My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 208 Ignorant
Since Yang Wang held that meeting, the atmosphere at the Imperial College has finally begun to change.

At least, the Imperial Academy is no longer as empty as it used to be.

The mansion suddenly became lively, with people coming and going. The courtyards around Li Xuanba were also full of people, and all sorts of noises could be heard outside.

Li Xuanba paid no attention to these things and continued to keep an eye on what was happening outside.

Zhang Du has already made contact with the people of Qingzao Village. He sent someone to buy a small hunting courtyard in a place south of Mangshan Mountain and arranged for several of his capable subordinates to stay there, specifically for communicating with the people in the village.

Qingzao Village also dispatched a large number of people to various places in Hedong to actively contact the bandits and dead who were hiding in the mountains.

According to Zhang Du, these poor people who were hiding from the government were not having an easy time. They lacked food and clothing, and the previous winter had just taken away a large number of people. Those who survived the winter and were lucky enough to live would never let go of any chance to survive.

With the development of his forces looking promising, Li Xuanba's mood improved considerably.

This year, at least ten mountain strongholds will be established in Hedong and the Central Plains, echoing and connecting with each other!
Li Xuanba entrusted everything to his fellow disciples, and then he began to attend classes seriously.

There are four lecture halls in the Imperial Academy. Because of what happened last time, Yang Wang changed the teaching frequency. Instead of having a class every five days as before, there are now classes almost every day, and an exam every seven days.

Inside the lecture hall, Yang Wang sat on the throne, holding a book in his hands.

Many students sat on both sides, and there were even not enough seats for everyone.

It had been a long time since the Imperial Academy had seen so many students attending classes. The scholar who was previously in charge of teaching the Spring and Autumn Annals was quite unlucky. When the Sage came to inspect the academy, he happened to be there and the Sage vented his anger on him, beating him badly. Now, Yang Wang had to take over the classes.

Yang Wang was also a very famous Confucian scholar. He was well-versed in the Zuo Zhuan and had written related commentaries. He was more than qualified to talk about the Spring and Autumn Annals.

In the twenty-eighth year, the Heavenly King went hunting in Heyang.

Yang Wang sat in the seat of honor and spoke eloquently. He looked at the students sitting in front of him and saw that they looked apprehensive. There was almost no one in the front seat except for a young child.

When the students realized they were being scrutinized, they all lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze. Just from seeing their situation, Yang Wang, the newly appointed Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, felt somewhat helpless.

How could they possibly listen to their own knowledge when they were so afraid?
It seems that we still need to give them the simplest question to help them regain their confidence. Yang Wang had an idea in mind. He cleared his throat and said, "Gentlemen, the Records of the Grand Historian says: Duke Wen summoned King Xiang. The Spring and Autumn Annals says: The Heavenly King hunted at Heyang. What is the meaning of this?"

The students were completely silent.

Yang Wang's lips trembled slightly. "It's fine to just read the original text directly."

The students kept their heads down and remained unresponsive.

Yang Wang's beard began to tremble.

This isn't just a matter of poor academic performance; this guy has never even read the Spring and Autumn Annals!

"Master Yang."

At that moment, the child sitting at the very front stood up and said earnestly, "Duke Wen of Jin overstepped his bounds by summoning the king as a feudal lord. The Spring and Autumn Annals euphemistically say: 'He went hunting at Heyang.'"

Yang Wang's face remained dark, because the question was so basic that even a little kid in front of him could answer it, yet none of the outstanding talents who had studied the Five Classics diligently for many years in the Imperial Academy, the future pillars of the nation, could answer it at this moment.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"After class, everyone should use the excuse of Shouhe Yang to write me an article. I will have someone lock the door and forbid anyone from entering or leaving. Anyone who dares to have someone else write it for them will be punished."

Yang Wang's threatening intent was quite obvious.

He stormed off the class, deeming it pointless and suggesting that these people should find a teacher to relearn the ropes!

Yang Wang left just like that, and the students all sighed in sorrow.

