I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 816 Idioms are too difficult to understand!

Shu Youliang looked at the two of them and said with a smile.

“I didn’t say that. I don’t have the ability or authority to draw such a conclusion.

This was said by the Emperor. He told my master in the West Garden. My master told me again.

This is widely circulated among the court officials, and it is not just my master who knows it. However, many old scholars are unwilling to speak it out, and would rather keep it in their hearts. "

The Emperor said that?!
Hu Yinglin and Wang Shisong looked at each other, helpless.

You've made a big move, how can we refute you?

"Clang!"

As the bell rang, the campus, which had been very quiet a moment ago, immediately became boiling with activity, and the two teaching buildings turned into a buzzing beehive.

The clattering sound of footsteps echoed in the classroom and corridor.

Hundreds and thousands of students were playing, talking and laughing, running down the stairwell, pouring out from the stairs like a tide, and rushing onto the playground like a rushing tide.

They were wearing light grass green tops, dark blue pants, small leather belts around their waists, and running shoes with cowhide soles and canvas surfaces. There were also name tags embroidered with their names on their clothes. In an instant, they gathered into more than a dozen light green torrents, which entered the playground and quickly spread out.

Shu Youliang and four other people stood on one side of a staircase, watching the children running past them.

These children had ruddy faces, were lively and healthy, and their eyes were full of sunshine and innocence. They were not afraid of Shu Youliang and others, and some of the brave ones came over and asked Marcelo and Leon questions.

"Which country in Europe are you from? Portugal, Spain, France or England?"

Marcelo and Leon had smiles on their faces, but they felt a little afraid in their hearts.

Most people in Europe know nothing about the Ming Dynasty, but the children of the Ming Dynasty know that there is Europe and can even name a few countries off the top of their heads.

Marcelo tried to cheer himself up and replied with a smile: "We are Portuguese."

"Portugal?"

"It seems to be next to Spain."

"Spain is not a good thing. It actually bullied and massacred our Xia and Shang survivors."

"They both have teeth. Are they cousins?"

"Europe is just like our Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The royal families and nobles of each country must be related."

"So those are cousins?"

"They could also be cousins. I heard that in the countries of Duizhou, women can also inherit the family business and become officials."

"Portugal should be the country that occupied our Sanbao Strait and the four islands of Yanzhou before and was driven out by us."

The children were talking about it in a flurry.

Marcelo and Leon were embarrassed.

Don't slap someone in the face!
Children, it’s okay to say anything, but you are blatantly riding on my face.

Shu Youliang asked, "Kids, what are you going to do?"

"Grandpa, let's go do exercises during the break."

"Hurry up, hurry up, the students on duty are about to be called."

"Yes, it's too late and you will be scolded by the master."

Just now they were like a group of chirping sparrows, but now they fluttered a few times and ran away.

Shu Youliang looked at the children's backs, his eyes full of doting, "These kids, they are so young and their eyesight is not good. How can you call me grandpa when I am so young?

My eldest son is a few years younger than them."

Marcelo and Leon suddenly discovered that among the hundreds of children and students who followed, there were actually female students.

They were about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing similar school uniforms and ponytails. They walked out of separate classrooms in the teaching building in groups of three or four.

There are not many people, about 400 or so, accounting for one-fifth of the total student body.

Marcelo was surprised and asked: "There are also female students?"

Shu Youliang rolled his eyes at them and replied, "What a strange thing to say. Wanli University Medical School, formerly known as Berlin Medical School, began to recruit female students during the Longqing period and trained female doctors and nurses."

Hu Yinglin added: "In the southeast, the Shanghai Textile School first began to recruit women in the late Jiajing period to learn cotton spinning, weaving and tailoring.

The Textile College of Shanghai University also began to recruit women during the Longqing period. Later, a medical school was established and female doctors and nurses were recruited.

Since universities admit women, it is normal for primary and secondary schools to admit girls.

It’s just that local people are generally unwilling to let girls go to school. This is Luanzhou, which can be said to be the most civilized place in the Ming Dynasty. Free education is implemented most thoroughly, which is why we can see so many female students. "

Leon continued to ask: "Mixed reading for both boys and girls?"

"How is that possible!" Wang Shisong shook his head. "Even if they are civilized, they still need to pay attention to the influence of the secular world. Look at the classrooms they came out of. They are all on a separate floor, and most of their teachers are female."

Marcelo and Leon still couldn't believe it.

How can we let women show their faces in public?
In this regard, the Ming Dynasty should be more conservative than Europe. How come it changed all of a sudden?

