The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 274: Announcement!

In the provincial government office, discussions about copybooks were underway. Back at the Shen family’s home, Sang Luo and Shen Ning returned and updated Shen Lie and his brothers on the first day of classes. The family gathered together to discuss solutions for providing copybooks.

“There are forty-seven students, and there may be some auditors as well. Should we help copy books for these people?” Shen Ning asked. Clearly, with the increasing number of students, she felt some pressure about the task of copying books.

Sang Luo immediately declined without hesitation: “That’s not suitable. This isn’t like when we only had Zhao Liu and a few children initially, where we could consider it practice and help with copying. Copying books is not easy; it’s slow and laborious. Most importantly, we shouldn’t let them get used to receiving various kinds of help from Daxing Village for free.”

Sang Luo thought of movable type printing but realized that, despite the lower paper prices compared to before, it was still not affordable for ordinary villagers. Considering the imperial examination system that the emperor was promoting, with the first batch of examinees yet to reach the capital, she decided not to challenge the established knowledge monopolies.

As she pondered potential solutions for the students’ copybooks, Shen Lie came up with an idea.

“Our provincial school has a wooden notice board similar to your blackboard. We use it to post rankings after each term exam. I think we could use this as a reference and set up a few large boards at the front and back of the classroom, placed slightly off from your small blackboard. We could copy the ‘Thousand Word Classic’ onto large sheets of paper and post them up.”

“This would last longer than chalk writing. If we write in larger words, even students sitting at the back will be able to see it. It would mean that everyone has access to the text.”

Sang Luo’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Yes, it was just like the bulletin board wall at the back of her old classroom! The only difference was that the bulletin board had been replaced with a textbook wall.

Building a mud-brick house and sticking paper on the wall was indeed not easy. She did have a recipe for wall paint from Concubine Fan, but painting walls required some time to dry. For now, using a board wall was a good solution!

“This is a good idea. If we make a few more sets of board walls, we will have a complete set of textbooks. Not only will it be convenient for reading aloud during breaks, but those who are truly interested in learning can also copy down the whole book.”

Remembering that she often used charcoal pencils for drawing, she added, “Later, you can remind the class that charcoal pencils can also be used to write on wooden slates. For those who can’t afford pens and ink at home, they can use charcoal pencils to practice writing.”

As soon as Shen Yin returned home, he heard this and immediately mentioned the use of charcoal pencils and wooden slates to the others.

Shen Lie laughed upon hearing this: “It shows that any difficulties can’t deter those who are truly eager to learn.”

The whole family was highly efficient. Shen Lie and Shen An went to find wood to make the board walls with stands, while Shen Ning and Sang Luo stayed at home to simulate the font size that would be clear for students sitting at the back of the classroom. They also checked with Shen Lie and Shen An to confirm the size of the board walls. The two sisters-in-law then went into the house to select paper.

The Shen family had an abundance of paper. To be honest, they had already discreetly taken a small step toward using paper freely in their bathroom. Despite trying various methods, the paper still couldn’t be made very soft. They used manual wrinkling and some water to moisten the paper before use.

To elaborate, the various types of paper sold on the market were refined using the recipes Sang Luo taught. The Shen family naturally could make the same kind. To ensure it looked no different from the market paper, they bought large sheets of uncut paper and made paper frames of the same size in the fourth courtyard. While experimenting with different paper-making methods, they also prepared some for their own use.

Now, they chose large uncut mulberry bark paper, divided the “Thousand Word Classic” into two sections, with each person responsible for one half, and began writing.

As educational material, it also served as a primer for these people learning to write. Naturally, the work was done with great care.

Regarding He Changshi, seeing significant progress in his work made him so excited that he couldn’t sleep through the night. It was certain that Zeng Ziqian would be promoted after his three-year term, and there was a chance he might become the next Shezhou governor. Educating at this time might not show great results under Zeng Ziqian’s term, but it could become a major achievement in his own tenure.

Not everyone had the fortune of a quick promotion like Zeng Ziqian.

So, managing the local schools well now was not only his duty as the Shezhou chief historian but also a possible way to pave the road for himself in the future. How could he not be excited?

Overly thrilled, he only slept in the latter half of the night and went to the office early in the morning. Originally intending to start right away, he recalled the various benefits of the Daxing Village School mentioned by Concubine Fan and managed to suppress his urgency. By sunset, he left the city and headed to Daxing Village.

Upon entering the village, there was no need to ask for directions. From a distance, he could already hear the clear reading voices. Following the sound, he easily found the school.

A mud-brick room with a light inside had many people standing by the windows and door—some children, teenage girls, and young men around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. As He Changshi approached, he noticed that each of them was following along with the reading.

There was no more space by the window, so he stood behind a few shorter children and peered inside.

He had wanted to see the scene described by Concubine Fan, with forty or fifty students in the classroom. However, just one glance drew his attention to the three board walls at the front of the room.

