The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 1

During the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty.

Chang'an City.

"Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, must you really have to use this method of climbing over walls to enter and leave the palace?" Du Ruhui complained to the man who had just landed not far away, while supporting his aching back.

The man who landed had an extraordinary air about him, but upon hearing Du Ruhui's words, he looked around like a mouse that had seen a cat, glancing left and right.

Seeing that no one was around, he then whispered sternly, "Du Ruhui, what did I say!"

"Once you leave this palace, you must not call me Your Majesty. Treat me only as a wealthy merchant with some assets. Do you even understand what that means?"

Upon seeing the man before him become angry, Du Ruhui quickly said, "I understand, I understand."

"My lord, where do we go now?"

The one who dared to act in such a way in front of Du Ruhui was none other than the current emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Er.

Li Er snorted, seemingly quite satisfied with Du Ruhui's words. He said, "Where to? We've finally managed to get out of here, of course we should go to my Great Tang to observe the lives of ordinary people."

"I've recently heard that there's a very special academy; some say it's all over Chang'an. Today, let's sneak over and see if they're as good as the legends say!"

After saying this, Li Er led Du Ruhui towards the bustling areas of Chang'an.

Having left the magnificent imperial palace and passed through the bustling, willow-lined streets, Li Er and Du Ruhui finally arrived at the educational sanctuary in Chang'an.

This place was home to many schools and study rooms. Li Er and Du Ruhui had heard of many of them.

However, upon arriving here today, they were immediately drawn to a building in front of them.

Before them stood a towering building that seemed to rise into the sky, its magnificent structure easily spotted amidst the many low-rise study rooms.

For a moment, both Li Er and Du Ruhui wondered if they had stumbled into some kind of paradise on earth.

In fact, for people of later generations, this building might not seem so remarkable. It was constructed using reinforced concrete, with only some Chinese structural elements added to make it appear both sturdy and aesthetically pleasing.

Above the main gate of the school building, there is a plaque with four characters written on it.

"Tian... Tianxia Academy".

Du Ruhui slowly read out these four characters, and was momentarily stunned by the scale of the school.

"Haha, very good! I've heard many elegant names in the schools of my Great Tang Dynasty. But such a grand and imposing name is the first I've ever seen!" Li Er said cheerfully from the side.

Just then, a student-looking person passed by, and Li Er stopped him and asked, "Scholar, do you know why this place is called the Academy of the World?"

"If only I had ten thousand mansions, I could shelter all the poor and make them smile!" You've never heard of this saying?

"You should study hard. Otherwise, if someone isn't very smart and hasn't been to school, their money will inevitably end up in someone else's hands sooner or later. That's what our master said!"

This student looked to be only a teenager, so naturally he was straightforward and without any guile.

Du Ruhui turned pale instantly upon hearing such disrespectful words. However, Li Er released the student and repeated the words to himself many times.

"May all the poor and needy in the world be sheltered and rejoice... Good, good indeed!"

"And this last sentence is also true, interesting, very interesting!"

Seeing that Li Er was pleased, Du Ruhui finally breathed a sigh of relief for the student and the teacher of the school.

"Come on, Lao Du, let's go in and take a look!" After Li Er finished speaking, before Du Ruhui could react, he strode into the school.

Upon arriving at the school, Li Er was even more shocked by the scene before him. After going upstairs through the stairs, he saw that the huge room was furnished with several modern tables and chairs.

Li Er and Du Ruhui were also puzzled at first. It wasn't until someone took the chair off the desk and sat down that Li Er suddenly understood.

He followed Du Ruhui's example and went to the back row of the classroom, where he sat at a table like everyone else.

"What method was used to forge this thing? Although it's a bit uncomfortable to sit on, it seems much sturdier than a wooden chair," Du Ruhui said in a low voice.

Just as Li Er was about to discuss the two provinces in hushed tones, the students who had been resting outside rushed in, shouting loudly.

"The master is here! The master is here!"

Du Ruhui and Li Er quickly sat down, eager to see what kind of person this gentleman was, who possessed such wealth to build this magnificent building and could utter such wise words and lofty ambitions.

In their eyes, such a person should be a highly respected elder.

However, they guessed wrong.

The person who appeared before everyone was a young man in his early twenties. However, as soon as he entered the classroom, the noise in the classroom completely ceased.

It was clear that the students present held this gentleman in very high regard.

This young man's name is Xu Tian, ​​and he traveled from the future Earth.

I went to teach in a mountain village, and a mudslide happened to break out there. In order to save my students, I was eventually swept into the mudslide.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in this era. After some investigation, I realized that this place seemed very similar to the Tang Dynasty on Earth.

Soon, he also awakened the system.

The system aligns with my major, as I'm also in charge of teaching and nurturing students. The more people I teach, the greater my educational achievements, and the more rewards I receive.

At first, he only used his initial capital to buy a small thatched hut here. Now, he has used the materials provided by the system to upgrade his Tianxia Academy into what it is today.

I came to class as usual today.

But to my surprise, there were two people at the back of my classroom who were clearly out of place with the students in the front row.

Xu Tian asked curiously, "Who are you two? What brings you here?"

Li Er smiled and waved his hand: "It's alright, let's try listening to it. Please speak freely, sir."

Xu Tian didn't delve any further. Indeed, some students in his school came to the building out of curiosity, wanting to see what Xu Tian was teaching.

Such people are usually attracted by what Xu Tian says and thus become his students.

Du Ruhui frowned: "Master, this person looks so young. I think this so-called Tianxia Academy is probably just a hoax."

"How about we go?"