Fang Yun smiled, feeling closer to Nu Nu.
“Nu Nu, why did you jump onto my car that day instead of someone else’s? There were several cars behind me,” Fang Yun asked.
Nu Nu pointed to a book of rites on the bookshelf.
Fang Yun glanced at it and said, “Yes, I was reading the Book of Rites in the car at the time. Did you hear me reading and think I was a good person, so you came up to me?”
Nu Nu nodded and looked at Fang Yun with a smile.
“It seems we have a strong connection,” Fang Yun said, reaching out to scratch Nu Nu’s neck.
Nu Nu immediately closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation.
After lunch, the housekeeper of the Fang family brought seven people, all of whom were chosen by Fang’s wife and were honest people from the Dayuan Prefecture. Fang Yun was to choose two of them as his long followers.
The seven people stood in the courtyard with solemn expressions and straight postures. Each of them seemed to have a hidden knife in their eyes, and Yang Yuhuan dared not approach them.
Fang Yun walked back and forth in front of the seven people. Some of them had lost an arm, some had lost an eye, and some had injuries that were not obvious. They all seemed to be child scholars who had to retire from the army after being injured.
Child scholars were originally much stronger than ordinary people, and once they practiced martial arts, they would quickly become masters. If they ambushed someone up close, even presented scholars could be killed. However, they were no match for imperial scholars, who could kill them with their words.
Fang Yun said, “Since you were all chosen by my aunt, you should know each other. If you form a team, who would you choose as the leader?”
The other six people looked at the middle-aged man with a broken arm. He was not strong and even looked a bit honest, but his eyes were steadier than the other six.
Fang Yun asked him, “What is your name and what position did you hold in the army?”
“My name is Tan Yu. I served as a sergeant, a platoon leader, and a team leader. Later, I became General Fang’s personal guard. I retired three years ago due to injuries and have been working for the Fang family ever since.” Tan Yu spoke slowly and clearly.
Fang Yun nodded.
Five people formed a squad, three squads formed a platoon, and fifty people formed a team. Most squad leaders were talented scholars, and child scholars who could become leaders were rare. The next step for a squad leader was to become a vice-captain at the ninth rank, which was a real official position. However, only talented scholars could hold that position, and only a few child scholars could become captains.
Fang Yun knew that what he needed was not just strong soldiers, but also someone with experience, intelligence, and knowledge.
Fang Yun looked at the housekeeper of the Fang family and said, “Mr. Fang, I choose Tan Yu as my first follower.”
“Young master Fang has a good eye. One Tan Yu is worth four old soldiers,” the housekeeper praised.
Fang Yun then asked the remaining six people, “Who among you is the best fighter?”
“I am!” The strongest man stepped forward, and the others did not object.
Fang Yun saw that there was nothing wrong with his body and asked, “Why did you retire?”
“I was going to fight sea monsters in Yuhai City, but I would get a rash if I stayed in contact with seawater for too long, and the pain was unbearable,” the strong man said.
Fang Yun asked, “As my follower, what do you think is the most important thing?”
“To protect young master Fang!”
“Okay, what is your name?” Fang Yun asked.
“Nie Shi.”
Fang Yun nodded and asked Tan Yu, “If Nie Shi is to protect me, what weapon is best for him?”
“If he wants to kill enemies, my quick knife is enough. But if he wants to protect you, a shield and sword are the best. However, he needs a good turtle shell shield, which is rare among civilians. Using a regular shield is not good enough.” Tan Yu replied.”Master and Old Master have collected quite a lot of sea monster materials. There are at least twenty turtle shells. You can come with me to pick one. As for your sword, it’s just ordinary iron. You can choose a monster material from the Prefecture to forge into a weapon, such as demon cow horns or shark teeth.”
“Thank you, Uncle Fang. Please thank my grandfather and father for me as well,” Fang Yun said with a smile.
“I have always thought that they have too many things, and it’s better to use them than let them rot. Madam has already agreed. You can go pick them first, and I will report to Old Master later.” Fang’s steward had a calm expression.
After staying at the Dafu Mansion for a long time, Fang Yun had a better understanding of the Fang family. This Fang’s steward was Old Master Fang’s childhood friend. They fought together and saved Old Master Fang’s life. He even spanked Fang Shouye when he was a child. The Fang couple respected him very much. If Old Master Fang got angry, only he could persuade him.
“Okay, let’s choose Tan Yu and Nie Shi,” Fang Yun said.
“I will have someone forge the weapons before the tenth day. When you go to the Prefecture’s Academy, make sure to bring Tan Yu and Nie Shi with you. On the tenth day, make sure to control Liu Zicheng and don’t let him insult you. This way, he will be more restrained in the future. Tan Yu and Nie Shi are both experienced in battle. If they fight with all their might, the servants of the Liu family won’t be able to handle them,” Fang’s steward said.
“I will remember,” Fang Yun said seriously.
“Okay, let’s go back first. Tan Yu and Nie Shi will be your attendants starting from tomorrow,” Fang’s steward said.
After seeing off Fang’s steward, Fang Yun stood in the courtyard and thought. Even Fang’s steward could tell that Liu Zicheng would cause trouble on the tenth day. It seemed that the day would not go smoothly.
