NOVPUB"Yuzhou’s Uncle Chen pays his respects to Lord Xuande," said Hua Xiong as he let go of Chen Dao, who then respectfully saluted Liu Bei.
"What a magnificent man," Liu Bei said with a smile.
Soon, the group of ten was complete, and Liu Bei led them inside. He pushed open the two large glass doors and sighed as he looked at the familiar arrangement beneath his feet, as well as the rows upon rows of paper books filling the shelves. "Wen Ru, regardless of how much Zichuan has spent, at the very least, he wasn’t joking initially."
With that, Liu Bei picked up a book about agriculture from the shelf. It detailed how to farm in a straightforward way, without any superfluous words—simply how to make your acre of land produce more. However, after all, it was a book, and those who could understand it were generally not the ones who needed to farm.
At the end, he saw the authors listed: collected by Zhao Yun, compiled by Qu Qi, and it even playfully noted "to be continued" with further additions possible at any time.
Taking a few steps further, Liu Bei noticed a big sign marked "Political Strategy" and pulled out a book. It outlined how to handle various governmental affairs. He didn’t need to look at the last page to know the author. It had to be Liu Ye’s work—a very useful book, and Liu Bei could guarantee that, at the end, it would certainly say "to be continued". Liu Ye had been working on it for ages and still hadn’t finished it.
Moving on to a large collection of miscellaneous works, he pulled out several volumes. "Confucian School, Taoism, metaphysical theories, and various compilations of immortal gods’ legends, geographical oddities—does this ’miscellaneous’ category aim to encompass everything?"
Elsewhere, Cai Yan stared at a stack of Classics of Music, taking out a thin volume and flipping through its pages, the content clear to her heart. Thinking of her father Cai Yong, who had restored this Classic of Music and lamented that he hadn’t finished the book in his lifetime, nor managed to disseminate it, Cai Yan quietly returned the book to the shelf, realizing that Mount Tai had accomplished what her father had always wanted to do.
Chen Chi picked up a copy of ’Strategies of the Warring States,’ a work he had once read. Compared to the previous half-cart of letters, this copy contained everything, and he slowly set the book down.
Looking at the full shelf of commentaries on ’Strategies of the Warring States,’ Chen Chi gently touched the bookshelf and thought it was good to have come to Mount Tai, for who knows how many people’s intellect had crystallized in that shelf of books!
If Chen Xi were here, he would certainly tell Chen Chi that he had traded these items with Zheng Xuan and others. They provided the original versions and the people, were willing to pay, and then he printed the books. When sold to the world later, the profit was all his. What a good man indeed!
In fact, many copies of Lord Pang De’s Military Strategy, Huang Chengyan’s Formation, and Sima Hui’s Political Strategy had also been printed, but those were obtained by Jian Yong after much effort from the three men and weren’t even the complete editions.
Still, even so, they were considered profound. The essence of these Great Aristocratic Clans’ collections was reproduced in several copies by Chen Xi. Apart from the free paper versions sent back to their families, all molds remained in Mount Tai. As for the items now in their hands, Lord Pang De and others looked somewhat regretful at the paper versions presented by their children and nephews; had they known earlier, they would have taken everything to Mount Tai and requested hundreds of sets to store at home. Now, all they had were incomplete volumes.
These three individuals belonged to the Enlightened Faction, for they had indeed acquired new knowledge from Chen Xi while exchanging their own collected classics, such as the imitation edition of "Gongshu’s Ingenuity" with its focus on farming tools, practical implements, and ingenious devices created by Chen Xi...
What these three cared about more was the exchange of ideas between sages, and the sparks of thought that emerged from such interactions. These were the truly important things. While the family’s classic books were certainly precious, nothing was as vital as surpassing what came before and bringing forth new ideas.
As Liu Bei turned to leave, he noticed on both sides of the main entrance of the Library Pavilion, two lines carved into the wall, "The sea accepts all rivers and has the capacity to hold much; a stand of a thousand ren is steadfastly strong without desires."
"Zichuan, oh Zichuan, you truly are..." Liu Bei sighed and said, not just considering the monetary value of the buildings, but more keenly aware that the books were invaluable. He was uncertain how much effort Chen Xi had put into collecting these texts. The several thousand volumes that had originally come from the Cai Family paled in comparison to even a fraction of what was here, and how Chen Xi managed to gather them was beyond him.
"Lord Xuande, this place can be described as outwardly beautiful and inwardly wise. Since Zichuan has built it thus, he surely has his reasons. With such a place under Lord Xuande’s rule, scholars will be able to return and devote themselves to Mount Tai, and Zichuan’s planned second step can be initiated. Through the ages, the aspiration of various masters from the Pre-Qin era to enlighten the people has finally been started by Chen Zichuan," Li Youu said with a gentle smile appearing on his face.
Li Youu seemed to be bathed in radiance, transforming from his originally indifferent and unfeeling demeanor to becoming gentle and upright. At that moment, he saw the goal he had pursued for forty years.
"It’s just a pity about the expenses," Liu Bei said with a laugh. "Let’s go take a look at Jingling Palace, Zichuan won’t disappoint me."
"Lord Xuande, for the Great Aristocratic Families and the Aristocratic Clans, if they wish to submit, then allow them to. If they are unwilling, then dispose of them as you see fit. There’s no need to be concerned anymore. The era when Aristocratic Clans controlled wisdom for thousands of years will gradually come to an end. Zichuan has already laid out the path to their destruction. It may take a hundred years before we see this outcome, but the conclusion is already certain," Li Youu said respectfully.
Chen Xi had undertaken the task that Li Youu had most wanted to do. Although it might take over a hundred years to see the result, the fate of the Great Clans returning to dust was already sealed. As long as talents no longer emerged solely from the Great Clans, given enough time, they would naturally fall. The newly emerging Great Clans would no longer maintain the kind of thousand-year blessings that the Nobles of the Spring and Autumn period enjoyed, and the lower classes finally saw a glimmer of hope, faint though it was, it wasn’t the complete darkness of before.
"I understand," Liu Bei said, nodding, "Zichuan told me long ago not to worry about those issues. They will fall from glory into the mundane world, and a new radiance will be reborn from the ruins!"
Liu Bei was not fully aware of Chen Xi’s long-term arrangements, but this did not hinder his trust in Chen Xi. He believed that nothing Chen Xi did would harm him. Although sometimes Chen Xi’s methods frightened him, in retrospect, it seemed that every time it was more due to his own weak heart; Chen Xi wasn’t doing it on purpose.
"Fall into the mundane world," Li Youu softly repeated. When had he begun to yield under the massive shadow of the Great Aristocratic Clans? There was a time when he was spirited and determined to drag all the Great Clans into hell. He had sworn to the heavens to fight for a chance of survival for Humble Scholars like himself. When had he started to cave into that overwhelming shadow?
Li Youu slowly straightened up his body. Yes, he had indeed let his heart be clouded. He’d lost the bravado to fight against the Great Aristocratic Families, lost the courage to take a Back-to-Water stand for the Humble Family he represented. So what if he had failed before? This time he had comrades who shared his convictions. He was no longer fighting alone. He was willing to once again step onto the War Chariot to fight for the ideals of the past!
(To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote and donate monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
