met free Page 2509
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Chapter 3327 Bao'en Temple
The matchmaker pondered carefully and said, "I really don't know. Perhaps you could visit Mr. Zhu."
"Which Mr. Zhu?" Li Bangyan asked.
The matchmaker said, "Zhu Yu wrote 'Pingzhou Ketan'."
"It was printed in Hangzhou two years ago, and many people rushed to buy it. It's a very interesting book."
Li Bangyan asked, "Is he also in Hangzhou?"
The matchmaker said, "Mr. Zhu is from Huzhou, but he lives in Guangzhou year-round. In the last two years, he also bought a house in Hangzhou."
Li Bangyan then inquired about Zhu Yu's residence.
Before leaving, the matchmaker asked, "Sir, would you like to pre-purchase a top-quality Silla maid as a concubine?"
Li Bangyan said, "No need, I'll find a matchmaker instead."
The reason why he mistakenly sought a matchmaker to take a concubine was simply a habitual practice of Li Bangyan. He had never used a matchmaker before when taking concubines; he always had his trusted confidants buy them directly.
After the matchmaker left, Li Bangyan summoned his loyal servant: "Go and buy a copy of 'Pingzhou Ketan'."
This book was written a few years ago and first printed in Huzhou. It has only appeared in Hangzhou in the last two years.
Volume One describes the court's regulations and systems, as well as the words and deeds of the emperor and his officials; Volume Two describes Guangzhou's commerce and local customs; Volume Three describes monks, Taoist priests, shamans, diviners, and strange and supernatural events.
Li Bangyan quickly finished reading the book and had already guessed that the author was a member of the New Party, or a junior member of the New Party.
The book records numerous anecdotes about Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Huang Tingjian, Shen Kuo, and others. It praises the New Party members while subtly satirizing the Old Party members.
The following day, Li Bangyan, accompanied by his servants, rented a donkey cart and went to Phoenix Academy.
A few years ago, it was called Bao'en Temple.
Zhao Yuan ordered the closure of temples and monasteries nationwide, with each county having a quota for temples and monasteries. Bao'en Temple on Phoenix Mountain in Hangzhou was among those shut down.
Led by Hangzhou gentry and merchants who also donated money, and with further encouragement and guidance from the government, Bao'en Temple was eventually transformed into Phoenix Academy.
When Bai Chongyan served as the prefect of Hangzhou, he also standardized the curriculum of the academy, making Zhao Yuan and Zhao Yuan's learning compulsory courses.
As for teachers teaching other things, that's fine, but it can't interfere with the required course content.
Today, it has become the most famous academy in several southern provinces because its principal is Lu Rong, His Majesty's patron!
After resigning from his official post in the Northern Song Dynasty, Lu Tixue was unwilling to serve in the new dynasty and chose to open a school in Yuezhou (Shaoxing) to teach students.
His reputation for recommending Emperor Zhu during the Song Dynasty spread, and more and more people came to become his students. Four years ago, he was hired as the headmaster of the Phoenix Academy in Hangzhou.
Zhu Yu, the author of "Pingzhou Ketan", also taught at Phoenix Academy.
His father, Zhu Fu, was a New Party official. Due to factional strife, he spent half his life as a prefect, repeatedly being transferred to different posts, and finally died of illness in Guangzhou.
Zhu Yu took the imperial examinations several times, but failed each time, so he gave up and spent his days mingling with gentry, merchants, monks, Taoists, doctors, diviners, and sorcerers.
Li Bangyan knew how to establish himself in Hangzhou, so he took the opportunity to donate money today, directly giving 1,000 strings of cash to Phoenix Academy.
Zhao Yuan returned 100,000 strings of cash to Li Bangyan after confiscating his property. He was cheated out of 1,000 strings of cash by a merchant in another region, and spent nearly 20,000 strings of cash on buying a mansion and land.
He also rehired many servants and is now donating money to the academy; Li Bangyan is spending money like water.
That's why he's in a hurry to make money!
"It's you?" Lu Rong looked at Li Bangyan with disgust.
Li Bangyan smiled and said, "Headmaster Lu, I'm here to make a donation to the academy."
