Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 668: Collecting and Borrowing Books
Facts have proved that you can never have too much food. Although the imperial attendants, who had been hungry all morning, ate a lot after posting the list, they only consumed more than half of the steaming breakfast, but the remaining food still had a place to go. Because everyone saw that Hua Qi was like a legendary glutton, and he consumed at least ten people's worth of food in one go!
Soon after, Ah Liu, who was well-known among the imperial attendants, came out of the Imperial College and finished ten portions of food...Thus, the vendors who had not made any business that day almost cleared out their remaining unsold food.
When these small business vendors came up to thank him profusely and tried to get close to him, Hua Qi avoided their questions about his background and chatted with them with a smile. At the very end, he coughed.
"Well, it's bright now. It's not a good look for you to occupy Chengxian Street to do business. Go away. Although you didn't see His Royal Highness, it's a rare opportunity to be so close to him in this life. It would be a good story to tell others, right? Go and spread the news that His Royal Highness came to the Imperial College and make our Prince famous!"
The few vendors who dared to come over looked at each other, and of course they all agreed in the end. As for the others who didn't dare to come over, they all kept this in mind. And Hua Qi patiently told them what the list was posted today, and why the Crown Prince took all the students in for a reprimand. In short, he was amiable, just like an ordinary uncle next door.
No one could tell that this neatly dressed, smiling old man was not only fifty years old, but also an extremely vicious man.
Ah Liu was used to seeing Hua Qi's fierce and evil side, so he was extremely uncomfortable to see him smiling and chatting with a group of vendors. However, others did not know how fierce Hua Qi was, and at this moment, they happily returned to the carts they depended on for survival, cleaned up the stoves, said hello and goodbye to each other, and pushed the carts... In an instant, Chengxian Street became deserted again.
Seeing that the surroundings were completely quiet and the men in black cloaks had retreated to the wall to guard the list, Ah Liu frowned thoughtfully, and then walked into the Imperial College without saying a word. However, Hua Qi had been holding back for a long time and no one asked him questions, so he couldn't help but scolded with a smile: "Don't you have anything to ask?"
"No." Ah Liu didn't seem to feel that he had killed the conversation, but he knew what Hua Qi's expression was without turning around, and he snorted, "Even if you want to attract people, they won't come so quickly!"
"Oh, you don't believe how fast these guys can pass on messages? Do you want to make a bet with me?" Hua Qi rubbed his fingers lightly, with a cunning look on his face, "If someone has heard the news and arrived here when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Zhang Xue Shi and the others come out, you will lose me a hundred strings of cash?"
"No money, no gambling." Ah Liu glanced at Hua Qi with disdain, and continued to walk in without looking back. When he arrived at the university archway, he sneered and said, "You even dared to deceive His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, let alone others?"
At this moment, the imperial attendants who were standing at the foot of the wall, watching the emperor with their eyes and noses, pretending that they did not exist, could not help but fall into horror.
What did they hear? Was the prince tricked by their new boss today? If this news got out, would he be in trouble? Would they be able to achieve their goal of driving this ruthless guy away?
Hua Qi rubbed his face in annoyance, but he didn't care at all that Ah Liu had revealed his plan in front of others - after all, he had visited Zhang Garden in the middle of the night last night and explained everything to Ah Liu. After instigating the Fourth Prince to incite the Third Prince, he also went to the Qianqing Palace and left a note for the Emperor.
He knew very well that the emperor also hoped that the third prince would appear in public more often and show more of his knowledge and responsibility as a prince. The fact that the third prince was able to come out smoothly this morning meant that he would at most be scolded by the emperor afterwards for his instigation.
At the moment, Hua Qi is very confident. The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has come to the Imperial College with many lecturers to admonish the students. In addition, there is a ranking list of thousands of people outside. Even if those small vendors may not publicize all the details of this matter, or even spread rumors, they will definitely attract the first batch of people within a short time.
He certainly didn't want the Third Prince to be like these vendors, being stuck in the Imperial College by the huge crowds rushing in. There had to be someone who happened to meet someone and someone who missed the opportunity, so that stories like this would be passed down through the ages.
Although he had expected it, Hua Qi still underestimated the length of time the Third Prince and his entourage would stay in the Imperial College.
