Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 675: The Story
After the Third Prince left, Scholar Meng naturally left in anger. However, Fang Qing was still full of resentment, but was suppressed by Scholar Song. However, Principals Xiao and Xu, as well as the other two Hanlin scholars, still did not leave, obviously they all had something to say. Facing this situation, Zhang Shou smiled at the Fourth Prince and everyone else who stayed behind.
"When I was a child, I met a strange man. His last name was Ye. He was an old gentleman who attached great importance to teaching and educating people. He told me a story about his experience when he passed by a small town. Well, since I want to tell it to everyone, I will give it a title, "Three or Five More Bushels of Pile". Because it is just a story, there are not so many complicated things, and it may not be worthy of being published, but I like it very much."
Zhang Shou first stated that it was just a story, not an article, then paused and slowly recited the article that the teacher had forced them to recite because he liked it so much: "At the riverside pier of Wansheng Rice Shop, open boats from the countryside were parked in a mess. The boats were loaded with new rice, which pushed the boats down very low..."
As he recited slowly, he organized the language at the end, trying his best to remove many things with distinct characteristics of the times. For example, he replaced the silver dollars with copper coins commonly used in those days, removed the foreign rice and foreign flour, and replaced them with rice shipped by ship from other grain-producing areas, and changed the two bureaus that farmers had to go through when selling rice into two customs offices...
Fortunately, he recited slowly and made corrections smoothly along the way, so he didn't make any big mistakes. However, even so, the atmosphere of first joy and then sorrow after a good harvest came to the fore under his simple words. As he listened, Fang Qing, who came from a poor family, couldn't help but have red eyes. Some students from the Jiuzhang Hall whose families were farmers also turned their heads to hide the sadness on their faces.
Of course, Zhang Shou did not copy Mr. Ye Shengtao's entire article. After all, the part about small vendors selling foreign goods and small commodities, although it echoed the transnational dumping of foreign rice and flour in the previous article and brought a greater impact, was another matter after all and had little to do with the central idea he wanted to express at this time.
Therefore, he changed the so-called banknotes into two-thirds IOUs and one-third of the grain merchants' money. The grain merchants promised that they could use these IOUs to buy things at a 95% discount in other nearby shops.
So, after the harvest, the farmers used IOUs to buy cloth, salt, and various necessities from the merchants. The IOUs they worked so hard to get in exchange for grain were torn to pieces in a moment after they were exchanged for cloth and bags of salt. They even had to add their hard-earned copper coins. In the end, when the boat returned, they only had a little money left in their pockets.
When he finally said that in order to pay the rent, many people even had to make up for the rice they originally planned to eat. The sentence that farmers could not eat the rice they grew immediately attracted several sighs.
Although there are the two famous lines in "The Silkworm Woman" that have been passed down through the ages, "Those dressed in silk are not silkworm breeders", and the two lines in "Song of Pity the Peasants" that are well-known among scholars, "Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work", the poems are concise and abstract, while the stories are vivid and specific. At this time, Zhang Shou's storytelling is naturally more appealing.
Moreover, Zhang Shou tried to make as few changes as possible, or even no changes, to Mr. Ye's very distinctive dialogues. When he finally memorized the entire text, he saw that the lecturers in the Eastern Palace around him were like clay sculptures or wooden statues. Some of them were secretly wiping their eyes, some were sighing and shaking their heads, and some were embarrassed, as if they felt they shouldn't stay...
Among all the people in the group, the fourth prince stood out because his face was full of resentment. Born in the palace, he had lived a life of luxury since childhood. The greatest grievance he had ever suffered was that he, like his third brother, was bullied and despised by his other two brothers. Even though he had been to the countryside and the fields, he always felt that after all the hard work, there would be rewards.
The four words "low grain prices hurt farmers" had never shocked his soul so much.
However, the reactions of the imperial attendants who also did not leave were even more indifferent. After all, at heart, they were not scholars and did not have certain hypocritical sentiments - those who had three wives and four concubines and enjoyed a luxurious life in their private lives, and on the other hand, when they saw the misery of the common people, would be moved to tears, sigh and lament the difficult times, were scholars, not them.
The imperial attendants were accustomed to hard work and difficulties, and they knew that the scenes after the harvest described by Zhang Shou were indeed true. However, in their minds, this was how the world was, and they had long been hardened into cold hearts by the indifference of the world.
If the royal attendant is so sentimental, is it still a sharp sword in the hands of the king?
"What's there to say? Rich or poor, noble or humble, birth, old age, sickness and death, you'll become open-minded after seeing them enough..."