Lu Rong waved his sleeve and said, "Please leave, sir. Phoenix Academy doesn't want dirty money!"
Li Bangyan asked, "Does Headmaster Lu know why I was able to serve as a cabinet minister in the Ming Dynasty?"
Lu Rong sneered: "It's just betraying the old master and making contributions in the new dynasty."
“That former master was a tyrant. Should we abandon him for the sake of the country and the people?” Li Bangyan asked again.
Lu Rong said, "Everyone in the world can betray a tyrannical ruler, but you, a treacherous courtier, have no right to do so."
Li Bangyan, however, said: "Compared to other treacherous officials, I have not committed any great evils."
“I rose to the position of prime minister in the former Song Dynasty, but I only amassed two or three million strings of cash.”
"Moreover, he did not own any land or build luxurious mansions. How incorruptible he was!"
"A tyrannical ruler needs court jesters, which is why I became one. Why can't I repent and serve the new dynasty?"
“If you had truly repented, you wouldn’t be in Hangzhou now, but would be in the cabinet assisting the emperor,” Lu Rong mocked.
Li Bangyan looked dejected: "After the promulgation of the Great Ming Code, I did not embezzle a single penny, and I even stopped accepting gifts."
"Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn't have left me that money when he confiscated my property."
"Hmph!" Lu Rong believed this was the truth.
Li Bangyan said, "The money I embezzled in the previous dynasty has been taken away by the new dynasty."
"The remaining money is what I earned for my service to the Ming Dynasty."
"It's not dirty money, and it won't dishonor Phoenix Academy."
Lu Rong waved his hand to see the guest out: "That's not necessary, please leave."
Knowing that he couldn't donate the money, Li Bangyan offered a second-best solution: "My knowledge is shallow, and now that I have lost my official position, I wish to study at Phoenix Academy."
Confucius said, "In education, there should be no discrimination."
"May a sinner seek knowledge?"
Chapter 3328 Heliocentric Theory
Lu Rong said, "There are requirements for getting into Phoenix Academy."
"First, those with poor moral character will not be accepted; second, those who fail the entrance examination will not be accepted."
“Then I humbly request to sit in on the proceedings, but only stand outside the door and not disturb the students,” Li Bangyan said.
"Whatever," Lu Rong said, too lazy to argue any further.
Li Bangyan arrived at a classroom that was extremely spacious and had very high beams, clearly indicating that it had been converted from a Buddhist temple.
The Buddha statue has long since disappeared, and a large blackboard stands in front of it, imitating Zhao Yuan's teaching model in Daming Village.
The teacher was Zhu Yu, who was quite accomplished in Confucianism, having passed the imperial examinations several times.
But it was only so-so; he failed the imperial examinations every time he went to the capital, and after giving up on the examinations, things became even more difficult.
“I have been corresponding with scholars at the Astronomical Institute, who are currently developing the ‘Da Ming Calendar’.”
The 'Daming Calendar' employs a new astronomical method of calculation, and His Majesty has determined the meridian where Luoyang is located to be the Earth's prime meridian.
"The meridians east of Luoyang are referred to as east longitude X degrees as longitude progresses."
"The opposite is also true, referred to as west longitude X degree."
"The zero-degree latitude line is the Earth's equator."
"This Earth's equator is different from the celestial equator of the past, and can be simply referred to as the 'celestial equator' and the 'earth equator'."
"From this day forward, I will teach you more advanced astronomy and geography, and later I will also teach you methods for calculating latitude and longitude..."
Zhu Yu was already a little old man, and he was explaining astronomical knowledge while drawing diagrams on the blackboard.
Li Bangyan only listened for a few minutes, but he felt that this person was a great talent.
"As I've mentioned before, the Earth rotates on its axis and also revolves around the sun."
"Moreover, the Earth rotates at an angle, a phenomenon that Master Mengxi (Shen Kuo) had already discovered..."
"Speaking of Master Mengxi, he was truly a genius of all time."
"His Majesty reformed the Confucian Temple and invited Mr. Mengxi to be enshrined there."
“My father and Mengxi’s father-in-law were old acquaintances…”
A perfectly good astronomy and geography class suddenly turned into storytelling.
