amaotonovel Chapter 709 My lord, the students have returned with more than 2 cattle and horses!
Chapter 709 My lord, the students have returned with more than 2 cattle and horses!
As soon as the scholar surnamed Li finished speaking, apart from a few scholars from Ningyang County, the other scholars around him were somewhat uneasy.
Yang Dianfeng has a bad temper, and this guy was already somewhat prepared for that.
But how do we define "not taking the people seriously"?
Moreover, there are rumors among the people that Yang the Madman often beats and scolds ordinary people.
The more the scholars thought about it, the more confused they became.
After a long while, the scholar surnamed Chen tentatively asked, "May I ask, Brother Li, is the rumor that the Imperial Son-in-Law once beat and scolded the common people just a rumor?"
The scholar surnamed Li chuckled and said, "This story is the kind that gets more and more unbelievable the more it's spread."
"In the first year of the Hongwu reign, Ningyang County suffered a severe drought, and a locust plague was imminent. The magistrate then ordered the locust eradication..."
After briefly recounting how Liu Thirty-Two had been beaten, the scholar surnamed Li continued, "The magistrate doesn't get angry easily, so everyone doesn't need to be afraid."
The scholar surnamed Chen thought to himself, "You, Li Zhenming, have nothing to fear. After all, Yang the Madman is your teacher, and he even named you, Li Zhenming. Of course, you have nothing to fear from him."
But how could we, the scholars who had no connection with him, not be afraid?
My superior, Doctor Liu, always gets worried whenever he talks about it. He even said that the Censorate has a deep grudge against Yang the Madman, and he specifically instructed me, Chen, not to provoke him.
If it were you, wouldn't you be afraid?
After mentally ranting for a while, Chen Xingzu simply changed the subject, "Brother Li, His Highness the Crown Prince had someone escort us to the border between Ningyang County and Yanzhou Prefecture, and specifically instructed us to walk to Ningyang County. I wonder what the deeper meaning is behind this?"
The other successful candidates around him also turned their attention to Li Zhenming.
According to Chen Xingzu and other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), the 300 Jinshi admitted in this special imperial examination, including the 300 Jinshi admitted last year, were actually different from each other as early as the moment they filled in their place of origin.
Those who passed the imperial examinations in Ningyang were die-hard members of the princeling faction from the moment they wrote their names and hometowns on their exam papers.
From the moment a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from Fengyang wrote his name and place of origin on his examination paper, he became a fellow townsman of the emperor.
Even if a Jinshi from other places answered the exam questions brilliantly and ranked higher than those from Ningyang and Fengyang, they would still only be ordinary Jinshi from special imperial examinations.
Seeing that some of the other successful candidates were looking at him expectantly, Li Zhenming simply stopped in his tracks.
The old man is right.
None of the scholars who passed the imperial examinations were fools; they were all incredibly shrewd.
They actually dared to try and find out His Highness the Crown Prince's intentions from me, Li?
That's absolutely hilarious.
I, Li, have never met His Highness the Crown Prince, nor have I even visited Zhou Jingxin, who remains in the capital as an official.
So, you're probably going to be disappointed.
Just as he was thinking about this, a thought suddenly popped into Li Zhenming's mind.
I, Li, truly do not know His Highness the Crown Prince's intentions.
But I can "guess" at it.
As long as we take what the master taught us as a foundation and try to figure out what these "shrewd" people are thinking, it seems we can use it to fool them and make them pay more attention to the common people in the future.
If we do this, it should be considered as putting into practice what the master taught us back then, right?
Having made up his mind, Li Zhenming said, "To be honest, fellow gentlemen, I do have some guesses."
After a slight pause, Li Zhenming continued, "Actually, what you all don't know is that when the magistrate of Ningyang County was in charge, he traveled to every village and community in Ningyang County, and wore out two or three pairs of boots every year."
"Therefore, even if the magistrate cannot accurately call out the name of every single person in Ningyang County, he can at least call out the names of the vast majority of them."
“Initially, Ningyang County had eight communities and sixteen neighborhoods, with more than 500 households. The magistrate knew almost every household’s way and who was in charge of the household.”
"His Highness instructed us to walk back to the county town from the border between Ningyang and Yanzhou, probably so that we would know the hardships that the magistrate had endured when he traveled to all the villages and towns. It is also a reminder that when we serve as officials in the future, we must always keep the people in mind."
"Besides, His Highness may also want us to see the lives of the people in Ningyang County and to witness the scenes of farming in the countryside."
"After all, we will all become officials in the future, and we may even be appointed as county magistrates in some other places. If we do not know the hardships of the people and how they cultivate the land, how can we do a good job of promoting agriculture and sericulture?"
Chen Xingzu and the other scholars all looked thoughtful, and then they all nodded, pretending to have suddenly realized something.
Regardless of whether it's genuine or feigned thought, and regardless of whether one agrees with or disagrees with Li Zhenming's analysis, one must outwardly appear to agree.
That's officialdom, you know.
In the officialdom of normal people, personal relationships and social skills are important.
Not all officials are like Yang the Madman, always fighting and killing.
Looking at the demeanor of Chen Xingzu and the other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), Li Zhenming was too lazy to analyze how much of their sincerity was genuine and how much was feigned.
"If it's really as I suspect..."
Li Zhenming also adopted a thoughtful, hesitant, and deliberate expression, saying, "I'm afraid His Highness the Crown Prince values this imperial examination very highly."
As Li Zhenming finished speaking, Chen Xingzu and the others immediately showed excitement on their faces.
Correct!
His Highness the Crown Prince must be taking this imperial examination very seriously!
Otherwise, why didn't His Highness the Crown Prince distribute his people among the Six Ministries for rotating study as usual, but instead stuffed them all under Yang Dianfeng's command?
In this way, His Highness the Crown Prince had a good reason for sending his men from the border of Ningyang and Yanzhou to Ningyang County.
His Highness the Crown Prince has high hopes for us!
His Highness the Crown Prince hopes that we can be as successful as him, Yang the Madman, which is why he made us walk into Ningyang County!
The more the scholars thought about it, the more excited they became, and even the fatigue from their journey vanished.
Li Zhenming glanced at the group of scholars again and said with a smile, "Brothers, let's hurry on our way so we can get to the county town to rest for a while soon?"
Chen Xingzu and other Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) responded one after another, while Li Zhenming and a dozen other Jinshi from Ningyang County exchanged glances and a smile unconsciously appeared on their lips.
My lord, the students have returned with more than two hundred cattle and horses!
You can order them around as you please, treat them like livestock!
There's no need to give the students face!
Thinking of this, Li Zhenming couldn't help but smack his lips again.
Pity.
These two hundred-plus cattle and horses would eventually have to return to the capital; they couldn't stay in Ningyang County forever to serve the master like cattle and horses.
If we want to alleviate the burden on the magistrate, we need to increase the number of literate people in Ningyang County.