Chapter 373 Ryukyu merchants are really awesome!
The road from Suzhou Prefecture to Nanjing City is not long, but Yi Sunchen walked for more than half a month.
The main reason why Yi Sun-shin walked so slowly was one word - poverty.
After entering the southeast, Yi Sunchen was penniless. He had no choice but to find a job in Suzhou City.
It's a pity that he is a scholar in North Korea and has no skills. No one wants to find a job as a weaver.
Yi Sun-shin finally found a job copying newspapers in a weaving factory with a staff of 100 people.
Copying newspapers means copying the news from the newspapers and posting them on the bulletin board in the rest area of the factory.
Of course, it was impossible to copy everything. Yi Sun-shin only needed to copy the important news on the front page.
The establishment of bulletin boards was a requirement of Suzhou Magistrate He Xinyin for each factory. In addition to newspapers, the new decrees of the Southeast Metropolitan Governor's Office and the new laws and regulations of Suzhou Prefectural Government were also required to be copied on the bulletin boards to make all people aware of them.
Yi Sun-shin could read and write, so the job was relatively easy.
After all, there were not many literate workers. In addition to copying newspapers, Yi Sun-shin would also read the contents of newspapers to these weavers. He regarded this as an opportunity to practice Chinese and became fluent in less than half a month. , I couldn’t recognize him as a Korean even when I first met him.
Korea in this era was not much different from the Ming Dynasty. Korea was the most submissive of all the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.
Not only did North Korea's system completely copy the Ming Dynasty, North Korea's currency was also basically from the Ming Dynasty. North Korea also followed the Ming Dynasty in conducting imperial examinations, and the textbooks were all the Four Books and Five Classics.
The memorials written by the North Korean ministers were as good at quoting scriptures as the scholars of the Ming Dynasty.
Yi Sunchen quickly adapted to life in the southeast. After receiving half a month's wages from the workshop owner, Yi Sunchen finally set off for Nanjing.
After arriving in Nanjing, Yi Sun-shin began his study.
As expected, it is indeed very difficult for him to enroll in Nanjing due to his status.
Tiangong Academy can recruit foreign students, but there are very few courses that foreign students can study, and they need someone to vouch for admission.
Forget about the Imperial College. Li Sunchen saw a long queue of scholars waiting to sign up in front of the Imperial College. These were all well-known scholars from the southeast region.
The Metropolitan Government has already let the news out. This year, all you need to do to enter the Imperial College is take the selection exam. But if you want to become an official next year, you must first take the imperial examination held in the southeast, and then you must study in the Imperial College and graduate before you can be awarded an official.
In this case, it is better to seize the time and enter the Imperial College this year.
The hotels near the Imperial College were all rented out, and even the temples in Nanjing had empty Zen rooms to rent rooms for these scholars to prepare for the exams.
I heard that the final entrance exam for the Imperial College will be held at the end of the year. This time, the Grand Governor Su Ze will personally write the questions and invigilate the exam. The scholars are working hard to leave a deep impression on the Grand Governor.
Yi Sun-shin did not even have meritorious service in Korea, let alone take the exam for the Imperial College.
Tuition fees at those private academies were expensive, and Yi Sun-shin had no money to study. He still remembered the teachings of Yue Lun, the junior official who approved the entry. Nowadays, the academies in the southeast are a mixed bag, and there are not many academies that are really capable.
The money Yi Sunchen had saved in Suzhou was about to be used up, so he had to find a job in Nanjing again.
It’s just that as the New Year is approaching, many workshops are no longer recruiting workers.
"Sell newspapers! The Yao Rebellion in Guangxi! Our Fourth Brigade of the New Army enters Guangxi to quell the rebellion!" "
At noon discount, only fifty yuan!"
Li Sunchen touched his pocket. With the advancement of ink, papermaking and printing, Now the price of a newspaper has dropped to 100 cents.
Most newspapers have been sold out in the morning. Those who go to school, go to the government office, or work in the workshop will buy a newspaper on the way to work in the morning, or have the newspaper boy deliver it to their home before breakfast.
Many literate and well-to-do families have the habit of reading newspapers, and the news in newspapers will also become a source of conversation at work.
Newspapers that cannot be sold by noon are usually sold at a discount, but by this time the news has become old news and has lost its value in talking about.
Fifty coins is still very expensive for ordinary people. Yi Sun-shin is currently living in a rented Zen room in Jiming Temple. In the Zen room, you can borrow old newspapers. He rarely buys new newspapers to read.
But relying on the recruitment notices in old newspapers, Yi Sun-shin applied for the job several times in a row but was late.
After all, the old newspapers provided by Jiming Temple are from a few days ago, so it is not surprising that they are full of people.
Yi Sunchen gritted his teeth, took out a fifty copper coin from his pocket, handed it to the newsboy and said,
"Here is the latest newspaper."
The newsboy took the money, immediately handed the newspaper to Yi Sunchen and said, "Thank you, sir. Congratulations." Make a fortune, sir!"