The students listening below seemed to be used to it, knowing that Zhu Yu liked to talk about all sorts of random things.
Furthermore, he was full of personal bias, praising the New Party to the skies while mocking and ridiculing the Old Party.
After talking about Shen Kuo for more than ten minutes, Zhu Yu forcefully brought the conversation back to the teaching content: "When the Earth revolves around the sun, it not only has an angle of deflection, but its orbital path is also elliptical."
"This is a conjecture put forward by His Majesty. It cannot be proven or disproven at the moment, but it can explain many astronomical phenomena."
"For example, when observing the sun from Earth, assuming that the sun is rotating, the sun moves slowly at the spring equinox and moves quickly after the autumn equinox."
"The Earth's elliptical orbit around the sun, and its tilt, cause the Earth to have four seasons..."
Li Bangyan originally intended to chat with Zhu Yu, but instead found himself standing outside the door listening with great interest.
When Zhao Yuan first developed the heliocentric theory, these concepts had not yet been developed, so this was the first time Li Bangyan had heard of them.
The students in the classroom were equally captivated.
To be able to study at Phoenix Academy, one must be intelligent; otherwise, one would not be able to pass the entrance examination.
Secondly, the family must be very wealthy, because tuition, food, and accommodation are all quite expensive.
With plenty of free time, money, intelligence, and academic excellence, and being young, how could they not like these novel pieces of knowledge?
Zhu Yu opened his arms, closed his eyes, and said, "Imagine you are in the universe, with the endless starry sky behind you and the Earth and five planets revolving around the sun in front of you."
"All things grow, the seasons change, all happening right before your eyes, an eternal and ever-flowing cycle of life..."
The students closed their eyes and began to imagine the grand and magnificent world around them.
Seeing this, Li Bangyan became even more determined to donate.
He knew how the imperial examination questions would be set, and the Phoenix Academy in Hangzhou had such advanced teaching content that it would probably produce many Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the next session.
The students here deserve a political investment!
"Dang-dang-dang!"
The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class. Zhu Yu packed up his teaching materials and slowly left.
Some students were still staring at the blackboard, thinking, while others surrounded Zhu Yu.
"They are like plants that have been parched for a long time and are frantically absorbing water, and that water is astronomical and geographical knowledge."
Zhu Yu was finally able to escape when the teacher of the next class came in.
"My name is Li Guodong, and I have come to pay my respects to Mr. Zhu because of his reputation!" Li Bangyan said respectfully, bowing.
Just as Zhu Yu raised his hand to return the greeting, he suddenly heard the headmaster Lu Rong say, "This man's original name was Li Bangyan, a former prime minister of the Song Dynasty and a cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty."
“He has been stripped of his official status and dismissed from all official posts.”
Li Bangyan smiled awkwardly: "Headmaster Lu seems to know it all by heart."
Zhu Yu was quite surprised and looked at Li Bangyan with curiosity.
Lu Rong didn't say much, just pointed out Li Bangyan's identity, and then turned to do his own thing.
Li Bangyan said, "I am also a member of the New Party."
Chapter 3329 New Party, Old Party
This remark instantly brought the two closer, and Zhu Yu's opinion of Li Bangyan improved considerably. He said, "When a tyrannical ruler is in power, there are no new or old factions, only treacherous ones."
Li Bangyan said, "The treacherous faction exists because a foolish emperor needs treacherous officials. Now that the holy emperor is in power, there is naturally no treacherous faction."
"I have always been a member of the New Party and support reform. The new dynasty has been reforming for several years since its founding, and as a cabinet minister, I have always supported it."
"Let's talk in my room," Zhu Yu said with a smile.
Phoenix Academy has dormitories for teachers and students, which were converted from former monks' quarters. Even the canteen is the monks' canteen.
Li Bangyan strolled around admiring the scenery and praised, "It is quiet and secluded, a perfect place for reading."
Zhu Yu returned to his dormitory and put down his belongings: "Mr. Li, please feel free to speak your mind."
"I have accomplished nothing in these decades, but I have mingled with all sorts of people and rarely made mistakes in judging them."