From April to June of the second year of Jian'an, Shen Chen visited the villages and towns around Longzhong, and the news that he was going to give lectures naturally spread.
Jingzhou surrender faction, or rather we cannot call them surrender faction.
Because they surrendered to Cao Cao in the 13th year of Jian'an, that is, after Liu Biao's death in 208 AD.
Now they claim that they are loyal to the imperial court and have nothing to do with Cao Cao.
Therefore, they should now be called the so-called "royalists" in Jingzhou. The political stance of these people is very different from Shen Chen.
Shen Chen was originally well-known in Jingzhou. He entered Xianshan Academy at the age of nine. After studying hard for three years, he and Wang Can visited a large number of famous people in Jingzhou. Song Zhong, Wang Can, Handan Chun and other famous people all praised him, so he became somewhat famous. Talent name.
In itself, this is nothing. Young scholars in Jingzhou have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain. Later, Cao Wei Shangshu, and now Fu Xun, a guest under Liu Biao's rule, often commented on Jingzhou's younger generations, saying that Jingzhou had many talents.
But at the beginning of the year, due to political disagreements with his teacher, they had a debate at Xianshan Academy. Even Song Zhong said that Shen Chen Jingyi had surpassed him. Since then, he became famous all over the world, which also made many younger generations in Jingzhou unconvinced.
Whether he is convinced or not is another matter, but his remarks made many "royalist" families in Jingzhou unhappy. Therefore, many juniors in Jingzhou have recently spoken out and wanted to debate Shen Chen.
Of course, this may not be because of the instigation of the family behind it.
The main reason is that Cao Cao is the sole supporter of the emperor now. Those aristocratic families all believe that the emperor must rely on Cao Cao to conquer the world. Moreover, Cao Cao currently controls the government. If he wants to become an official in the capital and serve as the Sangong and Jiuqing to revitalize the family, he must curry favor with Cao Cao. Shi.
But now Shen Chen not only defeated Cao Cao, but also killed several of his generals and formed a deadly feud with Cao Cao.
Therefore, everyone is afraid that Cao Cao will be angry with Jingzhou Shilin. Then the imperial court will not recruit them as officials, causing their family power to be unable to continue.
So they tried their best to distance themselves from Shen Chen.
It's not even just Shen Chen.
They even thought Liu Biao was a traitor and a traitor, and many people ignored Liu Biao's campaign.
For example, Wang Jun, a famous scholar from Runan, Yingrong, a famous scholar from Chen State, Wei Xi, a famous scholar from Guanzhong, Li Yan, a famous scholar from Jizhou, Hexia, a famous scholar from Yuzhou, Du Xi, a famous scholar from Yingchuan, and so on.
At that time, the famous people who came to Jingzhou to take refuge due to Dong Zhuo's rebellion were like crucian carp across the river. The elites of the famous families in various places ranged from 100 to 80, but they refused Liu Zheng's proposal, and these people would all serve in Cao Wei in the future.
The reason is that at the end of last year, after the emperor moved the capital to Xuchang, Liu Biao sent a letter to worship Yuan Shao while sending people to marry Yuan Shao.
This made many celebrities in Jingzhou dissatisfied at that time, and even officials under Liu Biao resigned in large numbers.
For example, Deng Yi, Han Song, Liu Guan and others clearly opposed Liu Biao's collusion with Yuan Shao, and hoped that Liu Biao would write to the court and surrender to Cao Cao.
Wang Junying, Rong Weixi and others also expressed their opposition.
This made Liu Biao very angry. Deng Yi abandoned his official position and ran away, Han Song was persecuted, Liu Guan was killed, and countless middle- and lower-level officials abandoned their official positions. It was during this period.
Therefore, from here we can see how powerful the so-called "royalists" and those forces who asked Liu Biao to surrender to the imperial court and rely on Cao Cao were.
