Longzang

Chapter 471 Enlightening the People

In Yong'an City, a large courtyard was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and firecrackers were going off. A huge object, covered with silk brocade, stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Residents from the surrounding area flocked in, quickly crowding the nearby streets.

Many scholars stood inside the courtyard, curiously observing the residents outside, while the residents of the city also curiously observed them.

At that moment, a cannon shot rang out, signaling that the auspicious time had arrived.

Wei Yuan, accompanied by a middle-aged scholar, arrived through the air and landed at the courtyard gate. In the crowd, Li Zhi smiled and said to Zhang Sheng beside him, "It's Mr. Cai who has arrived."

Wei Yuan was accompanied by Cai Shizhi, who had a handsome face, looked to be around thirty years old, had clear eyes, and exuded composure and poise in every gesture.

Wei Yuan said, "The auspicious time has arrived. Please unveil the curtain, sir."

Cai Shizhi stepped aside, and he and Wei Yuan each stood on one side of the curtain. At the same time, they pulled down the silk brocade to reveal a large stone inside, with the four characters "Qingming Academy" written on it.

These four characters are vigorous and powerful, full of ancient charm, and give one a sense of the passage of time. They are truly a rare style of calligraphy. Seeing this, Wei Yuan felt a renewed desire to learn calligraphy, but alas, there is no shortcut to calligraphy, so he had to give up.

The stone tablet was revealed, and thunderous applause immediately erupted.

With such a momentous occasion as the establishment of Qingming Academy, all the cultivators from Taichu Palace were naturally present, and Li Zhi stood among them. He was tall and handsome, with a gentle and refined demeanor, yet his gaze was sharp as lightning, exuding a domineering aura that attracted attention wherever he stood.

At this time, Li Zhi recounted Cai Shizhi's life story to the monks of Taichu Palace and then answered their questions. Compared to the others, Li Zhi showed particular respect to Zhang Sheng, always answering Zhang Sheng's questions first.

After the unveiling, Cai Shizhi declared loudly: "The sage said, 'If you can improve yourself one day, improve yourself every day.' I, Cai, have brought my disciples here to enlighten the people and to ensure that the sage's teachings are passed on! The sage also said, 'Investigate things, extend knowledge, rectify the mind, make the will sincere, cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.' We should begin with investigating things and end with bringing peace to the world. Although this path is long, if we advance one step at a time, no effort will be wasted!"

After speaking for a few minutes, Cai Shizhi walked into the academy and began the formal selection of students.

Besides the academy, three schools were also opened in the city for literacy and early education. The academy, however, was for teaching the teachings of sages, and only those with a certain level of knowledge could attend.

A roster was already laid out in front of Cai Shizhi, containing the student candidates selected by the other disciples. At this moment, a dozen or so disciples were still struggling with the thick roster.

At this moment, a disciple exclaimed, "We've searched for so long, but we haven't seen a single scholar or a member of any aristocratic family."

Standing in the hall, Wei Yuan heard everything clearly and said, "When Qingming was first established, the people of the realm were all migrants from various places, and there were basically no scholars or aristocratic families among them."

His words were subtle, but Cai Shizhi understood perfectly. Who would willingly travel thousands of miles to a war-torn border region unless they were truly desperate to survive?
Another disciple then said, "There are also some families of officials, which is not bad."

Cai Shizhi frowned slightly and said, "Education should be provided to all without discrimination! Have you forgotten how I usually teach you?"

The students, however, did not simply agree obsequiously. Instead, they said, "Scholars from aristocratic families and descendants of officials are the fastest to teach. If we select them and teach them first, they can then go on to enlighten others. This does not contradict the principle of education for all."

Cai Shizhi was not angry at being contradicted by his disciple. He nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense."

He then said to Wei Yuan, "I am a disobedient disciple and have made a fool of myself in front of you, Lord Wei." Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Listen to all sides and you will be enlightened. You are able to practice the ways of the sages, and you are truly worthy of the name of a great Confucian scholar."

The two chatted for a while longer, and Wei Yuan took the opportunity to explain Qingming Academy's current system and the selection process for students to Cai Shizhi. With the opening of Qingming Academy and its affiliated schools, Wei Yuan took the opportunity to add a benefit for the common people: the right to enroll. Those below the commoner level were not allowed to enroll.

Cai Shizhi had no objection to this, but several students expressed their opinions, believing that the distinction was not detailed enough. They suggested that a "shi" (士) should be added between commoners and registered officials, and a "meritorious family" (勋贵世家) should be added above officials to make it complete.

They were just offering suggestions, and Wei Yuan was just listening.

Cai Shizhi put down the list in his hand, flew into the sky with Wei Yuan, and looked down at the entire Yong'an City. He then said, "I just traveled around the realm with Lord Wei. It is indeed magnificent and prosperous everywhere. My learning comes from the sages, but it is different from theirs. Enlightening the people is an important part of my studies. I hope to achieve something here with Lord Wei, so as not to waste my life's learning."

He suddenly sighed and said, "But this road is difficult, and I don't know if I can get through it."

Seeing his dejected expression, Wei Yuan asked him why.

Cai Shizhi gave a brief explanation, and Wei Yuan understood. The core issue was still what the use of enlightening the people was.

The outer world has long since reached a conclusion on this matter: the strategy of keeping the people ignorant is the root of all evil.

But things are not so simple in this world. Enlightening the people requires a huge expenditure, but the prosperity of the entire human race does not depend on mortals, but on high-level cultivators, or even, to put it more extremely, on immortals.

The number of Celestial Lords determines how much territory the human race can occupy and how many people it can have. Below the Celestial Lords, all are ants.

In the long run, the overall strength of the human race depends on the number of cultivators at the lower and middle levels, such as those at the Body Forging and Dao Foundation stages. It is a fact that the descendants of cultivators are significantly stronger than ordinary people.

Cultivators and mortals are practically two different species, so the laws of the nine kingdoms of the Great Tang Dynasty clearly stipulate that the Dao Foundation stage is the dividing line, and their rights are completely different. Simply put, if a Dao Foundation cultivator kills a mortal without cause, they only need to pay compensation.

Of course, the world is ever-changing, and there are no fixed rules. If a rogue cultivator were to kill the foolish son of a wealthy family, he would be hunted down to the ends of the earth, and the government would show no mercy in his pursuit. Once captured, he would often be executed first, without any chance to apply the law.

Therefore, the strength of the human race lies in cultivation. Even if a large number of mortals learn to read and write and awaken their intelligence, it is still useless, and they can only continue to cultivate those few acres of barren land.

This is why, despite traveling the world, Cai Shih-chih consistently failed to promote his ideas. In the eyes of many Confucian scholars at the Four Sages Academy, Cai Shih-chih was nothing more than a stubborn and eccentric individual seeking unorthodox paths. His approach to enlightening the people was predictable and utterly useless.

This is also why Cai Shizhi was willing to come to Qingming, a poor and remote place ravaged by war, to take charge of the academy. In other parts of the Nine Kingdoms, he probably wouldn't even be able to get through the gates of the prefectural governor.

Li Zhi knew that Cai Shizhi's ideas resonated with Wei Yuan's, so he recommended him, and Cai Shizhi readily agreed.

Cai Shizhi wanted to enlighten the people, while Wei Yuan wanted to make ordinary people's lives meaningful. The first priority for both was to enlighten the people. The two were in agreement on this point.

(End of this chapter)