Around the Spring Festival in 1854, the Chinese were in the streets of Haijing, and the sound of firecrackers were heard. Most of the Chinese shops that did not make money during the holidays were closed. So although they were lively, the business in the Governor's Office was stagnant. However, there was a long queue at the door, and there was a sheriff holding a spear to maintain order. This was the self-recommendation place outside the Haijing Palace.

After the opium collapse, most of the opium speculators lost all their money. Most of the Chinese in this group were big businessmen with literacy and speculation ability, and foreigners were also middle-class people. These unlucky guys threw eggs at Jardine Mahjong Trading Company. After being beaten up by the security officer in front of the former Governor's Office, they could only admit in tears that they were no match for imperialism, big capitalists and their lackeys. They could not seek justice and could only find a way out.

Because most of them have business and cultural literacy, some people were immediately absorbed by various chambers of commerce that broke out like bamboo shoots in Haijing, while others flocked to the self-recommendation office to become officials, because this country is called Song, not Ming, and officials are all well-paid.

Moreover, the exam is easy. Chinese who are literate can pass the exam in two days by buying a copy of "Haiguo Tuzhi - Zhao Kuobian". However, as long as foreigners can learn Chinese, they can take the exam for the God or Translation exam, the admission rate is very high.

Almost all the people who suffer from opium are merchants, but are not small merchants, but middle-class people with high level of knowledge. No matter which civilization you are ignorant, you are illiterate or illiterate, you must be illiterate in business and you cannot speak other people's languages.

Therefore, the merchants can be said to be the elite class of Hai Song now, and they are from a cultural perspective.

The poor American Nicholas was in the queue for translation test, and he had been waiting for two hours. He was different from other foreigners who were eager to try. He was extremely depressed. He spent the night under the bridge hole yesterday.

Overnight, the family was gone, the company was gone, and all the property was gone, and the wife couldn't stand it. After the bandit-like usury drove her out of the house, she borrowed some money from a friend, and took a boat back to the United States crying, leaving her former husband who had broken up in Haijing.

Nicholas was angry and in pain, especially after hearing that this time the big businessmen joined forces to manipulate the opium market, he wanted to draw a gun and shoot William of Jardine Mathematics. The latter did happen. The assaulter, a Dutchman, was shot dead by a bodyguard, but it was not Nicholas, and his revolver was also taken away while the house was raided.

Thirty days later, his friends finished eating, and he had to sleep in the bridge hole, as he turned from a successful speculator to a beggar.

He had no choice but to follow the crowd and enter the Song Dynasty court. Although he was an American, it was easy to take the exam. He only needed to become a Song nationality and was qualified. Joining the Song nationality was just to submit a tax certificate that you paid one year's tax to Zhao Kuo's court. Nicholas' thick stack of delivery bills made him from heaven to hell enough, and Zhao Kuo's futures trading pump was also fairly regarded as tax revenue.

Then press the Bible and swear, you are loyal to the Song Dynasty. Of course, the French and the British do not even need this one. They just need to say that they respect the Song Dynasty, respect the emperor and obey the law, and want to become citizens of the Hai Song Dynasty to serve the Hai Emperor.

They are top citizens among foreigners. Because Zhao Kuo held Napoleon III's thighs and was deeply afraid of Queen Elizabeth.

In addition, foreigners and braided people are treated equally.

Nicholas was familiar with the process and some friends. In order to penetrate the mainland of the Sea and Song dynasties, many foreign missionaries or merchants had already become nationality in the Song Dynasty and became a guy with multiple nationalities.

This salary is enough for a foreigner to live a more decent life, similar to the junior manager of a large business bank, but with the collapse of opium, the official exam went from being more popular overnight to being extraordinarily popular.

Bankrupt businessmen with high cultural knowledge flocked to the self-recommendation office to become officials of the Song Dynasty, both Chinese and foreign.

In the pain of bankruptcy, Nicholas had long forgotten who the President of the United States was. He said loudly that I swear to be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and fought for him under the Ocean Cross. Then he got a good citizen certificate and immediately ran to the self-recommendation office to line up.

The exam was very slow. After all, there were written tests and interviews. After two hours, I finally saw the front. A foreigner wearing a Chinese robe came out from the small door of the self-recommendation office. He looked at the enthusiastic head, coughed, and shouted loudly in a slightly weird Chinese: "Listen to the candidate, now announce your Majesty's new examination edict."

Then he unfolded a piece of paper and read it loudly, which was generally: In view of the recent surge in candidates and the number of self-recommendations is overcrowded, and the rules are now changed. The God-Examination will no longer be conducted externally. The positions of priests and pastors designated by the Roman Catholic Church and the British and American Church and the Haijing-Han Society are held by priests and pastors. They conduct professional examinations and selections on their own; the conditions for the English language examination begin to increase, with diplomas from universities or colleges of the seven countries of Britain, France, the United States, Portugal, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands are preferred. If graduates from well-known colleges do not need to take the exam, they can directly recommend themselves. This example is a combination of Chinese and foreign countries. The latter is the addition of "overseas travel officials". The famous institutions of the seven countries recognized by the Song Dynasty are as follows......

