The White Horse Academy was built according to the old system of having a lecture hall in the middle and a study hall on the left and right. The 300 scholars lived in the 60 study halls on the east and west sides. There were only 19 teachers teaching in the Academy all year round, including Yao Baifeng and Xu Beizhi. The Vice Headmaster Bai Yu still needed to take charge of the official affairs on Mount Qingliang. However, the Academy planned to invite more than 20 temporary lecturers this autumn and winter. There was a long list of names, enough to be described as a spectacular lineup. There was Huang Shang, the head of the Green Deer Cave Academy; Song Yan, the new Provincial Governor of Youzhou who advocated Legalism; Wang Xihua, the great scholar of Hwangnam County who was praised by Yao Baifeng as one of the "three talents of Provincial Governors"; Chang Sui, the Eldest Brother who once studied under Han Guzi in the Shangyin Academy together with Xu Weixiong, Xu Huang, and others. It was said that there was also Yu Youwei, the master of music who was currently serving as the teacher of Ji Shang in the Shangyin Academy.
Hsu Fengnian walked slowly with Dai Yuanjie and finally stopped in front of the library. Yao Baifeng, Liu Yuanji, and Wei Tieshan, these meritorious old generals sat together to bask in the sun, while Xu Beizhi led a group of young scholars of the Academy to bask in the sun.
Yao Baifeng, who had stepped down from the position of Chancellor of the Imperial College, looked hale and hearty, unlike the rumors of Liyang imperial court, who had resigned due to illness. In fact, even Hsu Fengnian didn't know why Yao Baifeng would take the initiative to leave Great An City, and why he didn't spend the rest of his life in the capital, but instead returned to Beiliang. It should be known that the Yao Family Academy was reputed to be able to compete with the entire Imperial College. Although this was an exaggeration, no one doubted Yao Baifeng's lofty reputation in the literary circles of Liyang. In fact, in the past few years in Great An City, Yao Baifeng was almost the only one who was willing to speak up for Beiliang's military and political affairs in the imperial court. Hsu Fengnian believed that if he hadn't "disobeyed" the Emperor of the Zhao Family, then with Yao Baifeng's reputation and knowledge, he would have long been able to rise to the center of power in Liyang, standing shoulder to shoulder with Huan Wen, Zhao Youling, and Yin Maochun, instead of staying in the Imperial College that had a clear reputation but no real power. Moreover, after Yao Baifeng had followed Yan Jiexi into the capital to become an official, many of the Yao Family's younger generation followed suit. Now that Yao Baifeng had chosen to enter the White Horse Academy in Beiliang, even Hsu Fengnian felt a little worried for the old man. So much so that when he was discussing matters with Song Dongming on Mount Qingliang, Hsu Fengnian suggested that Yao Baifeng could only be a lecturer and not be the dean, in order to help the old man reduce the rumors in the Liyang imperial court. As the Prime Minister chosen by Yuan Benxi in the past, Song Dongming, who was well aware of the deep and shallow waters of Liyang's officialdom, also supported this idea. However, in the end, Yao Baifeng still tactfully refused. He jokingly said, "I'm not young, I'd rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix." He insisted on personally becoming the head of the academy. Mount Qingliang, or rather, Hsu Fengnian, couldn't dissuade this venerable scholar, and could only let Yao Baifeng take charge of the White Horse Academy.
Seeing Hsu Fengnian's arrival, Liu Yuanji and Wei Tieshan, the two deputy commanders of the Beiliang Frontier Army in the early years, did not dare to take advantage of their seniority and immediately stood up to welcome him. This was especially so for Liu Yuanji, who was unaware of the fact that the younger generation of his family had run amok in the countryside. On the eve of Hsu Fengnian's succession, Liu Yuanji had been scolded by his former colleague, Lin Doufang, to the nose. Fuming with anger, Liu Yuanji rushed back to his mansion and the first thing he did was to summon all of his unfilial descendants, who were all respectful in front of him, to the ancestral hall. With an attitude that showed that he was not afraid to kill the wrong person, he made all of the younger generation of the Liu family kneel on the ground and personally whipped each of them a hundred times with a leather whip. Seven or eight people fainted on the spot, dripping with blood. The women of the Liu family outside the ancestral hall were so scared that they did not even dare to cry out loud. When three of the seven stewards of the Tianfu were beaten to death, the study companions of the younger generation of the Liu family all packed up and left. From then on, the Liu family became very strict. Liu Yuanji even closed his door and refused to see any guests. It was not until the commander of the Left Cavalry, He Zhong, suddenly sent word to him that he and his old men were to return to the frontier army that Liu Yuanji finally showed his face. Otherwise, this old general probably did not plan to have any dealings with his former comrades in this lifetime.
