It was windy and snowy, and the world was silent.
The emperor who saluted did not expect anything.
Silence, silence, still silence.
It wasn't until a long time that an old man raised his head.
"You...what else do you want us to say?"
The old man's cloudy eyes were full of despair.
"You said, let us shut our mouths, we shut our mouths."
"You said, let us be cows and horses, let us be cows and horses."
"You said, let us live like dogs, and we, too, will live like dogs."
"What else do you want us to say, what do you want us to do?"
"We shut our mouths, behave like cows and horses, and live like dogs. You ask, ask us what we want to say. After all, we behave like cows and horses, like dogs. What do you want? What do you want? "
The old man stood up, leaning on a cane and trembling, and walked step by step to Chu Qing, who was already in tears.
Stretching out his old palm, the old man wiped away Chu Qing's tears.
"You are the emperor, such a big official. I have never seen such a big official. You are powerful and majestic. Look, look at him. He is your official. Look at him. He built a building for us. The academy gives us hope to live. Look again and see that behind you, there are still your people. Your officials, your officials, demolished the academy."
The old man patted Chu Qing's shoulder, tears streaming down his face.
"Academy, we don't want it anymore. Let's demolish it. We'll demolish it all. Let's go back and work like cows and horses. If you want to kill or cut it into pieces, kill it or cut it into pieces."
The old man, who was already over seventy years old, walked tremblingly and regarded the guards with long swords as nothing.
With a wave of his hand, the old man shouted hoarsely: "Let's go, let's go back, be a cow and a horse, and let the children be cows and horses."
More and more old men stood up, stepped on the snow, and walked away.
More and more people stood up, turned around, and left.
They are not afraid anymore. They are not afraid of death. So what if they die? It is actually better to die. It is better than living like this and suffering, and it is better than watching their children suffer.
There is nothing more despairing than the sudden appearance of a flame of hope, only to be suddenly extinguished.
The guards all lowered their heads. They were afraid, they were really afraid, that the Emperor Long Yan would be furious and arrest all these people who had no dignity.
The emperor finally spoke.
"Ten days!"
Huang Laosi's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears: "Ten days!"
Huang Laosi started to walk faster and faster, until he was in front of all the people, he turned around and bowed again to salute.
"Within ten days, there will be an academy in Changjing that no one will dare to demolish anymore. The Hanmen Academy will teach the sons of the common people in Changjing and will no longer let the sons of the common people work as cows and horses. The Hanmen Academy!"
The leading old man who was not afraid of death shed tears again and fell to his knees.
"What a great kindness, little old man, I will serve you as a cow and a horse for you in this life, the next life, and nine lifetimes!"
Huang Laosi helped the old man up, but someone else knelt down.
The emperor was like a helpless child, lifting one up and kneeling down on the other.
There were also real children surrounding him, asking questions over and over again.
Is it true? Is there really going to be a poor academy?
Is it true? Is it true that no one will demolish the Poor Academy?
Is it true? Is it true? What you said is true.
Huang Laosi gave up helping the people and walked back to the officials.
"Tell me, is it true?"
Qiu Wanshan was the first to kneel to the ground.
"If the academy is not built, I will be ashamed of myself!"
One after another, the courtiers fell to their knees. Wei Changfeng was in tears, Nangong Xi was moved, Zhai Xiu was crying with joy, Cao Wu was nodding his head, and Ma Rui was so excited that he was just studying and not doing other things. Tan Zhongping was slightly disappointed.
"If the academy is not built, I will be ashamed of myself!"
"If the academy is not built, I will be ashamed of myself!"
"If the academy is not built, I will be ashamed of myself!"
One after another, the ministers knelt on the ground and shouted into the wind. They wanted the monarch and the ministers to hear it, they wanted the people to hear it, they wanted Zhongzhou, and the whole world to hear it. If the academy was not built, they would be ashamed of themselves.
All the courtiers knelt down, except for one person, Gong Chengan, who looked pale.
