I studied in modern times

Chapter 1028 Su Shi Returns to the Capital
"Imperial Academy Order: Li Changning, a student of the Kaifeng Prefectural School, is inherently lacking in talent and virtue. With the mind of a petty person, he disrupts the imperial examination system; shameless and wicked, he harbors evil schemes and falsely accuses court officials!"

"Therefore, they spread rumors to incite the good and slander the ministers of the state!"

"Alas! Even during the reigns of Yao and Shun, there were still cruel and tyrannical rulers; even the most sage Confucius had Zai Yu!"

"A nation has its established laws, but it does not disregard personal favors; the law has its standards, but it does not consider human feelings!"

"In accordance with the teachings of the sages and the system of the Imperial Academy, we shall abolish the student registration system and remove the status of scholars from the school, so as to rectify the school's atmosphere!"

Holding the imperial edict, Lu Dalin, a doctor of the Imperial Academy, read aloud the Imperial Academy's decision, which had been drafted by Lu Dian and approved by Zheng Mu, with great intonation.

Then he tossed it to Li Changning, who was standing there in a daze: "You can leave now!"

Out of good intentions, Lü Dalin reminded him, "From now on, don't come to the prefectural school or the imperial academy again!"

"Do not call yourself a scholar when you are out in public, and do not read the books of the sages!"

"Otherwise, disaster will not be far off!"

Li Changning stared blankly at the disciplinary notice in his hand, looking utterly dejected.

Upon seeing this, Lü Dalin shook his head.

He instructed one of his teaching assistants, "Go and inform the family to take him back!"

……

Li Changning's family quickly arrived at the Imperial Academy and took him away.

Once outside the Imperial Academy, Li Changning finally regained some of his energy.

His eyes lit up, especially after seeing his wife and brothers.

During the days he was detained by the Imperial Academy, he was not mistreated.

Daily meals are being provided as usual.

However, the censors sent by the Censorate to interrogate him would repeatedly ask him—Why did you do that? Was someone instigating you? Who is behind you? What was your purpose in inciting the scholars to riot? Do you have some dissatisfaction with the court?
Each problem is more deadly than the last.

Fortunately, Li Changning's thirty years of experience in the imperial examinations were not in vain.

He insisted that it was all due to his own confusion and ignorance, that no one had instructed or encouraged him, that he had no ulterior motives, and that he was utterly loyal to the court. He claimed that everything was due to his own foolishness and had nothing to do with anyone else.

That's why the censor from the Censorate left dejectedly.

Otherwise, he might never have been able to leave the Imperial Academy as its supervisor in his entire life.

They might even be exiled or executed.

Li Changning knew very well that although the dynasty treated scholars well, it always dealt a heavy blow to those who dared to join the rebels or were dissatisfied with the court or the emperor!
Back then, in the case of Zhao Shiju, all the scholars and officials involved suffered extremely tragic ends!

Exiled to Shamen Island, that's even the lightest punishment!

Many people who were merely close associates with Zhao Shiju and were not involved in the case suffered undeserved misfortune!

Moreover, the imperial court has been investigating this case.

Last year's corruption scandal involving clerks in the prefecture was related to the Zhao Shiju case, which angered the imperial court. As a result, most of the families of clerks in the prefecture were uprooted, and many people had their property confiscated and were exiled to Lingnan.

This included three powerful families of clerks from his hometown, Yanjin County.

Thinking of this, Li Changning's expression, which had just recovered, became blank again.

His brother, who came to pick him up, looked at him with great distress, but there was nothing he could do!
This time, they used every connection they had to get Li Changning out of trouble.

Li Changning remained in a daze until the carriage arrived near Jinming Pond.

The clamor of voices reached his ears.

Outside the carriage curtain, within the walls of Jinmingchi, one could almost hear the voices of hundreds of thousands of people.

Li Changning finally made a move.

He turned his head, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked in the direction of Jin Mingchi.

But on the official road outside Jinming Pond, countless people were densely packed together, crowding forward.

Countless people, including scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, flocked to the various entrances of Jinming Pond.

From afar, Li Changning saw the soldiers on duty near Jinming Pond, dressed in black robes and carrying sticks.

He instinctively shuddered, and the still-healing wound on his buttocks started to hurt again.

The image of that burly soldier from that day seemed to reappear before my eyes.
The thick wooden stick struck six times in a single instant.

It made him scream in agony and fall to the ground, rolling around.

Then he was dragged along and roughly thrown behind him...

Li Changning swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine. He quickly lowered the carriage curtain and bowed his head deeply.

……

Su Shi sat on a grain transport boat, watching the ships slowly sail into Bianjing through the East Water Gate.

The long-awaited city of Bianjing came into view.

On both sides of the high river embankment, pedestrians come and go in an endless stream.

Countless wine flags fluttered in the breeze, and countless lanterns hung along the riverbank.

If it were nighttime, both banks of the river would be illuminated by lights, and the river would be reflected with thousands of bright red lanterns, like a shimmering Milky Way in the sky.

