It's true that enemies never get together. The person sitting opposite Xu Kang is none other than his old rival in his first battle to become famous, Liu Yan, the former prefect of Zhuo County.

I didn't expect that in just a few short years, Liu Yan would rise from a young prefect to a high position as the head of the Nine Qing Dynasty. It's really infuriating to see him.

Xu Kang couldn't help but smile a little and said: "What a coincidence."

Liu Yan's smile was also secretly weird, and he said: "I have heard that you came to Luoyang a long time ago, but I never had the chance to meet you. I didn't expect that you would actually come to my door today."

Xu Kang was panicked by his laughter, and said with a dry laugh: "In the past, each of us was his own master, and if I offended someone, please don't take offense. Now that you and I are officials in the same dynasty, we should work together to protect His Majesty. I believe it, Your Majesty."

You wouldn’t be so disregardful of the overall situation.”

This is also the advantage of Xu Kang's young age. Whether he admits defeat or cheats, he will not offend others too much.

Liu Yan was not a stingy person. He waved his hand and said: "Since you have surrendered to me, I will naturally not deliberately make things difficult for you."

Xu Kang said hurriedly: "Thank you, sir. You really understand the righteousness and have great righteousness. My subordinates will definitely follow your example in the future..."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense." Liu Yan said with a strange expression: "I'm just surprised that at such a young age, you have the courage to do the job of sacrificing wine after having dealt with those articles."

Xu Kangqian smiled and said: "This subordinate doesn't know. It must be that the emperor has a keen eye and has noticed some merit in me."

"Poor talk." Liu Yan glared at him fiercely.

Xu Kang chuckled. He could see that Liu Yan not only didn't hate him, but looked at him differently, that's why he dared to say such unbridled words in front of him. "To be honest, I don't even know what Hongdu School is like."

What's the matter? I'm going to ask Master Taichang to give me some advice this time."

"It's just a matter of learning from the Hongdu School, not the Imperial Academy. What's there to teach? Just go and take a look." Liu Yan obviously didn't take it to heart and said, "If there is anything you don't understand, you can come to me tonight."

Sit down at home."

Xu Kang was surprised. He was worried that he had no backer in Luoyang. Liu Yan was obviously trying to win over him. But this was too strange. What was Liu Yan's identity? What reason did he have to be so polite to him?

But since Liu Yan invited him, Xu Kang would naturally not refuse this opportunity to become a big figure in the court.

Hongdumen College was established with the personal approval of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. It occupies a vast area and is lined with green trees.

Walking on the quiet path and looking at the empty academy, Xu Kang felt confused for a moment. He never expected that he would not find even a single figure along the way.

Hearing a vague sound, Xu Kang walked forward. After turning around a small forest, what appeared in front of Xu Kang was a large vegetable garden.

Have you already left Hongdumen Academy?

Seeing an old farmer doing geographical farming, Xu Kang stepped forward and said, "Old man, may I ask if this is the Hongdu School?"

The old farmer raised his head and said, "Yes, who are you?"

Xu Kang smiled and said: "I am the new priest of Hongdu School. I would like to ask, why is there no one here? Are all the students on vacation?"

Unexpectedly, the old farmer was shocked when he heard this. He immediately bowed deeply and said, "It turns out that your Excellency is here. I am sorry to hear that you are coming from afar, but I hope you will forgive me."

"Xia Guan?" Xu Kang was shocked by this term. After a while, he said: "You are?"

"Xia Guan is the professor here, his surname is Song and his name is Jian." The old farmer smiled slightly, and he seemed to have the artistic conception of a worldly master.

But Xu Kang couldn't help but ask: "Why do you farm in the college?"

Song Jian blushed and said: "The salary from the imperial court is intermittent, and the lower officials are old and weak. I have no other means of making a living, so I have to open a few acres of wasteland to supplement the family income."

Xu Kang was speechless for a while, then asked after a while: "What about the other professors?"

"After the decline of Hongdu School, professors with certain backgrounds left one after another. Today there are less than a dozen professors here, and most of them work part-time outside."

"What about the students? Are there any left?"

"There are still more than a thousand students on the roster." Xu Kang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. It was pretty good. Unexpectedly, Song Jian added: "But these people are poor students recommended by the local government. They usually rely on the court to allocate some living expenses to feel at ease.

Studying. Nowadays, even professors’ salaries are not provided, let alone these students. So they have to work outside, and I don’t know how many people there are now.”

Xu Kang's mood suddenly became extremely bad. He didn't expect that the Hongdu Sect School was even worse than he thought. No wonder everyone looked disapproving when they mentioned the Hongdu Sect School. It turned out that the Hongdu Sect School had reached the point where it had to be...

It's closed.

Accompanied by Song Jian, Xu Kang walked roughly around the college and said, "Mr. Song's ability to stick to his post is a credit to his hard work. I just want to trouble you to inform you that all professors who are still on temporary duty must come to school tomorrow.

Just say that I want to settle their salaries."

Song Jian was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "If this is possible, I will lead all my colleagues to thank you for your kindness."

Xu Kang couldn't help but smile bitterly after hearing these words. He just paid them back, so it was no kindness.

It was getting late, Xu Kang took a carriage and arrived at Liu Yan's mansion.

What Xu Kang didn't expect was that this was a family banquet, and he was the only guest at the banquet.

In addition to Liu Yan, those attending the dinner were his two sons, Liu Fan and Liu Dan.

Xu Kang really felt flattered. He didn't expect Liu Yan to value him so much.

Liu Yan had a kind attitude and asked some questions about Xu Kang's life like an elder. He only excused himself by citing the death of his parents when he was young.

Liu Yan did not force the question, and then talked about some anecdotes from the court to liven up the atmosphere at the dinner table.

Seeing that the two parties were talking happily, Xu Kang took the opportunity to raise the situation of Hongdu School.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yan smiled and said: "This is not a big deal?"

"But after all, this is a school built by the Emperor's personal order. It would be a pity if it just fell into disuse."

Liu Yan thought that Xu Kang did this just to maintain the dignity of the emperor, so he explained: "To be precise, the Hongdu School was founded by Shi Changshi in the name of the emperor. It was their way of recruiting talents to fight against the aristocratic family. So Tai

We will not allow it to continue to exist, and even the ministers in the DPRK will not be able to see it gain power."

"However, the emperor has taught me the academy now. If it is destroyed in my hands, how can I be worthy of the emperor's kindness?"

Liu Yan frowned and said, "Then what are your plans?"

"Your Excellency is in charge of education, and Hongdu School is also under your command. I hope that for the emperor's sake, your Excellency can allocate a batch of funds so that my subordinates can rebuild Hongdu School."

Liu Yan laughed dumbly and said, "You still don't understand what I'm saying? Many people want to see Hongdu Sect collapse. If you do this, you will offend a large number of people."

Xu Kang said firmly: "Even so, for the sake of the emperor, I will not hesitate to lower my rank."

Liu Yan looked at Xu Kang seriously for a while and said, "Okay, for what you said, I will give you money."
Chapter completed!