Even Liu Bei, who later took the imperial edict and went south to defect to Liu Biao, was almost murdered by Cai Mao and Kuai Yue at the banquet.
Now that Shen Chen is openly resisting Cao Cao, in their eyes, he is resisting the imperial court.
So when they heard that he planned to set up a school to give lectures, many famous families in Jingzhou wanted to come out to rub his aura in order to avoid "misleading others".
After all, if I can’t offend Liu Biao, why can’t I offend you, Shen Chen?
So on the fourth day of June, I heard that Shen Chen was planning to visit a place called Suiting near Longzhong Township, and many scholars came in the name of an outing.
During this time, Shen Chen traveled all over the surrounding countryside. People in the countryside around Xiangyang, southwest, northwest, and Longzhong all knew his name.
After the busy farming season in May passed, the people in these villages also heard that a young man was willing to teach his children for free, so they took advantage of the slack farming period and sent their children to study one after another.
Although most people do not do this, the reason has been mentioned before: children from poor families will become half of the family's labor force at a certain age.
Even when there is a little slack in farming, you still have to do things every day, such as cutting pigs, weeds, digging wild vegetables, herding cattle and sheep, etc. Even if you are in trouble, you can go down to the river to catch fish and shrimps to reduce the family burden.
So there are actually very few people who are really willing to send it.
But it cannot support the large base quantity.
For example, among the tens of thousands of people living in the surrounding villages and pavilions, there are always a few rich farmers who are willing to let their children study.
Or even if the family is poor, they know that knowledge can change their destiny, so they grit their teeth and would rather suffer a little bit than send their children to learn some knowledge.
Therefore, on the fourth day of June, Shen Chen bought a villa in Suiting, about four miles east of Longzhong, and when he notified the people in the surrounding villages, more than 20 or 30 parents came with their students.
In the midsummer season of June, the sky is clear and cloudless. Just after lunch time, Suiting becomes very lively.
The meaning of a pavilion in ancient times was a bit like a town, but it didn't have many buildings, just a pavilion with a few civil servants in it, responsible for the security of the surrounding villages.
Then nearby are the residences of the villagers. The villages are scattered and scattered. The scale is not as large as the towns of later generations, but slightly larger than the villages.
Therefore, the pavilion can be regarded as a rural police station in later generations.
But Suiting is different. In addition to being a pavilion, it is also the administrative seat of Longzhong Township, which is the seat of the township government.
As the saying goes, there is one pavilion in ten miles, and one township in ten pavilions.
The significance of a township is much greater than that of a pavilion. People want to buy farm tools, clothing, oil and salt, sell their own handmade products, hunt game in the mountains, raise pigs, cattle and sheep, and save surplus grain, all have to go to the village market to sell.
Therefore, the scale of Suiting is much larger than that of an ordinary village. There are some houses on both sides of the road, stretching for one or two hundred meters. There are shops on the street, a market in the east of the pavilion, and even a restaurant.
The house Shen Chen bought was in the west of Suitingting, only three or four miles away from the Longzhong Valley where Zhuge Liang lived. The house could almost be seen from the hillside of Zhuge Liang's house.
The house is not big, covering an area of about two acres. There are a few trees planted in the front yard. You can see the front hall when you enter the door. The decoration of this hall is not like the living room of a wealthy family, but similar to a classroom. It is boxy and extremely It is spacious, with more than thirty tables and mats neatly placed inside.
At this moment, the gate of the house was opened, and many villagers were coming outside to see it. Even those who came without children wanted to watch it out of curiosity, so many people from the surrounding area gathered and watched from a distance.
In addition to them, there were some people further away. There were many carriages parked outside the livestock market in the east of the pavilion. Everyone got off the carriages, and they were all young people in their teens or 20s.
These people are much better dressed than the nearby villagers. Most of the villagers wear hemp trousers, and some wear linen shorts. Most of them are too poor to even wear clothes.
Even some people's only trousers were in tatters, and everyone came to look at them curiously.
