After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 709 - 699 Courage

The young man stepped out from the crowd, pondered for a moment, then turned and walked in another direction.

Someone he was familiar with in the crowd saw him and quickly called out, "Xu Maoxue, the tavern is that way, where are you going?"

Xu Maoxue glanced back and said, "I’m not going to the tavern, I’m going to the Imperial College."

The person laughed heartily and asked, "How old are you, do you still intend to study at the Imperial College?"

"Even young children can have great ambitions, I am in my prime, why can’t I?" Previously, the young man thought of going with the flow, laying back and watching the world change.

He was proud, feeling that this world was beyond saving, so he made some small money casually, watching the people in this world struggle and drift.

To him, Zhao Hanzhang and Gou Xi were both fools.

Gou Xi had a good reputation, military power, and was favored by the emperor. As long as he continued to be cautious in speech and behavior, allowing the emperor to rule again, or co-ruling with the emperor, unifying the world was only a matter of time;

Looking across the world, in terms of military ability, only Beigong Chun could compare with him, and in terms of influence, he was the foremost in the world.

As long as he did not make a wrong move, within two years beside the emperor, he could become the next Cao Mengde, and perhaps the world would be unified under him.

Yet, he became complacent and arrogant, shattering a great situation.

Zhao Hanzhang was foolish too.

She was a woman and naturally had advantages. If she were willing to give up Fu Tinghan or marry into the emperor’s or Gou Xi’s family, uniting the two forces, half of the world could be in her hands, and she could aim northward. Who could say she wouldn’t reclaim lost lands?

So, he always looked down on both of them from his heart. But now, the young man’s face burned hotly.

The words Zhao Hanzhang said to Chen Pei hit him hard in the face.

She didn’t walk the path he thought right, not because she didn’t know of it, but because she had the courage to choose a more difficult path.

Even young Chen Pei had the courage to risk his life to follow her. After living an extra ten years, what should he fear?

Xu Maoxue walked faster and soon arrived at the gates of the Imperial College.

He looked up at the plaque of the Imperial College, picked up his robes, and walked forward.

The gates of the Imperial College were wide open, unguarded, allowing anyone to come and go freely.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he could hear the sound of reading coming from all directions.

Xu Maoxue paused briefly, then headed toward the offices of the Doctors that he remembered.

The office was also empty, but it had desks, and on the desks, a lot of paper was laid out. There were also bookshelves on both sides with many books.

This was different from the office in his memory, and he was a little surprised.

Moving forward to look at the books, he found an abundance of classics, histories, and even many miscellaneous books.

Looking at the papers on the desk, he couldn’t help but pick up one to examine.

This paper was very familiar to him, as the paper used in Luoyang City now was of this type, known as Zhao paper, or Yu State Paper.

Currently, most of it was transported from the Yu State. The papermaking workshop belonged to Zhao Hanzhang, and it was said that this new paper was made by her and Fu Tinghan together.

After she captured Luoyang, workshops outside the city also began setting up papermaking workshops, but paper production takes time. Currently, the paper workshops in Luoyang could only meet the paper needs of government offices, the Imperial College, and various academies.

The paper circulating in the streets mostly still had to be transported from the Yu State, so although paper prices were cheaper than before, they were still expensive.

Xu Maoxue was short of money and used every piece of paper sparingly. He hadn’t expected that the teachers in the Imperial College were so extravagant, with so much paper on each desk.

He enviously put down the paper, looked around the door, then chose a direction to walk.

Sure enough, after walking some distance, he saw people having a lesson.

They were a group of older students, all around fourteen or fifteen years old, not sitting in a classroom but in an open pavilion, facing a young teacher dressed in a scholar’s robe.

Xu Maoxue knew him, Zhao Cheng, the uncle of Zhao Hanzhang.

This was also a point of criticism against Zhao Hanzhang by the scholars; she appointed several key positions to the Zhao Family members, making people feel her current achievements relied more on the Zhao Family rather than her own abilities.

Especially in such an important place as Imperial College, she handed it directly to Zhao Cheng to manage without going through the court.

It was simply... enviable, jealous, and inevitably questionable.

Zhao Cheng’s voice was gentle, explaining like telling a story, and when he finished a lesson, he turned his head to look.

Seeing Xu Maoxue, Zhao Cheng said to the students, "Read by yourselves, and ask me if there is anything you don’t understand."

The students bowed and resumed reading their textbooks.

Zhao Cheng came down, "Maoxue, are you here to see me?"

Xu Maoxue said, "Revisiting a familiar place, I stopped by to see Zhao Xuejian."

Zhao Cheng’s expression was indifferent, "I am not Xuejian, either call me by my courtesy name or address me as teacher."

Xu Maoxue showed a look of disdain, "To be my teacher, you are shameless."

Zhao Cheng glanced at him indifferently and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Xu Maoxue quickly followed, chasing after him, "Of course, you are a few years older than me. I can’t call you teacher, but I can call you elder brother, Zitu brother. I wonder, does your Imperial College lack a teacher?"

At dinner, Zhao Cheng visited, and Zhao Hanzhang quickly asked for extra tableware, "Is there something at the Imperial College?"

Zhao Cheng nodded, "I’m here to request an official position for someone."

"Who?"

"Xu Maoxue of Yongzhou," Zhao Cheng said. "He has been living in Luoyang. During Luoyang’s turmoil, he fled with the refugees, and later was forced back by you, not allowed to leave. He now has aspirations for the Imperial College, and I’d like to hire him as an Imperial College Doctor to teach the students."

Zhao Hanzhang agreed immediately, "Alright, I’ll have Fan Ying issue an appointment letter tomorrow."

Zhao Cheng nodded and took the opportunity to bring up the accumulated issues at the Imperial College, "This year, many new students have enrolled, but the books we requested have not been delivered yet. It really delays teaching. Please urge the Book Office to prioritize printing books for us."

Zhao Hanzhang agreed immediately.

The speed made Zhao Cheng couldn’t help but look up at her, "When can they be ready? Can it be done by the end of the month?"

Zhao Hanzhang thought for a moment and said, "By the fifteenth of next month. Not only do they need to be printed, but also bound, which takes time."

The Luoyang Book Office was newly opened, and Prince East Sea took many woodblocks away when he left. As for Yu State Book Office, it could only spare a few woodblocks for Luoyang. The rest, now Luoyang Book Office was engraving, along with some woodblocks salvaged from the Imperial Palace.

But the woodblocks not taken by the court, their books were not commonly used, with low current printing value. Finally, the commonly used books still had to be engraved by themselves.

For this, Zhao Hanzhang was urging the Ministry of Industry to make movable type. Carving a book takes too long, and among the craftsmen they gathered so far, there were few with good skills. They often ruined the woodblocks. Sometimes, when a block wasn’t too damaged, they still used it for printing.

As a result, sometimes the books used by students in the academies and Imperial College had ink blobs, where errors were corrected by striking out and rewriting.

It was really a headache.