Chapter 978 974 [Prince tribute and female tribute]

  The first batch of merchant ships that followed Zhao Kuangtang to sea had already returned to Palembang.

  They not only earned food freight, but also sold spices, porcelain, tea and other goods to the Dutch in Ceylon and made a fortune. On the return voyage, it was fully loaded with cotton, ivory, gemstones and other commodities brought back from India (and Ceylon).

  Maritime merchants in Guangdong went to Palembang to trade, and brought these Indian goods back to the mainland, and brought back Zhao Kuangtang's immigration policy by the way.

  Zhao Kuangchen's old classmate Fang Zixin was sent back to Guangzhou to receive immigrants. He not only spread the news along the coast, but also spread the immigration policy to Jiangxi through inland freight forwarders.

  The first large group of immigrants came from the Ba Pai Yao area. Zhao Kuangtang’s cousin brought more than 600 people, and more than 80% of them were Yao people who were proficient in Chinese.

   Immediately afterwards, the Hakka people in the southern Ganshan Mountains heard from merchants who came to buy tobacco that they could get paddy fields when they went to India, and they could also receive a settling allowance before going to sea. Some Hakka people in the mountains were moved, and nearly a hundred of them ran to Fang Zixin in Guangzhou to report.

  Continuing further north, the people of Ji'an Prefecture got the news.

   This is Zhao Han's Longxing place, and it is also the place in Jiangxi with the largest population, the tightest land, and the most introverted imperial examinations!

  The prosperity of Ji'an Mansion is no less than that of Nanchang Mansion. Especially with the booming of maritime trade, a large amount of Jiangxi goods were transported from Ji'an Mansion down the Ganjiang River to the coastal ports through Guangdong, which was more prosperous than in the Ming Dynasty.

   Within half a year, two hundred people went south one after another, went to Guangzhou to find Fang Zixin and signed up to go to sea.

  Over 95% of these two hundred Ji’an immigrants graduated from primary school, and over 60% belonged to secondary school dropouts. They are willing to go to India, and the allocation of land is second, just to be an official!

  The imperial examination here is too fiercely competitive.

  In the Ming Dynasty in this time and space, there are a total of more than 80 champions, of which 12 champions are from Ji'an. Especially in the 80 years from Jianwen to Chenghua, the number one scholar from Ji'an Mansion directly accounted for one-third. In the second year of Jianwen, the scholars of Ji'an Prefecture won the first prize, third prize and second place. Zhu Di came to power, the first imperial examination, Ji'an scholars won the top seven.

  Jishui County in Ji'an Prefecture, within ten miles, five champions.

  Before the Datong New Dynasty was established, Ji'an Prefecture began to implement compulsory education. Thanks to the excellent imperial examination tradition, the poor people here in the mountains have to send their children to school even if they sell everything. The primary school dropout rate is the lowest in the country. Ask any young people on the street, and most of them have obtained a primary school diploma.

  But the number of public-funded students in middle schools is limited, and those who can go to public-funded middle schools are all top students who have fought their way out of it. There are countless self-supporting students in middle schools, and there are even coolies on the docks who eat bran and swallow vegetables for their children to go to middle school at their own expense.

  The number of public-funded students in universities is also limited, and the tuition fees for self-funded students are frighteningly high.

  As a result, a large number of middle school graduates emerge in Ji'an Prefecture every year. After all, only a small number of them can be admitted as officials, and the rest can only find jobs by themselves.

   I heard that King Jin founded the country in India, and scholars became officials when they went, and the group of scholars in Ji'an Mansion quickly became a sensation.

  If India is not too far away, I am afraid that more than 200 people have signed up to go to sea. Even if the destination is changed to Nanyang, there may be thousands of applicants, and the distant sea route scares away the vast majority of those who are interested.

  When these high-ranking intellectuals passed by, Zhao Kuangtang had no shortage of officials for the time being, all of them were treasures!

   Waiting for these two hundred Ji'an scholars to successfully arrive in India and settle down. Some of them will write letters to send money home, and some simply take their family members with them. After a few years, the demonstration effect will be achieved, and more scholars will be willing to go to sea.

   Once you go there, you can become an official, and you will be allocated paddy fields with two crops a year. You can also have groups of wives and concubines, and servants everywhere. If this kind of information spreads, it will be like a paradise for scholars who are unable to pass the examination as officials and are not satisfied with working in commercial companies.

   Perhaps in a few years, with the joining of a large number of scholars, Zhao Kuangyi will be able to completely rule Canmei City. At that time, with Taiwu City and Canmei City as the center, and colonizing the two counties at the same time, the expansion speed will definitely be doubled.

  Zhao Kuangyi obtained a high-quality population, and Ji'an Prefecture eased the contradiction between people and land and the employment pressure of scholars. Win-win!

  Maybe after someone emigrates, he takes the whole family with him.

  For example, my father is a coolie on the dock, my mother is a housewife doing odd jobs to subsidize the family, and there are a lot of brothers and sisters in the family. Their children are working as officials in the state of Jin to allocate land, and the whole family must emigrate. Parents enjoy good fortune in the village community, being the old man and old lady, served by a bunch of sudras and untouchable servants. The brothers may not have a high level of education, but they are more than enough to manage the tenants, so there is no need for soldiers to manage the village community. Just choose a prestigious Han village head.

  After a few decades, this kind of low-level family in Ji'an Prefecture will become a local big family in India.

  The only one who is really troubled is Li Quan. This guy's American immigration plan has always been difficult to get going. In the past, ordinary people all immigrated to Nanyang, and now there is an additional choice of India. Who wants to go to the Americas to develop?

  Li Quan can only rely on high profits to attract more sea merchants to do business in America. Relying on high wages, he attracted people to be his crew. As for immigration, it depends on the imperial court to send a few serious criminals into exile.

