Moma Liangshan

Chapter 132 Unexpected, Going with the Flow

That night, Wang Hao and Wang Lun sat down for a heart-to-heart talk. Wang Hao said, "Laoshan Academy is about to be established. After discussing with everyone, I believe that it is most appropriate for Father to serve as the dean!" Wang Lun, himself a failed scholar, was extremely familiar with the education system of the Northern Song Dynasty. He said, "The Song Dynasty was a flourishing center of culture and education. The imperial court had the Imperial Academy in Tokyo, which included the Imperial College, the Military Academy, the Law Academy, the Calligraphy Academy, the Mathematics Academy, the Painting Academy, and the Medicine Academy. In each circuit, prefecture, and county, there were also prefectural schools, state schools, and county schools, which only taught Confucian classics. Outside the imperial court, many famous scholars and Confucian families established private academies, among which the Shigu Academy, Bailudong Academy, Yingtianfu Academy, and Yuelu Academy were the most renowned." After speaking, he looked at Wang Hao. Wang Hao roughly understood the meaning behind Wang Lun's words and said, "Father, do you mean that before the academy officially begins classes, I should first determine whether the academy is a government-run county school or our family's private school?" Wang Lun nodded and said, "Exactly! If it's our family's private school, then all matters within the academy only require the approval of you and me, father and son. As for Feng Gu, Zhu Heng, and others, they naturally have no right to interfere. If it's a government-run county school, then the daily teaching and the appointment and dismissal of lecturers cannot be decided by you alone, including my appointment and dismissal as the dean!"

Wang Hao asked, "What are the advantages of a government-run academy?" Wang Lun replied, "The county government will either allocate funds regularly or designate school land, and students will have an easier time entering higher-level state or prefectural schools." Wang Hao then asked, "What if it's privately run?" Wang Lun answered, "Private academies, if taught by renowned scholars, will be different; but for ordinary private academies, not only is it difficult to obtain government funding, but students will also face much stricter examinations if they want to enter higher-level state or prefectural schools." Wang Hao suddenly remembered what Wang Lun had said earlier and asked, "Could government-run county schools teach martial arts, law, mathematics, and medicine?" Wang Lun said, "There's no precedent in the hundreds of county schools in the Song Dynasty for offering such miscellaneous courses!" Wang Hao smiled helplessly and said, "In that case, Laoshan Academy can only be run as our family's private academy!"

Wang Lun suddenly remembered a problem and said, "Government-run county schools, because of government funding or existing school land, not only do students not have to pay any fees, but they are even provided with some room and board. Private schools, without government subsidies, not only cannot provide any room and board, but students should also pay tuition fees to maintain the academy's daily expenses." Wang Hao shook his head and said, "The people of Jiaozhou are poor. The reason why more than three hundred students have been sent to the academy is because we provide free room and board. This condition cannot be changed under any circumstances!" Wang Lun reminded him, "It takes ten years to grow a tree, but a hundred years to cultivate a person. Education is never a matter of a day or two. Behind the seemingly prosperous Song Dynasty lies countless hardships among the people. In your eyes, Laoshan Academy is a place for imparting knowledge, teaching skills, and resolving..." "A place of education that confuses and entices, yet in the eyes of those ragged, hungry poor, Laoshan Academy is nothing more than a free soup kitchen. If news of the academy's free room and board spreads, the student body will likely expand many times over." Wang Hao said resolutely, "If those homeless children starve or freeze to death before reaching adulthood, the Song Dynasty may only lose one member. But if they grow up, they are very likely to be recruited and misled by bandits and thugs, wreaking havoc in the region. At that time, how much money and grain will the court have to spend to judge them?" He paused here, looked at Wang Lun, and continued, "Compared to apprehending thieves in the future, I would rather educate and nurture people now!" Wang Lun rose slightly and said, "Whether in terms of ambition, vision, or strategy, I am inferior to you!"

Three days later, when Laoshan College was assigning dormitories to its students, they discovered sixteen girls among the more than three hundred students. Wang Lun dared not handle the situation himself and immediately notified Wang Hao. Upon seeing Wang Hao arrive, one of the girls, about eleven or twelve years old, suddenly hugged his left leg and said, "Please, don't send us away!" Wang Hao found this amusing and said, "So, you're not afraid of being kicked out?" The girl replied, "Young master went through so much trouble to bring us to Jiaozhou; you certainly won't send us away over such a small matter!" Wang Lun, standing nearby, unconsciously glanced at the kneeling girl and said, "This girl has long legs and a thick waist, and she's quite pretty; she'll probably be a fertile rascal!" Wang Hao looked at Wang Lun with annoyance and said, "She's just a child who hasn't fully developed yet; marriage is too early for her, and besides, what does it have to do with me?" Wang Lun said with a smile. “Princess Roufu isn’t much older than this girl. You and Her Highness are already engaged. What’s wrong with me finding you a maidservant?” Wang Hao said. “As the Dean of Laoshan Academy, Father, your primary responsibility is education. How can you allow students to drop out and get married?” Wang Lun argued, “According to your plan, Laoshan Academy’s curriculum is divided into two stages: primary and intermediate. Primary education lasts three years, and intermediate education lasts two years. A girl should be betrothed at fourteen or fifteen. In other words, these girls will be forced to marry before they even complete your primary education.” Upon hearing this, the girl quickly said, “These older sisters are all orphans. No one will force them to marry!”

The more Wang Hao looked at the girl, the more familiar she seemed. Moreover, her build differed slightly from that of people from the Central Plains. He asked, "Are you from Liaodong?" The girl replied, "Xiong Pi and Xiong Yu are my brothers. We were both rescued from Liaodong by you, young master!" Wang Hao thought of that spirited young man from Liaodong and asked, "According to the rules, Xiong Yu should also be at the academy, right?" The girl said, "Brother Xiong Yu came with me. Brother Xiong Pi is a soldier in the army!" Wang Lun remarked from the side, "Look at her, what a clever girl!" Wang Hao was quite embarrassed. He helped the kneeling girl up and asked, "And where did they come from?" "The girl said, 'There are many little beggars in Jimo City. I begged my brother to bring them back!' Wang Hao asked, 'Why?' At this moment, a slightly older girl said, 'When we were little, we could only kneel by the roadside to beg; we had no other use. When we grew to thirteen or fourteen, human traffickers would kidnap us and take us to brothels. On the way to the brothel, I was rescued by several of Miss Xiong's brothers. Later, I begged Miss Xiong to bring my sisters to Jiaozhou as well.' Wang Hao then asked, 'How will you make a living in Jiaozhou? Xiong Pi's military pay can't support so many people, can it?'"