Chapter 238 Getting rid of the old and welcoming the new
Near the twelfth lunar month, it snowed in Yuzhou intermittently for seven or eight days.
The snow was not heavy today. It only fell for half an hour and then stopped. Soon the clouds broke and the sun rose, and the thin winter sunshine shone down.
The thin layer of snow looks even thinner in the sunshine, unable to cover the tender green wheat seedlings that have just poked their heads out in the field.
Auspicious snow heralds a good harvest.
Heavy snow can kill pests in the fields and maintain soil moisture, so the folk saying is not groundless.
Looking at the endless fields, the lush green was separated by the white lake, Zhao Zongquan couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Even everyone including Wei Chen, Gu Tingye, and Zhao Ceying who went out to inspect the city were all smiling.
There is hope for a bumper harvest in Yuzhou next year!
After walking around the field ridges and inspecting the emergence of wheat seedlings, Wei Chen said goodbye to a few people at noon and took a carriage back to Yuzhou City.
As the old is about to be removed and the new is ushered in, the streets and alleys of Yuzhou City are filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year, and the sound of firecrackers is heard one after another.
Today's Yuzhou City, driven by the Jun porcelain trade, has finally regained the style of its thousand-year-old city, gradually exerted its location advantages as an important place in Hejin, and became a part of the land trade route from Chang'an to Luoyang.
A shining pearl.
Such changes have brought real benefits to the people of Yuzhou.
The first is that it greatly increases the employment opportunities for the people. As long as they are willing to work hard, they will not have to worry about finding work.
The second one is to double the price of Jun porcelain, which will benefit all industries in Yuzhou City, and even the entertainment service industry will benefit from it.
Article 3: Merchants from all over the Zhou Dynasty gathered in Yuzhou City. Vinegar from Shanxi, salt from Changlu, brocade from Sichuan... these things that were usually only heard of can now be bought at the doorstep.
The New Year goods that the people of Yuzhou can purchase have been greatly enriched.
In these days and months, there are few places in the entire Zhou Dynasty that offer such treatment.
"Twenty-three, burn the kang; twenty-four, clean the house; twenty-five, play drums; twenty-six, cut the meat; twenty-seven, kill a chicken; twenty-eight, stick the quack; twenty-nine, go do the irrigation.
Wine; thirty years old, wrap up food; first day of the new year, stick out your buttocks and make a bow..."
Wei Chen sat on the carriage, listening to the nursery rhymes outside, and couldn't help but sigh: "There are only two days until the New Year's Day."
"Yes, Master." Yuan An, who was beside him, rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Can we have a day off tomorrow?"
"No." Wei Chen Dandan glanced at Yuan An: "I still have something else for you to do."
"Oh~~"
Yuan An didn't dare to raise his eyebrows and could only lower his head in a depressed manner.
Wei Chen couldn't help but feel amused. He slapped him on the back of the head and said, "In a moment, take a few large ingots of silver to the bank and exchange them for silver ingots. Wrap them in red paper and give them to the servants in the house. It's yours. Wrap it up."
Double."
"Okay!" Yuan An immediately became energetic after hearing this, with a smile on his face.
Wei Chen also smiled and shook his head when he saw this.
Not long after, the carriage stopped. Yuan An looked out the window and reminded: "Master, the state government has arrived."
Wei Chen nodded slightly, then put on his coat and got out of the carriage, walked straight into the back office, and came to his study.
Several wintersweet trees in the courtyard have bloomed at this time, and their elegant fragrance floats in the pure ice and snow. The light yellow flowers and brown branches are dyed pure white by the fine snow, just like the jade tree and the qionghua. p>
The window of the study room was slightly open, and the fragrance of wintersweet drifted in, which saved Wei Chen from burning incense and meditating.
As soon as he sat down, Wei Chen noticed a few more letters on the corner of the table.
Wei Chen took the top letter, glanced at it and raised his head. He suddenly became energetic and without caring about anything else, he quickly opened the letter and read it carefully.
I don't know how long it took, but the cup of hot tea on the table was no longer steaming, and Wei Chen put down the letter with a sense of loss.
This letter was sent by Rulan and Minglan from Bianjing. The letter told many interesting experiences they had during this time.
Reading between the lines
You can all feel their overwhelming love for Wei Chen.
After reading the letter, Wei Chen wished he could spread his wings and fly to Bianjing immediately to reunite with his two fiancées.
But in the end, he could only sigh softly, take out the paper, dip his pen in the ink, and pour out all the thoughts in his heart into the pen.
The eloquent long letter of nearly a thousand words can be summed up as nothing more than a song called "Night Rain Sends to the North" by Li Yishan.
