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Chapter 670: The Xun Family's Uncle and Nephew (1)
Chapter 670: The Xun Family's Uncle and Nephew (1)
Date: 25th September, 2017
Location: Yinchuan Prefecture, Yinchuan Academy.
After returning to Yinchuan, Xi Zhicai practically buried himself in the Yinchuan Academy, spending several months without even taking a step outside its premises.
Except for the first month, Xi Zhicai mostly secluded himself in the Library Hall, where he had been a student before.
Xi Zhicai's ability to stay in the Library Hall for months was largely due to the assistance of Xun Yu and Xun You, the uncle and nephew duo.
Without their support, it would have been impossible for Xi Zhicai to remain in the library for such an extended period.
After all, Xi Zhicai wasn't alone in the library; he had a few young attendants and a two to three-meter-long silver wolf, as well as a Gugu, a creature the size of two fists.
This peculiar group would have been immediately turned away if it weren't for the help of the Xun family's uncle and nephew.
Xi Zhicai couldn't help but feel helpless. The two young ones only recognized him and Lu HaiKong, and Lu HaiKong was going to see the Emperor in Luoyang. It wouldn't be appropriate for a seasoned general like Lu HaiKong to bring such companions to meet the Emperor. So, Xi Zhicai had no choice but to bring them to Yinchuan.
Fortunately, the two youngsters were obedient, and even though they stood out, not many people noticed them in the specially designated area of the library, which prevented any disturbances. This was the reason the academy tolerated their presence.
Apart from this reason, the academy had another motive for accommodating Xi Zhicai.
They didn't intend to keep him as a teacher but were intrigued by his actions after his arrival. During the first month, he visited many renowned scholars and retired political figures.
Through these visits, he subtly expressed his desire to write a book about politics and economics.
After completing his visits, he officially began his work, delving into extensive research and starting to write this 'epic work'.
Many in the Yinchuan Academy admired Xi Zhicai's talent, knowing that if not for his physical condition, he would undoubtedly leave his mark in history.
Moreover, Xi Zhicai's return demonstrated his rich political experience gained during his absence from Yinchuan.
Therefore, many in the academy were eager to see the book that Xi Zhicai was working tirelessly to create.
In reality, they would likely be disappointed if they knew the nature of Xi Zhicai's writing.
Xi Zhicai wasn't writing a profound book but rather a seemingly simple one, almost like an introductory textbook.
It took Xi Zhicai several months to finalize the first draft of this book, which was an administrative management primer.
This primer, written by Xi Zhicai, was specifically designed to train administrative personnel for Lu HaiKong. It consisted of ten volumes, totaling over ten thousand words.
As Lu HaiKong's strategist, Xi Zhicai was well aware of his shortcomings and the areas he wanted to improve.
Xi Zhicai knew that Lu HaiKong had been planning to establish an institution similar to the Flame Camp, dedicated to nurturing loyal civil servants.
However, Lu HaiKong had always lacked the necessary resources to set up such an institution. He had neither the teaching staff nor the educational materials. All he had was an idea and a group of scholars from refugee camps, prisoners of war, or those who had been 'brushed' and selected from his territories.
Now, after a month of visits and another month of seclusion, Xi Zhicai, having studied various materials and made numerous revisions, finally compiled the first edition of the textbook for Lu HaiKong.
The difficulty in creating this textbook lay in Xi Zhicai's task of comprehensively illustrating administrative management techniques, making them easily understandable for students, and most importantly, imbuing the textbook with a particular concept or imprint.
This concept or imprint belonged not to Xi Zhicai but to Lu HaiKong.
When using this textbook, students would subconsciously absorb Xi Zhicai's understanding of Lu HaiKong's principles and imprint loyalty towards Lu HaiKong.
In other words, this textbook not only trained talents but also instilled loyalty to Lu HaiKong, essentially brainwashing them!
From Xi Zhicai and Lu HaiKong's perspective, the textbook was undoubtedly a success. To create it, Xi Zhicai not only secluded himself for over a month but also worked tirelessly without rest during the final days.
Consequently, after completing the textbook, despite consuming the 'Supplementing Elixir' and improving his physical condition, Xi Zhicai fell into a deep slumber due to exhaustion.
