Outside the capital, Sheep Pavilion.
A few luxurious carriages were parked next to the pavilion. The cold wind was biting cold in the suburbs, and the rolling hills were light brown.
The sun hung warmly in the early winter, giving people a sense of warmth that was not inferior to that of a child.
Recluse Zi Yang of Yunlu Academy was going to be an official.
For Yunlu Academy, which was declining day by day in the officialdom, it was a great joyous event.
The teachers of the academy sang to the beat, and the students danced in joy. They all felt proud, and the day of their success was coming.
In the pavilion, three old men sat facing each other and drank tea. One of them was wearing a purple robe, and his temples were white. He was the main character of this farewell.
Yang Gong, also known as Recluse Zi Yang, was the top scholar in the 14th year of Yuanjing. He retired the following year and returned to Yunlu Academy to study. In 22 years, he had students all over the world, and became a famous scholar.
He should have had a better future, and it would not have been difficult for him to become a minister, but he left the officialdom at the peak of his career. There were many different opinions about this. Some said that he had offended His Majesty, so he had to resign.
Some said that he had offended the Prime Minister of the court, and that he was inferior to him, so he left dejectedly.
But no matter what, after 22 years, he finally came out again. He went to Qingzhou to be the administrative envoy.
He was a real governor of the border.
The other two were also of high status. Not to mention their status in Yunlu Academy, their reputation outside was no less than that of Recluse Zi Yang.
The one in the grey robe with a goatee was called Li Mubai, a national player who was once known as the best in chess. Five years ago, he played three games with Duke Wei Wei Yuan, and lost all of them. He smashed the chessboard in anger and never played chess again.
The one in the blue robe was called Zhang Shen, a master of the art of war. His early work, Six Commentaries on the Art of War, was still a must-read publication for military officers and generals in Daibun.
He was the only master of the art of war in Daibun that could be compared with Wei Yuan.
A group of students stood outside the pavilion to see him off. They were all students of Yunlu Academy with great potential.
Xu Xinnian was one of them.
"Mr. Zi Yang has finally come out of seclusion. If we can gain his recognition, we will definitely have a successful career in the officialdom in the future." A classmate who was familiar with him whispered, "Cijiu, have you prepared a poem?"
My brother prepared it for me … and it's half of the Seven Rules … Xu Xinnian looked into the pavilion and said lightly, "Hastily prepared half of it. Uncle Yong, you're too utilitarian."
The seven-verse poem had a strict rhythm and required the number of words in the poem to be neat and uniform. It was composed of eight lines and each line had seven words. Every two lines formed a couplet, making a total of four couplets.
Xu Qi'an only gave him two verses of the Seven Laws. Xu Xinnian inquired after the meal, but his cousin stuttered and changed the topic, refusing to give him the last two couplets.
"This is not utilitarian. The sea of learning is the same as the sea of officialdom. Suffering is the boat, and currying favor is the oar," his friend said. He seemed to know that Xu Xinnian was not good at poetry, so he did not ask further.
"Uncle Yong is right. Nowadays, the officialdom is corrupt. Petty officials cooperate with corrupt officials to oppress the people. Natural disasters happen year after year. If we want to change the situation, we have to be more flexible." Another student joined in the conversation.
The student called Uncle Yong nodded and looked at Xu Xinnian. "You always say that poetry is a small way. But no matter how good your essays are, who will remember you after a few decades? But poetry can be passed down through generations. "
"Poetry is a small way. It can't be used to govern the country or benefit the people. It's just a form of complacency …" Xu Erlang wanted to say this, but he remembered that he was about to use a small way of complacency to please the elders. He swallowed his words and mumbled a sound of agreement.
Uncle Yong looked at him in surprise. He did not argue with him!
The great scholar Li Mubai sighed. "Brother Yang, if you were half as exquisite as them, you wouldn't have wasted more than 20 years."
Recluse Zi Yang smiled.
"That's not right." The military strategist Zhang Shen could not help but laugh and drink his tea. "Brother Yang is ambitious. He's paving the way for Fate Establishing Realm."
Hearing this, Recluse Zi Yang sighed. "In the end, he was still pushed out of the officialdom."
"This is not your problem. The people from the Imperial College will not let our Yunlu Academy turn over a new leaf."
