Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 493 Seeking Common Ground While Reserving Differences
The first-year students of the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College had no idea what a lively scene it was on the day of the rematch at Xinglong Tea House. Because the matter of selecting the head of the hall really posed a very big problem for them. The most important thing was that the third prince, who was the most qualified to suppress everyone in terms of status and position, was excluded from the candidates by Zhang Shou!
However, except for the third prince who was a minor, everyone else was an adult. Three cobblers can still be better than one Zhuge Liang. After someone raised his hand and a whole morning of noise, the head of the temple was finally elected.
After a very lively lunch, Zhang Shou came back from the Xinglong Tea House in the outer city. When he quietly walked to the gate of Jiuzhang Hall, he found that the room was not empty, but full of people. Standing in the middle of the podium, Ji Jiuzheng asked word by word: "Anyone object to Article 9? If you object, please raise your hand. If you don't object, it will be passed!"
Hearing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile, and it felt like a modern meeting - if you ask everyone to raise their hands, maybe not everyone will raise their hands; but if you ask everyone to raise their hands, most of the time no one will bother to come out and oppose and stand against everyone. From this point of view, Ji Jiu is another kind of genius.
"Okay, in that case, we'll pass these nine points and set them as the rules for the first grade of Jiuzhang Hall. Of course, we still have to abide by the rules of the Imperial College. Xu Heizi from the Shengqian Hall was watching us select the head of the hall for a whole morning. He always likes to find fault, so everyone should always pay attention..."
Zhang Shou couldn't help laughing when he saw Ji Jiu's tone, which was exactly the same as Lu Sanlang's, about preventing fire, theft and Xu Heizi. But when he found that there was no objection and no laughter, he couldn't help but wonder if Xu Heizi's arrival in the morning had brought a lot of psychological pressure to these students.
Then, Ji Jiu made a suggestion that surprised him greatly: "Zheng Rong is young, but I think that you don't need to take care of him too much. He was very good at taking care of himself when he was in Banshan Hall. I suggest that if the teacher can't take care of the class and needs someone to substitute, if we need to recommend someone from our grade to substitute, we should start with him first."
The panicked voice of the Third Prince followed: "Me? No, no, I can't do it. It's you, Ji Zhaizhang..."
Before the Third Prince could finish his words, Ji Jiu interrupted him: "Zheng Rong, have you forgotten the admission interview? Your questions made us almost doubt our lives... Don't use the teacher's questions to evade the question. I was also a student of Banshan Hall, but I don't remember it as clearly as you do."
"Besides, the first person to speak has the least psychological burden, because no one can compare with you, so you can just show off all your abilities. Besides, isn't it also the rule for teachers to interview people according to their age?"
The Third Prince was speechless after hearing Ji Jiu's words. After a long while, he finally replied, "Well, I'll try. Just don't laugh at me... But I think we shouldn't wait until the teacher needs someone to substitute for the class before we make this kind of preparation. In fact, the textbooks are ready. We can preview them in advance and then take turns to explain them to everyone. If the explanation is not clear, we can ask the teacher to come forward."
He spoke haltingly at first, but gradually he became fluent, and unknowingly raised a question that had been lingering in his mind for days.
"When my father was teaching my fourth brother and me about Master Ge's New Mathematics, he was not patient enough to explain it one by one. Instead, he asked us to read the book first and then ask questions. He would answer them one by one. If he still couldn't understand something, he would take us to ask Master Ge. I heard that it seems to be the same in the other six halls of the Imperial College and all the major academies in the world?"
"Teachers only give general talks, but answering questions depends on whether they trust their disciples, so most students need to work hard and figure things out on their own. If they can't figure it out, it's because they have poor comprehension, right?"
"During the few months I've been at the Imperial College, I heard that even the Ratexing Hall didn't have lectures every day before. Was it because the teachers gave lectures in the Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall every day that gave them a sense of crisis, so the Imperial College doctors, assistant teachers and other school officials had to do so? But didn't Han Changli say in his "On Teachers" that 'a teacher is someone who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts'?"
After the Third Prince said this, some students who had never attended academy looked at each other in bewilderment, but some of them had attended private academies, and some of them shook their heads immediately.
"This is normal. Whether it's a private school or an academy, once a student is admitted, his or her studies depend on the individual. If you don't ask more questions on your own, make more friends, help each other, and make progress together, then you can only study hard on your own, unless you have top talent."
"But even if someone is extremely talented but aloof, and studies hard on his own, and eventually passes the exam and becomes a Jinshi, he may not necessarily achieve great success. Because people without friends are usually not welcomed by their teachers, and it is often difficult for them to get along well with their superiors and subordinates in the officialdom. Therefore, even if they have outstanding abilities, such people with high aspirations often fail quickly."
The Third Prince was stunned. He grew up with the Fourth Prince, and being in the royal family, he certainly couldn't be called a close friend. It was only later that he was released by his father to Shangbanshan Hall that he was finally able to talk to others.
But the age difference between them and the others was too big, so they had nothing in common. Although most of the wealthy young men were very good at dealing with things, including Ji Jiu, they often showed their courtesy to the brothers, but Zhang Shou kept a close eye on them, and the two chiefs Zhang Chen and Zhu Er had also warned many people.
Therefore, the Third Prince had not been exposed to too many ugly things, and he always believed that excellent people should have a smooth life. Just like when he studied history with the teachers selected by the emperors, those teachers told him the examples of famous people in ancient and modern times!
Even though Zhang Shou's historical lectures in Banshan Hall were wild and unrestrained, and even though he had heard about the White Horse Disaster, a tragic massacre that was the result of accumulated class and group conflicts, it was hard for the Third Prince to believe that a group of scumbag scholars who followed traitors could be that good. Therefore, he always regarded the idea that the capable should be promoted, which the emperor had instilled in him, as a golden rule.
But now someone told him that even if outstanding people finally stand out, if they are too arrogant, they will eventually be broken.
So, at this moment, he frowned with difficulty accepting it, and then said seriously: "Then everyone should not dwell on trivial matters alone in the future. If you have any problems, bring them up, discuss them more, make more friends, and don't just study hard alone... Besides, the teacher is a very good person, he is very willing to answer everyone's questions, he is a very good teacher."
Hearing the Third Prince describing him in such a matter-of-fact tone, even though Zhang Shou had developed a thick skin due to too much praise over the past two years, he still felt a little embarrassed.
You know, compared to those teachers in private schools or academies mentioned by the Third Prince who just teach by word of mouth and let students understand on their own, teachers like him are actually lazier. The best example is that they throw things to students before and then call it experience.
From the end of last year to the few months before the Chinese New Year, he had classes mostly in the morning and afternoon, and only had one day off every ten days. It was the most diligent period of his two lives. He was so exhausted that he had long been planning to find a student assistant to help.
It’s easy to imagine that no matter which era a teacher comes from, if they really answer every student’s questions and resolve their doubts... where do they find the time and energy?
Only those teachers who are hired by wealthy families with huge sums of money and only teach one or two students can barely hold on!
Thinking this in his mind, Zhang Shou finally coughed heavily and then walked out.
He saw that the room was silent at first, and then Ji Jiu on the stage looked at him at the door with a surprised expression. Everyone's heads in the huge Jiuzhang Hall turned around suddenly, and when they saw that it was him, they turned back in unison. Zhang Shou couldn't help but think of the scene when teachers in later generations raided self-study classes.
He shook his head in amusement, then stepped over the threshold: "It looks like you have chosen the head of the dormitory?"
Ji Jiu saw Zhang Shou looking at him with a half-smile. Even though he was elected as the head of the temple today by everyone and there was no need to use any tricks, he still felt a little guilty. Fortunately, he immediately suppressed this emotion.
"Teacher, none of us have ever experienced nomination and being nominated, so I volunteered to step forward and suggested that those who want to be the head of the dorm come up and talk about why they want to be the head of the dorm, what they plan to do after becoming the head of the dorm, and how they can help everyone. Xu Jiancheng from the Shengqian Hall happened to be here, and Zheng Rong did not participate in the nomination, so I suggested that Zheng Rong and Xu Jiancheng supervise the voting together."
He paused, his tone completely calmed down: "After all, the teacher trusts us, and it would be bad if cheating occurred. Besides, since I proposed it first, I will be the first to stand up and speak my mind."
When the Third Prince saw Zhang Shou had walked to the side of the podium, he quickly stood up and said, "Yes, Master Ji was the first one to say that he wanted to be the Master. He said a lot from his heart , and I was very moved and inspired by what he said..."
Zhang Shou felt that the words “very inspired” were relatively normal. After all, with the Third Prince's relatively poor experience, it would not be difficult for Ji Jiu to fool this kid. However, the Third Prince had specifically emphasized that he was very moved, but he was a little confused.
However, it was definitely not appropriate to ask such a topic at this time, so he just smiled and nodded at the little guy.
However, the Third Prince, feeling encouraged, became more confident. He held his head high and said, "After Ji became the head of the dormitory, he encouraged everyone to compete for the position of head of the dormitory, because being the head of the dormitory does not mean looking down on other students, but also means a kind of responsibility..."
Hearing the Third Prince start to preach about Ji Jiu's responsibilities as the head of the temple, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile and look at Ji Jiu again. Although he tried to look at him calmly, his expression was clearly nervous. He knew that this boy who was so cunning that he could have dealings with Chu Kuan must have won the position of head of the temple with three parts sincerity and seven parts eloquence.
Therefore, before the Third Prince could really finish speaking out everyone's "election platform", he interrupted with a smile and said, "Zheng Rong, I met the Emperor and your fourth brother at Xinglong Tea House before. The Emperor said that you can only be in Jiuzhang Hall for half a day every day, and you have to go back to the palace for classes for the rest of the time. It's already past noon now, why don't you go back to the palace?"
"I……"
The Third Prince did not expect Zhang Shou to bring up this question that he had never wanted to ask. His face suddenly changed, and after hesitating to say the word "I", he could not say anything else. He seemed to feel that everyone around him was looking at him in surprise, surprised at his difference from others. Thinking of how he had insisted on others calling him by his name before, he felt ashamed.
"You said before that you hope that I and your classmates will call you by your name Zheng Rong. I did so, and judging from Ji Jiulang's intention, the others should have done the same. However, I hope you can understand that your origin is innate and there is no need to avoid it. Calling you the Third Prince is certainly a respect for your origin, but it is also a respect for the emperor's ability to bring peace and prosperity to the world."
"So, don't think that people can't accept your differences from others."
Seeing that the Third Prince's eyes, which had just been somewhat dim, had gradually recovered, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Facing the differences between yourself and others, rather than forcing them to be the same, is also a sign of growth. Well, although it is late today, it is not too late for you to return to the palace now. Remember to tell the Emperor all the things you just said about selecting the head monk."
"Okay!" The Third Prince nodded heavily, and then began to pack up his textbooks. Finally, he bowed respectfully to Zhang Shou, and then bowed to the others one by one, and then said, "Teacher, everyone, I will return to the palace first. See you tomorrow. Goodbye!"
After watching the Third Prince hurried back, Zhang Shou glanced at the others. Seeing that most of them looked normal, he was quite satisfied.
"What I just said to Zheng Rong is actually also for you. Among you, there are officials' children like Ji Jiu, there are businessmen's descendants, there are poor scholars, there are accountants' disciples, and there are ordinary people who are just good at arithmetic since childhood."
"Everyone has different backgrounds and different future prospects, but now we are all sitting here. If we cannot face up to these differences and seek common ground while reserving differences, then all kinds of disputes will surely arise in the future."
"So, I hope you will take a good look at those second-year brothers. Not only have they performed well over the past year, but nothing unpleasant has ever happened between them. So you'd better learn from them. There are dark and treacherous corners everywhere in this world, but in this hard-earned academy, try to avoid such activities as much as possible."
At this point, Zhang Shou did not look at Ji Jiu's expression at this moment, and said directly: "I asked you to choose the head of the dormitory this morning. The next thing I have to do is to divide the students into groups. A total of 32 people were admitted , so there will be eight people in a group, and a total of four groups. However, this time it is not a free grouping, but... drawing lots. Zheng Rong is not here, so I will replace him."
"This grouping will continue until you leave Jiuzhang Hall."
