Chapter 738: The Ranter

Given the situation, the King felt that shaking his head again would be impolite. This guy, when nervous, blurts out the truth: "Do you know him or… not?"

Xie Yuan: ……

Xie Yuan took a deep breath. Yan Hao keeps a low profile and rarely goes out, yet the King actually doesn't know the prolific, world‑renowned Scholar Yan? Just say whether he's read anything or not!

Next, Xie Yuan gave the King a rundown of Yan Hao—his background, his doctrines, and his reputation in the South. In short, this person has left seclusion and come to Youzhou, voluntarily submitting an article to the Northern Border Weekly. Xie Yuan figured, roughly speaking, this was an olive branch, and planned to introduce him to the King.

As descendants of sages, their status is high among the Confucian‑esteeming crowd, and Xie Yuan poured his heart out to the King, trying to win his favor.

The King still wasn't convinced: "He often goes to Qingyang Academy as a guest lecturer, but he doesn't often come to our Northern Border Academy, so it's normal I don't know him."

Immediately, this guy thought of his long‑pending academy duty. The Xie brothers had successively served as Professor and merged with Fanyang Academy—each a major achievement. The faculty and library were also solid, yet with the task still unfinished, the King felt hopeless.

He knew full well that too few Jin people are literate; even if every scholar knew the Northern Border Academy, it wouldn't help. But as soon as he heard how prominent Yan Hao's background was, he became interested.

"If Yan Hao came to lecture at our Northern Border Academy, would it boost the academy's prestige? Would people come to study because of him?"

Xie Yuan kept a straight face: "I've said all this, Your Majesty, and you've completely missed the point. Let's check yesterday's… no, the day before yesterday's assigned recitation. You skipped class yesterday."

The King sat up straight: "All right, all right, let's keep talking about Yan Hao. Why do you want to introduce him to me, Sir?"

Xie Yuan: ……

He let out a long sigh, no longer willing to beat around the bush with this guy, and went straight to the point: "I mean to have Your Majesty retain Yan Hao in Youzhou for official service."

The King sighed upon hearing that—he still worries about having to attend class three days, then fish two days and dry nets.

"Being emperor really isn't much fun. In a strong dynasty, a single edict from me would have even a hermit in the Southern Border rushing to Youzhou to await orders. Now that some great scholar has appeared, I have to beg him to stay and then give him a post just to curry favor. Whether it's the aristocracy or the descendants of sages, who treats the imperial family as anything?"

Probably Xie Yuan's expression was hard to read, so he added: "Is he hidebound? Is his consciousness advanced?"

Xie Yuan sighed: "You don't have to memorize today's homework, Your Majesty. Go take a look at Yan Hao's representative work, ."

Seeing the King smile, Xie Yuan couldn't help adding as he left: "The Grand Marshal wasn't on duty today; I hear he's been besieged at home. Your Majesty, do you know about this? They say someone impersonated his son and got into a lawsuit with officials, and the two sides seem to be fighting over peasants' farmland."

The King felt guilty; class was over, and at such a crucial moment he feared the recitation assignment might come back, so he resolved to deny it to the end. This guy, shocked, shouted at the top of his lungs: "There's more? Rebellion! We must investigate, we must investigate!" After yelling, he didn't give Xie Yuan a chance to reply and immediately changed the subject.

"Where is Yan Hao's piece in the Submission Society? I want to read it."

Xie Yuan was speechless, deciding to see how far the King could play dead.

"At Xie Tu's place."

The King was waiting in the Lan Tai Palace, and Xie Tu quickly sent over Yan Hao's major work.

The King's reading volume is actually not small, but the works of great scholars aren't on his list, so Yan Hao is a stranger to him.

He asked Xie Tu: "What kind of person is Yan Hao? Your uncle seems to think highly of him and is strongly recommending him to me."

Xie Tu felt unqualified to judge Mr. Yan, and explained Yan's doctrines to the King… but the King couldn't stand listening. After thinking a while, he summed it up briefly: "Mr. Yan… is a gentleman. Your Majesty, the more you see him, the more you'll understand."

The King neither affirmed nor denied, took the article and began to read.

"Wow…… huh…… tsk…… not! Him?"

Xie Tu lowered his head, quiet as a chicken.

"A gentleman wouldn't know, but I'm sure he's a ranter!"

Xie Tu: …… a vivid description.

This polemic blasts away from start to finish, first mocking King Chu Bai Li Qi, whom he still finds amusing, then naming Guang Lie and Bai Li Hu as well, smearing the entire Bai Li clan. Of course, he didn't spare the aristocrats in the south who raise large garrisons for military competition, and in the end he even took a swipe at him.

Abbreviated as "sweeping shot".

"Critiquing every rebel king, every aristocrat who sweeps snow before their own doors—still not enough; could this latter part possibly be about me?"

"How absurd! Who leaked the secret that I'm poorly educated, and how could they think I wouldn't notice?!"

Xie Tu: ……