Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 288: Unity of Knowledge and Action
"I really didn't expect that the Qiufu Rebellion would last for a whole year."

"In addition, Gao Pian has been appointed as the governor of Dongchuan. It seems that Cui Shenyou has made our supreme ruler very angry."

"Bai Minzhong wants to drag down Nanzhao step by step. This is a good idea."

"It seems that the imperial court will not be able to cause us any trouble in the short term..."

As the winter solstice approached, Liu Jilian was reading the intelligence from the Chang'an Jinzouyuan that had just been urgently delivered to him on horseback, and could not help but comment on it.

He is currently on his way to the Phoenix Mountain National Cemetery, but today he is not going to pay tribute to the soldiers, but to let those sacrificed soldiers see what the sharp blade he has been sharpening for five years looks like.

"Marshal Jie, we're here!"

When Zhang Chang's voice came, Liu Jilong turned over and dismounted, looking up at the National Cemetery.

The once chaotic Phoenix Mountain has now been well managed with blue bricks, stone carvings and garden techniques.

As craftsmen from Jiannan Road continued to flee to Longyou, several major buildings of the National Funeral Cemetery were rebuilt using the latest craftsmanship.

Several buildings appear taller and more massive, and the number of martyrs' tombstones on the mountain has increased from more than a thousand in the past to more than five thousand today.

Five thousand three hundred and seventy-nine, to be exact.

"Don't you see, the army of the Han Dynasty is over, and the weak crowns are tied to the prisoners, please grow tassels."

"Have you not seen Ban Dingyuan, the light cavalry of the remote region, urging the battle clouds?"

"A man should take danger seriously, so he won't let his scholarly attitude ruin his life."

"Besides, the country is in danger, and the imperial edicts are being sent without stopping!"

"I throw away my old plow, put on my war collar, call on the hundred thousand soldiers in Helong, sing the war song and join the army."

"Clear the dust of the barbarians, and sweep away the evil slaves regardless of my own life..."

The military song is loud and clear. Although it has been revised twice, its original meaning remains unchanged.

Fifty-two students wearing battle jackets stood under the banner of the Longyou Army, looking firmly at Liu Jilian and the 5,379 tombstones behind him.

"salute--"

The uniform bowing movements are pleasing to the eye.

However, facing them, Liu Jilong felt mixed emotions.

These are the students he has taught in Zhumen for five years. Even if some of them will be contaminated by the world in the future, at least at this moment they are like the rising sun.

“I once said in class that without investigation, there is no right to speak.”

“But now I need to add that if you don’t do a proper investigation, you also have no right to speak.”

Liu Jilong's voice was not loud, but all 52 students could hear it.

Their ages range from seventeen to twenty years old. Compared with the twenty-seven-year-old Liu Jilong, they are still full of vigor and vitality.

Looking at them, some scenes from his past life would flash through Liu Jilong's mind from time to time.

Although productivity was not up to par and the background of the times did not allow it, he always believed that the most useful of all the memories he brought was not knowledge such as gunpowder and history, but thoughts and will.

Why are there so many corrupt officials in Longyou nowadays?
This is not only due to poor supervision and imperfect rules, but more to ideological problems.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong took a deep breath, continued to look at the students and said:
"Although you have learned a lot of knowledge now, it is only theoretical after all."

“If you haven’t investigated or experienced a certain issue, you have no right to speak on it.”

"Longyou is still far from a place where everyone has land to farm and meat to eat."

"Now that you have finished learning the theory in class, it is almost time for you to go out and experience real life."

"I will send you to Liangzhou and start as farmers in the countryside."

"At least two years of peasant life, two years of grassroots soldier life and two years of straightforward life."

"If you all understood their lives, I believe you would have better ways than me to improve their lives and solve their problems."

Liu Jilong didn't have much time to spend with the people because there were too many things to do.

Although he asked the people of Longyou what problems they needed to solve, they always talked about things happening right now.

These things are the disease, not the cause.

