Yang Ling turned his head to look, only to see a young man standing behind him, clapping his hands and laughing loudly. Before the laughter stopped, the young man saw Yang Ling's face and was stunned speechless. After a while, he shouted excitedly, "It's you? You're my study attendant, that … that Chicken Cry Inn's Deputy Yang Ling? "
Yang Ling had just seen Hongzhi and had long guessed that the young scholar he saw yesterday was undoubtedly Zhengde, so he was not surprised. He smiled bitterly and pointed to the top of his head, saying, "Your Highness, this humble subject is indeed Yang Ling. Forgive this humble subject for not being able to greet the Crown Prince, this … this …"
Zhu Houzhao laughed and waved his hand, saying, "There's no need to greet, there's no need to greet each other every day, it's so annoying."
At this time, a fat eunuch came out of the palace with a big black dog that was half the height of a person. He laughed and said, "Crown Prince, you scared your servant to death just now. This dog was hiding in the cupboard and was very naughty. The Old Slave even threw a few pieces of meat and bones inside, but it was still whimpering non-stop and was almost discovered by Scholar Li."
Yang Ling carefully looked at Gu Daeyong. Gu Daeyong was short and stout, with a round face, curved eyebrows, and curved eyes. He was born with a smiling face. If he did not know about this person's later deeds, Yang Ling would really think that this person was amiable and liked to be close to.
Zhu Houzhao laughed like a proud child and asked him, "Da Yong, has Grand Tutor Li left?"
Gu Daeyong smiled apologetically and said, "The Crown Prince has gone to the toilet eight times in four hours. Official Li has long become impatient. Although he does not need to attend morning court today, he must attend afternoon court. Just now, he could not wait and has already asked to leave."
Zhu Houzhao laughed out loud. He stood on his tiptoes and swayed his body with every step he took. He straightened his neck and said slowly like a roly-poly doll, "A gentleman seeks his Tao, not his food. A gentleman worries about his Tao, not his poverty. A ruler should stop at benevolence, a minister should stop at respect, a son should stop at filial piety, a father should stop at kindness, a friend should stop at trust … "
After Zhu Houzhao finished learning, he said with a bitter face, "The Saint once said a sentence of etiquette, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and trust. Grand Secretary Li has been quoting from various sources and has been talking about it for seven days now. I find it strange. How does the Saint's brain work? When he said this sentence, did he really think so much and in such detail? If you want to teach me how to be a ruler, you can talk about his principles of governing the world. But every sentence you say has to be related to the saints from a thousand years ago. It's as if if you don't do this, you won't be able to convince me. It's really boring. I'm sick of listening to it. "
He waved his hand and said, "It's good that he's gone, it's good that he's gone. Now that he's gone, we can return." As Zhu Houzhao said this, he pointed at the monkey squatting on top of Yang Ling's head and whistled. The monkey squatted on top of Yang Ling's head and looked left and right, ignoring him. Zhu Houzhao grinned and said, "Looks like this monkey of mine quite likes you. Let's go, Yang. Let's go in."
Yang Ling followed behind Zhu Houzhao with a bitter face. The Crown Prince's study was called a study, but it was more like a large hall. It was empty except for two little eunuchs standing by the door. Seeing a little monkey squatting on top of Yang Ling's head, the two little eunuchs couldn't help but cover their mouths and snicker.
Zhu Houzhao casually sat behind a short table, which was painted to the point of gleaming. He looked at Yang Ling with interest, and then he chuckled and said, "Come, come, Yang, please sit down. In a moment I will let Da Yong show you the monkey riding the dog, and also the fire ring, it will be very fun."
Yang Ling cautiously sat down behind a table. Zhu Houzhao reached out and took several fruits from a plate and tossed them to the ground. 'Whoosh!' the monkey scurried down from Yang Ling's head and squatted on the ground, gnawing on the fruit.
"I am hungry," Zhu Houzhao said to Gu Daeyong, "Get me something to eat." Gu Daeyong was tying the dog to a pillar by the side of the hall. Hearing the order from a little eunuch by the door, the little eunuch flew away.
In the Crown Prince's study room, there were only eunuchs; palace maids were not allowed to serve them. Before long, eight little eunuchs came in with trays. Yang Ling's stomach was rumbling with hunger, and as soon as he smelled the aroma of the food, his stomach couldn't help but growl.
The Crown Prince's ears were sharp, and he laughed as he pointed in front of Yang Ling and said, "Put it there, put it there. If someone in my Crown Prince's palace starved to death, it would be a joke."
As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he stood up with a smile and casually walked over to Yang Ling's side and sat down. He first handed him a pair of silver chopsticks and said, "Eat, try the food from my palace and see what you think."
