Chapter 65: True Gold Afraid of Fire
Zhu Hao and the other two came to the school yard.
Zhu San was late, so the three children sat down and fiddled with the things in their hands. Just then, footsteps were heard outside, and it turned out that Zhu San and Zhu Si appeared at the door together.
"Hey, Zhu Hao, look who I brought here?" Zhu San said happily.
Zhu Si was also very excited. He ran over to Zhu Hao with a smile on his face.
At this age, Zhu Si still does not know the value of friendship, but he knows that Zhu Hao rescued him from the fire. In addition, Zhu Hao had rescued people from the pool of water before and saved his life twice at the critical moment of life and death. He has an indelible impression in his heart and feels unconsciously close to Zhu Hao.
"Why are you here? Where is Mr. Sui?"
Zhu Hao looked out the window and found Lu Song standing in the yard with two guards... With Zhu Si's arrival, the school's alert level increased.
One can tell at a glance the difference in status between Zhu San and Zhu Si in Prince Xing's Mansion.
Zhu San said, "Mr. Sui has something to do, so I'm afraid he can't come... Now he is no longer in the palace, and Xiao Si doesn't have a teacher to teach him, so I asked Mr. Yuan to let him study with us, and Mr. Yuan agreed."
Would Yuan Zonggao agree to let Zhu Houcong take the risk of leaving the inner court?
Zhu Hao started to think about it.
Is this a conspiracy?
Or has Yuan Zonggao changed his personality?
"Zhu Hao, I heard that you taught my third brother and the results were very good. I also want to listen to your lectures!"
Zhu Si has a simple mind and looks at Zhu Hao with admiration.
When his father tested him yesterday, his sister definitely beat him. When he turned around and asked about it, he found out that it was Zhu Hao's credit. Of course, he didn't want to be looked down upon, so he wanted to come and listen to Zhu Hao's lecture in person.
At the same time, Zhu Si also found this very interesting. After all, Zhu Hao was the same age as him. This was very much like a child playing house, with Zhu Hao playing the role of a teacher and he himself being a student.
Zhu Hao's eyes fell on Lu Song outside the house.
At this time, Lu Song was standing behind the window, looking at him with a vigilant look.
"Lu Dianzhang, do you want to come in and attend the class together?"
Zhu Hao spoke to Lu Song in a targeted manner.
Lu Song suddenly realized that his presence would interfere with the children's studies. If Zhu Hao instigated the prince to sue him, he might not end up well. So he quickly led his men to retreat to the gate of the courtyard and stood guard at the door to prevent any accidents.
Zhu Hao asked Zhu San: "When you came here, did Mr. Yuan tell you anything?"
Zhu San asked in confusion: "What did you tell us? Oh, right... Mr. Yuan seemed to say that we can no longer eat the food you gave us, and if you want to take us out of the yard, we can't follow you. Let Lu Dianzhang help watch over us..."
really.
Yuan Zonggao was not unprepared.
This was because they were afraid that Zhu Hao would poison Zhu Houcong.
Zhu Hao thought, if they are worried about me, why bother letting Zhu Houcong come to meet me? However, the attitude of the palace finally softened, and the vigilance against me was not as strong as at the beginning.
"Okay, today we will continue to talk about the Zi Zhang chapter of The Analects of Confucius..." Zhu Hao said.
Zhu San blinked and interrupted, "Shouldn't we be talking about Mencius?"
Jinghong felt strange. He was curious about Zhu Si's identity, after all, today was the first time he met Zhu Houcong. He was also surprised why Zhu Hao wanted to talk about something he had already talked about before.
Zhu Hao said, "Zhu Si was away a few days ago, so I was specifically talking to him today... For you, it's like reviewing the old to learn something new. If I talk about something new every day, can you remember it all?"
Zhu San stuck out her tongue. She brought her brother here today to see Zhu Hao's teaching level. Since Zhu Hao was going to teach, and what he was going to teach was something he had already learned, it was something she wanted after thinking about it carefully. If I could show off what I knew, why not do it?
…
…
The lecture begins.
What Zhu Hao said this time went a step deeper than what Xiang Jinghong and Zhu San had said before. Not only did he use the meaning of the annotations in "The Analects of Confucius", he also extended them to other sentences in the Four Books and formed connections between them.
