Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 34 The Godfather Team (Please read on, please vote!)

Wang Xi slept very soundly yesterday because he drank too much, so he woke up very early this morning. As usual, after being fussed over by Sister Hua, Wang Xi hummed a little tune as he came to the main hall to greet his father.

Good morning, Father.

"Ah."

Wang Shouyi leaned against the couch and responded weakly.

Looking at Wang Shouyi's lifeless expression, which resembled that of a child being forced to do homework by his parents, Wang Xi felt a pang of sympathy. "Father, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, ah... I just didn't sleep well last night." Wang Shouyi yawned.

Wang Xi said, "I heard from Sister Hua that Father studied hard in his study all night last night. I didn't believe it, but it turns out it's true."

Wang Shouyi's expression changed, and he forced himself to stay alert, thinking to himself, "This Sister Hua is really a gossip."

Just as he was about to deny it, he heard Wang Xi say, "Father is working so hard, so I must work hard too."

The words that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. Wang Shouyi was forced to put on a kind father's demeanor: "If you know how to work hard, why don't you hurry up and go to school?"

"Yes. The child has gone to school."

But as he watched Wang Xi's cheerful figure disappear into the distance, Wang Shouyi felt that something was amiss.

Isn't this joy his?
As a son, Wang Xi was naturally very gratified by his father's hard work. He hummed a little tune all the way to the academy, but as soon as he entered, Li Jieman and the others dragged him to the back hall.

"Brother Que, something terrible has happened!" Li Jieman said in a panic.

Wang Xi asked, "Is it about the Imperial Academy?"

Li Jieman said in surprise, "You already know."

Wang Xi nodded: "My dad told me everything, but he didn't say much. Is it serious?"

"Very serious."

Huangfu Sengnian said with a solemn expression: "On the one hand, the Imperial Academy has filed a complaint with the court against the nameless academy for spreading heresies, misleading people, and deceiving students."

On the other hand, they also put pressure on the students of the Imperial Academy. All the students who had come to study here some time ago were implicated and are temporarily barred from entering the academy.

Wang Xi said, "That's exactly what they want. The orphans and the others didn't want to go to the Imperial Academy in the first place."

Li Jieman said, "If that were all, it would be fine. The key is that their cousins ​​are also implicated. The orphan's cousin, Cui Siyan, has always had good grades at the Imperial Academy, but now he is being suppressed at the Imperial Academy because of the orphan."

Wang Xi frowned and said, "Is the Imperial Academy really this arrogant?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, “The Imperial Academy represents the imperial court, while Tao Mo is just an ordinary citizen. Most officials in the court support the Imperial Academy, which is the most troublesome thing. If this is not handled carefully, the nameless academy may really have to close down. If they call Tao Mo in for questioning, they may even find out about our lies.”

boom!
Wang Xi slammed his fist on the table. "This is outrageous! They were the ones who wanted to expel us, and now that we've opened our own academy, they still won't let us go. This time, we can't back down; we have to fight them to the end."

Wang Shuang asked expectantly, "How do we do it?"

Wang Xi said, "Of course it's about who your father is."

What does "relying on one's father's connections" mean?

“It’s about letting our father fight for us,” Wang Xi said. “If we are wronged and our father doesn’t stand up for us, what’s the point of being a son?”

Li Jie nodded: "That makes sense. We can't really say anything about this!"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Even if we rely on our fathers, we might not be able to win. Among the four of us, your father and Shuang Ge's father are the most powerful in the court, but none of us would be willing to go against the ministers in the court for the sake of an academy."

They must have learned about this from their father; if their father could have resolved it, they wouldn't be so worried.

Wang Xi said, "In the end, it's because our father isn't strong enough. So we have to encourage him to work harder. If he can't even win, then if we fight, we'll be bullied no matter who wins or loses."

Li Jie asked curiously, "How do we encourage this?"

Wang Xi's eyes darted around, and he said, "It's simple, it's someone else's dad."

"What do you mean?"

"With my encouragement, my father has been working very hard lately, and I have come up with a way to help him stand out in the court while also protecting our Wuming Academy."

In this way, you can use my father's success to inspire your own fathers, encouraging them to strive for excellence. Then, when our father gains more power in the future, we won't have to fear the Imperial Academy.

"You've already come up with a solution," Huangfu Sengnian said in surprise.

"Ah."

Wang Xi nodded with feigned arrogance, then told them the whole plan. In fact, this was something he had planned long ago: to form a godfather team. Wang Shouyi alone could not support the court.

"You came up with this?"

Huangfu Sengnian and the others were deeply shocked.

"Isn't that amazing?" Wang Xi said proudly, "I was thinking about this issue when we first talked about work-study programs."

To cover up his lie, he had actually improved so much? Huangfu Sengnian was still incredulous. Li Jieman didn't suspect anything and directly hugged Wang Xi, chuckling, "Brother Que, you always have the best ideas."

"That goes without saying." Wang Xi chuckled, then raised his right hand and said, "For the sake of the ministry, for the sake of Father!"

"For my father!"

That being said, this was actually just a minor matter, but the fact that the Imperial Academy targeted the sons of officials and also filed a complaint with the Ministry of Rites drew everyone's attention.

