Xuzhou, Qin Zongquan, the governor of Zhongwu Army, stood at the top of the city, looking at the iron-armored army formation that stretched like a sea outside the city, with a solemn expression.

The siege of Zhu Wen, the governor of Xuanwu, was naturally the soldiers of Zhu Wen. However, in just ten months, Zhu Wen's troops had expanded from 100,000 to more than 600,000. Xuanwu's army did not expand too much. The other soldiers came from the vassal states that were conquered by Zhu Wen.

Now Zhu Wen has 400,000 armor and attacked Xuzhou in a large-scale attack. When Qin Zongquan heard the news, he did not even have the courage to lead the Zhongwu army to fight. He just ordered the reduction of troops, gave up the northern prefectures and counties, and gathered the main force to defend Xuzhou City and wait for assistance.

At this moment, Qin Zongquan's eyes fell in front of the army outside the city. There was a battle formation there, with only 500 people, but it was a force to suck the sky and the earth. Whether it was Qin Zongquan or the soldiers of Zhongwu Army, they didn't have to feel too much, and they could feel the pressure on their shoulders like a mountain.

The five hundred armored men were dressed in white, wearing silver armor and holding spears, and all of them were floating in the air, standing higher than the Xuzhou city wall.

"That's the Taoist soldiers who Zhu Wen relied to sweep across the various vassal states?" Wu Gou's eyes were low and his voice was heavy. "Five hundred real-person cultivators, wearing talisman armor and holding magic weapons, how can ordinary soldiers compete with each other?"

In addition to his solemn expression, Qin Zongquan also felt a lot of anxiety. He heard Wu Gou's words, his voice was a little chilled: "Since ancient times, the princes of the mortal world have competed for the Central Plains. Although many monks have participated in it, there are also many reincarnated immortals who use immortal techniques to deceive the enemy's generals and lord's will, thus achieving great victory. However, such a situation where the fairy court corps directly descended to the world is unheard of! If the war was fought like this, the princes in the world would chase after it, and they would directly compare to who would surrender to the Taoist sect!"

Wu Gou's eyes changed: "The Taoist sect has controlled the orthodox world for so many years, and there is no reason... It was not before the Taoist soldiers came down to the realm. The last time was the chaos at the end of the Qin Dynasty. At that time, the elite Qin corps were flattened, and their combat power was still at its peak. It was invincible and no heroes in the world could fight against him. If the immortals had not deceived the minds of the important officials in the court and sent Taoist soldiers to the realm, those elite corps led by famous military generals would have long since wiped out the chaos army..."

Qin Zongquan punched the female wall hard, his eyes gradually turned red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "It's useless to say these things now. When will your highness's reinforcements arrive?"

As early as when Li Ye pacified Hedong, Qin Zongquan ordered Wu Gou to visit Li Ye in Hedong, seeking to be an alliance to deal with Zhu Wen, who had the support of the Taoist sect.

At that time, Li Ye was tough and refused to agree to the alliance. Instead, he made the Zhongwu Army unilaterally obey orders. Qin Zongquan still had some resentment.

After all, Qin Zongquan did not break up with Li Ye and completely rejected Li Ye's order, which retained the possibility of cooperation between the two parties.

This time, Zhu Wen swept across the Central Plains and sent troops to attack Xuzhou. Qin Zongquan sent people to Pinglu for help early, hoping that the Pinglu army would take action.

In the world, only Pinglu, who also owns the great monks, can deal with Zhu Wen and save Zhongwu's army.

Wu Gou said: "The messenger has been sent out long ago and should have come back long ago. The reason why there is no news yet is probably because His Highness is also considering..."

In Wu Gou's opinion, Li Ye had absolutely no reason not to support the Zhongwu Army. Once the Zhongwu Army was destroyed, Zhu Wen would not have a rival worthy of facing up to the Central Plains. By then, the Yellow River to the north, the Huai River to the south, the sea to the east, and the Tongguan to the west, will fall into Zhu Wen's hands.

The Central Plains have been rich since ancient times and have a large population. Although Huainan is now more prosperous than the Central Plains, the Central Plains is still the largest in terms of population. If Zhu Wen completely possesses the Central Plains, it will be the foundation of the real great cause.

......

Pinglu, Qingzhou City.

The Anwang Mansion Government Hall was already full of people, with the main seat empty, and Trek Li sat in the lower head seat, followed by Liu Dazheng, Shangguan Qingcheng and other generals. Trek Li is now in charge of the discussion, and everyone is discussing whether to send troops to rescue Xuzhou and how to rescue him.

When Li Ye was not in Pinglu, Cui Keli was in charge of the government and Liu Dazheng was in charge of the army. Whenever there was a major event, everyone would discuss it together.

"Zhu Wen swept across the Central Plains towns, and the rescue letters we received were not once or twice. The reason why we did not send troops before was simply because we were afraid of the group of Taoist soldiers in the Immortal Court. Now that the Taoist soldiers have not been damaged, we will not have the power to fight with them unless we have all the demon cultivators. But if all the demon cultivators leave Pinglu, once Zhu Wen takes advantage of the situation, Pinglu will be in danger."