"Teacher of all ages?"
The emperor Chang Chengyou spat out his saliva in front of the ministers. He spit out his saliva in a very vulgar manner and spat it at Gong Chengan's feet: "It's the most ridiculous thing in the world!"
"You..." Gong Chengan was so angry that he felt ashamed and angry.
Huang Laosi was unmoved: "Chu Qing's family!"
Chu Qing knelt down on one knee: "I'm here."
"Those who demolish Hanmen Academy today will be taken to Qianqiying Prison and convicted!"
"My lord, obey..."
Before the word of edict was shouted, the carriage was pushed away, and a beautiful arm stretched out, with two rabbit ears, waving continuously.
Just when the Emperor and Chu Qing were confused, a carriage drove up at the city gate.
It was Bihua who drove the carriage.
The imperial guard ran over and said, "Your Majesty, Bihua, the maid of the Crown Prince's Young Master's Mansion, would like to see you."
"Let her come here."
Bihua opened the carriages and helped out a middle-aged man dressed as ordinary people and a trembling old woman.
Gong Chengan's expression changed drastically and he was on the verge of collapse.
A middle-aged man walked over with an arm to the old woman. Their faces were somewhat similar, as if they were mother and son.
The man knelt down, but he did not look at the emperor, but at Gong Chengan, with a very strange look on his face.
"Caomin Gongji, this is my mother."
As soon as the man opened his mouth, the emperor and his ministers were all stunned.
"The grass-roots people have been studying since childhood, but they are stupid by nature and cannot write poems or articles. My father... No, Gong Cheng'an, the Imperial Academy's wine sacrificer, was afraid of being ridiculed by others, so he compiled the story of the grass-roots people's eight-step poem to add to his reputation. , to deceive the world and steal the name."
As soon as the words came out, there were gasps of cold air all around.
The old woman seemed to have an eye problem. She tried hard to find Gong Chengan and murmured.
"Mr. Gong family, Master Gong family, are you here? Accept him. You give me two taels of money every month, which is enough for expenses. But Ji'er, I miss you. Please accept him. He even said to his mother-in-law If not, everyone in the world will laugh at him, Master Gong, please recognize him."
Gong Ji laughed loudly: "He recognizes me, but I don't recognize him. To achieve fame, I abandon my wife and children. Having such a biological father is a lifelong shame for me, Gong Ji!"
Before the shocked monarchs and ministers could recover, Tao Ruolin's carriage was pushed open again, and the two rabbit ears danced in the wind again.
Bihua smiled slightly and took out a book from her arms. After opening it, she frowned, as if she couldn't read all the words on it, so she simply put the book back, cleared her throat and spoke.
"The student of the Imperial College is Zhou Xiao. His father is the Cangzhou Grain and Grass Division. After Zhou Xiao entered the Imperial College, he mentioned his father to everyone he met, looking for fellow students who could sell official grain at low prices..."
"Wang Licheng, a student of the Imperial College, has been in school for one year, spending at least a hundred days and nights in the Huachuan Brothel in spring, summer and autumn..."
"A student from the Imperial College, who respects the ancient times, is the adopted son of the Imperial College Siye. He privately collects money and food, five hundred guan, and can admit one student to school..."
"Prince of the Imperial College..."
"The Imperial College Secretary..."
"The Imperial College..."
Bihua's mouth read out one name after another, dozens of names in total.
Every time a name was read out, the officials of the Imperial College paled a little.
Gong Chengan had already collapsed to the ground.
The king and his ministers were extremely shocked.
Above the court, you can always trust Qiu Wanshan, the right servant of the Ministry of Finance.
Under the court, Tao Ruolin, the eldest daughter of the Tao family, can always be trusted.
The Imperial Academy, the highest school in Changjing of the Dachang Dynasty, will become a laughing stock!
Gong Chengan, the most famous Confucian scholar in Zhongzhou, has lost his golden body and ruined his reputation. Scholars all over the world will despise him forever!
