Chapter Thirty-Five is really high!

  The Hexi Road is not considered a particularly wealthy place, compared to the Jianghuai Road and the Henan Road. However, in the Hexi Road, there is a county called Longxi, which has several prominent families that can be ranked among the top 15 in the entire Sui dynasty. The most famous one is the Li family of Xiangcheng.

  In the aristocratic families of Longxi, the Li family is considered one of the most special. In terms of heritage, this rising family of less than a hundred years cannot be compared to the Yu, Liu, and even the Cui families. The Yu and Liu families were already famous throughout the world before the great Sui dynasty was established. The Li family rose to prominence only after the great Sui dynasty dominated the Central Plains, and it wasn't until the previous head of the household, Li Luan, that they truly entered the ranks of first-class aristocratic families.

  But undoubtedly, it was the Emperor's trust in the Li family of Longxi that made this still relatively young clan, compared to other aristocratic families, the most prominent and esteemed in Xiangcheng, Longxi Commandery, and even the Hexi Corridor.

  There are 140 cities west of the Yellow River. When it's time for the Imperial Military Academy to recruit new students, each city selects one young and talented individual to take the exam, regardless of whether the city is large or small, there is only one quota. In Xiang City, the candidates selected in the first two sessions of the Imperial Military Academy examination were both from the Li family. The person selected six years ago was Li Xiaozong, who is now a general under General Fan Gong. Three years ago, Li Fubo was said to be even more outstanding than Li Xiaozong and has been ranked among the top three in every assessment at the Imperial Military Academy for the past three years.

  This achievement is enough to make the Li family proud.

  To know that after each graduation of the Martial Arts Academy, the top three students will be directly taken away by the Ministry of War. The worst-case scenario is also to be directly appointed as a Zhengwu General of the Fifth Rank.

  The slogan for the enrollment of the Martial Arts Academy is that regardless of birth or social status, as long as one has talent and learning, they can sign up to participate in the selection. But this is just a slogan, those who are from humble backgrounds don't even have the opportunity to become candidates. Only one student is selected from each city, with 24 provinces under the Great Sui dynasty, and tens of thousands of cities, the Martial Arts Academy only takes 300 people. With an admission rate of less than one in ten thousand, how could it be possible for someone from a humble background to get in?

  Only one person is chosen from each city, and you still want it to be fair?

  Fairness has always been proclaimed.

  However, it is said that due to this matter, the head of the Martial Arts Academy, Zhou, and the Emperor of Great Sui had a very intense argument. According to Zhou's idea, since there was already a system where one city could only have one candidate, it was necessary to establish another rule: candidates from noble families and those from humble backgrounds must be divided equally, with half being from noble families and half from humble backgrounds. The Emperor smiled and said that no matter what the candidate's background was, wasn't it enough to have countless excellent students?

  Whether from a humble background or an aristocratic family, the examinees are all excellent in both moral character and learning. From among them, the best will be selected to enter the Imperial Academy. Even if they are all from aristocratic families, does that mean there are no good students in the Imperial Academy?

  When the Emperor said this, Director Zhou turned and left immediately. He coldly threw down the four words "obstructing my view" and actually didn't even explain to the Emperor before leaving directly.

  His Majesty the Emperor was enraged when he first heard these four words, and sat quietly for a short while before waking up. He immediately issued an edict to change the rules for selecting candidates for the Imperial Military Academy, adding one more item after each city selected one person, selecting excellent talents from various guards, war soldiers, and border troops, reporting to the Ministry of War and then participating in the examination of the Imperial Military Academy. The number of people is equivalent to the candidates selected by each city, and the official position of candidates with a military background cannot exceed that of a company commander.

  This way, it is truly giving the children of humble families the opportunity to enter the Imperial Academy and make a name for themselves.

  Returning to Qingyuan Mountain, Director Zhou heard the emperor's edict and smiled to himself, thinking it was fortunate that he hadn't become completely muddled. In the entire Great Sui court, there were only two people who dared to directly point out the emperor's mistakes. One of them was Hua Qiu Gong, the three-time elder statesman and Minister of Rites, and the other was naturally Zhou Ban Chuan from the Imperial Martial Arts Academy.

  However, Huaiguang's criticism of the emperor's mistakes was limited to etiquette and scholarship.

  Huai Gong was the emperor's teacher and had often slapped the emperor's palm in the Tai Temple that year.

  Zhou Banchuan was different, he was a man who dared to smash the emperor's teacup.

