Chapter 200 Climbing the Wall and the Academy
Jin Sui took him into the study, which was connected to the ear room through a small door. They placed a small table under the corridor and the two of them ate while enjoying the night view outside.
Gu Changxiao was afraid of heat and didn't like to sit by the fire, so Jinsui put the tea roaster on his side, covered it with an iron cover, and covered it with thick animal skin, and it became a small warming table.
Both of them took off their shoes and put on cotton slippers, and their feet were warm under the kotatsu.
Jin Sui sat comfortably, watching Gu Chang Xiao set the table and pour hot tea. He was afraid that Jin Sui would chase him away, so he smiled apologetically: "Next time I will never climb over the wall."
Jin Sui snorted, "Don't even think about opening a door to my yard! It's so ugly."
Gu Changxiao nodded repeatedly to assure her, thinking in his heart that he should marry Suisui as soon as possible, so that he wouldn't have to go through so much trouble to see her then.
Seeing his sincere attitude, Jin Sui smiled and said, "Let's install a 'telephone'!"
"Telephone?"
"I'm kidding. Install a bell and pull a rope from my study to yours. If there's something, just ring the bell and the other party will be able to hear it. There's no need to send servants to pass on the message, and you don't have to climb the wall."
Gu Changxiao said happily: "This method is feasible! I will find a craftsman to install it tomorrow."
Jin Sui ate two dumplings and felt that something was missing. The dumplings did not taste good with the tea. She asked Gu Changxiao to sit for a while and she went to the bedroom and brought out a large bottle of happy water.
Gu Changxiao poured two glasses of bubbling happy water and drank them all in one gulp: "I always hear Hei Hu talking about this."
Jin Sui smiled and said, "Drinking it with ice in the summer is even more refreshing!"
I was worried every day when I was in northern Xinjiang. Later, I was not afraid on the way home, but the journey was too difficult.
Sitting under the warm kotatsu like now, eating dumplings and drinking Coke, Jinsui finally felt a little satisfied and comfortable.
The two of them had just finished eating dumplings, trimmed the lantern flowers, and were planning to chat while digesting the food when they saw the lights in the front yard and heard the sound of a carriage. Grandpa Ling and Jin'an had returned home.
Jin Sui hurriedly pushed Gu Changxiao away: "Hurry, don't let my grandfather find out."
My grandfather was determined to raise me to be a normal girl. No normal girl would let a man climb over the wall and eat dumplings with him!
Gu Changxiao said, "Don't sleep too late. I'll go to the military camp tomorrow morning, so you don't have to get up so early."
Jin Sui pushed the bowls and pots he brought to him and said, "Can you flip it over? Do you want me to bring a ladder?"
Gu Changxiao took a few steps back, leaped vertically, jumped over the wall to the other side, and whistled at her.
Jin Sui whispered, "Be careful or I'll plant a cactus on the wall tomorrow!"
"Sui Sui, you didn't have enough tonight! Grandpa brought a pot of stewed vegetables and steamed buns. Come, have some more."
Grandpa Ling and Jinan brought over a small pot. Jinsui burped, poured a glass of Coke for Jinan, and poured some water for Grandpa.
"You can't drink tea at night. It affects your sleep."
"Grandpa also wants to drink sweet water."
"Drinking it at night will make you bloated, so drink it tomorrow at noon! I'll add some shredded ginger and cook it, and we can drink it while it's hot."
Jin'an has a keen nose: "Why do I smell dumplings?"
Jin Sui panicked: "You want to eat dumplings, right? I'll make some for you tomorrow. How about lamb and green onion dumplings?"
"Why doesn't Sui Sui eat meat? Don't you love fried crispy meat in stew? Look, your chin has become thinner and more pointed after going to Northern Xinjiang. Come on, eat more meat!"
With tears in her eyes, Jinsui took the big bowl of stew from her grandfather. Woohoo, if she had this kind of midnight snack more often, she would either die of overeating or die of obesity.
Grandpa also picked up some meat for Jinan and sighed, "Don't think I'm nagging, since the prince has already agreed to your father's request.
Then we will wait patiently for the day when the prince is able to return to Chang'an. Grandpa believes that you have realized after so long that overturning a case is not such a simple matter. If the three of us return to Chang'an, it will be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. We must rely on the prince for this matter!"
Jin Sui chuckled and said, "That's what we planned in the beginning. We came to the border town quietly to seek refuge with the prince, and then proposed to overturn the case after we got to know him well. Although the process was a little different, the result was successful."
She reached out and touched Jin'an's head: "From now on, you just need to eat well, drink well, practice martial arts and study, and you just need to be responsible for growing up. I will leave the case to you, sister."
Jinan put down the bowl: "Am I useless?"
Jin Sui slapped him directly, almost pressing his face into the bowl: "You are so young, but you are learning to talk like an old man!"
You should beat your brother as early as possible, because Princess Toya can't beat King Bater now.
