Meet the Gentleman

Chapter 8 Eighty-one Academy
On the bank of Lingshui River in front of Caotang.

Several young men who came with the ship walked on the snow and looked around, with disappointment in their eyes and some regret in their hearts. As one of the 81 Confucian academies, the gap between Zangshan Academy and other academies is too big.

How can this compete with other colleges?

However, it is not easy to get into the top ten academies in the second class, especially the top three academies in the first class, where the competition is too fierce.

However, there are tens of thousands of academies in the world, but there are only eighty-one registered Confucian academies.

Therefore, even the worst registered Confucian academy is still a top academy in the whole world, and countless students want to enter but are unable to do so.

The young men were silent for a while.

"We are here for the ten great disciples of the academy, why should we care about others?"

An older boy looked at everyone and smiled, saying, "If it were one of the top ten academies, there would be so many talented people there that we wouldn't have a chance to compete. Although Zangshan Academy is newly built and doesn't have anything, and there's not even a great scholar in charge, it's our chance..."

When the young men heard this, they suddenly came to their senses.

"correct."

A young man slapped his thigh and said, feeling a little excited, "If I can become one of the top ten disciples of the academy, haha..."

"just you?"

One girl glanced at the boy and didn't believe it at all.

Even in a newly built academy, it is still not easy to become one of the top ten disciples. They can think of coming to the newly built academy to compete for the position of the top ten disciples, and other students can think of it as well.

I'm afraid that many people had already started planning when the academy was not yet decided.

Being one of the top ten disciples of the academy is more than just an honor...

"What's wrong, I can't?"

The young man snorted coldly and said, "I'll take these ten disciples."

"Haha, that's just a foolish dream." The girl said with some ridicule, "Even if it's me, I may not be able to win the position of the top ten disciples, let alone you?"

"We'll see."

The young man became angry and left in anger.

"All right."

At this time, the sixteen-year-old boy surrounded by them said in a deep voice, looking at the girl with a sense of teaching, "Zhu Yan, stop talking." Then he looked at the boy who was leaving and shouted, "Liu Ling, you came back and got irritated with just a few words. Have you studied for nothing all these years?"

The boy had no choice but to stop.

"In fact, it would be best if the top ten disciples could win, but it doesn't matter if they don't win."

The oldest boy took a look and changed the subject. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he added, "Actually, the main reason our parents sent us to the academy was to become the disciples of Dean An..."

"I heard that Dean An is the best person under the great scholar." A 13 or 14-year-old boy asked curiously, "Is this true?"

"of course it's true."

The oldest boy answered, and then whispered, "I've also heard that Master An will become a great scholar within ten years, and even a great sage. Otherwise, how could he surpass other great scholars and take charge of the last academy on the list?"

"The figure of a great sage?"

The 13 or 14-year-old boy was surprised and asked, "Qi Ming, who told you that?"

The oldest boy glanced at the sixteen-year-old boy, smiled and said nothing more.

"Becoming the entry-level disciple of Dean An is probably more difficult than becoming one of the ten great disciples..." The sixteen-year-old boy looked at everyone and shook his head. Even he did not have full confidence. "Even being a registered disciple is not easy."

……

In the mountains, the mountain spirit took Feng Qingyan through the woods.

Thanks to its hard work, it even picked an ancient Ganoderma lucidum, which made Feng Qingyan happy for a while.

Just this Ganoderma lucidum was worth his trip to the mountains.

While picking herbs, it gradually got dark.

Feng Qingyan ate some dry food, then closed his eyes and carefully recalled what he had learned in the past few days, and then reviewed the characters stroke by stroke on the snow...

Continue collecting herbs during the day.

In the blink of an eye, another day passed. When he came out of the burial mountain carrying a bamboo basket full of herbs, four days had passed.

However, when he saw the academy that was suddenly under construction in full swing, he could not help but be surprised. In just four short days, the surroundings of the thatched cottage had changed drastically.

