After telling a story about the history of the Tang Dynasty using the books he had read at home in Rongshui Village, Zhang Shou then turned back with a smile and talked about the Spring and Autumn Period.
In this era when the Spring and Autumn Annals did not yet exist, he quoted two sentences from the original text in the Spring and Autumn Annals, and then added rich details from Feng Menglong's Spring and Autumn Annals, weaving a bunch of short stories that were difficult to distinguish between true and false. Even many of the Imperial College officials who were listening in were fascinated by his stories. But even though the emperor was still there, Yang Yiming, a doctor of the Imperial College, still withdrew.
When the half-hour class was over, others were still able to hold themselves together, but the Third and Fourth Princes immediately stood up and surrounded Zhang Shou without thinking. The anxious Fourth Prince asked, "Dr. Zhang, will you teach like this in the future?"
"Of course." Zhang Shou looked at the Fourth Prince's chubby appearance and suddenly wanted to touch his head, but he held back and just smiled and nodded, "Tang Taizong once said that using copper as a mirror can correct one's clothes and hats; using the past as a mirror can help one understand the rise and fall of things; using people as a mirror can help one understand gains and losses. We are now using the past as a mirror and history as a mirror."
Outside the door, Lu Sanlang, who had sneaked in early but found that there were too many people in front, could not help but rush back to the emperor and said with a smile on his face: "Your Majesty, the Jiuzhang Hall has not started yet, can I also go to the Banshan Hall to listen in?"
"Your legs are on your body, how can I stop you?" The emperor laughed dumbly and tapped Lu Sanlang's head with his folding fan. "I think that when Jiuzhangtang is really reopened, Zhang Shou might be split in half and he won't be able to take care of it."
He paused for a moment, then looked at the many school officials who had just come forward after the class was over, and said with a half-smile, "You should know what I mean, right?"
Seeing Zhou Xun's face turning pale and blue, Luo Siye dodging and not daring to look at him, and the other doctors all lowered their heads, the emperor then laughed.
"These days, from the county school to the Imperial Academy, most teachers just read the book stiffly, and then read the so-called annotations of the predecessors again, and they are unwilling to say a word more. Because many people are only good at learning, but it is difficult for them to explain it well to others. And if they say one more word, it is easy for others to find fault with them."
"It is precisely because people in public schools often treat teaching as a formality, and those scholars only regard passing the examination as an honor, and do not really take studying in public schools seriously, that the public schools established by Emperor Taizu gradually became inferior to private schools."
"I am not targeting you, because in the public schools of the world, most teachers are thinking about being officials, not educating people. Moreover, the academic officials in the public schools of the world are of too low a rank, and their say is too low compared to the heads of prefectures and counties."
Seeing that many people were about to plead guilty, the emperor directly stretched out his hand to stop them and said in a deep voice: "I will not investigate what happened to the Imperial College academic officials in the past. All of you are Jinshi, so I hope that you can fulfill your responsibilities as academic officials of the Imperial College. Of course, if any student dares to make trouble, he will be expelled directly. I give you this authority."