I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 150 Shen the Skinflint is Online! Classes Away from the Library and in the Wild

It was late at night on the seventh day of the fifth lunar month.

Inside the Hanlin Academy's Shuchang Hall, the residence of the Shuji (probationary officials) and other junior scholars.

Of the twenty-eight junior scholars, twenty-two had not slept.

Some people are sitting at desks with three lit candles, writing furiously; some are standing in the backyard, muttering to themselves; and some are talking quietly to a tree with exaggerated expressions…

Tomorrow morning, it will be the turn of Shen Nian, a Hanlin Academy Reader, to come to the Shuchang Hall to give a lecture to them.

These people were all prepared to have a heated debate with Shen Nian.

Since the time when a hundred schools of thought discussed politics.

The spirit of debate revived in the Ming Dynasty, and students showed great interest in discussing politics.

Now, these junior scholars, as prospective officials, enjoy the right to participate in politics and all want to share Shen Niandao's dream of governing the country and saving the nation.

Most of these people were older than Shen Nian, but they were all novices in officialdom.

Early career in officialdom.

Their career aspirations were almost all the same: to serve the emperor like Yao and Shun, and to have their names recorded in history.

However, after one to three years in office, most people's dream becomes: the officialdom is treacherous, and it's safe to make a profit.

This is true for almost every session.

There is another reason why these junior scholars want to show off in front of Shen Nian.

Stay in the library.

After graduation, some of the probationary scholars were able to stay in the academy and become Hanlin officials, while others would become officials such as the Six Ministries Censor, Imperial Censor, Principal of the Six Ministries, Prefect, and Judge.

The brightest career prospect was to become a Hanlin Academy official.

Shen Nian is the best example.

He rose from a third-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Longqing reign to become a Hanlin Academy lecturer and a close advisor to the emperor, holding the sixth rank.

His future is very promising.

If one can argue until Shen Nian is speechless or get Shen Nian to praise them, their future career will be much smoother.

……

On the eighth day of the fifth month, at the fourth watch of the night, in the residence of the junior officials.

As the scholars gradually rose from their seats, several clerks carried several large bamboo baskets into the courtyard of the official residence.

Inside the bamboo basket were coarse cloth clothes and cloth shoes.

When the junior scholars got up and saw this scene, they all looked puzzled.

at this time.

Shen Nian, dressed in official robes, strode over.

"Students pay their respects to Instructor Shen!" The junior scholars bowed and shouted in unison.

Most of the junior scholars were older than Shen Nian, but in officialdom, what mattered was official rank and seniority.

Shen Nian looked at everyone and said loudly, "Everyone, these are the clothes I have prepared for you. Please change into them. The following lessons will not be held in the academy but in the field."

"Not in the officialdom, but out in the countryside?"

The junior scholars stared blankly at the clean clothes in the bamboo basket, clothes that even their pageboys wouldn't deign to wear.

Standing at the front, Zhang Dingsi, a junior scholar, couldn't help but ask, "Instructor Shen, what's the purpose of wearing this uniform?"

"You'll find out soon enough! Change your clothes quickly and then gather outside the main gate. Anyone who doesn't want to change can simply submit a departure document," Shen Nian said solemnly before walking straight outside.

Shen Nian had a great deal of decision-making power over whether a junior scholar should stay or leave the academy.

Immediately.

The junior scholars changed into coarse cloth clothes and cloth shoes, and then walked towards the gate.

……

A moment later, outside the east gate of the Hanlin Academy.

Eight carriages were lined up and parked outside.

Shen Nian looked at the junior scholars dressed in coarse cloth and called out loudly, "Four people per carriage, get in quickly!"

Immediately, the junior scholars quickly boarded the carriages, while Shen Nian boarded the last carriage.

A moment later, eight carriages headed east along Chang'an Avenue.

At this time.

The other three instructors from the Shuchang Hall, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Wang Tang, appeared at the main gate, looking at the eight carriages that were going further and further away.

Shen Shixing stroked his beard and said with a smile, "I'm afraid only Ziheng could have come up with this idea. I didn't expect His Majesty and the four Grand Secretaries to all agree!"

