Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 768 Grandmaster, please help
When Zhang Shou came back with the boy who called himself Liang Chu, he found that everyone's eyes were on the two of them as soon as they entered the study. He realized the next moment that people were not looking at him, but at the boy who was two years younger than him. He was confused.
Is there something he doesn't know?
That’s right, in the conversation just now in front of the purification room—although he thought the location of this conversation was very strange—he had already gotten a lot of information out of Liang Chu, including that there were four brothers in his family, that he would only be sixteen years old after the twelfth lunar month, which would be the first lunar month of next year, and that he had only been a student of Chen Xianzhang for a year, because the famous Mr. Baisha had only been back home for this short time…
But Liang Chu's words did not seem to give these old men who relied on their age to bully others a reason to pay attention to this young man. Thinking of this, he changed his mind and soon realized that this young man who seemed to be talkative, had a somewhat erratic personality and lacked patience was not completely cunning. He seemed to be talking to everyone just now, but in fact he was hiding something.
Sure enough, the next moment, he heard Ge Yong smiling and greeting him, "Young friend Shuhou, are you back? I just told everyone that you passed the imperial examination at a young age, and you are so handsome and heroic. It's a pity that your teacher doesn't plan to take the exam this year, otherwise this teacher and student taking the exam would be a good story!"
Zhang Shou knew how difficult it was to pass the imperial examinations these days. Even though he had one, two, three, or four juren living in his house, it was because of his current status that he could associate with all the common people. Otherwise, look at the group of students in the public school, look at the eldest brother of the fourth prince and the classmate that Xiao Cheng knew, he was much older than Liang Chu, but he was just planning to take the county exam...
Forget about being a scholar. A scholar who fails to pass the county examination cannot even be considered a student...
Therefore, he could not help but turn around and look at Liang Chu for a few more times, then he laughed: "Brother Liang, you just said a lot, but you forgot to tell me that you are the candidate for this year's exam. Isn't that too modest?"
"Perhaps it's not humility, but he is afraid to talk about fame in front of Master Zhang, which would only cause displeasure." An old scholar at the side suddenly interrupted, and as soon as he said it, he realized that his words directly offended Zhang Shou and Liang Chu. However, just as he was about to make amends, Zhang Shou had already slowly opened his mouth.
"I was a late learner, and I don't even have a basic understanding of classics and history. So when I was lecturing to students at Banshan Hall, I couldn't talk about the history in a continuous manner according to the changes of dynasties. I could only pick out some fragments that I was familiar with. Therefore, I don't expect to achieve fame in this life, but I still admire young talents like Brother Liang."
At this point, Zhang Shou smiled at Liang Chu, nodded slightly and said, "Brother Liang and I just got acquainted. Before, he always avoided talking about himself in public, but talked about how his teacher was knowledgeable and humble, filial and friendly, and proficient in the art of playing the zither. After listening to him, I couldn't help but admire Mr. Baisha even more."
Chen Xianzhang's mood had just been up and down, and when he heard Zhang Shou praising him with Liang Chu's words, he could hardly believe his ears. Even if he had some fame in the past, it was only a small reputation. In the end, Ge Yong knew about it, and Zhang Shou also knew about it?
You know, the reason he came to the capital this time was because the former chief academician of the Imperial College, who was quite famous in the court, recommended him to the court. He was grateful to the other party for repeatedly writing to invite him, so he had to come.
Even if the court might only give him an insignificant clerk position in the future due to such a recommendation, he would do his best because of the sincerity of his predecessor and work for at least three years before returning home.
But who would have thought that Liang Chu, who had only taken the provincial examination in July and August as a test, actually passed the exam. So he insisted on sending him to see the imperial examination and to send his teacher to Beijing. As soon as he arrived, he received a wedding invitation from Zhang Shou, which was endorsed by both Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan. So he had no choice but to take Liang Chu to Zhang Garden.
As a result, he and his disciples became the guests of honor at the Ge Mansion today. All of this was far beyond his expectations. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally went to Zhang Shou's wedding banquet. Even though he had not yet agreed to give lectures at the public school, the original lecture at the Imperial College was rejected by the current head of the Imperial College, Zhou Jijiu.
