Chapter 66 Chapter 66 As if We First Met
As everyone expected, when the order to ban academies was issued, Nancui Academy was the first to be affected.
Nancui Academy, which had been deserted for many days, suddenly became the focus of attention from all walks of life.
Li Lin and two or three colleagues, as well as several scholars who had studied at the academy, gathered in the open space in front of the academy and discussed in low voices how to deal with the next situation.
Although they all tried hard to appear relaxed and encouraged each other, as if they could convince the emperor to withdraw his order, the tense and solemn atmosphere that permeated the entire academy when Xiaoman arrived still made her breathless.
The time was too short. Despite Li Lin's active efforts, he was able to contact less than half of the people on the list. For various reasons, less than ten people were able to rush to the scene to protect the academy.
Xiaoman quietly found Li Lin and said, "The soldiers are right at the foot of the mountain. I saw them when I came up."
Li Lin's expression immediately grew serious. "Are they soldiers from the government office or the Imperial Guard?"
"From the Wucheng Military Commission," Xiaoman said. "I haven't seen anyone wearing a flying fish costume."
Li Lin breathed a sigh of relief, obviously feeling much more relaxed. It was good that they were not the Jinyiwei. Other government offices would at least take their reputation into consideration and would not kill them.
He looked behind Xiaoman, "Where's Miss Chen?"
Xiaoman raised her eyebrows, glanced at him and said, "I didn't let her come. I locked her up at home."
A hint of surprise flashed in Li Lin's eyes.
"You've probably heard about her," Xiaoman said, observing him intently. "It's going to be a commotion here today, with lots of people talking and talking. I don't want her to hear any nonsense."
Li Lin was stunned for a moment before he stammered, "I didn't think of it for a moment. Ah, no, I didn't neglect her on purpose... Oh, I really shouldn't have asked."
Xiaoman smiled and was about to speak when she noticed someone was looking at her.
She looked back based on her intuition and saw that it was Liu Jinshu!
Li Lin also noticed Liu Jinshu's figure. He was wearing the same white robe as them. This made him a little unsure of Liu Jinshu's intentions. "You..."
Compared to him, Liu Jinshu seemed more calm and composed. "I am against banning the academy. Allowing the situation to continue will be detrimental to the Holy Name."
Li Lin: "You are openly challenging Lord Liu. Aren't you afraid that he will be in trouble?"
Liu Jinshu smiled calmly, "I wrote a letter to oppose my father this morning, didn't you know?"
I know, but I thought you and your son were just acting! Li Lin touched his nose. No matter what, one more person means more strength.
Liu Jinshu looked at Xiaoman and said, "Go back. What are you doing here as a girl?"
Xiaoman didn't listen to him: "Why do you control me?"
Liu Jinshu sighed softly, "No one can guarantee that there won't be a conflict today. Swords and spears are blind, and if things get chaotic, everyone will be busy taking care of themselves, so it's inevitable that someone will bump into you."
Li Lin also advised: "That makes sense..." He didn't know what to call Xiaoman. He didn't know her last name, and it was not easy to call her by her first name. After thinking about it, he simply skipped it and said, "It's enough for us to charge into battle."
Xiaoman was concerned about the safety of the academy and refused to leave no matter what they said.
Seeing her stubbornness, Liu Jinshu's tone suddenly turned stern. "This is a matter of great importance to the imperial court, concerning scholars throughout the land. It's not a personal matter between you and Chen Ling'an. You're neither a scholar nor an imperial official, so your presence here is out of place. We're fighting for justice, but you've meddled in for your own selfish gain, turning public affairs into private affairs. How will people view us, and how will we cope with our own lives?"
"Not to mention your relationship with Chen Ling'an. Even if you don't represent Chen Ling'an's intentions, people will think he sent you here. Few scholars want to be associated with him. If you stand here, our supporters will retreat. Do you believe it?"
Xiaoman was startled and couldn't help but look at the other people on the other side.
Those people's eyes were a little evasive.
She was a little confused.
"I was inconsiderate and let you suffer." Li Lin didn't know how to comfort her. "Don't worry, you'll definitely keep the academy."
Xiaoman's eyes dimmed. "I'm not wronged. As long as I can save the academy, I can do anything."
She had put in a lot of effort, but in the end they wanted to cut ties with her. Li Lin felt bad. "How about... Miss, just watch from the sidelines and don't get involved. It's not to avoid suspicion, but for your own safety. Those who are willing to come must still remember the kindness of Chen Shanzhang, so they won't object."
Liu Jinshu frowned, his face full of disapproval. He glanced at Xiaoman, whose eyes were shining, but said nothing else.
As the sun rose higher, a crowd of onlookers gathered in front of the academy.
"Here they come! The soldiers are coming!" Someone shouted, and everyone's eyes were directed towards the mountain path in front of the academy.
A large group of officers and soldiers rushed up, their spurs and sabers jingling.
Li Lin and Liu Jinshu looked at each other and asked everyone to stand in front of the gate, blocking the only way into the academy.
Seeing this, the leading captain clasped his fists and sighed, "Master Liu, Master Li, and fellow Confucian scholars and gentry, I am here by the Emperor's order to demolish the Nancui Academy. Please make way and do not ruin your future."
Li Lin and his men were there to stop them, so how could they give in? They simply sat on the ground, as if to say, "If you dare to enter the academy, I'll step over you."
The Wucheng Bingma Division's men didn't dare to force their way in. The leading officer even bowed to Liu Jinshu and Li Lin and said, "Sir, please don't make things difficult for us. We are just following orders. Why don't you go find our commander? As soon as he gives the order, we will leave immediately."
