mtl008 Chapter 608 A Mouth That Has Been Blessed
Chapter 608 A Mouth That Has Been Blessed
Zhang Sheng was getting old and his body wasn't as resilient as the Three Idiots of the Han Dynasty. After suffering from alcohol poisoning, he had diarrhea for seven days and lost a lot of weight.
This incident frightened Lao Liu, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, who also wanted to try beer, and they all gave up the idea of drinking beer.
Seeing that their bodies could develop resistance, and that the three idiots had basically adapted to the toxins in the beer, the three old men thought they could do it too. But after seeing Zhang Sheng's miserable state, their thoughts changed.
Even the vigorous Zhang Sheng was reduced to this state. Their old bones, past sixty, couldn't withstand the effects of first-time alcohol poisoning. If they were to die from it, it would be the most tragic case in the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the three old men had no choice but to abandon the idea and at the same time give Zhang Sheng some encouragement.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Sheng did not rest during his illness. Instead, he bought a large amount of paper and paid women in the city to cut it into paper money. In seven days, he cut a total of thirty large boxes, and the paper money and the women's wages alone cost several hundred strings of cash.
But it doesn't matter. Master Zhang has plenty of money now, and besides, he only paid for it in advance. The Liu and Wu families will definitely reimburse him after the relocation of the Changsha King's Mausoleum is completed.
On the eighth day, Zhang Sheng recovered from his illness and, escorting thirty boxes of paper money, followed the heads of the Liu and Wu families to Changsha County, officially beginning the grand undertaking of relocating the tombs of the successive Changsha kings.
At the same time, Guan Xing also began the school building project. The primary task of building the school was publicity. Since it is a school, it must recruit students. If there are no students, who will you teach, right?
Guan Xing chose to take a three-step approach to publicity. First, he put up banners and distributed leaflets to attract attention and let the people in the city know about the school construction.
Secondly, the school's promotional brochures were printed and distributed to inform the public about the school's specific situation.
In the early days of the school's establishment, Guan Xing only planned to set up five colleges: the Military College, the Confucian College, the Mathematics College, the Medical College, and the Engineering College.
Military academies, as the name suggests, are military schools.
Needless to say, the Confucian academy only taught people to read and write. If they didn't even recognize the basic characters, they couldn't handle the subsequent subjects.
The Department of Mathematics is equally important. Mathematics is the foundation of science, and only by studying mathematics can one access the subsequent physics and chemistry.
Medical schools need no introduction, but engineering schools are the holy grail for all technical professions, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, and masons. In the early stages of development, a large number of technical talents are needed, and engineering schools are the places to train these talents.
Both of these are just propaganda on paper; the last one is what's actually done.
Guan Xing personally designed and ordered four sets of school uniforms to be made. The military academy's uniform was the bright armor that combined good looks and defense, while the Confucian academy's uniform was a white Confucian robe, paired with a folding fan in hand, making one look extremely flamboyant on the street.
The uniforms of the School of Mathematics are the same as those of the School of Confucianism, except that they are black, and each student carries an abacus.
Medical students naturally wear white coats, and students wearing white coats with their hands in their pockets look quite professional.
The engineering college uniform was a black work uniform, the kind used in the electrical industry in later generations. Guan Xing originally wanted to design it in denim blue, but he couldn't find the relevant dye, so he had to make do with black.
After the clothes were made, hundreds of handsome young men were selected to wear them and parade through the streets, so that the people of the city could see their dashing appearance and thus arouse their interest in going to school.
At noon that day, a hundred young men gathered at the Crown Prince's residence to begin preparations for the parade. Xia Tong was showing off in the bright armor that had recently been tailor-made for him, while Jiang Wei, dressed in a Confucian robe and holding a folding fan, said uncomfortably, "Your Highness, Marquis of Shence, I am a military general, a military general! What do you look like in a Confucian robe? I want to go to the military academy."
Guan Xing comforted him, "The Military Academy has Xia Tong and Zhang Bao, but the Confucian Academy is still lacking a good-looking person. Who else but you? Believe me, your temperament, which combines determination and elegance, will definitely attract the attention of all the girls in the city instantly. I estimate that you will receive many love letters before dark. Are you all ready? Ready to go?"
The procession quickly formed a formation and marched onto the street, with the military academy contingent at the very front, and Zhang Bao and Xia Tong, wearing bright armor, leading the formation.
