Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 263 - 262: Recruiting Talented Individuals

"Academies and charity schools?" Zhu Yu hadn’t heard Lu Qing mention this before, and quickly asked, "Who organized it? Whose idea was it?"

"Naturally, it’s both him and me." Lu Qing smiled, "He is more renowned than me, making it easier to attract truly learned scholars willing to help us by working at academies established elsewhere, recruiting talents who haven’t been recommended by influential families and are thus overlooked, selecting these unpolished gems, and teaching them with refined guidance.

While I, slightly more flexible than him in action, take care of the trivial matters like choosing sites and constructing the academies and charity schools.

Overall, it can be said that each has their responsibilities.

As for the idea, it’s hard to say whose it was; it was more of an immediate synergy."

Zhu Yu slowly nodded.

Through months of interaction, she had developed a very clear understanding of Lu Qing’s mind. Among the people she knew, if Lu Qing were to be placed second, she couldn’t quite say who would deserve first.

Hearing him now talk about how he and Lu Chao had unplanned cooperation in secretly establishing academies across places to nurture talented individuals not of prominent birth, this vision truly made Zhu Yu look at him in a new light.

Da Jin had long adopted a selection system for officials based on recommendations, ostensibly requiring officials of each State Mansion to periodically scour their jurisdictions for talented and virtuous individuals, recommending them to the Ministry of Personnel, which would then conduct layers of investigations to ultimately select and appoint them from those recommended.

But the problem was, among the countless people of a state, children from ordinary families could hardly recognize more than a few characters in a village school and could barely manage to recite fragments of a thousand-character essay, which barely suffices for everyday life, with neither the spare money nor time to meticulously support a child’s scholarly pursuits.

Even in the humble families better off than common folk, occasionally there would appear truly gifted youths, yet often, they remain unseen by state officials due to lack of noble status, let alone easily qualifying for recommendation.

On the contrary, those born to influential families, as long as they’re not overly dissolute, without a notorious reputation for being unruly in the local area, could act with a semblance of decorum, with families offering sufficient tribute, they could always end up with some post, even if ultimately they only achieve minor positions without much importance, they at least wouldn’t fall to anonymity.

Precisely because of this, even Cao Tianbao, the Great General’s undistinguished nephew, Cao Chenfeng, gets to prosper in the Capital simply for having a prominent uncle, and if it weren’t for that incident before, with General Cao’s support, he certainly wouldn’t fare too poorly.

Thus, those noble families never worry about their descendants being unpromising, causing their family’s decline, worsening over time, and eventually collapsing, however, it also ensured countless genuinely talented people remain buried.

Without recommendations, it’s akin to a jade buried in deep mines, without dramatic fate-changing events, it might never see daylight.

More importantly, those from noble families naturally adhere to their family elders’ stance, aligning with Duke Yan’s faction, making it exceedingly difficult for them to serve others.

Under such circumstances, Lu Qing and Lu Chao privately establishing academies, bypassing those noble scions, and directly cultivating useful talent from the common populace, was tantamount to circumventing the defense line erected by Duke Yan’s faction, fostering their own strength.

This fellow made such extensive preparations, considering every aspect profoundly and comprehensively, yet ended up fretting over possibly being outmaneuvered by Duke Yan, contemplating how to be "released" before an inevitable defeat!

Anyway, Zhu Yu found herself more optimistic about their prospects now.

"So did Lu Chao specifically go there this time to select some retainers?" she roughly guessed the purpose of Lu Chao’s trip, "Are we going to Xinzhou next? Are you going to select some retainers?"

"I don’t need to.

My objectives differ from Lu Chao’s; he aims for the world and needs more strategists around him for future utility.

As for me, I’m only seeking to truly live carefree." Lu Qing smiled, shook his head, his gaze landing on Zhu Yu’s face, "Moreover, to have one who knows and understands me is enough.

I’ve already found the one who truly knows my heart; one shouldn’t be too greedy."

His words were honest, straightforward, and directly touched Zhu Yu’s heart.

Seizing the world isn’t easy, but maintaining it is even harder.

If one isn’t truly inspired by a worldly ambition, even if they achieve the world, it’s merely assigning themselves a job to satisfy vanity.

Living in this world, knowing what you want is very important.

Fortunately, she and Lu Qing unknowingly wanted the same things.

After their chat, as usual, Lu Qing burned the secret letter; although its content was unintelligible to outsiders besides him and Lu Chao, caution in such matters never harmed.

Zhu Yu listened, eating, as she heard about events after she fell asleep.

After she fell asleep, Yan Shu, having heard they returned, came over hoping to chat with Zhu Yu, and upon learning she was too exhausted and had fallen asleep, returned to her room somewhat disheartened.

After three or four days of rest, along with internal and external medicinal treatment prescribed by Yan Daoxin, Yan Shu was able to walk much more smoothly than before. Judging by her progress, she might be able to initially recover within a few days.

Just earlier, Lu Qing also sent a letter to Lu Chao, as it wouldn’t be easy for Yan Shu to return smoothly to the Capital of Jin Country without some external assistance.

The situation within the Capital is somewhat manageable, with Yunyin Pavilion and Liu Yueyao around, it should be possible to figure out a way to sneak Yan Shu into Prince Yi Mansion.

The real challenge now is to ensure she returns smoothly and safely to Jin Country, back into the Capital.

Though Lu Chao’s letter indicated that Yan Shu’s escape hasn’t been discovered yet, it could be exposed at any moment, the more days that pass, the greater the risk.

"Nonetheless, we need to ensure she doesn’t return without clarity because once she returns, meeting her again, not even considering meeting, even correspondences could be incredibly difficult."

Zhu Yu pondered, "So, before returning, there are words that must be clarified with her.

This time, being set up and seeing danger of treason accusations wasn’t just Shuo Country at risk, but mainly Jie Country, so since we can garner my father’s support, with Yan Shu as the intermediary, perhaps we could form an alliance with Jie Country in a short time.

After all, in clearing suspicions and apprehending the hidden culprit who tried framing Jie and Shuo Countries, our goals align!"