“Sir, you flatter me. As a merchant, I am truly disgracing my ancestors!”
“Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—the four classes of society each have their duties. Where does disgrace come in? I wonder, why have you come to see me today?”
Li Gang was old, and he had been traveling extensively and had fallen seriously ill on the way. By evening, he always felt drained of energy and naturally had no time to linger here with him.
After a few pleasantries, he cut straight to the chase.
“Please forgive my intrusion, Sir. I heard that you recently took on the task of establishing schools from Lord Han. I wonder if my Qian family has the honor of assisting you?”
Upon hearing this, Li Gang was taken aback. For a moment, he couldn’t quite figure out the young man’s purpose. Was he here to ask for an official position?
Although he was taking on the task of establishing schools, he didn’t seem to have many vacant positions under him!
Furthermore, if this precedent were set, it would be difficult for him to manage the subsequent matters. The Jiangnan region was already a hub of culture, with countless aristocratic families.
If the Qian family alone requested a position, what about everyone else who would come afterward?
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand your meaning, Nephew. Are you saying…”
“Uncle, please do not misunderstand. I have no ambition in officialdom. I merely see you working tirelessly for the scholars of Jiangnan and wish to offer a humble contribution!”
Seeing the hesitation on Li Gang’s face, Qian Lang suddenly realized that he hadn’t explained himself clearly enough, causing the old gentleman to misunderstand.
“So that’s how it is. This school establishment is different from before. You mean to say…”
After hearing his words, even Li Gang breathed a sigh of relief. After all that talk, the young man was here to offer money.
He had been worried whether the people below would accept Han Mo’s proposal, but he hadn’t even settled into his seat when someone offering money came knocking!
“The Qian family’s capabilities are limited. What I mean is, for all the elementary, arithmetic, engineering, and medical schools in Qiantang, Mingzhou, and Hangzhou, as well as this academy in Mingzhou city, whatever expenses there may be, the Qian family is willing to bear them all!”
“You can contribute what you can afford in such matters. Even if you only offer a few dozen or a few hundred strings of coins, it would be considered your contribution to the court. No, what did you just say?”
As soon as Qian Lang finished speaking, Li Gang was completely stunned.
When he first heard Qian family’s capabilities were limited, Li Gang thought the young man was being pressured by Han Mo and wanted to take advantage of him by paying less.
But as he spoke halfway, he suddenly realized if his ears had misheard him…
“Ah?”
Seeing his strange reaction, Qian Lang didn’t know what to say.
Carefully recalling what he had just said, Qian Lang looked at Li Gang with a bewildered expression. He didn’t think he had said anything wrong…
“What did you just say? Say it again?”
After gasping for breath a few times, Li Gang stood up abruptly and grabbed Qian Lang’s wrist, asking,
“I, I said that for all the elementary, arithmetic, engineering, and medical schools in Qiantang, Hangzhou, and Mingzhou, along with this academy in Mingzhou, whatever the expenses, my Qian family is willing to bear them all…”
“Well, Uncle, if you feel it’s not appropriate, we can reduce the share. However, at least half of the academy’s expenses should be borne by the Qian family!”
Seeing the strange expression on Li Gang’s face, Qian Lang felt a bit uneasy.
This shouldn’t be happening!
If one were to talk about it, although this matter was a great undertaking, besides himself, shouldn’t there be anyone else who would react as quickly?
Although Huang Linghe could also make decisions for the family, wasn’t he just pulled away by Cai Sitong? Did he perhaps turn back halfway?
Thinking of this, Qian Lang couldn’t help but glance at the screen beside him again. Through the flickering candlelight, he could clearly see a shadow behind the screen, which made him feel increasingly uneasy…
On the surface, this academy seemed like a money-losing venture, but if one were to follow Han Mo’s calculations, this deal was not something that could be bought with money.
How much was a new Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examination) worth?
Even with the Qian family’s immense influence, it was limited to the Qiantang region. By the time those scholars actually became Jinshi, it would be too late to make a move.
The tradition of “capturing sons-in-law at the unveiling of the list of successful candidates” was no joke. In order to secure a Jinshi son-in-law for their family, it was said that the dowries offered by the powerful families in Bianliang city had already reached ten thousand strings of coins!
Yet, even with such efforts, successful cases were still rare.
However, establishing schools was entirely different!
Academics, to some extent, depended on effort and financial resources, but on the other hand, it also required talent and character.
As the Qian family’s influence grew in recent years, their businesses also expanded, and the lives of their clansmen naturally became better. However, it was rare for the younger generations of the clan to endure the hardship of studying diligently for ten years.
But with Han Mo’s method, the situation would be entirely different.
One must know that in this era, moral constraints often held more weight than laws!
If a scholar, a learned person, were to be ungrateful, they would truly be cursed by people pointing fingers at their backs. Such people, even if they were fortunate enough to enter the imperial court, would soon be kicked far away.
After all, no one likes a person who stabs them in the back!
Elementary schools could discover talented disciples. With the Qian family’s limited population base, it was quite difficult to cultivate even a few Jinshi. However, if the entire Qiantang county, or even Hangzhou city and Mingzhou city, were included in this consideration, then the potential candidates would be far too many!
As long as these individuals possessed sufficient talent and character, and with the Qian family’s unremitting cultivation, wouldn’t it be possible to nurture a few Jinshi even through sheer effort?
Even those who did not pass the exams were often outstanding talents. Even if they couldn’t become officials, they would transition to business much more easily than ordinary people!
If there were suitable opportunities, the Qian family could directly select some of these individuals for arranged marriages with the women of their clan. In this way, the entire Qian family would effectively have an inexhaustible source of talent!
Engineering, arithmetic, and medical schools—these need no further explanation. Those who graduated from these academies with good grades and good character could be directly recruited into their own businesses.