The Master picked up An Jingzhi's essay. He hadn't had much hope. How long had An Jingzhi studied the scholar's lessons? How could he possibly write a good essay? He probably couldn't even grasp the structure of an essay. Moreover, he was still so young, and as a farmer's son, his experience was limited. The most important thing about a policy essay wasn't its structure, but its content.
The Master thought An Jingzhi was just acting out his old ways, his unrealistic ambitions, always thinking of reaching the top overnight, not using his talent properly. He read An Jingzhi's articles with a critical attitude.
I was thinking about how to criticize him harshly without discouraging him, so that he would learn to do his homework down to earth.
The teacher was immediately absorbed in the profound meaning of the article, forgetting that he was judging it for a student, and even forgetting to formulate any criticism. After reading it from beginning to end, he read it again. After a long while, the teacher looked up from the article with a complicated look at An Jingzhi.
The overall structure of this article seems very immature, but the content of the article is like that written by an experienced official. It is thought-provoking, with sharp views, and every point seems to be effective.
The structure of the article could definitely be improved with more practice, but a person's perspective and insights were the most difficult. This was clearly a disadvantage for ordinary people like them, but in An Jingzhi's case, it was actually his advantage.
However, it was impossible to tell at this point. It was also possible that he just happened to have some knowledge of flood control. The Master decided to observe further.
"Did you write this?"
An Jingzhi nodded. "Yes, this is what the students wrote based on the policy paper topic you mentioned last year."
The teacher held back all the criticism he wanted to say. He even had the urge to discuss it with his students. Many of the methods proposed had never been implemented by the court, but there seemed to be no problem with them.
After a while, the teacher said, "Well written."
"I'll write down the areas that need improvement for you later."
An Jingzhi said happily, "Thank you, Master."
When An Jingzhi was about to leave, the teacher stopped him and said, "Jingzhi, don't be too anxious. You need to be down-to-earth when studying. You have a good grasp of the content of your article, but your overall structure is not good. You just need to practice more.
"You're so anxious to write your essay, but have you reviewed all the other exam content? Have you learned everything? Have you memorized everything you need to?"
An Jingzhi turned around and bowed, "Master, I only have one general knowledge book left to finish."
The Master stood up in shock, "You mean you've read the other four?!"
He knew that An Jingzhi had a good memory, but he didn't expect it to be this good?
The teacher was worried, so he took out the book and tested An Jingzhi himself.
A moment later, An Jingzhi left the Master's study with a stack of books in his arms. Those were the reference books that the Master gave him to practice the structure of policy essays.
The teacher sat on a stool with dull eyes, a book in his hands, and was muttering to himself, "All correct, all correct." He actually got all the answers right.
Then he became ecstatic and stood up suddenly!
God bless me! God bless me! Such a prodigy can actually become my disciple! Hahahaha!
A maidservant passing by the door accidentally saw the master's weird look and ran away in panic, shouting, "Madam, it's bad, it's bad, the master is possessed by evil spirits!"
The master usually had the image of a calm old scholar. But at this moment, he was in a state of ecstasy, with a variety of expressions on his face. The maid was so frightened that she didn't fall to the ground. She was so strong.
…
After that incident, the teacher always paid close attention to An Jingzhi during class. He didn't get angry when he noticed him flipping through the book he'd given him. The teacher knew An Jingzhi didn't need to listen anymore. His teaching couldn't keep up with An Jingzhi's learning pace. After all, not everyone had An Jingzhi's comprehension and memory. As a teacher, he had to take care of the majority of his students.
An Jingzhi would usually consult the Master privately if he had any questions he didn't understand, and the Master was happy to hear his advice. After the maid's blunder that day, the Master would close the door when expressing his emotions.
The Master then gave An Jingzhi two different policy essay topics from previous years and asked him to try writing them. An Jingzhi didn't disappoint. His essay structure hadn't improved much, given the short time and limited time to practice, which was normal. More importantly, his strategic perspectives remained sharp and meaningful. The current emperor's policy essays emphasize practical matters, a fact well known to all students, and An Jingzhi's essays perfectly matched this characteristic: what the emperor likes, the people must follow. Once his essay structure improved, the Master was confident that An Jingzhi would receive a very high evaluation for his policy essays.
The teacher is already looking forward to the arrival of the imperial examination for scholars next year.
…
He Changxing had discovered that An Jingzhi was reading some strategy books during class and was not paying attention in class at all, but the teacher turned a blind eye to this.
It seems that he doesn't give up on An Jingzhi. Every time he sees An Jingzhi, he looks kind and gentle. If you don't know him, you might think that An Jingzhi is his biological son.
"Why are you reading a book on policy? You already know everything else."
"What do you think? Otherwise, do you think the master can indulge me like this?"
He Changxing didn't know what to say. He hadn't even passed the Tongsheng exam yet, but his classmates were already looking at the policy essay questions for the Xiucai exam. Forget it, let's change the topic to a happier one.
"Do you know what happened to Zhang Zhiwen? I saw the teacher was very angry and called him over that day, and I never saw him again. It was just like he was three or four days after he came to see us."
An Jingzhi didn't notice this. He thought that those poor people must have come to their senses and punished the scumbag.
An Jingzhi chose to hide his achievements and fame.
"I don't know. Why do you care about everything every day?"
He Changxing was choked by him and didn't know what to say.
Just as he was about to read a book, he suddenly turned back and said, "Do you have anything to do this afternoon? Come to my house for dinner? My father knows that I have made a good friend and wants to meet and treat you." In fact, his father heard that An Jingzhi became a student at a young age, and was smart and valued by the teacher, so he wanted to meet him and maintain a good relationship.
Worried that An Jingzhi wouldn't go, He Changxing added, "Let's be friends, right?"
"OK."
He Changxing looked at him in surprise. He had expected An Jingzhi to refuse, but he hadn't expected him to agree so readily. He swallowed the words he was about to say.
Seeing that the time was almost up, An Jingzhi put down his pen, blew the ink off the paper, placed the article in the teacher's study, and walked out.
He Changxing was already waiting at the door.
"Let's go."
"Is your home far away?"
"It's not far. If it were far, could I still walk?"
An Jingzhi believed him after looking at his weight.
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