At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the competition for the deer in the world

Chapter 174 Cheng De Checks His Adopted Son's Four Books Homework

"Mu Ying, come forward!" Cheng De directly called Mu Ying's name.

Xu Sima, Lan Yu, and Li Wenzhong all looked at Mu Ying and gave him a self-seeking look, especially Lan Yu's eyes were full of gloating.

Mu Ying's eyes were not squinted, her small face was tense, her heart was uneasy, and her body suddenly felt a little stiff.

Mu Ying dragged her seemingly heavy body, walked towards Cheng De, and then obediently handed over the book "University" in her hand.

Cheng De took the "University" book, but he didn't pick it up to look through it, he just stared at Mu Ying, which made Mu Ying's heart tighten.

"There are four words that are most important in reading, and they are questionable and easy to ask. There are four words that are most important in being a person, and they are pragmatic and durable. Can you tell me what is the way of a university?"

Hearing Cheng De's question, Mu Ying felt relieved, and quickly said: "The way of university lies in Ming Mingde, being close to the people, and stopping at the ultimate good. After knowing the end, there is steadiness, and after steadiness, you can be calm. Be safe, be safe and then be able to think about it, and then be able to get it after thinking about it. Things have their origins and ends, and things have their beginnings and ends. After you know what you have to offer, you will get the shortest way."

After answering, Mu Ying stared at Cheng De with all her eyes, with a confident smile on her face, hoping to get Cheng De's praise and approval in her heart.

After listening to Mu Ying's answer, Cheng De asked: "Knowledge to stop and then to be calm, and then to be calm, and then to be at peace, and then to be at ease, to be able to worry, and then to be able to gain after thinking. How do you understand it?"

The smile on Mu Ying's face froze suddenly, but her mind was quickly thinking about the question of her adoptive father Cheng De.

not long time.

A bit of hesitation appeared on Mu Ying's face: "Returning to foster father, in Mu Ying's opinion, this sentence is understood in this way - a person who knows what he wants to achieve can only have firm ambitions, and only with firm ambitions can he be calm and calm. Only by being calm can you have a stable mind, and only by a stable mind can you think carefully, and only by careful thinking can you gain something. Knowing clearly that the goal you want to achieve is the beginning, and the gain is the end. Through this question, the adoptive father wants to make the child firm. Did you achieve your goal?"

Cheng De looked at Mu Ying in amazement: "Sages are learning. Although they don't waste books, they don't specialize in books. Mu Ying, you are very good, and you have achieved this. Of course, foster father hopes that you will continue to work hard in the future."

The smile on Mu Ying's face became brighter, and she quickly replied: "Thank you for the praise!"

Cheng De laughed and said, "Just wait here."

Immediately, Cheng De's eyes swept over Xu Sima, Lan Yu and Li Wenzhong one by one.

At this moment, the three people became visibly nervous.

At the same time, they envied Mu Ying for passing Cheng De's assessment in their hearts, and wished that they were the one who failed.

"Horse!" Cheng De finally fixed his gaze on Xu Sima.

Lan Yu and Li Wenzhong were obviously relieved, and after showing a self-seeking look at Xu Sima, they began to worry about themselves.

When Xu Sima heard Cheng De calling him, his heart skipped a beat, his teeth were chattering, and he felt very lacking in confidence.

He began to regret that he didn't work hard in his studies. Now it was his adoptive father's turn to ask him, and he was worried that he would be scolded by his adoptive father.

"Father."

Seeing Xu Sima's performance, Cheng De showed a gentle look on his face: "Ma'er, you don't have to be too nervous, just calm down."

Xu Sima became even more nervous when he heard Cheng De's words.

Seeing this, Cheng De felt a little depressed.

Simply, he stopped talking and directly tested Xu Sima: "The book you are holding is "The Doctrine of the Mean", you should hold this book in your hand first. Let me ask you, what is the Doctrine of the Mean?"

Xu Sima's mind went blank, his lips were trembling.

Seeing Xu Sima's performance, Cheng De seemed to realize that his question seemed to be a bit difficult for Xu Sima, and when he was about to change the question, Xu Sima's voice sounded at this moment, "All the countries in the world can be even; Juelu can be resigned; white blade can be jumped; the mean is impossible. In these words, what is the mean has been answered, and in the eyes of the horse, it is a state."

Although Xu Sima's tone was a little trembling, he still spoke out completely what was in his heart, which made Cheng De's eyes brighten, and he said directly: "Ma'er, your answer is quite good, remember to be more confident in the future , your performance is no worse than Mu Ying, you have to believe in yourself. Yifu believes in Ma'er, Ma'er, do you believe in yourself?"

Xu Sima grinned and nodded, "The adoptive father believes in Ma'er, and Ma'er is willing to believe in himself."

