Chapter 20

Sitting on the field ridge, Wang Ju rubbed his palms.

Zhu Qing had the servants he brought cut the crops, and so he let Zhu Qing do as he pleased.

After a few days of labor, Wang Ju was utterly exhausted.

Zhao Siniang said, "Young Master, it's just a bit of beans and millet."

When she saw Zhu Jun's hard work, she felt somewhat indignant, but she was afraid of Zhu Jun. Since Zhu Jun made everyone not underestimate Wang Ju, she didn't dare to underestimate him either.

If she complained, it wouldn't sound good. How much could these crops be worth? Just a few strings of coins, not even enough for her brother to spend in one night. But she didn't dare to say it out loud.

"Fourth Lady, I heard that the Emperor doesn't even drink soup. He is the Son of Heaven, the ruler of the Four Seas, so why?"

"The Emperor doesn't drink soup?" Zhao Siniang turned to look at Zhu Qing.

"It seems so. I heard he doesn't want to trouble the palace attendants..." Zhu Qing said blankly.

"Even if he doesn't want to trouble the palace attendants, I've heard another thing. From the time of Emperor Taizu to Emperor Taizong, and to the current Emperor, they usually wear ordinary hemp clothes, and even these are often worn out. Even Emperor Zhenzong, except for the grand ceremonies, lived a rather frugal life. Why?"

Different values!

It was precisely because of these emperors that the Song Dynasty enjoyed nearly a century of good internal governance. There were still many poor families, which was inevitable. Even during the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, there would have been such situations. The productivity was too backward.

Leaving aside military prowess, the internal governance of the Northern Song Dynasty for a hundred years could be called a miracle.

With the passing of the most "benevolent" emperor, the internal governance of the Song Dynasty gradually deteriorated. Perhaps the lives of people in the border regions were already hard, but the future would be even harder!

The value of the harvest is not just in the amount of grain. Without grain, the villagers would help. The hardest thing to repay in the world is not debt, but favors. So Wang Ju was still calculating the harvest, thinking about how many sheep he could raise in the future...

How could Zhao Siniang understand these things?

With the help of several servants, the ten or so acres of beans and millet were all harvested. They even used bamboo rakes to thresh the dried soybeans and moved them to Wang Ju's house. Only the millet was not yet dry and was left in the field.

This was not to reward Wang Ju, but out of concern for their young master.

"You are too heartless," Zhao Siniang scolded.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Why do we study? Although Emperor Zhenzong said that books contain gold and glory, and everyone knows that fame and wealth come with passing the imperial exams, how many scholars can actually pass? Why do we study? The fundamental reason is to apply what we learn. Learning is for practical use, and this is the true goal of studying. However, how many scholars become bookish fools?"

"That's the case, young master," Zhu Qing sighed.

Hasn't our young master become a bookish fool?

He even gave a gold ingot to a beggar, almost making the senior patron faint with anger.

"Seeing is believing, and hearing is not as good as seeing! Therefore, after reading extensively, the next step is to go out and observe. This is why Confucius traveled around the states, and Mencius, after years of study, also traveled around the states. This is the origin of traveling to study. Some say that Old Su was a wanderer, neglecting his family, and traveled under the guise of studying, but without that experience, could he have written those magnificent works? If Sima Qian hadn't traveled the world, how could he have written the *Records of the Grand Historian*? If Li Bai hadn't traveled the five lakes and four seas, how could he have written such poems?"

"That's called traveling to study."

"Fourth Lady, you still don't understand. The purpose of traveling to study is not just to travel, but to travel and learn. Therefore, traveling to study is not just about exchanging ideas with other scholars or visiting famous scholars, but also about observing the lives of people from different social classes, and gaining a deeper understanding of society and knowledge. You are from a wealthy family, and we are from the poorest class. Therefore, Zhu Erlang staying at my house for a while not only lets him understand the hardships of life but also provides an observation of another social class. This is the highest level of traveling to study, and I believe this is the intention of Patron Zhu in letting Zhu Erlang stay in Wang Family Village."

How could Zhao Siniang argue with Wang Ju?

Ancient education was too rigid.

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. That's said so well," Zhu Qi said, waving a paper fan.

Wang Ju vaguely sensed something was wrong with Zhu Qi and had been keeping his distance. He said, "Let's do this. After a while, I'll arrange things at home and go to the city to buy some winter supplies. I can take a detour to Yan Prefecture and bring Zhu Erlang back. We can then discuss whether Zhu Erlang should stay in Wang Family Village. Winter is coming, and the village will be idle, but it will be even harder..."

Actually, Zhu Jun staying at Wang's house was a win-win for both families.

If he could stay for a year or half, he would likely shed some of his bookishness and gain a deeper understanding of the classics through Wang Ju's unique insights.

This exchange would also benefit Wang Ju. At least in the subtleties of the classics, Zhu Jun could still be half a teacher to Wang Ju, having received systematic education and helping Wang Ju quickly adapt to the spirit of the times.

