As Confucius predicted, after the private school came to Qufu City, with the increase in popularity, there were more and more students.

It was meant to be! How many people can there be in a village in the countryside? And how many people are there in the entire Qufu City? And also! The villages in the countryside are very isolated, the information is not well-informed, and the transportation is not convenient. And Qufu City is not only big, but also very open and well-informed.

Since the listing of Confucius's private school, people have come to inquire every day. On the issue of tuition fees, Confucius still decided the old rule that tuition fees should not be taught, and students should pay voluntarily according to their abilities. Give more if you have money, give less if you don't have money, or don't give it for the time being.

But! This method does not work in Qufu City.

Not charging tuition fees is "unfair competition" and is not lawful. People don't care that you are for universal education, people think that you are for the sake of attracting students, or that you are for spreading unhealthy thoughts, not to promote the main theme. So! It's going to seal you up.

Furthermore! There are many people who think they are learned, and out of jealousy, they deliberately come out to find trouble.

Confucius had no choice but to name a vague figure: the same as other people's tuition. How much does it cost you to study with other gentlemen for a year, and I also charge as much as I do.

But! If this is the case, it will not be possible to popularize education and attract students. There was no way, and Confucius proposed a new method: enroll first and pay later.

You don't have the money to pay for tuition, do you? I promise you! Let you come to school first, and then you will pay the tuition when you have money. Such! It is equivalent to not charging tuition fees in disguise.

Confucius still believes: as long as the student learns a full set from him, he is not afraid that you will not pay the tuition!

And indeed it is! There are many students who pay tuition fees after they graduate and become officials, or after they graduate and work after they earn money. Opposite! The tuition fees given to Confucius were much higher than those charged by other gentlemen.

It can be said! Some students later gave Confucius priceless in return.

Many of Confucius' students were fathers and sons! For example, Yan Hui, he was a classmate of his father. Yan Hui's father was an early student of Confucius, and he was also the first batch of students accepted by Confucius after he moved to Qufu to run a school.

The main reason why the early students were not very famous was that Confucius at that time did not have the idea of "learning and excelling". At that time, Confucius was very disappointed with the officialdom, and was very disappointed with the state of Lu and the hereditary system of kings at that time.

So! He discouraged his students from becoming professional.

If you don't become an official, you can only be unknown.

So! Most of the early students were not famous.

Later, Confucius, who matured ideologically, believed that if you want to change the world and save the world, you must enter politics.

There are many benefits to being in politics, one! It can solve life's problems. became an official, had a job, and lived a worry-free life. This is the main reason.

Two! Become an official! has a certain right to speak. People have little power and light power, that's it. No matter how good your academic ideas are, no one knows about them, and you can't spread them.

Some people say: The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys. In fact! Or because the smell of wine wafted out. If it weren't for the smell of wine wafting out, who would have known that there was good wine in the alley?

It's the same! No one knows that you have talent, and there is no difference between learning talent and not learning.

Confucius was anxious to spread his academic ideas, so he encouraged his students to learn and excel. He himself, too, traveled the world and spread his scholarship everywhere. Although not many people are willing to accept it, it is another matter whether others accept it or not, and it is the main thing to spread it.

Just because others don't accept it doesn't mean that everyone doesn't accept it. The acceptance of one's own students, and the acceptance of those who come into contact with oneself, proves to be viable. The fact that those in power do not accept it, and that certain thinkers do not accept it, does not mean that this country and all people in the world do not accept it.

The contrast between Confucius's thought and the back and forth is also the reason why the early students were not famous.

Private school, just like that, nothing unexpected happened. At this time, Confucius was running a school part-time. His main job is still to be an official in Lu State, an ordinary petty official.

Being an official is not only a symbol of status, but also a stable income. Only if you have an official position, you are a non-commissioned officer. In this hierarchical society, if you don't have an identity, you can't get the approval of others, just like modern people don't have money.

In terms of running a private school, he still uses the old method of teaching smart students and letting smart students teach backward students. Teach the students who came first, and then let the students who come first teach the students who come later. His teaching time is not certain. Because! Running a private school is just a spare time, and the main job is still to be an official.

But! The official position that Confucius is doing now is not an important position, nor is it doing things for the Lu State. mainly relies on Lu Zhaogong's side, and he is an official appointed by Lu Zhaogong to do things for Lu Zhaogong.

With Lu Zhaogong as his backer, he also hung an official title, and most of the time he was idle. Ji Pingzi and the others will not look for him to do important things. Looking for Confucius to do things, Confucius will not do what they want, but! Enforce the law impartially.

In this society of power struggle, if you enforce the law impartially, you will offend people. So! Ji Pingzi and others not only didn't look for Confucius to do things, but also didn't bother to pay attention to him. If it weren't for the foundation stone of the great god, they would have framed Confucius. For the sake of the great god's face, he can only turn a blind eye and pretend not to know.

So! Confucius was ostensibly an official, but in fact! It's relatively free. So! He had time to teach in person.

Why did the merchants of Qi suddenly move back to Qi and no longer live in Qufu, the capital of Lu State?

Fang Jishi and others later found out the reason!

In modern language, it is "evacuation". The state of Qi has become strong and is about to start a battle. Lu is a small country, and they have been included in the list of "extermination" or "colonization".

At that time, the international situation was that the state of Chu had gone downhill and was no longer the hegemon. And the Jin State, since the death of Jin Zhaogong, is no longer the overlord. Only the country of Qi has been going uphill and is getting stronger and stronger.

The merchant had the widest range of channels, and when he learned that the State of Qi was going to attack the State of Lu, he hurriedly withdrew his capital. Outcome! Instead of attacking Lu, Qi went to attack two other small states.

In 526 BC, after active preparation and careful planning, Duke Qi Jinggong finally selected Xu as the target of attack to show off his strength. As soon as the army of Qi arrived at Pu Tunnel (now Si County, Anhui), before entering the territory of Xu, Xu sent an envoy to sue for peace. Gao and Ju, who were closer to Xu, were afraid that Xu would be subdued, and the Qi soldiers would turn to attack them, so they hurriedly sent envoys to express their submission.

Fang Jishi picked up a bargain and bought this mansion with a hundred catties of raw copper.

The State of Qi did not attack the State of Lu, and the merchant of the State of Qi later repented and came to find fault and make trouble. But when he found out that it was the mansion bought by the great god of Lu Guo, he had to give up. Other than that! Knowing that the person who ran the school was Confucius, he obeyed Confucius's personality, so he was embarrassed to make trouble again.

(End of chapter)