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Fei Qian these past few days has truly embodied the saying, "pain and pleasure intertwined."
That day, after Pang Degong listened to Fei Qian's discovery of his "Dao of self," he remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Your master taught you the "Zuo Zhuan"—just the right thing."
This...
Why does that sound so familiar?
However, Pang Degong clearly had no intention of explaining further.
Unlike the teachers Fei Qian had encountered in his past life, Pang Degong mostly let Fei Qian find the answers to his questions on his own. He only offered explanations at critical points, and even then, his words were sparse. This was a far cry from the spoon-feeding or textbook-bound teaching methods of Fei Qian's previous life.
Well, there was one similarity—Fei Qian tearfully admitted—
The homework was just as overwhelming...
Since the day Fei Qian found his "Dao of self," Pang Degong had allowed him to stay temporarily at the Qianlong Residence to study. Once the cottage at the foot of the mountain was completed, Fei Qian would move down there. In the meantime, Pang Degong assigned him an enormous amount of books to read.
It's worth noting that many books from the Han Dynasty were written on bamboo slips, thick bundles of them. Fei Qian felt like his arm muscles had grown stronger just from holding these bamboo scrolls over the past few days...
Pang Degong's collection of books might not have been as extensive as Cai Yong's, but the variety was far more diverse.
As Fei Qian read more and more books, and the topics became increasingly varied, he began to understand why his master Cai Yong had said that his "Dao" was not suitable to teach Fei Qian.
Cai Yong was one of the most important scholars at the Imperial Academy in Luoyang. The "Xiping Stone Classics" were a testament to his achievements in classical studies. As a result, most of the books in Cai Yong's collection were classical texts, with some historical records and local chronicles mixed in.
Pang Degong's collection, on the other hand, was completely different. While it included classical texts, there were also many books from other schools of thought, such as Huang-Lao Daoism, military strategy, legalism, and the school of names. Although the number of books in each category wasn't large, the range was much broader than Cai Yong's collection.
Perhaps it was because of this difference in their collections that Cai Yong had said what he did...
The extensive reading gave Fei Qian a deeper understanding of ancient knowledge. Of course, the concise grammar of the ancients also gave him a hard time. The same character could be a subject, a predicate, an adjective, or an adverb...
But that wasn't the most frustrating part. The most annoying thing was the complete lack of punctuation!
Now Fei Qian finally understood why ancient people often said, "Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will reveal itself." It was because you had to read it dozens or even hundreds of times just to figure out where the sentences ended, let alone grasp the meaning...
Buried under piles of bamboo scrolls, Fei Qian lost track of how many days he had spent on the mountain. Every day followed the same routine: wake up, read, eat breakfast, read until sunset, summarize what he had learned that day, submit his homework to Pang Degong, listen to some guidance, eat dinner, and then continue reading by lamplight until it was time to sleep. This cycle repeated day after day...
One day, as Fei Qian was in his room holding a bamboo scroll, a young black-haired boy suddenly appeared at the door and said sternly, "Pang Gong orders you to go down the mountain!"
"Huh? Why?" Fei Qian was confused. Everything had been fine—why was he suddenly being kicked out? Had he done something wrong?
The boy shook his head with a serious expression, indicating that he didn't know either.
Fei Qian was stunned for a moment but decided it would be best to go ask Pang Degong directly. Just as he was about to get up and leave, the boy added, "Pang Gong is currently receiving a guest and cannot see you. You should hurry down the mountain."
"A guest? What guest?" Fei Qian turned to look at the boy and asked.
"Liu Jingsheng, the Governor of Jing Province."
Huh? What is Liu Biao doing here? Is he here to recruit Pang Degong? Fei Qian thought to himself. Liu Biao is really moving fast—he's already starting to gather the support of the scholar-gentry?
Fei Qian shook his head and walked out.
As he left, the boy behind him suddenly made a face at Fei Qian's back, then quickly returned to his serious expression.
