Imperial City, East Palace.
I don't know since when, Xu Fenglei has resigned from coaching the princes and princesses, so naturally he doesn't go to the East Palace so frequently.
This is mainly because the "Book of Changes" has been taught, and other cultural classes are trivial, and he has no interest in teaching them.
Therefore, the teachers in the East Palace became Kong Yingda, Yu Shinan and other well-educated scholars. Xu Fenglei was so busy with what he was doing that he almost forgot that he still had so many disciples.
"Mencius said: Water is not divided into east and west, nor up and down? The goodness of human nature is just like water's tendency to fall. There is nothing bad about people, and nothing about water cannot fall."
Kong Yingda was sitting in front of the hall, talking eloquently.
"Therefore, human nature is inherently good. Your Highnesses, do you... understand this?"
Li Chengqian and Li Tai drooped their heads, feeling a little sleepy.
Li Lizhi even lay down on the table and took a nap!
Only Li Ke was still listening, but he was also wilting and chirping.
Bang bang bang!
Kong Yingda stared and the ruler in his hand twitched wildly.
"What are you doing! Why are your eyes narrowed?"
He scolded somewhat sullenly,
"How can you sleep? Huh? At your age, when you should study the most, how can you sleep?"
"When I was like you now, I would have my head hung up every day, and I wouldn't give up until I memorized the book well! Otherwise, how could I be good at learning, and how could I be full of knowledge?!"
"Cheer up! Otherwise I'm going to hit you!"
He spat out saliva, which made several students excited.
The loud voices here also caused the three people outside the hall to speed up their pace.
"Master Kong, why are you so angry?"
Li Shimin stepped forward with his hands behind his back and said with a smile,
"Are the princes being naughty again?"
Beside him, the eldest grandson Wugou held the sleeping Li Zhi in his arms, and his eyes also glanced at the children.
Behind him was Xu Fenglei - he was captured by the emperor.
As the crown prince and grand master, how long has it been since you did your job? !
"I've met your Majesty, I've met your empress, I've met the Grand Master."
Kong Yingda stepped forward and saluted.
"See my father, my mother, my master."
The four children also saluted respectfully.
"No gift, no gift."
When they saw the master coming, they immediately became energetic and began to wink.
Xu Fenglei also made a face and interacted with them from a distance.
Seeing this scene, Kong Yingda frowned and felt a little unhappy.
Li Shimin smiled and raised his hand and said,
"I have nothing to do for a while, so I came to the East Palace to take a look at the prince's homework."
"Let me see where this lesson goes."
He stepped forward and picked up Kong Yingda's manuscript from the table.
""Mencius"..."
Li Er flipped through it casually, pointed at Li Chengqian and others and said,
"Theory of human nature? Come on, come on, you just had a class, summarize it?"
Four children: "..."
What scares me most is that the air suddenly becomes quiet.
"talk!"
Kong Yingda was sweating on his forehead and said nervously,
"Sir, didn't I teach you everything just now? Let me briefly explain it to Your Majesty..."
Li Chengqian blinked.
Li Tai started to dig into his pocket to find something to eat.
Li Lizhi looked even more innocent.
Only Li Ke looked a little difficult and hesitant.
Anyway, no one among the four of them spoke!
Kong Yingda: "#￥%...&*@#!!!"
Rather! I really admire these big brothers!
"Can't you name any of them?"
Li Shimin frowned and asked coldly,
"How do you read your books?!"
He was a little angry.
"Go back to Father."
Li Ke saw that the atmosphere was not right, so he stepped forward and said,
"Mencius said that human nature is inherently good, just like the downward nature of water. It is a law of nature."
"Every one of us is born kind."
When Li Shimin heard this, his expression softened slightly.
"Well said."
He commented, then looked at Li Chengqian and scolded,
"Human nature is good, this is common sense! With such a little knowledge, you can't hold it in for a long time!"
"What are you doing!"
Kong Yingda also nodded when he heard this.
The emperor became his mouthpiece this time, and these words were exactly what he wanted to say.
These princes and princesses have such improper learning attitudes! I guess he was led astray by the person behind him!
He glanced at Xu Fenglei and saw that he was looking careless. He couldn't help but snorted and looked away.
"Back to my father, it's not that I can't answer, but I'm thinking about a question."
Li Chengqian tilted his head and asked,
"Master Kong said that human nature is good, but is this really the case?"
"I think I had a lot of evil thoughts when I was a child. For example, when my mother and queen shared delicious food, I always grabbed the biggest and best piece. I didn't even want to leave a piece for my younger brothers and sisters."
