lady, please calm down

Chapter 505 Liuhuai Preparatory School
On September 19, Lin'an compensation was basically paid.

In order to raise compensation, the tax collection process will naturally not be too gentle.

Therefore, the people of Lin'an not only resented the Lin'an Dynasty, but also had a lot of resentment towards the Huaibei Army outside the city.

What Emperor Zhou was most concerned about at the moment was when the Huaibei Army would retreat. But to his disappointment, he waited until late September and still did not see the Huaibei Army retreating. Instead, he heard a frightening news that the Huaibei Army mobilized civilians to attack the enemy. There is a lot of construction work on the north side of West Lake outside the city.

It seems to be permanent!

I've given you all this money, so you, Prince Jin, can't be so blatantly dishonest!

On September 23, Emperor Zhou sent Luo Ruji and Shen Gai out of the city again to negotiate.

Five miles west of the city, Baojiao Mountain on the north bank of West Lake is called Gemstone Liuxia because of its ocher-red mountain body. Whenever the sun shines on it, it looks like flowing clouds and shines like gems. It is one of the ten scenic spots in West Lake.

At the foot of Baojiao Mountain, there is a lush green bamboo forest, with water facing the mountain and mountains on the back.

By this time, Luo and Shen had transformed this place into a huge construction site.

Later, Master Qian pointed to the drawings and said: "The wood needed for the student dormitories can be harvested from the mountains, but the student auditorium and canteen that the prince wants span a large span and require five feet of aniseed that has been dried for two or three years. We will see it in a moment." I'm afraid I won't be able to raise the money! If you want to meet the construction deadline, you still need to purchase it in Lin'an City."

Shen Gai looked around the busy construction site in astonishment and subconsciously asked, "Prince Jin wants to build a school in Lin'an?"

"At least three thousand." Chen Chu raised three fingers, then sighed with regret, and said emotionally: "In my early years, I also devoted myself to studying. However, due to the unstable world and poor family, I took this road that I never imagined. The way to go."

When Luo Ruji heard this, he quickly squeezed out two tears and said excitedly: "Your Majesty has a high position and has far-reaching thoughts. He can spread education widely and benefit the people of both countries! I am so impressed by this official."

"School?"

Luo Ruji hurriedly accepted, but Shen Gai couldn't bear it anymore and couldn't help but said: "Prince Jin, now that the peace agreement has been concluded, I wonder when the Huaibei army will return north? It's better for our court to make preparations in advance and have a farewell party."

Unexpectedly, in the evening of that day, each person received a daily wage of seventy cents.

Shen Gai couldn't help but be even more confused. Could it be that King Jin wanted to build a palace in Lin'an?
At this time, I heard the money master say cheerfully: "Your Majesty, if you are willing to spend money, the villagers can earn a living, and naturally everyone will not dare to be lazy. Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

Shen Gai quietly tiptoed and glanced at the construction drawings. He saw that the buildings above were scattered in an orderly manner, with blocks here and there, and even streams and rockeries marked. They did not look like they were used for military purposes at all, but more like wealthy households. A large garden is being built.

Chen Chu nodded, as if he had not seen Shen Gai and Luo Ruji until now. He turned around and exchanged greetings for a while before getting straight to the point: "Master Luo, I need a batch of dry wood of more than five feet to make beams and columns here. After Master Luo returns to the city, Pay attention to raising funds, haha, I will pay for it.”

Chen Chu sighed leisurely, looked at the vast West Lake, and said earnestly: "The two countries of Qi and Zhou have the same roots, but it is inevitable that they will instigate war against each other due to traitors. This king has learned from the painful experience and decided to fund the construction of a school to bring together famous people from the two countries." We will provide lectures by scholars and increase exchanges between scholars from the two countries, so as to fundamentally eliminate the possibility of another war between the two countries."

Luo Ruji quickly answered: "Hey! If it weren't for this, the prince would definitely be the leader of today's literary world. What a pity."

Shen Gai always felt that something was wrong. Seeing Luo Ruji's emotional expression, he could only praise King Jin first, and then said: "This school seems to occupy a large area. How many students does King Jin plan to recruit?"

