Under Kong Yingda's personal guidance, Li Zexuan passed through rows of neat and magnificent buildings and came to an obviously shabbier and smaller building to the south of the Imperial College. The sign hanging in the middle of the building had the words "School of Mathematics" written on it.
"This is the School of Mathematics. Li Xiannan, quickly go in. Today, this old man wants to see what kind of magical things you brought!"
Kong Yingda pointed at the building in front of him and smiled while stroking his beard.
Li Zexuan frowned slightly. He looked at this shabby and small house, and then thought of the magnificent "Imperial Academy", "Imperial Academy", and other academies he saw on the way here. He couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.
He wasn't the kind of person who couldn't bear hardships, but there would be no harm if there was no comparison. Why was the Imperial College's building grand while his was short and shabby?
Kong Yingda waited for a long time but didn't hear Li Zexuan speak. He looked back curiously and saw that Li Zexuan's expression was somewhat ugly. He thought for a moment and understood.
"Haha, Li Xiannan, please don't blame me. The Imperial College is short on space and the School of Mathematics has the least number of students. Therefore, in order to save resources, the School of Mathematics was allocated here. Although the building is a bit shabby, I believe Li Xiannan won't mind. How can scholars like us be affected by external conditions? "
Li Zexuan was speechless. What was this? Just because there were few students, the conditions were bad?
He cursed in his heart. Then he thought and asked, "How many students are there in the School of Mathematics?"
Kong Yingda remembered this very clearly. He answered without thinking, "The School of Mathematics currently has 32 students and one teaching assistant. It is far less than the other schools, so it was arranged here. Oh, your teaching assistant is Mr. Xu. He should be inside now. "
The Imperial College of the Tang Dynasty belonged to the central government. Its educational resources were not only rich in variety but also of high quality. The Imperial College was divided into six schools: the Imperial College, the School of Imperial College, the School of Four Gates, the School of Calligraphy, the School of Law, and the School of Mathematics.
Students of different backgrounds were assigned to different academies. It was recorded in the history books, "The Imperial College has three hundred students. Most of them are civil and military third-rank or above descendants, second-rank or above great-grandsons, second-rank or above officials, second-rank or above county officials, and fourth-rank or above officials in the capital.
The Imperial College gave birth to five hundred people. Most of them were descendants of fifth-rank officials or above, great-grandsons of officials who were close to fifth-rank officials or third-rank officials, and sons of officials who were titled third-rank officials or above.
The four schools would produce one thousand three hundred students. Five hundred of them would be military officials of third rank and above without a title, fourth rank and above with a title, and civil and military officials of seventh rank and above. Eight hundred of them would be commoners.
The study of law will produce fifty people, the study of calligraphy will produce thirty people, and the study of mathematics will produce thirty people. Only those who are of the eighth rank and below, and those who are well-versed in common folk. "
In the Tang Dynasty, the students from the prefectural and county government schools also had the opportunity to be promoted to the central government. This allowed the children of the common people to enjoy more educational resources.
After passing the examinations, the children of the common people in the prefectural and county government schools would be promoted to the central government schools in mathematics, calligraphy, law, or the four schools. After that, if their results were outstanding, they could be promoted to the Imperial College. The students of the Imperial College could make up for the Imperial College.
This kind of education policy not only made it possible for the children of the common people to obtain better educational resources through hard work, but it also made the Tang Dynasty's official education expand the range of people and increase the number of people. This was something that had never happened in any of the previous dynasties.
At this moment, a person walked out of the room. It was Xu Hongzhi, whom Li Zexuan had seen two months ago at the ready-made clothing store. Xu Hongzhi went forward and cupped his hands with a smile, "Chancellor Kong, Professor Li!"
Kong Yingda nodded his head. Li Zexuan hurriedly said, "Mr. Xu, you are my father's best friend. You can just call me Little Xuan."
Although he had been tricked into teaching at the Imperial College by Xu Hongzhi and Li Er, Xu Hongzhi was still someone of the same generation as his father. He still had to give him the respect he deserved.
Xu Hongzhi chuckled and said, "Professor Li, your ability in mathematics is above mine. Furthermore, His Majesty has personally conferred you the title of Professor of Mathematics. As the saying goes, those who are accomplished are the teachers. It has nothing to do with age. What's wrong with me calling you Professor Li?"
Kong Yingda also agreed, "Hongzhi is right. That's how it should be. Mr. Li, quickly go in and teach!"
