Chapter 138

Xue Jin'an said he wouldn't go to Jiu Tian Yi, and he stayed in the room filled with ice all day. Apart from his daily morning exercise, he would avoid moving around as much as possible, and he became less enthusiastic about recharging.

It wasn't until September, when the weather turned cool and the supply of ice to the palace stopped, that Xue Jin'an was finally able to leave the palace again. He then learned that Liu Gu had resigned from his post and returned to his hometown.

"Young Master Liu left last month, leaving some things for me to give to you." The shopkeeper deftly pulled out an exquisite wooden box from under the table. Inside the box were flowers made of red silk, each with a different technique. Some were delicate and beautiful, with each petal stretching out in the most graceful arc, while others were crooked and twisted, looking at first glance like a lump of waste.

Clearly, these were not the work of one person.

Besides these red silk flowers, there was also a rather thick envelope underneath. Inside was a stack of letters, each with a different handwriting and signature. The handwriting in the top letter was particularly elegant and beautiful, with each character as if it had been carefully carved. It was full of style and charm and could be framed and passed down through generations.

Xue Jin'an immediately recognized that it was written by Liu Gu, after all, this great talent was exceptional in both writing and calligraphy, making it easy to identify.

On the night of the 20th of the sixth month in the 26th year of the Jiahe era, I read through my teacher's precious work and was deeply moved, unable to fall asleep. Seeing the bright moonlight, I happily got up. Realizing I had no one to share this joy with, I went to the alley to find Du Yin and Tian Chengmin. The two were also awake, and together we strolled around and enjoyed the scenery...

Xue Jin'an skimmed through the text, then subconsciously looked down to see if there was any homework. The first assignment was to memorize the entire text.

It's no wonder Xue Jin'an reacted this way; Liu Gu's letter was written as if it had been copied straight from a Chinese textbook.

The letter, written in concise classical Chinese, was not long. It was written ten days after the group of five received the "Infrastructure Manual" from him. Liu Gu couldn't sleep after reading the book, so he went out to chat with Du Yintian and Cheng Min. The two of them were also awake, so they chatted all night while enjoying the night view and reading the "Infrastructure Manual." In the end, the three of them, whether they were confused or clear-headed from talking, suddenly had a breakthrough. Liu Gu said that the Hanlin Academy was not what he wanted to go to. He wanted to resign from his official post and return to his hometown to carry on his teacher's will to establish a school, accept students from all over the country, regardless of their social status, and teach them all kinds of skills.

He wanted everyone in the world to be literate and to truly practice the ideal of education for all and a world of great harmony, sacrificing his life for the reform of teachers' education.

Teacher Xue Jin'an slowly typed out a question mark: ?

Xue Jinan stated that he really did not say that.

Xue Jin'an immediately realized that the problem lay in the "Infrastructure Manual." Road construction, education reform, promotion of high-yield crop cultivation, female officials and schools, and the promotion of gender equality... these were considered basic operations for transmigrators. Xue Jin'an had originally extracted the book from transmigration infrastructure novels, so it was naturally full of his own ideas.

Even if those things are written in a very abstract way, a single theory would be advanced enough for ancient times. No wonder Liu Gu talked to him about "inheriting the will" and the like before. It turns out that he regarded the "Infrastructure Handbook" as his work expounding his ideas and concepts.

The "Infrastructure Handbook" integrates hundreds of time-travel infrastructure novels from the database, and its content is quite rich, covering all aspects. Xue Jin'an searched his memories of that day and matched the parts that the people were focusing on with the information.

The preferences of these individuals were quite distinct, so much so that Xue Jin'an could use them as themes and combine them with the content they read to create a whole bunch of novels on the spot.

Liu Gu's work is "Five Years of Imperial Examinations and Three Years of Simulation" - most protagonists in infrastructure-building novels who carry out educational reforms start by writing exam preparation books. The difficulty of ancient education mainly lies in the monopoly of academic cliques. Although the exam-oriented imperial examination system was heavily criticized, it was a good way to break the monopoly, but it was still largely a temporary solution.

