CHAPTER 334: CHAPTER 332: QING FU PERSUADES DRINKING, SHIFTING CONFLICT

The cool night breeze of Falling Star Lake swept away the day’s heat, invigorating and refreshing. The streetlights along the lakeside cast their glow, reflecting in the lake, appearing up close like countless stars falling into the water.

Zhu Yan strode forward with his head held high, his footsteps resounding like a morning bell, echoing across the land, sound after sound entering one’s ears. Following Zhu Yan, Leyi felt as if he were a student who had made a mistake, awaiting the judgment of his teacher.

The two oldest people at the Imperial Academy were probably Zhu Yan and Cha Huan, but Zhu Yan and Principal Cha Huan aged in distinctly different ways: even though both meticulously paid attention to their appearance, Cha Huan’s style was flamboyant and bold, while Zhu Yan was reserved and serious.

This was similarly evident in their ways of conducting themselves: Cha Huan had none of the restraints that an older person should have; he was so unrestrained and arrogant, no one could control him;

Whereas Zhu Yan perfectly embodied the virtues and self-discipline an elder should have, like a benchmark worthy of reverence and emulation, no one dared to be disrespectful to him.

One was wildly old; the other was gracefully old.

"Are you getting used to living at the academy?" Zhu Yan asked as he walked, "For a young master from Dongyang like you, is the academy’s living environment too simplistic?"

"It’s okay, I can handle hardships, I won’t despise it." Leyi spoke truthfully.

Zhu Yan raised an eyebrow slightly, "If all businessmen were as honest as you, perhaps their reputation would be much better."

"You don’t seem like the kind of person who likes to hear lies, and I have little interest in flattery. It’s common to find it difficult after living in luxury; I assume those Palace Masters are now complaining quite a bit—they’re sleeping in eight-person dorms and the whole school knows it. Everyone’s discussing if a ’dormitory murder case’ will occur next." Leyi laughed.

Zhu Yan abruptly asked, "So has anyone approached you to improve the living conditions?"

"The teacher’s dormitory beds are quite large, it’s normal for someone to want to take a look. Of course, it’s just for a look." Leyi said calmly, "After all, my fiancée told me to be careful of my safety when I’m out, not to be tricked by young girls."

Zhu Yan seemed somewhat surprised, "You have a fiancée?"

"Not in Yanjing, but we keep in touch often." Leyi shrugged, "Otherwise, what? Is there anyone who hasn’t dated by the time they’re in their twenties?"

"Do you have children?" Zhu Yan suddenly asked.

"I did say I’m unmarried."

"Is that so..." Zhu Yan fell silent for a moment, then said coldly, "A married man should be even more self-disciplined, and if he makes a mistake, he should be punished more severely!"

"Understood." Leyi said, "Although it feels meaningless, I still need to say—it’s not what you think."

"What I think?" Zhu Yan laughed with anger, "You’re suggesting I saw a female student enter your room and then saw you come to the door in pajamas? Of course I didn’t let my imagination run wild."

"But what if someone else sees it?" Mr. Qin, mind your status—your reputation and that of the students relate to the Imperial Academy’s century-long honor! The Academy has surpassed a hundred years without a single scandal! The untarnished reputation upheld by tens of thousands at the Academy is something I refuse to allow anyone to sully in the slightest while I’m alive!"

Leyi was also helpless, the scene at that time was indeed too suggestive, and the fact that Zhu Yan hadn’t come over with campus security was already giving him much face.

"Then why did you..."

"Every student should have one chance." Zhu Yan adjusted his round glasses, "I believe that before she attempts anything daring next time, the sound of my footsteps from tonight will echo in her mind."

Leyi was taken aback, then quickly realized this was a special application of Aikido Combat Technique.

Aikido Combat Technique rarely plays a leading role in combat, but in daily life, it is an all-purpose skill useful for home safety and travel; it is also a necessary teaching tool for teachers.

