Chapter 216: A gathering of hidden masters and wise men Qin Zhen had been planning to establish a school for a long time. Ever since Zhuge Liang mentioned it in the past, he has been thinking about it carefully. If you want to make education universal, schools must of course be established, but if it is just a school for the nobility, it won’t be that troublesome at all. Since he was going to build one, he would build a modern university, modeled after the later Yenching University, and recruit famous teachers from all over the world to serve as professors in the school. Among them, Huang Chengyan, Pang Degong and Sima Hui were all candidates for professors he wanted to invite. Because these three people are different from ordinary masters of classics, what they teach are extremely practical knowledge. After all, all the famous talents in Jingzhou are more or less related to these three. And when he saw Huang Chengyan today, he knew that he had come to the right place this time! If the new school is to be established, the help of these hermits is indispensable.

Although Huang Chengyan was moved by his sincere words, they were ultimately just empty words without any substance. Huang Chengyan thought for a while, then frowned and said: "Although I live in seclusion in Jingzhou, I have heard of Qin Jun's methods!" "I think it won't be difficult for Mr. Qin to establish a school with this." "But according to Mr. Qin's idea, this school should have many professors. Now there are only you and me, how can we build this school?" "It's not that I don't trust Mr. Qin, it's just that it's hard for me to trust your empty words." Seeing him like this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "If we had followed Mr. Huang's words, Confucianism would not be what it is today!" “You must know that everything is difficult at the beginning, and the difficulty lies in knowing how to do it.” “I have seen that all things that can be accomplished in the world must have the intention first and then the action. As long as you have a strong character and persevere, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished!” “When Confucius taught, his teachings came first, and then his disciples.” "It is only in this way that Confucianism has flourished today." "If Confucius had given up when he was preaching because his teachings were so unpopular, Confucianism would have died!" "Today, this school is just as I thought, and Mr. Huang was there first." "If Mr. Huang has this intention, he should help me, and then with the help of other wise men, it can be built." "How can Mr. Huang turn me away just because I have nothing to say?" Huang Chengyan heard this and immediately stroked his beard and laughed: "What a sharp tongue you have! No wonder my brother-in-law hates you so much!" "Even if I admit this, I wonder who else Mr. Qin wants to invite to come and study?" Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "In addition to Mr. Huang, there are also Mr. Pang De, Sima Decao, Hua Ziyu, Guan Youan, Bing Genju, Mr. Zheng Wen, and Zhang Gongyi."

"These are the first batch of professors needed to establish our military school, and we will recruit more in the future." "I wonder if Mr. Huang thinks they can be professors in my school?" When Huang Chengyan heard this, he naturally lowered his head and thought to himself. The people Qin Zhen mentioned were all famous scholars of the time. But Pang Degong and Sima Hui are his good friends, so they may not be able to go. Hua Ziyu was Hua Xin, who was serving as the prefect of Yuzhang. Guan Youan was also called Guan Ning, and Bing Genju was also called Bing Yuan, both of whom lived in seclusion in Liaodong. Only Duke Wen of Zheng, Zheng Hun, and Duke Gongyi of Zhang, Zhang Fan, worked under Liu Bei. In other words, at least five of the seven people Qin Zhen mentioned may not be there. But Qin Zhen is a man who is sure of what he says and he won't say anything nonsense. Such a promise must have its basis! While thinking, he raised his head and asked again: "Even if Sima Decao and Pang Degong leave, how will the Qin monarch plan to recruit Hua Ziyu, Guan Youan, and Bing Genju?" "It's not difficult to recruit these three people. As long as we can call one of them, all the wise men will gather in our Huainan area!" "I said this person, Mr. Huang must know him. He is a Confucian master from Guandong, with tens of thousands of disciples." "As long as I invite this person to teach, they will be proud to be admitted to my school!" Facing Qin Zhen's words, Huang Chengyan couldn't help but be shocked again and said: "Could the person Mr. Qin is talking about be Mr. Zheng Xuan?" As he said this, he twirled his beard and thought to himself, if Qin Zhen could really invite Zheng Xuan to take charge, then this new-style school could really be established! After all, Zheng Xuan is different from others. He is not only a master of Confucianism, but also proficient in the teachings of hundreds of schools of thought. Even if these people didn't go, Zheng Xuan and Qin Zhen alone could build the school. "But Mr. Zheng is now serving as the Minister of Agriculture in the imperial court. How can you invite him to teach in Huainan?" "This is beyond the knowledge of Mr. Huang. In short, I think Mr. Zheng may not be able to stay in Xuchang!" Qin Zhen looked at Huang Chengyan with great certainty and said: "By next year at the latest, I expect Mr. Zheng to retire and return home. Then I will personally go and invite him!" "Now I don't ask other people's intentions, just look at Mr. Huang and he has no such intentions!" In fact, Zheng Xuan’s current process has also undergone some changes compared to the original one. In the original process, Zheng Xuan resigned as soon as he took office and returned home. But on this timeline, I don’t know if it was because of Liu Bei’s rise that Zheng Xuan directly confronted Cao Cao. Since we parted ways in Chen State that day, there has been no news of Master Zheng's resignation. However, in Qin Zhen's opinion, it is only a matter of time before Zheng Xuan resigns. Because under Cao Cao's control, there was no place for Zheng Xuan to interfere in the court. As a man loyal to the emperor and patriotic, Mr. Zheng absolutely could not tolerate what Cao did.

