"Ling'er! Take Meiniang out to play! It's lively outside now!" After a while, once Wu Meiniang had calmed down, Qin Mu smiled and patted her shoulder.
"Okay, big brother!" A clever girl next to her said happily, her big eyes lighting up. She then stepped forward and pulled Wu Meiniang, saying, "Meiniang, come on! The streets have been so lively these past few days, you haven't had a chance to go out and play."
Watching his younger sister practically skip away, Qin Mu couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. His lively sister had only average talent; without his own input-based training method, becoming a Confucian cultivator would be impossible.
The Qin family was very lively that year. Right after the New Year, they married off another daughter, this time to the Prince of Wu's household. Most interestingly, the number of gifts sent to the Qin family exceeded those sent to the emperor. After all, for an official to give gifts to the emperor, it had to be commensurate with their status; otherwise, where did all that money come from? Needless to say, it was embezzlement.
Comparatively speaking, there are fewer concerns and taboos when giving gifts to the Qin family. And very few people know that several new orphanages and nursing homes have been established in Chang'an to house the city's orphans and destitute elderly.
With several hundred more Confucian scholars in Chang'an, the New Year was even more lively, with at least several dozen more literary gatherings.
Many people tested the Confucian scholars trained by Qin Mu and were certain that these young men could indeed recite more than five hundred books fluently, and had a deep understanding of many parts. Although they were not as good as other Confucian scholars in terms of poetry and prose, considering that they only took four months, it was simply an incredible feat.
The world was shaken! Many people came to him seeking advice, but Qin Mu did not reveal the method. He only said that it was a way to squeeze out potential in a short period of time. Whether there would be any progress in the future would depend on their own talents.
In other words, although 500 people became Confucian scholars, less than 10% became academicians, and just like the others, very few became great Confucian scholars.
Afterwards, the turmoil gradually subsided. After all, it seemed normal that such a high price could only result in becoming an ordinary Confucian scholar. However, Qin Mu greatly shortened this time, helping them overcome the most difficult hurdle.
An ordinary Confucian scholar, with just a crossbow, could easily solve the problem; even a ferocious beast couldn't handle it alone. However, for the wealthy, it was still excellent value for money.
The third phase started as scheduled, and although the number of participants reached three thousand, the impact was much smaller and the event was much calmer than the previous phase.
Teaching 3,000 people is obviously not as fast as the previous two times. This time, Qin Mu announced a timeframe of six months to a year.
The same recipe, the same taste—four months later, the teaching controversy, which had seemed to be calming down, was stirred up again by a rumor. It was said that many heads of powerful families were cursing Qin Mu at home.
"Qin Huaidao harbors malicious intentions! He is not a son!" This statement reportedly spread far and wide, and someone revealed the reason. It turns out that those Qin Mu taught cultivated righteousness and integrity, were intolerant of any dishonesty or underhanded dealings. However, the aristocratic families had been engaging in similar practices behind the scenes. They had originally intended to cultivate their younger generation, but instead, these younger members directly clashed with their elders, fiercely arguing and even advising the family to change its management style.
Imagine how devastating and impactful it would be if all the younger, or most important, members of the family became upright and selfless people.
"Hahaha! Did they really think I would be so kind as to give them a large number of official positions!" Li Shimin burst into laughter. It turned out that Qin Mu had already discussed this with him, so as soon as the New Year was over, he assigned those five hundred Confucian scholars to various places. When things escalated, it would be his turn to watch the show. It could be said that this group of people were trained for him for free by aristocratic families, and they were elites at that.
The people Qin Mu educated through hypnosis only had their personalities subtly influenced; it had no impact on their intelligence. In fact, the exploitative education actually developed their brains, making them a little smarter.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Qin Mu couldn't help but smile. Those aristocratic families really thought he was a good Samaritan who did good deeds anonymously, spending so much effort to help cultivate talent.
Of course, he needed to communicate with Li Shimin about this matter, since without Li Shimin's support, he wouldn't have many resources in a short time.
The collaboration between the ruler and his ministers severely harmed the aristocratic families—a harm so devastating and far-reaching that it had a profound impact. An upright person would naturally hold their descendants to high standards, expecting them to emulate him. Therefore, Qin Mu's scheme has arguably ruined the aristocratic families, and the crucial point is that most haven't yet realized the extent of the damage, believing only that Qin Mu has alienated their most elite descendants.