Grandpa coughed and said, "I, an old man, don't even say that!"
Jin Sui held Jin An's ear and said, "You don't listen to a word my sister says, do you? What do you mean you are useless? You are still a child! It is not easy to get to this point, do you still want to make trouble?"
"But my sister has only been a 15-year-old, and she has done such a big thing!"
Jin Sui said proudly: "Sister is different, she is a genius! You are at most a talent, and talents have to grow slowly."
Jin An: ...In terms of being thick-skinned, I really can't compare to you! Jin Sui asked Grandpa again: "When are you going to open a Taoist temple?"
Grandpa Ling said happily: "The prince asked me to choose the site first, and the government will come to build it. It will start in the spring. Before the Taoist temple is built, I will comfort the refugees at the refugee office."
Jin Sui suggested to his grandfather: "The imperial court has an Imperial Observatory. You can find out what it does specifically and then run the Taoist temple as a branch of it.
Sometimes the common people don’t trust the government, but they trust you! The more your reputation spreads, the more the common people in Border Town will trust you.”
Grandpa Ling was full of fighting spirit. He never thought that he could fulfill his dream from his youth and become the master of a temple when he was old.
Jin'an reminded quietly: "It's not a border town, it's a city of infinite strength!"
I don't know why, but Jin Sui felt quite embarrassed when he heard the name of this city from someone else. This is what it feels like when a joke comes true and you have to pay for it.
"In short, before the prince is unable to return to Chang'an, the three of us, grandparents and grandchildren, cannot be lazy. We should do something good in the border town!"
"It's a city of infinite power." Jin Yanran is the spokesperson for the new city's name.
Grandpa Ling stroked his beard and smiled, "Sui Sui is right! By the way, the gold you left for me before has not been used. If you need it, just take it."
Jin Sui shook his head: "Grandpa can use it to build a Taoist temple, open a chain of stewed food restaurants, hire tenants to farm the land, or use it as our Ji family's assets.
I still have silver, and that gold was given to you as a gift, so there is no reason for me to take it back."
She was telling the truth. The dividends from Yanzhizhai and the money she earned from this trip to Northern Xinjiang were enough for her to spend for a lifetime.
Making money seems to be difficult at the beginning, but once you earn the first pot of gold and have connections, it will become much easier later.
Of course, if the money is invested in building border towns, it will become a bottomless pit.
But Gu Changxiao said that he would not use her money for urban construction, and he would have to borrow from Jinsui when he was short of money, with a promissory note, and would return the principal and interest to Jinsui in the future.
"The prince said he would give us ten thousand acres of land, so we will take it and enclose the land with the Taoist temple as the center.
You don't have to plant all crops, you can plant some fruit trees, herbs, etc., and build a larger square. Ten thousand acres won't be much."
They also discussed Jin'an's studies: "There are no good teachers in Border Town, should he go to Yanzhou to study?"
Jinan shook his head fiercely: "No!"
Jin Sui thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait a little longer! After the Spring Examination this year, the prince will recruit talented people from the border town. I believe there will be good teachers."
Before, talented people from all over the world did not come to the border town because it was just an unpresentable frontier camp, and the King of Li was guilty of treason, so who would dare to go to the border town? But things were different in the spring. The Lida Wuxian City was officially completed, and the reputation of the King of Yu from the Northern Frontier Mission was bound to be damaged, and many candidates failed the spring exam.
Gu Changxiao had the power to be appointed as an official in his own fiefdom, which meant that when he served under King Li, his salary and rank were actually the same as those of officials in the imperial court.
Grandpa Ling and Jin'an went back to their own yard to sleep. Jinsui didn't want to move, so he took a pen and paper to the small table and wrote.
Because she talked with her grandfather about recruiting talents for the Border Town after the Spring Examination, she had many ideas. Not only did she want scholars, Gu Changxiao also wanted to recruit soldiers.
And she also needs to recruit talents, talents different from scholars, that is, craftsmen.
Craftsmen in this era were classified as artisans. Who would have thought that various intangible cultural heritage masters in later generations were classified as artisans in this era, which was only slightly better than being classified as a lowly person.
The most intuitive metaphor is that farmers have a hard life, facing the loess and back to the sky, relying on the weather for their livelihood. Once the weather is not good and there is no harvest for a year, or if there is a natural disaster such as drought, they have to leave their homes and become refugees.
However, for many people of the artisan or lowly class, the biggest wish in their lifetime is to buy a couple of acres of land and become farmers!
Many craftsmen have worked hard for three generations just to leave a few acres of land for their grandchildren.
The imperial court would take care of farmers who encountered natural disasters or man-made disasters, but it would not care about craftsmen and untouchables!
If there is a shortage of soldiers and a conscription order is issued, each farmer can provide one soldier, or several households can provide one soldier.
Craftsmen and untouchables were captured directly, and even if they were too old to serve in the army, they had to be made into military slaves.
They are taxed more heavily and are exploited and oppressed more severely. But the border town is in urgent need of these talents!
