Chapter 530: Chang'an Is My Real Hometown

Guozixue, Taixue, Four Schools, Legal Studies, Calligraphy, and Arithmetic.

They are all affiliated to the Imperial College and are called the Six Schools.

During the Takenori period, the Xiuwen Museum was built in Menxia Province. After His Majesty came to the throne, it was changed to the Hongwen Museum, which collected more than 200,000 volumes of books. It housed bachelors to teach students and collate the books in the library.

When His Majesty was the King of Qin, he set up a literary museum in the Qin Palace to recruit talented people from all over the world and to compile and discuss classics. After he ascended the throne, it was not abolished and was set up as a provincial department.

This was the former Second Library of Six Studies. However, since last year, His Majesty has promoted arithmetic to the Academy of Arithmetic Studies. Li Chunfeng, Wang Xiaotong, Lu Zhi and others were promoted to the Second Academy of Arithmetic Studies. Following the practice of the Second Library, the current Prime Minister Serving as a bachelor at the same time can be regarded as a solid claim to the title of "Three Halls".

In the Imperial College, there was a separate program of engineering and science. Among them, the doctoral assistants were all part-time by the Shaofu eunuch and the chief eunuch who would serve as eunuchs, which could be regarded as filling the gap of the "six studies".

These are really not news to the people of Chang'an. After all, this is the capital of the Tang Dynasty, at the feet of the emperor.

"Of course I know about the Six Studies and Three Schools, but I'm just used to it, and it's public property, so the saint wants to change his studies again!"

"Okay, okay...how to change it?"

The man named Hu Laosan took a bite of the mutton soup with the shortbread, and then spoke in a mysterious manner, but Ma Zhou, who was not far away, could hear clearly through the noisy sound:

"I also heard... that the saint intends to build two more imperial schools and recruit more students."

"How can we do more tricks? Can the ministers and ministers agree?"

"Hey, all the sons and grandsons of your father-in-law have gone to Guozixue. Who will go to Taixue to study with you? Wouldn't that be degrading one's family background?"

"That's true, but there are only so many ministers of the fifth rank and above in Chang'an. If you add the Imperial Academy, you still..."

For the people of Chang'an, the education of their offspring has always been a problem. They can neither send their children directly to official schools like officials, nor can they afford to attend very expensive private schools.

Nowadays, the sage holds the imperial examination, and everyone knows that as long as he has the knowledge to pass the imperial examination to high school, he can go straight to the streets and become famous in Chang'an, but he also has to have a place to study.

That's why the news about Hu Laosan aroused discussion among the locals in the restaurant. Even if their children cannot reach the threshold of Imperial College, it doesn't matter if they see the discussion.

According to the explicit regulations of the Imperial College, students of the Imperial Academy should have descendants of the third rank or above; students of the Imperial College should have descendants of the fifth rank or above. Each of the other four schools also had thresholds.

These are only the Six Studies, not to mention the "Three Halls" with higher standards, especially the Literature Hall established by His Majesty when he was the King of Qin. Now, if you want to be among them, the only way to become famous in the world is to take it.

Ma Zhou also empathizes with the helplessness of the people around him to a certain extent:

He was born into a poor family and had neither the reputation to enter an official school nor the money to seek private education. In the end, he had no choice but to work as a retainer for Duke Lei Ze to make a living.

Because of this, Ma Zhou is grateful for his current life from the bottom of his heart.

If it hadn't been for His Majesty's promotion, he might still be living in gloomy drinking at Duke Lei Ze's residence.

If he hadn't taken the imperial examination, how could he have been able to win the title of a famous family for three generations with ten years of hard work?

This is why he is now willing to follow His Majesty's orders to promote the restructuring of Imperial College.

Everyone in the restaurant was very excited when they talked about the official school, but when they talked about the admission threshold, they all became depressed.

Hu Laosan finished eating the mutton soup meat pie, and finally wiped a circle around his mouth with the remains of the Hu pancake pastry on the bottom of the plate, and then said with a smile:

"But what if your Majesty decrees that all sons of good families can enter the Imperial Academy?"

"really!?"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"How is it impossible? The saint has spent two years destroying the Turks first and then the bastards. He does not add any gifts but shows mercy to us common people..."

"Hey, what does this have to do with you running errands in West City?"

A simple sentence stirred up a thousand waves. It was obviously just a piece of gossip, but because of this news, the restaurant was automatically divided into two groups, criticizing and abusing each other.

Ma Zhou watched quietly from the side until everyone on both sides realized that they were bored and dispersed, then he checked out and left with unfulfilled intentions.

As the New Year approaches, Ma Zhou becomes busier and busier, even though there is help from the Prime Minister and His Majesty behind them.

But it concerns the Imperial College, and His Majesty's emphasis on the imperial examinations is now blind. In a sense, the Imperial College students are the first to get the upper hand, so it is no wonder that there are endless objections.

