Chapter 79: Scholars Should Prioritize Vessel and Insight

The banquet ended and the people dispersed; the bright moon invaded the corridor.

Yu Yi stood with his hands behind his back in front of the window; Wang Yang's words at the banquet echoed in his ears:

"Bashu occupies the upper reaches of the Yangtze, looking down on Wu and Chu; its momentum is enough to seize the dangers of the Yangtze. Without Jiankang, the South has no head; without Bashu, the South has a severed arm. Therefore, Qin first annexed Shu, then swallowed Chu. When Jin wanted to destroy Wu, it also destroyed Shu first. Using Shu as the upper reaches of the Yangtze, flowing east and down, can divide the situation of the South."

"Those who want to secure the South must contend for Shu; those who want to peek at the Central Plains must also occupy Shu. Zu Ti's Northern Expedition could not succeed without the support of Bashu. Huan Wen took Shu, so he could enter Luo. Liu Yu recovered Shu, then conquered Chang'an. With both Jing and Shu complete, head and tail connected, one can combine the momentum of east and west to resist the North. This is why Kong Ming was so eager to advocate the alliance of Wu and Shu!"

"Retreating to guard the left of the Yangtze, Xiangyang is not as good as Jiankang; advancing to plan for the Central Plains, Jiankang is not as good as Xiangyang. Managing Jingxiang, mobilizing the wealth of the Three Wu, and nurturing the strength of Bashu, while using the Huai River as a screen—only then can the South be self-sufficient and manage great undertakings; there is nothing better than this! Only when self-defense is sufficient can one launch a Northern Expedition. If the timing is not right, merely indulging in hot-bloodedness to tilt the great army will ruin the country and spoil things; there is nothing worse than this!"

"Father." Yu Qianlou returned from seeing off the guests, interrupting Yu Yi's thoughts.

"What did Wang Yang say?" Yu Yi asked directly.

Yu Qianlou did not expect his father to ask specifically about Wang Yang. He hesitated for a moment and replied: "He asked about Little Brother's affairs, and between the lines, he pleaded for Little Brother, wanting Little Brother to return to the commandery school..."

"You go now and withdraw the manpower outside the bamboo hut, and tell A-Jie that he can return to the commandery school."

Yu Qianlou was very surprised: "Father, aren't you worried that Little Brother will get mixed up in..."

"Go. Tell Little Brother the situation tonight, especially Wang Yang's words, completely and accurately. Also, tomorrow you go and carefully check Wang Yang's household registration; remember, don't make a scene."

Yu Qianlou was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said: "Yes."

After Yu Qianlou left the room, Yu Yi stood in front of the window for a while, then walked to the desk, sat down, focused, picked up his brush, and began to write a letter.

The first sentence of the letter was: "The Recluse of Cangming respectfully bows to the Hermit of Xuanlong..."

"Father!"

"Come in."

Yu Yuling walked in, his gait light, his face full of joy, and called out again: "Father!"

"If you have something to say, say it." Yu Yi stopped his brush, covered the letter paper, and looked at his youngest son.

Yu Yuling said excitedly: "Father! I told you, didn't I? Brother Wang's knowledge is profound, he is definitely not an ordinary person! It's just that I didn't expect him to be so powerful in metaphysics, and I didn't expect him to have such strategy! I think even compared to Wang Rong, he might not be much worse..."

"Have you seen Wang Rong?" Yu Yi was expressionless.

"This... I haven't, but son thinks..."

"If you haven't seen him, how dare you speak recklessly about who is better?" Yu Yi's voice was serious. "A gentleman should be slow in speech but quick in action. After you return to the commandery school this time, speak less and listen more, and take the people around you as teachers. Don't just learn the skill of picking sentences from 'old paper piles,' but also learn the vision and insight of the people around you. Vessel and insight refer to one's capacity and discernment. Scholars should prioritize vessel and insight; otherwise, no matter how many books you read, you are just a 'two-legged bookcase'."

