July 30th, the end of the month break at the Protectorate.
The Army of God's deputy commandant, Yan Xulun, sat on a luxurious carpet, sipping tea as he flipped through a book.
He was 59 years old this year, but he had taken good care of himself. His eyes were spirited, his sideburns were plump, his skin was lustrous, and there were few wrinkles on his face. Add to that the fact that he had trained for a long time, and his muscles were firm and full, he looked no older than 30.
Because the book had been sent here not long after it had been printed, there was still a thick stench of ink on it. However, he didn't seem to mind it at all, carefully flipping through page after page, nodding from time to time.
The book wasn't written in the Tianxia language, but rather an ancient language that he had asked Qiu Xueling to spend 20 years searching through an ancient tree bark book.
According to Qiu Xueling's research, this was the language used by the ancestors of the Antuko people, the Antuko people. He now called it "Anwen."
Yan Xulun's own name was a typical Tianxia name, but he was actually of mixed Anxia blood.
In the Army of God, there were people like this everywhere. There was even a large portion of them who didn't know the Tianxia language, only taking on a Tianxia name. For example, Su Kuang, who had been seriously injured by Zhang Yu, was such a case.
Thus, the Army of God was the group of people who were most afraid of the Protectorate making contact with Tianxia, whether from birth or personal interests.
A golden bell rang outside the door, and a servant walked in, bowing. "Commandant, Mr. Xiao is here."
Yan Xulun put down the book and said, "Invite him in."
After a while, a young man in his late twenties walked in, holding a folding fan and wearing a robe.
It was clearly not his first time here. As he walked into the hall, he bowed and said casually, "What business does Commandant Yan have with me today? What article do you want to write? "
Yan Xulun gestured, and a servant passed a prepared newspaper to Xiao Qingshu. He said, "Mr. Xiao, what do you think of this person in the newspaper?"
Xiao Qingshu took the newspaper, opened it, and looked at it. She laughed and said, "Oh, it's Zhang Canzhi. I know this person. I've been paying attention to him recently. All the articles about him recently came from the newspaper under the banner of the Anxun Association. It's obvious that the Anxun Association is promoting him. They want to promote him as a 'scholar' next year."
Yan Xulun nodded and said, "Mr. Xiao is very accurate. Mr. Xiao, your elder brother is the head of the household. You yourself have been a writer for the Si Li Yamen, so you should be familiar with the etiquette system. Please tell me, is it possible for this Zhang Yu, erm, Zhang Canzhi to become a 'scholar'? "
Xiao Qingshu said matter-of-factly, "If no one stops him, then of course. Slaying the Heaven's Salamander, saving the lives of a ship's people, signing the treaty, repulsing the enemy of ten thousand soldiers while talking and laughing, killing the incarnation of God, protecting the director of the Antuko. Any one of these things is enough for him to become a 'Scholar', not to mention that he did all three. "
Yan Xulun's thoughts were deep. He did not show anything on the surface, but he was very vigilant in his heart.
The number of 'Scholars' was very small, at most thirty or forty people. The reason why he was not sure of the number was because some of them were too old and had been living in seclusion on the outer islands, rarely coming to participate in the meeting. So he did not know if those old guys were still alive.
But it was undeniable that once he became a 'Scholar', from Zhang Yu's birth to his current identity, and the attitude he had shown to the Army of God in the past, this person was destined to be their enemy.
This was only in terms of public affairs. If it was private …
In short, such a person who was destined to be their enemy could not be allowed to grow!
He said, "Then may I ask Sir Xiao if there is a way to stop this matter and restrain this person?"
Xiao Qingshu snorted and said, "I once inquired about this person's past. He is a Xuanfu cultivator who usually lives in seclusion and does not seem to have any hobbies. The only criticism is that he entered the Education Palace through self-recommendation, so he might not be liked by those old fogeys. But not only did he beat back the Sturdy Claw Tribe and prevent a battle, he even got these Earth Barbarians to take the initiative to learn Tianxia's language. Those old fogeys might have changed their view of him. "
Educating the Earth Barbarians and spreading good across the land, in the eyes of the traditional conservative faction, this was even more impressive than beating back the enemy with words. Just this point alone was enough to overlook the matter of self-recommendation.
In reality, Xiao Qingshu still felt that it was somewhat inconceivable. Zhang Yu was actually able to get the Earth Barbarians to take the initiative to learn Tianxia's language? Ever since the establishment of the Protectorate, such a thing had never happened.
Some people said that this was the work of Yang Ying's thirty thousand soldiers. However, he scoffed at this. When the Protectorate arrived, wasn't the military might even greater? He also did not see any Earth Barbarian tribe take the initiative to make such a request.
Hearing him say this, Yan Xulun was not the slightest bit anxious. He smiled and said, "Sir Xiao, I believe you must have a way."
