I

Although Zhao Han broke the boundary between officials and civil servants, it has become increasingly difficult for civil servants to become officials since the imperial examinations became on track.

After graduating from elementary school, he took the examination for a minor official in the county, which is the lowest level of official.

After graduating from middle school, you take the junior official examination in the state capital, and the official level is slightly higher.

After graduating from college but not passing the Jinshi examination, I could be posted as a ninth-level official at first, but now I can only be posted as a civil servant. However, he can directly serve as a first- and second-grade official. After three to five years, or at most six or seven years, he can basically be promoted to a ninth-grade official.

Officials with only a primary school diploma, unless they have outstanding practical ability or have family connections, will never be able to truly serve as officials in this life. Promotion to first-class officials is already the limit.

For officials with a high school diploma, their talents and fortune are particularly tested. Generally, by the time you retire, the ninth-grade official will be the most powerful, but there are overseas consuls and the Protectorate!

Jinshi were reluctant to go to those remote, bitter and cold places unless they could become high officials.

Someone finally passed the imperial examination and was sent to Tibet to do the eighth or ninth grade. How could he not feel resentful in his heart? Vietnam and Myanmar are not bad, at least the conditions are not that bad.

Therefore, the imperial court had a policy that asked the chief officials of various provinces, prefectures and counties to register first-class officials who were willing to risk their lives. The list was sent to the capital together with the provincial taxes every year.

Being a first-class official is a hurdle. Once you get promoted, you will become an official, but it is very difficult to cross.

Teng Wenlong has been a first-class official for eight years and has changed three positions. Although his real power is getting stronger and more lucrative, he can't move up any higher. He was already in his thirties, and while he was still angry, he signed up to give it a try.

He was actually selected. You know, there are many first-class officials who are willing to risk their lives, and they all have excellent resumes. Whether or not they win the prize depends entirely on luck.

But knowing where he was going, Teng Wenlong couldn't laugh or cry.

Neither to Tibet, nor to Heilongjiang, nor to the Mongolian grasslands. Even Malacca and Chittagong are fine. What the hell is Falkland Island?

Falklands is the island of Madagascar, a transliteration from an indigenous language.

The Arabs, Portuguese, and French have given this island many names, such as Moon Island, Wazamba Island, Falk Island, Big Island, etc. Zhao Han feels that transliteration is the easiest way.

Where there is a loss, there is a gain. Falkland Island is remote and the treatment is high.

Teng Wenlong was directly promoted from a first-class official to six levels in a row and became a seventh-grade official. But he must serve for six years. If the round trip is included, it will take seven or eight years before he can return to the country. By then, he will be in his forties.

Teng Wenlong also brought several subordinates, who were also promoted from first-class officials, and the lowest rank was promoted from eighth rank.

The fleet docked, and there was not even a proper port.

A Chinese who was living on the island of Ma was responsible for managing this simple port. After meeting with him, he said: "Shangguan, please sail the ship to the north. There is a port there called Mahajanga. It has been renamed Renjia Port, which means 'recognize your family and return to your country'." It means. There is a river in Renjia Port that can lead directly to Xinguang City where the Governor's Palace is located."

Teng Wenlong wondered: "Isn't the Governor's Palace in the west?"

The man explained: "We captured the capital of a small indigenous country, and many old brothers moved there. I am not in a hurry to leave. After the port is abandoned, I will take over the nearby salt field. Hehe, my ancestors have been salt for generations. I never thought I would be able to open my own salt farm one day.”

This guy not only owns the salt farm, but also all the nearby indigenous people (mostly fishermen) are under his jurisdiction. He also has five adopted sons, forming a five-man private army. He can recruit natives at any time and form a motley army of three to four hundred people.

Compared to those city lords, he didn't feel aggrieved.

Because only the west coast of the island is suitable for boiling salt, and he owns the only sea salt farm on the island. As for Xinguang City, the natives all eat rock salt, which doesn’t taste very good. The old brothers prefer sea salt.

Teng Wenlong chatted with this man for a while, then boarded the boat and headed north under the guidance of the guide.

The sea ships sent by the imperial court were also equipped with many small boats. The supplies were loaded onto the ships and went along the river, enjoying the unique and exotic scenery along the way.

"Mountain...mandrill?"

Teng Wenlong used a telescope to observe both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and suddenly a ghostly thing came into view, which really frightened him.

"Show me." Cao Yue said hurriedly.

Cao Yue also came to Malta to serve as an official, but he was only promoted to the seventh rank because his official resume was not as good as Teng Wenlong's.

Teng Wenlong handed over the telescope and reminded: "It's very scary."

Cao Yue observed for a long time with his telescope and finally found a strange animal.

This thing seems to be a monkey. It has white hair on its chest, neck, forehead, cheeks and ears, and the rest of it is black. At first glance, it looked like a ghost. No wonder Teng Wenlong thought it was a mandrill.

Uh... Madagascar lemurs.

Suddenly, more lemurs emerge, swarming to watch the human ships from a distance. They opened their mouths and made a hoarse sound of "hoo ho ho ho". The cries of hundreds of lemurs gathered together and echoed on both sides of the river valley.

The sound is so permeable that it can be used as background sound effects in ghost movies.

"Damn it, I'm getting goosebumps." Hao Shan, who came from the eighth rank, said with a wince.

