Be a master through ancient times

On the day of the crowning ceremony, the host and guest had a great time.

Chu Ci officially became an adult, but this time he couldn't drink the wine mixed with water, so he could only get drunk again, and was sent back to his room by Chu Guang.

Chu Xiaoyuan and Zhong Liyu clung to Chu Ci and refused to leave, for fear that they would be taken away by Master Qin once they left Chu Ci.

It is said that since Chu resigned to rush for the exam, the area where they live has lost a lot of students.Before Chuci set off on the road, he was worried about the two children.Originally, they thought about putting them in the dormitory of Mengtong Hall for a period of time, but both Chu Xiaoyuan and Zhong Liyu firmly disagreed, saying that it was noisy and chaotic, and many people would cry at night.

Chu Ci had no choice but to ask Mr. and his wife to see if they could take care of him a little bit.After Mrs. Qin heard about it, she packed up an empty room at home that day, saying that it was too far away to take care of her, so she might as well live here directly and be her companion.

Chu Ci naturally couldn't ask for it, so he slipped the two little ones up that day.Chu Xiaoyuan and Zhong Liyu were no strangers to Mrs. Qin, so they naturally wouldn't resist. They opened their cute eyes and told Chu Ci to come back to pick them up early.

As soon as Chu Ci left, their suffering was counted.After the first two days of school, no one strictly supervised them to read and practice calligraphy, so they roamed around in the yard. The flowers and plants in the yard almost withered because they were too old for seven or eight-year-old dogs.A big tabby cat in the yard was also chased and lost its fur.

Mrs. Qin likes the two little rascals, so naturally she doesn't say anything, and she helps the tyrant prepare fresh snacks to feed the two of them every day, so as to fully nourish their trouble-making spirit.

Master Qin was invited to the next county to give lectures for two days, and when he came back to see Yuanzi, he almost cried.Immediately furious, he carried the two younger ones to the corner to stand as punishment, and even twitched the palm of one of them.

The two began to cry, sobbing, but seeing Master Qin still sitting there with a dark face, they realized that they had made a mistake, and their voices quieted down.

When they stopped crying and bowed their heads to reflect, Master Qin called them in front of him and said, "Everything has a spirit. You see flowers, plants, cats and dogs being weak, so you bully them wantonly. Then you two are the same in front of me." Weak and weak, if I bully you like you climb flowers and chase cats and dogs, how will you feel?"

The two shook their heads.

Master Qin also said: "When you are young, it is a good time to study. Both of you and your elders are young and intelligent, dedicated to learning, and never waste a little time. I heard from your husband that you two are already two years old. Tian didn’t recite the book, can there be such a thing?”

They didn't dare to lie, and nodded lazily, complaining in their hearts against Mrs. Shen who had complained.

"When your uncle handed you over to me, he told me to strictly control you. If I let you do whatever you want, it would be a breach of trust, so from today onwards, I will strictly control the two of you. Now go back to the room and copy what you have learned in the past few days ten times before you can have dinner, are you two convinced?"

The two looked at each other, and they both saw the words "life without love" in each other's eyes.In the past few days, I have learned the thousand-character prose, and I have learned a total of twelve sentences. There are many strokes in the characters, and it takes a long time to write one sentence. So many times, when will I finish writing?

After this battle, Master Qin officially entered the list of the two most feared.Even if Master Qin never punished them again in the future, they would respect him as soon as they saw him.

Chu Xiaoyuan whispered to Zhong Liyu in private that his uncle will be back soon, and when he comes back, he will live with him.

Who knew that after his uncle came back, he would not go to the county school to study anymore!When they heard the news, both of them felt like five thunderbolts struck their hearts, and that's why Chu Ci refused to leave.

They were playing coquettishly with Chu Guang when they suddenly heard a cough at the door.

"Ahem, it's getting late. I just asked for a day off for the two of you. You must go to school tomorrow. Come back with me quickly so as not to delay the time."

