Because Wang Zhibo was busy with other matters, he prepared to leave after giving his instructions.
"In a few days, officials from the Ministry of Rites of the Imperial Court will come to Shuixian Town to inspect Chief Ruan."
This kind of assessment was merely a formality and of little practical use, but it was of extraordinary significance. This was the first time the imperial court had selected female officials, and it attracted widespread attention throughout the land.
Ruan Fang nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. I know what to do."
For the next few days, Ruan Fang spent her time in excitement, and she didn't tell anyone about it.
A month later, officials from the Ministry of Rites came to Shuixian Town to inspect Ruan Fang. After confirming that the candidate information reported by Zhengyang County was correct, they immediately issued Ruan Fang an appointment certificate.
Ruan Fang's appointment as a scholar of the Hongwen Hall of the County Confucian Academy caused another sensation in Shuixian Town.
At this moment, Master Lin was the happiest, knowing that the time for women to participate in the imperial examinations was not far off, and that his talents would be put to the fullest potential.
To Lin Fuzi's surprise, just three months later, he received a notice from the county Confucian school that the Great Northern Dynasty would be opening county and prefectural examinations for women.
The date for the exam is undetermined. The exam schedule is synchronized with the men's imperial examinations, and the provincial and palace examinations have not yet been opened.
The county examination was a basic examination. Only those who passed the county examination and obtained the qualification of a student could participate in the prefectural examination.
Since no woman has participated in the imperial examinations to date, it means that no woman in the world has the qualification to become a child scholar.
Since that's the case, then let's prepare for the exam seriously. Master Lin is confident that she will achieve excellent results in the first county-level women's examination.
As soon as the news came out, girls' schools were set up in various places. Men could take the imperial examinations to enter officialdom and become government officials, and women could do the same.
A year later, the relocation of the county seat was completed, and the fourth phase of the government affairs district and trade market project was finished. The development of the new county seat entered a fast track.
Meanwhile, at the Marquis's mansion, Zhao Xian, Li Xue, and Li Guang were discussing a major matter: building an official road from Shuixian Town to the capital.
Shuixian Town is more than a thousand miles away from the capital. Building such a long official road was a super project.
Ancient official roads were equivalent to modern highways, and their construction standards were extremely high. Since there was no reinforced concrete or asphalt at that time, it was very difficult to build a high-standard official road.
The ancients were very clever. The official roads they built were not what we imagine, where you would be covered in mud on rainy days and covered in dust on sunny days.
The official roads built at that time were not only wide and smooth, but also of very high quality and not easily damaged. Some of these roads have stood for thousands of years and are still in use today.
To build an official road, the first step is to cut down the trees along the planned route and dig away the soft soil until the solid base is exposed.
After doing all this, roadside stones were laid on both sides of the road to determine the road width, and then a layer of large stones was laid as the roadbed.
After doing all that, it's not over yet. You also need to lay some small gravel on the surface of the stones to make the road surface smooth. Next, you need to add a layer of a mixture of burnt topsoil and lime to prevent weeds from growing on the road.
Building high-quality official roads requires a large workforce, as well as technical personnel to survey the roads, vehicles to transport materials, and bulldozers and water trucks to pave the roads.
Finally, they would use oxen and horses to pull large stones to roll and flatten the road surface.
Of course, they also need to pay attention to many details when repairing roads, such as making the road surface high in the middle and low on both sides, so that rainwater can be drained in time.
In some sections, it is also necessary to consider digging deep ditches along the roadside, which can effectively prevent wild animals from entering and causing accidents, and can also prevent bandits from robbing.
Once this official road is completed, the journey from the new county town to the capital will be shortened by several hundred miles. Because the official road is built to standard, the road surface is both wide and smooth, which will greatly increase the speed of vehicle traffic and shorten the travel time.
Building a high-quality official road requires a large amount of money. Over the years, Zhao Xian has made enough money by relying on his huge industrial clusters, and he has the financial resources to build this official road.
Li Guang's army of 100,000 could provide enough labor for the construction of official roads.
Li Xue was overjoyed. Once this official road was completed, it would be much more convenient for her to travel to and from the capital.
Of course, building such an important official road is not something that can be done at will, since this road leads to the capital.
In this situation, it is necessary to report the matter to the imperial court. If the court's support can be obtained, the construction of this official road will proceed more smoothly.
Li Guang immediately set off from Shuixian Town for the capital to meet the emperor. As long as the emperor agreed, the road construction would be finalized.
More than ten days later, Li Guang arrived in the capital. It was already afternoon. He did not go to the palace, but went to the Marquis's residence first, intending to go to the palace the next day to pay his respects to the emperor.
Ouyang Nan has been in the capital for more than two years and has not returned to Shuixian Town during this time. After being sent to the capital, he served in the Hanlin Academy.
Although the Hanlin Academy has holidays, they are not long holidays. Even during the Spring Festival, the holiday is only seven days. With such a short time, it is impossible to go home to visit relatives, since it would take a month to travel back and forth.
At the Hanlin Academy, one could rest for every five days of work, and could also rest at the end of the month and on the fifteenth of the month. In case of emergencies, one had to work overtime.
In the Hanlin Academy, we worked four hours a day, two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.
Relatively speaking, working at the Hanlin Academy was not very busy, and he had quite a bit of free time, which was exactly what Ouyang Nan needed.
With less than a year to go before the triennial imperial examination, Ouyang Nan is making the most of every spare moment to prepare for this crucial test.
That afternoon, Ouyang Nan returned from the Hanlin Academy and was overjoyed to find Li Guang at the Marquis's residence. He hurriedly came to greet him.
"Brother, you've arrived."
Li Guang nodded, carefully examined Ouyang Nan, and noticed that he had lost some weight, probably due to growing taller, but Ouyang Nan was in good spirits.
“Ouyang Nan, you’ve lost weight. You must be working too hard. You must take a break and not overwork yourself. You also need to make sure you get enough nutrition,” Li Guang said.
"Brother, I'm perfectly healthy. Is everyone at home doing well?"
"Don't worry, they are all fine. How are you doing at the Hanlin Academy?"
"Everything here is great, I like it very much. My colleagues in the Hanlin Academy are all outstanding individuals, and they take great care of me."
They are knowledgeable and experienced; they are my mentors and friends. I have benefited greatly from their presence and learned a great deal.
And so the two began to chat, until a servant came to call them, at which point they stopped talking and went to the dining room for dinner.
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