Chapter 200: Climbing the Wall and the Academy
Jin Sui led him into the study. The study was connected to a small side room with a door leading to the veranda. She moved the small table over, and the two of them ate while enjoying the night view outside.
Gu Changxiao was very afraid of the cold and disliked sitting by the fire. Jin Sui placed the roasted tea on her side, covered it with an iron cover, and then with thick animal hide, turning it into a small warm table.
Both of them took off their shoes and put on slippers. Their feet were warm under the warm table.
Jin Sui sat comfortably, watching Gu Changxiao set out bowls and chopsticks and pour hot tea. He was afraid Jin Sui would drive him away and smiled apologetically, “Next time, I absolutely won’t climb over the wall.”
Jin Sui snorted, “Don’t even think about putting a door in my courtyard! It’s so ugly.”
Gu Changxiao nodded repeatedly in assurance, thinking to himself that he needed to marry Sui Sui as soon as possible. Then he wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble to see her.
Seeing his sincere attitude, Jin Sui smiled, “Let’s install a ‘telephone’!”
“Telephone?”
“Just kidding, let’s install a bell. We’ll run a rope from my study to yours. If there’s anything, just ring the bell, and the other person will hear it. No need to send servants to relay messages, and you won’t have to climb walls.”
Gu Changxiao said joyfully, “This method is feasible! I’ll find an artisan to install it tomorrow.”
Jin Sui ate two dumplings and felt something was missing. Dumplings didn’t taste right with tea. She asked Gu Changxiao to wait a moment and went to her bedroom for a quick trip, bringing out a large bottle of cola.
She poured two glasses of fizzy cola. Gu Changxiao drank one in a gulp, “I always hear Hei Hu talking about this.”
Jin Sui smiled, “In the summer, drink it with ice cubes, it’s even more refreshing!”
In the Northern Frontier, she lived in constant fear every day. Later, on the way home, she wasn’t afraid, but the journey was too arduous.
Sitting under the warm table like this, eating dumplings and drinking cola, Jin Sui finally felt a sense of satisfaction and comfort.
The two had just finished their dumplings and trimmed the lamp wicks, planning to chat to aid digestion. Just then, they saw the front yard lights turn on and heard the sound of a carriage. Grandpa Ling and Jin An were home.
Jin Sui quickly pushed Gu Changxiao away, “Quick, don’t let my grandpa find out.”
Grandpa was determined to raise her as a proper young lady. No proper young lady would let a man climb over the wall to enter, let alone share dumplings with him!
Gu Changxiao said, “Don’t sleep too late. I’m going to the military camp tomorrow morning, so you don’t have to get up that early.”
Jin Sui handed him the bowls and pot he had brought, “Can you climb over? Do you need me to get a ladder?”
Gu Changxiao took a few steps back, leaped forward, and jumped over the wall to the other side, even whistling at her.
Jin Sui whispered, “Be careful, I’ll plant cacti on the courtyard wall tomorrow!”
“Sui Sui, you didn’t eat enough tonight! Grandpa brought a pot of stewed dishes and steamed buns. Come, have some more.”
Grandpa Ling and Jin An brought over a small pot. Jin Sui let out a burp and poured Jin An a glass of cola and Grandpa some plain water.
“You can’t drink tea at night, it affects sleep.”
“Grandpa wants sweet water too.”
“It’ll make you bloated at night. We’ll drink it tomorrow at noon! I’ve cooked it with ginger slices, let’s drink it hot.”
Jin An had a keen nose, “Why do I smell dumplings?”
Jin Sui’s heart fluttered, “You want to eat dumplings, don’t you? I’ll make them for you tomorrow. How about lamb and scallion dumplings?”
“Why aren’t you eating meat, Sui Sui? Don’t you love the crispy fried pork in the stewed dishes the most? Look, your chin has gotten so pointed after going to the Northern Frontier. Come, eat more meat!”
Jin Sui tearfully accepted the large bowl of stewed dishes that Grandpa served her. Sobbing, she thought, if I had more late-night snacks like this, I’d either die of fullness or get fat.
Grandpa also gave Jin An some meat and sighed, “Don’t think I’m nagging, but since the Prince has agreed to your father’s matter.
Then we’ll patiently wait for the day the Prince can return to Chang’an. Grandpa believes you’ve realized by now that overturning the case isn’t that simple. Returning to Chang’an with just the three of us, our grandfather and grandchildren, would be like sheep entering a tiger’s mouth. This matter must rely on the Prince!”
Jin Sui smiled lightly, “That was our plan from the beginning, to quietly come to the border city and seek refuge with the Prince, get familiar with him, and then bring up overturning the case. Although the process was a bit different, the result was successful.”
She reached out and patted Jin An’s head, “From now on, you, my boy, just need to eat well, drink well, practice martial arts, and study. You just need to grow up. Leave the case matters to your sister.”
Jin An put down his bowl, “Am I very useless?”
Jin Sui slapped him directly, almost pushing his face into the bowl, “At such a young age, you’re learning to talk like an old man!”
It’s best to discipline your younger brother early. Princess Tuoya can’t even beat King Batel now.
