Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 883 The Prince's Teacher
"The word 'stable' seems easy, but it is actually difficult. How many people throughout history can do it?" Zhu Shenzhui said seriously.

Sun Chengzong felt a little warm in his heart, and couldn't help but feel that he had a close friend with Zhu Shenzhui. Zhu Shenzhui's words touched his heart.

It is easy to know what is easy, and it is like this. Sun Chengzong has been guarding Liaodong for the Ming Dynasty for so many years. Although he seems to have no outstanding achievements, he has indeed achieved the results of changing the war situation, recovering lost territory, and curbing the Jiannu. Unfortunately, all the officials in the court think that it is easy for him to be the governor of Ji and Liao, but who can know the difficulties involved?

Sun Chengzong was very happy in his heart, but he was experienced in officialdom and naturally would not be dazzled by Zhu Shenzhui's flattery. Before coming to Beijing, Sun Chengzong concluded that Zhu Shenzhui's visit to him was definitely not just a simple meeting. The emperor repeatedly sent people to him, a retired old minister, could it be because of his previous merits? Sun Chengzong was not so arrogant.

However, since Zhu Shenzui did not bring it up, Sun Chengzong would not ask about it either. The two discussed the situation in Liaodong for a long time. In the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed. Only when the topic came to an end did Zhu Shenzui get down to business.

"Crown Prince?" Sun Chengzong was a little surprised. He never thought that Zhu Shenzhui invited him to Beijing because of this matter.

"That's right!" Zhu Shenzhui smiled and nodded, saying, "The title of the crown prince has been decided. It is a blessing for the country to have a crown prince, but it is still not enough to just appoint a crown prince. The crown prince is in charge of the East Palace and is the crown prince of the country. The future emperor should go out to study according to the ancestral system. However, I think you know how I became the emperor. Although the crown prince read some books when he lived in Shanxi in his early years, he was only roughly familiar with writing and knew a few words."

"Since you are now the crown prince, the prince's education is a big deal. Many people have mentioned this to me these days. I think this matter cannot be delayed. However, it is easy to find a teacher, but it is difficult to find a good teacher. You were the teacher of the previous emperor, and you are also the junior teacher and the prince's grand teacher. You are the most suitable candidate."

Sun Chengzong was speechless. Zhu Shenzhui's words seemed to be fine, but in reality it was not that simple.

He, Sun Chengzong, was indeed the teacher of Emperor Tianqi, and he did hold the official positions of Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, but the problem was that he, Sun Chengzong, was not actually the best candidate to be the Crown Prince's teacher.

The reason why Emperor Tianqi chose Sun Chengzong as his scholar was not because of Sun Chengzong's literary talent. Although Sun Chengzong was known for his intelligence when he was young, his path to the imperial examination was not smooth.

He passed the examination for a scholar at an early age, but failed in subsequent examinations. He had no choice but to enter the Imperial Academy as a student through selection. After that, he wasted many years in Beijing until he was forty years old when he finally passed the examination and started his official career.

After becoming an official, Sun Chengzong worked in the Hanlin Academy, where he was responsible for compiling daily records, compiling documents, and presiding over examinations. He served in this position for more than ten years until he was promoted to the position of Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude and concurrently a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy in the 47th year of Wanli.

After the death of Emperor Wanli, Emperor Taichang ascended the throne, but less than a month later, Emperor Taichang also passed away due to the "Red Pill Case". Then the Palace Move Case occurred, and Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne as the crown prince.

Shortly after Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, the Donglin Party planned to arrange several teachers around him in order to control and influence him. Since Sun Chengzong had worked as a teacher for a long time before he passed the imperial examination, and he had been in charge of the imperial examinations in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years, and Sun Chengzong's teacher, Minister of Rites Sun Shenxing, was an important figure in the Donglin Party, and Sun Chengzong was also from the Donglin lineage, Sun Chengzong became one of the many teachers of Emperor Tianqi.

