Fang Zheng had always been the center of attention, after all, he was the most handsome one among all the people here. But now, when they heard Bachou say his name, everyone was shocked, even Ji Yanran widened her eyes and looked at him in surprise.
"Could this be the 'Zin Saint', Mr. Fang Zheng Fang, who is famous in all six countries?"
Damn, what kind of a title is this.
Hearing this title, Fang Zheng's face darkened. What the hell is a zither saint? What if you mistakenly hear it as a love saint?
Although he complained in his heart, Fang Zheng still stood up and bowed to everyone.
"I am Fang Zheng."
At this moment, a man on the other side sneered and stared at him.
"I have heard of Master Fang's great name for a long time. It is like thunder in my ears. I heard that Master Fang, with just his zither, killed 800 horse bandits with gray beard. It is really unimaginable."
"Oh, thanks for the compliment."
Fang Zheng laughed and sat down directly. This kind of shamelessness made everyone present stunned. They could hear the sarcasm and disbelief in the other party's words. They were originally thinking about how Fang Zheng would respond, but they didn't expect that the other party would just accept it like this...
However, these people obviously shared the same hatred and soon, another person dressed like a scholar took over.
"But, Master Fang's bloodthirsty nature is too against the will of heaven. I heard that Master Fang has killed as many as 10,000 horse thieves since he traveled in the six countries. Isn't he afraid of being punished by heaven for killing so wantonly? Besides, those horse thieves were only forced to do so because of the people who were displaced by the war. Although they have their own faults, they are not born evil. Master Fang's killing spree is really chilling."
"That's right. Moreover, killing people with a musical instrument... Such an absurd thing is simply unbelievable. Only those country folk would believe it..."
For a moment, everyone was laughing or mocking, which made Bachou look a little unhappy, while Fangzheng sat calmly beside them, eating snacks and fruits, seeming not to care at all.
Only after everyone finished criticizing Fang Zheng did Ji Yanran look at Fang Zheng curiously.
"Why didn't Master Fang refute it?"
"There's nothing to say."
Fang Zheng grabbed a grape and put it in his mouth.
"Because these people don't mean what they say."
"What does this mean, Master Fang?"
“It’s very simple.”
Facing Ji Yanran's question, Fang Zheng chuckled.
"They say I'm bloodthirsty. If they really think so, they shouldn't say it in front of me. Aren't they afraid that I'll turn around and send them to hell?"
"Then Mr. Fang, will you do this?"
"certainly."
Fang Zheng nodded again, then he narrowed his eyes and looked around.
"I'm not the kind of idiot who doesn't talk back when people scold me. Since you have a problem with me, I might as well say it directly. From now on, whoever dares to speak nonsense in front of me will never see the sun tomorrow morning... Well, of course, out of courtesy, I won't do it in Yahu Cottage. After all, Mr. Ji is not suitable for the job of collecting corpses. I mean what I say."
As Fang Zheng finished speaking, a cold murderous intent suddenly emerged, as if it swept through everyone like the cold air of winter, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily. They opened their mouths to say something, but instinctively could not speak. A deep fear arose in their hearts, as if they had encountered a natural enemy, and some people even couldn't help but chatter their teeth.
"Look, Mr. Ji, the problem has been solved."
After taking another look around, Fang Zheng looked at Ji Yanran with a smile, while the latter shook her head helplessly.
"Mr. Fang's behavior is a bit overbearing."
"I don't think there's anything overbearing about it. I gave them the choice, and they made it... Once they made the choice, they have to bear the consequences."
Having said this, Fang Zheng lowered his voice.
"It's the same with anybody else."
Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Ji Yanran frowned slightly.
"Is it the same for Yanran?"
"I believe that everyone will make a smart and wise choice."
Fang Zheng chuckled and leaned back in his chair.
"Everyone should be responsible for what he does. For example, you can say bad things about me behind my back, it doesn't matter, it's your freedom. But if you say bad things about me and I hear you, then you deserve to be beaten up or killed by me... I think this is fair and reasonable."
"Mr. Fang's way of speaking is very unique."
Ji Yanran was not angry about this. On the contrary, she looked at Fang Zheng curiously.
"Mr. Fang's words are quite straightforward, but surprisingly reasonable... It's really surprising."
"If you want to reason with others, you have to tell them what they can understand. The same is true for educating the people. We don't expect everyone in the world to be able to read poetry and books, so there is no need for literary and artistic sour words like "zhihuzheya". If you want people to understand reason, know reason, and abide by reason, you have to go deep into the masses and tell them straightforwardly in a way that the people like to hear and see."
Hearing this, not only Ji Yanran started to think, but even Xinling Jun and Longyang Jun also showed thoughtful expressions. Soon, Xinling Jun looked at Fang Zheng.
"Mr. Fang's remarks are truly original. If you have such a brilliant idea, why don't you join the Wang family and make a career out of it?"
“Because I’m not interested.”