Grandpa coughed, “Even I, an old man, don’t say that!”
Jin Sui pulled Jin An’s ear, “Don’t you listen to a single word your sister says? What do you mean you’re useless?
You’re still a child! It’s already very difficult to have come this far. Do you want to overturn the heavens?”
“But Sister is also only a year past her age of marriage, and she’s already done such a big thing!”
Jin Sui said proudly, “Sister is different, Sister is a genius! You’re at most a talented person, and talented people need to grow slowly.”
Jin An: …On this point of thick skin, I really can’t compare to you!
Jin Sui then asked Grandpa, “When do you plan to build the Taoist temple?”
Grandpa Ling said happily, “The Prince told me to choose the site first, and the government office will handle the construction. It will start in the spring. Before the Taoist temple is built, I’ll be at the Refugee Office to appease the refugees.”
Jin Sui advised Grandpa, “The Imperial Court has an Imperial Observatory. You should inquire about what exactly they do and treat the Taoist temple as a branch office.
Sometimes the common people don’t trust the government office, but they trust you! The wider your reputation spreads, the more the border city will be revered by the common people.”
Grandpa Ling was full of fighting spirit. He never expected that in his old age, he could fulfill a youthful wish and become the master of a temple.
Jin An reminded him in a low voice, “It’s not the border city, it’s Li Da Wu Qiong City!”
For some reason, hearing this city name from someone else’s mouth made Jin Sui feel quite embarrassed. It felt like a joke had come true, and she had to pay the price.
“In short, until the Prince is capable of returning to Chang’an, we three, grandfather and grandchildren, cannot be lazy. We will do something significant here in the border city!”
“It’s Li Da Wu Qiong City.” Jin An was like a spokesperson for the new city name.
Grandpa Ling stroked his beard and smiled, “Sui Sui said it well! By the way, the gold you left me before hasn’t been used. If you need it, just take it.”
Jin Sui shook her head, “Grandpa can use it to build the Taoist temple, open a chain of stewed dish restaurants, hire tenant farmers to cultivate the land, or even consider it as the Ji Clan’s family fortune.
I still have silver. That gold was my filial offering to you, there’s no reason to take it back.”
What she said was true. The dividends from the Rouge Shop alone, plus the money earned from this trip to the Northern Frontier, were enough for her to spend a lifetime.
Making money seemed difficult only at the beginning. Once you earned the first pot of gold and had connections, things became much easier.
Of course, if the money were invested in the construction of the border city, it would become a bottomless pit.
But Gu Changxiao said he wouldn’t use her money for city construction. If he needed money, he would borrow from Jin Sui, with an IOU, and would repay Jin Sui with principal and interest later.
“The Prince said he would give us ten thousand mu of land, so we’ll accept it. We’ll use Grandpa’s Taoist temple as the center to demarcate the land.
We don’t have to plant crops on all of it. We can plant some fruit trees, herbs, and build a larger square. Ten thousand mu isn’t that much.”
They then discussed Jin An’s studies, “There are no good teachers in the border city. Do you want to go to Yanzhou to study?”
Jin An shook his head vigorously, “No!”
Jin Sui pondered, “Let’s wait a bit longer! After this year’s Imperial Examination, the Prince will widely recruit talented individuals in the border city. I believe good teachers will come.”
Previously, talented people from all over the world didn’t come to the border city because it was just a shabby border camp, and Li King was accused of treason. Who would dare to come to the border city?
But it would be different in the spring. Li Da Wu Qiong City would be officially completed. Prince Yu’s reputation would surely be damaged due to the Northern Frontier envoy, and many candidates failed the Imperial Examination.
Gu Changxiao had the power to appoint officials in his fiefdom, meaning that serving under Li King was essentially the same as holding a salary and rank in the Imperial Court.
Grandpa Ling and Jin An returned to their courtyard to sleep. Jin Sui didn’t want to move, so she took her paper and brush to the small table to write.
Because she had discussed the matter of widely recruiting talents in the border city after the Imperial Examination with Grandpa, she had many ideas. Not only did she need scholars, but Gu Changxiao also needed to recruit soldiers.
And she also needed to recruit talents, people different from scholars, namely artisans.
Artisans in this era belonged to the Artisan Registry. Who would have thought that the intangible cultural heritage masters of later generations were artisans in this era, only slightly better than the lowest class.
The most direct analogy is that farmers are very poor, toiling in the fields, relying on heaven for food. If the weather is unfavorable, and there’s no harvest in a year, or a natural disaster like a drought occurs, they are forced to leave their homes and become refugees.
However, for many people in the Artisan Registry and the lowest class, their greatest wish in life is to acquire two mu of land and become farmers!
Many artisans worked for three generations, just to secure a small plot of land for their grandchildren.
When farmers encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities, the Imperial Court will help. But the Imperial Court does not care about artisans and commoners!
If a conscription order is issued due to insufficient military strength, peasant households can provide one soldier per household, or one soldier for every few households.
However, artisans and commoners are directly conscripted. Even if they are too old to fight, they are forced to become soldier slaves.
