It was not that Xu Qingnian did not understand what was happening.
Rather, this matter was indeed not as big as one would think.
This group of martial arts officials had beaten up the students of Tianming Academy for their own injustice.
On the small side, it was a misunderstanding, would it be alright if one apologised personally? If they were not satisfied, they could be punished with a caning and some silver, which would not be enough to find someone to borrow.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a cla*s confrontation. Since ancient times, students have been noble, and it is indeed unjustifiable for a military official to beat a student.
But as a matter of fact, this incident was not organised and premeditated and targeted, it was a complete misunderstanding.
You can punish severely, but not so absolutely, as if killing by mistake and killing with intent are two entirely different concepts.
But nowadays, the attitude and meaning of the Prefect had made Xu Qingnian a little confused.
Hearing Xu Qingnian’s doubts, Li Guangxin did not cover up and spoke directly.
“Nephew Shouren, it seems that you still haven’t seen through this matter to come.”
“This is no longer a simple nuisance brawl, nor is it the so-called humiliation of a literati, but a matter of establishment of will.”
Li Guangxin spoke up, stating the elements of this matter.
The intention?
Xu Qingnian frowned, why did it come back to the intention?
Seeing Xu Qingnian’s confusion, Li Guangxin continued to speak.
“Forget it, Uncle Li won’t beat around the bush.”
“This matter, if it was just one Wan Anguo, with Mr. Wan behind it, actually Uncle Li would be able to suppress it.”
“But unfortunately, a great scholar has come to our South Yufu, and this person is a relative of a student of the Tianming Academy.”
“Do you understand now how serious the matter is?”
Li Guangxin did not hide it anymore and told the secret.
Sure enough, once this was said, Xu Qingnian and Li Xin’s faces couldn’t help but change.
No wonder being the prefect, he said such words, it turned out that there was a great Confucian above him, otherwise, as a local parent official, his authority was naturally great, and it was reasonable to slightly suppress it.
“Father, a great Confucian is personally visiting the South Yufu, just because of such matters?”
Li Xin couldn’t help but ask, this was a bit unreasonable, a great Confucian was the top of the literati in the world, the fifth rank was a great Confucian, the fourth rank was a great Confucian of heaven and earth, and at the higher level it touched the saint realm.
So basically, the Great Confucian has reached the top, and there is only one Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth in the whole of Wei, unlike the martial arts practitioners who generally have a first-rate existence in the world.
Therefore, the status of a great Confucian was too high.
But what Li Xin didn’t understand was that a great Confucian was so up in arms over a matter like this?
That would be a bit unreasonable, right?
“Naturally not.”
“This great scholar, for sure, would not make a big fuss over a matter like this.”
“What he is actually after is Shouren’s nephew, you.”
Li Guangxin opened his mouth, and when he said this, it puzzled the two even more.
“For me?”
Xu Qingnian looked at Li Guangxin.
“En, this great Confucian, named Yan Lei, is one of the first deans of the White Deer School, and has come here for the purpose of the Rising Ideas article.”
Li Guangxin stated the core reason.
“I understand.”
As Li Guangxin spoke, Xu Qingnian instantly became clear.
The White Deer Academy was one of the four great academies of the Great Wei, and was also a famous academy in the world, and the main reason why it was famous was because a sage had come out.
This sage was Zhu Sheng.
Naturally the students who entered the White Deer School all respected the will of Zhu Sheng as their own intention, and one of the great scholars had immense respect for Zhu Sheng.
Writing a superb essay of one’s own, and one of one’s own will, would naturally lead to suspicion in the world.
In particular, those who believed in Zhu Sheng’s intention could not wait to find him, and it would be a great blessing for them if he continued Zhu Sheng’s intention in this superb article.
On the one hand, they could be drawn in, and on the other hand, they could learn and thus gain an epiphany.
But if it is a new idea, they will stop it in time, as well as suppress it.
There were too many things involved in this.
So, at this moment Xu Qingnian understood.
“Uncle Li, that means that whether it’s Fu Zi Wan of the Tian Ming School or this Yan Lei Yan Da Ru, they are all here to find me, just for the stance essay.”
Xu Qingnian asked.
When this was said, Li Xin could not help but interject.
“Isn’t this quite good? If they only came to you, Brother Xu, no matter what the Establishment Article actually is, just say that they are following Zhu Sheng’s wishes, obeying their hearts and settling the matter, and then all will be happy, won’t that be fine?”
Li Xin had a relatively simple idea.
Speak out this method.
But as soon as the words were spoken, both Xu Qingnian and Li Guangxin spoke out almost at the same moment.
“No way!”
“No way!”
Both of them spoke in unison, denying this method.
The reason was simple.
If they admitted that the essay they had written was a continuation of Zhu Sheng’s intention, then it would be even more impossible to resolve the matter.
What is the meaning of Zhu Sheng?
There are three, six, and nine cla*ses of people, and a scholar is the first cla*s, while the rest are all inferior.
Under such an intention, a military official committing murder against a scholar is a serious crime and cannot be tolerated.
Therefore, if you say that you support the will of Zhu Sheng, then you cannot intercede for them; this is the will of the sages.
But if you say that you are not a continuation of the saint’s will, then there is even more trouble.
But the only good thing is that you can step in to rescue these people.
But one will be caught inside a heavenly whirlpool, jump out, one is a saint, jump out not, then one can wait to die, of course it is fine to have a good mind, let the world’s literati spit on you.
The world can be misunderstood.
At this moment, Xu Qingnian completely understood why Li Guangxin said, let himself not get involved.
The great scholar Yan Lei used this matter as an excuse to probe his own bottom.
This move was not a conspiracy, but an unresolved Yang plot.
At this moment, Xu Qingnian understood the seriousness of this matter.
