Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 731: Reasoning
When Zhang Chen saw Zhang Shou, his first thought was that he had come here for nothing today - because with Zhang Shou here, no one else had anything to do, and he had no chance to appear at all. He had experienced the feeling of powerlessness too many times before for this peer whom he would sincerely call teacher or little master in most occasions.
Zhu Ying's thoughts were exactly the opposite of Zhang Chen's. She was bored when she had nothing to do and annoyed when she was bored, but at least she was not like the Fourth Prince, who would feel uncomfortable if she didn't cause trouble. Besides, as long as Zhang Shou was there, she would not feel that this trip was in vain.
However, the young lady who was watching the excitement was a little annoyed that the view from outside the door was not good enough. She looked around and immediately set her sights on the earthen walls on both sides of the Gao family's gate. She stepped back a few steps, sprinted beautifully and leaped, and landed steadily on the not-so-high earthen wall. Then she stood in the supreme seat with her hands folded, smiling and watching.
With Zhu Ying taking the lead, the Fourth Prince immediately poked Peanut and, seeing the man's long face, he quickly said a few nice words. As a result, Peanut thought he was not up to the responsibility and shook his head like a rattle. Zhu Hong thought that the naughty kid might get into some trouble if he was not content, so he simply stepped forward and lifted him up, successfully sending the Fourth Prince to the seat next to Zhu Ying.
Seeing this, Zhang Chen hesitated for a moment, thinking that he should not be out of touch with the group, so he simply called a guard to act as a human ladder, and stepped on the guard's shoulders and easily stepped onto the wall.
The two guards he had now saw their young master standing on the wall watching the fun, while they could only look up from below. If something happened, they would not be able to fulfill their duties as guards at all, so in the end they simply climbed over the wall.
So, seeing Zhu Hong and another guard also followed, Xiao Huasheng finally couldn't help but cover his forehead. Why was he arguing with these guys who didn't look like the sons of nobles at all! None of these guys were afraid of causing trouble, and each of them was a troublemaker. Compared with them, he was far behind!
The usually sly and clever boy looked up for a long time, and seeing that all the good seats were occupied (standing), he could only choose an empty seat at the edge with grievance. After he climbed up the wall with his hands, using a much more clumsy movement than others, he was finally able to see the whole picture of the yard from above.
There were about 20 children and 5-6 women inside, and all of them had their backs to them. Since Zhang Shou was talking, no one turned back and naturally did not notice them. However, Zhang Shou, who was standing at a table, clearly saw the onlookers standing on the wall of the house. Looking at their smiles, he was not surprised by their arrival.
And Xiao Huasheng saw that next to the table where Zhang Shou was standing was Xiao Cheng. His eyes widened, especially when he saw him, his eyes were full of reproach, as if to say, who told you to bring the Fourth Prince here, and bring so many people to watch the fun.
In response, he spread his hands innocently and shrugged. Who told you to sneak out so early in the morning? If I hadn't brought the Fourth Prince out, we would have nothing to do here! Of course, we have nothing to do now...
However, the three elders on the other side of the table, including Chen Sanlang and the other three students, could not remain calm when they saw the wall full of spectators. Especially Gao's father and mother, who were so honest or cowardly that they could not even control their eldest son.
The two elders discovered that there were suddenly so many people on the wall of their courtyard, among whom was a classmate who was also the head of the dormitory who had come yesterday. When the youngest son came back yesterday and learned about this, he stammered and said that the classmate was indeed a classmate, but the head of the dormitory was not the head of the dormitory. That would have been fine, but they didn't know the other few people, and they seemed to have extraordinary origins, so they were a little nervous.
The shrewd mother Fang was a little annoyed. Her eldest son was out at a literary gathering today, otherwise she could still refer to his vision. At this time, she could only pull her youngest son and ask in a low voice, "Who are those people on the wall? In addition to the boy who claimed to be your head of the dormitory yesterday, there is another one who is about your age. Do you recognize the others?"
Fang Er saw that the children in the yard were not aware of the seriousness of the matter and were buzzing excitedly, while the women were whispering. He quickly glanced at the people on the wall, his eyes swept across Zhu Ying's face and quickly looked away.
