Before the Zhou Dynasty, "primary school" was used to refer to primary schools for aristocrats; during the Zhou Dynasty, the teaching of the six arts of etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics was called primary school; by the Han Dynasty, primary school specifically referred to the study of texts.
Yingtian Primary School continued to use the meaning of the name before the Zhou Dynasty and served as an education for the "noble" children under Zhu Yuanzhang. Chen Biao became famous again.
It was rumored that Chen Biao was gifted with wisdom by an immortal, and was extremely precocious. Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son also traveled with the immortal to study, and therefore remained hidden from the public. Chen Biao was Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son's senior apprentice.
But among the literati and gentry, they laughed at Zhu Yuanzhang for misleading the young people.
I've heard that some accomplished scholars in eastern Zhejiang have defected to Zhu Yuanzhang. Logically, the task of educating the next generation of generals should fall to these scholars. Even if they don't want to take on such a trivial task, any scholar or old scholar could be found to educate these children.
What was wrong with Zhu Yuanzhang's brain that he actually let a child who was not even a toddler be his teacher?
Liu Ji and Zhang Yi, two of the Four Masters of East Zhejiang, also wrote letters to inquire about this matter.
The four gentlemen of eastern Zhejiang were close friends. Song Lian and Ye Chen had ventured into the most dangerous place, risking their lives to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang. They were all very worried after hearing nothing for a long time.
I heard that Song Lian went to Yangzhou to cultivate land, but he didn't seem to be valued.
Although Ye Chen stayed in Yingtian Prefecture, he did not do anything and was often seen wandering around the fields.
They all thought that Song Lian and Ye Chen were treated coldly by Zhu Yuanzhang, and they couldn't help feeling disheartened.
Now they heard that Zhu Yuanzhang did not appoint his friend as a primary school teacher but a child, and they were very angry.
The land distribution in Yangzhou came to a temporary end. Zhu Yuanzhang gave Song Lian and Ye Zheng large houses in both Yangzhou and Yingtian, and they decided to spend the New Year in Yingtian.
Ye Zheng's relatives were already living with him, and Song Lian and others were planning to bring their own relatives over when they received letters from Liu Ji and Zhang Yi.
Song Lian and Ye Chen looked at each other, slapped their foreheads, and laughed awkwardly: " Ah, I actually forgot about Liu Bowen and Zhang Sanyi."
Wang Xi asked curiously, "Let me see what they wrote. Eh? Are we not trusted by the Lord?"
Ye Zheng had no intention of joining in the fun of these scholars from eastern Zhejiang. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but say, "This is a huge misunderstanding."
Wang Xi laughed and said, "Yes, my lord, you trust us too much. I even think you are stupid."
Song Lian glanced at his junior brother and said, "How dare you call the master stupid in front of him?"
Wang Xi raised his eyebrows and said, "As long as the lord holds Biao'er, I will definitely dare to say it to his face."
Song Lian said, "How come you're regressing as you get older? Listen to what you're saying, you sound like a child."
Wang Xi laughed and said, "I'm not kidding. How about I try it now?"
Although Song Lian learned of Chen Biao's identity early on, Zhu Yuanzhang had returned to Yingtian soon after, and he didn't spend much time with both Chen Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "My lord, are you particularly approachable when you're with Biao?"
Wang Xi said, "My lord, that can no longer be called approachable."
Ye Chen continued, "He's become a completely different person. You'll know once you get to know him more."
For fear that the two would be frightened later, Wang Xi and Ye Chen recounted their daily interactions with Zhu Yuanzhang during this period in detail.
What kind of lord complained about Zhu Yuanzhang with Chen Biao everyday, as if their souls were split apart? What kind of lord would summon them one moment to come up with ideas on how to improve Chen Biao's impression of Zhu Yuanzhang, and the next moment summon them to come up with ideas on how to make Chen Guorui better than Zhu Yuanzhang? What kind of lord would take them to Chen's house to feast, and when they got drunk, he would hold Chen Biao on his neck and run around...
Wang Xi: "When Biao'er is with you, the Lord is a very interesting person in private."
