The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 176 The Old Gentleman of Old Chu

Xiao He had only met Lang twice in the Chu region.

Unexpectedly, Lang was praised so highly by the prefect Sima Xin in Weinan County.

This time, Xiao He felt he had truly gotten to know this volunteer teacher.

A person who is willing to give up a bright future and teach in a seaside village.

Xiao He was initially unaware of these matters.

But when Sima Xin brought a young man, who was now teaching in Tongguan City, he was a student of Lang, from Langya County in Qi Commandery.

"Without my teacher, I would never have been able to leave the seaside in my entire life." The young man said with a smile, "My teacher always said that we should go out and see the world, come to Guanzhong, go to the border, and it would be best to go to the border to guard for two years. Only then would our lives be complete."

Cao Can pressed further, "Have all his students come to Guanzhong like you?"

The young man shook his head and said, "Not everyone came. A large number of them stayed in Langya County. However, my teacher thought I was the best student, so I came to Guanzhong to visit the Grand Master and take the exam. After that, I will return to Langya County and take the books with me. I have prepared ten cartloads of books."

Cao Shen didn't ask any more questions.

Sima Xin gestured for the young man to leave, and then said, “I know every child who left Jingye County to teach in rural areas. Even if ten years have passed, I can still recognize at a glance which year the child left. I have been guarding Tongguan, watching these children go out and come back. In a few more years, there will be more and more children going to teach in rural areas, and I am afraid I will really not be able to remember them.”

Xiao He remained silent, gazing at the stone tablet by the Yellow River, looking at the inscription commissioned by Prince Fusu, lost in thought.

In Sima Xin's account, Lang's story is very moving. After completing his studies, he taught in rural areas for three years, guarded the border for one year, and fought against the Xiongnu for another year. In that year, Lang fought bravely and became a centurion in the army.

If Lang's story had ended there, he would have been a young general in the army, continuing to serve in the military.

But Lang left the border and returned home.

It would have been fine if Lang had stayed in Guanzhong, but he left again, abandoning everything there and choosing to continue teaching the children by the sea.

Perhaps it was because of his promise that he wanted to return to the seaside.

Prince Fusu was a man of his word, so these teachers who went to teach in rural areas were also men of their word.

In other words, these teachers who volunteered to teach in rural areas were actually more like disciples of Prince Fusu than disciples of Shusun Tong.

The initiative to support education in rural areas arose because of Prince Fusu, so these people will also spread the cause of supporting education throughout the world.

When Lang, who was teaching by the sea, received Xiao He's letter, it was already autumn.

However, I recently met an old man.

This old man was a renowned scholar from the Chu region and belonged to the Fan family of Jiujiang.

During the war in which Qin unified the six states, Xiang Yan died, but some people survived, one of whom was Fan Zeng.

Huan Chu sat by the sea, recalling his conversation with Xiang Liang in Kuaiji County and the agreement made with the Xiang family.

Huan Chu was Fan Zeng's student and had been taking care of Fan Zeng all along.

Fan Zeng is now sitting on a large rock, talking to the young man in front of him.

This young man was a volunteer teacher in a rural area; his name was Lang.

"Grandpa, you can also go to Qin, and you can also teach in rural areas."

Upon hearing this, Fan Zeng, whose hair and beard were both white, chuckled and said, "Enter Qin?"

Lang nodded, looking serious, and said, "Nowadays, everyone in the world is flocking to Qin."

Fan Zeng's laughter stopped, and he placed his hands limply on his knees. It was unclear whether the old man was relaxing or feeling very frustrated.

“What an extraordinary person Prince Fusu is.” Fan Zeng spoke quickly and clearly, and then said, “I am an old man in my twilight years, how could you possibly think of me?”

Fan Zeng looked troubled, making a slight wink and acting like a mischievous old man, and said, "Hehehe, enter Qin? At my age, even if I reached Hangu Pass, I would be exhausted."

Lang looked him up and down and said, "That's right, perhaps the young master really doesn't think much of him."

Upon hearing this, Fan Zeng's forced smile froze on his face.

Upon hearing this, Huan Chu, who was sitting in the back, looked displeased and was about to walk towards Lang.

"Sit down!" Fan Zeng picked up a slender bamboo stick and hit Huan Chu with it.

Huan Chu suppressed his anger and sat back down in the back.

Facing the confident and young Lang, Fan Zeng put on a smiling face and said, "You teachers who have gone to teach in rural areas will all become officials in the future?"

Lang nodded and said, "Although it's not an official position, you can still get a salary by entering the Imperial Academy."

Fan Zeng continued, “The number of teachers going to rural areas to teach is increasing year by year. How much salary is needed to support these teachers? This is a huge burden for Qin.”

"Why do you say that, sir?"

Fan Zeng said, "I believe this strategy cannot last."

Lang said, "Back then, all the states wanted to unify the world." Fan Zeng interrupted, "The State of Chu did not want to."

Lang said, "That's right, so the State of Chu is just the State of Chu, it can't become the Great Qin, it's not comparable to the Great Qin."

