Film and TV: Starting from the Night Watchman of Dafeng

Chapter 17: Zhao Shou: Studying Things? Taoist Tianzong Method?

The scorching sun shone into the hall and fell on the throne. Emperor Yuan Jing sat upright, his whole body bathed in it.

“Heaven and earth have righteousness…”

The eunuch's shrill voice echoed in the hall.

"All right."

The eunuch who was interrupted immediately knelt on the ground with his head buried deep in his chest.

After a short silence, Emperor Yuan Jing still had a neutral expression. "What's next?"

The eunuch did not stand up, but raised his head slightly and continued to report, "Afterwards, Wei An invited Yun Yasheng."

"What?" Emperor Yuan Jing's expression finally showed a trace of emotion, and he frowned. "Tell me in detail."

"... "

"Go down."

After the eunuch left, Emperor Yuan Jing slowly leaned back until his entire face was immersed in darkness again.

After a long time, two words were uttered in the darkness.

"Wei An."

...

Palace Garden, Moon-Lanyue Hall
“…reading books under the eaves, the ancient road reflects the colors.”

A woman stood by the railing, bathed in golden light.

She had a unique and otherworldly appearance, a calm expression, and a naturally cold and noble air. Her slender fingers held a piece of paper and she looked into the distance. Her round chin was slightly raised, forming an exquisite line with her slender neck.

Although she is not married yet, the gorgeous long dress highlights her slim figure.

"It is truly a piece of writing that will be remembered for all time!"

She couldn't help but sigh, and then sighed secretly, "It's just... it's of no benefit to the country. Fortunately, the shackles of the Yunlu students have been removed."

Time to visit one or two.

Thinking of this, she shouted outside, "Someone come."

...

Haoqi Building

When Nangong Qianrou came up, Yang Yan was reporting to Wei Yuan.

"Lord Wei, do I need to take action?" Yang Yan asked.

"Don't be in a hurry. Pay attention. This person has some talent." After Wei Yuan finished speaking, he looked at Nangong Qianrou who was walking forward.

The latter glanced at Yang Yan beside him.

"Duke Wei, I..."

"It's okay, it's not a secret."

After getting Wei Yuan's agreement, Yang Yan happily glanced back at Nangong Qianrou, but the more he listened, the less smile appeared on his face. After being shocked repeatedly, he was left with numbness.

Nangong Qianrou was very satisfied with this.

After calming down, Yang Yan couldn't help but sigh, "In just a month or so, this person has become qualified to sit at the table."

"Only the fourth rank." Nangong Qianrou raised her willow-shaped eyebrows.

"It's the fourth rank of Confucianism." Yang Yan corrected him, and then used his eyes to provoke him, "What do you think? If you don't believe it, you can try it."

Nangong Qianrou's feminine face became even colder.

"Why just over a month?" Wei Yuan spoke, then slowly stood up, walked to the carved railing, stood with his hands behind his back, and the wind from above made his robe sleeves flutter.

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou stepped forward, one on the left and one on the right, protecting him from behind.

Wei Yuan only said, "This step took him a full ten years."

...

"Not entirely. Ten years of hard study have indeed yielded some progress, but it's more about the unintentional understanding and continuous accumulation. There's not just Wei An like me, but there are Zhao An and Chen An as well. Cheng Xiang's doctrine relies more on righteousness."

In the back mountain of Yunlu Academy, Wei Anqian said in response to the praise from the two old gentlemen.

"If you say so, it's all in vain for us to study the classics till our old age." An old man laughed.

He was not finding fault, but rejoicing.

"How could that be?" Wei An waved his hands hurriedly, adding, "I've only been exposed to Cheng studies for a few months. It was only after receiving a recommendation from Master Song Zheng that I decided to come to the capital, the headquarters of Cheng studies, to take a look. For the past ten years, my studies have been confined to the classics of the sages, while the other teachers have been trapped in Cheng studies for a long time, leaving me more like an outsider."

"A bystander sees more clearly than one involved. Wuyang is absolutely right," said the great master Li Mubai, stroking his beard. The others nodded in agreement.

As everyone walked and talked, Chen Tai explained to Wei An why the dean said he benefited the most.

It turns out that the third-rank dean has made a great ambition to bring Yunlu students back to the court.