Fang Zheng waved his hand. Someone of Xinling Jun's status must have investigated him long ago and knew that he had rejected the recruitment of high-level officials from other countries. Wei would obviously not be the special one.
"Compared to this boring thing, I have more important things to do."
"boring?"
This time, not only Xinling Jun was surprised, but even Ji Yanran spoke.
"Assisting the royal family and supporting the world, is there anything more important than this? Please explain clearly, Master Fang."
"certainly."
The corners of Fang Zheng's mouth curled up slightly.
“That’s the inheritance of knowledge.”
"Knowledge..."
"… inheritance?"
"That's right."
Looking at the confused people in front of him, Fang Zheng nodded.
"The world will eventually unite after a long period of division, and there will be no eternal dynasty, nor eternal royal power. What's the use of unifying the world? A hundred years later, it will still be a pile of red dust and white earth. Humanity is progressing, and society is developing. The collapse of royal power is not uncommon, and the destruction of a country is not important, but the inheritance of knowledge is precious. Knowledge affects every aspect of our lives, not just the high-sounding speeches in the court, nor the intrigues among the nobles."
Having said this, Fang Zheng patted Bachou beside him.
"Just like this Bachou Master, what he studied is almost useless in your opinion, that is, he cannot please the king or win the favor of beautiful women, but what he studied is the most indispensable in this world. To put it bluntly, the influence of this Ba Master in my heart is much greater than that of you, and maybe he will be remembered forever."
"Mr. Fang, this is a bit too much."
At this time, another scribe couldn't help but speak.
"Why is Bachou so worthy of being compared with a figure like Lord Xinling? Lady Ji is a man of both civil and military talents, and is also extremely beautiful. Isn't she more qualified to be remembered in history?"
“Well said.”
Fang Zheng shrugged.
"However, unfortunately, history is not decided by you, nor by me, nor even by the king."
"Then according to Master Fang, who has the final say on history?"
At this time, Long Yangjun, who had been silent, finally spoke. His voice was gentle and melodious, and sounded like a female voice. Fang Zheng glanced at him again and continued.
"Of course it's the common people."
"Common people?"
"That's right."
Fang Zheng nodded.
"Indeed, as the saying goes, it is better to guard against the mouths of the people than against the rivers. Indeed, the historians in your palace may be forced by the king to praise the originally incompetent king, or write that the originally wise king is incompetent. This is also normal. After all, the historians rely on the king's family for their livelihood and dare not disobey. But who of the common people cares about what you, a king thousands of miles away, think? They will only say that when my grandmother was in the generation, the world was much better than it is now, or that it was much worse than it is now... And such records are also the most authentic records. They will be passed down from generation to generation, and maybe even a thousand years later, they will tell their descendants that during that period, there were constant wars here, and our ancestors were like this and that..."
Having said this, Fang Zheng spread his hands.
"What can you do to them? This kind of inheritance will not be cut off. The memory of the ancestors and the record of the past will continue. You can change the history books, erect monuments and set up biographies, but how can you change the folk sayings? Do you want to make them all speechless, or kill them all?"
"This... this is just a clever argument!"
The scholar from before also turned pale at this moment.
"What does this have to do with what I said before?"
"Okay, I've gone a bit off topic, so let's get back to the previous topic. It's true that Xinling Jun is in power now and has a huge influence. But what about hundreds of years later? Will Xinling Jun still be so famous by then? Or how many people will still remember him? And what about Master Ba?"
Fang Zheng patted Bachou's shoulder with a smile.
"He solved the problem of the Pythagorean theorem. In other words, as long as Master Ba compiles his solution into a book and publishes it, all those who study this knowledge in the future will learn Master Ba's solution to the Pythagorean theorem and naturally know Master Ba's name... Unless the Pythagorean theorem no longer exists in this world, do you think this is possible?"
“…”
This time, no one spoke. Even Xinling Jun and Longyang Jun fell silent and began to think. They had always focused their attention on the next few years or decades. They did not have the perspective of Fang Zheng, who looked at the world from hundreds or even thousands of years into the future.
After hearing what Fang Zheng said, they also began to think about this problem. Indeed, Fang Zheng's words sounded harsh at first, but they were not without reason. Famous families were indeed glorious, but they could be destroyed in a matter of seconds. But to say that the world would no longer use triangles in the future... that was almost impossible.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. They worked so hard, but they were not sure whether they could leave a name in history. And this Bachou had reserved a seat without saying anything?
What kind of world is this!
Thinking of this, the wine in the glass no longer smelled good, and they no longer wanted to look at the beauty in front of them. They all said goodbye and left, returning to doubt their lives.
Fang Zheng did not feel the slightest bit guilty about disrupting other people's banquet, and was about to bow and take his leave with a smile. However, he did not expect that Mr. Ji would actually run down and block his way.
"Mr. Fang's words really enlighten me. If you don't mind Yanran's insolence, why don't you stay in this Yahu cottage and have a night talk with Yanran?"