Chapter 218: The people's wisdom remains unawakened; the Great Zhou Dynasty bears a heavy burden and has a long road ahead

Gu Qingwan: "???"

After Gu Qingwan regained her composure, she immediately gritted her silver teeth and angrily shouted:

"What nonsense are you spouting!!"

"I see you running so far every day, I'm worried about you—what nonsense are you talking!!"

Seeing his sister suddenly lash out, Gu Lie blinked, huh... he'd guessed right.

However, the next second, Gu Lie waved his hand and said:

"Forget it, fishing outside in the wild is definitely fun; what's the point of the palace's tiny pond? It's so small, there's no fun at all."

"My brother definitely wouldn't want to come."

Hearing Gu Lie's words, Gu Qingwan couldn't help but want to grab a memorial box and beat her brother to death.

"How do you know Lu Yuan doesn't want to come!! You didn't even ask!!"

Gu Qingwan gritted her teeth and stared at Gu Lie as she said:

After Gu Lie blinked, he wore a strange expression and said:

"You said you were worried about me, so why is it 'Older Brother Yuan' again?"

Gu Qingwan: "???"

After regaining her composure, Gu Qingwan gritted her teeth, stood up, and with a swish snatched the hanging long sword, ready to go down.

Seeing the situation was wrong, Gu Lie hurriedly shouted:

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll go ask, I'll go ask——"

"But first, if Older Brother Yuan doesn't come, I can't do anything either, so don't blame me later."

Gu Qingwan looked down at her brother and gritted her teeth:

"Get lost!"

The next second, Gu Lie swished away and disappeared.

After Gu Lie left, Gu Qingwan's face flushed red, and she immediately dropped the long sword in her hand to the ground.

"I... I was really obvious just now, huh??"

"Even Gu Lie noticed, huh??"

At 11:30 AM, after Gu Lie and Lu Yuan had eaten early at home, they shouldered their fishing rods and went out.

"Older brother, the palace also has a fish pond; are you going?"

As soon as they left the Siheyuan gate, Gu Lie directly said:

"The palace has a fish pond??"

"Oh??"

"Are there lots of fish in the palace pond??"

After Lu Yuan hesitated, he immediately became excited and said:

"Let's go—why not!!"

"Let's go!"

Seeing Lu Yuan really want to go, Gu Lie immediately gave a speechless look and said:

"Older brother, you're really going?"

Looking at Gu Lie's expression, Lu Yuan gave a bewildered look and said:

"Didn't you tell me to go?"

After Gu Lie blinked, uh... he wasn't speaking.

In Chunghua Hall, Gu Qingwan was pacing.

Soon, the Grand Eunuch rushed in and said:

"Your Majesty, they've arrived; following the Lie Prince, they went straight to the Imperial Garden."

Hearing this, Gu Qingwan's face involuntarily showed a smile, her eyes filled with delight.

Then she hurriedly said:

"Quick, do my hair and makeup."

Gu Qingwan said while walking toward the bedchamber, and the Grand Eunuch hurriedly summoned the palace maids waiting outside to come in.

Lu Yuan and Gu Lie were at the southeast corner of the Imperial Garden.

This pond had been cleared out.

The two were in a small pavilion.

Before them was a large pond with many lotus flowers.

This indeed matched that line of poetry.

"Young lotus just shows its tip, already a dragonfly perches on top~"

The weather is really great now; although it's only a few days from midsummer, it's still very cool.

The pavilion's location is excellent; a cross breeze blows through, making it truly exceptionally comfortable.

Lu Yuan leaned back in the small chair, legs crossed, smoking.

Gu Lie, meanwhile, looked at the water surface and said:

"Older brother, you said last time we weren't in a rush with the Gilded Golden Dynasty, so when should we do it?"

Lu Yuan also didn't look at Gu Lie, but stared at the water here and raised his eyebrows, saying:

What, you're in a hurry?

Gu Lie turned his head to look at Lu Yuan and repeatedly said:

Of course, I can't sleep; as long as we settle the Liugin Dynasty, the northern Great Zhou will have no threat, and the north will be peaceful for at least a hundred years.

If leading troops could settle this matter, that would be a name remembered for eternity.

Regarding Gu Lie's words, Lu Yuan couldn't deny them, but this matter still has to wait for petroleum, wait for the fuel engine.

Lu Yuan shook his head and swayed, saying:

What's the hurry? I'll say it when the time comes.

Gu Lie looked at Lu Yuan, blinked his eyes, and then suddenly mysteriously crept up to Lu Yuan's face and said:

Brother, are you secretly making something really awesome? Once your really awesome thing comes out, we can start,??

