Chapter 1519: The Book of Filial Piety
Mr. Zhuang sent away the official from the Ministry of Personnel who had come to deliver the memorial, then turned to look at his three disciples and said, "Come on, tell me what's going on."
After all, Mr. Zhuang is not an official. The news in the court was previously obtained by Bai Shan and Zhou Man from various channels.
Bai Shan and the others were in the palace. Although many people in the court had been impeaching Chen Fulin in recent days and using Mr. Zhuang to guess the emperor's intentions, and even the crown prince had come out to express his position, no one had really asked Mr. Zhuang, the person involved.
So Mr. Zhuang knows nothing.
The three disciples had just returned from resting in the palace early this morning. As soon as they entered the door, people from the Ministry of Personnel came, but they were not looking for them, but for him.
Gave Mr. Zhuang a letter of appointment.
Bai Shan and the other two exchanged glances, and finally Zhou Man stepped forward to recount the entire incident from beginning to end. He then said, "Sir, Chen Fulin should be packing up and leaving the capital by now."
Manbao means, do you want to give him a good beating before he leaves?
Mr. Zhuang looked up at Manbao and said nothing.
He lowered his head and opened the memorial to look at the official rank written on it, his heart was in a daze. Although it was only a ninth-rank imperial lecturer, it was something he had been longing for but could not obtain when he was young.
Just came here for no apparent reason?
Mr. Zhuang was silent for a while, then closed the letter and said, "Alright, I understand."
Bai Shan was a little worried, "Sir, will you accept this position?"
Mr. Zhuang said, "Since it's been awarded, why not accept it? It's a salary after all, right?"
The three of them nodded repeatedly, it was true.
Mr. Zhuang spoke in a bold manner, but he was still very nervous in his heart. He really didn't know how to teach at Chongwenguan as a lecturer.
He has been a teacher for so many years, and Bai Shan and the other two have been his teachers for the longest time and have taught them the most deeply. Most of the other children went to the county school, the prefectural school or other academies before they could be taught to this level.
So when there were students who were much older than Bai Shan and the others, he was a little confused and didn't know how to teach them.
What is he going to talk about?
Bai Shan and Zhou Man are both very smart. When he teaches them, he just gives them the essentials and they can apply what he has learned to other situations, so he doesn't have to worry too much.
As for Bai Er...
Mr. Zhuang's gaze fell on Bai Er, and his heart slowly calmed down. In this case, he would teach them as he taught Bai Er.
Bai Erlang touched his face and asked nervously, "Sir, what's wrong with me?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled, patted his head and said, "It's okay. Come, tell me what classes you usually take at Chongwenguan and how you teach them."
Most of the lecturers in the Chongwenguan were part-time ministers in the court. Except for Kong Jijiu who was the Prince's tutor, others, such as Wei Zhi, Li Shangshu, Ji Xiang, etc. were part-time lecturers, ranging from sixth to ninth rank. After all, they were part-time, and the emperor gave them out at will, and everyone accepted them at will.
Apart from them, all other lecturers were transferred from the Hanlin Academy. They were well-educated people who had passed the Jinshi examination and the Ministry of Personnel examination. Each of them was as knowledgeable as Mr. Zhuang.
Anyway, after Mr. Zhuang listened to Bai Shan and Bai Erlang's detailed explanation of the content of the teachers' classes, he found that apart from being more interesting in his lectures, he probably had no other way to compare with them.
I don’t know what lectures Chongwenguan will arrange for him to give.
That’s right, each teacher’s class content is also within a range. One person is responsible for one book, or two people are responsible for one book, but the two teachers’ cognition must be very different, so that students can learn more.
So the gentlemen in Chongwenguan were always quarreling.
Manbao asked curiously, "What kind of book do you want to teach, sir?"
Mr. Zhuang said without hesitation, "I want to teach the Analects."
This book is the one he is most familiar with, and he never gets tired of studying it. Even when he was a child, he could recite it by heart, and when he read it again in his sixties, he still gained something from it.
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "Or maybe the Tao Te Ching?"
He was also familiar with this book and also felt that he never got tired of learning it. Moreover, he felt that the prince was more suitable for the "Tao Te Ching".
Although he had rarely seen the prince, he was not unfamiliar with him. After all, Manbao saw him every now and then, and the child never avoided talking about him at home.
The four masters and apprentices were speculating and waiting here. On the third day, after Mr. Zhuang arrived at Chongwenguan, Manbao even came out of the library and sneaked into the back window of the lecturers to eavesdrop.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had already occupied a favorable position. When they saw Manbao, they hushed and the three of them gathered together to the window and look inside.
Liu Huan and Yin Huo, who were watching over them not far away, were puzzled. "Isn't it just about picking up classes? Won't we know when the afternoon class list comes out?"
Yin Huo thought for a moment and said, "Are they worried that Mr. Zhuang would be bullied?"
Liu Huan said: "Even if they were bullied, you can't tell from their words at the moment. We are all scholars."
Yin Huo said, "Just look at the class schedule and you'll know."
Yes, you can tell by looking at the class schedule assigned to Mr. Zhuang.
The director of Chongwenguan was Kong Jijiu, so Kong Jijiu personally made an appointment to meet Mr. Zhuang. He had some impression of Zhuang Xun and also remembered what happened more than 20 years ago.
He had met Zhuang Xun and Chen Fulin in the past when he was still a Hanlin. He knew that Zhuang Xun was going to take the entrance exam for the Imperial College and seemed to have recommended him to the teachers of the Imperial College.
So when the news of Zhuang Xun plagiarizing Chen Fulin's poems came to light, he felt regretful for a while.
Seeing Zhuang Xun again, Kong Jijiu nodded slightly and asked him, "Which book are you best at?"
Zhuang Xun told the truth, "I am somewhat familiar with the Analects and the Tao Te Ching, but I am still far behind you, my Lord."
The Analects of Confucius is a Confucian classic. Kong Jijiu has studied it for decades and is naturally the most familiar with it. He smiled and said, "We have discussed that we would like you to mainly lecture on the Book of Filial Piety. Since you are good at the Tao Te Ching, why not supplement it with Taoist classics?"
Zhuang Xun was slightly stunned and asked, "Hasn't the Crown Prince studied the Book of Filial Piety?"
Kong Jijiu sighed, "Of course it has been taught before, but this is the opinion of the court officials. Everyone thinks that Your Highness should study the Book of Filial Piety again."
Zhuang Xun then asked, "Who taught the Prince the Classic of Filial Piety?"
Kong Jijiu: "...I."
Zhuang Xun: ...
Zhuang Xun quickly came back to his senses and asked Kong Jijiu for advice.
Kong Jijiu sighed endlessly. When he taught the prince the "Book of Filial Piety", it was quite easy to teach him. The main reason was that although the prince was naughty at that time, the relationship between him and his father was still good, so the prince could basically listen to what he said.
But later, the relationship between the prince and the emperor deteriorated, and the prince became very resistant when he talked about the "Book of Filial Piety" again. The main reason was that the book had been talked about so many times that no matter what he said, it would eventually come back to asking the prince to respect his father and obey his ruler and father.
Zhuang Xun took on the task. Manbao couldn't help but pull at the window in frustration, making a noise.
Kong Jijiu turned his head and saw the window shaking gently. He didn't take it seriously and turned around to continue talking to Mr. Zhuang.
Mr. Zhuang also withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and listened carefully.
See you at 8pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