Xiao Qingshu smiled. At this moment, he looked to his left and right. The servant beside him was very perceptive, immediately bringing over a soft stool covered with a brocade cushion. He sat down and said, "Actually, it's not like there's no breakthrough. Scholars don't just have to rely on the Protectorate's reputation, they also have to look at the reputation of the people." He used his finger to draw a circle, as if stirring something, "There's room for manipulation here."
Yan Xulun nodded and said, "Sir Xiao, please continue."
Xiao Qingshu opened his fan and fanned himself twice, saying, "If you want to ruin a person's reputation, you have to start with his morals. In the past, many people have fallen for this. This is also a tried and tested method."
Yan Xulun said, "But Sir Xiao, you also said that this Zhang Yu is a cultivator. He lives a simple life, and I'm afraid you can't find any stains on his morals."
Xiao Qingshu chuckled and said, "Nobody is perfect. It depends on how much effort we're willing to put in."
Yan Xulun could hear the double meaning in his words. He smiled generously and said, "Since Sir Xiao is confident, then I'll leave this matter to Sir Xiao. If it's successful, you can name the price."
"Good!" Xiao Qingshu's spirit was greatly aroused. He cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll try!"
After Xiao Qingshu bid farewell to Yan Xulun, he returned to his own residence. For the next few days, he began to search for Zhang Yu's past.
These things were difficult to find, but he relied on his brother's position as the head of the Department of Revenue. Through bribery, intimidation, and other means, he secretly forced an official of the Department of Revenue to copy a portion of Zhang Yu's travel documents.
He studied it carefully and found that there were almost no records of Zhang Yu after he entered the Education Palace. There were only a few places where he appeared before he boarded the Great Fortune. However, those places were too remote, and many of them were abandoned. It was impossible for him to investigate.
However, there were some places on the Great Fortune's travel records that were unclear.
Now, it seemed that he could only start from there. Thus, he decided to use Jin Yuan to pave the way and ordered his subordinates to gather information about Zhang Yu's specific experiences on the Great Fortune.
After he explained this matter, he picked up a newspaper on the table and read it. However, after just a few glances, he gritted his teeth and said, "It's this Tao Sheng again!"
As a person who relied on his mouth to make a living, he hated the person named "Tao Sheng" very much.
Previously, under Yan Xulun's instructions, he would often fabricate some things. For example, he would give the An people a grand origin, or boast that the An people's former tribe was a rich and powerful civilized country. He would also say that the An people's light yellow eyes were golden and that they were the descendants of the Sun God, and so on.
However, many of the stories he made up were completely exposed by Tao Sheng. Moreover, he cited the classics with detailed textual research and sources.
They all needed to make a living. Was there a need to be so ruthless?
Fortunately, it was not that he was helpless. Every time, he would avoid the topic.
You talk about textual research with me, I talk about legends with you; you talk about legends with me, I talk about humanities with you; you talk about humanities with me, I talk about blood relations with you.
In short, you talk about yours, and I talk about mine.
Even so, due to the limited space of the newspaper, there was not enough space for conversion. Therefore, he ended up in a miserable state every time.
However, the debate between the two people in the newspaper was very popular among the people. As a result, the sales of the newspaper increased a lot. Therefore, it unexpectedly increased his reputation, which also brought him a lot of benefits.
However, what made him unhappy was that among the things that the people liked, it included him jumping up and down every time, being refuted to the point of being black and blue, but still being stubborn.
For the sake of money, he endured it.
He put down the newspaper and glanced at the contract letter sent by the newspaper office on the corner of the table. He snorted and showed a look of disdain.
Now that he had Yan Xulun's business, did he still need to go up and ask for a scolding?
He sneered a few times, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and began to make up the article honestly.
This time, his thoughts were like a fountain. He did not stop until the evening. Looking at the article on the paper, the writing was smooth and changeable. He was quite satisfied.
Although he knew that this article would be refuted as worthless garbage in a few days, there was a strange sense of joy in his heart.
At this time, a servant came in and whispered a few words in his ear.
He said in surprise, "Where is he?"
The servant said, "Just outside the door."
Xiao Qingshu said, "Good, good. Quickly take him to the side hall."
After giving the order, he changed his clothes and walked out. He saw a bearded middle-aged man sitting in the living room. He looked very down and out.
However, from his hands without calluses and relatively white skin, it could be seen that this person used to be a person who lived like a prince. Although the clothes on his body were a bit shabby, they were very close to his body. They must have been tailored by a professional.
He cupped his hands and said very politely, "This one is Xiao Qingshu. May I ask how to address you?"
The middle-aged man stood up and bowed. He was a bit flattered and replied, "This one is Helian Zhan. Mr. Xiao can call me Helian."
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