Yo?

Lu Yuan looked at Gu Lie beside him.

This guy is starting to use his brain, huh?

But…

Lu Yuan hasn't done it yet.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to say something, a coughing sound came from the entrance of this little pavilion.

Lu Yuan turned his head and saw Gu Qingwan smiling gently, standing behind him looking at him.

Eh? You're not busy today?

Lu Yuan saw Gu Qingwan not getting up, still sitting in place with her legs crossed.

And Gu Qingwan walked up to Lu Yuan's side and lightly tapped his chin, saying:

I'm busy, but hearing that you came, I came out to take a break.

At this moment, the senior eunuch nearby also brought over a chair, letting Gu Qingwan sit properly beside Lu Yuan.

How's it going? Did you catch any fish? Last time you told sister you were great at fishing.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, Gu Qingwan was obviously very, very happy.

Her mood improved, and the smile on her face couldn't be stopped.

Speaking of fishing…

Um…

Immediately, Lu Yuan pursed his lips and said:

It's just begun, what's the rush?

Upon hearing that, it was clear he hadn't caught anything, and Gu Qingwan held back her laughter.

And Lu Yuan hastily changed the subject, saying:

By the way, stop making the Snow Dragon Sunlight Armor, don't do it.

As for the Snow Dragon Sunlight Armor, Lu Yuan had wanted to say that many days before.

But these past few days I've been playing around and forgot.

And after Lu Yuan finished speaking, both Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie looked at him curiously.

Is the Snow Dragon Sunlight Armor stopped?

Huh?

This thing is the foundation for the big battle against the Liugin Dynasty; if this thing stops…

Of course, neither Gu Qingwan nor Gu Lie are fools; if Lu Yuan says to stop, there must be a reason.

But, if Lu Yuan says that…

Then it must be that he found armor even more formidable than the Snow Dragon Sunlight Armor??

Earlier, Gu Lie had already suspected that might be the case.

And now, upon hearing this, Gu Lie became even more certain, and immediately exclaimed excitedly:

Brother!! You really are researching new things!!

What is it!! Is it a super armor that blades and spears can't penetrate??

Armor?

Armor, bullshit.

From now on, with a gas turbine, even if we build a big off-road vehicle and mount a heavy machine gun on the back, we can rat-tat the Liugin Dynasty.

What's the use of making armor?

Useless.

And Gu Qingwan also became interested, and immediately exclaimed excitedly:

What are you little thing researching again? Quickly tell sister!

Lu Yuan just shrugged and said:

Secret.

Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Gu Qingwan gave him a charming white eye and said in a coquettish voice:

You little thing, where do you get all these secrets every day from sister? Really annoying!

Hearing Gu Qingwan's words, Lu Yuan chuckled and said:

The main thing is that this thing can't be made yet; even if I told you, you wouldn't understand now. When it can be made, I'll tell Sister Wan.

Speaking of this, Lu Yuan then asked curiously:

By the way, have you found that blackish water I mentioned last time?

Gu Qingwan was startled, then slightly shook her head and said:

Not yet…… As of now, no one down there has come to report.

Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded. That's how it is……

Then we can only wait.

Afterwards, Lu Yuan thought of something else and immediately asked curiously:

"Right, since patents were introduced, there should be quite a few people applying for them. Any useful things?"

"Speaking of this," Gu Qingwan thought for a moment, then shook her head helplessly and said:

"None……

"I even went to the Ministry of Works a few days ago to ask about this, and they gathered quite a few things from all over the country, but……"

"They're all kinds of weird…… useless things……"

Oh?

Lu Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly out of curiosity and said:

"What are they? Bring them over for me to look at."

That's not necessarily the case.

People's perspectives differ, so what they see differs.

Looked at from different angles, it looks different.

Gu Qingwan then looked directly at the nearby Grand Eunuch and said:

"Go get it."

The Grand Eunuch nodded and hurriedly took people to fetch it.

After about half an hour.

The Grand Eunuch, carrying the items, came running back, out of breath.

After returning, Gu Qingwan directly said:

"Read it out for Lu Yuan to listen."

The Grand Eunuch, looking at Lu Yuan sitting between Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie with his legs crossed, couldn't help muttering to himself:

This Lu Yuan seems like a prince……

Having come to his senses, the Grand Eunuch didn't dare to chatter, and began reading aloud the various patent documents in his hand to Lu Yuan.

They aren't really patent documents.

So-called patents must receive approval from the Imperial Court.

The Imperial Court must deem it useful, stamp it with an official seal, and only then does it count.

These are applications sent up from local provinces.

While the Grand Eunuch was speaking, Lu Yuan also held a stack of paper, legs crossed, examining it.