He said in a voice softer than a mosquito's buzz: "Mother, the most beautiful one is Mr. Zhang's fiancée, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Zhao's mansion."
"hiss--"
Fang took a deep breath, feeling terrified but also indescribably excited. She had always felt that the Fang family was one of the best families in the area - after all, only she and her husband had saved money to support a real scholar. Even though he had not passed the county or prefectural examinations, and was not even qualified to be called a student, he was still completely different from someone who could only read and write.
So, seeing that Zhang Shou's suggestion had not received a response yet, she did not care that the proposal was not actually related to her family's business for the time being. Her eldest son would go to school in the future, and her youngest son was also in public school. She was the first to speak and break the deadlock.
"Master Zhang, may I ask what you mean by inviting someone from the public school to teach them? The public school used to be divided into three classes: elementary, middle and high. In addition to the teachers hired from outside, even the students of your Jiuzhang Hall had to come out to teach. How could anyone be willing to come to a place like ours to teach?"
Zhang Shou did not dislike people like Fang. He was very familiar with the shrewd calculations of this kind of petty citizen - many aunts over 60 in later generations were like this. Many businesses took advantage of the psychology of aunts and made a living.
Thinking of this, he smiled and said, "These children are big and small, most of them are illiterate, and their families probably don't have the hope of having them work as accountants or clerks in the future, am I right? In this case, instead of teaching them the Three Character Classic, the Thousand Character Classic, etc., it is better to teach them to write a hundred or so characters, and then tell them some clear and easy-to-understand stories."
"Tell them about Cheng Men Li Xue, so that they know how to respect teachers; tell them about Shisanlang who became emperor at the age of five, so that they know the world is dangerous and how to guard against flower-grabbing gangs; tell them about the disciple surpassing the master, so that they know that asking for advice is not a shameful thing, and even teachers can ask students for advice; tell them about buying the casket and returning the pearl, so that they should not be deceived by appearances and ignore the inner qualities, which will result in picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons..."
Zhang Shou tried to explain it briefly in simple words, and after a pause, he continued, "Nowadays, many of the students in the public school, even those in the elementary classes, are over ten years old, which is quite old. In fact, if you learn a little more before the age of ten, even if you are just a waiter or just selling things on the street, you will know more than those who are illiterate."
"And such a simple course does not need those old pedants to come and teach. Xiao Cheng, for example, if you were asked to talk about what your elder brother Zhu taught you, do you know how to explain it?"
Xiao Cheng's eyes suddenly widened and he almost blurted out that he couldn't do it.
However, seeing Zhang Shou looking at him sideways with his eyes shining, he remembered the simple lessons in the intermediate class, but many classmates still found it extremely difficult to follow. He also remembered that he could attract many envious and jealous eyes just by reciting a lot of Tang poems. After hesitating for a long time, he finally nodded.
"I...I think I can give it a try."
Zhang Shou smiled calmly at the women who looked surprised, and then said calmly: "Besides these, we can also ask the South City Military Department to pick some simple and easy-to-understand cases, and then tell these children about them. Then, can they know from a young age that the laws are strict and they should not do anything illegal?"
"You know, just like a tree that is not straightened at the beginning will easily grow crooked in the future, if a person is not taught when he is young, it will be too late to correct him when he grows up."
"And this kind of teacher is different from the teachers who teach in public schools, and is also different from the system of substitute teachers in Jiuzhang Hall, who are called tutors. I think they can be called patrol students, and they are selected from public schools with good character and academic performance. They don't need to come every day, but only need to come once every seven days to teach, so that these children who have no chance to read and write can have the opportunity to come into contact with the principles of dealing with people."
"Public school students who are qualified to serve as lecturers will be given priority in the scholarship evaluation. And every time they give a lecture, they will receive corresponding subsidies. During the lecture, children who cannot afford to go to school can attend the lecture nearby, all on a voluntary basis, and free of charge. Of course, if they don't speak well and no one comes to listen, then it's up to them whether they want to give out candies to attract people to listen like I did today."
Fang listened attentively, especially when Zhang Shou mentioned the priority for scholarships and corresponding subsidies, her eager eyes could not help but fall on her youngest son, which made her feel uneasy.
