Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 302: Each Has Its Own Use
Although the situation in Xingtai and Cangzhou was reported to the capital through various channels, the court was unable to take care of it.
Firstly, the Imperial College had been in turmoil. Yang Yiming, the doctor of the Imperial College who used to be in charge of Ruxing Hall, retired in disgrace. He did not even have the opportunity to be an official in other places and retired directly "due to illness"; secondly, the emperor decided to expand the six halls of the Imperial College in an effort to accommodate more students. The funds would be allocated from the inner treasury, but such allocation also had a prerequisite.
The emperor tentatively agreed to the resignation of the Minister of War Lu Wan, and at the same time approved the request of the public school. He encouraged the students of the Imperial College to take education as their responsibility. During the period when the branches of the Imperial College were being rebuilt one by one, all the students in the branches under construction were assigned to Lu Wan, who would give lectures in various places around the capital, with the goal of teaching students to read and write at least 200 words.
Of course, the students of Jiuzhang Hall also had tasks, they needed to teach the basics of mathematics. But since there were not many students in Jiuzhang Hall, they were naturally regarded as extras that the emperor treated equally , just like the noble children of Banshan Hall who also received the same tasks.
As soon as this decree was issued, the Imperial College was in an uproar, and the court was also in an uproar. One of Jiang Ge Lao's students directly quoted the famous saying "People can be led by their own will, but they cannot be made to know it" to persuade him, and then... he was hit back by the words of Emperor Taizu brought out by Confucius - Emperor Taizu himself broke the sentence, and Confucius' original sentence was "People can be led by their own will, but they cannot be made to know it."
No one expected that what was originally just a dispute in the Imperial College would suddenly become a struggle between two ministers in the court. Even Zhang Shou himself did not expect that Grand Secretary Kong would suddenly jump out and confront Grand Secretary Jiang. However, thinking about the previous secret letter incident in Linhai Camp involving the murder of Grand Secretary Kong, but there was no follow-up, he probably understood the other party's resentment and just watched from the sidelines.
As for the students of Banshan Hall, in the past, when the court was in chaos, they would have been gloating and pointing fingers at the various restaurants and eateries, but now they have more important things to do. Ever since that day when Ji Jiu and others hurriedly brought back the news that the Banshan Hall branch exam was in fact set by Xu Heizi, but in fact it was the emperor's own will, who dared to neglect it?
With less than three days left before the class examination, at noon one day, when Zhang Shou announced the end of class to the sound of the bell, a group of people immediately gathered around him, led by Ji Jiu, who was smiling widely.
"Teacher, we want to ask one thing. When the Imperial College holds the exam, will the final score be based on the scores or the number of people?"
Hearing this question, Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh: "How about dividing by grades? How about dividing by number of people?"
Although Zhang Shou directly pushed the question back lightly, Ji Jiu saw some signs and couldn't help but secretly excited. He quickly smiled and said, "If we divide them according to their grades, then all those who reach a certain score can enter the first class, or even the third class. The rest will enter the second class according to their specializations, and the last batch will go to the army for training. If we divide them according to the number of people..."
He paused, and then said as if hesitantly: "For example, the teacher has decided to only admit 30 or 40 people in the first class, so only the top 30 or 40 will be selected, and the rest will be eliminated even if their grades are good."
Ji Jiu knew that many people behind him were not very clear about the admission standards of various imperial examinations, so he simply explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way. Sure enough, after he finished speaking, he heard a lot of voices of sudden enlightenment coming from behind him, and Zhang Shou smiled at him.
"Of course it depends on the grades. If a hundred people's grades have reached the standard of being recognized as excellent, then why not put all of them in the first class? If only ten people's grades can reach the standard, then only ten people will be in the first class. In the final analysis, just like the previous monthly and annual exams, the assessment is only about whether you are attentive and motivated. Demotion has never been the goal."
After hearing Zhang Shou's answer, Ji Jiu couldn't help feeling a little weird even though he had guessed it a long time ago .
Limiting the number of students means that Zhang Shou wants outsiders to see how impartial and just he is and that he would rather have no students than have unqualified ones. And if he only limits the scores, then, judging from the results of the previous monthly and annual exams, except for those dozen or twenty people who are really hopeless, most of the others will at least get a pass, and the third class will be a guarantee, and even for the first class, it would not be a problem to leave fifty or sixty people.
