newbobooks Chapter 220 Visiting the Society
Chapter 220 Visiting the Society
Chapter 220 Visiting the Temple
The teacher of Yuzhang Academy never expected that his mission to suppress Ye Ruwen, ordered by the Left Prime Minister, would backfire so badly. He was extremely frustrated and bowed before leaving, a stark contrast to his earlier boastful words.
Ye Ru watched the departing group from Yuzhang Academy with a furrowed brow. He knew this was only a one-time event, and they would return in the future.
The students of Yingtian Academy, however, reacted differently. Cheers erupted, and the poor students looked at Ye Ru with more admiration.
"I never expected you to have so many backup plans. You really scared us to death earlier."
Looking at the excited students from impoverished families, Yu Mengyang turned to Ye Ru and said, then paused and continued:
“I heard about your actions from Shuling. Not bad, at least you haven’t disgraced the integrity of a scholar.”
"Sir, you flatter me. As a student of Yingtian Academy, I naturally keep the honor of Yingtian Academy in mind. However, the methods of Yuzhang Academy are too despicable. They actually resorted to such methods. Now they will become a laughing stock among the other three academies."
Ye Ru shook his head.
"Well, it's good that we won this time. If we had lost, we would have been the laughingstock of Yingtian Academy."
Zhang Shuling walked in and then said:
"There are still more than three months until the provincial examination. How is your study going?"
"I should be able to handle the classics and policy essays, but I'm still learning the eight-legged essay since I've never encountered it before. I also have another matter I'd like to ask you two gentlemen for help with."
Ye Ru replied.
"What is it? Please speak freely."
Zhang Shuling said.
"Let's find a place to talk in detail. There are too many people around here, and I don't want to become the target of everyone's attention."
Ye Ru smiled and said that after the two gentlemen nodded, he left.
As the three left, the students from humble backgrounds at Yingtian Academy were in an uproar, discussing the matter amongst themselves, while the students from prominent families and wealthy clans felt their faces burning with embarrassment.
They should have been the first to bear the brunt, but unexpectedly, this time the honor was turned around by a student from a poor family.
"Jinwen, with its profound meaning in concise words, is a fourth-grade literary treasure. It's truly remarkable. I hope you can continue to perform as well as before at the Four Academies Literary Gathering. Otherwise, I'll be disappointed."
Kong Zhixuan watched Ye Ru leave, lowered his head and murmured, then slowly disappeared into the darkness.
"What? You want to start a society?"
Upon arriving at Yaoge, Ye Ru shared his thoughts with Zhang Shuling and Yu Mengyang, who both expressed surprise in unison.
"Is there something amiss, gentlemen?"
Ye Ru hadn't expected the two gentlemen to react so strongly, and he frowned as he spoke.
"There's nothing wrong with that. Anyone can create a society; that's the rule of Yingtian Academy. However, you should know that with your current talent, creating a society is easy, but maintaining it is difficult. It's like the world. Conquering the world was easy, but maintaining it was difficult. Because conquering the world is about conquering people, while maintaining it is about maintaining human nature. Moreover, there are countless societies at Yingtian Academy. Generally speaking, new students will find a reliable society to join, but there has never been a student who created their own society after joining."
"You are too arrogant now, and scholars tend to be jealous of each other. Now that you have defeated Cao Feng, you will inevitably be envied by many powerful families and clans, who will try to hinder your growth. This is human nature. Those who can come to Yingtian Academy are not unknown."
Zhang Shuling frowned and said in a deep voice, implying that he did not approve of Ye Ru establishing the academy.
"I know that human nature is inherently good or inherently evil, a point of contention between Xunzi and Mengzi since ancient times. Human nature can dominate the good side or the bad side. Since the differentiation of classes, scholars from poor families have been increasingly neglected. Cao Pi established the Nine-Rank System, which legalized and made connections transparent by assigning talents to nine ranks. However, in the later period, the system was controlled by powerful families, and the Nine-Rank System became the exclusive channel for aristocratic families. The conflict between the two classes became even more intense. I want to represent scholars from poor families and demand an explanation for them. If poor families cannot produce outstanding talents, wouldn't it be better to leave everything to the powerful families in the future?"
Ye Ru shook his head, his face unusually grave.
“What you say is quite right. No one will stop you from establishing your own academy. But generally speaking, new students who want to establish their own academy need to pay their respects to those established academies.”
"Visit the shrine?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru was taken aback and said...
"Yes, 'Bai She' means, as the name suggests, going to an established academy to challenge them and show them that you have the ability to start your own academy. If you fail, they will definitely not tolerate you."
Yu Mengyang said.
"I see. So, how many temples do we need to visit?"
Ye Ru frowned and said.
"One is enough. Whoever opposes you, you can join their society. As long as you defeat them, you can establish your own society."
Zhang Shuling looked at Ye Ru, and then said:
"I heard that a student named Xue Hanyi wanted to start a society, but was stopped by the Canglan Society. So it's just right that he joined the Canglan Society."
"Canglan Academy..."
Ye Ru rubbed his palm for a moment, a person appeared in his mind, and then said:
"Do those two gentlemen know anyone named Zou Tianshu?"
"I know. This person is a student of the Yin-Yang School, a descendant of Zou Yan. He studies Yin-Yang Mastery and is a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) in the same field, but he is much stronger than Cao Feng. He is the head of the Canglan Society and his chess skills are unmatched among students."
Yu Mengyang pondered for a moment, then said.
"Okay, I understand. Now, could you please help me register for the New Youth Society?"
"Put it in the newspaper? If it's in the newspaper, then academic societies will definitely come to you to pay their respects. Are you ready?"
Zhang Shuling said anxiously.
"I know the students are prepared. They'll meet any challenge head-on."
"Alright, since you've made up your mind, we won't force you. We'll help you get it reported."
"The student will take his leave."
Ye Ru bowed, then left Yaoge and returned to the schoolhouse to think about the matter of joining the sect.
He knew that if he wanted to bring together students from underprivileged backgrounds, he had to get through this hurdle. Only in this way could he fully unleash the cohesive power of these students.
In the following days, after the 136 soldiers finished their studies at Yingtian Academy, they returned to their respective armies one after another. The story of Ye Ru, a poor scholar, fighting against a scholar from Yuzhang Academy, also spread in Yingtian Academy, causing quite a stir.
After all, the people from Yuzhang Academy acted extremely arrogantly when they arrived, which angered many people who valued etiquette and morality.
Ye Ru suddenly appeared and defeated him with swift and decisive methods, which impressed many students from poor families. Even some prominent families and clans began to look at these students with new respect.
Ye Ru's literary reputation began to spread at Yingtian Academy, and few people regarded him as a new student who had been in Yingtian Academy for less than a month.
After this matter came to an end, Ye Ru registered the New Youth Society on the list of societies at Yingtian Academy, and then continued to read, write, and play the zither, preparing to find an opportunity to visit the Canglan Society.
However, after three to five days of this calm, a piece of news spread like wildfire, putting everyone's hearts on edge.
Canglan Academy should take the initiative to pay homage to New Youth Academy!