"Haha, this is a very unconventional move. These people are in for a tough time. Once they return, they'll probably study diligently!" Wang Tang said.

Wang Xijue said, "Why don't we give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shixing scoffed and said, "If you want to go, you go. If I go and they make me do a demonstration, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"

Say it.

Shen Shixing looked up at the blazing sun, wiped the sweat from his face, and walked toward the Academic Hall where ice had just been placed the day before.

……

More than half an hour later.

Eight carriages, escorted by several Imperial Guards, headed east, out of the outer city of the capital, and then turned south.

Inside the carriage.

Many of the junior scholars looked bewildered, wondering what Shen Nian was up to.

And this moment.

Shen Nian changed into a very loose and comfortable casual dress inside the carriage.

Then he took out two large plates of pastries and two dishes of dried fruit that Aji had prepared for him from the brocade box next to him, and ate them with the cold tea in his bag.

The following tasks require a lot of physical exertion, so you need to be well-fed and hydrated to have the energy to do them.

In the blink of an eye, more than half an hour had passed.

Eight horse-drawn carriages turned from the wide official road onto a country lane, going further and further astray.

Not long after.

The roadside was already lined with golden wheat fields.

It is currently the busy farming season, and farmers can be seen everywhere in the wheat fields bending over to harvest wheat.

Fifteen minutes later, the eight carriages finally came to a stop.

In front of the first carriage stood a stone tablet with four large characters engraved on it: Banqiao Huangzhuang.

Banqiao is a place name, named after an ancient bridge not far away.

The so-called imperial estates were the land owned by the emperor.

These fields belonged to the emperor's private property and were managed by eunuchs from the inner court. They were not subject to interference from local officials, and the harvest, after deducting the tenant farmers' share, went entirely to the imperial treasury.

After Shen Nian got off the carriage, the twenty-eight junior scholars also got off.

At this time.

A middle-aged eunuch trotted up to Shen Nian and said, "Shen Nian, after receiving the order yesterday, we have made all the arrangements overnight!"

Say it.

The middle-aged eunuch pointed to the sickles, carrying poles, baskets, ropes and other farm tools placed on the ridge of the field not far away, as well as more than ten yellow oxen pulling a flatbed cart.

Shen Nian nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "Master Ma, well done."

"Line up!" Shen Nian shouted.

Upon hearing the order, the twenty-eight junior scholars immediately stood in four rows in front of Shen Nian.

Shen Nian smiled and looked at everyone.

"Gentlemen, with the special permission of the four Grand Secretaries and His Majesty's approval, I hereby order you to have your first lesson as the Wheat Harvesting Lesson."

"Next, you will be responsible for harvesting one hundred acres of wheat fields. You must complete the harvest within three days and transport the wheat to the threshing ground five miles ahead. You may work independently or cooperate as a team. I will calculate your performance based on your results!"

The reason it is one hundred acres is because...

This is because a young and middle-aged farmer can harvest a maximum of two mu per day, while these people can only harvest a little over one mu.

Shen Nian uses their limits as the standard.

Shen Nian glanced at the blazing sun in the sky.

"Later, farmers will teach you how to do it step by step, and after you have had a good meal, it will officially begin at noon."

"For the next three days, you will eat, drink, relieve yourself, and sleep all here until the mission is completed!"

After Shen Nian finished speaking, all the junior scholars were dumbfounded.

Cao Yipeng, the junior scholar standing closest to Shen Nian, couldn't help but cup his hands and say, "Instructor Shen, what wrong have we done to deserve such punishment? Have any junior scholars in previous years ever harvested wheat? Such a simple task, and you're making us do it? This... isn't this a waste of time and an insult to us?"

Some officials in the Ming Dynasty placed great importance on rank and hierarchy.

They felt it was an insult to send a junior scholar to harvest wheat.

They studied hard so that they could leave that farmland.

Shen Nian looked at him and said coldly, "If you are unwilling to do it, you can submit your departure document. Of course, you can also take advantage of the fact that your status as a junior official has not yet been revoked and submit a memorial to impeach me!"

"This student...this student dares not!" Cao Yipeng quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

At this time.

Zhang Sixiu suddenly spoke up: "Instructor Shen, I think this is a great idea. It can test our endurance, and I'm willing to do it!"