  The Emperor once joked that the Imperial Martial Arts Academy was an indispensable place for selecting talents for the Great Sui. However, the Imperial Martial Arts Academy is not mine, but rather Zhou Banjiang's.

  Fang Jiehun arrived just in time and caught up with the open recruitment of the Martial Arts Institute for low-ranking soldiers.

  However, the aristocratic children have always been hostile to candidates from military backgrounds. The reason is simple. If there were no candidates from the military, the Imperial Military Academy would select 300 students from thousands of references. Now, the Imperial Military Academy selects 300 people from nearly 10,000 people. Half of the places were taken away by those low-born soldiers, how could they not be angry?

  Li Yuan became even angrier because this time the Martial Arts Academy recruitment, the Governor of Hexi Road Yang Xiucheng recommended was that idiot from the Cui family. How could his proud and arrogant self accept this?

  In the previous two sessions, they were all selected from the Li family. Li Xiaozong was just a small figure in the Li family who didn't even make it into the mainstream, and when he graduated, he could still rank among the top five in the Imperial Academy. Li Fubo is the eldest son of the Li family's main house, and he has been doing exceptionally well; now that graduation is approaching, entering the top three is a certainty.

  Li Yuan was also the legitimate son of the Li family, and his status was much higher than that of Li Xiaozong. As long as he was in the Li family, even if Li Xiaozong had a military position from the fifth rank, and even if he was his uncle in terms of generation, as long as he was in the Li family's large courtyard, Li Xiaozong would still have to take the initiative to give way and greet him.

  Why can an illegitimate child do it? Can't I?

  This was Li Yuan's greatest anger, even more so than when he learned that Cui Lüe had become a candidate for the Imperial Academy.

  In the dense forest of Dusk Mountain, he knew that as long as he revealed a little bit of his intentions, those few sycophants around him would absolutely follow his lead. If Cui Lüe was crippled, who else in Xiang City was more suitable to enter the Martial Institute?

  It's just crippling an individual, even if the crippled one is also from a noble family, it's no big deal... His dad is also surnamed Li!

  ……

  ……

  When Fang Jie found Cui Lue, he was washing his face by the small stream at the foot of the mountain. As a member of a noble family, he attached great importance to his appearance, and his face was originally cleaner than Fang Jie's buttocks. However, he was scrubbing hard, and if Fang Jie didn't stop him, there was a high possibility that he would wash off his skin.

  Fang Jie knew that Cui Lue washed his face not because it was dirty, but because it was hot.

  He handed a piece of broken silver to each of Cui's servants, then squatted down beside Cui with a smile: "Brother Cui... don't wash anymore, or you'll bleed."

  Chui Lue Shang turned his head and saw that it was Fang Jie, first he was surprised for a moment then immediately regretfully said: "We don't have the face to return to Xiang Cheng again, only after washing away the blood will we be good, after shedding blood no one will recognize me. Also don't know how I listened to your rotten idea, actually doing such a shameful thing! Alas... unfortunate to meet you!"

  Fang Jie smiled and said, "Brother Cui, you don't have to worry about this. I'm clear about the origins and destinations of those women, they didn't plan on entering Xiang City. Moreover, at that time, only your few servants were present, would they dare to spread the word?"

  "Why didn't those women enter Xiangyang?"

  Chui Lue Shan was taken aback, unsure whether he should be delighted or saddened: "How did you know?"

  "They are in a hurry to get to Chang'an City, and think about it, they are so eye-catching in this remote place. If they enter Xiangcheng, it's hard not to cause a sensation. And if those officials and nobles entangle them again, it will be difficult to escape. So they rest here tonight, go to the mountain town to buy what they need on the road, and set off early tomorrow, bypassing Xiangcheng without entering."

  "That's good..."

  Chui Lue smiled slightly: "However, the few fellow students who came with me also saw it. Just now when I escaped back, I didn't see them waiting for me. It's clear that they too were ashamed to be with me because of what I did and left first."

  Fang Jie Xing said that those good friends of yours are discussing in the woods how to break your four limbs, and naturally they won't have time to bother with you.

  "I just saw them heading up the mountain, perhaps they're going to find a place to stay."

  Fang Jie comforted him: "I bet it won't take long for them to come back and look for you. If they are really good brothers, how could they hurt their feelings because of such a small matter?"

  "Also..."

  Choi said with emotion: "They are all sincere and true-hearted towards me, they are friendships that can be entrusted with one's life."

  She cursed herself as a fool in her heart, and now that they had exchanged vows of undying friendship, others were thinking of ways to make her lose her life.