It has to be said that even the Han Dynasty, which was short of supplies, still could not stop the villagers' spirit of gossip.
The people who got off the carriage were all wearing brocade robes with swords hanging from their waists. Those who were under twenty years old had silk cloth scarves wrapped on their heads, and those who were over twenty years old wore ceremonial crowns. Some even
He is also wearing a jade pendant. Even if he is not from a top aristocratic family, he is at least a powerful family in the county.
After they came down, they greeted each other and got to know each other through conversation.
"Brother Zhao Lang, long time no see. How is your father's health?"
"My daily life is okay. Brother Fu Lang and I haven't seen each other for a year. I didn't expect you to come too."
"Yes, my father asked me to come and take a look."
"Me too."
"Hey, brother Sun Lang, did the master send you here?"
"Yes, brother Hu Xian, I didn't expect you to come, could it be Cai?"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
The group greeted each other and the group gradually grew, and soon there were twenty or thirty people.
Most of them are local wealthy families in Xiangyang, Deng County, and Fancheng, but they cannot be said to be the top aristocratic families in Xiangyang. At most, they are powerful people in the county.
For example, there is the Anzhong Zhao family, Zhao Zi who later entered Soochow as an official, and Zhao Kui, a famous scholar in Xianshan Academy, all came from this family.
Although Zhao Zi in the family went to Soochow, it does not mean that everyone would choose to serve in Soochow like him. The official and orthodox Xudu court was still more attractive to them.
So I sent someone here this time.
In addition to the Anzhong Zhao family, there are more than ten powerful families in the county, such as the Fu family in Xiangyang, the Hu family in Xiangyang, the Liao family in Deng County, the Zhou family in Fancheng, the Zhang family in Yicheng, the Xiong family in Lingling, the Wen family in Chaling, etc.
's children.
None of the eight major aristocratic families in Jingzhou came, and the aristocratic families are also divided into three, six, and nine levels. These are just the big families in the county. At most, the county magistrate of 600 shi is born in the family, or the ancestor has paid 2,000 dan, so they have a lower status and are at the bottom.
For a small family, it is most suitable to send them to take the lead.
And there are not only small families, but also students and apprentices of some famous celebrities. For example, the famous scholar Ying Rong has thousands of disciples. Liu Biao once conquered him. He found out that Liu Biao was secretly in love with Yuan Shao, so he refused to go. This time he also sent a few students to come and watch.
It depends.
The most important among them should be the Hu family in Xiangyang, because the head of the Hu family is named Hu Zheng, who works for the Zhennan General Mansion, and is Cai Hao's confidant. People who came from the Hu family also vaguely represent Cai Hao's attitude.
Although because Deng Hong married Cai Zan's daughter, Shen Chen and Cai Hao were indirectly related, this kind of relationship can only be said to be no different from nothing.
And Cai Mao and Kuai Yue are the main force of the steadfast capitulation faction, so it is normal for them to send people.
The person from the Hu family was the son of Hu Zheng, named Hu Shang, also named Boxi. Among the crowd, there was a close friend of his named Wen Xia, also named Ji Dong. He was a disciple of the Wen family in Chaling, and he studied under a certain Ru.
Wang Jun, a famous southern scholar, was from the same family as Hu Shang.
Wen Xia had returned to Chaling before, and he hadn't seen his brothers for more than half a year. He was very happy to see him now. Hu Shang stepped forward and asked, "Ji Dong, why are you here?"
Wen Xia said: "I just returned to Xiangyang a few days ago, and my master said that a young man with a rising reputation has recently appeared in Xianshan Academy. He said that even Mr. Zhongzi was ashamed in terms of classics. I heard that he was going to open an academy to give lectures. , so let me take a look, but I heard about him. Is it true?"
"Um."
