vrcanaries Chapter 92 Opening Lecture
Chapter 92 Opening Lecture
Yelü Huanxi was born into the Liaodong royal family. He was exceptionally intelligent from a young age and had met countless talented and extraordinary people.
But it wasn't until she met Qin Xuan that she realized what true genius was.
She had always trusted Yelü Changkong, because he was the newly appointed top scholar of Liaodong.
But now, Yelü Huanxi's perception has been shattered. How could a mere talented scholar from Jiangnan suppress their country's top scholar and make him unable to lift his head? What kind of oppression and resentment is this?
Feeling lost and dejected, Pan Ruoan emerged after about half an hour.
Just as Qin Xuan had predicted, Pan Ruoan passed the test.
As for Yelü Changkong, he was eliminated because he exceeded the time limit and failed to answer two questions.
"Master, Changkong has failed in his mission and deserves to die."
Yelü Changkong remained kneeling, his face showing shame.
"It's not that you didn't try your best, but that you were simply not up to the task."
Yelü Huanxi sighed, and Qin Xuan's handsome yet irritating face came to mind again: "I want to see which side you belong to. As long as you're not from the royal family, humph, I'll tie you up and take you back to Liaodong."
That night, Bai Mufeng once again arrived at the Holy Temple with great excitement.
"Teacher, today the King of Chu, Pan Ruoan, and Yelü Changkong, the top scholar from Liaodong, all participated in the examination. Except for Yelü Changkong, who failed the arithmetic test, all the others passed the test."
Bai Mufeng first gave a brief report on the results, and then began to excitedly recount Qin Xuan's entire assessment process.
The Confucian sage listened with his eyes closed, initially calm, until he heard that Qin Xuan had given three answers in the mathematics section, at which point he was slightly moved.
"There have been many good scholars throughout history, but most of them are broad in knowledge but not in depth. I never expected that this King of Chu would be so knowledgeable and profound. Emperor Daqi really misjudged him!"
The Confucian sage sighed: "Tomorrow is the first day of school, and the various schools will compete fiercely. Who do you think will win?"
The Confucian sage would not ask questions without a reason; he probably already had someone in mind, but this person might not be capable enough to shoulder the responsibility of publishing "Confucianism" throughout the world.
Bai Mufeng knew his teacher's thoughts well and hesitated for a moment: "I think the King of Chu is the best choice, but it is a pity that Beining City does not have a Longyun Bookstore that can compare with Daqi, so we may lose by a narrow margin."
"It seems that everything is fate."
The Confucian sage nodded slightly and said nothing more.
The following morning, the number of people in Shanhai Town increased several times over. As the contemporary Confucian sage began his lectures, countless people eagerly awaited his arrival and flocked to the Confucius Temple on Mount Kongsheng.
Qin Xuan and his group were forced to squeeze into the crowd and slowly climb the mountain.
Fortunately, the lecture was in the afternoon; otherwise, at this pace, we probably wouldn't have reached the mountaintop until noon.
Two hours later, Qin Xuan and the others finally arrived at the Holy Temple. Then, led by the page arranged by Bai Mufeng, they went straight into the main hall.
Every bookstore that passed the assessment this time will have a separate position.
"This scene was terrifying; I was almost pushed off the mountain just now."
Zhao Luoying finally caught her breath. A few strands of hair stuck to her face because of the hot sweat, and her cheeks were flushed like the rising sun.
She fanned her face with both hands, looking incredibly beautiful.
Qin Xuan considerately tidied her hair, gently tucking it behind her ear, and said with a smile, "The Confucian Sage has not appeared for ten years, let alone given a lecture. His appearance this time will naturally attract countless Confucian scholars."
"Master Jin, I can understand that there are countless scholars in the Great Qi Dynasty, but why have so many scholars come from foreign barbarian countries this time?"
"Moreover, there are quite a few foreign countries involved in this competition among booksellers!"
Zhao Luoying looked around and found that many Confucian scholars were dressed as foreigners. In the bookseller area, in addition to the Jurchen people, whom she knew had already passed the test, she also saw people from Goryeo.
