Zhu Hao expressed his opinion and attracted refutation, but after he retreated, the other candidates could not explain why.
At the moment, the only one who can come out and express some personal opinions is Mr. Jing, but he has only adapted to this form of public debate, even though the environment in the previous county government gave him relevant experience, and at the same time, his good background gave him an advantage far beyond his age.
Compared with Zhu Hao, his knowledge and level are still a bit immature.
Yuan Zonggao said: "In terms of 'princes who break the law are guilty of the same crime as the common people', the point of view is indeed too radical. 'If the law does not work, break it from above.' This view is not bad. The law must be obeyed from top to bottom in order to educate.
worldly people.”
Yuan Zonggao was able to express his own opinions and affirm some of Zhu Hao's ideas.
Mr. Jing came out: "Students believe that if the teaching is not strict, the teacher will be lazy." Even if the prince makes a mistake, he cannot be entirely blamed. The teacher also has a certain responsibility. "If the law does not work, you must commit it yourself." "Prince,
As a king and heir, you are not allowed to impose punishments on your master, your son Qian, or your master Gongsun Jia. Therefore, when a prince breaks the law, he is not guilty of the same crime as the common people."
At this time, Mr. Jing knew that if he didn't come out and say a few words, he would be completely outclassed by Zhu Hao.
It's rare that he still has some insight.
Zhu Hao asked loudly: "If the prince breaks the law and is not guilty of the same crime as the common people, why should he be punished by his master, Zi Qian, and his master, Gongsun Jia, be tattooed?"
Mr. Jing's little face turned red from suppressing his emotions, and he couldn't express any new ideas for a long time.
Use Legalist theories to refute Legalist thoughts. My child, you are too young. It is easy to dig a hole and bury yourself by speaking rashly.
Learn more debating skills.
Yuan Zonggao smiled and nodded: "This is just to discuss your understanding of a sentence, there is no need to tit for tat... Who has any opinions?"
The most embarrassing person at this moment is the examinee who didn’t say a word just now.
"Then let's express our opinions one by one."
Yuan Zonggao gave everyone a chance to speak. He took the lead in looking at Zhu Hao and said, "You seem to have a lot of insight into this. Let me start with you."
Zhu Haodao: "Scholars do not cultivate their virtues and do not use propriety. The common people do not know the propriety and are polite to the common people, which is not etiquette. If a scholar knows the law and breaks the law, he is not regarded as a great man. If the punishment is from the bottom to the top, then the law does not exist. Gentleman
If you know what you are doing and what you cannot do, then you have to do it because you cannot do it, and you will use the law to disturb the laws and regulations. If a prince breaks the law, he is guilty of the same crime as the common people. If the law comes from top to bottom, then the law will not exist."
Zhu Hao briefly explained his point of view: etiquette should come from top to bottom, and law should also come from top to bottom. Those above should set an example for those below, and they should not only restrain the common people but not the superiors.
This should be the most basic spirit of the rule of law.
But in the feudal dynasty, this spirit of rule of law was almost impossible to realize and was a beautiful vision.
After Zhu Hao finished expressing his opinions, he returned to the queue again.
The remaining children looked at each other in confusion, obviously unable to understand. Even Yuan Zonggao fell into deep thinking. For an old scholar like him, the issue of rule of man or rule of law cannot be summarized in one or two sentences.
Zhu Hao has the idea of "everyone is equal" in his heart, so he can say such words, which perfectly fits the concept of treating everyone equally before the law.
"Okay, Zhu Hao, you've finished expressing your opinions. Let's go out now... If anyone has any opinions, please tell us quickly."
After a while, Yuan Zonggao came to his senses, took a deep look at Zhu Hao, and then asked the guards to send him out of the house. This meant that Zhu Hao had completed all today's exams.
…
…
Zhu Hao followed a palace guard out of the east gate of the palace.
I'm in a good mood. I took the exam this time and everything I wanted to express was expressed. As the saying goes, everything depends on God's will.
"Brother Hao, are you... okay?"
Yu San saw Zhu Hao coming out and hurried forward to greet him.
Zhu Hao nodded.
Yu San didn't care about the content of the exam, and said complimentary words: "Brother Hao is so smart, it would be a talentless thing to enter the prince's palace. There will definitely be no problem."
In fact, Zhu Hao himself thinks so.
But this kind of selection examination is inherently determined. If the test scores are really used to determine who will be the companion to Prince Xiaoxing, wouldn’t everyone be able to enter Prince Xing’s mansion?
They are just pretending to be fair and just, and the final result is likely to be determined by default.
I was about to leave when I heard a childish voice coming from behind: "Wait a minute."
Zhu Hao turned around and found that it was Mr. Jing.
Apparently Mr. Jing was the second candidate to stand up and explain his views and successfully walked out of the palace.
"Is something wrong?" Zhu Hao stopped and asked.
Mr. Jing trotted over, his breathing a little short, but his face was serious, like a young adult, showing a maturity that was not for his age.
Walking up to Zhu Hao, Mr. Jing looked at him carefully and then said: "I didn't expect you to be very powerful. I wonder which gentleman you are worshiping? I have time... I want to pay him a visit."
Zhu Haodao: "I said I am self-taught, do you believe it?"
He didn't want to discuss too much with Mr. Jing, so he left after speaking.
"Don't leave yet."
Mr. Jing was reluctant, "Can I see you again? If I have time... I would like to discuss knowledge with you."
