Compared with the students of the beginner class and the final class, the academy actually has not much knowledge to teach to the advanced class, who are already well-known. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 On the one hand, it is to show the teaching performance of the college, and on the other hand, some teaching work can also be given to them to do to offset their expenses in the college. Of course, the most fundamental reason is the choice made by these people themselves.

For these scholars in the advanced class, it is somewhat uneconomical to give up the fame of several years of hard study and start over again by joining Haihan. After all, their fame is not valuable in the eyes of the Haihan people, and most of them have to start from the lowest level of scribes. But if you can get a good score in the next township examination or the general examination, then you can immediately turn a pheasant into a phoenix, and there are more ways to choose, at least not to the point of relying on street characters as a means of making a living.

Everything is inferior, but reading is high. These two sentences have always been regarded as golden rules by scholars in all dynasties, but since the opening of the Tang Dynasty, only after passing the "Jinshi" examination can there be an official to do. The admission rate of Jinshi has always been very low, and only a very small number of scholars in the world can obtain this honor, and the vast majority of them will not be able to blend into the system through this single-plank bridge in their lifetime.

This kind of fierce competition is, of course, the cruel reality that every scholar must face when choosing the path of the imperial examination, so in addition to the ultimate goal of becoming a sergeant and an official, most scholars actually still have a more realistic plan, such as changing careers to engage in other professions after obtaining the fame within their ability.

A more decent and income-guaranteed profession is probably to be a master for the incumbent officials. Officials from Kejia studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and could only write the eight-strand essay, and even some officials who relied on the payment of silver to donate officials to the official career could not even write the eight-strand text, and most of them could only be blind when they were asked to handle the actual affairs of grain collection and tax collection, trial and case handling, ushering in the delivery, submitting drafts, and issuing notices. Therefore, it is necessary to find some literate and practical assistants to assist them in handling political affairs.

If you are just a bookworm and do not have a certain amount of social experience, it will be difficult to get the favor of officials, after all, the position of master does not belong to the orthodox establishment of the yamen, and the salary and money are paid by the employer and officials themselves rather than public expenses, and it is definitely not possible to have no real skills. There is no age limit for the imperial examination, so you can still continue to participate in the imperial examination after becoming a master. You can study while taking a good salary and waiting for the next exam, which is indeed an excellent way out for students.

Of course, if you have an officially recognized reputation, then the starting point of being a master will definitely be higher. Prefecture and county officials generally hire talents with practical experience, while the masters hired by officials above the provincial highway level are basically lifters, and these senior masters will also hold more or less part of the real power of the government, and their status is by no means comparable to that of ordinary scholars. And the example of jumping from the status of a master to an important minister of a country has not appeared in history, such as Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang in the late Qing Dynasty, both of whom were humerus ministers from masters.

But then again, the number of officials is also limited, so not everyone can hold up the bowl of rice for the master, and there is also competition in this industry, and the proportion of scholars who can be hired as the master is actually not much higher than that of the jinshi who became an official in the examination. So most people end up having to find another way.

For example, a well-written reader can write official documents professionally, and the Tang Dynasty poet Li Yong wrote more than 800 official documents in his lifetime. "Masters of Kumon like this, as well as He Zhizhang, Song Zhiwen, Luo Binwang and others, rely on this special ability, and they can also have no worries about food and clothing.

In addition, there are also scholars who follow the precedent of the sages, open their own academies or tutor the powerful, and make a fortune by relying on the education industry. For example, the position of the mountain chief of the White Deer Academy has always been necessary to have a meritorious reputation in order to be qualified to take over. And the founders of these large and small double-digit academies in Danzhou are almost all unsuccessful literati of all dynasties. If you feel that running a college is troublesome and want to be lazy, you can also find a rich family to be a tutor, and you only need to manage so many students, and you can also have enough food and clothing.

Of course, there is another group of people who choose a more direct way to make a living, which is to go to the sea to do business. The literati who took this path generally had a solid family background, and it is true that not ordinary people can follow suit. For example, Shen Wansan in the Ming Dynasty and Wu Bingjian in the Qing Dynasty both chose to follow their fathers in business after the imperial examination was hopeless, and then became business giants at that time.

