It was not yet daybreak and the city gates were not opened.
At the south gate of the capital, a hanging basket was lowered onto the city wall.
Liu Zhao felt that the hanging basket would undermine his dignity, so he simply grabbed the rope with one hand and had someone pull him up.
After climbing up the city wall, he rode directly to the morning court.
This was how Liu Zhao lived outside the city and yet was still able to attend the morning court on time.
It was just a hardship for the city gate guards, who had to go up to the wall on time every day to pull up His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
At the same time, it also made life difficult for Liu Zhao's guards.
They have to get up early.
Run forward and go to the city gate to greet Liu Zhao.
In the middle of the night, I dare not gallop on the streets of the capital.
The Jinwu Guards are not vegetarians.
Just run forward and treat it as exercise.
The only bad thing is that it is very cold in winter.
Liu Zhao leaned on a rope and tried hard to be a good minister, a good son, a good husband, and a good father.
He doesn't care at all about what others say or speculate.
There were two consecutive snowfalls in the capital, and the New Year was approaching in the blink of an eye.
The government office was on holiday, and Liu Zhao ended his hard days of attending morning court every day.
Before the holiday, the Ministry of Revenue sent half a year's worth of food.
This incident made the Imperial College very unhappy.
The Imperial College, the official academy of the imperial court, has always been superior.
Shanhe Academy was privately founded, and even though it had good results in the imperial examinations, it was still considered inferior in the eyes of everyone in the Imperial College.
Now the Ministry of Revenue provides food to support the teachers and students of Shanhe Academy.
Doesn’t this mean that Shanhe Academy will one day become an official academy similar to the Imperial College?
Everyone in the Imperial College was very angry and panicked.
It's the New Year's Day, but instead of staying at home to rest, I'm running around all day, looking for news.
What does it mean that the Ministry of Revenue sent grain to Shanhe Academy?
Just delivering food?
Or is it that the imperial court intends to support Shanhe Academy?
Some people even asked for information and found out about it in front of Gu Jiu.
Huang Qubing had nothing to do, so he went to the mountain to chat with Liu Zhao, but in fact he was looking for Gu Jiu's advice.
Liu Zhao disliked Huang Qubing very much.
Among so many cousins, Huang Qubing was the least ambitious one. But he also lived the most carefree life.
Everyone knew that he had been in poor health since childhood, so they doted on him especially.
As a poor child who was neither loved by his mother nor his father, Liu Zhao grew up wildly like a weed. He became even more miserable when compared with Huang Qubing.
There must be something fishy going on if he can tolerate Huang Qubing.
He reminded Huang Qubing, "Madam is in poor health, so please speak less. Don't disturb him unless necessary." Otherwise, you will be in trouble.
Huang Qubing was still holding a folding fan in the middle of winter, looking cool. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, cousin. I also hope that my wife will recover soon."
Liu Zhao left reluctantly and went out with his subordinates.
Huang Qubing teased Gu Jiu, "Your Highness has been well trained by Madam. I wonder what the secret is?"
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's so cold, why are you running out instead of staying in the room?"
"It's the end of the year now, so I have to come and visit you. Secondly, because of the Ministry of Revenue sending grain to Shanhe Academy, there's been a big commotion at the Imperial College, and many people have come to me, wanting to know the inside story. I can't refuse, so I have no choice but to come to Madam for help."
Gu Jiu laughed, "There is no inside information. The Ministry of Revenue gave me food as a reward from His Majesty for my many years of running the school."
"Is it that simple?"
Gu Jiu nodded. "Yes, it's that simple. How complicated do you think it could be? You know His Majesty's personality. Is it possible for the Ministry of Revenue to pay for so many teachers and students?"
Huang Qubing shook his head, of course not possible.
It is very expensive to support a scholar.
The expenses of one scholar can support ten or twenty people.
Supporting thousands of teachers and students is equivalent to using money to support tens of thousands of people.
Emperor Wende is such a stingy person, he would never be so generous.
And the Ministry of Revenue doesn’t have that much money.
Huang Qubing asked, "So, it's impossible for Shanhe Academy to become a government-run institution?"
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, "Which government-run academy can be as large as Shanhe Academy?"
The Imperial College, an official institution run by the imperial court, had a total of only a thousand students and teachers at its peak. At its lowest point, there were only a few hundred people.
With such a small number of people, the imperial court felt that it was a waste of money to support the Imperial College.
One Shanhe Academy is equivalent to five or six Imperial Colleges.
If we turn Shanhe Academy into a government-run institution and ask the court to pay for its support, the court will only say: No money!
Anyone who asks for money should get as far away as possible.
The Ministry of Revenue would rather have only money coming in and no money going out.
I don't like anyone who asks for money.
Huang Qubing laughed heartily upon hearing this. "I told you those people were overthinking it. They just jumped around all day, stirring up trouble out of nothing."
Gu Jiu said, "Don't worry about the Imperial College. Shanhe Academy has snatched students from the Imperial College, and they've fought back several times, but all failed. Now that there's a little bit of trouble, they're like a frightened bird, which is normal.
