Chapter 27

(An extremely hardworking monk is seeking recommendations and encouragement...)

---

Seeing Chen Xiliang use even the advertising slogan of the True Emperor to persuade him to study, Chen Ke couldn't help but secretly smile... After all, in his previous life, he was in his twenties and thirties; how could he not understand simple principles? Who didn't know that in the Song Dynasty, there were two classes—the emperor and the scholar-officials were one, and the rest were another.

Becoming an official in the Song Dynasty not only meant status, dignity, and economic income, but it was also like having a golden ticket to avoid death—this was a country that did not kill scholar-officials. Even if one broke the law, the worst that could happen was dismissal or exile, without confiscation of property or involvement of family members, and there was no need to worry about being forced to commit suicide. Otherwise, why would scholars in later generations be so enamored with the Song Dynasty?

Not to mention, when the emperor personally endorsed something, there was definitely policy support. Unless one was truly unsuited for it, not studying and seeking an official career would be like having one's head caught in a door.

However, as someone accustomed to business, one had to read people's expressions and hide one's true thoughts. Chen Xiliang's intentions were obvious—parents always hoped their children would study well. Fundamentally, there was no conflict between them, but Chen Ke's personality, marked by his past life, was the least willing to be constrained. He didn't aspire to complete freedom, but he wanted to fight for as much as possible, so he pretended to be uninterested in studies, waiting for Chen Xiliang to offer favorable conditions.

This had to be handled carefully; otherwise, if he angered Chen Xiliang, it would end in chaos.

As the saying goes, 'A gentleman can be deceived by a method,' so why not take advantage of it...

Sure enough, Chen Xiliang made the first offer: "As long as you complete your daily homework, you can freely use the rest of your time!"

"Dealing with homework every day makes the time too fragmented," Chen Ke countered. "How about checking once in a while? That way, it's good for both of us."

"What do you need so much time for?" In Chen Xiliang's mind, a child of this age should just play, and there was no need to set aside a whole day for it.

"Without hiding it from Father..." Chen Ke then revealed his whereabouts over the past few days.

At first, Chen Xiliang was so angry he wanted to beat this audacious boy, but when he heard that Chen Ke decided to teach Cai Chuanfu how to cook, enabling him to support his mother, Chen Xiliang was moved: "That Cai boss is indeed a filial son. If you can help him, it's truly a good deed." He patted Chen Ke's head and said, "So you were doing this yesterday. Why not just tell me? You got a beating and were locked up for a night for nothing."

"..." Chen Ke flattered him, "Who would have thought you were so... enlightened."

"I am an enlightened father," Chen Xiliang was pleased and chuckled. "You can teach him cooking, but don't invest in his business. A gentleman does not take advantage of others' misfortunes. We just want our money back."

"..." Chen Ke thought, what a wasteful father, but he insisted, "Our family will need an income in the future. We can't just rely on Father's efforts. After getting the money back, we should still take a small share in his business, ensuring we don't cheat him."

"Alright, let's wait until his business improves," Chen Xiliang, not a rigid person, thought it made sense. If something happened to him, his children wouldn't starve. He instructed, "When he has the ability to repay the debt and still wants us to invest, it won't be considered taking advantage of his misfortune."

"Yes." Chen Ke agreed readily, "I'll do as Father says."

"Then we'll check your homework every five days." Chen Xiliang wasn't sure if this was right, but he was willing to try. He felt an endless vitality in Chen Ke and looked forward to seeing what new world he could create!

"Ten days, then..."

"Hmm..." Chen Xiliang's voice was heavy.

"Five days, then..." Chen Ke accepted it without further negotiation.

---

Chen Ke underestimated Chen Xiliang. While a gentleman can be deceived, his intelligence was not low. In their agreement, Chen Xiliang left a loophole—while they agreed to check every five days, the amount of homework was in his hands.

The ancients spared no effort in their studies; how could they let a mischievous child idle away?

Moreover, Old Chen was determined to have his third son compete with the second son of the Su family, to see whose son was more excellent!

After deep consideration, he decided to hold Chen Ke to the highest standards. Before setting the specific curriculum, Chen Xiliang first conducted a comprehensive test. He found that Chen Ke's advanced knowledge was much better than expected, but his basic knowledge was a mess.

