sbdcsierra Chapter 542 Is there a better solution?
Chapter 542 Is there a better solution?
Instructor Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, his lips trembled, and his fists clenched tightly.
After a long while, he finally calmed down and reached out his hand to his disciple.
Two students quickly stepped forward and helped him up.
He seemed to have aged several years in an instant, and his whole demeanor became listless, but he still mustered his strength to bow and thank Lu Yangyang and Wen Qingqing, saying, "Thank you, thank you."
He looked up at Prefect Ling again, his face filled with complex guilt: "I was in a moment of panic and failed to understand your intentions, sir. I beg you, I beg you, sir, to forgive me. Today's events are my fault alone. Please, please do not blame these students."
Upon hearing this, the students' eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Prefect Ling stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Instructor Yuan: "Instructor Yuan is truly concerned for the students of Yuzhou Prefecture. I am well aware of this. Yuzhou has suffered a calamity and is in dire need of reconstruction. The new Prefectural Education Commissioner is on his way and will arrive soon. I have already explained the situation to the Commissioner in a letter. This year's provincial examination can be postponed to April. This matter will be officially announced after the Commissioner arrives in Yuzhou. At that time, I will also notify all counties. This will ensure that this year's examination is not delayed."
Upon hearing Prefect Ling's words, Instructor Yuan's face immediately burned with embarrassment.
He himself was timid and cowardly, abandoning the students of the prefectural school and hiding away. Now, under the guise of considering the students' well-being, he came to oppose the establishment of a girls' academy, almost implicating everyone.
This Prefect Ling was not only tough in his methods, but he also never neglected the affairs of Yuzhou Prefecture. The scheduling of the imperial examinations should not have been his responsibility as the prefect, but he still managed to buy time for the students of Yuzhou Prefecture due to the special circumstances of the prefecture. However, he was suspicious and thought that Prefect Ling was busy with commerce and women's academies and did not value the imperial examinations.
He is narrow-minded.
In fact, in the heat of the moment, I almost had a stroke from fright. I'm so ashamed!
Instructor Yuan was speechless for a moment, and could only bow down in shame to apologize to Prefect Ling.
Upon seeing this, all the students lowered their heads.
Prefect Ling looked at the crowd and raised his voice: "You are all students of Yuzhou Prefecture, destined to take the imperial examinations and become officials. It's not just about writing essays; you must also carefully observe, listen, understand, and reflect. Essays should not merely be flowery and eloquent, but also about understanding the people's livelihood and national affairs, so that you can share the emperor's burdens and benefit the people. Yuzhou Prefecture has suffered from the chaos at the Immortal Temple. What you saw in Yuzhou Prefecture was the Immortal Temple's flourishing incense offerings, which the temple used to make money. However, when I tried this case, I also listed their crimes: under the guise of conscription, they tricked countless young men into mining, causing their deaths in the mines. Now, in all the counties and towns under Yuzhou Prefecture's jurisdiction, nearly half of the young men have been lost. Do you know what this means? It means that in the upcoming spring planting season, most of the land will be uncultivable. It means that from now on, the people of Yuzhou may face famine. If another year of disaster occurs, do you know what will happen? Will Yuzhou Prefecture be spared then?"
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the students launched a fierce attack on the Xianren Temple incident, wishing they could write tens of thousands of words to condemn the evil deeds of those wicked people! But did they consider what consequences this would bring?
No.
At this moment, when they heard this, they realized that all those scholars who clamored every day to take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom to serve the country and the people, those who read the classics, were just talking on paper.
Prefect Ling continued, “This is only one aspect. Do you know how many families have been broken apart because of this, leaving only orphans, widows, the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, with no one left to support the household? I ask you all, have you ever thought about how they are supposed to live? According to the laws of the Great Zhao Dynasty, the government and the court can provide them with some subsidies. But I ask you all again, how much subsidy do you think is reasonable, and how many days can these subsidies sustain their lives?”
No one could answer, nor did they know what this had to do with the establishment of the girls' academy.
The students, even Instructor Yuan, and the onlookers couldn't help but look at Prefect Ling.
"The reason I encourage the establishment of this girls' academy is that those familiar with Mingxin Academy already know that the courses taught there focus on skills. Those who learn needlework can work in weaving workshops, those who learn cooking can become cooks, and those who learn medicine can become healers. Mastering a skill provides a means of livelihood. In this way, women can also take care of their families and support their households. Tell me, what's wrong with that?" Prefect Ling stared at the students who had been shouting the loudest earlier and asked, "Or do you gentlemen have a better plan?"
Everyone was speechless.
They believed that women should stay at home to support their husbands and raise their children, and that it was proper for women to go out and show their faces in public.
Many families in Yuzhou have lost the men who can support the household, and the women are too weak to farm. Even the most naive among them know that the government cannot support them indefinitely.
If only a few people had died, each prefecture would have government offices or charitable halls donated by merchants to take them in. But given the current situation in Yuzhou Prefecture, how many charitable halls could possibly accommodate all those people?
The Mingxin Academy's approach of teaching people how to fish, while unconventional, is, upon closer examination, the most reliable method. Otherwise, how would they possibly settle these people in the long run, or simply watch them become refugees?
These students were, after all, people who had studied the classics. Even if the situation of those people was not their fault, how could they get over the hurdle in their hearts if Bo Ren died because of it?
Their initially fervent protests and questioning now seem to be forcing those innocent women to their deaths. Just thinking about it makes them feel a burning shame.
I'm so scared that I have to curse myself for being so damn stupid when I wake up in the middle of the night!
The students were immediately filled with remorse and bowed to apologize. Some even offered to help connect their families with cooks and the academy with women who could do laundry.
Even the onlookers said they could help.
Prefect Ling bowed deeply to the crowd, then cupped his hands and proclaimed, "I have just arrived in Yuzhou and have been able to punish the wicked thanks to your support. Now that Yuzhou is facing this calamity, I only wish that everyone in Yuzhou will unite as one to overcome this difficulty. From this day forward, I intend to set up a reception office outside the yamen. Any Yuzhou residents who encounter injustices may come here for consultation and appeal. I will also set up a suggestion box. If you have any suggestions or even complaints about me or Yuzhou, you may submit your letters to the suggestion box. I will review them all, and any feasible suggestions will be rewarded."