Du Yuan is writing letters to people on the street. He now makes a living by writing letters and selling calligraphy and paintings.
He used to work as a private tutor for the Gao family, a big gentry in the county.
When Su He took over Hanzhong, the Gao family was confiscated and exterminated, and he lost his job.
Most of the local gentry families were ruined, and there were too many private school teachers.
He is a young and inexperienced private school teacher.
Unpopular in the market, he has been unemployed for several months.
In the early days, the governor's office recruited scholars, but Du Yuan was a man of integrity and would rather starve to death than become a thief.
Being a thief is a black mark that cannot be erased, and he will never be employed by the Ming court again.
But Su He led the army and annihilated more than 100,000 elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty in the first battle of Baoji County.
Du Yuan felt regretful.
The Ming Dynasty was obviously getting worse and worse day by day.
Those who could not defeat the Jiannu were beaten to the capital by the Jiannu.
Now they can't even defeat the rebels, and have wiped out the entire province's elite.
The Ming Dynasty, which was in such a state of waste, its ruling power gradually collapsed.
Smart people can see that it is time for a change of dynasty.
Du Yuan wanted to go to the Hanzhong City Officials Department to seek an official position.
But he found that no serious scholars sought official positions, they were all subordinate officials and their children.
In this case, seeking an official position would greatly affect his reputation in Shilin.
After entering the officialdom, it would be difficult for him, so Du Yuan prepared to wait for the imperial examination.
He cares about scholarly reviews, but it is certainly not as important as his official position.
The reason that made Du Yuan hesitate was that the official position in the Ministry of Civil Affairs was too small, and he was a minor official under the township chief.
This is not even the lowest ninth-grade official.
After more than ten years of hard study, he finally served the township head, whom he had previously despised, together with his subordinates.
Du Yuan was very reluctant, because this sesame official would affect Shilin's evaluation, which would lower his worth.
He has nothing left and relies solely on his humble reputation to support himself.
If he loses his reputation, he doesn't know how he will enter the officialdom in the future.
Du Yuan saw another notice posted by the county government.
The last notice was that the imperial examination was suspended and canceled, which made him sad for a long time.
After asking around among scholars, I found out that in the imperial examination of the Tongtongfu, Zhu Cheng's position in Neo-Confucianism was to be abolished and replaced by Xinxue.
Many scholars are planning to stop taking exams and put pressure on the government.
Du Yuan secretly bought some books on mind science. He knew that many scholars were also studying mind science secretly.
After finishing the few orders in hand, he directly packed up the stall and went to take a look at the notice.
Du Yuan saw that the Tongling Mansion established a yamen called the Talent Recruitment Hall.
The commanding office directly selects and appoints officials through the recruitment office.
"The Recruitment Hall recruits talented people. This is a very good yamen, with quite an ancient style."
Du Yuan saw the official positions announced on the recruitment notice.
His eyes became hot. This was the real official. If he was selected, he would reach the sky in one step.
Du Yuan left home and packed his parcel.
He took out the package from the bottom of the box and asked his wife to take care of her at home.
He summoned the scholars from Bao County and rushed to Hanzhong City together to take the examination at the Talent Recruitment Hall.
I will try my best to become an official.
…
Song Kangnian was drinking with his brother Yu Fuyun when he heard the patrol outside was promoting the recruitment hall.
He spit out the wine in one gulp, choking Song Kangnian to the point of coughing.
Song Kangnian saw the mess on the table.
He said apologetically: "Brother Yu, I can't eat this meal.
I'll treat you tomorrow, but you have to go now."
After Song Kangnian finished speaking, he stood up and left his seat.
He asked the inspector for a flyer for the recruitment center and learned more about its situation.
When Song Kang heard about the recruitment hall a few days ago, he thought the young man was entertaining him.
He has been in Hanzhong City for so long that he has never heard of the yamen called Zhaoxian Hall.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, I heard the name Zhaoxian Guan again, and it was a new yamen.
Song Kangnian realized that this young master had an unusual identity and recalled what he said at that time.
He didn't say anything outrageous at that time, he was just discussing things related to Buddhism and Taoism.
After such a long period of observation, Song Kangnian has decided to seek refuge in Suhe. This time the recruitment hall is recruiting officials openly, which is an excellent opportunity.
…
Hanzhong City, Yuelai Restaurant.
"Xiao Li, if you're a little tired, hurry up and settle the account for me.
This is the flow of people in Fugui Building and the price of food at that time.
If you get it done this time, I will reward you with 5 taels of silver coins."
Zhang Kangming, the owner of Yuelai Restaurant, couldn't help laughing after finishing his instructions:
"Haha, I see that Fuguilou, in its heyday, hasn't evaded taxes.
