Hsu Fengnian said calmly, "You can't ask for a horse carriage but not feed the horse. There's no such good thing in the world. My Xu family doesn't rebel or usurp the throne. We guard the northwest gate for your Zhao family. Ordinary people raise a dog to guard their house and still know how to give food. Zhao family, on the other hand, thinks all day long about this dog whose only weakness is that it doesn't know how to wag its tail and beg for mercy. They quickly starve its fur and bones and then find a good time to stew a pot of dog meat and eat to their heart's content. Even a cornered dog knows how to jump over a wall, let alone the Beiliang cavalry that rolled out of blood. "
Hsu Fengnian suddenly smiled and put down the girl's old boots that he had already roasted. He used an iron tongs to poke at the charcoal fire. "However, if I were the son of Zhao or the crown prince, I would also be on tenterhooks towards the Xu family. How can I allow others to snore beside my bed? It's just that understanding is one thing, but if you want me to accept it, it's absolutely impossible."
The old man smiled knowingly and no longer called Hsu Fengnian 'Your Highness'. He became more intimate. "You brat, your words are quite reasonable, but your actions are skewed."
Hsu Fengnian smiled bitterly. "It's not easy to be the head of the household. Children who make noise get candy. If you don't make a scene and roll around a few times, how can other people take you seriously? "
Chancellor Wang chuckled, "Then how can it be even better?"
Hsu Fengnian followed suit and his eyebrows became more relaxed. He laughed heartily. "Speaking of this makes me feel better."
Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head. "I have to pour cold water on you first. Let's assume that more than half of the six hundred people will make it to Beiliang alive. Have you ever thought about what will happen when there are too many monks and too little porridge? All the scholars in the world are watching how Beiliang will settle these people down. Beiliang's land is narrow and barren. Although there are many official hats, they can't be given away casually. If you give away too many, the official hats won't be worth anything. After you've settled down, no one will be willing to continue working hard for you. Besides, the local forces in Beiliang had their roots intertwined, and most of them were military families that emerged from the Spring and Autumn War. When a dispute arose, who would they side with? Blindly favoring someone was destined to be inhumane. Those who were favoured grew more and more greedy, while those who were neglected grew jealous and resentful. The most difficult part about this was that it wasn't just the bloodstained military affairs that were annoying, it was also the trivial family affairs that were disgusting. I know that after you took over Chen Zhibao, you began to deliberately change the image of a foppish young master in Beiliang. Especially that group of veteran soldiers who have been through hundreds of battles changed their opinion of you. It was not easy. Aren't you afraid that this time, when you set up your own school and enter Beiliang, your efforts will be in vain? Scolding you for being an embroidered pillow who squanders money? "
Hsu Fengnian smiled and said, "As a married woman, the happiest thing in life is not only being able to see eye to eye with your husband, but also two things that are extremely important. The father-in-law is impartial, and the mother-in-law is considerate. Beiliang is thirsty for talented people, but there are many fine horses, but there aren't many Bo Le. Without the hundreds of people from Shangyin School, didn't the Xu family gain a firm foothold in Beiliang? Didn't they beat Beimang until Beimang couldn't raise its head? As for the local tyrants of Beiliang, there are many things that Xu Xiao can't do. I don't mind being the bad guy at all. You have a good relationship with Xu Xiao, and you rely on this relationship to take advantage of the common people in Beiliang. But you don't have that kind of relationship with me, Hsu Fengnian. Hsu Fengnian didn't rely on them to get to where he is today. I'm not biased towards anyone. I'm just trying to reason with the local tyrant and the river dragon. Outside of Northern Liang, I might not be able to reason with you. But in Northern Liang, if you don't reason with me, I'll make sure you suffer the consequences of your actions. If you're a local tyrant, then you can rely on your military exploits to become rich field sheweng or control the military affairs of various provinces and counties. It doesn't matter, these are all things you deserve. However, your table manners are too bad, and you've damaged the foundation of the Xu family's wall. A hoe here and a hammer there dug dog holes, causing a perfectly sturdy wall to leak air from all sides. Don't blame me for using your corpses to fill the holes. If you are a local tyrant, as long as you don't pretend to be virtuous and do things honestly, you will have an official's hat, gold and silver, and you won't lack women. Beiliang's narrow territory also has its advantages, and that is, everywhere you go is under the Xu family's nose. Everything you do can be seen. What the Xu family does is nothing more than the word justice. As for the earnest advice, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, Old Teacher. I think you will also be cursed behind your back. "
Chancellor Wang nodded and said, "With justice and a woman's heart, this bunch of pitiful newlyweds who have lost their maternal families. As long as they are diligent and thrifty, they won't have to worry about not being able to make a name for themselves. There will definitely be bumps and bruises, but at least they won't be so miserable that they have to hang themselves and jump into a well. That's enough. They aren't delicate young ladies from influential families. As long as they have good in-laws who put themselves in their shoes, they will be able to endure hardships. "
Hsu Fengnian smiled and joked, "The first time I saw Old Teacher playing against Xu Xiao at the top of Mount Qing Liang, your words were refined. It's probably because you are interacting with a vulgar person like me that your words are also vulgar."
Old Teacher shook his head and said self-deprecatingly, "This is called choosing the right medicine for the illness depending on the person. Interacting with the King of Beiliang, the number one boorish man in Li Yang, if I deliberately try to worm my way into being friends with him, I will have to deliberately put my arm around his shoulder and drink a lot of wine and eat a lot of meat. Wouldn't that make things difficult for this old man? Besides, the reason why the Art of Vertical and Horizontal is also called the Art of Long and Short is nothing more than using one's strong points against the enemy's weak points. Speaking of which, I would like to be bold enough to test His Royal Highness. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Beiliang and Li Yang? "
Hsu Fengnian said helplessly, "Old Teacher, you will have to ask Xu Beizhi or Chen Xiliang about this. I am not willing to expose my own weak points. Does this count as grasping the surface of the Art of Long and Short?"
Chancellor Wang gave a soft hum.
Hsu Fengnian asked softly, "This young lady's surname is Ouyang. Her grandfather's surname is Ouyang. He is from Takaoka. Has Old Teacher heard of him?"
Chancellor Wang said calmly, "The young lady's father is half a student of mine. He doesn't think highly of Beiliang, so he won't follow her to Beiliang."
Hsu Fengnian nodded. That was good too. Shangyin Academy had suffered such a big change. In order to calm the people down, the academy and the imperial court would definitely have a better life in the future with the knowledge of the goat-horned girl's father.
Hsu Fengnian stood up, "Then let's go?"
Chancellor Wang stood up and smiled, "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"
Hsu Fengnian smiled, "That girl hates tacky people."
The two of them walked out of the house quietly. After Hsu Fengnian closed the door, he hung the jade pendant that he had stolen on the way on the grape rack.
On the second day, the wind and snow stopped. A huge snowman that was as tall as a few people stood beside the Buddha's Palm Lake in Shangyin Academy.
The goat-horned girl ran all the way to Yu Youwei's courtyard and screamed excitedly, "Sister Yu, there is a huge snowman beside the lake. It looks like you!"
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