The dusty Jianxian Pavilion was so dusty that even outsiders like Dean Yue and Dean Xiao, who did not want to offend the Imperial Academy officials too much, could not bear to look at it and shook their heads and sighed .
Even though those scholars in the Hanlin Academy who knew the truth wanted to keep silent, they suddenly came to their senses when Zhang Shou said lightly that the library had been sealed for a long time and that the current academic officials could not be blamed.
Today, many of these officials' predecessors, and even their predecessors, are still in the court. Some of them were at the level of Jijiu and Siye in the past, but now they have entered the cabinet, some have become Shangshu or even Shilang, and there are also many who are serving as the chief ministers in Taichang Temple, Dali Temple, and Guanglu Temple. Even many of the doctors who were of low rank at that time have now found good careers.
In comparison, the academic officials of the Imperial College are now having a hard time and are burdened with a lot of bad reputations. If we don't put the blame on the academic officials in front of us, should we put the blame on their predecessors or even their predecessors who are in the limelight?
Fortunately, the old Prince's Secretary Liu Zhiyuan, who always speaks harshly, is not here today. Bachelor Meng, who is the president of the Hanlin Academy and the head of the lecturers in the Eastern Palace, immediately took the lead in making a conclusion on the matter.
"The Jianxian Pavilion has become so dilapidated, which is really contrary to the original intention of Emperor Taizu to establish this place. Now the Suanjing Hall near the Xinglong Tea House in the outer city is under construction in full swing. It is said that a lending room will be set up in the future for people to borrow books, read and copy. If the Imperial College Library is not as good as this place built with private funds, isn't it a joke?"
"Such mismanagement is truly lamentable! Look at these books, some are rotten, some are just for show, and even the bookshelves seem to have been eaten by insects..."
The other bachelor of studies who was speaking angrily about the rotten bookshelf suddenly stopped talking.
Things like bookshelves cannot be replaced for no reason. They are often used for more than ten years or even longer. If something goes wrong, Zhou Jijiu and his predecessors will be implicated.
He immediately changed his words with great sorrow and anguish, "This kind of library is only good in appearance but not in reality. It's such a pity!"
Seeing that everyone was scrambling to add insult to injury, Zhang Shou, who had just offered help, shut up. He had been very "kind" in helping the officials of the Imperial College to shirk their responsibilities, but in the end, no one would help him, what could he do?
Could it be that he would continue to speak up for others just because he was once a member of the Imperial College? He was not the kind of person who would repay evil with kindness!
Seeing Zhou Jijiu on the verge of collapse, Luo Siye clenched his teeth, and the remaining academic officials either looked pale or angry, the Third Prince finally said in a deep voice: "This matter of Jianxian Pavilion has a long history. I also know that I can't blame all the Grand Secretary, Junior Secretary and below, but isn't this one of the reasons why the Imperial College has been declining over the years?"
"I will report this to my father, the emperor, to replace the books, to repair the Jianxian Pavilion, and to select a suitable person to manage this place..." He paused and turned to look at the lecturers behind him, but his eyes soon fell on Zhang Shou, "Teacher, how can this library be operated normally? Do you have any corresponding methods?"
Under the Third Prince's sharp gaze, Zhang Shou walked forward leisurely and then smiled.
"I have heard that there are many book collectors among the people. Their library buildings are several stories high and cover a vast area. They have thousands or even tens of thousands of books and are strictly managed. However, there are often rules. Only male descendants within three generations can enter. Female relatives are kept out, and outsiders are not allowed to take a look. No matter how many books are in the collection, not even one family or surname can benefit from it, let alone others."
"So, the current state of Jianxian Pavilion, a library, can only be attributed to poor management. Your Highness, please do not be too harsh on me."
Seeing that when he said this, people like Yue Shanzhang, who were quite familiar with him, cast a surprised look, and others were full of disbelief, especially those academic officials of the Imperial College, whose expressions were extremely complicated and subtle, Zhang Shou smiled casually. That smile, combined with his outstanding appearance, seemed very warm.
