Chapter 91

It had been almost half a month since Xia Hongsheng presented his proposal to Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin. Li Shimin dismissed him with just one sentence: "This is a matter for a hundred years; I need to think it over carefully." Since then, there had been no further news. Xia Hongsheng could only complain to himself, "I've told you all about the ethnic policies of a thousand years later, at least give me some reward, a few hundred strings of cash would mean a lot to me, but nothing to you. Why haven't I heard anything?" He then obediently went to the Hongwen Pavilion every day to attend school.

In the meantime, his sister-in-law finally arrived in Chang'an. Upon meeting, she hugged Xia Hongsheng, tears streaming down her face, muttering, "The ancestors have opened their eyes!" She kept pinching herself, afraid that this was all a dream. Xia Hongsheng had to spend a great deal of effort to calm her down and make her believe that he was truly a fifth-rank hereditary county gentleman of the Tang Dynasty.

During this nearly half a month, Xia Hongsheng lived quite comfortably. The emperor did not summon him, and the house in the countryside had not yet been built. With the Ministry of Works overseeing the construction, he did not need to worry much. He spent his days at the Hongwen Pavilion, joking and playing with his classmates. Because he had many interesting stories and was easy to get along with, he was quite popular at the Hongwen Pavilion.

However, Xia Hongsheng found that life in ancient times was truly hard, especially for students. They had to wake up early and spend the whole day studying texts filled with "zhi," "hu," "zhe," and "ye," without any breaks to rest their minds. The characters were densely packed in vertical columns without punctuation, making them look like incantations. After a while, his eyes would start to blur. He wondered how others could persist. Moreover, sometimes the teacher's explanations did not make sense to him, and there were even errors in the sentence divisions. Scholars in later generations had corrected these, but they were still wrong in the present. Xia Hongsheng was frustrated, thinking, "How can I correct this? This sentence is translated wrong, I really want to fix it..."

For example, the Hongwen Pavilion scholar Xie Yan, who was currently speaking with great enthusiasm, was explaining a sentence by Confucius. This sentence had several interpretations in later generations due to different sentence divisions, but Xie Yan was explaining the one that scholars generally considered the most incorrect. Furthermore, there was no blackboard in the classroom, and the teacher relied solely on his mouth to explain, which was not as effective as writing things on a blackboard for the students to see clearly.

"‘The people may be made to follow, but they may not be made to understand.’ This sentence is from the ‘Taibo’ chapter of the Analects. The correct division is ‘The people may be made to follow, but they may not be made to understand.’ According to He Yan's ‘Collected Explanations of the Analects,’ it means that the people can use things daily without understanding them." Xie Yan, sitting behind his desk, explained with a nodding head: "The way of the sage is profound and far-reaching, and people cannot easily understand it. Even scholars cannot fully grasp it, let alone the common people. Therefore, Confucius believed that the people can be guided to follow the path set by the court without knowing why they should do so. Only in this way can the people be useful to the court and not deviate from it."

Xie Yan continued his self-indulgent explanation, completely absorbed in his own interpretation. Xia Hongsheng thought, "Listen to his explanation. The people can only be guided, not made to understand. If this is the interpretation, isn't it a policy of keeping the people ignorant? These people don't think. Confucius always advocated ‘education without distinction,’ meaning that everyone can receive education, regardless of wealth, status, intelligence, or morality. Confucius was the first to establish a private school, dedicating his life to education. He had three thousand disciples, seventy-two of whom were considered virtuous. ‘I have never refused to teach anyone who brings a bundle of dried meat as a token of respect,’ ‘I never tire of learning or teaching.’ How could someone who said such things advocate a policy of keeping the people ignorant? This is the result of rulers and literary scoundrels colluding to deliberately misinterpret the words of the sages to control the people. But in reality, enlightening the people is more beneficial than keeping them ignorant, both for the development of the country and for maintaining the rule of the rulers."

Just as Xia Hongsheng was lost in thought, he felt someone poking him from behind. He looked up and saw that Xie Yan was still immersed in his own sage-like dream, speaking passionately. Xia Hongsheng turned his head and saw Li Jingye passing him a note and pointing to the side. Xia Hongsheng followed his gaze and saw Xu Hui winking at him.

The younger students like them were in one group, while the older ones like Xu Qixian were in another.

Xia Hongsheng took the note and unfolded it secretly, seeing the words "ice cream" written on it.