He was silent, and Li Guangxin continued to speak.
“This matter, which is already a dead end, also involves more than just the issue of intention, it also involves the law of the land.”
“In short, nephew Shouren, you really should not get involved in this matter.”
“If Yang Bao and Yang Hu are sent a thousand miles away, I will find someone to take care of them, they will suffer a bit, but if they are lucky, they may be able to recover their lives.”
The first time he said this, Li Guangxin patted Xu Qingnian’s shoulder, as a kind of comfort.
But when he said this, Li Guangxin himself did not believe it.
This is the land of poverty and hardship, how many of those who do hard labour can end up well? If they did not do well, they would be punished.
As for the idea of finding someone to ask for connections, these connections were not solid either.
So, the punishment is just a chronic death.
“Thank you, Uncle Li, for your guidance.”
Xu Qingnian returned, but he looked a little preoccupied, still thinking about the matter.
“Actually, there is not necessarily no chance of salvation, so wait for some days later, when the building banquet is held, I will personally plead with the other party, there might be a chance of salvation, and strive for ten years of imprisonment.”
Li Guangxin gave a slight comfort.
He told Xu Qingnian to relax.
And Xu Qingnian nodded, and said nothing more.
The hour was getting late.
Xu Qingnian said goodbye, and Li Xin sent Xu Qingnian back to his room, before turning back.
Seeing his father again, Li Xin could not help but speak.
“Father, this matter, is there really no chance of saving it?”
“My child knows what brother Xu means, he is a righteous and benevolent man, he cannot possibly see death without saving it.”
Li Xin asked.
Inside the main hall.
Li Guangxin shook his head, when Xu Qingnian was around, he did not dare to be too absolute in his words.
However, facing his own son, Li Guangxin spoke directly.
“This matter, which involves too much, is a taboo since ancient times for literati to set their intentions.”
“Xu Qingnian is indeed a great talent, but you must dissuade him in a good way, to the point, say a few good words and forget about it, it is also considered to be kind and righteous.”
“Otherwise, a big mistake will be made, and then he will be in real trouble; ninety percent of the world’s literati will be his enemies, and it will be even harder to go to the court.”
“Remember?”
Li Guangxin said, telling his son to make sure to discourage Xu Qingnian in these days and not to be reckless.
“My son understands, but …… If brother Xu still insists, what should I do?”
Li Xin asked.
This sentence had another meaning.
The meaning was also simple: if Xu Qingnian had to insist and would rather offend the world’s literati, then would he still want to get so close to Xu Qingnian.
Would it affect his own father’s career?
“What do you mean?”
Li Guangxin instantly understood, he looked at his son and asked so.
“My son’s meaning is simple, Brother Xu is a righteous man with noble character, if Brother Xu offends the literati of the world, my son is also willing to accompany Brother Xu.”
“Such a benevolent and righteous man is worthy of deep friendship.”
“But I am afraid that it will affect my father’s career, in which case it would be unfilial, and I cannot choose at the moment.”
Li Xin spoke his mind.
He thought highly of Xu Qingnian, especially because Xu Qingnian was willing to help out for some official martial artists, which made him admire him immensely.
If he made friends with such a person, he would be a true friend, helping each other.
Hearing Li Xin’s words, Li Guangxin pondered for a while.
Finally, he let out a long sigh and said.
“If that is really the case, then let your own heart be your wish.”
“This person, Xu Qingnian, is indeed a rare great talent, both talented and with such character, I previously thought that his future achievement might be that of a great Confucian, now it seems that he is at least a great Confucian of heaven and earth.”
“But it is still time to discourage, as much as possible, not to go any farther.”
Li Guangxin didn’t say anything more.
He supported Li Xin.
“Yes, thanks a lot father.”
Li Xin made a salute and then left.
After Li Xin left, Li Guangxin let out a long sigh.
Looking at the moonlight outside the door, he did not know what he was thinking about.
And so it was.
Two days in a row.
The news that a great scholar had come to South Yufu came out, and for a while, the whole South Yufu was both shocked and surprised.
And then the South Yufu officials began to go from house to house to search.
No one who had been involved in the brawl two days ago escaped, no matter how old or young.
In the past two days, the people of Nan Yu were in a state of panic, but more than that, they were in a state of frustration.
After all, the foreign students, who came to South Yufu to provoke a fight, were arrested because of a misunderstanding, and three to four hundred people were arrested before and after.
There was no shortage of innocent people among them.
But the people did not fight with the officials, and the people could only wait for news, not daring to move, but the folk accumulated anger.
The good thing is that the people had heard that Xu Qingnian had personally gone to the prison and promised to save the people.
So although they were a little angry, they put all their hopes on Xu Qingnian.
And so it went on for another two days.
The South Yufu officials were still searching for them, and were a little more serious than the previous two days.
From the participants before, to those who witnessed it now, they were all arrested and taken in, as well as some of the people who had spread rumours, and a small number were released, because they were indeed innocent.
The whole South Yufu could be said to be on edge.
But for the students of the Tianming Academy, there was much rejoicing, and a few even clapped and laughed when they saw the officials arresting people.
It also led to some public discontent.
But no one dared to take action, even though they were angry.
Who would dare to take action against the students?
There was anger.
But they could only hold back.
And on this very day.
During the Wuchang period of the Great Wei Dynasty, the results of the first provincial examinations were also officially announced.
There was no doubt that the person who ranked first was Xu Qingnian.
Compared to the bustling atmosphere in the major prefectures of the Great Wei Dynasty.
The Southern Yu Province was a little cold.
Again, today is the day.
A banquet is being prepared at the South Yu Mansion, where all the local scholars and scholars, as well as officials from various prefectures and counties, are being treated to a banquet.
But many people know that.
Today’s banquet, I am afraid, is going to cause some trouble.
