Chapter 80

Huo Zhangyuan signaled to Yue Heng not to refuse, and he persuaded him, "You are the original author, and your understanding of 'The Master's Discourse' is the deepest. Only you can quickly enter the right mindset and fully convey the meaning of 'The Master's Discourse.' Therefore, you are the only one suitable to give the lecture. Additionally, don't rush to publish the series of poems in 'Encouragement to Study.' First, narrate the complete version of 'Encouragement to Study: Part Five.' We will then deliberate and decide whether to publish the entire series based on the situation."

"Lord Huo, isn't this a bit inappropriate? Isn't this likely to be seen as a deliberate deception of the Chu Kingdom's Ministry of Literature?" an elderly Wenshi of the fifth rank asked with some concern.

Huo Zhangyuan sighed lightly and said in a low voice, "Elder Qi, our Qi Prefecture is one of the three most backward prefectures in the Chu Kingdom, and our literary strength is even more backward. Every year, we rank among the last few in the strength evaluations of the prefectures and counties. Why has our Qi Prefecture not produced any human talents for so many years? Although the Chen Grand Auxiliary Hall still sits in the court, there is only one person, far from matching the strength of other regions."

Elder Qi also sighed upon hearing this. There was no way out, as Qi Prefecture was inland in the Chu Kingdom, far from the mountains of beast demons and not by the sea. Most of the martial artists and craftsmen in the prefecture had joined the Wei Kingdom's army to fight in battles.

However, literati could not frequently practice, and over time, their experience in literary contests became increasingly poor, and the resources they obtained became fewer and fewer, ultimately leading to a vicious cycle. The number and quality of high-ranking literati in Qi Prefecture declined year by year.

Huo Zhangyuan gritted his teeth and said resolutely, "The number of new students this year is greater than in previous years, and their quality is better. With these rare resonant texts, why don't we seize this opportunity to enhance the strength of the talented young people in our Qi Prefecture? As long as we go through this once, within twenty years, perhaps even within ten years, someone will be able to break through to the fifth-rank Wenshi, or even reach the sixth-rank Auxiliary Hall realm!"

Elder Qi felt a wave of sorrow. "The idea is good, but this could very likely cost you everything you have now... Yingjie, you must think carefully."

Huo Zhangyuan shook his head. "I, Huo Yingjie, am already over seventy years old. What do I have left to hold onto? If I can exchange my life for the boundless growth of thousands of young people in Qi Prefecture, I am willing!"

No one in the surroundings tried to persuade him further, and a solemn and somber atmosphere prevailed. Everyone bowed deeply to Huo Zhangyuan, admiring his righteousness.

Huo Zhangyuan was determined to seize the opportunity from the Chu Kingdom's Ministry of Literature and bring a benefit to the Qi Prefecture Academy.

However, this might come at a heavy cost, as anyone who violated the regulations of the Chu Kingdom's Ministry of Literature would face severe punishment.

Yue Heng's rank and status were too low to refuse, so he could only agree.

As for 'Encouragement to Study: Part Five, the Child Prodigy Poem,' he thought about it and decided to recite it the next day. After all, he had already recited Han Yu's 'The Master's Discourse,' so why couldn't he recite Wang Zhu's 'Child Prodigy Poem'?

Moreover, Huo Zhangyuan dared to offend the Chu Kingdom's Ministry of Literature, so why should he be afraid to write a poem? He was the author of the text, and it had nothing to do with anyone else's resonance.

That night, Huo Zhangyuan personally issued a message, and the entire prefecture academy was in an uproar. The next day, a mysterious person would give a public lecture, not only for the literary academy but also for martial artists, craftsmen, and even mysterious spirit masters, who were all ordered to attend the lecture at the literary academy.

This was a major event that the prefecture academy had not seen in a hundred years, and its importance was evident since it was personally announced by Huo Zhangyuan.

Many instructors who had scheduled classes for the next day postponed them, and many students who were on missions returned early. Everyone was trying to find out the identity of the mysterious person, but no one knew.

The next day, the lecture for the new students was held in the largest hall of the academy.

This hall could accommodate at least three thousand people. If additional seats were added and the spacing between seats was reduced, using the stage and aisles, another one or two thousand people could be accommodated.

The total number of students and instructors in the Qi Prefecture Academy exceeded five thousand, and due to various reasons, several hundred could not attend. Today, about five thousand people were present.

Huo Zhangyuan arranged for some instructors to maintain order and consciously assigned different people to different seats.

New students sat in the front, while older students sat in the back.

Students with excellent talent sat in the front, while those with average talent sat in the back.

Instructors close to breaking through sat in the front, while those who had just advanced sat in the back.

This time, Huo Zhangyuan and others sincerely hoped that the faculty and students of the academy would improve. He strongly suppressed the rule that resonant texts must be immediately reported to the Chu Kingdom's Ministry of Literature and did his best to bring a benefit to the faculty and students of the academy.

Now, they were just waiting for the main person to take the stage!