He turned back and made an OK gesture to Xu Hui, then realized she wouldn't understand it, so he nodded at her.

It seems there are others who aren't paying attention either, Xia Hongsheng thought, feeling a sense of relief. Finally, the class was over, and it was break time.

Just as Xia Hongsheng was about to leave, he was stopped by a hand. It was Li Jingye, who had been sitting behind him during class.

"Xia brother, what is this ice cream?" Li Jingye asked curiously.

Hey, how did you peek at my note? Xia Hongsheng immediately grabbed Li Jingye: "You, Li Jingye, actually peeked at my note?!"

"Hehe, don't be angry, Xia brother. I saw you two exchanging glances and was curious, so I just took a quick peek..." Li Jingye, despite his young age, had a thick skin and now smiled slyly. Humph, he must have learned this from the likes of Li Ke and Li Yexu!

"It's a drink. Ice is crushed into a sandy texture, mixed with rock sugar and fruit juice. It's refreshing and cool, perfect for hot weather. A sip of this will make you feel refreshed." Xia Hongsheng let go of Li Jingye and explained.

Li Jingye's eyes lit up, and he looked at Xia Hongsheng with a bright, eager gaze. Xia Hongsheng was familiar with this look; the young nobles always had this naive expression when they heard something new.

"The ice will melt, so I can't bring it here. Wait until my house in Jingyang is ready, and I'll invite all of you to try it." Xia Hongsheng and Li Jingye walked out of the classroom and into the cool pavilion under the trees, where Li Ke and Li Lizhi were playing chess. Xia Hongsheng remembered the time Xu Hui had tricked him and couldn't help but smile as he walked over.

After watching for a while, Xia Hongsheng realized that Li Ke wouldn't last much longer. He was surprised to find that this guy, like Xu Qixian, was often defeated by his younger sister.

However, Li Ke's thick skin was evident. Seeing that he was about to lose, he started using the psychological interference technique Xia Hongsheng had taught them a few days ago: "Chang乐, the Empress has ordered me to supervise you. What did the teacher say this morning, and did you pay attention and understand it?"

Everyone around them immediately thought Li Ke was shameless, trying to distract his opponent when he was about to lose.

"The teacher talked about Confucius's Analects and explained the meaning of ‘The people may be made to follow, but they may not be made to understand.’" Li Lizhi remained calm, smiling as she placed another piece on the board.

"Oh, did you understand this? It means that the people can be guided to follow a set path without knowing why. That's the idea." Li Ke put on a righteous face: "Ha, Chang乐, you're about to lose."

Li Lizhi looked at the board and calmly placed another piece. Li Ke's face changed, and he said, "This sentence has a deeper meaning. I will explain it to you..."

Xia Hongsheng couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in: "That's enough, no cheating like that. And don't believe what Xie Yan said; that sentence doesn't mean that. Think about it, Confucius had three thousand disciples. If he believed in ‘not making them understand,’ why would he advocate ‘education without distinction’?"

"Oh? Xia brother thinks Xie Yan and I are wrong? How would you interpret it?" Li Ke's eyes lit up, as if he had found a lifeline, and he jumped up from the chess board, then turned to Li Lizhi with a grand gesture: "Yes, I and Xia brother will discuss this. Let's end this game here. We'll play again later!"

Xia Hongsheng glared at him, thinking, "Sure, you're just using this as an excuse to run away!" Li Lizhi rolled her eyes at him and started to put away the chess pieces.

When the others heard that Xia Hongsheng and Li Ke were going to discuss the matter, they all looked over. Xia Hongsheng enjoyed the attention, which reminded him of his days lecturing on a podium. He cleared his throat and said, "This sentence is actually misinterpreted. Think about it, Confucius was the first to establish a private school, teaching ordinary people and advocating ‘education without distinction.’ This means that anyone, regardless of their background, can receive education. His three thousand disciples came from different states, breaking down the boundaries of nationality and ethnicity. He even accepted students from regions considered ‘barbarian’ by the Central Plains, such as Gongsun Long and Qin Shang, and wanted to teach in the ‘Nine Yi’ regions. Some of his disciples were from noble families, like Nan Gong Jingshu and Sima Niu, while others were from common families, like Yan Hui, Zi Lu, Gongye Chang, and Zi Gong. These are all well-known facts. They clearly show that Confucius advocated for the people to understand and be wise. How could such a person say, ‘The people can be guided but not made to understand’?"