Top Scholar

Chapter 499 The British

The British Duke's Mansion stands majestically in Tieshizi Hutong in Dongcheng District. A pair of imposing cast-iron lions guard the mansion, hence the name of the hutong.

Inside the magnificent seven-bay main hall, the beams are made of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the beams and pillars are carved and painted. A gilded plaque inscribed with "Shared Weal and Woe with the Nation" hangs high above.

Inside the hall, a bronze enamel incense burner emitted wisps of blue smoke. On a huge screen made of golden nanmu wood, the painting "The Pacification of Annam" was depicted, and in front of the screen, the throne of the Duke was covered with a black brocade rug.

On the east and west sides were rows of rosewood official hat chairs, where Zhang Yong and Su Lu sat and drank tea.

"Hahaha!" A hearty laugh came from behind the screen. Duke Zhang Mao of Yingguo greeted them with a beaming smile, "What wind has blown my father-in-law and the top scholar here?"

"Greetings, Your Excellency." Zhang Yong and Su Lu hurriedly rose and bowed.

"No need to be so polite, make yourself at home." Zhang Mao warmly invited the two to sit down, then sat down in his official's chair, smiling as he asked, "Have you eaten? How about we have a drink?"

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, I'm on duty right now, so I'll have to reschedule," Zhang Yong said with a smile.

"Oh, what's up?" Zhang Mao asked.

“There is an imperial edict.” Zhang Yong stood up and said solemnly.

Su Lu quickly got up as well.

"This old minister receives the decree! Long live the Emperor! Play and go to sleep!" The old Duke had lost several teeth, so his speech was a little lisp.

"The Duke of England, Zhang Mao, is hereby appointed as the instructor of the Dragon and Tiger Troupe, fully responsible for all teaching affairs, and there must be no mistakes. This is the imperial decree." Zhang Yong then unfurled the yellow silk and spoke in a drawn-out tone.

"Your Majesty, this old minister will obey your decree." The Duke of Yingguo first obediently accepted the decree, then got up and looked troubled: "Oh dear, my lord, this old minister has been a rough man all his life, how come at the last minute, His Majesty assigns me such a completely irrelevant task?"

He spread his hands and said, "There are too many intricacies involved in being a civil official. How could I possibly handle it? If I mess up the Emperor, I would be condemned to death a hundred times over!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Zhang Yong said with a smile, pointing at Su Lu. "The Emperor knows you're getting old and is worried about tiring you out, so he specially sent a young man to assist you."

“Scholar Su?” Zhang Mao glanced at Su Lu.

“That’s right. His Majesty appointed him as an assistant instructor. You can ask him for anything you need. Young people aren’t afraid of hard work!” Zhang Yong reassured the Duke of England with a smile.

Su Lu quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Don't worry, my lord. Although this is my first time on duty and I don't know anything, I do have some strength. Please feel free to use me as you see fit, and scold me if I make a mistake! I promise I'll admit my mistake and correct it without any fuss."

"Oh ho ho..." The Duke of England stroked his beard and laughed, "This top scholar is quite different from the previous ones, how come he's so down-to-earth?"

Su Luxin thought to himself that it was because they had never been corporate slaves... but on the surface he smiled and said, "Perhaps it's because I'm a military household member from the mountains of Southwest China."

"Haha, I knew it! I couldn't believe how pleasing you were to the eye." The Duke of England patted Su Lu on the shoulder with delight and said, "So you still have our blood flowing in your veins."

"To be honest, when I saw this 'Pacifying Annam Map,' I got goosebumps all over," Su Lu said excitedly. "It's like a dream. I actually came to the Prince of Dingxing's mansion. If my grandfather knew, he would brag about it all over the Chishui River!"

"Hahaha! When your grandfather comes to the capital, I'll invite him over for drinks!" Zhang Mao's goodwill towards Su Lu immediately increased by a hundred percent. He grabbed Su Lu's hand and said with a smile, "The Grand Secretary of our Great Ming Dynasty is a military household, and the top scholar in the imperial examination is also a military household. Things are getting better for us military households!"

