Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 728: The Birth of the Academy
The "Pengzhou Elegant Gathering" was held the day after Yang Yuan arrived.

After all, most of the literati and celebrities in Pengzhou area live in and around Pengzhou City, so it is very convenient to invite them.

Moreover, as soon as the slightest hint of Yang Yuan's plan leaked out, it immediately aroused great interest among these scholars.

To writers, the temptation of writing books and passing them down to future generations is even greater than that of becoming an official.

Of course, not all the people attending the banquet today are literati and poets.

This was a rare opportunity to curry favor with Yang Yuan, and most of the local gentry participated.

Who among these gentry is illiterate?
So, if you say he is a man of letters, it seems reasonable.

The location of the "elegant gathering" was set up at the Wu family villa outside the city where Yang Yuan stayed when he came last time.

The Wu family's villa is very large and the autumn scenery here is also very beautiful.

There are three ponds of different sizes in the villa alone.

The ponds are connected by small bridges, with reeds growing by the ponds, fish jumping and birds perching, full of wild interest.

Because guests were allowed to bring female relatives with them, many women attended the gathering in their best attire.

However, the wives of successful scholars are usually not young anymore.

Therefore, most of the great scholars brought their most beloved wives, and some even brought their daughters.

I’m afraid that those who bring their daughters here have other intentions.

However, the romantic affairs of scholars and literati who often visit prostitutes when they get together are definitely not seen today.

After all, the person who summoned them today was Yang Yuan, the governor and pacifier of Tongchuan Road. This man was in a high position and had great power. Who would dare to be rude in front of him?

In the hall, the sounds of silk music and drums were pleasing to the ears.

There were still braziers placed on the four walls, and there were many guests in the hall, so although the space was large, it did not feel cold.

The chef in the kitchen prepares fresh food at any time and serves it to the guests.

However, since today was an elegant gathering rather than a formal banquet, the food served was mainly snacks and drinks.

As for the main dishes, there was only one roasted whole lamb and one roasted camel hump.

The roasted meat is cut into small pieces, sprinkled with pepper, Sichuan pepper, fennel and other spice powders, then skewered and served on plates.

The literary style of this Sichuan-Gang region is very different from that of the south of the Yangtze River.

There are quite a few literati like Mr. Fan, who are tall and walk with a breeze.

If you don’t know him, you might think he is a fierce warrior who speaks in a loud and gruff voice.

Poetry gatherings by Northwestern literati rarely have the gorgeous style of those in the south of the Yangtze River. Here, poetry seems to be just a minor thing, and wine is the most important thing at the gathering.

Everyone gathered together, drinking, singing and dancing, and the topics of conversation were not limited to poetry and songs, but it was common to discuss metaphysics and philosophy.

Fan Qing is here too.

She is still a nun now, but because she is playing the role of a bodyguard, she changed into secular clothes in order to avoid attracting too much attention.

It was just that she had been used to living in the mountain gate since she was a child, so the clothes she changed into were of extremely plain color, without any floral ornaments, and she didn't wear any jewelry on her head.

She has a plain face, but fortunately, this face is very good looking. Even without makeup, she is still beautiful and delicate, with a delicate complexion.

But the bald head was difficult to hide, so he followed the example of the barbarian girls and wrapped his head with a green scarf.

In this way, she is quite unique compared to many other beauties.

She looked around at the people around Yang Yuan and then relaxed.

She did not sense that anyone had any ill will towards Yang Yuan.

Then, she glanced helplessly at her side.

The person next to him has it.

And the resentment was directed at her, it was simply overwhelming!
Mei Zhen was sitting next to him.

Her dress is gorgeous, her eyebrows and eyes are real, and her delicate skin looks like freshly peeled egg white.

She was a young girl with a budding beauty. With a little bit of rouge on her lips, she looked so radiant that people could not take their eyes off her.

When the two aunt and nephew sat there, they were like the moon and the sun.

When you first look at her, the first thing you notice is her extremely pretty eyebrows.

However, after looking for a while, you will find that your eyes linger more on the girl with the green scarf wrapped around her head.

Meizhen didn't believe her aunt's explanation at all.

Why did you return to secular life at this time, instead of earlier or later? And you still say that you didn't seduce my man?

She didn't know what her father was planning.

After all, some things are okay to think about, but difficult to say out loud.

Therefore, she decided that if her younger sister-in-law married into the Yang family, she would have no chance of survival.

Therefore, she had to come along. She had to keep an eye on her aunt and never give her any chance to contact Yang Yuan privately.

"You... this kid, Young Master Yang from Dali is also attending the banquet with his cousin."

Fan Qing said helplessly: "I will find Miss Dao later. She can guarantee that Yang Yuan and I are innocent!"

"Hmph!" Mei Zhen didn't believe it. He raised his chin proudly and sneered.

Your good friend will of course speak for you!

Mei Zhen didn't believe her nonsense.

At the main table, in addition to Yang Yuan, Chen Zhizhou, and the head of the Wu family, there were several of the most famous scholars in the Pengzhou area.