"In the final analysis, it's because the name of the library means that these books can only be put aside and can't really play a role. Since all the real ancient rare books are stored in the ancient and modern collections in the palace, then what kind of books are in the library of the Imperial College? I just flipped through it casually and found that there are only things like the Four Books and the Five Classics and various collections of annotations."
"Since these are not rare books that need to be carefully preserved and cannot be read by ordinary people, then instead of letting Jianxian Pavilion continue to be empty and decay, why not turn it into a book lending room for the students? After sorting out the books here one by one, replace the decayed ones and purchase new books that are essential or frequently used by the students, even if they are hot-selling collections of contemporary literature."
"Then, list the books one by one, number them, and hang them on the wall as a borrowing catalogue..."
Zhang Shou spoke calmly and leisurely about the various borrowing rules of modern libraries. He spoke with such ease, as if he was speaking effortlessly. The three presidents of academies who had been summoned to the capital by the emperor before listened attentively and thought about it, and they couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.
Although their academies also provide various support for ordinary students, and teachers occasionally lend books to students they like, the academies do have real book pavilions, but they are also not open to ordinary students, and even ordinary teachers may not be able to enter. After all, the book pavilion is the foundation of many scholarly families, and it is also the foundation of the academy!
The book lending room Zhang Shou mentioned was a book storage room that was downgraded to the level of a street bookstore. Of course, there would not be those messy legends or even erotic books. But street bookstores were mostly purely for profit and would never allow ordinary people to stand there and read books, let alone copy books!
After Zhang Shou finished talking about the idea of the library, he saw that Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye looked unhappy, so he said calmly: "If the Grand Secretary and Junior Secretary think that this goes against the original intention of the Imperial College's library, then it is also OK to store half of the books in the Jianxian Pavilion and borrow the other half. Moreover, the books can only be read on site and cannot be taken away, which can also reduce damage."
"And since borrowing books requires registration, we can regularly count which books the students really need. If we only have one copy, we can purchase more later. For the bookshops that print books, this can also be seen as a survey of book satisfaction."
Zhang Shou paused, then said in a nonchalant tone: "You should know that Lu Jijiu personally raised funds to build the Suanjing Hall. He planned to donate some of the ancient rare books in his family collection to the bookshop for typesetting and printing. If it is printed, there will be many books that are almost hard to find on the market. It is estimated that when the Suanjing Hall is first opened, there will be more than 300 kinds of books of various types."
"And if we include those sets of books with more volumes, the total collection is probably several thousand volumes."
He casually mentioned a number that silenced the people around him, and then smiled and said, "Of course, the Duke of Zhao's Mansion is also very supportive of this kind of good thing that can help students. The Madam, Duke Zhao, and his wife all said that they are willing to take out the ancient rare books in their homes and select the appropriate ones for typeset printing. In this way, readers may be able to see books that are not available on the market."
At the beginning, he said that the Imperial College could be converted into a reading room for the students to use, but then he suddenly changed the subject and talked about Lu Wan's Mathematical Library. If everyone present didn't know what this meant, they would be unworthy of being the elites of that time.
However, no matter how quick they reacted, they still had to think carefully before speaking. But a certain naughty child shouted without any consideration: "Teacher, if the Mathematical Scripture Hall is built in the future, how many people can sit in it?"
Seeing the Fourth Prince's very interested expression, Zhang Shou blinked at the naughty boy and said, "It should be only a hundred seats, right? After all, this is just the beginning, we can't be too greedy. If everything goes well in the future, we can expand it."
Hearing this, not only Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, but also many lecturers in the Eastern Palace were instantly shocked. The library was more of a storage, not for the general public to borrow and read. In this case, a Suanjing Pavilion that could accommodate a hundred people to borrow and read books or copy books was definitely a huge building! Not to mention, Zhang Shou actually said that it could be expanded!
It is conceivable that people born into a wealthy family might be able to resist such temptation, but those who were born into a poor family and could read but suffered from the lack of more reading methods, how could they not flock to it? Zhang Shou had a story about borrowing books that was circulated outside!
The Third Prince did not look at the people with different expressions. He grabbed the excited Fourth Prince and dragged him behind him. He nodded and said, "The borrowing method you mentioned is indeed very reasonable. After I return to the palace, I will report it to my father. If it is really feasible, it will be a good thing that will benefit future generations."
