Chapter 257 Chapter 257 Brain Storage (Part 2)...
Xu Yunfan pointed at the other people and asked them questions that made them feel embarrassed. "Just now, I saw that you were jumping around the most. Why are you silent now?"
Just as the other party was about to speak in anger, Xu Yunfan added, "We're all the same. We were born with nothing, naked, and brought nothing with us. Who of you who can sit here today didn't achieve your talents through acquired learning? Now that you've achieved your academic accomplishments, you look down on your elders who can't even read. You're truly ungrateful. If I were your mother, after hearing you speak so powerfully and with such reason, I'd probably have to send you back to the furnace for retraining. What a wretch."
"You've been talking for so long, and I still don't understand what's happening in our Great Yan Dynasty right now. Why don't you go to the village and see why you say that throughout history, only men have been able to participate in the imperial examinations? Do you know that it takes the entire family's resources to support a single student? Even so, with all the expenses involved in education, do you think that's a burden a poor family can bear? Those students fight tooth and nail, but only a handful manage to break through the siege from the bottom. It's already so difficult to support a single man, let alone a girl. Ultimately, it's all because of poverty. If every household had money, if boys and girls could go to school like men, their achievements wouldn't necessarily be lower than ours. You're all talking and talking here today as if you're so arrogant, talking nonsense like crazy. Do you think this proves you're superior and knowledgeable? Do I think I'm inferior just because I speak rudely? What the hell!"
"Look at these families. Without men, the family falls apart. Without women and husbands, the family falls apart too. So, men are the pillars of the family, and women are the framework. Without them, what good is it to have you as the pillar?"
"Ask yourselves, if one day our Great Yan Dynasty becomes wealthy and every household can send their children to school, will things really be worse than they are now? You all speak so confidently, but you don't realize that your imaginations have long been limited by poverty. In the end, it's all because of poverty that you're talking."
Xu Yunfan came from overseas. Even if the people present didn't know him a few days ago, when a young master appeared among the masters, his background naturally became a topic of discussion.
"I'm from overseas. Everyone knows that in my country, men and women are equal. My great leader said that men and women each hold up one side of the sky. In our country, every household, regardless of gender, has equal rights to go to school. Therefore, we have both male and female doctors, and the same goes for teachers. It is precisely because I was born in such a place that I know how powerful they are. As long as they are given a chance, they are no worse than anyone else. I will never look down on the people who gave birth to me, even if they can't do anything, can't speak eloquently, and are full of knowledge. But in my eyes, they are my sky, the existence that held up the sky for me when I was young. They raised me with all their strength, and when they are old, it will be my time to protect them from the wind and rain. Instead of standing at a height that they will never reach in their lifetime, I still think that their status is inferior. What kind of ungrateful person is that? Today's exam question is quite controversial. I don't want to say much. You are welcome to speak actively, but if you dare to point fingers at me again, I will have to make you, the ungrateful beasts, feel ashamed."
A group of teachers: "..."
There is no need to argue anymore. They are now wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. They have lived for decades and have been greeted respectfully by everyone since they became teachers. Now they are being pointed at and scolded by a young junior whom they don’t take seriously. They are almost mad to death. Some teachers even have black eyes. If they hadn’t taken into consideration that this is an examination room, they might have fainted from anger.
Also, this young master probably isn't very good at math. How many sentences has he said? How can it be only two?
Xu Yunfan had already lost face yesterday, and today the people opposite him were even more disrespectful to him. His anger was growing and he confronted the teachers. Xu Yunfan turned aside, glanced at the invigilators unhappily, thought for a moment, and sat down again.
These invigilators make questions that really make me want to answer. Maybe they have nothing to do or what, but they love to make questions like this. If you don't think carefully, I'm afraid you won't be able to answer the right questions and it's easy to answer irrelevant questions.
This kind of question was asked today. No matter which side wins, it is estimated that nothing good will come of it.
After all, everyone has a different heart.
Xu Yunfan offended a lot of people today. Even if he won, the other men who supported the other side would definitely punish him.
However, Xu Yunfan quickly adjusted his mindset. If he hesitated over such a small matter now, what would happen when he became an official in the future?
After Xu Yunfan said this, the other party was speechless. Zheng Ke and other scholars obviously did not expect Xu Yunfan to be so tough. It would have been fine if he hadn't spoken, but once he opened his mouth, it was really a sensation. And his personality of not being afraid of causing trouble, although it would be a disadvantage, but the court needs such fearless people.
