Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 925 Goodbye Huangfu
The next day, Lu Zhi reported that after the re-examination notice was issued yesterday, only less than two thousand people came to register for the exam. Compared with the huge number of students in the Imperial College, it was really small.

"These scholars really don't know how to act. Your Majesty has already given them a second chance, but they are still pretending to be stubborn and refusing to take the exam."

Among the many civil officials, Meng Jian was considered to have some temper. After hearing the numbers reported by Lu Zhi, he did not hide his dissatisfaction even in front of Liu He.

Qian Li was also frowning: "Your Majesty, the scholars are pretending to obey but secretly disobeying, which is really against the grace of the emperor."

"Daozhun is right." Not long ago, Taishan prefect Zhao Jin, who had hurried back to Luoyang because his father Zhao Yu suddenly fell seriously ill, also stood up.

"Although we are also scholars, we study the Saint's Church for the sake of peace and stability of the country, not to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and ignore the country and the world for personal gain. I am fortunate to have followed Your Majesty in my early years for twelve years. I know that Your Majesty can have the foundation today because of your benevolence and love for the people, so you are supported by the people and everyone serves you. I think that since scholars can hardly understand Your Majesty's kindness, it is better to abandon it. With such a solemn and vast Imperial College, within five years, thousands of talents can be cultivated for the court. Since many scholars are unwilling to advance and retreat with the court, the court does not need to regret it."

"What Ziyu said is also what I feel. Your Majesty, please don't be so servile."

Meng Jian, Shi Tao and others all began to advise against it.

Liu He looked at their expressions and couldn't help laughing.

"You guys... When have I ever done anything that I was not sure of?"

Everyone was stunned and asked, "Could it be that Your Majesty has already made arrangements, and can he really take this opportunity to win the hearts of scholars all over the world in one fell swoop?"

Liu He twirled his short beard and said, "I can't say that I can recruit all the scholars in the world, but I can win the hearts of 70 to 80 percent of them, which is almost certain. After two days, you just wait and see."

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Early in the morning of that day, a large group of people gathered at the gate of Imperial College again.

Lu Zhi, whose hair and beard had already turned white, walked out with the gait of a dragon or a tiger. When the crowd, who were originally talking noisily, saw him appear, they instantly quieted down.

Lu Zhi looked majestic without getting angry. He looked around with his tiger eyes slightly wide open, and then said, "The examination begins, and the scholars are entering."

After saying this, he turned around and prepared to return to the Imperial College.

"Dean, wait a minute."

A voice sounded from behind, and Lu Zhi instinctively turned around to look. It was a young scholar who was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. At the same time, he found that among the many scholars behind him, none of them followed him in, which made him feel something was wrong.

"This student, the examination is about to begin. Why don't you enter the Imperial College? Do you have any questions?"

The young student bowed to Lu Zhi, and he bowed all the way to the bottom, looking very polite.

"I have some questions that I don't understand, so I would like to ask the dean. If I can resolve all my doubts, I will come in for the examination. I wonder if the dean would be willing to teach me?"

Lu Zhi frowned. He looked at the other students and saw that they were all looking at him. He guessed that this matter must have been secretly conspired by these scholars long ago. That was certainly not a good thing, and it made him alert.

However, no matter how vigilant he was, Lu Zhi, who was nearly sixty years old, had seen many storms and waves. How could he be frightened by such a small change?
He stood up again, bowed his hands in return, and said, "I have received your majesty's great grace and have been granted this position. My purpose is to teach and educate the people and students of the Han Dynasty. Since this student has some doubts, I will certainly answer them if I know anything."

"Well, Mr. Lu is magnanimous. I admire him."

The young student gave a thumbs up and said.

"I believe that no matter whether it is classics, engineering, military science, or medicine, if one wants to learn effectively and teach effectively, books and classics are indispensable. Confucian and Taoist classics, famous medical works, military sage theories, and ancient teachings of workers and farmers should be the basis for teaching students in the Imperial College."

Lu Zhi did not refute this: "Yes, it should be so."

The young student said enthusiastically: "Mr. Lu is the master of classics in the Han Dynasty. His reputation in the country is unmatched. I naturally admire him very much. Since Mr. Lu agrees with what I say, I would like to ask you a question. I wonder..."