Although Zhang Sixiu had never harvested wheat before, he was full of confidence in himself and very interested in trying it.

At this moment, another junior scholar spoke up: "Instructor Shen, you said you would teach us how to harvest wheat. I wonder if you know how?"

These cunning young scholars all turned their gazes toward Shen Nian.

Shen Nian had already guessed that this question would be asked, as had Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue, and Wang Tang.

The latter dared not come because they did not know how, while Shen Nian had practiced when she was seventeen or eighteen.

His father said that harvesting wheat could relieve stress, which led Shen Nian to harvest wheat for five consecutive days in the fields for three consecutive years.

Of course, for Shen Nian, who spends all day studying or attending classes at a private school, it does reduce stress.

Seeing the eager expressions on the faces of the group of junior scholars who wanted to see him make a fool of himself, Shen Nian smiled and said, "Later, after the wheat harvesting class begins, I'll set an example for you!"

……

After a while.

Several fast and experienced farmers began to teach these junior scholars how to harvest wheat and use various farm tools.

The junior scholars were all intelligent people; they understood things quickly and soon felt that they were capable of doing the job.

Near noon.

Ma Zhuangtou quickly approached Shen Nian and said, "Instructor Shen, dinner is ready!"

Shen Nian glanced at the increasingly scorching sun in the sky and shouted to the assembled scholars, "Dinner is served!"

The junior scholars were all very excited.

The food provided by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices at the Shuchangguan was excellent, and today, with physical labor to be done, the food will certainly be even better.

But when they saw today's lunch, they couldn't help but grimac.

Two wild vegetable dumplings per person, plus a bowl of cold noodle soup.

And you can't take more than that.

Feng Mengzhen, who always loves wine and meat, held a rough porcelain bowl containing two bunches of wild vegetables and looked at the farmers distributing lunch.

"Is there no meat at all? Without meat, how can we have the strength to harvest wheat!"

At this time.

Ma Ban Tou, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "Yes, to welcome you all, I specially instructed the cook to put pork cracklings in the wild vegetable dumplings. They're delicious!"

"Really?"

Feng Mengzhen picked up the wild vegetable ball and took a bite, immediately feeling a bitter taste fill her mouth.

The wild vegetable ball contained no wild vegetable leaves, only wild vegetable stems.

Pork cracklings are very greasy, which makes the taste very strange.

Just as Feng Mengzhen was about to spit it out, he suddenly saw Shen Nian appear in front of him.

Feng Mengzhen had no choice but to grit her teeth and eat it.

He was straightforward, arrogant, and haughty in front of other junior scholars, but he had no temper in front of Shen Nian.

"Gentlemen, you'd better swallow this, or the next meal won't be until dark!"

After Shen Nian finished speaking, she found a shady spot under a tree and lay down on a large chair.

He had already eaten pastries and dried fruit, and drunk herbal tea, so he wasn't hungry at all. He could go to the carriage to eat when he got hungry.

He made these people suffer, while he himself didn't have to suffer.

Shen Nian ordered the junior scholars to come here to harvest wheat.

It was not to punish them, to make them do hard labor, or to tell them that food was hard to come by.

Rather, he wanted them to experience the hardships of tenant farmers and, incidentally, to teach these arrogant young scholars how to work together, otherwise the following lessons would be impossible.

……

Soon, it was noon.

The junior scholars, each holding a sickle and with bamboo baskets hanging from their waists, were ready.

The sickle is used to cut the wheat stalks and ears of wheat, then the wheat stalks are bundled into sheaves, and the ears of wheat are placed in bamboo baskets.

Once the bamboo baskets were full of wheat ears, they were poured onto oxcarts on the ridges of the fields and then taken to the threshing ground.

The wheat sheaves were placed in deep bamboo baskets, carried by a shoulder pole to the threshing ground, and piled up as fuel for a fire.

at the same time.

Shen Nian also held a sickle and had a bamboo cage hanging from her waist.

He shouted, "Anyone who thinks they're good at harvesting wheat, step forward and have a contest with me!"

Almost in the blink of an eye, two junior scholars stepped forward.

One is Tang Xianzu, and the other is Li Zhi.