The person who spoke was Liu Dazheng, and his words were quite honest. "And Pinglu's current priority is to stabilize the north, govern various vassal states well, and establish His Highness's authority in the north. This is also the major plan set by His Highness before leaving. So I still said the same thing, before His Highness returns, the Pinglu army will not involve the war in the Central Plains."

Cui Keli pondered for a moment and spoke slowly: "If Zhongwu army is not saved, Zhu Wen will get the entire Central Plains. Once Your Highness does not return in time, Zhu Wen will lose the troops of "Henan" to attack Pinglu and "Hebei", and we will have no way to deal with it."

The opinions of the two basically represent the officials' opinions. The opinions of the officials present were divided into two factions, and they had a debate for many days, but there was no result. The same is true today.

After the discussion was over, there were only three people left in the hall, Cui Keli, Liu Dazheng and Shangguan Qingcheng.

At this time, Cui Keli was not afraid to express his thoughts. He sighed and said with emotion: "The great struggle in the world is the struggle of the people in the world. Just like the immortal court today, even the demon cultivators must join in. Is this still the great struggle in the world in the mortal world?"

"Although there are cultivators in the mortal world, they are very few after all, and there are even a few real human realm. In front of the immortal cultivators and the powerful demon clans, how can all living beings be different from ants? With one move in the immortal realm, they can destroy a city and turn 100,000 people into dust. Is this still a great battle in the world?"

After he finished speaking, Liu Dazheng and Shangguan Qingcheng remained silent.

At this time, a loud voice came from outside the door: "This chaotic world is no longer just a chaotic world in the mortal world, but a great catastrophe in the world. What is the great catastrophe? Great chaos. The creatures are not killed or injured, what is the great chaos? Immortals are originally one, and this great catastrophe swept the world, which is also the meaning of the question."

Trickley and others looked out the door and did not see anyone, but there was no strange look on their faces.

The person who spoke was Red Boy. When they were discussing the matter, the other party was also listening, but they didn't show up to participate in the argument.

Cui Keli frowned and said, "The immortals and mortals are one, but they cannot be separated from the immortals! In fact, I never think that the affairs of the mortal world should be intervened and decided by immortals. Since the immortals do not care about the prosperity of the clouds and rain and benefit the people, then the mortals should do the affairs of the mortals, and the immortals should only care about the free and illusory world. In times of troubled times, what is the matter of the immortal court intervening in a big dispute? The immortals are not a good thing in one, and it should not be a good thing in this world. It is enough to have public opinion!"

Red Boy smiled and said, "You told me that this matter is useless. It's just like this situation now. Do you still want to change it?"

Cui Keli narrowed his eyebrows and said seriously: "After all, this is the situation of the Taoist sect, not from my Confucian sect! Even, not from the people of the world!"

Red Boy didn't speak anymore, and seemed to be in thought.

Finally, before Tricky got up, he said to Shangguan Qingcheng and Liu Dazheng: "Please ask two generals to prepare for war in case of emergency."

"This is natural." Liu Dazhengdao, "regardless of whether the Pinglu army goes to war or not, this is necessary."

After leaving the royal palace, Cui Keli did not return to the government office or the mansion, but came to a college east of the city.

This academy was built after Li Ye approved it. It is larger than the private school. It has 3,000 students now, and it has a wider source of disciples than the Tai Academy, including both officials and ordinary children.

According to the academy course schedule, there is time for Trekley to teach every five days. No matter how busy he is in politics, he will come on time when the time comes.

There were only thirty desks in the room where Cui Keli taught, but there were hundreds of people who came to listen to the class. Not only the corridors outside the house, but the yard was full of crowds, and even the walls were covered with disciples. This seemed very unusual for Confucian students who had always been respectful of courtesy.

Fortunately, Cui Keli has the cultivation level of a literary master, so there is no need to worry that anyone can't hear him.

After the lecture, when Trickley left the academy, it was already setting sun.

A scholar stood outside the academy.

The sunset pulled his shadow long on the street.

"Senior brother, Yangzhou Cultural Association, the other three wise men will comment on the world's Confucian scholars, and then determine the list of the eight heroes and seventy-two handsome men. Do you really not go?" Zhang Zhongsheng asked with his hands bowed, with anger in his eyebrows.

He had already left Pinglu, but now it was almost June. Cui Keli, who had agreed to go to Yangzhou earlier, suddenly said that he was not going south, so he came to ask in anger.

Trickli shook his head: "The situation in the Central Plains is changing, and Pinglu's political affairs are complicated. I really can't get rid of my brother."

When Zhang Zhongsheng heard this, his eyes became even more angry, so that his voice suddenly became louder: "As a Confucian disciple, you should know that this literary event is a great event in the Confucian school! With the talent of his senior brother, after years of precipitation, he may not be able to be on the list of the eight masters. At that time, his reputation will be passed down to the world, respected by scholars all over the world, and praised by future generations. Isn't it more important than mere civil affairs?"