Next year, your main task will be to launch "Mr. Yang's Talks about Jiangling" and make it a true hit. Strive to expand and strengthen Wenqing Bookstore, making it the only bookstore worth owning in the eyes of readers. In addition, I will separate Wenqing Bookstore from Sihai Trading Company. From now on, Wenqing Bookstore will be completely independent."
"Do you really want Wenqing Bookstore to be completely independent?"
Gu Jiu smiled and asked, "I will let you be the general manager of Wenqing Bookstore. You will make all the decisions. Are you confident?"
Bang!
Huang Qubing waved his folding fan and said, "Let me be the chief steward, aren't you afraid that I will embezzle money?"
"There will be regular financial audits. And I trust you. You're not short of money. There's no need to ruin your reputation and financial future for a little profit."
Huang Qubing laughed. "Thank you for your trust! I will manage Wenqing Bookstore well. It's a hen that lays golden eggs, and the profits are much higher than your cement road. I have to keep a close eye on it. I can't let those with bad intentions get their hands on this pure bookstore."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Cement roads are infrastructure. Without infrastructure, everything is just talk."
"I know, I know. I've memorized all your theories about infrastructure. I'm thinking that when the time is right, I'll publish them in a book so everyone knows that building roads is the first step to prosperity."
Hahaha……
Gu Jiu was very happy.
She finally influenced a group of people, who followed her closely and made great strides forward.
The faint light of thought grew bigger.
…
Liu Zhao took Yu Ge'er and Heng Ge'er out hunting and exchanged ideas at the same time.
Brother Heng had a lot of fun playing in the snow.
The guards were busy protecting his safety.
Liu Zhao took Yu Ge'er to the top of the mountain.
“Is the view here nice?”
Yu Ge'er nodded, "Excellent!"
He looked at his tall father curiously, "Father, do you have anything to say to your son?"
"During the time I've been back in Beijing, I haven't asked you how you managed to convince your grandfather to agree to let you become Renqiu's apprentice. Could you tell me about it?"
Yu Ge'er kept his mouth shut.
Liu Zhao laughed, "Are you embarrassed to say it?"
"Did mother ask father to ask?"
"If your mother wanted to ask you something, would she be so roundabout?"
Yu Ge'er smiled embarrassedly, "Mother never asked me, I'm very curious."
"That's because your mother trusts you."
"Doesn't my father trust me?"
"It's different!" Liu Zhao patted Yu Ge'er's shoulder. "We are all descendants of the royal family, which means we have to be cautious every step of the way. Your mother didn't ask you because, firstly, she trusts you, secondly, she doesn't want to put pressure on you, and thirdly, she doesn't want to slander the Liu family in front of you, let alone your royal grandfather."
Yu Ge'er seemed to understand but not quite.
Liu Zhao said to him, "You only need to tell me how you persuaded your grandfather. I will tell you everything else when you are older."
Yu Ge'er nodded, "My son told Grandfather that as the Emperor's grandson, he doesn't need to take the imperial examinations and pursue a career in government, nor does he need to specialize in the Four Books and Five Classics. Mr. Ren is quite knowledgeable, and besides astronomy, he has dabbled in other miscellaneous subjects. If my grandson could study with Mr. Ren, it would surely broaden his horizons and open his mind."
"that's all?"
Liu Zhao obviously didn't believe it.
Yu Ge'er pondered for a moment and continued, "I also told Grandfather that my father was uneducated and couldn't even do accounting. He was always short of money and grain, and all expenses had to be covered by my mother. I must learn from this lesson. I can't say I've learned it well, but at least I can't be like my father and become a prodigal son."
Liu Zhao looked at Yu Ge'er with a sad face, this son who had betrayed his father.
Is there anyone who speaks like this?
"How can a father be so ignorant? You little bastard."
Yu Ge'er looked aggrieved. "In front of the Royal Grandfather, the only way to please him is to slander my father. This is the only chance I have of convincing him to agree to let him become Mr. Ren's apprentice. I have no choice but to do this."
After saying this, he secretly muttered in his heart, "Father is indeed unlearned and incompetent."
Liu Zhao bent his finger and knocked on Yu Ge'er's head. "Just to become Renqiu's apprentice, you slander me like this? Don't you have a conscience?"
Who did this son, who is his father's traitor, learn from?
Yu Ge'er said pitifully, "Because I said bad things about my father, I have had nightmares for several days and couldn't sleep all night."
hehe!
"I didn't realize you were having nightmares. Is that a fake person sleeping so soundly every night?"
Yu Ge'er felt wronged, "When my son had a nightmare, his father had not returned yet."
"Even if I hadn't come back, I would have known you were lying. You must have said a lot of bad things about me in front of your royal grandfather, right?"
"That's not true! Father misunderstood me. If I had continued to slander you, my grandfather would not have agreed to let me become Mr. Ren's disciple."
That's true.
Liu Zhao nodded.
He touched Yu Ge'er's head and said, "Go play."
Yu Ge'er secretly breathed a sigh of relief and ran down the mountain.
I finally got through this stage.
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