Perhaps Mr. Jing felt that there was a gap in knowledge between him and Zhu Hao. If the other person was much older than him, he might not be so frustrated. But the problem was that Zhu Hao was similar in age to him, but his knowledge was far superior. It was his first time writing.
He was faster than him, his calligraphy was praised, his answers in the second round were all correct, and he even dominated the third debate.
This made a child who was accustomed to being praised as a "prodigy" unable to accept it for a while.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "If we are lucky, we can enter the palace together and study with the little prince, and then we can discuss knowledge."
The implication is that unless you and I can go to Prince Xing's Mansion as a companion, this may very well be our last chance to see each other.
"Young master, are you out? Let's go quickly! The master is waiting..."
At this time, the servants of the magistrate's mansion had already come over to greet him. After greeting him, they found that his young master only had Zhu Hao in his eyes and ignored the others at all.
"Mr. Jing, you are the son of an official, but I am from a military family. We were born and grew up in completely different environments. If it hadn't been for this exam, it would have been difficult for us to get together... Only by entering Prince Xing's Mansion can you and I reach the same destination.
...Farewell!"
Zhu Hao stopped talking nonsense to Mr. Jing, smiled and said goodbye to Mr. Jing, and then left accompanied by Yu San.
…
…
Xingwangfu.
Yuan Zonggao sent all the candidates away and immediately brought the contents compiled by the officials, including the on-site records of the last debate by Zhu Hao and others, to see the new king Zhu Youqiu.
"Yuan Changshi, you can just inform me of the result. Why do you have to come in person?"
Zhu Youyi didn't take this matter to heart. He could just choose a reading companion for his child and let the family's long history be completed. Why do he need to do it himself?
Yuan Zonggao said: "Please, King Xing, read the contents of the last examination."
After saying that, he handed the minutes of the last exam to Zhu Youqiu.
Zhu Youqian opened the file, and his face was full of smiles when he saw the title. Obviously, this was an issue he usually raised when discussing current affairs with his staff in the government, and reviewing the pros and cons of government affairs.
But when he saw Zhu Hao's remarks, his smile gradually faded and his expression became serious.
"This...is this the argument of those...children present?"
Zhu Youqiu felt it was incredible.
Yuan Zonggao nodded and said: "If the question is not from me, and I know that I have never revealed it to others, otherwise I would really suspect that someone leaked the question in advance and asked an expert to summarize and organize it... Even so, if you can answer it in this way, He is neither humble nor arrogant, and does not blindly cater to the examination atmosphere of the palace. It is amazing..."
Zhu Youqian said: "It is true that it is very valuable for a child to express his opinions without avoiding the powerful. He will definitely have great achievements in the future and should stay in the palace."
"but……"
Yuan Zonggao's face clearly showed embarrassment.
Zhu Youqian asked in confusion: "Is it possible that this son doesn't want to stay in Prince Xing's Mansion?"
"No, no!"
Yuan Zonggao shook his head, "I asked the official of the Changshi Department who recruited the companion, and learned that this son is the child of Zhu Qianhu's family in Jinyiwei..."
One sentence brought the scene to a standstill.
Obviously, the Zhu family was sent to Anlu to monitor Prince Xing's Mansion. Even if Prince Xing had not expressed his attitude clearly before, how could he be completely unaware?
"The Zhu family..."
Zhu Youqian's face was gloomy, "Yuan Changshi's intention is not to let him enter the house?"
Yuan Zonggao shook his head again: "As I said before, if he is not allowed to enter the palace, the people in the court who covet my palace will definitely get worse... On the contrary, he will be brought into the palace to prevent him from bringing out irrelevant news. It’s hard to tell the truth from the fake house, and it will make it difficult for the supervisors to keep track of the truth.”
"Since you have thought about it, Yuan Changshi, why are you still worried?"
Zhu Youyi had actually considered this matter for a long time.
We are not afraid that the people who enter the palace should bring the news out, but we are afraid that you will not be able to send the news. We are even more afraid that we do not know who the enemy is and what methods we will use.
Yuan Zonggao shook his head: "It is a pity that such a good talent cannot be accepted by the prince. If he can grow up with the prince and make suggestions in the future... he may become the prince's right-hand man."
Only then did Zhu Youtian realize that Yuan Zonggao's regret was that a talent like Zhu Hao came from a family that was hostile to the palace and could not be used for his own use.
"There are so many talents in this world. Since ancient times, things that have hurt Zhongyong have happened everywhere. Why should we worry about one person? I wonder if Yuan Changshi has any other favorite candidates?"
The implication of Zhu Youqi's words is that since we can choose Zhu Hao to enter the palace, knowing full well that he is being used as a spy, should we also choose a real talented and knowledgeable companion for my son?
Yuan Zonggao said: "The newly appointed magistrate's son of Changshou is also quite extraordinary in talent and learning. He can accompany the prince in reading. As for daily study, he needs study companions and playmates. Lu Dianzhan's son... although he is young, he is quite heroic and may be useful." ."
Yuan Zonggao recommended Mr. Jing because he was second only to Zhu Hao in exam scores and was considered rare among ordinary children to be able to handle big scenes with ease.
As for recommending Lu Bing, it is not based on performance at all.
But because Lu Bing was born in the palace and is one of the palace's "own people", his loyalty can be guaranteed. Even if he doesn't study well, as long as he studies and plays with him, he will be loyal to King Xiaoxing, and he can be his confidant when he grows up. , why should we care whether his talents and learning meet the admission standards?