After about half an hour.

Hmm……

As expected……

They're all trash!

Even judging by Lu Yuan's modern eyes, they're completely trash.

These are all useless.

Or rather, they're fundamentally not worthy of being called so-called patents.

Some people…… when writing patent reports, can't even write the characters.

After looking for a while, Lu Yuan slightly shook his head……

Lu Yuan felt he had been mistaken before.

How had Lu Yuan previously thought? Lu Yuan previously thought…… all these people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

As long as we pool collective wisdom, we can definitely come up with some good things.

There's always a couple of clever little tricksters~

Right?

But looking at it now…… this is merely Lu Yuan's beautiful wish.

The reason is because……

The cultured people of the Great Zhou Dynasty……

They are really too few.

So few it's pitiful.

These people don't even understand basic numbers; they're only messing with so-called patents because they heard they could get money.

If they come up with something useful, they'd never have to worry about food and drink for life.

So, these people take everything they know and apply for patents.

Then the problem arises: these people don't even understand basic numbers; what useful thing could they possibly come up with?

This is fundamentally impossible; just thinking about it shows it's impossible.

It's like if you don't even know what a steam engine is, how could you make an oil-burning turbine?

Simply put, this matter……

The people's wisdom is not yet enlightened!

The Great Zhou Dynasty needs cultured people.

And this cultured person is not the so-called scholar who only reads sage books.

But rather the kind…… true intellectuals in the real sense.

We need to grade, we need to stream!

Basically, the way people in the Great Zhou Dynasty study is just that set from ancient Earth.

It's still a private school.

If your family has a little spare money, you send your kids to study at a private school for a few years.

No money, no study.

This matter…… is hard……

Lu Yuan looked for a while, but he wasn't in the mood to look at those messy children's toys anymore.

He returned all these things to that senior eunuch and went on watching his fishing rod.

Meanwhile, Gu Qingwan beside him, seeing Lu Yuan like that, blinked and then suddenly said:

"Little brother seems unhappy?"

"Huh?"

Lu Yuan startled, turned his head to glance at Gu Qingwan, then grinned and shook his head, saying:

"No, I'm just tired from looking at these things."

Actually……

It's that Lu Yuan thought about the Great Zhou Dynasty's education problem and felt a bit weary.

Some things really aren't something Lu Yuan alone can solve.

Lu Yuan now is no longer an ordinary forge worker.

He is Lord Lu, he is a prominent figure in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the most popular before the Human Emperor.

Deep down, he still feels a sense of responsibility.

But……

Some things……

Relying solely on himself, how far can the Great Zhou Dynasty go?

Regarding this education matter…… Lu Yuan thought…… what about grading?

That is to say……

Like on Earth, five years of elementary school, four years of middle school, three years of high school, four years of university.

But…… this…… is really too difficult.

That model is really hard to operate in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

That requires an absolutely strong and absolutely wealthy country to achieve.

Moreover…… what's important……

The vast majority of families would not choose to let their children go to school.

Why?

Because children are also labor!!

Why do all families prefer boys?

Because in this era of the Great Zhou Dynasty, boys can farm!

When it's time to irrigate in the fields, if your family lacks men, you can't water your land!

Having more sons means you can farm more.

Generally speaking, the boys in this village, if they don't study, basically start working in the fields at eleven or twelve.

If they don't work, it's no good—the family is dirt poor; what else can you do if you don't work the fields?

So, that Earth system simply doesn't work here.

How many rural families can afford to support their children until eighteen or nineteen?

Just the tuition alone is a huge problem.

As for nine-year compulsory education without tuition?

Don't be ridiculous.

The Great Zhou Dynasty simply doesn't have that financial capacity.

Never mind the Great Zhou Dynasty—look up the flower-growing nation on Earth; how many years ago did they start nine-year compulsory education?

It's hard……

Really hard……

But, where there's a will there's a way—if we really want to do it, following the Great Zhou Dynasty's circumstances, drafting a set of regulations wouldn't be a problem.

The key is, Lu Yuan currently has no time; we must first get the oil-fueled turbine running before talking about anything else.

Before Lu Yuan could say anything else, at this moment a little eunuch hurried over, making eyes at the senior eunuch.

Gu Qingwan saw this, furrowed her brows slightly, and said:

"Speak."

The next second, the little eunuch hurriedly said:

"Your Highness, Kang Linfei's student is causing trouble again in the Guozijian."

Thanks to elder brother Keze 1112 for the 500 book coins tip, thank you very much~

Thanks to elder brother Canmu Baicao for the 500 book coins tip, thank you very much~

(End of chapter)