Chapter 1592: It's the Spring Examination Again, People Are Different Every Year
"But how do we get there?" Zhu Shimao tilted his head to the left and asked, "Do we have to walk on the sea for half a year?"
"No need. It's most convenient to go from the north." Mr. Zhao drew a route with a pencil and said, "Leave Bohai Bay to Ezo, follow the Kuroshio eastward, and you can reach San Francisco directly!"
"Why is it called San Francisco?" someone asked, "Is it to distinguish it from Jinshanwei?"
Jinshanwei is right next to Pudong, and has leased 600,000 acres of land to the new district for long-term use.
"Uh, yeah..." Mr. Zhao hadn't thought about this yet, but someone else had already figured it out. So when people get to a high position, they really don't have to worry about anything.
"Then why not call it New Gold Mountain?" The Duke of England asked curiously, "Isn't New Gold Mountain more appropriate?"
"That's fine." Young Master Zhao smiled bitterly. You are the Duke, so you have the final say. He then instructed Secretary Ma:
"Write it down. On the seventh day of the second month of the fifth year of the Wanli reign, the Duke of England renamed San Francisco 'New Jinshan'."
"Oh my, how can I say this?" The Duke of England was so happy that he couldn't close his legs and said, "Just because you have given me this honor, I will overcome all difficulties and snatch New Gold Mountain from the hands of the red-haired devils!"
"Haha, it's not that easy." Zhao Hao poured cold water on him, saying, "Although the Spanish have limited manpower in North America, they have sufficient troops in Mexico. So once they get into a land battle, the side that has gone on the expedition will suffer greatly."
"Is that so..." Sure enough, the expressions of the nobles changed. It seemed that they were only thinking about good things.
"So we need more careful planning, more detailed preparation, and more patient waiting." Zhao Hao took the initiative of the conversation back into his own hands and said, "It is not difficult to march into America, but it is difficult to gain a foothold. This needs to be done step by step. First, our coast guard fleet must defeat the Spanish navy and become the master of the Pacific Ocean. Then, we will oppress the Spaniards from the land and make them spit out America bit by bit. Only after ensuring the safety of the territory can we talk about operating America."
"How many years will it take?" they asked anxiously, "It will take at least ten or twenty years before we can start digging for gold, right?"
"Well, we need to be prepared for a long-term war, but we must also seize the historical opportunities once they arise." Young Master Zhao said in a deep voice, "According to my estimation, there will be an excellent window of opportunity in five or six years at most. By then, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort! We may even be able to force the Spanish to give us New Gold Mountain... No, the entire west coast of North America."
After a pause, he looked around at everyone with sharp eyes and said, "But the question is, within five years, can you complete all the preparations, including collecting intelligence, formulating plans, recruiting personnel, stockpiling materials, and building systems? If you can't do it well, I will help Jiangnan Group to take South America first, and you can only wait in line."
"Yes, we can!" The nobles immediately shouted, "We can't let the Southern Monkeys get ahead of us no matter what!"
Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes helplessly, hoping that they would do what they said.
But to be honest, he didn't hold out much hope. How does the old saying go? Counting on a worn-out shoe will only pierce your feet.
However, North America, the future God-given land, is not a high priority at present. So at least in the next few decades, the priority of going south is higher than that of going east.
Mr. Zhao is unable to cope with all the tasks, so he can only leave North America to Xishan Group.
Fortunately, the Spaniards are also very weak in North America. When the time comes, the worst that can happen is that we will just compete to see who is worse. At least we still have the majority on our side.
~~
The group left Tangshan on the Lugou Bridge Group's luxurious flat-bottomed passenger ship and headed for Beijing along the newly built North Grand Canal.
Although this route is a little longer, it arrives half a day earlier than taking the route from Tianjin because there are fewer checkpoints.
It was still chilly in the early morning of February 9th.
The bell and drum tower struck the drum twice, and the inns, clubs...er, guild halls in various parts of the capital began to get lively. That was because the candidates who were taking the undergraduate spring examination had to get up early and go to the tribute academy.
Among them, four hundred candidates all checked into Yangmao Hutong opposite Shuntian Imperial Examination Hall last night.
Originally there were residential houses on both sides of Yangmao Hutong. As it was close to the Imperial Examination Hall, the residents would rent out their houses whenever there was a big examination. They made a lot of money and the business was very prosperous.
However, in the sixth year of the Longqing reign, the residential buildings on both sides of this alley were purchased by the Xishan Group and all of them were demolished and rebuilt. A Xishan Primary School was built on the left side of the alley, and a Xishan Middle School was built on the right side. The school adopted a boarding system, with all fees free, and was dedicated to training talents for the Xishan Group.
However, during major examinations, Xishan Primary School would be closed and the dormitories would be vacated for the candidates from the academy to temporarily stay.
From February 8th to February 17th, on the eve of the three examinations, the candidates slept here. This has many advantages. First of all, it is close to the Imperial College, so they can rest as much as possible and don't worry about being late.
Furthermore, unified management of food and accommodation can reduce unexpected situations. In particular, food safety is strictly managed by the group with the highest standards. Including the food that the candidates bring into the tribute hall, all are inspected layer by layer to eliminate safety hazards.
