In 1977 Tsao successfully tested into the ROC Military Academy, earning a stipend each month ranging from NT $ 800 to NT $ 3,000, rising by year of study, markedly lower than the NT $ 5,000 monthly paycheck an elementary school teacher could expect.
1977 年，曹明生高分考入陸軍官校，4 年就讀期間，依年級不同，他每個月領到的薪餉從 800 到 3,000 元不等，僅略遜於國小老師當時 5,000 元的月薪。