However, the above examples are difficult for local scholars in Danzhou to realize, mainly because the ruling power of Danzhou no longer belongs to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming officials on the entire Hainan Island either chose to take refuge in Haihan, or they were in a state of idleness, and there was no market demand for the profession of master, and naturally there was no way to talk about employment opportunities. As for the writing of official documents, even the yamen has ceased to operate, and there is no official document to write, and all the official documents reported in the past two years have been done by special departments on the Haihan side, so that the folk literati do not even have the opportunity to do odd jobs.

In the past two years, there have indeed been some wealthy and flexible scholars who have seized the business opportunity and become distribution agents or plantation farmers who cooperate with Haihan. However, this method is not available to everyone, after all, most scholars in this era still insist that businessmen are a relatively lowly profession and are unwilling to let go of their dignity as literati. And those who have this kind of plan may not have the corresponding ability and starting capital, and may not even be able to cross the threshold for entering the industry.

If you can't go through the above roads or don't want to go, and you don't want to put down your body to work for Haihan, then you can only stay here and live a mixed life, anyway, relying on the income of being a substitute teacher for the academy, at least three meals a day can still get by. Fan Changyi didn't really want to arrange for Ning Qi to visit the advanced class, but then he changed his mind - if the Haihan people took a fancy to someone during this period and took it away directly, it would also be very beneficial to the reputation of Bailu Academy.

This is not impossible to happen, after all, the scholars who can gain fame in the imperial examination will not have too bad cultural quality, and everyone here can stay in the academy to continue to study the subset of scriptures and history after Fan Changyi recognizes it, and the ability can be regarded as a little bit. Fan Changyi thinks that although these people still want to gain the fame of the Ming Dynasty, it does not mean that they are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, otherwise how could they willingly stay in the "enemy-occupied area" to live, and they should have moved out of here a long time ago. It is more likely that these people have the mentality of waiting for the price to sell, hoping to get a better offer by virtue of their talent or status.

Judging from Ning Qi's previous attitude, Fan Changyi felt that this high-ranking official of Haihan was still very interested in these students of Bailu Academy, and these people in the senior class could be regarded as the elite of the academy, and they also studied various policies of Haihan on weekdays, if Ning Qi asked them questions as before, presumably these people's answers would be more organized.

When Ning Qi came, he also learned about the situation of this advanced class, and when he arrived in the hall, he went directly to the topic: "Everyone here is a cultural person who has been to the provincial capital and even the capital, and has seen the great world, so I won't put any official shelf in front of you." ”

Everyone in the hall laughed a few times, but they also felt that the attitude of this big man was quite approachable, at least much better than those who had seen people with their nostrils before.

Ning Qi continued, "I have visited the elementary and intermediate classes of the academy before, and I have also communicated with the students, and I have a general understanding of the education method of the academy. I don't want to check your familiarity with Haihan textbooks here, since the Four Books and Five Classics can be memorized backwards, then the new textbooks of only a few dozen pages will definitely not be difficult for you. I want to hear it today, what do you think of the current Haihan, good and bad. You don't have to worry about being guilty because of this, we Haihan don't have such a thing as a literal prison, as long as what is said is the truth and reasonable, there is a chance to be rewarded. ”

Ning Qi's idea is to take today's opportunity to understand the real thoughts in the minds of folk intellectuals, especially these scholars who have not yet chosen to work for Haihan. However, he also knew that he was in a high position, and the people below might not dare to tell the truth in front of him, so he emphasized it in particular.

The Ming Dynasty's literary prison is not weaker than other dynasties, Ming Taizu because of the problem of origin, is particularly sensitive to the words monk, thief, thief, Kou, connected to fake words, homophones will not let go. Writings like "then" and "thief", "sheng" and "monk", and "dao" and "thief" will also be forcibly regarded as disrespectful. During the reign of Ming Taizu, there were as many as a few Fuxue instructors who were sentenced to behead for this reason. And the unlucky ghosts who were executed because of the literary prison were also high-ranking officials of the imperial court such as the Hanlin editor, the imperial history, and the prefect.

