APSIL -Chapter 122 The First Lesson

The usually deserted Half-Mountain Hall of the Imperial Academy became lively early that morning.

Some students who normally rarely showed their faces arrived from all directions, either riding in carriages, on horseback, or carried in sedan chairs. They gathered in their usual small groups, whispering among themselves, and after Half-Mountain Hall opened, they entered noisily.

When they discovered that every desk had a name on it, some immediately began complaining.

However, when they tried to switch seats, they found that the names had been directly carved into the desks. If they wanted to change seats, they would have to move the entire desk.

Moreover, Zhang Chen was wandering around with Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu like three night patrol demons, watching everyone closely.

Thus, the young noble troublemakers could only helplessly sit according to the assigned seats.

When almost everyone had taken their places, two small children suddenly appeared at the doorway.

They were clearly only seven or eight years old, poking their heads inside cautiously.

Sharp-eyed Zhang Wu immediately coughed lightly.

“Are those the Third Prince and Fourth Prince?”

His voice was neither loud nor quiet, but soon the enormous Half-Mountain Hall became silent.

It was not because the two young princes possessed overwhelming authority.

Rather, everyone worried that the emperor had sent people to escort them and observe everyone’s behavior.

Seeing that the two short little children were still hesitating outside, someone sneered.

“The princes have already arrived, but the teacher still hasn’t shown up. What an impressive display of arrogance…”

“Uh!”

Before he could finish speaking, someone suddenly appeared between the two princes.

Then, with one hand holding each child, the person gently but firmly brought them into Half-Mountain Hall.

After guiding the two children to the only two seats in the first row and making them sit down, the person who had slightly bent over while leading them straightened up.

Everyone saw a young man who looked around sixteen or seventeen years old.

He wore the blue official robes of a National Academy Doctor.

His appearance was exceptionally handsome.

At this moment, he smiled faintly, his brows relaxed and his expression gentle. At first glance, he seemed like someone easy to get along with.

When he walked to the center of the room, everyone immediately understood.

The person who had arrived was none other than the youngest National Academy Doctor in history.

The Zhang Shou who would now control their lives in Half-Mountain Hall.

“Looks like everyone is here.”

“Then I will call names. When your name is called, please stand up and introduce yourself.”

“For example, I am Zhang Shou. I am best at things related to numbers.”

“Something like that is fine.”

“Of course, if you think you have no special talents, you may simply talk about your interests.”

“For example, I enjoy horseback riding and hunting. That is also acceptable.”

After saying this, Zhang Shou ignored the whispers below.

He did not even open the roster.

He casually called: “Zhang Chen.”

Zhang Chen, who had hurriedly taken the seat behind the Third Prince after Zhang Shou entered, immediately stood up.

Of course, he was not nervous about introducing himself.

In fact, he proudly looked around at everyone before speaking word by word:

“I am Zhang Chen, eldest son of Duke Qin.”

“My horseback riding and archery are only average…”

“But when it comes to beating people, I never disappoint.”

He deliberately emphasized the words “beating people.”

The Third Prince and Fourth Prince, who had grown up with him since childhood, exchanged glances.

Both immediately concluded: Zhang Chen was a dangerous person.

The next person called was Zhang Wu.

His introduction was much gentler.

“I am Zhang Wu, son of Marquis Nanyang.”

“I do not have any outstanding talents. I suppose patience and carefulness are my strengths.”

“Hmm… I like calligraphy. My handwriting is fairly decent.”

“I am Zhang Lu, son of Marquis Huaiqing.”

“As for me…”

“I can get along with anyone.”

“It is only a pity I was not born during the Spring and Autumn or Warring States periods. Otherwise, I would definitely have become a top strategist.”

Compared with Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu was much more exaggerated.

He smiled and cupped his hands toward everyone.

“From now on, we are classmates. Please take care of me!”

With these three as examples, and with the Third and Fourth Princes sitting in front, the others became much more relaxed.

Some secretly glanced toward the entrance.

Aside from the guards standing there like wooden pillars, there were also several Imperial Academy officials observing.

However, nobody dared act too outrageous.

Everyone calmly introduced themselves, casually making up a sentence or two.

After about half an hour, the introductions finally ended.

Only then did Zhang Shou smile and say: “Very good.”

“Now, let the Third Prince and Fourth Prince introduce themselves as well.”

The Third Prince was suddenly called upon and was caught off guard.

However, seeing Zhang Shou’s gentle smile, he thought for a moment before standing.

“I am the Third Prince, Zheng Rong.”

“I am good at…”

“Hmm…”

“Painting!”

“Father Emperor has also praised my talent.”

The Fourth Prince, probably because he had seen his older brother’s example, answered even faster.

“I am the Fourth Prince, Zheng Ying.”

“I am very good at chess.”

“Father Emperor has even lost to me before!”

The moment those words came out, the entire hall burst into laughter.

Everyone knew the emperor was terrible at chess.

Now hearing that the emperor had lost even to his seven- or eight-year-old son, how could they not laugh?

But after laughing, Half-Mountain Hall instantly became silent.

Everyone suddenly remembered the consequences of mocking the emperor.

Wasn’t this basically courting death?

Seeing the Fourth Prince’s face turn red from anger because of everyone’s laughter, Zhang Shou sighed inwardly.

Throwing two tiny children together with a group of teenage troublemakers and letting them fend for themselves…

He really wondered what was going on in the emperor’s mind.

Moreover, these two princes did not seem to possess the natural arrogance expected of imperial descendants.

Instead, they seemed innocent and straightforward.

