February in the Hongji Dynasty is a busy month.

As soon as the day was bright, Mao Cheng got up early and began the final preparations before going to the exam.

He was wearing a green cloth robe and a square scarf, looking simple and elegant as a literati, and his eyes were full of firmness and perseverance.

In the dim light, he carefully examined the three treasures of his study: pen, ink, and inkstone, to make sure that each one was intact.

His heart is full of anticipation and nervousness at the moment, this exam is his hard study and pursuit for many years, and going to the exam today will determine the fate of this life.

Mao Cheng was a lone ranger, leading his old servant out of the inn with a lantern on his back, with examination tools and a food basket on his back. With the endless flow of people on the street, slowly walk towards the gate of Suncheon Gongwonwon.

The front of the temple was already crowded with people, and people from all over the world were standing in groups of three or five, or alone, waiting for the moment when the door opened.

Here they talk in whispers or close their eyes, and there is an atmosphere of tension and anticipation in the air.

"Isn't this the god of hair?"

"It's just a blind cat hitting a dead mouse!"

"This person is a little clever, but he can try to talk about real skills!"

……

There is a smell of gunpowder among students in various provinces, and in the face of Mao Cheng's competitor, there are also arrogant Jiangxi students who stand up and become yin and yang.

Earlier, the public opinion in the capital about the southern tour of the Son of Heaven in distress suddenly became hot in the capital, and Mao Cheng keenly captured the cattiness in it, and also reported the matter to his father-in-law.

His father-in-law, Chen Kai, also reported the matter to Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, who reprimanded Chen Kai at that time, but rewarded Chen Kai afterwards.

As the first Mao Cheng to discover that things were abnormal, this time it was a meritorious performance, so Mao Cheng also became a little popular in the capital because of this matter.

It's just that there are many people who are popular, and now many people who regard themselves as Mao Cheng as a thorn in their side, and they sarcastically faced Mao Cheng, who is in his early thirties: "Looking at his face, I'm afraid it's more than thirty, right?" If it was my son, he would have reported to the household department a long time ago and be an honest officer! ”

Mao Cheng maintains a consistent and modest style of acting, and usually takes the initiative in the face of acquaintances, but he is deaf to the gossip or ridicule next to him.

What is quite surprising is that the chief examiner this time is Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War.

Although he is no longer interested in casting a protégé for the exam, he and Liu Xuan finally got in touch with his father-in-law, so he is now acting more low-key.

Liu Xuan, the secretary of the military department, was one of the celebrities around the emperor, and now he appeared here with a group of examiners, and then carried out a fixed pre-examination ceremony.

As the gate of the Tribute Courtyard slowly opened, people lined up to enter in turn.

Mao Cheng followed the team forward, secretly praying in his heart that everything would go well, even if he recognized it.

At the entrance gate, he was subjected to a strict search.

After carefully inspecting the test box, food and bedding he was carrying, the inspector told him to take off his clothes and make sure that he did not carry any prohibited items before allowing him to enter the examination room.

Mao Cheng walked along the wide corridor to find the Tianzi No. 1 test lane he had assigned, and then found the assigned No. 9 test room, and began to put down his luggage to clean the test house like other lifters.

When all the candidates entered, the gate of the Gongyuan slowly closed, and it took the ninth day for the gate to reopen. Even if a fire breaks out here, it is preferred to extinguish the fire yourself.

The three drums of Mingyuan Building sounded, and the exam officially began.

Mao Cheng took a deep breath, saw the exam questions that had just been handed out, and began to answer the questions.

His heart was filled with a vision of the future, a moment of effort that would determine his future destiny, and he was eager to devote himself to the construction of this thriving empire.

Just when the liberal arts examination was in full swing, the martial arts department had also quietly opened.

Since the current emperor Hongzhi attaches great importance to army building, the military department has been reformed. On the basis of martial arts, the martial arts academy was established for potential martial artists from all over the country to enter the academy for further study.

As soon as dawn broke, the morning glow shone on the gate of the martial arts academy, and the copper nails shimmered with a faint light.

In front of the academy, there was a lot of people, and martial artists from all over the country gathered here, they were either wearing cotton clothes or silk, and everyone's eyes flashed with love for military affairs and vision for the future.

As the bell rang, the gate of the academy slowly opened.

The young Qi Jingtong greeted the rising sun that fell on his cheeks, and when he saw this new world belonging to soldiers, he couldn't help but have a bright smile on his face.

He followed the Wuju people in front of him and entered this sacred academy in the order that had been arranged in advance.

