Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 413 Conclusion
In order to avoid embarrassment for his subordinates, Li Zhi thoughtfully held a secret ballot without giving them a chance to negotiate.

Chen Qingsi did not hesitate in choosing the clan. During Li Shimin's period, the Li Tang clan was still very powerful, but now the Li Tang clan has not much to offer since the death of Li Daozong.

King Zheng Li Yuanli can be said to be virtuous, diligent and good in government, and has a good reputation, but he has no martial arts skills and is completely incomparable to Li Daozong.

Even among the short ones, Li Yuanli is the only choice.

As for the choice of the minister, Chen Qingsi had some hesitation.

Li Ji and Xu Jingzong have two choices.

Chen Qingsi finally chose Xu Jingzong...

Li Ji is far more qualified than Xu Jingzong, but Li Ji's biggest characteristic is that he does not argue.

He no longer cares about his own honor. If he really wants to choose him, if he is forced by external forces, in order to take care of his descendants, there is no guarantee that he will not give up the glory he has obtained.

Xu Jingzong is different. He has no hard achievements. What he can achieve is to cooperate with Li Zhi to deal with Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji was a powerful official, but he did not cause harm to the country. On the contrary, he made great contributions to the country.

His deeds may not necessarily bring him a good reputation in future generations.

What's more, Chen Qingsi also knew that Xu Jingzong had done many stupid things behind his back, especially his arbitrary changes in history books, which were outrageous as he pleased.

Therefore, after Xu Jingzong died, the officials in the temple discovered Xu Jingzong's true face and proposed to give him the posthumous title "Miao".

As a person who has done a lot of scandals, he is in urgent need of a great and upright political incident.

Feng Chan is the best political bargaining chip. With this political capital, Li Zhi will have to protect him even if the incident comes to light.

As long as Xu Jingzong gets this quota, Chen Qingsi estimates that Xu Jingzong will not give up even if he faces the pressure from Empress Wu. Perhaps, it can also cause discord between the two...

Thinking of this, Chen Qingsi wrote down Xu Jingzong's name without hesitation.

At the same time, Li Ji also wrote down his decision: Li Yuanli and Chen Qingsi.

Li Ji has a thorough understanding of the current situation. He knows that Li Tang's current political situation will be in chaos in the future, and people like Chen Qingsi will probably have the last laugh.

It's not that Li Ji has much confidence in Chen Qingsi, but the talent Chen Qingsi has shown is the ability to determine the world. Such people don't need to be reused, but they must be retained. They can be useful both internally and externally at critical times. Very useful.

To touch such a person would be to destroy the Great Wall, something that only those foolish kings who have been in disgrace for thousands of years would do.

Although Li Zhi is not as good as Emperor Taizong, he should also know this truth.

Therefore, Li Ji concluded that no matter what the future holds, even if he is temporarily frustrated or demoted, he will be protected and used at critical moments.

This is also the reason why Li Ji bet on Chen Qingsi. Talents like him are so rare.

Li Yuanli was much more casual in this regard. As a member of the royal family, he adhered to his true character, had no private dealings with the ministers within the temple, and was not afraid of anyone. Xu Jingzong made a special visit last night to talk about this matter. He gave the other party face, saying that he would support him, but he had no intention of actually supporting him. It was a secret vote anyway, so who knew?

Li Yuanli cast his clan vote for King Lu Li Yuanyi, and as a public official, he voted for his good friend Dai Zhide.

Xu Jingzong also wrote down his own answer at this time, Li Yuanli and Chen Qingsi.

Xu Jingzong also has his own considerations.

There is no doubt that Li Yuanli is the royal relative. As for the minister, Xu Jingzong suppressed the urge to recommend himself...

In short, you are the only qualified ministers. After much deliberation, Xu Jingzong still thinks that Chen Qingsi is the least likely.

He is too young. Although he has no merit, his qualifications are really insufficient. Choosing him will pose the least threat to him.

What's more, yesterday he had won the approval of Chen Qingsi and Li Yuanli respectively, winning two out of four votes, making him invincible.

Li Zhi collected the votes and looked at the list. It was not surprising that Li Yuanli had three high school votes, but Chen Qingsi got two votes at such a young age, which really surprised Li Zhi.

After thinking about it, Li Zhi said with deep meaning: "I understand what you mean. I will give you an answer after I think about it for a while."

The four of them retreated together.

Chen Qingsi gave Xu Jingzong a knowing look, then said goodbye and left.

He was thinking about his precious son's school in his heart, and planned to go to the Yu's School, the Kong's School, and the Yan's School in person to have a look.

Following the convenient route, Chen Qingsi first arrived at the Confucius School nearest to him.

As descendants of Confucius, although what some of their tribesmen have done in order to inherit the tradition is despicable.

But in this era, the ancestors and grandsons of the Kong family of Kong Yingda's lineage still had real talents and learning.

