Zhang Yu stood in the center of the hall, his sleeves naturally hanging to the sides. His bearing and appearance were impeccable. He calmly said, "Before this student gives his advice, I need a map of the protectorate's territory."
Liu Guang smiled. "That's easy."
He gave an order, upon which an assistant walked out. After a while, the clatter of chains could be heard, and then a glass ceiling appeared above. As light and shadow fell, a map appeared on the floor of the hall.
Zhang Yu took the teaching staff from the assistant and pointed at a certain area upstream of the Dan River. "This is the Flood River Pass. Ever since the battle sixty years ago, sixty thousand soldiers of the protectorate have been stationed here year-round, guarding against the warlike native tribes in the depths of the continent and the gods hiding in the shadows."
He moved a few more steps to the side, the teaching staff following the course of the Dan River for a certain distance before finally pointing at a large blank area.
"This is the Open Plains, a vast plain that stretches as far as the eye can see, without any danger to defend. To the east is the gentle region of the An Mountains, crisscrossed by ravines and broken terrain. It was originally desolate and uninhabited, but because the protectorate altered the climate, some areas gradually became suitable for grazing and farming. Thus, in the past sixty years, there have been numerous native tribes from the east of the An Mountains moving here under the pretext of paying respects to the ancestral gods."
At this point, Zhu Anshi and the other two guessed that his advice had something to do with these natives.
Zhang Yu continued, "Because the area of the Open Plains is too vast, the protectorate's population simply isn't enough to digest it. Moreover, these natives are relatively well-behaved, so in the early years, in order to avoid war on two fronts, we adopted a policy of pacification, which has continued to this day. However, what this student wishes to say is that by next year at the latest, a new native tribe will move here."
Liu Guang revealed an expression of interest. "Gentleman Zhang, will there be any problems with this tribe?"
Zhang Yu raised his head to look at the three. "This tribe is called 'Chakzhanu', meaning 'hard and sharp claws'. It is a large tribe with at least twenty thousand native warriors." He emphasized, "It is also a native tribe that the protectorate has never come into contact with before."
"What?"
Zhu Anshi and the other two were shocked. Just the tribal warriors alone weren't much. After all, stone spears and bone arrows couldn't contend against firearms, cannons, and steel weapons.
However, the number of warriors in this tribe was enough to produce at least a hundred tribal priests with extraordinary abilities, and perhaps one or two native gods. When the three were combined, their strength was extremely impressive.. This would pose a great threat to the protectorate's rule over the southern territories..
Zhu Anshi couldn't help but take a step forward and ask, "Where did you learn all of this?
Zhang Yu said, "Three years ago, when I went out to travel, I lived for a period of time at the junction of the An Mountain Range and the lower reaches of the Dan River. I can be said to have an understanding of most of the indigenous tribes living in that area."
"In fact, this Sharp Claw Tribe had been migrating westward for many years and had many conflicts with the local tribes in the process. But at that time, I wasn't sure if they would cross Mount An to the west. It wasn't until I flipped through the newspapers these days and saw the aboriginal barbarians with blue stripes on their faces, feathered crowns on their heads, and sharp claw symbols on their faces appearing in the Protectorate's territory that I was sure of this matter."
Zhu Anshi immediately called over an assistant and said with a solemn expression, "Bring me all the newspapers from the protectorate in the past half a month."
Liu Guang said at this time, "Gentleman Zhang, looking at your self-recommendation card, you were only fourteen three years ago, right?"
Zhang Yu replied, "Yes."
In fact, he had been twelve when he left for his travels. But two years ago, he had been with that teacher. That teacher had told him not to mention himself in front of others, so he had skipped this part.
Xin Yao pushed up her glasses. "Amazing."
Liu Guang asked curiously, "Gentleman Zhang, how did you think of going there?"
Zhang Yu was silent for a moment, as if he had sunk into some memories of the past. Then, he began to narrate.
"When this student was studying ancient natural history, I discovered that even though the protectorate had been on this continent for a hundred years, their understanding of the indigenous civilizations was still extremely limited. Moreover, the legends and origins of most of the indigenous tribes were on the other side of Mount An. Thus, the idea of going there to investigate was born …"
He then roughly described the various difficulties and dangers he encountered in that area. Due to the effect of "Yu Yun", his voice was extremely infectious, and his observation of things was very unique and meticulous. Even if one only listened to his narration, it would give one a feeling of being in the same place.
The three of them didn't understand Zhang Yu very well, but at this moment, they naturally imagined him as a young scholar with a fearless spirit and the courage to explore.
At this moment, an assistant walked in with a large stack of newspapers. The three of them immediately split up to investigate and quickly found the information Zhang Yu had mentioned.
Because these barbarians weren't taken seriously, their records only appeared in the corners. In fact, the only reason they appeared in the newspapers was because these barbarians had killed a few spiritual creatures. If one didn't pay special attention or was extremely sensitive in this aspect, it would indeed be very easy to overlook them.
The three of them immediately realized that Zhang Yu had used the pretext of advising as an excuse to deliver an incomparably important piece of information.
And if they used it well, they would be able to seize the initiative in the next council meeting!
After Zhu Anshi, Liu Guang, and Xin Yao whispered a few words, he said to Zhang Yu, "Zhang Shaolang, please wait for a moment."
Zhang Yu clasped his hands and said, "This student will wait."
Thus, Zhu Anshi and the other two came together to a council hall on the side.
Liu Guang was very excited. Without even sitting down, he said, "Teacher Zhu, Teacher Xin, the information Zhang Shaolang brought is very useful. Just based on this, he can pass this self-recommendation. I propose that this time, the three of us jointly recommend him as a teacher of the academy."
