The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 1221 On Education

The moment Sheng Yuan's eyes met the other person's, she understood.

This boy is still the same man who had quarreled with her in the ring more than ten years ago.

It’s just that the youthful vigor back then has turned into the calm and restrained state now; the jumping up and down and shouting in anger back then has turned into the subtle provocation now.

At that time she only heard that the man's surname was Ji, but now she knew that his given name was Cong.

A cong is a colt that can run a thousand miles.

It really suits this person's personality.

"Minister Sheng, I wonder if I would be honored to have a paper discussion with you?"

"nature."

After Queen Sheng Rong gave his permission, Ji Cong bowed and asked again under Sheng Yuan's gaze.

Similarly, with Sheng Yuan's temper, he would naturally not retreat.

Sheng Yuan agreed, and Sheng Ran asked the eunuchs to bring a table and chairs so that the two of them could sit opposite each other in the center of the hall.

"I recently heard that there is a rumor in Kyoto that Minister Sheng is expected to serve as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Princess. Although Minister Sheng is very talented, he has never taught in an official school, let alone taught a few students... Therefore, those who heard this may be worried, and I think Minister Sheng can understand."

"It's not uncommon for people in this world to shed tears while watching plays and worry about the ancients. Not to mention the common people, even among the literati there are many curious people. Ordinary anecdotes can cause ups and downs in public opinion, not to mention the education of the crown prince, which is an important matter concerning the country and the people of the Chu State."

Although the first round of conversation between Sheng Yuan and Ji Cong did not get to the point, it greatly satisfied the expectations of the court officials who were watching the fun.

Very good, the two of them asked and answered each other, successfully turning the simple question and answer into a sharp rebuttal disguised as politeness.

Sure enough, when this person grew up, even the way he cursed at others became different.

Ji Cong had already seen Sheng Yuan's aggressiveness, so his expression did not change and his thoughts were not affected at all.

"Since Minister Sheng understands, then I would like to ask you one more question: how does the Minister plan to teach the future crown prince?"

"First of all, I must make a serious statement. No matter where the rumors outside came from, at least I still haven't received any orders requiring me to take the responsibility of teaching the princess." Sheng Yuan did not follow the other party's rhythm. He looked directly at the other party politely and said words of exemption at the same time.

“Secondly, as a court official, although I am not as talented as many cabinet ministers, scholars, and great Confucian scholars, I am also ready to take on this important task. I think my colleagues in the hall are also ready to handle this honor.

Finally, before I answer Mr. Ji's question, I have one more question... According to your master's habit, is there any difference between teaching the princess and teaching those ordinary students?"

Her questioning instead of answering naturally and smoothly won the criticism of many court officials.

Sure enough, when it comes to being thick-skinned and having a stable mentality, no civil or military official in the court can compare to Sheng Wenzhen!
Ji Cong looked at Sheng Yuan without changing his expression, nodded and said: "The crown prince is young, so he should focus on the basics. Only by consolidating the basic knowledge can he build a tall building and a high pavilion."

"Yes, that's a mature and prudent thing to say." Sheng Yuan actually nodded.

The ministers could not help but be surprised.

Eh? Why are they still making noise like this?

If they don't make a fuss, how can they take advantage of the situation and snatch the position of the Crown Princess's Tutor that Sheng Yuan might hold?
Sheng Yuan and Ji Cong didn't know what the crowd was thinking. They sat upright and looked at each other: "Since Minister Sheng agrees with what Ji said, then how is Minister Sheng better than other scholars?" "Can what Mr. Ji said represent your teacher, Mr. Jingge?"

Sheng Yuan gave another irrelevant answer, but Ji Cong remained calm: "Of course."

Hearing this answer, Sheng Yuan asked without hesitation: "Then if it is based on Mr. Ji's temper, will he teach the princess according to his experience, or let the teaching materials be diverse?"

"..." Ji Cong narrowed his eyes, "What about Minister Sheng's opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Sheng Yuan just said "wait a moment", then looked up and nodded with a smile to the eunuch who had been grinding ink at the table. He took out a suitable pen from the pen holder, spread out the paper, dipped the pen in ink, and quickly drew a picture of autumn harvest.

After she put down her pen, she ignored the group of colleagues standing on tiptoe to look at the painting, pointed at the autumn harvest painting, and asked softly, "What does Mr. Ji see in this painting?"

Ji Cong squinted his eyes and looked at it carefully for a long time before saying, "In the autumn harvest picture, there are mountains of grain, many kinds of fruits and vegetables, fat fish jumping out of the water, and flocks of ducks and geese... This shows that the harvest is good and the people live a prosperous life."

But he was also honest. Although he knew that what Sheng Yuan asked might be a trap, he did not embarrass himself and directly stated his first impression when he saw the picture.

They were all respectable people, Ji Cong was not cunning, and Sheng Yuan also gave him some face: "My first reaction was probably similar... But, Master Ji, do you know what I hope the princess will see from the picture?"

"Appreciate further details."

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

“I hope the princess can separate the five kinds of grain from the mountain of grain, and guess whether the mountain of grain is real or fake based on the quality of the grain.

I hope that the princess can discern the actions of the local government from their farming tools, and the living standards of the farmers from their clothes and expressions, and even from the water jugs and vegetable baskets in the corner.

I hope that the princess can judge the amount of work and the level of food by the size of the cows, donkeys and mules working the fields, so as to verify the authenticity of the harvest quantity and the level of living standards of the people.

Likewise, I hope the princess can judge the level of local officials through the topography, landforms, canals and water wheels in the painting. "

"..." After Sheng Yuan said this, Ji Cong suddenly realized that there were so many details hidden in the autumn harvest painting that Sheng Yuan painted with just a few strokes.

The piles of grains are of different varieties, and if you look closely you can see that some of the harvested grains are plump and some are dry; the farm tools placed on the ridges, the farmers standing in the fields, every fine line and expression are clearly painted... the earthenware jars that are in line with the pastoral atmosphere, the cattle and sheep of different shapes, and the desolate plain landforms.

"Minister Sheng wants the princess to see the big picture from the small details!"

"I want the princess to see the essence through the phenomenon, so that she will not be deceived by a mere memorial."

As soon as she finished speaking, many court officials shuddered.

Upon hearing this, Ji Cong glanced at the painting and then looked at Sheng Yuan and asked, "Knowing people and making good use of them is indeed a compulsory course for the crown prince. However, this is the art of knowing people, which is different from ordinary learning."

"Different? There are some differences! But then again, no one expects a monarch to be famous in the literary world and become a great calligrapher, painter, poet, or scholar, right?"

"So, Minister Sheng, do you want the crown prince to learn from the best of all schools of thought and the government of past dynasties? It would be best if he had all the knowledge, experience and common sense?"

"I am not so eager for quick success." Sheng Yuan shook his head, "I am just teaching the crown prince. I want him to know not only the facts, but also the reasons behind them."

"..." Hearing this, Ji Cong was silent for a moment, and then asked, "So, after all, our ideas about education are fundamentally different?"

Sheng Yuan also pretended to think for a moment and gave an ambiguous answer: "Perhaps... Your Excellency is teaching the princess that a nine-story tower is built from piling up earth and that she should see the world from books, while I want the princess to start her journey of a thousand miles with a single step, to combine books with reality, to see the origin of the great works of the ancients, to understand the pros and cons of the development of hundreds of generations, to see the past and understand the present, and to integrate knowledge and action!"