   Today's Datong China has ushered in a real population explosion period.

  Many children born in the new dynasty can make soy sauce. The society is stable, there is enough food and clothing, and the cubs are hard-pressed, and school-age children crowd the school.

  The three-year compulsory education has long been out of reach.

   Now not only is there no free lunch, but there is also a book fee, and even some states and counties have started to charge miscellaneous fees. The purpose is to reduce the number of enrollments, otherwise there will not be enough classrooms.

  The imperial court turned a blind eye to this.

  However, the imperial court has repeatedly emphasized that no compulsory fee for books should be charged, and students can bring their own books.

  Local officials are also a bit conscientious. Children who cannot afford tuition and miscellaneous fees can stand outside the classroom and listen, and they can still have school status. Once the auditors with excellent grades are found, all fees will be waived, and they will be put in the classroom to listen to lectures, so that these poor students can study with peace of mind.

  Zhao Han's compulsory education policy has just entered into an embarrassing state. As the population continues to grow, the situation will get worse in the future, and the number of children who have not read a day of primary school will become more and more.

   Again, the backward productivity of the agricultural society cannot support the advanced education system at all.

  …

  The second prince, Zhao Kuangting, has become very successful in India, and the third prince, Zhao Kuangping, has also graduated from university.

   Zhao Kuangping and the crown prince share the same mother, and both were born to Fei Rulan.

   Moreover, Zhao Kuangping's academic performance is very good, and his ability to solve problems exceeds that of his two elder brothers. He obtained his university diploma entirely on his strength. Next, he can even take part in the examination, and maybe he can become an official as a Jinshi—provided that he gives up his title.

  By the way, the second prince was named King of Jin, and the third prince was named King of Chu.

  The king of Chu, Zhao Kuangping, is obviously not stupid. Could it be that a good prince should not be a good prince, and he should start from a small official when he is released?

  Of course, in order to prove himself, he decided to take part in this year's examination. Moreover, I greeted my father in advance, and I only take the exam and not be an official, so that when the Ministry of Rites admits Jinshi, one more place will be admitted, so as not to cause a certain scholar to fail because of me.

  The Tribute Court of the Ministry of Rites.

  After ten days of reviewing papers, this year's tribute list is finally released.

  The Ministry of Rites is only responsible for organizing the exam, and is not allowed to participate in the proctoring and marking. Wang Tiaoding, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, rushed to inquire about the situation: "Has the king of Chu passed the exam?"

It was Yushi Youdu of the Procuratorate who presided over the examination, and replied with a smile: "The king of Chu passed the examination, and he was among the best, ranking 142nd in the examination. In addition, this year there is a female tribute from Jishui Zou Huaiyu from the county."

  Wang Tiaoding said with emotion: "The Zou family is a famous family in Jishui. Although the main family was confiscated by His Majesty, I didn't expect that the side branch would produce female Jinshi."

   It is normal for the first female Jinshi in the New Dynasty of Datong to come from Jishui County, but it is a bit difficult for Zhao Han to come from a rich family whose house was confiscated. Of course, Emperor Zhao was generous and would not embarrass a little girl.

  Besides the Tribute Academy, the list of Gongshi is posted.

  Zhao Kuangping and Zou Huaiyu are particularly conspicuous, because the Ministry of Rites marked their identities with red pens when making the list.

  Behind Zhao Kuangping's name, draw a red circle and write the word "King of Chu". Behind Zou Huaiyu's name, a red circle was drawn and the word "female" was written.

  The list was posted, and there was an uproar on the scene.

  Zou Huaiyu was wearing a Confucian shirt with a long sword slung across his waist, looking up at his name with a smile on his head. Not only was she admitted as a tribute, but she also ranked ninth on the tribute list, which was much more prestigious than the more than 100 kings of Chu.

   "Are there female tributes?"

   "Who is the female husband-in-law? Can you stand up and tell me?"

   "Dare to ask what is the age of this lesbian? I want to ask for advice."

   "..."

  Voices came and went, all asking for news about the female tribute.

   When Zou Huaiyu graduated from middle school, he was admitted to Jinling University as a public student. But her family was worried about her daughter leaving, so she stayed at Nanchang University to study, so she really didn't have much reputation in Nanjing.

  Candidates from Nanchang University naturally recognized Zou Huaiyu, and came over to congratulate him one after another.

  The others saw it and shouted: "Here is the female tribute, here is the female tribute!"

  Not only the examinees, but even the common people who watched the fun gathered around, wanting to see with their own eyes what the first female Jinshi in this dynasty looked like.

  Zou Huaiyu's appearance is not outstanding, not very beautiful, nor ugly, it is considered ordinary. But she was wearing a Confucian shirt, with a long sword hanging from her waist, standing there in a heroic posture, with the aura of a female Jinshi, she looked so dazzling at this moment.

   "What a talented woman, with extraordinary looks."

"Dare to ask if my son-in-law has ever been married. Although my son failed the exam this year, he can still continue the imperial examination. Even if he fails the imperial examination, he can still be a state official. My family has more than ten business companies, all over the north and south provinces. If my son-in-law is willing to marry, From now on, I can be an official without worrying about money."

   "This girl is in the same year. Several of us have passed the exam. We plan to go to Xuanwu Lake to hold a cultural meeting to celebrate. Would you like to join us?"

   "..."

Facing the messy inquiries, Zou Huaiyu made a bow and said: "Although I am not married, I have already got a marriage contract. After the palace examination, I will go home and get married." He also said, "I have to go back to the inn to prepare for the palace examination. I will not participate in any entertainment. I will let you down. The kindness of the same year."

  (end of this chapter)