Chapter 156: The Man, Duan JinjiangChapter 555: Dantan Jingzhi's Flattery
Li Chen led Dantai Jing to a place that was not elsewhere, but the construction site of the future Royal Academy.
Following Li Chen out of the carriage, Dantai Jingzhi's expression was stunned as he looked at the bustling construction site before him.
"Here lies the future Royal Academy."
Li Chen looked at the construction site with satisfaction and said, "This place covers one hundred and thirty mu of land. The entire academy is divided into study area, living area and leisure area. Not only are there school buildings for reading and studying, but also offices for teachers. Every student and every teacher has a separate residence here."
The leisure area has a hills and gardenscape and a carved river.
"This palace has even reserved many storefront stalls. In the future, this place will be able to accommodate thousands upon thousands of people to live and work. With so many people, there will naturally be business, and some restaurants and teahouses will be needed for entertainment."
"Once the construction is complete according to my blueprints, this place could be expanded into a satellite city of the capital."
Turning his head to look at Dantai Jingzhi, Li Chen chuckled lightly and said, “And Mr. Dantai, is the first Dean of the Royal Academy.”
Listening to Li Chen's introduction, Dantai Jingzhi began to sketch a picture in his mind.
When he thought of the largest and most prosperous academy in the world being built right before his eyes, the sound of students reading aloud seemed to echo in his ears. Dàn Tài Jìngzhī was filled with excitement.
For him, fame and fortune have never been what he pursued.
If he had been willing, decades ago he could have gotten an official position in the court. By now, he would at least be a cabinet-level official.
Why wait until now
So what he truly desired was not fame or fortune, but to leave a lasting legacy, to spread his knowledge and ideas throughout the world.
For this wish, he even went against his own principles and agreed to take office.
Although Li Chen's words carried a threat, to someone like Dantai Jingzhi, his thoughts had indeed changed compared to before.
He realized that to spread his ideas and have more people learn his thoughts, he couldn't do it alone. Li Chen's proposal of the Royal Academy and future academies across the land hit Dantai Jing's true soft spot.
With the support of the imperial court, spreading one's ideas and imparting one's knowledge can achieve far greater results than traveling throughout the country alone year-round.
But he also knew that whether it was the construction of the Royal Academy or the more ambitious national plan to popularize academies, even if the imperial court did it, it would cost a huge amount of resources. He had even prepared himself for Li Chen to drag things out again and again.
But he didn't expect that Li Chen would actually take his words to heart and had already begun to carry them out.
A warm feeling surged through his chest, and Dantai Jing bowed deeply to Li Chen, saying sincerely, “Your Highness’s deeds are beneficial to the present and future generations. People of later ages will surely praise Your Highness’s benevolence and great achievements. Such a grand undertaking could only be accomplished by Your Highness’s unwavering determination. On behalf of all the people under heaven, on behalf of the country and its foundation, and on behalf of all future generations, I thank Your Highness!”
To be honest, this flattery isn't very good.
If the Three Treasures flattered like this, they would definitely get scolded by Li Chen.
This flattery, though of low quality, coming from the mouth of Dantang Jing who has never flattered anyone in his life and has always been on the receiving end, made Li Chen feel extremely satisfied.pture him, the Dongchang dispatched over sixty people, three of whom were his capable lieutenants, specially sent from the capital to support the Dongchang branch in Jiangzhe. They laid a trap and af...