Upon hearing this, Huan Chu tried to stand up again.

Fan Zeng raised his head, picked up a bamboo stick, and first lashed Huan Chu behind him.

This blow caused Huan Chu to feel pain.

Before he could even stand up, the old master saw through his disciple's thoughts and struck him with his bamboo cane before he could move.

Huan Chu had no way to express his bitterness, so he could only continue to endure Lang's disdain.

It should be noted that back in the Chu royal palace, even the King of Chu had to show great respect to Mr. Fan. Mr. Fan was in charge of the etiquette and law of the Chu state and was the most respected figure among the nobles of Chu.

Even today, people from all over Chu respect this old gentleman greatly.

In response to the old man's words, Lang replied, "That's why the State of Chu lost to the State of Qin."

Fan Zeng, however, was not angry. He then asked, "How strong is the foundation of the Qin state to support education in rural areas?"

Lang replied to the sea breeze, "If we say that we are using rural education to educate the people of the world, compared with the years of war, rural education is actually an extremely low-cost method. The old gentleman said that the country needs to support rural education, which is certainly true, but compared with the years of war, rural education is really the cheapest and most effective way."

Fan Zeng exclaimed, "Prince Fusu is truly remarkable! How did Qin produce such a prince?"

"Who knows..."

Lang looked up at the blue sky and replied.

Fan Zeng then asked, "Why are you unwilling to become my disciple?"

Lang said, "What merit do I have to become your disciple?"

Fan Zeng clicked his tongue and said, "Of course you can."

Lang said, "Everything I learned came from Jingye County. Does the old gentleman intend to teach me the etiquette and songs of Chu? But I can no longer learn those things, and I don't know why. I really can't learn them anymore."

"Hehehe..."

Fan Zeng's eerie laughter rang out once again.

Lang said, "Does the old gentleman think that because I couldn't persuade you to go to Qin, I'm holding a grudge and don't want to become your disciple?"

Fan Zeng remained silent.

Lang then said, “That’s not it. It’s just that I really can’t learn anything else. When the teacher imparted Prince Fusu’s knowledge to us, our minds and ways of thinking were all given to us by Prince Fusu. We have never been nobles since childhood, and my way of thinking is different from that of you old nobles. For us, a simple life is enough to fulfill my mission, and beautiful material things are just embellishments.”

Fan Zeng asked again, "Why?"

Lang explained, “Our thoughts are to regard all people in the world as a whole. Just as Mozi said, we need to love ourselves, and then love the people around us, so that the people around us can also love all people in the world.”

Later, when facing Fan Zeng, Lang continued, "Old sir, you can also become someone like me. I can teach poor children, I can teach the children of noble families. I will never hold back. Old sir... try to love all people in the world, don't live in the past."

Fan Zeng asked, "Will Prince Fusu love all the people of the world?"

"Old sir, there's no need to doubt it. The young master is indeed that kind of person. He loves all people in the world. We, the teachers who volunteer to teach, all share the same ideals. We all have a common vision, which is to make life better for all people in the world. That's why I can't learn your knowledge, old sir."

“In my opinion, sometimes we are not working for Prince Fusu, nor are we running around for the Qin Dynasty. We are doing it for our mission. That is why Li Mi will help the magistrate of Chenjun County, who is suffering from drought, on his way back to Guanzhong, and help them solve the problems of water and farmland.”

"After that, Li Mi could leave Chenjun with nothing and become my brother. He was even beaten and assassinated while teaching in the countryside, but he still insisted on teaching because we really wanted to change the world and make it new. Although the old master's Chu studies are good, please keep them safe. Future generations may take a look at them, but they will never come back to life."

Huan Chu stared at Lang with unfriendly eyes. The man's words seemed to say, "Stop thinking about restoring Chu. You are destined to fail. Only Prince Fusu's knowledge is the best in the world."

Fan Zeng said, "You are doing this so that you can have a clear conscience."

Lang shook his head.

Fan Zeng asked, "Then what is your purpose?"

"We are doing this for the sake of all the people of the world." Lang smiled and said to the old man, "For the sake of all the people of the world, we can teach in rural areas. Our students can have a better life and higher aspirations. That is what I am most proud of. Prince Fusu taught me how to love all the people of the world. I will also teach my students how to love all the people of the world. My students will continue my work, and it will be passed down from generation to generation."

Lang then asked, "Old sir, could you do that? Even if one of your students is someone you utterly despise, would you teach his child?"

After a long silence, Fan Zeng said, "Prince Fusu is indeed remarkable."

Fan Zeng temporarily settled in Langya County. In a wooden house by the sea, Huan Chu repeatedly tried to persuade Fan Zeng to leave, saying, "Old sir, there are still many old friends of Chu who want to see you in Chu."

Fan Zeng lay on his side, half-closing his eyes, and asked, "Who wants to see this old man?"

……

P.S.: I'm writing this really late tonight, so I'll leave one chapter for now and try to finish it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)