This is the Bianhe River Lights, one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Bianjing.

Looking out over the distant dock, rows of enormous gantry cranes stand tall, their thick wooden arms, pulled by winches, slowly hoisting countless loads of cargo towards the dock. Porters move back and forth on the dock, carrying bundle after bundle of goods.

Long wooden tracks, like centipedes, crawl along the dock.

The long cargo compartment gradually filled with goods.

Then, pulled by several draft horses, they raced along the wooden tracks toward the warehouse ahead.

Looking at all this, Su Shi couldn't help but say, "Bianjing seems to be even more prosperous than before!"

“Of course!” Beside Su Shi, a scholar in his fifties, dressed in a Confucian robe, waved a feather fan and said softly, “I heard that at the beginning of this year, Kaifeng Prefecture calculated the population of Bianjing…”

"Bianjing, including its inner and outer city walls, as well as the nine wards and fourteen neighborhoods outside the city, has 237,892 registered households and 92,321 tenant households!"

According to the system of the Song Dynasty, households were divided into host and guest households.

In rural areas, the main household is the family that owns its own land, while the customer is the poor peasant who has no land.

In cities, the homeowners are those who own their own property, while the customers are the propertyless.

Su Shi frowned upon hearing this and couldn't help but ask, "Is what Shuyuan said true?"

That scholar was none other than Yan Jidao (Yan Shuyuan), who followed Su Shi to Dengzhou, then drifted away and disappeared, forgetting all about Bianjing, and was also the target of the courtesans of the land.

However, Yan Jidao is now much older and weaker than he was four years ago.

His temples were now gray, and wrinkles had appeared on his face; he no longer had the carefree joy of his youth.

However, famous courtesans and singers from all over the country still flocked to him and couldn't be driven away no matter what!
Therefore, standing beside Yan Jidao was still a charming and beautiful gentle girl.

If any regulars of Bianjing's brothels were here, they would recognize her at a glance—this is the new generation Li Shishi, who was only introduced last year.

After all, the reason why the Li Shishi brand was able to break out of Bianjing and become famous at home and abroad is because of this.

It's all thanks to Yan Jidao!
The line "Having seen all the flowers of Yingchuan, none compare to Shishi's beauty" propelled Li Shishi of Sangjia Wazi to fame.

Naturally, every new Li Shishi had to first climb into Yan Jidao's bed.

Otherwise, her patrons would suspect that she was a fake Li Shishi because she couldn't even get into Yan Shuyuan's bed.
Yan Jidao chuckled, ignoring the beautiful woman beside him trying to please him, and said, "This matter has already been published in the Bianjing Yibao the day before yesterday. Zizhan can buy it and read it himself!"

Su Shi frowned immediately: "If that's the case, the ratio of guests to customers in Bianjing has exceeded the three-to-one threshold..."

“Yes…” Yan Jidao nodded.

Under normal circumstances, the ratio of main customers to clients in the Song Dynasty was generally three to one.

For example, during the Yuanfeng era, the statistics on the household registration in Bianjing showed 183,770 main households and 51,829 secondary households.

The ratio of home to away players is far lower than the 3:1 ratio.

Very healthy!

However, the current population of Bianjing City has exceeded the safe ratio of three to one.

Moreover, the population has increased dramatically since the Yuanfeng era.

The number of customers has almost doubled.

Both Su Shi and Yan Jidao instinctively sensed the problem.

Mencius said: Those who have a stable livelihood have a stable mind; those who do not have a stable livelihood do not have a stable mind.

The rise and fall of dynasties throughout the millennia have demonstrated the seriousness of this issue.

only……

In the past, the problems all occurred in rural areas.

It was between landlords and peasants.

But now, the problem is in Bianjing City, where the landlords are not landowners and the tenants are not tenant farmers.

The relationship between them is that of employer and employee.

So, both Su Shi and Yan Jidao sensed the problem, but they didn't know how to deal with it.
Just as the two were lost in thought, the ship arrived at the dock.

Su Shi and Yan Jidao's relatives and friends were already waiting at the dock.

"Zizhan!"

"Shu Yuan!"

The warm and enthusiastic faces dispelled their sorrow.

Su Shi and Yan Jidao stood on the deck, bowing to their relatives and friends one by one to greet them.

However, as Su Shi stepped ashore, an old woman rushed out from the side, crying and calling out, "Master Su! Master Su!"

"Please, my lord, save my son!"

He then knelt down and kowtowed.

Su Shi looked in the direction of the sound and was shocked. He quickly stepped forward to help the old woman up: "What's wrong, madam?"

The person who came was the mother of Li Zhi, a disciple of Su Shi.

The old woman sobbed, "My son was arrested by the Kaifeng Prefecture and sent to the Imperial Academy. It has been several days since then, and we haven't heard from him at all..."

"I beg you, sir, to lend a helping hand and save me!"

(End of this chapter)