After lunch, Zhang Huangxing hurriedly came to the place where Xiangyang Academy and Yingchuan Academy were preparing to test their Confucian talents, that is, the Confucian Temple.

When I got there, I realized that the 'start in the afternoon' that Xi Zhicai actually referred to the start of building the platform and the competition venue in the afternoon, and the real competition would have to wait for a day or two later.

This made Zhang Huang a little discouraged, but after thinking about it, it was also, after all, Sima Wei and Pang Degong rushed over from Xiangyang, Jingzhou, even if they came to find Xun's Academy, but as the host, the Xun family naturally had to be entertained, so they wouldn't start any competition as soon as they arrived, right? What's more, several of the students in Xiangyang Academy were emaciated because of the long-distance car ride, and Zhang Huang didn't believe that the Xun family, who was extremely face-heavy, would immediately start the so-called competition.

Just look at Xun Yu and his sixth uncle Xun Shuang, a typical upright Confucian who values face more than his life. It is no wonder, after all, that reputation is more important than life, which is a common problem of all orthodox Confucian scholars.

Seeing that the servants of the Xun family were unhurriedly building the platform needed for the competition between the two academies, Zhang Huang couldn't wait to step forward to help, even if his help was just to make the competition a moment earlier. After all, he couldn't wait to see Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, two top strategists whose talents were comparable to Guo Jia, Xun Yu, and Xun You, even though they were still young and had not really shown their edge.

Zhang Huang actually thought about secretly going to take a look at Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to see what the two of them looked like, but unfortunately, since Xun Yu beckoned the students of Jingzhou Xiangyang Academy to live in the wing of the East Garden, he ordered that idlers and others were forbidden to disturb them. Maybe Xun Yu's original intention was to let the students of Xiangyang Academy rest well, so that the two sides could have a fair competition, but unfortunately this move broke Zhang Huang's secret desire to watch Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.

Helpless, Zhang Huang had to wait patiently. Fortunately, the Xun family has a lot of money, and the meals for Zhang Huang and the others are very rich, so except for Zhang Huang, the rest of the black feather crows didn't think about leaving. After all, Zhang Huang has not yet set a goal for the next stage of their journey. Why not take this opportunity to live a comfortable life in the Xun family. As for Xu Fu, he may also want to see the grand scene of the students of Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy competing for literary talents, so he did not propose to leave immediately.

In this way, three days later, that is, on November 18, the competition between the students of Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy officially began.

On this day, I don't know what happened, it snowed for more than half a month, but it stopped at this time.

And Zhang Huang was very surprised by this, he was really afraid that the weather would affect the literary competition of the students of the two academies.

Because when he got up early in the morning, there was still a howling north wind and falling snowflakes outside. But when the hour came, the sky was no longer windy, but it was still dark. Immediately afterwards, Xun Shuang, the former dean of Yingchuan Academy and Xun Yu's sixth uncle, wore solemn black sacrificial Confucian clothes and recited an article on the high platform. The gist of the article is to tell the heavens that in the past two days, the students of Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy will launch a huge talent competition, hoping that the heavens will be beautiful and convenient for students to compete in talents, and there will be no strong wind and snow in the next few days. And then there's a long song in praise of the heavens.

Strange to say, not long after Xun Shuang came down from the high platform, the dark clouds in the sky slowly dispersed, and the long-lost winter sun finally broke through the clouds. Shine on the earth.

"Unbelievable ......"

Zhang Huang was dumbfounded, and he didn't wait for a half-ring to come back to his senses.

It is undeniable that the Taoist Xuanmen does have celestial phenomena-level spells that can change the sky, and after casting, it can make people walk through clouds and rain and steal the sky to change the day. But Zhang Huang had never heard of Confucianism having this kind of 'spell'. If this scene in front of him is really not a coincidence, then I am afraid that even Tang Zhou can't compare to Xun Shuang and Xun Ciming. You must know that Tang Zhou is the most powerful Taoist disciple Zhang Huang thinks he has ever seen.

"It's just a tribute to the heavens. Why was Brother Zhang so shocked? ”

Beside them, the 'idler duo' Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia noticed the surprise on Zhang Huang's face and asked suspiciously.

"You...... Don't you see? Zhang Huang was shocked and even seemed to be a little uneasy to speak, pointing to the sky and stammering, "Fang ...... It's still cloudy, but now it's clear......"

"It's just a coincidence." Xi Zhicai and Guo Jia suddenly came to their senses, and laughed disapprerovingly.

[Is it really just a coincidence?] ]

Zhang Huang looked at the sky in disbelief, but he had to admit that from the time Xun Shuang came on stage to recite the sacrificial text until he stepped down again, Zhang Huang did not feel the slightest sign of Dao fluctuation, in other words, the abnormal change in the sky was not due to Dao art, as if it was really just a coincidence.