Nowadays, there are many smooth-talking people in the government who can flatter their superiors and win over people's hearts, but there are only a few who really want to get things done.
Zheng Ke stood up, his eyes sweeping over the group of teachers who had been irritated and turned pale. He then withdrew his gaze and fixed it on Xu Yunfan. "Master Xu, what you just said is indeed very reasonable. However, I have noticed something in your words. Master Xu said that the continued existence of such ideas is due to poverty. May I ask why Master Xu said so?"
Thinking of what Xu Yunfan had just said, Zheng Ke didn't dare to speak in a literary manner, for he was afraid that this young man would be too impulsive and would "deal with" him too. Didn't he see that the other party just looked at them, and finally sat back for some reason.
Xu Yunfan stood up. "Master Zheng, I've made it very clear. They say that throughout history, only men have been admitted to schools, and it's only in the last few decades that young men and women have been able to enter. So, may I ask, Master, looking back at the past few decades and now, have our people's lives improved? Is it because some people have become more knowledgeable and have a broader perspective after gaining wealth, that they think that men, men, and women are all the same and can all learn to read and write? I wonder if other teachers have ever made a special observation to see how many young men and women are able to enroll in the major academies? Among these people, who's family is so poor that they can't afford a hundred taels of silver every year?"
"Secondly, what are the parents of those brothers and daughters like? What are their thoughts? Have they traveled more and seen more, so their ideas have changed? Of course, I'm not looking down on poor people, or thinking that ordinary people's ideological awareness is not as good as those of the rich. They are just unable to change their current situation. Too many people in our Great Yan Dynasty have their horizons limited to a few nearby villages. The farthest they have probably been is probably the town. But because they left the village and went to the town, they learned that the shopkeepers and accountants who can make a lot of money in the town must be literate, so they think that reading is promising. If one day they have money, they don't have to worry about whether they have food to eat when they open their eyes. They can travel further and their thoughts will be even more different. Therefore, those who have such thoughts are probably too narrow-minded and lack experience."
"If what I said is not clear enough, then let me talk about me. My husband can read and do business, so he is in charge of our family's business. He is the other half of our family, and it is he who holds up half the sky. It is because of him that I can come here without distraction and even serve as a teacher in Qingfeng Academy. Under my husband, there are now nearly a hundred managers. These managers are all students. Some are failed scholars, and some have been praised by the dean. It is precisely because they obey my husband's arrangements that everyone is of one mind. They will not look down on my husband, and even treat him as a brother. In their eyes, my husband is their boss, the boss who pays them wages. That's why everyone can work together to make the business better. So, why can't brothers hold high positions and important posts? Is it that they don't have that ability or is it your own problem? My lord, that's all I have to say. I have given you both examples and data. There is nothing more to add for the time being."
Everyone looked at Xu Yunfan. Master Zhao's eyes were sparkling as he looked at Xu Yunfan. After listening to Xu Yunfan's words, his mouth was dry. Master Zhao even poured tea for Xu Yunfan.
"Thank you." Xu Yunfan thanked him.
Master Zhao quickly said, "You're welcome."
When Zheng Ke heard this, he realized that what Xu Yunfan said was true.
The boys and girls who were able to study in the academy all came from extraordinary families.
Just like myself, the more I learn and the more I see, the more I will think about training my own brother in the future. Of course, it is undeniable that the prerequisite for all this is that he must have money. Without money, the first thing he would consider is definitely the issue of food and clothing. If even the most basic living conditions cannot be met, how can he talk about reading and writing?
So, what Xu Yunfan said was absolutely correct.
"Master Xu's words make perfect sense," Zheng Ke's smile widened. He turned to the other party and said, "I think Master Xu's words make perfect sense. I won't dwell on other important principles. Filial piety is the most important virtue. What do you think, Masters?"
"I know today's question is quite controversial, but it wasn't posed by the Imperial Academy, but by the current emperor himself. You still don't understand. You should read more about it in the future and think carefully about it. Are women and men really inferior to men? Why are most of the students admitted to the school now men? What's the reason behind this? You can see the other deeper meaning of this question, so this time, I have ruled that you lose. Do you have any objections?"
Zheng Ke said this, even if some teachers were dissatisfied, they couldn’t say anything!
Having said that, wouldn’t that be a slap in Zheng Ke’s face?
The other teachers all looked very unhappy. It turned out that they had just talked until their mouths were dry and their tongues were dry. Not only did they lose face in front of Zheng Ke, but it also became a reason for Xu Yunfan to criticize them. It really paved the way for Xu Yunfan.