Hua Qi, who had sharp ears, heard some of his people muttering. He saw Zhu Ying, Zhang Chen and others standing far away and not coming over, but they clearly heard Zhang Shou's words, because the eldest lady was asking if it was really so miserable after the harvest. He, who had also experienced the sea and was no longer impressed by the water, smiled bitterly and shook his head, then quietly walked forward, intending to interrupt Zhang Shou's lecture on the world.
For the Fourth Prince, it is important to know the sufferings of the people, but it is not necessary to know only the sufferings of the people. Poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. This is not just a saying, but a true story. Sometimes, pitiful people must also have hateful aspects!
Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not here, if the Fourth Prince goes back and tells his brother that the two brothers were really fooled by Zhang Shou and thought that the common people were all diligent and honest, then there will be a big problem! You know, most of the officials and the common people in this world are afraid of power but not virtue, and they are not pure obedient people!
But at this moment, he heard Zhang Shou change his tone and said, "When I first heard Mr. Ye's story, I thought that low grain prices hurt farmers and grain merchants were hateful, but after thinking about it carefully, I felt that it was not the case. Later, I thought that if the court had to collect a portion of taxes, it would not only be of no benefit to the farmers, but would add to their burden."
"It is said that all merchants are dishonest, but in a good year, the world has a good harvest, and the market is full of grain. How can it be sold at a high price? Grain merchants with insufficient capital may not have enough money to buy grain? Moreover, if they happen to have cross-door business, or have a relationship with other stores that can exchange goods, are those IOUs that can be cashed in considered dishonest or practical?"
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was completely confused, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "Some people like to say that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, but I like to say that some things cannot be casually defined. Well, when I met Mr. Ye, I also met another Mr. Zhou, and he also told me another story ."
Zhang Shou casually put the story of Lu Xun's "Medicine" into the background of the Taizu uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, which was like a melting pot of heaven and earth. As expected, he saw the fourth prince was shocked, and even the other two scholars of the Hanlin Academy changed their expressions. After Xiao Shanzhang and Xu Shanzhang looked at each other for a while, Xiao Shanzhang came forward.
"Mr. Ye and Mr. Zhou that Master Zhang mentioned are very interesting people. If there is a chance, I would also like to meet them and ask them for advice."
After saying this to Zhang Shou, Xiao Shanzhang turned to the Fourth Prince and said solemnly, "Fourth Prince, Scholar Zhang's two stories are about farmers who toiled all year round but could not even get enough to eat and wear, and about common people who did not understand the righteousness of expelling the Tartars and who did not seek medical treatment when they were sick but spent a large sum of money to buy the blood-stained steamed buns of anti-Yuan heroes in a vain attempt to cure their terminal illness. They are completely ignorant and foolish!"
"In fact, most people in the world are like this. Some are diligent and honest, some are cunning and sly, some are undisciplined, some are callous, and some follow the crowd or even blindly. It is absolutely impossible to generalize."
The Fourth Prince hesitated for a moment at this warning from Principal Xiao, and then habitually went to see Zhang Shou. But at this moment, Lu Sanlang's voice came from behind him: "Mr. Xiao, what do you mean by this? Just like there are good people and bad people in the world?"
Lu Sanlang deliberately understood his words in such a simplistic and rough way, which gave Xiao Shanzhang a headache. However, he was well-educated and would not be led astray by the head of Jiuzhang Hall.
At that moment, he smiled happily and said, "Lu Gaoyuan, your understanding is only half right. Confucius said, 'The people can be led by following their will, but they cannot be led by knowing their way.' This is what he meant. Since most people are ignorant, we should strengthen education!"
As soon as this was said, Zhang Shou immediately showed an expression of great interest. Because the reading of that sentence in the Spring and Autumn Period was all passed down orally, and later with the advent of printing technology, this thing was not printed in books, so how to punctuate this sentence in the Analects of Confucius is still a hot topic among countless experts and scholars in later generations.
After Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, in addition to promoting Arabic numerals, he also introduced a set of punctuation marks for later generations. As a result, "The Analects of Confucius" had punctuation, but Emperor Taizu probably did not translate it very carefully. Therefore, in the official version of the Analects of Confucius, each sentence is still punctuated according to the annotations in "The Analects of Confucius" and other annotations, using the most common sentence readings.
Therefore, when Principal Xiao made such a statement in public, the two scholars of the Hanlin Academy frowned immediately. One of the older ones immediately stood up and denounced: "It is obvious that the people can be made to follow it, but not to know it. The way of the sage is profound and difficult for people to understand, so there is such an interpretation. How can you misinterpret the book of the sage like this!"