Behind the Military Academy was the Confucian Academy formation. Guan Xing and Jiang Wei, dressed in white Confucian robes and waving folding fans, walked at the front of the formation. The difference in their looks was immediately apparent. Although Guan Xing was a few centimeters taller than Jiang Wei, Jiang Wei had a more balanced physique and was far more handsome than Guan Xing.
The School of Mathematics, the School of Medicine, and the School of Engineering lined up in order, forming a long line that moved forward in an orderly fashion on the street.
So the question is, where is Liu Shan?
His Highness the Crown Prince was naturally in the most conspicuous position, wearing a brand-new black dragon-patterned robe, sandwiched between Zhang Bao and Xia Tong, carrying a gong in his hand as he walked, banging it and shouting: "Xinghan University is recruiting! Limited spots available, apply quickly!"
The clear sound of the gong carried for miles in an instant. The Han people, who all had a bad habit of watching a good show, rushed out of their homes and stood in the streets to watch as soon as they heard the gong. Soon, both sides of the road were filled with men, women, and children watching the spectacle.
Before the common people could even figure out what was going on, the group of infatuated girls got excited and huddled together, their eyes shining as they exclaimed, "So handsome! That armor is so beautiful! It makes me feel so safe. I want to marry a general who wears armor someday!"
The Han Dynasty valued martial prowess, and the charm of military generals far surpassed that of scholars. Coupled with the radiant armor that combined good looks and defense, it made young girls drool with envy.
But soon, the teenage girls changed their minds because Jiang Wei appeared.
With the scholar's charm completely suppressed by the soldiers, Jiang Wei, dressed in a scholar's robe, managed to attract the attention of the young girls from his bright armor.
The young girls were instantly captivated by Jiang Wei's dashing figure, fanning himself with a folding fan, and exclaimed like infatuated fans, "This young master is so handsome! Who is he? I want to marry him, even as a concubine."
The man beside her was furious and couldn't help but retort, "You wouldn't even be a concubine. This is General Jiang Wei. He came from Tianshui County during His Majesty's Northern Expedition. He made great contributions during the Northern Expedition and I heard that his martial arts skills are extremely high, and he has few rivals among the younger generation."
"More importantly, he is an official of the Eastern Palace and is highly regarded by His Highness the Crown Prince and Marquis Shence. He has a bright future ahead of him."
Upon hearing this, the girl became even more infatuated, her eyes glazed over as she said, "I never imagined that the young master was a general. How handsome he would be in that golden armor! Oh my god, what am I going to do if I can't look at any other man anymore?"
This was the shared sentiment of all the young women and married women in the vicinity who saw Jiang Wei. Their affectionate gazes followed Jiang Wei's every step, as if they wished they could turn into paste and stick to him forever.
The girls were attracted by Jiang Wei's good looks, but the others had a different feeling. As the group moved forward, a carriage came from the opposite direction. Hearing the noise, a head popped out of the carriage. It was Yuan Hui, who had come from Jiaozhou with Shi Xie.
Yuan Hui quickly moved the carriage to the side to make way for the group, then got out and stepped back to the roadside, preparing to pay his respects to the Crown Prince who was walking towards them. Another person followed him out of the carriage, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Xu Jing.
At this moment, both of them held the handbook compiled by Guan Xing, which introduced the details of the school. Yuan Hui looked at the group, gritted his teeth, and said with a face full of indignation, "To allow Confucian students to mingle with lowly medical and engineering students is simply absurd by Marquis Shence."
Yuan Hui, a so-called great Confucian scholar, would restrain himself in front of military generals, but he was full of superiority in front of lowly professions such as medicine and engineering. He naturally felt that studying made him superior to other professions, so he was extremely dissatisfied with Guan Xing mixing Confucianism with medical and engineering students.
Xu Jing chimed in, "That is indeed going too far. Emperor Wu has exclusively promoted Confucianism for three hundred years. How can we allow the other schools of thought to rise again? No, we must impeach Marquis Shence at the grand court assembly tomorrow morning. We must impeach him for his misdeeds and also for corrupting the Crown Prince. Look at what he has led the Crown Prince to. He's been robbing tombs and going on parades. Is this what a dignified Crown Prince should be doing?"
Yuan Hui chimed in, "That's right. Instead of studying properly in the palace, what kind of image does the Crown Prince project when he's out in the streets? Isn't he afraid of being assassinated?"
As soon as Yuan Hui finished speaking, three burly men in the crowd simultaneously raised their crossbows and pulled the triggers on Liu Shan, who was banging the gong. The three arrows, glowing with blue light and clearly coated with deadly poison, whistled as they shot towards Liu Shan.