Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 122: First Lesson
The Banshan Hall, which was usually the most deserted place in the Imperial College, became lively from early in the morning that day.
Some students who almost never showed up in the past came here from all directions, either by car, on horseback, or in sedan chairs, and then whispered in twos and threes as they did in their previous small circles, and finally, after the door of Banshan Hall opened, they rushed in in a noisy manner.
When they found that there were names on each table, some people complained. But when they wanted to change seats, they found that the names were directly engraved on the table. They had to move the table to change seats. In addition, Zhang Chen, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu were wandering around like patrolling sea demons. The dandies had no choice but to sit down according to the seats and names.
When almost everyone was seated, two children who were obviously no more than seven or eight years old suddenly appeared at the door and looked around. Zhang Wu, who had sharp eyes, coughed lightly when he saw this and asked, "Are those the third and fourth princes at the door?"
His voice was neither loud nor soft, and soon, the huge Banshan Hall fell silent. It was not because the two young princes had much deterrent power, but because everyone was worried that the emperor had sent someone to escort them here, and they would be responsible for observing the performance of others. When they saw the two short guys still hesitating outside the door, someone couldn't help but sneer.
"The prince is here, but the master is not here yet. What a big deal... Ugh!"
The next moment, he saw a man suddenly come in between the two princes, and then he pulled one with each hand, and led the two little guys into the Banshan Hall gently but firmly.
After sending the two to the only two seats in the first row and asking them to sit down, the man who had bent over slightly when he led them in stood up straight. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a blue official uniform of a doctor of the Imperial College, with outstanding facial features. At this time, he smiled faintly, with clear eyes and eyebrows, and was handsome and amiable. At first glance, he seemed to be a gentle and easy-going person.
As people came to the center station, everyone understood that the person who came was Zhang Shou, who was known as the youngest doctor in the history of the Imperial College and who would keep them under strict control from now on!
"It looks like the seats are full. I'll call the roll, and ask the students who are called to stand up and introduce themselves to everyone. For example, my name is Zhang Shou, and I'm best at things related to numbers, and so on. Of course, if you feel that you have no strengths, it's okay to say something about your preferences. For example, I like horseback hunting the most, and that's fine too."
After Zhang Shou finished speaking, he ignored the whispers below, and even without looking through the roster, he casually called out, "Zhang Chen."
After noticing Zhang Shou coming in, Zhang Chen, who was sitting behind the third prince in the second row, immediately stood up. Of course, he was not afraid of introducing himself, and even turned around proudly to look at everyone, and then said word by word: "I am Zhang Chen, the eldest son of Duke Qin. I can only say that I am so-so at horse racing and archery, but I am absolutely good at beating people!"
He deliberately emphasized the word "beat him", so much so that the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, who grew up together, couldn't help but exchange glances and both decided that Zhang Chen was a dangerous person!
Zhang Wu, who was called by Zhang Shou next, spoke very gently: "I am Zhang Wu, the son of Nanyang Marquis. I don't have any special skills, but my meticulousness and patience are my strengths. Well, I like writing, and my calligraphy is pretty good."
"I am Zhang Lu, son of Marquis Huaiqing. I can get along with anyone. It's a pity that I was not born in the Spring and Autumn Period or the Warring States Period, otherwise I would definitely be a top strategist." Zhang Lu was much more boastful than Zhang Wu. He smiled and bowed to all directions, "Please take care of me in the future, classmates!"
With these three people as examples, and the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince still sitting in the front, when someone turned his head to look at the door, he also peeked that in addition to the guards standing there like stakes, there were other Imperial College officials who seemed to be observing, but they did not dare to be too presumptuous. They introduced themselves calmly and talked nonsense for a few words. After about two quarters of an hour, this scene ended.
Only then did Zhang Shou say with a smile, "Very good, please let the Third and Fourth Princes speak as well!"
The Third Prince was caught off guard when his name was suddenly mentioned. However, seeing Zhang Shou's gentle smile, he thought for a moment and finally stood up and said, "I am the Third Prince Zheng Rong. I am good at... um, painting! Father also praised me for my talent!"
The fourth prince probably answered even faster because he had his brother as a role model: "I am the fourth prince Zheng Yan. I am very good at chess. Father has even lost to me before!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room burst into laughter.
Everyone knew that the emperor was a bad chess player. Now, how could they not laugh when they heard that the emperor could even lose to his own son who was only seven or eight years old? But after laughing, the Banshan Hall fell into complete silence, because everyone thought of the consequences of laughing at the emperor... Isn't this courting death?
Seeing the fourth prince's face flushed with anger because of the laughter, Zhang Shou sighed inwardly that the emperor had no idea what was going on in his heart by leaving two tiny children with a group of half-grown teenagers. Moreover, the two princes did not seem to have the natural arrogance of a son of a dragon or a grandson of a phoenix, but rather some innocence and simplicity.
So, he smiled and praised, "At your age, if you can really beat the emperor, it shows that you are indeed talented in chess. Playing chess is about strategy, and strategy is about calculation. As long as you study hard in the Imperial Academy, maybe in the future, you will not only beat the emperor once or twice, but also become a great chess player."