"...Confucius emphasized teaching and establishing the Confucian orthodoxy, while Mencius focused on promoting benevolence, righteousness, and goodness, and emphasized governing the country and maintaining peace. Therefore, it is very important for you to understand the Analects and Mencius. Next, let's talk about the Yao Yu chapter..."
Zhu Hao stood on the podium, looking like a real gentleman.
Jing Hong, who had always been arrogant, stared at Zhu Hao and listened attentively. Zhu San, on the other hand, hung his head. Like Lu Bing, he did not have much enthusiasm for learning and yawned from time to time with his hands covering his mouth.
Zhu Size was amazed at Zhu Hao's profound knowledge. He listened attentively, nodding his little head from time to time with a look of sudden enlightenment.
"…'Weigh carefully, examine laws and regulations, and reform and abolish officials'. This means that we need to establish a set of effective systems. Whether it is weights and measures, laws and regulations, or the system of appointment and dismissal of officials, they are all for the purpose of having laws to follow. Otherwise, people will be 'at a loss'. Only under the system can society have order and 'government in all directions can be implemented'..."
After Zhu Hao finished speaking, Zhu Si couldn't help but look at Zhu San and whispered, "Third brother, no wonder you can answer fluently in front of our father. I understood what Zhu Hao said in one go."
Zhu San was just about to show off when suddenly a figure flashed out from the door. He looked over in surprise and found it was Yuan Zonggao, the chief secretary of the palace. He immediately fell silent and dared not comment.
Zhu Hao was about to go over to pay his respects, but Yuan Zonggao smiled and waved his hand: "Zhu Hao, you speak very well, keep going, I will just listen from the side."
It turned out that Yuan Zonggao had arrived earlier and was hiding behind the door and eavesdropping.
Otherwise, how can one say he is cunning and sly?
The fact that Zhu Si came here today with nothing to do was fake, and the real reason was that he acted as bait. The fisherman Yuan Zonggao was eavesdropping on Zhu Hao's lecture in the back to verify whether what Zhu San said was true.
He wanted to know, could the disciples trained by Tang Yin really teach at the age of seven?
…
…
Before this, Zhu Hao did not know that Yuan Zonggao was there, so he had no scruples about what he said. He could comment on Confucian classics at will, and even let several students engage in imagination and discussion, and study in depth from a dialectical perspective.
But since Yuan Zonggao is here, some things are not convenient to say.
To put it poorly is to question the words of the saints.
"...If you don't know the will of heaven, you can't become a gentleman. If you don't know propriety, you can't conduct yourself in the world. If you don't know how to distinguish other people's words, you can't understand others... The three requirements for a gentleman to conduct himself and deal with things, namely 'knowing the will of heaven', 'knowing propriety', and 'knowing words', show that there is a high expectation for the formation of a gentleman with an ideal personality, and it is hoped that there will be qualified gentlemen to manage their families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world..."
Zhu Hao finished explaining the remaining content of the last chapter of "The Analects of Confucius", "Yao said". His explanation was relatively conventional, but seeing Yuan Zonggao's smiling face, he seemed to be in a good mood.
"Okay, you guys continue studying. I have other things to do, so I won't accompany you any longer."
Yuan Zonggao did not comment and turned away.
As soon as Yuan Zonggao left, Zhu San and Zhu Si felt relieved.
Zhu Hao stopped lecturing and signaled everyone to move freely, as it was now break time.
"It's really interesting that Mr. Yuan came to listen to Mr. Zhu's lecture."
Zhu San said with a smile.
When Jing Hong entered the palace, he was examined by Yuan Zonggao. He knew from his father that Yuan Zonggao was very knowledgeable and had a high status in the palace, so he quickly asked, "Why did Yuan Changshi come here today?"
Zhu San said, "Of course he is worried about Xiao Si's studies. He is afraid that I brought him here just for fun, so he came to see me. Don't make a fuss... Zhu Hao, what you just said is different from before. Did you deliberately speak in more depth because you saw my fourth brother here? Did you keep some secrets from us before?"
Lian Jinghong also looked at Zhu Hao with a puzzled look.
Zhu Hao said seriously, "Learning should always start from the simplest to the most complex. If you want to learn to run or even fly before you have even learned to walk, you are missing the point... The imperial examinations in the future will involve these Confucian classics. You must study them repeatedly, and of course, you must go deeper and deeper each time."