Today, Xu Yunfan became famous for his long-winded attacks on others, and the teacher who was attacked was unable to refute him at all.
Xiao Hengzhi, Jing Mingze and others who had been arranged by Zheng Ke to sit behind the screen could not help but be surprised that Xu Yunfan dared to lose face for so many teachers. They did not know whether Xu Yunfan did it intentionally or not. The people he just pointed out were all teachers from the Imperial College. It was because these people took the lead that the other teachers followed them.
As far as Xiao Heng knew, these people had all come into contact with the Right Prime Minister's people, and the Right Prime Minister had always violated a series of laws made by the late emperor and Fu Qingyu that were beneficial to the people.
After all, their series of reforms were aimed at making the people rich and having books to read, but the Right Prime Minister did the exact opposite. In his view, reading was a privilege of officials and the rich, and he suppressed talented people from poor families everywhere.
Unfortunately, the Right Prime Minister was too smooth-talking and it was difficult for him to be caught. Otherwise, Xiao Heng and his men would have pulled him down from that position long ago.
That's getting off topic.
Return to competition.
After the first round of interviews yesterday, today is the exam for the Six Arts for Gentlemen and the Eight Elegances for Women.
After the sound of a gong, the originally noisy audience suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and no one dared to make a sound.
The Women's Eight Elegant Subjects are additional subjects, and candidates can choose whether to participate based on their own wishes and abilities.
The extra points for additional questions are still very attractive.
The results of the Master's Competition were announced using a scoring system, with a total score of 1,200. In previous Master's Competitions, the best score was 1,007 points. This person is now a third-rank official. As for the other top-ranked people, they are all now the best of the best.
For this reason, the Master's Competition score list is as eye-catching as the red list.
As far as Yu Xuyunfan knows, one of the Eight Graces for Women should be "Tea". During the Dayan Dynasty, "Tea" was replaced by "Dance" and "Wine" was replaced by "Music".
In some dynasties in ancient times, the status of dancers was not very high. However, it was different in the Dayan Dynasty. Here, families with the means would specially hire professional masters to teach women to dance. Dancers who could perform on stage were even more popular among the people. For this reason, some academies even set up special dance courses.
In order to get extra points, or perhaps because they did not perform well in the written test and wanted to get extra points in the interview, some teachers showed off their abilities in the assessment of the Eight Elegant Women's Dances. However, some teachers may have overestimated themselves. They made Xu Yunfan spit out several mouthfuls of tea during the dance and almost choked to death. It was really unbearable to watch.
The audience outside the venue wanted to laugh but didn't dare to, and they were really uncomfortable. The reason why no one dared to speak out was, firstly, they were afraid of offending others, and secondly, one of the rules of watching was not to make any sound and disturb the candidates.
The other masters who came on stage worked together in pairs, you played the piano and I danced. There were more than ten invigilators responsible for scoring. Even if one played the piano and the other danced, they would never make a mistake in the score. This would also speed up the process.
Xu Yunfan wanted to go up, but he didn't know who to cooperate with, so he could only wait until the end and pass the exams alone one by one.
"Hey, young master, are you going up?" Just as Xu Yunfan was helplessly waiting for the last one to go on stage, a master in his early thirties sitting in front of him turned around and asked him, "Do you want to work together?"
"Sure!" Xu Yunfan was quite happy and asked with a smile, "How should we cooperate?"
Master Sun touched his nose embarrassedly. "There are eight arts for women. I can play the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, and poetry. The only arts that allow me to perform together as a pair during the exam are zither and dance. Little Master, can you dance?"
Xu Yunfan glanced at Master Sun. Some of the candidates who had gone up before had played the piano and composed poetry, while others had composed poetry and painted. These exams could be completed by one person, but as for dancing, Xu Yunfan really couldn't dance without some music. "Okay then, you play the piano and I'll dance."
Master Sun laughed even more happily. To be honest, these masters were not very thick-skinned. They felt a little embarrassed to dance in front of so many people.
Having decided to cooperate, both of them raised their signs at the same time.
"Exam number 267, what are you going to take?"
Xu Yunfan: "Dance."
"Number 266, what about you?"
Master Sun quickly said, "Qin."
When the sound of the piano rang out, Xu Yunfan, who was preparing to dance with the arrow, couldn't help but be a little confused.
No, his sword dance doesn't seem to be suitable for this piece. I wanted to do something more powerful, but now...