The women below laughed a few times, but they were not very enthusiastic. However, Zhang Shou's next words made them focus all of a sudden.
"Of course, the most important thing is to select future students for the public school. If the patrol can select talented, hardworking and studious students, then they themselves will not only be able to get better resources and training, but the children they select will also be directly awarded scholarships after assessment and admitted to the public school. I think everyone knows that I like to teach others."
This time, the women were finally moved. Zhang Shou was not only in charge of Jiuzhang Hall, but he was also the prince's teacher - it was said that he was even the prince's most respected teacher, no one else!
What if my son has this talent, what if he can become Zhang Shou’s student?
Anyway, you can study for free and you don’t have to go far away. Children of this age don’t need to help at home all the time!
This is not the countryside, where little kids have to cook, weed, feed pigs, etc. This is the city, where there are not many things a child under ten can do. Even if they are sent to be apprentices, they still need to rely on personal connections. If not, how could there be so many children from ordinary families who want to be sent to the mansions of dignitaries to be slaves? It's a pity that it's really hard to get a job as a slave in a wealthy family.
Seeing these kids running around outside all day and getting into trouble from time to time, they had no choice but to beat them with sticks until they screamed, but how much effect would that really have? They could just listen to the lessons nearby, and maybe they could find a good job in the future!
As the first woman agreed, the second and third women also hurriedly agreed. When Zhang Shou agreed with them on the approximate time for the first class and set the location at the Gao family compound, several people pulled up their children and turned to leave. It was not until then that they noticed a row of people standing on the courtyard wall who were obviously watching the fun.
Although the women were a little curious, when they saw that Zhu Ying and the others were dressed in bright clothes and none of them looked easy to mess with, they wisely did not say anything more, but instead held their children tightly and walked quickly.
Seeing that there were still a dozen children left in the yard , Zhang Shou instructed Chen San's three students to help send them back home, and if there were adults at home, they should tell them what he had just said. For such a simple request, the three students, who were already full of fear and guilt, naturally agreed without even bothering to ask their parents who were still present at the time.
When the crowd gradually left, the courtyard that was filled with people just now gradually became empty. Zhu Ying, who was on the courtyard wall, just jumped down lightly and nimbly, and then quickly came to Zhang Shou: "Ah Shou, didn't you tell the Fourth Prince and the others to clean up the mess? Why did you come here in person? Where's Ah Liu? Why didn't I see him?"
Zhang Shou was already used to Zhu Ying's barrage of questions when they met, so he answered her questions one by one without rushing.
"I wasn't planning to go there today, but when I arrived at the school early in the morning, I saw something that I couldn't just sit back and watch. The three of Chen Jia Sanlang, who weren't supposed to be at school today, were kneeling in front of the hall. Fortunately, everyone else was already in the classroom waiting for class, otherwise I don't know how this scene would be spread."
"Because Lu Jijiu and Old Master Liu hadn't arrived yet, I asked Ah Liu to forcibly drag the three people up and bring them to the public hall for questioning. As a result, I just learned that the three people came to apologize for the "home visit" that Zheng Yan brought people to yesterday."
At this point, Zhang Shou saw the Fourth Prince tiptoeing over, and upon hearing this, he immediately hid behind Zhu Ying. He glanced at the three parents present at the moment, and saw that their faces were filled with fear and surprise, and it was clear that they had no idea what their children had done this morning. He sighed.
"They were terrified. After returning home, they not only learned that the 'chaplain' brought two classmates to visit and express their condolences, and also sent gifts such as egg tofu, but also heard from their parents that the eldest brother of the Gao family and two of his cronies almost kidnapped and sold their three classmates, which directly led to the action of the South City Army. Of course, they would blame themselves for the cause of the incident."
"So, they only dared to tell their parents that the classmate was a classmate, but the head of the dormitory was not the head of the dormitory. They did not dare to tell their parents that Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng were people close to me. So they found an excuse to sneak out of the house early in the morning and decided to come to me to apologize. If it wasn't for the winter and they couldn't find any brambles for a while, they almost came to apologize!"
"But even if they didn't have to carry a thorn stick, they still knelt on the cold ground for more than a quarter of an hour, and they were almost frozen stiff."
