Chapter 2620
Regarding the housing issue for senior officials from Haihan who will move to Hangzhou in the future, Shi Diwen has actually made corresponding arrangements and set aside a large area of land near the planned new city for senior officials to build residences.
However, the area of Hangzhou New City is roughly to the east of the current city, between the Tiesha River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. It is far away from the West Lake and naturally does not have the beautiful scenery of the lakeside. Most places are still farmland, and the living environment does need to be improved.
The land Tao Hongfang and others bought by the lake was not intended to be a permanent residence in the future, but intended to be used to build a private resort. They inspected many times around the West Lake and found that there are actually quite a few manors like this around the West Lake, and the owners are often either rich or noble, and many are even relatives of the emperor. It can be regarded as a traditional rich area near Hangzhou City. .
In fact, the original owner of the land they bought was a former high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty who had retired and returned to his hometown. He was willing to sell the land to them in a good location and environment. Naturally, someone gave them advice and wanted to use this land. He clung to the dignitaries of the new dynasty to find a way out for his family.
Tao Hongfang and others have seen this kind of approach before, but they also know how to handle it. They should write down the favors that should be remembered first, pay the money that should be paid, and follow the normal land transaction process, and they will not fall into the trap easily. The population is real.
After completing the relevant procedures, Ning Zijing will be responsible for the subsequent design and construction matters. Qiong Lianfa had already accumulated a lot of human resources in this area during his property purchase in Hangzhou. As long as Ning Zijing went to the big shopkeeper Li Fa to say hello, they would naturally arrange manpower to follow up on the matter. They only need to prepare the corresponding funds and select the design plan, but they don't need to stay here to supervise the work.
Ning Zijing was very efficient in doing things. He took care of all these matters the day after buying the land.
"I have asked Qiong Lianfa to come forward and invite famous masters and craftsmen from Suzhou to design the manor. They will be picked up from Suzhou in a few days. When we come back from this mission, we should be able to see the preliminary design plan. "Ning Zijing paused, and then added: "Qiong Lianfa will temporarily pay the related expenses and then settle with us later."
Tao Hongfang said: "Then why don't we leave some money here before we leave? There is no need for Qiong Lianfa to pay it in advance."
Ning Zijing smiled and shook his head and said: "Hong Fang, shopkeeper Li took the initiative to take over this matter. If I politely refuse his kindness, I'm afraid he will be overly concerned."
Tao Hongfang suddenly understood: "In that case, let's wait until we come back from overseas."
The Li family and Haihan executives have maintained a close relationship for more than 20 years. Li Fa took the initiative to take over the matter, of course, not only out of enthusiasm, but also because of their identity and background, hoping to take this opportunity to consolidate his relationship with them. personal relationship. After all, the people who will take over the power of Haihan in the future are likely to be these young people who have begun to show their prominence on the political stage.
Of course, Tao Hongfang was happy to leave the preparations for his manor to someone like Li Fa who knew everything about it, and he could be sure that Li Fa would take the matter seriously and there was no need to worry about anything going wrong in the process.
After arranging these things, it was finally time for the results of the provincial examination to be released. With their status, of course they did not have to go to the Gongyuan in the east of the city to huddle with the candidates to look at the results. After the Rural Examination Office released the results, they immediately sent someone to send a copy of the list to Bai Letong.
Compared with the provincial examination admission quota of over 100 people in previous years, although the number of applicants has decreased this year, the number of admissions has greatly increased, reaching more than 300 people, almost reaching a quarter of the admission rate, which is astonishingly high. . The reason for such a drastic relaxation of admission standards is actually obvious. On the one hand, Haihan does need a large number of scholars to enrich the bureaucracy. On the other hand, it also needs such a high admission rate to attract more scholars who are still waiting to participate in the next semester. Imperial examination.
For the vast majority of scholars in this era, the ultimate goal of ten years of hard work is to gain fame. When they realize that the imperial examinations in the new dynasty are less difficult than those in the previous dynasty, their enthusiasm for participating in the imperial examinations will greatly increase.
Of course, the real highlight of this provincial examination is not the admission rate, but the identity of the newly promoted Jieyuan.
Several talents from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who were very popular before the provincial examination failed to come out on top, and the person who finally occupied the top position of Jie Yuan was a very unfamiliar name - Zhu Zian.
Just when the people were curious about his identity and origin, relevant news spread in due time. This Zhu Zian was not an ordinary scholar, but a serious member of the royal family of the previous dynasty, a descendant of King De, and a county prince. . Unwilling to be lonely, the young prince went to Hangzhou to take the exam incognito. Unexpectedly, he won the first place.
Nobles with such a special status are far beyond ordinary people in terms of status, background and academic level. Taking the imperial examination is simply a dimensionality reduction blow. However, since the number of admission places for this year's provincial examination has been greatly increased compared with previous years, Zhu Zian's move to occupy one of the places will not offend anyone. What's more, this imperial examination was not held in the Ming Dynasty. Seriously speaking, he actually has no relationship with other candidates. the difference.
As the saying goes, there is no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts. This young prince can get the first place in the provincial examination held in Donghai Region. He must be an extremely talented person. So the people watching the excitement followed the officials who announced the results and went to look for this child of the former royal family who was secretly rushing to take the exam.
When they arrived at the place, they found that Zhu Zian was staying in an extremely ordinary inn. Although he was staying in the upper room, the environment here clearly did not match his aristocratic status.
At this time, some good people began to deduce the reason. In the early years of the Qing army's invasion of Shandong, the Dewang lineage was almost completely wiped out in the Battle of Jinan. Although they later found close relatives, their vitality was severely damaged and there was not much left in the family property. It just fell into ruin. Later, all of King De's fiefdoms were taken over by Haihan, making it even more unsustainable, leaving only the identity of a royal clan member.
Of course, even if it is just an empty shell, it is still a real nobleman, and it is not the same world as ordinary people at all. And such a big shot actually came to participate in the provincial examination held by Haihan. If it wasn't because he was too busy, there was only one possibility. That is, his purpose was the same as other scholars, hoping to get an official honor through such channels, and be awarded by This opens the door to an official career.
Why don't good nobles do that, but have to travel thousands of miles to take the imperial examination and compete with ordinary people for a place to serve Haihan? The reason is of course obvious. You can see it when you look at the inn where this descendant of the German King lives. It is probably to strive for a better future. This speculation was reasonable, and it made many onlookers sympathize with this down-and-out nobleman.
(End of chapter)