The edict suddenly aroused a stir and insult from foreigners: After all, in the 19th century, who was the damn high-level businessmen? Most of the merchants who came to the Far East graduated from elementary or middle school, and many of them were just literate.

But more than a dozen people squeezed out of the queue, ran forward, took out the certificate from their arms and showed it to the guy, and then were directly put in.

Nicholas's face was suddenly full of blackness. He was an American cowboy, and where did he have any education? Does he have to go to this Far East Adventurer Park to fight to the death?

Angry, he pointed at the foreign official and shouted: "Tom, I recognize you! Aren't you a small employee of Tianbao Foreign Company? Don't say you have any academic qualifications!"

That Tom didn't expect to meet an acquaintance here, and smiled and said in Chinese: "I passed the Yiwen exam half a year ago. Now I am the English interview official of the Song Dynasty Self-Recommendation Office. Mr. Nicholas was still a big businessman at that time. But now it is not that time. There are too many people taking the exam. I'm really sorry."

Then he raised his arms and shouted: "People with academic qualifications come and queue up first, in the order of universities, colleges and middle schools! Foreigners who have worked in diplomatic work in the consulate are also preferred. Please provide work certificates and employer evaluation!"

The foreigners piled up in Yiwenkao and Shenkao were swearing and cursing, and some people began to turn their heads and walk out, and a riot broke out in the scientific research queues where the Chinese people gathered there.

The cause was the show-off of several young Chinese people.

"Wow, I passed the exam!" A young man with black face walked out of his self-recommendation and laughed with a piece of paper.

"How many points are Brother Li?" several of his companions immediately went over and asked.

"The written test scores 98 points! The interview is excellent! I can speak a little English." The black-faced young man said proudly.

"Ninety-eight! It's too high. I only got 89 last time and was eliminated. I was miserably defeated by the Haiguo Magazine for half a month, and I had to get more than 95 points." A man who looked like a scholar stood in the queue and cut a folding fan.

"I wish Brother Zhang success." The young men immediately said.

Since Zhao Kuo's control over the whole province of Guangdong has become more and more stable, in addition to the strange foreigners pouring into Guangdong, the number of Confucian scum has gradually increased, and the scientific examination has become more and more difficult. From the beginning, it is almost necessary to read the Haiguo Magazine without writing typos. It has gradually evolved into a large-scale examination with dozens of fill-in-the-blank questions, ten short answer questions, and two essay questions. However, Confucian scholars who are good at exams have made this standard higher and higher. With so many questions, you can't think of the written tests at 90s, because everyone is eighty or ninety. Chinese Confucian scum has begun to advance the admission line towards full marks, because the markers are all early "scums", and their cultural level is definitely not as good as the "scums" later. When marking the papers, the examiners often admire the candidates' papers - look at how beautiful the language is, and look at how great the calligraphy is!

Chinese people have been taking the exam for thousands of years and memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics. This is the level of a primary school student in the future. If you take an exam with only a thin textbook, you will be embarrassed to say that you are a scholar. You will get full marks if you take a test of 90 points.

Several young scholars were talking happily about the exam, and some other Chinese people in the queue had already started rubbing their teeth - annoyed.

A middle-aged man in his thirties pointed at these chattering young men and sneered: "You are so fucking awesome! Aren't you Confucian scholars? Why don't you fucking escape from the Song Dynasty to go to the Qing Yao to take the scientific examination of Kong Laoer? Are you not embarrassed to stay here to participate in the scientific examination of the emperor?"

This immediately aroused a lot of approval, and it was all about businessmen and jealous of Confucian scholars.

"What do you do? We are also the people of the Song Dynasty! If you can't test us, you will complain?" The scholars were not willing to be outdone and retorted.

"I lost all opium! Who am I afraid of? Believe it or not, I will beat you, a group of Qing Demon accomplices now?!" The middle-aged man was so embarrassed that he raised his fists and rushed towards the group of scholars, slapped one of them all over the sky.

Several scholars immediately stepped back with panic on their faces, but one of them took out a musket from the servant's bookcase, pointed it at the guy, and shouted: "Damn it! Don't think scholars are easy to bully! Believe it or not, I will beat you to death!"

"Damn it, put down the gun!" The middle-aged friend of the team rushed over and also pulled out the gun to confront him.

"Wow! Sheriff! Someone here is holding a gun!" A scream immediately sounded in the team, and the Chinese scientific research team began to flee in all directions.

There was a chaos there, and the foreigners who lined up for the Shenshu and Yiwen exams here were not to be outdone. Someone picked up stones from the ground and smashed them at the glass and signboards at the self-recommendation office, and cursed loudly: "The dog emperor Zhao Kuo shamelessly manipulates the market! Now people are not alive!"

