"Since we've come this far, what else can I say? Then stay. But let me be clear from the start: I can't offer much guidance on calligraphy, only different styles for you to explore. You can study at home; you don't necessarily have to become my disciple. Given my relationship with Doctor Chu, I certainly won't hold back." Qin Mu said, spreading his hands. The last part was addressed to Ouyang Tong.
"Student greets teacher!" Ouyang Tong stepped out from behind his mother and respectfully bowed to Qin Mu.
"Get up! I don't need so much formality here. I'm curious, do you know what's been going on about me outside? Why do people still want to become my disciples? What I said just now wasn't a lie. You can still back out now, and I'll give you more than ten different styles of calligraphy to study." Qin Mu asked with considerable interest. The boy in front of him was very composed in every move, and he had made his decision without even looking at Chu Suiliang and his mother's expressions.
Rumors are circulating that Qin Mu used evil magic to control and change the students' minds, so many people are eagerly telling their children to leave.
"I know, but I think they are just mediocre people spouting nonsense. As a great Confucian scholar, you cultivate righteousness and integrity. How could you do such a despicable thing?" Ouyang Tong replied respectfully.
"Very good! The first thing a person must do is have their own opinions, and a firm will is the foundation of success. Once you've taken care of your own affairs, you can come over anytime." Qin Mu nodded in satisfaction.
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Sister-in-law Xu bowed gratefully.
"Sister-in-law Xu, you're too kind. This child is very steady, and I like him very much," Qin Mu said, bowing in return.
“Teacher, I am ready and can begin learning at any time,” Ouyang Tong said.
"Alright then! I'll introduce you to your senior brothers and sisters later." Qin Mu nodded slightly.
"Then I won't disturb you teaching your students any longer, Huai Dao. I'll come back another day to learn from you. To be honest, I also wish someone could fill my head with hundreds of books," Chu Suiliang said half-jokingly, with a hint of envy.
"I'll leave Tong'er in Master Qin's care!"
"No problem!"
After seeing Chu Suiliang and the others off, Qin Mu led Ouyang Tong to the backyard.
"These are your eldest senior sister Zheng Liwan, second senior sister Wu Meiniang, third senior sister Li Yan'er, fourth senior sister Xu Hui, eldest senior brother Di Renjie, and second senior brother Luo Binwang. You joined my sect in chronological order. This is just a ranking; I hope you will help and learn from each other in the future, and not harbor jealousy or fight among your fellow disciples. Even if you have different political views, it should be fair and square competition," Qin Mu instructed.
"Yes, sir!" The group bowed respectfully to Qin Mu.
"Alright, no need to be so serious, Tong'er. Your eldest sister is proficient in mathematics and musical instruments, your second sister has a wide range of interests, your third sister is good at chess, and your fourth sister likes calligraphy and painting; Renjie is meticulous in his thinking, especially fond of reasoning and good at planning, and Binwang is witty and talented in poetry. Even I am not as good as him. You should learn from them in the future," Qin Mu introduced.
He can indeed impart knowledge, but that only inputs it into their memories. Whether they can truly learn to apply it depends on their personal preferences. After all, if they don't like something, they won't even want to look at it, even if it's placed right in front of them.
"I understand!" Ouyang Tong bowed and replied.
"These are some calligraphy copybooks. Take them and study them yourself." Qin Mu took out a stack of things and handed them to Ouyang Tong.
"yes."
"Renjie, take your junior brother down there, arrange accommodations for him, and then explain the study schedule," Qin Mu instructed.
"Yes!" Di Renjie tried his best to appear as the senior brother, and bowed.
For these disciples, Qin Mu not only imparted knowledge to them, but also provided them with many things to study on their own. In addition, the books collected by the Qin family were comparable to those of the royal family.
Qin Mu disliked wasting manpower, so he borrowed all the books he could, such as those from Li Gang's collection and the imperial collection, and carried out printing and copying at the same time, constantly expanding his family's library.
The Princess's mansion today consists of various small courtyards and the residences of Qin Mu and his wife in the backyard, a library and playground in the middle, and a training ground and living room in the front yard. Learning through play and balancing work and rest is the most scientific teaching method. Even if it's just about imparting knowledge, he hopes these young disciples can have a happy childhood. Although they are all very intelligent children, self-disciplined and don't need supervision, play is still essential, so Qin Mu has specially arranged rest time for them.
Some students dropped out, while others continued to send others to the school. However, Qin Mu refused all the children sent later, explaining that he also needed to go into seclusion. As the spiritual energy became increasingly abundant, more and more people chose to cultivate in seclusion, since the Tang Dynasty had begun to stabilize.