Reformers in feudal times rarely met a good end, especially when it came to education, which could shake up the entire structure of a country. Failure meant death, and success also meant death, since the anger of powerful families needed to be appeased, and those in power needed social stability.

Therefore, most novels only scratch the surface regarding educational reform. However, although they don't delve into it deeply, the underlying ideas of modern education are clearly revealed between the lines. The world where everyone can receive an education, everyone can read and write, and where every profession—scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant—has corresponding subjects and even schools, is the ideal country that Liu Gu dared not even dream of, yet longed for.

Du Yin is from "From County Magistrate to Grand Secretary" - in general, the protagonist of a basic construction novel is a first-class graduate, who spends three years in the Hanlin Academy before being sent out to serve as an official. As for why he has to spend three years in the Hanlin Academy, it is because the author often uses the setting of "no one can enter the cabinet without being a member of the Hanlin Academy" from the mature imperial examination system. If he does not rebel, the ultimate goal of being an official is to become the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. The protagonist must spend time in the Hanlin Academy to gain experience before being sent out to accumulate merits.

Often at this point, the protagonist's journey to a remote and impoverished place will be disrupted by opposing factions, leading them to a place where either the land is barren and the people unruly, or the officialdom is corrupt and rife with intrigue. Some places even have bandits and outlaws, and constant warfare. In short, these are all places destined to be turbulent.

Du Yin was so excited while reading it that he stayed up for several nights, tossing and turning over and over again. After finishing it, he felt that he could beat a hundred corrupt officials and couldn't wait to go and build a beautiful countryside.

Tian Chengmin's story is "I Farm in Ancient Times"—improving farming tools, increasing grain production, and planting cash crops are all standard features for the protagonist to speed up infrastructure development. He comes from a farming family and has a very high sensitivity to farming.

As expected, Liu Gu's essay letter, which was to be included in textbooks, mentioned that Du Yin was preparing to take up a post in a remote area, and Tian Chengmin also said that if he really couldn't become a county magistrate, he would go with Du Yin as his secretary.

Xue Jin'an looked at the two letters. Du Yin's letter was divided into several paragraphs, and the subtle changes in the handwriting showed that they were written at different times. It looked like reading notes, or a diary. It looked like reading notes because the first few paragraphs were full of praise for "Infrastructure Handwriting". You could tell his reading progress directly from his words.

As for the latter, it's because the last few paragraphs are brief descriptions of what happened and his feelings that day. He must have been in a bad mood when he wrote the last paragraph, and his handwriting exudes a chilling murderous aura. He was talking about how Tian Chengmin had finally gotten a government post, but it was snatched away when it was finally settled. If the person who snatched it was someone who was also waiting for an official appointment, that would be fine, but it turned out to be a young master from a prominent family who only had the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination).

In the Great Qi Dynasty, those who passed the imperial examinations could choose to become officials directly if they didn't want to take the exams anymore. However, they would only be minor officials or even low-ranking clerks without any promotion channels. It was clearly irregular for this young master from a prominent family to become a county magistrate right away. What was most infuriating was that this rich young master was a complete idiot with no brains. His marquis father had prepared an entire think tank for him, which even had two more members than the emperor's cabinet ministers.

This person won't suffer there. He doesn't need to do anything. His entire marquis family has already mobilized all their connections and taken care of everything. He only needs to go for a year or two, and he will receive a great merit upon returning to the capital to report for duty. At the very least, he will be a sixth-rank official.

"How is this any different from selling official positions!" Du Yin was furious at this moment, feeling that this young master simply didn't care about the lives of the people under his jurisdiction and ignored the law and rules.

Du Yin had to consider his family's interests and couldn't directly intervene to right the wrong. So, he went directly to the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and ousted this scion of a powerful family. The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was, after all, a fellow Du, and although he had some reservations about Du's recklessness, he ultimately gave him the position.

So in July, Du Yin took Tian Chengmin and left the capital for Anzhi County, the poorest county in Qizhou.

If Qizhou was the border between Daqi and the Rongdi, then Anzhi County was the border between Qizhou and the Rongdi. Due to its geographical location, it was constantly harassed by the Rongdi, and its population was only around 10,000 households per year. Compared to a modern small community, this is a very small number.

