The men were easy to handle, as Qin Mu had plenty of people to train them. As for the women, they would have to find outside help. Fortunately, Princess Changning had trained some maids who could also help, so things weren't too chaotic.
Qin Mu not only didn't push people away, but even took the initiative to announce that anyone willing to study there could be sent. The course would last half a month, after which it would officially begin!
A month later, a thousand students gathered at the Princess's residence, and Qin Mu then announced a closed-door education system, prohibiting any visits and granting three days off per month.
Qin Mu then divided the students into two groups based on age: those over twelve years old in one group and those under twelve in another, further separating boys and girls. The Qin Family Tutoring Class officially began, with four classes in its second cohort.
The reason for separating the children was that Qin Mu felt that even children from large families under the age of twelve had limited access to education. Furthermore, their levels of psychological and physical maturity varied significantly, which is why he separated the teaching methods.
With the experience gained the first time, the second attempt went much more smoothly. To help, Qin Mu even transferred many people from the Six Doors to assist, completely sealing off the Princess's residence.
A month passed under the watchful eyes of everyone. Because Princess Changning's due date was approaching and she was about to give birth, Qin Mu simply gave them a half-month vacation.
On this day, the gates of the Princess's mansion opened, and first a large group of boys dressed in blue scholar's robes walked out in an orderly fashion and were picked up by their families; half an hour later, it was the girls dressed in white with gold thread who walked out of the gate.
When parents see their own children, they are not only full of energy and vitality, with rosy complexions and a brisk walk, but all parents are very satisfied with their first impression.
"As expected of the Duke of Qin, he treats these children very well. Look at their clothes, they're all uniformly issued, and even embroidered with gold and silver threads," an onlooker remarked.
"That's right, that's right. Some people say they only accepted it because of the many gifts they received, but I think this is clearly treating everyone equally!"
"Hmph! I still think this is just a publicity stunt. Otherwise, why didn't he take in any children from ordinary people? Have you heard that the son of an ordinary person was sent to the princess's mansion?" Some people agreed, while others disagreed. After all, in any situation, some people are more concerned about inequality than scarcity. This time, Qin Mu indeed did not take in any children from ordinary people.
"Zhao Laosan! Your son! He can't read a single character, yet he wants to study Confucianism! Don't be ridiculous! Look at those who just came out, which one of them is illiterate?" a discerning person mocked.
“My son is smart and quick-witted, why can’t he be good! Isn’t it said that Duke Qin is a man of extraordinary learning, a star descended to earth? How can someone who is illiterate not be taught? And I’m not talking about my son. Why not Wang Laosi’s child, who has studied in a private school? And Chen Wu, your brother’s son, isn’t he also educated?” Zhao Laosan argued, his face red with anger.
His words also stirred up feelings in others: Yes! Why can't my child do it?
The thoughts of that small group of people outside are unknown to the rest of us, but overall, we are quite satisfied.
"Son, what have you learned from your teacher this past month?" Changsun Wuji asked. He had many sons, so he simply sent four of them. After all, he knew Qin Mu's abilities very well; the performances of the two princesses and those who went out in the first batch were evident to them.
"Father, the teacher taught us the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Book of Poetry, the Primer of Prosody, the Three Character Classic, the Six Secret Teachings, Sun Tzu's Art of War, Sun Bin's Art of War, Wei Liaozi... a total of one hundred and twenty books, some complete and some incomplete," the fourth eldest grandson replied, rising to his feet.
Putting everything else aside, Changsun Wuji was very satisfied with the children's posture and manners. The frivolous temperament they used to have was no longer visible in them.
"One hundred and twenty books? You can remember so many?" Changsun Wuji asked, raising an eyebrow without changing his expression. He was satisfied with the books Qin Mu taught, but also slightly shocked. There were some things he was reluctant to teach, because thirty percent of them were family secrets that had not been circulated outside. Even without annotations, they were still valuable.
"Father, we all remember!" The brothers exchanged glances and smiled slightly. They were also shocked by their teacher's teaching. Apart from physical training, everyone was impressed by Qin Mu's unpredictable teaching methods. Not everyone is a genius who can memorize every book fluently without spending a lot of time.