Zhu Jun staying at Wang's house, with the Zhu family sending supplies from time to time, improved the diet for the three siblings.

But winter was coming, and the northwest was very cold. The Wang family was so poor that their house couldn't even shelter them from the wind and rain. It was a helpless situation. Could Wang Ju really expect to build a fortune in a year? That would be a joke. Even this shed was built by the villagers and his second uncle.

The Zhu family would have their concerns, especially Zhu's mother.

Therefore, Wang Ju took a non-interfering attitude.

Staying would be better, as Zhu Jun was not a troublemaking rich kid. Not staying would also be fine.

The weather quickly turned cold.

His second aunt brought three fur coats, not luxurious ones, but made from the animal skins his second uncle hunted, simply sewn together.

Before cotton was widely available, northerners had a hard time surviving the winter, so fur was very valuable. These coats, even just the skins, were worth some money.

Wang Ju hesitated.

After thinking for a long time, he finally accepted the three coats but thought to himself, "I'll buy some gifts for my four cousins when I go to the city in a few days to repay this favor."

Watching his second aunt leave, Second Girl said disdainfully, "Miserly."

This word was learned from Wang Ju.

"Second Girl, you shouldn't say that. There are many who kick a man when he's down, many who add to the fire, and few who help in times of need. Even the great Wang Huangzhou (Wang Yucheng) had only a few people help him when he was in trouble in Shangzhou, forcing him to sell his horse to survive. The same is true for Lian Po's retainers throughout history."

"Who is Wang Huangzhou?"

Wang Ju had to explain the story of Wang Yucheng's troubles in Shangzhou to Second Girl and Third Ox. He was actually a very interesting person. If he had been born in another dynasty, he would have been executed by the emperor many times over.

"That's the principle," Zhu Jun said.

But he didn't fully grasp the depth of Wang Ju's education.

"Ha, principles are very important."

Zhu Jun didn't understand.

Wang Ju said, "What is a policy essay? It's essentially an argumentative essay and a prose piece."

"An argumentative essay and a prose piece?" Zhu Jun was even more confused.

"The key to a policy essay is argumentation. You propose a viewpoint, find evidence to support it, and then organize it in writing. You can use examples, direct quotations from the classics, comparisons, analogies,归纳总结, cause and effect, or citations to support your argument. Then, you refine the language, stay on topic, and you have a good policy essay. Just be careful not to force an argument for the sake of being novel, like Ouyang Xiu's 'On Factionalism.' Despite its brilliance, it caused a great stir when it was first published. Policy essays focus on proving the right or wrong of something, while policy papers focus on proposing solutions."

"To write a good policy essay, it's best to read *Zhuangzi*. Each of its essays is a great policy essay. *Fu* is different; it's true prose, with time, place, characters, cause, process, and outcome, like Sima Xiangru's works. But *fu* also needs a central idea. Policy essays and *fu* are all articles with four elements: beginning, development, climax, and conclusion. In the exam, the word limit is usually 500 to 800 words, so the beginning must clearly state the viewpoint and enter the main topic. The last sentence should summarize and reiterate the main idea, with rhyming and parallel sentences, and a beautiful *fu* is born."

Zhu Jun finally understood: "It's about making an argument."

"Exactly, making an argument is the soul of a policy essay. Without a soul, can there be a good article? For example, the difference in my second aunt's attitude towards me, if you use imagination, parallelism, and rhyme, it becomes a good *fu*. If you quote famous sayings and stories, repeatedly argue, and highlight your viewpoint, it becomes a good argument. If you use historical examples, stand on a fair ground, and find ways to improve people's morals, it becomes a good policy paper."

Not only in the Song Dynasty's imperial exams, but even in the Ming Dynasty's *bagu* essays, these elements of writing were essential.

It's just that no one had summarized them before. Wang Ju was the first to do so.

Zhu Jun thought for a moment, and it was like a sudden enlightenment. He was so happy that he danced and then carefully wrote down Wang Ju's words.

"Brother, my second aunt is not a good person."

"Little sister, don't listen to others' nonsense. If it weren't for the help of my second uncle and second aunt last winter, could we have survived? This year, who contributed the most to building our house? It was my second uncle. If my second aunt had opposed it, could the house have been built? Who sends us the most food? Don't forget, you have four cousins who also need to be supported." Wang Ju said seriously.

His second aunt was not an absolute benefactor, but she was not an absolute enemy. Once, when he stood up for his younger brother and was beaten by some older boys, it was his second aunt who fiercely went to their homes and made them apologize.

When you see the bad side of a person, you should also see the good side.

Of course, if someone pushes you to the brink, there's no need to be polite. Whether they are good or bad, you must take them down.

Repay kindness with kindness, and repay grievances with justice!

"Second Brother, speaking of this, I have one more thing to say. The most tragic thing in life is to lose your goal, so set a goal for yourself. This gives you direction."

PS: Thank you to Lucheng 588 and Ten Minutes of Waiting 100 for your generous donations.

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