The central board was black with white Words, which should be the blackboard and chalk mentioned by Concubine Fan. The boards on either side were very familiar—similar to the notice boards found in state schools, county schools, and outside government offices. However, this one was much simpler, and the boards were covered with excerpts from the Thousand Word Classic.

A young girl, around ten years old, held a narrow wooden stick, reading aloud while using the stick to point to the corresponding sentences, the tip of the stick seemed to be wrapped in cloth to avoid damaging the paper.

Educational material—wasn’t this exactly what it was?

Since Concubine Fan hadn’t mentioned this, it must be something the Shen family had added recently.

He Changshi was thrilled.

This is excellent! This is excellent! The need to donate books is eliminated!

After listening by the window for a little while longer, he didn’t stay any longer but went to visit Shen Lie and his wife.

The solution for educational materials was soon heard by Concubine Fan the next day, and she was naturally very pleased.

In the latter half of the first month, Shezhou saw a flourishing atmosphere with private and local schools being established.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the emperor and his officials had been discussing the issue of military food shortages for several days.

They were at a loss.

The Da Qi Dynasty had now been established for five years. If you count from the beginning, it was less than four years, and initially, they had only occupied a few counties. The lands were conquered later, and each time a new area was taken, there was a decree to exempt taxes for three years to settle the people. Nowadays, there were very few counties that could collect taxes.

At first, victories allowed them to seize supplies from the defeated and receive donations from local aristocrats. The supporters also contributed a lot. But now, the resources were exhausted. Fortunately, the court had grasped the papermaking technique and monopolized the salt and iron trade, so the treasury had some income. Starting from last year’s autumn harvest, all states were ordered to buy grain from the people, but the total amount reported was insufficient to sustain the army until June.

The three major expenses of the court were maintaining officials, supporting soldiers, and construction for public welfare.

Currently, officials relied on official fields and funds, and public welfare construction was even less needed to mention. The emperor dreaded hearing news of natural disasters because supporting the military alone was almost overwhelming, leaving no strength to provide disaster relief.

Moreover, with internal strife subsiding and external enemies encircling, reducing the military was not an option.

As for this year’s grain, the emperor and officials knew that it could be bought with real money and squeezed out from the wealthy families. But what about next year?

Are aristocratic families so easily exploited? If that were the case, the treasury wouldn’t be empty and the states and counties still wouldn’t be struggling to buy enough grain.

Everyone has their own calculations. The court wants to squeeze grain from the aristocrats, while the aristocrats want to take a piece of the court’s flesh!

…

“Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, we should still collect land taxes from the people.” This was the Minister of Revenue.

Xue Yan immediately stepped forward to refute: “Since we have already issued a decree to exempt taxes for three years, and many states and counties have only been exempt for one or two years, going back on this and collecting land taxes now would be a betrayal of the people’s trust.”

“Then, Master Xue, what is your brilliant idea? If the army runs out of food, even half a month’s shortage would cause a disaster. If Your Majesty fears losing the people’s trust, it seems to me not too difficult to collect under a different pretext.”

“New measures can be thought of! But just changing the name doesn’t mean it’s not betraying the people. Master Chen, you have mastered the art of covering up the truth!”

“How is this covering up the truth? This has been done throughout history!”

“The previous dynasty was a leader in this regard, so much so that it only lasted for a few decades before falling! Are we to ensure that the Da Qi will also perish in the second generation?”

Another person then proposed the military farming system, which was quickly countered.

“A few hundred years ago, this system was used, but what was the result? The military farming households had to support military needs, and their income was far less than that of civilian households. In the end, they became escapees. It was useful initially, but does our Da Qi lack land now? What we lack is people to farm it! With only 1.6 million households in the whole country, who is willing to be a military farming household? If we forcibly designate military farming households, will those hiding in the mountains dare to come back?”

…

The court officials were arguing fiercely, their words almost sparking with intensity, but no solution was forthcoming.

After listening for over fifteen minutes, the Emperor’s forehead had formed a deep frown. At this moment, the palace guard entered the hall to report that Shezhou Governor Zeng Ziqian had returned to the capital and was now outside the hall, requesting an audience with the court!

The officials, who had been nearly at each other’s throats, suddenly went silent and turned to look at the guard, bewildered. At a court session, why would an outsider come to request an audience with the court? Was Zeng Ziqian out of his mind? What audacity!

Then, it suddenly hit them.

Wait!

Who?

Zeng Ziqian???!!!!!!

Zeng Sanlang has returned to the capital again???!!!!!!

…

Yes, that’s right, Zeng Sanlang, the legend among governors, has returned to the capital once more!!!!

While other governors might return to the capital once a year, Zeng Sanlang was different—he managed significant affairs every few months!

The court officials all looked up at the Emperor on the throne. Indeed, the Emperor, who had been frowning and showing signs of stress, visibly perked up upon hearing that Zeng Ziqian was requesting an audience. His spirit was rejuvenated, his posture straightened, and even a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

He blurted out a “Summon!” with such excitement, urgency, and volume!