Anzhi County had been without a magistrate for three years. The magistrates either died on the way or couldn't stand it for long and used their connections to transfer themselves. This year, the Northwest Army won a series of victories, pushing the border all the way to the northern desert. Anzhi County became the closest town to the Northwest Army camp. Not only did they no longer have to worry about raids and harassment from the Rong and Di tribes, but the Northwest Army soldiers frequently came to eat and buy things, boosting the economy considerably. Life was much better than in previous years.

It is said that many young women and widows have married out of the county, and more than half of them married men from the Northwest Army. Anzhi County has become a county with military "families" in the county, which is good news.

That is why some people wanted to become magistrates in An County, thinking they could benefit from the Northwest Army's achievements.

Xue Jin'an had only one thing to say about these people who were always looking for shortcuts: "Thank goodness it wasn't you."

Helian Cheng is not someone to be trifled with. Trying to gain merit by relying on others? With that level of ability, he'll probably be sent back to the capital on charges of dereliction of duty within six months of taking office. Helian Cheng keeps a close eye on the Northwest Army, especially after the incident with Helian Yong. He will instinctively eliminate any danger that could destabilize the Northwest Army.

It is still unknown how capable Du Yin is as an official, but he is calm, steady and reliable, which makes him suitable for the Northwest. As for Tian Chengmin, it doesn't matter where he goes to farm.

Snow can fall as early as September or October in the Northwest. Du Yin had to take office before then, so he left as soon as he received his appointment letter, otherwise the heavy snow would have blocked the roads.

Tian Chengmin mentioned this matter in his letter. He wasn't particularly attached to being an official; he was content as long as he could serve the people and improve their lives. His letter reflected his rugged personality, and its content was quite simple and unadorned, reading like an experimental report on organic fertilizer.

As for the remaining two, Tan Lingyue and Liu Zheng, the former was too young, only seventeen or eighteen years old. Born into a scholarly family, he had not experienced any setbacks. He mostly watched the protagonist's journey from the county town to the capital through the imperial examinations. The latter came from a merchant family. Although he grew up in luxury, he suffered a lot of scorn in the imperial examinations because of his status. Even though he was the second in Jiangnan Prefecture, many people who were not as good as him were ashamed to associate with him and ridiculed him for being greedy. Therefore, Liu Zheng was most interested in the unpredictable and treacherous nature of officialdom.

The two letters were quite conventional, not mentioning much about their lives. However, the fact that Tian Chengmin's official appointment was snatched away had a certain impact on them. Although Tan Lingyue had not yet figured out what he wanted to do, his words clearly showed that he wanted to climb higher and stand better, to be a solid support for those in need, and that they would not have to bow down to anyone in the future.

Liu Zheng was even more direct. He originally preferred the Ministry of Revenue, but after the Tian Chengmin incident, it became the Ministry of Personnel. He also gave his brother a hundred taels of silver for travel expenses and said that if he needed a caravan to develop the economy, he could come to him directly. His Liu family were big merchants in Jiangnan. They had plenty of money and big businesses, and they could open up several trade routes if they wanted to.

Du Yin was delighted with this matter and nodded repeatedly. He even gave Liu Zheng a money-making method he had just learned from the "Infrastructure Handbook": to get involved in transportation and express delivery.

“Your caravan has many routes. Every county in Daqi that has a name has seen your caravan pass through. Ordinary people can’t afford to use the post stations, and hiring bodyguards is too expensive. Why not use your strongholds in various counties to run some post station business?” The Liu family caravan has several branches, and each branch’s trade routes are not always the same and often overlap. They only need to put their goods in the shop, and naturally, caravans along the way will pick them up.

"Your suggestion is good, but you definitely won't recoup your investment in the early stages." Liu Zheng had heard the calculation clearly, but even if he lost all of that money, Young Master Liu wouldn't care. Young Master Liu did have a talent for business, but his business acumen wasn't as well-known as his reputation as a spendthrift.

