GBP Chapter 130 You can't expect ivory to come out of a dog's mouth.
Chapter 130 You can't expect ivory to come out of a dog's mouth.
After being cursed and driven out of the county government office by Magistrate Yang, Liu Thirty-Two and the other village chiefs and wardens did not disperse immediately. Instead, they went directly to the home of the head of Village A.
"This matter cannot be left unresolved."
Zhang Liuqi, the head of Jia Yi Village, spoke first: "The scholars and gentry in Jiangnan are far away, but the Chen family is in Yanzhou Prefecture. Moreover, this matter was ultimately caused by Chen Er. If we don't teach the Chen family a lesson, then we're not even human."
Liu Sanshier nodded and said, "Two people from our Liumiao Village will take full responsibility for any crimes they commit. The whole village will support their parents, wives, and children. We will never let Chen Er's family leave behind a single person who can breathe."
Yang Er, the head of the Heshan Society, frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Killing is definitely not an option. It's not that we don't want to, but killing might cause trouble for the Master. As the Master just said, this is the Ming Dynasty now, and we can't use the rules from the Tartar era."
Wang Wuqi, the head of Xihe Village, sneered, "The Chen brothers have been away for so many years, who knows if they've made any enemies?"
Wang Mancang, the head of Jia Erlu, said, "I agree with what Brother Yang said. We can't just kill people directly. From what our master said just now, the prefect of Yanzhou is also on our master's side. If someone is killed in Yanzhou, the prefect of Yanzhou will also have to take responsibility."
After a moment's thought, Wang Mancang chuckled and said, "Winter is just around the corner, so let's have Erni lead the way and then, when winter comes, we can water the Chen family's land at dusk to prevent another drought next year."
As soon as Wang Mancang finished speaking, all the village heads and neighborhood chiefs in the room burst into laughter.
Watering wheat in early winter can indeed ensure that the wheat will not suffer from drought next year, because it would all die today.
In other words, the entire wheat field belonging to the Chen family will face a complete crop failure.
Whether the Chen family will rely on borrowed grain to survive for a year, or simply give up their land and become refugees, will depend on the Chen family's own choice.
As for whether the Chen family will sue the prefectural government or come to Ningyang County to seek revenge... I've already said that this was done by the Chen brothers' enemies. Our Ningyang County is a virtuous family that has been praised by His Majesty the Emperor, Prime Minister Xu Da, and Grand Councilor Chang Yuchun. How could they possibly do something as heinous as watering someone else's wheat seedlings in winter?
After laughing, Zhang Liuqi, the head of Jia Yi Village, spoke again: "As for the matter of studying, don't forget that the master just said that he wants us to study too."
As Zhang Liuqi finished speaking, the room fell silent. After a long while, Liu Sanshier said in a muffled voice, "It would be better if the master had someone else teach us. But if the master himself teaches us to read, and we still can't understand, it will make the master angry..."
Yang Er glared at Zhang Liuqi and said in a deep voice, "Stop talking nonsense. The master is busy with official duties every day and has to worry about all the big and small things in Ningyang County. How could he possibly have time to teach us to read and write?"
The other village heads and elders also criticized Liu Thirty-Two: "It's absolutely impossible that the master personally taught us, otherwise you, Liu Thirty-Two, would be kicked to death by a donkey as soon as you step out the door!"
"If you don't know how to speak, then don't speak at all!"
"If the master himself teaches us to read, and we still can't understand it, wouldn't the master be furious? We wouldn't be able to live either, and we'd be cursed to death on the street!"
"Are you trying to scare someone to death by acting like a dog?"
"You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"
"..."
Just as the village heads and elders were criticizing Liu Sanshier, Yang Shaofeng, the county magistrate, was leading the lame Wu to the Confucian Temple in Ningyang County.
Actually, the Confucian Temple was originally the location of the county government office in Ningyang County. However, in the early years of the Dade reign of the Yuan Dynasty, the county government office was moved westward, and the old office office was transformed into the Confucian Temple. The temple mainly contains the imperial edict stele conferring the title of "Great Accomplished Sage and King of Literature" on Confucius in the eleventh year of the Dade reign, and the stone stele in clerical script "Record of the Reconstruction of the Temple of Confucius" in the second year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty.
