NOVPUB"Do you want to go in and take a look, Zhongda? One hundred thousand volumes of various books, Chen Zichuan is really generous with his resources!" Sima Lang asked with a grin, poking his head out indelicately at the scene below.
"I am interested in those books, but I am even more interested in these pieces of paper." Sima Yi’s face showed a hint of mockery, looking down upon the scholars below with disdain, and likewise mocking the aristocratic families under heaven for their futile quest for books.
"Don’t even think about that, Chen Zichuan appears to be a versatile type, including the smallest details without omission, just take the Library Pavilion’s grandeur for example, in our eyes, it’s probably worth no less than a few hundred million coins, but when I was bored and did some digging on Chen Zichuan’s past habits, I found he’s the type to stretch a copper coin tenfold, tsk tsk tsk." Sima Lang said with a sigh, "Either the actual expenses weren’t significant, or someone made a donation, both possibilities exist."
"Big brother, I think we ought to stay a few more days in Fenggao, this place isn’t bad at all," said Sima Yi, withdrawing his gaze to focus on the food on the table with a smile on his face.
"I have the same idea, I want to take a good look at Fenggao of Mount Tai, to observe and learn." Sima Lang said indifferently, showing great interest in the current systems and prosperity of Mount Fenggao.
In another place, Zhuge Jin was saying similar things, resolved to become an excellent civil official, he thought highly of the vibrant prosperity of Fenggao and wanted to take a closer look and learn more.
"Hmm, just from the previous situation, including another building, and the recent buzz around the discharged veterans, it seems the opening of the Library Pavilion won’t be far off." Zhuge Liang nodded and said.
Zhuge Liang was very satisfied with Fenggao, it being more prosperous than Xuzhou, and even having more vitality, what a pity though that such prosperity, in the eyes of Zhuge Liang who had traveled widely, was slightly chaotic. However, he didn’t scorn it, well aware that this was just the discordance brought about by rapid rise, and that, given time, it would naturally settle down. Every place on its journey from poverty to wealth cannot avoid this step!
"Let’s go to this restaurant," Zhuge Jin decided, gesturing towards Mi Family Restaurant and leading his younger brother inside.
"Humph, the leading one among the Five Great Merchants, the Mi Family? This restaurant!" Sima Yi swaggered around, scrutinizing the shops around him unabashedly, then stopped in front of Mi Family Restaurant. Without the foundation of a thousand years, suddenly becoming the strongest magnate, Sima Yi thought of what he knew about them as he entered the restaurant run by Mi Zhu with the arrogance of a centuries-old wealthy family.
At Lumen Academy of Jingzhou, after a year of studying, Xu Shu was finally getting into the groove. However, because of his background as a street thug, a year of learning hadn’t yet wiped away his criminal aura, and the majority of the students at Lumen Academy didn’t like him much, and naturally, Xu Shu didn’t like them either.
"Thud!" Xu Shu kicked the door, then instinctively grabbed it, as he had never been in the habit of using his hands to open doors during his thug days. Despite a year of schooling, old habits of a decade persisted, though he had formed a new habit of kicking the door and then catching the doorknob.
"Yuanzhi, just come in directly, never mind the door," the resigned voice of Lord Pang De came through, ever since he impulsively took in Xu Shu, he had had to replace the doors of his rooms at Lumen Academy several times.
"Duke Pang, I’ve arrived, give me some classics to read." Xu Shu entered with a mix of thuggish and scholarly aura, found a place to sit down casually in front of Lord Pang De.
Don’t talk to Xu Shu about the rites of teacher and student. When Lord Pang De found that Xu Shu was a promising sapling that had grown crookedly, he decided to chop it down and let it grow anew as a pillar of society, so he planned to take Xu Shu as his disciple. In the end, even Lord Pang De was dumbfounded by Xu Shu’s theory of the ways of the gangsters from all over the world.
You see, although Xu Shu’s analogy was quite unrefined, imagining the Great Han Dynasty as a small city with rich families, poor citizens, gangsters, and government offices, the explanation somehow made sense with the situation, and the aim was nothing more than becoming the big boss!
Lord Pang De was very surprised, so he took Xu Shu to his Lumen Academy. He didn’t explicitly take him as a disciple. At that time, Xu Shu was in his foolish rogue phase, not showing much respect for Lord Pang De, usually calling him "Old man this, Old man that." But Lord Pang De didn’t mind, and Xu Shu started attending classes at Lumen Academy under the pretense of being Lord Pang De’s friend despite their age difference. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
As time passed, Xu Shu came to understand, but by then, how could he bring himself to ask Lord Pang De to take him as an apprentice when he had spent years as a rogue?
Since Xu Shu didn’t struggle against it, and considering Lord Pang De, whenever he had some insights, would write them down and teach others using his own writings, often bringing over scrolls from his home to discuss, Xu Shu just had to swallow his pride and attend classes with Lord Pang De.
"These are for you, sent by Chen Zichuan." Lord Pang De sighed helplessly as he looked at Xu Shu, who still had a bit of a hoodlum’s air. He was a good seed indeed, his quality nearly matching that of Zhuge Liang and others, but he had grown crookedly, and now he was even sprouting in random directions.
Lord Pang De truly wanted to educate Xu Shu personally, but it was utterly difficult; the fellow was too much of a handful, now even starting to study military strategy, dispatch, formations, aspiring to become commander-in-chief. Lord Pang De had several times wanted to tell Xu Shu to concentrate on one field because he had the potential to become a great strategist, yet it was evident he was playing at random. Studying all these things, did you not want to give up your rogue skills? Now you’re learning to command troops; you should really think it over and ask yourself whether it’s suitable!
After several hints for Xu Shu to focus on one subject, Xu Shu would just toss his head back with an air of invincible genius, leaving Lord Pang De with no choice but to let him be. Maybe the guy really was a genius and would learn it all.
"Chen Zichuan?" Xu Shu thought for a moment; he didn’t seem to have such a friend. Giving books was a grand gesture, especially such fine thread-bound volumes, one worth an entire carriage of treasures. Which rich bigshot was this?
Alright, lately Xu Shu had been in a state of turning a deaf ear to the outside world, focusing solely on the reading the Book of Sages. But it was also because of this that he had been able to reach the standard expected of a second-rate civil official so quickly. If the students of Lumen Academy, who looked down on Xu Shu, knew of his progress, they would probably spit out blood from shock—the rate of improvement was just too fast...
"The strategist under Liu Xuande, Chen Zichuan, asked me to give these to you." Lord Pang De said helplessly. "You should pay more attention to the overall situation of the world lately. A good commander-in-chief, strategist, and civil official all need their unique insights into the grand trend of the world. Working in isolation is not advisable."
"Lord Xuande!" Xu Shu was taken aback and then overjoyed, "I knew Lord Xuande wouldn’t forget about his Chief Secretary. Thank you, I’m going back to my reading. You continue resting; if I have any questions, I’ll come and ask you."
Xu Shu came and went as he pleased, without a hint of scholarly composure. It seemed that until Xu Shu managed to get rid of his rogue habits, he would likely continue to behave this way. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