He can cure the disease, but if the root cause is not resolved, the disease will remain.

"I have great confidence in you. You are not those kids who grew up eating candy. You have all experienced the period of Tibetan rule and have suffered."

"I hope that decades later, when I look back at you, you will still be as upright as you are today."

"But I also know that this is impossible. There will always be people among you who lean towards their own interests. But I still hope that you remember how you suffered in the past."

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, the fifty-two students bowed in return without anyone saying anything.

After Liu Jilong left, they began to burn incense to the 5,379 martyrs in the cemetery.

Among these tombstones, some are their uncles, brothers, and even fathers, and there are also students who have nothing to do with these martyrs.

But no matter what, now that they have learned it, it is reasonable and moral for them to burn three incense sticks to this group of people.

"Marshal Ji, there are only so many of them. Why did you spend five years teaching at the university just for them?"

Standing behind Liu Jilong, Zhang Chang was very confused.

In his opinion, there seemed to be no difference between this group of people and the one they were currently using.

"A single spark can start a prairie fire."

“Everything is difficult at the beginning, but once you take the first step, the rest of the journey will be easier.”

Liu Jilong was very confident. To him, this was progress.

Even if things don't turn out as planned, at least the seeds have been planted.

"Marshal Jie, I am actually very curious about what you just said about not having investigated and having no right to speak."

Cao Mao, who was standing behind Liu Jilong and walking slowly, couldn't help but speak, and Liu Jilong also said:

"You have read a lot of books in recent years. Do you remember what Cao Cao said about Emperor Xian of Han?"

Cao Mao thought without hesitation: "Of course I remember... Born in the deep palace, raised by women."

Liu Jilong nodded and praised him, "Not bad. Since you can say this immediately, it means that you have not read the book in vain."

After praising them, he looked at the group of young people who were burning incense, took a deep breath and said:

"Coming from Hexi, we also experienced ten years of war. Now that we have finally achieved some peace, many older officials have begun to pave the way for their children."

"But most of their children are also 'Emperor Xian of Han'. They were born in the deep palace, raised by women, and spoiled from childhood. They are flowers that cannot endure hardship."

"If they were just mediocre, like Adou, I wouldn't worry about it."

"Although Adou was a bit cowardly in his later years, he didn't have any major problems in his early years."

"But if it were cruel people like Liu Ziye and Liu Yu, the people would suffer a lot after they gained power."

Cao Mao was ashamed. He had read a lot of books, so he naturally knew who Liu Ziye and Liu Yu were and what they had done.

"Marshal Jie, this is a bit too much. I've seen several primary schools in Linzhou, and they are mostly full of innocent children, without any..."

"No?" Liu Jilong interrupted him and asked:
"Linzhou now has 22 primary schools, distributed in 22 districts."

"If you have really been there, then tell me, what are the differences between the elementary school students in these twenty-two districts?"

"This..." Cao Mao hesitated. It's not that he didn't know, but he didn't know how to say it.

However, his hesitation made Zhang Chang excited. Zhang Chang thought he didn't understand, so he quickly showed off:

"Marshal Jie, I know about this."

"When I went to Linzhoufang with Gao Changshi a few days ago, he was still worried about this matter!"

Zhang Chang was overjoyed, and Liu Jilong also asked, "What did he say?"

"He said that many generals nowadays, even though they are serving in other states, still want to send their children to Didao to study."

"There are twenty-two districts in Didao City, and the number of students in each district is between two hundred and three hundred."

"However, the number of students in primary schools such as Linzhoufang, Weizhoufang, and Lanzhoufang is basically around 1,000 each, so we have to start expanding."

The three blocks mentioned by Zhang Chang are basically the blocks closest to the main gates of the Protectorate, County Government, and State Government.

Those who lived in these districts were either relatives of martyred officials of the rank of lieutenant or above, or officials of official rank in the city and their families.

Each of the three wards has nearly 400 households and 2,000 to 3,000 people. If there are 1,000 teenagers aged 7 to 11 living in each ward, the population of the ward must be at least 10,000.

