Chapter 28: The Start of School

Chapter 28: School Opening

To be honest, if these were the great aristocratic families of the Han Dynasty, Li Tai might have felt a slight hesitation, but now that he was in the Great Tang, he truly did not hold them in high regard.

Do not be fooled by the current splendor and influence of these aristocratic clans; they even look down upon the Li Tang imperial family. In reality, they are merely enjoying a final flash of brilliance before the end. The advent of the imperial examination system destined the clans for decline.

Because the number of people in these clans is small, yet they possess an overwhelming amount of resources, they can rely on the legacies of their ancestors to sustain themselves for a while. However, facing the surging tide of scholars from humble origins and the vast masses of common people, they will eventually be submerged by the sheer force of numbers.

From the perspective of social stratification, the decline of these clans is almost a foregone conclusion. Yet, in Li Tai’s view, while the clans are corrupt and backward, he does not wish for them to collapse just like that. A major reason is that as the clans fall, the group most suited to take over the governance of China, as determined by historical selection, is the civil official group, which is linked by ties of teacher-student and hometown factionalism. Such a bureaucratic group reached its peak during the Song Dynasty, but by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become utterly depraved.

To speak plainly, no matter how corrupt or decadent the aristocratic families are, at least they never saw the civil and military branches as enemies, and at least they did not bow and scrape for power. Even toward the Li Tang imperial family, despite its nomadic ancestry, they remained unyielding and maintained their integrity. However, the bureaucratic group starting from the Song Dynasty would stand when told to stand, and when the Qing Dynasty demanded they kneel, they knelt obediently. Even among the civil officials who possessed a backbone, once trapped within that system, they would fall into the vicious cycle of being adept at internal strife but incompetent at external challenges.

Therefore, if given the chance, Li Tai genuinely wants to give the clans a hand. After all, as long as they exist, there remains a buffer zone between the civil and military factions. With the extinction of the clans, that buffer disappears. The longer the civil and military factions grind against each other, the more contradictions will accumulate; much like the two-party system in the United States, they will inevitably fall into a vicious cycle of life-and-death struggle.

However, Li Tai’s desire to research a plow similar to the "Eight-Oxen Plow" was not for the sake of the clans, but to facilitate intensive production. He aimed to increase the investment of production factors and capital—such as resources, funds, technology, management, and labor—within a unit of land to boost productivity and improve farming efficiency. Of course, this equipment was certainly not suitable for ordinary peasants, as only with a sufficiently large amount of land could the cost of such a plow be amortized.

"Besides researching the large plow, how is the progress on the dragon-bone waterwheel?" Li Tai asked Du Chuke.

"We are currently modifying the dragon-bone carts, and it is still in the testing phase. Is the Prince of Yue in such a hurry for this?" Du Chuke frowned upon hearing Li Tai's words. "But with spring plowing now upon us, I believe we should prioritize the plows."

Li Tai replied, "Some locust eggs from last year chose to overwinter rather than hatch; as the weather warms, they will certainly hatch again. If they emerge in the wild, that is easy to handle; I will simply release the ducks again. I have also raised some chickens this year, so dealing with locusts shouldn't be difficult. However, if they hatch within the cultivated fields, we obviously cannot let the chickens and ducks in, lest they devour the wheat sprouts as well. Therefore, it is better to increase irrigation to keep the soil moist, which will delay the locusts' hatching! Winter wheat can be harvested in the fourth or fifth month; if the locusts emerge after that, we can just release the ducks to eat them."

"The Prince of Yue’s insight is profound!" Du Chuke realized, stroking his beard. "I will have someone accelerate the research on the waterwheel immediately. We must not see a repeat of last year's catastrophe!"

To be honest, the drought and locust plague of the second year of Zhenguan would have brought almost any less capable court to the brink of destruction. It was only because Li Shimin led his team of wise ministers that they managed to hold the situation together. At this moment, Du Chuke’s urgency to complete the waterwheel was, in a sense, a final step in his management of the locust plague.