In this situation, Zheng Xuan had to either leave or fight Cao Cao head-on. But Cao Cao was not the kind of person who would surrender easily. As the imperial power grows, Cao is likely to turn against him and crush the imperial power to the ground. At that time, even if Zheng Xuan wanted to, he was powerless to change it. As long as they grasp the opportunity, it will not be difficult to bring Zheng Xuan under their command. The key now is to leverage Pang Degong, Sima Hui and others through Huang Chengyan. Huang Chengyan's current attitude and decision are crucial. Huang Chengyan was moved by his words. After thinking for a while, he smiled and said: "Since Mr. Qin sincerely invites me, I shouldn't turn him away!" "But the academy has not been built yet, so I will not go there now!" "How about I wait until the academy is completed and then I will set out?" Seeing that Huang Chengyan finally agreed, Qin Zhen nodded and smiled, thinking that it was not easy to be a principal. It took so much effort to find a teacher. But Huang Chengyan was finally persuaded. Although the old man was unwilling to go, his trip was not in vain. The two of them talked for a while, and when Huang Chengyan heard that Qin Zhen was going to visit Pang Degong and others, he stood up and said: "It's been over a month since I last saw Mr. Pang, so I'm going to visit him now." "I can go with Mr. Qin to visit him!" When Qin Zhen heard that Lao Huang was going, he smiled and said that that was great, and while there was still time, let's go together. So the group set off again and headed towards Pang Degong's residence. However, since he was going to visit a friend, it would be inconvenient for Huang Yueying to go with him. Seeing that Zhuge Liang was about to leave after just a short while, the girl was naturally reluctant to leave. Seeing this, Qin Zhen smiled at Huang Chengyan and said: "Kong Ming will soon be of age, so why not arrange the marriage after we settle down in Jiangdong?" "If we keep delaying like this, I don't know when we can get married!" When Huang Chengyan heard this, he stroked his beard and said meaningfully: "Mr. Qin is overstating his words. In my opinion, even if it fails this time, it can be accomplished in two or three years at most." "My brother-in-law is not a capable person to defend the land. He will need to step down sooner or later!" Seeing Huang Chengyan's words, Qin Zhen didn't know how to respond. Before leaving, he borrowed the design drawing of Yuanrong Crossbow from Huang Yueying to take a look. After silently memorizing it, he moved forward again. After walking another two or three miles like this, we suddenly saw the forest open up and a house built in the mountains. Huang Chengyan saw this and pointed to the house in the distance and said: "The one in front of the mountain is the residence of the Pang family, and the one across the water is the residence of Mr. Shuijing!" "It's rare for Lord Qin to come here, so you can ask Kong Ming to lead him to Pang's house first."

