Amid the sympathetic or gloating looks of the crowd, Zhu Ping'an completed his report and was led by the police to his future workplace - the library.
The library faces south and looks like two floors from the outside, but it actually has three floors inside, with a hidden floor in the middle of the eaves. The library covers a large area, about the size of six rooms, and is built with blue stone bricks and covered with black glazed tiles. There is no wooden structure in the entire library, for the purpose of fire prevention. Even the black glazed tiles are for fire prevention. In the eyes of the ancients, black represents water, and water is used to extinguish fires and protect the safety of the library.
A pool was dug outside the library with rippling green water. If there was any fire in the library, water could be taken from the pool to put out the fire.
This place is great, why do people look at me with sympathy and gloating? Zhu Pingan stood outside the library, a little puzzled.
The officer led him into the library. On the left side of the library hall was a set of tables and chairs, which was where Zhu Ping'an would work from now on. In addition to Zhu Ping'an, there were three other minor officers who were responsible for looking after the books and classics. They were basically responsible for cleaning and guarding. Zhu Ping'an was still responsible for the main tasks of filing and sorting.
After entering the library, Zhu Ping'an began to understand why others looked at him with sympathy or gloating eyes.
The library is indeed filled with books. There are tens of thousands of books on this floor alone, and they are arranged in a messy manner. Some of the books in the library are neatly placed on the bookshelves, but many are piled up in the bookshelves, which seem to have no order. There are even some books scattered in the bookshelves. In addition, the golden nanmu bookcases in this library are beautiful, with a kind of uneven beauty, but they are not practical. They are not as easy to search and use as the bookshelves in modern libraries.
Zhu Ping'an took a general look at the three floors. The books in the Yongle Encyclopedia series were relatively neatly arranged, but the arrangement of other books was not satisfactory. In short, compared with the well-organized modern libraries, this library was like a group of headless flies.
Zhu Ping'an had just settled down in the library. Zhang Siwei and another editor from the Hanlin Academy came together. This editor was about thirty years old and had worked in the Hanlin Academy for nearly three years. He was considered a veteran. His name was Zhang Bo. He was from the same hometown as Zhang Siwei, and Zhang Siwei was lucky to be assigned to work with his fellow villager.
"Ahem, why is it so messy?" After entering the library, Zhang Siwei couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the vast sea of books in front of him.
"The third floor is even more messy. Do you want me to take you to open your eyes?" Zhu Ping'an smiled.
"Goodbye, there will be plenty of opportunities to see it when I come to help you clean up next time." Zhang Siwei shook his head, then introduced his senior fellow villager to Zhu Ping'an.
Zhu Pingan rinsed the teacups and tea sets, brewed a pot of tea, and invited the two to sit down and taste the tea. The tea was ordinary tea that the Hanlin Academy provided to each person. If you don't like it, you can bring your own tea from home. Zhu Pingan didn't have high requirements for tea, and felt that the tea from the Hanlin Academy was enough. However, when Zhang Siwei was drinking tea, he said that he would bring some good tea from home next time. He gave some to Zhu Pingan. Zhu Pingan didn't refuse, and smiled and thanked him in advance.
"Zihou, do you have a grudge against Lord Li?" Zhang Bo asked, holding up the teacup.
Zhu Ping'an shook his head and told what he guessed about the scene in the Golden Palace. There was nothing to hide and there was no need to conceal it.
"I see." Zhang Bo nodded upon hearing this, and then whispered to the two, "No wonder, our dean is the most at odds with Lord Yan, and he has a preconceived notion. Even if you explain, it may backfire, but Lord Li is not an unreasonable person. Once the misunderstanding is resolved, Zihou can leave this place of exile."
"Land of Exile?" Zhu Pingan looked at the books in the library. He was still a little puzzled. "Although it is more tiring and time-consuming to organize and archive the books in this library, but with so many books as companions, it shouldn't be called a place of exile, right?"
"Haha, you are still young." Zhang Bo laughed when he heard that.
"Why?" Zhu Ping'an was even more confused.
"What else is there here besides books?" Zhang Bo explained. "Besides, I have read enough books in the past ten years. You are still young and have just entered the officialdom. How many people do you think still insist on reading books after becoming an official? Many people have almost forgotten the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. There are many things to do after becoming an official."