Yue Heng walked out from the backstage, and as soon as he appeared, he heard a chorus of boos from the audience.

For safety reasons, Huo Zhangyuan required him to wear a mask, and Yue Heng originally intended to be low-key, so he fully agreed to this proposal. As for the boos, he could ignore them.

On the side of the stage, all the senior instructors had different expressions. They were either third-rank scholars with seven literary symbols in their bodies or fourth-rank literati with fourteen to fifteen literary symbols, all of whom were close to breaking through. Hearing that there was a chance to break through, even if they did not fully believe it, they came with a glimmer of hope.

There were also fourth-rank military craftsmen, fifth-rank craftsmen, fourth-rank military officers, fifth-rank martial artists, and even a mysterious fourth-rank spirit controller in the crowd. Everyone stared at the masked man without blinking, but they all had the same question: this person looks very young, can he really do it?

In the literary academy, Ji Cong saw the masked man on the stage and frowned. "This person's figure looks very familiar, could it be Yue Brother?"

In the martial arts academy, Wen Xin Yue, a new student this year, saw Yue Heng appear and couldn't help but clench her fists, her eyes wide open, and her teeth biting her lower lip, completely disbelieving.

"How could it be him? He's giving a lecture to five thousand people? Isn't he a new student? Bastard, he hasn't come to the martial arts academy to see me for so many days!" A mist clouded Wen Xin Yue's eyes, and she was somewhat angry at Yue Heng's coldness.

But she seemed to forget that Yue Heng was a literatus. Why would a literatus always run to the martial arts academy, especially in front of many young and energetic martial artists, to flirt with the flower of the martial arts academy this year? That would be asking for trouble!

"What's wrong, Xiao Yue? Do you know that person?" a tall female martial artist asked beside her.

"No, no, no, how could I know him?" Wen Xin Yue realized she had lost her composure, relaxed her hand, and gradually calmed down.

"Miss Wen, do you want some water?" "Miss Wen, it's noisy here, why don't you come over to my side?" "Miss Wen..."

These were a group of noisy male martial artists, constantly trying to win Wen Xin Yue's favor, hoping to gain her attention.

But who could know that their goddess, Wen Xin Yue, was completely focused on the masked man on the stage? If they knew, they might have already stormed over to the literary academy to confront him!

In the craftsmen's academy, Lei Pangu, holding a千里眼 (千里眼: a device for seeing far distances), almost choked and couldn't speak.

Years of trading experience had made his eyes exceptionally sharp, and identifying people by their voice was easy for him. He was sure that the masked person on the stage was Yue Heng, or he would rather gouge out his eyes!

"This kid is amazing! Giving a lecture to the entire prefecture academy, and to both instructors and students, how impressive is that? Tsk tsk, just thinking about it makes me envious. A luxurious beast soul carriage worth thousands of contribution points, I heard it was bought by a beautiful woman who even anonymously gifted it to him. I can only say this kid has too many secrets! Ordinary students can hardly speak to a woman for years, but he has women giving him gifts and throwing themselves at him. I admire him, I can't help but admire him!"

Lei Pangu squinted his small eyes, crossed his legs, and chewed on something, his fat body shaking with laughter.

Many people in the hall were guessing the identity of this person, but they would never think that this person was the "Fierce Child" among the "Four Fierce New Students."

So, rumors can be deadly!

The hall, which could hold five thousand people, was packed. Yue Heng was only surprised for a moment and quickly returned to normal.

He stood in his designated position, with several Fuxi text disks floating around him, transmitting his voice to every corner of the hall without missing a word.

He cleared his throat and said, "The first part of 'The Grand Ceremony for New Students,' Xunzi's 'Encouragement to Study,' is aimed at all new students. Whether they are literati, martial artists, craftsmen, or spirit masters, learning is a very important foundation, and its importance does not need to be emphasized. Today, I want to discuss things from a different angle, starting with teachers!"

Teachers?

Upon hearing this, all the instructors perked up their ears, their eyes gleaming, eager to see what this person had to say.

"Confucius once said, 'When three people walk together, one of them must be my teacher. Choose the good qualities and follow them, and the bad qualities and improve them.' Even Confucius, the Sage, was humble and eager to learn. We ordinary people should respect teachers and value learning. Before encouraging learning, we must first respect teachers; otherwise, the learning effect will be greatly reduced."

Next, Yue Heng explained Han Yu's 'The Master's Discourse.'

Han Yu wrote 'The Master's Discourse' with a background. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the hereditary and aristocratic system was prevalent. Noble children entered the Hongwen Hall, the National University, and the Chongwen Hall, and regardless of their academic performance, they could become officials in the future.

Therefore, it was common for noble children to belittle teachers.

Among the literati, a common view was that "a low position is shameful, and a high position is flattery." For the nobles, what were teachers compared to their deep family roots and extensive networks?

No matter how good or talented a teacher was, it couldn't compare to a high-ranking official friend speaking a few words in a key position, maintaining regular contact, and forming an interest chain. This was the way to be an official.