My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 203 Imperial College

Li Xuanba looked up and surveyed the mansion in front of him.

It was probably after the Crown Prince's death that the Imperial Academy, the Imperial College, and the other four academies moved to Luoyang along with the imperial institutions.

The other academies were all built together, but the Imperial Academy was unique in that it refused to "collude" with these diligent students. The Imperial Academy was located in a relatively remote area with high walls and only one entrance. You could even see fully armed soldiers guarding the entrance, looking fierce.

Several people were standing at the entrance, looking around. When Li Xuanba arrived under Pei Shiju's command, they quickly smiled and rushed to Li Xuanba, each of them displaying extremely fawning smiles.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!"

The group didn't even ask Li Xuanba's identity; it seemed they already knew he was coming, and they all bowed and greeted him without prior arrangement.

Li Xuanba returned the greeting, and the leader then stood up and walked to him. "My lord, I am the registrar of the Imperial Academy. You may call me Registrar Wang."

"I have met Wang Lushi."

"No, no, Your Excellency has come from afar, please follow me."

Wang Lushi warmly led Li Xuanba into the mansion, with Zhang Du and the others following behind. The two armored guards at the gate saw them pass by and hurriedly bowed in greeting.

The roads inside the mansion were extremely wide, with many trees on both sides, and artificial hills and pavilions could be seen in the distance. The mansion was extremely quiet, and not a sound could be heard. Wang Lushi enthusiastically introduced the situation inside the mansion to Li Xuanba.

"If you walk east along this road, there is a lake, and a small pavilion stands right in the middle of the lake."

Wang the clerk described the scenery of various places one after another, but he didn't mention the place where the books were stored or the place where students went to school.

Li Xuanba couldn't help but ask, "Where do you usually live and study?"

Wang the Registrar hesitated for a moment, then asked in return, "Where do you think would be more suitable?"

"what??"

Seeing Li Xuanba's surprise, Wang Lushi quickly explained, "According to regulations, students of the Imperial Academy are not allowed to leave easily. However, sometimes in case of emergencies, we cannot force them to stay. Most students are busy, and there are many empty courtyards within the academy. You can choose any one you like."

"As for schooling, the Imperial Academy currently has five Doctors, all of whom are renowned scholars who are well-versed in the Five Classics. I wonder which classic Your Excellency would like to begin studying?"

"This"

Seeing Li Xuanba's somewhat bewildered expression, Wang Lushi laughed, "It's alright, there's no rush. Let's settle on lodging first. I know a good place! I'll take you there to see it first."

Zhang Du followed behind Li Xuanba, listening to the clerk's words, his expression gradually becoming complicated.

Before arriving here, Zhang Du was filled with anticipation. This was a sacred place for scholars all over the world. He was even somewhat glad that he could come here with Li Xuanba. He wanted to meet the most outstanding young scholars in the world and see if he would have the opportunity to secretly listen to the lectures of those scholars of classics.

But as soon as I stepped inside, this illusion was shattered.

Wang Lushi spoke very tactfully, and Li Xuanba may not have realized it yet, but Zhang Du had already seen through it.

What Imperial Academy? It's just a place where a bunch of noble descendants hang around in name only!
After walking for so long, they hadn't encountered a single student. The implication in Wang Lushi's words was that they could come and go freely, and even stay outside, with no one daring to stop them.

However, think about it. The lowest threshold for the Imperial Academy is a third-rank official. What does third-rank mean? Some prefects of upper prefectures are only third-rank, while prefects of middle and lower prefectures are only fourth-rank. Most prefects' sons are not qualified to enter. In the imperial court, only the ministers of the Six Ministries and the heads of other temples are qualified. The vice ministers of the Six Ministries are only fourth-rank, and their children cannot enter. As for the officials of the Imperial Academy, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy is a third-rank official who can manage the students, while his deputy, the Vice Chancellor, is a fourth-rank official, the Assistant Chancellor is a sixth-rank official, the Registrar is a seventh-rank official, and the Doctor is a fifth-rank official. As for the assistant instructors, clerks, and lecturers, they are all low-ranking officials, like the village head.