Even though Zhou Jijiu's reasons seemed to be sufficient, Chen Xianzhang knew better that this must be due to the old grudge between Zhang Shou and the Imperial College. He had no complaints about this, because the scholars who really studied were not in the capital anyway. But if what happened today was spread by these people, there would be more rumors. So he sighed in his heart and then bowed.
"I am just a scholar, I don't deserve the word of respect from Master Zhang. Today, Master Ge invited me, I am also very honored. Shuhou is young, this exam is just to broaden his horizons, he doesn't have much hope. But..." He suddenly changed the topic, but said calmly, "But even if you waste your whole life in the imperial examination, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will achieve nothing."
"My teacher, Mr. Kang Zhai, who founded the Chongren School, never took the imperial examination in his life. And I also failed the first imperial examination in the past, and then I went to become his disciple. In terms of fame, he is just a commoner, while I am a juren. But let alone me, how many jinshis have the courtesy of being his disciples , and how many people can look down on him by relying on fame and official positions?"
At this point, Chen Xianzhang looked at his favorite disciple who had sent him to the capital, and said earnestly: "Shuhou, the pursuit of knowledge and the investigation of things are all in one source. Don't let the prosperity of the capital dazzle you!"
Zhang Shou could tell that these words were obviously ambiguous. They were not only a warning to Liang Chu, but also a message to others that he was not interested in fame or even fame. So if the teacher and student encountered any kind of tricks in the capital, the worst that could happen was that they would just walk away and return home calmly. Not taking the imperial examinations in this life would not necessarily tarnish their reputation.
Sure enough, he saw the old man who had been so aggressive just now suddenly looked very unhappy. The others were also exchanging glances in twos and threes.
He originally thought that this was because of Chen Xianzhang's witty words, but he didn't expect Ge Yong to suddenly laugh: "Shi Zhai, speaking of Wu Kangzhai, he is really famous throughout the world. When I went to Chongren in my early years, I went to see him specially. In recent years, he has stayed indoors and concentrated on teaching his disciples. He is not only a model of teacher, but also..."
As if looking for a suitable adjective, Ge Yong thought for a long time before he said word by word: "And he is the Grand Master of Confucianism. I won't say the word Grand Master now, someone will give it to him in the future. Shi Zhai, you too, I have heard of the name of Mr. Baisha of Guangdong for a long time."
Most of the other old men looked at the provocateur with subtle eyes at this moment, and some even snorted with glee.
You are dumbfounded now, right? You originally thought he was just a young junior, but he ended up hitting a wall. This is a typical case of bringing trouble upon oneself.
Why did they have to provoke Chen Shizhai, who seemed to have a peaceful personality at first glance? I didn't expect that he was from the Chongren School, right? Do you really think that the Chongren School members are vegetarians?
Chen Xianzhang's teacher, Kang Zhai, founded the Chongren School, which was known for its many students, but most of his students did not take the imperial examinations and were determined not to become officials, so at first glance, it seemed like a folk school with no influence in the officialdom. But the problem is that year after year, they have a lot of students and disciples, so it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the first school.
Moreover, in this day and age, who can focus on learning and not care about fame and fortune? First of all, the qualifications must be top-notch to be able to make such a choice. Secondly, the family must be at least well-off. Don’t listen to the people outside who often say that someone studied hard for decades, lived in poverty, and died without good clothes, and couldn’t afford a decent coffin for burial, which is very sad...
How many so-called poor scholars have you seen who are so poor that they can farm the land themselves without having a tenant or a farmhand?
As for not being able to find good clothes to bury when dying, or not being able to afford a decent coffin… that’s normal, because in this era, the time from illness to death is the most expensive, just like the time when people fall ill in their later years! A well-off family could lose everything because of an illness, so isn’t it normal for a scholar to spend all his wealth when he dies of illness?
Is it really necessary to worry about the burial? All those students and disciples were taught in vain? All those classmates were met in vain? A funeral with all the wise men gathered together might be enough to benefit the descendants for a long time.
So, such a school is led by Wu Kangzhai, who is personally recognized by Ge Yong as the master of Confucianism. A group of core disciples with wealthy families and top knowledge continue to recruit disciples in various places after graduation. Many of these third-generation disciples are top-notch qualified and many have family backgrounds in Confucianism... The most important thing is that most people from top to bottom have impeccable moral character. How can you mess with them?