Perhaps it was because of the attractiveness. Sun Chengzong, with his long beard, had a dignified appearance and a righteous character. Moreover, before becoming an official, he had been a teacher to many people for many years. He had also been in charge of the imperial examinations in the Hanlin Academy, so he had a lot of experience in how to teach.

So after giving lectures to Emperor Tianqi, the Emperor Tianqi quickly fell in love with Sun Chengzong and publicly said, "I like Mr. Sun very much, and I tend to understand what he says."

Among so many imperial lecturers, only Sun Chengzong caught the eye of Emperor Tianqi, and the relationship between them became closer as time went by. In addition, Sun Chengzong never lectured rotely, but explained things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, combining theory with practice. Although Sun Chengzong was a member of the Donglin Party, he was different from other members of the Donglin Party in that he never talked big and paid more attention to practice. As a result, Sun Chengzong became the only teacher of Emperor Tianqi.

But no matter what, in terms of writing, Sun Chengzong can only be considered mediocre. There are many talented people in the Donglin Party, and there are many people who are more famous than him in the literary world. In terms of official position, Sun Chengzong is just a lecturer, and there are countless people with higher official positions than him. However, Sun Chengzong finally became the only imperial tutor of Emperor Tianqi.

Although Sun Chengzong was a good imperial tutor, after he went to Liaodong, the so-called imperial tutor was just a title. Moreover, although Sun Chengzong was a junior tutor and a grand tutor to the crown prince, after Zhu Yuanzhang redefined official positions in the Ming Dynasty, the three tutors and three junior tutors had become honorary positions. Although the ranks were high, they were no longer responsible for real duties. Moreover, Sun Chengzong was already 77 years old this year, and had already reached the age of 70. How could he be the crown prince's teacher at this age?
"Your Majesty values ​​me so much, I shouldn't refuse. But I am already 77 years old, old and sick, and lack of energy. I am afraid I can't do the job. The prince's teacher is extremely important. If I were ten years younger, I would not disappoint your majesty. But if I take this position now, what if the prince's studies are delayed because of me..." Sun Chengzong said politely, meaning that he was too old to be the prince's teacher, so it would be more appropriate to ask Zhu Shenzhu to find another suitable candidate. "Haha, sir, you are too modest. I see that although you are old, you are still in good spirits. You look strong and strong. Lian Po is old but still able to go into battle. You are a Jinshi, and have served in the Hanlin Academy for a long time. You have rich experience in state affairs and understand military affairs. You are a rare capable minister in the court. What's more, you were the teacher of the previous emperor. Who in the Ming Dynasty is more suitable to be the prince's teacher than you?"

"It's not that I don't sympathize with you, sir. I've thought about it a long time ago. I plan to set up a teaching hall in Wenhua Palace and re-establish the rules of the old Taizu. From now on, all princes must go to the teaching hall when they reach the age of eight. There will be a chief teacher and several teachers who teach civil and martial arts. I plan to let you be the chief teacher and preside over the study of the crown prince and the princes. In my opinion, as long as you are in charge of the teaching hall, I will have nothing to worry about. In this way, you don't have to work too hard on weekdays. What do you think?"

"This..." Sun Chengzong was silent for a moment, thinking about Zhu Shenzhui's words in his heart. It seemed that Zhu Shenzhui was forcing him to be the prince's teacher.

Moreover, when Zhu Shenzhui first met Sun Chengzong, he talked to him for a long time and showed special concern for his health. Originally, people thought that it was just the emperor's concern for his old minister, but now it has become a reason for him to become the prince's teacher.

If he had known this would happen, Sun Chengzong should have pretended to be frail and sickly. But it was too late to say this now. Besides, Zhu Shenzhui had been paying attention to Sun Chengzong for a long time. Even if he wanted to pretend now, he probably wouldn't be able to do it well and would instead displease the emperor.

In addition, Zhu Shenzhui made it clear that he was only a nominal teacher of the prince. During the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, the place where the prince and the princes studied was called Daben Hall. Later, the classes were changed to Wenhua Hall. However, there have been no formal teaching regulations because in the following dynasties, the prince's lessons were intermittent for various reasons.