"Hehe." Zhu San just laughed.
Jinghong was shocked when he heard this.
Hey man, are you showing off?
The level of performance you demonstrated before has already made me look up to you, and now it has gone even deeper... From what you said, you will have more profound things to teach us in the future. You are not just flying to the sky, you have become a god.
"Okay, now that the gentleman has left, let's go out and play." Zhu San suggested.
Zhu Si originally wanted to study it in depth, but when he heard Zhu San's suggestion, his eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly: "Okay...Okay!"
A seven-year-old child will of course want to play without supervision.
Even Jinghong didn't object this time.
To Jinghong, studying is meaningless. If you guys want to play, I'll go too. Anyway, no matter how much I study, I can't be as good as Zhu Hao. So who cares? Just destroy it, quickly.
…
…
This time when Zhu San came, he specially brought a Cuju.
Several people came to the yard to play together.
Zhu Hao rewrote the rules, which are probably the rules of later football, with the number of goals used as the criterion for victory or defeat.
Once Cuju has a winner and a loser, children will become competitive and play it more freely and happily.
"Zhu Hao and I will be in a group, Xiao Si, you will be in a group with Xiao Jingzi..." Zhu San immediately decided on the grouping.
Lu Bing asked stupidly, "What about me?"
"you?"
Zhu San glanced at him and said, "You are small, I will knock you down in one go, just stand by and watch."
Lu Bing looked aggrieved.
You guys play and let me watch?
Lu Bing couldn't help but glance at his father standing at the gate of the courtyard, but Lu Song's job was to make sure nothing happened to Zhu Si, so how could he care about what grievances his son had suffered?
Zhu Hao said, "Let Lu Bing be the substitute. If anyone gets tired, they can go back and rest, and Lu Bing can come up and play... He can also be the referee."
When Lu Bing heard that he could participate, he asked eagerly, "What is a referee?"
"Just watch the two teams to see if anyone commits a foul. You cannot use your hands when playing Cuju, and you cannot kick people. If anyone breaks the rules, it's a foul, and the other team gets to play Cuju." Zhu Hao talked about the simplest rules, but to the kids they sounded like the truth of life.
So this is how Cuju can be played?
Zhu Hao picked up the Cuju and squeezed it, sighing, "It's a pity it's not a leather ball. I'll make one later. It will be more flexible in bouncing and rolling."
Zhu Si's eyes sparkled: "What is a ball?"
Obviously, he is the one who likes Cuju the most.
"It's a round ball made of leather, but it needs a core. I will find a way to make one by inflating a sheep bladder," Zhu Hao explained.
Zhu Si continued to ask: "What is a sheep bladder?"
Zhu Hao said: "It is the urinary bladder of a sheep."
Zhu Sanzei smiled and pinched his nose deliberately, saying, "It's the place in the sheep's stomach where urine is stored. It's so dirty."
Zhu Si didn't care: "As long as we can make a ball, it doesn't matter if it's dirty or not."
He doesn't care about anything just for fun.
"Okay, let's get started."
…
…
The Cuju game begins.
The rules were simple, with both sides attacking and defending each other. Although there were two boys on the opposite side and a boy and a girl on this side, Zhu Hao scored several goals successfully with his flexible positioning and overall view, making Jing Hong and Zhu Si exhausted.
"Okay, okay, okay!"
At this moment, Lu Bing forgot that his job was to be a referee, and he just cheered on the sidelines like a cheerleader.
Jinghong felt very depressed.
It’s bad enough that he can’t compare to Zhu Hao in mental work, but now he can’t compare to him in physical work either?
I am one year older than Zhu Hao!
No, I must win.
With this mentality, he became more and more impatient as the game went on, leaving an empty goal for Zhu Hao to score again.
"Wow! It's in again! Six to one, can you do it?" Zhu San was both excited for the victory and proud of his excellent vision in selecting teammates.
At this moment, Zhu Hao suddenly stopped because he saw Yuan Zonggao coming back.
Zhu San and Zhu Si also stopped immediately, fearing that they would be fined.
Yuan Zonggao said with a smile: "You guys continue playing, Zhu Hao, come out for a moment."