Especially Kong Yingda, whose "Five Classics of Justice" compiled by him, with the support of Li Shimin, directly became the orthodoxy of Confucianism and broke the inheritance of Guandong culture.

Upon learning of Chen Qingsi's arrival, Kong An, the senior student at the Kong Family School, came out to greet him in person.

"Mr. Chen can come to the book school, it will be a great success!"

Kong An is in his seventies this year, with gray hair and beard. He is leaning on a cane and hobbling, but his voice is loud.

Kong An is very enthusiastic about Chen Qingsi. He is a lot older and does not care about Chen Qingsi's current status, but Chen Qingsi's contribution to education.

A "Three Character Classic" for elementary students, plus a "Shi Shuo" for exhorting students to learn.

These two articles alone established his outstanding contribution to the education industry.

Kong An has been teaching and educating people almost all his life, and he is well aware of the value of the "Three Character Classic" and "The Master's Theory". Today, he can talk about it with me, even though he is very old, he is still overjoyed.

Kong An led Chen Qingsi to the inner hall.

It happened to be recess at this time, and young students were playing in the courtyard.

They were playing vigorously, but when they passed by, they stopped at the same time. A dozen of them instinctively stepped forward and saluted Kong An happily and politely.

The older students are more than ten years old and the younger ones are seven or eight years old. Their etiquette is very standard and natural, and their behavior is also very appropriate.

Kong An nodded slightly and introduced Chen Qingsi.

When they heard it was Chen Qingsi, the students couldn't help but let out a low cry.

The voice was very small, but the voices of more than a dozen people gathered together into a cry.

Chen Qingsi's background, poetry, achievements, and current age make him definitely an idol-level existence.

Kong An coughed.

The students immediately put aside their exclamations and greeted Chen Qingsi, shouting: "Mr. Chen!"

Kong An led Chen Qingsi into the inner hall, and saw many students along the way. As before, Chen Qingsi felt that the students here were very polite.

The two of them took their seats in the inner hall, and Chen Qingsi also explained his intention.

Kong An said: "There is absolutely no problem in enrolling in school. The ancestors thought that there is no distinction between education and distinction. As long as you are willing to learn, I will teach you everything you have. This ugly thing must be said first. I here, whether it is a child of a minister or a poor family, All disciples will be treated equally, and those who make mistakes will be punished without mercy."

Chen Qingsi didn't care about this and said, "Strict masters produce great disciples. I still know this truth." The two had known each other for a long time, and Kong An even led Chen Qingsi around the book school.

Chen Qingsi is still very satisfied with this Confucius School. The learning atmosphere is excellent and all the students are very polite, which gives Chen Qingsi a very special feeling in terms of etiquette.

I think the biggest feature of the Confucius School is its etiquette. Confucius sought etiquette and music most in his life. As a descendant, it is understandable that he attaches great importance to etiquette.

The later generations that Chen Qingsi lived in no longer valued etiquette and regarded many etiquette as feudal dross. However, in fact, in this era, he felt that being polite was not necessarily a bad thing.

It is still necessary to have more etiquette between father and son, mother and son, friends, and husband and wife.

Chen Qingsi said goodbye to Kong An.

Head to the next destination, the Yu Family School in Dongcheng.

The head of the Yu family is still on duty at this time and is not at home.

But when he learned that Chen Qingsi came to study for his own child, the concierge immediately recommended Lu Xuanzhi, a teacher at the school.

When Lu Xuanzhi heard that Chen Qingsi was coming, he trotted out to greet him.

Lu Xuan was born in Wu County, Wu County, with the courtesy name Youxuan. His ancestor was Lu Xun, the governor of Wu State. He went to Beijing to take the exam but did not want to adapt to the local environment. He missed the opportunity, so he stayed in the home of a family friend. While teaching, he consolidated himself and waited for the next imperial examination. .

As a native of Jiangnan, Lu Xuanzhi regards Chen Qingsi as his idol.

With his family background, he could have made some maneuvers to become an official from the grassroots level, but because of Chen Qingsi, he only thought about becoming an official through the imperial examination, so he taught in Luoyang.

Lu Xuanzhi has a profound literary foundation and has achieved quite a lot of fame.

Lu Xuanzhi led Chen Qingsi into the Yu Family School.

The Yu Family School is different from the Kong Family School.

If the Confucius School emphasizes etiquette, the Yu School emphasizes character, cultivating one’s character.

The students in the Yujia School all learn about the same knowledge, but the Yujia School has courses dedicated to practicing calligraphy and cultivating one's character.

China has been writing with a brush for thousands of years.

Practicing calligraphy is an extremely painful thing.

This is especially true if you practice calligraphy well.

Being able to calm down and practice calligraphy is indeed a rare way to cultivate your character.

Chen Qingsi is also very satisfied with the Yu Family School.

Learning etiquette and cultivating one's character each have their own merits.