[What the hell is going on?] ]

Zhang Huang secretly buried this doubt deep in his heart.

Following Xun Shuang's sacrifice to the sky, Yingchuan students and Xiangyang students also entered the Confucian Temple to worship the Confucian sage Confucius under the leadership of Xun Shuang and Sima Wei respectively.

During this period, Zhang Huang finally had time to look at Sima Wei, a Confucian who was later respected by Xiangyang people as Mr. Shuijing. Heavenly court is full, with long eyebrows and fine eyes. With a bamboo crown on his head and a Confucian robe with auspicious cloud patterns, his slightly thin body bones give people a feeling of fairy wind. This person's literati temperament is different from Xun Shuang's coercive momentum, as if moisturizing things in the spring rain, and at a glance you know that he is an extremely kind character.

[Is this man a Confucian or a Taoist disciple?] ]

Zhang Huang was secretly surprised in his heart.

It can only be said that Zhang Huang does not understand the reason, you must know that Confucian Xianxue originally involved a wide range of things, and the Confucianism of Yan's Confucianism was originally very close to Taoist thought, and it also hoped that students could 'be peaceful and happy' and 'pure and secluded', but it advocated the study of Confucius's benevolence and virtue on this basis, rather than paying attention to achieving the ultimate 'unity of heaven and man' like Taoism. To put it simply, Gan's Confucianism and Taoism are quite consistent in process, but the results are different.

Another reason is because of the decline of Taoism. The decline of the Daomen caused many of the secret texts in the Daomen to flow to the people, most of which were absorbed by Confucianism. Therefore, Confucian disciples studied Taoist thought to supplement and improve Yan's Confucianism, which was gradually recognized by other Confucian disciples. If you want to ask why Confucianism can accept Taoism but reject ideas such as Moism, it is also because Taoism has a higher status and deeper roots than Confucianism. (The Daomen referred to here refers to the Huang Lao Dao.) That is, according to legend, it is the Taoism left by the Yellow Emperor. The Taiping Road founded by Zhang Jiao is actually just a branch of Huang Lao Dao. Before the appearance of Huang Lao Dao, the orthodoxy of the Dao Gate was Fang Xian Dao. It's not apocryphal. ）

After Xun Shuang and Sima Wei were polite to each other, this student talent competition related to the face of Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy officially began.

The so-called gentleman has six arts, and the first test of this competition is 'etiquette'.

Zhang Huang was very puzzled by this, and said in his heart how should this 'ceremony' be compared? Could it be that the students of the two academies each sent one person to the stage to salute each other, and it would be over? But in this case, how should it be evaluated?

Fortunately, Zhang Huang has two outstanding 'commentators' by his side, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai. Seeing that he had a puzzled look on his face, Xi Zhicai smiled and explained, "Brother Zhang." This competition is 'Li', that is, 'Five Rites'. ”

"Five Rites?"

Xi Zhicai nodded and explained one by one, "The five rites refer to auspicious rites, fierce rites, military rites, guest rites, and jia rites. …… The auspicious rite is the crown of the five rites, mainly to worship the gods of heaven (Haotian God, the sun, moon and stars, Sizhong, Si Ming, and the rain master), to the earth (Sheji, the five emperors, the five mountains, the mountains, forests, rivers, and all things in the four directions), and to the ghosts (to the kings and ancestors; Sacrifice to the kings and ancestors; Spring Temple, Autumn Taste, Enjoy Sacrifice to the Ancestors, Ancestors. ）。 The murderous rite is the funeral ceremony, the absurd ceremony, the condolence ceremony, the funeral ceremony, and the compassionate ceremony. The military salute is the model of military drills and conquests, the gift of the master, the gift of Dajun, the gift of Daejeon, the gift of the great battle, the gift of the great seal, etc. The courtesy was used in the court, and it was the etiquette for the Son of Heaven to entertain the princes who came to the court and for the princes to send envoys. Jiali is the etiquette ceremony of drinking and feasting wedding crowns and festivals, including the gift of eating, drinking, marriage and crown. The gift of shooting, the gift of the swallow, the gift of the belly, the gift of celebration and so on. …… Because this kind of kind of thing was upheld by my Confucian protégé in the past. Therefore, my Confucian disciples must be proficient. As he spoke, he began to explain this etiquette in detail, only to hear Zhang Huang's head dizzy.

"So much? Fortunately, I'm not a disciple of Confucianism......" Zhang Huang muttered to himself in panic. After speaking, he realized that there were two Confucian students standing beside him.