This was more useful than any recruitment advertisement. The next day, the people who had made money here on the first day called their friends and came over.

When Luo and Shen were brought to King Jin, the latter's uniform was stained with mud and stains. He was discussing with an old man in his fifties dressed as a craftsman over a construction drawing, "Master Qian, spend money." The money doesn’t matter, but the construction period cannot be too long. Also, you can refer to the garden style when building the courtyard, and add more water-based mountain and rock landscapes, and don’t make it lifeless.”

"Hahaha, the peace agreement has been concluded, and the Huaibei Army will definitely not stick around. Once this school is completed, the Huaibei Army will withdraw."

At first, when the work officially started on the 20th, only more than 300 people came to work for a day.

Scholars have always had an obsessive enthusiasm for things like "building schools and constructing temples of Confucius." Shen Gai instinctively felt that building schools was a good thing, but the King of Jin's decision to build a school in Lin'an always seemed a bit weird.

Today, more than 6,000 people have gathered at the construction site, but there are still people coming from further away.

The area around Lin'an is densely populated. Although some people fled due to the arrival of the Huaibei Army, there are still some bold people who dare to work as long as they are paid enough.

"yes."

He flattered the King of Jin all the time, but when Shen Gai heard this, he secretly thought: If the King of Jin had really taken the path of the literati imperial examination, would this day be much more peaceful? I won’t be as embarrassed as I am today!

It's all his damn fault, Zheng Yi. Why did Tongshan do such a good job? He made King Jin unable to study hard and made the world lose a literary giant and gain a tycoon!
"Hey, Mr. Luo is so complimentary."

Chen Chu waved his hands with a smile and continued: "So, in order to prevent poor scholars from having any way to study like I did back then, my school will not restrict cultivation and provide food and clothing so that students can concentrate on studying. Wait until they have the ability to study. Xiaocheng will also arrange for them to go to Huaibei for exchange and study, to promote mutual understanding between the scholars of the two countries and to build a bridge for people-to-people exchanges between the two countries."

"Ah! This is a righteous act for a thousand years!"

Luo Ruji bowed his head to the end and said even more excitedly than before: "I would like to thank the King of Jin on behalf of the poor scholars in the world!"

It is conceivable how much prestige and praise the King of Jin would gain among the scholars when this news spread.

Even Shen Gai couldn't help but feel moved, but unlike Luo Ruji, he knew that no one from Huaibei would engage in loss-making business. Just looking at the size of this academy, it wouldn't be worth a few hundred thousand taels.

If we don’t repair and provide food and clothing, the annual expenses will be tens of thousands taels in the future.

He didn't quite believe that King Jin would do this just for reputation, so he asked tentatively, "May I ask King Jin, what is the name of this academy?"

"The purpose of building this academy is to enhance exchanges between scholars from the two countries. Let's call it Liuhuai Preparatory School."

Seeing that Shen Gai didn't seem to understand, Chen Chu said the full name of the academy, "Study in Huaibei Preparatory School."

In the afternoon, after being left at the construction site by Chen Chu for a working meal, Shen Gai and Luo Ruji returned to Lin'an together.

Along the way, Luo Ruji couldn't help but praise the King of Jin's good deeds, especially about the matter of 'freeing people from repairs and providing food and clothing'. Luo Ruji sighed: "This is not a small sum of money! When the scholar Lin'an heard the news, he Must be overjoyed!"

Shen Gai opened his mouth, but sighed and said nothing. Well, it is indeed not a small amount of money, but this money was paid for by Da Zhou!
As soon as the compensation arrived, the King of Jin changed hands and built such a academy. I feel that I have been accused of collecting taxes, and my good reputation has been lost to him.

After returning to the city to meet the emperor, Emperor Zhou felt a little uncomfortable when he learned that the Huaibei Army had not returned north yet because of the Academy. However, compared to the initial speculation that the Huaibei Army was building a military stronghold, the Academy was much easier to accept.

In the next two days, Luo Ruji devoted himself in the city to helping the Liuhuai Preparatory School to raise large-scale timber on the grounds of "helping the Huaibei Army complete the construction of the academy as soon as possible and inviting them to return north."

