Chapter 1110
Chapter 1110
The man who was dragged up had an angry look on his face. Even though the Jinyiwei guards had his neck in their hands, he struggled fiercely, looking like he would rather die than submit.
Pan Yun reached into his sleeve and pulled out a string of coins, dangling it in front of her: "Would you like to be my guide?"
The person being carried paused, taking a full three seconds before reaching out to put the money in their pocket.
The Imperial Guards then released him.
He carefully touched the roof ridge and sat down beside Pan Yun. Seeing that there was no danger, he introduced himself: "My name is Luo Yu."
Pan Yun glanced at his features and said, "You don't look like a Han Chinese."
"I am a Jurchen, and Luo Yu is the Han name I adopted," Luo Yu said proudly. "I have passed the preliminary examination and will soon take the county-level examination."
Pan Yun immediately clasped his hands in greeting: "Congratulations, congratulations! I heard that the imperial court has opened a special examination for you, and the exam papers are simpler than those for the Han people."
“It’s just a bit simpler,” Luo Yu said. “Besides, those who are selected through the special imperial examination can only serve as officials in their localities. I still want to enter officialdom through the major examination, just like the Han people.”
He said with anticipation, "If I am fortunate enough to enter the palace and meet His Majesty, I will have no regrets in this life. And if I can meet the Imperial Preceptor, I will have no regrets for three lifetimes."
“You can only be the master of this life, you have no right to be the master of the next two lives as well.” Pan Yun raised her chin and pointed downwards, asking, “What’s going on? That person looks like he was being scolded terribly.”
Luo Yu glanced down and said, "Oh, that's our Provincial Governor of Heilongjiang, Xue Shao."
Pan Yun initially thought that people didn't recognize Xue Shao, which was why they dared to surround him and curse him like that. But it turned out that everyone on the whole street knew that he was the Provincial Governor.
"Who doesn't know him? When he came to take up his post, he made a great show of it, and when he entered the city, the roadsides were packed with people. In Wuzhewei, no one doesn't know him."
Why was he being criticized?
“There are many reasons,” Luo Yu said, pointing to a crumbling wall in the distance. “See that? That used to be the wall of the Wuzhe Guard. After he came, many merchants came to the Wuzhe Guard, and the population grew rapidly, so the city expanded. That area became the inner city, and most of the wall was demolished. That old woman used to live inside that wall. Now the Provincial Governor thinks the roads in the inner city are too narrow, and the houses are low and messy. He wants to move the Provincial Administration Office, the Prefectural Government Office, and the County Government Office outside the wall. That would turn the inner city into the outer city. Would she agree to that?”
“Those three were from three nearby tribes. The governor was willing to provide them with various machines at a low price so that they could hire teachers to go back and teach their children. However, they believed that the Han people were using sorcery and refused to let the Han people into their tribes. So the governor had a school built at the junction of the three tribes so that they could send all the children of school age in their tribes to study.”
Luo Yu shook his head and said, "The men in those tribes are afraid of the Han people's sorcery and refuse to go, but the governor has issued an ironclad order, stipulating the number of students they can attend. If the number of students is insufficient, they will be heavily fined and taxed."
The imperial court now provides mostly support to these unruly ethnic minorities, collecting only a small amount of tax, with most of it being reduced or exempted.
This does not mean that they do not understand the taxes levied on the Han people. On the contrary, they were oppressed by heavy taxes long ago.
So, after weighing the options, they sent the women of the tribe and some weak, disabled, or very poor men to school.
Luo Yu mocked, "They had no choice but to deal with the court, so they could only send out these weaklings to be subjected to the sorcery of the Han people. But they never expected that in just half a year, these people would learn farming, weaving, hunting, and even witchcraft in the school. Not only did they themselves, but their families also had a better life."
Pan Yun: "The benefits are so obvious that even though they are still worried about the sorcery of the Han people, they are still very tempted."
“That’s right, so they selected a new group of people and sent them to the school.”
Pan Yun: "Lord Xue should be very happy, so why was he scolded?" "Because what they want is an exchange. New students are enrolled, while the previous students are to be taken back," Luo Yu said. "The tribe protects its people, and the people also have responsibilities to the tribe. Every quarter, they have to hand over what they have gathered, hunted, and planted, and they also have to dig irrigation canals and build roads for the tribe. If the tribe sends so many young children to study at once, who will do the things in the tribe?"
Pan Yun lowered her eyes and looked at the three people, her gaze turning cold.
Luo Yu was a Jurchen, and his tribe was much more enlightened; they did not believe in any sorcery.
All they knew was that the Han people in the south wore cool silk in the summer and cotton that was as light as clouds yet warm in the winter.
They have an endless supply of white rice, and an endless supply of wine and tea;
They also possess unpredictable Taoist arts and their medical skills are so advanced they seem like those of immortals.
Therefore, the Han people are very capable, and they should learn from them, learn their skills, and live such a good life.
Therefore, the teachings that Xue Shao promoted in Heilongjiang were best implemented among the Jurchen people.
They would not only send people aged six to twenty-four to school, but also have these people teach their families after they returned from school.
This learning method was also taught by the teachers at the school.
There are also corresponding reward points in the school. Luo Yu once worked hard to teach his brothers and sisters for reward points, and even his elderly parents could not escape his magic.
Unfortunately, the highest score in their tribe's school was achieved by his cousin, Sarina, who was sent to study in the capital before him.
As a beneficiary of the academy, Luo Yu looked down on these three tribes, which is why he admired Xue Shao even more.
"If it were me, I would have beaten them out with sticks long ago, and it would be best to shut down the school and make these three tribes pay the price for their stupidity," Luo Yu sneered repeatedly. "When their tribes can no longer produce a single talent and are left behind by other tribes, they will realize the foresight of the Governor today and will regret it deeply. That is true revenge."
Pan Yun glanced at him, then looked down at Xue Shao, who was surrounded by people, with a half-smile.
Pan Yun said to Luo Yu, "This is my apprentice. I brought him out to gain experience and he wants to learn various dialects. Could you please help me translate?"
Luo Yu frowned and said, "Their language is vulgar. If you want to learn a language, you should ask a proper teacher to teach you properly."
"It's alright, just translate it word by word. This child may not be good at other things, but he does have some talent for languages."
For the sake of the money, Luo Yu could only reluctantly translate for them. He didn't know how much Pan Yun had learned, but his little disciple's language talent was far more than just a little; it was quite remarkable.
He can memorize a word after hearing it just twice, and then he can even combine words to make a sentence.
Luo Yu was devastated, his heart sinking. Are all Han Chinese children this smart?
Zhu Jianji was no ordinary person. After taking him as her apprentice, Pan Yun fed him plenty of "smart pills".
Of course, this elixir isn't that mysterious; it simply refreshes the mind and makes one clear-headed. When one is clear-headed, one can learn knowledge, and learning more knowledge leads to enlightenment. Enlightenment leads to intelligence. The process is a bit convoluted, but it does achieve the desired medicinal effect.
Zhu Jianji's language skills were already strong, and this enhancement put him ahead of most people; he could memorize unfamiliar languages after just a couple of lessons. (End of Chapter)