Li Xuanba put away what he was holding, and as soon as he turned around, he saw a lot of people standing in front of him.

Li Xuanba was taken aback.

The leader laughed. "Xuanba, right? Your name is quite nice."

"Your Highness." Li Xuanba hurriedly bowed his head in greeting. The young man standing in front of him was none other than Yang Guang's nephew, Prince Qin, Yang Hao.

Yang Hao's father was Yang Jun, the third son of Emperor Wen. Yang Hao's background was quite outrageous. His father was extravagant and lecherous and loved to play. His mother, out of resentment, poisoned and killed his father.

Yang Hao was disqualified from inheritance because of his mother's crimes. It was not until the emperor ascended the throne that he was reinstated as the King of Qin, which showed his leniency towards the royal family.

He kept Yang Hao by his side and sent him to study at the Imperial Academy, intending to appoint him to an official position in a few years to help him solve his problems.

Yang Hao is a very resilient person. Despite his difficult experiences, he doesn't seem very sad. He's even quite talkative and confident, not at all like an orphan who has lost his parents.

Yang Hao quickly helped Li Xuanba up, nodding with a light smile.

"It doesn't have to be this way."

"Come, let me introduce you. These are all our classmates."

"These are Liang Qia, Huangfu Si, Dou Zhichun, Yang Gang, and Yuwen Chengji."

As Yang Hao introduced them one by one, each of these people was a descendant of a top noble family, at least a Duke. Their attitudes varied; some were hostile, while others nodded with smiles.

Regardless of their attitudes, Li Xuanba greeted them one by one with a bow.

Yang Hao smiled, then asked in a low voice, "You're doing well in your studies?"

"When I was young, I was weak and could not go out, so I read a lot of books at home."

"Do you know how to write what Master Yang just mentioned, 'hunting in Heyang'?"

Li Xuanba looked at the students in front of him with some disbelief. These people were not even as good as the Zheng family disciples in Xingyang. No, they were far inferior to them. Were they at the same level as his younger brother?
Could it be that Li Yuanji's level of scholarship was the normal, common level of classical studies among the sons of the Guanzhong aristocracy?
Li Xuanba nodded slightly, "I know."

"Great!"

“Brother, I have the biggest courtyard here. Why don’t you come and be my guest?”

"it is good."

Yang Hao was overjoyed and immediately led Li Xuanba outside. The rest of the crowd also surrounded Li Xuanba. The few people in the distance seemed to understand something and came over to greet him.

Yang Hao led Li Xuanba to his small courtyard, which was even more luxurious than the residence of the chief priest. After everyone took their seats, Li Xuanba tactfully explained the contents of the article in the simplest way possible.

Fortunately, Li Xuanba had taught Li Yuanji before, so he taught these people in the same way he taught Li Yuanji, and they listened with great interest.

During the conversation, Li Xuanba understood why they were like this. It wasn't that they hadn't received some classical education; it was just that after growing up and coming to the Imperial Academy, they spent their days playing and didn't attend school much. They had completely forgotten their classical education from their youth.

Although they didn't remember, their basic knowledge was still there, and they weren't as simple-minded as Li Yuanji. After Li Xuanba explained a few things, they roughly understood, which made everyone very happy, and they thanked Li Xuanba repeatedly.

Yang Hao said to those around him with a hint of helplessness, "When Xuanba and I were the same age, we could recite all sorts of classics fluently, but now that we're older, we can't."

The students also sighed deeply.

"Xuanba, we're counting on you from now on. You're the youngest, so you have to help us older brothers out!"

"Here!"

"Hahaha, look how sensible this kid is! He doesn't seem unruly at all! All that nonsense Lai Yuan spouted earlier, not a single word of it was true!"

Yang Hao cursed, then smiled and said to Li Xuanba, "In a few days, when we can go out, we definitely won't treat you badly! I'll give you some money so you can go out and buy some estates to play around with!"

"Or we can take you out to play!"

"Thank you, brothers."

(End of this chapter)