They stepped on the bluestone-paved road, and on both sides were a statue of a solemn soldier, and the central position was the famous Martial Saint Guan Erye.

Qi Jingtong, like the other martial artists, followed an official of the martial arts academy to a spacious hall located on the central axis of the academy, where several rows of tables and chairs were placed.

Each student has a test paper and pen, ink, paper and inkstone in front of them, and this is their first exam.

The content of the exam covers the art of war, strategy, and historical allusions, and to many people's surprise, the most important questions are in maritime knowledge and geography.

Qi Jingtong has a heart that yearns for a new world, and with the knowledge accumulated over the years, he immediately answered the test paper like other candidates.

There was silence in the room, only the rustle of the tip of a pen scratching the paper.

The current martial arts retains the illiterate Wu Kui and the martial champion who knows the art of war, but from the positions of the first Wu Kui Lin Yuanyang and Wu Zhuangyuan Yu Yuanzan, it can be seen that the latter's achievement points will be higher.

Although the assessment of martial arts has been greatly relaxed, the level of martial arts academy has been increased. Nowadays, Wuju people can only go through the martial arts academy to further their studies, so that they can obtain the fame of Wujin Shi and become the seed of the Ming Empire's reserve generals.

This time, as long as they can enter the martial arts academy and successfully graduate, then they can start from the deputy hundred households or hundred households, and they will also enter the training plan of important military talents of the empire.

According to the current plan of the Ministry of War, future generals will be given priority to generals with a diploma from the martial arts academy.

Qi Jingtong could have exchanged for the hereditary military position of one hundred households by passing on to his uncle Qi Xuan, but he finally chose to give up the succession to his uncle, and decided to come to the capital alone to fight.

Although it will be more difficult to choose this path, he wants to be a man with dignity, contribute to the empire through his own efforts, and obtain a hereditary military position for his family.

After the end of the exam, the group of candidates was taken to the back of the campus, which was the most important pre-admission test.

A variety of weapon racks and shooting ranges have already been arranged here, and candidates need to choose the weapons they are good at to display their martial arts, showing a solid foundation in martial arts.

When it came to shooting, they originally needed to shoot bows and arrows in a unified manner, but now that the assessment has been relaxed, candidates can also use firearms to shoot.

After seeing or hearing the power of flintlock pistols, everyone knows that firearms are the future of the military, so more and more candidates choose to shoot with firearms.

Qi Jingtong chose a bow and arrow, not that he couldn't see the bright future of firearms, but that he always felt that only by having a solid foundation could he become a real general.

"How did you do in the last two exams?"

"I played okay, I think I still have a good chance of being accepted!"

"Work hard, we will be assigned overseas as an officer after graduation!"

……

After the two exams, several familiar Shandong martial artists got together, and they had already planned their future and had clear goals and ideals for life.

Although the days of stationing troops overseas are relatively difficult, it is a recognized fact that the treatment of overseas troops is good, especially more and more veterans who have returned to China and bring Korean beauties back to envy others.

Although prostitution overseas is despicable, middle- and lower-level sergeants are all young men with a strong blood, and now being able to garrison overseas has become a place where many low-level sergeants want to go.

In particular, the arrangements of the Eastern Naval Region and the Nanyang Military Region are constantly expanding, and even if they enter the martial arts academy for further study, don't they want to use the martial arts academy as a springboard to serve as officers in overseas military regions to live a good life?

Qi Jingtong just stood next to him and did not participate in the topic.

He had naturally heard about the overseas garrison, and he also knew that more and more soldiers were yearning for overseas, and even a cousin of his Qi clan was the first batch of troops to go to Senzhi Island to garrison.

Originally, the uncle could transfer his cousin back to the rank of two ranks, but the cousin directly refused, on the grounds that overseas was more like a soldier, and he was willing to stay in the new territory for His Majesty.

Qi Jingtong actually knew that his cousin was reluctant to be his North Korean good woman, but judging from what his cousin said, he was indeed full of loyalty to Daming and His Majesty.

He also traveled overseas, not because he was attracted by the Korean beauties painted by his cousin, but because he wanted to become a real soldier and open up new territories for the Ming Empire and the Emperor.

If firearms are the future of military warfare, then overseas is the future of their Ming soldiers.

In the afternoon, the last exam was a mock drill.

Candidates are divided into two teams, each with the task of developing tactics and facing off against each other on a virtual battlefield. This not only tests the students' martial arts, but also their resourcefulness and teamwork skills.

