On the ninth day of the first lunar month of the first year of the Long Han Dynasty, the first imperial examination of the Holy Han Empire finally began.

The Jingshi Gongyuan has long been heavily guarded, and even the nearby streets and alleys have been closed, and vehicles must detour. After careful inspection, the candidates and examiners entered the Tribute Courtyard, and then the soldiers of the Five Cities Terracotta Division closed the Tribute Courtyard.

From today onwards, there will be three consecutive examinations, each of which will be three days. You can take a half-day break after each test. You can leave the booth during this half day, but you can't leave the exam room.

Especially during the exam, I could only stay in a small room for three days, and I could only eat and drink in it.

For each of the referred lifters, these nine days are the most critical moment in a campaign.

Fortunately, the imperial court attaches great importance to this examination and has been preparing for more than half a year before the examination. The Gongyuan is newly renovated, each candidate's room is much larger than the past, each room is a small room closed on three sides and open on one side, there are not only tables and chairs in it, but also a small kang bed at the back.

This kang bed is connected in rows, and there is a special person outside to burn charcoal, and the fireworks are accessible, so that the kang bed is kept warm all day during the exam. In this way, the test booth will be warmer when the candidates take the exam, and they will not have to be tossed when they rest at night, and they can have a good rest.

Even the meals, in the past nine days, were specially prepared by the imperial court, and then sent to the candidates by the soldiers, so that everyone had a full and hot meal to eat, and there was no need to gnaw dry food.

In short, the imperial court attached great importance to this examination and tried to do the best possible hardware facilities.

In particular, this exam was not held in one room, but in three rooms at the same time. The three examination rooms are divided into three examination rooms in the north and south, and the six thousand people in the country will take the examination in the three examination rooms according to the region, and after the examination, the examination papers are also divided into three examinations, and finally the first two hundred Jinshi are admitted.

Those scholars in Beijing who failed to get the reference qualification can only look at those candidates with envy and are happy and painful.

The end of the year is approaching. Liu Jun became more and more busy.

In particular, the three departments and one department of finance and taxation have reached the most important period. It is necessary not only to examine the taxes and expenditures of the past year, but also to examine the use of the original central and local fiscal and taxation budgets, and even to examine and approve the financial expenditure budget for next year as soon as possible.

Various audit meetings, financial meetings, tax meetings, etc., continue one after another.

At the end of the meeting, Liu Jun basically had to make the final decision, there was no way, it was related to the country's financial and taxation affairs, whether it was the budget table for the coming year, the allocation of the budget, and the use of last year's budget, etc., he had to make the final check.

This year's fiscal revenue has reached more than one billion yuan. The payouts are also extremely high.

But according to the report of the Department of Taxation, there will not be so much revenue next year. This year's billions of taxes, the bulk of which is the deed tax, but starting next year, this predatory income will basically be gone, from next year, although the deed tax is retained, but it is the real deed tax, only when the transaction deed can be taxed according to the transaction amount on the contract.

By estimate. Next year's deed tax revenue may be less than 1% of this year's levy.

With this huge revenue gone, tax revenues will definitely drop significantly next year. Although commercial taxes and tariffs will continue to increase, the growth part. Far inferior to a reduced deed tax.

Fortunately, in this year's imperial court's pacification of the southwest and northern conquests, an additional war fortune was also made. After deducting the expenses of the war, the imperial court benefited greatly from the war this year, especially in the southwestern provinces. The Tusi tribes of several provinces were wiped out at once, and almost all the wealth and land they had accumulated for generations fell into the hands of the imperial court.

Moreover, those large quantities of mountain and forest minerals have also become the resources of the imperial court.

Next year's budget is still not low. The main thing is the expansion of the army, the navy's shipbuilding plan, the expansion of the army's establishment, and the comprehensive armament of artillery and firearms, all of which will require a lot of military expenditure. Especially next year, there may be several wars to be fought, the battle to recover Liaodong in the northeast, and the battle with the Mongols in Qinghai and Tibet in the northwest.

