In the month preceding the grand opening of the Imperial Academy, hotels and inns in Luoyang began to fill up. Even with Ding Yun's special arrangement to temporarily open residential areas for outsiders, finding lodging became increasingly difficult for latecomers, forcing them to squeeze in with others.
Three to four people sharing a single bed.
Or sleeping outdoors on the streets.
It had to be said that the number of arrivals had indeed exceeded Ding Yun's imagination. Most importantly, she had underestimated the people of this era's thirst for knowledge.
Many, unlike her assumption, were not wealthy and leisurely enough to travel by horse or carriage. They arrived on foot, some in rags by the time they reached Luoyang, some with legs or arms broken by wild beasts along the way, or perhaps unable to arrive at all.
Yet, even so, they continued to flock there.
Afraid of being late and missing out.
Those from afar traveled day and night.
Having lived in an era where knowledge could be freely acquired, and people were even unwilling to learn it, Ding Yun found it difficult to put herself in their shoes, to comprehend them risking their lives, traversing mountains and crossing rivers, even battling wild beasts, just to reach Luoyang for more knowledge.
But the scholars arriving from all directions, injured or disabled, gaunt and emaciated, were undeniable.
Witnessing this scene, Ding Yun could no longer bear to ignore it. She began offering free medical care to those seeking education and built many simple yet quickly constructed modular wooden houses outside Luoyang to house them.
Although it incurred extra effort and expense, her heart felt at ease. Otherwise, the thought would have gnawed at her.
Following this, the Imperial Academy naturally opened its doors.
And all applicants underwent assessments.
Those who passed the assessment were all enrolled. Those who failed were temporarily kept by the responsible personnel, and Ding Yun, the honorary head of the academy, specially stepped forward to recruit them.
"My lords, please be patient. I understand you feel both unfairness and confusion. Some of the assessment content this time is unprecedented and indeed somewhat unfair. It is precisely for this reason that I have kept you here.
Firstly, there is no absolute fairness in this world. We cannot omit certain content simply because you have not learned it before, can we? But you are not without other hopes, nor without the possibility of admission.
The Imperial Academy will recruit annually from now on.
Each recruitment will be during this period.
Therefore, do not be too disheartened or despair at failing this time. If not this year, then next. What you cannot do this year, you can spend a year learning.
This way, will you not know it next year?
However, considering that some of you live far away and your journeys are fraught with peril, I would like to offer you a suggestion. You may listen for now, and if you agree, stay.
If not, it is not too late to leave after I have finished speaking."
She paused, and Ding Yun continued,
"You may temporarily reside in Luoyang and spend a year either self-studying or discussing and progressing with each other. This way, you will be safe and increase your chances of successfully entering the Imperial Academy next year. If you pass early, you could even become an auditor.
Additionally, I have also built a library in Luoyang. It not only houses all the books from the Grand Zhou Archives but also includes the textbooks from the Imperial Academy and some supplementary materials or books not found there.
As long as you can pay a certain number of points,
you can borrow books for a few days at any time.
As for how to acquire these points, it is quite simple. Just complete the tasks I assign. Each completed task will earn you points. There are long-term and short-term tasks, and some tasks, in addition to points, can also earn you money, free accommodation, and more.
The specific content of these tasks will not be difficult. You will not be asked to fight enemies. The tasks are mainly divided into two categories: one is to enlighten younger children, and the other is to teach literacy to older adults. These are the most basic tasks.
There may be more advanced tasks later.
With higher points and greater rewards.
The specific details will be distributed to each of you shortly. If you decide to take on a task, you can register at the designated location first. Upon registration, you will immediately receive one hundred free points and a library card. You can then visit the library first. One hundred free points can be exchanged for a few books to read for several days."
To keep these people, Ding Yun had gone to great lengths, even devising the scheme of free points. Her aim was to entice them with the lure of "freebies" and get them to visit the library.
As long as they entered the library and genuinely craved knowledge, Ding Yun believed no one would be willing to leave.
Just as a dragon obsessed with gold would not leave a treasury, those who yearned for knowledge, upon entering a library full of books, would be loath to depart.
And everything that followed.
Unfolded precisely as Ding Yun had predicted.
Most chose to stay. After completing their registration and receiving their library cards and free points, they rushed to the library in groups to explore.
Upon entering and witnessing the vast ocean of books, far exceeding their wildest imaginations, no one could remain calm. Some, faced with so many books, even collapsed in tears, crying out how could they ever finish them all, and that learning was endless.
Then, naturally, some borrowed books with their hundred free points, while others hurried to accept tasks to earn more points. With points being unobtainable through money and only earned by completing tasks, even the nobles, who were reluctant to teach what they considered commoners, had to reluctantly do so.
Ding Yun then, through this method,
successfully acquired enough teachers for basic literacy and enlightenment.
However, to improve teaching efficiency, before they began their literacy and enlightenment work, Ding Yun conducted an educational training for everyone. She taught them simplified characters and the methods of Pinyin reading and writing, and then through them, promoted these outside.
As these individuals were all literate, and simplified characters and Pinyin reading and writing were not difficult to learn, some began to graduate and undertake formal enlightenment and literacy tasks within seven to eight days. The learning atmosphere throughout the Zhou Kingdom intensified dramatically, with almost everyone studying. This made the merchants, who had no need to study, feel like outsiders for a time.
They seemed out of place in the current atmosphere of Luoyang.
However, as some began taking on tasks to teach merchants economic treatises, basic arithmetic, and bookkeeping,
even idle merchants started attending lectures.
The once prosperous commercial atmosphere and the slightly frivolous temperament of Luoyang were suppressed by this learning fervor. People no longer met to discuss how much money they made or spent the previous day, but rather how much knowledge they had acquired, which concepts they understood.
And what their scores were on exams.
Ever since Ding Yun established the new rule that many official positions and special posts would require corresponding qualification certificates, even those who usually hesitated to send their children to school gritted their teeth and forced them to strive.
Those who did not want to fail assessments and be fired.
Strove even harder, diligently pursuing certifications.
It had to be said that Ding Yun, single-handedly, had dragged the entire Zhou Kingdom, from top to bottom, young and old, into a fierce competition. Although Ding Yun herself did not need to compete in learning, the implementation of various policies and the identification and rectification of loopholes kept her exceedingly busy.
For a time, the most idle person in the entire Zhou Kingdom was King Zhou Jing, who had no one more leisurely than him in the entire country.
Seeing him so idle made Ding Yun increasingly annoyed.