If one did not go to Guangling, one would fail to live up to one's expectations. If one did not eat crabs, one would fail to live up to one's stomach.
As a scholar, it was not difficult to kill three birds with one stone. One must know that the Spring God Lake was connected to the Guangling River. Then, one could go to the Shangyin Academy near the Spring God Lake to eat crabs. However, the Shangyin Academy was not a place that anyone could enter. One had to pay attention to one's family background, background, status, and aspirations.
With the arrival of the Grand Chancellor Qi Yanglong to the capital, the Shangyin Academy became even more prosperous. The former Minister of War Lu Baijie, who was known as the Tangxi Sword Sage, seemed to have been demoted to the Guangling Jiedushi. The first thing he did was to go to the library of the Shangyin Academy to borrow books. He made an appointment with the Administrator Wang Xionggui to sharpen his knowledge for more than half a decade. This pushed the reputation of the Academy to its peak. Under such circumstances, the influence of thousands of scholars at the beginning of Xiangfu gradually dissipated from the map of the Central Plains.
In the Shangyin Academy, which was now known as the Jiangzuo Hanlin Academy, there was a woman named Teacher Ji Shang who was even more dazzling. She was Yu Youwei, who taught music and miscellaneous in the Academy. Yu Youwei's father was a teacher of the Academy. Her mother was the famous chief swordswoman of the West Chu royal family. Her sword dance was one of the magnificent Eight Masterpieces of Da Chu, which was as famous as the Grand Preceptor Li Mi's Go. Yu Youwei herself was a very charming woman. Therefore, her teaching at the Shangyin Academy attracted a lot of attention. It was said that even the Empress Yan Dongwu, who lived deep in the Imperial Palace, heard of this extraordinary woman and wanted to persuade the Emperor to summon Yu Youwei to the Imperial College in the capital to take up the position of a teacher.
However, Yu Youwei's great opportunity had been delayed due to the turmoil in the Spring Snow Building of the Prince of Guangling's Mansion. This woman, Ji Shang, did not seem to be depressed because of this. She had originally planned to bring the students of Jixia Academy to tour the Spring Lake in early autumn. Step by step, more than one hundred and sixty people set off in a mighty manner.
Yu Youwei's teaching style was quite unusual. Half of her time was not spent in the Shangyin Academy. Instead, she led the students to visit the famous mountains and rivers, scenic spots, and the ruins of the previous dynasty. They listened to the sound of the pines, the gushing of the springs, and the whistling of the wind on the high cliffs. However, the Spring Lake, which was close at hand, had been forgotten by everyone, probably because it was dark under the lights. Until last month, a student proposed to visit the Spring Lake, and Yu Youwei agreed.
When they were approaching the Spring Lake, it happened to be raining heavily. A young military general led a group of elite cavalry and arrived unexpectedly. The sound of the horses' hooves splashed up a lot of mud. In the twilight, two hundred armored cavalry soldiers clanked, dazzling the students of the academy.
The leader of the cavalry swung the stirrups and dismounted. He took off his helmet and held it under his armpit. He strode forward and smiled at Yu Youwei. "Youwei, after so many years, we finally meet again."
Yu Youwei's expression was the same as usual. She only nodded lightly.
Like the students of Jixia, she wore a thick straw raincoat that covered her figure. Even so, she was still lovely and moving.
When the scholars of the academy around her recognized the identity of the newcomer, most of them cried out in surprise. Their eyes were filled with passion, worship, and reverence. It turned out that this person was Qi Shence, who had graduated from Shangyin Academy. When Qi Shence was studying, he was known as one of the Eight Elites of the academy along with Kou Jianghuai, Zhao Kai, and the others. In just a few years, he first relied on his illustrious family background to serve under the commander of the southern expedition, Lu Shengxiang. However, he started out as an ordinary soldier and made a name for himself at the end of the Battle of Guangling Road. With his outstanding military service, he was quickly promoted on the battlefield. After West Chu was destroyed, the imperial court rewarded meritorious officials. Qi Shence was once again promoted to the ranks of military officers with real power. This time, during the great change in the Spring Snow Building, Qi Shence benefited from the disaster and stood out. He truly entered the eyes of the entire world. It was rumored that the King of Yan, Zhao Bing, and the King of Shu, Chen Zhibao, each chose one person. The King of Yan chose the powerful General of the South, Song Li, for his own use. The War Saint in White was the only one who was impressed by Qi Shence, who was a rising star among the younger generation.
Therefore, when the scholars of the Shangyin Academy talked about his Shixiong Qi Shence, they liked to call him "Three Steps to Heaven".
After the two Vassal Kings joined hands and announced to the world that they had officially started the war, other than the elites of the Southern Jiang crossing the river and entering the Guangling Road, large amounts of Western Shu soldiers also entered the Central Plains. The King of Jing 'an, Zhao Xun, who had won the four words' loyal, fierce, brave and resolute 'through two battles to the death, had disappeared for some reason. He was not under house arrest in the Spring Snow Building like Lu Baijie and Wang Xionggui, nor did he speak out for the Zhao family of Li Yang in the Vassal Kings' territories. This change caught the Imperial Court off guard. As Lu Shengxiang and Xu Gong were moved to the border of Ji Zhou, and the Minister of War, Wu Zhongxuan, was also summoned to the capital, although the army under him did not follow him to the north, the situation was very unfavorable. They had no choice but to avoid the sharp edge. Before the imperial edict from Great Peace City arrived, the leading general retreated four hundred miles to the north and set up camp at the southern border of the capital. The Liyang Emperor urgently summoned the Great Pillar State Gu Jiantang, Lu Shengxiang, Xu Gong, and the Huai Jiedushi Cai Nan to the capital. Only at this time did the Liyang imperial court suddenly realize that there were not many trustworthy generals. Thinking back to the past, Yang Shenxing, Yan Zhenchun, Ma Lulang, and the other old generals, which one of them was not enough to hold their own in the army?