"Also, when I was a child, I would secretly pee on the bed. Once, a servant at home was carrying me on his back. I wanted to play, so I peed on his neck."
"Later, when I grew up, I realized that these were wrong and evil. But at that time, I was ignorant and didn't know anything. If human nature is inherently good, then where did these evil thoughts come from?"
Li Shimin was slightly startled.
This question somewhat stupefied him.
Kong Yingda's face darkened.
"Prince, do you mean to support the theory of evil nature? Do you think human nature is inherently evil?"
He said displeasedly,
"This is a fallacy!"
Li Chengqian became more and more puzzled.
"Master Kong, that's not what I meant."
He scratched his head and said,
"I have never understood the theory of evil nature, I just have some doubts."
"Besides, I remember that Xunzi, who proposed the theory of evil nature, was also a great Confucian sage. How can his view be a fallacy?"
Kong Yingda: “@#￥%……&@#”
When Li Chengqian said this, he didn't know how to refute it for a while.
Although he didn't like Xunzi's views very much, he had to admit that Xunzi was also a great sage, not some evil heretic.
"Master Kong, can you answer my questions? Father, can you answer my questions?"
Li Chengqian glanced at Kong Yingda, then at Li Shimin, and cupped his hands.
Li Shimin: "..."
"You can just learn, why are you asking so many questions?"
Li Er waved his hand and said awkwardly,
"You will learn whatever the master teaches you! Why are there so many doubts?"
Kong Yingda couldn't even tell, but he knew a hammer!
"That's not okay."
Li Chengqian said seriously,
"Master said that if you want to learn, you must learn true knowledge. If it is fake knowledge, it will not only waste your time, but also pollute your spirit!"
"Master also said that to prove whether a theory is the truth, it depends on whether you can give counterexamples. If you can give counterexamples, it is not the truth."
"Now that my child has given a counterexample, if you can't give me a reasonable explanation, then this theory of good nature is not worth learning!"
Li Tai also nodded.
"Yes! Brother's confusion is also my confusion. If you can't explain the counterexample, you won't learn!"
"That's right! What's the point of imitating him with fake things? It's misleading people!" Li Lizhi also said.
Li Ke echoed in a low voice.
All eyes fell on Kong Yingda, waiting for his answers.
Kong Yingda's face turned red, and he was confused for a moment, and even his firm heart was a little shaky!
Could it be that...the theory of good nature is wrong?
impossible! Absolutely impossible! Mencius is a sage, and his theories have been tested for many years. How could he be wrong?
But...how can he give a reasonable explanation for the prince's "evil behavior" when he was a child?
Could it be that he was influenced by the environment when he was a child and became bad? Isn’t this nonsense! The emperor and empress would not be happy if they heard this!
They are so difficult to deal with. These little brats are the most difficult class he has ever brought up!
Seeing Kong Yingda hesitating, Xu Fenglei couldn't help but grin.
"If a learned scholar is at this level, he will be in a lot of predicaments like now. My disciples are all enlightened and should not be fooled."
He said jokingly.
Kong Yingda's face turned even more ugly.
Li Shimin's face also darkened.
"You still have the nerve to criticize others? Isn't it because you don't do your job properly that I have to ask Kong Aiqing and the others to coach?"
Li Er scolded,
"Since you are capable, you can help the princes clear their doubts! Don't make sarcastic remarks here!"
Xu Fenglei snorted lightly.
"The so-called good nature and evil nature are already outdated theories. The times are advancing, and of course knowledge must keep pace with the times, otherwise it will be eliminated."
He stood with his hands behind his back and chanted,
"There is no good or evil body, there are good and evil actions,"
“Knowing good and knowing evil is conscience, and doing good and eliminating evil is observing things.”
"These four sentences can answer Cheng Qian's doubts."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and muttered silently.
Kong Yingda was shocked. After listening to these four sentences, he felt as if he had glimpsed the truth and his hair stood on end!
"There is no distinction between good and evil in the human heart from the beginning. All good and evil are moved by thoughts."
Xu Fenglei said in a deep voice,
"Buddha said: The thoughts that arise in the heart will alarm the ghosts and gods in the ten directions! The thoughts that arise in the heart are the movements of the mind. This is because there are desires, likes and dislikes."
"There are good intentions and bad intentions. As Chengqian just said, you snatched the snacks from your brothers and sisters and peed on the servants' necks, which is your bad intentions. But in addition, you also have many good intentions. For example, you love and care for small animals. You will take the initiative to beat the legs of your tired parents, etc. These are your kindness."
