Thief Emperor

Chapter 487 My idea!
The Jinling Literary Meeting is scheduled for March, which is only a little over a month away, but Li Yun has already sent out the notice.

Let the states and counties under his jurisdiction conduct a preliminary round of selection first. Anyone who can read and write and has a basic understanding of the scriptures can participate in this literary gathering.

However, Li Yun did not specify in the notice that the purpose of this literary gathering was to recruit scholars, otherwise it would not be acceptable to the imperial court, and it might also attract a large number of idle people to gather in Jinling.

He only wrote on the notice that in order to continue the cultural tradition of Jiangnan, the talents of Jiangnan talents would be tested, and the Jinling Prefecture would reward the winner generously.

But it doesn’t say how to reward them.

However, at this time, if a scholar was smart enough, he would be able to see some signs and rush to Jinling to participate in this literary gathering.

What Li Yun needs are not those two-tired bookcases, nor those talented scholars or great writers, but those smart people who can see the clues and are relatively smart.

Originally, Li Yun wanted Du Qian and Fei Xuan to be responsible for the initial screening of this literary gathering, but now, dozens of people came to Lizheng Academy at once, especially Tao Wenyuan, who specialized in education.

It can be said to be a perfect match for the professions.

Li Yun personally invited these people into Jinling City, and had people prepare wine and food to entertain these scholars who had come from afar to seek refuge. He also personally accompanied Tao Wenyuan on a tour around Jinling City.

After walking around, Mr. Tao couldn't help but sigh and said to Li Yun: "Although Jinling City is not big, it is full of vitality under the rule of Lord Li."

"The Lord is so young, yet he has such ability. He is really amazing."

At this point, he paused and said, "No wonder Brother Guan Zheng asked us, Lizheng Academy, to seek refuge in Jinling."

Li Yun said slowly: "Jinling City is naturally not as big as the capital, but it has no problem accommodating an academy. I will go there in person these days to say hello and allocate a piece of land for Mr. Tao to rebuild the academy."

After thinking for a while, he smiled and said, "It's not just Lizheng Academy. There have been unrests in various places in recent years, and Jiangnan is no exception. Now the prefectures and counties in Jiangnan can be said to have a weak cultural heritage. After Mr. Tao runs Lizheng Academy, can he build more academies in the prefectures and counties in Jiangnan?"

As he spoke, Li Yun looked at Tao Wenyuan and said seriously, "Don't worry, sir. All expenses will be paid by me."

Tao Wenyuan looked at Li Yun, hesitated for a moment, and then sighed, "It is my wish to establish an academy and educate the people. However, Lord Li, the world is not peaceful now. The capital is in such a mess. The unrest may spread to Jiangnan at any time. I think this is not the time to establish an academy."

Li Yun shook his head slightly and said confidently: "Don't worry, sir. I dare to say this, so I am sure that I can ensure peace in this area. Jiangnan West Road does not have the conditions to run a school now, but Jiangnan East Road, sir, you can rest assured."

"As long as Mr. Li is alive, there will be no more major unrest in the east of Jiangnan."

Tao Wenyuan looked surprised. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "If that's the case, I would be happy to do it."

"correct."

He looked around but did not see Du Qian, so he asked, "Why haven't you seen Du Shiyi? Minister Du advised me to come to Jiangdong to seek refuge with Du Shiyi."

Li Yun said softly, "Today we welcome all the talented scholars from Lizheng Academy, so we have to host a banquet. However, Brother Du is still at home in mourning and abstaining from meat and fish, so it is not convenient for us to have dinner together. Brother Du said that he will visit Mr. Tao tomorrow after he settles down."

Hearing this, Tao Wenyuan sighed and said, "Brother Guan Zheng died at the hands of the enemy. I am also extremely sad. At the banquet today, Lord Li will take the other students to the banquet. I will go to the Du family to talk to Du Shiyi."

Li Yun nodded and agreed readily, saying, "Brother Du and his family live in the back hall of the Jinling government office. I will take you there."

Tao Wenyuan was somewhat surprised and asked, "I heard that the Duke of Fu dominated Jiangdong, why didn't he live in the Jinling government office?"

"I live somewhere else."

Li Yun said calmly, "Brother Du is the governor of Jinling, so it is natural that his family should live in this government office."

The two of them walked one after the other and soon arrived at the back hall of the Jinling government office. Someone had already gone to report Du Qian. As soon as the two of them entered the back hall, they saw Du Qian, who was wearing a coarse linen suit, coming out with a group of his family members.

He was dressed in the coarsest linen, which would have pierced his skin if it had touched him.

This is the highest level of the mourning system, called "fu zhansui".

Du Qian looked at Tao Wenyuan, then stepped forward silently, bowed and said, "Du Qian greets Mr. Wenyuan."

Tao Wenyuan stepped forward, helped him up, and sighed: "Shiyilang, I am in mourning."