At this point, he looked past Lu Zhi and looked inside the Imperial Academy, and asked, "How many books are there in the Imperial Academy?"

Lu Zhi's pupils shrank and he seemed a little surprised.

While he was in a daze, many misunderstandings naturally occurred among the students outside who already had prejudices against the Imperial College.

"Mr. Lu, is it possible that there are very few books in the Imperial College?"

"Why run the Imperial College if this is the case? Isn't it misleading the students?"

"Yes, my family is at the bottom of the aristocratic family, but we have nearly 20,000 books. Since the Imperial College is the highest institution of learning in the Han Dynasty, it should have at least 200,000 or 300,000 books. Otherwise, how can we take on such an important task?"

After listening to their complaints and ridicule, Lu Zhi came to his senses and hurriedly explained.

"Don't worry, everyone. Listen to me. Your Majesty has been planning the Imperial College for a year. In order to build this kind of school, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, and the Empress have been thrifty and saved money to build a new Imperial College and prepare books. The Imperial College has no less than 400,000 volumes of classics from various schools."

"Wow, four hundred thousand... Oh my god..."

"If there really are 400,000 books, then... that would be a huge treasure. It would be a blessing for us to be able to study in it..."

Many scholars were shocked by the number Lu Zhi said.

The young student raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? Is that true? But... I heard that there are no extremely large buildings in the Imperial College. Lu Gong must know that the Analects alone requires more than 20 bamboo slips, which are enough to fill a wooden box. If you want to store hundreds of thousands of books, what kind of magnificent building is needed? I wonder which building is the library in the Imperial College? Could it be that this building has the ingenuity of nature and can shrink the books for storage?"

The sarcasm in his words was so obvious that the scholars around him burst into laughter.

The Imperial College covers a vast area, nearly a thousand feet long and wide. There are countless pavilions, towers and mansions in between, but there is no building that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of books. Although these students are not in the Imperial College themselves, it is not difficult for them to find out the layout of the college.

Without waiting for his answer, the scholars started to make a noise again: "Yes, how big a library would that be?"

"I heard that the Hongnong Yang family has three library pavilions, each covering nearly a hundred feet, which can store a hundred thousand volumes of classics. If the Imperial College has four hundred thousand books, I'm afraid at least thirty percent of the buildings in the Imperial College will have to be used for book storage, right?"

"Yes, I absolutely do not believe it."

"I never thought that even a great man like Mr. Lu would do such a thing to deceive the world. It's really disappointing..."

The scholars' sarcasm and ridicule made the young scholar even more proud.

"How is it, Lord Lu? Am I wrong?"

Lu Zhi was not surprised by his question. He asked back: "Why? I see that you all think I am deceiving you and that the Imperial College does not have many books, so you are reluctant to take the entrance exam?" "Yes, that is exactly what I think."

For some reason, after hearing this, Lu Zhi did not feel angry or embarrassed. Instead, he lowered his head and sighed, as if... seemed a little disappointed and sad.

"Alas... I didn't expect that His Majesty really predicted it..."

Then, he raised his head again, looked at everyone, and his tone became firm: "Since you all have doubts, as the president of the Imperial Academy, I should resolve these doubts."

When the scholars heard this, their eyes lit up.

"Why, could it be that Lord Lu would like to invite me and others to take a look at those 400,000 volumes of classics?"

"If that's the case, we will not only take the exam right away, but even if we fail today, we will definitely prepare for the exam again in the future and give it another try. No matter what, we must be admitted to the Imperial College."

"Yes, Mr. Lu, please help us solve our doubts."

The young scholar said, "Mr. Lu is so magnanimous that I really admire him. In this case, please lead the way and take us to the library to have a look."

The scholars were all willing, but there was already a hint of coldness in Lu Zhi's eyes.

"No, I cannot take you to the library."

"What? What does Mr. Lu mean?" the young scholar asked in surprise.

"Yes, Mr. Lu, are you trying to tease us?"

For a moment, some of the scholars became excited.

Lu Zhi waved his hand and said, "No. It's just that His Majesty has issued an order and the Imperial College has strict rules. The library is the most important place in the Imperial College. Even I only have the right to enter and read at any time, and I cannot bring people in at will, let alone so many of you."

