Chapter 188 The Rise of Grassroots
In Youzhou, Jia Xu looked at Li Ru in silence with a happy expression.
"You are really careless. To save time, you just go straight to Zang Ba. You are not afraid of being chopped."
"Don't worry. Although I don't value my life as much as you do, I am confident that I can protect myself. Zang Ba was able to do such a thing in Qingzhou, and was appointed by you to station in Taihang Mountains. He must not be a reckless person." Li Ru said nonchalantly.
"Besides, I don't have much time left. I have to go back to Bingzhou in two months at most and make some arrangements. Otherwise, you might have already sent troops to attack us."
Hearing this, Jia Xu's mouth twitched slightly.
"Do you want to listen to what you are saying? If I just hold you here, Bingzhou will be easily captured."
"Okay, stop pretending between you and me. If you really dare to do this, I won't come." Li Ru pouted.
"If Tian Chengshou was that kind of person, Fengxian and I would not have had the opportunity to rule Bingzhou. I can see what he wants."
"Besides, I have already prepared a backup plan before coming here. I can't go back within two months, and you will definitely regret it."
Both are thousand-year-old foxes. They had known each other for a long time in Liangzhou and had kept in touch over the years, but they just served different masters.
"What are you here for?" Jia Xu poured a cup of tea for Li Ru and asked.
"I want to walk around the city, visit the Jixia Academy, and find Tian Chengshou to verify an answer." There was a hint of anticipation and disappointment in Li Ru's eyes.
"Don't you already have the answer?"
"I still have to ask in person to be sure. I want to know what kind of person Tian Chengshou is."
After experiencing the defeat of Dong Zhuo, Li Ru was no longer so confident about many things.
"My Lord is on his way back from the Northeast Plains and should be here in the next two days. You can spend the next two days wandering around the city and the Jixia Academy."
"it is good."
"Do you need me to accompany you?"
"No need. I'll feel uncomfortable with you around. I can just take a look by myself." Although he had been suppressing it, the hint of expectation in Li Ru's tone still lingered.
Seeing his friend's rare emotional fluctuations, Jia Xu smiled knowingly.
Outside the Jixia Academy, Li Ru stood blankly for a long time, looking at the words engraved on the large stones on both sides, and looking at the scholars and children coming and going. Scenes of studying in his youth kept flashing through his mind.
I have gone through all kinds of hardships, suffered all kinds of bullying and injustice, been rejected countless times, and been looked at with countless contempt.
Standing in front of someone else's house for three days without rest, just to seek the answer to a question; walking alone in the snow for more than ten days, just to listen to a few words from a wise man.
Even though he later had some talents, he still had no way to display them. The court was blocked and controlled by the aristocratic families. Jia Xu, who came from a poor family, could not get an official position even after becoming a filial and honest official. And he was just an ordinary citizen. Even if he had all kinds of talents, he could not display them.
Recalling the past, all kinds of feelings came to my mind. The lone pine-like figure trembled slightly, and a trace of crystal in the corner of his eyes.
He was born in a poor family, not even a humble family. To have gotten to where he is today, apart from his insignificant efforts, it was purely due to luck.
He knows too well how difficult it is to come from a grassroots background.
In the eyes of the wealthy and powerful families, their lives are worthless and they are not treated as human beings at all. All they get is condescending contempt or pity.
The prince and general Xiang Ning have the guts!
He was unwilling! This world shouldn't be like this!
Unable to enter the imperial court, he chose to fight his way into it. He wanted to use the bloodiest way to carve out a path for the grassroots, even if it meant endless killing.
To some extent, he and Zhang Jue are the same kind of people.
Unfortunately, his ending was the same as Zhang Jue's, both of them failed. When he found that even under the pressure of the butcher's knife, the officials in the court would rather play dumb and perish with the court than cooperate, he realized that he had chosen the wrong path.
When Yuan Shao organized a coalition and forced him to kill Yuan Wei, he realized that he was being used.
At that time, he was already disheartened. Zhang Jue took the bottom route, and he took the top route, but in the end, they both failed. What hope is there in this world?
The power of the family was simply unshakable, and he no longer saw any possibility.
Until the Jixia Academy was opened.
Li Ru looked at the scholars coming and going, and his face, which was always as cold as an iceberg, actually revealed a bright smile.
that's nice!
He walked to the reception desk at the door, answered a few questions casually, and reported a pseudonym. Li Ru then received his own scholar identity card and changed into a standard robe. It was so simple and straightforward that he could hardly imagine it.
Li Ru looked at the exquisite sign in his hand and couldn't help but smile bitterly. If only things were so simple when he was studying.
As you enter the Jixia Academy, you are immediately greeted by a strong learning atmosphere, with students talking to each other everywhere.
The knowledgeable Li Ru could tell the approximate backgrounds of these people at a glance.
Roughly speaking, about 10% were children of aristocratic families, 20% to 30% were scholars from poor families, and the rest were ordinary people and soldiers.
Although he was wearing the same clothes, the calluses on his hands from years of work and the temperament he exuded could not be concealed at all.
Li Ru was a little stunned when he first saw it. Could even common people and soldiers enter the Jixia Academy?
But after talking with them, he found that although these civilians and soldiers were less talented, they were smart and quick-witted. They were all outstanding people who stood out from the school and the army, as well as people who had made contributions.
Various slogans could be seen everywhere in the Jixia Academy, such as "Diligence can make up for lack of talent", "Adhere to truth", "Unity of knowledge and action", etc., but the four huge words on the largest signboard left a deep impression on Li Ru's mind.
Education without distinction!
What Confucius said is not surprising, but what is most shocking is that the Jixia Academy was able to do this.
Holding the sign, Li Ru entered the Book Pavilion and looked at the dazzling array of books. After carefully checking the catalog, he picked up a book at random and flipped through it, but he keenly noticed that something was wrong.
"The handwriting in these books seems to be exactly the same, could it be!"
Li Ru's pupils dilated instantly and he thought of a possibility.
Although Tian Ze invented and used printing, he did not publicize it to the outside world because he still had the improved papermaking technology in his hands, and the two were indispensable.
There was no need to make these two technologies public so early, as it would not only aid the enemy but also affect the development of the Jixia Academy. So Tian Ze temporarily hid them.
The noble families had already discovered this situation, but they tacitly chose to conceal and block the news.
Without having seen it with one's own eyes, not many people would truly understand the importance of these two things, so the matter was suppressed with the tacit understanding of all parties.
But Li Ru couldn't help but see what this meant.
The golden age of literature and art is coming!
At this moment, Li Ru's heart was in turmoil.
As smart as he was, he immediately thought of the schools of all sizes throughout Youzhou, the common people in the academies, the imperial examination system, the official system...
Putting all this together, Li Ru suddenly realized that what Tian Ze wanted to do was even more terrible than he had imagined.
What he dreamed of seemed to be coming true!
(End of this chapter)