At the same time, the southwest region may also have to go to war with the Burmese next year to recapture the Liuwei area, or even open up the southwest outlet to the sea to the south.

The Privy Council's plan for the use of troops was far more than that, and the navy even had the ambition to intervene in the South Seas War next year, and they put forward a huge plan to take advantage of Portugal's weakness to send troops to seize Malacca, so as to expand its strength in the South Seas and obtain a strategic place in order to compete with Spain and the Netherlands in the South Seas.

Malacca is located in the far South Seas, and its opponents are Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands and other European powers, so this battle is no less than taking millet from the fire, and it is not easy. Liu Jun has not yet decided whether to fight this battle, but the navy has another plan, and they plan to use troops against Japan next year.

Japan has now begun to ban the export of gold and silver to Han merchants, which has caused a crisis in the gold and silver needs of the imperial court, and has even begun to affect the economy of the Han Dynasty, and the monetary system of the Han Dynasty silver dollar and silver dollar bills has begun to be impacted.

The navy was very conscious of sharing the country's worries, and they put forward a plan to send troops to Japan, prepared to assemble a fleet, teach the Japanese a good lesson, and force them to reopen the export of silver and copper. Even some young naval officers have shouted that since the Japanese banned the export of silver and copper, violating the peace treaty signed with the Han Dynasty before, the Han simply sent troops to occupy the large silver and copper mines in Japan, and then arrested the Japanese young men to mine and produce their own.

The Army also put forward their plan-for-tat.

The army is also very ambitious, and the navy wants to intervene in the South Seas and clean up Japan. The army is ready to completely destroy the Jurchens next year, and then conquer the Moxi Mongols, and by the way, in the southwest region, kill Burma, and if there is still strength left, go to Vietnam by the way.

Looking at the persuasion between the navy and the army, Liu Jun only shook his head.

The strength of the imperial court simply cannot support so many battles at the same time, and among these battles, being able to fight two battles at the same time is already the upper limit.

However, he also knows that this is also a trick between the two sides, in order to compete for the allocation of military budgets. First make the plan bigger, fight for the budget higher, in short, in the end, you have to bargain with the imperial court. They demanded a price all over the sky, and in the end, the court landed and paid back, and no one thought that they really wanted a full-scale war and a multi-front war. In short, they were satisfied with one or two military plans supported by the emperor and the imperial court.

In terms of military planning, it is possible to cut most of the plans and cut most of the budget.

But there are some costs that cannot be saved. I can't save it.

The first is the cost of immigration, this year the imperial court has laid down a lot of territory and set up many provincial capitals. The imperial court has invested a lot of financial resources and manpower this year to make this big immigration plan. As soon as the spring of next year begins, there will be immigrants everywhere.

Within next year, the imperial court's plan is to emigrate to the southeast, northwest, and northwest at the same time, and more than 10 million immigrants a year. This is a difficult task, even if the imperial court has now put forward a counterpart immigration plan, one will send one to connect the two provinces, and one will be responsible for the migration. One is responsible for the placement, but it will still be an extremely difficult task.

The second expense that cannot be saved is education. The Kyoto Normal University, which is dedicated to the training of officials, the normal schools that will soon be opened in the provincial capitals, and some technical schools, all require a lot of investment. In addition, the township primary schools and county middle schools to be opened in various localities are also a large amount of expenditure. In particular, the imperial court is preparing to implement three-year compulsory education, and each township must set up a primary school, which may require the opening of tens of thousands of primary schools at once, and the cost of schools, teachers, and textbooks is not a small number.

But what should be spent has to be spent. Liu Jun was well aware of the importance of immigration and education to the imperial court.

Next year, the salary expenditure of officials will also be a large amount, and now the imperial court has opened the local government offices to the township level, and the government at all levels has increased the number of officials. The salary was raised again, and the salary expenses of the imperial court increased tenfold and hundredfold all at once.