"I will go and call Mr. Shuijing over for a while!" Having said this, he rode his donkey towards the river bank again. Qin Zhen, led by Zhuge Liang, headed towards Pang Degong's residence. Compared with Huang Chengyan, Pang's residence was a little bigger, but it was also a thatched house. Qin Zhen looked at the thatched huts and couldn't help feeling emotional. Although later generations had mixed opinions about Pang Degong and others, with some saying they were hermits and others saying they were seeking fame, in fact these people were very simple and frugal. Just like Huang Chengyan, he didn't even have a servant at home. When his dustpan was broken, he didn't go out to buy one but made it himself. For example, Pang Degong really worked in the fields to farm. Not only did he farm himself, he also took his children to farm with him. In the end, he even lived in seclusion in Lumen and never left the mountain again. There were unusually many such people during the Wei and Jin dynasties, but compared with the passive reclusiveness of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Pang Degong and others were truly reclusive masters. While they were thinking, they arrived at the door of Pang Degong's house. As usual, Zhuge Liang went forward and knocked on the door. Then a man who looked like a villager stuck his head out. Seeing that it was Zhuge Liang, he called out warmly: "Where did Kong Ming come from? Why didn't he tell me in advance?" This person is Zhuge Liang’s second brother-in-law Pang Shanmin. When Zhuge Liang saw that it was his brother-in-law, he gestured to Qin Zhen behind him and said: "Because I have heard of Mr. Pang's name, I have come to visit you today." "I wonder if Mr. Pang is at home and can introduce me to someone else?" When Pang Shanmin heard this, he glanced at Qin Zhen and said with a smile: "Unfortunately, there are many birds in the fields these days. Father has driven them away, and I am weaving a net at home!" "Since you are a distinguished person, please come into the house first, and I will go and call my father back!" Seeing his enthusiasm, Qin Zhen thanked him repeatedly and then followed him into Pang Degong's house. From this I also met Zhuge Liang's second sister. She looked three points like Zhuge Liang, but was dressed like an ordinary peasant woman. Hearing that Qin Zhen was the noble person her eldest brother had mentioned, and hurriedly stepped forward to express his gratitude, Qin Zhen even said she didn't dare. However, when Kong Ming's second sister heard that everyone was going to Wolonggang, she said to them: "Why bother with all that? Now that we're home, we can just rest here." "My father-in-law is also a hospitable person. Are you willing to let you leave?" "Go and call my eldest brother down, and have dinner here before we talk!" Zhuge Liang agreed when he heard this. In terms of size, his thatched cottage was not as big as Pang Degong's home, and could not accommodate too many people. So he hurried to Wolonggang before it got dark and found Zhuge Jin again.

After not seeing each other for half a year, Zhuge Jin seemed a little excited when he saw Qin Zhen. In fact, he had been here for half a year, and his life was quite dull. It was not as fulfilling as working under Qin Zhen. But because Zhuge Xuan was his uncle and had done great favors for his family, it was only right and reasonable for him to show his filial piety here. When he saw Qin Zhen, he immediately asked about the situation in Shouchun. Qin Zhen was naturally delighted to see his old subordinate. When he saw him asking questions, he said: "Everything is fine in Shouchun, but I am worried that Sun Ce may be in trouble now, so I want to attack him!" "I am here on this mission for this matter!" "But after all, without Tzuyu, there are not many capable people under my command. I hope Tzuyu can return soon!" When Zhuge Jin heard that Qin Zhen was going to attack Jiangdong, he became extremely anxious and wished he could return to Qin Zhen's army immediately. But filial piety comes first, so he had to say that as the eldest brother, he had to observe mourning for another year before returning. Since the Zhuge family had already taken root under Liu Bei, he planned to take his cousin and third brother to Huainan together. After hearing what Zhuge Jin meant, Qin Zhen hurriedly asked for his cousin's name. As a result, Zhuge Jin directly stated that his cousin's name was Zhuge Dan. When Qin Zhen heard this, he was secretly shocked and thought to himself that this was a good thing, as he originally just wanted Brother Zhuge. Now, by some strange coincidence, the three brothers of Wei, Shu, Wu, Dragon, Tiger and Dog are all alive! Compared with the two brothers Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Dan is also a talent, but he is younger and cannot be used for major tasks yet. At that moment he told Zhuge Jin that everyone should come, and the family should be together. While the two were talking, a burst of laughter was heard outside the house. It turned out that Pang Degong, Huang Chengyan and Sima Hui met each other on the road and returned home. For a moment, all the wise men gathered in the Pang family's room. Seeing this, Huang Chengyan simply said to Zhuge Liang: "It's rare to see such a lively place here. Go and call all your friends over, and we can have a good discussion tonight!" After listening to this, Zhuge Liang could only groan inwardly and hurried out of the room. It was not until the evening that Shi Tao, Meng Jian, Cui Jun, Pang Tong, Pang Lin and others were called over. Looking at this room full of talented people, Qin Zhen was naturally delighted. What is the essence? This is the essence. If Liu Biao had invited this group of people, he would never have given Liu Biao the cold shoulder! He immediately stopped being sober and started making friends with everyone. This continued until nightfall, when he received a message from Liu Biao, asking him to come to the mansion again the next day to discuss the matter of sending troops. (End of this chapter)