Chapter 1033 Household Affairs and Studies

Chapter 1033 Household Affairs and Studies

Chapter 1033 Household Affairs and Studies
On the day of the Double Ninth Festival, Queen Yu Wenjun of Daliang finally couldn't bear it anymore, and took the opportunity of going out for hiking to rush to Liang Mansion in the west of the city.

The emperor and the empress both arrived, and of course no one dared to stop them.

"Mr. Liang has kept the orchard well maintained." Shao Xun pretended to pick up a pear, washed it and started to eat it.

"If your majesty had come a few days later, it would have been gone." Liang Fen said with a smile, and then sighed: "Ten acres of thin fields, a few acres of orchards and vegetable plots, and dozens of mulberry trees were all opened up little by little in my spare time."

While speaking, Liang Fen always looked inside with worry.

Seeing his expression, Shao Xun stopped talking.

The two of them stared at each other, with a lot on their minds.

Shao Xun could only make small talk, saying, "A few years ago, the accounting officials from all the counties in the country will come to the capital. I have ordered all the officials to meet at Guangchengze Suyu Palace. This year's New Year's Day celebration will be held there. There will also be some famous scholars and wealthy merchants attending the meeting. I want to have a casual conversation with them and discuss state affairs. What do you think, Mr. Liang?"

"During the Later Han Dynasty, the emperor often played in the water and lectured on military affairs in Guangcheng Garden, which was fine." Liang Fen said, "That place is the birthplace of your majesty, so you should go back and take a look."

Suyu Palace was quite large. It was built under the supervision of Shao Xun when he was a general. Later, Emperor Xi of Jin, Sima Chi, gave it to his sister Sima Xiuyi. When Jin and Liang passed away, Sima Xiuyi was still given the palace, which shows that the emperor of the new dynasty was very virtuous and took such good care of the orphans and widows of the previous dynasty's royal family.

Sima Xiuzhi was already quite old and lived in Suyu Palace most of the year. Occasionally, Sima Pi, Sima Li, Sima Que (who had been promoted to the prefect of Xiangcheng) and others would come to visit him.

After winter came, he would stay in Guangcheng Palace, where Yang Xianrong had lived, for a few days, soak in warm water, and eat some fruits and vegetables that were hard to find in winter. For the rest of the time, he would go outings with Guangchengze and a bunch of old people from the previous dynasty, or go hiking to appreciate the autumn, or even just stay in Luoyang for more than a month. He lived a relatively comfortable life, so his health was still good.

Shao Xun also wanted to go see her.

He likes fresh young flesh now, but it seems wrong if he ignores these old ones.

Of course, meetings are the main thing, and everything else is secondary.

"Why doesn't Mr. Liang manage his property?" Shao Xun asked, looking at the house that might have been picked up.

"After most of my life, I only have a daughter and a grandson. My daughter is unfilial and my grandson is weak. Who will manage my property?" Liang Fen said in a light tone.

"I can give you some money, food, and servants." Shao Xun said.

Liang Fen sighed and said, "I dare not accept this reward without any merit."

Shao Xun was about to say something else when he heard the jingling of bells and ornaments, and Yu Wenjun was already walking towards him.

Liang Fen bowed and walked away.

Yu Wenjun said mysteriously, "My husband, what do you think I discovered? Sister Liang is pregnant and gave birth to a child a few days ago."

Shao Xun was shocked, but his expression remained unchanged. He glanced at Yu Wenjun and asked, "Whose son is this?"

"It is said that he was a scholar from Xizhou. My sister had a good relationship with him in her early years, and was later forced to marry Prince Yuzhang." Yu Wenjun said: "This man is really bold. He even dared to touch the queen of the previous dynasty. I heard that he died of illness a few months ago. I am afraid that-"

At the end, Yu Wenjun hesitated a little, but didn't say anything bad. She just glanced at Shao Xun and said, "This boy is a little thin and weak, which is very pitiful."

Shao Xun was a little worried and wanted to go see his child right now, but he stood still and sighed, "A baby born eight months ago must be weak. How about giving him some nourishing food?"

Yu Wenjun looked at Shao Xun and said, "I have already assigned this matter to you. My husband, you never cared about these trivial matters before."

"Liang Qing has worked hard in governing the country, and I should give preferential treatment to his family." Shao Xun hugged Yu Wenjun and said, "The period of Qi Cane's endurance has long passed, and I want to kill the queen."

Yu Wenjun blushed, looked into Shao Xun's eyes again, and said, "You used to call me Wenjun. Do you like the queen? The Empress of Liu Han, Tuoba Dai Khatun, and the former Empress of Jin..."

"Nonsense." Shao Xun hugged Yu Wenjun tightly and whispered in her ear: "I only love Queen Daliang, and I have loved her for twenty years."

The suspicion in Yu Wenjun's eyes gradually faded and her face turned even redder.

"Fu Bao is nineteen this year, and it's time for him to get married. It's not nice to keep putting it off. Do you have any candidates for husband?" Yu Wenjun said softly, holding Shao Xun's hand as they walked in the autumn orchard.

"We will go to Suyu Palace this winter. Many people will come, including young and handsome men." Shao Xun said, "Let Fu Bao choose whoever she likes. My daughter, there is no need to put yourself in a difficult position."

"Fu Bao doesn't like weak people." Yu Wenjun chuckled, "She said that she would prefer someone with a strong mind, well-read, skilled in archery and horse riding, and good-looking."

"Such high demands?" Shao Xun gasped.

"It would be fine if she were from an ordinary family, but for a girl like her who is the eldest daughter of the emperor from Tangmu County, is that too much to ask?" Yu Wenjun smiled, covering her mouth with her hands.

