The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

Chapter 78 Persuading to Retreat

"Are you really going to die?" a brave citizen asked the leading officer.

The officer said nothing, as if he didn't hear what was said.

"Hey, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Just think about how much the subsidy was when they were recruiting soldiers before, and that was during a prosperous period. It must be abnormal to give out so much now!" replied an aunt.

For a moment, the people who were gathered around became excited.

Hu Zongrui, who had slipped out of the academy, was among them. Listening to the chattering of the people around him, an idea came to his mind.

If the border war is tense and imminent, a large number of soldiers will naturally be recruited. In order to recruit people as quickly as possible, generous subsidies will inevitably be given.

Although it is possible to force people to perform military service, it will only cause morale to be disrupted. If a war breaks out in the future, they may be distracted by the enemy.

Thinking of this, Hu Zongrui laughed out loud. He felt that he was simply gifted to be able to reason out these things. It seemed that his days at Donglin Academy were not without progress. It was not as bad as the teacher said.

Now that the border war has broken out, according to the current situation, I'm afraid it won't stop immediately. So food will be the most important thing in the future. The court has raised so many soldiers for the war, and they can't go into battle and kill the enemy without eating.

What's more, in the long run, the existing food will definitely not be enough to eat, but there are so many people in the Dazhao Dynasty, all of whom need to eat, and it is impossible for them to stop eating, so food will only become more scarce.

But what I can think of, the officials in the capital cannot fail to think of. Otherwise, wouldn’t they be officials who eat for free?

Therefore, the capital city must have issued a suitable policy for collecting grain, but it is estimated that the procedures have not yet reached Suining City so quickly. This gap is the opportunity for me to make a fortune!

Thinking of this, Hu Zongrui hurried home, not caring about the fact that he still had a lot of unfinished homework in the academy.

The next morning, the academy started classes on time. Professor Fang looked around and did not see any sign of Hu Zongrui, so he asked, "Where did Hu Zongrui go again? Does anyone know?"

The students below either looked at each other or kept their heads down in silence. No one spoke a word. Professor Fang was the most annoyed at this time. If anyone said something wrong by accident, they would be punished to copy a book.

"It seems that he left the academy at the beginning of the afternoon yesterday and climbed over the wall. I saw him by accident." A very small voice sounded in the academy.

"Going out again? This guy doesn't intend to learn anything. Donglin Academy doesn't allow you to come and go as you please!" Professor Fang knocked the table hard with a ruler to vent his dissatisfaction.

"You are studying on your own this class. Next time I will test you on the content of the previous class. If you fail, you will be in trouble."

After saying that, he strode away. He was going to look for Hu's family. Such students treated learning as a joke and sneaked out of the academy every few days. His academy could not afford to support such students!

……

At the Hu residence, Mrs. Hu was having dinner when she saw Hu Zongrui at home again. She shouted angrily, "What are you doing? Don't you have classes at the academy?"

Hu Zongrui was already familiar with this scene. He picked up a meat bun and stuffed it into his mother's mouth, saying quickly, "Mom, don't be angry yet. I found a huge business opportunity."

Hu Zongrui spoke out all his guesses like pouring beans, and then said: "Mom, I came back this time just for this matter, and I have already told the people below to do it."

Mrs. Hu's mouth was bulging and her eyes were wide open. She took the bun out of her mouth and wiped her hands with a handkerchief.

Looking at her half-grown son in front of her, she felt both angry and happy. She was angry that her son skipped school every other day and dared to treat her like that. She was happy that Zong Rui did have an excellent talent for business, which was very similar to her and his father.

He could only sigh and say, "Your idea is good, but have you ever thought that you could have asked the servant to go back to the mansion for these things, so that he wouldn't have to delay his studies."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a servant come to report that Professor Fang from Donglin Academy had arrived.

Mrs. Hu quickly stood up, glared at Hu Zongrui fiercely, and told the people below to quickly make a pot of good tea.

Professor Fang is not only the teacher of Donglin Academy, she is also the dean of Donglin Academy. I wonder if this kid always skips classes and Professor Fang came here to persuade him to quit. If so, she will never let this kid off.

"Is it Mrs. Hu?" Professor Fang came over with a little anger on his face.

"That's right. I wonder if Dean Fang has anything important to discuss here?"

"I came to you to talk to you about your Zong Rui. Did you know that he skips classes every now and then?"

Mrs. Hu sighed and said, "I am also worried about this matter. This kid is unstable. Look, I just found out that he skipped classes again. I punished him by making him kneel in the ancestral temple. I must teach him a lesson!"

When Professor Fang heard that Hu Zongrui had been punished, his anger subsided a little, but he still said, "Mrs. Hu, this is what I think. If Zongrui is not interested in the Four Books and Five Classics."

"I wonder if you could consider letting your son drop out of school? After all, if he has talents in other areas, it would be best if he could bring them out. It would be the best for both the court and himself."

Mrs. Hu was silent for a while. As expected, the persuasion to drop out that she had been worried about finally came. However, she did not want Zong Rui to drop out of school. The class of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans was divided into four classes. Although the status of merchants in the Zhao Dynasty was not what it used to be, they would still be respected.

However, whenever she dealt with families with officials, she would be looked down upon in every way. That was why she was determined to send her son to study in the academy. Moreover, she only had this one son, so she had to train him well.

As for the family's future business, it would be good to find her a good wife to help manage it. She doesn't need to make a lot of money, just maintain the status quo.

Then he spoke, pleadingly, "Dean Fang, I also know that my son is not a good student. He is just a scholar, farmer, merchant, and businessman. I still hope that he can take the imperial examination. Can you please show some leniency and give Zong Rui a chance?"

Then he took out a bag of tea from his hand and said, "You have taught Zong Rui for so long, it really took a lot of effort."

Dean Fang looked at Mrs. Hu in front of him with mixed feelings. He had seen many naughty students like Hu Zongrui, but every time he visited her, no student's parents would lower their posture for their children like Mrs. Hu did.

He sighed and said, "Well, if you fail the test in ten days, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

After saying that, he picked up the tea leaves and left.

After Mrs. Hu sent Professor Fang away, she said to the maid beside her, "Looking for Mr. Xia!"