It would be strange if they could manage a group of students from top noble families.

Wang Lushi led Li Xuanba to a small courtyard. The courtyard was indeed nice, with everything one could need and a good location. There were also various servants and attendants inside.

Because they had to hurry, Liu Chounu, Duan Niang, and Sanshi did not come with Li Xuanba, so they really needed someone to serve them.

After arranging accommodations, Wang Lushi hurriedly left.

Li Xuanba sat inside the room, looking around. Zhang Du and the others sat in front of him.

Zhang Du spoke first, saying, "No wonder the world has fallen to such a state. The Imperial Academy, a place for selecting virtuous scholars for the country, has not seen even a single student along the way. According to what that Registrar Wang just said, the scholars only come to lecture once every five days, and he didn't even say where they would lecture."

The others nodded in agreement, their illusions about the Imperial College completely shattered.

Li Xuanba said, "I heard my teacher talk about the Imperial Academy before. He said that the teaching there is quite strict. The situation at the Imperial College may be different from that there. That's why the Imperial Academy is like this."

"That's good. The teacher was a little worried about me before, and told me not to talk about him outside, fearing that I would be bullied by my classmates. But now it seems that it's not easy to find classmates. That's good, we can go and do what we're doing with peace of mind."

Zhang Du and the others immediately perked up.

That makes sense. They didn't come here to study in the first place. If it weren't for the Emperor's decree, I'm afraid you wouldn't have wasted your time here. Zhang Du quickly cleared his throat and said seriously, "Your Majesty, this place is very close to our village. I will send someone to contact the people in the village now and set up a new route so that they can send the message directly to Luoyang."

Li Xuanba nodded, “We were a bit restrained in our actions when we were in Loufan, and we didn’t dare to cause any trouble. Now that we’ve entered Luoyang, we don’t need to worry anymore. There are many bandits and many dead along the way from Xingyang to Loufan. We should follow the example of Cheng Houshan and gather these people along the way to establish new strongholds and strengthen our power.”

Li Xuanba had started preparing for this matter long ago. Back in Loufan, he didn't dare to go too far because his grandfather and others were around, and there was trouble caused by Cheng Houshan. But now, there was nothing to worry about.

Zhang Du smiled and said, "My lord, Mangshan Mountain north of Luoyang has a strategic location. It connects to Yeniu Mountain on one side and leads to Hedong and Guanzhong. It is an excellent place. However, there are many gardens and hunting grounds on Mangshan Mountain. I think we can send people to explore it. If we can find a suitable place, we can build another Qingzao Village on Mangshan Mountain!"

Li Xuanba shook his head. "This Mangshan is different from Yeniushan and Chenghoushan. Many people come and go from the mountains, and there are local militia guarding the mountain passes. It's unlikely that we can build a stockade here."

"However, you can send people to investigate first. If it is impossible to build a stockade, then purchase some mountain estates, pretending to use them for hunting, and arrange manpower to be responsible for communication. Mangshan is in a dangerous location. Even if we cannot establish a stockade, we still need our manpower."

Li Xuanba and Zhang Du discussed that no matter what, they had to build a Qingzao Village next to the capital!

Of the two strongholds, Wild Buffalo Mountain is the main base and the main force, while Chenghou Mountain is Iron Mountain, responsible for smelting and forging iron. Mangshan will most likely become a news relay center, after all, its location is too crucial. Through Mangshan, the forces of Wild Buffalo Mountain in the Central Plains and Hedong can be connected.

Li Xuanba had been traveling for so many days and was indeed quite tired. After talking with Zhang Du for a long time, he started to yawn. Zhang Du was also very understanding and let Li Xuanba go in to rest first, while he sent people to handle the many things that the Lord had just instructed him to do.

Zhang Du felt something was off at that moment.

It felt rather strange to discuss matters of winning over bandits and changing dynasties in the Imperial Academy, a place so coveted by scholars.

Shortly after Zhang Du sent those men away, a group of people appeared in the distance. They moved very fast and were shouting something as they rushed towards Li Xuanba's residence.

(End of this chapter)