He took a look and returned to the cabin, only to find that it was almost designated as part of the academy.

Feng Qingyan rested for a while, then headed for Bocheng carrying the herbs, and met several horse-drawn carriages on the road.

When passing Lingshui Bridge, one of the carriages stopped beside him. A handsome young man with extraordinary temperament lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked at Feng Qingyan, who was still unworldly despite carrying a bamboo basket of herbs. He smiled and said, "Brother, are you going to Bocheng?"

"Exactly."

Feng Qingyan turned around and said, observing the other party.

"I'm also going to Bocheng. Would you like to join me?" The young man with extraordinary temperament invited with a smile.

Lingshui Bridge was still more than ten miles away from Bocheng. Feng Qingyan thought about it and decided not to be pretentious. He bowed slightly and got on the carriage.

Besides, he also wanted to meet some people and make some friends.

As for the medicine basket, it was taken over by the coachman.

The carriage was plainly decorated. On the left was a low table with a book on it. Behind the young man who was sitting cross-legged, there were several bamboo scrolls and a dozen old books neatly stacked...

"My name is Zhou Chang. I'd like to ask you your name." The young man bowed with a smile.

"Feng Qingyan, nice to meet you, Brother Zhou."

Feng Qingyan sat down cross-legged and leaned forward to return the greeting.

"From Brother Feng's accent, are you from Bocheng?" Zhou Chang was a little surprised.

"I am half a Bocheng native." Feng Qingyan said, and then asked curiously, "Brother Zhou, are you here for the academy? I have seen many foreign students come here recently, and they all seem to be here for the academy. Why?"

"Exactly."

Zhou Chang nodded. Knowing that Feng Qingyan was from the north, he explained, "What is being built is one of the 81 Confucian academies. It has a high status in the hearts of scholars all over the world, so naturally countless scholars will come from far and wide."

Confucianism?

Eighty-one Academy?

Feng Qingyan was a little curious, but didn't ask rashly.

They soon arrived at Bocheng. Feng Qingyan bowed to Zhou Chang and turned around, walking towards the pharmacy carrying the medicine basket on his back.

In front of the carriage, Zhou Chang watched Feng Qingyan disappear before turning around, walking back to the carriage and sitting down, and sighed, "I never thought that in such a small city like Bo, I would meet such an extraordinary person..."

Although Feng Qingyan had been collecting herbs in the Burial Mountain for several days, his white clothes were still spotless.

The temperament is still extraordinary and refined.

This time, he collected herbs and sold them for nearly ten taels of silver, of which the Ganoderma lucidum was sold for more than seven taels of silver. If he just wanted to live a simple life, it would be enough for him to live for three to five months, but he was interested in the holy way, so he naturally needed the four treasures of the study, etc.

Even if you use it sparingly, it won't last long.

On the way back, he thought about the money problem, but couldn't find any solution for the time being.

Before I knew it, I was back at Lingshui Bridge. From afar, I could see hundreds or even thousands of craftsmen scattered around the thatched cottage on the grassy slopes, ridges, mountain streams, valleys, etc. Some were splitting the mountains to get stones, some were cutting trees to build bridges, some were digging the ground to make lakes, some were filling pits to build buildings...

There was a craftsman who used water to measure the flat ground, hung a rope to straighten a pillar, and observed the sun's shadow to straighten the four directions.

There were also craftsmen who recorded the shadow of sunrise, noon and sunset during the day, and at night they used the position of the pole star to correct the morning and evening shadows.

The academy covers an area of ​​several miles and has nine longitude and nine latitude roads.

In front is the gatehouse square, in the middle are the schools of various classics, on the left are the temples of the saints, on the right is the place for the emperor's art, and in the back are the teachers' and students' quarters, with countless pavilions and towers in between.

This opened Feng Qingyan's eyes and he was secretly amazed.

……

PS: Please collect and recommend!

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(End of this chapter)