In other words, as Zhang Shou just said, the purpose of this test is indeed not elimination.
Not only Ji Jiu understood, but the others also understood and cheered. Zhang Shou waited until the voice gradually died down, then said with a smile: "I thought you were going to ask, Zhang Chen broke his leg and is recuperating at home, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu are in Xingtai, and Zhu Er ran away from home, how should their grades be calculated!"
After these words were spoken, the huge Banshan Hall fell silent again. The head of the hall and the two deputy heads of the hall were absent one after another, and the next head of the hall, Zhu Er, suddenly ran away from home. It is said that the head of the Zhaoguogong Mansion, Zhaoguogong Zhu Jing, was furious and sent people to search everywhere. The search area has already covered the capital and dug three feet deep. For this situation, there are all kinds of speculations behind the scenes.
Ji Jiu felt that Zhang Shou's gaze seemed to have a deeper meaning. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly laughed and said, "Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and others are on official business under the order of the emperor, so naturally they are more concerned with state affairs. Zhang Zhaichang was accidentally injured in the first month of the year, so there is nothing he can do about missing the exam. As for Zhu Erlang... after the people from the Duke of Zhao's Mansion find him, he can take a make-up exam..."
"A soldier cannot move without a general, and a snake cannot move without a head. Since Zhu Erlang has not been found for a few days, Banshan Hall must also change an acting headmaster." At this point, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "Ji Jiulang, you have always had excellent grades and are quite prestigious. You should be the acting headmaster."
I?
Ji Jiu was so surprised that he almost wanted to point his finger at his nose and ask Zhang Shou to confirm again.
Who is Zhang Chen? He is the only son of Duke Qin and the future Duke Qin. He was one of Zhang Shou's students when he first opened a school in Cuiyun. It is said that he is second only to Lu Sanlang in terms of his confidance. He is a prominent figure , arrogant and domineering, and few people dare to offend him.
Who is Zhu Er? He is the second son of the Duke of Zhao. Although he is not very capable, his status is there. In addition, he is the future second uncle of Zhang Shou. Even if many people are dissatisfied with him, they can only accept it for the sake of the Zhu family and Zhang Shou's face.
But what about him? He was just a bastard, and he had been a disciple of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu for a long time, and they could be considered as old members who had shared the joys and sorrows. Even if he had always performed well, how could he be the head of the dormitory? Would the people in Cuiyunjian be willing and agree to this?
He did not dare to hesitate any longer and quickly lowered his head and said, "I am a student with limited knowledge and talent, how can I take on this important task? Even if the teacher cannot select an acting headmaster for the time being, the Third and Fourth Princes are also in the Banshan Hall..."
Before Ji Jiu finished speaking, the Fourth Prince said, "Don't count me and my third brother! Father said that my third brother and I have a very poor foundation in classics and history. We must study classics and history seriously in the palace. We can only stay in Banshan Hall until the division exam."
At this point, the Fourth Prince glanced at Zhang Shou with some resentment, and then whispered: "From now on, we can only read the textbooks compiled by the teacher for his classes."
Although the Third Prince did not speak, his face was also full of unwillingness. When he returned to the palace from Zhao Garden, the Emperor brought them in front of him and gave them a lecture, but in the end he informed them of the decision. He and the Fourth Prince tried their best to plead for this, but in the end they still failed to get their father to take back his decision. For this, he felt that the slight pride he had when he was bluffing was really stupid.
Seeing the brothers' attitude, many students looked at each other in bewilderment. Seeing that the eldest prince was actually sent to the small Cangzhou to do such a small thing - the responsibilities he undertook were similar to those of Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, and the second prince was beaten with a stick and still can't get out of bed, how could no one start to make plans for the third and fourth princes?
But now, before they have time, these two dragon sons are about to return to the palace?
Could the fact that the Third and Fourth Princes were about to leave Banshan Hall be related to his previous inquiries? Ji Jiu had this thought in his mind for a moment, but it was only for a moment, and he immediately stopped thinking about it and said hurriedly: "Even if the two princes are leaving, Banshan Hall is full of talented people..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhang Shou interrupted him nonchalantly, "Don't be so modest, you will be the acting head monk. Well, the get out of class is over, it's getting late, let's go!"
