You have truly caused me great suffering!

In early November, a chilly wind swept through Nanjing.

On the bustling Longgang Port, a special ship is moored.

After the ship docked, a group of people came out of their small rooms.

Although their living quarters were small, with more than a dozen people crammed together, they were still clean and tidy, with tables, chairs, and bedding.

For them, this was already a rare moment of dignity.

Upon reaching the deck and gazing at the bustling Longgang, these people looked bewildered, unsure of what to do with their hands and feet.

Cui Shunting was also in a state of confusion and excitement. He forced himself to stay alert and examined each of the Goryeo scholars from humble backgrounds that he had carefully selected.

In Korea, literate people from poor families were extremely rare.

It was already quite an achievement to select these people.

This is their only chance to rise above their circumstances, and it is also Cui Shunting's chance to turn her life around.

"Let's go! To the Imperial Academy!"

Upon hearing the words "Taegyukyuen" (Imperial Academy), the poor scholars of Goryeo revealed a light of almost piety in their eyes.

In this era, Buddhism is flourishing everywhere, but if you really want to talk about who has the purest and noblest ideals, it really is the Confucian scholars.

The capital city was a bustling metropolis, teeming with carriages and pedestrians.

The impact it had on them was unparalleled.

Today is neither the first day of the month nor the fifteenth.

The most bustling trading market in Jinling City was not open.

Even so, the city remained incredibly lively.

The cities of the Great Jing Dynasty are similar to those of the Great Song Dynasty, but unlike those of the Han and Tang Dynasties, they do not have strict distinctions between wards and markets. Except for the imperial road, the streets within the city are all winding and meandering.

The streets are lined with houses stacked one on top of another, almost extending into the center of the street.

A rich, bustling atmosphere permeated the surroundings. Along the way, there were numerous snack shops, toy stores, workshops making gold, silver, copper, iron, and tinware, antique shops of varying quality, bookstores, and jewelry stores.

Almost every shop has a bright and lively signboard at its entrance, and the vendors roll up their sleeves and raise their voices to call out to passersby in song-like shouts.

It was the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, and although the weather had turned cold, the faces of these quick-witted young women were covered with a thin layer of sweat from their hard work, making them appear even more beautiful and charming.

Those idle young men, unable to afford the fare at the restaurants along the Qinhuai River and the entertainment venues in the north of the city, strolled around here, commenting as they pleased, and found their own enjoyment in the process.

Despite the best efforts of the market girls, few people entered the store at this moment; instead, they flocked to the sumo wrestling arena not far away.

The crowd was bustling, and through the fence, one could faintly hear the sounds of wrestling and the cheers or sighs of the audience. One wonders how many won prizes and how many lost all their coins in the end.

As noon approached, the vendors who had come into town early that morning to sell vegetables, fruits, and fresh fish had only a few items left in their baskets. Even with constant watering to keep them fresh, they still didn't look very fresh. At this point, they had no choice but to haggle with customers at various food stalls, hoping to clear out their remaining stock at a low price so they could return to the outskirts of town in the afternoon, warm up some food and drinks, and soothe their legs after a busy morning.

Occasionally, the purchasing agents wearing felt hats would be persuaded to pull out a few copper coins from their waists and start playing a tossing game. Those who won would proudly accept their spoils, while those who lost would merely laugh and curse. Then the two sides would argue over the value of the money exchanged.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone was neatly dressed, and many of the peddlers and laborers wore silk shoes.

Everyone appeared well-nourished and behaved politely. Even the woodcutter carrying an axe to sell firewood on the street would go into a bookstore to browse books, and might even lick his fingers wet to turn the pages.

From any perspective, this is an extremely prosperous city brimming with cultural atmosphere.

Looking at the whole world, there are only a handful of cities like this, and they are all located in the Grand View.

Chen Shao designated five capitals, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Luzhou in Jiangnan. Except for Bianliang, which was declining due to inherent disadvantages, the other cities, although they may not gather the wealth of the world like Jinling, were in roughly the same situation.

This is the grand view.

The world's leading superpower, a golden age dynasty that has never been mentioned in Confucian classics.

Here, the monarch has already made efforts to provide charcoal for the common people to keep warm.

On Earth today, the once glorious Roman Empire has long since collapsed, and the Western Roman Empire has become completely barbaric. Most nobles are illiterate and live in dark, damp, and filthy stone fortresses, eating salted meat and eating beans to fill their stomachs. The lives of ordinary people are not even as good as those of a dog in Da Jing.

The Eastern Roman Empire lingered on, enduring countless coups and famines, and its treasury went bankrupt multiple times.

Even factional conflicts in horse racing could trigger nationwide unrest and lead to the abdication of the emperor.

The Persian Empire has become a thing of the past, and its three capitals have been reduced to wastelands.

The once prosperous North African nation is now fragmented, its Roman-era irrigation system has fallen into disrepair, and its fertile land is gradually turning into desert.

The whole world is shrouded in ignorance and darkness, but the land of East Asia remains prosperous and dazzling!
The situation in Goryeo was not much better than in other places, especially for these poor scholars, whose lives were extremely difficult.

Upon arriving in such a capital city, they were all so shocked that they were speechless, and many of them inexplicably shed tears.

Even the worldly-wise Cui Shunting was stunned. He used to think that Bianliang was unsurpassable, but today he realized how short-sighted he had been.

Although their attire differed from that of the people of Jinling, they did not attract any attention. Merchants from all over the country came to Jinling, surpassing even the bustling city of Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty.

After all, Chang'an only had the Silk Road, but Dajing had four land Silk Roads and a maritime Silk Road.

