Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“The news has already arrived, but I saw His Majesty engrossed in reading the reports just now...”

“Just say it.” Emperor Jing flicked his sleeves and sat back on his chair.

Guo Tianyang said, “The Jinyiwei have sent news that the Marquis of Jianye has already driven those scholars away from the front of his mansion. In addition, he has rented a house to accommodate all those people. As for more specific details... they are not very clear. Your Majesty, should we send someone to inquire more carefully?”

Emperor Jing felt relieved.

The fact that those stubborn scholars were dispersed in such a short time already explains many things.

With Zheng Yi's ability, the follow-up should not be a big problem.

“No need. If there is any news from Fang Zheng Yi, send it to me immediately.”

“This servant understands.”

......

The next morning.

In the large residence rented by Fang Zheng Yi, many scholars, after a night of restful sleep, were in excellent spirits.

They really hadn't slept well during those two days of protesting in front of the Marquis's mansion.

Yesterday, they finally had a good meal and a good night's sleep.

Now their spirits have recovered to eighty or ninety percent. Recalling the establishment of the Xing Sheng Society yesterday, they still feel a little unbelievable.

At this moment, a dozen or so people are strolling around the courtyard, talking to each other.

In the adjacent residence, Fang Zheng Yi was giving instructions to the Dongjiao University teachers he had just summoned, with Li Yuanzhao listening quietly by the side.

“Everyone knows why I called you here today. Those scholars next door sneer at our Dongjiao University. Your only task is to ignite their interest in learning science. All of you here have participated in the compilation of teaching materials, and you are all elite teachers of Dongda in terms of qualifications. I believe this is not difficult for you.”

“Those scholars can be said to be illiterate in some aspects, not much better than freshmen. Therefore, when you teach, your teaching style must be simple, easy to understand, and interesting. It is best to do more experiments to capture their attention.”

“After today's round of classes, I will have those scholars choose their majors! In the subsequent lectures, you must subtly teach your students to discriminate against other majors! Provoke opposition from all aspects, making them look down on each other, even to the point of fighting! Do you all understand?”

“Understood!” The elite teachers roared with chests puffed out.

“Good.” Fang Zheng Yi was satisfied and pointed to Mo Xiaohu in the crowd, “Xiaohu, you will start in a moment. Listen to my words outside and bring people in when you see the opportunity.”

“Understood, Master.”

.....

Fang Zheng Yi strode out and walked to the adjacent courtyard.

At this moment, there were more scholars in the courtyard than before. When they saw Fang Zheng Yi, they rushed to greet him.

Fang Zheng Yi nodded in response: “Please help me gather everyone. I have an important announcement to make.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several enthusiastic people ran into the house to notify others.

Before long, everyone gathered in the courtyard again.

Fang Zheng Yi saw that the people were mostly present and said loudly: “Everyone, do you remember what we agreed upon yesterday?”

“We remember.” A chorus of responses rang out.

“Very well, yesterday afternoon, I spent a lot of money to send someone to invite the teachers of Dongjiao University to our home. They have already arrived nearby.” Fang Zheng Yi spoke eloquently, “Although not everyone supported my plan yesterday, it was approved by the majority after all. In order to maintain the unified style of the Xing Sheng Society, I hope everyone can try their best to cooperate.”

“The sooner we learn the courses of Dongjiao University, the sooner we can petition the imperial court for the people!” Fang Zheng Yi paused and observed the reactions below.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, he continued: “Then, I will first put forward a few points that everyone should keep in mind.”

“The teachers who have been invited are from Dongjiao University, and they are the very group we are going to denounce. But since they are here to teach us without knowing the situation, I hope everyone will maintain the minimum decency and respect of scholars. After all, they are at the bottom and know nothing about the 'evil' they are causing. We should not be too demanding and should have a sense of understanding and sympathy.”

“In addition, Dongjiao University has many subjects, so this time we have invited more than one teacher. Today, I plan to have them teach you in turn. After everyone has listened to all of them, each person should choose one course that they are most interested in to study individually. This is to speed up the learning process and save our time. Now that I have finished speaking, please raise your hand if you have any objections.”

Seeing that no one raised their hand to object, Fang Zheng Yi turned to look at the door and said loudly: “Then, let's invite the gentlemen of Dongjiao University in first.”

Everyone's eyes focused on the gate.

After waiting for a few breaths, Mo Xiaohu led a group of teachers behind him, carrying large and small boxes of teaching aids, and strode into the courtyard with their heads held high.

Fang Zheng Yi pointed to a few of them and said: “These are them. Everyone, please welcome these specially invited college scientists with applause.”

Mo Xiaohu took a deep breath and cupped his hands, taking the lead: “Thank you for the invitation! I'm at Dongda, just got off the carriage. I'm Mo Xiaohu, with a college degree. Sorry for the late arrival, everyone.”

The crowd was expressionless and indifferent.

Originally, they were not opposed to Brother Tang inviting people to teach, but the arrival of these people from Dongjiao University made them feel uncomfortable.

They looked very arrogant and were so young. How could such people teach us? It's ridiculous.

But so be it, they could only grit their teeth and accept it.

What could they know? At most, some trivial skills that could be learned in three to five days...

Seeing the crowd's cold reaction, Fang Zheng Yi hurriedly added: “Everyone, don't underestimate Teacher Mo. It is rumored in the streets that he is a profound scholar and a well-known figure in the circle. Besides doing scholarship, he is also invited by countless merchants, and a part-time job alone earns him hundreds of taels a month!”

“Teacher Mo, tell everyone if this is true?”

Mo Xiaohu pretended to be shy and said: “It's not worth mentioning, it's not worth mentioning, it's all rumors in the streets. This... this, I won't say much because of the conflict of interest.”

Hundreds of taels a month!?

Although everyone present was a successful candidate from all over the country, and could be considered landlords in their hometowns, the vast majority of them did not reach this level of income.

The basic income of these candidates was farming. Those with strength would have commercial assets. In addition, the imperial court would exempt them from a portion of rent and taxes, so they could only earn a few hundred taels a year at most.

Some candidates would also go out to work part-time, which was basically teaching.

In the current market outside the capital, only rarely seen senior teachers could earn hundreds of taels a year.

Now, a college scientist suddenly popped up, earning hundreds of taels a month. Isn't this nonsense? Did I study for nothing!?

The crowd suddenly became agitated, whispering to each other.

“Hundreds of taels a month... do colleges earn so much money?”

“This is not an ordinary college, this is a college scientist.”

“He says it is, but it is? He just opens his mouth and says it, I think it's made up....”

“I don't think it's made up....”

People are snobbish, even scholars who talk about benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are no exception.

Although they still had the arrogance of scholars, upon hearing about hundreds of taels a month, many people's expressions became much more serious, and they began to feel anxious.

What kind of world is this? A college graduate can earn so much money....

Seeing that the situation had changed, Fang Zheng Yi smiled slightly: “Then I won't say more. Next, Teacher Mo will start sharing his knowledge, experience, and insights with everyone...”