The two looked at Chu Ci, who was dreaming soundly on the bed, and at Chu Guang, who had a respectful expression on his face. Finally, their hearts were ashamed, and they followed Master Qin with their heads down and heavy steps.

The corners of Master Qin's mouth curled up slightly, his big wings stiffened and he still had to listen to him for the time being, could he still deal with the two little brats?

He had already told Chu Ci that during the few years they were studying in Mengtong Hall, they would be placed there.Otherwise, without the supervision of the elders, the temperament will be changed, and the good seedlings will be delayed instead.

Chu Ci, the rest of the Chu family, and Steward Xu were naturally grateful for this.Master Qin is very good at teaching people. Even if they can't achieve much in the future, at least their character is absolutely upright.

……

Two or three days later, Chu Ci felt that the time was right, so he discussed with his family about going to the capital for the exam.

Xijiang Province is located in the south, thousands of miles away from the capital. They have to go to Wuchang Mansion first, then board a boat from the port of Wuchang Mansion, and head north all the way.It takes seven or eight days to go to Wuchang Mansion by horse-drawn carriage, and then it will take more than a month to go north by boat. After going north, it will take another three or four days to rush from the port city to the capital.Therefore, the time he will spend on the way is about one and a half months.

The time for the test is on the ninth day of February, which means that he has to set off in December to be able to make it to the test. However, it is very cold in December, and the water in the north is probably frozen, so the port may be blocked. closed.

If we start again at that time, the time may be delayed, and I am afraid that we will not be able to make it to the test.And to be honest, on the way, I didn't have much energy to read a book at all, and it was inevitable that I would feel dizzy when I stayed in the cabin.

And there is another point, that is the difference between North and South.The habit of using words and sentences in the south is bound to be somewhat different from that in the north. If he waits for the time to come, he will not understand the situation, and he will inevitably feel a little uncomfortable.

Based on the above considerations, Chu Ci wants to set off in October.We can reach the capital in mid-November. The weather is not so cold at that time, and the port should not be closed.

At that time, he will rent a yard, or buy a house, and stay in the capital to study for two or three months, and he will be more confident.

The Chu family listened to his analysis, but couldn't say anything.They don't understand this at all.Hearing what Chu Ci said, he knew that he had made up his mind, but it was a pity that they would be separated during the Chinese New Year this year.

Chu's mother wiped away her tears, and Chu Ci comforted her: "Mother, don't be sad. This time, if my child goes to the exam, if he gets the title of the gold list and becomes an official, I will take you and the eldest brother to the capital. Let's also be city people, maybe we can still see the emperor."

Chu's mother was amused by him, and said: "You are used to making your mother happy. There is no place like the capital for us to go to. Then I will cause trouble for you! I am here to guard the whole family. Three-thirds of the land...and your father. I also know your elder brother, and the two of them are not used to it. If you want to be able to succeed in the future, don't forget to take Xiaoyuan with you. Since this child has studied, I think It looks more and more like your childhood shadow."

Chu Ci quickly agreed, but he thought in his heart that if he asked to take them to Beijing, he must have a way to protect them.

……

It was set to leave on the first day of October, and Chu Ci had to take care of household chores in the past few days.

The guests of the last crown ceremony, the relatives at home, had their own gift book records, and they walked in the name of the entire Chu family, so there was no need for Chu Ci to return favors.

But those officials, teachers and classmates, had to be handled by Chuci himself.There were also uninvited country gentry, Chu Ci read their posts, and asked about the traditions, only to find out that they were plotting the field.

After becoming a Juren, the number of people who can be exempted from corvee labor is as high as dozens, and there is no limit to the land property under the name, no matter how much it is, all of them do not have to pay taxes.

Generally speaking, after winning the election, many wealthy businessmen and gentry will come to make friends with them, in order to hang the land under their names on Chuci.Sometimes a person's name can be linked to several thousand acres of fertile land.Of course, the fields are not for nothing. What kind of houses and stores, concubines and maidservants, as long as you want, they can get it for you.

