Chapter 2: The power of the school of things

Yun Ye had 63 students and 11 auditors.

Li Gang took the position of headmaster without consulting Yun Ye, and he also wrote four big characters, “Yushan Academy,” with a pen and asked the Yun family butler to carve them into a plaque to hang on the gate of the manor. This act of seizing power was accepted with a smile by Lao Niu and Yun Ye. Yun Ye even thought that Lao Li was a truly good person who spared no effort in promoting the younger generation, shouldered the troubles himself, and took credit for the achievements. In later generations, if there were such leaders, would they fall into a wormhole and come to Tang Dynasty?

Yun Ye is weak, and even if he is a great man, he cannot hide the fact that he is only sixteen years old. From Li Er, he learned about the power of the school. Don’t look at it now, every big guy is very protective of Yun Ye, but once the fundamental interests are touched, they will kill mercilessly without mercy. The struggle between schools has always been bloody. Even Confucius, a sage of the past, killed Shao Zhengmao, not to mention his disciples and descendants. The Shandong clans were able to defy imperial power because they held the high ground in academic matters, which made Li Er’s head ache. There was no way to suppress them. It is estimated that Li Er would rather never have Shandong, and would rather not face the current situation.

If you can’t provoke me, how about I hide? Li Gang is in front of you as a shield, so you have to give me some face, right? I’ve made up my mind to be an ant on the levee. If I nibble a little today and a little tomorrow, I don’t believe that this levee is made of steel and iron.

Li Tai now felt that Lao Niu was not giving him any face. The purple and gold crown was taken away, the brocade robe was taken away, the deerskin boots were taken away, the money bag was taken away, and even the snacks that the wet nurse had packed for him were taken away. A pair of cloth shoes in a sky-blue hemp suit were neatly held in the hands of a little boy. These were the eleven auditors who still needed to do chores in the academy. Although Li Tai was angry, he had the royal temperament and knew that it was Niu Jinda’s order. Although his face was not good, he did not attack. Except for underwear, everything else brought from the palace was handed over.

From the moment he became sensible, he learned the importance of rules: what is yours is yours, and what is not yours is not yours.

The morning in Yushan was cold and quiet. When the bell rang, there were only a few people at the entrance to the academy. Changsun Chong, Li Huiren, Li Tai, and Li Ke were among them. The eleven young boys were lined up in two rows, with their hands behind their backs, as if waiting to be inspected.

Yun Ye changed into a green hemp robe, his long hair tied into a ponytail and draped behind his back, his face full of a smile, like a mischievous teenager from the neighborhood, about to go and do the most laughable prank. In short, you can think of him as a young nobleman or a country rascal, but you can’t associate him with a marquis.

“Ha, the early bird gets the worm. Let’s go have breakfast.”

Changsun Chong looked sympathetically at his companions, who were rubbing their sleepy eyes and muttering as they left their dormitory, and dragged Li Tai and Li Ke along with Yun Ye as they walked out.

The Yun family residence was not far from the academy, and it took no more than a meal’s time to arrive at the Yun family’s extremely luxurious archway.

Zhuang San-ting and the guards had been waiting here early to welcome the family head back. When they saw the group arrive, they quickly went to meet them, holding the horses’ reins and serving them with great care.

Looking around the Yun family compound, Yun Ye gained a general understanding of the living standards of farmers in this era.

Poor! The road on the Zhuangzi was probably cleaned because the family head was arriving today. The houses on both sides were almost all thatched houses, a characteristic of the Guanzhong region. The roofs of other places were all in the shape of a human character, but in Guanzhong, only the human character had a stroke. A one-foot-wide hole in the south wall was used as a window. I couldn’t see many roofs with tiles, except for the well-defined mansions of the Yun family.

The farmers all stood with their arms folded, basking in the sun at the base of the wall. When they saw a large group of people coming, they immediately scattered. Some curious ones hid in their own houses and looked out through the cracks in the doors.

“Little bug, bad guy, is this the case in your fiefdom?” Yun Ye didn’t quite understand. The Great Tang Law stipulates that male descendants are granted forty mu of land, and female descendants are granted twenty mu of land, as well as twenty mu of mulberry fields. Even cattle over four years old have thirty mu of land. It’s much better than later generations, so how can it still be so poor?

“It’s just laziness. My mother told me that our land distribution policy is the most comprehensive. As long as the men farm and the women weave, they will have a good life and never go hungry. Yun Hou, you see that they would rather bask in the sun at the base of the wall than work. They deserve to be poor. Your farm is full of lazybones.” Chang Sun Chong didn’t answer, but Li Tai spoke first.

“Tai! Let’s not jump to conclusions. Let’s figure it out first, otherwise we’ll be making a joke of “Why don’t you eat meat porridge?” We haven’t been in contact with farmers, so we don’t understand why this is the case. I believe that the key to the study of things is to investigate before drawing conclusions. Without investigation, there is no right to speak. My teacher said that the people of our Tang Dynasty are the most industrious people in the world, and there will never be lazy people in the whole village. Yun Ye hated this kind of statement.

Li Tai disagreed, but Li Ke nodded and agreed.

“It’s the same on my farm. My father said that when human resources are exhausted, the family business that the farmers have accumulated over many generations is destroyed by war and they have to start from scratch. Of course, it’s not easy to get rich. Not only are the farms of our two families the same, but the farms of all of Chang’an are the same. After all, the rents collected by the landlords are all the same.” The Chang family did understand some of it, but it wasn’t completely right. Yun Ye planned to investigate the income structure of the farmers himself in his free time, and then find a favorable growth point from it. What is suitable for them is the best.

