Chapter 277 Beyond Common Sense
While Hua Xin was staying in Yuzhang and wandering around, his envoys had already arrived in Wushang County, Kuaiji.

Sun Ce divided Wushang County and carved out Changshan County in the east.

When Liu Zan and Zhang Jun boarded the Changshan County dock on a transport ship, the small team escorting Luo Tong also arrived at the dock.

The boat was moored at the pier. Ten-year-old Luo Tong jumped off the ox cart and looked back at the clan members and relatives who had escorted him. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Four years ago, when his mother remarried and wanted to follow Hua Xin to Xudu, the precocious boy resisted the urge to see her off.

But now his mother had sent him a letter and Hua Xin had also sent someone to pick him up to study in Xudu. This matter was too heavy for Luo Tong.

This was something that changed his destiny.

Because Liu Biao established official schools and Chang'an University, the Xudu court began to restore the Imperial College in the early spring of this year.

He sent letters to great scholars and celebrities who were living in seclusion everywhere to avoid the war, and also informed civil and military officials to send their sons and daughters to the Imperial Academy in Xudu.

Adult scholars entered the Imperial College, while underage scholars took the Boy's Examination and also entered the Boy's College.

For Luo Tong, he had no idea how hard his mother had to serve Hua Xin, and how many nice words she had to say in order for Hua Xin to send a dozen people to pick him up.

For Luo Tong's clansmen and uncles, this was the key to changing Luo Tong's destiny.

What good things can there be in Wushang County?

With Luo Tong's talent as a child prodigy, he could certainly become a talented person if he stayed in Wushang County or Kuaiji County, but he would only be a talent for the county.

If he went to Xudu, received the instruction of great Confucian scholars, and grew up with the children of nobles and outstanding people from poor families from all over the country, then Luo Tong would have become a noble.

The two families and nearby neighbors can all see clearly what is more important.

Almost everyone agreed... Besides, Luo Tong was an orphan and he really missed his mother.

Just as Luo Tong did not say a word in public when his mother left, at this moment he was standing at the dock, looking at his elders and cousins ​​of the same generation, and he did not know what to say for a moment.

I always feel that after boarding the ship, it will be a long, long time before I come back.

Perhaps many people will be separated from each other forever.

Just like when he was six years old, Luo Tong suppressed his sadness and kowtowed to the most senior elder in the clan. After standing up, he bowed deeply to the elders from each family who came to see him off.

Still didn't say anything, his face was tense and he looked very serious.

Some cousins ​​of the same generation could not help but feel sad, but they just bowed to Luo Tong.

At the dock, Liu Xian looked at this strange farewell scene, then looked at Luo Tong, and then at the boats.

After Luo Tong boarded the ship, Liu Xian stopped a young man from the Luo family who was on good terms with him and asked, "What happened today?"

Although they are now divided into two counties, they used to belong to Wushang County and were connected to Kuaiji County by the same wharf and river.

There was also the Shanyue tribe causing trouble nearby, so although the various powerful families lived relatively far away from each other, they generally had close relations with each other.

The Luo clan member was a little sad. He also envied Liu Xian for being able to serve as a personal soldier beside Zhou Yu. He said without hiding anything: "Xudu has reopened the Imperial College. Asong's mother wrote a letter saying that Hua Ziyu of Pingyuan is a councilor and participates in the military affairs of the Sikong Mansion. He is highly regarded by Sikong Cao. So Hua Ziyu sent someone to pick up Asong. Asong will go to the Xudu Imperial College in the future."

Liu Xian also looked envious: "Xudu Imperial College?"

"Yes, the Imperial College has reopened, and the world will soon be unified."

The Luo clan members smiled as they spoke, and their envy of Liu Xian faded a little.

What's the point of working hard to become an official in Jiangdong now?
The four major surnames of Wu County and the four major surnames of Jiangdong were nothing in the eyes of the imperial court when the world was unified.

If Luo Tong joined the Tongxue in the Imperial College, he would become the most orthodox student of the Imperial College.