These generals of Beiliang, who had experienced the wars of the Spring and Autumn Period, had made great contributions, were unruly and difficult to tame, and refused to be restrained. This was naturally the truth.
However, there was one thing that was different from many of the "founding" heroes of Liyang, and that was, they harbored an indescribable and deep-rooted deep complex toward the Xu family, or rather, toward Xu Xiao. If Yan Zhenchun, Yang Shenxing, and Ma Lulang, these great generals of Liyang helped the old Emperor to conquer the Xu family's country, then Yan Wenluan, Wei Tieshan, and Liu Yuanji, these valiant generals, followed Xu Xiao to conquer the Xu family's country. The difference of one word was like the difference between heaven and earth. It was very simple. Xu Xiao shared weal and woe with them, went into battle together, and fought together. There was not only the "friendship between a ruler and his subject", but also the brotherhood of fellow soldiers who exchanged their lives for his. In the imperial court, it was difficult to understand, and it was the hardest to see the true heart. On the battlefield, in the moment of life and death, it was the easiest to see one's nature.
Before and after the infamous Hsu Fengnian became the King of Beiliang, undercurrents surged. The original commander of the cavalry, Zhong Hongwu, was killed. In private, it was said that it was not killing the chicken to warn the monkeys, but killing the tiger to warn the wolves. From this, it could be seen how swift and fierce the atmosphere in Beiliang was. When Hsu Fengnian led the Lingzhou generals as the heir, even if Xu Xiao was still alive and controlled the Lingzhou officialdom, there was still that disturbance.
After Hsu Fengnian greeted everyone, he saw the old soldier of the Lotus Seed Camp, Lin Doufang, and suddenly realized that the Xu family's first generation war blade must have been this one-armed old man's treasure. He remembered that in the early years, Xu Xiao had mentioned it many times, saying that if there was still a first generation Xu Dao in the world today, it would most likely be the one that he personally gave to Lin Doufang as a token of the marriage between the two families. However, later on, Lin Doufang did not have any children. After this first generation general of the Lotus Seed Camp became disheartened, he also disappeared without a trace in Beiliang, so the marriage could only be canceled. The current general of the White Feather Light Cavalry, Yuan Nanting, was from the Lotus Seed Camp. That time, when six hundred old soldiers came to the capital to send His Royal Highness off, Lin Doufang, Yuan Nanting, and the current commander of the Right Cavalry, Jin Partridge Zhou Kang, had both appeared.
Dai Yuanjie brought over two chairs for Hsu Fengnian and Song Yu. After Hsu Fengnian took the chairs, he did not rightfully occupy Yao Baifeng's seat in the middle. He just casually placed them next to Lin Doufang and sat down. As for the head housekeeper of Mount Qing Liang, Song Yu, he simply did not take the chairs. He smiled and shook his head in refusal, holding his breath and standing in the distance with rapt attention.
Yao Baifeng took all of this in. He smiled slightly, and then his expression turned serious. He went straight to the point and asked, "Your Highness, may I ask if Mount Qing Liang has interfered with the incident in Guangling Road's Spring Snow Building?"
The sun of early autumn was warm and gentle, but after Yao Baifeng threw out this question, even Lin Doufang, Wei Tieshan, and the other old generals felt their hearts palpitate. Their originally leisurely sitting postures instantly became stiff and tense.
Hsu Fengnian's expression was as usual. He gently shook his head and smiled. "I would like to have some connections, but unfortunately I don't."
Yao Baifeng stared at the young vassal king's slightly long and narrow eyes, speechless for a long time. It seemed that he did not catch the clues that he had expected. The old man sighed and said to himself, "The signs of a chaotic world. After only a short twenty years of peace, how did it degenerate into such a situation?"
Xu Fengnian's expression was still tranquil. He asked with a slight smile, "Does Mr. Yao think that other than the Mang border where the smoke of war is rising everywhere, even the Central Plains is in turmoil and chaos?"
Yao Baifeng was stunned, and then he smiled bitterly. "Your Highness, there is no need to be so sarcastic. This Old Man asks himself and has never felt that for the stability of the Central Plains, the Beiliang soldiers should die at the border."
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