After listening to the two people's doubts, Hu Yinglin explained with emotion.

"A new era has its own new trends and new customs. The appearances you two have seen are probably stereotypes from those vernacular novels on the market.

In reality the situation is quite different.

When I was in college, I did related research with Master Zhuo Wu.

We have conducted field investigations in villages in many counties in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui and other places. In fact, in the vast rural areas of the Ming Dynasty, women not only had to do heavy housework, but also had to go to the fields to farm and go up the mountains to chop firewood.

This is because productivity was low in the agricultural era, and people mostly relied on human and animal power and the weather.

It requires the whole family, men, women, young and old, to work hard on the farm to make ends meet.

Those who were kept in the boudoir, never going out of the house, only doing needlework and not doing farm work or housework, and some even bound their feet to destroy their bodies, were mostly from wealthy families.

The family has abundant land and wealth, so they have no worries about food and clothing. They have tenants and hired workers to do the work, so they don't have to do any housework.

However, most of the love stories about men and women such as the talented men and beautiful women circulating on the market were written by poor scholars.

Suppose you are a talented scholar who, by chance, is favored by a beautiful lady from a wealthy family. She helps you go to school and take the imperial examination in Beijing. Then you pass the imperial examination and get a beautiful wife.
When summarizing relevant topics, Zhuo Wugong mentioned that the novels on the market are all the works of poor scholars' hazy fantasies. They do not reflect the real social conditions at all, nor do they embody the context of the times. Instead, they will cause a bad influence, causing many people who have read such books to fall into empty and unrealistic fantasies.

At that time, Zhuo Wugong proposed that literary and opera creators should be close to reality, deeply understand the real lives of the people, and strive to write literary and opera works that reflect the current social situation, eulogize truth, goodness and beauty, refute pedantry and dross, and reflect the differences between the old and new eras. Only such works are in line with the spirit of the times and will be deeply loved by the workers, peasants, merchants and people of the Ming Dynasty.

Lord Zhuo Wu also proposed to the emperor to hold a conference in the near future to clarify the origins of Ming Dynasty literature, opera and other creations.

The emperor quickly approved the reply, highly praising Zhuo Wugong for his foresight, and agreed to hold a similar conference, and named it the Ming Dynasty Literary and Art Workers Representative Conference, which was scheduled to be held in the autumn after the Imperial Council Conference. Since the beginning of this year, the Li Cao of the provincial government offices in various places have begun to select suitable delegates to the conference.

The four of them stared at Hu Yinglin's speech in amazement. The Ming Dynasty Literary and Art Workers' Congress!
Shu Youliang and Wang Shisong were not surprised at this meeting.

In the past decade, new policies have been implemented both overtly and covertly, and all kinds of new words and new things have emerged one after another. They were just surprised by Li Zhi's views in Hu Yinglin's words.

Wang Shisong sighed, "I have heard that Zhuo Wu Gong has radical ideas and advocates equality for all, freedom of marriage, and respect for women. I never thought it was true!"

Hu Yinglin smiled and replied: "Mr. Zhuo Wu has an open mind and his previous works contain many radical remarks of this kind. I heard from Mr. Zhuo Wu that the emperor told him many times that being half a step ahead is a genius, and being one step ahead is a madman.

You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. If you want good ideas and speeches to be accepted by the general public, to transform their thinking and to adapt to the development of the times, you must proceed step by step and let it come naturally.

Being impatient for success will only lead to the opposite effect. Zhuo Wugong took it to heart, so he rarely made any radical remarks in public, but only talked about them during discussions with us disciples.

Shu Youliang and Wang Shisong nodded.

If the situation continues to develop in this way, within a few years, Zhuo Wugong’s extreme remarks will no longer be considered radical and will be accepted by everyone.

Marcelo and Leon were confused by what they heard.

What did you say?
Especially those idioms, which are simply metaphysical words to us foreigners who are just beginning to learn Chinese.

This simple four-character idiom contains the story of a book.
We hate idioms!
At this time, more than 2,000 primary and junior high school students gathered on the playground, forming a sea.

A teacher stood on the high platform in front of the playground, holding a large tin loudspeaker and shouting loudly.

"Sing!"

"The red sun rises, its path is bright. The river flows out from the underground stream, rushing down to the vast ocean."

All the students sang in unison Zhu Yijun's "On Youthful China". The voices were loud and clear, with ups and downs. The singing was childish and tender, but it soared into the sky.

After the song, the teacher held up the big tin loudspeaker and shouted again.

"Prepare!"

