Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 187 Knowledge and Practice
Lu Zheng stood on the podium and said leisurely, "Mathematics is a broad and profound subject. I'll stop here for today. If anyone still doesn't understand, please ask your classmates. If you still don't understand, come and ask me. Tomorrow we will go outside the city. Everyone, please rest well tonight. get out of class dismissed!"

Everyone quickly stood up and bowed to see him off.

Lu Zheng returned the greeting and left the school.

Li Zhaoxing rushed over to him, "Brother Lu, what are you doing..."

Lu Zhengdao: "I am still your substitute teacher. When I'm working, I call it my job title."

Since I have become a substitute teacher at Beishan Academy, I have to take it seriously.

If even Li Zhao's attitude towards him is so eccentric, how can other students obey him?
Li Zhao looked at Xiao Shan who was standing not far away, and quickly changed the subject with a smile, "Mr. Lu, when did you come back?"

"A few days ago, I was reading in the dean's study." Lu Zhengdao.

Li Zhao was surprised and said, "You are in the academy. I have been in the academy these days and heard some things about the outside world. I knew that you should be back and wanted to find you. Why are you here as a substitute teacher?"

"Don't ask too much, go back and have a good rest."

Lu Zheng patted Li Zhao on the shoulder and went straight to Xiaoshan.

Li Zhao couldn't follow any further, so he went to the dormitory with other classmates.

Xiao Shan took Lu Zheng out of the school and said with a smile, "What do you think of these students, young friend?"

Hearing this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "I've been teaching all the time, and haven't really observed them much. They seem to be quite studious."

"I see." Xiao Shan smiled. "Young man, your lectures are very good. I listened carefully. I have lived for so many years and have never learned those calculation methods. I feel that solving math problems has become much easier."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Mathematics has its own rules. As long as you find the right method, calculations can indeed be much simpler. I also learned it."

Xiao Shan paused, then asked curiously, "What are you going to do with them out of the city tomorrow?"

"It depends on the situation," Lu Zheng said calmly. "To judge a person's moral character, we can't just look at what they say, but also what they do in their daily lives. Just staying in class and giving them questions won't tell you how much they've truly learned."

"That makes sense." Xiao Shan nodded.

Lu Zheng returned to the study and continued reading.

It was late at night before Lu Zheng went back to his room to sleep and regain his energy.

The next day, before dawn, a group of scholars got up early, had breakfast, and then went to the classroom for morning reading.

Lu Zheng came to the classroom and said directly: "Come out and gather in pairs. Follow me."

A student quickly asked, "Do you need to bring anything?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "No need. In addition, you will be punished by copying the Four Books and Five Classics."

"Ah, why?" the student asked in surprise.

Lu Zhengdao: "Respect your teacher. You should call me Mr. This is your second time. Remember to copy it twice and send it to the dean."

The student complained, "Yesterday I heard Li Zhao call you Brother Lu!"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Li Zhao will copy it once, and you will copy it three times. Do you have any questions? If you are not satisfied, you can go to the dean now."

Li Zhao:......

Student:......

Upon hearing this, the other students were afraid to speak.

"Since there are no problems, let's go." Lu Zhengdao.

So, dozens of students walked out of the classroom, gathered outside, and then followed Lu Zheng out of Beishu Academy.

At this time, it was already dawn.

There were already some early risers on the street, and some shops had opened for business.

Lu Zheng turned around and said, "Aren't you guys supposed to have morning reading? Keep reading, starting with The Analects."

The students were stunned. How could they read in the morning while walking on the street?

Lu Zheng stopped and said, "Why, you only read the sages' books in the academy? You can't read them outside? Do you feel ashamed to read the words of the sages?"

The faces of the students changed. These words were quite hurtful.

"If you feel ashamed, you can leave now, pack your bags and go home!" Lu Zheng said again.

No one dared to stand up. Even though Lu Zheng was just a substitute teacher, they didn't want to take the risk of being the first to speak out.

There were other people around watching out of curiosity. Anyone who dared to step out would definitely be pointed at and would probably be too embarrassed to stay in the county town in the future.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Li Zhao, let's get started! One person remains silent, and the entire class copies the Analects fifty times."

Li Zhao was shocked and said loudly: "The Master said, 'Learn and practice it from time to time...'"

Other students also had to bite the bullet and recite the classics.

Lu Zheng stepped aside and stared at the students, "Keep going, to the west city gate. Speak louder! Haven't you eaten yet? You're so weak at such a young age? Don't let people laugh at you... I'm talking to you! You're still looking at others!"

"Walk with your head held high and chest out, step shoulder to shoulder! Can you act like a scholar? You can't even walk? Do you really like making fun of the villagers?"

Lu Zheng was standing aside, directing the team as he walked.

The group of students also gave it their all, reciting scriptures aloud one by one.

Walking down the street, he always attracted the attention of others and attracted whispers of gossip.

This was the first time these ordinary people had seen such a scene.

Xiao Shan and Xiao Qingqing followed slowly behind.