“Liu Zicheng won’t dare to act in the city, even with The Left Chancellor’s protection. He can only do things that damage my reputation. I can only react passively for now, but once I become an Accomplished Scholar, I can take the initiative! The only problem is the guard of the Prefecture’s Academy. If he turns hostile, it will be more troublesome than dealing with Liu Zicheng, as he is a sixth-rank official,” Fang Yun thought of a plan to deal with the guard of the Prefecture’s Academy and walked into the house.
After lunch, Fang Yun continued to study, while Fang Daniu kept receiving invitations and telling people that Fang Yun was sick.
In the evening, Fang Daniu received a total of forty-three invitations and put them all on Fang Yun’s desk. Some of them were invitations for dinner and socializing, some were invitations to join private literary gatherings, and some were requests for Fang Yun to teach their children.
Fang Yun kept flipping through them and finally saw a strange letter from a Child Scholar.
The Child Scholar criticized Fang Yun’s poetry and said that his own poetry was the best in the Nation and State, while others were blind. The Child Scholar threatened to spread the word in tea houses, literary gatherings, and academies if Fang Yun didn’t visit him and ask for advice. He would make sure everyone knew that Fang Yun’s poetry was awful.
Fang Yun shook his head and thought, “Scholars are narrow-minded. However, the more they look down on others’ poetry, the happier I am. The road to literary status is full of competition with countless scholars. The more people like him there are, the less pressure I will have. I should thank him for making way for me.”
Fang Yun didn’t have to reply to the invitations, but he had to respond to the requests. He wrote some polite replies and had Fang Daniu deliver them one by one.
For the next two days, Fang Yun pretended to be sick and kept studying and practicing calligraphy.
On the second night, Fang Yun secretly went to the new mansion and chose his bedroom and study. He then returned home quietly under the cover of darkness.
On the third day, Fang Yun took the little fox to the Fang family’s school to teach, while the Fang family sent people to help him move.When they arrived at the teaching room of the clan school, He Yunong told Fang Yun that Class A had changed to a larger classroom and added twenty new students, ten of whom had passed the exam and were sure to become Child Scholars in the future. The other ten students were not bad either, but they all had strong backgrounds and had to pay a thousand two hundred silver coins per year.
One of the children even had a recommendation from the imperial family, and should be a relative of a prince.
Fang Yun didn’t care about these things, and even hoped to have more time to teach more people, because he knew very well that if people who grew up learning “Three Character Classic,” “Fox Rhyme,” “Dream Record of the Pillow,” and other works gradually entered the political arena, then even if the Left Chancellor became a Great Scholar, he would not be able to compete with them.
However, Fang Yun’s time was limited, and becoming an Accomplished Scholar was still his main goal. Teaching a class of students was his limit.
Today, Fang Yun did not teach “Fox Rhyme,” but continued to teach “Three Character Classic.”
The twenty new students who came were all obedient, no matter how deep their backgrounds were. Before they came, their families had already warned them, and some parents even threatened them with family law.
Fang Yun studied hard for three days in a row, feeling that his thinking was not very clear. In the process of explaining “Three Character Classic” to the students, he gradually felt that what he had learned was being sorted out by an invisible force.
After teaching a class, Fang Yun felt refreshed.
“No wonder ancient sages had to teach their disciples. Passing on knowledge is one thing, but teaching is another form of learning. If what you think you understand and what you think is correct cannot be expressed in words and taught to others, then it means either you have misunderstood or not understood deeply enough. There are also some things that are vaguely understood, but become clearer after teaching.”
“Similarly, exchanging ideas with other scholars is equally important. No wonder there are various private literary societies in the Ten Kingdoms. After I become an Accomplished Scholar, I must join an excellent literary society to listen, express, and debate, all of which can make me progress.”
Although Fang Yun did not teach “Fox Rhyme” this time, Little Fox still listened attentively like a good student, even more attentively than all the other children.
After class, Fang Yun carried Little Fox to the teaching room and asked, “Did you understand my class?”
Little Fox immediately nodded proudly and nodded three times, but each time was more hesitant than the last. After the third nod, she shook her head unwillingly.
“Some understood, some didn’t?”
Little Fox nodded, feeling a bit frustrated.
“It’s okay, you’ll understand after listening for a while. In a while, you’ll be a Child Scholar, Little Fox.”
“Ying ying! Ying ying!” Little Fox was so happy to hear this title that she crawled into Fang Yun’s arms to show her affection.
Leaving the clan school, Fang Yun officially moved into his new residence.
This residence had three large courtyards and fifteen rooms, much more comfortable than before.
For the next few days, Fang Yun didn’t go anywhere except between the clan school and his home. When he passed by the bookstore, he bought some books, some of which he put in his study, and some he stored in Qishu Tian Di.
Unknowingly, it was the time for the Prefecture Academy to accept the enrollment of outstanding Child Scholars on April 10th every year.
There were nine county towns in Dayuan Prefecture, and the top Child Scholar from each county and the top five Child Scholars from the prefecture city, a total of fourteen people, could enter the Prefecture Academy and study for three years.
Early in the morning, everyone in Fang’s mansion got up early and prepared everything for Fang Yun. At 6:30, the carriage carrying Fang Yun went to the Prefecture Academy.
Fang Daniu drove the carriage, Tan Yu and Nie Shi stood on either side, one with a sword and the other with a shield, very eye-catching.