"Hmph, a group of despicable people who only know how to flatter their superiors and bully their subordinates. In less than 200 years, they've brought disaster to the world."
This matter involved a very interesting history.
Confucianism originated from the Sage. As an academy founded by the Sage's eldest disciple, Yunlu Academy claimed to be the orthodox school of Confucianism. That was the truth.
However, 200 years ago, because of the fight for the country's capital, it was completely despised by the emperor at that time.
Coincidentally, a traitor appeared in Yunlu Academy. At least, that was what Yunlu Academy thought.
That traitor used to be a teacher at Yunlu Academy. He took the opportunity to establish his own school and pleased the emperor with the idea of 'upholding justice and eliminating human desires'. With the emperor's support, he established the Imperial College and became a grandmaster.
From then on, the Imperial College replaced Yunlu Academy and became the court's main organization for sending officials.
Because of that, the fight for the orthodox school of Confucianism lasted for 200 years.
Recluse Zi Yang said in a deep voice, "I'm going to expand the territory of Yunlu Academy and establish a foundation for the officialdom. However, if I want to restore the academy's former glory, I won't be able to do it alone. We need to work together, and we also need outstanding young people."
Li Mubai and Zhang Shen looked at each other and smiled. Zhang Shen turned his head and looked at the students outside the pavilion. "Is there anyone who's willing to compose a poem to send Recluse Zi Yang off?"
"There must be a prize for reciting poems. Otherwise, it'll be boring." Recluse Zi Yang removed a purple jade pendant from his waist. "The person who wins the prize will get the jade pendant."
The jade pendant glowed with a purple light. It was magical and extraordinary.
The eyes of the students outside the pavilion lit up. The jade pendant of the great Confucian scholars had been baptized by talent and contained magical energy. If they could obtain it, it would definitely be beneficial to them.
At the same time, there was a deeper meaning behind Recluse Zi Yang using the purple jade as a prize.
An item of an elder would only be given to his juniors and students. In other words, if you obtained this jade pendant, you would become one of my people … my student.
"I'm willing to compose a poem to send Recluse Zi Yang off." A tall and straight student wearing a green Confucian robe with a jade pendant around his waist stepped forward and cupped his hands towards the three great Confucian scholars in the pavilion.
Li Mubai smiled and said, "This is my student, Zhu Tuizhi. He's quite talented in poetry."
Recluse Zi Yang smiled and nodded.
After the student named Zhu Tuizhi recited the poem to send him off, Recluse Zi Yang's smile deepened. He was obviously very satisfied.
"Not bad." The military strategist, Zhang Shen, praised Recluse Zi Yang but did not comment further. The two great Confucian scholars present were more talented in poetry than him.
However, a good beginning did not necessarily lead to a good ending. What happened next could only be described as a continuation of the story.
The poem that followed was barely passable and barely qualified.
Li Mubai lamented, "Ever since the Directorate of Studies reorganized the Sage's ancient books and records, the world's scholars could only rigidly adhere to the classics and bury their heads in poetry. Over time, they fell into a state of 'shackled poetry, fragmented and complicated' and were unable to extricate themselves. Essays and poems no longer had any spirituality. "
As he said the last sentence, he became distressed.
This was also the reason why the Confucian school started to weaken in recent times. Two hundred years ago, the famous saying of the Confucian school was: Buddhism is great, Daoism is great, oh, warlocks are also not bad. Gu Masters and warlocks who took a different path are also very spiritual and worthy of praise … Oh, Boorish Warrior, please leave. This is a gathering of cultured people. Take the demon race away as well. As for the rest of you, pardon my bluntness, you are all trash!
Back then, the Confucian school was just that awesome.
But now?
The various cultivation systems: What's going on, little brother?
The Confucian school trembled: F * ck.
Recluse Zi Yang sighed. "Forget it, let's not talk about this. Scholars, is there anyone else who is willing to compose a poem? "
There was no one for a long time.
Zhu Tuizhi stared at the cub with a burning gaze. He felt that it was already his.
"Sir, I have a poem." Xu Xinnian walked out of the crowd and came to the side of the pavilion.
He had deliberately remained silent until now. He was a humble and low-profile person and did not want to throw out a good poem too early and embarrass his classmates. It definitely had nothing to do with him and Zhu Tuizhi exchanging pleasantries.
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