Goryeo was far from the Great Qi Dynasty, and in the previous dynasty, Goryeo was merely a vassal state of the Great Qi.
"This is the influence of the sage, which made people understand that only by studying and understanding principles can one govern the world."
Qin Xuan smiled and couldn't help but sigh, "Back in the Warring States period, when Confucius traveled, which of the seven Warring States didn't open its city gates wide and welcome him with open arms?"
Confucianism was best suited to the imperial strategies of the feudal ruling class, which is why it was the only school of thought that remained steadfast throughout ancient times.
Those foreign barbarian states that wanted to learn from the great Central Plains nation naturally had no choice but to place Confucianism first.
"Hey, it seems that the one from Liaodong Kingdom didn't pass the test yesterday. That's great."
Zhao Luoying suddenly saw Yelü Huanxi sitting on the outer perimeter with her entourage and couldn't help but chuckle.
Indeed, women can be terrifying when they get jealous, even if she is General Zhao Luoying.
Half an hour later, the opening lectures officially began.
The Confucian sage, dressed in a white Confucian robe, with white hair and beard, was in his seventies, yet his spirit was bright and his steps were steady.
Without any opening remarks, he immediately began to talk about Confucianism.
Although Qin Xuan wasn't particularly fond of Confucianism, he became quite engrossed in listening to it, which shows the level of this Confucian sage.
The lecture was divided into three parts. The first part was a lecture by the Confucian sage, who mainly talked about Confucian thought.
The second part focuses on current events and national policies of the Great Qi Dynasty, discussing how to govern and manage the country. In this regard, the Confucian sages clearly favored the scholars of the Great Qi Dynasty, since the Great Qi Dynasty was used as a model.
The final part was a public discussion, in which Confucian scholars asked questions at random, and the Confucian sages answered them.
The opening lectures lasted until evening, during which a chamber of commerce provided meals, and the atmosphere was more enthusiastic than ever before.
"Gentlemen, the purpose of this lecture at the Temple of Confucianism is twofold: firstly, to give lectures, and secondly, to publish my teacher's book on Confucianism."
At this moment, Bai Mufeng stepped forward and announced loudly: "After the assessments of the past few days, four booksellers have passed the assessments. They are Daman Bookstore of the Jurchen Kingdom, Zhenxue Bookstore of the Goryeo Kingdom, Longyun Bookstore of Daqi, and Beining Bookstore."
"The reason my teacher invited people from all over the world this time is to make his life's work, 'Confucianism,' available to every scholar to the greatest extent possible."
"Therefore, my teacher once said that if anyone could publish 'Confucianism' at the lowest price, I would give them this manuscript and promise to teach them for three months."
The Confucian sage once stipulated that the price of each copy of "Confucianism" should not exceed one tael. Given the printing technology of the time, any bookstore that undertook the project would inevitably lose money.
However, considering the three months of free lectures given by the Confucian sage and the Confucian sage's influence, this price is still acceptable.
Upon hearing Bai Mufeng's words, everyone knew that the main event of the day had arrived.
Gunnar's gaze was intense, and he immediately focused his attention on Qin Xuan.
Although he didn't know what Qin Xuan was relying on, the two had fought many times, and Gulna knew Qin Xuan's methods and mind all too well, so he would never speak without reason.
As for the other two, Pan Ruoan represented Longyun Bookstore and nodded slightly to Qin Xuan.
Although he did not see through Qin Xuan's true identity, the four words "Beining Bookstore" were enough to explain some things.
“Chancellor Pan, this Beining Bookstore is most likely a man of the King of Chu.”
Guo Shanxi, the person in charge of Longyun Bookstore who was accompanying them, whispered a reminder.
Pan Ruoan nodded slightly, not caring. In his heart, he thought that as long as Daqi could acquire "Confucianism", that would be enough.
"The Jeonghak Bookstore of Goryeo is willing to publish 'Confucianism' for eight qian, and hopes that the Confucian sage will favor it."
Suddenly, a young scholar from the Goryeo Kingdom stood up. Dressed in a purple silk robe, he exuded an air of nobility and spoke loudly.