Ye Chen: "Li Baishi said that when the lord was Chen Guorui, they dared to open their hearts to the lord. But when the lord returned to the identity of Zhu Yuanzhang, they would speak much more cautiously."
Ye Zheng recalled what he had seen and heard that night when he stayed at the Chen family in Yangzhou, and sighed, "My lord is indeed a tyrant, but if Biao'er is around, he can control himself and become a wise ruler."
Song Lian seemed to be thinking about something.
Zhu Yuanzhang is an evil dragon, and Biaoer is the divine boy who can appease the evil dragon. Their identities match perfectly.
"Okay, let's not talk about Biaoer anymore. How are we going to reply?" Song Lian had a headache.
Liu Ji and Zhang Yi were both his best friends. Although he had deceived them a little, he had never thought of breaking off his friendship with his best friends.
Seeing their embarrassment, Ye Zheng enlightened them from an outsider's perspective: "Didn't you three say you were here to investigate the Lord's situation? Just tell the Lord the truth and say that everything is fine here and that you will continue to assist him. Aside from Biao'er's secret, there's nothing you can't tell him."
The three of them thought about it, nodded, and wrote a long letter together, asking the soldiers who were picking up the relatives to send it out together with the letters from home.
After receiving the letter, Liu Ji and Zhang Yi were both in disbelief.
Song Lian, Ye Chen and Wang Xi not only praised Zhu Yuanzhang and the well-field system, but also praised Chen Biao to the skies, saying that it was their recommendation that made Chen Biao a primary school teacher.
Liu Ji asked Zhang Yi, "Were they forced to write the letter?"
Zhang Yi pondered for a long time and said, "Based on my understanding of the three of them, especially Ye Chen and Wang Xi, they are both very strong and resolute. I'm afraid they won't be coerced."
Zhang Yi shook the letter and said, "Besides, if someone is forcing them, they can just write good things about Zhu Yuanzhang. How can a child really force them?"
Liu Ji frowned: "Well-field system... Well-field system..."
He took a deep breath and slammed the table: "I was actually deceived by them!"
Zhang Yi saw that Liu Ji was very angry and asked in confusion, "What did you cheat on? Who cheated you?"
Liu Ji gritted his teeth and said, "I was deceived by those three villains, Song Lian, Ye Chen, and Wang Xi!"
Zhang Yi's eyelids jumped when he heard Liu Ji actually addressing the three people by their names. Liu Ji was really furious.
But he still didn't understand: "How did they deceive you? Is this letter fake?"
Liu Ji slammed the table hard and sneered, "The letter is real. They finally have a change of heart, haha."
Zhang Yi was no fool. After hearing what Liu Ji said and considering the situation when the three people left, he vaguely grasped the key point: "You mean, they were really praising Zhu Yuanzhang and lying to you... Could it be that they said something to lie to you when they left that day?"
Liu Ji took a few deep breaths, then laughed in anger, "They said they were going to feed the tiger because of Zhu Yuanzhang's cruelty. It's really better than singing. I'm afraid these three guys were already attracted to Zhu Yuanzhang and rushed to join him!"
Zhang Yi stroked his beard and said, "Even if they admire Zhu Yuanzhang, why would they say these things to you?"
Liu Ji was so angry that he clenched his fists and paced back and forth several times, saying, "Because I am a disciple of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and because they are disciples of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism! They did go to test Zhu Yuanzhang, but they were not testing Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to become a wise ruler, but to test Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to overthrow Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism! If not, they will come back and become disciples of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. How despicable, how shameless!"
Zhang Yi was so frightened by Liu Ji that he almost tore his beard off: "Don't say such nonsense! How can you sully Zhu Xi's sacred teachings?"
Liu Ji sat back in his chair, guzzled a cup of tea, and chewed the tea leaves. "Zhu Xi's teachings have only been around for a hundred years, and they flourished during the Yuan Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, the most flourishing thing in eastern Zhejiang wasn't Zhu Xi's teachings! These guys, humph!"