That’s right, in Jinsui’s opinion, they are talents!
What she was going to do next really required these craftsmen. If Gu Changxiao could find a successor of the Mo Sect for her, it would be much easier.
If Grandpa could use the Taoist temple to attract some talented Taoists, she would be willing to pay more gold to keep the talents.
Whether it was the oil that had not yet been recovered, the gunpowder that had not yet been researched, or the wool spinning machines and ships...
With the few craftsmen we have in the border town now, it is simply impossible to make it!
She planned to take advantage of Gu Changxiao's recruitment of talented people and also recruit craftsmen, including doctors, bricklayers, fireworks makers, carpenters, painters, etc.
As long as you arrive in the border town, you will be given a resettlement allowance, some taxes will be exempted, and your wages will be fully paid.
She thought about it and decided that she definitely couldn't be an official. If people knew that there was a female official in the border town, Gu Changxiao would definitely become the target of public criticism. Prince Yu was worried that he couldn't find any evidence against Gu Changxiao! It wouldn't work if she disguised herself as a man to be an official again, otherwise it would spread that Prince Li had a paternal love affair. And everyone already knew that she was a woman, so she would be embarrassed to pretend to be a man again!
Since it is not possible to conscript people under official authority, it is also not possible to conscript them in the name of businessmen, and the status of merchants is even lower.
What if some craftsmen with bad tempers are unwilling to come when they hear that it is a business? In the end, there is only one option left, that is to set up a college!
That’s right, I want to set up a brand new academy in the border town, take Mozi as my teacher, and recruit craftsmen from all over the world.
Of course, Confucius also needs to be worshipped. Since it is impossible to achieve universal literacy, primary schools must be opened.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt it was feasible. The plan of opening a college was a great one. Skilled craftsmen could come and be teachers, and apprentices could just become students.
The school provides food and accommodation, and you can pay tuition on credit until you graduate and get a job.
I believe that this alone will attract countless people to study in the border town! In the eyes of the lower class people, studying for the imperial examination is a ladder to heaven, and not every hundred students can produce a scholar.
In comparison, parents would rather their children learn a craft. In the past, they would look for a master to teach them, and they would have to work as an apprentice for several years before they could become a master.
But now there is a college in the border town that specializes in learning crafts! It is also the college built by Li Wangjian, where you can learn all 360 trades.
I'm sure many people would be willing to send their children here! She wrote furiously, writing the plan for opening an academy, and finally found that her hands were frozen, so she wrote in her space.
When she felt sleepy, she drank a cup of coffee and continued writing, and then drew a sketch of the college, including all the research she was going to do in the college.
There are branches based on disciplines, such as the Medical School's laboratory that specializes in penicillin research, and the Textile Institute's laboratory that specializes in wool spinning machines.
As for fish oil and gunpowder, they will definitely be placed in the Ministry of Military Industry, but if we can recommend our outstanding students, our college can also be listed there.
There is also agricultural science, where hybrid vegetables and fruits are researched and high-yield seeds are sold.
Can I borrow Yan Jiu's ship to go overseas to collect good seeds...
Jin Sui regretted that he had not thought of opening a school before! Now he was busy making plans.
She wrote and drew, and then collected information on the computer, until her neck was so sore that she could not lift it up, and then she realized that it was already six in the morning.
Grandpa is about to get up, and it would be bad if he found out she was not there.
I quickly packed up the documents and washed my face without changing my clothes.
She couldn't wait to find Gu Changxiao with the information in her arms. Thinking about how far it was from the main entrance, she brought a ladder and chose to climb the wall.
In the palace, several secret guards immediately noticed Miss Ji climbing the wall. The sky was just beginning to turn light, and the sun had not yet risen. Miss Ji was too impatient!
Our prince climbed to Ji's mansion under the moon, and Miss Ji climbed to the palace facing the sun. Why bother? It would be better to open a door in the middle!
Jinsui bent down and ran down the corridor like a thief. He looked around and felt relieved when he saw that there were no guards.
She had never been to the palace and didn't know where Gu Changxiao slept, so she knocked on the window of the east bedroom: "Gu Changxiao."
As a result, Gu Changxiao ran over from the martial arts field next to him, all sweaty. On such a cold morning, he was only wearing a short brown shirt, which was soaked with sweat and stuck tightly to his skin, revealing the lines of his abdominal muscles.
Jin Sui looked at it openly: "Your Highness has a really nice figure!"
Gu Changxiao was very surprised by her appearance and said with a smile: "Do you want me to take off my clothes for Sui Sui to see?"
Jin Sui blushed: "That's not necessary!"
He saw Jinsui holding some things and asked with a smile, "Is Suisui bringing me breakfast?"
Jin Sui said hurriedly: "No, I came here to ask for something."
"What do you want? If Sui Sui likes anything of mine, just tell me and I'll give it to you."
"Can you give me another 10,000 acres of land?"
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