The newspaper boys in the southeast are very clever. I heard that the Grand Governor has set up almshouses in major cities, selling and delivering newspapers to these children, and also setting up literacy classes to teach them how to read and write.
These newsboys are much better than the dirty street children on the streets of Pingcheng. They are polite, clean and tidy, and they speak nicely.
Yi Sun-shin once again lamented the development of the southeast. He took the newspaper from the newsboy and read it directly on the roadside.
The front page is an article about the Guangxi Yao Rebellion. Generally speaking, it tells the history and causes of the Tengxia Yao Rebellion, as well as the impact of Guangxi on the southeast. It can be said to illustrate the justice of the Fourth Brigade entering Guangxi to counter the rebellion.
This article did not cite too many scriptures, but just plainly described the causes of the Yao rebellion. There were also several actual records of Han refugees who fled from Guangxi to Guangdong. After reading it, Yi Sunchen, a foreigner, felt that the Guangxi Yao must be pacified. chaos! Although he didn't even know where Guangxi was on the map.
The second page is an introduction to the new policies recently implemented in the Southeast, including the decree issued by the Grand Governor to restrict monastic and Taoist property and crack down on folk obscene worship.
Yi Sunchen thought of Jiming Temple where he rented. No wonder the monks in the temple were a little nervous recently. It turned out to be because of this incident.
However, for a large temple like Jiming Temple, land is only a part of its income.
Pilgrims give alms, rent monks' rooms, send scriptures, offer rituals, and issue loans. These are also money-making projects.
The government decree of the Governor's Office only limited the monks' property and standardized the management of ultimatums, which in the eyes of scholars is what it should be.
Yi Sun-shin was worried about whether the price of the Zen house he rented would increase, but he just changed his mind. If he couldn't find a job, he wouldn't even be able to afford the rent of the Zen house.
He quickly turned to the back, and just when Yi Sun-shin was about to check the recruitment notice, he suddenly saw the report of military recruitment.
conscription?
Yi Sunchen's eyes lit up, and it turned out that this was a recruitment notice for the Fifth Brigade of the Southeast New Army stationed in Nanjing.
The Fifth Brigade of the Southeast New Army is stationed in Nanjing and is responsible for the defense of South Zhili.
The nominal brigade commander of the fifth brigade is Xu Wei, but the actual person in charge of daily training is the acting brigade commander Chen Lin.
Chen Lin, a native of Shaozhou, was recruited by Qi Jiguang when he entered the Fujian and Ping Dynasties. Later, he went to Fujian Naval Academy as a representative to study and began to be exposed to new learning ideas.
Later, after Su Ze took control of the Qi Army, the Qi Army was reorganized into the Third Brigade. Chen Lin made military exploits in the battles to capture Chaozhou and Guangzhou.
So Chen Lin was transferred to Nanjing and served as the acting brigade commander of the Fifth Brigade.
Xu Wei entrusted all general affairs to Chen Lin, and the two of them cooperated in a tacit understanding.
The officers of the fifth brigade were all drawn from various brigades. After the incident of King Jing's imperial edict in Huguang, Xu Wei immediately reported to Su Ze that if Huguang changed, the Ming court would definitely have to pacify King Jing first. It is very likely that Zhang Zheng's army in Xuzhou Withdraw westward. If Zhang Juzheng gives up Xuzhou, then the fifth brigade can go north to occupy Xuzhou, and then the southeast can occupy the entire Jianghuai defense line.
Xu Wei suggested expanding the fifth brigade, and the governor's office agreed to expand it to 5,000 troops and recruit troops from various places in southern Zhili.
Li Sunchen's eyes lit up. When he entered the country, Yue Lun, the junior official who approved the entry, told him that serving as a soldier in the southeast was a good choice.
As long as he served in the army and made meritorious service, he would be recommended to the military academy for further study. Yi Sun-shin held the newspaper and decided to go to the military camp outside Nanjing to give it a try.
Kinoshita Tokichiro, who entered the country at the same time as Yi Sun-shin, was doing nothing at the Nanjing Sei Pavilion.
The Siyi Pavilion is where foreign envoys who deal with foreign affairs live.
It's just that the governor was very "stingy" towards these foreign envoys, and they had to pay their own rent to live in the Seiyi Pavilion.
Kinoshita Tokichiro's credentials had long been submitted, but when the Concierge House in charge of foreign affairs saw Oda Nobunaga, they only knew that this was a famous name of the Japanese country, and did not pay attention to it. They just annotated his credentials as, "A certain famous name of the Japanese country." "Messenger, Kinxia" was handed over to the Governor's Mansion.
But there were too many Japanese envoys coming to the southeast!
The Shimazu family, the Mitomo family, and the Satsuma feudal lords of Japan almost all sent envoys to the southeast, requesting trade with the southeast and purchasing firearms.
Su Ze saw the cover of the certificate of credence sent by Kinoshita Tokichiro, and just browsed the annotations in the Concierge House before letting these Japanese envoys wait.
Southeast's attitude towards the Japanese country is that if they want trade, they can do it, but if they want weapons, they can't.
