Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 758: Finding a Different Way
When Luo Sanhe left the palace and finally came to the public school and stood in front of Zhang Shou, his mind was full of the words that the third prince had said to him. He felt excited and terrified, and was not sure at all whether he could complete his task.
He had never thought that the Crown Prince would be so open-hearted. And he had never thought that Chu Kuan, whom he had always regarded as a treacherous eunuch, would bring up the old story of the Emperor and Prince Lu as an example without any hesitation.
The Emperor and Prince Lu grew up together and were once very close. However, because the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were not careful, someone around Prince Lu instigated him, and Prince Ye tried to win him over, the princess who counted herself as the Emperor's younger brother began to have evil intentions, which eventually led to irreversible consequences.
The Third Prince, like the Emperor in the past, attached great importance to and loved the Fourth Prince, his younger brother, so he only hoped that he could stay by the Fourth Prince's side and not let someone take advantage of him. And what the Third Prince said made it impossible for him to refuse.
"My fourth brother used to say that he wanted to be an idle prince, because if he was virtuous, someone might have evil ideas about him, but I always said that he was daydreaming. Now I have figured it out. He can be a virtuous king or an idle king, whatever he wants. If he wants to do something for the people of the world, that would be even better."
"I heard from Eunuch Chu that you are an upright and outspoken person, so I suggested to my father that you go to Fourth Brother to help him. When you meet Fourth Brother, tell him directly that you are the person I sent to help him. Tell him that I am very worried about him, and that the teacher cannot enter the palace every day, and it is impossible for him to tell me every detail of his affairs, but I have never been separated from him for so long."
"When he's not around, I always feel like something is missing. I'm really worried. So, even if he thinks I'm sending someone to monitor him, I hope he can keep you by his side. And... and I hope he can return to the palace as soon as possible."
And when Zhang Shou listened to Luo Sanhe telling him everything that the Third Prince and Chu Kuan had said to him, and he frankly stated that he was there just to be the eyes and ears, and also to act as the one who spoke the word of adviser, he couldn't help but feel a headache.
Of course he knew that this was trouble that Chu Kuan had brought upon himself, but the Fourth Prince was just thrown out of the palace, and he seemingly irresponsibly threw him into a public school to mix with a bunch of poor kids - after all, Xiao Cheng and Xiao Huasheng, strictly speaking, also fell into the category of poor kids - so the Emperor was already very generous and trusted him a lot.
Therefore, he stared at the young eunuch who had solemnly warned him that Chu Kuan was not a good person. After pondering for a long time, he smiled and said, "Since the emperor and the crown prince have asked you to come, it means that they believe you can do a good job. However, Zheng Yan is no longer the fourth prince. He is just an ordinary student, and the public school does not need entourage."
Seeing Luo Sanhe's face suddenly stiffened, he said lightly: "I remember that Eunuch Chu said that you were a maid in the Imperial Household Department? It is said that being able to become a eunuch in the Imperial Household Department is no less than being selected in the imperial examination. For a scholar who fought his way through thousands of troops and fought hard on a single-plank bridge, you must be well educated. Let's put it this way, Zheng Yan and Xiao Huasheng Xiao Cheng took turns to take classes in several classes. Before the three of them went to Tongzhou..."
"You can just be a teacher in their class. A hero is not judged by his background. I think you can do it."
If Luo Sanhe already felt a lot of pressure from the tasks assigned by the emperor and the crown prince, then he was completely dumbfounded by the task that Zhang Shou had forced upon him. However, Zhang Shou's next words made it impossible for him to refuse.
"Although you came from the Palace of Heavenly Purity and were following the Emperor's instructions and the Crown Prince's orders, you should know what kind of person Zheng Yan is. He is a guy who can easily get against you. Instead of following him around, reminding him desperately, and even giving him advice, and then getting a cold shoulder, you might as well change your mindset."
"You stand on the podium, put on a cold face, leave after class, and act like a cool teacher. Maybe Zheng Yan will be interested in you as a teacher."
Luo Sanhe had never seen this before. After all, he had been instilled with loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness since he was a child. He was trained as a loyal reserve talent for the Imperial Household Department. Being loyal to the emperor and protecting the Eastern Palace were his life goals. As for the fourth prince, although he was the son of a dragon and the grandson of a phoenix, he was not likely to ascend to the throne, so he was an unstable factor that he needed to pay attention to at all times.