Zhang Yi touched his chin, which was hurt by the pulling, and said with a grin, "Are these guys secretly learning the tricks of Lu Zuqian and Tang Zhongyou?!"
Liu Ji closed his eyes and suppressed the anger in his chest.
After a while, he opened his eyes and said calmly, "My dear friend entrusted his family to me. Now that it's freezing cold, their family wants to go to Yingtian, so I will naturally go and escort them personally."
Zhang Yi hesitated.
Liu Ji persuaded him, "Sanyi, don't hesitate. If I'm not mistaken, that little-known Ye Zheng might be a member of Ye Chen's clan and related to Mr. Shui Xin. If we don't go now, there might be no place for Zhu Xi's sage teachings in Zhu Yuanzhang's place! Do you want future scholars to only talk about achievements and not about their character, and to do things by any means necessary?!"
Zhang Yi was still hesitant. He had a prejudice against the Red Turban Army and was not very willing to join Zhu Yuanzhang. "They all focus on cultivating their minds and personalities . I'm afraid they won't..."
Liu Ji interrupted, "They lied to me not only to leave themselves a way out, but also to try to get to Zhu Yuanzhang before I did, so that Zhu Yuanzhang would rely on them more! When they did this, they were already pure members of the unscrupulous school of thought! Three benefits!"
Zhang Yi sighed deeply and said sadly, "Okay, I'll go with you!"
The two held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes. For the future of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, they had to fight with their former best friend!
After shedding tears, the two went home to pack their luggage.
Liu Ji: "Guan Zi, Shen Zi, Han Fei Zi... bring them all! Song Lian, Ye Chen, Wang Xi, you three bastards! If Zhu Yuanzhang is truly a wise ruler who embraces the wisdom of all schools, I will never let you go!"
Zhang Yi: "Son! Hurry up and pack your bags and go to Yingtian with Dad to implement the well-field system!"
The future of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism depends on us!
…
"A-choo." Wang Xi rubbed his nose. "Liu Bowen and Zhang Sanyi are definitely scolding me."
Zhu Yuanzhang flipped the roast chicken and asked, "Who are Liu Bowen and Zhang Sanyi?"
Wang Xi said, "They are Liu Ji and Zhang Yi, the other two of the Four Masters of Eastern Zhejiang. My senior brother and I have written letters asking them to come and surrender to the Lord. They should be arriving in a few days."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought of those two people: "They...will they come?"
Wang Xi smiled and said, "Of course I will come. But we might have a fight when we meet, so please don't laugh at us then, my lord."
Zhu Yuanzhang said sternly, "How can that be? I will definitely laugh at you!"
Song Lian listened to his junior brother and Zhu Yuanzhang's childish nonsense and couldn't help but say, "My Lord! Junior brother! Seriously!"
Wang Xi: "Okay, okay, yes, yes."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "What are you doing in private? Come, come, the roast chicken is ready, eat the roast chicken."
Song Lian took the roast chicken that his lord had personally baked with love, and his brows were furrowed.
He finally understood how kind his junior brother really was when he said, "My lord is very kind in private." Being kind is great, but my lord, please pay attention to your image!
Song Lian: "My Lord, you..."
He was about to continue persuading her when Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up and he interrupted, "Don't call me lord! Biao'er is here! Biao'er! Here, here! Daddy has already roasted the chicken for you! It's super tender!"
Chen Biao came over with a pile of books in his arms: "The reduplication of words is disgusting."
Song Lian quickly said, "Biao'er, don't talk about your father like that. If others hear you, they will think you are unfilial."
Zhu Yuanzhang immediately puffed his beard and glared: "Who dares to say that? I'll beat him to death!"
Song Lian: "..." Isn't this still a tyrant?
Zhu Yuanzhang went forward and said, "Biao'er, what are you holding? Daddy will help you hold it!"
Chen Biao said with a dull expression: "No need. This is the homework book of the bottom ten students."
He let go of his hands and all the homework books fell into the fire.
Chen Biao: “Waste utilization.”
Zhu Yuanzhang and others: "..."
Thank you for your hard work, Biaoer!