History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 100 The Educational Gap Between Luoyang and the Old Capital
"Ow—"

"What's that noise?" The archery range and the drill ground are separated by a wall. The soldiers here had just assembled to prepare for their morning run when they heard a scream that sounded like a pig or a bear. Everyone looked at the top of the wall.

"It must be that Zhao Xiu! He deliberately injured our comrade again!"

"Why are we still doing exercises? Let's all go at it together and smash that little guy into a pulp!"

The soldiers were enraged, and the military officer in charge of the morning run was also resentful, so dozens of soldiers rushed towards the neighboring area together.

They had just reached the courtyard gate when a stretcher was carried out from inside. Xue Zhixiao had already fainted from the pain, and his fractured right forearm was being held by a military doctor as they hurried along on the stretcher.

The guards stopped in their tracks. "What's going on? Isn't that the Xue guy from Luoyang they're carrying?"

"I understand! It was just dogs fighting."

"Hiss—keep your voice down, don't let the registrar hear you."

"That's none of our business. Go back to your morning exercises."

In the training ground.

The Prefect Yuan, half-jokingly, reprimanded Zhao Zhi: "Don't you know to hold back? Don't you know that Warrior Xue was sent by the Crown Prince to do his bidding? Fighting..."

"Ahem!" Clerk Gou coughed. You dare try beating a dog?

Yuan Zhi stopped talking and vented his anger on Zhao Xiu: "Attendant Zhao, do you still want to compete?"

He then yelled at the registrar, "What are you standing there for? Go check if Xue Huben's arm can be saved!"

Zhao Xiu snorted and stood beside the high stone: "Of course we'll compare. Xue Zhixiao only got into the Tiger Guard because of his background, but I'm different. I got into the Eastern Palace based on my own strength! In front of the Crown Prince, that Xue fellow is even less worthy to compare with me!"

This fellow stared directly at Zhao Zhi: "And even if I'm not as strong as you, you're just a soldier... do you dare to break my arm? Hahahaha."

Zhao Zhi raised her arm. "Come."

Yuan Zhi's face twitched, and he called out to the registrar: "Are you really going to be so stupid as to go over there by yourself? Take her! Bring this troublemaker over to apologize."

He took their grain and silk, and in return, he helped them avoid trouble. Without saying a word, Clerk Gou came over, grabbed Zhao Zhi, and dragged her away.

Zhao Xiu: "Stop—stop! Stop..."

Yuan Zhi: "What are you standing for? It's just an arm wrestling match, I'll wrestle with you."

He stood where Zhao Zhi had been, raised his arm, and said in a cold and stern voice: "Even if I am not as strong as you, you, a mere servant... dare to break my arm?"

If you were to ask who in the entire prefecture was the best at setting bones, you would undoubtedly ask a prison clerk in the dungeon who specialized in dissecting and examining corpses. This minor official's surname was Guan, his given name was Xian, and his nickname was "Guan the Idler".

Xue Zhixiao was incredibly unlucky; he fell off the stretcher once while being carried into the dungeon. Guan Xian took over as the military doctor, and Zong Yin and a group of young men from Luoyang gathered around to watch Guan Xian set the bones.

"Ouch—" Xue Zhixiao fainted from the pain again.

Zong Yin asked, "Aren't you going to give them anesthetic?"

Guan Xian: "It's too late. If we wait for the anesthetic to take effect, his arm will be ruined."

Another boy surnamed Yuan said, "How could Zhao Xiu even hurt his own people?"

"Shh, don't talk nonsense. I get scared just hearing that person's name now."

Zong Yin stopped looking at the bone setting and walked to the side to complain: "It's so boring. Pingcheng is nowhere near as prosperous as Luoyang. Back in the dungeon, they won't let us see any of the case files, and they won't let us see the prisoners being interrogated. Sigh, I want to go back to Luoyang."

Yuan Xiaolang: "The old capital isn't inferior to Luoyang in everything. I heard from the officials who commended the new education commissioner that they came here because the old capital has far more private schools than Luoyang, and the same goes for renowned teachers." A young man surnamed Feng agreed: "Everyone says the court plans to build the Imperial Academy east of the Imperial Road and rebuild the Imperial Academy on its original site in the south of the city. Humph, there's not even a hint of construction yet. How can it compare to Pingcheng? Only the Imperial Ancestral Academy is impressive, but can people like us even get in?"

Yuan Xiaolang: "Let's not go back to the past. Just take the four primary schools for example. All we saw was that they marked out the land, and then nothing happened. And look at Pingcheng, as long as we go out in the morning, we can hear the sound of students reading everywhere. Sigh!"

