Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 471 Admission and Promotion and Retention
I only got two questions right...
Although he had been mentally prepared, the Fourth Prince still turned pale when he heard the result. Even though he was very young, he always liked to act like an adult, often telling the timid Third Prince how to be a real man. But even though he repeatedly told himself that a real man sheds blood but not tears, Jin Douzi could no longer hold back.
He had worked so hard, why was this the result? Wasn't he always better than his brother?
Seeing the Fourth Prince's tearful expression, Zhang Shou knew that the little guy was confused and aggrieved. However, even if he comforted him with thousands of words, it would be useless at this time, unless he lowered the admission threshold, but in this way, the credibility of Jiuzhangtang would be greatly reduced. Therefore, he glanced at the shocked Third Prince and casually stated the admission criteria.
"Those who answered one or more questions in the group interview and mutual assessment, or those who answered three or more questions in the written test, will be admitted this time. Of course, in the eighth group, if you only answered the question about the Fourth Prince and Ji Jiu, but failed to answer the three questions in the written test, you will not be recognized."
Before anyone could raise an objection, he said in a deep voice: "The reason is very simple. The question asked by the Fourth Prince is too easy for those who aspire to take the Jiuzhang Hall exam. It's the same as Ji Jiu's question."
Although he had realized that the question just now made him a free scorer, Zhang Shou's blunt words hurt the Fourth Prince, who was already so sad that he wanted to cry because he realized that he had not been able to enter the Jiuzhang Hall this time. Especially when he saw many people stealing glances at him, and some even had pity in their eyes, he almost exploded immediately.
Until this moment, the Third Prince realized that he had entered the Nine Chapters Hall this time, but the Fourth Prince was not selected! Thinking that if the Third Prince was not selected, Zhang Shou's implicit point that the question was too simple might be a big blow to his brother who was always impulsive but confident. He made the decision immediately without even thinking too much.
"The questions I just asked were not my own ideas... They were told to us by the teacher as a joke in the past at Banshan Hall, and I wrote them down! Except for the first question, which I asked Master Lu for help, and later asked Master Ge for help, I actually can't do the other questions!"
After frankly telling the truth, the Third Prince simply continued to speak the truth: "My mind was blank just now, and I couldn't think of anything else, so I came up with these questions... Fourth brother actually remembered more difficult questions than me, but he didn't bring them up to embarrass others. I can't compare with his broad mind and tolerance..."
Outside the Jiuzhang Hall, the emperor felt a mess of emotions. The third prince had obviously performed very well and was about to enter the Jiuzhang Hall at such a young age, fulfilling his original wish. But the fourth prince was unexpectedly eliminated, and from what Zhang Shou implied, the elimination was not only because he only answered two questions in the written test, but also because he was too careless in setting questions during the interview.
He was already very troubled by such a result, but what surprised him even more was that, seeing that the dethronement of the Fourth Prince had become a foregone conclusion, the Third Prince actually admitted that he had not set any of the questions, and tried his best to find excuses for his brother's failure!
Just as he took a deep breath and clasped his hands together involuntarily, thinking urgently whether to use his status as the emperor or his father to ask Zhang Shou to make an exception and accept the Fourth Prince, or to simply take advantage of the Third Prince's confession and ask Zhang Shou to directly depose the Third Prince as well, a scene he could not have expected happened.
"Stop talking!"
The fourth prince suddenly shouted to interrupt the third prince, and then he said sternly: "I am not as skilled as others, there is nothing to say! I will take the exam again next year, third brother, you don't have to force me to find excuses!"
When he turned and ran out of Jiuzhang Hall, the tears that he had been holding back finally burst out, and he didn't even notice that there were more people outside. When he heard the familiar voice of "Shilang", he looked up and recognized his father, and his already pale face lost even more color. The shock and anger of being embarrassed in front of his father overwhelmed the grievance, and he turned around and ran away without hesitation.
The emperor, with a grim expression, was about to chase after him, but then he saw a figure swiftly rushing out of the Jiuzhang Hall, chasing after the Fourth Prince like a wisp of smoke. Recognizing that it was Ah Liu, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he didn't have to worry about the Fourth Prince's safety, but his heart was even more confused for a moment.