Yu Yuling bowed and saluted: "Yes." Then he secretly glanced at his father and whispered: "The 'people around you' you mentioned, does that refer to Wang Yang?"

Yu Yi picked up his brush again, lowered his head to continue writing the letter, and made an "hmm" sound in his mouth that was almost imperceptible.

Yu Yuling suppressed a laugh: "But didn't you just tell me yesterday not to see him again..."

"Get out."

"Son takes his leave!"

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Yu Yuling slipped away quickly.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Inside the ox cart, the slightly tipsy Wang Yang felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at by Chen Qingshan.

"Who exactly are you?" Chen Qingshan asked.

Wang Yang looked at Chen Qingshan's cold, jade-like face and laughed: "I am your master."

Hum!

The sound of a sword rang out!

The long sword slid out of the scabbard backwards, the hilt and blade swept past Wang Yang's ear quickly, hitting the wall of the carriage with a dull thud, scaring Wang Yang.

"What are you doing! You are my guard, I am your master, is there a problem?!"

It couldn't be that the word "master" had already been "stigmatized" during the Northern and Southern Dynasties?! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

So Wang Yang questioned Chen Qingshan with righteous indignation.

Chen Qingshan withdrew her sword coldly: "No problem, but your smile is too frivolous."

Frivolous is frivolous, just don't ask me who I am again.

"Do you understand military strategy?" Chen Qingshan asked suddenly.

"Talking about war on paper, what do you call understanding military strategy? By the way, you are the daughter of a military family, you are the one who understands."

Chen Qingshan shook her head: "My father taught me some, but what my father knows is on the battlefield, two armies charging and killing; what you said at the banquet was the struggle between two countries, the situation of the situation, my father couldn't say that."

"Your father is still amazing. Your father is a military general who can truly lead troops into battle; I am a scholar talking about war, if I went to the battlefield, I might be Zhao Kuo or Ma Su."

"Scholars generally look down on military generals."

Scholars in the Southern Dynasties could command troops and be commanders, but they rarely looked down on military generals who truly went into battle and charged. And among the same rank, civil officials were also more glorious than military officials.

Therefore, when scholars in the Southern Dynasties served as military officials, they often had the case of concurrent holding. That is, in addition to a clean and noble civil official position, they also held a military position, also called "tie ling." This refers to high-level military positions. As for low-level military officer positions, they were even more disdainful.

Wang Yang naturally knew this drawback of the Southern Dynasties. Thinking that the Southern Dynasties were eventually destroyed by the Northern Dynasties, he sighed: "That is affectation. The Northern Dynasties are so strong; if we don't value military affairs, we will eventually be annexed by the Northern Dynasties."

Chen Qingshan was a bit puzzled: "Why do you always say the Northern Dynasties are strong? I heard that the Northern barbarians' national fortune is declining day by day and won't last long."

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Everyone says so."

"If that were true, not to mention Chang'an and Luoyang, the north of the Huai should have been recovered long ago."

"The North and South have been exchanging envoys for a long time, and generally won't easily start a war."

Wang Yang smiled.

Chen Qingshan added: "My father also said that if a war really starts, the Northern barbarians can't beat us."

"Has your father fought them?"

"That, no."

Wang Yang thought: Your father is the capital's imperial guard, the source of troops and equipment are the best, and he has never fought the Northern people. If it were a general who truly guarded the border, he might not be as confident as your father.

He didn't elaborate, just said: "For an opponent, it's better to value them than to underestimate them."

Chen Qingshan nodded.

Wang Yang added: "In the future, when you encounter a banquet situation, just go down and eat, you don't have to stand there all the time."

Chen Qingshan said seriously: "Since I promised to be your guard, I must fulfill the duties of a guard."

"But—"

Chen Qingshan's eyes were as deep as a pool: "I hope that when you do what you promised me, you can also be as attentive as I am." ===== CHAPTER 80 =====