Seeing the smile on Xu Sima's face, Cheng De nodded in relief, continued to ask Xu Sima's question just now, and said to the people present: "Every one of us has a heart for fame and fortune. Let me ask, who doesn't want to do something in the world? , to become famous for future generations? We study and pursue tirelessly, and we also want to use what we have learned in the future, and make some necessary preparations for our future career.”

"Since fame and fortune are so far away, once we get a high position, once we can get the treatment that everyone envies, will we not care about it, calmly and indifferently give up all of this? You know, all of this is possible. It is what we want to get all our lives, maybe it is what we have been pursuing all our lives. It is not easy to let go of all these things? However, if you compare the difficulties of letting go of these "fame and wealth" with the difficulties of reaching the golden mean, the latter's The difficulty is far greater than the former."

"To reach the state of the golden mean, to uphold the golden mean for life, its difficulty is beyond our imagination. The world can be peaceful, the country can be governed, fame and wealth can be put aside. But the golden mean seems out of reach."

"All in all, we don't have to ask ourselves to be moderate, but we must pursue the golden mean to avoid becoming a vulgar person."

Hearing Cheng De's words, Mu Ying, Xu Sima, Lan Yu, and Li Wenzhong thought about it.

Cheng De gave a few people present a time to think, thinking in his heart: If these four people are trained well, the future of the Sizhou Army will definitely be bright.

After a stick of incense.

Cheng De glanced at Lan Yu first, and then at Li Wenzhong.

"Sapphire!"

"Ah - General!"

Cheng De couldn't help turning dark when he saw Lan Yu's appearance that his soul seemed to be scared away by him.

Sapphire lowered her head and stared at the ground, not daring to raise her head to meet Cheng De's gaze.

Cheng De calmed down his mind: "Lan Yu, the "Analects of Confucius" in your hand is like a horse, and you hold this book in your hand. Let me ask you—a gentleman is harmonious but different, and a villain is different but different." And, what do you mean?"

Cheng De's question caused Mu Ying and Xu Sima, who were paying attention to Lan Yu, to curl their lips.

So simple?
When Lan Yu heard Cheng Dexiang's question, he scratched his head anxiously. He remembered that Mr. Fang had said this sentence before. How did Mr. Fang say it at that time?

"Hmph!!" Cheng De looked at Lan Yu and remained silent without responding, showing a trace of dissatisfaction.

When Lan Yu heard Cheng De's cold snort, her heart trembled, and she was quick to reply, "Report to General, Lan Yu knows."

Cheng De looked closely at Lan Yu, showing a look of waiting for him to continue talking.

Lan Yu didn't dare to look at Cheng De, she just lowered her head and said, "A gentleman is kind, even a little bit of dissatisfaction is irrelevant, while a villain is on the surface agreeing with you, but in fact he is dissatisfied with you in his heart."

Cheng De frowned when he heard this: "Lan Yu, tell me honestly, Fang Ming taught you this? Or did you understand it yourself?"

Hearing Cheng De's calm tone without a trace of emotion, Lan Yu was a little scared, but he still bravely replied: "One person does things and one person is responsible. Of course, what Mr. Fang said is very good. But, Lan Yu Forget about it, what Sapphire said just now is actually what I just thought of."

Cheng De glanced at Lan Yu, rubbed his eyebrows: "Do you know how Fang Ming told me about you?"

Sapphire buried her head lower.

"He, Fang Ming, said that you are a genius. He has nothing to teach you. I thought what Fang Ming said was literal. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be like this!"

A trace of disappointment appeared on Cheng De's face, and Sapphire blushed a little.

Lan Yu said in her heart: Mr. Fang has elevated me too much, there is no need for it, just a little bit of praise is enough, the praise of the sky is so great that I am now ashamed to look up.

The whole room fell into an eerie silence.

Mu Ying, Xu Sima, and Li Wenzhong all looked at Lan Yu who lowered his head, secretly feeling a little worried for him.

Ma Xiuying stared at Lan Yu, but secretly said in her heart: This Mr. Fang will give Lan Yu a sloppy eye.

"I heard that you memorized the entire "Analects of Confucius"?" Cheng De said suddenly.

Lan Yu was stunned for a moment, and quickly came back to her senses and said: "Reporting to the general, Lan Yu has indeed memorized "The Analects of Confucius". How about, Lan Yu will recite it from beginning to end for the general now?"

Cheng De took a deep look at Lan Yu: "No need. You go down and copy the Analects of Confucius ten times. There should be no stains or traces of alteration on the paper. In addition, you take the Analects and ask Fang Ming for clarification, and ask him to read it carefully." Let me tell you about "The Analects of Confucius" again. After a month, I will check your homework alone. If you still can't do it, you, the leader of the Children's Army, may be at the end of your life."

Lan Yu said with a bitter face: "Lan Yu. Accept the punishment."

