It is said that in troubled times there is no room for a desk, and generally speaking it is true.
But this is not absolute. For example, Jinshan Academy in the south is still operating normally in this end of the world.
Those who can study here are the children of wealthy families from several counties in the south. Naturally, these families have the ability to maintain the operation of the academy.
In fact, this place is said to be for reading, but in fact it has evolved to this day and is more of a platform for exchanges and connections between children of all ethnic groups.
Being able to make more friends in the academy will be extremely beneficial in the future, whether you become an official in the imperial examination or hold power at home.
Under this model, cronies are formed and influence the government and politicians.
It was precisely because of the unique role of the academy that Lin Guanhai exerted influence on several southern counties by giving lectures in the academy.
However, Lin Guanhai's appeal was really lacking, so not many people attended the lecture that day.
But today, Jinshan Academy is much more lively than before, and there are at least a hundred carriages parked at the foot of the mountain.
On the road up the mountain, there was an endless stream of students and gentry. These people obviously came from afar.
We are usually very busy, so why did we come all the way today? It’s because Mr. Fang Hongji, a great scholar in the world, is giving lectures at the academy today.
Fang Hongji is very popular in the south. Since he accepted his disciples, he has not given public lectures for nearly ten years.
On weekdays, if you want to visit me, there will be many people but few people will go there, so today Fang Hongji’s lecture attracted many people to listen.
In addition to admiration for Fang Hongji, the gentry and talented people who came from all over the country were even more curious about the content of Fang Hongji's lectures.
When the sun rose high, the second courtyard of Jinshan Academy was filled with three to four hundred people.
Originally there were seats, but due to the limited space in the courtyard, only forty or fifty seats could be placed at most, which could not accommodate the many people who came originally.
The place was buzzing with people, and many people who knew each other were talking loudly at this moment.
Too many things have happened recently, especially King Yong's capture of the capital, which can be said to have undergone earth-shaking changes.
Although there was a change of dynasty, King Yong had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, and had not launched any action against several southern counties, so everything was in uncertainty.
Therefore, most of the people present were discussing matters in the capital and each family's views on the matter.
"To put it bluntly, as long as King Yong does not resort to violence and plunder all the people's power... there is nothing wrong with him being the emperor!"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. King Yong's position is unfair... If we don't go all out with force, how can we take back several northern counties, and how can we explain to our ancestors and the people of the world!"
These two kinds of thinking are the consensus of the southern gentry and can be easily deduced based on the values of this era.
In other words, they hope that Zhao Yanxun will "be at peace", but they think this is impossible.
Since Zhao Yanxun would not be the emperor they hoped for, they would naturally feel "disobedient".
Even Zhao Weilong, who has a stable legal system, can defy the emperor's rule, so how can they take it to heart that he is an anti-king who has an unfair position?
"Have you heard that several Master Dusi are already discussing countermeasures?"
"We should discuss countermeasures in advance. If King Yong wants to plunder people's wealth, we cannot let him do whatever he wants!"
"I'm just afraid of his tiger and wolf soldiers..."
"He has an army of tigers and wolves. Our five southern counties have enough money and food, so why can't they train tigers and wolves?"
"That's true..."
While everyone was discussing, the major families finally came to terms with each other, so they knew how to behave after returning.
At this moment, someone shouted: "The old gentleman is here..."
Hearing this shout, everyone at the scene gradually became quiet, and everyone glanced towards the north of the yard.
In the hall, a few middle-aged people walked out surrounded by an old man, and everyone outside quickly bowed and saluted.
This is not about convincing others with power, but because of your noble conduct that makes everyone respect you.
"Meet the old gentleman!"
After experiencing the "national crisis", Fang Hongji had obviously lost weight at this time, like a candle swaying in the wind, which might be extinguished at any time.
Facing everyone to salute, Fang Hongji nodded in greeting, and then sat down with the support of his students.
"It's been years since I've been here. Looking at you... young people, I'm reminded of my youth... studying in the academy!"
