Wang Chengen looked embarrassed, but also somewhat worried.
Even Emperor Zhu Youjian was only called "Little Zhu".
If he accepts the title "Old Wang" with a clear conscience.
When Zhu Youjian finds out, he'll probably be in big trouble.
He quickly said, "Master Gao, please don't call me Old Wang..."
But Gao Qingyun wouldn't listen at all.
"Old Wang, what's wrong with me calling you Old Wang?"
"Would I possibly shorten your lifespan?"
Wang Chengen was almost in tears, but then he thought that if he really cried, Gao Qingyun might notice something.
So he could only suppress his anger and reluctantly agree:
"Then you can call me whatever you like."
"When you meet Xiao Zhu, you have to make it clear that this is the name you chose to use, and it has nothing to do with me."
Gao Qingyun pursed her lips.
He had actually wanted to complain for a long time.
“Your little Zhu does have a bit too much of an air about him.”
"He doesn't always act like this towards you, does he?"
How could Wang Chengen dare to accept such a remark?
He could only cough a few times and quickly change the subject.
“Master Gao, I was quite curious about the stories you told me about the late Ming Dynasty yesterday.”
Could you tell me more about it?
Gao Qingyun's attention was indeed diverted.
"Hmm, why do you want to hear this?"
Wang Chengen was speechless, unsure how to explain.
But Gao Qingyun herself came to his rescue.
"That's true. Your village is very isolated. When I saw you a few days ago, you were saying all sorts of nonsense."
"I guess you really don't know these things."
"In that case, I'll tell you about it."
Gao Qingyun casually mentioned this part of history.
"The late Ming Dynasty was divided into three camps, and the powerful figures in each camp should naturally be discussed separately."
Wang Chengen's eyes lit up, and he reached for paper and pen, carefully taking notes.
"The first camp is naturally the Ming Dynasty."
"The Ming Dynasty had many civil and military officials. Besides Qin Liangyu, whom I mentioned before, there were also Li Ruolian, Sun Chuanting, Shi Kefa, Zheng Chenggong..."
Gao Qingyun spoke quickly, and Wang Chengen immediately began to complain.
"Oh dear, Master Gao, please slow down, I can't remember them all."
Gao Qingyun didn't seem to have any complaints about this.
He just smiled and said, "You write rather slowly."
"By the way, you can read, right?"
Wang Chengen felt somewhat helpless.
"Master Gao, you're looking down on me."
Although he was born a eunuch, he came from the Directorate of Ceremonial.
Not only is he literate, but his calligraphy is also quite good.
"I was busy grinding ink, that's why I couldn't keep up with your speaking speed."
Hearing this, Gao Qingyun was speechless.
"What era are we living in? You're still using calligraphy brushes? Still grinding ink?"
"Even if we don't have fountain pens or ballpoint pens, how about we get some pencils?"
"This isn't difficult at all!"
Wang Chengen heard several new terms.
"Fountain pens, ballpoint pens, and pencils?"
Gao Qingyun sighed.
"You don't even know this?"
"Forget it, you probably can't make fountain pens and ballpoint pens, but making pencils isn't difficult."
"Go find a piece of charcoal, cut it into a long strip, and then wrap it in something. That's your pencil."
Wang Chengen kept this in mind and planned to find a craftsman to try to forge it after he left.
Judging from Gao Qingyun's words, the pencil writing speed seems to be quite fast.
It's at least much faster than a calligraphy brush.
If it can really be built, that would be a great achievement.
Wang Chengen ground a large pool of ink in one go, and then asked Gao Qingyun to continue.
Gao Qingyun nodded.
"Besides the Ming Dynasty camp, the second camp is the peasant rebel army."
"The leader was naturally Gao Yingxiang, the first generation leader of the rebel king."
"And Li Zicheng, the second generation of the rebel king."
"Besides that, there was Zhang Xianzhong, the King of the Western Kingdom, and his four adopted sons."
Wang Chengen was busy taking notes and didn't notice that Gao Qingyun's expression was rather strange when he talked about Zhang Xianzhong.
He was muttering something like "nothing at all".
After he finished recording these, he asked, "What about the third faction?"
Gao Qingyun regained consciousness at this moment, and he sighed:
"The third camp is naturally the Jurchens from beyond the Great Wall."
"Although the Jurchens destroyed our Chinese civilization, the Eight Banners at that time were indeed extremely powerful in combat."
"Huang Taiji and Dorgon, among others, were also outstanding figures of their time."
"Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty's fierce battle with the peasant army, which ultimately led to the Jurchens entering the pass, was not entirely a matter of luck."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen instinctively couldn't believe it.
"Would the mighty Ming Dynasty perish at the hands of the Jurchens?"
But he didn't dare ask any more questions and just kept recording the facts.
He then casually asked about the specific hometowns of the people Gao Qingyun had just mentioned.
This question has now touched on Gao Qingyun's blind spot.
For most people, he really doesn't know where they were born.
"I do know Li Zicheng; he's from Mizhi."
There's an old saying in Shaanxi and Gansu that women from Mizhi are beautiful and men from Suide are mighty.
And this rebel leader happened to be from Mizhi.
So Gao Qingyun remembered it clearly.
"As for the others, I really can't remember them."
Wang Chengen nodded; he hadn't expected too much anyway.
Having a name is enough.
He thought to himself, "I'll talk to Luo Yangxing after I leave."
"Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard is not as powerful as it used to be, finding a few people shouldn't be a big problem."
"Besides, many of these people are obviously very important, so they're not hard to find."
After figuring this out, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Gao Qingyun:
"Master Gao, please wait a moment."
"Once we are ready, we will send all the male students to you immediately."
Gao Qingyun nodded in satisfaction at first, then his expression changed.
"Huh? Only male students?"
"Old Wang, your village can't discriminate against girls!"
"Education is something that not only boys need to go to school, but girls also need to go to school."
Upon hearing this, Wang Chengen was stunned, and even his dialect slipped out.
"What the heck? What are you saying? Women need to study too?"
Gao Qingyun just pursed her lips.
"Listen to what you're saying."
What do you mean by saying women can't read books?
"You're not still stuck in the old ways, thinking that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, are you?"
If someone else had said this, Wang Chengen would definitely have argued with them.
But then I remembered that this Master Gao was from hundreds of years in the future.
Wang Chengen didn't know what to say.
He could only sigh and say, "Don't worry, I'll find you a few female students."
"Anyway, this palace maid is... cough cough, anyway, there are indeed girls in our village."
Gao Qingyun nodded: "Yes, that's right."
Wang Chengen walked out, shaking his head, and soon found Luo Yangxing, handing him a copy of the list.
Then he took the original document and went to pay his respects to Zhu Youjian.
He told the emperor exactly what had just happened.
Not a single word was changed.
Zhu Youjian was furious after hearing this.
"What? My Great Ming Dynasty actually fell to the Jurchens?"
"This is really..."
He picked up the teacup beside him, about to smash it on the ground.
But he quickly calmed down.
"So be it. Since Heaven has bestowed Master Gao upon me, it is to serve as a warning to me."
"As long as I handle things carefully, I will certainly not let the Ming Dynasty face such a future again!"
After he finished speaking, he frowned and said:
"Did Master Gao really say he wants to recruit female students?"
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