Yang Liangao is not even qualified to sit at the main seat at today's banquet.

Taking advantage of the wine, Wu Yuan stood up, walked to Yang Yuan's table, bowed deeply, and said in a loud voice: "Everyone, the commander-in-chief wants to build a library, academy, and printing house to promote culture and education, and compile a series of books in Sichuan and Xia. This is a great event to promote the culture and education of Sichuan and Xia.

The education of Bashu began in the Han Dynasty when Wen Weng served as the governor of Shu County.

It was Wen Weng who founded the Stone Chamber Academy in Chengdu, spreading literature throughout the world with the principle of "teaching without distinction", which greatly changed the social atmosphere in Shu. From then on, Bashu gained the reputation of "the literature of Bashu is the best in the world".

I dare say that today, General Yang Fu is organizing this great cultural and educational event, and he is also inviting Mr. Mu Yi, a world-famous Shu scholar, from Lin'an to preside over the overall situation. The great significance that will be produced will be no less than the "transformation of Wen Weng".

In the history books of the future, Shu's culture and education will surely be praised as "Yang Gong's transformation".

If you can participate in such a grand event, why worry about not being able to leave your name in history and be praised for thousands of years?
Wu is willing to join the general in this great cause. Today, I solemnly announce that in order to support the general in promoting the culture and education of Bashu, Wu is willing to donate this courtyard to build a Pengzhou Academy. "

When these words were spoken, all the guests were shocked and excited.

Yang Yuan was also very surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help but look at Wu Yuan in surprise.

Wu Yuan had never told him about this decision in advance, and he only found out about it at this moment.

Although Wu Yuan is just a businessman, Yang Yuan now really admires this businessman's courage.

He donated such a large farm just by saying so. This man should not be underestimated.

Wu Yuan's words also greatly inspired the scholars present.

Yang Liangao narrowed his eyes slightly and couldn't help but look at Wu Yuan deeply.

Fortunately, this person is not from Dali and his ambition is not to gain power, otherwise, he would have become my lifelong enemy.

He donated such a large manor worth tens of thousands of gold just as he said he would.

but……

Yang Liangao glanced at Dao Feifei, who was sitting next to him but seemed a little absent-minded.

Humph, I, Yang, am not bad either. I gave away this stunning beauty without even blinking an eyelid.

Can you be more cruel than me?
Yang Yuan has just told us his plan. He plans to build four academies, namely "Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter", and three museums, namely "Pine, Bamboo and Plum", in Tongchuan and Lizhong.

These places, in addition to being used by scholars to compile books, were also where they made friends, gathered, and taught arts.

Of course, these places definitely take Confucian classics and history as their main subjects. However, Yang Yuan’s tenets for them are “selecting people based on their talents”, “teaching without distinction” and “inductive analysis of all schools of thought”.

These three principles determined his purpose of running a school.

Therefore, in addition to Confucian classics, it also covers all aspects of the various schools of thought, agriculture, animal husbandry, industry and commerce, astronomy, geography, and skills and crafts.

At present, this first palace has a direct location and a school.

If what Yang Yuan had just drawn for them was just a pancake, now they could already smell the fragrance of the flour.

A famous scholar from Pengzhou could not help but stand up from his seat, walked up to Yang Yuan and bowed deeply.

"General, every year, Sichuan and Xia have to repair cities and forts, dredge rivers and canals, build water and horse post roads, and prevent disasters and epidemics. All these expenses are quite high.

The commander-in-chief wants to compile books, build academies and academies, and promote culture and education. The cost is very high. Can Tongchuan afford it?"

Yang Yuan said: "Sir, don't worry. Tongchuan Prefecture and Lizhong Prefecture only need to be responsible for the construction costs of the Chuanzhong Highway."

"As for the expenses of the academy, colleges, libraries, compilations, etc., if they are not paid from the government budget, the taxes of the people in Sichuan and Xia will not be increased."

The scholar was a serious person and continued to ask: "So, where does the money come from?"

Yang Yuan said: "I accept donations and encourage local gentry to build their own academies, libraries and palaces."

Yang Yuan pointed at Wu Yuan and said, "For example, the Pengzhou Academy, I will hand it over to Patriarch Wu to manage.

The academy has two principals, one in charge of teaching and the other in charge of all other affairs.

The income from the school's repairs and book printing, in addition to paying for the school's normal expenses, should be handled by the donors themselves. "

In Yang Yuan's opinion, this donor is equivalent to a school director, but with even greater power than modern school directors.

There is no other way around this. You can't want the horse to run and not eat grass at the same time. Everything is yours.

When some local gentry heard this, their breathing became heavy immediately.

Who would care about that little bit of tuition? The point is, what kind of people will the students taught by the academy become in the future?
This headmaster is their greatest teacher.

Who among the scholars of the world dares not to respect teachers?

There are two mountain directors, the one who teaches is mobile, while the one who donates is hereditary.

If batches of students leave this academy, then the Wu family...