"So, if I, Yunlu, return to the imperial court, that will be the time when the dean breaks through to the second rank?"

Wei An asked Zhao Shou for confirmation with a smile.

What he meant by "returning to the court" was real. After the Spring and Autumn Examinations, Yunlu had his name on the list in large numbers. After gaining fame, he was able to be selected as an official, instead of being given a small official position or thrown into a corner, where he would never be able to realize his ambitions in his lifetime.

“I’m afraid it won’t be easy.”

Zhao Shou looked up and looked in the direction of the Confucian Temple, which was still some distance away.

Chen Tai and others nodded in agreement.

Even though Cheng Xue had been defeated by Wei An and could no longer maintain his position, after two hundred years of operation, the Imperial College had already run the court like an iron barrel. How could they be willing to hand over their territory?
In addition, promotion to the second rank also requires a lot of accumulation, which is not easy.

The mountain road was winding, and the group was walking through the bare woods. Suddenly, the view became clear, and two stone tablets came into view not far away.

Zhao Shou, Chen Tai and the others looked at each other with complicated expressions, and their expressions fell on a stone tablet with inscriptions on it. This stone tablet was like a huge mountain hanging heavy on the top of Yunlu Academy, suppressing Yunlu's fortune for nearly two hundred years.

"To repay the emperor's kindness by dying for his loyalty will leave a name that will be remembered for eternity."

Although they were not close to each other, the words could be seen clearly. Wei An moved his eyes to the end and saw the signature "Cheng Hui".

The crowd walked forward slowly, and the stone tablet was covered with fine cracks.

Zhao Shou smiled broadly, reached out and stroked the countless cracks, and said lightly, "Only one last piece of righteousness remains."

In terms of academics and ideas, Cheng Hui has been completely defeated!
He touched another empty tablet, his eyes lost in memories, revealing infinite emotion, both for the fruitless gains after countless times of hard thinking in the past, and for today's success.

After a while, he sighed softly, "I originally placed this empty tablet, but now it's useless."

"Why is it useless?" Wei An stepped forward, placed his hand on the blank stone tablet, and asked with a chuckle, "Would the dean be willing to take me to the Imperial College?"

Zhao Shou was stunned.

Then he shook his head again.

It's certainly refreshing to let out a sigh of relief.

At his age, he was more concerned about the future of younger students, the future of the academy, and the future of Confucianism.

Wei An accomplished all three of these things today.

"Speaking of the Imperial College, I heard that the most outstanding scholar among the younger generation is a student named Xu Jing." Li Mubai started the conversation.

"I heard that this person has very solid knowledge, but he is very quiet. Compared with the other three, his knowledge is slightly inferior. However, as for his eloquence, it seems today... he is indeed better than the quiet one." Chen Tai explained with a hint of sarcasm in his words.

Everyone smiled.

Who hasn't hated the Imperial College for a long time?

The unintentional conversation between the two planted a doubt in Wei An's heart.

"No matter how safe, what are your plans from now on? If you are willing to spread your new learning, the academy can open a school for you and also help you build a reputation." Zhao Shou asked with a relaxed look on his face, regardless of his previous seriousness.

"You really have a good disciple. He will become a master as soon as he enters the door." Li Mubai suddenly said sourly.

Chen Tai smiled, feeling quite pleased with himself.

Wei An shook his head and said, "My new studies still need to be improved. I will sort them out. In the meantime, I want to make some preparations and give it another try."

"Are you going to enter the third rank?" Zhao Shou stared in astonishment.

Don't blame him for losing his composure.

The third rank is the dividing line for the top combat power of all extraordinary systems.

There is a saying that those below the third rank are all mortals, and being mortal has its limits.

Chen Tai and others were also stunned.

Li Mubai was just saying something sour, but now he was really sour.

"The disciple is better than the master." The two old gentlemen stroked their gray beards and said something meaningful.

Chen Tai, Zhang Shen, and Li Mubai's faces froze again, and they all looked unnatural, but they still looked at Wei An curiously.

"I have some ideas." Wei An smiled and asked Zhao Shou, "Dean, teachers, do you know anything about 'Gewu'?"

Zhao Shou frowned, puzzled, "Study of Things? Taoist Tianzong's method?"

(End of this chapter)