Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 920 Street Farce
In the east of Luoyang city, there is a vast complex of buildings with majestic appearance. Even in this dead of winter, construction has not stopped. Inside the houses and halls of the buildings, teams of craftsmen are making the final decorations.

Liu He brought Qian Li, changed into casual clothes, and looked around the construction site. Among these craftsmen, except for a few people like He Chang who had been granted titles in Yunhai County, most of the others did not know Liu He. He Chang and others had already received Liu He's order to work peacefully and not disturb them. Therefore, all the craftsmen did not take Liu He seriously as he walked along, and they worked hard one by one. In such weather, many craftsmen had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

"Well, He Chang and his men are indeed talented. The scale of this Imperial College is more than ten times larger than before. The layout of the various schools, dormitories, and dining halls is also very reasonable, especially the five book collection pavilions, which are located in the east, south, west, north, and center of the Imperial College. These five book collection pavilions are like five golden towers, suppressing the fortune of our Han Dynasty. From now on, the scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, the last scholars, will all return to the court. The Han Dynasty will unify the world and enjoy long-term peace. For hundreds of years, there will be no more major troubles."

Liu He was very satisfied and was already looking forward to the upcoming prosperity.

Qian Li also smiled and said, "Your Majesty... Oh no, what you said makes sense. The most commendable thing about Mr. He Chang is that he used less than three times the budget of the original Imperial College to build this new Imperial College which is more than ten times the size. He also took advantage of the opportunity to widen the moat by more than 50% by filling the remaining construction waste. This not only greatly improved the protection of Luoyang City, but also shortened the construction period and reduced the cost of transporting waste. It can be said that he achieved three goals with one stone."

"Haha, Daozhun, you don't have to be so modest. I've known for a long time that you also contributed half of the credit to this idea. You have always been frugal since you were a child. If you were a woman, you would definitely be a good daughter-in-law who is diligent and thrifty."

Liu He made a joke, which made Qian Li's cheeks blush.

However, it was precisely because of his character that Liu He dared to boldly hand over all the power of his national treasury, taxation, etc. to him.

At this time, a burly man wearing only coarse cloth walked over quickly. Looking closely, one could recognize that this man was Zhang He. He led the halberd soldiers and was Liu He's personal guard, so naturally he had to carry armor with him.

Zhang He walked up to Liu He and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, a group of scholars came outside the gate. For some reason, they had an argument with several vendors hawking their wares along the street. I see the patrol team in the city is coming. Your Majesty is coming incognito this time. Should we temporarily avoid them to avoid being exposed?"

Liu He's expression changed: "A group of scholars dare to cause trouble at the gate of the Imperial College. I want to go and see where these people have gone with the words of the saints that they usually read."

After saying that, he strode out. Qian Li and Zhang He looked at each other, shook their heads helplessly, and hurried to follow him.

Before the three of them reached the door, they could already hear the noisy sounds outside through the huge screen wall inside the gate.

"You look so polite, I wonder which family you belong to, or whether you are scholars. How dare you be so rude? It's simply..."

"What the hell? You ignorant people, where are you? This is the National University. Are you worthy of staying here? How dare you sell things here? You stink of money and pollute this holy place of education."

"How can you say such things? The court has a law that any street that is more than three meters wide will have stalls set aside. We are also doing business in these stalls. We have neither entered the Imperial College to cause trouble nor provoked you. Why are you speaking rudely to us? Do you think that we, the common people, can be insulted at will?"

"Hey, you dare to talk about national laws here? Can you read? The laws are posted here, can you recognize them?"

"So what if we can't read? The country has its own laws. We are operating legally. You have no right to drive us away."

"Hey, this is really a joke. When did I chase you away? I just said that this Imperial College will soon become a place for scholars from all over the world to study. You are standing at the door and hawking and making noise, disturbing the peace and quiet. How can you be so disrespectful?"

"Sir, what you said is totally unreasonable. How can we not shout when we are hawking on the street? Besides, our stall is more than 30 steps away from the entrance of the Imperial College. How can the noise spread inside?"

"What are you talking about? Do you know who I am? I won't let you shout, so who dares to shout? I will break his legs."

Listening to the quarrel, Liu He had a general idea of ​​the cause of the incident.

He stood at the door, looking at the two parties who were arguing. They were seven or eight noblemen in gorgeous clothes and a dozen vendors. Both sides were arguing with red faces and ears, and the argument was fierce.

"Whose families are these young masters from? Why are they so domineering?" Liu He asked with a frown.

