Li You's Tang Dynasty

Chapter 357
After a night of light rain, the temperature in Chang'an dropped a few degrees in the morning. It was so hot a few days ago that I wanted to be shirtless, but the mornings these days are a little bit colder.

Huang Jun wrapped the sackcloth covering himself tighter. This is a ruined temple, a ruined temple outside Chang'an City. This is the best shelter Huang Jun found after he came to Chang'an.

Originally, Huang Jun wanted to find a firewood house to live in Chang'an. He didn't live well when he was at home, so he can live in a firewood house in Chang'an.

Huang Jun is willing to endure hardships, but what Huang Jun never imagined is that the firewood house in Chang'an actually costs three pennies a month.

This is three pennies. Huang Jun brought out all the money in the family, and there was only one penny. Among the many copper coins, there was also one hundred coins that his younger brother gave to other people's cattle.

My younger brother is only seven years old, how can Huang Jun be willing to spend such money.

Later, Huang Jun and his senior brother came to the city of Chang'an to find a ruined temple as a shelter. The senior brother told Huang Jun that life is so unfair.

Although they all came to Chang'an to rush for the exam, some could linger in Pingkang Square in Chang'an City, while others could only study hard in silence in the ruined temple.

What's even more exasperating is that the students who are studying hard are a hundred times better than those in Pingkangfang, but the students who are lingering in Pingkangfang are indeed admitted in the end. The reason is the injustice of heaven.

But don't give up, because this is already the only way out for students like yourself, if you give up, then you will never have a bright future in your life.

This is what the senior brother summed up after three times of Chunwei. Huang Jun was very moved when he heard it. Although he was a little unwilling, Huang Jun knew that what his senior brother said was right, and the imperial examination was the only way for poor students.

Moreover, this road is a road that many aristocratic families do not want students from poor families to take. They can only persevere. If they can't persist, then students from poor families will have no way to go.

"Huang Jun. Get up and study.!"

This is the voice of Senior Brother Huang Jun.

Hearing his senior brother's voice, Huang Jun, who was still a little sleepy, also got up quickly. At this time, senior brother Huang Jun handed Huang Jun a steamed bun and said, "Hurry up and eat, we will study immediately after eating, don't disappoint this man!" The weather is comfortable, and if the weather gets hot again, I won't be able to meditate while reading."

After receiving the steamed bun, Huang Jun quickly took a bite and said, "Senior brother, I heard that there are ice cubes in Chang'an City that can be given to others for free, senior brother. When the weather gets hot, let's go get a piece too!"

"Hehe!" With a sneer, Senior Brother Huang Jun shook his head slightly: "We are not the people of Chang'an, so the government will not give us free money at all, and when the government sees our attire and knows that we are poor students, they will ask us for more. Qian. Their purpose is to force us to leave Chang'an, so as not to compete with those aristocratic princes for places in the imperial examination."

"Why... What did we do wrong?" Huang Jun frowned, and the steamed buns in his hand were no longer fragrant.

"We didn't do anything wrong, but this is the arrogance of the aristocratic family. For thousands of years, they have been masters and held all the power in their hands. They have monopolized it for only many years. Of course they don't want the poor family to be promoted. Chance.

However, the rift has already opened, and there are some things that those aristocratic families can't stop. "

After finishing speaking, senior brother Huang Jun looked at the sky vigorously, which made Huang Jun admire him for a while, and then Huang Jun nodded repeatedly: "Senior brother is right, a gap has already appeared, the rise of the poor family, the powerful family will definitely not be able to stop it, Brother, let's study together."

"Good reading!" Senior Brother Huang Jun also nodded in agreement.

Just as the two got up to study, a group of people came in from outside the ruined temple. Luo Qizhi was in front, followed by some people dressed as guards. These guards were the guards of Dunhuafang.

After Luo Qizhi saw Huang Jun and his senior brother, he quickly revealed a surprised expression and shouted: "Brother Yao, Brother Huang, I knew you would be together, and I finally found you."

"Brother Luo...?" Huang Jun's senior brother looked at one of Luo Qi who came over with a smile and was surprised: "Didn't you go to King Qi together with Brother Xia and Brother Zhao, why did you come to ruin the temple, didn't you?"

Before finishing the rest of the sentence, Luo Qizhi was afraid of misunderstanding and hurriedly said: "Brother Yao, you are wrong, I am here to pick you up this time!"

"Pick us up?" Huang Jun and Yao Yi showed surprised eyes together.

Luo Qizhi laughed, and said, "His Royal Highness Qi knows the hardships of our poor students, so he specially donated [-] guan to build a bamboo house by the Qujiang River, which can be used by our poor students! No money will be taken.!"

"No money?" Huang Jun and Yao Yi looked at each other in horror.

Following Luo Qizhi's warm invitation, Huang Jun and Yao Yi followed Luo Qizhi to Li You's Furong Garden. At this time, here, that is, by the riverside of Qujiang, a group of people were building bamboo houses in full swing.

There were about 500 of these people, 100 of whom were craftsmen that Yin Hongzhi found for Li You in the Ministry of Industry, and hundreds of people were ordinary people from Dunhuafang, all of whom came to help build bamboo houses.

Because this bamboo house is easy to build, in less than half a day, about [-] bamboo houses have been built by the Qujiang River. The size of these bamboo houses is [-] square meters. .

The bamboo house is equipped with tables, chairs and benches, pens, inks, papers and inkstones. There are also some necessities of life, such as washbasins, fine salt, soap, scented soap. The most important thing is suet candles.