The current population of students in Fangxue are basically students sent by powerful officials in various states and counties.

These students had never interacted with the children of the common people in the schools in the prefectures and counties. It can be said that they were separated from the common people from the very beginning and became a group of powerful people with privileges and small circles.

If it is allowed to develop, factionalism will definitely emerge earlier than expected, and these connections cultivated since elementary school will become a mountain that is difficult to cut off in a few decades.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said in a deep voice:

"Pass on my military order, summon all the military, town, state, and county officials above the seventh rank to the Protectorate for a meeting on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month."

There are still twenty days left until the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. Taking into account the news sent by the light cavalry, twenty days is enough time for the officials to gather in the Protectorate.

There are twenty days left, which is enough for them to go back and celebrate the New Year.

"Marshal Jie, is the commotion so big?"

Zhang Chang was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his casual words would cause such a big commotion.

After hearing this, Liu Jilong shook his head and said, "This noise is not that big at all. Pass the order."

"Yes..." Cao Mao bowed in response, and Liu Jilian also walked towards the students who had finished burning incense.

Seeing him leave, Zhang Chang immediately hugged Cao Mao and said, "You bastard, did you know that this would cause such a big noise, so you didn't say anything?"

"Brother, you also know..." Cao Mao was helpless.

"Why didn't you stop me?" Zhang Chang was anxious, but Cao Mao was also speechless.

"With your speed, how can I stop you?"

"I glared at you so many times, but you just kept talking."

Zhang Chang looked constipated when he heard this, and then he said: "In fact, what the general said is not wrong. Look at Ma Yi and his friends. Didn't they also grow up studying with the children of the people?"

"Look now, isn't he taught well?"

He motioned Cao Mao to look at Ma Yi among the fifty-two students. Ma Yi was five feet six or seven inches tall, which was considered tall in that era.

Although his skin was dark, his facial features were firm enough and his eyes were bright, so he could be considered to have some good looks.

Ma Yi mingled among the students and communicated with them. He had none of the temper of the young masters that Zhang Chang had seen in Linzhoufang.

"I said that they were all taught by Marshal Ji, so why are you hiding your secrets?"

Cao Mao was still looking at Ma Yi, but was teased by Zhang Chang again.

He has become accustomed to this. After all, these people were the brothers who took care of him in the past. So how could it be considered a joke if they teased him?
"I have to be careful about what I say now..."

Cao Mao looked towards Zhang Chang dimly, and Zhang Chang then realized that Cao Mao also served as the chief envoy of the Censorate.

"If I had said what I said today, I think most of the officials in the government would hate me, but it's different for you."

Cao Mao explained: "After all, you have a high prestige. Even if Brother Li and the others heard that you said this, they would at most scold you. But if it were me, I'm afraid they wouldn't talk to me..."

A bitter smile gradually appeared on his face, and Zhang Chang also said silently: "Li Ji and his men have indeed made a lot of small moves in recent years. After all, no one wants their descendants to suffer the same fate as they did in the past."

"Did they tell you that?" Cao Mao reacted quickly. As soon as he heard it, he knew that someone had talked to Zhang Chang.

Zhang Chang realized it later and waved his hand quickly, saying, "I'm just guessing. Don't think too much about it."

Cao Mao gave him a meaningful look, which made Zhang Chang feel creepy.

He wanted to say something, but at this time Liu Jilong and the students started to go down the mountain, so he had no choice but to follow the team.

The team walked down the mountain, and many people were already waiting at the foot of the mountain.

Among them were officials who came in horse-drawn carriages and generals who came on horseback, but more were ordinary people.

Most of the people who can live in Linzhou are not from ordinary backgrounds.

Therefore, officials, generals and common people could still chat together.

However, once you leave Linzhou and go to places with huge status differences, I'm afraid you won't see such scenes.

After Liu Jilong and his companions came down the mountain, all the people present bowed to them, most of them were the parents of the students behind Liu Jilong.