  Just as he was saying this, a figure in white clothes, slender and elegant, with a face like jade, Li Yuan, the son of the Li family, walked over from afar with his entourage. Still at a distance, Li Yuan called out loudly: "Lü Shang, where are you off to? Earlier, we went to the Half Mountain Temple to burn incense and stayed there overnight, waiting left and right for you, but you didn't show up. We had no choice but to come down the mountain again, and it seems you're here enjoying the view!"

  Chui said in a low voice: "Indeed, you have hit the nail on the head. This is what true good brothers are like."

  Fang Jie stood up and walked slowly towards Li Yuan and the others. Although his clothes were in a scholarly style, they weren't made of brocade. Compared to the elegant Li Yuan, he looked rather shabby. However, his features were delicate, not extremely handsome but pleasant to look at nonetheless.

  Li Yuan had a talent for remembering everything she saw, and she recalled that the young man standing beside Cui Lüe was the same wild kid who had been urinating on the hillside. At this moment, seeing him standing alongside Cui Lüe was somewhat surprising, but upon further thought, perhaps this person and Cui Lüe were also old acquaintances - otherwise, how could they be so familiar? It's worth noting that Cui Lüe in Xiangcheng was an unusual case, not only getting along with the young masters of aristocratic families, but also having a lot of contact with many poor scholars in the city.

  This fool's most foolish sentence is that heroes are often born in the same breed as butchers, and when Li Yuan and others heard it at first, they almost laughed their teeth off.

  "Who is this?"

  Li Yuan slightly nodded his head as a greeting, but the undisguised contempt on his face made people feel uncomfortable. Fang Jie had never liked Li Yuan, and seeing him with this condescending attitude made him even more disgusted. People from noble families were always like this, looking down on those who were not as well-born as them, yet pretending to be polite and courteous in order to show off their own elegance and refinement, even when dealing with peddlers and beggars.

  Such pretentiousness is especially disgusting in Fang's eyes.

  "In the lower village of Shang, from Biancheng Fanggu, he is a small businessman."

  When it comes to acting, Fang Jie naturally won't lose to others. He clasped his fists in return and bowed deeply, with a humble expression on his face and a hint of fear in his eyes that made one absolutely not suspect him. This feeling was as if he himself really felt inferior.

  "I heard that Fanggu Town is all about big business."

  Li Yuan smiled and said, "I heard that the Shu brocade transported from Xichuan to Fanggu can sell for twice as much silver as in the Central Plains? That's not a small amount. Can't you make a profit of 500 wen by making one trip? Looking at Young Master Chang's demeanor, I think his annual income is also tens of thousands of yuan. Even if it's just tens of thousands of yuan in Xiangcheng, it's still considered a wealthy family."

  Fang Jie smiled and said: "Don't call me young master, I have no official title."

  Haha

  Li Yuan smiled and said: "You're quite perceptive, interesting."

  Although the Great Sui did not have a clear hierarchy for its citizens, merchants had always been looked down upon since ancient times. Among the four occupations of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, merchants held the lowest status. Even a poor farmer who couldn't afford to cook a meal would proudly lift his head and expect a merchant to give way when they met on a narrow road.

  Fang Jie accompanied a few smiles, then carefully said: "I and Cui Gongzi are old friends, just thinking of inviting him to drink together tonight. Happened to have hunted a few wild game on the mountain before, if several gentlemen don't mind, would you like to join us for a drink?"

  That short man scolded: "Where do you have the leisure to drink with me? You should go and do what you need to do! Let's go, we've already booked a good table at the Taoist temple."

  Chui looked at Fang Jie with a difficult expression, just about to apologize when he heard Li Yuan say with a smile: "The mountain temple's meals can be eaten often, but this merchant brother's wild game cannot. Liu Yinan, you are so vulgar. Merchant brother kindly invited you, and you refused, aren't you afraid of chilling the merchant brother's heart?"

  He let go of the other party's hand and bowed his fist with a gentle tone, saying: "It is better to obey than to pay respects, I will trouble Brother Shang tonight."

  His sudden change in attitude is quite impressive. Fang Jie sneered inwardly, but his face showed a sincere and fearful expression: "Please come quickly, my servant has already collected the game, and I will personally roast the meat for our honored guest tonight... Fortunately, there are still a few good wines left in the car."

  Li Yuan spoke a few more polite words, and while Fang Jie was turning around, he lowered his voice and said to the thin man named Liu Yinan: "I almost got rid of someone who took the blame for me, but you won't even pick up this easy opportunity... stupid!"

  Liu Yinan was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses, and couldn't help but raise his thumb in praise: "Awesome! It's really awesome!"