Chapter 64 Confusion

  Liu Gonggong waved his Buddhist dust and scolded: "Song Jiu, you are bold!"

  "Liu Nei Shi, it's not that I'm brave, but the prince's body is worth a thousand catties. In the river, he's just an ordinary person. If something happens, I won't be able to bear the responsibility. The prince should study in the Eastern Palace, why come to the river?"

  "Jiulang, you are wrong. What qualifications do you have to instruct the imperial son?" Liu Gonggong swept his dust-covered hand across Song Jiu's face. Song Jiu wasn't quite clear about it either. The rules of the Song Dynasty were indeed very lax. Zhao Kuangyin suddenly remembered something and ran to Zhao Pu's house in the middle of the night, almost scaring him to death with a big snowball.

  There was another official, right next to Liu Gonggong. He would become the prime minister in the future. The eunuch tried to get him drunk in front of the emperor and all the officials. Song Jiu also vaguely sensed this, as he had experienced it himself in the court of Kaifeng Prefecture, which was unimaginable fifty years later during the Song Dynasty.

  Song immediately said: "Yes, how can a humble subject like me have the qualifications to instruct the imperial son?"

  "It's not for you to instruct the prince, Your Highness has come to observe." Liu Gonggong corrected.

  "That won't do," Song Jiu thought to himself, feeling anxious. He was originally afraid of getting entangled in the future conflict between Zhao Kuangyi and Zhao Pu, and now there's another Zhao Dezhang, he didn't know how he would die then. What is the difference between learning and observing? It's not about learning from observing, it's best to keep a distance, including Zhao Kuangyi, he didn't want to get too close either.

  The stout middle-aged official beside him said, "Gentleman of Affairs, don't think too much about it. His Highness has only come to observe and learn, staying for three or two days at most, or perhaps just a few hours."

  "Who are you?"

  "I am Lv Duan, the new magistrate of Kaifeng County, with the courtesy name Yi Zhi," Lv Duan said. This is the advantage of Song Jiu being a loose official, usually can't see it, but Lv Duan is the magistrate, and when speaking to Song Jiu, he also treats him with courtesy.

  "Have met Magistrate Lü before, huh? Aren't you the Magistrate of Xinye County?"

  The imperial court issued a decree, transferring Lü to Kaifeng to serve as the county magistrate.

  Song Jiubao didn't dare to be slow, this Lv Duan is not only a famous future prime minister, but also a famous prime minister who doesn't mess with big things. He also has an awesome older brother, Lv Yueling! After making another bow, he said: "It's hard for me to talk to others, but it's easy to talk to you, Lv Duan. You are a great person who was praised by the emperor alongside Zhuge Liang. I'm not familiar with the rules of the imperial court, but without rules, there would be no order. As the Son of Heaven, if one is too far from the people, they won't understand their suffering and might become an emperor like Jin Huidi. If one is too close to the people, they won't be revered. This is the principle of governance between the ruler and the people, hence there are various rituals and laws. Your Highness is a prince, and you also need to follow these rules. Lv Duan, now that the prince has come to my place to study, what kind of example does this set?"

  "Cheng Shilang, Lv Mou does not think so. The prince is only here to observe and learn, which has nothing to do with the imperial system. Moreover, he brought more than a dozen Hu Ben guards, so safety can be guaranteed. On the contrary, Lv Mou thinks that the prince's moderate outing of the palace to see the people's lives and understand their hardships will have a beneficial effect on his future growth."

  Lü Duan lightly refuted Song Jiu's argument.

  Song Jiuxin felt wronged in his heart. Who said that Lv Duan's big things are not muddled, small things are also muddled, and small things are not muddled!

  The real reason Song Jiuren couldn't say it out loud.

  Finally got to know, don't mention Zhao Kuangyi, this Lü Duan is not simple either. Who says ancient people are easy to fool? I'm in a hurry with whoever.