The fact that these two dared to step forward clearly indicates they had experience harvesting wheat.

Immediately, the three of them stood in front of three adjacent rows of wheat fields.

There is a mark fifty paces directly ahead; the first person to return to the starting point from there is the winner.

The foreman, Bao, shouted loudly, "Begin!"

Immediately, Tang Xianzu and Li Zhi bent down and began cutting the wheat.

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Shen Nian looked at them with a smile.

The two had standard postures, but were very unskilled, which made them very slow.

After giving the two a ten-breath pause, Shen Nian bent down and began to make her move.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Shen Nian used one hand to sweep the wheat ears and the other hand to use a sickle to harvest all the wheat ears into the bamboo basket. Then he pressed down with his hand to cut the wheat stalks at the root and bundled them into a ball.

The movements were incredibly smooth!

Swish!Swish!Swish!
Before long, Shen Nian quickly overtook the two of them and then visibly widened the distance between them.

The group of junior scholars stared in disbelief.

Unexpectedly, Shen Nian, the son of a businessman, who had been pampered since childhood, had actually studied this.

Those who had intended to mock Shen Nian, the junior scholar, were clearly going to be disappointed.

soon.

Shen Nian harvested the wheat at the marked spot on the field, then quickly turned back and brought all the wheat ears and straw back to the ridge.

"So, is there anyone better than me? Can I teach you how to harvest wheat?" Shen Nian said, puffing out her chest.

Although the scholars felt they were not as capable as Shen Nian, they were still somewhat unconvinced.

He immediately grabbed a sickle and went into the wheat field to harvest it quickly.

Harvesting wheat seems simple.

In reality, practice makes perfect; if you're not familiar with something, you can only learn gradually.

After the scholars began their work, they discovered that they were far slower than Tang Xianzu and Li Zhi.

Within moments, someone had cut their hand.

In less than a quarter of an hour, two junior scholars were so exhausted that they sat on the ground, panting heavily.

It's the hottest time of day right now.

Even without doing anything, you can break a sweat, let alone having to work hard to harvest wheat.

About half an hour later.

All twenty-eight junior scholars sat panting in the wheat field, clearly too exhausted to continue.

Seeing Shen Nian's disdainful gaze, they soon regained their motivation.

After Feng Mengzhen, Zhuang Lüfeng, Tang Xianzu, Zhang Sixiu, Lü Xingzhou, and others were unable to wield their sickles, they immediately gathered for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.

This is why they were able to become Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and Shujishi (junior scholars).

When he found that his physical strength was not enough to sustain himself, he immediately started to use his brain.

About a quarter of an hour later.

The scholars and officials sprang into action once again.

This time, some people were responsible for bundling, some for harvesting, some for transporting, and some for delivering water. Then they took turns, which greatly improved efficiency.

……

As dusk falls, the sun gradually sets, and the sky slowly darkens.

Due to their limited physical strength, the young scholars all slowed down, and some even sat on the ground, unable to stand up at all.

The sweltering heat, the prickly feeling of the wheat awns, the exhaustion of wielding the sickle, and the stench of sweat all over their bodies had brought some of the junior scholars to the brink of collapse.

Shen Nian looked around, thinking that everyone had stopped, when the sound of sickles cutting wheat came again from the depths of the wheat field.

At the same time, a poem was also included.

"Farmers have few idle months, May is a time of great busyness. The south wind rises at night, the wheat fields turn golden, women and mothers carry baskets of food, children carry jugs of water..."

The person reciting the poem was Tang Xianzu, and he was reciting Bai Juyi's "Watching the Wheat Harvest".

He called out loudly, "Gentlemen, let's do more while it's still cool, otherwise we definitely won't be able to complete the mission!"

This poem stirred up some of the junior scholars again.

While working, he recited: "What merit have I now, that I have never toiled in the fields, yet I receive a salary of three hundred bushels of grain, and have surplus at the end of the year? Thinking of this, I feel ashamed, and cannot forget it all day long..."

Poetry was considered a minor skill in the imperial examinations, but it could replenish one's energy.

While everyone was reciting the poem, some people were keeping themselves going by chanting "Shen the Skinflint, Shen the Skinflint."

(End of this chapter)