I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 7: The Heart That Comes to Your Door

Wei Jia was stunned when he saw Li Quan and Zhao Xing, who were so arrogant just now, being scared away by Yuan Shu.

How could a child have such great power?
Yuan Shu? Yuan?

Could it be him?

Wei Jia suddenly remembered the legend of the rebellious boy Yuan Shu, which had been widely circulated among his disciples in recent times. It was said that this man was very arrogant and sharp-tongued because he was born into the Yuan family of Runan. He not only criticized the Modern Text Confucianism, but also criticized the Ancient Text Confucianism.

As a result, he incurred public anger, and many disciples expressed their intention to teach Yuan Shu a lesson. However, what happened afterwards shocked many people - the disciples were defeated miserably, and Yuan Shu won a great victory.

Many disciples were surprised by this and felt that the previous rumors seemed to be a bit problematic, but their channels for obtaining information were limited and they did not know the specific details. Now, the legendary figure appeared in front of them, and Wei Jia felt dazed.

"You run really fast... It's a shame not to compete in the 110-meter hurdles..."

Yuan Shu sighed and was feeling depressed because he didn't have a suitable person to bully. Turning around, he saw Wei Jia staring at him blankly with a pair of big eyes.

"See what I do?"

Yuan Shu thought of what happened just now and said with a smile: "My senior brother, did you have any conflicts with Li and Zhao just now? I saw that they scolded you very harshly. Did you make any mistakes and were caught by them?"

Wei Jia shuddered, came to his senses, and lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Yuan Shu.

"Mr. Yuan, don't be like this. You are the senior brother, and I... Wei is just an ordinary disciple."

"What's wrong with being an ordinary disciple? To be honest, who among us is not a disciple of the Ma family?"

Yuan Shu smiled, walked forward, looked at the bamboo slips in his hand, and asked, "Could it be that Lord Wei was asking questions to Li and Zhao just now?"

"…………"

Wei Jia was stunned for a moment, then nodded blankly.

"Yes, I think Senior Brother Li and Senior Brother Zhao are in a bad mood today, so... so..."

Speaking of this, Wei Jia couldn't help choking up when he thought of what had just happened.

Yuan Shu looked at him and probably knew what had happened.

"What bad mood? You are relying on your high birth to wantonly humiliate others. This kind of person is really... It seems that Yuan will have to have a few good debates with you before he can correct your wrong behavior!"

What Yuan despises and hates the most are people who bully others by taking advantage of their power.

the reason is simple.

Given Yuan's background, he has never bullied others. How dare you little Karamis bully others in front of Yuan?
What's the difference between this and pretending to be a beast in front of a tiger?
It is simply the opposite of Tiangang!

Looking at Yuan Shu's indignant expression, Wei Jia was unable to react.

Is Yuan Shu standing up for him?
During all these years of studying, except for a few senior students like Zheng and Lu who were more patient and spoke in a gentle tone when answering his questions, most of the disciples were quite cold in their attitude towards them. They would scold them harshly if they were not satisfied at all, as if they were Ma Rong.

But the disciples who were reprimanded were submissive and did not dare to refute, so they could only endure it.

In the hierarchical imperial society, one level oppresses the next level. Everyone is bound by this strict hierarchy and dares not cross it. If they cross it, they will either face social death or physical death.

This is true among the public, in politics, and in academia as well.

Especially in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty when academic cliques were everywhere, the academic barriers and strict hierarchy made it difficult for all those who were determined to study to breathe. Those who could barely breathe were geniuses among geniuses.

Most people are nothing more than toys and nourishment for the powerful.

Once upon a time, ancient text classics were still a symbol of free lectures, but as more and more people studied ancient text classics and the sources of these people became more and more complex, what happened to modern text classics inevitably happened to ancient text classics as well.

Want to learn something?

In name, yes.

But without paying a little extra, how can you deserve to learn such noble knowledge?
This situation has developed to the point where it has become commonplace throughout the academic community.

The same goes for Ma Rong.

He has thousands of disciples. How can one person manage them all?

So, everything that was supposed to happen happened.

The students who taught on behalf of Ma Rong often did not have such a strong sense of responsibility. Sometimes, if they were not feeling well or in a bad mood, they were unwilling to teach even the content that should be taught to their ordinary students. They would just finish the lesson hastily and then disappear.

