Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 303 Entering School
In the golden brick and red tile Imperial Academy, Xuan Chong reminded himself: "With my IQ and EQ, I can't possibly understand interpersonal relationships; all I need now is good grades!"
At the same time, maintaining a social circle and excellent grades were essential; it was like a fairytale-like campus drama filmed in the capital region.

The above are Xuan Chong's experiences in learning after he was reborn.

When you get into a better class based on your grades, don't mistakenly think you're on a stable foothold. Even in the best classes, there's always a section where students are "abandoned." If you accidentally fall into that section, all your previous efforts will be in vain.

Xuan Chong's predecessor, Liu Haoxing, stepped into this "chaotic zone" among the nobles of Yandu, ultimately ending up with nothing. Xuan Chong pondered for a moment, realizing that in the Yandu Imperial Academy where his predecessor Liu Haoxing had worked, more than 60% of the instructors were female assistants recruited by the doctors.

Xuan Chong couldn't help but sigh, realizing that military camps and palace residences were not the same.

In a military camp, if you're selecting 100 men from 10,000, the commander focuses on the "minimum standard" of the team. Commander: Any one of the 100 "inner disciples" in my elite sergeant regiment must be stronger than any of the "outer disciples" from the 10,000; otherwise, it would tarnish the reputation of the regiment I lead.

Xuan Chong's logic in leading troops was this: any member of the most elite non-commissioned officer corps, when demoted, had to be able to lead a large battalion. Losing face would damage his authority over the entire army. Because military authority cannot be challenged, if a non-commissioned officer is successfully challenged by his subordinates, then those subordinates will wonder if others in the senior corps can also be challenged.
The logic of palaces and residences is that when 100 people are selected from 10,000, the leaders of the palaces and residences always focus on the "upper limit of these 100 people", that is, they hope that the best of these "100 people" will enter the highest circle.

As for the dozen or so who failed to win among these hundred people, even if they fall to a lower level than the nine thousand nine hundred people outside, it's not a big deal.

In most palace intrigue dramas, neither the screenwriters nor the audience find the ending—where a few losers end up in a laundry brothel—unremarkable. These young ladies who end up in the laundry brothel would have been better off marrying anyone else than failing in the palace intrigue. —This is how the logic of palace life automatically abandons any moral boundaries.

It can be said that if a circle is male-dominated, it is a militarized circle; but if it is female-dominated, it is a secluded, palace-like circle. Undoubtedly, Xuan Chong's educational environment in his previous life belonged to the latter.

Xuan Chong vaguely remembers that in his previous life, there was a parent (mother) who was feeling disheartened by the current situation. Her son was admitted to a provincial key school and entered the top class, but in this class, he belonged to the "can be abandoned" category.

"Everyone in our class was a top student when they entered school, so why are there always a few who don't like to study and can't be taught?" This is clearly a criticism of the teachers' abilities. However, the school teachers don't care. They have several "top student seeds" under their wing, so no one questions their abilities.

Therefore, this kind of messed-up teaching, this hellish joke, actually produced a positive effect, namely "social mobility," because even the son of a top student from Tsinghua or Peking University will fall into the "chaotic group."

Who is prone to falling into the "chaotic group"? Naturally, it's the socially adept kids.

Being born into a prominent family is considered a sign of social skill and "intelligence in judging character," but being born into a humble family simply means being a street urchin. This ability shouldn't be mythologized.

The key issue is that in a rigid, reclusive campus environment, expending energy on socializing is completely useless. Only in a militarized environment is "helping teammates" an obligation, and socializing can bring rewards.

If, by chance, parents prioritize social skills over academics during this period, their children are highly likely to fall into the "chaotic group." This led to the joke at the time that "good academic performance cannot be inherited."

…Shoot the gun, pick up the pen…

In his previous life, Xuan Chong spanned both the "Chaos Group" (the lower ranks) and the "Chosen Group" (the higher ranks). His overall impression of his education in his previous life was, "Never give up even if you fall to the bottom" and "Never slack off even if you reach the top level."