In addition, candidates can enjoy meticulous and comprehensive services, from preparation of examination boxes and items, to pick-up and drop-off of candidates, and massage and health care after the examination... The full set of services covers all areas to ensure that they can concentrate on the examination without distractions.
In fact, they have been enjoying such services since they came to Beijing for the exam last winter and stayed in Xiangshan Academy for intensive training. As the saying goes, details determine success or failure, and attitude determines everything. The candidates of the Jiangnan School are highly talented, have good teachers, and have guaranteed logistics. Others celebrate wildly and feast without restraint. They are crazy about internal competition, and they prepare for the exam in moderation. Naturally, their scores are getting farther and farther apart, until they are as high as heaven and earth.
Last year, 140 people from Yufeng Academy passed the examination, 50 people from Xiangshan Academy passed the examination, 48 people from Fenghuang Academy passed the examination, and 30 people from the newly established Hangzhou Xixi Academy passed the examination. A total of 268 new candidates passed the examination.
Together with the 135 candidates who had passed the examination before, a total of 403 students from the Science School were qualified for the examination. Three of them missed the examination due to illness or mourning, and the last 400 students were admitted to Xishan Primary School, which was 175 more than the previous examination, accounting for one ninth of the 4,500 candidates who took the examination.
After having a pre-exam meal that was both auspicious and nutritious in the cafeteria, the four hundred candidates came to the playground together. Under the guidance of their senior brothers, they paid homage to the tablet of Confucius and the portrait of their master, and then headed to the examination hall.
However, on the brightly lit playground, there was only a tablet of the Great Sage Teacher, but no portrait of the Master.
The candidates were furious. Which wicked person hid the master's portrait?
We are already miserable enough, this is too much bullying, right? Woo woo...
Because Zhao Hao has been in Luzon for the past few years, this group of new disciples who passed the imperial examination were all accepted by their senior brothers on behalf of the master. Until now, they don’t even have the title of official disciples, which makes them always feel inferior. Therefore, they are particularly sensitive to such things and think that someone hid the master’s portrait to deliberately discredit them.
"What are you yelling about? I was the one who put away the Master's portrait!" said the bearded senior brother Wang Wuyang, puffing out his beard and glaring.
"Why?!" the candidates questioned the eldest senior brother in a low voice.
"Because it's no longer needed." Wang Wuyang coughed, turned around and bent over, saying, "Why don't you greet Master?"
As expected, Zhao Hao appeared in front of the candidates with steady steps, surrounded by his disciples. He was 25 years old this year, and although most of the disciples were older than him, at least he didn't look so out of place.
"Ah, Master is alive!" Those disciples who had only seen Zhao Hao in portraits were all stunned when they saw the lifelike master in person.
"What nonsense, he is a living master..." Wang Wuyang glared and was kicked on the butt by Zhao Hao.
"Disciples, I am late." Zhao Hao waved and smiled apologetically at the candidates.
"It's good that the master can come!" The candidates' passion was instantly ignited and they cheered excitedly.
"That's great, we are not raised by maids..." Many thoughtful candidates burst into tears of happiness.
It is really important that the master can come back in time to show up, otherwise they will always be inferior to their fellow apprentices in the future...
"Okay, don't get excited. We'll have plenty of time to meet after we get out of the examination room. It's getting late, let's pay our respects to the great sage." Zhao Hao kindly told the disciples not to get too excited. After leading them to burn incense to Confucius, he followed the custom and personally put a big hat on each of them, tied the hatband tightly, and said to each of them: "It will not fall to the ground."
The candidates immediately put on their uniforms, reluctantly bid farewell to their masters, and then, accompanied by their own servants, rushed to the Imperial Examination Hall with full confidence...
~~
Zhao Hao arrived in Beijing before the city gates were closed last night. However, after returning to Zhaojia Hutong, he neither saw his grandfather nor his father.
Grandpa went to Guangdong to spend the winter and held the 6th Hai Tian Feast. He hasn't come back yet.
But I will definitely return to Beijing next month, because the 6th Chui Wan Spring Championship will be held...
After the Chui Wan Championship is over, the old man will take a boat to Yangzhou again to host the annual Slender West Lake Horse Racing Meeting.
In summer, the old man will go to Qinhuai River again to fulfill his duties as the president of Jinling Mahjong Association and hold various activities aimed at promoting Mahjong. For example, the Mahjong Grand Prix, the Strip Mahjong Competition, etc.
I will return to Beijing in the fall to host the most important Chui Wan Autumn Championship. Finally, I will go to Guangdong to spend the winter and start a new cycle after the New Year... It is definitely more tiring than being an official.
But he enjoyed it and insisted that his life depended on sports, especially a certain kind of sports. As long as he could keep moving, he would stay young. If he stopped, he would be close to death...
The old man has said such harsh words, what can the children and grandchildren do? They can only let him do what he wants...
As for Mr. Zhao, he didn't do anything fancy, and he didn't have the courage. Even if he had the courage, he didn't have the energy...
In fact, he had already entered the Imperial Examination Hall a few days ago.
Because he was the deputy examiner of the undergraduate examination, and he presided over this spring examination together with the chief examiner Shen Shixing!
It can be justified to say that "the spring scenery of January is not seen, and people are getting fat and strong."
ps. Keep writing...
(End of this chapter)