Chapter 31: Commandery School Crisis

The scholar straightened his clothes and composed his face, changing his previous wild attitude, and bowed to Wang Yang: "I am fortunate to have received your instruction! I am Yu Yuling from Xinye, courtesy name Zijie. May I ask your honorable name?"

The Yu clan of Xinye was a high-ranking gentry family in Jingzhou, collectively known as the "Four Clans of Jing Soil" along with the Le clan of Yuyang, the Liu clan of Nieyang, and the Zong clan of Nanyang. Although they could not be compared with first-class clans like the Wang, Xie, Liu, and He, they were top-tier existences in Jingzhou.

The four great families had similar reputations in Jingzhou, but in terms of connections in the imperial court and family power, the Yu family was the undisputed number one in Jingzhou.

There were forty-three students in the Commandery School, but only Yu Yuling dared to block the gate of the Commandery School in broad daylight. His classmates all thought he was relying on the golden signboard of the Yu family behind him, which was why he was so fearless. In fact, they did not know that his father had warned him repeatedly not to intervene in this Commandery School crisis.

And Yu Yuling simply moved into the Commandery School, showing signs of falling out with his family.

So he dared to block the gate, absolutely not relying on his family background, but just relying on his wild temperament and a heart full of hot blood.

Wang Yang did not know the details of the Yu clan of Xinye, but he also knew that the vast majority of those who could enter the Commandery School to study in this era were not children from ordinary families. He did not return the bow, just nodded slightly and said: "Wang Yang of Langya, courtesy name Zhiyan."

The seven or eight disciples eavesdropping behind the gate exploded instantly: "Langya Wang? Is he of the Langya Wang clan?!"

"It's the Langya Wang family! Did I hear that right?!"

"Which branch of the Wang family?"

Yu Yuling was not interested in these questions, just asking: "May I ask who is Young Master Wang's teacher..."

Not asking about the family branch, but asking about the teacher, he did not lose the true character of a scholar. It was just that my teacher was a person from the twenty-first century, and you wouldn't know even if I told you.

Wang Yang did not make up a name, but said: "It is not worth telling outsiders." He took out the letter he had prepared: "Can you pass it on for me now?"

Yu Yuling hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, took the letter, and said "Wait a moment" before entering the gate. He did not walk two steps before suddenly stopping, turning around, and saying with a solemn expression:

"Since the ninth year of Taiyuan of Emperor Little Xiao Wu of Jin, when Xie Shi submitted a memorial requesting the restoration of the national school, the Jingzhou Commandery School has been established for one hundred and nine years. For a hundred years, wars have arisen, but the scholarly atmosphere in Jingzhou has not fallen, nurturing many scholars, all thanks to this. The way of learning cannot be monopolized! The *Modern Text Book of Documents* must not be abandoned! I ask Young Master Wang to consider this!"

After finishing, he cupped his hands at Wang Yang and left quickly.

Wang Yang secretly pondered Yu Yuling's words, feeling completely confused. Ask me to consider, consider what?

Inside the study of the Commandery School, an old man and a young woman were talking.

The old man was fifty or sixty years old, with gray hair and beard, and an elegant temperament; he was Liu Zhao, the Libationer of this Commandery School.

The young one was a beautiful girl with natural spiritual elegance, Xie Xinghan, known as the "Little Xie Daoyun." She was currently sitting opposite Liu Zhao with an apologetic expression, saying something quietly.

Liu Zhao had once studied under Xie Xinghan's grandfather, Xie Zhuang, and had an old friendship with Xie Xinghan's father, Xie Fei, so Xie Xinghan had received much care from Liu Zhao after arriving in Jingzhou. And this time when the Commandery School encountered a crisis, Xie Xinghan was also worried and running around.

Seeing the young girl in front of him pressed by this matter until she was frowning, Liu Zhao could not help but feel ashamed and comforted her:

"Niece, do not blame yourself. Master Master Hui Xu has long ignored worldly affairs and is unwilling to come forward, which is reasonable. I will think of a way for this matter; you should rest well and don't waste your energy anymore."

"Has Uncle thought of any good way? Is there any news from the Prince of Jingling?" Thinking that if the Prince of Jingling was willing to help, Xie Xinghan could not help but feel refreshed.