The court officials almost unanimously supported the Imperial Academy. It's not that they were all in cahoots; when they learned that the students at the Wuming Academy were drinking to stay awake during morning self-study, they were shocked. This was outrageous and would indeed affect traditional education.

Logically speaking, the Ministry of Rites should have been able to shut down the Wuming Academy with a single word, without any need for reporting.

The problem is that this involves several members of the imperial family, and the emperor himself summoned Tao Mo, so the matter must be approved by the emperor.

Li Longji also heard about this matter, but he did not want to deal with it too seriously. After all, his focus was on reform and change, and he did not want the officials in the court to be distracted by this matter.

So he held a small banquet in the palace and invited three prime ministers, Zhang Jiazhen, Zhang Shuo, and Yuan Qianyao, as well as people related to the matter, including Wang Shouyi, Li Qiao, Wu Xin, and some officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Jiang Yanbo and his group did not participate, because those who spoke in the court were mainly from the Ministry of Rites; they were merely expressing their dissatisfaction from below.

Upon seeing this lineup, the three prime ministers understood the topic of the day, and they also agreed with Li Longji's approach: making it too formal would be counterproductive.

"The night is lovely tonight. Why don't we, ruler and minister, compose a poem to enhance our enjoyment?"

Li Longji put down his wine cup and addressed the ministers present.

The ministers were all stunned and didn't react.

Wang Shouyi is still here; aren't you bullying him?
Seeing that everyone remained silent, Li Longji chuckled and said, "As expected!"

Zhang Jia-zhen asked, "What makes Your Majesty say this?"

Li Longji said, "I have recently heard many people say that since the Kaiyuan era, although the national strength of our Great Tang has gradually increased, its culture has been declining. There is not a single popular poem, which is far inferior to the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras."

Zhang Shuo immediately replied, "Your Majesty, it is not that the culture of our Great Tang Dynasty is declining, but that everyone is focused on assisting Your Majesty in governing the country and has no time to compose poems."

The implication is, don't talk nonsense. We're not lacking in talent; we just focus our energy on politics.

Li Longji immediately said, "That may be true, but what they said is also true. I am thinking of changing the miscellaneous essays in the imperial examination to poetry and prose to revitalize the culture of our Great Tang Dynasty. What do you all think?"

This is also one of the purposes of today's banquet, which is to reform the imperial examination system. Since it is related to education, Li Longji decided to discuss it together.

Zhang Jia-zhen immediately replied, "I believe it is feasible."

He had seen it last time: Li Longji wanted to achieve both civil and military success, and that cultural development was essential.

Zhang Shuo and Yuan Qianyao had no objections; on the contrary, they, as scholars, were very happy to see it.

Han Xiu, the Vice Minister of Rites, suddenly said, “Your Majesty is absolutely right. It’s not just declining; I’ve heard that many charlatans in the countryside dare to act as teachers, spreading falsehoods and misleading students with mental disabilities. It’s utterly despicable. With such education, how can we talk about the culture of our Great Tang?”

Li Longji asked, "Is the person that Minister Han mentioned the nameless gentleman?"

Han Xiu said, "That's right."

Li Longji said, "When I summoned him to the palace last time to paint my portrait, he didn't seem like someone who was just trying to gain fame and reputation."

Han Xiu immediately said, "There are quite a few itinerant fortune tellers who can draw portraits, so this doesn't prove anything. But as far as I know, this person indulges students in drinking and merrymaking on campus and even encourages them to do business outside. He uses these perverse pleasures to attract mentally immature students to join his academy."

Since Your Majesty wishes to emphasize the imperial examination system, you should first emphasize education and punish these fraudulent individuals as a warning to others.

Li Longji frowned. "Is that so?"

Han Xiu suddenly looked at Wang Shouyi, "The son of the Duke of Qi is currently studying at that academy. Your Majesty may ask the Duke of Qi whether what I said is true."

Li Longji then looked at Wang Shouyi and asked, "Shouyi, is this true?"

Wang Shouyi took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "What Minister Han said about drinking and merrymaking, and going out to do business, is indeed true, and I am aware of it."

Li Longji asked curiously, "If that's the case, why do you still want your son to study at that academy?"

Wang Shouyi said, “But you all only know one thing and not the other. Since my son became a disciple of Mr. Wuming, he has never caused trouble or acted recklessly outside. This alone makes me very gratified.”

Wow, that's really going all out!

Zhang Jiazhen lowered her head, unable to bear mocking her friend.

However, none of the people present thought that Wang Shouyi was being modest. They all knew Wang Xi's reputation, and the recent fight in front of the Imperial College had caused quite a stir in the city.

Li Longji laughed heartily and said, "Shouyi, your requirements are far too low!"

Wang Shouyi remained silent in embarrassment.

Han Xiu wasn't targeting Wang Shouyi in the first place, and now he felt even more sympathy for him. He earnestly advised, "Duke Qi, the more this is the case, the more you should hire a strict teacher to discipline him, instead of letting him run wild. Doing so will harm your son."

Wang Shouyi sighed, "Minister Han, you may not know this, but my son was studying at the Imperial Academy. However, not long ago, he got into a fight with a fellow student, which led to his expulsion. Since then, I have searched for renowned teachers, but none of them are willing to teach my son. I wonder if Minister Han would be willing?"

(End of this chapter)