At the princess's residence, they only needed to sleep for a while, and the next day their minds would be filled with a lot of knowledge. They only needed to review the books they were given during the day to consolidate their understanding, and they would have a very intuitive grasp of the subject.
"How about reciting Sun Tzu's Art of War to your father?" Changsun Wuji said, looking at his sons.
"Of course! The Art of War, Chapter Thirteen, begins with the concept of 'Initial Planning'."
Sun Tzu said: War is a matter of vital importance to the State; a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.
Therefore, it is judged by five factors and compared by calculations......" A copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War was recited with intonation.
Changsun Wuji's heart trembled even more. He was quite certain that this copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War was much more complete than the one he had collected.
“Father, if you want to read, we just happened to bring a few back with us,” said Changsun Wuji’s sixth son, standing up.
"Your teacher allowed you to bring them back?" Changsun Wuji asked, increasingly shocked.
It's important to understand that typical teaching involves the teacher lecturing, the students taking notes, and then writing things down on paper. If they don't understand a word or its meaning, they ask the teacher for clarification. The books the teacher uses are necessarily ones he has read himself, with annotations and explanations. He wouldn't teach anything to anyone who isn't a direct disciple.
"Of course! Everyone has their own books. The teacher also said that if we have any questions, we can ask our elders for help, because the teacher has only taught us the texts so far, and hasn't had time to teach us the meaning yet."
"Yes! The teacher said that everyone understands things differently, and reading more books will help you develop your own understanding!"
As they spoke, Changsun Wuji's sons took out one or two books from their wide sleeves and handed them over.
Changsun Wuji took the book and glanced at it. The characters were neat, though the writing was slightly blurry, so he knew it was printed, which lessened his shock somewhat. However, he admired Qin Mu's dedication even more. He had truly invested a lot in teaching, especially after learning about his son's daily life.
Indeed, Qin Mu couldn't possibly neglect his children. Every day, they were provided with eggs, goat's milk, vegetables, meat, fruit, bread, and seafood sent from the south. A balanced diet, along with essential elixirs. Consider this: to raise a thousand people, and for a long period at that, the investment was considerable.
"Hmm, this money was really well spent!" Changsun Wuji nodded slightly, thinking to himself that he estimated that some small families' gifts were not even as good as the amount Qin Mu had invested in their sons.
This scene wasn't limited to the Changsun family; everyone was curious about how these young people fared during their month-long seclusion at the Princess's residence. Upon returning home, they naturally inquired about it. However, anyone could see the changes in the children; their demeanor was undeniable. Having learned so much, their scholarly air was particularly evident.
Satisfied! Absolutely satisfied! Qin Mu not only raised their children, but also imparted knowledge they would never have had access to before. The only thing that might displease some was this: Qin Mu made their family's knowledge widely known.
However, they didn't go to Qin Mu's door to blame him. After all, in their view, this matter had both good and bad aspects. At least it would spread the reputation of their ancestors and their family more widely.
Moreover, the book "The Biography of Qin Mu" does not contain annotations from their ancestors. In their view, even if others learn it, it will be difficult for them to understand the core ideas. Outsiders are still no match for their own people.
Worth it! Absolutely worth more than the price! Moreover, the reason the child was given a two-week break was because Princess Changning was giving birth, so everyone's mind was immediately on it.
As the news spread, it quickly reached the surrounding areas of Chang'an. Some aristocratic families even sent messengers on horseback to their ancestral homes to report the matter and request that their other children be sent to Chang'an as soon as possible.
Princess Changning gave birth to a daughter for Qin Mu. The day after the birth, a large number of carriages blocked the two main streets in front of and behind the princess's mansion. They were all there to deliver gifts, more enthusiastic than ever before, and each family was more generous than the last.
Qin Mu couldn't refuse, so he accepted them all. The gifts he received were so numerous that his two large mansions almost couldn't contain them all, so he had to move some of them into the Heavenly Mystery Tower.
Qin Mu understood these people's thoughts to some extent, so he announced again that the third course would begin three months later, at the start of the new year, just in time for the second course to graduate.