Their taxes are heavier, and the exploitation and oppression they face are more severe. But the current border city is in urgent need of these talents!
That’s right, in Jin Sui’s opinion, they are talents!
What she was about to do required these artisans. If Gu Changxiao could find a descendant of the Mohist school for her, it would be twice as effective with half the effort.
If Grandpa could attract some talented Taoist priests through the Taoist temple, she would be willing to pay more gold to keep these talents.
Whether it was the petroleum that hadn’t been extracted yet, the gunpowder that hadn’t been researched, or the wool spinning machine, or sea vessels…
With the current number of artisans in the border city, it was impossible to make them.
She planned to take advantage of Gu Changxiao’s recruitment of wise individuals to also widely recruit artisans, including physicians, bricklayers, fireworks makers, carpenters, lacquerware makers, and so on.
As long as they came to the border city, they would be given resettlement fees, a reduction in some taxes, and sufficient wages.
She pondered for a moment. She definitely couldn’t be an official. If it were known that there was a female official in the border city, Gu Changxiao would absolutely become a target again. Prince Yu was just looking for an excuse to catch Gu Changxiao.
It wouldn’t work to disguise herself as a man and become an official again, otherwise, it would be rumored that Li King had a homosexual preference. Besides, everyone already knew she was a woman, so she would be too embarrassed to disguise herself as a man!
Since she couldn’t recruit people in an official capacity, recruiting them in the name of business wouldn’t work either, as merchants had an even lower status.
What if some proud artisans heard it was for business and refused to come?
In the end, only one option remained: establishing an academy!
That’s right, I’m going to establish a brand new academy in the border city, revering Mozi as the master, and recruiting artisans from all over the world.
Of course, Confucius must also be honored. If universal literacy isn’t achievable, an elementary school must be established.
The more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. The plan to establish an academy was excellent. Skilled artisans could come and be teachers, and apprentices could be students.
The school would provide room and board, and tuition could be deferred until after graduation and employment.
She believed that this alone would attract countless people to study in the border city!
In the eyes of the common people, studying for the imperial examinations was like climbing a ladder to heaven; out of a hundred students, not one might become a licentiate.
Compared to that, they were more willing for their children to learn a trade. Previously, they had to find master craftsmen everywhere and serve as apprentices for several years before they could become proficient.
But now, there was an academy in the border city specifically for learning trades! It was a large academy built by Li King, where all 360 trades could be learned.
Certainly, many common people would be willing to send their children to attend!
She wrote furiously, drafting the proposal for establishing the academy. In the end, her hands became stiff with cold, so she went into her space to continue writing.
Sleepiness struck, so she drank a cup of coffee and continued writing, then drew the blueprint for the academy. She included all the research she wanted to conduct within the academy.
The academy would be divided into departments, such as a medical school with a laboratory dedicated to researching penicillin, and a textile institute dedicated to wool spinning machines.
As for fish oil and gunpowder, they would definitely be placed under the Military Industry Department, but if they could introduce their excellent students, their academy could also be credited.
There would also be agricultural science, research into hybrid vegetables and fruits, and the sale of high-yield seeds.
Yan Jiu’s sea vessels could be borrowed to collect fine breeds from overseas…
Jin Sui regretted not having thought of establishing an academy earlier! Now she was frantically making plans.
She wrote and drew, and then searched for information on her computer until her neck was so sore she couldn’t lift it. She realized it was already six in the morning.
Grandpa would be waking up soon. It would be bad if he found she wasn’t there.
She quickly packed up the materials, washed her face, and didn’t even change her clothes.
Eagerly, she hugged the materials and went to find Gu Changxiao. Thinking about how far it was to walk through the main gate, she brought a ladder and chose to climb the wall.
In the Prince’s Residence, several secret guards immediately noticed Miss Ji climbing the wall. The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the sun hadn’t risen yet. Miss Ji was too impatient!
Our Prince climbed to Miss Ji’s residence under the moonlight, and Miss Ji is climbing to the Prince’s Residence to greet the sun. Why bother? It would be so much better to have a door in between!
Jin Sui still ran like a thief, bending low towards the veranda. Seeing no guards on either side, she felt relieved.
She had never been to the Prince’s Residence and didn’t know where Gu Changxiao slept, so she knocked on the window of the east bedroom, “Gu Changxiao.”
As a result, Gu Changxiao ran over from the adjacent training ground, covered in sweat. On such a cold morning, he was only wearing a short tunic, which was soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his skin, clearly outlining his abdominal muscles.
Jin Sui looked at him openly, “Your Highness’s physique is really good!”
Gu Changxiao was very surprised by her appearance and smiled, “Do you want me to take off my clothes and show them to you, Sui Sui?”
Jin Sui blushed, “That’s not necessary!”
He saw Jin Sui holding some things and asked with a smile, “Sui Sui, are you bringing me breakfast?”
Jin Sui quickly replied, “No, I’m here to ask for something.”
“Ask for what? Whatever you fancy of mine, just say it, and it’s all yours.”
“Can you grant me another ten thousand mu of land?”