With the end of this final exam, the academy will comprehensively evaluate their results based on their performance in the three exams of the Art of War, Martial Arts Demonstration and Teamwork Ability, and decide whether to admit them.

Three days later, Qi Jingtong followed his companion to the front of the martial arts academy, and when he saw his name listed, he was so excited that tears fell from his eyes.

He was not the only one who wept, almost all of the admitted Wuju people cried, this was not only an opportunity for their low-level personnel to change their fate, but also to be able to fulfill their dream of serving the empire.

The Ming Dynasty's giant voyage is slowly moving forward, and they are fortunate to board this ship, as for where the Ming giant voyage will go, I'm afraid only Emperor Hongzhi can know, right?

Just as the nine-day examination was in full swing, and when the admission work of the martial arts academy had just ended, a new type of graduation ceremony had been held.

Guozijian, College of Engineering.

This newly opened branch is not located in the city of Beijing, where every inch of land is at a premium, but is located on the canal side in the eastern suburbs, a large university covering an area of hundreds of acres.

The ceremony was held in front of the Council Chamber of the Faculty of Engineering, which is the venue for important ceremonies and lectures on weekdays.

The square in front of the conference hall is wide enough to accommodate many teachers, students and guests who come to watch the ceremony.

The antechamber serves as a raised platform, on which are rows of delicate cases with the Four Treasures of the Study, as well as scriptures and models that symbolize wisdom and learning.

On both sides of the high platform, the flag hunting, the school motto such as "Mingde seeking truth, unity of knowledge and action" is written.

Guozijian has added an engineering major three years ago, and students are recruited from all over the country, and this time many children of craftsmen have benefited many craftsmen, and many children of craftsmen with meritorious performance can be admitted to the engineering college for free.

Zhang Wei is a very ordinary member, and his father is just an ordinary craftsman at the bottom.

Because his father was transferred to Tianjin Shipbuilding and had a meritorious performance, he was arranged to study for free in this newly established engineering college.

After three years of intense study, these students participated in the internship of the construction of the Beijing-Tianjin Canal, and one by one the once muddy teenagers have become adults.

The graduates wore uniform black clothes, wore small hats on their heads, and their skin was already dark, and the whole person was elegant and capable.

With the three gun salutes, the ceremony officially began.

Guozi Priest Jiu Xinjian Bo Wang Hua came to the high platform to give a speech, and asked loudly to the students below: "We are a brick of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

"Where you need it, move it!" The students had already decided to devote themselves to the vigorous construction of the motherland, and even responded loudly.

The voice was high, as if it was about to break through the nine skies.

Among the guests who attended the ceremony, in addition to the parents of the students, there were also officials of the imperial court and local gentry, who were also shocked by this momentum.

After giving a speech, Wang Hua, the new Bo of Guozi Priest Wine, began to issue graduation certificates to this group of graduates and encouraged them.

This year's graduates are mainly majoring in roads and bridges, and they will be arranged to various positions as bridge junior divisions, quality officers, safety officers, standard officers, material personnel, mechanics, labor personnel, data personnel, etc., and these personnel will be important talents in the infrastructure of the Hongzhi Dynasty.

Not only the upcoming construction of the Ming-Burma Highway, but also various domestic infrastructure and overseas infrastructure in the future, which will require a lot of human investment.

Of course, the initial monthly salary of their graduates was a silver dollar, which quickly made them the middle-income group of the Ming Empire.

With the current military capabilities of the Ming Dynasty, in fact, it can already dominate the world, and it is not difficult to divide seventy percent of the world's terra nullius into the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that if you want long-term peace and stability, then you need the support of a large base. Even if it was as strong as the Yuan Dynasty, after conquering Burma, they finally gave up their autonomy due to transportation and other reasons.

On the other hand, looking at the entire territory of Greater China, it is this road that is unblocked, so King Ning rebelled in Jiangxi, even if he can get out of Nanchang Mansion, it is impossible to dominate one side.

The Ming Empire in February of Hongzhi presented a prosperous scene.

It's just that the Ming Dynasty is a huge empire beyond imagination after all, and since Zhu Youzhi succeeded to the throne, it is impossible for the wife to be peaceful every year.

In addition to facing provocations from the Mongols, the Li Dynasty and the Jurchens, they also encountered disasters such as the bursting of the Yellow River, the locust plague in Shandong and the plague, and this year I am afraid that it is impossible to get away with it.

Just as the people of the capital were enjoying the warmth of the last spring in February, there was still turmoil in the north after all, and a military situation was sent from the north through fast horses.

(End of chapter)