Chapter 39: Inheritance and students

Inheritance is a big problem. The Chinese nation has never lacked wisdom. How much of that wisdom has been extinguished under the hooves of foreign invaders? Every time Chinese society has reached its peak, it has been attacked by bandits, who have used their hooves and sabers to recklessly ravage the greatest nation on the planet.

We are good at building mansions from ruins, which is our pride and also our sorrow. A nation that is good at creating is not good at fighting, and the Lord of Heaven has surrounded him with the most fierce wolves.

From the Zhou Dynasty’s Xiongnu to the Huns to the Turks, and finally to the Mongols, the Chinese nation was cut down like leeks, crop after crop. Every time we were cut down, we had to start all over again, and every time we were cut down, the wisdom and wealth of our ancestors was harmed. Precious books were used as fire starters, and ingenious farm tools became playthings for children on the grasslands.

There was a hero who rebelled against the gods. His name was Ran Min, and he told the gods that he would kill all the Hu people. He really did that, and millions of Hu people died because of him. He later died in battle, and not many people cared about him anymore. They just said, “When Ran Min died, the grass and trees on the Yue Mountain all withered, locusts swarmed, and the sky did not rain to show great sorrow and no tears. The heavens and earth wept for nothing but the humiliation of the sages, which could not be vindicated for a thousand years. Even heaven knows that Ran Min was wronged, and heaven was moved.

No one was moved!

No one knows how many Han people were saved by Ran Min’s killing of the barbarians, nor how much he contributed to the preservation of Han culture. Men still drink wine, and women still drink medicine, in this tiny land of Jiangnan! The refined and elegant scholars, wearing the unique open-crotch pants of the Jin Dynasty, sang to the crowd: “I want to write all the songs and poems of the world, hide them in the Nanshan Mountains, and pass them on to future generations.”

So, we are fortunate to have read: “The oriole and the turtle-dove, on the island in the river, the graceful lady, the gentleman is fond of her.” Very beautiful sentence, a cultured scholar saw a beautiful woman and expressed the deepest thoughts!

The steel-frying method is gone, the plow is gone, the legendary multicolored glass is gone, and the Qin Dynasty’s assembly line work method is gone. Only the dead army silently guards the glory of the past in the ground.

Lao Cheng didn’t say anything, and Lao Niu didn’t say anything either, just sipping the wine in his cup.

He listened to Yun Ye as he told the tragic fate of the entire Chinese civilization.

“How much of it have you inherited?” asked Old Cheng, looking up.

“The kid just picked up a few beautiful shells on the beach…”

Lao Niu didn’t say anything, but carefully rolled up the scrolls, and then tore off the new curtains from Yun Ye’s window, wrapped them up, tied them into a bundle, and tied them to his chest.

“I still have thousands of kuan in my house, but they are useless. Find someone to bring them back for you. They will be useful for the Academy of Diligence.”

“Uncle Niu is underestimating his nephew. If it’s just a simple money problem, the kid has a lot of ways to get money. There’s no way to empty the national treasury. To be honest, the kid really doesn’t care about the hundreds of thousands of kuan in the national treasury.” Yun Ye said confidently.

“Big talker!” This is the epithet that Lao Cheng gave Yun Ye.

“People! No one! There is only one qualified talent in the world, and in this day and age, talent is the most important thing!”

“Pop!” He got hit on the head, and Yun Ye fell to the floor. Old Cheng never looked at the place when he hit people. Cheng Chumo was probably made stupid by him. He wanted to make me the same as his son? Yun Ye muttered and sat up again.

“I’ll get you a hundred men from the Zuowei.” Old Cheng was very generous.

“What does my nephew need them for? To help me eat? There are too few people who can really be useful in the Academy of Righteousness. Even the great scholars of the Imperial Academy and the Academy of Virtue are not necessarily qualified. Forget about the soldiers of the Left Military Guard.” After saying this, he felt bad. What’s wrong today? I’m a little hot-headed. Why do I say anything? Dare to say bad things about the Left Military Guard?

