How can we talk about money when it comes to scholars?

"Fifty-one volumes!" Hong Dashou stretched out a hand and raised all five fingers.

"Okay! Then fifty taels." Zhao Zhongyong did not hesitate.

Young Master Zhao never brings money. As a member of the "Jinghua Gentlemen" [Note 1], the Fengyang Zhao family, how can they let Young Master Zhao touch dirty things like money?

People can only touch poetry and classics, which are all taught by saints. Things like money are dirty and smelly, and are not something they care about. (Haha)

After hearing the instructions, his servant quickly took out his purse from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Zhongyong. There was a thick stack of redemption notes inside. There were no small denominations, all were large notes.

I counted five cards and gave them to Hong Dashou, which amounted to two hundred and fifty taels.

"You can choose as much as you want, right?"

"That's natural, please do as you please!"

Hong Dashou successfully poisoned another feudalist young man, who cares?

Entering the study, the book boxes were still arranged in rows, and Zhao Wanyong was looking through the Western books in them. Zhao Zhongyong was alone in a corner without light, laughing slyly.

Even when Hong Dashou came in, he didn't interrupt his critical appreciation of the album. It seemed that he really liked it so much that it could no longer be described as appreciation, but rather immersion.

Just be happy!

"After my dear brother enters the high school, will he be appointed as an official immediately or will he return to his hometown to raise his family?"

His father was an official, Cao Yanshu. Wanting to become an official was really just a matter of words. Hong Dashou just asked casually. After all, he was going to be the big boss of the Li Dynasty in the future. He might be planning to go home and write a book.

Woolen cloth.

Hong Dashou remembered Zhao Wanyong because he was the future leader of the Zhao family in Pongyang. As for his experiences in his youth, his experiences in his youth were very vague. The main memories were also focused on the period when he stepped onto the stage of power after becoming the father-in-law of Crown Prince Hyomyeong.

"Well, let's probably go to Sungkyunkwan." Zhao Wanyong put down the book.

"To study?"

"I can't talk about it. After all, there are some benefits to joining the museum."

"What should I say?" Hong Dashou sat down in front of him.

Sungkyunkwan does not just mean the Imperial Academy, it has a certain special political status in the Li Dynasty.

This originated from the struggle between the ministers of the Honorable Heroes faction and the ministers of the Shilin Qing faction in the early Li Dynasty. As an old nobleman of Goryeo, Li Chenggui raised an army to overthrow his old employer. Naturally, the younger brothers who followed him had to be high-ranking officials and receive generous salaries.

In the early days of the Lee Dynasty, the faction of distinguished and meritorious officials was very powerful. During the Taejong and Tuanjo eras, they played a decisive role. Until the era of King Jungjong, they were the faction of the villain Oh Guardian in "Dae Jang Geum".

They raised an army to overthrow the rule of Lord Yanshan, took control of the military power of the country, and controlled the removal and establishment of the king. They were even able to directly kill Zhongzong's concubines and sons, almost to the point of controlling the country.

In order to compete with the heroes, the Shilin sect emerged. Due to the deliberate support of successive kings, the Shilin sect quickly grew in size.

Among them, Sungkyunkwan, as the highest academic institution in the country, has obtained an important right.

Discuss political power!

Confucian scholars in Sungkyunkwan could openly express their opinions on government affairs and jointly submit letters to the kings of the Li Dynasty. This form of communication, similar to writing letters on a bus, became a powerful tool for monitoring the governance of the heroes and nobles.

After all, as scholars these days, they may not be good at anything else, but they are definitely good at trolling people.

In addition, as scholars, the direction of social public opinion is controlled by their mouths. It is these scholars who can record history. Anyway, you are not there, how can you judge whether what these people write is true or false?

The Confucian scholars in Sungkyunkwan often fired cannons and became a sharp sword in the hands of the Shilin faction.

In "Dae Jang Geum", there are also Confucian scholars who kneel down at the gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace with straw mats and write a letter, asking Jungjong not to appoint Janggeum as an official. But Jungjong, in addition to sulking and getting angry in the palace, actually treated these people

There is no way.

During the peak period of the struggle between the Heroic School and the Shihlin School, Sungkyunkwan was almost the main battleground of the Shihlin School. Whoever controlled the cannon of the Confucian scholars would control the power of public opinion.

When you stand on the moral high ground, it doesn't matter whether he is brave or cold, it's just one word.

Cool!

Later, the Heroic Faction was finished, and basically shed its last drop of blood in the party struggle. Sungkyunkwan's importance as an artillery firing position naturally began to decline.

But, in the thirty years of Hedong and thirty years of Hexi, the Shilin sect split again and again.

Therefore, whichever faction controls Sungkyunkwan’s cannon will be able to enhance its power of speech and public opinion.

Nowadays, the power of the relatives is on the rise, and the power of power politics has begun to exert its power. But now the Andong Kim family has not yet spoken out, and is in a three-legged situation with the Gyeongju Kim family and the Pannan Park family.

Cho Wanyong's entry into Sungkyunkwan has to be said to be an excellent way out. Although it will not become the center of attraction for all parties, it can at least accumulate popularity and connections.

Perhaps many of these Confucian scholars will enter the political arena in the future and become Zhao Wanyong's natural political allies.

"Brother Xian, the hotel is really a good place." Hong Dashou was sincerely envious.

"Where's Brother Hong?"

"We still don't know whether we will hit or not." Hong Dashou laughed.

In fact, I don’t know how far Min Tinghye will help him, because these days, except for the top three who are immediately awarded the title, most of the Jinshi are entered into the third hall to be selected. It is a clerical institution similar to the Art and Literature Hall, and there is no

Power and no practicality.

Mainly just flipping through books, copying and writing, and just messing around.

Hong Dashou estimated that even if he had someone above him and could be appointed to an official position, he would probably start from a low-level official position such as the deputy commander of each yamen, the chief official, and the chief clerk.

Who said that he was just a member of a sixth-grade official family? Although his name was attached to the Fengshan Hong family, the Fengshan Hong family was half-dead, so they had no control over Hong Dashou.

According to Hong Dashou's idea, being able to serve as a county supervisor or a local magistrate, and having the power of a county is already a very good appointment.

"Brother Shi is very talkative and far-sighted. It's a pity that his background is a little low, otherwise being a Jinshi would not be a trivial matter."

Zhao Wanyong did not sympathize with Hong Dashou, but was mainly dissatisfied with the current situation in which the two large families controlled the imperial examinations and appointed officials.

He received a lot of Western knowledge, had some understanding of Western politics and economics, and seemed to have some knowledge of the situation of the Li Dynasty itself.

He has the talent, and he probably wants to reform, but it's a pity that he will sit on the bench of his relatives. He will become a bureaucrat who mainly fights for power, and secondarily focuses on the national economy and people's livelihood.

[Note 1]: The so-called Jinghua gentry does not refer to just one family or several families, but brings together all the major families who came from the Eight Paths of Korea. Although they came from various places, due to their long-term control of the central power of the Li Dynasty, their father and son were descended from each other.
Chapter completed!