As soon as Zhang Shou finished speaking, Ge Yong and Chu Ying turned their heads to look at Zhou Xun, the Imperial College's chief academic officer, and the chief academic officer's expression suddenly turned ugly. At this time, none of the other academic officials said anything, only Luo Siye gritted his teeth and smiled righteously to explain for his chief academic officer: "Grandmaster Ge, you know that the Imperial College has always had students prepare their own textbooks..."
Before Luo Siye could finish his words, Ge Yong suddenly turned around and looked at him. His eyes were so full of ridicule that his next words were blocked in his throat.
At this time, Zhang Shou said calmly: "Some of you have received books from the teacher at the gate of Ge's house. Those were books printed for the teacher by the bookstore, which sold them to the teacher at a price almost equal to the cost price. And now, there are actually kind bookstores willing to provide these books at a low price."
As the real owner of the so-called Haoxin Bookstore, Lu Sanlang couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, thinking that he was willing to provide various teaching materials for free throughout the process, but wasn't Zhang Shou unwilling to do so
Zhang Shou then raised his voice and said, "We don't provide the books needed for classes in Jiuzhang Hall, but loan them to you. It's not because the Imperial College has no money, and it's not because the court has no money. There is only one reason. That is, books cannot be read without being borrowed!"
As soon as these words came out, Ge Yong, who had just looked at Luo Siye coldly, immediately withdrew his gaze, with a puzzled look on his face. Chu Ying frowned and muttered in a low voice: "Books cannot be read unless they are borrowed? Is there such a perverse logic?"
During these days in the Imperial College, Zhang Shou had studied Taizu's poems and essays carefully to avoid any conflicts with others. Seeing the school officials looking at each other in bewilderment, and the students at a loss, he continued to speak boldly.
"Books cannot be read without borrowing. The Seven Classics and the Four Treasures are the books of the emperor, but how many emperors read them? The Hannibalism is the books that fill the rooms of the rich and powerful, but how many rich and powerful people read them? Other books that are accumulated by grandfathers and abandoned by their descendants are not worth mentioning."
Zhang Shou originally wanted to omit Yuan Mei's comments on the Emperor's Book in the original text, but when he thought that the emperor seemed to be an enlightened monarch, and that omitting this remark would lower the tone, and he had other purposes, he simply quoted the original text and continued.
"This is not only true of books, but of all things in the world. If you force yourself to borrow something that is not yours, you will be afraid that someone will force you to take it, and you will play with it anxiously, saying, 'It is here today, but it will be gone tomorrow, and I will never see it again.' If it is yours, you will put it away and hide it away, saying, 'I will look at it another day.'"
He paused for a moment, then continued, word by word, "This is what my teacher taught me before. Now, I am giving it to you intactly!"
Ge Yong was completely confused, but perhaps because this was not the first time, the old man still looked calm and composed. Especially when he saw Qi Jingshan and Chu Ying looking at him, he was extremely conflicted. He wanted to deny the lies Zhang Shou had told him, but thinking that exposing them in public would be disadvantageous to Zhang Shou, he finally endured it.
The most important thing is, what Zhang Shou said makes sense no matter how you listen to it!
Seeing Ge Yong's tacit agreement, Zhang Shou became even bolder. "Teacher once sighed. When I was young, I saw a book called "General Collection of Ancient and Modern Times" in the palace. I went to borrow it, but it was not given to me. I had a dream when I returned. It was so touching. So I remembered everything I read. After I got through the whole book, I received many books as salary. They were so full that the white silk covered the scrolls. Then I sighed that the borrower was so dedicated and I felt sorry for the time I had wasted!"