Last year, His Royal Highness, who was also the general of Lingzhou, stirred things up in the officialdom of Lingzhou. In the end, it was just a farce without much noise or rain. However, under the bloody iron fist of the new Prince Liang, Youzhou's military and politics was a tragedy that caused everyone to be in danger. Spring rain was as precious as oil, and the rain on Beiliang's spring tail was even more so. When the rain fell, the blood would wash away, saving a lot of trouble for the yamen of Youzhou. It should be known that this was an unprecedented change in Beiliang. Three lieutenants had died, and the number of commandants with real power could not be counted with two hands. There were no less than a hundred high-ranking officials and dignitaries who had been stripped of their official titles and sent to the border. Although the so-called eight hundred general families in Youzhou were definitely an exaggerated number, there were at least three hundred families. In the end, most of them were affected. The families involved in the tragedy had no power to fight back. As for those who had been patiently waiting for General Yan Wenluan to be furious, they were even more disappointed. Not only did the general stand by and do nothing, he even personally mobilized the elite infantry of the Yan family in the six camps to control the passes in the northern part of Youzhou. This was not only turning his back on them, but also stabbing himself with a knife. The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry had infiltrated the hinterland of Youzhou. In the east of Liangzhou, Qi Dangguo, the foster son of the old Prince Liang, had personally taken action. In the north of Lingzhou, Wang Zhi and Xin Yinma, two cavalry troops that belonged to different orders of Beiliang, trained their soldiers and horses. The deputy commander of the infantry, Ancestor Gu, was a "new noble" in Beiliang, as well as Liu Yuanji, Wei Tieshan, and the other veteran generals who had retired regardless of whether they were related to Youzhou or not, they still did not hesitate to publicly support the new Prince Liang at the same time. At this time, even if the Youzhou generals did not understand why the new Prince Liang was so good-tempered in Lingzhou and did not care about old friendships in Youzhou, they all painfully understood one thing. Beiliang's surname was Xu. In Beiliang, none of the old generals who had the ability and qualifications to compete with the young Prince Liang were willing to speak up for them.
In short, it was too late.
The old people were gone, and the new people were coming. Moreover, several groups of people came. Some were called by Hsu Fengnian, and some came uninvited. The latter was not polite at all. Huang Shang, who had vaguely become the leader of the scholars in Beiliang, almost jumped up and scolded them. Mister Wang from Shangyin Academy leisurely persuaded Huang Shang that anger would harm his liver. The two elegant old men had just enjoyed the desert scenery from the border and hurried to Yi River in Youzhou without stopping. However, the closer they got to Yi River, the more calm Mister Wang became. Normally, the scholar Huang Shang, who should be the most happy to see this scene, became the guy who scolded the King of Beiliang the most fiercely. He scolded Hsu Fengnian for being too vicious and said that he was the real butcher, who was more ruthless than Xu Xiao. If he had the ability, he should go to Beimang to kill people. What kind of ability was it to kill one's own people? Hsu Fengnian did not laugh, get angry, or say anything. He only overstepped his authority and handled military affairs in the General's Mansion in Youzhou. He was completely indifferent to Huang Shang's scolding and did not even lift his eyelids.
After Grand Chancellor Wang and Huang Shang, the newly appointed Provincial Governor of Liuzhou, Yang Guangdou, rushed over from the land of refugees. This School of Mohism's master craftsman did not seem to get angry at all. He only said a few sentences, "That's enough," and "Chen Xiliang did quite well." After that, he came and left in a hurry. He did not even have time to drink a mouthful of hot tea or eat a mouthful of hot rice. Other than these white-haired old men, the rest were at least of the younger generation. The Provincial Governor of Liangzhou, Hu Kui, was the true creator of the Torch Cavalry, the predecessor of the White Horse Scout. Beside him was Yu Luandao, the eldest grandson of the Yinyang Yu Clan, who had once written the Liangzhou's Big Horse Song. This guy had gone to the land of refugees alone and did not seem to have been killed or killed. There was also Song Yan, who had just become the Provincial Governor of Lingzhou, and Wang Xihua, the head of the Wang Clan in Hwangnam County in Lingzhou. These two were once opponents with different political views in the same county. They could not be said to be mortal enemies. Wang Xihua, who was famous for his moral writings in Beiliang, and Li Gongde, the Administrator, who was focused on currying favor for personal gain, were the real mortal enemies.
When these people all gathered in the General's Mansion in Youzhou, it was raining heavily on the next morning. Hsu Fengnian planned to call everyone to go to the newly built Green Deer Cave Academy. However, Song Yan and Wang Xihua had already left early. Therefore, Hsu Fengnian did not send anyone to invite them.
Huangfu Xi, who had not had a chance to show his face recently, was in charge of escorting 100 cavalrymen. His face was as calm as water, without any sadness or joy. Le Dian, the deputy general of Youzhou, who had been cursed as the "Great Executioner Le", was even more worried. Only the Provincial Governor Wang Peifang, who was the head of the civil officials in Youzhou, was at the back of the team. Sitting high on the horse, his thin body, which was not as strong as that of a warrior, was undulating with the horse, unable to hide the joy on his face. Blessings and misfortunes were interdependent, especially when misfortunes turned into blessings. Even if Wang Peifang had a strong will, how could he not feel jubilant?
Although Youzhou was in chaos, the Academy at the foot of Green Deer Mountain was the only pure land left in Youzhou. Nearly 100 scholars had entered the Academy to study peacefully. They either buried their heads in classics or gathered together to learn from each other. The only imperfection was the two temporary leaders of the Academy. Every month, they were required to produce a meritorious article that was suspected to be eager for quick success and instant benefits. The more words, the better. For example, how to deal with salt and iron in Beiliang, how to deal with the constraints of the imperial court, how to eradicate the shackles of the party struggle, how to solve the misfortune of officials, how to define the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister, and even how to balance the Prime Minister's power, and so on. Undoubtedly, many topics were forbidden for scholars. However, there were still scholars who could not resist the huge temptation of 100 to 500 taels of silver for each article that won the first place every month. As the old saying goes, "There is a house of gold in a book." Not to mention the house of gold, didn't the latter two require real money? The sages only said it in an implicit way, but the logic behind it was very real. Although the Green Deer Cave Academy was still in its embryonic form, and the most important aspect of an academy was the lack of spirit, Huang Shang was in a good mood after he ascended the mountain. He did not care about showing any attitude to the Prince of Northern Liang. He stroked his beard and smiled, feeling gratified. Although the imperial court did not forbid the discussion of famous scholars, the Prince of Northern Liang could even ignore the rebellious words of the Prince of Northern Liang. In the eyes of the old Imperial Censor, this was the true source of the seeds of learning. One could express one's thoughts in one's mind and put them into writing. Thus, it would be recorded in the annals of history for future generations to comment on. This was the true fortune of all scholars.
Huang Chang stood at the entrance of the Academy and was not in a hurry to cross the threshold. He looked up at the inscribed board written by the King of Beiliang, Hsu Fengnian, and stopped in his tracks. His eyes brimmed with tears and his lips trembled as he asked, "Can you really tolerate scholars of my generation to be like Huang Chang yesterday, to happily scold you, Hsu Fengnian, and Beiliang?"
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