Seeing the Fourth Prince turn and run away after saying this, the Third Prince in the Jiuzhang Hall was stunned. He habitually wanted to turn around and chase him, but suddenly he heard Zhang Shou laugh and said, "The Third Prince just said frankly about the mystery of the questions he asked, which was sincere, but ask everyone else present, how many people dare to say that all the questions are the difficult problems they have come up with after studying the arithmetic classics for many years?"
Just as the proposers of various century-old problems and conjectures are often great mathematicians, the questions included by the compilers of various mathematical classics in China since ancient times were actually set by people with considerable attainments in mathematics.
Most people with such accomplishments would not bother to apply for the Jiuzhang Hall, because that would mean they would be considered his disciples. Even if they really had a brainwave... ahem, and applied on impulse, even if they did not perform well in the written test that was posted by the Shuntian government office, they would still stand out in the mutual question-setting session.
But unfortunately, Zhang Shou had not found such a person just now, so he was very sure that there was no such genius.
Sure enough, under the somewhat surprised gaze of the Third Prince, most people avoided his gaze, not to mention insisting that those were all the questions they had asked. The few who reluctantly looked at the Third Prince did not dare to say anything. So, when the little guy turned his head back, his face was full of confusion.
But at this moment, he heard Zhang Shou say, "Third Prince, the Fourth Prince does not meet the admission standards for the second term of Jiuzhang Hall, but you have already met the standards. What are you going to do?"
"I..." The Third Prince was speechless for a moment. He wanted to say that he had given up, but when the words came to his lips, he thought of the Fourth Prince's attitude just now, and his mind was empty. He wanted to say that he didn't know what to do, but he felt that such an ambiguous answer didn't seem right. After a long while, he shook his head vigorously.
"I... I want to enter Jiuzhangtang... I want to study with the teacher." At the end, he actually raised his voice.
What kind of personality does the Third Prince have? Not only Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, who have been officials in the capital for a long time and witnessed how he studied in the Imperial College, but even the newly arrived Yue Shanzhang, all knew about it in advance. However, some of the Third Prince's words and deeds during the interview just now were completely different from the young prince they thought they knew.
Even the emperor, upon hearing this clear statement, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise again.
Such a clear and unmistakable attitude was the first time for his silly son, who was always weak and seemed like anyone could bully him!
Zhang Shou was not surprised by the Third Prince's statement. Although he had not taught the Third Prince in Banshan Hall for a long time, he could vaguely sense that compared to the somewhat aggressive - or reckless Fourth Prince, the Third Prince's timidity was actually just a habit, because people subconsciously felt that others did not need a wise and decisive little prince.
Moreover, the Third Prince needed to use this image to hold back the overly bold and impulsive Fourth Prince. As for the qualification, the two brothers were similar. The Fourth Prince's defeat today was not so much a loss in level as a loss in character.
"Okay, your performance in both the interview and the subsequent written test was impeccable, so you are admitted." Zhang Shou did not think there was anything wrong in singling out the third prince to announce such a result, because judging from today's results, the third prince, who was in the first group, had overcome many difficulties and although luck played a role, it also showed his ability and his result was actually very good.
Then, according to the criteria he had just announced, Zhang Shou calmly named more than 30 names, accounting for three quarters of the number of candidates for this interview. Under such a clear standard, it was discovered that even the fourth prince was dismissed. Even the middle-aged candidate who was previously angry because of Zhang Shou's request to write an equation and was now dismissed, finally fell silent.
But at this moment, Zhang Shou suddenly said, "If any of you still want to take the Jiuzhangtang exam, you can be exempted from the next written exam. And if you have difficulties in making a living in the next year, I suggest you become a teacher in a public school. The public school has received a large amount of donations, and those who are willing to become teachers will receive a subsidy."
"Perhaps this subsidy may not be much, but you will have more free time to study my teacher's "New Edition of Ge's Mathematics" on your own , and you won't have such a hard time with equations like today. And..."