Cui Keli was silent. He knew very well that if he didn't go to Yangzhou, not to mention being one of the eight masters, even the 72-seventy-two-sex people might no longer exist.

Yangzhou is where the governor of Huainan is located. Today, the governor of Huainan, Gao Pian, has already impressed most of the vassal states in Huainan and was a prince of all over the world. His ambition to achieve great things is obvious. The Confucian school held a literary meeting in Yangzhou and praised the scholars of the world, which was not without the intention of winning over talents and using them as Gao Pian.

In other words, the last prince chosen by the Confucian clan was Gao Pian, Huainan.

Cui Keli did not directly answer Zhang Zhongsheng's question. He turned around and looked at the plaque of the academy and asked Zhang Zhongsheng: "Do you know why you want to run this academy for me?"

Zhang Zhongsheng didn't expect that the other party suddenly talked about this, and was slightly surprised and curious: "Why?"

Cui Keli, bathed in the sunset, had a strange glory in his eyes. "Everyone says that Confucian scholars are useless in troubled times and have no virtue in prosperous times. In troubled times, military strategists are very prominent, and scholars are not familiar with the battle formations, and can only deal with the beginning and end of military strategists and have a humble status. In prosperous times, scholars enter the court, but are busy suppressing military strategists, fighting for power and profit, or flattering the superiors, or seeking fame in history."

"So all the patriots in the world laugh at the Confucian school, saying that since the controversy over a hundred schools of thought, the Confucian school has become the most unrecognizable, and it is simply a matter of forgetting ancestors. In the past, the people were noble and the king was sacrificing themselves for righteousness, and became kings, ministers, fathers, sons and sons. Even the words "the king's power is granted to God" can be said......"

He turned around and looked at Zhang Zhongsheng: "Yangzhou Cultural Association, after all, is just a talk. Even if the so-called eight heroes and seventy-two handsome men can be given to our sect's holy tools, greatly increasing the power of article education and allowing more people to be "loyal to the emperor", but in my eyes, Cui Keli, this is no more important than a government order that can solve the problem of autumn harvest among the people in a village!"

Zhang Zhongsheng lowered his face: "Senior brother thinks so?"

He obviously disagrees with the other party's argument.

Cui Keli did not argue with Zhang Zhongsheng, and then looked up at the plaque of the academy and said slowly: "The princes all believed that there was no need to use Confucian scholars in troubled times, because it was more important to know the way of the battlefield and know how to farm and fight. When the world was peaceful, then use scholars to govern the country and study. Therefore, in the era of the controversy, our Confucianism did not make much achievements. It was not until the time of Emperor Wu of Han that it began to truly show its significance."

"However, scholars do not go to the battlefield in troubled times, do not reach borders in prosperous times, have never seen blood in the desert, have never seen bones in troubled times, they will forget why the world needs great governance and why scholars enter the court!"

"The Confucian scholars I want are not such Confucian scholars. The scholars I want are those who have achievements in troubled times and even more achievements in prosperous times. They can not only pacify the world, but also govern the world! With such scholars, they can be calmed in troubled times and govern the world's affairs, and only then can they truly make the world's principles!"

"In this way, the people of the world will not be disappointed in the current situation, will not be crushed by hard life, or will be ignorant because they are not educated and ignorant, burn incense and worship Buddha, and seek blessings from immortals!"

"If this world is really prosperous, temples and Taoist temples should not have incense, and immortals do not have to exist!

"If an immortal dies, the world will not be ruled! A true scholar should return the world to the world, give the people thousands of blessings, and sacrifice incense to sacrifice, kill the immortals in the sky!"

"Schooling one's mind for the heaven and earth, establish one's destiny for the living and the people, inherit the unique knowledge for the past saints, and bring peace to the ages. This is what scholars should do! This is why I, Cui Keli, run this academy!"

These words are like golden swords, even more than thunder. The lingering sound lingers on the beams and lasts for a long time.

After the words were finished, Trickley did not look back.

His figure is not great, but there is glory on his shoulders.

Zhang Zhongsheng fell silent and thoughtful.

After a while, he woke up in horror. Seeing Cui Keli's eyes filled with a strong look of horror, he shouted: "You...no wonder you didn't go to the Yangzhou Cultural Association. It turned out... it turned out that you wanted to set up a different branch and become a Confucian school!"

Trickley shook her sleeves and snorted coldly: "What's wrong?"

Zhang Zhongsheng couldn't speak.

Because he discovered a more terrifying fact.

Trekley has golden light on her body.

He thought it was the sunset before.

And now he found out that it wasn't.

He took three steps back, pointed at Trickli, and was stunned: "Wen...Wen Sheng! You... are you going to achieve the realm of Wen Sheng? How is this possible!"

Trickley did not answer.

He just stared at the plaque of the academy.

That is his ambition and hope, the one that he can die to the Tao.

The name of the academy: Junzi Hall.
Chapter completed!