Seeing Zhang Shou leave after saying this, everyone in the Banshan Hall looked at each other, and finally countless eyes focused on Ji Jiu. Master Ji Jiu, who always prided himself on being smart, felt like a thorn in his back, but he had to force himself to remain calm. But when he returned to his seat and wanted to pack up his things, he suddenly felt that he was surrounded by Zhang Dakui and three or five people.
"Master Ji Jiu, that's not right. From now on, you have to call me Acting Abbot."
"Now that you know I'm the acting head monk, you should be more cautious."
Ji Jiu flicked his clothes, pretended to be calm and stood up, but smiled and said, "Don't think I don't know what you are thinking. You just want to sit next to me so that I can make it easier for you during the test."
He pretended not to notice the burning or dangerous looks coming from all directions, and sneered, "Think about it, our teacher can get the emperor, who usually only sets questions for the palace examination, to set questions for us half-baked guys. How can this examination place be useless? It's possible to set up a hundred tables in the square in front of Fengtian Hall like the palace examination, with a distance of thirty to fifty feet between them!"
This is ridiculous!
This was the first reaction of a large group of students, but when they thought about Zhang Shou's personality, many of them had to admit that it was indeed very possible... Such a strange situation as the emperor asking the questions had already happened, let alone other things?
At that moment, Ji Jiu, who had made an irresponsible and heavy guess, took the opportunity to slip away. And Zhang Shou did not return to his dormitory. At noon that day, he went directly to Jiuzhang Hall, and Lu Sanlang, who had finished teaching in the morning, said something to everyone in advance, and gave up the podium when Zhang Shou came.
In the past few months, Zhang Shou has fully witnessed how strong the learning ability of people with mathematical talents is. In less than half a year, he has already covered quadratic functions in algebra, and has finished plane geometry and progressed to space geometry. As for physics, which he started later, although the progress is a little slower, he has already covered a small part of classical mechanics.
Fortunately, Emperor Taizu popularized Arabic numerals. After initially having difficulty accepting the symbols used to write equations, these gifted people quickly demonstrated their extraordinary qualities.
With Ah Liu who had already returned to keep watch, Zhang Shou was not worried that someone else would come and eavesdrop - at this moment, the students in the Imperial College were so busy determining each other's positions that they had no time to care about him.
"To be honest, in the past few months, Banshan Hall has been in a lot of trouble. In comparison, Jiuzhang Hall has been much calmer. Apart from doing a very interesting project, some people accompanied Wang Zongxian to Xuanfu Datong to calculate and count the accounts, etc., and most people outside ignored you. But it doesn't mean that as long as Jiuzhang Hall reopens and has people, that's enough."
Zhang Shou emphasized his tone and said word by word: "Because this is far from enough!"
"What's the use of mathematics? Many of the old officials in the court would shake their heads and say that it's not very useful, it's just the numerology of the Imperial Observatory, just the trivial calculations when controlling floods, and just the needs of clerks who count accounts. But in fact, you should have seen that it contains the wonderful principles of the world."
After his opening remarks, seeing that everyone in the audience was listening attentively, Zhang Shou continued, "In the past, most of you didn't get much benefit from your talents, and even didn't have enough to support your family. But at least, you know that you have such talents. And how many people in this world have never had the opportunity to discover their talents, and have become lost among the crowd?"
"So..." Zhang Shou tapped the desk lightly and said slowly, "Educate the people. The four words proposed by the Army Minister are laughed at by many people. Because in their minds, the seeds of learning are naturally from scholars. What's the harm if those illiterate families remain illiterate for generations? It also saves them from competing with their descendants for the qualification to go to school."
"So, even though reading and writing just 200 words is difficult, I don't have high hopes that a prodigy like Fang Zhongyong will emerge from this group. However, mathematics is different. Talented people will show their sensitivity to numbers in a relatively short period of time, and what you need is to select these people one by one."
"Then, as their teacher, I will lead them on a different path and make them the successors of Jiuzhangtang!"
"Yes, I hope you can choose your own successor!"
When Lu Sanlang sent Zhang Shou out of Jiuzhang Hall with mixed feelings, he couldn't help but ask softly, "They have only studied for less than half a year, and now they are going to be teachers and select talented students. Will it be..."
"Everything depends on human effort." Zhang Shou laughed. A teacher who graduated from junior high school can become a famous teacher, let alone this group of elementary math and science tycoons?