He often said he would teach for one or two hours, but he would only send them off after half an hour. What he taught was vague and unclear, leaving people confused and unable to understand what he was saying.

Under such circumstances, the disciples could not learn enough knowledge and could not make any progress. They also lacked channels to contact these talented students, let alone Ma Rong himself. He could only find other ways and look for disciples who were easier to contact and try to acquire knowledge from them.

However, these disciples are often more arrogant than the senior students and treat them even worse.

If senior students often treat their disciples with contempt and disregard, then disciples often prefer to humiliate the disciples who seek advice, and even take pleasure in it.

Only those disciples who are willing to spend money, time and effort to please them can gain their favor and be taught something that they should be taught.

The bad habits in official circles had already entered the student groups at this time, and were even worse than before.

This situation was not too bad when Wei Jia first entered the school, because there was a very capable senior brother named Zheng Xuan. After becoming a senior student, he taught seriously and was willing to answer their questions. Many students were very grateful to him.

So much so that after he left, many of his disciples bid farewell to Ma Rong and were willing to follow him to Qingzhou.

Ever since the great senior brother Zheng Xuan left, the learning conditions of Ma's disciples have become increasingly worse, and the study environment has continued to deteriorate and is out of control.

Over the years, Wei Jia has seen too many disciples of the Ma family who were arrogant and bullied their fellow students. He also understands that there is a huge disparity in status between the two sides, and there is no other way except to be tolerant.

They could never see Ma Rong or anyone willing to take charge of things, so they could only regard these things as hardships on the road to studying and swallow their anger.

Who would have thought that a top-notch young master like Yuan Shu would stand up for him?

As he thought so, Yuan Shu took the bamboo slips from his hand and read the words on them.

"What don't you understand? Let me tell you."

"???"

Wei Jia was even more surprised. He opened his mouth and asked his question hesitantly.

He thought Yuan Shu would look down on these simple questions, but Yuan Shu actually answered his questions very seriously.

"This is not a difficult question, but it requires an understanding of the historical background. Without someone with a deeper understanding to guide you, it would be difficult for you to learn. To be frank, some things in Confucian classics cannot be learned by self-study. You still need guidance. Now think about it, these senior disciples have not fulfilled their responsibilities..."

Yuan Shu handed the bamboo slips back to Wei Jia and said slowly, "It seems that some people still need to be debated. Once I give them a good debate, they will know how powerful I am."

After saying that, Yuan Shu ran away to look for his next target prey, leaving Wei Jia standing there stupidly, watching Yuan Shu's disappearing back. It took him a long time to react to what had just happened.

Because of Yuan Shu's proactive attack, what happened to Wei Jia also happened to Dou Yun from Jingzhao.

He also came from a humble background and studied under Ma Rong. He could only be a student and not a disciple. However, he was determined to make progress and never lost his ambition. He endured the contempt, embarrassment and scolding from his senior disciples and made difficult progress all the way. The bitterness of this process is really not something that can be simply explained.

On this day, he happened to run into Wang Xiang, who was in a bad mood.

Because he had once been given a jar of good wine as a gift to Wang Xiang and was treated a little more gently by Wang Xiang, he naturally went up to Wang Xiang and asked for advice, without noticing the terrible look on Wang Xiang's face.

Then, of course, he was scolded by Wang Xiang, and even pushed and kicked.

It seemed that Wang Xiang wanted to vent all his anger towards Yuan Shu on Dou Yun, so much so that Dou Yun had no time to react before he was overwhelmed by the storm of malice.

"You stupid thing, if you can't learn it, then don't learn it. Why are you still wasting my time here? Go back home and farm as soon as possible!"

Wang Xiang pushed Dou Yun hard and knocked him to the ground.

As more and more people gathered around, Wang Xiang became more and more angry - If I can't deal with Yuan Shu, how can I not deal with you?
So he became even more angry and scolded Dou Yun, saying all kinds of nasty things to him, as if Dou Yun was the enemy who killed his father.

Like Wei Jia, Dou Yun's fragile self-esteem and personality were almost shattered.

Finally, a voice sounded at the right time.

"Lord Wang! So you are here to curse? And you are so energetic? Good! You are very energetic! Quickly debate with me!"

