The Ming Dynasty: My sister, Empress Ma

Liang Yin has been teaching classical studies for a long time, and now he mainly teaches a class of children from powerful and wealthy families.

The reason is simple: the other classes have a very weak foundation. Liang Yin suggested building a solid foundation first, and then teaching more advanced material.

Therefore, these days, one class has been listening to Liang Yin's classical studies class, while the other classes have been listening to other teachers' elementary subjects.

Li Jinglong is in a primary school and is still learning the Three Character Classic.

According to Li Zhen, the little thing now has a long face every day.

But Ma Wenyuan ignored all of this.

It's not that I'm not interested, it's just that I really don't have the time.

He needs to establish rules for the workshop.

The ingredients, smelting, and annealing all need to be managed by someone, and Ma Wenyuan has to train the staff.

This way, his two students could free up their hands and not have to spend all day squatting in front of the stove, so they could learn new knowledge.

The path of investigation is not easy these days, so how could Ma Wenyuan possibly let his two hard-won assistants do the work of craftsmen?

……

It was early morning, seven days after Li Zhen arrived.

Fang Xiaoru meticulously organized the student lists, course schedules, and seating charts for the six classes, creating a thick stack of papers on Ma Wenyuan's desk, resembling a small mountain.

Ma Wenyuan felt that the time was about right.

The Confucian classics class has already established rules for the students, and Li Zhen has also taken discipline into account; it's his turn to take the stage.

Therefore, Ma Wenyuan's "Studying Things" mini-class has begun.

The first lesson on the study of things was held at 7:00 AM in the main lecture hall.

Ma Wenyuan had Fang Xiaoru post a notice a day in advance, stating that all students, regardless of grade or class, must participate.

Chang Mao scoffed when he saw the notice.

"What could he possibly say?"

Chang Sheng didn't reply, but instead looked down at the book of scriptures in his hand.

Chang Sen was quite excited and pulled Chang Sheng aside to ask,

"Second brother, will the teacher teach us how to build cannons?"

Chang Sheng then raised his head.

"I don't know. You'll find out when you get there."

Before Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the lecture hall was already full of people.

Besides the elementary school class, more than 200 children from the other six classes of Gewu Academy came.

The room was packed full. In the back row, the sons of noble families whispered among themselves, while in the front row, the orphans sat upright, as nervous as sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

Liao Xiaoqi sat in the first row, her hands neatly placed on her knees, her eyes wide open, staring at the podium.

Liang Yin sat in the corner of the last row, a copy of "The Great Learning" open in front of him, but he wasn't reading it. His gaze was fixed on the podium, on the empty blackboard.

The old man said he didn't want to learn, but even a normal person can't resist curiosity, let alone an old scholar who has studied all his life.

Li Zhen also arrived. He stood at the door with his hands behind his back, expressionless and very serious.

He looks just like he did when he led troops.

When Ma Wenyuan walked into the lecture hall.

The noise in the lecture hall subsided somewhat, but it wasn't completely quiet.

People in the back row were whispering, while people in the front row were curiously examining what he was holding.

A small, square wooden box; I wonder what's inside.

Ma Wenyuan walked up to the podium, placed the wooden box on the table, and neither opened it nor spoke.

He leaned against the podium, arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the more than two hundred faces below the stage.

"My name is Ma Wenyuan."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear him clearly.

"From today onwards, I will teach you how to investigate things."

There was a moment of silence in the back row, then whispers began again.

Ma Wenyuan neither scolded nor slammed his fist on the table.

He doesn’t understand that constant criticism will only make these children rebellious.

Soon, Ma Wenyuan bent down and took something out from under the podium.

A rough earthenware basin, filled with water, the surface of which was as still as a mirror.

The lecture hall fell silent.

No one understood what the gentleman was going to do.

Ma Wenyuan placed the ceramic basin in the center of the podium, and then took something out of the wooden box—a piece of wood about the size of a palm.

He gently placed the piece of wood on the water's surface; it floated, motionless.

"What did you see?" he asked.

The children in the front row said in unison,

"The wood chips floated on the water."

Ma Wenyuan nodded and took out a stone of the same size from the wooden box.

He held the stone up so everyone could see it, then gently placed it into the water. The stone sank to the bottom of the basin, creating a small ripple.

"What about this one?"

"The stone sank!"

Ma Wenyuan fished out the stone, dried it, and placed it on the table alongside the wood chips.

Why do wood chips float while stones sink?

The lecture hall was quiet for a moment, then someone raised their hand. It was a nobleman's son from the back row, and Ma Wenyuan called his name.

"Because wood is light and stone is heavy, that's common sense."

"Light things float, heavy things sink, so it's common sense?"

Ma Wenyuan countered with a question.

The child thought for a moment and nodded.

Ma Wenyuan did not refute, and took out another item from the wooden box.

A small iron nail, much lighter than the piece of wood.