As for what kind of instability... that is of course what the third prince said, if someone is bewitched by a traitor, brothers will become alienated or even quarrel with each other, which is the most fatal situation.
That's right, the Imperial Household Department has always educated people in this way, and it is said that there is an ancestral precept from Emperor Taizu - be loyal to the Ming Dynasty first, then be loyal to the emperor. If the emperor's descendants are foolish and unjust, and fight endlessly without caring about the welfare of the people, then it is very simple, abandon those descendants, save the classics in the Ancient and Modern Collection Library, and rely on the Military Equipment Bureau to protect themselves when necessary.
This is loyalty to the Ming Dynasty and loyalty to the emperor. Whoever is the emperor is loyal to whom! You can win over a powerful eunuch, but you can't win over the entire Silijian.
Even though Luo Sanhe did not treat the Fourth Prince with the same respect and courtesy as the Third Prince, out of respect for the royal family, it was impossible for him to think of Zhang Shou's method of making the Fourth Prince accept him.
After hesitating for a while, he said with some embarrassment: "But, when I was in the Imperial Household Department, the Fourth Prince probably didn't recognize me. But since Eunuch Chu recommended me to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he has recognized me..."
"I've discovered that the Fourth Prince is very good at recognizing faces. He will never forget anyone he has met."
Unexpectedly, Luo Sanhe could actually notice such a good point of the naughty kid. Zhang Shou was slightly startled, then said with a smile: "That's OK, as long as you ignore him and go to your own class. When you're done, come back to my hall and ignore him. In this way, he will be curious about your purpose and come to you to ask."
Seeing Luo Sanhe's face full of doubt, he almost said "I don't believe it", Zhang Shou said with a half-smile: "Of course, there is a premise, that is, your lectures can attract him. If you just read from the book, it's no different from most teachers on weekdays, then you'd better save your energy and go back to be Zheng Yan's follower."
Although he seemed to be a straightforward and somewhat extreme person, Luo Sanhe was only a teenager after all. He had obviously received the Silijian education together with others since he was a child, but he didn't know what deviation had occurred in it, which led to the sudden change. Therefore, even though he almost fell heavily in front of Chu Kuan because of his rash suggestions, he could not stand provocation at all.
So, almost without thinking, he said angrily: "How can you know if you haven't tried it!"
"Okay then, I'll have someone take you there now."
Zhang Shou had an attitude of waiting for the best day to attend the event. Seeing Luo Sanhe was stunned, he said slowly, "The progress of the intermediate class is very simple. I will tell you later. As long as you complete the required homework, you can talk about anything you want in the remaining time, provided that the students don't object."
"Of course, other students would have no objection. They wished that the teacher was knowledgeable and could tell them more things they had never heard of. But the Fourth Prince is different. You should know that he is a smart kid with a lot of experience. He has learned a lot of things from the Emperor and other people. Of course, I also taught him some things."
You have taught more than just some things, you have taught a lot of things that others cannot possibly teach!
Luo Sanhe glanced at Zhang Shou with hatred. At this moment, he no longer had the righteousness he had when he had kindly reminded Mr. Zhang - even though he vaguely felt that he and Chu Kuan were not in cahoots with each other, he had already realized that this upright gentleman whom he respected so much in the past was actually not worthy of the word gentleman at all.
Because a gentleman would never come up with that kind of idea, let alone flatter a eunuch like Chu Kuan who has ulterior motives!
In the afternoon, when the Fourth Prince and Peanut Xiao Cheng, who were sitting at the end of the intermediate class, were mumbling about their talent selection plan and speculating when Zhang Shou was going to take them out of the capital, Peanut suddenly whispered, "We have only been conducting preliminary experimental investigations in the capital these days, but what if Zhang Chen, who seems to be slacking off, is actually sneaking around?"
"Will he send the servants of Duke Qin's Mansion to Tongzhou to secretly investigate and then catch us off guard?"
