After Zhuge Liang regained his composure, he looked back at the "Encouragement to Study Paper" given to him by his elder brother, and suddenly felt different.
A warm spring breeze that was very down-to-earth and rarely filled with big words warmed his desire to learn.
“In these troubled times, if you don’t learn, you can’t become talented. How can you protect your family, serve your country, and save the world if you don’t have talent? However, the pursuit of scholarship cannot be utilitarian.
Practical learning is important, but the foundation also needs to be solid and the character needs to be sharpened. After I have obtained this book, my dear brother, please do not, out of eagerness for quick success and instant gains, study hard and give up on cultivating your farmland, practicing swordsmanship and martial arts, strengthening your body and mind, and understanding the common people..."
Zhuge Jin started out a little literate, but then tried his best to explain the reasons in ordinary vernacular:
Because “people who are extremely intelligent tend to be lazy easily. Because it is too easy for them to make progress in learning most things, over time, when they encounter real problems and do not see progress after studying for a long time, they will become impatient.
At this time, you can make up for the problem of impatience by cultivating your nature through farming or practicing sword practice to strengthen your body and mind. Because it takes at least half a year to harvest from the fields, and no matter how hard you try, you can't encourage the seedlings to grow.
Therefore, farmers often have more perseverance than petty officials and daily-paid coolies. The clerks and coolies may not work hard the next day if they don't get paid one day, but the farmers can keep working hard for the harvest a year later."
"Similarly, it is not easy to directly see progress when exercising to cultivate the mind. It requires taking small steps every day to reach a thousand miles. But because those who exercise are used to the state of temporarily not seeing benefits after putting in their efforts, they are often better than those who only read books. More perseverance.”
Zhuge Liang likes to look at the general outline without asking for a deep understanding. Although this is a great help to the speed of learning, it is actually an obstacle to study and advancement.
Before Zhuge Jin traveled through time, he had to recite "The Book of Commandments" since he was a child, and also studied the changes in his ancestors' academic thinking. It is not difficult to find from this that after Zhuge Liang suffered hardships in his later years in history, he actually gradually developed the quality of being focused and indifferent, not seeking broad knowledge or quick gains.
Zhuge Jin knows very well that these qualities can only be gradually formed after a person has experienced, suffered, and tasted the frustration of "Obviously I tried hard, but it was useless."
Now he wants his second brother to "complete the journey of five or six years in one or two years." What he fears most is not that he cannot teach his second brother specific thinking methods and knowledge logic.
Instead, Zhuge Liang's knowledge progressed too quickly due to plundering the seedlings, but his character and perseverance could not keep up, and his personality quality foundation was not solid.
That would be a shame.
But in this life, Zhuge Liang is destined not to suffer too much hardship and suffer too many setbacks.
Zhuge Jin had no choice but to use as simple principles as possible and other people's lessons and examples to restore these principles as much as possible and cultivate Zhuge Liang's empathy.
Then use methods such as scientific farming and physical exercise to indirectly hone your character.
…
After Zhuge Liang read his elder brother's sincere words, he was deeply shocked and couldn't extricate himself from thinking about it for a long time.
The principles mentioned in Zhuge Jin's letter can actually be used in later Internet terms. The core is "delayed gratification" and "long-termism."
It's just that Zhuge Jin's wording is more down-to-earth, and he borrowed some wording from Xunzi's "Encouragement to Learning" and later Zhuge Liang's own "Book of Commandments", and broke it into pieces to make it more detailed and popular.
The phrase "indifferent to clarify one's ambition" in "The Book of Commandments" is actually the condensation of "delayed gratification" in modern educational psychology.
"Tranquility reaches far" is also a summary of "long-termism", but the ancients cherished words even more.
Zhuge Liang spent a full half-quarter of an hour digesting what his elder brother said, and then continued to look at the examples given by his elder brother:
"After he gave Liu Bei advice for the first time, he was worried that even if Liu Bei got the trick, he might still suffer losses for a long time, so he didn't want to suffer along with him. He was afraid that Liu Bei would not distinguish his merits and demerits and saw that his side was still in decline, so he Blame the counselors for their incompetence'.