In this era, advanced studies were in Confucian classics, while basic studies were in language and writing. Compared to the Song people, Chen Ke had knowledge that transcended his time, analyzed problems more comprehensively, and thought from more novel angles. Having read Confucian classics since childhood, his interpretations and explanations of subtle meanings naturally far exceeded those of his peers, even matching Chen Xiliang.

However, Chen Ke's knowledge was fragmented and lacked a system. He understood some classics deeply, misinterpreted others severely, and was completely clueless about some. But in Chen Xiliang's view, this was normal because he had never explained the classics to him, only making him recite them repeatedly.

This wasn't because Chen Xiliang was lazy, but because the teaching methods of the time were like this. First, it was to lay a solid foundation for future studies. Second, these wise sayings had profound philosophies and meanings that couldn't be explained in a few words. Students needed to understand them on their own, and when they advanced to higher levels, experienced scholars would teach them.

In any case, Chen Xiliang believed that Chen Ke had extremely high insight and strong thinking ability. Without a teacher, he could think of so many things... he was a potential great scholar!

'Confucius in his childhood was no more than this...' his father thought. If he knew that Chen Ke's brilliant ideas came from the internet of the future, he would be deeply disappointed.

But in basic studies, Chen Ke's performance was abysmal.

Basic studies required students to distinguish characters, understand phonetics, and explain meanings.

First, distinguishing characters. Although Chen Ke recognized almost every character, his handwriting was terrible... but this wasn't a big problem because the ancients didn't start teaching writing from a young age, believing that young children's bones were too soft. They started teaching writing around ten years old, and Chen Ke was not yet ten.

The real trouble was in understanding phonetics and explaining meanings. Phonetics referred to the pronunciation of characters, and explaining meanings referred to the interpretation of words. The former was the foundation of the latter, and without understanding phonetics, one couldn't truly explain meanings.

Chen Ke's problem was here. Due to the time difference and regional variations, the pronunciation differences were significant. So he tried to speak as little as possible in front of Chen Xiliang, fearing exposure.

But to read and write, rhyme, and compose, one had to master the phonetics and tones of the present. More terrifyingly, one had to master the phonetics and tones of the past—Tang Dynasty people had Tang phonetics, Han Dynasty people had Han phonetics, and pre-Qin people had pre-Qin phonetics. Without mastering the phonetics and tones of a particular era, one couldn't truly understand the texts of that era, as explaining meanings often required phonetic analysis.

Actually, Song Dynasty people themselves didn't focus much on basic studies, not delving into the meanings of classics or exploring ancient phonetics. But this was only for ordinary scholars. Every accomplished scholar was proficient in phonetics and lexicography because basic studies were the foundation of advanced studies. Without a solid foundation, the upper structure couldn't be stable.

Chen Xiliang firmly believed that without understanding characters, phonetics, lexicography, astronomy, calendar, and numerology, one couldn't read ancient books, could only parrot others, and couldn't reveal what others hadn't.

He was cultivating his third son to be a great scholar!

---

Finding the problems, Chen Xiliang prescribed the first assignment—copying the entire text of the "Guangyun."

The "Guangyun," officially titled "The Great Song Dynasty's Revised Guangyun," is a five-volume rhyme book compiled at the beginning of the dynasty, a culmination of rhyme books throughout history. It contains 26,194 characters and 191,692 annotations, making it daunting for anyone to read, let alone study.

This, of course, didn't align with the Song Dynasty's goal of making the imperial examinations the most widespread endeavor. So during the Zhenzong era, to facilitate memorization and mastery, and to lower the difficulty of the exams, the Ministry of Rites issued a more concise "Yunlüe," containing 9,590 characters, significantly fewer than the "Guangyun."

But Chen Xiliang held his third son to high standards and strict requirements, so he skipped the "Yunlüe" and went straight to the "Guangyun."

Seeing the five volumes, Chen Ke calculated the time—copying one volume a day, and it had to be in regular script, not a single character could be sloppy! He couldn't help but cry out in his heart, 'Damn, do you want me to do anything else?'

He protested, but Chen Xiliang, lifting the veil of warmth, revealed his stern side, expressionless, and said, "According to the agreement, if you fail to complete your homework once, your privileges will be revoked!" He coldly smiled, "Instead of lamenting here, you should start writing!"

"Ahh..." Chen Ke let out a miserable cry and fell onto the bed. His brothers, who had initially envied his newfound freedom, now only felt deep sympathy.

---

Writing new chapters is not easy, and I've checked countless sources. Comrades, I need your votes for encouragement.

<a href="