After Yao Yi and Huang Jun were led by Luo Qizhi to look at the bamboo house, their eyes all showed horrified expressions.

Especially Yao Yi, he looked at Luo Qizhi and asked in shock: "Brother Luo, this is the king of Qi's room for us. And it's free, won't we get any money?"

"Yes.!" Luo Qizhi said very proudly: "I also have Brother Yubing and Brother Deliang. Together, I told His Highness Qi Wang about the sadness of the poor students. His Highness Qi immediately decided to donate [-] yuan. Give a home to all the poor students in Chang'an who have no place to live.

It’s just that His Royal Highness Qi has just returned from the fight against the epidemic in Xiangzhou. Some time ago, His Royal Highness’s West Market and Dunhuafang were sealed off. At the time, the money was a bit shy, but His Royal Highness said that he will vigorously develop it in the future Education, support poor students.

He will build an academy on the banks of the Qujiang River, allowing all the poor students of the Tang Dynasty to study in the academy, and more importantly, His Royal Highness King Qi will collect books from all over the world and build a library.

As long as you want to read it, you can go to the library to borrow books, you don’t need to spend money to buy and sell, and you don’t have to beg those aristocratic princes to borrow them!”

"Really...?" Yao Yi's tears fell, he looked at Luo Qizhi and asked excitedly, "Did His Royal Highness King Qi really say that?"

"Yes. Yes!" Luo Qizhi also replied excitedly twice.

"That's really great. Finally someone is willing to do something for us poor students." After speaking, Yao Yi's tears fell.

This scene was not only shown on Yao Yi, besides Yao Yi, many students from poor families who had already matured in thought felt sad. They were very grateful for Li You's help.

Because Li You's actions are just sending carbon in the snow to the poor students.

Li Shimin once stood on the tower of Duanmen after the selection of an imperial examination, and watched the new entrants file in. He couldn't help saying with joy: "All the heroes of the world are in my pocket."

As an emperor, he naturally hopes that all the heroes in the world can be used for himself, and recruit as many useful people as possible for the court.

However, the scope of Tang Taizong's "heroes in the world" was probably just self-indulgence during the Zhenguan period.

Because among the world's outstanding talents, there are many people from poor families, and the real rise of people from poor families was not at this time, nor in the Tang Dynasty!

In the entire Tang Dynasty, those who came from noble families accounted for more than [-]% of the Jinshi department, especially among the heads of officials and prime ministers, the proportion of those from poor families was even less than one-tenth.

This shows that during the Tang Dynasty, the gentry still occupied an absolute dominant position in the imperial examinations, especially the Jinshi examinations, while those from poor families, although they saw a bright future, still found it difficult to realize the "challenge as a scholar". , the lofty ambition of reaching the Son of Heaven Hall at dusk.

The main reason is that the gentry concept formed since the Wei and Jin Dynasties still had a profound influence in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

To a certain extent, the gentry is even more stable than the imperial power. Even if the dynasties rise and fall, the noble families are still as stable as Mount Tai, so that although the emerging dynasties hate them so much, they still have to rely heavily on them.

The secondary reason is that, although theoretically speaking, the selection of scholars for the imperial court does not stick to one pattern, and the gentry and poor families are all treated equally, but in ancient times, when educational resources were very scarce, the gentry themselves monopolized education. Absolute advantage.

Compared with the children of the noble family, the children of the poor family have lost a lot at the starting line of learning.

If you want to learn, you must read and write. In ancient times, the cost of books, pens and inks was not cheap.

If you want to read a lot of books, it is even more difficult. You have to go to an academy, or a family home with a lot of books, but it is not a public place. easy.

Even if I was born with a talent, I still have to go to Beijing to catch the exam in the end, and I have a lot of money, but it is not worth the embarrassment of being penniless. I need money to travel long distances to the capital, right?
Eating and drinking along the way, examination paper fees at the examination room, and even making friends and eating and drinking for publicity and fame when arriving in the capital, these are not small expenses.

Especially in the Tang Dynasty, before the exam, if you didn’t pay more visits to famous people, get acquainted with them, and put your name out there, the probability of success in the exam was basically zero.

This is also the reason why Bai Juyi had to go to visit Gu Kuang, but was stabbed: "Chang'an Migui, living in a big place is not easy."

Although what Li You did did not solve the main reason, he was solving the secondary reason, and this secondary reason could be felt by those poor students.

This feeling is very touching, and it is also the reason why so many poor students cry and are moved. Li You actually won the favor of many poor students without knowing it.

If Li You can build an academy and optimize papermaking and printing techniques, then Li You will definitely win the support of poor students all over the world, but at that time, Li You will also become the target of public criticism, at least Li Shimin will not let it go Li You's.

Many underprivileged students along the Qujiang River also joined in the work of building bamboo huts. By the evening, nearly fifty bamboo huts had been built. A bamboo hut can accommodate four people, or two hundred underprivileged students. .

There are only about 150 poor students who came here today, and fifty bamboo houses are more than enough.

Deserving of Li You's applause, Luo Qizhi, Xia Yubing, and Zhao Deliang moved out of Villa No. [-], and they also moved into Li You's bamboo house by the Qujiang River.

For this behavior of the three of them, Li You greatly praised them. As expected of his teacher's valued disciples, what they did was quite right. If they couldn't even judge such behavior, Li You really didn't think highly of them.

"Hey kids. Here comes the delicious food!" Around dusk, the people of Dunhuafang came over pushing a lot of food. For a while, many poor students were stunned.

(End of this chapter)