Hearing their conversation, Du Zhongxiao couldn't help but turn his head to look. Of the five people, four were short-dressed manual laborers, and only a young man in his twenties was dressed in a green shirt. The young man was neither humble nor arrogant, but just said yes.

During the time of Emperor Zhenzong, the Jinshi were still mainly northerners. With the passage of time, in these imperial examinations, there were more and more southerners in the middle of the jinshi, and fewer and fewer northerners. There are many reasons for this situation, such as the fact that when the country was first founded, there were various restrictions on southerners, and there were even legends that southerners were not allowed to be taken as people. There are also economic factors, which have had a greater impact on the north and the south unaffected. There is also the issue of customs, in the south, most of them are inhabited by clans and jointly build schools, and when the government does not invest much, education is carried out relatively early. The north was influenced by the late Tang Dynasty and the five dynasties, and the people rarely saw large clans. In the first few sessions, after some people were selected as jinshi, they moved with a small number of clansmen, and did not form a tradition in the local area. Of course, the most important thing is that in the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, the Jinshi exam began to be slowly summarized into routines, and the advantages of southerners expanded.

In these two imperial examinations, various factors were superimposed, and the gap between the north and the south became wider and wider, and the northern jinshi began to be dispensable. A state jinshi, in the south of Fujian, Jiangnan and other places, is not uncommon at all. But in Ye County, it is particularly important.

The five people sat down, and the eldest man said to the little guy: "Serve a few fresh fruits and vegetables, and then one person will have a bowl of mutton soup." ”

The man next to him said: "Big brother, Shiro will enter the capital tomorrow, and he can't be so stingy today!" Little guy, cut another plate of cooked meat, and have a fish! Our brother has passed the liberation test and will enter Beijing tomorrow to prepare for the provincial test next year, and we will eat better! ”

The little guy hurriedly saluted: "It turned out to be a new non-commissioned officer, and the little one is polite." In this case, there is a big carp in the store today, why don't you have one, after it is braised in the red, it will be enough for a few of you to eat. This fish is very delicious and cheap. ”

A few men weighed it together, asked for wine again, and asked the little guy to prepare.

Looking at the five people, Tao Seventeen said: "Look at their appearance, these five people are farming nearby." Since the opening of the iron prison, the natives here have lived a good life, and the family can afford to study, and the relieved Shiro thinks that it was their brothers who offered it together. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. Tao Seventeen is right, the iron prison has been open for seven or eight years, and the people who benefited at that time have begun to bear fruit. There are few people and more land on Jingxi Road, and the yield per mu is not high, and it is difficult for the farmer to have a scholar unless it is ancestral. In the past, it was difficult to have a teacher in the countryside, and Du Zhongxiao Jingxi Yingtian, local schools began to increase. When the economy is good and there are more readers, there will be Mr. Enlightenment.

After a while, the wine and food came up, and Du Zhongxiao and Tao Seventeen talked while eating, talking about the recent changes in the Baiting Prison.

Tao Seventeen said: "Speaking of which, I was born in a poor family, and if I didn't follow the officials, I wouldn't even be able to read and write." I can only see that things are changing, but I can't say why. The official's visit this time has made me understand many truths. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The truth is actually simple. Why is this place rich? The money earned after getting rich, how much into the official, how much into the master's family, and how much into the people who do things, is just unreasonable. ”

Tao 17 said: "The factory that is open now, in fact, the government confiscated how much money. The government collects money, what it collects is tax money, and there are many private transactions, which cannot be checked at all, where to collect money? At present, the county government only collects taxes in a few prosperous places such as a few large wharves and stations, according to the goods transported. The government doesn't even know how many factories there are, so where do they collect money? ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "The factory makes money, and it is much more powerful than ordinary stores." If you don't take their money, it's not right in the end. ”

In a factory with dozens of people, the factory owner earns a few thousand yuan a year, and it is not uncommon for the factory owner to earn more than 10,000 yuan. How many such factories are there in the entire Baiting Prison? If taxes could be collected, money and food would not be comparable to what they are now. This is a nascent affair, and the local government has no experience in managing it, so it can only be left to its own devices. The money and grain of the Baiting supervisor were mainly collected by the local government for goods and merchants, and the living tax of some shops, but the largest one was not taken care of.

In order to evade taxes, the factories in Ye County can resolutely not use them without train transportation. It is difficult to evade taxes by train, but it is much easier to transport by water. Transporting a section of the road in a big car, not boarding the ship at the wharf, where can the government find out clearly?

While Du Zhongxiao and Tao Seventeen were talking, food was also served on the table of five people on the side. The eldest said: "We coolies can't eat meat a few times a year. Today, I saw Shiro off, with all the wine and meat, and you all had a full meal. ”

Shiro arched his hand: "Three elder brothers, and younger brothers, I can solve this problem, and it all depends on your usual support." It's just a solution, if you can't get into the jinshi when you enter the capital, everything has to start all over again, and it's empty after all. ”

Da Lang said: "How can you say such frustrating words? Farmers like ours don't make money in the past few years, where will there be scholars! If you don't get into the jinshi, there is nothing, and when you come back to the county, there are many things to do, and you don't have to work like us. ”

Several brothers said yes together. They are a family that moved from Hedong Road several generations ago, and they have been farming for a living, and there is not even a literate person in the family. This time, Shiro passed the liberation test, and several people thought it was a great honor.