However, no matter how busy he was, Ma Zhou would always take time to come to the West Market and try some grilled lamb, cakes and soup, or some filling snacks at noon.

The people wandering around the West Market were all ordinary people. During their chats after dinner, Ma Zhou felt that he could gain an additional perspective on the current dispute over the restructuring of Imperial College.

"Three houses and two houses, I'm afraid it's just an excuse to collect money from the official school!"

"You haven't seen it yet, how can you say it's just a way to get money?"

"Even if it's not the case, you and I can't afford the cost of studying for a government degree. Do you really think you are rich?"

"If you don't say much, what's the use of learning arithmetic? Being able to calculate is enough. No matter how much you study, won't it be a waste of money?"

"Then you can still live if you can only speak but not write. Why do you still want to be literate?"

Ma Zhou turned a deaf ear and just raised his hand to signal:

"Staff, another bowl of mutton soup!"

As time entered the end of November, Ma Zhou, who was working in the imperial city and had not been out much, heard two more things.

The "field fertilizer cart" in Dunyi Fong accidentally tipped over, and a cart of "fertilizer water" accidentally spilled in front of the house of the great scholar Xu Jingzong. It was frozen before being cleaned up. It is said that Xu Jingzong did not come to court for three days because of this. .

There were rumors that this incident was related to Duke of Qi, Changsun Wuji, but Xu Jingzong dismissed it as a rumor, saying that he had no entanglement with Duke of Qi, and that spreading such rumors was the behavior of a villain.

For the people of Chang'an, even if this incident was not suitable for casual talk after dinner, it was after all a university scholar and a royal relative of the current dynasty, and it was only convenient to spend a cup of tea to polish a rumor version with both grievances and hatred to entertain people.

But soon another incident easily captured the attention of the people of Chang'an:

A sea merchant from Denglai entered the capital and presented thirty carts of treasures to the saint to praise his virtue, and then swept the east and west markets, loaded a hundred carts of wealth and goods and returned to Denglai.

Originally, this was nothing, after all, Chang'an was not short of big merchants.

But this Denglai sea merchant told others without hesitation that he was originally a commoner, and he went to sea in response to the emperor's edict, and accumulated wealth in a year, so he offered wealth to repay the saint's kindness.

This experience made the whole of Kyoto unprecedentedly agitated. Street alleys, food shops and teahouses were all talking about it. After all, everyone was a commoner. If the Denglai sea merchants could succeed, then wouldn’t they be...

Many people even regretted it. After all, the opening order was theoretically posted in Kyoto first, but people at the time all disdained it. Unexpectedly, it was taken by the Shandong people first!

Many playboys made up their minds:

Instead of spending time in Chang'an, it is better to go to Denglai to sea next year, maybe they can also win tens of millions of family assets!

And that is the East China Sea, which is rumored a lot. The Denglai sea merchants can earn a fortune as a commoner, so how can we, as a good commoner, not find the fairyland Penglai in the East China Sea!

That night, many playboys in Chang'an had a dream at the same time.

In the dream, they were dressed in bright clothes, driving a huge ship to cut through the wind and waves, playing with the treasures in the cabin at will, and the shadow of the fairyland Penglai was faintly visible on the bow, but it was out of reach.

At this time, on a giant ship in the East China Sea, Liu Rengui carefully turned the Qianbu mirror against his eyes and searched patiently.

A tiny red flame in the dark night was reflected in the Qianbu mirror, which cheered him up a little.

Without putting down the tube mirror in his hand, Liu Rengui raised his left hand and pressed down his palm, then judged based on experience and showed four fingers.

The adjutant who had worked with him for more than half a year understood the meaning of the direction and distance indicated in the gesture, and immediately began to convey Liu Rengui's order.

The giant ship silently adjusted its direction slightly in the dark sea, and then went straight in the direction selected by Liu Rengui.

Seeing that the tiny flame gradually became visible to the naked eye, and the dark outline of the island gradually appeared, Liu Rengui breathed a sigh of relief, carefully put away his Qianbu mirror, and carefully put it in the silk bag on his chest.

Looking down and seeing the Japanese standing beside him with envy in his eyes, Liu Rengui said casually:

"Envoy Inugami, since we have reached the opposite island, the Japanese island is also in sight, and the day for you to return home is near."

Inugami Mita Kuwa imitated the Tang etiquette, crossed his hands and bowed:

"The general can come and go freely on the sea, which can be called a god."

"Besides, returning home is not worth mentioning, I just hope to help the general succeed."

Liu Rengui didn't buy it, and his expression was indifferent:

"Just do your duty."

Inugami Mita Kuwa's expression became more and more respectful, but he couldn't help sighing in his heart.

He didn't dare to complain about the Tang general in front of him. After all, he saw with his own eyes how the general easily controlled the giant ship to split the wind and waves and crush the enemy ship. For him who knew the dangers of the ocean, the general was no less than a god.

He just missed his identity as a Tang person.