Fu Bao had no fiefdom because she had been begging Shao Xun to award her Pingyang Shanglinyuan as a bathing fiefdom.

But Shanglin Garden was too big. Although it was mostly mountains, its circumference of more than 200 li was really too large. Shao Xun refused and finally decided to reduce it "a little": he granted Jingfu Garden (the former site of Xuchang Palace) and nearby marshes, with a circumference of more than 20 li.

From an economic point of view, it is not as good as a fief, but this piece of land is a garden under the name of the Shaofu, with river ponds, bamboo gardens, farmlands, orchards, vegetable plots, mulberry forests, grasslands, and even houses and water mills are ready-made. He can make all the decisions on his own, and giving the gardeners an extra 300 is not bad.

If she sends people to Jiangnan to open up the wild mountains and build a manor in the future, Shao Xun will also provide financial and manpower support.

With such capital, plus Fu Bao's appearance, he can get both money and a good career, so what if his requirements are high? "I will have someone spread the news." Seeing that Shao Xun did not object, Yu Wenjun said, "When the noble ladies in the capital hear about it, they will definitely ask their fathers, brothers, and husbands to pass it on by express horse. Next month, all of Henan will know about it, and in winter, Hebei will also know about it."

"A bunch of gossips." Shao Xun scolded with a smile.

"Isn't it because your husband is so powerful and glorious?" Yu Wenjun said with a smile, "If it were a princess of the Jin Dynasty, the young man would have to flee on horseback."

Shao Xun laughed.

These words made him feel comfortable. Whether a court is orthodox or not, and whether the royal family has great prestige, will naturally be reflected in all aspects.

******
On the tenth day of September, Shao Xun came to the Imperial College in the south of the city again.

Before the founding of the country, he was reorganizing the Imperial Academy.

After the Liang Jin abdication, the school officially began to recruit students and classes started in early February this year.

Due to time constraints, the first batch of students was small, only a hundred people.

Even though he tried his best to take care of them, the hundred students enrolled were still mostly scholars, with some warriors and children of wealthy merchants.

Imperial College was not primary education. In fact, it had a certain admission threshold. These hundred people were admitted after screening and were collectively referred to as "disciples."

You can take the test two years after entering school. It’s been less than a year so it’s naturally not the exam season yet.

The Imperial Academy tested at most the Five Classics, but the content of the course was much more than that, in fact, there were more than ten books. People at that time did not like to read traditional classics such as the Book of Poetry, the Book of History, the Book of Rites, and the Book of Changes, except perhaps the Book of Changes.

This is because the most important things for being an official at that time were family background and reputation.

Family background is innate and cannot be changed, but fame is acquired and can be manipulated.

There are two main opportunities to become famous.

One is the comments of well-known old people, which is more or less related to family background;
The second is to become famous overnight at a casual conversation gathering, be praised and spread the word, or to gradually become famous by cultivating a personal image over a long period of time.

The second way has much lower requirements for family background, and ordinary people from noble families or poor families may also be able to take this path.

But at a gathering for idle talk, talking about Confucian classics will not be popular, and the mainstream ideology is also disgusted with Confucianism. They are closer to "freedom", "nature", and "true temperament", that is, "going beyond the teachings of the world and following nature", exploring the meaning of life, which is mysterious.

Therefore, Confucian scholars strongly criticized this ideology because their status was lowered too much and was completely suppressed.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties in history, Confucian scholars still vigorously criticized Buddhist and Taoist thoughts, because the craze for metaphysics had passed, and the craze for Buddhism and Taoism rose again, while Confucianism was still suppressed.

I don’t know what’s wrong with the children of the gentry, but most of them just don’t like Confucianism, regardless of whether they have studied it or not, whether they are from the south or the north.

Shao Xun felt that he had struggled for half his life, and his prestige and fame were growing day by day. He could be considered a "well-known veteran" and perhaps he could guide certain things through his comments.

He thinks that the gathering format of Qingtan is very good and there is no need to ban it, as long as the topics are serious.

He is best at adapting to local conditions.

Once there are results in this area, the textbooks of the Imperial College can be replaced, since students don’t like to read them anyway.

As for basic education at the county level, it has currently only been promoted in areas where the Hu people live, such as Kelan, Pingyang, Xihe, Yanmen, Shangdang, as well as Shang, Diaoyin, Xinqin and other counties on the other side of the river. Each county has a doctoral student to teach 20 to 30 students.

It is absolutely impossible to promote it nationwide because we do not have the conditions and cannot afford the cost. We can only proceed step by step.

On September 15th, Shao Xun ordered the establishment of the Imperial Academy in Bianliang.

Unlike the Imperial Academy which was open to all classes, the Imperial Academy only enrolled the sons of officials and nobles, including the sons and nephews of military officers and meritorious officials, as long as they had a letter of recommendation.

The school system is similar to that of Imperial College and there will be no major changes for the time being as the time is not yet ripe.

For the Shaw Dynasty, the foundation is still the nobility, not the gentry.

There may be some overlap between the two, but they are ultimately two different concepts.

What he needs to do now is to protect the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College, so that these two new ways of selecting officials can be passed on stably.

Compared with the Nine-Rank System, the examination system of the Imperial College and the Imperial Academy was still somewhat advanced. What he had to do was to prevent it from becoming a mere decoration. After all, that was the case during the Wei and Jin dynasties.

At present, scholars are not likely to oppose this system, because it is an old system of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the degree of resistance is relatively small. In addition, ordinary people's knowledge is far inferior to theirs, and the number of "disciples" allocated to them is relatively small, so the gentry will not feel a sense of crisis for the time being.

This kind of reform is relatively easy and enjoyable, because there is no moment when the truth is revealed.

(End of this chapter)