Only Li Shimin and Qin Mu knew about this, so the two could only laugh behind closed doors. Within a hundred paces of the imperial study, there was no one else, only the faint sound of laughter could be heard.
With the cultivation of a great Confucian scholar like Qin Mu, after months of continuous brainwashing, it can be said that this method is completely ingrained, almost like an innate personality trait.
"This is terrible for me. I've offended all the powerful families in the land!" Qin Mu said with a smile.
"It's alright! Those short-sighted people, so be it if we offend them. They can't possibly retaliate! Those who are truly insightful won't care too much. In fact, this matter is of great benefit to them. At most, it will cause some difficulties for the family heirs," Li Shimin said, waving his hand.
Qin Mu understood this principle, of course, and he couldn't possibly offend ninety percent of the powerful families in the world. Few powerful families didn't value their reputation; they would arrange for people to do good deeds and build up their prestige. Major families would all claim to be families of scholars and virtuous people! Now, Qin Mu was simply helping them create a group of permanently good people.
Clever families will use these individuals as role models to actively promote the family's values, and gradually everyone will follow suit. As for the issue of succession, it's not a big deal, since those sent over are mostly teenagers under twenty, and very few are heirs to the family headship.
If there's really no other choice, you can always start over. If your main account is ruined, you can just create a new one. There are plenty of ways. No one will die from holding their pee.
It's understandable that he was indignant, but Qin Mu didn't care. What Li Shimin valued was that now there was a large number of capable people available, and in the future, there would be more upright people among the aristocratic families. This was a very good thing for the great cause of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, Qin Mu's move provided the best and most stable foundation for the successor of the Tang Dynasty, because there would be more than three thousand more upright officials among the next generation of the Tang Dynasty. You can imagine how significant this was.
Qin Mu's biggest goal was to offend people and let Li Shimin see that he had many friends, but even more enemies. At the very least, those powerful families would be wary of Qin Mu in the future and would not support him in many matters, but would be on guard against him.
"My dear minister! You truly put me in a difficult position. I don't know how to reward you properly!" Li Shimin looked at Qin Mu with satisfaction, but also with a hint of distress.
"Since Your Majesty is in a difficult position, why not bestow upon me another island in the South Seas?" Qin Mu said with a smile.
"You! Since you like it, just pick one yourself." Li Shimin was increasingly satisfied and pointed at Qin Mu as he spoke.
Qin Mu said he wanted to bestow rewards, but Li Shimin knew, of course, that those uninhabited islands were actually of little value, and there wasn't even enough manpower to develop them. Rather than saying he wanted them, it was more like he was giving him a way out.
Qin Mu didn't really care about the reward. He was already rich enough, and a little more wealth wouldn't be of any use. An island, on the other hand, was quite nice. He could leave some things there in the future, which would serve as historical sites for posterity. Even if something unexpected happened ten thousand years later, it could still serve as irrefutable evidence of the Tang Dynasty's territory!
Li Shimin certainly wouldn't be so stingy as to use what he considered a useless wasteland tens of thousands of miles away as a reward for Qin Mu. So he also bestowed titles and rewards upon the Qin family, bestowing wealth upon each member under different pretexts.
There was no other way; the Qin family had very few titles to bestow. Qin Qiong was a Duke, and Consort Zheng was a First-Rank Imperial Consort; Qin Yuxin was a Princess, Qin Mu was a Duke, Changning was a Princess, and Qin Huaiyu was to inherit the Duke's title. Qin Mu's children were still young, and he only had one son, so no titles were awarded to them. This was why Li Shimin said he was in a dilemma and didn't know how to bestow titles upon them. Either the bestowal of titles was inappropriate, or the family had already reached their limit.
Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty is currently in dire need of manpower, with many places requiring garrisoning and pacification. Moreover, it has plenty of overseas lands and novel elixirs to bestow as rewards. Therefore, few people are worried about the situation of "discarding the bow after the birds are all gone" or "cooking the dog after the rabbit is dead."
"What a pity! This child is truly exceptionally intelligent!" Qin Mu sighed, looking out the door.