  Song Jiuren had no choice but to make arrangements. The school was now divided into two classes, A and B, with one being the superior class and the other being the inferior class, in order to motivate them. However, Zhao Dezhang couldn't be placed in the inferior class, as he wouldn't understand even if he were. So, Song gathered all the students from Class A and told them that for the next few days, they would have to endure some hardship, as they would be reviewing what they had learned before. In other words, they would be starting from scratch again, so that Zhao Dezhang could keep up.

  Arrange for the students to leave and let Zhao Dezhang come in.

  First let the student pay respects to Zhao Dezhao, it's good that during this time the student also saw many big shots, and was no longer a small kid, the student wasn't as nervous as when he first met the Zhao brothers.

  Song Ji started teaching arithmetic, starting from the beginning. Firstly, they were young in age and secondly, they had never seen Song Ji's arithmetic before. When they saw Song Ji writing problems on the blackboard with chalk, it was as if they were seeing a topic that should be taught to beginners, and all the students felt dizzy together.

  But there's no way to protest this.

  They thought it was too easy, Zhao Dezhuo and Lv Duan, Liu Gonggong three people listened with relish.

  After one class, Lü Duan didn't leave and sat on a stone bench chatting with Liu Gonggong. Outside, dozens of forbidden soldiers were guarding strictly, not only making it difficult for Song Jiu, but also affecting the normal life of the people in Kuji Alley. So he came to Zhao Dezhang's face and said: "Your Highness, it's not that I'm humble, compared to the Confucianism of the husband, whether it's material or arithmetic, they are all small ways, which are not within the scope of national examination. A person's energy is limited, Your Highness should learn the great way of governing the country, and these small ways are best not to pay too much attention."

  "Cheng Shi Lang, what is a small way and what is a big way?" Lü Duan's face suddenly sank.

  Song Jiuyi is inexplicable.

  "Sheng Shi Lang, Your Highness is still young, what are you talking about governing the country? What do you think!" Lv Duan shouted again.

  That's not right.

  Song Jiuxin was thinking wildly in his heart, could it be that he was also one of Zhao Kuangyi's people? It would make sense to think this way. In the future, Lv Duan rose to power by being sandwiched between the two great wise ministers Lv Mengzheng and Kou Zhun. Without gaining Zhao Kuangyi's trust, how could he have risen to power? He believed that whether it was a small matter or not, he couldn't compete with Lv Mengzheng and Kou Zhun. Moreover, there were also big shots like Li Shu, Li Fang, and Zhang Qixian eyeing him covetously on the side.

  Song Ji didn't quite believe it either, maybe Zhao Kuangyi had cultivated some trusted followers, but it was impossible to lay out a plan so far in advance. Zhao Kuangyin wasn't someone to be trifled with. So why did he want to drink his own poison? Suddenly, Song Ji's cold sweat dripped down, and he thought of one thing - actually, later on, Zhao Kuangyin's downfall was also self-inflicted. Even if he had appointed Zhao Dezhang or Zhao Defang as crown prince ten days in advance, securing their position, Zhao Kuangyi would have been left with nothing to do but stare blankly. Why didn't he appoint a crown prince? At that time, Zhao Dezhang was already an adult!

  It seems that the great man's evaluation is not bad, but this person is confused, it's his own confusion, and he still has some golden fingers, but when speaking, he doesn't think carefully. What he said to Zhao Dezhao about the way of governing the country, he himself wants to find fault.

  Lü Duan saw Song Jiu's face change greatly and knew that he had understood something. He was not an ordinary county magistrate, nor was he related to the capital city's county magistrate, because he also had a brother who knew some internal affairs. He thought that Song Jiu was afraid of the prince's arrival and was worried that he would have random thoughts, so he spoke warmly: "County Magistrate, don't think too much. The prince coming to observe and learn is not impossible. No matter what subject it is, the prince may not go to great lengths to study seriously, but must understand a bit. His Majesty let the prince come because of your paintings. These days, His Majesty has received countless impeachment memorials, one by one, and still cannot stop them. Therefore, he let the prince come to clear your name and make a gesture, so that you can serve the court with peace of mind. The prince will only observe for a few days. During these few days, no matter what, you must also serve the prince well."