We have arrived at home. This is the kind of grandeur that the Yun family should have. The stone lions are tall and fierce, the eight-panel vermilion gate is nailed with huge copper nails, and the five bats painted on the porch look festive. The wooden eaves are covered with animal heads, and the courtyard wall made of green bricks is tall and sturdy.

Qian Tong opened the main gate with his servants, and stood on both sides. Yun Ye, Li Tai, Li Ke, Chang Sun Chong, and Li Huai Ren entered through the main gate, while the rest of the guards entered the Yun residence through the side gate.

The two princes greeted their grandmother, paying the junior-generation courtesy. Since she had already met the emperor and empress twice, she was used to seeing princes like them. She accepted the courtesy with grace, and then grabbed Li Tai and Li Ke’s hands, praising the emperor for giving birth to two children with strong spirits and thick eyebrows and big eyes, who were obviously blessed.

Li Tai and Li Ke had probably never been praised like this before, their faces turning red. They were at a loss as to what to do, and their aunts and uncles couldn’t stop laughing.

Chang Sun Chong, Li Huai Ren’s family often came and went, and he was more free in the Yun family than in his own family. He didn’t eat breakfast early in the morning, and at this time he grabbed the snacks in the tray and kept eating. Who would grab the things in the tray as a guest? Li Xiaosan and Li Xiaosi swallowed their saliva. They said that they had not eaten anything since last night, but they were reluctant to do so because of the etiquette.

Grandma tapped the two guys on the head a few times: “You’re so rude! The food is already ready, but you want to eat yesterday’s dim sum?”

The two guys laughed and helped the old lady to the dining room.

The Yun family has a huge dining room with a huge round table. The maid is placing food plates on the table, one for each person. The fragrant and rich preserved egg and lean pork congee is sprinkled with scallions, which looks appetizing. The thin pickled vegetables that have been splashed with oil are still sizzling, and the five fist-sized steamed buns are white and steaming.

The eldest grandson, Li Huai-ren, pulled out a chair for her, while the other helped her to sit down. They immediately sat down at the head of the table, urging Li Xiao-san and Li Xiao-si to take the guest seats.

I had never seen such a big table before, nor had I ever seen such a meal. Usually, I would sit on a low table and eat alone. How could there be more than ten people sitting around a huge round table? However, the food looked delicious. After sitting down in the seat pointed out by the eldest grandson, a maid put a napkin around his neck. The clothes of the Tang Dynasty were loose and relaxed, and if you weren’t careful, you would get covered in food. Yun Ye had been scolded by his grandmother many times for being so unlucky as to get covered in food. In a fit of anger, he took the napkin out and started using it for eating. First, it was just a few little girls, but later it spread to the whole house. Now, people who don’t use napkins at home are looked down upon.

Li Huai Ren took a big sip of congee, let out a satisfied sigh, and took another bite of the bun. Huh? It was stuffed with leek and egg, so he grabbed another and took a bite. It was stuffed with shiitake and cabbage, so he took another bite. It was stuffed with lamb and scallions, so he took another bite. He scratched his head and then took a bite of the remaining two buns. He didn’t recognize the ingredients.

Changsun Chong, Li Tai, and Li Ke were completely immersed in the temptation of the food, drinking the porridge and tearing into the buns. They heard Li Huai Ren say, “Ye Zi, did you rob the Wen Tang Jian? Next time, let’s go with my brother and get some more. I’ve been eating dried vegetables all winter, and even my burps smell musty.”

“Brother Huai Ren, robbing the Wen Tang Bureau will get you beheaded.” Li Ke was a good boy who knew the rules.

“What are you talking about? Ye Zi is fine, isn’t he? I don’t believe that the emperor will chop off my head for robbing a few catties of vegetables.”

“Who told you that the vegetables in my family were stolen from the Wen Tang Jian?”

“Where did the filling in the steamed buns come from? Don’t tell me it was a gift from His Majesty. My father hurt his stomach, so His Majesty sent two catties of spinach, but it was still limp. You can ask Tai and Ke, have they ever eaten fresh vegetables in the palace in the middle of winter?

Grandma put down her chopsticks and said to the boys who were arguing, “Okay, okay, Ye is a good boy, how could he rob? This is all grown at home, eat well, and after dinner, let Ye take you to see it. You’re making a fuss over nothing.”

“Planting?” Li Huai Ren’s eyes popped out, looking at the bare tung tree outside the hall, and he didn’t understand how to plant vegetables in winter.

The wind swept the remnants of the clouds, and then saw the wind sweeping the remnants of the clouds again. Li Huai Ren stuffed a fist-sized bun into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it with his cheeks puffed out, like a snake, not afraid of choking to death. Chang Sun Chong poured a bowl of meat porridge into his mouth with a bang, without wiping his mouth, and then took a bun in his mouth, holding two in his hand and about to go out. Li Tai and Li Ke also gave up the elegance of the imperial family. They had porridge all over their faces, and they were eating so quickly that they coughed a few times.

Grandma patted their backs while saying, “Dear God, eat slowly, don’t choke, the vegetables are in the greenhouse, they won’t run away.”

After Yun Ye had eaten and drunk to his heart’s content, Li Huai Ren was ready to burn down the house.

After passing through the back garden, they came to the greenhouse on the Zhuangzi, which was no different from the one at the Chang’an home, except that it was much larger. Grandma had long ago asked her second aunt to come back especially to plant it.

The February sun was warm, and all the windows in the greenhouse were open. The various vegetables in the greenhouse were sucking up the essence of the sun, looking vibrant and full of life.

“This is the skill of the study of things that you will learn.” Yun Ye said proudly.