Back in this world, before Xuan Chong transmigrated here, "Liu Haoxing" was bullied and ostracized. The Imperial Academy in Yandu didn't find anything wrong with that, because they were the ones who decided who would govern the court.

Regardless, Xuan Chong simply didn't want to "socialize" while studying.

Even now, the environment the Emperor has arranged for Xuan Chong to study under the Crown Prince is completely different from the Imperial Academy, where all the teachers are highly respected scholars. It's entirely different from the previous academy dominated by female officials. Even if the Emperor intentionally wants Xuan Chong to socialize with the Crown Prince's faction... —Xuan Chong: I'm not playing this complicated game anymore.

Xuan Chong: In the battle against the Yuezhi, the Emperor owes me a debt of blood. Even if I don't socialize, can you still make the Crown Prince reject and despise me? Why should I stand up and fight for food when I can lie down and be fed?

…Exam dividing line for learning…

With the various Confucian teachers in place, Xuan Chong began his secluded cultivation, the content of which was to study a series of examination papers.

For several months, Xuan Chong wasn't exactly diligent; after all, he didn't possess the willpower of someone who would endure hardship to study, like the legendary scholar who "hanged his head from the rafters and pricked his thigh with an awl" (a metaphor for extreme self-discipline). In fact, one could say Xuan Chong was quite particular about enjoying life. He ate exquisitely every day, and besides his three daily meals, if he couldn't concentrate during the morning break, he would drink sweet soup from a thermos. In the afternoon, when he was slightly tired, he would drink duck blood soup, and at seven o'clock, while doing his exams, he would have a bowl of meatball and tomato soup to refresh himself. Each time, the amount was small, but it was just enough to provide him with a boost when he was tired.

Take a one-hour nap with the air conditioner set to 20 degrees Celsius; set the temperature to 24 degrees Celsius for the first half of the night and 27 degrees Celsius for the second half.

However, behind this "enjoyment," apart from the necessary half-hour of body-fixation exercises in the morning and afternoon, Xuan Chong did not focus his attention on anything else.

I didn't even read the newspaper, because seeing these new things would trigger my emotions and make associations, which would then affect my studies. —Xuan Chong: What do I care about the floods outside?

Day after day, the Confucian scholars initially kept a straight face and shook their heads repeatedly when faced with Xuan Chong's excessive attention to detail. They had seen many aristocratic children like this before; the more particular they were about their food, clothing, and daily necessities, the less attention they had to devote to their studies.

However, a month later, Xuan Chong's academic performance improved day by day, and the Confucian scholars who originally taught the emperor's children made a complete 180-degree turn in their attitude towards Xuan Chong.

Under the watchful eyes of many in the school, Xuan Chong always finished his daily lessons on time and never stayed in class for even a quarter of an hour longer.

However, during the last quarter of an hour of class, he would always take out a notebook and write down the key points the old scholar had covered in that lesson. He would also set aside an hour each day before class to preview the material.

So much so that on the second day of class, when the old scholar deliberately tested the students in the classroom by asking, "Where did we get to in our lessons the other day?", Xuan Chong was able to take the initiative to help the teacher continue with the content from the day before, or even four or five days ago.

The great scholars then understood why Liu Xuanchong had succeeded in his long journey through the Western Regions. He was able to seamlessly connect various tasks with others on the front lines, like a continuous stream of water.

What Xuan Chong taught the teachers in this classroom was naturally like Yu the Great diverting water, flowing into the river and into the sea.

As for the mistakes in the exam, after receiving guidance, (Xuan Chong) cannot say that he will be able to quickly find the correct solution to the next similar exam question, but he will never make the same mistake again.

Xuan Chong secretly concluded: Although the practical application of knowledge is ever-changing, the thin sheet of paper on the exam paper is like performing a ritual in a snail shell, with limited variations in each major question.