But in the city, the news about the academy being built outside the city has spread quickly.

This incident was caused by the great scholars, and at the same time, they controlled the direction of local public opinion. Praising the King of Jin instantly became the political correctness in Lin'an City.

On the 25th, Gu Yuntang and others gathered again at Mei Yaomei's residence. During the dinner, the topic naturally couldn't avoid the Liuhuai Preparatory School outside the city.

A well-informed scholar gushed: "Liuhuai Preparatory School covers an area of ​​more than 500 acres, and the free accommodation provided is not a big bunkhouse like other academies, but a dormitory for four people. By the way. , I heard that the academy also diverted mountain springs from Baojiao Mountain and built water towers connected to each dormitory, which is called running water! "

"Is it even tap water?"

"I also heard people say that just turn the faucet and running water will come out."

"Blow your bullshit, how is that possible? Hahaha."

Amidst the good-natured laughter, the scholar looked anxiously at Mr. Mei, who was smiling and said nothing, and said anxiously: "Master Mei, you have been in Huaibei, please tell me if there is such tap water."

Everyone looked at Mei Yao, who smiled faintly, "When I was in Huaibei, I did see running water in Lan Xiang Academy. Brother Zhong Yi is not exaggerating."

The scholar named Zhong Yi quickly looked around at his classmates with a proud look.

The scholar who had just argued with Zhong Yi said: "Is this tap fruit really so magical? Then the scholars who will stay in the Huai Preparatory School will not have to fetch water. There will no longer be a group of people crowding around the well to grab water when they wash up in the morning. .”

Most of the scholars here have experienced collective life in academies, and they couldn't help but smile knowingly when they heard this.

Mei Yao smiled and said: "That's true. It is said that this is based on the principle of water level pressure difference. I remember that it was a scholar named Wu Yanzu and his classmate from Huaibei Lanxiang Academy who made that faucet. For In addition, this boy also won the second-class Huaibei Invention Award and eighty taels of silver."

Hearing Mei everyone praise a little-known scholar from Huaibei certainly aroused some people's competitive spirit. Someone whispered: "Isn't it just that the water flows to a lower place?"

After Mei Yao gave her signature faint smile, she looked at the scholar and said, "That's true. But now that Brother Shengshen knows this principle, can he build that faucet?"

Having said that, Brother Shengshen immediately got stuck. It is true that everyone knows that water flows to lower places, but why didn't we get out the faucet?
However, most of the scholars in Lin'an were dissatisfied. After all, such trivial skills could not escape the category of strange and obscene skills.

It's just a faucet, but it adds a little convenience. What we scholars pay attention to is governing the world!
Mei Yao seemed to have read everyone's thoughts and continued: "The faucet, from design to production, involves more than ten processes such as measurement, smelting, and molding. Isn't this exactly what Zengzi advocated in "The Great Learning" of 'the unity of knowledge and action? Stop at perfection. This little thing is inconspicuous, but everyone has seen the Huaibei Sky Thunder Cannon. Can it be regarded as a powerful weapon to destroy the country? "

"."

Everyone couldn't help but hesitate. Indeed, the example of Tianlei Cannon cannot be refuted.

However, it is not easy for the arrogant scholars to convince the Huaibei scholars. In order to prevent the two sides from continuing to argue, Gu Yuntang hurriedly changed the subject and said: "Master Mei, I heard that the Liuhuai Preparatory School will be appointed by the King of Jin as the honorary mountain. Sir, is this news true?”

Mei Yao shook her head, "I don't know who I am, but in the early years of the Jin Dynasty, the king was also a member of the scholars, and his talents are not inferior to those of famous scholars."

"That's true"

Gu Yuntang had an early admiration for Mei Yao, so he followed her words and continued: "Only the poems written by King Jin that have been handed down to the world are all masterpieces!"

After all, it is an academy for scholars, and the King of Jin was a military general. Gu Yuntang said this because he wanted to close the psychological distance between King Jin and everyone. The reason why he did this was naturally to protect the people Mei Yao wanted to protect.

