It was clearly a big test for Hong, but Zhang Shou suddenly gave a long speech. However, he was just in high spirits, and talked about everything from technical experience to rise and fall. After he finished talking to his heart's content, he realized that he had stolen Hong's spotlight, and immediately apologized with a self-congratulatory smile.
He apologized so casually that Princess Yongping was neither annoyed nor angry.
As for being glad that Zhang Shou was causing trouble... that was probably a little bit of the truth, because there would always be comparisons between talented women. She was proud of her noble status, her father was the supreme ruler of the world, and her mother was tough and strong, so she thought it was too outrageous that her father would consider letting Hong take charge of part of the enlightenment courses for the third prince just because he was drugged by Chu Kuan.
Why did she know that it was Chu Kuan who recommended Hong? It was Liu Feng, the manager of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, who heard the emperor say it in the Palace of Heavenly Purity and then reported it to her. In her opinion, if her father really needed a woman to teach the third prince some basic things, then she would definitely be able to do it, so why would she need Hong
However, Hong was very calm in accepting Zhang Shou's apology. He bowed and said sincerely, "Dr. Zhang's words are like a revelation to me. I am like those literati you mentioned. Whenever we talk about the change of dynasties, apart from the rise and fall, we only pay attention to the official system, territory, and how the local areas are governed... In the final analysis, they are all matters of the upper class, but we never think about the most basic farmers and workers."
When the Third Prince heard Madam Hong's answer, he also nodded and said, "It's not just Madam Hong. In the past, my father found a few people to give me lectures, and they all talked about the old-fashioned things like wise rulers, virtuous ministers, and clear politics. They never talked about it from a perspective like yours! That's why my fourth brother and I told my father that the history lectures given by the teacher in Banshan Hall are much more interesting than those people!"
"I can't stand being praised. Besides, only when the ruler is wise and the ministers are virtuous, and the country is peaceful, the people have the leisure time to think about these trivial things. In troubled times, the people are busy avoiding war, so how can they have the time to think about farming and working?"
Zhang Shou smiled and shook his head. "Besides, compared to those historians, my tricks are just small tricks that are not worthy of being in a high-class place. If I had said what I just said to you when I was giving a lecture at the Imperial College, maybe a small number of people would have found it useful like you, but I'm afraid more people would have pointed at me and called me ridiculous."
"Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are the four classes of people in the world. In the eyes of most people, only scholars can guide the world, and farmers and artisans just need to do their jobs. As for unscrupulous merchants, they must be suppressed to prevent them from corrupting the atmosphere. And the fact is indeed so, because those who know how to improve the tools of farmers and artisans are mostly scholars who are concerned about the people, and occasionally some well-educated and knowledgeable craftsmen."
"But in a sense, it is the continuously improved farming level and the continuously increased per-acre yield that are constantly pushing society forward. The popularity of cotton crops has enabled the people to have enough food and clothing. Therefore, only when people have enough food and clothing can they know honor and disgrace. Otherwise, if the per-acre yield is always low, if there is no cotton, how much more effort will farmers have to put in to get enough food and clothing?"
"If the people cannot have enough food and clothing, no matter how many literati and poets leave poems and songs, no matter how many people sing praises of peace, how can it be considered a truly peaceful and prosperous era?"