…In May 2109, just as the world was gripped by a new alarm, Xuan Chong's studies were still attracting attention. …

In Yandu, Minister Lin of the Ministry of War, while chatting with officials from the Ministry of Rites, seemingly casually asked a question. After learning the current situation, he asked in surprise, "Is he really doing academic research?" His tone was one of disbelief.

A member of the Ministry of Rites said, "Yes, it seems quite plausible."

The old man stroked his beard, pondered for a long time, then sighed inexplicably and said, "Since that's the case, then let's not disturb him."

Within the Forbidden City, the emperor received more detailed information.

When the emperor first heard that Xuan Chong was "exceptionally particular about his spending on studies," he chuckled. But a few months later, he no longer heard the Confucian scholars complaining about Liu Haoxing's "extravagance and frugality," and instead praised him for being "quick-witted, eager to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions of those below him."

This made the emperor, who had originally been prepared to watch Liu Haoxing's "show," suddenly feel uneasy! (Eighteen-year-old Xuan Chong, who was well-behaved in the army, asked to take the imperial examination to become a scholar, which most people saw as just a show.)
The most frightening thing between people is comparison. The Emperor arranged Xuan Chong's learning setup at the Imperial Academy based on the setup his own son had used. Previously, there was no one to compare him to, and the Emperor lamented that perhaps the teachers were too strict, and his own son, who had grown up in a privileged environment, was temporarily unable to adapt.

Now, Xuan Chong proves that a "favorable" environment does not mean one cannot "study hard." — In fact, Xuan Chong's environment wasn't particularly "favorable." He would occasionally eat some candy and snacks during class to replenish his energy, except that this self-indulgent eating did not conform to the etiquette of respecting teachers.

In Xuan Chong's description of "clothing and food," there was no "simplicity" involved; he simply used whatever his classmates used.

Note: Xuan Chong was not the only one studying in the palace; there were also the sons of other ministers. However, they did not have Xuan Chong's attitude of "treating this place as their own home" when staying in the palace. Instead, they returned the royal necessities and replaced them with simpler ones.

Xuan Chong's attitude was: "Blood for blood." He had earned his place in school through sheer hard work, so why should he take shortcuts? —Back in his previous life, at his workplace, Xuan Chong dared to get his food before the leaders, placing the roast chicken leg directly on his plate. This was because he had earned his position through examination, not by groveling and crawling.

The emperor saw through the classroom video that Xuan Chong's eyes were bright and alert during class, and he would occasionally scribble notes with lightning speed. During breaks, he would leisurely sip sweet jujube soup from his thermos. But when he picked up the exam paper, his expression was as if he were facing a battlefield.

In contrast, his fifth and sixth sons, while the teacher was lecturing, had blank stares, but immediately regained their spirits after the break.

The Emperor received Xuan Chong's entire study plan and exclaimed, "No wonder he's been through the battlefield; he's finally seen the light!" Xuan Chong's daily study rhythm was actually like the logistics planning of each step in a battle, allocating sufficient energy to complete each step of the learning process.

…The imperial court had the best teaching staff…

In June, Xuan Chong looked at his latest exam paper on the four subjects of physics and highlighted the key points of several questions he had gotten wrong. With each mock exam, the number of new questions in his error notebook decreased. However, he still felt somewhat intimidated by the essay questions in the "Science" section.

The "Neo-Confucianism" of modern China is not the "Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism" of later generations that taught women to bind their feet, but a "consensus system" promoted to govern the grassroots in contemporary China. This "consensus system" is instilled into the 800 million people of modern China through a top-down propaganda machine.

In modern times, the imperial power no longer extends to the county level. Regarding the elders in the neighborhoods, besides being of sufficient age, they also had to be certified by the county school's "Neo-Confucianism" in their youth. If their behavior in the village was deemed to violate "Neo-Confucianism," their status as elders in the local council would be revoked.

In this respect, Xuan Chong was a barbarian. The simple social structure of the Eastern Tu, consisting of serfs and lords, lacked the foundation of "Neo-Confucianism".