This inciting scream immediately aroused a response, and flew towards the self-recommendation office on the outer wall of the Governor's Mansion like a stone, rain, and the self-recommendation office of the "Palace" Governor's Mansion, as it was.

"Shelf Magistrate! Sheriff!" Foreign official Tom hugged his head and hid in the stones and fled into the wall of the self-recommendation office.

Five minutes later, a large number of guards in the Governor's Office dispersed the candidates with butts, and then the sheriff of the brigade brigade drove over. This was the famous "Haijing Candidate Riot Incident", which declared the beginning of a new order for the examiners.

Nicholas, who had nothing, was also the main force in the riot. He smashed the glass, smashed the Chinese-style stone fence on the flower wall, and kicked the wooden door that was closed in a hurry with seven or eight people. One of him even took out a gun and shot at the door, causing wood chips to splash on it.

Then a row of gunfire sounded loudly behind him, because the self-recommendation office was the original Governor's Mansion, which was the so-called Zhaokuo Palace. There were many guards. The guards who came to reinforce him first set up a row of empty guns in the sky, and then rushed over with bayonets. The merchants and candidates immediately scattered.

Two hours later, it started raining in Haijing. Nicholas sat by a big river in Haijing. He was soaked, his clothes were torn, and his face was covered in dust. There were two big bags on his forehead, which were drawn by the sheriff.

He looked at the river beneath his feet and murmured: "Everything is wrong, everything is wrong..."

He shouted: "This dirty country!" After that, he jumped down.

This place is remote and there are not many pedestrians, but a young man was always on the bridge. He suddenly heard Nicholas' roar, turned his head to see this scene, and immediately threw away the oil umbrella in his hand, and he didn't even have time to take off his clothes, so he jumped into the river.

Fifteen minutes later, Nicholas was dragged onto the river beach by the young Chinese man with excellent water. Both of them were so tired that they were breathing and lay on their backs in the heavy rain.

"Does foreigners commit suicide? Isn't the Bible not letting you commit suicide?" the young man asked gasping.

"Why do you want to save me?! I was squeezed out of flesh and blood by this dirty adventure park..." Nicholas called in Chinese.

"Since you know that this is dirty, you should go to fight." The young man gasped, and it was not easy to pull Nicholas up by his 20 kilogram water fallen.

"Fight? How do I fight? I am just a small businessman. I can't fight against those big British opium merchants, nor can I fight against your damn emperors! He is an accomplice of the big opium merchants!" Nicholas roared, and then he cried: "My home, my wife, everything is gone..."

"Why die? It's not easy to die? There is always a way. He is just a traitor." The young man murmured in a low voice.

The two of them leaned back and forth on the beach, no one spoke again, and kept lying down and the sky gradually became dark.

Nicholas escaped from death, cried for two hours, and after venting his emotions violently, he stopped begging for death. He finally turned to look at his savior and reached out and said, "Thank you, you saved me. Thank you. I am Nicholas."

As if shy of the foreign etiquette, the young man was stunned for a moment, did not shake hands with him, turned around and climbed up, saying, "Don't want to die? How long has it been raining? Find a place to change your clothes and dry your clothes."

"I have no place to go." Nicholas sighed.

"Come with me." The young man looked at Nicholas and said.

"Thank you." Nicholas thanked.

Along the way, Nicholas told himself about his experience. When he heard that he was once a reporter, the young man exclaimed: "I was about to run a newspaper, but I was in urgent need of reporters, especially those who are familiar with Chinese and foreign countries."

"Is this lucky?" Nicholas was stunned. There was a way out. He asked, "What kind of newspaper do you want to run?"

"It's more important to say? Expose the darkness of society! Expose the crimes of animals! Show the way of heaven!" The young man clenched his fists.

"Political newspapers." Nicholas shrugged, but what was there, he immediately said: "Sir, I am willing to work for you. I have 3 years of journalism experience."

As he said that he noticed the young man limping and asked with concern: "Sir, were you injured when you saved me?"

"No, I'm always injured. A shrapnel was hit in my leg." The young man sighed, and then smiled, "There are two other injuries, I'm lucky."

"Are you a warrior? What war have you participated in?" Nicholas asked.

"I have participated in Fogang, Guangzhou City Battle, Hunan, and Jiangxi Battle."

These words immediately made Nicholas awe-inspiring, and he said, "God, the one in front of me is actually a war-produced Eastern Crusader hero! I admire you. Which army are you in? I have a French friend who serves as an instructor in Feilong Camp in Dongguan. You may know him, and his name is..."

"I'm from the Qing army of Hunan." The young man interrupted him: "I haven't said my name yet, my name is Li Mingchang."

Nicholas was stunned for a long time before whistling an awkward whistle in the rain: "Wow."
Chapter completed!