Seeing that the two hit it off immediately and were chatting enthusiastically, Zhang Yong was no longer worried. With the two of them, one old and one young, getting along so well, it was impossible for them to have an unpleasant experience.

"I entrust the task of the Dragon Tiger Troupe to you two. His Majesty has high hopes for it, so please do your best to handle it well." With that, he took his leave.

After seeing off Eunuch Zhang, the Duke of Yingguo smiled at Su Lu and said, "His Majesty's meaning is very clear. This job is for you, but he is afraid that you are too young to handle it. He needs this old man to help you keep things in check."

“Your Excellency, I dare not accept such a statement,” Su Lu said, waving his hand hastily in fear. “There are too many things I don’t understand, and my experience is too shallow. Without your guidance, I can’t do anything well.”

"It's alright, just go for it. Don't be afraid of making mistakes; you can correct them later." The Duke of England said with a smile, "If there's anything you need from me, just let me know. Let's work together, one old and one young, and make sure the Emperor's Dragon Tiger Team doesn't make any mistakes."

"Yes." Su Lu then presented the thick draft, saying, "This is the Dragon Tiger Troupe's regulations drafted by this junior. Please take a look, Your Excellency."

“Oh dear,” the Duke of England quickly closed his eyes and waved his hand, saying, “I have presbyopia and can’t read.”

"..." Su Lu thought to himself, "It's not like I need a pair of 'Aida' (a type of ancient Chinese stringed instrument). They're not that expensive." So he said respectfully, "Then this junior will read it to you, sir."

"Alright, I'll just read the important parts." The British duke couldn't refuse any longer, so he nodded.

"Your Excellency," Su Lu announced loudly, "the core of the Dragon and Tiger Class is to select and train loyal and capable individuals for the Emperor. It lasts for sixty days, with six lessons a day, and is divided into three classes: Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard."

"Hehe, this name is interesting. I like 'Dragon, Tiger, Leopard'." The Duke of England squinted and asked with a smile, "But what do they all mean?"

"There are two kinds of lessons for the dragon. The first is 'Protecting the Dragon,' which teaches loyalty to the emperor and strengthens one's sincere heart; the second is 'Honoring the Dragon,' which teaches various etiquettes, distinguishes between superiors and inferiors, and abides by regulations," Su Lu explained clearly.
"Tiger also has two courses: one is 'Tiger Strategy,' which teaches the essentials of government affairs such as canal transport, taxation, and border defense; the other is 'Tiger Practice,' which involves practical application of government cases and rehearsals of official document processes to hone one's ability to perform duties. As for Leopard, it is also divided into two courses: 'Leopard Strategy,' which involves group discussions on current political ills and the exchange of solutions; and 'Leopard Transformation,' which involves writing policy reports and offering strategies for governing the country..."

"Snoring...snoring..." Su Lu had just started to wake up when the Duke of England had already fallen asleep.

Su Lu was utterly helpless. Wasn't it said that he was too old to sleep? He could only quietly wait for the Duke of England to wake up.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhang Mao sat up straight, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Ah, are you finished reading?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, not yet." Su Lu then said, "Shall we continue?"

"No need, no need, I don't understand it anyway, what opinions could I possibly have?" Zhang Mao waved his hand and said, "Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Yes." Su Lu nodded and said softly, "The most urgent task is to invite lecturers to give the lectures... This is a class organized by the Emperor, so the level is definitely the highest. Grand Secretaries and the Nine Ministers of the Two Capitals will basically be invited to give lectures."

"Yes, that's to be expected. It's the Emperor's place, so we can't be sloppy." The Duke of Ying nodded and said vaguely, "But we still have to be careful when inviting these important figures. People care about face, and the higher the official, the more they care about their reputation... Although they'll come as soon as an imperial edict is issued, if we don't give them enough face, they'll scold us, not the Emperor."

"Yes, junior will keep your teachings in mind, Your Excellency." Su Lu hurriedly replied respectfully, then asked softly, "Then how can we show you enough face?"