However, to build a "large workshop" system, it is necessary to introduce "Neo-Confucianism" into the governance of local communities and even among celebrities.

Xuan Chong: "Neo-Confucianism"? It's about creating civilization and promoting quality education.

It's worth mentioning that the factories in my hometown are now also setting up a "village elder" system to adjudicate various conflicts within the factories, so they are also making up for the lack of a rational education exam.

The village elders' rulings are one level weaker than those of the county government. However, they are definitely more professional than the "mediation departments" in Xuan Chong's previous life.

Those in power must understand that all "rationalism" will backfire if taken too far! This is not something that can be prevented by changing to a new set of values, but rather an objective law of development.

How exactly did the mediation departments in the previous life mediate? They lacked standards and ultimately compromised by suppressing the stronger party and forcing the weaker party to make concessions.

Because the limits of industrialized society in the previous life assigned everyone responsibilities within the scope of their power, squeezing out everyone's tolerance for mistakes, there was no strong party at the bottom.

Take Xuan Chong's generation for example. After decades of exploring management models, men have taken on extreme working hours and have been burdened with various levels of pressure, making them the weaker party in the system.

However, the mediation department, adhering to decades-old thinking, viewed the "stronger party" and continued to pressure them to make concessions to the "weaker party," directly causing a backlash. Therefore, the mediation ultimately lost public trust. The current system of village elders in Wuhan, based on Neo-Confucianism, has also repeatedly failed, but has undergone numerous corrections.

To strengthen control at the grassroots level, the Han dynasty has invested more in village elders than any previous dynasty. Furthermore, the professionalism of these village elders is assessed every five years. Not to mention the assessments of scholars and those who passed the imperial examinations.

Just as he was pondering how to improve his score, the teacher walked over, and Xuan Chong immediately stood up and performed the student etiquette.

The old scholar sat down with a smile and told Xuan Chong, "Your studies are improving more and more." Xuan Chong understood that no matter how talented he was, those great scholars were aware of his arduous learning experience.

Seeing the old scholar's smile, Xuan Chong felt that he had been tricked again.

The old scholar said, "The policy discussion that will begin tomorrow will still be explained to you individually. As for the four aspects of investigating things, you might as well go to the Imperial Academy to listen to them."

Xuan Chong was confused and wanted to nod, then quickly realized, "Teacher, look at my grades?" (Xuan Chong really wanted to get free court education. Listening to lectures with a hundred or so people at the Imperial Academy was nothing compared to the meticulous "nurturing" he received in the palace.)
The old scholar stroked his beard: "You've made up for your missed lessons in the study of things."

Xuan Chong said politely, "Teacher, I am so grateful for your guidance this year, but what about my grades?" (Xuan Chong pointed to his essay exam paper, reminding him that if he failed, he would be embarrassing the teacher.)
The old scholar said, "Hmm, but today. You've mastered the four aspects of investigating things. I don't need to constantly remind you; you're sure to achieve great things in the future." —The subtext was, "I've taught you enough; go to your main class and stop wasting your time here. You're going to fight in the future; I won't be ashamed if you do poorly on the exam."

Xuan Chong was very dissatisfied with this "substitution," but the old scholar gave him an explanation: after finishing at the Imperial Academy, he could come here every day for an extra hour of tutoring on policy essays.

Thus, Xuan Chong compromised. After all, policy analysis was his weakness.

…too college…

Xuan Chong was attending a large lecture when he clearly ran into some acquaintances. These acquaintances had previously ostracized Liu Haoxing, and now they were watching Xuan Chong's return with mocking eyes.

However, these sons of officials were quickly warned and did not come to cause trouble.

Just kidding! Witches communicate with spirits and deities, but modern Han people keep their distance from them! Dragon-powered individuals, who are equivalent to witches, are strictly restricted by ancestral temples, but that doesn't mean ordinary people can mess with them.

