The pond mirrored the blue sky, with white clouds drifting in the river.
In the wilderness outside Xiangyang, by the riverside, over a hundred students knelt on bamboo mats.
In front of each person sat a table they had brought themselves, and on these tables were bamboo slips, distributed by attendants. The contents of these slips were a test set by Scholar Shui Jing.
Surprisingly, the host, Scholar Shui Jing, Sima Hui, and the reclusive scholar Pang Degong and famous Xiangyang scholar Huang Chengyan, who were rumored to be selecting disciples, were absent.
Zhuge Liang had initially been a little nervous. The scholars, all around his age, had eyes brimming with confidence and an unshakeable determination.
Of course, one person stood out. He was plain-looking, with facial features that were ugly individually, but even uglier when put together, as if nature had played a joke.
From the scholars' conversation earlier, Zhuge Liang knew this was the renowned but unattractive scholar of Xiangyang, named Pang Tong, Pang Shiyuan.
"Truly a gathering of immortals..." Zhuge Liang murmured.
At this moment, an attendant shouted, "You may now open your scrolls..."
Opening the scroll meant starting the test. The students, who had been glancing at each other or whispering, immediately quieted down, slowly unrolling the bamboo slips before them.
But... it would have been better if they hadn't opened them, for upon doing so, they discovered there was no test question within.
Simultaneously, the young attendant continued loudly, "The Master said, whatever you wish to learn here in the bamboo retreat, write it down on this bamboo slip..."
Hmm... Zhuge Liang's eyes narrowed. The attendant had put it simply, but it could be summarized in four words: "Why do you seek to learn?"
And this was today's test.
But... how to write it?
Zhuge Liang fell into thought. Normally, the answer written, the so-called content of learning, should be poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, the Five Elements, the Eight Trigrams, Qimen Dunjia, and military strategy. However, if he wrote like that, it would undoubtedly be similar to what others wrote, and the result would be a crushing defeat.
Scholar Shui Jing had previously declared that he would select eight disciples with innate talent, and evaluating a person's innate talent... could it be as simple as being different?
How intelligent was Zhuge Liang? With a simple analysis, he could already discern that this seemingly easy question contained a hidden trick.
As a candidate, if one only thought about what they should write, or honestly wrote down their true thoughts, they would fall into the trap.
What should truly be considered is what others will write.
With this in mind, Zhuge Liang looked around. To his left, kneeling not far away, was Liu Qi, the son of Liu Biao, Governor of Jingzhou. As the eldest son of a feudal lord, his writing would surely be about discussing principles and influencing the populace.
To his right was the son of Cai Mao, who would most likely write about learning military strategy and commanding a thousand troops.
Not far in front was the son of the reclusive scholar Pang Degong. The son of a recluse coming to seek a teacher would surely write something contrary to reclusion, such as methods to save the world, or the way of a minister...
Of course, most of the attendees were scions of noble families in Xiangyang. What they would write would be similar, revolving around the few things he had already thought of. So... what novel answer should he write?
Zhuge Liang fell into deep contemplation. The more he deliberately tried to think, the harder it was to find an answer within these confines.
He was still too worried about gains and losses.
*Hoo...* With a soft sigh, Zhuge Liang tried to calm himself and approach the blank bamboo slip with a normal mindset.
It was precisely during this sigh that Zhuge Liang remembered the letter from his cousin Jun from the previous day...
That's right, the saying "great wisdom appears foolish" – the most novel and correct answer was not within the words of that letter.
And among them, wasn't that young master named Lu Yu proposing unique insights in certain fields?
Why not...
With this thought, Zhuge Liang picked up his brush, and two large characters appeared on the bamboo slip:
—The Hundred Crafts!
Which of the noble scions would pay attention to "The Hundred Crafts"?
And Scholar Shui Jing, proficient in the Eight Trigrams, how could he not be proficient in the studies of "The Hundred Crafts"? Using this as a "stepping stone" would be most appropriate!
*Hoo...*
Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang exhaled, and the stone that had been hanging in his heart was more than half lifted.