Xiao Qingqing couldn't help but whispered, "I feel like Lu Zheng is quite good at teaching people."

Xiao Shan laughed and said, "If I didn't know his identity and family background, I would have thought he was from the army." A group of students marched out of the city.

Lu Zheng walked in front again to lead the way, and then continued along the county road.

After walking for a while, the students fell silent because they had finished reading the Analects.

Lu Zheng no longer asked them to continue their morning reading, but instead walked up the narrow mountain path and crossed the mountains.

After climbing two mountains, someone finally couldn't help but ask, "Sir, where are we going?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "I'm taking you out for a walk. Why, you can't walk after such a short distance?"

"No, that's not it." The man said quickly.

Lu Zhengdao: "Then keep going!"

Some students were indeed tired, but they did not dare to stop. One of the most important reasons was that Dean Xiao was following behind them.

After climbing over another mountain, a village appeared before everyone.

On the mountainside, there were servants organizing many villagers to build a road, and they were working hard.

Lu Zheng led a group of students closer.

The officers and villagers all recognized Lu Zheng at once and greeted him.

"Mr. Lu, why are you here..."

An officer looked at the students behind with a strange look on his face.

Lu Zheng pointed to the group of students behind him and said, "They are students from Beishan Academy. Bring them here to help with the road construction. Find some tools and send them to do some work."

"what?"

The officer was shocked when he heard this. These were all scholars and young masters, and he, a mere officer, was commanding them to work?

Lu Zheng called out to the students again, saying, "Stop standing around and come help repair the road. This is today's assignment."

Some students were so tired that they were gasping for breath. They didn't expect Lu Zheng to take them for such a long mountain walk and even asked them to repair the road. What kind of homework was this?
Some students couldn't stand it and said, "Sir, we are all scholars, how can we do such a thing?"

Lu Zheng's eyes turned cold, "What did you say?"

The student was startled by Lu Zheng's glare, but still said stubbornly, "Even if Dean Xiao asked you to be a substitute teacher, you shouldn't torture us like this. We are all scholars with honors!"

Lu Zheng nodded upon hearing this, "Indeed, then let's raise our hands and make a gesture. Who else is unwilling to do this?"

Some students couldn't help but raise their hands, while others hesitated.

Lu Zheng glanced at them and said calmly, "There are less than half of them. Is there no one else?"

A student who raised his hand couldn't help but say to the person next to him, "Brother Zhang, why are you hesitating? Do you really want to work?"

Li Zhao saw this and glared, "Whoever dares to raise his hand will be making trouble for me, Li Zhao!"

"Brother Li, you shouldn't be so threatening!" a student said, "The teacher said to vote by raising hands."

Jia Gu and several other outstanding students went to take part in the autumn examination, so that in the scholar class, Li Zhao's words carried much more weight, and no one dared to take the lead in opposing the son of the county magistrate.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I respect your attitude. Anyone who doesn't want to build the road can raise their hand."

As soon as these words were spoken, some more students bravely raised their hands, and the number of people now exceeded half.

One student asked, "Sir, now that more than half of the people have come, we don't need to build the road, right?"

Lu Zheng glanced at them and said calmly, "I just asked you to raise your hands to express your willingness, but I didn't say that you can not work if you don't want to."

Students: ...

Lu Zheng raised his hand, and Zhang Liangchui appeared in his hand in the blink of an eye.

When everyone saw Lu Zheng suddenly take out a big hammer, their faces changed.

Lu Zheng, holding a hammer, slowly walked to a huge rock not far away.

The stone is ten feet high and as big as a house. After years of weathering, the remaining part is quite solid.

Lu Zheng raised his hand and knocked on the stone, and the sound of metal and stone echoed.

He couldn't help but twist his neck, took two steps back, clenched his fists tightly with both hands, and suddenly swung it hard at the boulder.

A loud thunder sounded, and in an instant countless cracks appeared on the surface of the boulder, like a dense spider web.

A moment later, the entire stone shattered into pieces, turning into a pile of finger-sized gravel that was broken quite evenly.

Lu Zheng turned to look at the students, his eyes as sharp as a knife.

Some people couldn't help but look sideways and dared not look directly at him.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Li Zhao, take some people to get baskets and fill them with stones to fill the road!"

Li Zhao was startled and quickly responded, "As you wish!"

He hurriedly called a few classmates to get things.

Lu Zheng continued, "Everyone else, go find some work. After half an hour, if anyone is free, I'll talk to them about it. Of course, you can also come over now and I'll talk to you about it..."

"During this period, I have been reasoning with the demons and ghosts a lot, and none of them refused to obey. You are all scholars, so I think you can understand reason better, right?"

"Even the ancient sages, before they rose to prominence, had already learned many skills. What right do you have to complain to me about this? Could it be that you all compare yourselves to sages, or have reached a realm beyond sagehood?"

Lu Zheng's voice was cold and he looked at everyone with burning eyes.

No one responded. Lu Zheng's words and hands were full of reason. What else could they say?
(End of this chapter)