Fang Hongji's opening remarks started with such ordinary words. If others did this, they would be out of ideas, and he would only make people think that he was being clever but not working hard.
"Actually, what I'm here for today is not a lecture. I'm old enough and I've already said everything I need to say, so what else is there to say?"
Everyone can still smile in the first sentence, which just means that the old man is recalling the past, but what does the second sentence mean?
You're not here to give a lecture, are you here to chat with everyone?
"I came to the academy today because I actually wanted to talk to you about my relationship with King Yong!"
As Fang Hongji said these words, everyone's mood turned from surprise to curiosity. Could it be that Mr. Fang has a close relationship with King Yong?
But Fang Hongji's next words directly shattered everyone's imagination.
"On that day, King Yong sent troops to the west of Jishui, and the imperial court formed a large army on the east bank. When the two armies were facing each other... I asked for orders to cross the river to persuade King Yong to surrender!"
Although this incident was not deliberately concealed, only a few people in the south knew about it, and few people at the scene knew about it.
"The old gentleman went deep into the tiger's den and put himself in danger... We admire him!"
There were endless compliments from below, but Fang Hongji just smiled and waited for everyone to quiet down.
When everyone was quiet, someone below asked: "The old gentleman has experienced the world for a long time and must have the ability to recognize people. Do you know what kind of person King Yong is?"
Someone asked a question, which exactly met Fang Hongji's needs.
Facing the eager eyes of everyone, Fang Hongji said: "This person, King Yong..."
Speaking of this, Fang Hongji recalled that morning again, and Zhao Yanxun's intimidating appearance seemed to come to him.
Seeing Fang Hongji's complex expression, everyone below was looking forward to the answer.
In the months since King Yong's rebellion, there has been a lot of complicated news about him. It can be said that there are all kinds of legends, making it difficult for people in several southern counties to see his true face.
Fang Hongji had met Zhao Yanxun, and his description of Zhao Yanxun was the most objective and true in the eyes of everyone.
"This person, King Yong, has the appearance of a dragon and a tiger, the brightness of the sun and the moon, the heart of embracing the universe, and the ambition to swallow up the world!"
Good guy, these four sentences described by Fang Hongji shocked everyone.
These four sentences are not an exaggeration to describe the gods in the sky, but are they really true to describe a person?
"Old sir, is King Yong really so...powerful?"
Some people raised questions, but because they didn’t know what word to use to describe it, they could only sum it up with the word “awesome”.
This also brought out the opinions of everyone. If they didn't trust Fang Hongji's character, they would only think that what he said just now was to flatter King Yong.
Fang Hongji did not answer directly, but sighed: "Even Emperor Taizong, who looked down upon the ancient and modern emperors, could not compare to this King Yong when he was young!"
Zhao Hongzhang, Taizong of the Jin Dynasty, was definitely ranked among the top three emperors of the past and present in the minds of people of his time.
As Fang Hongji said, if Zhao Yanxun is more powerful than Emperor Taizong, then everyone can roughly imagine how powerful this King Yong is.
In fact, it’s really hard to refute Fang Hongji’s words.
Back then, Emperor Taizong Zhao Hongzhang raised his troops from Longyou and took nearly two years to invade the capital. It took King Yong just over two months to follow the same route.
At this moment, everyone in the academy was in a solemn mood. With such a heroic leader around, they had to worry about the future.
Only Fang Hongji's strong influence can have such an effect. On the other hand, others would just regard him as a madman.
However, for Fang Hongji, what he has to do today has just begun.
In the following time, he will further explain the power of Yong's army through what he saw and heard in the Central Plains.
Only by understanding the power of Zhao Yanxun can the gentry and gentry in the south put away their small calculations and put out their stupid ideas of going against King Yong, so that the war can be eliminated and the casualties of the people can be eliminated.
This idea was a method that Fang Hongji came up with based on the people's hearts to save the five southern counties.