"Remember to gather at the north gate of Didao at noon on the 20th day of the first lunar month."

Liu Jilong gave some instructions to the students, turned around, mounted his horse and left.

Zhang Chang and Cao Mao hurriedly followed, leading more than a hundred elite cavalry to escort Liu Jilian back to Linzhou.

Since it was already winter, the area inside and outside Didao City was already covered with white snow.

Even so, there are still thousands of people reclaiming wasteland and restoring arable land outside the city.

"It's so cold, many of our officials have to use coal to keep warm even though they have fire walls. Look at these people."

Liu Jilong reined in his horse and motioned Cao Mao and the others to look at the people. Although the people were wearing cotton clothes, it was obvious how hard it was for them to work in such weather.

Because work was required all year round in the Protectorate, state government, county government, etc., fire walls and heated beds were built at the beginning of construction.

The so-called fire wall is a hollow structure connected to the stove outside the house. It uses the principle of rising hot air to heat the room and create a "greenhouse" environment.

This kind of existence had become the mainstream method for nobles to keep warm in the pre-Qin period.

After the Han Dynasty, people used the warm currents from the fire walls to warm the vegetables in the sheds, and covered them with straw to keep them warm, so that they could eat out-of-season vegetables in the winter.

If these methods were used in the past, they would have certainly been lost in the Helong area.

However, with the continuous influx of population into Jiannan Road, many skilled craftsmen were also given important positions.

As for the elderly craftsmen, Liu Jilong gathered them together and called upon some interested elementary school graduates to learn from them.

Younger craftsmen are directly involved in the labor.

Although the two had different working methods, their wages were the same, 50 strings of cash per year, and they also enjoyed the benefits of public land.

Of course, this kind of treatment is only available to craftsmen with special skills. Not every craftsman can get an annual salary of 50 guan.

In addition to bringing fire wall skills, craftsmen from Jiannan Road also brought skills such as ice houses, shipbuilding, and building houses and pavilions.

Compared with the Helong craftsmen who have lost their skills, their skills are truly ingenious.

However, these exquisite craftsmanship are not for serving themselves, but for serving the officials.

Liu Jilong was also one of them, but he knew that he could enjoy these things because of the craftsmen, so he respected the craftsmen very much.

However, many officials did not take it seriously. They only knew how to enjoy themselves and complain, but did not think about what they were like when they were slaves in the past.

"Jie Shuai! Jie Shuai!!"

Suddenly, there was a sound of commotion in the fields in the distance.

"General, I told you not to stay too long. When the people see you, they don't want to work anymore."

Zhang Chang couldn't help laughing, but Liu Jilong said with a smile: "Then if I come a few more times, can they also rest?"

After he finished speaking, Liu Jilong said, "The output of coal has increased in the past two years. What are the prices we get for grain and coal?"

Zhang Chang obviously couldn't answer this question, so he had to rely on Cao Mao to answer:
"The price for buying grain is still 480 coins per dan, 4 coins per jin."

"The current price of coal is 100 coins per 100 catties. Basically, if you sell one dan of grain, you can buy 480 catties of coal."

"The prices of various things have also changed. During the New Year holidays, you can go to the East and West Market to have a look."

As more and more copper coins flowed into Longyou, Liu Jilian also opened up many things.

But in general, Longyou is still mainly government-run.

From firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea to furniture, ironware, houses and livestock and poultry, all these things were sold and purchased in government-run shops.

In Longyou, the price of coal is indeed very low, after all, many counties and cities have coal mines.

But if we look at the whole world, the price of coal cannot be so low, because as the territory expands, the freight becomes higher.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilian waved to the people in the distance.

Seeing this, the people raised their hands high and waved them vigorously.

After a few breaths, Liu Jilong shook the reins and walked towards Didao City.

But before Cao Mao could even breathe a sigh of relief, Liu Jilong continued:

"No need to wait until the New Year, let's go to the East and West Markets now."

(End of this chapter)