Chapter 396 Ding You
The New Year arrived as scheduled. This was the first time that Sun Shan spent the New Year away from home, and also the first time he spent the New Year without his family.
I wrote a letter home years ago, but they probably didn't receive it.
Not only is communication slow, it is often lost, and what's even more frustrating is that it's expensive.
Sun Shan had been at Yuelu Academy for more than half a year, but he only received one letter from home.
Sun Shan believed that Sun Bomin had sent the letter more than once and it must have been lost along the way.
On New Year’s Eve, I spontaneously cooked a New Year’s Eve dinner with a few classmates, and then stayed up all night in the cold night, eating melon seeds and drinking tea.
Except Qian Yingyang and Zhu Pengyun, other students who did not return home also came out together.
No matter whether they were familiar with each other or not, they would gather in groups of three or four, bring their own fire and food, and gather in the courtyard of the dormitory, enjoying the cool breeze and chatting about everything under the sun. It was a special feeling.
As for the cold classmate Yu Nanwang, he was still hiding in the dormitory and refused to come out.
This was the first time that Sun Shan met such an unsociable guy.
Qian Yingyang looked at Yu Nanwang's house furtively and whispered, "Ashan, do you know where Brother Yu came from? He's so mysterious."
Sun Shan had no idea where he came from or what his background was, he only knew that he was very good at studying.
He made further progress in this year's annual exam and even ranked in the top five, pushing out senior brother Chen Jin.
The only regret was that as a transfer student, not a local student, he could not obtain the generous scholarships and awards from Yuelu Academy.
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "He and I are just nodding acquaintances. The number of times we have spoken is no more than ten fingers."
Yu Nanwang is tall and thin, with a handsome appearance and gentle manner. He looks like a scholar at first glance.
Zhu Pengyun leaned over, his eyes wide as bells, and said in a muffled voice, "I heard that Brother Yu was very good at studying in their school. I didn't expect that he was still so good at studying after coming to Yuelu Academy. Oh, I'm so envious. I was also very good at studying in our school, but I was at the bottom of the class after coming to Yuelu Academy. Oh, how sad."
Zhu Pengyun became sadder and sadder as he spoke. If he could, he would have cried.
I used to be a top student, but after coming to a place where there are so many top students, I became a poor student. It’s so hard to accept such a big change.
Qian Yingyang said comfortingly: "Pengyun, don't be sad, I am still behind you, you are still better than me."
Speaking of grades, Qian Yingyang said with a wry smile: "Ashan, I wasn't a bad student in Duanzhou, how come I became the worst student in Yuelu Academy? Ashan, I kept asking the head of the dormitory to change my dormitory, but he even scolded me for being a scholar? Scholars should not talk about strange things."
Sun Shan looked at Qian Yingyang helplessly, and did not comment on his insistence on changing dormitories.
With such an outrageous reason, the head monk changed him. He must be sick.
Suddenly, another senior brother came over and whispered to everyone, "I heard that after the Chinese New Year, Dean Chen will invite new masters to come and give lectures."
After hearing this, Sun Shan and others had no reaction.
Dean Chen often invites knowledgeable people to give lectures, so he has no interest in the topic of this senior brother.
Seeing that no one reacted, the senior brother continued to release the information: "Everyone is different this time."
Sun Shan and the others looked at their senior brother curiously, their eyes full of questions.
Qian Yingyang was a great atmosphere maker, and asked enthusiastically, "Why is it different? Senior brother, tell me quickly."
Zhu Pengyun, the second atmosphere group, also asked actively: "Brother, what kind of person are you? Are you very knowledgeable?"
Sun Shan, the atmosphere group number three, echoed perfunctorily: "Brother, where are you all from?"
The so-called "da jia" refers to the family of nobles and officials, and refers to people of great knowledge.
The atmosphere was so good that the senior brother was very satisfied. He nodded and said mysteriously, "I heard that this gentleman is the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
After hearing what the senior brother said, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then expressed disbelief.
The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the third rank, is not in the capital. How come he comes to the academy to give lectures?
Sun Shan asked in confusion: "Brother, did you hear wrongly? Are you talking about Zuo Shilang?"
Sun Shan had heard of the position of Assistant Minister a long time ago.
He Shuqiang's great grandfather was a minister, and as for the left or right, he was in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War...
Sun Shan didn't quite understand.
The senior brother said with a look of "you all don't understand" "My news is true. After the Chinese New Year, our academy will welcome a left assistant minister to give lectures."
Everyone didn't believe it. Qian Yingyang questioned, "Brother, why did the Minister come to give a lecture? Isn't he in the capital? Why did he come to Changsha?"
Is he on a business trip? But he can't come to give lectures if he's on a business trip.
Could it be that the lecture that senior brother mentioned was actually a meeting with students from Yuelu Academy?
If it's a meet-and-greet, then it's possible.
It was also allowed for court officials on business trips to visit famous local academies to meet with students and discuss academic matters.
Zhu Pengyun thought the same thing and asked quickly, "Brother, is it possible that the Minister is visiting Changsha Prefecture and visiting Yuelu Academy?"
If that's the case, what's there to say? It's not like I'm staying in the academy to teach.
They met, chatted, and then did what they had to do. For students like Sun Shan, there was absolutely no topic worth mentioning.
The senior brother shook his head and whispered, "I heard that the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lord Zhou Ruo, is in mourning and will return to his hometown to observe mourning. Lord Zhou is from Changsha Prefecture, so I think he will return to Changsha Prefecture to observe mourning."
Sun Shan and his companions looked at each other. If the situation was as their senior brother said, then Lord Zhou might really come to the academy to give lectures.
Daqian governs the country with filial piety, and filial piety is the most important virtue.
When an official's parents passed away, their children had to observe mourning for their parents, usually for 27 months.
Of course, if you are an important official and the court cannot do without you, the court will issue an edict to exempt him from the "mourning period".
But this situation rarely occurs. Even if one is exempted from mourning at the time, he or she may be easily attacked by political enemies afterwards.
It should be noted that the “resignation from office and mourning” policy in all dynasties mostly only applied to civil servants.
Most military officers are not required to observe "mourning" period.
Because there has always been a saying that "one does not avoid war", as a general, they often lead the army to fight in various places, so they certainly cannot "mourning". At this time, the court will generally order them not to "mourning", but only to wear mourning clothes.
Lord Zhou Ruo was a civil servant. When his father or mother passed away, for the sake of his future political career, he would definitely carry the coffin back to his hometown to mourn for his parents.
During the mourning period, one cannot eat meat but only vegetarian food, cannot get married, cannot have sexual intercourse and have children, cannot serve as an official in the court, etc.
But many officials must have been unable to bear the loneliness of staying at home for about three years of mourning.
Moreover, the imperial court did not want to waste talents, nor did it want officials in mourning to waste their time, so it encouraged those in mourning to do things for the people in their hometown.
Generally, some officials will take advantage of this period to benefit the local people and make themselves more famous.