Fortunately, Xi Zhicai's attendant scribe promptly informed the Xun family uncle and nephew, prompting them to send a physician to care for Xi Zhicai.
After ensuring Xi Zhicai's well-being, the two couldn't resist their curiosity and picked up the freshly completed work on Xi Zhicai's desk.
Although they knew this behavior wasn't entirely appropriate, both were intrigued by what kind of work could make their friend, who was usually attentive to his health, work tirelessly without rest.
However, after reading the beginning of Xi Zhicai's work, Xun You was merely puzzled, while Xun Yu beside him turned pale and was about to tear up the newly completed work!
With his talent, it was evident that Xi Zhicai's book was tailored for a specific individual and designed to cultivate administrative talents.
In this situation, Xun Yu didn't need to guess to know that the person behind Xi Zhicai was undoubtedly an ambitious tyrant with treasonous intentions. Under these circumstances, Xun Yu couldn't afford to keep this work.
But before he could act, several scribes surrounding Xi Zhicai rushed forward and subdued Xun Yu in a few moves.
It was then that the two Xun brothers realized that these scribes, who had been respectfully attending to Xi Zhicai's daily needs, were all highly skilled martial artists.
"Our apologies, Mr. Xun, but this book is the fruit of Mr. Xi's hard work. You can't destroy it!"
After subduing Xun Yu and seizing Xi Zhicai's manuscript, the scribes released Xun Yu.
The two Xun brothers were shocked. In the past few months, Xi Zhicai had been busy, and they rarely had the opportunity to meet him. They had even fewer chances to encounter these scribes, who always dressed as scholars and respectfully attended to Xi Zhicai's every need.
Until now, they hadn't realized the extraordinary nature of these four scribes. Each of them exuded an aura far surpassing that of the guard captains in the Xun family. Their every move carried the ironclad spirit and discipline of soldiers, indicating that the person who sent them was no ordinary figure.
These four exceptional scribes, coupled with Xi Zhicai's recently completed work, suggested that there was more to Xi Zhicai than met the eye. The Xun brothers, through these fragmented clues, directly associated Lu HaiKong with the label of a tyrant.
The emergence of this situation made the two brothers' emotions incredibly complex.
Suddenly, they understood Xi Zhicai's actions upon his return.
He never spoke to them about his experiences during this period, where he had been, or why he had returned. They could sense a subtle difference in him, but he never explained it.
Facing this situation, Xun Yu was purely curious to know who was behind Xi Zhicai, while Xun Yu felt a hint of fear. In his eyes, the person who had earned Xi Zhicai's trust also harbored such sinister intentions, posing a significant threat to the Han Empire.
"Who are you?" Xun Yu asked coldly, looking at the four scribes.
"Mr. Xun's question is quite interesting. Who else could we be but Mr. Xi's scribes?" The leader of the group replied with a light smile.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that Xun Yu, whom he had easily subdued, had transformed into a completely different person.
At the same time, a sense of grand righteousness weighed down on the four scribes, and this psychic intimidation caused their faces to pale.
Despite being among the best in the Flame Camp, the four couldn't maintain their previous ease under Xun Yu's mental suppression.
They felt as if a small mountain was pressing down on them, almost causing them to collapse.
Fortunately, these four had also undergone trials of blood and fire, and although they were in a difficult situation, they weren't completely crushed by Xun Yu.
"I'll ask again. Who are you four? Who is your master?" Xun Yu's voice echoed again.
Although the four Flame Camp members were in a state of absolute rationality, they inexplicably opened their mouths.
"We are..."
Just as they were about to reveal their true identities, Gungun, who had been sleeping on Xi Zhicai's desk, woke up. The little guy rubbed his eyes, sensing something, and tilted his head, looking at Xun Yu and the others with a silly expression.
Then, Gungun raised his chubby paws and clapped them together, letting out a juvenile roar.
As Gungun's roar echoed, Xun Yu's control seemed to be disrupted, and the four members' words simultaneously stopped.
They exchanged glances and simultaneously drew daggers, stabbing themselves in the chest...
(End of Chapter)
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