When the world is pacified, with Luo Tong's background and resume, as long as he lives long enough, he will be able to climb to the position of a noble!
By that time, the Wushang Luo family will become the Kuaiji Luo family!
Looking at the smiles on the faces of the Luo clan members, Liu Xian thought of Guanzhong where his brother and Zhang Jun were going. Then he looked at the Luo family who were studying at the Xudu Imperial Academy, and a smile grew on his face.

This change made the Luo clan members confused and asked in confusion: "Could it be that someone in my eldest brother's family also went to Xudu Imperial College?"

"No such intention at the moment."

Liu Xian explained: "In the future, with a prodigy like Ah Tong to help us, we, the villagers, can also enjoy the shade under the big tree."

Hearing this, the Luo clan members burst into laughter, and Liu Xian also laughed along.

Liu Xian was very clear that for the sake of 3,000 horses, Jiangdong would consume and mobilize the influence of Jingnan area, and more than 2 million shi of Hunan rice would be transported to Nanxiang.

Before this, Jiangdong bought horses from various channels, but not only were the prices high, but he also couldn't buy good horses or enough horses.

Well, sometimes, food is just a resource and cannot be considered money.

Jiangdong used gold, Shu brocade, various luxury goods, and precious daily utensils to exchange for horses in the Central Plains. These luxury goods were necessities in the lives of Jiangdong generals, and they were more like money.

Jiangdong has no shortage of water or food.

Therefore, it is difficult to exchange food for luxury goods, but it is very easy to exchange luxury goods for food... You don't even need luxury goods, you can get a lot of food by using the threat of force.

Now using grain to exchange for three thousand horses from Guanzhong is really a good deal for Jiangdong!

Three thousand horses. Even if Sun Quan, Zhou Yu and Xu Kun personally went to Cao Hong to drink and dance to please him, Cao Hong still could not get so many horses.

These three thousand horses will be a qualitative change for Jiangdong.

Liu Xian had already decided to resign, so he didn't care about any qualitative change. He only knew that Xuan Liang in Guanzhong could finalize the trade of 3,000 horses without the consent of Hei Zhenbei; and Cao Hong was Cao Cao's cousin, and usually only took out fifty or sixty horses each time when trading.

One shipload of luxury goods can buy three shipsloads of horses.

What is the significance of these fifty or sixty horses to Jiangdong?
It was only enough to maintain the army's lowest level of scouts and knights. As for expanding the knights to form a cavalry battalion, it was simply impossible.

Comparing Xuan Liang and Cao Hong, Liu Xian also knew which one had the greater advantage.

With this comparison, and looking at his brother and Luo Tong, Liu Xian felt a little sorry for a prodigy like Luo Tong. He could not help but have a bold idea in his mind, but he also felt that as a fellow villager, he should not do things to the extreme.

After all, keeping Luo Tong in Xudu to grow and serve as an official might make him more useful in the future.

The rivers of Wushang and Changshan flow directly to Kuaiji.

In Kuaiji City, the Cavalry Commandant Yu Fan sat in a quiet room, holding a scroll of the Book of Changes in his hand.

Yu Fan was familiar with the contents of each volume of the Book of Changes and the annotations of all versions.

This special family education and personal achievements, coupled with the assassination of Sun Ce, made Yu Fan's character become more eccentric.

However, his background, talent and achievements were too great. In the later years of Sun Ce's reign, he persuaded Hua Xin to surrender and take over Yuzhang; when Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, Yu Fan came forward to persuade the General Sun Hao to withdraw.

Therefore, in order to thank Yu Fan and also to win over the big families in Jiangdong, Sun Quan recommended Yu Fan as a talented person.

Later, Yu Fan refused the imperial court and Cao Cao's recruitment, and Sun Quan appointed Yu Fan as the Cavalry Commandant; but the relationship between the two became increasingly unpleasant.

It cannot be said that Sun Quan has no acting skills, but sometimes, for example, Sun Ben watched Sun Quan grow up and killed Sun Fu, so Sun Quan's acting skills were ineffective on Sun Ben. The reason why Sun Ben endured was that he was concerned about the inheritance of the main clan and the minor clan.

As for Yu Fan, he had a thorough understanding of the Book of Changes and was the best interpreter of the Book of Changes in the world.