After all, in this era without loudspeakers, the "amplification" and "shock sound" of Aikido are the best means of control, and Zhu Yan, after decades in teaching, naturally uses various Aikido skills with consummate craftsmanship.

The simple footsteps of Aikido naturally only cause slight tension, but the identity difference between Zhu Yan and the students heightened this tension into boundless fear, to the extent that every student reacts instinctively to his footsteps, obedient as trained Pokémon.

Leyi suddenly realized that Zhu Yan deliberately cultivated his stern image. The more the students spread word of his reputation as a "campus legendary mystery" level of monster, the stronger his intimidation became, making daily teaching easier.

In other circumstances, Zhu Yan would resemble an "evil villain who absorbs fear to strengthen himself," but in the Imperial Academy, he became a mentor renowned across the land with countless pupils.

Despite being misunderstood by Zhu Yan, Leyi didn’t bother to argue.

He was merely a passerby who would stay here at most for half a year, while the other had managed the Academy as a lifelong career for decades. He could understand the other’s anxiety and anger—Leyi was like a careless child who almost broke one of the glass display cases upon entering a Gundam collection room, and the room’s owner whipping him with his pants down was to be expected.

"This won’t happen again next time, Mentor Zhu Yan."

"I hope you remember what you’ve said tonight." Zhu Yan stopped at a lakeside pavilion, gesturing for Leyi to sit opposite him, "Just now was an unexpected interlude; my real purpose tonight is regarding your ’special teaching methods’ that have displeased many, Mr. Qin."

"Specifically, what aspect do they find displeasing?" Leyi spread his hands, "If it’s my hair color, I’m powerless for the moment—it won’t wash out, time is its only enemy, unless I shave my head, but I believe no student would accept a ’bald teacher suspected to be a Sword Concealer’ to teach them."

"Your hair color is just one issue." Zhu Yan said, "The main problem is, you treat students as tools for teaching."

Leyi had anticipated this and spoke confidently, "I consider it a reasonable form of classroom interaction. I’m sure you understand, a simple lecture by the teacher and listening by the students is a very inefficient mode of teaching."

"But it is the safest method of teaching." Zhu Yan looked at the resplendent Falling Star Lake, "Moreover, I do not believe classroom interaction must be conducted in the manner you have employed. Mr. Qin, students come to learn, not to become tools for you to expound your thoughts."

"That’s truly regrettable." Leyi sighed, "In my vision, the ’interaction’ in the trial lecture was the lowest intensity ’appetizer.’ Each subsequent class’s interaction will only become more intense. If the academy insists on restricting my teaching, then for the next semester, I’ll only be able to tell stories to the students."

Intensity... Even with Zhu Yan’s decades of teaching experience, having seen all kinds of unreliable teachers and students, this word baffled him. If he remembered correctly, the term intensity was used by the Historian to describe the frequency and casualty rate of wars.

He paused and asked, "Can’t you use a more conventional teaching method?"

"Mentor Zhu Yan, I have only one semester, one class per week, a total of eighteen classes, possibly fewer, the conventional approach doesn’t suit me." Leyi said leisurely, "If the academy insists on constraining me, I would rather tell stories for a pleasant class than have them memorize untested theoretical knowledge."

This was a lie.

The truth was that Leyi hadn’t organized his theoretical knowledge clearly; although he remembered various philosophical points from Marx and Lenin, he could not craft them into a coherent knowledge system.

Playing around and teaching like this was manageable, but once he started lecturing earnestly, students would surely see through him as a poor quality transmigrator who is gold and jade on the outside but ruin and decay on the inside.

Nonetheless, he had anticipated being complained about. After all, his teaching style was too unconventional and excessively utilized students, practically treating them as tools for social experiments.