Xiao Shanzhang's expression turned cold immediately: "How did I misinterpret it? Looking through the Analects, all of them express love for the people. How could there be such a thought that the people cannot be educated or learn reason?"
"This is the punctuation template for The Analects set by Emperor Taizu himself!"
"Emperor Taizu didn't even have time to read it from beginning to end. It's obvious that the compiler at that time didn't understand the original intention of the sages, and misinterpreted it at will, fooling Emperor Taizu, thus spreading harm to later generations! It should be noted that there is also a sentence in the Analects: 'Zi went to Wei, and Ran You served as a servant. Zi said: How numerous the people are! Ran You said: Since there are so many people, what else can be done? Zi said: Make them rich. Ran You said: Since they are rich, what else can be done? Zi said: Teach them.'"
When Principal Xiao said this, his face was filled with anger, and his voice was almost like a roar: "If the saints think that the people should not be taught, then why do they still teach them? If it weren't for the fact that this nonsense annotation had become the national must-have, and a certain examiner even expelled a candidate for it, I wouldn't have sworn in anger that I would never enter the government in this life, and I would not be ashamed to associate with such fools!"
After hearing this, Zhang Shou was certain that if he did not stop it, there would definitely be a huge war - after all, in the future, this sentence might cause a war of words, not to mention nowadays when everything has to be based on classics?
He didn't want his place to become a place for two famous scholars to debate classics, so before the angry scholar could fight back, he suddenly coughed heavily and said, "Fourth Prince, in fact, Mr. Ye and Mr. Zhou told me a lot of stories. Do you still want to hear them?"
"Of course, these are just little stories told orally, and are not worthy of the attention of famous scholars."
The Fourth Prince just watched Xiao Shanzhang suddenly quarreling with someone, but in his heart he thought that Zhang Shou had used this sentence to retort to Grand Scholar Kong at the imperial lecture last time. Later, when he was lecturing to him and his third brother, he had also mentioned that this short sentence could have been punctuated in many ways, but which way it should be punctuated depended on his own understanding.
Therefore, Zhang Shou suddenly did not judge the argument between Xiao Shanzhang and the other person, but changed the subject, which he thought was normal.
But he was not the Third Prince, and he had no intention of judging between Principal Xiao and the scholar. He immediately smiled and said, "That's great. I'd really like to hear more!"
Lu Sanlang had just been hiding aside and making jokes for Xiao Shanzhang. When he saw that someone was really angry at the candidate for Grand Secretary who was from the Hanlin Academy, he couldn't help but think more highly of him. So he spoke up and acted as a peacemaker, saying, "If you two gentlemen have any disagreements, you might as well communicate calmly. It would be ugly if you quarreled here. Please give my teacher some face and calm down a little."
When Lu Sanlang said this, the older scholar from the Hanlin Academy was speechless. He looked at Xiao Shanzhang with hatred, then stiffly bowed to the Fourth Prince and Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Wan, but did not say anything to apologize, and immediately left. After he left, the other thirty-something bachelor who was a tutor did not stay, and forced a smile, said a few polite words, and left in a hurry.
After they left, Xiao Shanzhang, who had just been furious, felt bored and simply left. Xu Shanzhang stayed to speak for others, vaguely mentioning the fact that Xiao Shanzhang refused to become an official after passing the imperial examination, and finally defined the matter as an academic dispute, and then left.
After they left, and with all the other candidates leaving, and those talented astronomical figures also leaving long ago, everyone he saw were his own people. The Fourth Prince felt like he had been released from a birdcage, and he cheered with joy.
"It's rare that Third Brother doesn't want me to go back and attend class with him. Teacher, don't tell me later, tell me everything now ! When I go back, I will repeat it to Third Brother verbatim... I'm really good at telling stories!"
Facing such a naughty kid who let himself go, Zhang Shou stared at him with interest for a long time, then laughed and said, "Are you sure you want me to tell you now? Can you remember it?"
Seeing the fourth prince patting his chest loudly, he finally laughed: "Well, I'll tell you another story, this story is called "The Scarecrow." Haha, I want to see how you, a naughty child with an optimistic nature, react to this dark fairy tale full of metaphors! Thinking back to the time when he read the unabridged version outside the textbook, he was deeply depressed... Of course, it's not just Ye Shengtao's fairy tales. A lot of stories in Andersen's fairy tales are about curing (causing) depression. How many friends who came here for the sake of fame were completely confused?