But just when Zhang Huang was thinking about apologizing to Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai for Fang Cai's gaffe, he saw the two of them looking at each other and smiling, and said in a low voice. "What Brother Zhang said is exactly what I want. …… This complicated number of rituals is useless, so don't learn it! ”

"Huh?" Zhang Huang was stunned and then remembered that the two in front of him were not students who were bound by Confucian etiquette.

"Jia will give you one more point." Guo Jia looked at Zhang Huang with a kind of 'I am optimistic about you', and the heat in his eyes can be described as a fellow practitioner.

[This...... That's one more point? ]

Zhang Huang was happy and couldn't laugh or cry in his heart, although he had the height of 'five points' in Guo Jia's heart, but these five points were really inexplicable, and the only thing that could still figure out one or two was just because of a joke.

In a word, Zhang Huang couldn't guess what Guo Jia was thinking in his heart.

"Generally compared to the number of 'rites', the fierce salute is the military salute is the first to be excluded, the former is ominous, and the latter is because the conditions are not met. The auspicious rites are important to be 'justifiable', so they are not allowed to sacrifice to the heavens or the earth until a specific day, so they are also excluded. Therefore, this kind of competition is generally to choose a guest gift or a gift gift, which is very boring, and it is okay not to look at it. ”

Zhang Huang peeked at the stage, and saw that Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy each sent a student to the stage, respectfully and meticulously practicing various understandings in front of everyone, which was really boring, so he smiled bitterly at Xi Zhicai and said, "Then what should I do?" ”

I saw Xi Zhicai smile and say, "Take this opportunity to introduce you and others to the other heroes of my Xiaoshe." ”

Zhang Huang's eyes lit up when he heard this, you must know that he has lived in the small house for three days with Xu Fu's relationship, but what he saw was only Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, and Xun Yu, and he had never seen any of the other elite students, it seemed that those people lived in their respective huts every day, and they did not study hard behind closed doors.

"See Xun Wenruo?" Xi Zhicai pointed to Xun Yu, who was in charge of the entire competition process on the stage, and said, "There are three people behind him, do you see it?" ”

Zhang Huang looked up, and sure enough, he saw that there were three people standing behind Xun Yu, who seemed to be the helpers who assisted Xun Yu in the entire competition process.

"These three people are Xun Yan, Xun Xiuruo, Xun Chen, Xun Youruo, Xun Yue (恱), Xun Zhongyu also!" Xi Zhicai's cynical eyes showed a little respect, and he whispered. "Coupled with Xun Wenruo, as well as Xun Yu and Xun Gongda, who are not in the academy at this time, under the eight dragons of the Xun family, these five people are the most virtuous!"

Xun Yu and Xun Yu Zhang Huang naturally know the details, but Xun Yan, Xun Chen, and Xun Yue He knows very little, and the only one who has a little impression of Xun Chen, Zhang Huang only knows that when the Xun family abandoned Yuan Shao and voted for Cao Cao, he did not go with Xun Yu and Xun You, but chose to stay under Yuan Shao until Guandu Yuan Shao was defeated. Xun Chen either returned to the Xun family or disappeared. In general, it doesn't look like a character who can match Xun Yu and Xun You, otherwise why is his status far inferior to Tian Feng, Feng Ji, Judge, Guo Tu and others? What surprised Zhang Huang was that Xi Zhicai actually put the other three on the same level as Xun Yu and Xun You, and his words were full of respect.

[Could it be that Xun Chen and Xun Youruo were the eggs that the Xun family chose to put in Yuan Shao's basket at that time? ] ]

Zhang Huang looked at Xun Chen on the stage from a distance with some surprise, but he didn't want Xun Chen to know if he noticed something, so he turned his eyes and glanced at Zhang Huang, which made Zhang Huang slightly surprised.

"Brother Zhang, look at the stands over there." Xi Zhicai pointed to the stands in the distance and said to Zhang Huang.

Zhang Huang looked at it. I saw that there were also several students standing in the stand, which was different from Zhang Huang and others standing under the stage to watch, and those students knew at a glance that they had special identities.

"Guo Tu, Guo Gongze, Xin Ping, Xin Zhongzhi. Zhong Xuan, Zhong Yuanchang, Du Xi, Du Zixu, Chen Qun, Chen Changwen, Ruan Yu, Ruan Yuanyu...... are all these Xiaoshe students that Brother Zhang has never seen in the past few days. ”

"......" Zhang Huang was stunned when he heard this, but fortunately he didn't drink water at this time. Otherwise, I'm afraid I will definitely spray the face of Zhicai.

Guo Tu? Xin comment?

In the future, two of the four major think tanks under Yuan Shao's command actually came from Yingchuan Academy?

And Zhong Xuan......