The emperor of the Tang Dynasty was quite generous. After reaching an agreement with the two envoys named Pei Shiqing and Du Ruhui, he moved into the house that night.

Every day he marveled at the strength and prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.

Especially after spending money to buy a Turkic slave, such days became more relaxed.

Facing the foreign merchants, he could also proudly hold his chest high and contemptuously call them "barbarians", watching the other party dare not speak out.

Facing the soldiers who returned victorious from the expedition to Tuyuhun, he would also squeeze into the straight street and shout "Ten Thousand Victories" with the people around him.

He was intoxicated with this life until the envoy Pei Shiqing who knew Japanese came to him again and said that the general of the Tang Dynasty was ready and it was time for him to fulfill his promise.

So just like when he came, Inugami Mita Kuwa took the delegation to leave Chang'an step by step again and set off to "go" to Japan.

Yes, go.

After wasting thirty years in Japan, I realized that Chang'an was my true hometown.

Inujo Mita felt that he was getting closer to the country in his heart - isn't this homesickness a clear proof?

Liu Rengui was too lazy to guess what the Japanese around him were thinking.

There was still some time before landing, so he simply returned to the cabin and began to carefully check the map under the light.

"Zhengze, have you reached the opposite island?"

Liu Rengui turned around and saw the sleepy Li Shi𪟝 wearing a fur robe and entering the cabin.

"Brother Maogong."

They were both secret ministers of Ganlu Palace, and they were only five years apart.

Now they were both in the Marine Division, and with Li Shi𪟝's intentional catering, the relationship between the two quickly became familiar.

Because there were sea maps in the cabin, the Japanese were strictly prohibited from entering.

With no one around, Liu Rengui simply told the truth:

"The closer we get to Japan, the more uneasy I feel..."

But just as he started to speak, Li Shiqi's face was filled with surprise:

"You were so calm when you were commanding the Yamen ships, but now you are hesitant?"

"It's different..." Liu Rengui wanted to argue, but Li Shixi directly pushed him aside and pointed on the chart with his hand:

"You and I set out from Laizhou in September, crossed the Bohai Sea to Baekje, meandered south to Jeju Island, and then sailed eastward. Now we are about to reach the opposite island."

"Our team has worked so hard, how can there be any reason to give up?"

Liu Rengui nodded slowly, but still had doubts:

"If this trip fails..."

A look of astonishment appeared on Li Shi's face: "Why not?"

"After all, it is common for military strategists to have their own victory or defeat..."

Shaking his head, Li Shi 𪟝 said seriously:

"Zhengzhen, if it comes to naval battles, I am not as invincible as you."

"But if it were a land battle, you would be far inferior to me."

Having said that, Li Shi did not give Liu Rengui a chance to refute, and instead said:

"Jeju Island and Duidao are good, and Zhengze's name is really good."

On the map, Jeju Island is located south of Baekje. It was originally named Jiluo in Pei Shiqing's records.

The opposite island where the giant ship was about to arrive was located south of Silla, and Pei Shiqing originally recorded its name as Dusima.

The names of these two islands were originally recorded by Pei Shiqing based on his voice.

Liu Rengui felt that it was not easy to pronounce, so he thought that Jinghai, the naval commander of the Tang Dynasty, changed the names of the two islands in order to "help the poor". Li Shimin expressed his "kindness" to this.

Seeing Li Shi's insistence, Liu Rengui stopped saying anything and nodded:

"In that case, we will rest at the island for a day before setting off again."

Li Shi was full of confidence, but also a little dissatisfied.

The Japanese envoy recounted what he saw in Chang'an, in which he repeated the prisoner presentation ceremony several times, which made Li Shihuang yearn for it. After all, he was there when he defeated the Turks and captured Jieli last time.

But in the end, Li Jingjia made another great contribution to Qinghai Road by defeating Tuyuhun in one battle.

He invited himself to study as a seaman in Laizhou, but so far he has had no success in leading ships.

But the situation in Japan was different. Now that the leader was weak and the ministers were strong, it was a good opportunity to decide in a battle, and this battle was still on land, which was what he was best at before.

Liu Rengui was left to continue pondering over the map, while Li Shixi, who had lost his sleepiness, got out of the cabin again.

The sky has turned slightly white, and the situation on the island in the distance is more clearly visible. This is a strange but equally promising land.

Seeing that the general in front of him seemed to be in a good mood, Inugami Odasaru said carefully:

"General, after passing the opposite island, we will reach the Japanese country. Now that Suga's family covers the sky with one hand, why not sail at night like this..."

Li Shi shook his head:

"Since you want to be a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, why should you be afraid of the head and the tail?"

"Searching from above is called a conquest. Since the Japanese king is orthodox, the Suga clan is a rebellious minister and traitor."

"You should lead the warriors of the Tang Dynasty, knock on the front door to conquer the Japanese, destroy the thieves, and eradicate the traitors."