But before he broke out and escaped, Liu Bei saw him off in person. He saw his worries and said something:
"I have been wandering for half my life, suffering from being separated from my wives and concubines, and being hunted down, but I have also concluded a truth: whenever I encounter a military disaster, it is not because I have not done well recently, but because I was slack a long time ago. , the distant cause was sown.
Just like this time when Xiapi was stolen, after quietly reflecting on it, how could Bei have the face to let Yide take the blame? Although Yide failed to stabilize Cao Bao and Xu Dan, the reason was that when our army was granted official status, he failed to appease the Danyang soldiers.
After Tao Gong passed away, Bei had one and a half years to solve this problem, but Yide only took over for one and a half months. Therefore, if Xiapi was stolen, he would be held responsible the most.
Sir, you are planning for me today. If I lose again tomorrow, it will not be my fault at all. It is my failure to train troops and treat others well in the past two years. And your plan today will be beneficial to our army sooner or later in the future..."
The exhortation to study written by Zhuge Jin was obviously modified. Of course Liu Bei never said such words.
Zhuge Jin compared Liu Bei's reflection with later Napoleon's words: "If I fail tomorrow, it will not be because I did something wrong yesterday, but because I did something wrong a long time ago. If I worked hard yesterday, it will not be effective tomorrow. But it will work after a long time” grafted together to enhance persuasiveness.
But this time, Zhuge Liang really didn't see that his eldest brother was cheating.
When he read this, he already had tears in his eyes.
I felt my elder brother's expectation for him to cultivate his mind and character, and he truly believed in this example that happened to Liu Bei.
Zhuge Liang put down the scroll and sighed:
"No wonder General Zhendong was in such a desperate situation, but he was able to turn defeat into victory under the plan of his eldest brother. Although his strategy is excellent, General Zhendong's resilience, strict self-discipline, and lenient treatment of others are also indispensable."
Zhuge Liang secretly made up his mind to learn from his elder brother's life experience in terms of learning attitude. We should also learn from General Liu's resilience and perseverance in terms of character cultivation.
The other scrolls on professional knowledge can be used as reference books after learning and put away in categories.
Instead, make a copy of this volume "Encouraging Learning" and keep it close to you.
In the future, if you find yourself feeling impatient because of a slowdown in progress, or doubting your life due to other setbacks, you should take out this family letter, read it carefully, and reflect on yourself!
This content that I skipped reading at first is the most precious among the dozen or so volumes of eldest brother’s family letters!
The elder brother really had good intentions when sorting and made no mistakes.
Learning attitude, learning methods, and human mentality are always more important than specific content learning.
After recalling these principles, Zhuge Liang felt that it was not appropriate to look at any specific learning tonight.
He sat quietly and reflected for a long time, and wrote two notes at the end of the volume: "Quietness cultivates one's character, frugality cultivates one's virtue. Indifference helps clarify one's aspirations, and tranquility leads to long-term goals."
Then I put down my pen and went back to sleep in awe.
There are actually some trivial explanations and lists at the end of the second volume, but they have been ignored by Zhuge Liang.
…
Maybe I was so absorbed in studying last night that I slept too late.
Zhuge Liang, who was always diligent, actually didn't wake up until three o'clock in the morning.
In the end, the second sister Zhuge Lan cooked breakfast and it was almost cold. Seeing that her brother couldn't afford it, she came over and pushed him awake.
(Note: In the previous chapter, everyone felt that the names of the eldest sister and the second sister were not good. It has been changed. You can go back and confirm)
Zhuge Liang simply washed and dressed with a confused look on his face, sat down at the table, picked up the porridge bowl and took a sip without thinking, and then noticed that the taste was wrong.
"Hey, how did you make bean porridge today? And what kind of rice is this round and moist rice?"
Zhuge Lan hadn't finished his housework yet, so he was wrapped in a worn-out coarse apron and with his hands on his hips, he lectured his younger brother: "Did you read the second volume of the family letter last night? If you didn't read it, you wouldn't let us read it!"
If I hadn't cleaned up your desk early in the morning and seen it, the things that my eldest brother sent me would have been lying in the satin box for who knows how long, and I don't even know if they were broken! "
Zhuge Liang was immediately scolded and felt a little guilty. He did notice last night that there was an appendix at the end of the volume, which explained some trivial matters in life, as well as things sent by messengers.