Although cultivation only began in the third month, all sorts of tools had to be prepared by the second month. By this time, Ma Zhou had become the busiest person of all—either borrowing oxen from the Ministry of Pasturage, requesting tools from the Ministry of Agriculture, or, most importantly, obtaining iron from the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories to forge farming tools. Compared to last year, when the power of the entire court was gathered to soothe the refugees, now he could only rely on the reputation of the Prince of Yue’s mansion.

The Ministry of Pasturage had gained 100,000 ducks from last year's operations, and the Ministry of Agriculture had succeeded in controlling the locust plague; both sides owed a debt of gratitude to Li Tai, so they were certainly willing to help with these minor matters. Even an incorruptible official like Dou Jing might not accept bribes, but he would be willing to return a favor for a small request.

Thus, although Ma Zhou had to make several trips to the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories, since they were all within the system and there was no factional strife between them, business was conducted officially, and the requested iron was approved before long. Li Tai had enough coal and craftsmen to forge the iron into tools, and with the intention of accumulating talent, he did not wait for the Director of Imperial Manufactories to do it himself. Because spring plowing was imminent and he feared waiting in line, he registered the amount of iron ore according to regulations and transported it away. Once the tools were forged, officials from the Directorate would come to inspect the iron to ensure Li Tai hadn't diverted the ore for other purposes or sold it to foreign merchants for profit.

In summary, while smuggling iron ore within the Tang Dynasty was certainly possible, most cases involved individuals who already owned private iron mines trading directly with foreigners. Using official iron for smuggling was not impossible, but it required clearing too many hurdles.

As mid-February arrived, Li Tai’s Agricultural Academy officially opened its doors. A group of people arrived that surprised Li Tai: these were the villagers from near Chang'an whom he had selected during the locust plague to raise five hundred to one thousand ducks each. After the locusts were dealt with, these people became managers of the ducks. Li Tai had reclaimed half of the ducks and left the other half with them as breeding stock, telling them how many ducks to turn in each month, with the interest paid in duck eggs. Any excess was theirs to keep, and the Prince of Yue’s mansion provided subsidies for fuel and feed. Furthermore, once the quota was met, the subsidies would end, but the remaining ducks would be their own property. They needn't worry about sales, as the mansion would purchase adult ducks at twenty wen each or one hundred duck eggs—a price slightly lower than market value but stable.

Having realized they had mastered the skill of duck farming, they agreed. After the winter passed, they saw their ducks survive; they had already returned half of the required ducks, and the rest of the flock had thrived. Relying on the Chang'an market, the consumption of ducks was guaranteed. They found their assets growing under Li Tai’s care, and their lives improving. With the simple honesty and shrewdness of rural folk, they felt a sense of gratitude and saw a bright future in following the Prince of Yue, so they chose to continue supporting him.

Although the five-hundred-wen tuition fee was expensive, the school provided food and lodging. They figured it was worth it for their children to learn to read and calculate, so they gritted their teeth and paid. Of course, it wasn't necessarily their own sons; it could be their brothers, nieces, or nephews. In any case, under their promotion, the people of Chang'an heard that the Prince of Yue was the one who had slain the locust demon and banished the plague forever. Persuaded by their relatives, anyone who could scrape together five hundred wen did so with a sense of trying their luck, sending a son inside. Li Tai had expected five hundred students and would have been grateful for that, but in reality, there were nearly a thousand.

"Ergou, opportunities to learn to read and write for five hundred wen are rare. Study hard once you are inside. Big brother was lucky enough to get a job managing ducks for the Prince of Yue, but I'm illiterate, and that’s as far as I can go. You study hard, and in the future, you can pass the imperial examinations and become an official!" Chen Da said earnestly to his younger brother. Chen Ergou nodded; Chen Da had raised him since he was small, so Ergou always listened to him.

"Sanwa, study hard inside. The Prince of Yue is a divine man who can kill locust demons. You must learn his skills so that if locusts ever appear in our fields, you can wipe them out in a flash!"