The entire Confucian temple consists of three courtyards: front, middle, and rear, all connected by a central axis running north to south. The front courtyard has a wooden Lingxing Gate, which is the main gate of the Confucian temple. In front of the gate is a screen wall, and outside the gate, on the east and west sides, there is a "Dismounting Stele" with twelve large characters in regular script: "Civil and military officials, soldiers, and civilians must dismount here." Inside the Lingxing Gate is a brick-built crescent-shaped Pan Pool, with a single-arch stone bridge spanning it. On the east and west sides of the Pan Pool are the Donghua Gate and the Xihua Gate.
The central courtyard is the main building of the Confucian Temple, a place for worshipping Confucius and other sages and scholars. It contains the Shrine of Famous Officials, the Shrine of Local Worthies, the East and West Wings, and the Dacheng Hall (the Dacheng Gate was built in the Qing Dynasty). The Dacheng Hall is a palace-style building with upturned eaves and a hipped roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. It is the main hall for worshipping Confucius and also enshrines the "Four Sages" and the "Twelve Philosophers".
After passing the front and middle courtyards, you will reach the destination of Magistrate Yang Shaofeng's trip: Minglun Hall.
The term "Minglun" comes from Mencius, Book 1, Part 1: "In the Xia Dynasty it was called 'Xiao,' in the Yin Dynasty it was called 'Xu,' and in the Zhou Dynasty it was called 'Xiang.' Learning was common to all three dynasties, and all were for the purpose of clarifying human relationships. When human relationships are clarified by the rulers, the common people will be close to the people below." This means that local schools in villages were called "Xiao" in the Xia Dynasty, "Xu" in the Shang Dynasty, and "Xiang" in the Zhou Dynasty; as for state-run schools, i.e., universities, all three dynasties called them "Xue." Whether it was a village school or a national school, the common purpose was to clarify and teach people the ethical and moral standards between people.
At least since the Song Dynasty, Confucian temples, academies, imperial academies, and schools have all named their lecture halls Minglun Hall. Moreover, Confucian temples in various places are not only temples dedicated to Confucius, but also serve as government-run schools.
Although Magistrate Yang disliked the family in Qufu who had submitted the surrender document, he still held Confucius in high esteem, both for his Confucianism and his philosophy of "education for all."
Inside the Dacheng Hall, Magistrate Yang looked around and then instructed Limpy Five, "Once the people from each community and village arrive, Brother Limpy Five, remember to take them and set them up properly. A month from now, our community schools in Ningyang County will be up and running."
Limpy Wu opened his mouth, and after a long while, he tentatively said, "Your Excellency, shouldn't the Confucian Temple be used to establish the county school? If it's used to establish a community school, then when the county school is established later..."
Magistrate Yang couldn't help but complain, "If you're going to open a county school, at least you should find me some students, right? There isn't a single scholar in the entire Ningyang County. What's the point of opening a county school? You might as well use the money to open a community school first."
Limpy Five nodded, but then asked, "Does the county magistrate intend to personally teach Liu Thirty-Two and the other children?"
Upon hearing what Limpy Five said, Magistrate Yang's eyes widened, and he pointed at himself, saying, "Me? I'll personally teach them?"
Damn it, you want me to lecture Liu Thirty-Two and his ilk? You want me to lecture those children?
Don't even talk about whether I have the time or not. Even if I did, I wouldn't have the patience for it!
Just as Magistrate Yang was secretly complaining, Lame Wu said stupidly, "Didn't the magistrate just say that we can't find another scholar in Ningyang County? If the magistrate doesn't teach them, then who will?"
Yang Shaofeng reached out and patted Limpy Five on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Brother Limpy Five, don't worry. There are plenty of people who can come to the school to teach for me. There will be no shortage of suitable people. Remember, no matter what you do, you must learn to use the right people at the right time, otherwise you will only work yourself to death."