While setting the bones, the prison warden Shi Guanxian interjected, "Then you should go and see Cui Academy. It should be today, right? They have a most famous academy for teaching and learning. They're going to go out of the city to teach poetry. It's not the master teaching, but each student in the academy will recite the Book of Poetry in the countryside."

"Huh? How old are the students learning poetry? They're already going out to teach?"

Guan Xian scoffed: "You guys don't even look at the elementary school exam papers we take every month in Pingcheng. If your peers in Luoyang were in that situation, they'd probably all hand in blank papers."

"Bullshit!" Xue Zhixiao woke up and glared angrily at the official.

At half past dawn, the sound of reading aloud could be heard again in every corner of Pingcheng.

The Book of Poetry, the Analects, the Erya, the Classic of Filial Piety, the Spring and Autumn Annals...

Wei Xue Guan (尉学馆).

After the first class, Wei Jing asked Wei Mao, "Are you leaving or not? I'll go with you to see Yao off."

Wei Mao glanced at him: "Not sulking anymore?"

Because Wei Jing missed the big hunt, he immediately pouted and turned his face away when he saw him at the school this morning. Wei Mao, who was not used to Wei Jing, also ignored him.

Fortunately, Wei Jing came to his senses. "Forget it, it's all in the past. I only blame myself for not doing well on the exam."

Wei Mao nodded and answered his companion's earlier question: "We won't see him off. News of Xunyi Academy's travels and lectures has already spread. Many academies that don't usually hear famous teachers lecturing must have gone along. Even if we rush over, we might not see our fellow student Yao."

Wei Jing: "That's true. Do you know why Zhen asked for leave today? She went to see Bu Yanzhen off. Do you remember Bu Yanzhen? He's from the Bu Family Academy, which isn't far from us. Some of their students are going out with Cui Academy."

Actually, it wasn't that Wei Mao didn't want to see her off; he longed to see Wei Yao, desperately so. Ever since they parted ways at Junji Mountain, he had thought about her every single day. This had gone beyond the bonds of camaraderie among fellow disciples. It was precisely because he was so aware of and certain of the abnormality of this feeling that he began to consider what to do in the future.
Indulging in one's own willfulness?
Can this be allowed to continue for a few more years?

Furthermore, Wei Yao's pursuit of academic excellence has surpassed his own, even if he were to work at full speed. Is she so diligent because she has ideals?
What is her ideal?
He dared not ask, and besides, the cunning Wei Yao would not tell him.

Wei Jing waved his hand twice in front of Wei Mao's eyes: "Mao, what's wrong with you? You seem like a completely different person."

“Ah Jing, I have something to tell you. From now on, I won’t play around except for practicing riding and archery. Look at Yao, she’s already able to go out and give lectures on her own merits. What about us? Our knowledge is falling further and further behind hers. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to catch up with her.”

"I also have something to tell you. I don't plan to stay in Pingcheng anymore. After the summer exams, I'll go to Shuozhou to find my father. I like riding horses, learning martial arts, and traveling around to make friends. I don't like being confined to a narrow schoolhouse to study poetry."

"Having knowledge is a skill, but being good at riding and archery and being good at socializing are also skills."

People always have to part ways when they grow up, Wei Mao added in his heart, except for husband and wife.

At noon, at Cui Academy.

The choir received word that any pageboys willing to accompany the students on their excursion to the school should meet at the road outside the school within two quarters of an hour. However, the pageboys would have to walk alongside the carriages for the entire trip and would also have to assist the students with tasks such as organizing and storing stationery and notes.

"That sounds nice, but they really treat us like servants! I'm not going," Xu Jiaoqing scoffed.

A young man chimed in, “I won’t go either. I’ll be away for a month, and half of that will be spent on the road. I won’t be able to attend the lectures. The Xunyi Academy is good, but the other academies that teach poetry are just as good.”

Hu Wuwu: "I'm going!"

The earliest written record of the completion of the Imperial Academy in Luoyang during the Northern Wei Dynasty is from "the second year of Zheng Guang (521 AD)," while the novel places it in 498 AD. The completion date of the Imperial Academy in Luoyang is roughly the same as that of the Imperial Academy. [Due to plot requirements, the novel may make changes to the historical details regarding the Imperial Academy in Luoyang. Please do not take historical inaccuracies too seriously.]

The completion time of "Simen Primary School (Shuxiao Primary School at Simen)" can be found in the edict of Emperor Xuanwu (the current Crown Prince Yuan Ke in the novel), who ordered in the first year of Yanchang (512) that "the Imperial Academy and Simen Primary School shall be completed by the end of next spring".

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(End of this chapter)