Cheng De didn't look at Lan Yu: "By the way, I will also inspect "Sun Tzu's Art of War". After you pass my inspection next month, I will allow you to go to Feng Guoyong and let him teach you how to use it." Use the art of war? I will also look for opportunities to let him take you to the battlefield more, so that you can grow up as soon as possible. Of course, the prerequisite for these things is that you pass my inspection of your homework next month. Sapphire, tell me , are you confident?"

Lan Yu nodded: "Please rest assured, General, Lan Yu will definitely pass."

Cheng De did not answer, but cast his eyes on Li Wenzhong: "You are holding "Mencius", then I will test your "Mencius". I don't know much about the Four Books and Five Classics, but I also read it." Several times, but I still remember some content.”

"A benevolent person should be 'the old as the old, and the old of the person; the young as the young, and the young of the person'. Where is the lack of benevolence in King Hui of Liang?"

"With what he doesn't love and what he loves."

"How did Mencius talk about governing the country?"

"The people are the most important, the society is second, and the king is the light."

"Teng Wengong asked about the state, how did Mencius answer?"

"Civil affairs cannot be postponed."

Seeing that Li Wenzhong had answered, Cheng De showed a satisfied expression on his face: "That's right, keep it up. You also need to be familiar with "Sun Tzu's Art of War."

Li Wenzhong nodded: "Father, please rest assured, the child will not disappoint the father."

Cheng De nodded slightly.

Ma Xiuying suddenly said: "Brother De, you are tired of asking these children. I just asked my servant to boil a bowl of chicken soup for you. You can drink it!"

Cheng De took a meaningful look at Ma Xiuying, and then set his eyes on Muying, Xu Sima, Li Wenzhong, and Lan Yu: "Let's stop here today, you go down and study your homework, don't slack off! Especially You Sapphire!"

"Yes!" Mu Ying, Xu Sima, Li Wenzhong, and Lan Yu responded as if they had received an amnesty.

Then, Mu Ying and the others rushed out of Ma Xiuying's room in one swift motion.

Only Ma Xiuying and Cheng De were left in the room.

Cheng De looked at Ma Xiuying: "Sister Xiuying, where is the chicken soup?"

Ma Xiuying gave Cheng De a white look: "Brother De, you ask the question knowingly!"

Cheng De smiled and said: "I knew that sister Xiuying wanted to send Muying and the others away. I will be the villain, and sister Xiuying will become a good person. I am afraid that in the future, Muying and the others will not know what to do." Will arrange for me!"

Ma Xiuying snorted, "What? According to Brother De, are you dissatisfied with me?"

Cheng De couldn't help being stunned: "What did Miss Xiuying say? How could I be dissatisfied with Miss Xiuying!"

Ma Xiuying said angrily, "Who knows what Brother De is thinking?"

Cheng De looked at Ma Xiuying's angry appearance, and inadvertently looked at Ma Xiuying's stomach.

Could it be that all pregnant women are like this?
Cheng De wanted to pretend he didn't hear it, but suddenly thought of something, so he leaned close to Ma Xiuying's ear and said a lot of sweet words, which made Ma Xiuying's cheeks flush and her heart burst into joy.

After that, Ma Xiuying felt overwhelmed and pushed Cheng De out of the house.

Cheng De didn't take it seriously, and went to Luo Yan's and Liu E's rooms to have a little chat.

Then, Cheng De returned to his study and continued to immerse himself in government and military affairs.

Unknowingly, night fell quietly on the earth.

Cheng De didn't raise his head at all, and continued to deal with the Chinese documents in his hand, but he didn't expect Guo Ying, who was outside the study, to say: "General, the Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, please see me."

Cheng De raised his head slowly, looked out of the closed study, thought for a while, and a calm voice came out of the study: "Let him come in directly."

next moment.

The door of the study creaked, and the door opened.

It was Zhang Yi who entered the study.

Zhang Yi consciously closed the door, then quickly walked to Cheng De and stood three steps away from Cheng De, and respectfully saluted Cheng De: "My subordinates pay respects to the general!"

Cheng De's eyes met Zhang Yi's: "Why are you here?"

Zhang Yi's face showed undisguised joy: "Reporting to the general, the matter of attracting investment from the opening of Sizhou City has already been settled."

Cheng De was slightly surprised, so he squinted his eyes and looked at Zhang Yi: "Oh? Tell me carefully!"

Zhang Yi was silent for a while, and after making a draft in his heart, he said: "First, the local merchants in Sizhou City are willing to contribute. They are willing to provide goods at Sizhou Port for transportation to other places for trading, and according to Six to four ratio, they six and we four."

Cheng De looked at Zhang Yi: "Tell me more specifically, how to divide the June [-]th? Also, did they propose any conditions?"

(End of this chapter)