How did Zhang Huang not know that in history, this powerful man was a wise general on the same level as his brothers Zang Ba and Li Tong. It is the three unshakable keystones of Cao Wei's side, especially his son Zhong Hui, who is known as the 'second general' who led the demise of Shu Han together with Deng Ai.

Zhang Huang was dumbfounded, compared to these three, he had no intention of paying attention to Du Xian, Chen Qun, Ruan Yu and the rest of the others, but he didn't know that the talents of the latter three were not inferior to Guo Tu, Xin Ping and Zhong Xuan.

[Unbelievable...... Could it be that the battle between Cao and Yuan in the future is actually a civil war between the students of Yingchuan Academy? ]

Zhang Huang shook his head with a little cry and laughter, he suddenly remembered the rumors he heard on the way, and said that he didn't know who had said that the stars in the sky all converged in Yingchuan, so Yingchuan is a place where geniuses come out. Earlier, Zhang Huang didn't believe this rumor, but now that he saw this scene and saw the solid foundation of Yingchuan Academy, he believed it.

[If anyone can collect all the heroes of this academy, I'm afraid there will be nothing to do with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao in the future......]

Although Yingchuan Academy does not include all the strategists and wizards, excluding Xiangyang Academy, there are many Jia Xu, Tian Feng, Zhou Yu, Lu Xun, Cheng Yu and so on, but even so, Zhang Huang still expressed such feelings.

Think about it, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Xun Yu, Xun You, Xun Chen, Xun Yue, Xun Yan, Guo Tu, Xin Ping, Zhong Xuan, Du Xi, Chen Qun, Ruan Yu, this kind of terrible think tank team, can there be anything in the world that can resist?

Thinking about it like this, Zhang Huang was not very optimistic about Xiangyang Academy in an instant, it is undeniable that Xiangyang Academy has Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, two extremely terrifying beings in the future, but the combination of Guo Jia and Xun Yu on the side of Yingchuan Academy can't be matched? In Zhang Huang's opinion, Zhuge Liang is at most on a par with Xun Yu, and Pang Tong can almost have a tie with Guo Jia or Xun You, but there are other outstanding strategists such as Xi Zhicai in Yingchuan Academy.

[Compared with Yingchuan Academy, it seems that Xiangyang Academy is indeed inferior to the former in terms of students......]

Somehow, after Zhang Huang secretly sighed, he glanced at Xu Fu beside him with some emotion.

[If memory serves, Daifuku is one of the Xiangyang Academy in history and in the future...... But even so, Xiangyang Academy is still inferior to Yingchuan Academy......]

Zhang Huang quietly evaluated the strength of the two academies in his heart.

At this moment, several cannon shots rang out at the gate of Yingchuan Academy, and then a loud announcement reached Zhang Huang's ears.

"His Royal Highness King Chen has arrived!"

"His Royal Highness King Chen?" The students in the stands were surprised and discussed.

King Chen is the prince of Chen State, Liu Chong, because he passed through Chen State on the way, Zhang Huang naturally heard of this prince, he just wondered, how could this royal disciple come to Yingchuan Academy.

Just when Zhang Huang was surprised, another announcement came from afar.

"Chen Liutai, Zhang Miao, Lord Zhang is here!"

Zhang Huang didn't have time to react, and the discussion of the students in the stands became louder.

"Zhang Miao, Zhang Mengzhuo?"

"One of the famous 'Eight Chefs', why did he suddenly visit my academy?" (Eight cooks refer to eight benevolent people who can scatter wealth and save people, not eight cooks.) ）

was interrupted by this sudden change, and both Yingchuan Academy and Xiangyang Academy were a little caught off guard. Thanks to Xun Yu's old age, he didn't panic when he saw this change, signaled the stage to suspend the competition, and took the lead to take people to greet Chen Wang Liu Chong and Yingchuan Taishou Zhang Miao.

At this time, Zhang Huang also came back to his senses, and his expression became vaguely strange.

[Zhang Miao?] Wait...... A few days ago, Cao Cao seemed to say that Chen Liu visited this person in the past......]

Zhang Huang had a strange smile on his face.

A moment later, the heroic Chen Wang Liu Chong took Chen Liutaishou Zhang Miao and a large group of other people to the huge stand in front of the Confucian Temple. Among them, Zhang Huang saw Cao Cao at a glance who had a relationship a few days ago.

[Huh?] ]

Cao Cao obviously also noticed Zhang Huang's eyes, turned his head to look, and his face was suddenly full of consternation.

[Hey!] The road is narrow......]

The black feather crows snorted coldly in unison, and looked at Cao Cao from a distance with an unkind look on their arms, they didn't forget that they were tricked by Cao Cao a few days ago.

"It's true, it's not that enemies don't meet......"

Cao Cao was covered in cold sweat. (To be continued......)