At this time, the resignation of the Imperial College Chancellor, Yao Baifeng, due to illness seemed especially unsurprising. It was not as eye-catching as the rise of Qi Shence.
Qi Shence stood in the heavy rain. Raindrops fell heavily on the precious armor he had taken from the Guangling Prince's Mansion's treasury. The sound was crisp and continuous, and there was a vague, indescribably vigorous aura of metal.
He and the woman not far away spoke some simple words of reunion after a long separation. When he spoke to her, he stared into her eyes, hoping to find a trace of joy, relief, or surprise in her eyes.
Unfortunately, there was none.
Other than the standard war blade hanging from Qi Shence's waist, he also had the twelfth famous sword of the Dongyue Sword Pool, "Linglong". His gaze shifted slightly to the surface of the Spring God Lake. He then withdrew his gaze and said with a smile, "Youwei, I was once a comrade with the new Qingzhou Navy Admiral, Sir Liu. I heard that you were going to tour the Spring God Lake, so I specially asked him to give you a Yellow Dragon ship for you to use. Don't worry, there will be no battles in Guangling in the near future. You can enjoy yourselves to your heart's content."
Yu Youwei nodded and did not refuse his kindness. She said indifferently, "I thank you on behalf of the students, General Qi."
Qi Shence wanted to say something but stopped. In the end, he did not say those hurtful words.
For example, he heard that in these troubled times, there was going to be a wedding in Western Beiliang Prefecture.
Qi Shence took a deep breath and smiled. He put on his helmet again and said in a deep voice, "Take care!"
Yu Youwei was startled. She then smiled with more sincerity. She nodded and said, "You take care as well."
The giant ship gradually approached the shore. Her group boarded the ship, while his cavalry remained on the shore for a long time.
Just as the Yellow Dragon ship completely disappeared behind the curtain of rain, another group of elite cavalry arrived at the shore of the Spring God Lake. Their leader was about the same age as Qi Shence, but his current rank was even higher than Qi Shence's.
He was the former General of Ji Prefecture, Yuan Tingshan. He was the son-in-law of Gu Jiantang of the Great Pillar State and the current master of the Wild Goose Castle Private Cavalry.
He and Song Li had pledged their allegiance to the King of Yan, Zhao Bing, who was marching north with great momentum. However, he regretted not meeting Qi Shence sooner. It was just that the two of them had an ordinary relationship with His Royal Highness Zhao Zhu of Yan.
Yuan Tingshan wiped the rain off his face and teased loudly, "I'm late, I'm late. I didn't get to see that magnificent Master Yu."
Qi Shence lamented in a low voice, "You're late. I'm late too."
Yuan Tingshan couldn't hear him clearly, but he could clearly see Qi Shence's despondent expression. He lamented his misfortune and was angry at his failure to fight. He said unhappily, "If it were me, I would've snatched her and brought her home a long time ago. I'm sure she'll be obedient. She's just a woman with no family or friends. Do you think the Shangyin Academy she's from can really arm wrestle with you, General Qi? Just by saliva? "
At this point, Yuan Tingshan patted the saber at his waist and grinned viciously, "Don't forget that we have this toy!"
Qi Shence didn't say anything. He only shook his head.
Yuan Tingshan snorted coldly, "We're really brothers in the same boat. We're both at odds with that Xu guy!"
Qi Shence dismissed it with a laugh.
The Yellow Dragon ship gradually sailed away. Yu Youwei and a short little girl were standing at the bow of the ship. The latter was helping her carry the big white cat, Wu Meiniang. The little girl was nicknamed Little Wooden Fish. Her hair was braided with goat horns, and her surname was Wang. Her father's generation were all teachers of the academy. The epitaph written by her father was famous all over the world. It was praised by the literary circles of the Central Plains as "Those who don't shed tears upon hearing it must be heartless and unfilial". Because the little girl often appeared in Master Yu's lectures, she was as famous as Wu Meiniang in the academy. Over time, she also gained the nickname of "Little Mr. Wang".
Wu Meiniang jumped out of the little girl's arms and slipped back into the cabin to hide from the rain.
The little girl stood on tiptoe and leaned against the railing. She asked curiously, "Big Sister Yu, do you think a flood dragon will appear in such a big lake?"
Yu Youwei couldn't help but laugh. "I don't know about that."
The little girl asked timidly, "The newly established White Horse Academy in Beiliang has invited you to give a lecture. Do you want to go?"
Yu Youwei fell silent.
Seeing this, the little girl didn't dare to say anything else. She sighed like an old woman and suddenly said, "The scenery is old, so how can I not recall Jiangnan?"
Yu Youwei's smile became slightly bitter.
The scenery is old, so how can I not recall Beiliang?
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