“Lu Zhaolin is indeed a clever child. No wonder you are reluctant to let him leave, my husband,” Princess Changning said with a smile.
"Hmm! It's alright. If we're really talking about talent, Luo Binwang is no less talented than him."
As Qin Mu finished speaking, a young man dressed in blue robes beside him gave a shy smile.
"Teacher! You haven't accepted them yet, did you perhaps guess they would leave?" Zheng Liwan asked curiously.
Qin Mu didn't answer her question. He knew in his heart that the aristocratic families would likely call the students back, perhaps even late. Of course! The aristocratic families used an excuse to send their prized children back, and those children had to study according to their expectations. Because they truly didn't trust Qin Mu; no one knew what he might do next. Thus, Qin Mu faced his first large-scale expulsion from school. Although the excuse was a family emergency, it was clear that this was just a pretext, and these people wouldn't be returning.
Qin Mu didn't care at all, because this batch was already half-finished; the only difference was that they hadn't become Confucian scholars yet. They just needed to study hard, and sooner or later they would cross the threshold. Therefore, Qin Mu directly told anyone who had family matters to attend to that could leave immediately. Only those few whom Qin Mu particularly valued came to say goodbye.
"Wouldn't it be better if you left? I'd be more relaxed. Why don't you go back too? You've already learned almost everything anyway," Qin Mu said lazily, leaning back on the sofa.
"Hehe, I don't want to leave. There are still so many things I haven't learned yet," Zheng Liwan said with a grin.
"You're the senior sister, you need to be more mature and don't lead your junior brothers and sisters astray."
“We’re all girls, so we don’t need to worry about that. It’s just that Junior Brother Di and Junior Brother Luo need to be more mature. They’ll be your future role models,” Zheng Liwan said, her eyes darting around.
"In my heart, there is no distinction between men and women. You must strive to become the first female Confucian scholar in history," Qin Mu said with a smile.
Zheng Liwan and the others felt a warm glow in their hearts upon hearing this. Qin Mu not only treated men and women equally, but he also showed them, the female students, even more care. At least they had their own courtyards and maids, while Di Renjie and Luo Binwang, who shared a courtyard, only had an old woman and a guard. Not to mention their food, only they had snacks.
Among the students in the third cohort, Qin Mu actually valued quite a few, but in the end, only Luo Binwang was retained and accepted as his personal disciple.
"Teacher! Someone has come to visit!" said Xu Hui, the youngest student, as she entered the room.
"Okay, you guys have fun." Qin Mu got up and walked out. Anyone who could enter the manor was of extraordinary status; otherwise, no one would have come to report.
"I came in a hurry and didn't even prepare a visiting card. Please forgive me, Huai Dao!" Chu Suiliang, an old acquaintance, said with a smile and cupped his hands.
"It is my honor to have Dr. Chu grace us with his presence! And who are these two?" Qin Mu asked.
"This is the widow of an old friend of mine, Sister-in-law Xu, and her son, Ouyang Tong," Chu Suiliang introduced.
"Please have a seat, Sister-in-law Xu!" Qin Mu greeted her.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" the middle-aged woman returned the greeting.
From her composed demeanor, Qin Mu could tell that she was a very well-mannered woman.
“Huai Dao, I know you’re a very straightforward person, so I won’t beat around the bush. I’ve come here today to ask you for a favor,” Chu Suiliang said after they had all sat down.
"Please tell me, I will never refuse to help if I can." Qin Mu nodded with a smile.
"The story is this: my old friend Ouyang Xun was a master calligrapher, but alas, fate was cruel, and he died young, leaving behind his widow and her children. Now, Tong'er wants to revive the family's fortunes, so he wishes to become your disciple," Chu Suiliang explained.
"Doctor Chu, are you here to make fun of me? Everyone knows that you are countless times better than me in calligraphy. If you're not going to teach me, why are you pushing me here?" Qin Mu asked, his eyes wide.
"Huai Dao, don't be angry. Although I have mastered the art of calligraphy, when it comes to the variety and uniqueness of my style, I am far inferior to you. Even Master Yu speaks highly of you."
"I asked you to guide Tong'er so that he could learn different styles and characteristics, and then combine them with those of the Ouyang family, so that he could reach even greater heights," Chu Suiliang explained.
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