Fang Yun looked at Dong Wencong and asked, "Is the content of the letter true?"
Dong Wencong immediately bowed and said, "Every word is true. It concerns the education of the whole state. I dare not falsify it."
"Has it been reported to the Cabinet?"
"In order to avoid alerting the enemy, only I, Governor Fang and you, Your Excellency, know about this matter. Even those who are investigating are not clear about my real purpose." There was some pride in Dong Wencong's tone, and he thought he had done a very smart thing in this matter.
Fang Yun nodded slightly and said, "If the book delivery is correct, then the Dean of the State Academy of Literature who is responsible for selecting books should be the culprit."
Dong Wencong hesitated for a moment and said, "The current Dean Bi Yuan and Bi Hanlin are highly respected and have served in the State Academy of Literature for many years. The previous selected reading books may have nothing to do with him, but Xiangzhou has belonged to Jing for several years, and he has not changed the selected reading books until now. I am afraid he has ulterior motives. What's more, what is said in the biography is true. This person has repeatedly praised Qing Kingdom. Whenever he talks about history, he always criticizes Jing Kingdom and never mentions the mistakes of Wu Kingdom or Qing Kingdom. Five years ago, this person taught teachers in the Academy of Literature and constantly attacked the famous people of Jing Kingdom in class. This is also a fact."
"I understand." Fang Yun said.
"I'll take my leave." Dong Wencong was full of doubts and wanted to know who Fang Yun's second declaration of war was directed at. Unfortunately, he could only know the truth when the "Min Bao" was printed.
"By the way, starting from tomorrow, we will no longer print and sell the first issue of Min Bao, and subsequent issues of Min Bao will not be included in this list." Fang Yun said.
Dong Wencong was stunned and said, "I obey your orders."
Dong Wencong thought as he walked that from tomorrow onwards, the value of Min Bao would probably increase again, especially the first issue, which might become a priceless antique in a few hundred years.
Baling City is the capital of Xiangzhou, and the State Academy of Literature was built in the city. The center of the State Academy of Literature is the Holy Temple, where all the saints are worshipped.
The state academy was divided into many areas, such as examination rooms, schools, almshouses, dormitories, etc.
Due to the beautiful environment of the State Academy of Arts, some officials, after taking up positions in the State Academy of Arts, would move their family into the private courtyard arranged for them by the academy. Although they were isolated from the outside world, they could enjoy peace and quiet.
The scholars who entered the Academy of Literature were either indifferent to fame and fortune and unwilling to work hard in the military and political fields, or they were frustrated officials. After all, the real power of Academy of Literature officials was far less than that of civil servants or military officers.
There is a separate courtyard in the southeast corner of the State Academy of Literature. It is already late at night, but the candlelight is still flickering in the study in the courtyard.
Bi Yuan, a fourth-rank director of the provincial academy of literature, was over fifty years old, with slightly gray hair on his temples. He was flipping through a book and looked stern and harsh.
After reading for a while, Bi Yuan put down the book and looked out the window.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Bi Yuan trembled all over and felt cold all over. As a Hanlin, he could sense everything within a radius of dozens of feet, but the person knocking on the door seemed to appear out of thin air without leaving any trace.
Bi Yuan soon realized that the person who came was a person whose official and literary status were higher than his.
"I hope you will forgive me for not being able to greet you in the middle of the night." Bi Yuan said as he stood up from his chair.
Fang Yun pushed the door open, put his hands behind his back, and looked at Bi Yuan with a smile.
The moment he saw Fang Yun, Bi Yuan's face turned pale and his breathing stopped, but in just a blink of an eye, he returned to normal.
"I am Bi Yuan, your humble servant. I am honored to meet you, Your Excellency the Governor." Bi Yuan bowed deeply.
Fang Yun nodded, slowly looked around, and said, "No need to be polite. I passed by here and saw the candlelight in your study, so I came to see you. You continue reading your book."
Fang Yun walked slowly in the room, looking at the bookshelves and furnishings in the study with interest, occasionally reaching out to touch the books on the shelf.
Bi Yuan lowered his head slightly and said nothing, but his eyelids kept twitching and he couldn't stop them no matter what.
"It seems that you have a wide range of interests. You even own an old book like 'Zhengbeilu' which has less than 10,000 copies printed." Fang Yun said as he reached out and took the book.
Bi Yuan's eyes moved slightly, and he said slowly: "I saw it at a used bookstall that year. I knew that this book was rare and might be worth collecting, so I bought it at a low price and put it on the bookshelf. I haven't read it for many years."
Fang Yun did not read the book, but put it back on the bookshelf and said, "The author of this book once fought against the Jing army and was extremely bloodthirsty. He also had a record of massacring the civilians of Jing country three times. Therefore, even though he had made great contributions, he was punished by the Holy Court and stripped of his title by Qing Jun. I didn't expect that you would like the book of such a person."
"I like to read miscellaneous books. I only read the words and rarely delve into the people behind them." Bi Yuan replied.
"Yes, it is human nature to eat the egg without knowing the chicken." Fang Yun said.
"Your Excellency is right." Bi Yuan was dressed in a white and black plum robe, his face was respectful, and his response was simple and clear.
Fang Yun walked a few steps and suddenly remembered something. He said, "By the way, your little grandson has already started to learn, right?"
"Thank you, Governor, for your concern. The child started to learn half a year ago." Bi Yuan said.
"Is he reading "Records of Famous Scholars" or "World Affairs"? " Fang Yun asked.
"He has just learned to read and write and cannot understand these books yet." The color on Bi Yuan's face faded a little.
"That's true. If he understood it, it would not be good." Fang Yun said casually.
Bi Yuan said nothing.
Fang Yun walked slowly, as if he had looked around the study, before he said, "Siye Bi, what do you think of the Minbao?"
Bi Yuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "This newspaper is innovative and outstanding. If nothing unexpected happens, it will surely go down in history."
"Are you dissatisfied with the Min Bao?" Fang Yun asked.
"When I first saw it, I was astonished and knew that Minbao would become famous all over the world. Except for some discomfort with the Song style characters you created, I have no complaints at all." Bi Yuan replied.
"Well, what do you think is the most important thing for the position of Director of the State Academy of Literature?" Fang Yun looked at Bi Yuan.
Bi Yuan seemed to have not expected Fang Yun to ask about his position, so he said, "I am honored to be the Minister of Education, assisting the governor of the state to be responsible for the education of the state. If we talk about the most important thing, it is naturally the students' performance in the imperial examinations."
Fang Yun nodded slightly and said, "Okay, you didn't follow others and talk about many great principles. You said that for the imperial examination results, the most important thing is to be truthful. However, after passing the imperial examination, what should those students do? Have you ever thought about it?"
"I have never considered it." Bi Yuan said.
"So, you didn't consider this when you were selecting the books to read?" Fang Yun asked.
Bi Yuan's right hand trembled slightly, and he said, "Your Excellency is joking. How could I do that? I should think carefully. However, since the selected textbooks for Xiangzhou were determined decades ago, I am too conservative and will not change a single word. I hope your Excellency will forgive me."
"Stick to the old ways? Are you sticking to the old ways of Xiangzhou or Qingguo?" Fang Yun asked back.
Bi Yuan stared at Fang Yun and said slowly: "Selecting books is to broaden students' horizons. It is not important. As long as students like it, it is a great achievement."
.(To be continued.)