The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 391

After several days, the black horse was fed with fine feed again, and both its coat and spirit were different.

As long as they were paid enough, Zhang Laowu and his men were very efficient, and the mud-brick houses were quickly built.

Chunlan, Shen Lian, Hai Rui, and others arrived at Zhangjia Village.

Even people like Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji came. Of course, Yan Shifan was also there. Zhou Chu had specifically ordered that Yan Shifan be brought along, because if this chubby boy were out of Zhou Chu's sight and no one was watching over him, he would easily let himself go.

Sending him to the countryside to gain experience would be very beneficial for him.

"What brings you two here? I don't remember you studying physics, right?"

Zhou Chu looked at Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji, and asked in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji exchanged a glance, and finally mustered their courage to bow to Zhou Chu.

"Students are willing to follow their teacher, and they will learn whatever the teacher teaches."

"You guys are quite cunning."

Zhou Chu said with a hint of helplessness.

If Zhao Zhenji followed him simply to learn something, then Hu Zongxian followed him for much more than just learning; he probably wanted to find a powerful backer for him.

Of course, Hu Zongxian is still young, and this idea may come from his subconscious, more out of admiration for Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu knew that Hu Zongxian was a man destined for great things. In the original history, Hu Zongxian was both praised and criticized. In order to join Yan's party, he persecuted loyal officials together with Yan's party members.

However, given the circumstances at the time, if Hu Zongxian wanted to do what he wanted and carry out the anti-Japanese campaign to the end, he had to rely on the Yan faction and gain their support. Otherwise, with Hu Zongxian's personal foundation, he simply could not withstand the counterattack of the Jiangnan smuggling group.

In a sense, Hu Zongxian was the lifeline of Yan's party. As long as Hu Zongxian failed to suppress the Japanese pirates, Yan's party would remain safe. At the same time, as long as Hu Zongxian failed to suppress the Japanese pirates, he would also be safe.

Hu Zongxian naturally understood this principle. If it were for the benefit of Yan's party and himself, it might have been a good choice to nurture the pirates to enhance his own importance. However, Hu Zongxian did not do that. Instead, he directly wiped out the Japanese pirates along the southeast coast, paving the way for the opening of the border during the Longqing era.

Even though Yan's faction was subsequently purged, and Hu Zongxian was also purged, Hu Zongxian still did it.

It is evident that Hu Zongxian may have had many calculations in mind, but his goal has always been very clear.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhou Chu valued Hu Zongxian.

"Then stay here for now. What you learn is up to you."

Zhou Chu remained noncommittal.

Zhou Chu valued both Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji highly, believing that the two, one a scholar and the other a military leader, would become pillars of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

Although Hu Zongxian was a civil official, Zhou Chu never doubted his talent for leading troops. After the martial arts academy was established in the capital, Zhou Chu planned to let Hu Zongxian go there for further study.

After all, Hu Zongxian is still young.

Besides Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji, there was another student Zhou Chu didn't recognize. This person looked to be about the same age as Zhao Zhenji, and Zhou Chu looked at him with some confusion.

"Teacher, this is my good friend, Gui Youguang. He respects your reputation and insisted on coming with us."

Zhao Zhenji hurriedly explained.

Gui Youguang?

Upon hearing this name, Zhou Chu's eyes lit up immediately.

Pan Jixun was only born last year, and it's unknown how many years it will take for him to manage the water. However, Gui Youguang is also a master of water conservancy. Of course, he also has great achievements in literature. In terms of literary status alone, Gui Youguang can rival Wang Shizhen, the later leader of the literary world, and he denounced Wang Shizhen as a "mediocre and arrogant giant".

But for both Zhou Chu and the Ming Dynasty, the role of a hydraulic engineer was far greater than that of a literary figure.

"Teacher, this is a lightning-struck wood that I made by drawing lightning, and I placed it on the jujube tree as you requested."

Hai Rui took out a piece of wood he had carved himself, depicting a tree struck by lightning, and respectfully handed it to Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu took the plaque of no harm from Hai Rui, and his eyes lit up immediately.

"You actually managed to summon lightning?"

Zhou Chu said with some surprise.

Attracting lightning is fraught with difficulties. The slightest mistake could result in being struck by lightning, posing an extremely high risk. If the procedure is flawed, the consequences could be disastrous.

"A few days ago, there was a thunderstorm in Yuyao. The students felt it was a rare opportunity, so they tried it out according to the teacher's instructions. Many of the steps were figured out by the students themselves, and they are not very proficient yet. They should be able to do better next time."

Hai Rui said somewhat embarrassedly.

"When Hai Rui brought down the lightning, it alarmed everyone in the academy. We will never forget that scene."

Hu Zongxian remarked with emotion.

"Yes, teacher. I never imagined that the study of natural phenomena was so powerful that it could draw down lightning from the sky."

Zhao Zhenji echoed.

Everyone else who heard this also had expressions of deep agreement, clearly shocked by Hai Rui's feat of drawing lightning that day.

Hearing these words, Hai Rui felt a little embarrassed.

"I didn't think that much about it. I just felt very guilty after the teacher's accident. I felt that I couldn't help the teacher. If I could have drawn lightning earlier and made this lightning-struck wood, maybe the lightning-struck wood could have protected the teacher."

Hai Rui said with a guilty expression.

Zhou Chu was touched by these words, but also found them somewhat amusing.

"Whether the lightning-struck wood will be useful is still unknown. Even if it is useful, it can only ward off evil and disaster. Those people came to assassinate me, so what use is the lightning-struck wood? There is no need to feel guilty about this. I am very happy that you have this intention."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he hung the "no harm done" plaque made of lightning-struck wood around his neck.

Hai Rui was very pleased to see that Zhou Chu wore the plaque he had carved.

"Gui Youguang".

Zhou Chu looked at Gui Youguang and said with great interest.

"The students are here."

Gui Youguang felt a little nervous when he heard Zhou Chu call his name.

Which college did you apply to?

Zhou Chu asked.

"The School of Water Resources, as reported by the student newspaper."

Gui Youguang answered truthfully.

Hearing this answer, Zhou Chu was not surprised at all. Gui Youguang was extremely talented in both literature and water conservancy, but he was not successful in the imperial examination.

Gui Youguang's path to the imperial examinations was somewhat similar to that of his teacher, Wen Zhengming. He repeatedly failed the exams, but was eventually recommended by Zhao Zhenji and Gao Gong and entered officialdom as a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations).

Why choose the School of Water Resources?

Zhou Chu continued to ask.

"The student is from Kunshan County, Suzhou Prefecture. His hometown is a flood discharge area, a large area of ​​waterlogged land. The people of Kunshan County were displaced and had to leave their hometown to seek a living elsewhere."

Gui Youguang said with a touch of sadness.

"Last year, thanks to you, sir, we built the dike. Although you were in charge of the dike project, I know that you have powerful backers. Moreover, the cement you used was practically made for building dikes. I admire you so much for being able to create such materials."

Gui Youguang said with a sincere expression.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu suddenly realized that Gui Youguang was from Kunshan, so it was not surprising that he knew so much about his affairs.

“I don’t know much about water conservancy, otherwise I would have controlled the floods in Kunshan last year. If you want to study water conservancy, I can provide you with all the books you need, but I can’t teach you.”

Zhou Chu looked at Gui Youguang and said.

Gui Youguang nodded upon hearing this.

"The students understand that they just want to stay by their teacher's side, and they can learn about water conservancy on their own."

Gui Youguang looked at Zhou Chu with eyes full of reverence.