The Zhengde Emperor had no son, and the Jiajing Emperor believed the rumor that "two dragons cannot meet" when he was young, so he did not appoint a crown prince. Naturally, there was no teacher for the crown prince. During the Wanli period, the Wanli Emperor did not want to appoint his eldest son as the crown prince, which led to the undecided position of the crown prince. Therefore, the Emperor Taichang at that time was in an awkward situation as a prince. Finally, after many ministers dissuaded him, the Wanli Emperor had no choice but to appoint a crown prince. However, he still delayed the matter of the crown prince's studies as much as possible.

The same was true for Emperor Tianqi. Emperor Taichang's reign was too short. As the eldest son, Emperor Tianqi only became the crown prince after Emperor Taichang's death. As the crown prince, he succeeded to the throne as emperor with almost no transition. It was not until he became emperor that he officially left the palace to study. This is also the origin of Sun Chengzong's imperial tutor.

Now Zhu Shenzhu decided to formally set up a teaching hall in Wenhua Hall to replace Zhu Yuanzhang's main hall, thus establishing the rules for the crown prince and the princes to formally go to school, which is a good thing for the country. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu made it clear that he made Sun Chengzong the chief teacher of the teaching hall because he valued Sun Chengzong's status and prestige. If Sun Chengzong could teach, he would teach. If his physical condition did not allow it, he only needed to help in the name of the chief teacher, and it was not forced.

Zhu Shenzhui had said so much, it would be inappropriate for Sun Chengzong to refuse. Although Zhu Shenzhui now called Sun Chengzong "Mr." and showed great respect to him, the emperor's heart was unpredictable. How could an emperor be like an ordinary person? Especially an emperor like Zhu Shenzhui.

If he refused outright and did not give the emperor face, Sun Chengzong could not be sure whether Zhu Shenzhu would turn against him directly, so he did not dare to gamble at all.

Sun Chengzong was not afraid of death. For example, he was not afraid of death in the battle with Jian Nu. However, if he angered the emperor in such a matter, his death would be too worthless. Moreover, Sun Chengzong had to consider his family and descendants. He was old, and there were not many promising children in the Sun family. If he died, what would happen to the Sun family? What would happen to his descendants?

"Since Your Majesty values ​​me so much, I will do my best. I agree to this. Please don't look down on me for being too old and weak." Sun Chengzong gritted his teeth and agreed. He was not someone who didn't know how to adapt. It was impossible for him to refuse the offer. He would agree first. He would take the position of chief chef first. He was so old. He could find a reason to resign after two years. Zhu Shenzhu couldn't let himself work hard at the age of eighty, right? There would always be a way to solve the future problems.

Seeing that Sun Chengzong finally agreed, Zhu Shenzui was extremely happy, and immediately asked someone to call the Crown Prince and Prince of Song. After a while, Crown Prince Zhu Minlan and Prince of Song Zhu Mincheng arrived. Zhu Shenzui pointed at Sun Chengzong and told them that this was the teacher he had found for them, Mr. Sun Chengzong, and asked them to perform the ceremony of paying homage to their teacher on the spot.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince and Prince Song hurriedly agreed, and both stepped forward to perform the great etiquette of a student. Seeing this, Sun Chengzong quickly stood up to support them, but Zhu Shenzhui on the side stopped them, saying that it is necessary for students to perform etiquette when meeting their teachers, even if one of them is the Crown Prince and the other is Prince Song, the etiquette between teacher and student must not be abolished.

After the two men paid their respects to their teacher, Zhu Shenzui gave Sun Chengzong something in front of them. This thing turned out to be a ruler. He told Sun Chengzong in front of the Crown Prince and King Song that this ruler was the right he had given him. As the chief master, Sun Chengzong had the power to admonish the Crown Prince and the princes on behalf of the emperor. If they were playful and did not study hard, Sun Chengzong would just hit them with the ruler, even if his palms were broken, it was justified. Not only would he not be at fault, but he would be meritorious.

(End of this chapter)