"Mm-hmm," Sanwa listened to his father and began practicing the motions with his hands.

"Daniu, there isn't enough to eat at home. I borrowed five hundred wen from a relative. Listen to your teachers at school, and you'll be able to eat your fill. Learn to read as much as you can, calculate as much as you can. If you can learn a few farming techniques, you won't have to worry about food in the future!"

"I will listen, and I will eat until I'm full!" Daniu said naively to his mother.

...

Well, although those entering the academy might not have joined out of a genuine desire for the farming profession, Li Tai needed them to know that he didn't build this school for them to waste time. It was time for them to learn the school motto. Li Tai, engaging in a preemptive plagiarism of the culture of the Northern Song Dynasty, copied the "Four Sentences of Hengqu": "To establish a heart for the universe, to establish a life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the sages, and to open up peace for all generations."

These four sentences were now the motto of his Agricultural Academy. He didn't demand that anyone memorize them, but by seeing them every day, they would eventually be unconsciously etched into their hearts.

However, the first half-month went smoothly, but by March, the students joined in the spring plowing. The tasks for the preparatory students were simple: uprooting—specifically, removing the roots of weeds!

In reality, clearing wasteland is not easy work. In ancient times, it was not uncommon for people in their thirties to cough up blood and die from the exhaustion of clearing land, as it was physically draining work. First of all, the peasants clearing the land basically had no shoes, and even if Li Tai gave them shoes, they wouldn't wear them to plow the fields. Modern rubber rain boots can be rinsed clean easily, but in ancient times, such things didn't exist, so many people chose to work barefoot. Wearing shoes meant they would be caked in mud, and ancient shoes were made of fabric that would rot after being washed a few times, making the cost too high. For farmers, being barefoot was the most cost-effective method. In fact, many elderly people in remote areas still retain this habit today. It was only when thumbtacks, nails, scrap iron, and glass shards began appearing in the fields that people gradually switched to rubber boots.

The primary goal of clearing land is to eradicate weeds. One should not assume they can just set a fire and burn everything. In *Water Margin*, the fodder depot in the "Wind and Snow at the Mountain Spirit Temple" was filled with fodder and straw that the common people had worked hard to collect and turn over to the court as tax. Moreover, if the fire grew too large and ignited a forest fire, it would destroy the livelihoods of the villages that depended on the mountains. Therefore, "slash-and-burn" methods were slowly phased out because of their low resource efficiency; unless it was wartime, no one would burn a mountain.

To clear wasteland, one had to do it slowly, one hoe stroke at a time. Now, the peasants with experience in clearing land took the lead in cutting the grass, then the preparatory students removed the roots, and finally, the students in the formal classes raked the ground, collecting the roots and stalks to be used as firewood or feed. During the process of clearing wasteland, these were all invaluable resources.

However, the academy only cleared land during the spring and autumn seasons. By having the students experience the entire process—removing roots, raking, mowing, soil preparation, field planning, and water sourcing—they would come to truly appreciate how difficult it was. Only then would they truly cherish the fields when they planted them later.

During this process, because it was labor-intensive work, their nutrition had to keep up, or many would die from the exhaustion. Fortunately, the duck farm was established and the chicken farm was following suit, so they had duck eggs every few days and a bowl of old duck soup with meat once a week, ensuring they could eat well and not be worn down while they were still growing.

Li Tai did not intend to raise them merely as farmers clearing land. By the third year, he would teach them how to record planting conditions using scientific methods, how to experiment with grafting different plants, how to cultivate superior crops, and how to write a detailed thesis on the methods of planting a particular crop. After all, he didn't expect them to become masters of agriculture immediately, but as long as they became capable agricultural experts, it would be enough.

Once they graduated after four or five years, no matter where they went, they would be able to help local farmers improve their crops and grow more bountiful harvests. If he could achieve that, he would have fulfilled the purpose of establishing this Agricultural Academy. As the saying goes, agricultural matters cannot be rushed; to see true results, one needs at least four years of sowing and four years of growth.