If someone like Yu Fan were treated with sincerity like Sun Ce was, Yu Fan would not get angry; but if someone like Sun Quan was treated with sincerity, Yu Fan would still feel uncomfortable even if Sun Quan respected Yu Fan very much.

In Yu Fan's eyes, the universe is illusory and life and death are impermanent. People should live with all their emotions and act according to their nature.

Therefore, when Sun Ce killed the powerful and wealthy people in Jiangdong, Yu Fan did not think it was strange, because the law of the jungle is the law of nature.

Sun Ce did whatever he wanted to do. Even if Yu Fan did nothing while staying by Sun Ce's side, he still felt a sense of pure happiness.

As for Sun Quan, he was too thoughtful and did not have the ability like Sun Ce. He did not even have a handsome face like Sun Ce, which made Yu Fan very uncomfortable.

The more he compared himself with Sun Quan, the more dissatisfied he became with him.

He made no secret of this attitude, but Yu Fan knew that as long as Sun Quan gained military prestige and stabilized both the outside and the inside, he would definitely kick him away.

It was a kind of giving up, just waiting for Sun Quan to kick him out.

If Sun Quan really kicks him away in the future, it will prove that Yu Fan's prediction was accurate from the beginning to the end, and that he just met the wrong person.

In order to verify this conjecture, he will do as he pleases and continue to maintain his current posture.

As for the price...A person who has thoroughly mastered the Book of Changes and is accustomed to the rise and fall of life and death, what price would he be afraid of?
In this respect, Yu Fan was somewhat similar to Kong Rong, treating all the people of the time as dead.

Is it necessary to show too much respect to the dead?
Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and even the Emperor of Han all saw the situation in a similar way.

The development of Confucian classics has reached a bottleneck, and the shackles are difficult to break through.

The concepts of many great Confucian scholars have begun to become distorted due to the conflict between their worldly experiences and their ideals.

Kong Rong was a heretic of Confucianism. People like Yu Fan, who had a thorough understanding of the Book of Changes, were inherently heretics of Confucianism.

Such heresies are everywhere. After the world is in chaos, the more heretical they are, the more true their nature is.

It seems that only in this way can new paths be nurtured and created.

In the quiet room, Yu Fan always held the Book of Changes.

He remained in a meditative state, as if communicating with his past and future self.

He believed that as long as his past self meditated in a quiet room and his future self also meditated in a quiet room, they would be able to influence each other.

Although there is no way to communicate through language or words, there is a shared spirituality that leads to interaction.

In this kind of interaction, he just needs to follow his instincts and act spontaneously.

When you encounter something, the decision you make now is the same decision you would have made in the past, and will remain the same in the future.

Past, present and future, following the same instincts and making the same choices.

What does this equal?
This means that you live in the past, the present, and the future.

Even if the body decays and the world perishes, the self that has existed is the only spiritual one from beginning to end.

With this simple idea, Yu Fan cut off the thoughts that appeared and disappeared in his mind at any time.

He just wanted to follow his instincts and think about his mission to Xu Du.

When Hua Xin was sent as an envoy to Jiangdong, Jiangdong also had to send an envoy of celebrity level to Xudu.

This scene cannot be lost, as it means that Sun Quan has the support of the big families and celebrities in Jiangdong.

Therefore, no matter how reluctant or fearful he was, Sun Quan had to send the famous scholars from Jiangdong to Xu Du. This was something that Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong could not replace.

However, compared to the mission to Xu Du, Yu Fan was more interested in the "Black Sima" in Guanzhong.

He has thoroughly understood the Book of Changes, and in his eyes, all changes in the world are traceable, so he likes anyone who breaks common sense.

For example, Sun Ce, the Marquis of Wu in the past, and Hei Xiong, the Marquis of Liang now.

A person who is bound by common sense and emotions is a dead person in Yu Fan's eyes, even if he is still alive.

In his eyes, only those who can break common sense and overcome the world are human beings, real human beings.

Having said that, how can I jump to Guanzhong when I am on a diplomatic mission to Xudu and take my wives, concubines and children with me?
In a meditative state, Yu Fan had already decided what to do, but was troubled by family issues.

What Sun Fu experienced gave Yu Fan a deeper understanding of Sun Quan's ruthlessness, cunning and treachery.

(End of this chapter)