amaotonovel Chapter 320 Old Deng's salary isn't easy to get.
Chapter 320 Old Deng's salary isn't easy to get.
Yang Shaofeng first saw the three thousand laborers in the camp of Dengzhou Guard.
Three thousand laborers might not even be as many as the people in a slightly larger neighborhood, but if you really squeeze three thousand people together, the scale does look quite large.
The most deadly thing is that these three thousand laborers have a deep-seated hatred for him. Cutting off their livelihood has led to the extermination of their families and the implication of three generations of relatives. In fact, it is more serious than any hatred of killing one's father or stealing one's wife.
If looks could be sharp blades, Yang Shaofeng felt he would most likely be chopped into mincemeat by these people's gazes, perhaps even finer than mincemeat made by a high-speed blender.
But it doesn't really matter, because no matter how sharp a gaze is, it's still just a gaze and can't really turn into a blade.
Moreover, this was the Dengzhou Guard camp, with a full thousand fully armed Dengzhou Guard soldiers guarding the area. The three thousand laborers all had their hands tied behind their backs, so Yang Shaofeng didn't need to worry that the three thousand laborers would rush over and kill him.
After glancing at the many laborers, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said to Qian Er, the commander of Dengzhou Guard, "Commander Qian, we'll have to trouble our brothers in the guard to take good care of these laborers."
Unlike the forced labor in Ningyang County, where most forced labor was for five or ten years, the work of repairing roads, burning cement, and quarrying stones was extremely tiring, but people could grit their teeth and get through it. Once their term of forced labor was over, they were released from their forced labor status.
In other words, apart from the Semu people, the rest of the forced laborers in Ningyang County could see hope for survival. Even if they could not pass the imperial examinations and become officials in the future, they could still make a living by farming.
The forced labor in Dengzhou Prefecture was all for a fixed term of thirty or fifty years, and there was no possibility of amnesty. Apart from those who were really young or even childish, the vast majority of forced laborers had no hope of leaving the construction site alive.
Therefore, the biggest problem with the forced laborers in Ningyang County was that they would try to slack off and cheat when they were working. Apart from the forced laborers of the Semu ethnic group, they did not need a lot of manpower to watch over them, and there was no need to prevent them from escaping.
However, the most urgent hope of the laborers in Dengzhou Prefecture was to escape the construction site alive. Coupled with the hateful look in their eyes when they looked at him just now, Yang Shaofeng felt that these laborers should be guarded by the soldiers of Dengzhou Guard.
Without hesitation, Qian Er cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and replied, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will make all the necessary arrangements and there will be no mishaps."
Yang Shaofeng nodded, then turned to Lame Wu and instructed, "Have someone go back to Ningyang County and transfer some of the old brothers that Xu Xiang has settled in Ningyang County to come and supervise the construction."
After Limpy Wu bowed in agreement, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to Xu Jingyu and Zhou Jingxin, who had been summoned at the last minute, and instructed them: "Find an empty plot of land in the county town to temporarily house these three thousand laborers."
Xu Jingyu readily agreed, and Yang Shaofeng continued to say to Zhou Jingxin, "Go back and find Wang Shaoyu and the others from the Ministry of Works, and ask them to help set up the brick kiln, lime and cement workshops, and so on."
……
After three thousand laborers arrived in Dengzhou, Yang Shaofeng finally found a sense of what it was like to be a prefect.
Because when he was in Ningyang County, the county government was short-staffed, and he had to handle all the big and small matters himself. In contrast, Dengzhou Prefecture not only had a large number of assistant officials such as the Assistant Magistrate and the Sub-Prefect, but also ten county magistrates and more than twenty students from Ningyang County School at his beck and call.
As for the lack of assistant officials under those ten county magistrates, each county magistrate had to handle the duties of the county magistrate, the assistant county magistrate, the registrar, and the clerk all at once...
What does this have to do with me, the prefect? If you're short of manpower, just submit a report, and I will forward it to the provincial government and the Ministry of Personnel in Jinan.
As for whether we can get people to serve as assistant officials for you, that's a matter for the Ministry of Personnel and the Provincial Secretariat.
After getting used to being a prefect, Yang Shaofeng would take Yu'er for a stroll around the county town every morning, and then visit the villages near Penglai County in the afternoon.
Just as the autumn harvest was approaching in July, Emperor Zhu sent an envoy to Dengzhou to read out an imperial edict.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that the Zhou dynasty selected talents from among the tribute scholars, thus virtuous officials were in office and the people had the conduct of gentlemen. Therefore... this year, starting in August, the imperial examinations are specially established... The purpose of establishing these examinations is to select talents with all their abilities, and to appoint officials based solely on their virtue, so that good governance can be achieved. I urge you, my lords, to understand my heartfelt wishes."
The article is quite lengthy, but it can be summarized in just a few words: Our Emperor Zhu is going to hold an imperial examination this August, so anyone who wants to become an official should hurry up and register.
According to the imperial examination process established by Emperor Zhu and Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, scholars had to first take the county examination. Those who passed could take the prefectural examination. After passing the prefectural examination, they would be considered to have obtained the title of Tongsheng (a student with the degree of a bachelor).
If you think you are very knowledgeable, you can take the provincial examination held by the Shandong Provincial Government again. If you pass it again, you will get the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination).
After obtaining the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), one could formally enter the county school, state school, or prefectural school to study and enjoy a series of preferential treatments granted by Emperor Zhu.
For example, during their studies, students were exempt from corvée labor and taxes, allowed to carry a sword, were exempt from bowing to officials, and even had the privilege of traveling throughout the Ming Dynasty with just a student ID, without needing a travel permit.
In short, Emperor Zhu is now racking his brains to attract scholars to become officials, and is also going to great lengths to entice the people to send their children to school.
This approach can be considered a good one, since the Ming Dynasty lacked officials and needed a large number of scholars to serve as officials. Those scholars who were worried about losing their preferential treatment also needed to participate in the imperial examinations to maintain their privileges. It can be said to be a win-win situation.
The only one who was rather unhappy was Yang Shaofeng. As the prefect of Dengzhou, Yang Shaofeng had to first arrange for the ten county magistrates in the prefecture to preside over the county examinations, and at the same time prepare for the prefectural examination of Dengzhou. As the county magistrate of Ningyang County, Yang Shaofeng also had to preside over the county examination of Ningyang County.
The so-called presiding over the county and prefectural examinations included a series of tasks such as setting questions, invigilating, grading papers, and scoring.
Sure enough, the few stipends given by that old tyrant Zhu Chongba were not easy to obtain.
Then, Yang Shaofeng, who was very unhappy, cursed Lao Deng for being a scoundrel while having someone inform the ten magistrates of Dengzhou Prefecture that Emperor Zhu was going to hold an imperial examination.
Then, while racking his brains about what kind of questions to give the students in Ningyang County, Yang Shaofeng led Yu'er and the twenty-six students from Ningyang County back to Ningyang County.
No, if I've been through this, you old Deng shouldn't expect to have it easy either.
What would happen if we simply abolished the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty?