Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 660: Horrible
"The range is between 200 and 300 points, five people!"
"The range is from 100 to 200, 246 people!"
"The score ranges from zero to one hundred, two thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine people!"
During the continuous statistics and reporting, Lu Sanlang, who had returned to Jiuzhangtang with full energy before his wedding leave was over, could not help but laugh. He gave orders without hesitation: "Sort the intervals from 200 to 300 immediately. The remaining two intervals will be re-filed in intervals of ten points. Then we will see whether we should continue to subdivide and sort!"
It sounds like a heavy burden for fifty or sixty students of Jiuzhang Hall to correct thousands of papers with mathematics problems. However, there were more than a thousand blank papers with only the questions written on them, more than a thousand papers with scribblings, and about a few hundred papers with some calculations done barely, and most of them were wrong. In the end, only fifty-six people gave the correct answers.
Of the fifty-six, only thirty gave answers, but there was only one answer, and it was unknown whether he guessed it or had read the original question in "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" and happened to remember the answer. Of the remaining twenty-six, ten people cleverly calculated the answer using the exhaustive method, and only sixteen reluctantly gave the calculation process.
Among the sixteen, seven people's calculations were completely incomprehensible, and only nine people could really understand them. When the total scores of the three questions were calculated, only five of the nine people scored between 200 and 300. Although not all of these five people got the full score of 100 on this math problem, most of them scored above 80 or 90 points.
So the students of Jiuzhang Hall secretly laughed at the students of the Imperial College for being good-for-nothings in mathematics, but at the same time, while sorting the papers, they discussed with great interest the good or bad results of those students on the other two questions.
Lu Sanlang hurried to the public hall to see Zhang Shou, but as soon as he entered the door, he found his father and Liu Zhiyuan were also there. After greeting each of them, he explained the preliminary statistical results with a smile, and then presented the test paper of the first place with three questions.
Zhang Shou took a quick look and had an idea in his mind: "The first-place student in the Ruler Hall of the Imperial College scored 223 points, including 80 points for the math test, because the answer was correct but the calculation method was a bit too complicated. He also scored 80 points for the essay, which was really well written and impeccable. As for the agronomy test, it was a long and eloquent article emphasizing the importance of canals and water conservancy. Principal Yue gave him 63 points, with some integers and some decimals. It's really interesting."
Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan hadn't had time to take a closer look at it, but after hearing what Zhang Shou said, they couldn't help but shake their heads. Especially when Lu Wan heard Lu Wan say that those who scored above 100 were rare, he couldn't help but sigh.
"According to what King Jiangdu said before, these five people are probably the only ones who are barely qualified. But the number of places given to the six halls of the Imperial College seems to be more than just this few, right? If we follow the old custom and only post the rankings of these five people, there might be some commotion in the Imperial College. But if all the scores and rankings are posted this time, people should be able to shut up."
Liu Zhiyuan was not like the Lu family father and son who gloated over the misfortune, nor was he like Zhang Shou who only sighed that the best students in the Imperial College were only so-so . He coughed lightly and asked directly, "How are the results of Banshan Hall?"
Faced with such a question, Lu Sanlang couldn't help but laugh dryly: "That's naturally terrible. No one scored above 200 points. Zhang Wuji is for the agronomy question, Principal Yue gave him 80 points."
"I read it carefully. He wrote that if there is not enough land for planting, then we should ask the most experienced farmers to improve the varieties and increase the yield per mu. It is rare for a noble kid to know how to increase the yield per mu. In addition, he flattered the teacher and said that we should widely promote those overseas varieties with high yield per mu."
Seeing that Zhang Shou did not make any comment, and Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan also smiled and said nothing, Lu Sanlang continued, "His writing is very crude. If that were all, Yue Shanzhang would not have given him 80 points. But he also wrote in this article that the whole world belongs to the king, and all the people are the king's subjects. Since those island countries in Southeast Asia have come to pay tribute, saying that rice can be harvested three times on the islands, but their people are not diligent in farming, if that is the case, why don't we send people to blame their rulers and people for being lazy, and then send vagrants to farm?"
This time, it was Zhang Shou's turn to be stunned for a moment, and then he burst out laughing and said, "This kid, he really dares to write!"
Liu Zhiyuan had read Zhang Dakui's paper and was quite surprised that this noble son of a noble family could actually speak so seriously. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "When I saw his policy question, I thought he would say that there was not enough land, so he should expand the territory. I didn't expect him to think of increasing the yield per mu and even think of attacking those island countries in Southeast Asia."
Seeing Lu Wan's interested face, Lu Sanlang couldn't help but have a twinkle in his eyes: "He also said that if there really isn't enough land to feed so many people, then we have no choice but to expand the territory. But this guy said that the grasslands in the north are too cold and harsh, and there are large tracts of barren land to the west. Instead of sending troops on a long expedition, it's better to go deep into the South China Sea to see if there are any uninhabited islands, and..."
He coughed again, as if his throat was itchy. "Also, we can go east to the sea. Wasn't there a rumor that Emperor Taizu went out to sea to search for a new continent after he abdicated? If we can find it, we won't have to worry about having too many people and too little land to eat!"
"This brat... this brat!"
Zhang Shou simply didn't know how to judge Zhang Dakui's courage, and as for the fact that Principal Yue actually gave this kid's article a score of 80, he couldn't help but feel that the principal of Zhaoming Academy was indeed a person who did not stick to conventions.
With this foreshadowing, when he heard that the other two students with similar scores to Zhang Dakuai also did well on the arithmetic questions and scored well on the agronomy questions, but were terrible on the contemporary essays, he shook his head and said thoughtfully: "Are most of the students in the Imperial College who scored high on the contemporary essays from the Ruxing Hall and write beautiful essays?"
"That's right."
Lu Sanlang snorted in dissatisfaction, but still had to admit: "These guys' articles on craftsmanship were indeed well written. Not to mention those who scored 80 points, there were quite a few who scored over 70 points. After all, the question on the Four Books that His Royal Highness asked was simple. But on the question on agriculture, most of them scored terribly. The one who ranked first before scored 63 points, which is already very rare."
"Most people only scored 20 or 30 points. Of course, it was much better than the math questions. There were many people who scored zero points on the math questions. But Shanzhang Yue was still polite. As long as you answered the question, he gave 20 points."
It turns out that Principal Yue also knows what consolation points are!
Zhang Shou thought so in his heart, and then narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a deep voice: "Then calculate the total scores and rankings of the six halls of the Imperial College and Banshan Hall as soon as possible. The public class of Jiuzhang Hall will be held in a few days, and we must finish it before then. As for transcribing names and scores and rankings, we can't let Jiuzhang Hall do it alone. You can pick a few people from Banshan Hall who are good at handwriting to do it!"
Of course, Lu Sanlang readily agreed. When he was about to leave, he paused at the door and then said with a smile, "To be honest, even if the ranking is posted, some people might say that the math problems those people in Banshan Hall solved were secretly guided by the teacher and do not count. However, just looking at the horrible agricultural policy questions of those guys in the Imperial College, I really want to publish their articles in a book!"
After these words were spoken, even Liu Zhiyuan couldn't help but laugh in anger: "You are not just trying to make an enemy, you are trying to make a mortal enemy!"
Lu Wan couldn't help but feel troubled by her son's revengeful heart: "Lu Zhu, can you change your habit of spending money to hurt people's hearts?"
"No!" When Lu Sanlang heard his father calling his name again, his face darkened. "A gentleman takes revenge from morning till night! I have money, of course I can take revenge immediately!"
"Alright, Gao Yuan, don't be so vindictive like a child." Zhang Shou had no choice but to play the peacemaker. He winked at Lu Sanlang as he spoke, "This is a plan that will hurt both sides. Don't use it unless it's absolutely necessary."
In other words, if someone doubted it, it would be useful? Lu Sanlang was immediately overjoyed, smiled and agreed, and then went straight away with a proud look on his face.
When he left, Lu Wan, as a father, was really angry. The day after his son got married, after meeting his parents, his wife personally arranged for him and his wife to live in the new house, as if she was afraid that they would be angry in front of him and his two brothers. Now he was unable to control his son at home, and he still couldn't control him at school!
