The day when the school started finally arrived.
The first-day course was held in the open space in front of the main hall of the Privy Council.
There were about a hundred low tables lined up one after another, with straw mats placed under the tables. The children who came to class sat on the floor. Under the warm morning sun, they did not feel cold at all.
Beside these low tables, there are an equal number of chairs, which are reserved for spectators. There were both local people and scholars who came from other places after hearing the news, but most of them were the family members of those who attended the class.
Open recruitment to all school-age children and free tuition was unheard of in the past hundreds of years. Coupled with the news that masters from all over the country were boycotting the action of the Secretariat gradually spread, everyone's curiosity about the school reached a peak. Compared with the number of children who signed up, there were more people who applied to observe, and there were not even one empty chair among the hundreds.
At the same time, Zhou Dacai also selected a teahouse closest to the Secretariat as a place for his counterattack. In order to increase his momentum, he booked the entire third floor, and also invited many poor scholars who would never pay attention to it at all, to join in adding a torch to this movement to rectify the world.
Of course, another aspect is also due to own safety considerations.
Scholars will not be punished for their words. This is a rule set by the founding of Daqi. However, the Prime Minister of the Privy Council does not follow common sense. What if he becomes angry after being exposed and wants to find someone to vent his anger? Obviously, recruiting more people to share the risk is the safest approach. Zhou Sheng has not forgotten the nature of the Privy Council—alchemists are executioners who have obtained chartered powers. Their abilities can be used to deal with evil spirits, and naturally they can also be used to kill people.
He didn't want to be thought about by a high-level alchemist all the time.
"Brother Zhou, it seems that classes have started in the school." Someone leaned on the railing and looked out.
The best thing about this teahouse is that you can use the three-story height to get over the wall of the Privy Council Palace and get a glimpse of the interior of the palace. Although they were separated by more than half a street, with the lookout mirror in the West Pole, they could still barely see the movements of people in the open space.
"Everyone must be ready, right?" Zhou Sheng looked at the crowd and said.
"Don't worry, everyone can't wait." The invitees were gearing up. Scholars not only value fame, but reputation is also very important. If you can add an experience of defeating the Prime Minister of the Privy Council to your biography, it will make your face bright when you tell it, and it may become a major achievement in your career in the future.
After all, anyone who knows a little bit about current affairs knows that the conflict between the six departments of the imperial court and the Privy Council is not a matter of a day or two.
"Hey, look at the roof of the lobby..." Mr. Hu suddenly shouted, "There seems to be a woman standing there. She looks so beautiful!"
"Where is it?" Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but get excited, and their interest was even higher than that of Wen Dou.
Zhou Sheng also subconsciously pointed the lookout glass at the top of the headquarters lobby.
The other party was actually right.
In the blurry field of vision, a beautiful woman can be seen standing on the ridge of the roof, her snow-white robes fluttering in the wind, like a fairy who is not close to the fireworks of the world. Even if she can't see the whole picture, her temperament alone is enough to make people feel that she is outstanding.
Zhou Sheng actually felt jealous.
This person will be standing on the top floor of the Privy Council Palace, and she is probably one of the alchemists. In other words, she is either Xia Fan's subordinate or the guardian of the Privy Council Palace. Either way, she has a close relationship with Xia Fan.
There is also Princess Guangping who is petite but has no inferior facial features...
Xia Fan, why should he
And Liu Ruyan...
He planned to spread the rumor that this woman had an affair with Fu Cheng, but in fact he already had similar speculation in his mind. No matter how absurd the Jinxia Affairs Bureau—or the Privy Council behind it—acts, it is still an organization that can be brought to the forefront, not a place where lowly brothel girls can sneak in. If it weren't for Liu Ruyan's special relationship, how could the school elevate her to such a high position
When he thought of this, he felt even more annoyed, "Okay, it's better for everyone to focus on business."
"Liu Ruyan is out!" Mr. Hu was the first to find his target again.
The students holding the observation glasses immediately adjusted their vision, "Is that the bitch who betrayed Brother Zhou?"
"Why are there so many people following her?"
"Wait, what's in the cart?"
Everyone quickly discovered something strange. The child who was sitting on the straw mat stood up and was led to the cart, and then he actually got plates, bowls and chopsticks from it.
"Are they going to... eat?" someone asked in surprise.
Facts have proved that this is indeed the case. I saw the children passing by the cart one after another, receiving their own food, and then returning to their seats to eat.
what is this…
Everyone looked at each other, wanting to say something, but not knowing where to start.
It's natural to eat when you're hungry, but shouldn't this be done before coming to school
Reading books from sages is a solemn thing. Bathing and burning incense before class starts is an ancient practice. It is understandable if you can't do it now. No one will blame them for not following the rules, but eating breakfast directly in the school is too unique. point
"Grandstanding!" Mr. Chen finally concluded.
Fortunately, this unexpected episode only took about two-quarters of an hour, and they finally got what they wanted to see - Liu Ruyan stood in front of the children, opened the book, and began to teach the school's first enlightenment lesson.
From this distance, it was impossible to see clearly what she taught specifically. Everyone was waiting for the students in the audience to bring them first-hand information.
———
At about a quarter of an hour, there was a brief pause in the square.
The scholars in the teahouse also waited for the classroom records sent back from the front.
But when Zhou Sheng unfolded the messenger, the onlookers couldn't help but be dumbfounded - what do these weird symbols say
The letter was written in phonetic notation, but no one present had ever seen phonetic notation like this!
Could it be that Liu Ruyan's attainments were so high that he could invent a new set of phonetic notation rules on his own? Looking at the entire history, only a handful of great Confucians can do this.
"Don't worry!" Zhou Sheng said in a deep voice, "Whether the phonetic notation method is useful or not depends on the test of time. It is impossible for her to only teach pronunciation without teaching poetry and chapter theory. We just need to continue to wait for the opportunity."
But the facts did not develop as he thought. A quarter of an hour later, it was no longer Liu Ruyan who came back to the podium, but another woman.
She calls herself Mo Yun, the chief engineering consultant to Her Royal Highness the Princess and the head of the New Machinery Manufacturing Bureau.
Although she didn't understand the specific meaning of these titles, this person's status was obviously extraordinary, and what she was responsible for teaching was arithmetic.
This time, the content of the letter sent to the teahouse was much shorter.
Probably the transcriber himself was shocked by what Mo Yun said. On the second page, he simply summarized it into one sentence: This method seems to be quite different from the current calculation technique, but the more I listen to it, the more reasonable it becomes. and complete. But there are still many things that I don’t understand, so I won’t go into details to avoid making people laugh and mislead you. "
Zhou Sheng suddenly had a bad feeling.
At noon, the second meal was served in the school.
Although there are many snacks and cakes provided in the teahouse, the atmosphere in the air is obviously a bit depressing - everyone was holding back their ink, preparing to rely on their talents and writing skills to defeat Liu Ruyan, who represents the Secretariat, and strive to become famous. However, now The ink was rubbed dry several times, but not a single word was written on the white paper in front of them.
Finally, classes started in the afternoon, and the third person to take the stage exceeded everyone’s expectations.
The other party was Xia Fan, the Prime Minister of the Privy Council and the founder of the Secretariat.
The course he taught was called Guruwu.