There was a wealthy family whose financial resources were not much less than the Wu family, and they wanted to slap me in the face immediately.

There is no need to think about it, Wu Yuan will never share the fat meat he has obtained with them.

Now all we can do is see if we can seize opportunities elsewhere first.

However, the other academies and colleges definitely cannot be built in Pengzhou. If they are built in other places, the powerful dragon cannot suppress the local snake...

For a while, some people thought of getting the news first and immediately contacting other wealthy people to jointly run a school.

Some people who lack financial resources are thinking about how to connect with people with similar conditions to jointly run schools.

If the academy cannot compete with others, then set up a college.

If the academy cannot compete, then build a school.

In the end, I can always find ways to establish some connections.

Yang Yuan continued, "If the funds are still insufficient, I will make up the difference myself."

After a pause, Yang Yuan said, "My family has a little money, so it shouldn't be difficult for me to build a few academies."

This sentence immediately caused a sensation again.

It turns out that Yang Fushuai’s family is so rich!
At least then we don't have to worry about him plundering people's wealth or embezzling money after accepting donations.

Yang Yuan raised his voice and said, "The key to a country is education. The way to education is based on schools.

As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person.

I have never heard of a country declining because of its promotion of culture and education.

If we promote culture and education, we will have talented people. If we have talented people, why should we worry that we cannot have a stable government, harmonious people, and a prosperous people, and a peaceful world? "

All the famous scholars were moved to tears after hearing this. This was a great recognition and praise for them as scholars.

At that moment, a group of white-haired and gray-haired scholars and celebrities stood up, bowed solemnly to Yang Yuan, and praised him highly.

When these scholars praise others, their words are very eloquent.

Dao Feifei looked at Yang Yuan, who was praised by everyone, and felt that his whole body seemed to be glowing.

She was... shamefully moved.

And... there is also a sense of pride that arises spontaneously.

She felt like she couldn't wait to show off to others. How could this be possible?

Fan Qing was also staring at Yang Yuan intently.

Ever since Mei Zhen insisted that she had stolen her man, and thinking of that absurd and unspeakable dream, Fan Qing would have a strange feeling every time she saw Yang Yuan.

Originally, when it came to love between men and women, she was still as ignorant as a bamboo shoot.

But because of Mei Zhen's words, she became vaguely conscious and began to pay attention to Yang Yuan consciously or unconsciously.

Even Dao Feifei, who had been arranged a marriage partner for herself since childhood and was still in a state of confusion, was fascinated by Yang Yuan at this moment.

How could Fan Qing, who loves beauty, resist the charm of a peacock with its tail spread out?
Mei Zhen stood aside with her arms folded, looking at her aunt with a sneer on her face.

You say you have no relationship, but your eyeballs are almost growing on him.

A woman who says one thing and thinks another, and she is my aunt, bah! You have such a shameless face!

Her sourness was so strong that even Fan Qing, who was in a trance, could feel it.

Fan Qing, who was suddenly awakened, glanced at Mei Zhen guiltily. Seeing her eyes that seemed to have seen through everything, he couldn't help feeling ashamed.

This crooked official is indeed my biggest demon!

You dog official, I will never surrender to you!

I want you to help me practice and help me become a Buddha!

For a moment, when everyone was having a great time, Yang Liangao, who had no sense of existence because he was sitting in the second seat, ran out.

He walked to the front of the hall, bowed to everyone, and said with a smile: "Everyone, great scholars and celebrities. I am Yang Liangao from Dali, and I am honored to participate in such a grand event today.

Thousands of years later, the Pengzhou Academy still stands here. Students of later generations come to pay homage to it and recall today's grand event. All the great scholars and celebrities will surely admire it together with Yang Fushuai.

I really want to write a beautiful article to record today's elegant gathering. Maybe with the help of General Yang and other great sages, my name will be passed down through the ages.

Unfortunately, my students are not very smart and talented, and I have not been able to produce any good articles for everyone to appreciate.”

Yang Liangao changed back into Baiyi ethnic costumes, and pointed at Dao Feifei, who looked quite charming and lovely. He said, "My cousin has a beautiful voice and dances well. How about inviting her to come and dance for the commander-in-chief and all the wise men to celebrate?"

There were of course singing and dancing during the banquet, but this was the first time a guest took the initiative to dance.

After hearing this, everyone looked towards Dao Feifei.

She is born with a smile as smooth as jade and eyebrows as beautiful as emerald smoke, which is extremely beautiful.

Especially her outfit, which is very different from that in the Central Plains, makes her more charming.

Everyone immediately applauded and cheered.

Dao Feifei knew that this was her cousin creating an opportunity for her, but this opportunity...

She glanced at Yang Liangao with a hint of resentment, but Yang Liangao had already turned his eyes away.

Dao Feifei sighed secretly, broke into a smile, and stood up slowly.

The little radar in Mei Zhen's heart suddenly issued a sharp alarm.

Her thin and long eyebrows couldn't help but stand up: "This wild woman, is she trying to steal my man too?"

(End of this chapter)