How to become a Taoist priest starting from a brothel

Speaking of Yancheng, any book written by Liu Yin would be printed out immediately and distributed to the people for free. Students from Yancheng Academy would even go to the villages to interpret the books for everyone. The academy itself would also read the books as soon as possible, write reading notes and analyses. Every single one of them was a cherished possession.

The question on the title page of this new book has sparked much discussion.

"Did dynastic changes really have something to do with the people's land?"

"Not only that, according to what the hermit said, this is also related to aristocratic families."

The students of the academy were the first to receive the book and the first to read it, and naturally, they were also the first to discuss the questions on the title page.

“From what I read in the book, there is some truth to the land annexation and the practice of hiding households,” said the student from a prominent family.

“Brother Zheng is right, but what this book says is more than just reason; it’s downright profound truths!” The student from a poor family was already full of agreement.

“Brother Zheng Yu, Brother Minglian, I remember that the Hermit Master also wrote about this in his ‘Hereditary Houses’, but at that time he only wrote a few words and did not go into much detail.” The third student handed over a book.

Yang Minglian took the book, looked at the spot the other person indicated, and started flipping through it.

Sure enough, this page describes land annexation and the issue of hidden households. Although it is not as detailed as in "The Rise and Fall of Dynasties," it is clear that these are things that basically occur in the development of aristocratic families throughout history.

"How should we resolve this?" Zhang Zhengyu frowned slightly.

"Yes, how do we solve this?" Yang Minglian murmured to himself, staring blankly at the book.

"What are you discussing?" Master Zhang, a teacher at the academy, looked at his students with a puzzled expression.

"Master?" The student who had just taken the book was the first to react and hurriedly bowed and called out.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned around and bowed to the teacher.

Master Zhang looked at the students with a smile: "Alright, no need for formalities. What were you discussing just now?"

“Master, we are discussing the Hermit’s new book.” Zhang Zheng handed the book “The Rise and Fall of Dynasties” to Master Zhang.

Master Zhang pushed his book back and smiled as he showed him the book in his hand: "Master has a book."

Seeing that the Master was also holding a new book, Zhang Zhengyu smiled and withdrew his outstretched hand. This was not so much out of politeness or flattery, but because although Yancheng was now wealthy, in order to help the hermit make a name for himself, Yancheng did not have many mimeograph machines left. If the books were to be supplied to the whole city, even if the academy was among the first to receive them, not everyone would have one. Often, students would have one but teachers would not.

However, this time the Masters also had books in their hands, which naturally pleased Zhang Zhengyu. At least this way, the Masters could explain things to them more thoroughly, instead of explaining things superficially at first and then delving deeper after they had books.

As expected, Master Zhang clapped his hands and, seeing that the students had all obediently returned to their seats, said, "Today we will talk about the Hermit's latest book, 'The Rise and Fall of Dynasties'."

"You should have already read the general outline of this book, and you should have your own insights into the rise and fall of dynasties mentioned in it. Looking at this book, it is clear that after the unification of the world, the aristocratic families and the king shared the world, and since the Zhou Dynasty, there has never been a dynasty that lasted for four hundred years."

"Although we have read through history books, we have never summarized the reasons for the decline of this dynasty, nor have we calculated the duration of its existence. However, we have confirmed that what is said in the books is true, and the reasons for the dynasty's demise mentioned in the books have also been confirmed. At the very least, the hidden households and land annexation became major hidden dangers for a dynasty."

"When common people sell themselves into slavery or sell their land to become tenant farmers, and the land becomes the property of powerful families, the court cannot collect taxes, and the people will naturally not receive any assistance from the government. Naturally, they will not have enough to eat or wear, and they will rise up in rebellion."

"Therefore, we, the Masters, have decided to teach the book 'Dynastic Changes' along with 'Hereditary Houses' and 'Slaves' at the same time, hoping that everyone can find their own answers from these three books."

"Yes, Master." Upon hearing this, the scholars nodded in agreement, and some of those who had brought books took out "Hereditary Houses" and "Slaves" to read.

Master Zhang continued, “The theory of the imperial examination system proposed in this book is something we hope you will think about carefully. Today’s topic is to write an essay on what you think is a suitable imperial examination system.”

"Yes, Master." Although everyone had a headache from the homework, they still answered with renewed vigor.

Seeing this, Master Zhang smiled and picked up the book again, continuing to explain the contents of the book to the students one by one. After studying the three books on "Dynastic Changes", they began to study the traditional books of the sages.

If the issues of hidden households and land annexation mentioned in "Dynasty Change" were like a bomb dropped on the officials of the fallen dynasty, catching them off guard and making them vaguely feel that their own positions were about to be unstable.

The imperial examination system, which is directly mentioned in "Dynasty Change," made the aristocratic families who were away from the court clearly feel the direct malice that the hermits were giving them.

“This…” Xu Zhengchu stared at the imperial examination system, his pupils constricting. “This system is truly…”

“But that’s what the emperor will like,” Yan Yuansi replied sarcastically. “Every emperor would like that.”

Yu Kangbo, unconcerned, said from the side, "She already explained all of this clearly in that book, 'The Noble Families,' though not in such detail. If that book was about the birth of a noble family, this book is about its expansion. All the methods and schemes she pointed out in the book, weren't they all things our noble family did back then?"

Xu Zhengchu looked at his two friends and angrily threw the book away: "Yeah, I'm the only one who's worrying for nothing."

Yu Kangbo looked at his friend and comforted him, "It's alright, it's alright. Even without land, we can still live the life of a noble young master."

"Is that what I meant?!" Xu Zhengchu rolled his eyes at him without any decorum.

"I know you're talking about the imperial examinations, so what? Can you or I stop it?" Yu Kangbo replied indifferently.

"Yeah, didn't you steal one of those mimeograph machines? How about it?" Yan Yuansi looked at him indifferently.

Xu Zhengchu's expression grew increasingly grim: "It's impressive. Printing a book takes only a moment. In the past, books were all handwritten by scholars, and there were always errors and omissions, which made the books of aristocratic families seem precious. But the books printed by this mimeograph machine are not only error-free, but such a production volume is simply a nightmare for aristocratic families..."

Yu Kangbo glanced at him in surprise before hesitantly asking, "I thought you already knew."

Xu Zhengchu suddenly looked up at him: "What do you mean?"

Yu Kangbo waved his hand helplessly: "Look at that hermit's books, they always spread all over the country overnight. Don't you understand? She must have a powerful printing tool to do this. I thought you had already guessed it."

Xu Zhengchu's face turned pale. He had always considered himself exceptionally intelligent, but now he realized that it was nothing more than arrogance born of the adulation of others.

"What does your family plan to do?" Yu Kangbo asked.

"What do you mean, what should we do?" Xu Zhengchu looked completely bewildered.

Yu Kangbo and Yan Yuansi exchanged a glance, both speechless.