The news was met with great joy, and people all over the country sprang into action. Almost every prominent family, and even wealthy merchants, quickly arranged for their children to go to Chang'an.
After Qin Mu personally entered the palace and negotiated with Li Shimin, the court even issued a proclamation stating that the great Confucian scholar Qin Mu would personally train students, but due to cost issues, those who could read would be trained first. The court would also urgently construct an academy outside Chang'an!
Those who can read are generally from families with some means of livelihood, and given the distance involved, most families cannot afford to support their children traveling that far.
Regardless of the circumstances, Qin Mu's teaching life continues smoothly. The outside world remains extremely interested in this matter.
During the second month of vacation, the outside world learned that they had studied three hundred books, and four hundred books in the third month. Moreover, some people had already become Confucian cultivators. The reason why they studied fewer books was because Qin Mu had begun to explain them.
These rumors spread like wildfire throughout Chang'an, because no one could be uninterested in how Qin Mu taught.
Even if they don't become Confucian scholars, just the fact that each child has an extra 400 books, half of which are unavailable for purchase, makes everyone feel it's worthwhile.
The New Year was approaching, and everyone was looking forward to the graduation of the second batch of students. Qin Mu did not keep them waiting for long. Before the end of the eighth year of Zhenguan, the gates of the Princess's Mansion were opened, announcing that the second training session of the great Confucian scholar Qin Mu had officially ended.
Young people confidently stepped out of the gate, nodding and smiling at their families who came to pick them up.
"Oh! Oh!" Cheers erupted from the people who came to pick them up, even if they weren't family members. They reasoned that if others could become Confucian cultivators, then their own family members certainly wouldn't fail either.
Of the thousand people, five hundred were Confucian scholars, and the remaining five hundred were simply because they were too young—a fact Qin Mu had already explained to them. Even if they left, as long as they studied diligently, they could eventually become Confucian scholars themselves, and they could come to him for guidance later. Therefore, no one was dissatisfied, and they happily took their children home to prepare for the New Year.
"You should all go back too! Have a good New Year with your families, and come back to study after the Lantern Festival," Qin Mu said with a smile. In front of him were three girls and one boy, four teenagers.
These four children were the most talented among the thousand people, so Qin Mu accepted them as his personal disciples.
"The student takes his leave!" the boy said first, bowing.
"Yes, Renjie, please give my regards to your grandfather!" Qin Mu nodded.
"I understand." The boy's name was Di Renjie, and he was Qin Mu's only male disciple this time.
"Teacher, we take our leave!" The other two well-behaved girls also stepped forward and bowed.
"Alright, go home and get some rest. You're all very smart, so there's no need to rush. A balance of work and rest is the key," Qin Mu said with a smile.
"Teacher, I don't want to leave!" The last girl, who was a bit taller, looked at Qin Mu pitifully and said.
“If you don’t want to leave, stay here. You all have your own courtyards, and those courtyards won’t be taken back just because you’re going home,” Qin Mu said gently. Even though he knew this girl from another world, no matter what her methods were, right now, she was just a pitiful child.
This was something Qin Mu ordered an investigation into. No one could believe that the daughter of a duke would live worse than a servant.
Qin Mu's words brought smiles to the faces of the four children, because Qin Mu meant that this place was also their home.
After arranging for someone to escort the three children home, Qin Mu called out, "Qin Yong!"
"Your subordinate is here!" A guard entered from outside the door and clasped his hands in greeting.
"From now on, you will be Meiniang's personal guard. Obey her orders. Anyone who tries to harm her, beat them to a pulp!" Qin Mu ordered.
"Yes!" Qin Yong responded, then stood expressionlessly behind Wu Meiniang.
Wu Meiniang turned to look at the tall Qin Yong, then, with tears welling up in her eyes, she threw herself into Qin Mu's arms, choking out, "Teacher!"
"Good girl! No one will dare to bully you anymore." Qin Mu said, gently stroking her hair.
Qin Mu valued her so much for two reasons: firstly, the child was indeed intelligent, and secondly, he didn't want to witness the recurrence of history from another timeline. Regardless of whether she behaved well or poorly, it wouldn't be a good thing in this world.
70
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