"Our Hanlin Academy is a noble place, but I'm not trying to discourage you, Zihou. Your archive of classics is a place of exile. The reason why our Hanlin Academy is called the place of prime ministers is because the daily work of our Hanlin Academy is not just daily work. On the surface, it is about handling political affairs, but in fact it is to exercise political ability and increase knowledge."
Zhang Bo was a chatty person. After taking a sip of tea, he explained in detail to Zhu Ping'an and Zhang Siwei the ins and outs of working in the Hanlin Academy.
"Let me give you an example. For example, I am now responsible for drafting imperial edicts. Oh, by the way, the imperial edict that conferred the title of Emperor An on your mother was drafted by me." Zhang Bo put down his teacup and looked at Zhu Ping'an with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Brother Zhang." Zhu Ping'an thanked him repeatedly.
"No, no, it's all part of my job." Zhang Bo smiled flatteringly, and then continued to explain, "Let's get back to the point. The imperial edict issued by our emperor should be drafted by the cabinet, but in fact it is also the responsibility of our Hanlin Academy, and I am also responsible for part of it. Drafting this kind of imperial edict is not a simple drafting task. This kind of work can help us adapt to government affairs and deepen our experience. After a long time, we will understand and become familiar with the affairs of our Ming Dynasty."
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan and Zhang Siwei nodded involuntarily.
Seeing the reactions of Zhang Siwei and Zhu Ping'an, Zhang Bo felt very satisfied and spoke more vigorously. "For example, the Veritable Records of the Song Dynasty that Ziwei is in charge of now, the work of compiling the Veritable Records of the Song Dynasty can increase our in-depth understanding of the political allusions of the Song Dynasty. The more we know, the better we will understand how to govern. In addition, there are the lectures on the imperial court that our Hanlin is in charge of, which can increase our understanding of the court ceremonies and national politics. At the same time, this lecture on the imperial court can also increase our relationship with the emperor, leaving an impression on the emperor, which will be of great benefit to us in the future. Oh, by the way, in our Hanlin Academy, it is also a good opportunity to come into contact with great scholars and dignitaries. Sometimes, we also participate in court discussions and political discussions, which can deepen our understanding of political situations and current affairs."
"These are all good opportunities for us to accumulate experience and exercise our abilities." Zhang Bo concluded after taking another sip of tea.
Zhu Pingan timely refilled Zhang Bo's teacup. Zhang Bo nodded with satisfaction and continued, "There are countless opportunities to work in our Hanlin Academy, but your job is an exception, Zihou. Not only is there no money to be made, the job is tedious and hard, but you also have no chance to contact the outside world by staying in this library. What can you do by archiving books and classics? You also have no chance to contact the emperor and the dignitaries in this library."
"Oh, by the way, you can see how messy it is. Some books are as hard to find as finding a needle in a haystack. Our emperor sometimes sends a piece of paper asking our Hanlin Academy to provide certain books. Tsk tsk... The previous two Hanlins in charge of classics were scolded badly. The previous Hanlin Liu took great pains and almost went bankrupt to use his connections to change his position."
There is no money, no opportunity, no training, it is tiring and tedious, and the most important thing is that you will be scolded and punished.
Well, this is the source of other people's sympathy or gloating.
"Not really." After listening to it, Zhu Ping'an took a sip of tea and said lightly.
"Not really?" Zhang Bo opened his mouth wide when he heard that, shook his head and said with emotion, "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. Oh, it's good to be young."
"Zihou, be patient. After some time, I will ask my uncle to plead for you." Zhang Siwei thought Zhu Ping'an was comforting him, so he patted Zhu Ping'an on the shoulder and comforted him.
Well, I'm telling the truth. Zhu Pingan was speechless.
"It's not a complete exile. The emperor will still pass notes looking for books." Zhu Ping'an said.
"Stop, you'd better pray that His Majesty doesn't look for the book." Zhang Bo looked at Zhu Ping'an as if he saw a madman, and exaggeratedly stretched out three fingers, "To tell you the truth, in the past three years that I know, His Majesty has sent three notes to find the book, and each time it was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Not to mention you alone, our Hanlin Academy went there the first few times, and the shortest one took a day and a night to find it. Every time we were scolded, and the most pitiful time was Liu Hanlin, who was beaten with a court stick... ... Tsk tsk, that was miserable..."
but
Anyway, I am a librarian in Daming, Zhu Pingan said silently while looking at the collection of classics, history and miscellaneous books in the building. (To be continued.)