But Chu Ci didn't want to do this kind of deal with them.There will be problems in the later stage of the imperial court, and there is a certain reason for this problem of paying taxes.The imperial court's finances are supported by tax revenues. If there is not enough tax revenue, what will be used to relieve the victims and rebuild the disaster areas, and what will be used as military expenses to support the hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers?

Naturally, it was impossible for the imperial court to attack the aristocratic families or scholars, so the people paid more and more taxes, from the original ten tax three, to four tax, five or even higher tax.After a year of hard work, he was finally reduced to the realm of prostitution, how could he not make people resent him?

Chu Ci is a modern person, he can't just watch himself become such a pusher, so after reading the posts of the squires, he throws them aside.All the things they sent were returned.

There are not many relatives in Chu Ci's family. He has already investigated the number of fields in each household, and brought these fields into his own name.But he would not care for them. He told Chu Guang that each relative's tax-free land is within [-] mu. If the land exceeds this amount, the excess part still has to pay taxes normally.

As for the farmland in the village, Chu Ci did not take it into his name, but spent money to buy two hundred acres of fertile land and put it into the Chu family's farmland.

The Chu family's land is handed over to the people in the village to take care of it. Every year, a quarter of the income from the management needs to be taken out and handed over to the village head.If someone's family in the village is in trouble, or poor students can't afford to study, they will pay for it from here.Moreover, the old and young in the village can go to the village head to receive a fixed amount of food every month.

This measure can not only help the villagers to reduce their burden, but also prevent them from developing a disposition of liking leisure and loathing work. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

In addition, Chu Ci also donated 50 taels of silver to improve the teaching environment in the village.And a scholarship system was set up to encourage the children in the village to go to school, and the money was allocated from the clan's fields every month.

On the day the money was allocated, Old Master Zhang came to Chu's house.

Chu Ci was a little strange, didn't this old man always look down on him?The words often reveal the meaning of "don't bend your waist for five buckets of rice". Why did this come for 50 taels of silver?

Thinking of this, he still respectfully invited him in.After all, this old man is his mentor, so he can't escape even if he runs away.

"I came here today to thank you for your kindness to the school in the village. Over the years, the number of school-age children in the village has been decreasing. They are all struggling to make ends meet, and we have nothing to do. Go to the village head today. One thing to say, there will be more children who will be enlightened in the coming year than in previous years!"

"I am troubled by these things all day long, but I have no choice. Even if I go to the villagers' homes to persuade them, it will not help. You may just say something casually, but it is the fate of our descendants in Changxi Village that has been changed. So, no matter what, the old man must Abandon the previous rift and come to thank you at your door."

Chu Ci was speechless for a while, it seemed that this time, he was the one who treated the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.

This old man is old-fashioned and gloomy, with acrimonious words and pedantic actions, but he is worthy of the word "teacher".

Chuci was selected by a scholar, but he didn't come to the door.Chuci got the plaque, but he didn't come to the door.Chuci won Juren and became Zhiyuanlang, but he still didn't come to the door!However, at this moment, for a mere 50 taels of silver, he lowered his face and abandoned his dignity in front of the students to thank Chu Ci.

Thinking of this, Chu Ci stood up and bowed deeply to Old Master Zhang.

"This old man can't stand Xie Yuanlang's worship!" Old Master Zhang still looked displeased, but Chu Ci changed a lot towards him in his heart.

"If you insist on doing this, you might as well go to the village school tomorrow and teach something to those ignorant children."

"As long as you want, I dare not ask for your ears."

On the second day, Chu Ci came to the village school, facing the following pair of confused or determined eyes, said:

"Today I will teach you a poem, and everyone will read it after me. The emperor values ​​heroes, and the article teaches you. Read it!"

"The son of heaven values ​​heroes, and articles teach us."

"Everything is inferior, only reading is superior. Read!"

"Everything is inferior, only reading is high!"

……