It’s a pity that they were led astray by Ge Yong’s introduction before. After all, the three words Chen Shizhai are not that famous...but the three words Chen Baisha are very famous!
Seeing that the old man who was causing trouble was feeling very uncomfortable and unnatural under the gazes of others, as if he was trying to find an excuse to slip away, Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh in his heart. It was like this in every era. When a large group of people were together, some people would just like to pick on the weak, but once they found they had hit a wall, they would immediately become cowardly.
He originally thought that Chen Liang and his student were very interesting, but now that he found out that they were a pair of great people, he had no intention of adding icing on the cake - could he show off his skills in front of them and talk nonsense about Wang Yangming's doctrine? What a joke, even if he recited the complete works of Wang Yangming, he could not pretend to be the saint praised by many people.
Moreover, he had no intention of winning over Chen Xianzhang and his student... The younger one should study hard for the imperial examination and become an official in the future, and the older one should go back to continue teaching and have many students all over the world. Things like psychology require only aptitude and character, and those students from the public school who are truly grassroots, unless they are really lucky enough to come across one or two outstanding prodigies from poor backgrounds, the rest can just forget about it.
Therefore, seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Zhang Shou pretended to be dead and did not say anything this time. Liang Chu, who had just run away to pee, was also as obedient as a quail. He was very clear that it was his words and actions that caused this dispute. He knew that he would definitely be punished by the teacher when he returned, so he dared not show up.
He didn't say anything. Facing Ge Yong's compliments, Chen Xianzhang had to smile bitterly and humbly decline. Just when the old man, who was sitting on pins and needles, was probably thinking about whether to pretend to be exhausted and leave, a voice suddenly came from outside.
"Old Master Ge, can my young master spare some time right now? Someone close to the second son of Duke Zhao's mansion came to report urgently that the second son had a fight with someone. They didn't dare to report to Duke Zhao and the eldest son, nor did they dare to go to find the eldest daughter. After thinking it over, they could only come to the Ge mansion to find the young master."
When others heard this, they only took the literal meaning and thought that it was the famous playboy Zhu Er of the Duke of Zhao's mansion, Zhang Shou's second brother-in-law, who had caused trouble and needed Zhang Shou to clean it up. However, how could Ge Yong not know what the current situation of Zhu Er, who could barely be considered his disciple, was like?
How could they be so irrational and uncalm when they were about to get married? The most important thing was…when did Ah Liu become so talkative and talk so much at once? There was definitely something wrong!
In order to find trouble and make Zhu Er lose his reputation in front of the old people for no reason, Ge Yong asked slowly, "Hasn't Zhu Erlang turned over a new leaf? Why would he fight with others for no reason?"
Facing the questioning of Grand Tutor Ge, Ah Liu answered slowly. But Zhang Shou, who knew him well, could hear that he was urgently organizing his words: "Second Master happened to find two senior scholars who had written agricultural books. Unexpectedly, after he went to them, he found that they were old scholars in their 50s who were being ridiculed by a few young and energetic juniors. He got angry and started fighting."
At this point, Ah Liu paused, and then said in a heavy voice: "What was the result? The people who came to see the young master didn't have time to see it, but it was probably a big deal, so they asked the young master to go and help."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead. His first feeling was that Zhu Ying understood what he meant, so she designed this to let him get away. His second feeling was - is this true or false? If it's true, it's just a coincidence, and it's too big a fuss, but if it's false... How can Zhu Er explain it when he turns around?
Secretly hoping that this was true, Zhang Shou stood up and bowed to Ge Yong: "Teacher, I can't sit idly by while Zhu Erlang is doing this. Can you allow me to leave first?"
I thought I didn't know your scheming... There's nothing fishy about this, my name Ge is written backwards! Ge Yong glared at Zhang Shou unhappily, but facing the sincere look of his last disciple, he still had to say unhappily: "He is also my disciple, you can go if you want, but remember to scold him for me when you see him, a gentleman should use words instead of fists, he can't help it!"
But at this point, Grand Tutor Ge suddenly changed the subject: "The new scholar looks down on the old seniors, what a hell of a trend!"
As soon as the voice fell, Liang Chu, who had been very well-behaved just now, immediately jumped up: "There is such a thing, Master Zhang, I will go too!"
