Majesty would have the money to build infrastructure."

Hearing the unfamiliar vocabulary, Emperor Ming couldn't help asking curiously: "Infrastructure? What does infrastructure mean?"

As soon as this was mentioned, Lu Xiuyuan, who came from a future infrastructure powerhouse, became excited.

"Infrastructure is the basic construction to ensure people's livelihood. If you want to get rich, you must first build roads! Only when the roads are open, all places can communicate with each other, and money and goods flow, the more money will be earned, and the country will become more and more prosperous. vitality!"

Emperor Ming thought it made sense, and asked him to expand on it.

Before speaking, Lu Xiuyuan took a special look at the sky outside, the sun had already set in the west, it seems that today it will be very late again before he can go home.

He fantasized about how the young master would blow his hair, and he said, "The foreign aggression has been eradicated. At present, it is mainly about the internal development of the Qing Kingdom. I have probably made a few plans. Your Majesty is free to listen and see if it is feasible..."

Then he said the one-year plan, three-year plan, five-year plan, and ten-year plan that he had thought about before.

"The one-year plan, that is, from the beginning of the end of the year to the end of the next year, His Majesty can carry out large-scale infrastructure construction and build wide and flat roads in all major provinces, cities, and counties."

"As for where the money comes from, the children's examination will start in February next year. Your Majesty might as well cancel the prohibition that the sons of merchants are not allowed to take the imperial examination, and change it to just donate a certain amount of money to build roads, and get a good person card. without this limitation..."

In this way, low-status businessmen can also obtain fame and change their families, poor people can also get out of barren villages, and Emperor Ming can complete important infrastructure without any effort.

"With this temptation, merchants from these prefectures and counties will definitely come to donate money to build roads, and for those in remote villages, when the main road is built, the imperial merchant team will almost make money. Your Majesty can use the remaining roads in remote areas. Just build it."

"Only when the roads are open, can those trapped in the towns and villages come out and become the labor force of this country to promote the progress of the entire Qing Dynasty."

Hearing Lu Xiuyuan's plan, Emperor Ming's heart thumped. This plan is not only wonderful, it is almost tailor-made according to the state of Qing!It fits the national conditions of the Qing Dynasty so well!

Emperor Ming was so excited that he couldn't help reaching out and patting him on the shoulder.

"Erlang! Sure enough, I was not mistaken! You are the minister of the humerus bestowed on me by the heavens! With you in Qingguo, the future is absolutely unimaginable!"

That must be unimaginable, Lu Xiuyuan's next three-year plan, five-year plan and ten-year plan will definitely break through and constantly refresh the world's perception!

"So, what is the three-year plan that Erlang said later?" Emperor Ming's curiosity was completely aroused.

"I can't wait."

As for the three-year plan, Lu Xiuyuan looked at Emperor Ming's eyes full of inquiry and curiosity, feeling a little tangled in his heart.

After thinking about it for a while, he finally made an excuse and said: "Your Majesty, the three-year plan is a bit far away. I have not thought of it for the time being. I will go back tonight and think about it carefully, and I will present it to Your Majesty tomorrow."

After hearing this, although Emperor Ming was a little disappointed, he understood and did not continue to ask.

The one-year plan just now has absolutely confirmed Lu Xiuyuan's long-term vision, and the next three-year plan is naturally prudent and prudent, so he directly waved his hand to make people go back and think quickly.

After getting the permission, he felt relieved, thinking that he would have to work overtime until late at night again today.

"Then Weichen will leave first."

After leaving the palace and returning home, Lu Xiuyuan immediately locked himself in the study.

He had a plan for the follow-up development, and he quickly wrote it down when he was inspired. It would be bad if he said a few words to Chen when he got home and missed the important content.

Picking up the pen and dipping the ink, Lu Xiuyuan wrote on the paper the arrangement that he thought of in the palace.

After the first year of the plan is completed, even the remote villages will definitely improve their lives compared to before, and then a three-year plan will be proposed.

At that time, the road will be clear, and the communication between people will become well-informed, and then talents in various fields can be developed.

The imperial examinations have always been used to select talents, and the imperial examinations that can last for thousands of years have many disadvantages. The reason why he didn't directly speak out the three-year plan in front of Emperor Ming just now was because he was afraid that the other party would lose face and become angry after hearing it. .

Looking back at history from a modern perspective, their culture has indeed been very deep after thousands of years of precipitation, but why has it always been a big agricultural country instead of a big industrial country?

One of the most important factors is that Confucianism is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Workers and businessmen are the bottom of society and are not taken seriously. It can be said that as long as there is a boy in the family, they will try their best to send him to study, take the imperial examination and become an official.

If the other party's talent is average, and he can't pass the imperial examination and can't be an official, then if he is a scholar or a scholar, he will come out to teach, and if the talent is even worse, he will come out directly to farm or become an apprentice.

But are those who fail the imperial examination really stupid?Among them, there must be many people who are just not good at reading, and the other party's IQ is not bad.

The imperial examination system allows everyone in the country to study and select talents for the emperor. The country has also been continuously strengthened through generations of brainwashing.

Farming without studying is almost everyone's default thinking, so their ancient society lasted for thousands of years or a large agricultural country could not enter the industrial revolution.

The three-year plan that Lu Xiuyuan is making now is to break this concept, so that people in Qingguo can have other outlets besides studying!

And the way out is to invent and create!

Why did Europe enter the Industrial Revolution so early?The main reason is that the other party has few people and insufficient labor force, so we must find a way to find a machine to replace it.

However, the Qing Kingdom has a large population, and many problems can be solved by relying on crowd tactics. Perhaps this is one of the factors.

After all, after the development of gunpowder, it does not focus on the development of weapons and offenses, but pays attention to a peaceful country that is made of fireworks for appreciation.

No matter what, Lu Xiuyuan wanted to try to break this kind of thinking. After all, he came from a later life, and he knew that Qing was not the only country on earth.

Don't look at the fact that foreign troubles have been eliminated and the country is peaceful. They have to be prepared for danger in times of peace. Even if this is not a historical dynasty he is familiar with, they are also for the people of China and must also consider future generations.

There is no concept of weapons and no weapons at all.

Lu Xiuyuan kept writing down his plans one after another, telling Emperor Ming that the people of the whole country should not only study and farm, but must pay attention to other developments, and the other party does not need to specially cultivate, as long as the bounty is thrown out, people will continue to actively try .

For example, he wants to make harder steel, the most important cement for infrastructure, clear and bright mercury mirrors, or bicycles that are convenient for travel...

They can definitely come up with a general concept, and then publish a large amount of money rewards in newspapers and notices. With so many people in the Qing Kingdom, there will always be someone who can successfully research it!

Aside from the Qing Kingdom, the reverse research ability of later generations of rabbits has always been invincible!

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