  It's not just this intention, but also the likes of Song Jiuyi's conjecture, seeing the wonders of Mohist logic and the simplicity of arithmetic. From Song Jiuyi, he obtained three questions and posted them in Yangzhou and other areas along the river, even sending messengers to Jiangnan to spread the word, offering a reward of 5,000 bolts of silk to anyone who could solve them. After a long time, not one person was able to come up with an answer. This wasn't Song Jiuyi's ability, but rather that teacher's learning. Zhao Kuangyin himself had a certain attitude towards Confucianism. As emperor, one must know the heart of the ruler, which is also the art of balance: balancing religion, balancing the power of officials, and balancing learning. Letting his son take over not only gave Song Jiuyi a proper name but also gave this new and strange field of study a proper name. This was something that Lü Duan couldn't know.

  Song Ji nodded.

  Having realized the truth, still in a state of shock, unable to utter a word.

  It seems that these days are not good for socializing, it's better to say nothing at all, otherwise you might accidentally reveal something. So, I specifically taught lessons on grammar, arithmetic, and when the prince lost interest, I let him leave. Thinking about this, I made changes to the next lesson, still starting from the beginning but speaking quickly, making Zhao Dezhao seem like he understood but didn't really understand, saying he didn't understand but actually understanding a part of it, saying he understood but not fully grasping it. Moreover, I also stopped doing experiments and only lectured on dry and tasteless knowledge.

  Zhao Dezhuo listened for half a day and then took the forbidden soldiers back to the palace.

  Song Jiucái let out a long sigh, and called for Dr. Yan and Dr. Zhang, saying: "Today I taught the prince about physical objects and arithmetic, tomorrow you two teach him about classics and law."

  "Unsuitable," said Dr. Zhang, "the Eastern Palace has many great Confucian scholars who teach the laws and classics..."

  "Dr. Zhang, think about it, the prince is the eldest son of the emperor, and it's not specified what he wants to learn." Song Jiuhuang said.

  Dr. Zhang's heart skipped a beat.

  That evening, Song Jiu brought the students to the riverbank with many bolts of cloth. He misread the four characters for "the way to govern a country", which made Song Jiu become like a startled bird, afraid of offending the emperor and losing his wager. So he first distributed half of the cloth and money, but it was too early, before the time for compensation had arrived. The amount of cloth and money in Song Jiu's hands was not enough to compensate the people of Hezhou as promised. This was just half of it, all the money had been spent, this small amount of money is insignificant to the country, but it is also a weight.

  In the blink of an eye, the house was empty, with only a box of silver left behind.

  The next day, Lü Duan accompanied Zhao Dezhang to the Song family. Although Zhao Dezhang's official position was not as high as that of Zhao Kuangyi or Zhao Pu, his identity was different, and having Lü Duan accompany him was the lowest form of courtesy.

  Song Jiuyang invited Zhao Dezhang into the classroom, where Dr. Zhang began his lecture.

  No one knows what will happen in a few decades, but whoever wants to be Zhao Dezhao's teacher is likely to become the future emperor's teacher, who wouldn't want that?

  Lü Duan furrowed his brow and whispered to Song Jiu, "Gentleman of the Imperial Court, I've noticed that since His Highness arrived, your reactions have been somewhat abnormal. Why is that?"

  "A heart of reverence."

  "A sense of reverence is necessary, but Lv felt that it was not quite right. For example, when the imperial son came to observe and learn, what did he come to observe and learn? Was it to observe the meaning of the classics?"

  "Lyu Zhi County, don't mention it, this is my mistake, I'll adjust the class," Song Jiu wiped a cold sweat and obediently went in to replace Zhang Doctor, re-teaching arithmetic. But in his heart, Song Jiu thought of four words: great wisdom if foolish. Looking at Kou Zhun's life of turmoil, then looking at Lyu Duan's official career, who is actually smarter? Suddenly, Song Jiu's eyes lit up, and if he weren't in class, he would have burst out laughing, because he thought of two words: muddle-headed!