In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination did not ask about the family, and there were few restrictions, as long as you could read poetry and books, and there was a guarantor, you could participate. It seems that the conditions are relaxed, but in fact the literacy rate of the whole society is only what is it? Moreover, folk education is underdeveloped, there are few enlightenment schools in the countryside, it is not a family history, or by chance, ordinary people do not have the opportunity to read and write.

With the construction of the iron prison, the income of the people in the vicinity increased, and with the encouragement of the government, the enlightenment school was built in the countryside. Those who are gifted will show their extraordinarity in the enlightenment school, and then send them to the county school, and only then will the children of the farming family have passed the test.

This is the case with Wang Shilang, who was in his early teens and just happened to enter the Enlightenment School. performed well, learned to read and write, and did not enter the school of the iron prison like most people, but entered the county school. The quality of teaching in small places is naturally not good, and it all depends on one's own ability to write good articles. This time, Baiting supervised the release and passed the release test in the first place, which made his brothers very excited.

Tomorrow I will leave for the capital to prepare for the study tour, increase my knowledge, and prepare for the provincial test in the coming year. The five brothers came out, drank wine once, and saw him off. The four people who provided Wang Shilang with education, the eldest and Goro farmed at home, relying on melons, fruits and vegetables, and had a good life over the years. The other two are all working in a nearby factory, and since they are locals, it is easy to find a job, and they are all right.

Even if you can't pass the Jinshi exam, there is nothing, Da Lang is right, what is Ye County? If you lift someone and look for it casually, you will have a lot of good errands, and you don't need to make any more efforts. The Wang family came out with this person, which is really an ancestral virtue.

Seeing the people around him, Wang Shilang said: "Brother, our Baiting Prison is not like before, and now there are many people who are studying, and there is really nothing to explain in the prison." You can rest assured, after I arrive in the capital, I will work hard and live up to your expectations. ”

Wang Dalang said: "You are very good now, even if you don't win, it is the glory of our Wang family." Folks, don't say anything, this year, you are the first to explain, which shows that we poor people will have a way out in the future. You just have to read the book, and we'll take care of the rest! ”

Wang Shilang said yes, drank a glass of wine with everyone, and thanked him again and again.

Du Zhongxiao saw it and said to Tao Seventeen: "In the past, in Ruzhou, several people were released a year, and there were not as many people as the current Baiting supervisor. It seems that in the past few years, the Baiting Prison has become rich, and it is indeed different from before. ”

Tao Seventeen said: "That's nature. Look at the family over there, they have been farming for generations, and no one in the family has read poetry and books. If it weren't for the money in the local area over the years, how could there have been people in his family who sent the test? ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "Yes, the local life is relaxed, and if you can come up with money, the people will benefit." By the way, now Bai Tingjian is here, how is the school? Children of ordinary people, don't you know that it is not easy to read and write? ”

Tao 17 said: "If you are a local, or a person from the iron prison, it is not difficult to read and write. However, I didn't know much about poetry and books, and most of them still went to the school of the iron prison, and after learning it, they had a bowl of rice to eat. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded. The iron supervisor is a technical school, and as long as you study carefully, it is relatively easy to almost teach and learn. Reading poetry and books still requires talent, and not everyone can read them.

In the Jinshi examination, officials are selected and have their own ideology. Although it will also form a routine, resulting in the concentration of certain regional families, as long as the number of admissions is guaranteed, it is generally fair. In this situation, without the imperial examination, what method is used to select officials?

There are various disadvantages of the imperial examination, but the fairness of the examination is better than the other methods. Of course, after the officials are selected, how the court will use them is another issue. In the past few decades, due to the excessive grace and shade, there were many redundant officials, but with the increase in the demand for officials in recent years, it has been alleviated a lot. Judging from the situation in Ye County, in fact, it is possible to continue to increase the number of officials, but there are still too few people selected for the imperial examination.

With the development of the economy, the number of local officials increases, and there must be enough officials to use them. Compared with Enyin, the officials elected by the imperial examination are still much more reliable. With the popularization of education, in fact, more people can be selected.

Most of the problems of officials in history are not because they are examined, but because of the problems caused by the use of the imperial court.

In these days in Ye County, Du Zhongxiao can see that the current place, not only Baiting Supervisor, but also all places need to increase officials in order to keep up with the changes in the situation. And the officials who need it are better to come from the imperial examination. In the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty, compared with the later Ming and Qing dynasties, more people were selected, and because of the special performance, the people of the Zhongjin Shi were generally not old and could be trained.

The development of industry and economy has brought about changes in all aspects, and the regime needs to keep up with these changes.