Qian Li looked carefully and shook his head: "I am not familiar with the young masters of the capital, so I really can't recognize them."

Liu He said helplessly: "You, you are either in the palace or in the mansion all day long, and you don't even know how to go out for a walk. You have been in Luoyang for so long, but you haven't even been to the twelve mansions of the three dukes and nine ministers. No wonder I don't recognize them."

The violation that the vendor just mentioned was set by Liu He himself, so he was naturally aware of it. Thirty steps on both sides of the gate of the Imperial College, there were stalls painted on the street for vendors to set up stalls. There were many tall trees planted on both sides of the walls of the Imperial College, so the hawking sounds were loud on the street, but when they got to the Imperial College, the sound was weakened by 50% to 60%. When they walked past the pool and corridors and reached the buildings in the Imperial College, they could no longer hear any sound.

Therefore, Liu He immediately guessed that these noble young men were obviously looking for trouble.

However, he did not stand up immediately, but continued to stand on the street like the onlookers, pretending to watch the excitement.

One of the vendors was so angry that he shouted, "Why are you so arrogant? My son is nine years old this year and can read a few words. The imperial court's notice says that anyone who is eight years old and mentally sound can go to school. My son might also study there. Although you are older, you are so overbearing and rude. You must be uneducated. Who will learn better by then? We don't know."

"That's right. My son is eleven years old now. He is naturally smart and studious, but he just hasn't had the opportunity to study. Next year I will send him to the Imperial College. If he has the ability, he can speak with his knowledge. Why is he so arrogant here just because of his family background?"

Just these few words completely aroused the anger of those noble gentlemen.

"Just you? Untouchables will always be untouchables. You are worthy of studying in the Imperial College. It's just wishful thinking."

"That's right. We have all been taught hard at home since we were young. Our teachers are all great scholars of the time. They have learned so much that they are not only knowledgeable, but also well-versed in ancient and modern times. How can you, a bunch of bastards born from the common people, be qualified to enter the Imperial College and compete with us in knowledge?"

"Who are you calling a bastard? Who are you calling a bitch?"

"I'm talking about you. The classes of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans have long been determined. Small traders, hmph, are just the lower class of the lowly people. You still dream of having your son become a successful person, thinking of having your son enter the Imperial College and the court. Bah..."

Liu He now understood the crux of the conflict.

Qian Li also seemed to understand a little: "Sir, it seems that the opening of the Imperial College to all the people has already angered the sons of the noble families. They are just looking for trouble today to vent their anger. It was only when these merchants said they wanted to send their sons to the Imperial College that these noble sons were angered."

Liu He nodded and said, "I have long expected that these noble families would secretly be dissatisfied with the new Imperial Academy. Look at the ministers in the court. Except for a few people like Cui, Lu, and Huangfu, the books presented by the other ministers seem to be quite a lot, but most of them are repetitive. I am afraid that I don't believe that they have not colluded with each other to oppose me."

As the two were talking, the noblemen shouted loudly, and suddenly dozens of strong men who looked like guards rushed over from all directions. They all had fierce expressions and weapons in their hands. Seeing such a scene, the onlookers instinctively retreated.

"Huh?" Liu He's eyes narrowed, and a hint of anger appeared on his face.

"Why, are they really going to use violence to beat people up in public?"

Ever since Liu He, who was then a great general, dealt with the Wang family of Taicang Magistrate because of the rice dumpling shop incident involving Ning Lian and Wang Shan, under the governance of Luoyang Magistrate Wang Chen, Luoyang City was governed by people who did not lock their doors at night or pick up things on the streets, but there were almost no more beatings in the streets, thefts, and robberies. The city could be described as orderly and prosperous.

But now, right at the gate of the newly established Imperial College, a group of guys who claimed to be scholars from famous families, just because they were angry, caught a few common people and wanted to beat them up. This made Liu He so angry that he suddenly jumped up.

When Qian Li saw the change in his expression, he quickly winked at Zhang He. After Zhang He noticed it, he hurriedly asked, "Do you want me to take people to stop it?"

Liu He looked gloomy, but waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. Wait until the patrol guards and the new Luoyang magistrate arrive."

When Qian Li heard this, he understood.

"It seems that His Majesty wants to take this opportunity to check what kind of person the new Luoyang magistrate is after Wang Chen left. I hope this guy can do something, otherwise he will become the unlucky guy who is sacrificed for the new Imperial Academy..."

Qian Li secretly prayed for the Luoyang Order in his heart.

In just a short moment, those noblemen gave orders in unison, and the guards and followers they brought with them pounced on the vendors.

(End of this chapter)