Crucially, these areas were no longer harassed by foreign tribes such as the Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Huns, making trade routes extremely smooth.

By the late Tang Dynasty, the fertile soil and even the forest vegetation of Guanzhong, this precious land of the Central Plains, were gradually depleted.

In ancient times, without sufficient agricultural and pastoral output, the north could no longer support an empire.

During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Guanzhong and Hebei regions were in turmoil, and the population flowed from north to south.

Compared to the north, the south experienced less warfare, leading to significant development of the area from south of the Huai River to north of the Pearl River.

From the mid-Tang Dynasty onwards, Jiangnan became a land of wealth and prosperity, and it rose to an even higher level after the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

The south was further developed, and new species such as Champa rice were introduced. Agricultural products became extremely abundant after the founding of the Song Dynasty and the world was at peace.

This was enough to support the rise and prosperity of an agricultural empire.

In this respect, the Great Jing Dynasty benefited from the Song Dynasty's success. Chen Shao never completely condemned the Great Song Dynasty, deeming it utterly worthless; in fact, the Great Song Dynasty had many commendable aspects.

Then, the next point is the struggle of the Great Jing Dynasty itself. The Central Plains is actually a country lacking precious metals. In the Song Dynasty, the lack of circulating currency still made the emperor and his ministers responsible for finance feel embarrassed.

With the opening of the sea at Jianwu, ships from Dajing brought in gold, silver, and copper, greatly alleviating this problem.

Another factor was the decline of the West. The Arabs, isolated between East and West, mastered trade wind technology, and the Maritime Silk Road finally took shape. Precious metals accumulated by the Roman Empire over millennia flowed continuously eastward through the Arabs.

Agricultural products were abundant and currency was relatively plentiful. The Great Jing Dynasty peacefully replaced the Great Song Dynasty, resulting in a larger population base than any other founding dynasty.

This matched the diligence and intelligence of these pure Central Plains people who had not been tainted by foreign races.

With these conditions combined, provided the political climate is clean and Chen Shao is not a fool like Yang Guang, then the Great Jing Dynasty will surely take off.

Or, if a more ordinary emperor were to take the throne at this time, even a monarch like Emperor Renzong of Song, Emperor Zhenzong of Song in his early years, Emperor Zhezong of Song, or Emperor Xiaozong of Song, the empire would still rise.

Not to mention that the one currently in power is Chen Shao, an emperor with a thousand years of experience beyond his time, a very upright moral compass, and who genuinely wants to contribute to the nation rather than just enjoy himself.

When the Korean scholars set foot on this land, they witnessed such a prosperous era.

This will directly reshape their values ​​and worldview. When they return to Korea in the future, they will think of Daejeong in everything they do.

This is a lighthouse.
Barbarians and bandits have their own ways of fighting them;
Even countries that are not conquered have their own methods.

Chen Shao never thought of giving up these places, but eating them raw would be too unsightly and not in accordance with justice.

Then I won't go towards it; I'll let it come to me.

Upon arriving at the Imperial Academy, a white jade archway suddenly appeared before us, inscribed with the four characters "Dao Guan Gu Jin" (道贯古今), written with powerful strokes that seemed to echo the roar of a dragon.

The scholars trembled and almost knelt down. This was not a wooden plaque, but a single piece of white marble, three zhang high and five zhang wide, standing on the riverbank, reflecting the remaining snow, shining brightly.

The group proceeded cautiously, heads bowed, for another hundred paces. Suddenly, a bright and clear view opened up before them, revealing a couplet:
The thousand-acre school grounds have no walls or fences, only a clear stream as their boundary.
A vast collection of books, unlocked and unlocked, available for students to take at their leisure.
The scholars were astonished. Ten thousand volumes of books were available for them to take as they pleased. It should be noted that at that time in Goryeo, books were notoriously expensive, and only the sons of aristocratic families could afford to read them.

Those sons of noble families were served by beautiful and obedient maids at home, who added fragrance to their lives. They would read books and write, and the elders in the clan would value and praise them even more.

Students from impoverished families must overcome countless difficulties to stand out from the crowd, demonstrate exceptional talent, and put in a hundred times the effort, perhaps in order to become their study companions.

Wei Feng, the Imperial Academy Instructor who came to greet them, was only an eighth-rank official responsible for discipline and supervising the words and deeds of the scholars.

Seeing everyone looking at the couplet, he smiled and said, "This was written by the current Prime Minister, Minister Li!"

Cui Shunting quickly stepped forward to pay his respects, but Wei Feng just smiled and didn't take it seriously, considering these people to be mere vassal scholars.

Suddenly, someone rushed over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Wei Feng's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Really?"

The visitor nodded, and Wei Feng let out a long sigh of relief, his face flushed, and his breathing became somewhat rapid.

He said to Cui Shunting, "Everyone, stop dawdling! Hurry up and come in to prepare to welcome the emperor!"

"Welcome, sir?"

Cui Shunting was also stunned. Although the sentence was not difficult to understand, he had not thought of the emperor at all, so he did not know what it meant for a moment.

"His Majesty is coming to see you in person!"

Wei Feng spoke urgently, with a hint of envy in his voice. They were just scholars from vassal states, yet His Majesty had come to meet them in person!
What dignity and glory this is!

Little did they know that in Chen Shao's mind, these scholars were his million-strong army, capable of helping him expand his territory without costing him any money or supplies.

In terms of expenses, it would probably be the food, clothing and daily necessities over the next few years. When Chen Shao was chatting with Jin Fushi, he said that he would provide food, lodging and writing materials.

It costs very little, but it accomplishes a great deal! (End of Chapter)