Xu Yunfan quickly dropped the sword in his hand, turned his back, and when the next sound of the piano sounded, his body softened, one hand raised to the sky, and the other hand raised with an orchid finger to the side of his face. When he turned around, his beautiful eyes were shy and affectionate, and his smile was truly charming, making all the beauties in the palace pale in comparison.
On the stage, Xu Yunfan's every spin and jump was agile and powerful, as graceful as a startled swan and agile as a swimming dragon, leaving everyone stunned. The charm and moving demeanor that naturally revealed in each and every move perfectly demonstrated what it means to be soft yet firm, firm yet soft, and a combination of both firmness and softness.
Just those two moves, the man with a bare chest but no red mole, with that twist of his waist and that raised of his orchid finger, some men couldn't help but have their blood boiling. Not to mention the audiences and teachers whose eyes almost popped out, even the invigilators couldn't help but blush, not out of shame or anger, but for some unknown reason, their hearts suddenly betrayed their masters and shamefully sped up.
Zheng Ke turned his head to wipe his face, coughed, and reminded the other invigilators not to be so embarrassing.
Isn't it just a man dancing more charmingly than a woman, with every frown and glance a little alluring? What's the big deal? What a bunch of people who have never seen the world.
Xu Yunfan didn't think it was embarrassing for a man to lift his orchid finger and dance a soft and boneless dance. This was not exclusive to girls. Why couldn't an eighteen-year-old boy like him dance?
Looking at the group of surprised spectators who didn't even blink, Xu Yunfan placed his left hand with the index finger raised in front of his chest, stretched out one hand forward, spread out his five fingers, turned it around, turned around, and glanced at them, looking very surprised.
Besides, isn’t this the dance that many women are suitable for now?
The eyes of the people in the audience opened even wider, as if Xu Yunfan's palm had taken away their souls.
This was truly rare. They had never seen a man who danced more charmingly than a woman. They knew that the man was a real young man, but his eyes had their own ideas and he had to follow him. What could they do?
On the stage behind the invigilator, Qin Run stared with his eyes wide open, his slightly protruding Adam's apple moving up and down, as if his mouth was dry.
Lord Qin and Lord Qin II were silent. Thinking of the rules, they didn't even want to lower their voices to say a word.
Although the person dancing on the stage was their grandson-in-law, they had done nothing wrong, so why was it unbearable to watch? They were simply appreciating beautiful things in a fair and honest manner.
Upon learning that their brother-in-law was participating in the teacher competition, the Fang brothers who came to watch were stunned. They once again deeply realized why their fourth brother was "tricked" by Xu Yunzhuo, who was 70% similar to Xu Yunfan.
Just ask a handsome man like this who is so caring and sincere towards you. Who can not fall for him? Even these guys would probably be confused for a while.
Sure enough, when this good-looking guy becomes charming, he is popular not only with young and old, but also with both men and women!
Not to mention that the men were getting a little excited, even the girls had their eyes bulging with bubbles. They held on to the sisters beside them tightly, looking like they wanted to scream out loud, which showed that they were extremely excited.
Qin Run's gaze was full of obsession, and it never moved away from Xu Yunfan from beginning to end. He locked his eyes on Xu Yunfan tightly. When he heard a suppressed gasp behind him, Qin Run came back to his senses in a trance, and his eyes dimmed a little.
It is undeniable that Xu Yunfan's waist is really amazing. Qin Run has experienced it personally. Qin Run does feel proud that his husband is being watched by so many people, but at the same time, he feels extremely dissatisfied.
Dark thoughts and a strong possessive desire surged into his mind. He just wanted to hide such a good Xu Yunfan and not let anyone see him. Only he could do that, but this was unrealistic.
When the piano music stopped, Xu Yunfan let go of his hands, adjusted his hair and clothes, and then walked off the stage leisurely. However, the audience below was still not satisfied with what he had seen.
If it weren't for the viewing rules, the scene wouldn't be so quiet at this moment. I'm afraid everyone would have screamed in the middle of it.
After returning to his seat, Xu Yunfan sat down and picked up the snacks on the table. Because he was in a hurry, he ate one snack at a time, two bites at a time, and his cheeks were a little bulging. Then he gulped down several cups of tea. He looked like a cow chewing a peony. People who followed him couldn't help shaking their heads when they saw it. Alas, what a pity! No matter how weak a man's waist is, as long as he is a man, he is destined to have the unique roughness of a man.
Next, some teachers came on stage one after another. As teachers, these people really had some skills, and they performed well in calligraphy, painting and other areas.
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