Xuan Chong also automatically shut himself out from the interpersonal environment here.

The palace is viewed from the emperor's perspective, while the Imperial Academy is viewed from the perspective of the Minister of Education, Minister of Works, and Minister of War.

Meanwhile, in the building where the three officials of Xianhan usually work, Lin Sima took a moment out of his busy schedule to pay attention to Xuan Chong. After watching Xuan Chong attend classes and leave without communicating with his classmates, he murmured, "He really has the ability to endure."

Because in the eyes of ordinary people, nineteen-year-old Liu Haoxing is a rising star, and when he returns to Yandu, he must be in a proud state with something to say.

Throughout history, the reason why generals who have achieved merit in the field have been considered "arrogant" is that they become proud of their achievements. As a result, conflicts with the people around the original emperor are inevitable.

For example, the story of "Two Peaches Kill Three Warriors" illustrates this point. All three warriors were loyal and righteous men, so why did the King of Qi want to eliminate them? It was because these three men were "arrogant and complacent due to their merits."

For example, in the story of the harmony between generals and ministers, Lian Po looked down on Lin Xiangru. This reflects the military officer's sense that "his own merits are greater" and the civil service system's disagreement on the issue of treatment.

As a cunning old fox, Lin Sima believed that after Xuan Chong returned with "great merit," he would definitely settle accounts for the past.

Therefore, Lin Sima even praised Xuan Chong to the point of ruin, calling on his children to learn from Xuan Chong on many occasions, and his own children then spread this "praise to ruin".

However, while the Imperial Academy had prepared its "exclusion and isolation" tactics among its many nobles, Xuan Chong was completely "isolated."

Liu Haoxing is Liu Haoxing. He grew up in a clan environment and couldn't stand being isolated in his social circle. Xuan Chong, on the other hand, grew up in his family in his previous life and, after experiencing school and society, eventually developed a "socially anxious personality".

So much so that when someone came over to chat after school at the Imperial Academy, Xuan Chong would simply walk around them with his books in hand. If he couldn't get around them, he would give them a "Who are you?" look, exchange a few words, and then quickly say, "Oh, I know you, it's an honor to meet you," before leaving.

Xuan Chong: In social situations where you can't control the course of events, don't force your way in. Glorious isolation can save a lot of energy. A negative example is the proactive integration of various groups after the collapse of the Soviet Union, transforming from pretending to be subservient to genuinely being subservient.

Xuan Chong's social anxiety made some important figures feel awkward. Whether it was the emperor or the Sima, they did not want Xuan Chong to be like Xu Shu, "not saying a word".

Whether it was Xuan Chong breaking through the Eastern Shu's raiding fleet in the East China Sea or resolving the northwest invasion by communicating with various parties along the way when traveling west to the Yuezhi, it shows that Xuan Chong was capable of making excellent communication and accomplishing great things.

In other words, Xuan Chong accomplished his mission by navigating both circles. If any of these circles were to clash in the court in the future, and the emperor or high-ranking officials wanted to quickly ascertain the situation, they would need to find such a neutral party.

To reach a compromise between the two factions and bring things together, it is also necessary to assign such a neutral party to an important role.

Effective communication is a valuable interpersonal resource, no less valuable than money. Xuan Chong's communication within the two circles below is "effective communication," equivalent to a vast gold mine. The imperial court gathers a large number of capable individuals precisely to control this "golden mine of connections," and currently, Xuan Chong's "mine" remains unexploited.

From 2109 to 2110 in the Han calendar, Xuan Chong stayed in Yandu. As a nobleman and military general, he was restricted in everything he did, so he began to remain inactive and study diligently.

Meanwhile, lightning and thunder were raging throughout the world; even a flying dragon would be struck by lightning. The men Lin Sima sent to claim credit had already taken their positions in the western frontier, the Abbasid Caliphate, and India.

Earthworms, though lacking claws and teeth, can still feed on the soil above and drink from the springs below.

(End of this chapter)