If not for seeing his cousin Jun's letter a day ago, if not for seeing Young Master Lu's unique insights on "The Hundred Crafts," he, Zhuge Liang, would likely have fallen into the same common rut as other scholars, or been entangled and hesitant.
People say the Six Arts of a nation, and "The Hundred Crafts" is one of them. But Zhuge Liang, who now had unique insights into "The Hundred Crafts," wanted to modify it slightly, saying: "The Six Arts of a nation, The Hundred Crafts are foremost!"
With this in mind, Zhuge Liang put his brush down again, adding these eight small seal script characters below the two large characters of "The Hundred Crafts": The Six Arts of a nation, The Hundred Crafts are foremost!
He finished writing, stood up, and Zhuge Liang was the fastest to submit his answer.
Seeing him stand up, the scholars next to him subconsciously looked at him, some surprised. Had he submitted his paper so quickly for such an important test?
Zhuge Liang squinted his eyes, tightening his grip on the bamboo slip. He asked without hesitation, "May I ask, young attendant, can I submit my paper?"
This shocked everyone.
After their surprise, some scholars began to discuss, "Who is this fellow? How long has it been, and how many characters has he written? Submitted, hehe, perhaps he submitted a blank paper?"
Pang Tong also looked up, his somewhat unsightly eyes looking at Zhuge Liang, muttering in his heart, "What did he write?"
Immediately, he glanced at Zhuge Liang. As Zhuge Liang approached him, Pang Tong deliberately stuck out his foot. Zhuge Liang, caught off guard, stumbled, and the bamboo slip fell from his hand.
Pang Tong, who had planned this, stood up and then picked up the bamboo slip... handing it back to Zhuge Liang.
But in the process of picking up the bamboo slip, Pang Tong saw the answer on Zhuge Liang's slip—The Hundred Crafts, the Six Arts of a nation, The Hundred Crafts are foremost!
So... simple?
"Brother, I apologize..." Pang Tong deliberately apologized...
"It's nothing..."
Zhuge Liang replied and handed the bamboo slip to the young attendant.
The young attendant was also a bit surprised, but since the paper had been submitted, according to the rules, he had to take it to the residence for Sima-sensei to appraise. He immediately turned and hurried away.
Zhuge Liang sat back in his seat to wait patiently, while Pang Tong's mind was filled with thoughts...
The Hundred Crafts? Although it was a novel answer, wasn't the scope too small? Hehe... A true man in the world should accomplish eternal deeds, should rise to prominence and reach the clouds. Where would he have leisure time to engage in 'The Hundred Crafts'?
The scope, the scope was too small!
With this thought, Pang Tong withdrew his thoughts and focused on his own answer. What did he want to learn? He wanted to learn the way of a man in the world...
And how could those noble scions and ordinary folk think of these things?
...
The spring was still cold, with a few branches of plum blossoms still blooming. As these over a hundred scholars were taking the test, inside the bamboo retreat, three middle-aged men and a girl of eight or nine years old were present.
It seemed... the three men were engaged in a lively discussion.
"Brother Shui Jing, your question is not simple." The man speaking was the reclusive scholar Pang Degong, who lived on Xian Mountain South, on the Mian River fish-beam isle.
He had never entered a city, usually farming, playing the zither, and reading. Even with his wife, they were respectful, meeting only once a year.
And he had a son who was quite tired of the reclusive life and was attending Scholar Shui Jing's test today.
Although Pang Degong had always been reclusive, when it involved his son, he couldn't help but say a few words...
"What is easy for the knowledgeable is not difficult for the ignorant!" This time, the speaker was the famous scholar Huang Chengyan of Xiangyang. His wife was the sister of General Cai Mao of Jingzhou, and coupled with his own talent, he was quite famous throughout Jingzhou, being a figure of equal renown to Scholar Shui Jing, Sima Hui, and Pang Degong.
This time, besides coming here himself, he also brought his nine-year-old daughter, Huang Yueying, so she could witness how the young talents of Jingzhou answered with brilliant strokes.