Yuan Shu suddenly appeared from nowhere, rushed forward, and directly grabbed Wang Xiang's belt. His operation was so smooth that Concubine Hua called him an expert when she saw it.

Then, under Dou Yun's surprised gaze, Wang Xiang, who had just been like an evil ghost, suddenly turned around with a look of horror as if he had seen a ghost. When he saw Yuan Shu's smiling face, he almost fainted from fright.

"Yuan Jun... Yuan Jun... Can you let me go and find someone else?"

"Who are you looking for? I just caught you, Wang Jun, don't even think about running away. Look at you, you are so energetic in scolding people, I guess you are also very energetic in debating. Come on, quickly debate with me! You can't leave without debating!"

Yuan Shu tightened Wang Xiang's belt, which made Wang Xiang quickly feel the despair that Cui Cheng felt.

He struggled hard, trying to pull Yuan Shu's hand away, but Yuan Shu held his belt tightly and wouldn't let him go. Finally, Wang Xiang became mad and broke his own belt, then ran away holding the clothes around his waist with both hands, looking extremely embarrassed and uncivilized. The proud and majestic image he had established in front of his students was shattered to pieces and could never be established again.

But it seemed that he didn't care anymore, as long as he could escape from this place of trouble.

The disciples who were watching and Dou Yun who was lying on the ground soon turned their confused eyes to Yuan Shu.

What kind of person is this?

Why could a little boy scare away the evil ghost-like king?

No more belts?

Yuan Shu threw down the belt in his hand with some annoyance, thinking that he had gone too easy.

"Next time, you must bring a hemp rope and tie him up if you bump into him. You must not let this guy get away again!"

Having said that, Yuan Shu turned around and was about to look for his next target.

"Wait a minute! Mr. Yuan... Senior Brother Yuan! Are you the Senior Brother Yuan who won the debate against Senior Brothers Li and Zhao?"

Yuan Shu turned around and looked at Dou Yun who had just crawled up from the ground.

"It's me, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... nothing..."

Although Yuan Shu looked like a little boy, Dou Yun felt a sense of fear for no reason when he saw his bright eyes, and he bowed solemnly to Yuan Shu cautiously.

"Thank you, Brother Yuan, for helping me out."

"For you?"

Yuan Shu smiled and said, "I am not only doing this for you, but also for others. This guy is so domineering, I think there must be a lot of people who have been bullied by him. I will teach him a lesson like this once, and he will not be able to hold his head up in front of you in the future."

"Senior Brother Yuan...Gao Yi!"

Dou Yun bowed again.

When Yuan Shu saw that he was holding a bamboo slip in his hand, he knew that he was also here to seek knowledge like Wei Jia, but he was scolded by Wang Xiang.

"You, do you have any problem?"

"........."

Dou Yun was stunned for a moment, then thought of Yuan Shu's identity and ability, and immediately became excited and nodded rapidly.

"Yes, there are some questions that cannot be answered, and I am very confused. Senior Brother Wang... I wonder if Senior Brother Yuan can answer them?"

"Hey... let me see."

Yuan Shu sighed, reached out to take Dou Yun's bamboo slips, glanced at them, and found that their situation was similar to Wei Jia's, with some problems such as unclear punctuation, controversial meanings of words, and vague historical background.

If you know these things, you know them, and if you don’t know them, you don’t know them. If there are no relevant channels to learn about them, even Einstein would not understand them. This is an absolutely awesome anti-self-study mechanism.

Relying on this anti-self-study mechanism, a large number of students are forced into a situation where they have no way out. In order to study, they not only have to pay tuition fees but also have to endure humiliation.

Yuan Shu answered Dou Yun's questions in this way. Since they were all knowledge-based questions, they were easy to answer in no time. Then Yuan Shu patted Dou Yun on the shoulder, sighed, and prepared to leave.

After walking a few steps, Dou Yun, not knowing where he got the courage from, called out to Yuan Shu.

"Brother Yuan, studying in the cloud is really difficult. There are many questions that I can't ask for help. If I have any doubts in the future, can I still ask for help from you, Brother Yuan?"

Yuan Shu stopped, looked back at Dou Yun, paused for a moment, and suddenly an idea flashed through his mind.

If you want to promote your own academic system, become the leader of the academic world and have the final right of interpretation, you not only need to be awesome enough, but also have enough excellent followers.