"You asked me if I haven't come back on time yet. It rains at night in Bashan and the autumn pond swells. Why should we cut the candles from the west window together? But I said it rains at night in Bashan."
Wei Chen put down his pen, held the letter and stared at it for a long time, then folded it up and handed it to Yuan An, telling him to send it to Bianjing immediately.
Yuan An took the letter and hurried out, leaving Wei Chen alone in the study.
On this festive day approaching the New Year, listening to the sound of firecrackers coming from far outside the hospital, Wei Chen suddenly felt an unspeakable loneliness and couldn't help but sigh secretly.
I am a stranger in a foreign land. I miss my family members even more during the festive season. The ancients sincerely do not deceive me.
After sitting alone for a long time, Wei Chen finally cheered up a little and decided to go and sit with Chen Jun.
Chen Jun and Wei Chen are both from Youyang, and they are both officials in Yuzhou alone. Their experiences are quite similar, and they can comfort each other.
However, when Wei Chen got on a carriage and carried good wine to the Xinzheng County Yamen, preparing to get drunk with his old friends, he was told that Chen Jun was not here, but had gone to the countryside to give lectures.
Wei Chen was slightly startled when he heard this, and then he stopped laughing.
When Chen Jun was a student member of the county, he served as a private tutor at Sheng's Free School, but now he has resumed his old career.
During this Chinese New Year, I think Chen Jun was bored by himself in the county government office, so he would rather go to the free school to stay with the Meng children...
As soon as he thought of this, Wei Chen immediately ordered the people from the county government to lead him to the free school where Chen Jun was.
The carriage drove for half an hour and stopped in front of an old courtyard with two entrances.
When Wei Chen walked into the front yard, water droplets from the melting ice and snow in the afternoon were still dripping on the eaves, and he could faintly hear the sound of the children reading in the yard.
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Wei Chen's heart moved, he pushed open the door and walked into the inner courtyard, only to see more than a dozen ordinary people standing in the courtyard, all wearing commoners or short shirts, quietly looking at Meng Tong in the room.
This scene reminded Wei Chen of the parents who picked up their children at the school gate in his previous life.
There were lights on in the room, and there were about twenty tables and chairs, with a Meng boy sitting in basically every position.
A gentleman was walking back and forth among the children with a ruler in hand, listening to their endorsements meticulously.
This gentleman is naturally the magistrate of Xinzheng County that Wei Chen is looking for, Chen Jun.
Wei Chen didn't want to disturb Chen Jun's class, so he stood quietly in the yard like the parents.
It happened that two people were chatting in low voices and seemed to mention the word Wei Qingtian. Wei Chen couldn't help but become interested and listened carefully.
A middle-aged man wearing coarse clothes said: "This gentleman teaches really well. Third uncle, it will cost a lot of money for our child to study in this school, but you are willing to do it!"
Another man next to him said: "You just came back from other places, but you don't know that our workshop has held several volunteer schools in the past two years. Not only do you not have to pay tuition fees to study, but you are also given free pen, ink and paper!"
"You don't need money, how can you have such a good thing?"
"This is all thanks to Wei Qingtian! Let our child be literate and numerate in the free school. Then he will never be hungry when he comes out. Maybe he can become a good official like Wei Qingtian!"
"So, this Wei Qingtian is really a good official who serves our people!"
"What's the point? Wei Qingtian is in our Yuzhou, that's it! Just listen to your third uncle's advice, wait until the New Year, send your kid here, and learn his skills from your husband!"<
/p>
"Sure, I'll listen to you, Third Uncle!"
The two of them discussed and agreed, and both laughed happily, full of hope for life.
But he didn't see it. Wei Chen's face was filled with relief, and his eyes were slightly moist without realizing it.
Listening to the sound of the children's books in the school, and looking at the heartfelt smiles on the faces of the people around him, at this moment, Wei Chen, who was alone in a foreign land and a stranger, suddenly felt that his lonely heart had settled.
Rely on.
Under the light of the lamp, the third uncle talked about Wei Qing's glorious deeds in Yuzhou to his nephew, and his words were extremely respectful.
He was talking enthusiastically, but he accidentally raised his voice a little louder, alarming Chen Jun in the room. Chen Jun coughed lightly and looked outside, as if blaming him for being too loud and disturbing the students' recitation of their homework. p>
The third uncle was stared at by this look and immediately shut his mouth, as respectful as he wanted.
At this time, Chen Jun also noticed Wei Chen beside him and couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Wei Chen smiled and waved to him, then pointed outside the hospital. Chen Jun immediately nodded in understanding.
So Wei Chen no longer lingered, and after taking a look at Meng Tong who was studying seriously in the room, he turned around and strode away.