The fourth prince snorted and said nonchalantly, "Those children from wealthy families are well-known, so we can ask around. But how can we find out about those children from poor families? We have been wandering around these past few days and have found out everything. Who cares if you are smart or have a photographic memory... What matters is strength and the ability to make money! How much is talent worth? Can it be eaten?"
He said irritably, "It's already this late, is it necessary for me to attend the class here? After our fight with Zhang Chen is over, I can take classes here for as long as I want! How can the teacher be so inflexible that he has to drag the three of us back here!"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Cheng seriously retorted: "We have skipped classes for three days. If we don't come again, aren't you afraid that Brother Zhang will kick us out?"
As soon as these words came out, the Fourth Prince was like a wilted dish. If Zhang Shou drove him out, he would really have to return to the palace in disgrace. Compared with this, continuing to study here, even if it was content that he had completely mastered and had no need to learn again, was not unacceptable.
At worst, he can just concentrate on writing the investigation report during class and communicate with other students after class?
However, the fourth prince was concentrating on thinking about how to improve his investigation report, and it would be best if he could send it to his third brother to have a look, and then ask for some money - after all, he was very worried that Zhang Chen would spend money to clear the way, and then he would be finished. Although he was a prince, he really didn't have much private money, how could he compare to Zhang Chen's style of spending money lavishly!
"Hey, did you change your teacher today?"
The Fourth Prince, who was working hard, didn't pay much attention to this sudden exclamation. Anyway, even if the teacher changed, it would not affect him - it was not because people didn't know he was the son of a dragon and the grandson of a phoenix, so they looked at him differently, but the things he was learning now were like playing to him, no problem at all.
Besides, apart from some enlightened scholars invited by Liu Zhiyuan and Lu Wan, most of the substitute teachers in the public school were students from Jiuzhang Hall and Banshan Hall. Which of these people would not know him? As long as he didn't make trouble, no one would do anything to him because he did something else during class.
Thus, while the Fourth Prince was busy with his studies, the class started very calmly. Hearing that the person giving the lecture seemed very young, the Fourth Prince did not take it seriously. It was not until a long time had passed that he suddenly realized that the content of the lecture was not the Four Books and Five Classics, but some subtle contents, that he suddenly woke up.
"If the people are rich, they cannot be controlled by salaries; if they are poor, they cannot be controlled by punishment. If laws and regulations are not enforced, the people will not be governed, because the rich and the poor are not equal."
"This sentence in Guanzi means that if a person is too rich, then you cannot use profit and fame, that is, money, to drive him. And if a person is too poor, then you cannot use punishment to deter him. Therefore, laws cannot be implemented and the people cannot be governed because the gap between the rich and the poor is too large."
"Why is it so? Because those who are too rich do not care about the rewards or compensation from the court; and those who are too poor, since they can't even fill their stomachs and are dying at any time, why would they care about the so-called punishment? Therefore, once the gap between the rich and the poor is too big, the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor, it is the root cause of disasters. The root cause of the chaos in the late Han Dynasty is actually the same ."
The Fourth Prince stared in amazement as the other party calmly analyzed the land annexation in the late Han Dynasty and the monopoly of resources by the nobles, which resulted in the inability of common people to eat enough. Some commoner landlords whose political future was suppressed saw no future and eventually took a desperate step and joined the Yellow Turban Army, which was about to sweep the world. He put down his pen unknowingly.
It was not because the other party spoke well, but because this view seemed familiar - he remembered very clearly that his father had said the same thing before! And his father told him very frankly that this was not his original idea, but that Emperor Taizu had said the same thing.
After taking such a look, the Fourth Prince discovered that the young man giving the lecture on the stage was about fifteen or sixteen years old, younger than most of the students in Jiuzhang Hall and Banshan Hall. Most importantly, he seemed to have seen this person before!
Isn’t that just a eunuch serving in the Qianqing Palace?
The Third Prince was feeling both surprised and angry, but he only saw the young eunuch whose face he remembered but whose name he forgot said calmly: "The world is peaceful now, but it is no longer like when the country was founded and land was distributed throughout the country, so the gap between the rich and the poor has become very large. I think you are sitting here to change your future destiny. Then study hard and don't disappoint the earnest hopes of the teachers in the public school."
"If you have the chance to change your destiny, you must seize it. Don't waste your time like those noble children who don't know how to appreciate their blessings!"