Li Chengqian nodded repeatedly after hearing this, his expression extremely serious.
The other people also raised their heads and pricked up their ears to listen carefully - this scene seemed to go back to a few years ago.
"As you grow up, whether it is the words and deeds of your parents or your own growth and thinking, the conscience in your heart will gradually become clearer."
Xu Fenglei said again,
"At this time, your conscience will tell you what is good and what is evil, what can be done and what cannot be done."
"You will no longer snatch snacks from your younger brothers and sisters, but will give them to them generously, or even let them eat first; you will no longer pee on the necks of servants, because you know that it is wrong to take pleasure in it."
"Slowly, the judgment of conscience in your heart will become stronger and stronger, and you will be able to clearly distinguish between good and evil in the world, and you will be able to personally do good deeds and get rid of evil thoughts. If you continue to practice in this way, you will become a true gentleman. , even a saint!”
"I get it now?"
"Yeah!" The four children nodded in unison.
Li Shimin, Changsun Wugou and Kong Yingda also nodded subconsciously.
They were also convinced by Xu Fenglei's theory! Kong Yingda, in particular, was already caught up in the long exam at this moment.
"Liang Zhi, Liang Zhi, what a wonderful word... Doing good and eliminating evil is to examine things. What exactly does this examination of things mean?"
"Hey - let me think about it, let me figure it out..."
Obviously, these words touched Kong Yingda greatly! Let him realize it directly regardless of the current environment.
"It has to be Master!"
Li Lizhi grinned and gave a thumbs up, saying,
"This Master Kong's class is so boring that I can't even understand it! The kid thought it was his own problem, but now he realizes...it's just because his level is not good enough!"
"If the master teaches, the child will definitely learn everything! Hehe..."
When Li Shimin heard this, he couldn't help but raise his forehead and glance at Changsun Wuguo beside him.
Changsun Wugou was also a little helpless.
Once upon a time, there was a lot of trouble in the sea. After being taught by a master like Xu Fenglei, these little brats are now all ghosts and ghosts. How can Kong Yingda fall into their eyes?
I can't handle them at all!
"Come on, all I can teach you is how to be a human being, but just knowing how to be a human being is not enough! You also need to have cultural accumulation!"
Xu Fenglei taught a lesson,
"This requires a lot of reading and boring memorization! So... you are not allowed to idle around, you should learn from it as a teacher!"
"Master Kong and Master Yu are both well-educated people. You students must respect your teachers! Do you understand?!"
When it's time to lift Kong Yingda, you still have to lift it.
Otherwise, if this guy gives up his job, then the teaching task still falls on him?
"yes."
The four children all responded respectfully.
Li Shimin's expression also relaxed a lot.
"Look, look, these princes dare to go to the house and uncover the tiles without fighting for three days, and you have to deal with it!"
He snorted coldly,
"After you come back from the Northern Expedition, it's almost time for you to rest for two days! Next, you'll have to run more to the East Palace, and the princes will have to teach you! You can't slack off at all, don't act like a hands-off shopkeeper everywhere!"
Xu Fenglei curled his lips.
"Yes." He could only accept the order.
The "Book of Changes" has been taught a long time ago, and the meager knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry he knows is almost done. What else can be taught in the future?
In other words, what else can I do?
Stir-fry?
Fortune telling?
…
It’s nerve-wracking!
"Kong Aiqing?"
Li Shimin turned to look at Kong Yingda and gave a reminder.
Kong Yingda was stunned and didn't realize it.
"Kong Aiqing!" Li Shimin raised his voice.
"Ah! Your Majesty..."
Kong Yingda was startled, and then he confessed again and again as if he was waking up from a dream,
"I thought too much and lost my mind for a moment. I hope your majesty will forgive me."
Li Shimin suddenly realized.
"Kong Aiqing is really studious and eager to learn."
He praised and said with a smile,
"Does Grand Master's theory of conscience touch you so much?"
Kong Yingda: "!!!"
"Yes! It feels so great!"
He excitedly raised his hands and said,
"There are countless thoughts and feelings popping up in my head now, and I wish I could write them all down now!"
"Your Majesty, please allow me to take half a day off, go home and think deeply, and record all my thoughts!"
Li Shimin was surprised.
How valuable are these few poems? It can make Kong Yingda, an old scholar, feel like he has been given a shot of blood.
"Zhunzou, let's go!"
He waved generously and said,
"I hope Kong Aiqing will make further progress with great success!"
(End of chapter)