After leaving the backyard and walking down the corridor, Fei Qian saw Pang Degong and Liu Biao sitting in the hall, deep in conversation. Standing outside the hall with his hands respectfully at his sides was none other than Yi Ji.
Fei Qian quietly walked over and stood beside Yi Ji, whispering, "Brother Ji, when did Governor Liu arrive?"
Yi Ji glanced at the newcomer and, recognizing Fei Qian, gave a slight nod. In a low voice, he replied, "He just arrived not long ago. Brother Qian, you've really stumbled upon a great opportunity here..." His tone was filled with envy...
The boy following Fei Qian, however, suddenly looked alarmed. How does this guy know someone from Liu Biao's entourage? This is bad...
Inside the hall, Liu Biao was saying to Pang Degong, "...Pang Gong, is preserving yourself more important than preserving the world?"
Pang Degong smiled and replied, "The swan builds its nest high in the forest, so it may rest at dusk. The turtle and the alligator dig their burrows deep in the abyss, so they may sleep at night. The choices of where to go and where to rest are like the nests of men. Each finds their own place to rest—the world is not something to be preserved."
Liu Biao was momentarily speechless. After a while, he said, "Pang Gong, you suffer in the fields and refuse official positions and salaries. What will you leave for your descendants?"
Pang Degong immediately responded, "The world leaves danger to its descendants. I alone leave them peace. Though what I leave is different, it is not nothing."
"This..." Liu Biao was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he could only bow and say, "Pang Gong's righteousness is admirable. I am in awe." Seeing that he couldn't persuade Pang Degong, he had no choice but to take his leave.
As he exited the hall, Liu Biao noticed Fei Qian standing outside. Pang Degong smiled and said, "My legs are not what they used to be. Why don't you, Ziyuan, see Governor Liu off on my behalf?"
"Of course!" Fei Qian agreed. It seems Pang Degong doesn't have any issues with me—was that boy lying to me? Speaking of which, where did that boy come from? I've never seen him before.
As Fei Qian escorted Liu Biao out, he shot a glance at the boy hiding nearby—I'll deal with you later!
Liu Biao, clearly disappointed at failing to recruit Pang Degong, remained silent for most of the walk. It wasn't until they reached the foot of the mountain that he finally said to Fei Qian, "Ziyuan, do you have any way to persuade Pang Gong to come out of seclusion?"
Fei Qian thought to himself, if even you couldn't persuade him, what makes you think I can? Based on what I know of Pang Degong, he's definitely not coming out. But I can't say that directly—it would be too disrespectful to Liu Biao. After a moment of thought, Fei Qian replied, "Governor Liu, this matter cannot be rushed. In my humble opinion, you might consider first establishing a school and then inviting Pang Gong to teach there..."
Liu Biao pondered this and found it to be a reasonable suggestion. He smiled and said, "Well said! Ziyuan, you are indeed clever." Then he added, "Since you are staying here, why not take the opportunity to persuade Pang Gong further? If you can convince him to come out of seclusion, I will consider it a great merit on your part!"
"Of course!" Fei Qian had no choice but to agree.
Perhaps feeling a renewed hope of persuading Pang Degong, Liu Biao's mood lightened, and he even joked with Fei Qian, "Ziyuan, you seem to be living quite the carefree life here..."
Oh, so now you're jealous because I'm here reading while you're out there working hard? Ah, this Liu Jingsheng...
Fei Qian clasped his hands and said, "Governor Liu, your toil is a sign that heaven has bestowed a great responsibility upon you. It is not something we common folk can take on."
This made Liu Biao laugh heartily. He pointed at Fei Qian but said nothing more, then boarded his carriage and left with Yi Ji and the rest of his entourage.
After seeing Liu Biao off, Fei Qian turned back to head up the mountain. Where did that boy come from, daring to deceive me?
Now it's time to settle the score...
*****
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