No one paid any attention to him and the situation became tense for a moment.
The captain didn't dare to leave, nor did he dare to disperse them by force. Continuing the stalemate was not a solution, so he called his subordinate over and whispered a few words to him, ordering him to return to the yamen and ask for instructions from the department.
Less than half an hour after the man left, he came running back in a panic, "Sir, the Jinyiwei, the Jinyiwei are here!"
Li Lin's heart sank suddenly, and he thought to himself that the thing he was most worried about had happened.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards represent the emperor, and their appearance means that there is no room for maneuver in demolishing Nancui Academy.
Sure enough, some people began to feel restless and secretly observed others, with a look of timidity and fear in their eyes.
The moment they saw the Jinyiwei appear, the panic reached its peak, and some even couldn't help but stand up and want to escape.
Xiaoman looked at the Jinyiwei, some of whom she knew and some of whom she didn't. What surprised her was that Wu Yong was among them.
So, the people who came were from the Northern Pacification Office. Who was that official standing in the front, wearing a flying fish uniform and with a sinister look in his eyes?
The Jinyiwei took a look around and said, "That's great! A group of prisoners have just been released from the Imperial Prison, so there are plenty of vacancies. I, Zhao Ye, don't care whether you are from aristocratic families or high-ranking officials. If you don't get out of the way, I will not be polite."
Among those sitting quietly, three or two hesitated again.
"In the past, Confucius and Yu Labin..." I don't know who started it, but they recited "Li Yun Datong Pian".
It’s Liu Jinshu! Xiaoman’s eyes widened.
He sat calmly, his voice slow and steady, like a mountain spring flowing gently, as if he was not facing the murderous Jinyiwei, but the students of the Imperial College.
Li Lin smiled slightly and began to recite.
More voices joined in, and the Confucian scholars who had stood up sat down again, their expressions solemn and calm.
A gust of wind blew past, and the mountains and forests rustled, as if echoing them.
As soon as the Jinyiwei arrived, the officers and soldiers of the Wucheng Bingmasi automatically retreated three feet. Seeing this, they said nothing and automatically retreated three feet again.
Zhao Ye was secretly annoyed. He was the Tongzhi of the Southern Zhenfu Division and was temporarily in charge of the Northern Zhenfu Division. It was said to be "temporary", but if he did his job well, it would be a real "concurrent position".
In this way, although he did not have the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he was in fact the Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
How could he not be moved?
He gave the order: "Wu Yong, arrest all these rebellious people!"
Wu Yong, who had been hiding in the back, pretending to be invisible, responded softly. With a bitter face, he slowly moved to the front and said with a sigh, "Master Zhao has ordered me to do it. Master Zhao is not as soft-hearted as our masters. He really dares to peel off the skin, pull out the tendons, remove the bones and remove the flesh. Everyone, please get up."
Zhao Ye scolded him: "What nonsense are you talking about? What about your masters? Now the Northern Pacification Division is under my control. If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of people who are willing to do it. Come on, take him down!"
Immediately, the Jinyiwei from the Nanzhen Prefecture came forward and started beating him with whips without saying a word.
Even Li Lin was whipped several times.
Seeing that they were about to be kidnapped and the Jinyiwei were about to rush into the academy, Xiaoman got anxious and rushed out in a fit of rage, "Stop!"
Wu Yong was shocked. "Why are you here?"
Xiao Man stood in front of Li Lin, Liu Jinshu and the others, and said, "Brother Wu, there's no time to wait. The opposition to banning the academy is too great. What if the emperor revokes his order?"
Wu Yong pleaded, "My Third Miss, please stop causing trouble. Look at these people: Liu Jinshu, the Prime Minister's son, Li Lin, the newly crowned number one scholar, and these few others. They all hold official positions and have achieved great honors. They're useless, let alone a powerless little girl like you."
Xiaoman: "I know I'm nothing, but at least I can let the court know that it's not just officials who oppose the ban on academies, but also ordinary people!"
"If a little girl doesn't fear power, how can we, men like you, retreat?" Liu Jinshu glanced at the crowd. "Those who have received favors from the former headmaster, Chen Jin, don't they feel uneasy right now?"
The crowd of onlookers stirred, and then three or four people stood up and said with shame, "We are late."
After a moment, someone else joined in, "We are students from other academies. We are all in this together. We can't just sit back and watch the fire from the other side!"
Xiaoman raised her voice, "Why tear down such a good academy? If you think the teacher's teaching is not good enough, can't you just replace the teacher and add an inspector? It's so hard to build an academy, and it's so easy to destroy it like this. What a shame!"
Seeing Zhao Ye's increasingly ugly expression, Wu Yong secretly cried out that it was not good and said hurriedly, "Miss Xiaoman, stop talking and leave quickly. If it's too late, I can't protect you!"
But it was too late. Zhao Ye slapped Wu Yong in the face. "What a traitor! He teamed up with us to delay. Tie him up!"
He smiled sinisterly at Xiaoman again, "I'm not as unromantic as Chen Ling'an. Little girl, let me treat you well."
Liu Jinshu was horrified and struggled forward, "Xiaoman, run!"
But he was held down firmly by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and could only watch Zhao Ye's hand reach out to Xiaoman.
Xiaoman wanted to run, but there were cold blades behind her and she had no way to escape.
"Who do you want to hurt?"
A familiar voice pierced through the layers of sword light and fell clearly into the ears of everyone present.
Zhao Ye trembled all over and froze in place.
All the noisy sounds disappeared in an instant, even the wind stopped. People held their breath unconsciously and looked at the man in red.
The sunlight shone on him like a ball of angry fire.
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