"Then what should we do according to Lord Lu's opinion? We will not give up until we see the library today." The tone of the young student became a little aggressive, and among the many scholars, there were people who kept helping to stir up trouble, which made the scholars a little anxious.

"Yes, I will never give up!"

"If Your Majesty is so wantonly insulting scholars, even though we are insignificant and have little influence, we will never allow ourselves to be bullied!"

Many scholars were so excited that they shouted at the top of their lungs, even their voices became hoarse.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Lu Zhi stretched out his hand and pressed it lightly, gathering the Qi in his Dantian, and shouted loudly: "Don't worry, everyone, just listen to my explanation."

The crowd gradually quieted down, but the look they gave Lu Zhi was somewhat unfriendly.

Lu Zhi said, "The library of our Imperial College is managed by a special person. I am responsible for all the teaching affairs, examinations, and selection of talents for the court of the Imperial College, but this library is the only one that I cannot interfere with. If you want to enter, you must obtain the consent of this person, or seek the imperial decree of His Majesty. Otherwise, even if the Grand Commandant Yang Gong comes here, he will be turned away."

"Wow, this guy is so arrogant." Some scholars said dissatisfiedly.

"Well, that's not the right thing to say. If this person is really responsible for protecting 400,000 volumes of classics, it would not be wrong for him to be more cautious."

"Then he should come out in person. Whether he agrees or not, he should explain to us. He is just a guard at the library. What reputation and status does he have to put on airs in front of us?"

"That's right. Your Majesty has never liked scholars. I'm afraid he has sent a warrior to guard the library. Who knows..."

"If this is true, it would taint many ancient books..."

At this moment, a somewhat cold and aloof voice was heard from the gate of the Imperial Academy.

"Who is here to gossip and slander me?"

Everyone was startled and turned their heads quickly to look over, only to see a thin, fair-skinned man in his thirties, wrapped in a fur cloak, walking slowly out of the Imperial College and finally standing one step behind Lu Zhi's left.

This man stood on the steps, looking down from above, with his head held high, as if he was looking down on people through his nose. Especially his eyes, which seemed neither closed nor open, as if he did not take the thousands of scholars outside the door seriously.

"Who is this guy? Just looking at his expression, I know he is not a good person..."

Some scholars immediately became unhappy, however, more scholars looked as if they had seen a ghost and stared at the person who came.

The other scholars were very surprised when they saw this. They pushed the people around them and asked, "What's wrong? Do you know this person?"

Some scholars swallowed their saliva, pointed at the man with trembling fingers, and said, "Huang...Huangfu...Huangfu Han..."

These three words were like a stone hitting a calm lake, instantly causing huge waves.

"What? He is Huangfu Han?"

"The legendary bookworm from the Huangfu family?"

"I have heard that the General of the Cavalry has a nephew who has loved books since he was young. He has books with him all the time. At the age of 20, he is known to be well-read. He has read all the books circulating in the world. He is knowledgeable and has a good memory. However, he usually stays at home and rarely goes out. Otherwise, he would have established his own school among the scholars and recruited many disciples."

"That's right. I've heard of this man's name a long time ago. When he was twenty years old, he was invited by several Confucian scholars to have two debates in Chang'an and Luoyang. Although he was young at the time, he was able to convince more than twenty well-known scholars by himself. His fame rose rapidly and he was the talk of the town."

"That's right, I personally experienced the incident in Chang'an City that year, and I still remember it vividly. At that time, Huangfu Han became my idol. I have no regrets even if a scholar can have such knowledge!"

"It's just that when your Majesty was sent to Yanmen to suppress Zhang Jiao in his early years, General Huangfu sent this man and entrusted him to your Majesty's care. Since then, Huangfu Han has disappeared and has never appeared again. No one knows where he is studying. I didn't expect him to appear here today."

“Could it be… Could it be…”

Everyone had some guesses in their minds and looked at Huangfu Han.

Huangfu looked at them coldly, his lips moved slightly: "Yes, the guard of the Imperial College Library is me."

"Wow..." Everyone was surprised and happy.

Huangfu Han, whose courtesy name is Qingleng, is the nephew of Huangfu Song. This person appeared once when the protagonist just arrived in Yanmen. I guess many people have forgotten him, right?
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(End of this chapter)