Du Qian bowed his head silently and whispered, "Thank you, sir."

He turned sideways, and several of his children came forward and kowtowed to Tao Wenyuan: "Greetings, sir."

These grandchildren also wore linen clothes, but theirs were relatively refined and not as simple as the one Du Qian wore.

After all, the grandson generation is the second level among the five generations.

After a round of greetings, Du Qian invited the two to sit in the living room of the back court. Tao Wenyuan was invited to the main seat, Li Yun sat in the second seat, and Du Qian sat below the two. The three chatted about the things in the capital for a long time. After talking about everything, Mr. Tao sighed and said, "If Brother Guan Zheng had not been determined to die, with the influence of the Jingzhao Du family, the thief Wei would never dare to attack Brother Guan Zheng."

"Brother Guan Zheng died for his loyalty and proved his integrity with his own body. He is worthy of being the world's literary master and a role model for scholars of my generation."

Du Qian lowered his head and was silent for a long time before he exhaled a breath and said with tears in his eyes, "As a son, I cannot help my father with his worries and difficulties. I am the most unworthy person in the world."

Tao Wenyuan stepped forward, patted Du Qian on the shoulder, and said softly: "Shiyilang, please don't think like that. It is because of Shiyilang's thoroughness that Brother Guanzheng can have no worries."

Next, Mr. Tao talked about the situation in the capital and finally gave his own conclusion.

"Those three Jiedushi will not stay in the capital for long. With such public opinion, if they stay in the capital by force, even if they can continue to abuse their power for a year or two, they will be attacked by the people of the world by then."

"The death of Lord Du is the righteousness of heaven and earth, and it has dealt a heavy blow to the evil spirits that have been causing chaos in the government."

Li Yun and Du Qian looked at each other. Du Qian did not speak, but Li Yun said slowly: "Based on this situation, even if those three leave the capital and the court, they will not serve in the court."

"I'm afraid their army will not leave Guanzhong either."

Mr. Tao was stunned when he heard this, then he lowered his head to drink tea and said nothing more.

Li Yun narrowed his eyes, went over the situation in Guanzhong in his mind, and then whispered to Tao Wenyuan: "Mr. Tao, no matter how turbulent the situation in Guanzhong is, it will not affect Jiangnan. Mr. Tao, you can rest in Jinling for a few days. I will have someone help you rebuild Lizheng Academy later."

At this point, Li Yun thought for a moment and said, "Next month, the Jinling Literary Festival will officially begin. By then, I will need to screen out 300 people and continue the literary festival."

He looked at Tao Wenyuan and said softly, "When the time comes, I'll have to trouble Brother Du and Mr. Wenyuan to take care of the initial screening."

Tao Wenyuan looked at Du Qian, and Du Qian also looked at him and said, "Sir, please help me."

"it is good."

Tao Wenyuan agreed readily.

After that, the three of them chatted for a long time until the evening. Mr. Tao felt a little tired, so Du Qian asked Du Laian to take him to the wing room of the government office to rest.

After Tao Wenyuan left, the two of them spoke without reservation. Du Qian lowered his head to drink tea, then looked at Li Yun and said, "This Mr. Tao came to Jiangnan just to seek refuge. He may not be willing to work with us. After all, a great scholar like him needs to protect his reputation."

Li Yun said slowly: "This is not a problem. Next month, Brother Du will finish the initial screening with him. Then he will join the group even if he doesn't want to."

In this era, there were usually only 20 to 30 Jinshi candidates in each exam, whether it was the regular exam or the special exam. At most, there were 30 to 40 candidates. Sometimes, the number could even be in the single digits.

Therefore, Tao Wenyuan did not take Li Yun’s “preliminary screening” to heart. After all, a preliminary screening of 300 people sounded quite reasonable.

Mr. Tao certainly didn't know that in the other world, the imperial examination system was sound and, after developing to a certain scale, the number of Jinshi candidates selected in each examination was exactly two to three hundred!

Li Yun will use all of these three hundred people.

However, after the first round of screening, Li Yun still needs to classify them and use them according to their abilities.

However, these people did enter the official career of Jiangdong through the great scholar Tao Wenyuan. At that time, Tao Wenyuan was completely tied to Jiangdong.

Du Qian nodded silently, lowered his head and drank a sip of tea, then asked, "Have you heard about the incident with the Dai King in the capital?"

Li Yun looked strange when he heard this. He nodded and said, "I heard about it."

"I heard that General Wei entered the palace with a sword on his back and almost caused a scene that frightened the emperor. If the other two generals hadn't arrived, it would have been difficult to end."

"On behalf of the king..."

"It was the Emperor who did it."

Li Yun narrowed his eyes, very sure.

Du Qian was startled and asked, "Why do you think so?"

Mr. Li put down his teacup and smiled.

"This was probably...my idea."

(End of this chapter)