Li Zexuan was helpless. He looked at Tie Dan and Lan 'er, then said to Kong Yingda, "Mister Kong, one of these two children is my disciple, and the other is my younger sister. I usually teach them mathematics at home. Now that I'm teaching at the Imperial College, I brought them here to listen to my classes.
Kong Yingda frowned and said hesitantly, "But there has never been a precedent for a woman entering the imperial college in our dynasty!"
Li Zexuan shook his head and said, "They're only listening from the side. They're not considered entering the college."
He estimated that Lan 'er's enthusiasm would only last for two or three days. Li Zexuan did not expect her to be knowledgeable and become a world-shaking genius.
Kong Yingda nodded and said, "Mm, that's fine."
.....
Li Zexuan instructed a few servants to carry the blackboard and chalk inside and hang the blackboard properly.
The students inside had already heard that there would be a new Professor today. When they saw Li Zexuan, they were all stunned. They did not expect the newly appointed Professor of Mathematics to be so young. Many of them were probably older than Li Zexuan. Was this new teacher reliable?
All the students were deeply suspicious of Li Zexuan's ability.
When Li Zexuan saw that the blackboard was hung, he turned around and looked at the students. They were all children in their teens. Of course, there were also many who were 14 or 15 years old. All the students hurriedly stood up and greeted him in unison, "Hello, Sir!"
Even though they had thousands of suspicions, the deep-rooted concept of respecting their teachers made them have no choice but to put on a respectful attitude on the surface.
Xu Hongzhi, who was standing below Li Zexuan, also saw the deep distrust in the students' eyes. He frowned and was about to scold them when Li Zexuan hurriedly waved his hand to stop him. He looked at the 30 students and smiled.
"Hello. Today is my first class for all of you. My name is Li Zexuan. I'm also a Professor of Mathematics appointed by His Majesty himself. I know that many of you think that I'm not qualified to teach you mathematics because I'm young.
Hehe, in the next half an hour, I will give you all the opportunity to ask questions. If your questions about mathematics stumped me, then I will immediately ask His Majesty to resign. If you can't stumble me, then you will have to listen obediently in class. Alright, if you have any questions, then ask! "
When Li Zexuan finished speaking, the entire classroom was silent. Everyone, including Kong Yingda, looked at him in disbelief. It must be known that in this era, teachers were greater than heaven. Whatever the teacher taught, the students would learn. How could a teacher be willing to say such things to students?
After a while, the students reacted. Some of them couldn't help but whisper to each other. There were also a dozen or so students who were dressed more plainly. They stood up together and respectfully cupped their hands to Li Zexuan.
"Students are afraid. Students have absolutely no intention of doubting Sir. Please take back your order!"
The voices of these dozen or so students immediately drowned out the noise in the classroom. The rest of the students, regardless of whether they had doubts about Li Zexuan or not, hurriedly stood up together and said, "Students are afraid.
"Student is terrified. Teacher, please retract your order."
Xu Hongzhi hurriedly gave Li Zexuan a look, indicating that he didn't need to do so.
Seeing this, Li Zexuan smiled.
"Haha, all of you sit down! I don't care if you have that intention or not, but I will never take back what I have said. Since I am going to be your teacher, of course, I will be more capable than you. You can set your questions without any worries. If anyone can give me a problem in mathematics today, not only will I resign from my position as a mathematics doctor, I will also recommend him to His Majesty as the new mathematics doctor! "
"Haha!"
Li Zexuan's last sentence was like poking a hornet's nest. Many of the students in the Institute of Mathematics were poor children who had been selected from other provinces and counties to enter the Directorate. Weren't they studying hard for the sake of a good future? If they could baffle Li Zexuan, then they would very likely have a meteoric rise. How could they not be tempted?
Xu Hongzhi was so anxious that his forehead was sweating. Kong Yingda, on the other hand, was relatively calm and thoughtful. Iron Egg and Lan 'er, who were sitting at the back, were not worried at all. They were full of confidence in Li Zexuan.
"Student Ke Shiqing from Bazhou. May I be so bold as to ask for your guidance?"
The students below were noisy for a long time. Finally, one of them could not help but stand up and cup his hands to challenge Li Zexuan.
"It's Ke Shiqing. He has the best grades in our school!"
"That's right, Dr. Liu even praised him for his outstanding talent before!"
"I'm afraid this new teacher is going to fail."
.....
Li Zexuan heard the discussion below and nodded with satisfaction. Ke Shiqing came at the right time. If he wanted to come, he would send the best. This would save him a lot of time.
"Good! Ke Shiqing, right? Whether you can baffle me today or not, your courage is worthy of praise. Give me your question! "
Li Zexuan said with a smile.
.....
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