Zhu Anshi suddenly said, "I don't agree."
Liu Guang revealed an expression of astonishment. He thought for a moment and then suddenly laughed, "Could it be that Teacher Zhu is afraid of damaging his reputation? Actually, there's no need. I thought that on this matter, even the academy would give in, let alone our insignificant reputation. "
"That's not the reason." Zhu Anshi's expression became serious, saying, "Teacher Liu, Teacher Xin, this Zhang Shaolang can stay. We can also compensate him in other areas, but we absolutely cannot give him a teaching position!"
Liu Guang was very puzzled, saying, "Teacher Zhu, why? Can you tell us the reason? "
Xin Yao quietly looked at Zhu Anshi, as if also waiting for an answer.
Zhu Anshi said in a low voice, "The two of you, actually, we don't know this person very well. We only heard some of his words that were difficult to distinguish between the truth and the lies. We don't know the extent of his knowledge, and we don't know anything about his character. Just because he brought a piece of information, we want him to become a teacher of the academy? I can't agree! "
At this point, he said in a more serious tone, "You must know that a teacher of the academy is a role model. How can we easily give it to someone with an unknown background?"
Taiyang Academy was an academy under the jurisdiction of Tianxia's Ministry of Rites. It still had a somewhat old-fashioned atmosphere and was more inclined towards morality. They believed that morality was the foundation of a person's existence, and knowledge was secondary.
Just now, he had been influenced by Zhang Yu's words and thought the same as Liu Guang. He couldn't help but want to agree, but now that he had calmed down, he felt that this matter was very inappropriate.
At the end of the day, Zhang Yu didn't use his knowledge to convince him. Instead, he used a method that seemed more opportunistic to him.
Now, he was especially worried that Zhang Yu was a despicable person with a bad character.
If that was the case, the teachers in charge of the examination would be implicated. However, if this damaged the reputation of Taiyang Academy, or even worse, it would be a huge mistake.
Liu Guang argued with him, "But Teacher Zhu, you should know how important this information is. The Protectorate has always used the strategy of suppressing the north and pacifying the south. Right now, only this Zhang Shaolang knows the language of the Tough Claw Tribe. If we want to communicate with this tribe, we can't do without him. If we don't give him a position and status, how can he contribute to Taiyang Academy?"
Zhu Anshi said with a firm expression, "If he's a person who understands the importance of the greater good and knows how to look at the big picture, then we only need to clearly explain the pros and cons of this matter. Then, he will naturally contribute to us. If he's not willing to do so, then it means that he's just an opportunistic person. In that case, we definitely can't condone this kind of behavior! Furthermore, since we already know about this information, I don't believe that the wise people of the academy can't think of a feasible way to deal with an aboriginal tribe. "
Liu Guang was so angry that he laughed. The Protectorate might be in danger, yet you're talking about morals with others at this time? Have you become muddle-headed from all the studying?
Clearly, they could use the lowest cost method to solve the problem, but they just had to complicate things. He didn't know what to say.
However, this matter required all three of them to agree. If even one of them objected, then they wouldn't be able to get through. He didn't have any ideas at the moment. Suppressing the irritation in his chest, he sat down heavily, picked up the tea on the table, and gulped down a few mouthfuls.
Zhu Anshi looked at the two of them and said seriously, "I also know that this Zhang Shaolang is a talent. However, the more such a person is, the more dangerous he will be when he reaches a high position. I don't want another Yao Hongyi to appear in the Commissar in the future."
Liu Guang also fell silent. Just as he was about to say something, the helper from before hurried over with a few newspapers in his hands. He looked over and said, "Where did these newspapers come from? Did I miss them just now? "
The helper bowed and said, "Teacher Liu, these newspapers were just published today. I felt that the three teachers might need them, so I acted on my own initiative and brought them here."
Liu Guang nodded and sent the helper away. With this interruption, he forgot what he wanted to say just now. He took the newspapers and skimmed through them, but his movements paused for a moment. He then brought them closer to take a closer look, and his expression became subtle. He looked up at Zhu Anshi and said, "Teacher Zhu, I remember that this Gentleman Zhang Yu is called Zhang Yu, right? Moreover, according to the road signs, he came to the capital on the passenger ship Dafu. "
Zhu Anshi was puzzled. "Yes, what about it?"
"I think Teacher Zhu should take a look at this." Liu Guang handed the newspapers over.
Zhu Anshi received them in puzzlement and flipped through them. What entered his eyes was a realistic depiction of a huge monster. A young man stood on a lone island, and a ship was sailing away into the distance.
"Heavenly salamander?"
As a teacher of ancient natural history, it was not difficult for him to recognize this kind of monster. However, when he read further, he was stunned.
The newspaper reported in detail that the Dafu was in danger. A young man stood out and imitated the sound of a young Heavenly salamander. He stayed behind alone to attract the monster's attention and covered the entire process of the ship's retreat.
The entire article did not have any artistic embellishments or personal feelings mixed in. It was purely a record of the entire incident.
However, it was precisely such a simple and almost callous statement, coupled with that black and white picture, that deeply shocked people.
Liu Guang looked at Zhu Anshi, who was in a daze for a long time, and said in a Solemnly tone, "Teacher Zhu, I believe that a person who is willing to sacrifice himself in times of danger to save others has an impeccable character. At least, I can't be like him."
"Don't say anymore …" Zhu Anshi's hand holding the newspaper trembled slightly. He raised his head with red eyes and said, "This is a true gentleman. I almost made a big mistake! I am willing to join the two teachers and recommend him to be a teacher of the academy! "
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