He lifted the nail and gently placed it into the water.

The nail sank straight to the bottom of the basin, splashing up a small water droplet.

"This nail is lighter than the piece of wood, so why is it heavy?"

The child opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

People in the lecture hall began to whisper among themselves.

Liao Xiaoqi sat in the first row, tilting his head and staring at the basin of water, his brows furrowed like an old man.

Ma Wenyuan did not rush to give an answer.

He picked up the piece of wood, turned it over, and showed the students the bottom of the piece.

"The wood chip floats on the water not just because it's light. You see, the bottom of the wood chip is flat, and the water supports it. The iron nail, though light, is sharp, and the water can't support it."

Ma Wenyuan made a gesture, spreading his hands flat and lifting them upwards.

"Water has a power to support things placed on it. The larger and flatter the object, the greater the power of the water to support it. The smaller and more pointed the object, the less the water can support it."

Chang Mao, sitting in the back row, frowned, seemingly trying to process what he was hearing.

Tang Yi lowered his head and wrote a few words on the paper.

Liao Quan stared at the basin of water, lost in thought.

Ma Wenyuan then took out a rough pottery bowl from the wooden box, gently placed it upside down on the water, and the bowl floated up.

"Does the bowl sink or float?"

"It floats!" the children shouted.

Ma Wenyuan turned the bowl over so that the rim was facing up, and gently placed it back on the water's surface. The bowl floated again.

"It's still floating."

Then he slowly pressed the bowl down, letting the water fill it.

Water entered the bowl, and it sank little by little until the rim of the bowl was almost level with the water surface, dangling there wobbly.

"And now? Has it sunk or floated?"

The children in the front row watched intently.

One of the bolder ones said,

"Half-submerged, half-floating."

Ma Wenyuan smiled.

"Well said. The bowl can float because there is air inside it."

"The water lifts the bowl up, the air inside pushes it upwards, and the bowl's own weight pulls it down. These three forces are competing, and whichever one wins, the bowl moves in that direction."

He let go, and the bowl, having been filled with too much water, slowly sank to the bottom.

The lecture hall was quiet as more than two hundred children stared at the bowl that had sunk to the bottom of the basin. Ma Wenyuan fished the bowl out and placed it on the table.

"This is the investigation of things."

"Investigating things is not about memorizing, but about seeing, thinking, and trying."

"When you see something, ask yourself a question: Why is it like this, instead of that?"

"Then try it out, change a condition, and see what happens. If the wooden piece floats, replace it with an iron nail; if the iron nail sinks, replace it with a bowl; if the bowl is upside down, try it upside down. After trying many times, you'll understand."

He wrote four large characters on the blackboard: 看、问、试、明.

"These are the four steps of investigating things. First, observe; then, ask questions; then, try things out yourself; and finally, understand. If any one of these steps is missing, it is not considered investigating things."

Chang Mao, who was in the back row, finally raised his hand.

Ma Wenyuan selected him.

"Sir, I would like to ask, what is the use of learning these things? I will be leading troops into battle in the future. Will knowing why a piece of wood floats and why an iron nail sinks help me kill the enemy?"

The atmosphere in the lecture hall suddenly became tense.

The children in the front row turned to look at Chang Mao, then turned back to look at Ma Wenyuan.

Ma Wenyuan wasn't angry; instead, he walked up to Chang Mao.

"When you lead your troops into battle, will you need to cross the river?"

Chang Mao was taken aback: "...Yes."

Is there a bridge over the river?

Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

What if there's no bridge?

"Cut down trees to build a bridge, or find a boat."

"What trees are you cutting down? Will the felled wood be enough to support you and your soldiers?" Ma Wenyuan asked.

Chang Mao opened his mouth.

"You're leading two hundred men across a river, and all you have is a pile of ironware—armor, swords, and spears. You throw the ironware into the water, and it sinks. What do you do then?" Ma Wenyuan asked again.

Chang Mao fell silent.

"If you don't know why wood can float and iron can sink, you won't know what kind of tree can be used to build a bridge or how big a boat can carry people. If you don't know why a bowl is half-submerged and half-floating, you won't know how much cargo a boat will carry before it capsizes."

Ma Wenyuan straightened up and looked at Chang Mao.

"You asked if the study of things can kill the enemy. Obviously, the study of things cannot kill the enemy directly, but it can save you from losing hundreds of soldiers."

Chang Mao's expression changed.

He's not stupid; he naturally understands the reasoning behind it.

Of course, Ma Wenyuan's words can also be refuted.

Chang Mao could say that there are craftsmen who do this kind of work.

But he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He felt that if he were to lead troops in the future, it wouldn't be bad to know these things.

Therefore, he did not argue further, nor did he stubbornly refuse; instead, he slowly lowered his head.

Ma Wenyuan walked back to the podium, put the basin of water aside, and took out the last item from the wooden box.

A small, rough pottery bottle, its mouth sealed with wax, and a thin rope tied to its body.