He was about to run away, but then he heard Lao Cheng sigh, “Kid, do you think I don’t know that those people are not suitable? But where can I find someone who can read and write, who knows astronomy and geography, who also knows how to make things and draw pictures, and who is flexible? People who can do these things have already become famous all over the world. They won’t wait for you to recruit them. You are also from Zuowei, and you know the family background. Old man and old cow have carefully selected a hundred literate people from Zuowei. This is all the help you can get. You decide.” Old Cheng was a bit depressed.

“I don’t want them. I want Chu Liang and Chu Bi. My nephew also bought more than a dozen children from the people’s children and plans to teach them himself.” Yun Ye told Lao Cheng the truth.

“Nonsense!” Lao Niu was furious.

“Do you plan to have your children call the lowly people their senior brothers in the future? How do you know that no one respects your learning? It’s because you don’t speak up. You are on par with Liu Huai in mathematics, and your knowledge of natural science is unparalleled. You are proficient in all trades and skilled in all arts. Your master’s “Three Character Classic” has already been regarded as an enlightenment classic by the great families in Chang’an. The engraved version of the “Three Character Classic” has been sold all over Chang’an. Song Lian personally wrote the preface, Your Majesty wrote the postscript, and the empress wrote the postscript. Don’t you know that you are greatly honored? As soon as you open your mouth, students will be knocking down your door.”

“I didn’t know I was so powerful. By the way, since the book has been published, where did the royalties go?” Yun Ye was very angry. Someone embezzled his royalties, which was a big loss. Before he could finish his sentence, he was kicked off the bed by Lao Cheng.

“You evil spirit, you have a clear and innocent mind, but you are so greedy for money that you are not afraid of being struck by thunder. Your ancestors in the family of Yun will be angry to death in the ground.” Old Cheng was still planning to continue the assault, but was stopped by Lao Niu.

Oh my god! It is only natural that I should be paid for my book. Why was I kicked? And why did he curse my ancestors with a sick sentence? If you are so capable, why don’t you try to make the dead angry again?

“Listen, kid, don’t ever mention royalties again. If you ask for money, you’ll be considered a disgrace in Chang’an. The two of us will jump into the river. It’s a shame! We can’t live like this.”

Knowing that the two old guys already treat themselves as their own sons, if I do this, although they won’t jump into the river, they will lose face.

“Chu Liang, Chu Bi, I’ll leave them to you. If you don’t teach them well, I’ll find you some more students. You have to pick from the sons of the military officials. It’s hard to find a great scholar among the sons of the military officials in our Tang Dynasty. We can’t let the civil officials take advantage of us. It was terrible when we tried to find a learned teacher for Ugly Ox. They said that rotten wood can’t be carved. Damn it! My son, Old Cheng, is rotten wood? Don’t worry about finding students. I and Lao Niu will make the decisions, and if anyone asks, we’ll just blame it on us.

Very strict, I dare not ask what kind of students they will find for me. I think of the stupid boys in the Yuchi family and pray that they will not be there. Teaching such students will kill the teacher. I also dare not have the schemer Li Zhen from the Li family. That kid died young because he had too many ideas. Do you know who his son is? Li Jingye! A traitor who killed his entire family. Whoever gets involved will be unlucky. The Qin family is not bad, and the Li Jing family can also be considered, as long as they don’t ask me to treat his mother. The Chang Sun family? I don’t know if they will enter the eyes of Lao Cheng and Lao Niu. Who cares who it is, as long as I teach them well.

While the grandson was deep in thought, the grandmother and aunt quietly lifted the wooden box away. Yun Ye knew that his grandmother was trying to stop him from being a prodigal son. She had seen Lao Niu carrying a bundle when he left.

“This damned old thing is taking advantage of my family again!” Grandma thought.