I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 384 A Big Shot Arrives
A series of footsteps broke the silence of the First Holy Temple.

"Why are you panicking?"

The boy bowed his head and reported, "Sir, someone from the palace has arrived. Please go to the front courtyard to greet them!"

The old dean stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes, and went to the front yard with his cane, followed by the others.

In the front courtyard of Hongshan Academy, Supervisor Li stood admiring the naturally formed rockery depicting students paying homage to their teachers.

"I was unaware of Lord Zhongguan's arrival. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly and hope that you will forgive me."

Li Dajian smiled broadly, "Old Dean, you are too kind to me. Although I have come from afar, I have heard that Hongshan Academy is holding an election for dean today. This is a very important event for Hongshan Academy. I hope you will not take offense at my unannounced visit."

"How dare I?" the old dean said. "I wonder what instructions Your Excellency, the eunuch, has for me?"

“Hongshan Academy is an academy on par with the Imperial Academy. Every year, it sends a large number of talents to the court through the imperial examinations. Its importance is self-evident. When His Majesty heard that Hongshan Academy was electing a new president, he specially sent my family to be a witness.”

As Li Dajian spoke, he flicked his whisk, and a young eunuch behind him stepped forward with a tray. "This is a congratulatory gift from His Majesty to the new dean. It is a top-quality banana leaf white inkstone presented by the prefect of Yuezhou. There are only two of these in the entire country. His Majesty bestowed one upon the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and the other was given to the dean of Hongshan Academy by His Majesty's decree."

He smiled and swept his gaze across the crowd. "I wonder who the new dean is? Please come up and receive your reward."

No one in the crowd made a move.

Chief Supervisor Li asked in surprise and confusion, "Old Dean, what is the reason for this?"

The old dean looked embarrassed. "Reporting to Lord Zhongguan, the position of dean has not yet been decided."

"Why?"

The old dean revealed the reason why the three candidates were tied for the same number of votes.

“I see,” Li Dajian said knowingly. “No wonder, all three gentlemen are renowned scholars, and choosing one from among them is indeed not an easy task.”

The old dean felt he had met a kindred spirit.

“But His Majesty has already bestowed the reward; we cannot fail to repay His Majesty’s kindness!” Eunuch Li said, his eyes sharpening. “Old Dean, don’t you agree?”

The old dean, swallowing his bitter pill in silence, simply said, "Yes."

"In that case, I'll wait here until Hongshan Academy elects a new dean, then I can present my congratulatory gift and finish my business."

The old dean felt as if he had been placed on a stove.

If it were so easy to elect a new dean, why would we need to go through so much trouble to vote and run for office?
But these words can only be thought in one's heart, and must never be uttered aloud.

The old dean had no choice but to ask Eunuch Li to go to the Academy of the Holy Ones to continue the vote.

To everyone's surprise, after three rounds of voting, the tickets were still tied.

As the sun began to set, Eunuch Li's expression grew rather grim.

The old dean sighed inwardly and secretly winked at Yang An, who lowered his head to drink his tea, ignoring the signal.

Why should the Yang family withdraw?
The old dean had been sitting all day and was already sore all over. Seeing that the situation was deadlocked, he was about to speak up to smooth things over when Xiao Tong rushed in again.

The old dean's heart was pounding.

"Sir, Mr. Suicheng has come to visit!"

The old dean suddenly stood up. "Who?"

"Mr. Suicheng!" The boy's eyes lit up with excitement, and he urged repeatedly, "Sir, go and greet him quickly!"

"Hurry up!" The old dean didn't even need his cane anymore, and walked out with lightning speed. Yang An followed behind, his eyelids twitching, and he had a bad feeling.

Outside the gate of Hongshan Academy, there was a simple blue-covered carriage. On the carriage sat a coachman with an ordinary face and dressed in plain clothes. At first glance, he seemed no different from an ordinary person, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the coachman had a broad back and narrow waist, and his fingers were covered with calluses, which made it clear that he was a martial arts practitioner.

"Sir, someone is here."

Mr. Suicheng calmly took a sip of tea in the carriage and sighed with satisfaction.

The aroma of this stir-fried tea is truly irresistible!
Only after drinking all the tea in the teacup did Mr. Suicheng reluctantly put down the teacup, stand up, let the boy straighten his robe, and then leisurely step down from the carriage.

The old dean stepped out of the courtyard gate and immediately saw that figure he hadn't seen in a long time but still remembered vividly. His eyes welled up with tears, and he stepped forward, bowing, and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother!"

"Get up quickly," Mr. Suicheng helped the old dean to his feet. "So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. The junior apprentice has grown into a great scholar."

"Senior brother, please don't make fun of me. Compared to your knowledge, my knowledge is like the light of a firefly compared to the bright moonlight. I don't even have the right to be compared with you."

“So many years have passed, and you are still the same,” Mr. Suicheng shook his head. “Now you have become a renowned Confucian scholar in Jiangnan. You should not be overly modest.”

"You're right, senior brother," the old dean said, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart, as if he had returned to the wonderful time of studying in the mountains when he was a child.

After exchanging pleasantries for a long time, the old dean finally asked, "Didn't our eldest brother always stay in the capital enjoying his grandchildren? Why did he suddenly come to Jiangnan?"

“I am getting old, and the cold winters in the capital are harmful to my health. I also want to return to my roots. Suzhou is prosperous and peaceful, so I came here to spend the rest of my life.”

"Excellent!" the old dean exclaimed with delight. "Now we, as fellow disciples, can get together more often!"

Li, the chief supervisor, cleared his throat. "Old director, the sun is about to set. Shouldn't we elect a new director first?"

"Yes, yes," the old dean suddenly remembered something like that, and was about to speak when Mr. Suicheng beside him said, "Oh? Hongshan Academy is holding an election for a new dean?"

"That's right!"

"May I participate in the election?"

The old dean was taken aback. "What did you say, senior brother?"

"I also wish to run for the position of dean," Mr. Suicheng said, looking at his junior brother. "Isn't it too late?"

It's not too late, but isn't the eldest brother the most fond of leisure and averse to work? If Emperor Gaozu hadn't personally visited him time and again to invite him to serve in the government, he would have lived a carefree life on the mountain for the rest of his life.

Now that he has finally resigned from his official post to recuperate, why does he want to actively jump back into the mundane world?

Mr. Suicheng was also very distressed. He naturally did not want to be the dean of this lousy hospital, but as long as he thought of the whole box of freshly picked and stir-fried pre-rain Longjing tea at home, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the job.

There's no way around it; you're beholden to someone who pays you a price.

Yang An's heart sank. Mr. Suicheng's reputation far surpassed that of the other three. If he were to participate in the dean election, the outcome would be self-evident.

As expected, in the new round of voting, Mr. Suicheng was elected as the new president of Hongshan Academy with a unanimous vote, and the former president also volunteered to serve as the vice president.

Upon seeing this, the other vice deans had no choice but to reluctantly lower themselves.

With a beaming smile, Eunuch Li personally presented the banana leaf-shaped white inkstone to Mr. Suicheng.

Mr. Suicheng bowed deeply towards Luoyang before respectfully accepting the tray and officially becoming the new dean of Hongshan Academy.

Yang An closed his eyes, a chill running through him.

Princess Zhaoshan was truly a master strategist!