Time flies, and the Tang Dynasty saw an increasing number of talented individuals and masters emerge, making the nation ever stronger. The Western Regions were conquered because, having lost the protection of the powerful families in the northwest, the Buddhist community dared not oppose the court. They readily helped the court conquer the entire Western Regions in exchange for a promise of permission to spread their religion. Neither suppressing nor supporting them—this was exactly what the Buddhist community wanted; only in this way could they contend with the Daoists.
The orcs are in a tragic situation. Powerful tribes have emerged and are vying for territory with them. One side is strong, and the other is numerous, making it a close contest. They have been fighting for years without a clear victor. The newly emerged tribes don't seem to find life too difficult, except for the high number of deaths. On the contrary, the orcs who originally lived in the main world are facing a shrinking living space and a much harder life.
Why would the Tang Dynasty let such an opportunity pass? Sowing discord and using others to do their dirty work are common tactics they use. They gain benefits from the war without having to exert much effort; they simply sell some supplies at high prices.
As the spiritual energy increases, the crops grow even more beautifully, and they don't even need fertilizer. The only thing to do is weed. The crops grow well, and the weeds grow even better. Weeding is required once or twice a month, which is the most troublesome task.
With a bumper harvest, the country's strength naturally increased, and the people would not go hungry, which naturally enabled them to support more children. It can be said that the Tang Dynasty ushered in an era of population explosion.
As the Tang Dynasty's territory expanded, Li Shimin decisively appointed his sons to govern local areas. These were not fiefdoms or regional military commands, but simply positions of authority without military power, thus silencing any objections from ministers. The Tang Dynasty's Grand Secretariat was established, comprising 131 members who determined the daily affairs of the Tang Dynasty.
The cabinet replaced most of the responsibilities of the three provinces. Of the 131 people, there was one cabinet master, ten deputy cabinet masters, thirty cabinet elders, and 90 cabinet members. The cabinet master and deputy cabinet masters were replaced every four years and could only serve a maximum of three consecutive terms. The only constant was the thirty cabinet elders. The cabinet elders were the old ministers of the Tang Dynasty. They were already of retirement age and rarely appeared except for the annual summary meeting. They usually just took turns listening to the cabinet's policies.
As for Li Shimin, he could ask questions whenever he wanted, or not at all. He would either conduct random checks or review the daily reports submitted to him by the cabinet. Minor matters were glossed over, major matters were briefly mentioned, and details were only checked when necessary. This made his work much easier.
The cabinet's power was primarily concentrated in administrative affairs; actual execution remained the domain of the Six Ministries and Twenty-Four Departments. However, in the Tang Dynasty, the judiciary had become an independent department, called the Tang Dynasty Ministry of Justice, composed of the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, the Six Doors (a government agency), and the Court of Judicial Review. The Ministry of Justice reviewed cases nationwide, and the Censorate supervised the entire country, though their voices were removed. Upon discovering problems, they were required to hand the cases over to the Six Doors for investigation and arrest. The Court of Judicial Review was a special entity; its main responsibility was to identify loopholes in Tang Dynasty law and draft new laws, which were then submitted to the cabinet for discussion and implementation.
The Secretariat, which handled affairs for the imperial family, was retained. Together with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Military Affairs, they formed the new Three Departments. The separation of the military and the judiciary, along with the cabinet, completely eliminated the possibility of powerful ministers. This was what reassured Li Shimin. Otherwise, as an emperor with a strong desire for control, how could he have allowed this situation to occur?
Very few people know that all of this was Qin Mu's suggestion, and it was he who persuaded Li Shimin to try it out. In fact, Qin Mu's reason for persuading Li Shimin was very simple. He asked Li Shimin: "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, able to govern such a vast country and make the country prosperous, but what about the future? You can train a qualified successor, but what about the third generation? The fourth generation? Why not take advantage of your absolute control over the country to find a way that will last for thousands of generations and have no future troubles, and even if it is wrong, you will have the ability to correct it?"
Li Shimin's expression changed repeatedly. Holding Qin Mu's thick memorial, he locked himself in the imperial study for a day and a night before announcing the formation of the cabinet.