Just like the Old Text School of Confucianism and the Modern Text School of Confucianism, if there are enough students, it will naturally form a scale. Once it forms a scale and has influence, the rulers must also take their influence into consideration and cannot ignore it.

I intend to create a completely new path, but currently lack the support and fame of the people. If I want to win the hearts of the people and increase my fame, isn’t this a good opportunity?
While helping them answer their questions, you can create a sharp contrast with other senior students and disciples. In this way, wouldn't it be a good way to win people's hearts and minds and gain popularity on a large scale?
As for whether someone would bear a grudge against him because of this incident...

My father is Yuan Feng!
Come if you have the courage!
Yuan Shu was overjoyed, then walked up to Dou Yun with a happy face and patted him on the shoulder again.

"Then it's settled. Your name is Dou Yun, right? I'll remember you. If I have time to come out, come find me. If you have any questions, I'll help you answer them."

Dou Yun was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but burst into ecstasy.

"Yuan... Senior Brother Yuan, are you serious?"

"a man of his words!"

Yuan Shu patted his chest and said proudly, "Mr. Dou, I'm not bragging, but in my opinion, all of your questions are not that big of a problem. I can basically answer them."

"Great! Great! Thank you, Yuan-jun! Thank you, Yuan-jun!"

Dou Yun was so excited that tears and snot flowed uncontrollably. He grabbed Yuan Shu's hand and was about to kneel down to him.

Yuan Shu quickly supported him.

"No, no, a man's knees are made of gold, you can't kneel before me."

"I...I...I'm so excited!"

Dou Yun quickly wiped the mess off his face, looking so happy that his mouth almost stretched to the back of his head.

Then, a voice sounded behind Yuan Shu.

"Brother Yuan! Huang Zhi has some doubts and would like to ask Brother Yuan for advice!"

Yuan Shu turned around and saw a tall and honest student holding a scroll of bamboo slips walking towards him. He then bowed solemnly and said, "Brother Yuan, please agree! I will be very grateful!"

Yuan Shu opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, another voice rang out.

"Brother Yuan! Dai Hua requests guidance!"

Yuan Shu looked over again and saw a thin young man bowing to him and raising the bamboo slips in his hands.

"I……"

"Brother Yuan! Lian Da asks for Brother Yuan's guidance!"

"Senior Brother Yuan! Su Chu asks for guidance from Senior Brother Yuan!"

"Brother Yuan! Ma Ran requests guidance from Brother Yuan!"

…………

…………

…………

Before Yuan Shu could say anything, the disciples who had been watching him were afraid that Yuan Shu would run away, so they quickly caught up with him and asked for the same treatment as Dou Yun. One by one, they presented Yuan Shu with great courtesy.

Soon, a large number of big heads appeared, facing Yuan Shu, as if they were worshipping him. Those who didn't know would think that Yuan Shu was some strange charlatan.

Yuan Shu looked at the situation and knew that it would be difficult for him to leave smoothly if he did not agree. However, he did not intend to refuse. Instead, he thought that the more people there were, the better. The more people there were, the more he would be able to raise his profile and win more people's hearts.

People's hearts are rare commodities, but in this era, at this moment, facing the current situation, people's hearts seem to be within easy reach. As long as Yuan Shu stretches out his hand, he can get them.

He had no reason to reject the human heart that came to him.

Otherwise, how do we say that contrast creates gaps?

Yuan Shu felt that he was no more noble than Li Quan, Zhao Xing and others. He was also aware that he was a greedy and lustful person, and he had all the shortcomings. But in this way, at least in the eyes of these disciples, a huge gap suddenly widened between him and that group of people.

There is a world of difference between the two.

Yuan Shu himself did not expect that an active attack would actually provide an opportunity for his plan to start.

He originally thought that he needed to wait until he was invincible in the Ma family mansion, then massacre all the disciples, and finally kill Lu Zhi, before he could finally gain the recognition of Ma Rong and everyone else, become a senior disciple, and then obtain the qualification to teach on behalf of Ma Rong.

Only then can he naturally win people's hearts and increase his popularity while teaching.

As a result, this is how it begins!

Life is unpredictable, and Yuan Shu knows that there may be many things he cannot predict. Instead of being timid, he might as well take bold action!
Anyway...

My father is Yuan Feng!
(End of this chapter)