I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 30: Lectures before the Emperor, a Trial
On the morning of August 14th, it was time for the daily lecture.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

The three cabinet ministers stood at the front, a group of lecturers were on both sides, and Shen Nian, as the historian, stood on the southeast side of the throne.

Daily lectures are much simpler than the imperial lectures.

The number of people has been reduced from hundreds to more than twenty.

Without guards or ceremonial guards, officials did not have to kowtow and could give lectures more freely.

Shen Nian looked forward.

I found that almost all the lecturers were tall and handsome with elegant looks.

In Ming Dynasty.

If one wants to become a lecturer in the imperial lectures, appearance is very important.

Height, appearance, demeanor, and manners must all be above average, or even excellent.

A loud voice and clear pronunciation are also necessary conditions.

If you are ugly, no matter how talented you are, it will be difficult for you to serve the emperor.

after all--

To meet the standards of a daily lecturer in the Imperial Lecture Hall, one must at least be a Jinshi and have served in the Hanlin Academy.

Talent and knowledge are the threshold, while appearance and voice are necessary conditions.

This is also the reason why Liu Kezhen tried so hard to learn Mandarin. If he spoke unclearly, his future career would be full of difficulties.

Shen Nian has the advantage in all these aspects. His biggest flaw is that he has too little experience.

……

soon.

After the young Wanli sat on the throne, the daily lecture began.

First, review what we learned yesterday.

Lu Diaoyang was responsible for briefly summarizing yesterday's content. If little Wanli had any questions, he could ask them on the spot.

Then, the daily lecturers began to give lectures.

Today's course is to first talk about "The Great Learning", then "Essentials of the Zhenguan Era", and then "The Imperial Ming Dynasty Ancestor's Instructions". Finally, before the little emperor practices calligraphy, Shen Nian will explain an allusion in "The Illustrated Explanation of the Emperor's Mirror".

After each book lecture, there will be a short pause.

Little Wanli would go to a warm room to drink tea or eat some snacks, and then Feng Bao would hand over the various memorials reviewed by the cabinet to little Wanli for his perusal.

At this moment, the young Wanli did not have the decision-making power.

He looked at the draft of the memorial.

The main purpose was to understand the government affairs. If there was anything he didn't understand, he could call on the cabinet ministers who were resting in the west wing to ask questions.

Daily lectures are about studying classics and history while understanding state affairs.

A thirteen-year-old child.

With his head being filled with a lot of national affairs all day long, you can imagine how devastated he was.

Shen Nian stood aside and observed carefully.

After observing the young Wanli, his eyes turned to the lecturers.

As a lecturer with extensive teaching experience, he quickly discovered the common problems of these Japanese lecturers.

So elegant!
So floating!
You care too much about the dignity of teachers!

In their eyes, even when facing the emperor, they felt that teachers were supreme and had to teach with dignity.

When teaching, it is full of preaching, rules and principles.

"Your Majesty must remember this!"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Your Majesty, this is the strategy for governing a country. Please keep it in mind!"

"Your Majesty, these words are of vital importance and must not be forgotten!"

……

Every time he spoke, he was talking about what the little emperor should do, what he shouldn't do, and what he should remember...

Such words were like huge rocks pressing on the shoulders of little Wanli.

He is under too much pressure!
These daily lecturers were influenced by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and their teaching was also in this way when they were young, so their teaching was very rigid.

In Shen Nian’s previous life, he taught his students as if they were his little ancestors.

In his eyes, correct teaching is equal dialogue and creating resonance.

This method is absolutely not applicable to the sons of common people who rely on examination essays to gain fame. But it is applicable to the young Wanli.

As the supreme ruler of the Ming Empire, the character, thoughts, living habits, personality and temperament of the young Wanli determined the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, he may not be a wise ruler, but he must be a mentally healthy person.

……

Near noon, it was finally Shen Nian's turn.

What Shen Nian is going to talk about today is a small anecdote from "Zizhi Tongjian": Burning brocade and melting gold.

This story tells that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, burned a pile of pearls, jade and brocade in front of the palace to tell the people of the world that a ruler must advocate frugality and set an example for the people of the world.

"The Illustrated Book of the Emperor" drew an exquisite woodblock print around this story.

According to conventional saying -

Shen Nianying took out the woodblock print first, and then compared it with the woodblock print, read and interpreted the story, and then summarized the central idea: luxurious things can easily drown people, and the king should pay special attention to frugality, and that was it.

However, Shen Nian changed his way of speaking.

As he stood in front of the lecture desk, the woodblock print was covered with a layer of red silk.

Shen Nian said, "Your Majesty, I would like you to guess what story this woodblock print is about, based on what I have said."

Little Wanli immediately became interested.

Guessing riddles is definitely more interesting than listening to lectures.

Swish!
Shen Nian puffed out his chest and said loudly, "May I ask Your Majesty, how much silver is a dan of millet in the capital? How much is a dan of glutinous rice? How much is a bamboo shoot chicken? How much is a live sheep weighing 20 kilograms?"

After hearing this, young Wanli was dumbfounded.

How would he know this?

The Japanese lecturer standing by was also dumbfounded, they didn't know either.

They are so concerned about the affairs of the court that they have no time to care about these trivialities of life.

Ma Ziqiang smiled faintly.

This is how Shen Nian's lecture notes were written, and he reviewed and agreed to them.

Then, Shen Nian gave the answer.

"One dan of corn is worth six qian and four fen of silver, one dan of glutinous rice is worth one liang, one qian and two fen of silver, a bamboo shoot chicken is worth seven fen of silver, and a 20-jin sheep is worth about three qian and two fen of silver."

Next, Shen Nian asked and answered himself the prices of various jewelry, jade, brocade silk, imperial tea and imperial clothing.

One is cheap and the other is expensive, the difference is huge.

"Your Majesty, the people of the world, through hard work and frugality, can barely get by. A little frugality from the rich is equivalent to a lifetime's accumulation of wealth for the poor. Since ancient times, rulers..."

Shen Nian spoke slowly, starting from the simplest to the most complex.

It seems that there are no allusions, but in fact every sentence is telling an allusion.

At this moment, not only the little emperor listened attentively, but the daily lecturers beside him also listened attentively.

This is what Shen Nian said.

He has a lot of skills.

If the young Wanli was not the emperor, Shen Nian would definitely remove the lecture tables and sit cross-legged on the ground to talk about these historical stories.

The more lofty the content, the more down-to-earth it must be in order to be effective.

Not long after.

The young Wanli said excitedly, "I guessed it. It's the story of burning brocade and molten gold in Tang history."

Officials have used this allusion to cite many examples, so the young Wanli naturally knew this famous allusion.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Shen Nian lifted the red silk and stepped aside.

He's finished speaking!

Zhang Juzheng looked at Shen Nian with admiration. This was the type of person that was missing in the daily lecturers in front of the emperor.

Then the daily lecture ended.

Young Wanli was overjoyed, and because tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, he gave them all rewards immediately.

"Reward Zhang Juzheng with 40 taels of silver and 3 boxes of sweets; Lü Diaoyang and Zhang Siwei with 20 taels of silver and 2 boxes of sweets; Ma Ziqiang, Xu Guo, Shen Shixing and others with 10 taels of silver and 1 box of sweets; Shen Yiguan, Wang Jiaping, Shen Nian and others with 5 taels of silver and 1 box of sweets."

The lecturers were very happy, knowing that they had benefited from Shen Nian today.

Seeing the reaction of the young Wanli, Shen Nian knew that he would have a place in the lecture team on both sides of the Wenhua Hall in the future.

(End of this chapter)