Chen Jun's deep voice came from behind: "When you go back, you must memorize all the lessons taught today. Don't miss a word. I will come back in the next year..."
Wei Chen couldn't help but smile when he heard this, walked out of the courtyard and got into the carriage.
Not long after, the Meng children came out one after another after class, each looking for their mother, and each went back to his own home.
After all the Meng boys dispersed, Chen Jun exchanged a few words with the gentleman sitting in the Yixue Hall, and then went out and got on Wei Chen's carriage.
When Chen Jun saw Wei Chen, he said angrily: "Master Zhizhou is busy with official duties and has many things to do. How can he have the leisure and elegance to come to inspect this small volunteer school today?"
Wei Chen put on a straight face and pretended to be serious: "Every year, the state government invests thousands of taels of silver in volunteer schools. As the magistrate of the state, of course I have to come and take a look, so as to save you corrupt officials from taking all the money."
Put it in your pocket!"
"I don't dare, sir! Please be careful, Lord Zhizhou!" Chen Jun looked frightened and pretended to bow to Wei Chen, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Wei Chen also laughed heartily.
The two met in humble beginnings and already had a very close friendship. Privately, Wei Chen never treated Chen Jun as a subordinate. It was normal for them to joke and joke with each other.
"Seriously."
Chen Jun coughed lightly and said seriously: "You ordered the popularization of free education in Yuzhou, but many people are waiting to see the joke!"
"Who is there?"
Wei Chen asked with interest.
He knew that before Chen Jun took office as the magistrate of Xinzheng County, he had observed government affairs in the governor's office and had accumulated some connections during this period, so he was quite well-informed.
"Prefect Bai from the neighboring prefecture."
Chen Jundao: "I heard that he made a statement in front of the governor a few days ago, saying that this year's Yuzhou Boy Examination did not admit one more person than before. It shows that your great initiative to promote free education is of no use to education, and it is just a waste of money and food."<
/p>
"Absurd!"
Wei Chen was so angry that he laughed.
What kind of bullshit reason is this?
There are quotas for the number of people admitted to the children's examinations in various places. What does it have to do with whether the education is good or not?
Moreover, Wei Chen spent great efforts to popularize free education in Yuzhou, with the purpose of allowing more people who cannot afford to read to receive the most basic education, just to make the people literate and arithmetic.
This is completely different from elite education, which aims at imperial examinations. How can they be generalized?
However, Wei Chen also understood in his heart that although Magistrate Bai's views were absurd, they would probably be recognized by many scholars and even officials.
Because in their understanding, studying is to obtain fame, and obtaining fame is to become an official. Otherwise, it is all crooked ways.
That's why Wei Chen's move attracted criticism.
Wei Chen immediately asked: "What is the attitude of the governor?"
Chen Jundao: "The governor didn't say much, but according to the inference from my good friend in the government office, the governor seemed to agree with Bai Zhifu's words in his heart, but he just didn't show it."
To put it bluntly, although Yuzhou’s treasury has been enriched bit by bit through Wei Chen’s methods, this is all due to the state
Taxes, every sum of money spent will see results.
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Wei Chen's large-scale river construction project cost several times more than before, but at least the embankment was there and it blocked this year's autumn floods. It was a great achievement.
However, after setting up a volunteer school, no results were seen for a while. When the governor learned about this, it was understandable that he would be dissatisfied.
If any other prefect had done this, I'm afraid Fuya would have sent a letter to question him. It's just that Wei Chen's good background and hard background made the governor much more tolerant of him, and he still hasn't to this day.
Bring this matter to the table.
However, criticism like that of Bai Zhifu is inevitable.
Wei Chen has his own way to advance, and these open and covert attacks in the officialdom cannot cause any substantial damage to him.
However, if we do not prove to everyone the significance of establishing free schools now, when Wei Chen leaves Yuzhou a few years ago and this policy is in the hands of his successors, it will inevitably be repeated.
Opponents will never listen to empty words such as "it takes ten years to grow trees and a hundred years to cultivate people" or "the success is in the present and the benefits will be in the future".
Only during the autumn period, when the number of scholars in Yuzhou increased significantly, could their mouths be silenced.
To be honest, there is no positive correlation between free studies and imperial examinations. Even if there is a positive correlation, it will only happen after the overall literacy rate improves many years later.
Wei Chen wanted to use the imperial examination results to prove the significance of establishing a free school, which was also a helpless move under the constraints of the times.
But Wei Chen is confident that he can raise the overall level of Yuzhou scholars to a higher level before the autumn of next August.
There is no other reason, just because he is Wei Chen, the most authoritative person in the entire Zhou Dynasty imperial examination.