At that time, Feng Yinshou, the Minister of Revenue, did not take a mere Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) seriously. By the time he discovered Liu Zheng's tendency to spend money lavishly, the young Liu had already established himself in the Ministry of Personnel.

Minister Feng was heartbroken and harbored a deep and lasting resentment towards the scion of a certain aristocratic family who had facilitated this matter.

After reading the letters from the five men, Xue Jin'an still had two left. One was written by Qin Lian, who was on good terms with Liu Gu. He was also more concerned about education reform, but his focus was on the corruption of official schools. His goal was to go to the Imperial Academy and promote the Seventh Prince's books to every scholar.

The remaining document was signed by Cui Zhuo. He had seen the "Infrastructure Manual" from Tan Lingyue. After all, they worked at the Hanlin Academy together, so it was quite normal for them to see it by chance. Cui Zhuo had only glanced at it casually, but he was completely captivated by the contents.

Cui Zhuo was amazed by the book's ingenious ideas, but he was also keenly aware of the significant impact its contents would have on powerful and aristocratic families, which greatly worried him. When Tan Lingyue invited him to write a letter, he did not refuse, pouring out all his concerns and doubts onto the paper.

Cui Zhuo's goals have always been clear, and he was not affected by this book. He was determined to bring glory to the Cui family, enter the cabinet as the chief minister, and recreate the glory of his grandfather's time in court.

Cui Zhuo was the only one among them who explained what those red silk ribbons and flowers actually were.

It was Liu Zheng's idea to tie the red silk into flowers. He said, "After parting today, we may never see each other again in this lifetime. As friends, we should leave something behind. Why don't we leave our thoughts on the red silk and seal them away for now, and unwrap them when they come true... Consider it a competition to see who among us is the best."

They are all a group of outstanding individuals, each with their own pride. They are friends, confidants, and rivals.

For them, the ranking in the imperial examinations was merely a stage of proof, and they still had a long life ahead of them.

Xue Jin'an picked up a poorly sealed flower, found an angle to look at the words inside, and recognized that it was Tian Chengmin's handwriting. Sure enough, it read: "May everyone one day be well-fed and clothed, and able to eat whatever they want."

Cui Zui, who was peeking around from the side, also saw the sentence and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. When he heard that Cui Zhuo had also written it, he immediately ordered someone to buy the same red silk, intending to follow suit and write one as well.

"As for me... I want to seal the wolf's lair and leave my mark on history." Cui Zui said this seriously, though he spoke in a joking tone.

Xue Jin'an's scathing comment: "One by one, dreams have flown out of the skylight."

However, humans must always have dreams.

"Go find a sapling to plant in the yard, and hang all these red silk flowers up there," Xue Jin'an instructed the shopkeeper. He glanced at the red silk flowers in the box, each with its own unique expression and beauty, and carefully felt the anticipation rising in his heart.

Xue Jin'an offered a hypothetical statement for the first time, saying, "Perhaps on the day when the trees take root and sprout, red ribbons will flutter and dance in the wind."

And so, an immortal tree was planted in the courtyard of Jiu Tian Yi. As time flew by, buildings were demolished and rebuilt, and the sun and moon changed, it took root here and gradually grew. When the first red silk was unfurled, the words, faded by the years, fluttered in the wind on the faded cloth. Someone saw the words and signature on it and was shocked.

This tree became famous and became a major attraction of the Nine-One Festival. Whenever a red ribbon was unfurled, the streets would be packed with people. Some people gave this tree a name, calling it the Touchstone Tree, saying that only true talents could leave their names on it.

So people started writing poems and essays, and the ultimate goal of scholars across the land changed from becoming officials to blossoming a red silk flower on the touchstone tree.

Memories may fade, history may be lost, but the red silk flower will never wither.

Many years have passed, and the red silk flowers have bloomed all over the branches. Some are waving in the wind, while others have faded and never fully opened. They have settled in the long river of time, carrying the gifts left by the years, standing here year after year, quietly witnessing the changes in the world.

Later, someone visited and saw the tree left by the deceased. He smiled and left a poem: "Fate is fickle, but people are constant; mountains and rivers may not be secure, but the spirit is eternal."

My path is not lonely.