"I am preparing to unite the gentry of Jing Soil and go to the Prince's Mansion to publicly state our case to the Prince. If the Prince does not see us, then we will wait outside the Prince's Mansion until he comes out. We can forgo the funding from the provincial government and bear all the expenses of the school ourselves! As long as the Commandery School can be preserved, except for the annual recommendation quota for the National School, I can make concessions on anything!"

Xie Xinghan said anxiously: "You must not do this! With the Prince of Badong's temper, doing this will be counterproductive!"

The Prince of Badong was already biased toward the Wang Guan School, and the Wang Guan School was controlled by the gentry from the capital who followed the Prince of Badong to Jingzhou to take office.

So the Prince of Badong favored the Wang Guan School, besides because the Wang Guan School was established by the Prince of Yuzhang, maybe it also carried the meaning of supporting the gentry from the capital.

If Liu Zhao really connected with the gentry of this province to make a scene, wouldn't that be making it clear that he was against the Prince?

"I know, but this is also a way with no other way. Besides, I am not just doing this for the Prince to see, but also for Director Liu Tan Tan to see. Whether he is for the sake of academic dispute or wants to earn official reputation, I want him to see the determination of our Jingzhou scholar-officials to preserve learning and continue teaching! If the school is still to be banned in the end..."

Liu Zhao took a breath, his eyes very firm:

"Then let the Prince send troops! I, Liu Zhao, will sit here! And coexist with the Commandery School!"

At this time, if it were an ordinary woman, she would either advise Liu Zhao not to be impulsive or say some comforting words. But Xie Xinghan was as stubborn as Liu Zhao, and equally appreciated the determination of "rather be a broken jade than an intact tile."

She said solemnly: "Since I have taken charge of this matter, I will definitely see it through to the end. Director Liu Tan Tan's younger brother, Liu Cheng, is familiar with me, and I will ask him to persuade his brother. By the way, there is also Master Yu Yi, who has the widest connections in Jingzhou and must have influence in the capital. If he is willing to speak, even if the Prince does not listen, he will have to think twice, which can buy us time."

"Youjian... I have always treated him as a friend." Liu Zhao shook his head, his face full of disappointment. "Not to mention that his second son is a student of the Commandery School, just saying that as the leader of the Jingzhou gentry, there is absolutely no reason for him to stand by and watch."

Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives; just as Liu Zhao mentioned Yu Yi's second son, Yu Yuling's voice sounded outside the door.

"Teacher, the student has something to report."

Xie Xinghan did not want to see outsiders and looked at Liu Zhao. Liu Zhao nodded, and Xie Xinghan turned behind a lacquer-painted screen.

After Liu Zhao saw her sit down, he called for people to come in.

"Someone seeks to see the teacher; this is his letter." Yu Yuling presented the letter with his head hanging low.

Liu Zhao took the letter and wondered: "You are actually willing to announce him? That is rare. I have said long ago that since the Wang Guan School came prepared, just blocking them won't work."

"The disciple serves when there is work; the student is incompetent and can only block those straw bags with rotten cotton for my teacher, but this person is different."

Seeing Yu Yuling's bitter face, Liu Zhao guessed the general situation and said while reading the letter:

"I told you long ago that there are people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens; it is good to suffer some setbacks. After you left the Executive Officer Wu speechless, your tail was raised to the sky; now you know how powerful he is?"

"I thought that since he dared to come, he must have studied the *Book of Documents*, so I asked about the *Analects* and the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, but he... could it be that he has mastered both classics?" Yu Yuling muttered in a low voice.

The Five Classics are vast, and those who can master one classic can establish a name in the world. And the *Analects* is not one of the Five Classics, so Yu Yuling suspected that this young master might have mastered both the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and the *Book of Documents*.

Liu Zhao did not hear Yu Yuling's words at all, because he only looked at the text on the letter paper once, and then forgot everything around him.

Yu Yuling did not get a response from his teacher, looked up, and was stunned to see his teacher holding the letter paper, his pupils shaking violently, his hands trembling slightly!

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Note: ① Screens have the silk-like hazy semi-transparent ones often seen on TV, and also ones that are completely partitioned. For those who don't have a visual sense of "people can hide behind screens," you can look at the wooden lacquer-painted screen unearthed from the tomb of Sima Jinlong of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

② Those who read about the Prince of Badong, Prince of Jingling, and Prince of Yuzhang might be a little dizzy. In fact, the protagonist is the same when he first arrives. Students don't need to worry; these threads will be presented clearly bit by bit. ===== CHAPTER 32 =====