Leyi was not merely being polite with Zhu Yan; he genuinely intended to tell stories in class, specifically science fiction stories—his plan was to introduce "The Three-Body Problem," "The Country Teacher," and "Holiday for Humanity"

Introducing the Dark Forest Theory, Newton’s three laws, and the ultimate progenitor were merely secondary; his main aim was to observe the students’ astonished expressions when they learned that outside of Earth lay countless civilizations—although the people of Radiance, with their strong bodily constitution, had navigated around their planet and understood Earth was round several centuries ago, they remained ignorant about the cosmos.

If they were to learn that the distance between planets is measured in light-years...

If they knew there was a universe fleet capable of annihilating galaxies...

If they knew how insignificant humans are compared to the cosmos...

Le Yu really looked forward to seeing the expressions on these country bumpkins when they are shocked by the boundless starry sky above their heads.

And to be honest, if Le Yu wanted to experience the pleasure of ’people from another world being stunned by a sci-fi tale’, he could only enjoy it with students from the Imperial Academy. If it were others with a slightly lower level of education, they might not even understand what Le Yu was talking about.

However, Zhu Yan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Can you tell me how you plan to interact in your next class?"

"Hmm?... Wait a moment, let me think about how to tell (make up) this for you." Le Yu said without changing his expression, his brain working rapidly, and confidently replied, "In my next class, I plan to talk about the story of ’the First Wonder of Silver Blood: Jing Qingfu.’ I want to design a little game to help the students understand how Jing Qingfu selected his partners and targets for treachery back then."

"What kind of game?" Zhu Yan was intrigued as well.

"When Jing Qingfu first became the Patriarch, other merchant guilds underestimated this young patriarch and attempted to unite to seize the Jing Family’s market," Le Yu narrated smoothly. "So, one day, Jing Qingfu held a banquet, inviting the leaders of the top twenty merchant guilds of Silver Blood to the feast."

"At the banquet, he produced some fine wine, claiming it was a fierce spirit from the heavens called ’Dragonblood,’ extremely strong on the palate. He had the maids fill each guest’s glass with it, and the guests, upon merely touching it with their lips, found it unbearable — the climate in Dongyang is warm, and few drink strong spirits."

"Despite Jing Qingfu’s repeated offers, the guests resolutely refused. He clapped his hands, indicating for the guards to drag away the first round of maids who had encouraged the guests to drink, to be executed, shocking the guests."

"He brought in a second round of maids to encourage drinking, and if any guests wished to leave, the corresponding maid would also be dragged away; if any guests still refused to drink, Jing Qingfu would clap to bring in guards to drag away the second round of maids who failed to persuade the drinking."

"After three rounds of urging, half the people were forced to drink the fierce spirits from the heavens, but half remained unmoved, letting the maids by their side be replaced again and again."

"After the third round, Jing Qingfu no longer urged them, and the banquet ended quietly as people dispersed."

Le Yu spread his hands, feeling the chilly night breeze, and asked, "Zhu Yan Mentor, have you realized Jing Qingfu’s merchant wisdom?"

"I only see his inhuman ruthlessness," Zhu Yan Mentor said coldly, "Is this a story you made up, or was it something that really happened?"

Le Yu did not answer, continued the story: "After the banquet, Jing Qingfu knew who his enemies were and who his potential allies could be."

"Those who did not drink are enemies, those who did are allies?" Zhu Yan guessed.

Le Yu shook his head, "You got it backward, it’s those who drank who are enemies, and those who did not, who can become allies."

Zhu Yan was slightly stunned, then realized the hidden meaning, and said solemnly, "Deceiving the kind and fearing the wicked, merchant strategy."

"Exactly, anyone who remained completely unthreatened by Jing Qingfu’s three rounds of urging and firmly upheld their dignity are the seasoned, calculating merchants who put their interests above all. Jing Qingfu could only cooperate with these people; if they opposed each other, it would result in mutual destruction."

"As for those who softened their hearts upon witnessing the maids’ deaths, they were later eaten away and annexed by Jing Qingfu in alliance with other unscrupulous merchants. Being soft-hearted and kind is not wrong, but the mistake was exposing this softness in front of everyone, and making concessions for their kindness."