"This bottle is full of air."

Ma Wenyuan held up the bottle so the students could see it.

"What do you think will happen if I push the bottle into the water?"

"Floating!" someone shouted.

"Sink!" someone shouted.

Ma Wenyuan put the bottle into the water, and the bottle floated, with only the mouth of the bottle showing.

Why doesn't it sink?

"Because there's air inside!" Liao Xiaoqi shouted.

"Yes. When it's full of air, it floats. But what if I fill it with half water?"

Ma Wenyuan lifted the bottle, unsealed it, filled it halfway with water, resealed it, and placed it back into the water. The bottle hovered below the surface, neither rising nor falling.

"And now?"

The children chimed in, "Half-submerged, half-floating!"

Ma Wenyuan fished the bottle out, emptied the water, refilled it, and put it back into the water. The bottle sank to the bottom of the basin.

"It's full, and it's sunk."

He held up the bottle so that all the students could see it.

"This bottle represents your heads. The more air you fill it with, the higher you float."

The more random things you put inside, the deeper you sink.

"Investigating things means filling your heads with useful information, not just rote memorization, but observing, questioning, testing, and understanding. If you fill your head with these things, you will never sink to the bottom in this life."

The lecture hall was quiet.

Liang Yin sat in the last row, his copy of "The Great Learning" never opened.

As he watched Ma Wenyuan's retreating figure, something new appeared in his eyes—the complex, scrutinizing admiration of an old man who had taught his entire life when he saw a different teaching method.

Ma Wenyuan didn't start by teaching profound principles; instead, he focused on cultivating interest first.

This gave Liang Yin another teaching method.

Li Zhen stood at the door, no longer displaying her previous seriousness.

He came here today to support his younger brother, fearing that Ma Wenyuan, being young, might not be accepted by his students during his first lecture.

But now it seems that Li Zhen realized she had been overthinking things.

Ma Wenyuan's classroom discipline was better than that of all the other teachers.

……

Ma Wenyuan picked up the chalk and wrote today's homework on the blackboard.

"Go home and find something—a stone, a leaf, a bowl of water, a chopstick—anything will do. Ask it a question. Write the question down and hand it in tomorrow. The stranger the question, the better."

After saying that, Ma Wenyuan put down the chalk and looked at everyone.

"get out of class dismissed."

This was the shortest class in the history of the Gewu Academy.

The students quickly filed out.

Chang Mao was the last to leave. As he walked past the podium, he paused for a moment, glanced at Ma Wenyuan, hesitated, and finally walked out.

Liang Yin stood up from the last row and slowly walked to the front of the podium.

He looked at the four characters on the blackboard: 看、问、试、明.

Looked for a long time.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Brother-in-Law," Liang Yin said with a smile, "your lesson seems quite interesting."

Ma Wenyuan also smiled, but did not answer.

Liang Yin slowly suppressed his smile, his expression gradually becoming serious.

"Your analogy of the bottle was excellent."

He paused at this point,

"I've taught all my life, and I've never thought of putting principles into a bottle for my students to see."

Ma Wenyuan then spoke.

"The teacher teaches the principles of being a person, while I teach the principles of all things. Both principles must be put into a bottle so that students can see them."

Liang Yin nodded and walked away slowly with his hands behind his back.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on the basin of water and refracting into tiny, scattered spots of light that adorned the walls, floor, and ceiling.

Looking at the spots of light, Ma Wenyuan suddenly recalled the sparkling look in Liao Xiaoqi's eyes when she shouted, "Because there is air inside."

That look in his eyes was brighter than the shimmering light on the water's surface.

With that thought in mind, Ma Wenyuan packed his things and carried the wooden box to his office.

As he passed the playground, he saw Liao Xiaoqi squatting by the wall, holding a leaf and a piece of dead branch in her hand, looking left and right.

Ma Wenyuan walked over and squatted down.

"Have you figured out a problem?"

Liao Xiaoqi held up the leaf and asked earnestly,

"Sir, I would like to ask, when leaves fall, why don't they fall straight down, but rather sway back and forth?"

Ma Wenyuan paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Good question. This is the best question of the day."

Liao Xiaoqi grinned, revealing two missing front teeth.

Ma Wenyuan stood up, the setting sun casting a very long shadow over him.

The aroma of food wafted from the cafeteria in the distance, and students walked over in twos and threes, making a lot of noise, like a pot of boiling porridge.

He took the leaf from Liao Xiaoqi's hand, placed it in his palm, and gently tossed it upwards.

The leaves drifted down, swaying gently like a kite with a broken string.

"I'll explain this to you in the next class."

Liao Xiaoqi nodded vigorously, carefully tucked the leaf into his copy of the Thousand Character Classic as if it were a precious bookmark, and then turned and ran away.

Standing in the twilight, Ma Wenyuan suddenly felt that this school really did resemble a school.