Yang Ling saw that the legendary Emperor Zhengde didn't put on any airs and his desire to restrain him disappeared. With Yang Ling's company, Zhu Houzhao seemed to eat even more happily. As he ate, he said to Yang Ling, "You didn't hear Grand Tutor Li's lecture today, and there's nothing else you can explain to me. That's right, what is the bullfight you mentioned yesterday? Quickly tell me."
Yang Ling originally thought that the study attendant was just accompanying the Crown Prince to listen to the lessons and not letting the Crown Prince be too depressed. But from Zhu Houzhao's words, it seemed that the study attendant also had the responsibility of answering the Crown Prince's questions during the self-study lessons. If the Crown Prince was really studious, wouldn't he, a poor study attendant, be exposed on the spot?
Thinking of this, Yang Ling couldn't help but secretly rejoice. As he savored the delicacies of the palace chefs, he talked to Zhu Houzhao about the Spanish bullfight. Yang Ling's knowledge of this sport was limited, so he mainly talked about the bullfighters who missed and were chased around the arena by the big bulls, or were pushed out of the arena by the bullfighters. Yang Ling's eloquence was already good, and he purposely added to the story. Not only was Zhu Houzhao interested, even Gu Daeyong and the little eunuch who was serving him were enthralled.
Yang Ling saw that Gu Daeyong was convulsing with laughter at the side, and he suddenly felt ashamed. Who was this person in front of him? One was a famous lecher and muddle-headed emperor in the future, and the other was a famous traitor and evil. As for himself, he was called a study attendant, but he played the role of a jester, a clown to make the prince happy.
It was true that he did not have any ambition, but since he had come to this world, he could not regard himself as a spectator with the cold eyes of a bystander. Emotionally, he was no different from the current Han people. To him, this tragic chapter in Chinese history was history that was already in the past, and he could do nothing about it. But now, all that had not happened yet. Now, the Empire of Ming Destiny was still the richest country in the world. Since fate had arranged for him to walk in front of the emperor of Ming Destiny, shouldn't he do his part?
The decline of the Ming Dynasty was mainly due to their conservative thinking. The ruler and even the entire ruling class were blindly arrogant and closed the country. When the whole world was developing and capitalism was transforming, if China could maintain close ties with the world, the thinking of the entire ruling class would inevitably be influenced subtly, and would inevitably develop in a more positive direction.
Who was this person in front of him? He was the future emperor of Ming Destiny! What did Ming Destiny lack at this time? It was enterprise. If this person in front of him was allowed to see further and broader, in this era of supreme monarchy, a single thought of his could have an immeasurable effect on the development of history. History … really couldn't be changed?
Thinking of this, Yang Ling was excited. He calmed down and said to Zhu Houzhao, "Crown Prince, if you like, I can tell you some other stories."
Zhu Houzhao nodded his head in joy. Even though he was the Crown Prince, his spiritual life was a far cry from that of countless children in the modern era. It would not be an exaggeration to say that his life was dull and boring. Now that he had heard Yang Ling's novel stories, he knew that there were still so many colorful things in this world and such a vast world. The young Zheng De was momentarily mesmerized. Hearing Yang Ling's words, he quickly said to Gu Dayong, "Dayong, get someone to tell Monk Zhi Yun that he won't be learning Sanskrit today."
Hearing this, Yang Ling was very surprised. He did not expect Zhu Houzhao to be learning foreign languages. Furthermore, he had casually ordered the eunuch to stop his lessons. It was clear that this course was not arranged for him by the Emperor. This was a far cry from the image he had of Zhu Houzhao, who was ludicrous and did not engage in proper work.
The story of the Spanish pirates was told by Yang Ling. The red-haired pirate queen and the one-eyed pirate captain. Under Yang Ling's conscious combination, he combined different stories. While keeping it interesting, he told the story of the current European countries fighting for supremacy on the sea. He even made up a story similar to Ming Destiny, which was located on the other side of the sea and further away, Tianfang Kingdom. He talked about its wealth, strength, and then decline, as well as the process of being bullied.
The fascinating story of the pirates fascinated the adventurous Zhu Houzhao. When Yang Ling talked about the European countries fighting for supremacy on the sea, on the surface, they declared that they were irreconcilable with the pirates, but secretly trained pirates to attack the merchant ships of other countries, Gu Daeyong frowned slightly. He despised the undignified behavior of these barbarian countries.
Little Zhengde, on the other hand, rubbed his palms together and said leisurely, "Good, with the support of the imperial court, it won't be a disgrace to the imperial court. This kind of deal is worth it. Even I want to be a pirate like this, hahaha …"
Yang Ling smiled. In front of him was a child who didn't have much sense of right and wrong, a piece of white paper that could be erased at any time. Scholar Li was teaching him propriety, righteousness, integrity, and self-sufficiency; Gu Daeyong was teaching him pleasure and pleasure; then, it was time for me, Yang Ling, to teach him the greed and ambition to look at the world and aspire to the four seas!
Education, starting from a child …
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