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Huang Zongxi's lecture content is "The Collection of Datong". He has been sick for the past few days and cannot come to work for the time being.

In the first class "Book of Rites", the instructor is called Zhang Erqi.

In the last years of Chongzhen, the Tartars plundered Shandong. Zhang Erqi's father stepped forward and killed the two Tartars alone. After being captured alive, he brutally killed them. His third brother also died tragically, and the fourth brother was almost buried and came back to life.

After the Tartars entered the customs, Zhang Erqi and his fourth brother burned the Shiwen, expressing their intention to sever the imperial examinations, and they would never be officials in the Manchu Qing Dynasty in this life.

He had been teaching in Shandong before, and was later invited to give lectures in Nanjing. Now he is famous all over the world because of his academics, and was specially recruited into the Imperial Academy as a master of Confucianism. Gu Yanwu read "Yili Zheng Zhujudu", admired his attainments in Confucian classics, and respected Zhang Erqi as "Zhuoran Confucian classics teacher".

A mansion in the Wenhua Palace is where the prince studies, and the cabinet officials next door are busy.

Zhao Kuanghuan came to Zhengzheng and bowed: "Meet Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Erqi got up to return the salute, and then held the ruler: "Prince, please sit down."

Zhao Kuanghuan and Zhang Erqi are sitting opposite each other, with a desk in the middle.

Li Yong stood beside him, and Hu Mengtai sat farther away. As a guest of the prince, Hu Mengtai read the book by himself, and seemed too lazy to pay attention to the teaching situation, but his ears were always erect.

There are some officials around, and there are also special personnel to record the content of the class.

Zhang Erqi said: "His Royal Highness, after this statement, there are no monarchs and ministers in this house, only teachers and students. If the prince is stubborn and does not obey the rules, he will still be beaten with the ruler."

Zhu Biao, the first prince of the Ming Dynasty, was often beaten by his teacher with a ruler.

After hearing this, Zhao Kuanghuan felt that the teacher in front of him was too serious, and he was not happy but also a little awed.

Zhang Erqi said: "To study, you must first show your ambition. Whether it is the old Ming dynasty or our Datong new dynasty, why do children learn "University" first after they are enlightened? The world, this is the ambition of a scholar in his life. From now on, whether it is Confucianism, history, rhetoric or miscellaneous studies, these studies must be developed around his own ambition. Have any other masters said these words?"

Zhao Kuanghuan replied: "Talk about it."

Zhang Erqi also said: "I teach people to read. There is a sequence of which books to read. The books on Confucian classics are "University", "Analects of Confucius", "Doctrine of the Mean", "Mencius", "Book of Songs", "Book of Changes", "Spring and Autumn", "Zhou Li", "Yi Li", "Book of Rites". History books, followed by "Compendium", "Pre-Bian", "Sequel", "Tong Ji" and "Da Zheng Lu" in the former Ming Dynasty. Books on miscellaneous studies, in order, are "University Yanyi", "Buxishan Reading Secretary", "General Examination of Documents", "Public Security Research Evidence", "Authentic Articles", "Zoushu of Famous Officials", and "Daming Huidian".

This gentleman is proficient in all five classics, and has studied history and miscellaneous studies intensively.

Zhang Erqi went on to say: "Your Majesty asked me to teach the prince, and only teach the "Book of Rites", not sequentially. This fact is helpless. But I still have to say what should be said. The prince should have learned the origin of the universe. My school , Qi is the foundation, reason is the end..."

"Ahem!"

Hu Mengtai, who was reading with his head down, suddenly coughed and reminded Zhang Erqi not to add private goods.

Zhang Erqi hesitated to speak, but finally did not continue, and quickly returned to the main topic: "Has the prince ever studied "Book of Rites"?"

Zhao Kuanghuan replied: "In the middle school textbooks, there are excerpts from the Book of Rites."

Zhang Erqi was very dissatisfied with this. He felt that the Four Books and Five Classics were a gradual knowledge system. Primary and middle school students only learn excerpts of chapters, and their knowledge has been messed up.

However, Zhang Erqi is not a Taoist, and his academics also tend to be practical.

It can be seen from the fact that Qi is the foundation and reason is the end. Although he studied Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, he subverted Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Qi-based, that is, focusing on the study of materials, the exploration of the world, and the practical practice of the world.

Zhang Erqi asked again: "Your Majesty, do you know what 'rituals' are?"

Zhao Kuanghuan replied: "It's the rules of etiquette."

Zhang Erqi said: "It's true, but it's not entirely true. Li, in the big sense, is a system and a convention. In a small sense, it's a technique of self-cultivation. The law is actually a kind of ritual, but it's the bottom line of ritual. "

"There are many things in the world that cannot be controlled solely by laws, otherwise they cannot be controlled at all. Just like acquaintances meet, greeting each other is an etiquette, but it is not illegal to not greet each other. The "Datong Township Covenant" formulated by His Majesty is a rural etiquette system. It persuades people to be kind and to help each other, and if you don’t abide by it, you won’t break the law, but you will be poked in the spine by your neighbors.”

"The rites of monarch and ministers, the rites of husband and wife, the rites of elders and children, these rituals and rituals can maintain the operation of the court, family, and society. What is the collapse of rituals and music? It means that the rituals are not suitable. The rituals are not suitable, and everyone is uneasy. , the chaos in this world is coming.”

Zhao Kuanghuan suddenly asked: "Sir, what should we do if the etiquette is not suitable?"

