Children from official families or wealthy families have a well-off family background and don't care about spending, so they can treat it as a trip.
Poor families had to raise money from various sources, some even had to work and study at the same time, in order to save up the money for the exam.
Therefore, throughout the dynasties, both the government and the people have had some funding policies for candidates taking the exams.
The official preferential policy usually involves using post station vehicles for transportation, or allowing candidates to stay overnight at the post station, etc.
However, it was rare for the imperial court to directly give money to candidates. It seems that the "public transportation fee" was only issued during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.
More crucial was the emperor's private treasury, or money from his own pocket. Compared to the Wanli and Jiajing emperors who were known for their ability to amass wealth but were frugal with state affairs, the young emperor's behavior was surprising.
Of course, this also shows from another perspective that the emperor attached more importance to the military examination than the civil examination.
Chen Juzi thought for a moment and said, "The country is often at war, so we need good generals. In the past, there were very few candidates for the military examination, so this is probably a helpless move!"
"Well, that should be the case." Mr. Wang, who was surprised, was full of pride. No one cared about the military examination, and the Jinshi examination was the only way to bring honor to the family.
Wen Zhenmeng smiled and said, "My two brothers, tell me, are the questions in this examination related to military affairs?"
"Ha, Brother Wen, that's a brilliant idea." Wang Juzi clapped his hands in agreement and said with a smile, "In my opinion, the strategy question should be related to strengthening the army."
Chen Juzi smiled and nodded, saying, "A relative of mine is an official in the Ministry of Works. He told me that the emperor has issued an edict promoting Xu Guangqi to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and concurrently a Bachelor of Imperial Tutoring, in charge of the Military Equipment Bureau, the Armoury Bureau, the Gunpowder Bureau, and other departments, and has also awarded Xu Guangqi a mansion."
After a deliberate pause, Chen Juzi continued, "Also, there are rumors that Minister Xu will be the chief examiner for this joint examination."
"Master Xu has received the Emperor's favor?" Wen Zhenmeng stroked his beard and asked thoughtfully, "Brother Chen, do you know why?"
The scholar surnamed Chen pondered and said, "Lord Xu submitted five memorials in a row: 'Sweet Potato Memorial', 'Turnip Memorial', 'Jibei Memorial', 'Cotton Planting Methods', and 'Manure Management Rules'. The Emperor has approved them all and issued them to the local authorities, ordering them to be followed accurately and implemented as soon as possible."
"All of them are farmers?" Wen Zhenmeng was a little surprised, but still not completely sure. "But Lord Xu is also the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, in charge of military equipment manufacturing?"
The scholar surnamed Chen shook his head and smiled bitterly, "The emperor's will is hard to predict, and I don't understand it either."
Accompanied by the rapid sound of horse hooves, the scholar surnamed Wang hurriedly called out, "Brother Wen, Brother Chen, quickly get out of the way of the horses."
A group of riders came galloping over on their horses, without slowing down at all on the busy street. As they got closer, I could see that they were young men in brocade hats and sable fur coats, either rich or second-generation rich.
Amidst the screams and exclamations, people dodged in all directions. Some who were unable to dodge were tripped and fell to the ground.
Seeing people's panic and dodging, a few playboys laughed out loud, as if they had seen something funny and amusing.
An old man was driving a donkey cart slowly forward. Perhaps because he was hard of hearing, he did not hear the screams and shouts behind him, nor did he move to the side of the road in advance. By the time the rider approached, it was too late.
A rider turned his horse slightly and galloped past the donkey cart. He felt that the old man driving the cart was getting in the way, so he swung his whip and lashed at the donkey's head, cursing, "Get out of here, blind donkey!"
The donkey was struck by the whip, and it neighed and jumped to the side. The old man driving the cart was caught off guard and was thrown back, almost falling off the cart.
The donkey cart knocked over a simple stall made of wooden planks on the roadside. The stall owner was a middle-aged man dressed in ordinary, even shabby clothes, and a little girl shivering with cold was beside him.
The middle-aged man was knocked off balance by the stall, and the icy and slippery ground caused him to fall to the ground. The wooden cart overturned and was about to hit the frightened little girl.
A thin figure flashed out, leaned forward, stretched out his hand, grabbed the edge of the wooden cart, and with a "Hey", he stopped the overturned cart.
After gaining a firm footing, the thin man used both hands to easily lift the wooden cart and straighten it. Only then did people see clearly that it was a man dressed like a scholar.
He has fair skin and a thin body. From the outside, you would never expect him to have so much strength.
You have to remember that he had just stopped the falling cart with one hand in a hurry. This was very different from standing firmly and preparing to exert force.
The stall owner got up from the ground at this time. He could see clearly that if this gentleman had not taken action, the cart would definitely have hit his daughter.
"Thank you very much, sir, for saving my life. Thank you very much." The middle-aged man bowed and pulled the little girl over, asking her to kneel down and kowtow to express his gratitude.
The thin scholar reached out and pulled the little girl up, then said to the middle-aged stall owner, "No need to be so polite. It's just a small favor. Quickly pack up your stall..."
As he spoke, the thin scholar raised his head and stared at a man not far away.
The donkey was frightened and knocked over the stall but did not stop. It continued to rush forward, running from one side of the street to the other.
The donkey cart was shaking and the old man driving it was swaying constantly. Forget pulling the reins to stop the donkey, he was trying his best not to fall off the cart.
Just as he was about to get hurt again, a nimble figure came running towards him, dodged the donkey's head, grabbed the donkey's harness with one hand, and pressed the shaft of the donkey cart with the other hand.
The man was well-proportioned and very strong, with a strong and tough look from the inside out. After being dragged by the donkey for only two steps, he leaned forward and found his footing.
With a low roar, veins popping out of his forehead, he stopped the donkey in its tracks. Even more astonishing was the fact that both of the donkey's front hooves were off the ground, lifted up by his immense force.
The old man driving the cart was dizzy and it took him a long time to wake up. He got off the cart and came forward to thank him repeatedly.
However, the hero who stopped the frightened donkey had a blank expression on his face. His eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, which frightened the old man driving the cart so much that his legs and feet trembled.
Then the hero let go of his hand and turned away.
What a great strength, even stronger than mine.
Lu Xiangsheng, the thin scholar who was holding the cart to save people, admired him in his heart, but he had no intention of chasing after him to force a friendship, so he continued to walk forward.
The hero who stopped the frightened donkey followed the people in front, but not very close, just following behind at a distance.
Zhu Youxiao turned around and patted the White Lady who had jumped onto his shoulder. He guessed and muttered, "Are you asking me to look at that strong scholar or the Jinyiwei who stopped the frightened donkey? Yes, yes, I saw both."
White Snake meowed, as if she understood, and as if Zhu Youxiao had done the right thing according to her instructions. She kicked her little paws hard and jumped into Zhang Yuer's arms.
Zhu Youxiao withdrew his gaze and couldn't help but secretly admire: The ancients were really fierce. The Jinyiwei sent experts to protect them, and stopping the frightened donkey was nothing. That skinny scholar actually had a lot of strength. Wow!
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