First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 23 An Ordinary Day

In June 1364, since Zhu Yuanzhang slaughtered Chen Youliang's old army, he has not gone out to fight, but quietly settled the fields and settled the people.

On this day, Zhu Yuanzhang had a rare free time, so he called his sons to come over in the backyard. When Zhu Biao and Song Lian came over to ask for leave, they saw Lao Zhu sitting on a stool and reading "The Doctrine of the Mean". The brothers on the side were all trembling like quails. Stand aside.

Zhu Biao smiled, and walked to Zhu Yuanzhang's left side, bent over and saluted: "My son is paying tribute to the father, the father is in a good mood today!"

"Biao'er is here, it's rare for us to have some free time today, so I'll leave some trivial matters to Li Shanchang and the others to do!

"It seems that the father is going to test his sons?"

"Hahaha, yes, reading is very important, we couldn't afford to learn it when we were young, and we have asked Mr.

Zhu Biao bowed his hands to Old Zhu Yi, and then backed away to the far left of the younger brothers.

He knew that what Lao Zhu said was not a lie. Most people knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was from a grass-roots background and his family was poor. few.

In fact, he went to a private school for a few months when he was a child. "Even though he went to school, he was very smart."

After his parents died, he begged and wandered in Huaixi.His travels in Huaixi broadened Zhu Yuanzhang's horizons. At the age of 17, he returned to the monastery. "Beginning to learn, he was determined to study diligently" and studied Buddhist scriptures with several old monks.Due to his shallow foundation and poor foundation, he could not read some books, or not fully understand them, so he asked for advice humbly and from learned people.

After participating in the peasant uprising, Li Shanchang, Feng Guoyong, Tao An, Xia Yu, Zhu Sheng, Zhu Xiao, Liu Ji and other Confucian scholars came to defect. They quoted scriptures, talked about the past and the present, helped him analyze the situation, made suggestions, and made the Zhu Yuanzhang further realized the importance of reading.

As a result, he studied even more, "when he was looking for Confucianism and asking".Everywhere he went, he tried to recruit scholars, retain the shogunate, get along with each other day and night, and lecture on scriptures and history.

At the same time, "Ling Yousi visited and asked for ancient books, which are hidden in the secret palace."Get up early and go to bed late every day to find time to read.

After he ascended the throne, he also set up Wenyuan Pavilion in the east of Fengtianmen in the capital, "to store the records of ancient and modern times, and to set up university scholars".

After handling official business, he often found time to go there, "ordering Hongru to enter the history of scriptures, self-criticism, and forgetting all day long."

He was about to be questioned by his father soon, but Zhu Biao didn't care. He studied hard for five years in Han Chuang, and with the guidance of the best teachers, his current talent is not a problem to be a jinshi according to Song Lian's statement.

But the younger brothers on the side couldn't do it. Taking advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's reading time, he looked at his elder brother eagerly, and tears were coming out of his small eyes.

Zhu Di and Zhu Chi, who are still young, are fine. It was not long before they entered the school. Even if they didn't answer, they wouldn't be beaten, but Zhu Xi and Zhu Xi couldn't run away.

I think the father and king specially called him here to set an example for Zhu Di and Zhu Chi.

As for calling Zhu Xi and Zhu Ying, they wanted to give the two young people an insight into the consequences of not studying.

"Biao'er, tell us, the destiny is called nature, the reckless nature is called Tao, and the cultivation of Tao is called teaching. Tao also cannot be separated for a moment. It doesn't matter what it doesn't hear. Don't see it or hide it, don't show it or reveal it, so the gentleman should be careful about its ownness... The great foundation of the world; harmony is the way of the world. Nurturing."

Zhu Biao took a step forward and replied: What God has given to man is nature, following nature is Tao, and following Tao to cultivate oneself is teaching.

The Tao cannot be left for a moment, but the one who leaves is not the Tao.Therefore, a gentleman should be careful where no one sees, and fear and awe where no one can hear.

Even when it is hidden, it will be discovered by others, and the subtleties will be obvious, so the gentleman should be careful when he is alone.The emotions of joy, anger, sorrow and joy are not expressed, which is called middle.Explicit but legal, this is called harmony.

Zhong is the most fundamental thing in the world, and harmony is the law that the whole world abides by.When neutralization is achieved, heaven and earth will return to their respective places, and all things will grow and develop!

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction. He felt that even the old man Li Shanchang was not as good as his son, and said it thoroughly. Who said that our old Zhu family can't produce the seeds of reading?

"Biao'er said it well! A lot of good things were shipped in the soup yesterday, and they are all in the warehouse. You can go in and pick some!"

Then he turned to look at Zhu Xi and Zhu Xi: "We don't expect the two of you to be comparable to your big brother, nor do you have to use "The Doctrine of the Mean" to make things difficult for you, so let's test your Analects!"

There is no need to go into detail about the process. The two brothers are stumbling together, and they are not confident. I am afraid that they have forgotten what they will order...

(End of this chapter)