noffsinger Chapter 313 Return to Qingshan County
Chapter 313 Return to Qingshan County
This scholar named He was very shrewd. The saying "No gain, no early rise" was tailor-made for him. When they were in the academy before, this scholar had never paid any attention to him, Gu Wenhai and Gu Wenche.
Although they and Bai Jingzhou were all from farming families, Bai Jingzhou was different from them in one aspect - Bai Jingzhou had been commended by His Majesty the Emperor.
Although Bai Jingzhou was a low-key person and had never actively publicized his achievements or the awards he had received from the emperor, well-informed people always had their ways to know which of his classmates he needed to make friends with and which he should never mess with.
As for Bai Jingshan, Gu Wenhai and Gu Wenche, in the eyes of the scholar surnamed He, they were just ordinary farmers who were related to Bai Jingzhou and were not worth his attention at all.
If they passed the imperial examination this time, this person would probably condescend to say a few words to them. After all, even if a person who passed the imperial examination had a poor family background, he might still be able to enter the officialdom in the future.
Now judging from the attitude of this scholar named He, it is very likely that he and Gu Wenhai have failed the exam.
Sure enough, Bai Jingshan's inference was soon verified. Among the five students in Baijia Village, only Bai Jingzhou and Bai Lizheng's eldest grandson Bai Yaoheng passed the examination and became scholars. The other three unfortunately failed.
Gu Wenxuan comforted the dejected Gu Wenhai and the other two, "Don't be discouraged, you are still young. If you don't pass the exam this year, you can take it again the year after next."
Fang Youfu also said: "That's right, it's already amazing that you can pass the examination to become a Tongsheng at the age of teens."
Anyway, the Tongshi is held twice every three years, while the provincial and metropolitan examinations are held once every three years. If they fail this year, they can go back and work hard for two years, and then take the exam again two years later. It will not delay their participation in the provincial examination.
The three of them didn't want to affect Bai Jingzhou and Bai Yaoheng's good mood, so they forced themselves to smile less stiffly and forcedly.
Bai Jingzhou patted the three on the shoulders and said, "Why are you smiling so ugly? If you are unhappy, just show it. Yaoheng and I understand that you are in a bad mood."
After hearing what he said, the three of them felt inexplicably less depressed. Now even if you asked them to act dejected, they couldn't do it.
The group walked back to the large house that Gu Wenxuan had just bought, avoiding Gu Wenhai and others who went back to their rooms to adjust their moods. Gu Wenxuan privately asked Bai Jingzhou, "Will they be able to pass the exam the year after next?"
Bai Jingzhou didn't dare to guarantee it, and only said: "If there are no unexpected circumstances."
They had discussed academic matters together many times, so Bai Jingzhou knew the levels of the other three people very well. Unfortunately, they were at the level where it would not be surprising whether they passed or not. If they worked hard for two years, they would have a good chance of passing the exam when they come back.
Gu Wenxuan breathed a sigh of relief, "I feel relieved when you say that."
This time her eyes were finally opened. When she sent these teenagers to take the exam, she actually saw several old students with gray hair and wrinkles on their faces.
They are already this old, not only their physical fitness has deteriorated, but their memory has also become slower. Yet they still refuse to give up and continue on this path. Gu Wenxuan doesn't know whether she should admire them or sympathize with their families.
She felt complicated when she saw them walking slowly and without energy, yet still trying so hard to squeeze onto the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination.
If she had any choice, she didn't want her brother, his wife and children to have to live a life where everything depended on the imperial examination.
That afternoon, all the scholars were called to the Ministry of Education to listen to the teachings and encouragement from the chief official of the Ministry of Education, the prefect of Daming Prefecture.
The next day, Gu Wenxuan and his group packed their bags and left the city early to return to their hometown, Qingshan County.
After arriving at the county seat, Bai Jingzhou and Bai Yaoheng went to the county government office to pay a visit to County Magistrate Peng, the magistrate of Qingshan County.
Both of them will be enrolled in the county school, accept monthly lessons and examinations from the instructors, and receive six dou (equivalent to 75 jin) of rice from the county school every month.
In addition to food and clothing provided by the state, the two men could also enjoy special treatment such as exemption from the poll tax, political and judicial privileges, the use of slaves, and the ability to wear long gowns, square scarves, and long boots.
It should be noted here that exemption from the poll tax does not mean exemption from the land tax. Dayan learned from the lesson of the previous dynasty's demise and only gave the founding fathers who were granted titles the benefit of exemption from the land tax on a certain amount of land.
Others, including the Jinshi gentlemen who entered the court as officials and the new court nobles who were later granted titles, did not enjoy the benefit of exemption from land tax.
The so-called exemption from corvée tax means that the scholar not only does not have to perform corvée labor himself, but he can also be exempted from corvée labor for the two male adults in his family, thus saving a lot of money.
As for the political and judicial privileges, it means that when a person obtains the title of scholar, officials will treat him with courtesy. He can meet officials without kneeling. Even if he breaks the law, local officials must first report to the school officials before dealing with him. Moreover, they are not allowed to use torture instruments on him like ordinary people.
The use of slaves has been mentioned before. If a family does not have anyone with a meritorious title, the family can only hire people to help with work by signing a labor contract. They cannot buy slaves or use servants who have signed a death contract.
In addition, the government also gave cakes, fruits, red envelopes, paper and pens to those who performed well in the annual examinations in prefecture, state and county schools.
Although the quality and quantity depend on the financial situation of the local government and the degree of importance that local officials attach to education, this welfare is still very popular among students.
For them, this is a great opportunity to make a name for themselves and a benefit that has more symbolic significance than practical significance.
In addition, when it came time for the imperial examination, local officials would organize a farewell party for them as per custom, sending them off to take the exam with drums and gongs.
If the local officials were generous, the students could even be invited to a banquet and receive some travel expenses from the yamen after the banquet. When they set off, they could enjoy other benefits such as servants, carriages and horses provided by the yamen.
As the saying goes, "The state's grace is the greatest of all, and the nurturing of scholars is the greatest. Once you enter the school, you will be noble: your neighbors respect you and dare not bully you; the government will honor you and will not humiliate you; the county will take care of all your corvée duties, and all your lawsuits will be handled by the government offices; the annual examination booths, cakes and fruits, bonuses, paper and pens, all of which are the people's blood and sweat; the annual banquets, colorful music, husbands and horses, and travel expenses, all of which are for fame and fortune."
"All things are inferior, only reading is superior." The class leap and huge benefits brought by scholars passing imperial examinations were not an exaggeration in ancient times.
Unlike Bai Jingzhou who planned to continue studying in the academy, Bai Yaoheng had already discussed with his family that as long as he passed the examination for a scholar, he would transfer out of the private school he had attended before and stay in the county school to study.