"One option is for the two of us to personally visit, and the other is to ask the Emperor to issue a letter of engagement and a reward. It doesn't need to be expensive; two handkerchiefs and a book for each person will suffice. Scholars love this kind of thing; they're easy to please." When talking about interpersonal relationships, the Duke of England became quite animated, speaking with great eloquence.

As he spoke, he smiled at Su Lu and said, "Scholar, my experience of over sixty years can be summed up in one thing: make more friends and fewer enemies. The fewer people who criticize you, the better you become."

Su Lu couldn't help but exclaim, "That's why they say, 'A country has an elder, which is like a treasure.' If it weren't for your reminder, I would have been negligent."

"Hehehe, young people are bound to be like that," Zhang Mao said with a smile. "But with so many adults, wouldn't it be a bit too much of a commotion to invite them all at once?"

“Your Excellency’s concerns are quite valid. Then let’s follow the schedule and visit the officials in the capital in batches to invite them to give lessons,” Su Lu suggested. “However, we should notify the officials in Nanjing and the local officials as soon as possible to give them time to travel.”

“Alright!” Zhang Mao nodded and asked, “But the class starts tomorrow, and there’s no time for all the preparations. How about we prepare the gifts first and visit the homes of the adults who will be giving the lectures tomorrow?”

"I will do as you say, Your Excellency." Su Lu readily agreed.

~~
The two then went to Li Gelao Hutong in the west of Shichahai that very night.

Li Dongyang had just finished a day of being relentlessly berated by Jiao Fang. He went home, washed his face, and it took him a long time to recover before he was ready to have some dinner.

As Madam Zhu served him rice, she said speechlessly, "Is that Jiao guy crazy? Why is he chasing after you and cursing you all day long now?"

“Because that guy bullies the weak and fears the strong. Whenever he insults Wang Zhenze, Wang Zhenze will raise his cane to hit him.” Li Dongyang took the rice bowl and sighed, tears welling up in his eyes: “You know, being the chief minister is not enough. It’s not enough to be insulted behind my back, I have to be insulted to my face.”

"How about I prepare a dog-beating stick for you too?" Madam Zhu suggested.

“What kind of behavior is that?” Li Dongyang said, “Wang Zhenze was threatened by him at the door, but I’m not like that.”

“Then you should curse back,” Madam Zhu said.

“I can’t out-argue him…” Li Dongyang said dejectedly, “You have no idea how foul his language is.”

"Mad dog!" Madam Zhu said angrily.

The elderly couple were feeling sad when the steward came in to report that the Duke of England and Scholar Su had come to visit.

"Oh?" Li Dongyang thought and thought, but still couldn't figure out what kind of combination these two were, so he put down his rice bowl, stood up and said, "I'll go see the guests first."

"Sigh, is it really that hard to get a meal?" Madam Zhu said helplessly.

Li Dongyang came out of the hall, greeted the Duke of Yingguo, and then invited the old man to take a seat.

The Duke of England then explained his purpose with a smile, and Li Dongyang couldn't help but smile wryly and say, "Is Your Majesty serious?"

“Of course!” the Duke of England exclaimed, his eyes wide. “A ruler’s word is his bond, Your Excellency!”

"Yes, yes." Li Dongyang nodded hurriedly and asked respectfully, "Then what can this humble official do?"

"A lecture, indeed," the old man chuckled. "This first lesson on loyalty to the emperor and patriotism must be given by the Grand Secretary! We can't let the Emperor himself give it, can we? That would be too ridiculous..."

“I understand. What are the specific requirements for this course?” Li Dongyang asked again.

Zhang Mao then looked at Su Lu and said, "Scholar Su, you should have a good talk with the Grand Secretary."

As he spoke, he stood up and said to Li Dongyang, "My stomach is a little upset, may I borrow your outhouse for a moment?"

P.S. 2025 has come to a successful end. Thank you all for your support! I love you all forever!!!

(End of this chapter)