harleyscars Chapter 80 The Laziness of Officialdom
Chapter 80 The Laziness of Officialdom
Chapter 80 The Laziness of Officialdom
After visiting each of the public housing units with Wang You, Feng Yuan finally led Wang You to his own unit.
It's clear that Feng Yuan is quite popular; Wang You didn't suffer any cold treatment this time.
However, their attitude was just so-so, merely maintaining a superficial politeness.
It must be said that although many of these people were top scholars in the imperial examinations and had already entered officialdom, they still maintained a certain degree of purity in the Hanlin Academy.
If he were working in another organization, he would probably have already learned the ways of survival in officialdom.
No wonder few of the famous ministers in history were born into the imperial examination system.
While the Hanlin Academy cultivates prestige, it fails to teach them how to conduct themselves in officialdom.
Wang You believed that if he went to any other organization today, no matter how much his colleagues looked down on him, they would at least be polite and extremely enthusiastic.
"Ziqian, this table is empty, please sit here for a while."
Feng Yuan led Wang You to a table in the corner and said, "Although this spot is empty, it is cleaned by eunuchs every day."
I have some books over there; you can come and take a look. If you don't find anything you like, I can take you to the library to pick one out.
Because the Hanlin Academy was located within the palace, no one except the Hanlin scholars was authorized to bring their entourage into the palace.
Normally, the palace eunuchs did the cleaning, but for other things like pouring water and grinding ink, they had to do it themselves.
"Thank you for your help, Brother Feng."
Wang You bowed and thanked him, saying, "I have already taken up a lot of your time, Brother Feng. If you have something else to attend to, please go ahead and do it."
"I do have something to take care of, but it's not urgent."
Feng Yuan led Wang You to his seat and took out the books for him to choose from.
These books are treasured within the palace; they cannot be purchased by outsiders.
Wang You casually picked out two books and returned to his seat.
Feng Yuan greeted him and then left in a hurry.
While reading, Wang You kept an eye on the movements of the other people.
Seeing that everyone was either reading books or newspapers, looking very relaxed, and with very little interaction between them.
Shaking his head, Wang You then began to read the book seriously.
After an unknown amount of time, Hai Wenqing's attendant came to invite Wang You to Hai Wenqing's official residence.
"Greetings, Grand Scholar!" Wang You bowed and greeted him.
"Sit down and talk."
Hai Wenqing smiled and gestured for Wang You to sit down, then asked, "Having been at the Hanlin Academy for half a day, are you settling in well?"
"Work at the Hanlin Academy is quite leisurely. Students just read books, which is not much different from being at home," Wang You said. "The Hanlin Academy is indeed quite leisurely in the mornings." Hai Wenqing nodded.
The most important task of the Hanlin Academy was to draft imperial edicts.
If the emperor has any decrees or orders, the Hanlin Academy is required to draft detailed edicts and imperial decrees.
In the morning, the Emperor will summon important officials to discuss important national affairs.
Only after the meeting is over will the memorials be processed.
Therefore, the Hanlin Academy is usually busier in the afternoon.
"Since you've just entered the Hanlin Academy, and because of your age, even if there are any matters, they won't be entrusted to you."
Hai Wenqing said, "I previously mentioned sending you to study at the Imperial Academy, but you seemed hesitant to speak. Do you have any other plans?"
Although Wang You had not formally become his apprentice, he already considered Wang You as his student in his heart.
Those who demonstrate extraordinary abilities through child prodigies almost always become ordinary people when they grow up.
One of the most important reasons is laziness.
He naturally didn't want Wang You to go down this path.
Although the Hanlin Academy had a large collection of books, Wang You could read books there.
But knowledge cannot be gained solely through reading books; it also requires interaction with peers.
The officials of the Hanlin Academy were all well-read and highly talented, but they were arrogant and proud. How many of them were willing to exchange knowledge with Wang You?
"Returning to the position of Grand Scholar."
Wang You bowed and said, "I also feel that my knowledge is insufficient, but I do not wish to enter the Imperial Academy. My uncle intends to set up a private school at home and invites Scholar Zhuang from Mingde Academy to teach at home. I would like to study at my uncle's home."
He shouldn't know about this right now, but Hai Wenqing couldn't possibly ask the Sheng family about it.
"The scholar Zhuang from Mingde Academy?"
Hai Wenqing pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I have also heard of this man; he is very skilled in teaching. It would be good for you to study under him."
Zhuang Xuejiu had his share of fame, but he was still no match for Hai Wenqing.
However, it was enough to teach Wang You, especially since he had him as his teacher.
Although Hai Wenqing wanted to take Wang You as his student, he usually had official duties and could not teach him often.
It was just right that he was taught by Zhuang Xuejiu, and that he would test and teach him again when he had free time.
"Alright, you can go back for today. You can come to the Hanlin Academy to study on the school's days off in the future," Hai Wenqing said.
"Then the student can go back now," Wang You said.
Hai Wenqing was his future teacher, and if this operation was inappropriate, he would not have let Wang You do it, lest it cause gossip.
Since he said that, it means that this kind of thing is very common in officialdom.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Song Dynasty had a lot of officials who held sinecures and received white-collar salaries.
Someone like him is nothing special.
This demonstrates how lenient the official system was in the Song Dynasty.
Although Wang You did not believe that an overly strict system was necessarily good, he believed that an overly lenient system was definitely not good.
But he was just a minor scholar, and he couldn't interfere in such matters.
After bidding farewell to Hai Wenqing, Wang You originally intended to tell Feng Yuan something.
When he returned to the public housing, Feng Yuan was still not back, so he could only leave a note on his desk to tell him that he had already gone back.
Led by a palace attendant, Xiaoman left the palace, where she and her coachman were still waiting outside.
Officials of the Hanlin Academy had their lunch provided by the palace.
After all, with so many people, it would be quite troublesome to get in and out of the palace.
Normally, these officials would be brought to their posts in the morning by a coachman, and the coachman would pick them up again in the afternoon when they were about to finish their shift.
Wang You was somewhat relieved, because he didn't know what the process would be like on the first day of reporting. He told Xiao Man and the driver to wait outside, and if they didn't come out by noon, they could go back.
Otherwise, if he left the palace now, he would have to walk back.
It was alright in the outer city, but inside the city there were many oxcarts on fixed routes, which were the earliest form of public transportation.
But not in the inner city; oxcarts were not allowed to enter.
"Young master!"
Xiaoman greeted her and asked, "Was your appointment smooth?"
"It went smoothly. Let's go to Fanlou for a meal first," Wang You said.
When he returned to Bianjing after the New Year, he was preoccupied with family matters and did not visit Fanlou again.
Fanlou, as the premier restaurant in Bianjing, does indeed serve excellent food.
Wang You was craving it after not having been there for so long.
"So, young master, you're going like this?"
Xiaoman suggested, "Why don't you go back and change your clothes?"
"Yes, yes, let's go home first."
Wang You patted his forehead, only then realizing that he was still wearing his official robes.
Although the imperial court did not stipulate that officials in their official robes could not go out for meals or leisure.
Wearing official robes to eat at Fanlou would not only be conspicuous, but might also make you a laughing stock.