The officials all agreed with Zhu Yuanzhang's words, and it was precisely because of these words that almost all the officials present still chose bicycles.
There's nothing else to it, I just refuse to admit defeat!
Zhu Yuanzhang has already made his point so clear. If anyone still chooses a tricycle, wouldn't that mean they think they can't handle a bicycle?
They are all officials of the imperial court, people who care about their reputation. Who could stand this?
Whether or not I can learn to ride a bicycle, I can't give up now.
If you back down from the start, wouldn't you become a laughing stock?
The key point is that so many people have chosen bicycles, and even if a very few people are really worried about not being able to learn to ride a bicycle and want to learn to ride a tricycle, they can't bring themselves to do it.
So no one touched those hundred tricycles, and no one dared to touch them.
Those one hundred bicycles were almost entirely divided up by the civil and military officials in the imperial court.
The key point is that even when these officials followed Zhu Yunwen's instructions to push these bicycles, some of them still couldn't push them properly.
Especially some of the civil officials, who were usually just weak and powerless scholars.
Pushing a bicycle right now, but not being able to hold the handlebars properly, you might fall down on the spot.
Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but burst out laughing several times.
But the more he acted this way, the more those officials cared about their reputation, especially the civil servants, who valued their dignity more than their lives.
I can't even push this bicycle properly, and people are laughing at me. This is unacceptable!
So they all secretly vowed to themselves that they would learn how to ride a bicycle no matter what.
I can give up my life, but I must learn to drive.
For no other reason than to save face.
Then, under Zhu Yunwen's watchful eye, nearly a hundred court officials pushed bicycles and left the palace in a grand procession.
The problem is that some people keep stumbling and falling even when being pushed, which is really both laughable and frustrating.
After all the officials had left, Zhu Yuanzhang stared in disbelief and said:
"Damn it, do these old bastards not understand what we mean? We've made ourselves perfectly clear, and they still choose bicycles?"
Zhu Yunwen said with a smile:
"Grandpa, these men are all cowards who defecate in the latrine and have their faces turned outwards. What you just said was nothing short of provocation to them. How could they possibly have the face to ride a tricycle?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said:
"What should we do? What if we haven't learned it yet, but these old fogies have already learned it? How will we save face then? No, we have to learn it quickly, we can't fall behind."
Zhu Yunwen rolled his eyes. Well, this guy is also the kind of man who poops in the outhouse with his face facing outwards. He's too concerned about saving face.
That afternoon, Zhu Yuanzhang practiced all afternoon, but he still hadn't fully mastered it.
He didn't know what the problem was, but Zhu Yunwen reminded him that it wasn't easy to practice, and if he really couldn't do it, he should just give up.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang wouldn't listen to such words. The more others said that, the more unwilling he became to admit defeat. So he intensified his efforts and continued learning, wanting to master riding a bicycle as soon as possible.
And just like that, the day passed quickly.
The next day, at the morning court session, Zhu Yuanzhang noticed that more than half of the officials had not attended.
He immediately showed a surprised expression and said:
"What's going on? Why are so many people missing from the morning court session today?"
An official immediately spoke up:
"Your Majesty, many officials were injured in a fall while learning to ride bicycles yesterday, so they are unable to attend the morning court session today."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately stopped being angry and instead smiled, saying:
"We told you long ago that bicycles are hard to learn, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what happened, everyone's injured. You deserve it. If only you had just chosen a tricycle instead, why did you have to be so stubborn?"
However, although he said this, the officials in the court found it somewhat ironic.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked down on people. If they didn't learn to drive, wouldn't everyone be too ashamed to attend the morning court session in the future?
Therefore, the officials present were all determined to go back and continue to work hard to learn how to ride a bicycle.
If we're talking about stubbornness, these officials were just as stubborn as Zhu Yuanzhang.
My resolve regarding this matter has reached an irreversible point.
Therefore, after the morning court session that day, the officials quickly returned to handle their official business.
After the matter was resolved, I started learning to ride a bicycle.
When it comes to matters of face, you can't joke about them; you have to take them seriously. So, they had to learn to ride bicycles.
Similarly, Zhu Yuanzhang would rush to finish his business and then use his spare time to practice driving.
…………
And so it went, and the next day arrived.
Before dawn, a group of officials were already riding bicycles briskly through the streets of Nanjing.
Then they headed towards the palace.
These officials, dressed in their official robes and riding bicycles, looked incredibly elegant as their robes billowed in the wind.
They all deliberately rode fast, afraid of falling behind the other officials.
It also seemed like a way of showing off, telling others that they had learned to ride a bicycle.
In such circumstances, it is inevitable that some officials will fall off their bikes, but this does not affect anything. The fallen officials quickly get up, straighten their bikes, and continue riding.
I had to ride the bicycle safely to the palace no matter what, to prove to others that I had learned how to ride it, and not only had I learned how, but I could ride it very well, and not only could I ride it very well, but I could also use it to go to work.
As a result, these officials riding bicycles to the morning court in a great hurry became quite a sight to behold.
It not only attracted onlookers but also drew envious glances from other officials.
As a result, their presence attracted much discussion wherever they went.
The people were all quite confused.
I wondered what was wrong with all these officials attending court today? They were all riding two-wheeled vehicles, yet they could stand up so steadily. What on earth had happened?
The key point is that these officials were all so excited and smug, which is unusual for them as they are not usually so composed.
Of course, no one can answer their questions about this.
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