More than two thousand students stood with their feet side by side, their arms hanging at their sides, their fingers together and against their legs, their eyes looking straight ahead with bright eyes.

"Empty step and show palm!"

The students immediately started to prepare.

"Stand side by side and punch, bow step and punch!"

"what!"

The students followed the commands and shouted in unison when they punched, like spring thunder.

"Basic long fist!"

Hu Yinglin and Wang Shisong were stunned. We only did calisthenics during class breaks in college, but Luanzhou primary and secondary schools actually practiced elementary Changquan! Looking at the posture, it was obvious that it was simplified and modified by the frontier army boxing masters.

Every move and every style reveals a hint of murderous aura evolved on the battlefield.

Marcelo and Leon were also stunned.

What is this for!
Every Ming Dynasty person knew mysterious oriental martial arts and practiced them from a young age to prepare for going to the battlefield when they grew up.

Is it appropriate for me to say this to my country's king, nobles and clergy after returning home?

It will scare them!

After performing a set of elementary Changquan, more than 2,000 students became full of energy and vigor, just as they had sang in unison just now.

"A latent dragon soars from the abyss, its scales and claws flying. A young tiger roars in the valley, and all the beasts are terrified. An eagle tries its wings, and the wind and dust flutter!"

It turns out that you not only sing it with great vigor, but you actually follow it!

Are you training students or conquerors?

Your technology is so advanced, but if your children and teenagers are still educated like this, won't they be able to sweep across the earth and land on the moon in the future?

No, if you keep doing this, you won’t leave us any chance to survive!

"receive!"

The tin loudspeaker shouted!
Two thousand students stood still, clenched their fists, and shouted in unison: "Study hard, exercise! Work hard for the Ming Dynasty's revival!"

"Disband!"

boom!
More than two thousand people burst into cheers.

The light green ocean suddenly dispersed and spread out in all directions.

Some students formed a torrent and headed for the teaching building; some ran to the fitness equipment area not far away, where they scattered around playing on the parallel bars, hanging on the horizontal bar, climbing bamboo poles, and doing sit-ups.
One third of the students were scattered on the playground. Some were chasing each other on the lawn, some were playing games on the lawn, and some were running on the track.
The female students were in a separate area on one side of the playground, playing step-skipping, jumping rubber bands and skipping rope, and they were having more fun than the boys.

Everywhere there was laughter as loud as silver bells, as clear as the sunshine.

Shu Youliang squinted his eyes and watched this scene, feeling relaxed and happy. "Ah, watching these kids making noises and listening to their babbling noises, I used to think they were so noisy and annoying, especially when they were my own kids. They made me want to throw them into the Yongding River one by one.

How come I don’t feel annoyed when I hear so many kids making noises today? Instead, I feel like I’m many years younger.”

The other four people also watched this lively scene, smiling but saying nothing.

In the crowd, Wan Ruyi was seen walking towards them with a boy of about ten years old, who looked a little anxious.

"Lao Wan, what's wrong?"

"My second child is Wan Xianjin. I just took him to the school clinic, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him. They just told me to go to the staff hospital."

Wan Chuqi is 60% similar to Wan Ruyi, especially his thick black eyebrows and a pair of round tiger eyes, they look like they were carved from the same mold.

Seeing the stranger, Wan Chuqi felt a little restrained, twisting his neck and saying, "Dad, I'm fine, why should I go?"

Wan Xianjin sucked the two clear snots back into his nostrils and rubbed his nose with his right hand. "Why go to the hospital? No."

Wan Ruyi raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes, "Not going?"

"No! Our teacher said that Ming soldiers will not leave the front line even if they are slightly injured!"

Wan Ruyi reached out to untie the wide steel-headed leather belt around his waist.

Wan Xianjin shuddered all over, "Dad, my head hurts. I think I caught a cold. Let's go to the hospital."

Shu Youliang, Hu Yinglin and Wang Shisong laughed beside him, what a clever little boy.

Wan Ruyi nodded with satisfaction, "Master Shu, four gentlemen, I will take you to visit the staff hospital now."

Shu Youliang readily responded, "Okay, let's go and see what your Luanzhou Staff Hospital looks like."

The group followed Wan Ruyi and walked along the cement road in the factory area for more than ten minutes. They saw a building among the green trees. There was a huge sign on the top, with a hanging medicine gourd. The gourd was a ring on top, with the Three Talents and Seven Stars above and below the ring, and the sun and the moon on the left and right.

The gourd below is the Yin-Yang Tai Chi fish.

Is this the Luangang Workers’ Hospital?
(End of this chapter)