In fact, Qin Mu wasn't worried. Firstly, he knew Li Shimin could see the benefits of this policy; the affairs of the Tang Dynasty had increased too much in recent years, and Li Shimin had long felt overwhelmed. Secondly, his changes weren't significant; the emperor's power hadn't been weakened, but rather further centralized, because the army and the judiciary were directly controlled by the emperor, who could issue orders without even going through the cabinet. This was precisely what the autocratic Li Shimin liked most; in the past, there were always one or two dissenters on matters big and small.
The cabinet had many advantages: it lightened his workload, helped him win over people, and even retired officials could retain the title of Grand Secretary. Those stubborn old men wouldn't care about the Grand Secretary's feelings; they would still argue if they felt the need to. Li Shimin liked to secretly watch the cabinet meetings, enjoying the heated debates and spittle flying from their lips. He also imagined how troublesome it would be to argue with those ministers himself.
From initial skepticism to liking the policy, Li Shimin's change was swift. After all, everything was under control, his work became easier, and he had time for other things. For example, he selected a group of beautiful women to travel incognito around Chang'an, checking on the selection of talent.
The Qin family also had its share of troubles. Qin Huaiyu married Princess Changle, and to make amends for Changsun Wuji, Li Shimin married Princess Dongyang to Changsun Chong. Changsun Wuji had no choice, as Empress Changsun was his own sister, and Princess Changle was still within the three degrees of mourning, which was ethically inappropriate. Qin Yuling married Xi Junmai, and Qin Mu couldn't understand when his sister had taken a liking to him.
After these two happy events, the Qin family went into seclusion. Not only did Qin Qiong rarely show up, but Qin Mu also rarely appeared. The work of the Six Doors was completely handed over to the new police chief.
In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era, the Tang Dynasty held its imperial examinations, holding both civil and military examinations. After a month of competition, the top three scholars were selected: Zheng Liwan (状元), Wu Meiniang (探花), and Di Renjie (榜眼). The fact that two of the top three were women put all the men to shame. Even more astonishing was that all three were renowned scholars, the oldest in his early twenties and the youngest, Di Renjie, not yet twenty. These three great scholars shocked the world, prompting everyone to inquire about their backgrounds, only to discover that they were all from the same school.
Then even more explosive news spread: Luo Binwang, ranked fourth on the top one hundred list; Ouyang Tong, ranked eleventh; Xu Hui, ranked sixteenth; and Li Yan'er, ranked nineteenth—all were Qin Mu's personal disciples. Moreover, they were all Confucian cultivators at the Grand Scholar level! This brought Qin Mu, who had been largely forgotten, back into the public eye.
Many people then remembered that the academy outside Chang'an that only admitted children from ordinary families was headed by Qin Mu, and that his personal disciples had been teaching the children all these years. However, these young people rarely appeared in the city, and since most of them were girls, no one had noticed the academy that had been educating children.
Consider this: a school established for eight years, with not a single student participating in the imperial examinations, how could it possibly attract attention, especially since it only enrolls children from ordinary families? Of course, outsiders wouldn't know that this academy has already trained tens of thousands of young people in various skills, who have entered numerous workshops, and even have a presence in the Imperial Crafts Bureau.
Lacking sufficient resources, Qin Mu certainly wouldn't waste his efforts cultivating Confucian scholars. However, inviting members of the Mohist school to teach some techniques was no problem, so he transformed the academy into a technical college. This way, his disciples could gain teaching experience while he also cultivated some technical talent for himself.
Imparting a vast amount of knowledge to his disciples and having them teach, allowing them to internalize and internalize it, was the best approach. That's why Qin Mu arranged for them to teach at the academy. And so, after years of relative obscurity, they suddenly achieved astonishing success.
"Women are no less capable than men, their talents surpass those of their time, and they are insightful in their observations!" This was Li Shimin's evaluation of the top three in this imperial examination. It was undeniably high, yet it left no room for argument. After all, these three young Confucian scholars were even younger than Qin Mu when he was promoted to the rank of Confucian scholar, and it could be said that they had surpassed their teachers.
Deep regret was the sentiment of all the aristocratic families. Because of what happened back then, almost all of them kept their distance from Qin Mu. Even when their students returned to Chang'an to pay their respects to their teacher, Qin Mu refused them entry. Now, looking back, the students who followed Qin Mu were at least Grand Scholars. If their families had maintained a friendly relationship, they could have easily cultivated a group of scholars, if not Grand Scholars. Therefore, the aristocratic families were filled with remorse. Although some students from the Qin family had advanced to the rank of Scholar over the years, the number was very small. After all, transforming hundreds of books into one's own knowledge and developing a suitable method was not easy. However, changing teachers made it much easier; it was practically a matter of a single word.
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