The Fourth Prince's face lit up immediately, and he couldn't hide his joy at all. No trace of the anger he had just shown was left.
Zhang Shou smiled at the Third Prince and said, "If you have time in the future, you may bring the painting here so that we can appreciate it."
"Okay!" The third prince's eyes lit up immediately and he almost ran back to the palace to get his painting.
As two princes with a later seniority, they were not kept away from the emperor like most princes in history. Instead, they were called to the Qianqing Palace whenever they were free. The emperor would play chess with them or watch them paint and treated them very closely.
Moreover, one of their mothers died early, and the other mother was born in the common people, with a delicate and innocent temperament. The people around them were all carefully selected by the emperor himself, and they were immediately transferred away if they showed any signs of being immoral. Therefore, they were raised like common children, with a certain innocence. At that moment, they both felt that Zhang Shou was quite interesting.
However, Zhang Shou, whom they thought was quite interesting, then came up with something even more interesting.
"The Jiuzhang Hall has not been repaired yet, and the plaque inscribed by Taizu has not been hung up yet, but I think you have all heard of the case involving the plaque. Let's not talk about the right and wrong for now. As for how to judge whether the plaque is hollow, there is nothing much to say now that we cannot demonstrate it on the spot. However, I have used this to explain the principles of the world to several elders, and today I want to show you the same method."
As he said that, Zhang Shou poured a small bag of rice on the table and then inserted a chopstick into it. The chopstick shook twice and finally became unstable and fell on the table.
Seeing that most people looked puzzled, and some looked disdainful, he took out a porcelain cup, poured a handful of rice into it, inserted chopsticks into it, and pressed the rice. When it was almost full, he casually lifted the chopsticks, and the whole cup of rice was lifted up steadily. Faced with this scene, the other people reacted normally, but the third and fourth princes were immediately stunned.
"Who can tell me what this scene means?"
As soon as the voice fell, Zhang Wu was the first to stand up and speak loudly: "The teacher wants to teach us that if everyone works together, we can move mountains and seas and do anything!"
Uh... these days, liberal arts students have really rich imaginations...
Zhang Shou was in a state of confusion. He held the cup of rice with chopsticks in one hand and motioned Zhang Wu to sit down with the other. Seeing that no one else was interested in following his lead, he said with a smile, "What Zhang Wu said is at best an extended meaning. The actual situation is that after the rice grains are pressed tightly, there is friction between the rice grains and the chopsticks. The friction is greater than the weight of the rice and the cup, so the cup won't fall."
"What is friction? When you rub your hand across a table, armrest, or anything else, you can feel a resistance. This thing that hinders your movement, or the tendency to move, is friction."
Then, regardless of the expressions of the people below or whether they could understand him or not, he casually took out a piece of paper, turned around and stuck it on the wall behind him, and it suddenly fell to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, laid it flat on the desk, and repeatedly brushed it with the brush for more than ten times, then picked it up and turned around to stick it on the wall again.
This time, the white paper stuck firmly to the wall as if it were under a spell.
"It's stuck!" The fourth prince almost jumped up and shouted, "Is this a trick?"
"No, this is not a trick, this is the truth of the world." Zhang Shou smiled at the Fourth Prince. Seeing that he had just realized it and hurriedly sat down, he said lightly, "This won't last long. After a while, this piece of paper will fall off because the static electricity generated by the friction between the brush and the paper just now caused it to stick to the wall."
"There are many truths in this world that are not easy to discover, but there are also many truths that you will take for granted. Why do fruits fall from trees when they are ripe? Why does water flow from high places to low places? When boiling water in a pot, if you put a heavy object on the pot lid, how powerful will the boiling steam be? Why do we always see lightning before hearing thunder?"
Compared to what everyone originally thought was a boring and tedious lecture on sage books, Zhang Shou started with two strange little experiments, and then asked why. This immediately attracted a lot of whispers, especially the third and fourth princes, who looked at each other excitedly and felt that this teacher was more interesting than they had imagined!
"The principles of the world are profound and extensive, which is why Emperor Taizu established many subjects such as mathematics and the study of things. However, those difficult and profound principles are too unfriendly to ordinary people, so they are not suitable for most people to study in depth, but they must be known. Respecting the way of heaven, paying homage to the saints, and pursuing the principles of the world are not inconsistent."
"Why are you nobler than peddlers and hawkers? It's not just because of your distinguished birth or your family's wealth. The real nobility lies in the fact that you know more and see farther than they do. When a creation that comes to you on a whim or a decree that you work hard on can change the lives of ordinary people and make them live a better life, that is the real nobility."
"Suiren made fire, Cangjie invented characters, Shennong identified medicines...made paper, designed farm tools, built water wheels...it is because generation after generation of noble saints and predecessors found the truth of the world from each why that we have the life we have today. Throughout history, it is because people in the world gradually understand the truth of the world that their lives are getting better day by day!"