He, a mediocre person, actually went to investigate his own shopkeeper, which made people panic and was extremely stupid.
This time he was found guilty of tax evasion and sent directly to jail.
Just like the acquisition of Fuyun Pavilion at a low price, Fugui Building was also acquired.
Yu Dingsheng did not evade taxes, so I also reported him and asked the tax police to check his accounts.
He sees that the accounts in the hands of the tax police are similar to his own, so he will definitely investigate the culprits and break up people's hearts."
Li Yuanzheng limped towards the shopkeeper and took the data on the flow of people and vegetable prices in Fugui Building from his hand.
Based on these data, it is inferred that Fugui Building’s income this month and the taxes that should be paid.
Li Yuanzheng settled the accounts and was about to leave when he heard two clerks talking about the recruitment hall in the restaurant.
"I heard that this is the recruitment examination. Anyone can take the exam as long as they are literate."
"Anyone can do it, is this true?
Is it possible that even women from brothels can take the recruitment examination?
Is it possible that even the cripple outside the door can take the examination in the recruitment hall?
The recruitment hall recruits magi, which is recruiting magi with melon skin."
Li Yuanzheng clenched his fists and his eyes widened.
Hearing these officials laugh at him brought back bad memories.
Even though he has become accustomed to it over the years, his mentality is still a little unbalanced.
When he was young, he was from Xi'an Prefecture and took part in the provincial examination. He offended the powerful due to his frivolous youth and had one of his legs broken.
From then on, he lost all his aura, and his former good friends also left him.
A lame and poor scholar has lost the possibility of rising up.
Only when such people are bullied can they satisfy some people's bad tastes.
He left his hometown, and it wasn't until he met Zhang Kangming that his life got a little better.
This time I have to go to the Talent Recruitment Hall to take the exam and show these people that a lame person cannot be easily offended.
…
Hanzhong, Yicui Building.
Two scholars are chatting.
"Brother Zhang, have you seen the information about the recruitment hall?
We finally have a chance to become officials.
Han Chuang has studied hard for more than ten years and it’s over.”
"Brother Wang, the recruitment hall is a mixed bag, and it is far less simple than the imperial examination.
They actually have no restrictions on status, and all traffickers and women can take the examination at the Talent Recruitment Center."
"Brother Zhang, don't worry about some flaws at all.
We have worked hard to learn the newly launched simplified Chinese characters and pinyin, and we are just waiting for this day.
We have studied hard for ten years in a cold window, are we not as good as some peddlers and women?"
"Old Madam, please call out your top brass to help me entertain you."
After the scholar finished speaking, he took out a gold coin from his bag and slapped it directly on the table.
The madam looked at the gold coins on the table, resisting her heartache and did not take the gold coins.
"I'm sorry, sir, but our girl is not accepting guests right now."
"There is no brothel that doesn't accept customers. It's really disappointing. Let's go."
The madam looked at the two scholars who were leaving. This was already the fifth wave of guests she had sent away today.
She turned around and entered the house, and saw Suzune leading a group of women, who were studying simplified Chinese characters.
Ringtone is the top brand of this kind of Yicuilou.
This kind of top brand could not accept customers before.
You must build a reputation so that your net worth can rise steadily.
At that time, there will be wealthy people who will spend a lot of money to redeem Ling Yin's life.
If no one redeems his body, he can only pick up guests, and his worth will drop a hundred times.
But now the rules have completely changed.
I don’t know why the commander-in-chief is so crazy, but the brothel girls still need to have a certificate to work.
If they want to leave the brothel, they can leave at any time.
The owner of Chunmanyuan next door refused to allow the woman to leave and took out her deed of sale.
The inspection did not recognize Daming's contract of sale and directly arrested the owner of Chunmanlou.
He was fined one thousand taels of silver and sentenced to one year in prison.
Such harsh measures serve to scare the monkeys.
Other brothels no longer dare to violate the regulations of the Tongling Mansion.
"Lingyin, after studying so hard, you really want to take the recruitment examination.
I'm afraid this is just a gimmick, and you will definitely suffer a loss when the time comes.
From ancient times to the present, there is no reason for women to be officials."
Lingyin said firmly:
"Mom, thank you for not treating me badly these years.
I want to break free and decide my own destiny.
Empress Wu Zetian could appear in the Tang Dynasty.
Shangguan Wan'er can become a high official.
I heard that Commander Su was extremely disgusted with Zhu Chengli's oppression of women.
It is also possible for a woman to become an official.
Even if there is only a slight possibility, I will never miss this opportunity."
Lingyin led her sisters to study hard, and they were all the top names in various brothels.
They consider themselves to be better educated than some scholars.