Kinoshita Tokichiro lived in the Seikan like this. He couldn't read Chinese characters and was not fluent in Chinese. He looked like a deaf and blind man in the Seikan every day.
During this period, he worked hard to learn Chinese and could only communicate briefly. If he continued like this, the money he brought with him would be exhausted, so Kinoshita Tokichiro decided to go to Tongtong.
Kinoshita Tokichiro left the Seikan. He was looking for Lin Changqing, a Ryukyu businessman who had been doing business between Southeast and Japan for a long time. It was said that this businessman had many connections in Southeast and could often meet with Su Ze, the governor of Southeast.
Lin Changqing had already bought a house in Nanjing by relying on the Ryukyu tribute trade. Kinoshita Tokichiro contacted him through a Japanese businessman, and at this time he was looking for the location of Lin Changqing's home.
When Kinoshita Tokichiro first entered the Southeast, people often looked down upon his Japanese hairstyle, and some people even threw rotten vegetable leaves at him.
Nanzhili was tortured by Japanese pirates for a long time, and Kinoshita Tokichiro immediately began to grow his hair. Now he has changed to a Han hairstyle, which is his sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and the weird hairstyle of the newly grown hair is a bit weird.
Fortunately, Kinoshita Tokichiro is thick-skinned enough, and he doesn't care about the eyes of outsiders.
After the Southeast New Army entered Nanjing, they not only repaired the roads, but also put up street signs on each street and numbered the houses on the street.
But Kinoshita Tokichiro was not proficient in Chinese and did not dare to ask anyone. He quickly lost his way on the streets of Nanjing with the note.
"No. 45 Hyobu Street", but Kinoshita Tokichiro searched around and couldn't find Hyobu Street.
"Soldiers?" Kinoshita Tokichiro saw a wooden sign and immediately walked over excitedly.
I only saw a lot of people queuing in front of a luxurious government office.
Are these all people who came to visit Lin Changqing?
He is indeed a great businessman who has access to the Grand Governor! The family is rich!
Kinoshita Tokichiro did not dare to speak, so he lined up behind a young man at the back of the queue.
"Are you a Japanese?" Yi Sun-shin suddenly asked in front of Kinoshita Tokichiro.
Not only was there Japanese rebellion in the Ming Dynasty, North Korea was also invaded by Japanese pirates for many years.
The Japanese often plundered Korean fishermen and also attacked the coastal areas of Korea, so Yi Sun-shin naturally had no good impression of the Japanese.
No good impression means no good impression, but in the southeastern boundary, Yi Sun-shin still held back his discomfort.
Kinoshita Tokichiro understood what Yi Sun-shin said, and he nodded quickly.
"Kinoshita, Kinoshita Tokichiro."
"Japanese people also come to join the army? It's really strange." Yi Sun-shin said in a very low voice, and Kinoshita Tokichiro couldn't understand it at all.
He said in half-baked Chinese: "I came here because I admired the Commander-in-Chief."
So, Yi Sunchen nodded. He also heard that the Japanese worshiped strong men and joined the army because they admired Commander-in-Chief Su. Pass.
"There are examinations for joining the military in the Southeast, but there is no discrimination against foreigners. As long as you have proof of identity, you can register."
Kinoshita Tokichiro didn't understand the previous words. He heard the words "identity proof" and "registration."
He quickly touched his pocket. As a foreigner, when entering the country, the official told him to carry his entry identification certificate with him, otherwise he would be deported as a foreign agent. Therefore, Kinoshita Tokichiro always carried his entry identification certificate with him. .
Do you need to register your identity to meet a businessman?
Although Kinoshita Tokichiro was a little confused, thinking that this was a big businessman who could meet the governor, it seemed natural to have stricter rules.
The team soon arrived at Yi Sun-shin. He handed over the identification certificate he carried with him. After the military official checked it, he registered his name on the recruitment book.
The recruiting clerk raised his head and looked at Yi Sunchen and asked:
"North Korean?"
Yi Sunchen immediately said: "Yes, sir!"
"You can speak Chinese well, tell me why you want to join the army?"
Yi Sunchen immediately said: "Learning new things. Study, save the country and strengthen the country!"
"Yes, but you foreigners who want to join the army need the governor's personal approval. I will register it for you. Go back and wait." Kinoshita
Tokichiro looked at Yi Sunshin and imitated him and handed over his identity. prove.
"Japanese?"
The tone of the recruiting clerk was obviously much different, but he still held back and asked:
"Can you speak Chinese?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Why join the army?"
Kinoshita Tokichiro couldn't understand at all, but his memory was limited. Very good, he immediately followed what Yi Sun-shin said just now and parroted:
"Learn new knowledge, save the country and strengthen it!"
The recruiting officer rolled his eyes, but still registered him.
"The Governor will be notified to you. Go back and wait."
Upon hearing the word "Captain", Kinoshita Tokichiro's eyes lit up. How could it be done so easily?
Ryukyu merchants are really awesome!
(End of chapter)