"Oh dear!" Pang Degong waved his hand. "Your question is so vague, let alone these students, even I, an old man, probably cannot answer it to your satisfaction!"
Upon hearing this, Scholar Shui Jing, Sima Hui, finally spoke. He said with a smile, "Haha, very good, not to my satisfaction is very good!"
Heh...
Pang Degong shook his head. "I asked Brother Shui Jing to evaluate whether the question was difficult or not, but Brother Shui Jing says good or bad? How can that be?"
Sima Hui nodded and continued, "What you just said is also very good..."
Good, good, good... He's good, and you're good too!
Huang Chengyan really couldn't stand it anymore...
Sima Hui, Scholar Shui Jing, had a habit of saying "good" frequently. For example, if asked about someone, he would never directly evaluate them, but simply say, "This person is good, very good"... and the same for the next person.
Huang Chengyan was used to it, so he gave him a nickname: Mr. Good Good. Everyone in the scholar circles of Xiangyang knew this – Mr. Good Good, Sima Hui.
As the three were chatting happily, "Master, someone has submitted their paper?"
Hmm... This time, Sima Hui didn't say "good." He was somewhat surprised, and not only him, Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan were also surprised. To submit a paper so quickly for such a solemn assessment seemed too perfunctory.
"Give it to me to see," Sima Hui ordered...
The attendant quickly handed the bamboo slip to him with both hands.
Huang Chengyan and Pang Degong also leaned in, and what caught their eyes was the large characters "The Hundred Crafts," with a line of small text below – The Six Arts of a nation, The Hundred Crafts are foremost!
Huo... A scholar wants to learn about "The Hundred Crafts"?
Before Sima Hui could speak, "Hahaha..." Huang Chengyan's beard seemed to laugh. "This scholar has thought of the same thing as Yueying."
Saying this, Huang Chengyan patted his daughter's head beside him and continued, "What Yueying cares most about learning is your Mohist mechanical arts, right? And to learn Mohist mechanical arts well, 'The Hundred Crafts' are the very foundation... Haha... Brother Shui Jing, it seems Yueying has a companion!"
Upon hearing this... Haha, Sima Hui also burst into laughter. He looked at the name on the bamboo slip—Zhuge Jun!
That's right, Zhuge Liang had deliberately written his name as Zhuge Jun, which was a form of protection for his cousin Jun from Yanzhou.
And Mr. Good Good, Sima Hui, this time, he didn't just give the evaluation of "good, excellent" as usual. He nodded, his eyes looked out the window, and he said.
"This young man named Zhuge Jun is quite interesting!"
Almost at the same time, Huang Yueying, beside Huang Chengyan, also blinked her eyes.
She muttered in her heart that among the scholars, there was someone who valued "The Hundred Crafts" so much. It seemed... learning the Mohist mechanical arts under Uncle Sima would have a like-minded companion.
...
...
Xuzhou, outside Xiapi City, Cao's military camp.
At this moment, Cao Cao in the central army tent was pacing back and forth, still unable to make a decision whether to fight or retreat.
Intelligence from spies within Xiapi City reported that Tao Qian's condition had worsened, and as Tao Qian's illness worsened, the contest between the eldest son Tao Shang and Liu Bei was entering its most critical phase.
As for him, Cao Cao, he felt somewhat stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If he withdrew his troops, he was wary of Liu Bei. If he attacked the city, he was worried about Lu Bu, who had not yet been pacified behind him, and the border with Yuan Shu's territory, which could cause trouble.
Besides these, there was another new difficulty.
In the past two days, Cao Cao had simulated countless strategies for governing Xuzhou after withdrawing his troops. He hadn't thought about it, but it not only troubled his mind but gave him a splitting headache.
The more he understood Xuzhou, the more he realized that Xuzhou internally was not peaceful. Within each prefecture and county, factions were numerous, and forces were complexly intertwined.
Especially the commoner faction, the scholar faction, and the Danyang faction. Before Tao Qian governed Xuzhou, they were relatively at peace. Cao Cao's overwhelming army pressure could barely maintain order, but if... he led his troops back to reinforce Yanzhou.
