Chapter 232 Two Requests
Imperial Palace, Sutra Library.
The Sutra Repository is a place of great importance and power, and is located within the imperial palace.
The official positions here are usually reserved for some elders who are not convenient to handle but whose seniority and reputation are trusted by the royal family.
When the Xia Dynasty was first established, there was no one who needed to handle the situation like that, and the position of guarding the Sutra Repository eventually fell on three people.
Xun Ke, Zou Dan and Zhuangzi.
Among the three, Xun Ke was Mozi's apprentice, and he had lived in the Gu family courtyard for many years. He was taught by Gu Dan through words and deeds, and had high expectations for him.
Zou Dan and Zhuang Sheng were Qingpingzi's disciples, and both had top-notch talents.
The most important thing is that these three people are still too young.
Xun Ke was not even twenty years old, and Zou Dan and Zhuang Sheng were just over twenty years old.
Even if the Xia Dynasty was short of people, it would not let a twenty-year-old kid take over.
It’s not that Wang Mang despised their talents, but they lacked the baptism and precipitation of time. Going on the stage prematurely would undoubtedly overdraw a person’s future potential.
State affairs are heavy, and this is not just talk.
The Sutra Repository is a place that houses all kinds of books from all over the world. As long as you study hard, you can always learn a lot.
When you are a little older and have read a lot of books, you will understand all the laws if you understand one law. After reading thousands of volumes, it will undoubtedly be much simpler and easier to walk the path of the world.
From this we can see that Wang Mang put a lot of effort into the division of official positions.
In the Sutra Library, three people were each holding a book and reading.
The differences between the three people can be seen just from the types of books they read.
Xun Ke is reading a history book.
Zou Dan was looking at the astronomical calendar.
Only Zhuang Sheng was not doing his business. He was reading a book about the mysteries of immortality with great interest. It was a collection of legends about immortals in teahouses and taverns, most of which were purely fabricated stories. Any similarities were absolutely coincidental.
The three of them did not disturb each other, only the occasional sound of flipping pages connected them together.
There was no one in the Sutra Library except the servants who took care of the books.
After all, the Xia Dynasty had just been established and many positions were vacant. There was no time to recruit talented people. There was only Xu Wanrong in the harem, and there was only one prince - who was just born not long ago and did not need to come to the Sutra Library to read books.
The unprecedented leisure time also gave the three of them immense peace and quiet.
In addition, neither of them had very enthusiastic personalities, nor were they very familiar with each other, so they just enjoyed the quietness.
When Gu Dan stepped into the Sutra Library, he saw three little guys flipping through books and reading, completely unaware of his arrival.
Gu Dan did not alarm these little guys, but carefully observed the expressions on the three people's faces.
Perhaps because he was reading a history book, Xun Ke's expression was the most solemn.
Beside him, there were many history books spread out. After reading a few sentences, Xun Ke would even take out other books to compare them. He read very slowly.
In fact, most history books are extremely boring. They are by no means the exciting and bizarre stories circulated in restaurants and teahouses, but more of dry and routine accounts.
And it’s a very similar diary!
Perhaps the changes in a few words foreshadow a storm in the past.
Those who can read on and understand it are not ordinary people.
What’s more crucial is that many history books are actually vague. If one really digs out the hidden information in a simple sentence, it may be something that was extremely important at the time.
As for whether you can perceive it, it depends purely on your personal understanding.
What kind of nutrients can be drawn from it varies from person to person.
Looking at Zou Dan again, he was holding a book of astronomy and calendar, looking thoughtful. Beside him were writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, on which he would occasionally write some scribblings. Even with Gu Dan's eyesight, he could not tell what he was trying to write.
Those were probably symbols that he had simplified to the extreme, recording his sudden inspiration, but he didn't want to waste too much time, so he kept everything simple.
The one who had the most relaxed attitude was Zhuang Sheng.
This guy watched the storytelling stories in restaurants and teahouses with great gusto and high spirits. He had neither the worries of Xun Ke nor the thoughts of Zou Dan. He seemed to be immersed in the world of stories and completely let himself go.