The Mei family has always been as indifferent as Orchid, but when they talk about King Jin, they are not only much less cold than before, but they always speak for King Jin everywhere.

How could Gu Yuntang not see it, but this man was a seed of infatuation and a warrior of pure love. Even though he was occasionally sad in his heart, he could not help but protect the admirer of the one he admired.

When Mei Yao heard Gu Yuntang's praise of King Jin, she couldn't help but smile and nod at the latter. Gu Yuntang was encouraged and said more vigorously: "Besides, if King Jin is appointed as the mountain chief, how many famous people can he invite to teach? Mr. Yanagawa of Anfeng , We have Chen Bokang, Chen Gong, Luoyang great scholar Han Fang, Han Gong, Lu Yanzhong, these great scholars of the time, all of whom have close friendship with the King of Jin. When the Liuhuai Preparatory School starts, the King of Jin will definitely invite all the princes to come and exchange lectures."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room instantly became lively again.

Just because Gu Yuntang is so good at giving examples. The people he mentioned are not only celebrities, but also high officials!

What is the purpose of reading?

Isn’t it just to be an official?

These big guys can not only teach people how to cope with the imperial examinations, but they may also teach them the true meaning of being an official in a few words.

More importantly, if you can take the opportunity to establish a relationship with them, wouldn't your future career be more secure?
After some low-spirited discussion, the scholar named Zhongyi suddenly said: "Master Mei, I heard that the Huaibei scholars' appointment as officials is different from ours in the Zhou Dynasty. Don't they need to take the imperial examination?"

To work together, thousands of troops and horses have always crossed a single-plank bridge, and the cruelty is no less brutal than fighting in a battle formation.

The reason why Zhong Yi asked this was because his academic performance was never outstanding among his classmates. With this result, it would be almost impossible to get into the high school rankings. If he did well in the future, he might be able to serve as a staff member of a high-ranking official; if he didn't do well, , it is not impossible to become a teacher somewhere.

The vast majority of people are in a similar situation to him.

Mei Yao thought for a moment and said softly: "It is indeed different. Nowadays, Huaibei officials also need to take exams, but the difficulty is far less than that of the imperial examination, with 50% to 60% passing. After completing the exam, the recent scholars will be assigned to manage the counties. One village, one exam a year, and only those with excellent scores can enter the local and central government as grassroots officials."

Some people quietly showed disdain when they heard that we should start from a village.

But Zhong Yi showed a very interested look and asked: "What is the content of the annual exam?"

Mei Yao smiled and replied: "The literacy rate of children under the age of twelve, the number of chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep, the average life expectancy, etc."

After hearing this, about 20 to 30% of the scholars had completely lost interest. It was just "the number of chickens, ducks, pigs and sheep", which made them feel useless after hearing this. It didn't look like something that scholars did.

But Zhong Yi became more and more interested and said: "We can teach children how to read by ourselves. It is not difficult."

But the scholar who was careful about his words sneered implicitly: "Brother Zhongyi, what can you do if you teach them to read three to five hundred words? They are all ignorant village boys, and they will still be farmers when they grow up. How can it be difficult?" Is it necessary to use the words of a sage if you can’t just herd sheep and plow the fields?”

"Hahaha"

Suddenly some of the scholars in the room started laughing.

Gu Yuntang frowned dissatisfied, and was about to say something, but Mei Yao replied calmly: "The King of Jin once said that reading and literacy is the right of everyone, not a privilege monopolized by some people!"

The displeasure at the end of the words was very clear, and the atmosphere couldn't help but stagnate. Na Zhongyi said hurriedly: "When the Liuhuai Preparatory School starts, I will definitely sign up and go to Huaibei for exchange and study in the future, so that I can see with my own eyes what the land of Huaibei has to offer. magic."

Hearing this, Mei Yao nodded to Zhong Yi and said: "After the new year, I will return to Huaibei. If brother Zhongyi arrives in Huaibei, he will definitely let you know. I will personally serve as a guide for brother Zhongyi. Take a good look. Take a look at the grand scenery of Huaibei."

(End of this chapter)