And the successor Ming Chengzu Zhu Di also completely inherited Zhu Yuanzhang's tyranny of literary prison, and after killing Fang Xiaoru, he also ordered that "those who write poems and writers in Tibetan filial piety will be guilty to death", and there is no shortage of people who have lost their lives. Although in the late Ming Dynasty, because of the chaos in the world, the emperor did not have the heart to ponder these things, but the prudence and deeds of the folk literati have become a habit, and they always remember not to discuss the government in vain.

After Ning Qi finished speaking, the audience really froze instantly, and their reactions were far inferior to the two classes they had seen before. These scholars have been to big cities and seen the world, and at the same time, they know better what they can do and what they can say, and the habits they have developed over a long period of time have made them not have a sense of trust in Ning Qi's comfort at all, and naturally they will not respond immediately to the topic he initiated.

Fan Changyi was a little anxious when he saw this, knowing that this high-ranking Haihan official was really easy to speak, if he missed this opportunity, these poor scholars might not be able to have such a good opportunity to perform in the future, so he hurriedly said: "Chief Ning is a big man in charge of culture and education in the Haihan Executive Committee, and it is already a blessing that has been cultivated for several generations to meet Chief Ning, so don't cherish it!"

After Fan Changyi's reprimand, someone who was bold finally raised his hand. After Ning Qi nodded, the man stood up and took a deep look, and then spoke: "Student Pan Mo, dare to ask a few questions, if there is anything inappropriate, I hope that the head Haihan." ”

Ning Qi said: "Although you can speak freely, you don't have to have any scruples. ”

Pan Mo made another move, and then said in a deep voice: "The student is from Mutang Town, Danzhou, and Chongzhen has been in the township examination for five years. At that time, Haihan sponsored most of the expenses for the examination in Guangzhou, and the students have always been very grateful. ”

Ning Qi nodded and responded: "We Haihan have always attached great importance to culture and education, and this triennial imperial examination, of course, must allow local candidates to rush to the examination room in the best state to take the exam." ”

Pan Mo said: "The student just doesn't understand here, since Haihan has the intention of snaring literati, why do you send me and other scholars to take the exam? Chief Ning, can you explain why?"

Ning Qi responded: "Before answering your questions, I also want to ask you to answer me a few questions first. Pan Mo, you should be in your twenties, you must have participated in the Autumn Festival more than once, right?"

Pan Mo responded: "The student won the show at the age of eighteen, and then participated in the autumn festival three times, but the qualifications were stupid, and the third time he went to the exam, he won the lift." ”

Ning Qi said: "Then let me ask you, what is the change in the number of people who go to Guangzhou from Danzhou to take the exam in these three exams?"

Pan Mo said: "In the township examination in the sixth year of the Apocalypse, there are about more than 100 people in Danzhou. By the second year of Chongzhen, the students remembered that there were about seventy or eighty people. However, this time, only about 30 people from Danzhou took the exam. ”

Ning Qi asked: "Then do you know why the transportation conditions have become more convenient in recent years, but the number of students who go to Guangzhou to take the exam is getting fewer and fewer every time?"

Pan Mo thought for a moment before replying, "The student thinks that it may be related to Haihan's arrival. Before Haihan arrived in Danzhou, he hired literati to work in Sanya at a high price, which attracted many unsuccessful literati to abandon their studies and go to Haihan. Later, after entering the local area, more people chose Haihan instead of Daming as the target of service. ”

"You're right. Ning Qi took over and said: "On one side is a single-plank bridge with little hope, and on the other side is the generous treatment at your fingertips, I think most people will choose the latter out of realistic considerations." The number of people going to the exam is decreasing year by year, which shows that the conditions we have prescribed are enough to meet the needs of most people, so that they will give up seeking a way out from Daming. But even if we offer the best terms, we can't satisfy everyone, and we don't intend to force all the students to work for us. Provide a little help for scholars who are willing to continue to take the imperial examination, and perhaps some of them will really develop into court officials in the future, which is also a good fate. (To be continued.) )