The person in charge of being their guide was named Lin Xiaotian. He took out a clay pot and said, "Sir, I forgot to give you this. Apply it on your body or on your clothes. Mosquitoes will not bite if you apply it, and it can also prevent malaria."

"Preventing malaria? This is a good thing." Teng Wenlong said in surprise.

There are more than 13,000 kinds of medicinal herbs on the Falklands, most of which are unique to the island.

Like the concoction in Lin Xiaotian's jar, this plant is everywhere on the island. When crushed, the juice can be extracted, which can kill adults and larvae of Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the carriers of malaria parasites. This medicine did not have a detailed name in later generations. After the juice was purified, it was called "RDO No. 2".

There are also indigenous doctors on the island, often staffed by shamans.

A naval doctor who drifted to the Falklands had no skills to use because he didn't know most of the plants on the island. By chance, military doctors discovered that wizards could cure diseases, so every time they conquered various tribes, they would capture the wizards alive and ask for medical advice.

There are not only herbal medicines to prevent and treat malaria, but also herbal medicines to treat colds, toothaches, etc.

In the past ten years or so, military doctors have recognized hundreds of diseases, their medical skills have become more and more sophisticated, and the child mortality rate has also been decreasing year by year.

Lin Xiaotian explained the situation, and Teng Wenlong asked: "Are there a lot of this kind of herb in Falkland Island?"

"It's everywhere." Lin Xiaotian said.

Teng Wenlong smiled and said: "It can be shipped to China. Not to mention preventing malaria, it is very useful in preventing mosquito bites."

Lin Xiaotian said: "You have to squeeze the fresh grass into juice. I'm afraid it won't be effective if you keep it for a long time."

Teng Wenlong said: "Then transplant the grass into China."

Obviously, they don't know what invasive species is. When this thing comes to China, it will probably grow everywhere.

After passing the hilly area, you enter the plateau area.

"Huo, that tree is so strange." Cao Yue pointed to a bread tree and said.

Lin Xiaotian introduced: "We call it the Hozen tree, and monkeys often pick fruits on the tree. This tree is also full of treasures. The fresh leaves can be used to make dishes and soups, the dried leaves can be used as seasonings, and the fruits can also be used to fill the stomach. The seeds can be used to extract oil, and the bark and tendons can be used to weave cloth and make ropes. Old Chen...well, military doctor Chen learned from the wizard that the fruits, leaves, and bark of the hozen tree can cure malaria."

Teng Wenlong couldn't help laughing and said: "There are quite a few malaria treatments on this island."

Baobab fruit has three times the vitamin C content of oranges and 50% more calcium than spinach!

All kinds of strange animals and plants opened Teng Wenlong's eyes along the way. He suddenly felt that being thrown here was not too bad.

The closer you get to Xinguang City, the more it looks like a civilized world.

Both sides of the river are full of farming areas. The indigenous people here not only cultivate rice, but also dig many water diversion canals. They weave linen and baobab bark cloth and sell them to less developed tribes in exchange for other daily necessities. The pottery making technology is also very mature, and the carpentry work is also quite proficient. It can build a "big boat" that can carry twenty or thirty people.

If it continues to develop, it is estimated that sea-going ships will be built, and it will be able to communicate with Africa and India.

The reason why maritime technology is not illuminated is not that the technology is not in place, but a problem of regional distribution. The most suitable places for farming are concentrated in the central plateau. They are not close to the sea at all. As for the coastal areas, the climate is tropical rainforest in the east and savanna climate in the west, both of which are not suitable for the development of human civilization.

Arriving at Xinguang City, Deng Youzhang led a group of old brothers out to greet him.

After some exchanges, Teng Wenlong was invited into the city and asked as he walked: "How many people are under your rule?"

Deng Youzhang shook his head and said: "The only cities and surrounding villages that we can directly govern are the cities and surrounding villages. The areas farther away are all governed by tribal autonomy, and there is no way to count the population."

"Then how many people can you count?" Teng Wenlong asked.

Deng Youzhang said: "There are about 120,000 or 30,000 people. In and around Xinguang City alone, there are more than 40,000 people. This is what is left after the war just now. What are the regulations of the imperial court?"

Teng Wenlong said: "The governor is still here, and none of the prefects and county magistrates you appointed will be changed. I will bring a group of officials to act as your deputies. There are also officials who specialize in supervising gold mines, and Mr. Prospector will also give you Brought two.”

"Your Majesty, you are wise." Deng Youzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The court did not directly send anyone to pick peaches.

Teng Wenlong added: "Your Majesty asked the Falklands to build a seaport. The imperial court will send two sea ships, and shipping officials will be dispatched from the country. From now on, the materials on the Falklands will no longer be shipped from the country. They can go directly to India to trade with the King of Jin. .”

"Prince Jin?" Deng Youzhang didn't understand.

Teng Wenlong explained: "The King of Jin is the King of Jin. The prince born by His Majesty was entrusted to a small country in the south of India."

Deng Youzhang and the old brothers around him were all silenced by these words.

They also have star guides who know how to calculate longitude and latitude, and they also have navigation charts and know how close southern India is to the Falklands.

If they disobey and anger the court, the King of Jin can directly send troops to kill them.

The sky is high and the emperor is far away, but the king of Jin is not far away.