Chapter 79: To the School
In the afternoon, classes at Nanyang Academy continued as usual. The instructors, drawn from diverse backgrounds, focused on topics such as navigation, geography, and astronomy. Following Zhu Yuhuan's instructions, the courses were divided into different categories, allowing those with different positions and responsibilities to schedule their studies. Of course, if students had free time after class, they could also take other courses to enrich their knowledge.
Female officials and eunuchs have the same time to return to the palace, so they can take advantage of this time to attend a few more classes.
Of course, there are also many people who take this opportunity to slack off.
Zhang Zhong accompanied Zhu Yuhuan through the door of the front hall and arrived at the reception room. This place was originally used by Zhu Yuhuan to receive guests. After being requisitioned by Zhu Yuhuan for school use, it became the office area for the school management staff.
After the reception hall is the garden area originally designed by Ruan An. The statues of gods that were originally placed there have been moved to the original Shunde Princess Mansion. It is much more spacious than before. Two more windows have been opened on the wall to improve the lighting in the hall. Tables, chairs and benches are placed in it so that more people can attend classes and study at the same time.
Zhu Yuhuan had no intention of going in. He just imitated his former class teacher and peeked through the window at the officials who were attending the class.
Fortunately, most people listened very carefully and did not notice the existence of Emperor Zhu Yuhuan.
Of course, Zhu Yuhuan was able to appear so blatantly because most of these officials had never seen the emperor Zhu Yuhuan. At most, they were wondering why there was a strange face in the Nanyang Academy.
"The South Seas are far away, and the wind and current directions are different from those on the coast of our Daming. Walking on the sea is completely different from walking on land. There are not many ways to refer to and identify the direction. In addition to observing the direction of sunrise and sunset and using a water compass, there is also a way to use a star-guiding board. I think back to when Mr. Zheng and I were at sea..."
Gong Zhen was talking about the precautions for sailing at sea. He was over seventy years old, but he was energetic, dressed smartly, and even wore leg wraps and wrist guards, looking like a martial artist. He didn't even have many white hairs, which was enough to show that he was in good physical condition.
Looking at his energetic look when he was teaching, we can tell that Gong Zhen is not only in good health, but also very enthusiastic about his work.
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but imagine that if he could still have such a physical and mental state and quality at this age, it would be a great thing.
Zhu Yuhuan was originally a person who had lived for half of her life and was reborn as a child. She had experienced a lot psychologically. Although she consciously controlled herself from interacting with young people, she still looked a bit old-fashioned.
Especially in the past two years, Zhu Yuhuan has been busy cleaning up messes and broken windows. He occasionally feels a little tired and can only correct his mental state by handling government affairs intensively.
When Zhu Yuhuan saw Gong Zhen dancing and gesticulating with high spirits while giving lectures, he knew what it meant to be old but young at heart, and he couldn't help but feel envious.
Zhang Zhong, who was standing by, didn't know what she was thinking. He just whispered to Zhu Yuhuan, "Although Mr. Gong is old, he is still very interested in sailing. His teaching style is also different from that of ordinary private school teachers."
Zhu Yuhuan waved his hand nonchalantly and said with a smile, "Gong Zhen and Fei Xin are very experienced in sailing. If they weren't so old, I would definitely let them go out to sea with the fleet. That would provide an extra layer of assurance. Fortunately, Ma Huan is also with the fleet as an interpreter, so at least there won't be any communication problems."
She glanced over and saw Zhou Shou listening with great interest. He was obviously so engrossed in Gong Zhen's story that he didn't even notice that the pen had fallen beside him.
"A few days ago, I mentioned that treasure ships are so large that sailing requires not only boatmen but also the right weather and terrain. Therefore, in the past, when Eunuch Zheng led his fleet out to sea, he usually set out in autumn and winter and returned in spring and summer to avoid wasting too much manpower and resources. Does anyone know why?"
"Because when the climate is cold, the ocean currents and cold winds flow from north to south, and when the climate warms up, the ocean currents and hot winds flow from south to north."
In the originally silent classroom, everyone suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice and looked towards the person who spoke. They saw a man standing by the window, wearing a scarf on his head, a water-green cloak, holding a folding fan, and looking at them with a smile.
Zhou Shou was the first to come to his senses. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"
The officials who were listening to the lecture in the room were not of high rank. Most of them had seen the emperor from afar during the morning court session and had never seen what she looked like. Only when Zhou Shou was allowed to enter the palace to pay a visit to his sister, he was taken by his sister to pay a visit to the empress dowager and the emperor. When Zhou Shou was paying his respects, he secretly saw what the first female emperor of the Ming Dynasty looked like, and was scolded by his sister for a long time afterwards.
With Zhou Shou speaking, everyone quickly reacted and knelt on the ground in unison.
Zhu Yuhuan raised his folding fan, motioning for the servant beside him to support the elderly Gong Zhen. He said, "Mr. Gong, there's no need to bow. Your lectures are excellent, and I'm completely captivated. Otherwise, I wouldn't have answered your questions. I just wonder if I answered them correctly."
Gong Zhen had never expected the emperor to come in person, and quickly said, "Your Majesty is indeed right..."
Zhu Yuhuan then walked into the room, glanced around, and asked everyone to stand before saying, "I've come today specifically to see how you've learned. Some of you have been officials for three or four years, and some of you were fellow Jinshi in the first year of the Yuanguang reign. You should be well-informed and have long known about the Censorate's admonition."
The censors made a series of reports on the Nanyang School, and not only the officials but also the common people outside had heard about it.
After all, since Zhu Qizhen personally led the army, there have been few such scenes where the censors have been constantly complaining about a single matter, and the emperor was actually arguing over a small school like this...
This made some of the people in the school who sneered at the emperor realize how much importance the emperor attached to this matter.
For their careers, they also have to work harder.
"I must tell you that this voyage is not only to promote our national prestige and gain tribute from foreign nations, but more importantly to restore the Malacca Outer Prefecture, establish maritime trade routes, protect the seas, explore the oceans, and bring the oceans under the rule of the Ming Dynasty."
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