Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 364 Dare to be the first, dare to be the first in the world

"I know."

The emperor fended him off with a fan and looked at the gray-haired teacher in the crowd from afar.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he praised generously: "There are still smart people who dare to be the first like me."

Yiqun nodded and looked at the crowd with the Emperor.

Master Deng stood in the crowd in plain clothes. He waited until everyone had finished talking before he slowly spoke.

"You must have heard that my private school began to officially recruit female students after the emperor issued an order to open up the imperial examination. Now, there are already twelve female students in my private school."

He stopped and coughed, then looked at everyone and said:

"Twelve people may sound like a lot, but there are so many people in our great Zhou. Twelve people are nothing! But do you know how many of them have achieved fame?"

Everyone looked at each other.

This is something they have never really understood. Regardless of whether they are male or female scholars, they are actually quite far away from them.

Mr. Deng did not keep the secret and said directly:

"Six. Among the twelve, six have achieved academic honors. Five are scholars and one is a juren."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar among the crowd.

"Six people have achieved academic success? That's impossible. If that's the case, then one of the two women must be good at studying. How is that possible?"

Mr. Deng chuckled and shook his head when he heard this.

"In fact, male and female students have different focuses when it comes to studying. But based on my many years of teaching experience, I know that female students are not inferior to male students in terms of studying. In fact, their insights in certain aspects are more unique and profound than those of male students."

"impossible!"

Someone in the crowd immediately retorted, "Master Deng, your private school accepts female students, but you can't just talk about female students. As we all know, women are weak in studying. Otherwise, why do we only have one female official in the Great Zhou court, Lord Shen?"

Mr. Deng was not angry when he was refuted, he just shook his head.

"Young man, your vision is too narrow."

He patted the notice board and said seriously, "It's not that Lord Shen is the only female official, but she is the only one who has been read out and known to you. It is undeniable that she is indeed very powerful."

His words were a bit confusing and everyone was a little confused.

"Master Deng, only Lady Shen has come forward. Doesn't that just prove that among so many women, only one capable person can emerge?"

"Many?" Mr. Deng laughed when he heard this. "Tell me, how many women can read books?"

The man was stumped by his question and couldn't make out the answer after he mumbled for a long time.

Master Deng added: "It is precisely because there are not many women who can read and write that the base number is small, so there are fewer women who can succeed. This gives you a misconception that women are not good at reading."

He turned around and asked the scholar next to him, "You have been with the senior sisters and junior sisters for a long time. Tell me, what I just said, that female students have their own unique insights, is it true?"

“It’s never been fake.”

The scholar thought for a moment and answered confidently: "When discussing with my sisters, I can always learn something different from them. They are not stupid. When discussing knowledge, I even forget that they are women."

Everyone was in disbelief, muttering, "No way... You mean, if we just let women go to school, they can learn real skills and even be as good as us men?"

"Why not?"

The woman in red walked out of the crowd and approached Master Deng.

"Although I am not Master Deng's student, I will also take part in the imperial examination next year. You can see if I can do it or not! We swear today and see you next year!"

Master Deng looked at her with a smile and coughed, "Miss, don't be impatient."

"Oh......"

The woman in red retreated into the crowd and said to Master Deng, "Excuse me, Master, please continue."

Master Deng took two steps forward and sighed, "I am not telling you this to start a quarrel. What I want to say is that the girls who can study in my private school have all demonstrated their knowledge and have their families support them to study. But let me ask you, how many girls are knowledgeable and willing to study, but their families do not support them?"

His eyes were cloudy and he looked around as if he was looking for someone.

"Just like those girls just now, they were rejected everywhere when they tried to study. Even if they were admitted, they would be deliberately ignored by the teacher. How can this be the way to teach and educate people! And you know how many girls have never touched a book in their entire lives, so that even if they have a talent for reading, they don't know it! How sad, how sad!"

His words touched the girls' hearts, and they couldn't help but feel sad.

Studying is so hard...

Mr. Deng's words were sonorous and powerful, striking everyone's heart.

The emperor nodded silently in the crowd and instructed Eunuch Hong:

"Xijiao Private School, go back and check it out, and then ask Guo Bizheng to come see me."

Eunuch Hong nodded in agreement, but his eyes were fixed on Master Deng in the crowd. He saw that Master Deng seemed tired and motioned the scholar to support him.

"I only said that women have unique insights into certain things, but I did not say that women are better than men in reading."

Before the men in the crowd could feel happy, they heard him speak again:

"But...men are not better than women in studying! I still don't understand, are men and women really that important? Why do we have to compare them instead of going hand in hand and supporting each other? If we don't compare for a day, will one of us die?"

Will one of them die?

Everyone seemed stumped by the question.

"Will you die?"

"It doesn't seem so, then why do we have to compete?"

It seems to be because...being well-educated will make one superior to others, and since ancient times, those who are superior to others are almost always men. Even princesses cannot escape the fate of marrying off to other countries.

So for a long time, it’s not that women can’t study, but that the “superior” people don’t allow women to study, because they don’t want them to be superior?

its not right.

Since when did studying become a virtue?

If that were the case, then everyone in the world would go and read, wouldn't everyone be equal?

Oh - that's not right. Peasants can't afford to go to school.

This fact was so heavy that it made everyone feel suffocated.

The emperor remained silent and whispered to Eunuch Hong: "Perhaps the serious illness will gradually heal."

Eunuch Hong looked at him with some concern.

Since ancient times, people in power actually don’t like the ants under their feet to develop their own thoughts, nor do they like them to think about the meaning of life.

In fact, their meaning is to live and to be the nourishment for the powerful and wealthy - nourishment with self-thinking is not good nourishment.

But Eunuch Hong will always remember what the emperor said.

——"Dare to be the first, dare to be the first in the world. Hong Banban, if my Great Zhou does not educate all the people, it will not last for many dynasties. Tell me, should I give up power, or give up the country and the people?"

Eunuch Hong knew that the emperor was not actually asking him.

The emperor already had the answer in his heart.