But he was used to being the hands-off shopkeeper and leaving all the housework to his sister, so he didn't take a closer look.
When the eldest sister Zhuge Zhi heard the quarrel between her younger siblings, she walked to the inner hall and pushed her sister away to work. Then she took the list and persuaded her softly: "You should also eat more. You should also take a look at these." , although it is a trivial matter in daily life, I think what I wrote makes sense. I must have consulted a famous martial arts master or a famous doctor."
Zhuge Liang hurriedly finished his meal, and then he and his eldest sister carefully studied the rest of the study paper.
It turns out that the elder brother finally explained some health-preserving methods that should be paid attention to when studying and working, as well as dietary supplements for healing.
First of all, the first article emphasizes the food combination, saying that this time someone sent some tea produced in Wudi, which was simply roasted, and taught them a new way to drink it. In the future, they do not need to add onion, ginger, garlic, salt, and just boil it directly. Drinking it can clear the liver, improve eyesight and detoxify.
Then he said that in the future, he should pay attention to small meals and frequent meals, especially because his second brother studies hard. Staying up late can easily damage the liver, so he should pay attention to his work and rest. He also asked the messenger to bring a few buckets of walnuts. You can put washed sand or salt in the pot, bake them in their shells until they are ripe, and then eat them directly, or you can make porridge together with the peach kernels.
As for the ingredients for making porridge, Zhuge Jin also attached a recipe, asking Zhuge Liang to find merchants in Jingnan in Xiangyang, purchase coix and wolfberry, and make porridge with mung beans available everywhere, which can also clear the liver, improve eyesight, and detoxify. .
Obviously, Zhuge Jin knew that Zhuge Liang in history was the Liver Emperor and died of liver failure, so now he is urging the sixteen-year-old Zhuge Liang to start paying attention to his care.
Zhuge Liang was stunned when he saw this: "Then the round and smooth thing in the porridge is coix?
No wonder when Cai Zhonglang compiled the "Han Ji", it was recorded that General Fubo of this dynasty, Ma Yuanping, was infected with miasma on his way to Jiaozhi. He looked for Lingnan Coix to remove dampness, heat and detoxification. In the end, he was criticized by treacherous officials in the court for searching for Hepu pearls and returning them.
This thing does look like a pearl. But how come the things that big brother told us to purchase by ourselves are available so quickly? "
Zhuge Zhi explained softly: "These were brought by the messenger yesterday. They must have been told by their elder brother. On the way here, they passed by Xiangyang and Jiangxia, and they looked for Jingnan merchants on the spot. They bought them in cash with a lot of money." Delivered.
Isn't this already written? Coix is produced in Lingnan and can be purchased from merchants in Changsha and Guiyang counties. Wolfberry is a rare treasure recorded in Tai Shigong's "Historical Records: Biographies of Southwest Yi". It can be purchased from Yelang Kingdom - the Yelang Kingdom of the early Han Dynasty is today's Zangda County. Lingling merchants can take the Middle Guizhou Road Purchased.
It seems that the people General Liu sent to the eldest brother do not dare to neglect their duties. The eldest brother must be highly valued by General Liu. "
Zhuge Liang followed his eldest sister's thoughts and looked down, and the more he looked, the more he felt his eldest brother's heavy expectation.
The eldest brother took so much care of their siblings just by taking care of their diet.
It seems that some drawings of fishing gear were attached in the follow-up, and they were taught that the meaty diet should mainly consist of large fish, but that it should be fully cooked and not eaten raw, so as to maintain health and nourish the brain.
There are also several boxes of special lamp oil for Zhuge Liang to use for reading at night, some ideas for improved farm tools to protect Zhuge Liang's waist when doing breeding experiments in farming, and a bunch of other things.
Because these have nothing to do with breakfast, the two sisters were in a hurry and didn't have time to unpack them. They just unpacked the food sent by their elder brother early in the morning.
"Now that you've finished your breakfast, you can unpack the remaining things that big brother brought you! After you've finished unpacking them, teach us how to use them!"
Zhuge Zhi felt that it was necessary to let his brother who did not do housework familiarize himself, so he gave Zhuge Liang the remaining unpacking task.