Hu Shang nodded and said: "The imperial court sent Cao Sikong south to conquer Zhang Xiu, but this man led the villagers to rob and kill Sikong's army, killed general Cao Renlejin, defied the imperial court, and everyone was unhappy."
"If you came, could it be Mr. Cai's intention?"
Wenxia asked tentatively.
If someone else inquired, Hu Shang would not say anything, but Wen Xia was his best friend, so he whispered: "Yes, sir, he also loves the court, but Liu Shijun. Don't say this, if you let this If Shen Chen becomes bigger, I'm afraid it will be bad for everyone."
"So that's it."
Wen Xia nodded: "Then do you plan to prevent him from teaching?"
"Um."
Hu Shang said: "Across Jingzhou, only a few people such as Liu Shijun are fighting against the imperial court. Most of them are loyal people who are loyal to the imperial court. On the surface, everyone cannot tell the emperor, but privately, they want to prevent those who The bewitcher continues to scheming with Yuan Shao to counter the imperial court. The purpose of coming here this time is to let everyone know that this Shen Chen is just a person in name only and has no real talent or knowledge, so as to prevent the villagers from being bewitched by him."
This is the fundamental reason for the current conflict between Shen Chen and those aristocratic families in Jingzhou.
Liu Biao had evil intentions, and later he made sacrifices to heaven and earth in private, and when he traveled, he was like an emperor, and he had the dream of becoming emperor.
But Cai Mao and Kuai Yue could not do anything to him.
Other people who were "loyal" to the court could do nothing to him.
Therefore, they had to attack other people who encouraged Liu Biao to separatize Jingzhou.
Under their attack, these people became fewer and fewer, and later Liu Bei was almost killed by them.
The final result was that after Liu Biao's death in 208 AD, Cao Cao's army went south, and more than 100,000 troops in Jingzhou surrendered to Cao Cao without any hindrance.
And now, Shen Chen appears and confronts Cao Cao.
As I said before, having Liu Xie in Cao Cao's hands is equivalent to having Wang Zha.
If a wealthy family wants to protect its family interests, it must become a high-ranking official in the court to seize power.
Therefore, the entire Jingzhou did not want to fall out with Cao Cao.
Once Cao Cao is offended to death, the dream of a wealthy family in Jingzhou to become a high official will naturally be shattered.
More importantly, what is Shen Chen doing now?
He is planning to open a school to spread his ideas of "rebellious son and traitorous minister".
Is this okay?
When the whole Jingzhou was advocating loyalty to the court and asking Liu Biao to attach himself to Cao Cao, Shen Chen came out and persuaded Liu Biao to confront Cao Cao. If he didn't die, who would die?
So they must send someone to stop it.
But it certainly won’t work at the official level.
Shen Chen was protected by Liu Biao.
Liu Biao is not stupid.
Since he secretly befriended Yuan Shao at the end of last year, his subordinates persuaded him to break off ties with Yuan Shao, and countless people have become attached to Cao Cao.
Liu Biao knew very well what those people thought.
But the basis of his rule is the eight great families. If he wants to touch them, he will definitely not be able to do it, so he can only endure it.
Shen Chen is obviously his supporter and is extremely smart. He has helped him with several strategies. He is a talent that he values very much and wants to cultivate with all his strength.
What's more, he still needs Shen Chen to be the main force against Cao's faction in order to facilitate his own separatist rule, so he will never let those wealthy clans pose a threat to Shen Chen's personal safety.
It is impossible for the government to send people to arrest him.
In addition, he also sent people over this time, including Deng Hong and Liu Xian, who came to help Shen Chen stand up.
This resulted in Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others being unable to directly send government forces to take action.
If the people from Wu can't come, then the people from Wen will come first.
They planned to send people to debate with Shen Chen on the spot. As long as it was proven that Shen Chen had no real talent and knowledge, and was just a showman, and his reputation spread, there would naturally be no trouble.
Therefore, although there are many wealthy people from the county coming to school this time, they are basically all coming with bad intentions.