This brat believes in his teacher Zhang Shou more than his father!
It’s because Zhang Shou, a teacher, doesn’t look like a teacher at all. He looks surface, but he is actually the most cunning person. Otherwise, how could he be so compatible with Lu Sanlang?
Zhang Shou didn't care how Lu Wan criticized him. There were probably countless people who wanted to stab him, or had already stabbed him. Therefore, as soon as Lu Sanlang left, he also walked out of the public hall and went straight to the Banshan Hall.
Because of the previous branch, Banshan Hall now occupies three small classrooms and is separated from Jiuzhang Hall by a wall.
But now both classrooms are empty. In the remaining classroom, the loud voice of Zhang the Big Guy can be heard: "The classes were divided before, but which of the teachers who came to give lectures can be as emotional and logical as the teacher? It's just a matter of time!"
"Now that we have come out of the Imperial College, they have immediately abandoned us students. What is there to miss about such a teacher? Even if our teacher is too busy to handle the two classes of Jiuzhang Hall, didn't Mr. Liu teach us two lessons before? He is the crown prince's secretary, and coming to teach us, isn't this a big honor? Let's all go and beg him, maybe he will be willing to teach us in the future?"
"That's a nice thought."
Hearing this teasing, Zhang the big guy was immediately furious, but when he turned around and saw that it was Zhang Shou, he immediately changed his anger into joy and walked towards him quickly. Before he could say anything, Zhang Shou directly stopped him with a gesture and then walked straight into the small classroom.
Because the classroom was originally arranged according to the number of people after the class was divided, it was crowded with people. At this time, a large group of people were sitting or standing, and when they saw him coming in, they hurried to make way, but they couldn't avoid bumping into each other, and low shouts and complaints were heard from time to time.
Zhang Shou pretended not to hear. After he stood at the podium in front, he began to speak: "When you first arrived, you took the examination to be the attendants of the Eastern Palace. After that, Mr. Liu gave you two lessons. He did it because he felt sorry for you and was afraid that you would disturb the children in the public school. So he did it with reluctance."
"Think about the time when Master Zhu became Mr. Liu's apprentice, he still encountered setbacks several times. He resigned from the position of Crown Prince's Secretary again and again. You still want him, a dignified Crown Prince's Secretary, a third-rank official, to teach you all the time. Isn't this wishful thinking?"
Zhang the big guy had just spoken with great confidence, but now Zhang Shou refuted him and made him speechless. He felt a little embarrassed for a moment, but what Zhang Shou said next made him full of doubts and suspicion.
"The Jiuzhang Hall is currently compiling the results of this exam, and everyone's scores and rankings will be posted on the bulletin board. I can tell you in advance that your results are not very good. Zhang Wuji did okay, but he didn't get more than 200 out of a total of 300. Of course, the results of the six halls of the Imperial College were also terrible, with only five students getting more than 200 points."
Seeing that a large group of people suddenly fell silent, he smiled and said, "But compared to those guys who think highly of themselves but did terribly in the exam this time, you have done your best. Contemporary literature is not your forte, and you probably won't have such unrealistic hopes in the future, so it's really unnecessary to ask Mr. Liu to give you a lecture."
"Some of you will live separately after marriage, some will receive , some will manage farms of varying sizes, some will probably join the army, and some may become a minor official through imperial favor..."
"So, a business course can ensure that you will not be cheated by some mean servants or greedy stewards in the future."
"A course on government system will allow you to more clearly understand the duties of various government offices and the positions of various officials in the court. A course on law will at least allow you to know what you should and should not do. A course on agriculture will not require you to work in the fields, but at least you will not ask stupid questions like "why don't you eat meat" like Emperor Hui of Jin in a year of famine, and you will also know how to operate a farm."
Seeing the complete silence, some were surprised, some frowned, some nodded in agreement, and some looked around blankly, Zhang Shou continued slowly: "Just like before when I asked you to decide on your elective courses. In addition to the four courses I mentioned, you can discuss what else you want to learn. And this time, I will ask Lu Jijiu and Mr. Liu to hire them in the name of the public school!"