Zhang Erqi said: "Then we must seek change. Trees are moved to death, people are moved to life, there is nothing that will last forever. But the reform must be cautious. Since ancient times, people who have reformed the law, if they are not careful, they will be lost forever. The key to the reform is the first. Emotion and benefit. The etiquette must conform to the sentiment, then it is proper etiquette, and then the world will be convinced. The etiquette must conform to the interest, because everyone pursues profit, and it is against the great interests of the world. No one will abide by such etiquette."

"Love and benefit..." Zhao Kuanghuan thought about it, and suddenly said, "Isn't it love and reason?"

Zhang Erqi said: "Many times, people are unreasonable. Love comes before reason, and profit comes before reason. I would not say this to others casually when I am giving lectures outside. But the prince is different. The prince will govern the country in the future. , you must understand this truth.”

Hu Mengtai, who had been reading, looked up at Zhang Erqi. He began to find this gentleman very interesting.

Zhang Erqi said: "Please open the book, Prince. Qu Li said: Don't be disrespectful, be thoughtful, calm down your words, and calm the people! Ao cannot be long, desires cannot be followed, ambitions cannot be fulfilled, and happiness cannot be extreme. A wise man respects him respectfully, Fear and love...Has the prince learned this chapter?"

Zhao Kuanghuan shook his head: "No."

Zhang Erqi explained the meaning and said: "Don't be disrespectful. Don't relax your self-restraint and vigilance, and always reflect on yourself. As a king, you should do this even more. Because you don't know who is flattering you and who is unfaithful. As a king, Living in a deep palace. In ancient times, the king of a subjugated country was deceived by treacherous villains. Only when the rebel army came to the city did he know that the country was in great trouble!"

"As if thinking. Don't be happy or angry, stay dignified, and look thoughtful at all times. As a king, your thoughts cannot be seen through by your ministers. Once you are seen through, your ministers will take the medicine according to the prescription, and you will be led by your ministers. Walking with your nose in your hands. Keep your ministers unpredictable... Moreover, if a king does not express his attitude easily, then there is room for change in everything..."

"Adj. When speaking, you must not be impatient, but must be calm. Only words spoken in this way will be convincing..."

"Don't grow arrogant. Once people are arrogant, they will easily lose their reason. Don't indulge your desires... You can't be complacent... Don't be extremely happy and sad..."

Zhang Erqi thought of the emperor's instructions and felt that he was too serious, so he said: "Every sentence here, I use ancient emperors and civil and military examples, so that the prince can understand more deeply and clearly..."

This gentleman is really knowledgeable. Explaining the "Book of Rites" to the prince is very different from giving lectures to the people. Everywhere talks about what a king should be like, and allusions to various historical celebrities are also readily available.

After one lesson, although Zhao Kuanghuan could not recite the original text, he had fully understood the content of the article.

After class, Zhang Erqi walked away without looking back. He actually didn't like giving lectures to the prince.

Hu Mengtai also put away his books and asked with a smile: "Is Your Highness satisfied with Mr. Zhang's teaching?"

"I don't hate it." Zhao Kuanghuan said.

"That's good." Hu Mengtai's status is very special. He is not only a guest of the prince (an official position), but also the prince's cousin.

The two of them walked out together, and Li Yong and other officials followed.

Hu Mengtai pointed at Li Yong and said, "Your Majesty chose this, and I will follow him every time he goes to class."

Li Yong quickly bowed his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Li Yong, pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."

"That's polite." Zhao Kuanghuan returned the greeting with his hands in hand.

After introducing Li Yong to the prince, Hu Mengtai ran away.

Zhao Kuanghuan is not a fool, he can even be said to be very smart. The Imperial City School was in such a state, with prodigies everywhere, the prince's grades were not at the bottom. At least compared to those students who were eliminated, the prince was definitely among the best.

Since he is a close minister arranged by his father, he must be capable and must be familiar with him.

When leaving in a carriage, Zhao Kuanghuan said to Li Yong: "Come up too."

Of course Li Yong didn't dare. He raised his hands and said, "Prince, please observe the ceremony."

What the teacher just said was indistinguishable from emotion to emotion. Although Zhao Kuanghuan understood it carefully, he immediately committed the crime. He said with a smile: "Which etiquette stipulates that the prince cannot ride in the same car with his subordinate officials? Come up quickly!"

"Follow your orders." Li Yong, a wild man without a master, is certainly not a rigid person.

They all got on the carriage, and Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Where are you from?"

Li Yong replied: "People from Wuxi (Zhouzhi), Shaanxi."

The royal carriage was very spacious. Zhao Kuanghuan found a comfortable position and lay half down, forgetting all the teacher's instructions in class: "Shaanxi people, there is also a Shaanxi person in my class. I heard that during the Chongzhen reign of the previous dynasty, Shaanxi suffered from drought every year. , are people rebelling everywhere?"

Li Yong said: "My father was following the governor of Shaanxi to fight against thieves, and was killed by Zhang Xianzhong."

"Well, I heard that a lot of people died at that time." Zhao Kuanghuan sighed with emotion. In fact, he was not very touched. The environment where he grew up was destined to be separated from the lower class people.

Li Yong said: "I have already figured it out. The intruders and the Eight Thieves started the army because of natural and man-made disasters. They really can't survive. What we must bear in mind is not the revenge of killing our father, but how to achieve peace and prosperity for the country and the people. The people have If you have food and clothing, you will not follow in the rebellion, and you can avoid more families being destroyed.”

Zhao Kuanghuan nodded and said, "You are right."