Zhang Shou paused, then dropped a bombshell: "Just like the Imperial College's promotion system, I plan to change the so-called Jiuzhangtang first and second periods to Jiuzhangtang first grade, second grade, third grade... and so on. When the teacher finishes organizing the entire new mathematics system, we can roughly calculate how many grades are needed to complete the entire system."
"And any student who is admitted to Jiuzhangtang in the future can apply for the upgrade test every quarter. In other words, you may enter Jiuzhangtang one year later than your current opponent because of a temporary failure today, but as long as you keep studying on your own, then one year and three months later, you may be able to stand beside your old opponent again."
"As long as you make greater progress, you may surpass your old rival and become his senior. If you don't make progress and your grades in the quarterly exams are too bad, you will have to repeat the year and study again with your junior brothers."
At that moment, there was a big commotion in the Jiuzhang Hall. Even among the losers today, many people were excited. Outside the Jiuzhang Hall, there was also an uproar in an instant!
Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye were both shocked and angry, as if they saw the birth of a new system outside the six halls of the Imperial College. They deeply regretted that they had been careless when Zhang Shou was going to recruit the second batch of students for the Jiuzhang Hall. Although they did not support it, they did not oppose it either, so now Zhang Shou was about to accomplish this task.
Outsiders like Yue Shanzhang, although aware of Zhang Shou's big plans, felt that the system Zhang Shou suddenly introduced was not a breakthrough, but merely moved the Imperial College's system of ascending to the court to the Jiuzhang Hall. However, when he saw the emperor, whose face was gloomy just now, suddenly clear up, he could not help but sigh at Zhang Shou's cunningness.
Accepting one prince and deposing another, others would probably say that Zhang Shou was fair and selfless, but he had left a hook!
As long as the new system reaches the Fourth Prince's ears, he might be inspired to catch up. No matter how much the Fourth Prince can learn in a year, Zhang Shou will be able to find a way to bring the Fourth Prince in next year, and then design a chance for him to upgrade. In this way, the two brothers can still be together.
How could Zhang Shou come up with such a plan alone? This boy was successful at a young age. Not only was he a disciple of Ge Yong, but he also won the favor of Zhu Ying, the daughter of the Duke of Zhao, because of his appearance and demeanor. How could all this be accidental?
Behind this young man who rose the fastest stood not only Zhu Jing, but also the old Grand Tutor Ge Yong who had dominated the position of the Imperial Tutor for many years and caused his uncle who was known for his erudition and talent to be defeated and return home! This man, a scholar and a warrior, influenced the current emperor and was about to influence the next emperor!
"Checkmate!" In the study room of the Ge Mansion, Ge Yong impatiently took the decisive step. Seeing Chu Ying fuming with anger, he clapped his hands and said triumphantly, "What do you think? I say that even if I am a terrible chess player, I am better than you, right?"
Before Chu Ying could get angry, Qi Jingshan, who had been watching the chess game silently, coughed and said, "Today is the second enrollment of Jiuzhang Hall. Are you two really so calm that you won't join in the fun?"
"Zhang Shou is here!" Ge Yong and Chu Ying said in unison, and then stared at each other. Then Ge Yong laughed and said, "That kid is very smart. Only people who don't know him would think that he relies on me or Zhu Jing to succeed... Anyway, I'm not worried about him at all!"
"Yes, yes, you are not worried." Chu Ying smiled and exposed mercilessly, "If you are not worried, who sent people to the Imperial College to inquire about the results?"
"Is that what you call inquiring? The people I sent out were deaf and dumb, they were just there to watch the fun!" Ge Yong was stubborn and wanted to continue denying it, but under the gaze of Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan, he finally said angrily, "He is my last disciple after all, I can't just ignore it..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a knock on the door. Then, the door of the study was pushed open, and a mute servant that Chu Ying and Qi Jingshan were most familiar with rushed in. However, before the mute servant could make his words clear, two more people rushed in. To be precise, it was Ah Liu who was holding a dancing child in his arms!
Seeing this scene, Ge Yong was slightly stunned, and then asked with a strange look on his face: "A Liu, why did you kidnap the fourth prince?"