These three factions would become lively... Which faction to woo? Which faction to suppress? Whether any of them would stab him in the back, these were all problems.
And if he ignored them and simply sent a few provincial governors, they would likely be ostracized by these three factions of the Xuzhou clique, or even meet a violent end!
At that time, Xuzhou would not be a large granary, but a large vat of dye.
"What should I do?"
The more Cao Cao thought, the more his head hurt...
For a moment, Cao Cao felt his head was about to explode. It was said that this was an old ailment. Since his early twenties, whenever Cao Cao thought of troublesome matters, he would get a headache...
And the reason had to be traced back to an unbearable past experience of Cao Cao in his teens.
Teenage Cao Cao was in his growth spurt, but his height seemed to have no movement, like wheat seedlings in the bitter winter.
His complexion was dark, and he was short and lean. He was two years shorter than children of the same age, exactly like his eunuch grandfather, Cao Teng.
Cao Song was worried. His adoptive father, Cao Teng, had lost his "little turtle" in his childhood, affecting his development. But his profession was that of a eunuch, so being shorter didn't matter. But Cao Cao couldn't do that. When riding a horse into battle, he couldn't reach the stirrups. When governing, he lacked aura. Even Yuan Shu had given Cao Cao a nickname behind his back—"Half a Person"!
To help Cao Cao grow a bit taller, Cao Song listened to a folk remedy. Every night, he would call the steward of the mansion. One person would hold Cao Cao's head, and another would grab his feet, and the two would pull desperately, trying to stretch Cao Cao's body.
Those were dark days for Cao Cao. The stars twinkling in the sky seemed like Cao Cao's eyes filled with helplessness, but the result was still minimal. Cao Cao still didn't grow taller and was still sarcastically called "Half a Person" by Yuan Shu!
A year later, Cao Song gave up. But the side effect of stretching his body appeared. For a year, Cao Cao's head was pulled every night, his feet were pulled, and his whole body was stretched, leaving him with a predisposition to headaches!
To this day, whenever he is melancholy and his thoughts are numerous, Cao Cao easily gets a headache.
Now, it had started acting up again.
Seeing his elder brother in such discomfort, Cao Hong, who was beside him, spoke:
"Brother, I actually don't think this matter is that troublesome." He seemed to have a unique insight and said loudly, "Let's directly attack Xiapi City with full force, and take control of the military and political power of Xiapi City. Whoever dares to disobey, kill them!"
"As for that Yuan Shu, let him come if he wants. Leave me, Cao Hong, here to defend the city, and I guarantee he'll be beaten back every time he comes. When Brother is displeased one day, with a single command, I'll lead troops to directly raze Nanyang and cut off Yuan Shu's retreat!"
Uh...
Cao Hong, who was thought to have sound judgment, turned out to be spouting nonsense.
Cao Cao was speechless. If it were that easy, why would he have lingered at the Xiapi city walls for so many days?
This feeling was like thinking you were the strongest player, but unfortunately... you were just bronze, sigh...
Cao Cao felt his head hurt even more.
And at this moment.
"Reporting to Ming Gong..." Several armored soldiers rushed into the main tent. They walked a few steps closer to Cao Cao and said in a low voice, "Brother, there is a middle-aged man outside the camp gate. He claims to be a merchant from Taishan Commandery, and he has a very close relationship with Ming Gong. His name is... Wei De!"
Wei De? Taishan Commandery?
At first, Cao Cao didn't react, but with a "whoosh," he suddenly remembered. He had previously sent a letter to Xun Yu, asking him to change the names of his younger brother Cao De and his father Cao Song. And hadn't his younger brother Cao De changed his name to Wei De?
But... this is a military stronghold, with many eyes and ears... How did he... how did he get here?
Cao Cao suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Speaking of which, with this cold sweat, his headache subsided.
But then he thought.
No, Cao De would not come for no reason. Something serious must have happened somewhere.
Hehe, but indeed something serious had happened.
Cao Cao didn't know yet that his principal wife was about to marry his daughter to his son! This matter involved incest, and it seemed... quite serious!
...
...