In the end, Liu Jun looked at it and could only cut the military budget again.

Every time the budget is insufficient, Liu Jun can only go back and cut another knife from the military budget.

Although it is possible to make money by fighting. But first pay.

Liu Jun had already put aside the military plan for next year's Northern Expedition to the Jurchens, and he revised the plan. Let the Mongols conquer the Jurchens in Liaodong first, and then the Han official army will take over the defeated Liaoshen. As for the farther away places such as Harwin, Minghui, etc. Slow down first.

"Your Majesty, Admiral Feng of the Jinyi Guard asks to see you." The waiter retribution.

Liu Jun came back to his senses from the pile of recitals, and he didn't raise his head, "Xuan." ”

Feng Sheng entered the hall with excitement on his face, "Your Majesty, the minister just received the good news, Jinyiwei found the thief in Xikang, and captured the thief Li Zicheng and the backbone of the army Liu Zongmin, Yuan Zongdi and others five days ago. The remnants of the thieves, after a while, all fell into the legal net. ”

Hearing the news, Liu Jun couldn't help but put down the fold in his hand and raised his head. There was a look of surprise in his eyes, "Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin have been captured?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, not only Li Zicheng, but also the remnants of the army were captured in one net, and we were all caught in one net. Now Jinyiwei is escorting them to Beijing, and the local garrison in Xikang and Sichuan has sent heavy troops to escort them. At most, in half a month, they will be able to be staked into the Beijing Division. ”

"Good!"

Liu Jun slapped his thigh and shouted a good word.

Although Li Zicheng was killed by Qin Liangyu after the battle half a year ago, he fled in the wilderness, and then became a trend. However, Li Zicheng, as a rebel for more than ten years, still has a very good reputation.

If he doesn't die for a day, Liu Jun won't be at ease for a day.

It is very meaningful for this kind of old bandit to be captured and taken to Jingshi Ming for canonical punishment.

In the early years, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting captured King Lao Chuang, and later Liu Jun captured Zhang Xianzhong, and then destroyed the fifth battalion of Gezuo.

Not long ago, Jinyiwei caught Cao Cao and Luo Rucai, who were fleeing like a lost dog.

Now even Li Zicheng has finally been arrested, so that the old men who were rampant in the world in the Ming season of that year have also been eliminated one by one.

With their demise, an old era has finally come to an end.

Just when Liu Jun was happy about the capture of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, the Privy Council suddenly reported an urgent message.

The Satsuma Domain of Japan recently suddenly attacked the Ryukyu Kingdom, and they occupied the Ryukyus, killed the Ryukyu royal family, and annexed the Ryukyus.

"How can it be!"

Liu Jun slapped his palm on the imperial case, and at the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, the king of the Ryukyus sent envoys to Jingshi, took the initiative to pay tribute, and asked the emperor of the Han Dynasty to canonize him.

Liu Jun canonized him as the king of the Ryukyus and awarded him a golden seal.

Therefore, the Ryukyu Kingdom, like Korea, was a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, but now, the Japanese actually invaded the Ryukyus and killed the Ryukyu king and royal family.

As early as more than 30 years ago, Tokugawa Ieyasu sent samurai from the Satsuma Domain to attack the Ryukyus, put the Ryukyu king under house arrest, and sent people to supervise the affairs of the Ryukyus.

When Liu Jun sent troops to Japan, the Tokyo Treaty signed with Japan clearly stipulated that Ryukyu was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, and let Japan withdraw its troops from Ryukyu and release the king of Ryukyu.

Unexpectedly, now the Japanese are really getting more and more emboldened, and they dare to openly send troops to occupy the Ryukyus, and they also killed the Ryukyu royal family.

"The Japanese don't pay attention to the treaty they signed with us at all!" Liu Jun's eyes flashed with fierceness. (To be continued.) )