Chen Qingsi didn't know what to choose for a while, and finally decided to go to the last school, the Yan's School in Xicheng.

Chen Qingsi handed over the greeting card, and two cousins, Yan Yude and Yan Wanshi, came out to greet him.

The two of them were not as enthusiastic about Chen Qingsi as Kong An and Lu Xuanzhi. Instead, they were a little surprised and confused.

Until Chen Qingsi explained the purpose of his visit: "The eldest son in the family has reached the age of elementary school. He heard the name of the Yan family school and came here to visit."

Only then did Yan Yude and Yan Wanshi put aside their worries and enthusiastically invited Chen Qingsi into the book school.

Compared with the Kong Family School and the Yu Family School, which were full of students, the Yan Family School was much deserted.

The total number of students of all ages in the Kong Family School and the Yu Family School is at least hundreds.

The Yan Family School only has about forty people in total, especially judging from the clothing of the students, there are very few high-ranking officials and nobles.

Chen Qingsi didn't care about this. He wanted to know the style of Yan's school.

Chen Qingsi did not notice for a while that although the Yan Family School had fewer students, the learning atmosphere was not inferior to that of the Confucian and Yu Schools. However, he did not see the characteristics of the Yan Family School.

Until I passed by a classroom and heard the teacher inside teaching mathematics. The children in the classroom also listened very seriously.

Chen Qingsi listened carefully. The teacher was talking about "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic".

Seeing Chen Qingsi like this, Yan Yude couldn't help but said: "Mr. Chen is a leading figure in the world of literature, but he is also interested in mathematics."

Chen Qingsi said: "I am a bit partial to science and not good at it. However, I also know that mathematics is a great way to study the country, but it is often ignored by others. But I don't want to have a master in your school to teach this way."

Yan Yude didn't know how to answer for a while. He actually didn't like counting very much, but his ancestors arranged it this way, and he didn't dare to go against the ancestral precepts.

Yan Wanshi said: "Mr. Chen didn't know something. His family's teaching methods were slightly different. He opposed the scholar-bureaucrats who ate all day long and despised skills. He advocated 'practical learning', saying that students should not only study Confucius and Mencius, but should learn classics and be empathetic to the world." He emphasized in "Yan's Family Instructions" that everything is a teacher, and applying what you have learned is the foundation for spreading the teachings of saints, regardless of rank. "

Chen Qingsi couldn't help but nodded and said: "Zi Tui Gong, these words can be said to be the most reasonable words."

Chen Qingsi became very interested and continued to visit the Yan Family School.

As expected, I discovered that the Yan Family School did not just teach Confucius and Mencius. The teaching style emphasized practical learning rather than general principles.

When he said goodbye to Yan Yude and Yan Wanshi, he had already decided on the place where he would learn from Jing Jing Meng.

Facing his daughter-in-law, Chen Qingsi said: "Today, my husband went to three schools respectively. All three schools have an excellent learning atmosphere and are worthy of trust. It's just that my husband prefers the Yan School and recognizes their ideas and methods."

Xiao Miaochen saw that Chen Qingsi had dealt with the matter the next day, and said happily: "My husband likes the Yan Family School, and he has his own reasons. Then let's decide on the Yan Family School..."

Having decided on the eldest son's initiation, the couple were very happy when they saw Jingjing playing with Qingkong.

Chen Qingsi took Xiao Miaochen's hand and left quietly.

On the second day, Chen Qingsi went on business at the Ministry of War in high spirits, and then he was summoned by Li Zhi.

When they arrived at Zhenguan Hall, Xu Jingzong was restless.

Chen Qingsi was also waiting nearby.

Li Ji and Li Yuanli arrived one after another.

Seeing the four people sitting down, Li Zhi said: "After careful consideration, I decided to follow your suggestions. King Zheng will be responsible for Yaxian, and as for the final..."

He paused, his eyes finally resting on Li Ji, and said, "I'll just trouble you, Mr. Ying!"

All suggestions are illusions, and the real decision-making is made by Li Zhi alone.

Xu Jingzong looked disappointed.

Chen Qingsi didn't care, he was just thinking in his heart: Does this candidate really rely on the public, or is he just one person?
After deciding on the candidates for Ya Xian and Zhong Xian, the four of them consulted Li Zhi for his opinion on the details of Feng Chan before leaving the palace to say goodbye.

Chen Qingsi left the palace, called Zhou Kui aside who was waiting outside the palace, and said to him: "Secretly find a few people to spread the word about the candidates for Yaxian and Zhongxian."

Unofficial decision is not enough. Chen Qingsi wants to make this matter an established fact and let everyone know that the candidate has been decided.

When the news of the selection of Yaxian and Zhongxian reached the harem, Empress Wu, who was extremely wealthy, finally couldn't hold back and broke her favorite tea cup in her hand...

(End of this chapter)