Occasionally, he would be very excited and recite a few lines from the story in a very low voice. It didn't disturb the two of them from studying, but in comparison, he seemed a little unproductive.
Gu Dan stood there, waiting silently.
Only after Xun Ke's frown relaxed and a look of sudden enlightenment appeared on his face did he finally take action.
He snapped his fingers and a very fine breeze was lifted up, hitting Xun Ke's eyes. Stimulated, Xun Ke rubbed his eyes quickly, looked around to see which window was not closed properly, and saw Gu Dan waiting there.
Just as he was about to call out Mr. Gu subconsciously, he saw Gu Dan making a gesture to keep silent and pointing at the two people who were still immersed in the world of books.
Xun Ke understood what he meant. He packed up the books around him, put them together according to categories, then tiptoed out of the Sutra Library with Gu Dan without disturbing the remaining two people.
"How do you like this position? Do you like it?"
After walking out of the Sutra Repository, Gu Dan asked first.
"There are a lot of books to read, but it's a bit too leisurely."
Xun Ke scratched his head and said, "We are so short of manpower now, I can do something!"
"You are still young, so don't be in a hurry to do things. Even if there is something, Wang Mang, Qin Lisheng, and Gong Shangguo can handle it first, so don't be anxious. Wait until you have completed your studies, and then do things, and you will get twice the result with half the effort."
Gu Dan warned carefully.
Throwing the three people into the Sutra Repository was a tacit agreement between him and Wang Mang.
"All right."
Xun Ke nodded. He certainly understood that haste makes waste. "Mr. Gu, you came to see me. Do you have something to say?"
"How old are you?"
Without answering the question directly, Gu Dan asked instead.
"age?"
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Xun Ke thought carefully for a moment, "It should be the number 29."
"At this age, you are not too young. Do you have someone you like?"
Gu Dan asked.
"Um?!"
Xun Ke was stunned and his eyes widened.
No way, Mr. Gu, you haven't even married yet, how dare you rush me? "Ahem."
Gu Dan coughed dryly, obviously knowing that with his choice, it was not appropriate to be the one to urge marriage, so he said, "You should think about these things. I don't want you to get married now, but if there is someone you like, you might as well propose marriage first!"
Xun Ke shook his head repeatedly and said affirmatively: "No!"
"Really?"
Gu Dan asked.
"Really not!"
Xun Ke nodded firmly.
"Think about it again."
Gu Dan still refused to let him go and kept asking.
Xun Ke was helpless.
Where can he meet any girl?
Not to mention the lover, I have never thought about these things at all.
As I was thinking about this, a name suddenly popped into my mind.
Wait a minute It seems that he is not unfamiliar with the girl.
Xiaoying?! Thinking of this, Xun Ke quickly shook his head and threw away the terrible idea.
He was often "bullied" by Xiaoying in the past, so how could he have such thoughts? It is impossible that he wants to marry a girl just because he is a man and happens to know such a girl, right?
Seeing Xun Ke looking thoughtful and shaking his head repeatedly, Gu Dan knew that he had already thought of it.
That's good, I was just worried that I wouldn't have any ideas at all.
Gu Dan changed the subject and stopped urging him. Instead, he said, "If you are tired of reading, you can walk around the courtyard more often. Uncle Xu is already very old, and he still cares about your marriage. Even if you don't have that idea now, you might as well take some time out to accompany him."
"good."
Xun Ke nodded seriously, saying that it was okay.
Having lived in the Gu family compound for so many years, he had frequent interactions with Andy Hui, and he was more like a grandfather without any blood relationship.
"Just remember it. Go study first. I have something else to discuss with Wang Mang and the others."
Gu Dan waved his hand and sent Xun Ke away.
Gu Dan hardly interfered with the establishment of the Xia Dynasty.
As for the future national policy of the Xia Dynasty, Gu Dan was not prepared to interfere as long as there were no fundamental mistakes.
But there were only two things that he thought he must mention to Wang Mang and others, and they were also things that the Xia Dynasty must do.
It is a policy that has stood the test of time and benefits both the country and the people.
Even if we cannot change the system by which the country operates, we can still make life much better for the grassroots people, and we should not delay any further.
(End of this chapter)