Chapter 450: Astonished Fu Nian, The National Advisor Receives Honor in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
“Wh-what… is this the university the National Advisor mentioned?” Fu Nian stood frozen in place, staring at the majestic buildings before him.
He had thought that Li Mo’s concept of a university was just a place similar to the Little Sage Courtyard. Just a spot for students to learn and teach, nothing more. But now that he had arrived, he realized that was far from the truth!
The campus was so vast; it could easily rival a small city. A magnificent gate loomed ahead, adorned with four large characters, handwritten by Ying Zheng himself: “Xi’an University!”
Once inside, it was a whole new world. Several wide roads—enough to accommodate three carriages side by side—extended in different directions.
Li Si explained, “This road leads to the teaching buildings, this one is for the teachers’ offices, and that leads to the ‘L’ teaching building. The one over there is for ‘Music’, and that one for ‘Archery’. There’s even a horse ranch with warhorses from the military, and these roads lead to various classrooms, as well as student dormitories, a cafeteria, and so on.”
The Confucian Six Arts include Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Writing, and Mathematics. Li Mo had constructed separate teaching buildings for each subject. On top of that, there were snack streets, taverns, libraries, and much more.
It was as if it had been built according to modern university standards, capable of accommodating thousands of students without a hitch.
Fu Nian gazed in awe at the campus, which was more than ten times larger than the Little Sage Courtyard. He was truly left speechless.
How many people did their Little Sage Courtyard even have? At best, it was just about a thousand!
Noticing Fu Nian’s astounded expression, Han Fei couldn’t help but chuckle, “The National Advisor said this would become the highest institution of learning in the Great Qin Empire, one that will accept the best students from all over, regardless of their birth or background—only their abilities matter!”
At this point, Li Si couldn’t help but tightly purse his lips, reminded of how, when he attended the Little Sage Courtyard, he faced a lot of prejudice due to his lowly birth and status. Gaining entry to Master Xun’s mentorship was not an easy feat.
But now, thanks to Li Mo’s actions, all that prejudice was a thing of the past! From now on, students from all corners would flock here to receive the best and most complete education, to showcase their talents, and to contribute to the construction of the Great Qin Empire.
“This action of the National Advisor deserves recognition in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!” Li Si exclaimed sincerely!
No one knew better than he did how difficult it was for someone without a family background to make a name for themselves in this era!
Li Si continued, “In addition, the National Advisor has also implemented compulsory education nationwide, establishing schools.”
“Although not everyone can enter this university, the principles of Confucianism will spread throughout the land.”
Fu Nian felt a wave of emotion wash over him as he murmured, “The Senior Uncle’s grand aspirations are finally coming to fruition!”
In the future, in this world, every common citizen would have the opportunity to read and study. He could hardly imagine what that scene would look like, or what kind of era it would usher in!
“Little Liangzi, come on, I’ll show you your dorm!” In the crowd, Han Fei grabbed Zhang Liang and dashed off in a certain direction.
Fu Nian then turned to Li Si, asking, “By the way, you just mentioned a library or something, is that the Book Pavilion?”
Li Si replied, “Exactly.”
“Great, take me there right now. The Senior Uncle instructed that the first thing we should do upon arrival is to classify the classics we brought from the Little Sage Courtyard.”
Fu Nian snapped out of his daze, recalling Master Xun’s earlier directives… Before heading back to the Qin state, Li Mo had written to Master Xun to request the original texts that they had collected over the years.
Naturally, Master Xun wouldn’t refuse such a request and had kept it in mind. Thus, he instructed Fu Nian that upon arrival, the first task was to organize the barrels upon barrels of bamboo slips.
“I’ll take you there right now, Senior Brother.” Li Si, having previously experienced similar situations, promptly guessed it was related to Li Mo.
Not daring to delay, he personally led Fu Nian to the library.
Meanwhile, at the mountain courtyard, Li Mo and Master Xun sat in the yard.
Each had a low table in front of them adorned with pastries and tea. Jing Ni sat beside Li Mo, while Xiao Yan’er had been taken away by Duanmu Rong.
Yan Lingji, along with her good disciple Hong Liang, sat on the wall, resting their chins on their hands, watching the scene unfold in the courtyard.
Master Xun had been glowering, but after finishing his tea, he suddenly burst out laughing.
“Why do you find it amusing, Master?” Li Mo asked, somewhat surprised.
Master Xun set the teacup down, glanced at Yan Lingji and Hong Liang on the wall, then at Li Mo and Jing Ni beside him, saying, “I was just reminded of our first meeting years ago in Xinzheng, which seemed quite similar to this scene.”
Back then, due to the advent of paper, Master Xun personally traveled from the Little Sage Courtyard to the Han State just to meet this extraordinary person who had invented it.
On the road, he had imagined all sorts of scenarios but never expected this person to be blind.
He finally met the person but ended up quite frustrated.
However, fortunately, it all ended well.
Master Xun sighed, “Time has changed so quickly. Although a mere few short years have passed, the National Advisor has indeed transformed this world!”