"In Dongyang, if you take a step back, others will push forward an inch. Sometimes, you haven’t even conceded, but everyone assumes you’re such a ’big-hearted person’ who would, so they unite to oppress you, leading to an eerily clean result."

"In Jing Qingfu’s time as Patriarch, he used these methods to select allies and pick enemies, and so the Jing Family grew stronger, eventually becoming one of the top five merchant guilds of Silver Blood, with Jing Qingfu earning the notorious name ’Blackthorn.’

"I plan to adapt this story into a game to let students experience the strategy involved... The game will be named ’Qingfu Urging Wine.’

After Le Yu finished speaking, Zhu Yan remained silent for a long time, then slowly asked, "What do you want to teach the students? Jing Qingfu’s ruthless wisdom, the self-interest of non-drinkers, or the foolish kindness of the drinkers?"

"The ’Qingfu Urging Wine’ is just an extreme example, but this strategy has long been applied to every aspect of life."

Le Yu stated, "When in interest games involving the authority figures, the outsiders, and the subordinates, it’s clear that the authority figures harm the subordinates’ interests, but they transfer the conflict between the outsiders and the subordinates, forcing outsiders to sacrifice their own interests to protect the subordinates, while they extricate themselves, enjoying all the benefits..."

"I just hope the students, when encountering similar circumstances, can grasp the most crucial primary contradiction, neither squandering their kindness nor recklessly expressing their anger."

Zhu Yan folded his hands behind his back, looked up at the vast night sky, "Your teaching philosophy seems to have some implications."

"It is Zhu Yan Mentor’s own thoughts, don’t slander me," Le Yu said as he leaned against the colonnade of the pavilion, "I am only stating the business strategy of ’the First Wonder of Jing Qingfu’: Qingfu Urging Wine, transferring the conflict."

"But the clear knowledge of worldly affairs is an academic pursuit. If you think of real stories from a merchant’s tale, there’s nothing I can do."

"Try saying that to the principal and see if he believes you." Zhu Yan seemed to be mocking him, but there was a slight smile in his words.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Have the students write letters of commendation for you."

"Huh?" Le Yu was dumbfounded.

"After the next class, if the number of commendation letters exceeds complaint letters, I will help you suppress it," Zhu Yan said, "Otherwise, you can go talk to the principal."

"Oh, oh." Le Yu quickly understood that Zhu Yan was willing to help him out, and immediately said, "Thank you, Zhu Yan Mentor, for your support. If you need anything, just let me know."

Zhu Yan suddenly sighed, "Really, can you not die a bit later?"

Le Yu was stunned, looking dazedly at the elderly man in front of him. At this moment, there was no more sternness on Zhu Yan’s face, only a bleak desolation.

"You all always manage to come up with some new antics, always needing me to clean up the aftermath, now I even have to take on the role of Dean of Academic Affairs..." Zhu Yan pressed both hands against the stone pillars of the pavilion, "An old body can’t bear such torment."

"The heart can’t bear such stinging pain either."

Le Yu vaguely realized something and asked, "Zhu Yan Mentor, you and..."

"Your qualification as a lecturer for the elective course, it was me who approved it," Zhu Yan calmly stated, "All these years, he never asked me for anything, and you are the only one."

Le Yu didn’t know what to say, "....Please accept my condolences."

"For an old teacher, there is nothing more painful than watching students they cherished and valued pass away," Zhu Yan said softly, "Over a decade ago, I was stung once. Now, I am stung once more."

Le Yu stood behind Zhu Yan, reaching out to pat the old man’s shoulder.

The elder refused this goodwill, stubbornly facing Le Yu with a resolute gaze. As the wind rippled across Star Lake, scattering points of light, he became once more the stern mentor of the Guard faction, saying calmly:

"Bai Yu was my student."

"So was Qin Xiao."