So Zhang Shou immediately smiled and praised: “At the Fourth Prince’s age, if you can truly defeat His Majesty, that proves your talent in chess is extraordinary.”

“Chess is about strategy and calculation.”

“As long as you study properly at the Imperial Academy, perhaps in the future you will not only defeat His Majesty once or twice, but even become a generation-defining chess master.”

The Fourth Prince’s eyes immediately lit up.

His happiness was impossible to hide.

He no longer looked angry at all.

Then Zhang Shou looked toward the Third Prince.

“If the Third Prince has time in the future, why not bring your paintings here and let everyone appreciate them?”

“Good!”

The Third Prince’s eyes also brightened.

He almost immediately wanted to run back to the palace and fetch his paintings.

As two younger princes lower in the order of succession, they were unlike many princes throughout history who stayed distant from their father.

Whenever they had free time, they were summoned to the Qianqing Palace.

The emperor would either play chess with them or watch them paint.

He treated them with great affection.

Furthermore, one of their mothers had died early, while the other’s mother came from a common background.

Their personalities were naturally innocent.

The people around them had all been personally selected by the emperor.

Whenever someone showed even the slightest sign of teaching them arrogance, that person would immediately be removed.

As a result, they had grown up almost like ordinary children.

At that moment, both princes felt:

This Zhang Shou person was quite interesting.

And the Zhang Shou they found interesting now brought out something even more interesting.

“The Nine Chapters Hall has not yet been fully repaired.”

“The plaque written by Taizu has also not yet been hung.”

“But I believe everyone has heard about the dispute surrounding that plaque.”

“Whether it was right or wrong is not something we will discuss today.”

“As for judging whether that plaque was hollow, we cannot demonstrate it here, so there is no point talking about it.”

“But previously, I used that matter to explain certain principles of the world to several senior officials.”

“Today, I want to show everyone the same method.”

As he spoke, Zhang Shou poured a small bag of rice onto the table.

Then he inserted a chopstick into the rice.

The chopstick shook twice.

Then it fell over.

Seeing most people looking confused, and some even showing disdain, Zhang Shou took out a porcelain cup.

He poured rice into it little by little.

Then he inserted the chopstick again.

After pressing the rice tightly together, he lifted the chopstick.

The entire cup of rice was lifted steadily.

Everyone reacted normally.

But the Third Prince and Fourth Prince immediately froze.

“Who can explain what you have just seen?”

The moment he asked, Zhang Wu was the first to stand.

“Teacher wishes to tell us that when everyone works together with one heart, even mountains can be moved and seas overturned!”

Zhang Shou was speechless.

These literary students really had rich imaginations.

He continued holding the cup with the chopstick and waved for Zhang Wu to sit.

Then he explained: “What Zhang Wu said can only be considered an extended meaning.”

“The actual reason is that after the rice grains are compressed, friction exists between the rice grains and the chopstick.”

“The friction force is greater than the weight of the rice and the cup, so the cup does not fall.”

“What is friction?”

“When your hand rubs against a table, an armrest, or any object, you can feel resistance.”

“That resistance preventing movement, or preventing something from moving, is called friction.”

Without caring whether everyone understood, Zhang Shou took out a piece of paper.

He turned around and stuck it onto the wall behind him.

The paper immediately fell.

He picked it up, placed it flat on the desk, and repeatedly rubbed it with the wooden handle of a brush.

Then he picked it up again and placed it against the wall.

This time, the paper remained stuck there as if by magic.

“It actually stuck!”

The Fourth Prince nearly jumped up.

“Is this a trick?”

“No.”

Zhang Shou smiled.

“This is not a trick.”

“This is the principle of the world.”

After seeing the Fourth Prince realize he had interrupted and hurriedly sit down, Zhang Shou continued: “This will not last forever.”

“After some time, the paper will fall.”

“The reason it stayed there just now is because the friction between the brush and the paper created static electricity, causing it to be attracted to the wall.”

“There are many principles in this world that people fail to notice.”

“But there are also many principles you see every day and consider ordinary.”

“Why do fruits fall from trees when they ripen?”

“Why does water flow from high places to low places?”

“When boiling water in a pot, if you place a heavy object on the lid, what kind of power will the steam produce?”

“Why do we always see lightning before hearing thunder?”

Compared with the boring lectures about ancient sages that everyone expected, Zhang Shou’s first lesson began with two strange experiments and a series of questions.

Immediately, many people began whispering.

Especially the Third Prince and Fourth Prince exchanged excited looks.

They both felt: This teacher was much more interesting than they had imagined.

“The principles of the world are vast and profound.”

“This was also why Taizu established subjects such as mathematics and the study of natural objects.”

“However, these profound principles are too difficult for ordinary people, so they are not suitable for most people to deeply study.”

“But everyone should at least understand them.”

“Respecting Heaven’s laws, respecting sages, and pursuing the principles of the world are not contradictory.”

“Why are you nobler than merchants and common laborers?”

“Not merely because of your noble birth.”

“Not merely because of your wealthy families.”

“True nobility comes from knowing more than them and seeing farther than them.”

“When a sudden idea you have, or a policy you painstakingly create, can change ordinary people’s lives and make them better…”

“That is true nobility.”

“Suiren discovered fire.”

“Cangjie created writing.”

“Shennong identified medicines.”

“Papermaking, agricultural tools, water wheels…”

“It was because generation after generation of noble sages and predecessors discovered the principles of the world from countless ‘whys’ that people today enjoy their current lives.”

“Looking throughout history, it is precisely because mankind gradually understands the principles of the world that life continues to improve day by day.”