Cunning Three Kingdoms

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On Lushan, inside the Feilong Pavilion, Sima Hui and Pang Degong were having a pleasant conversation.

As two elderly men, they had seen and let go of many things in life. However, they were unwilling to let their lifelong knowledge and teachings be buried with them.

If Pang Degong was the inheritor of the Huang-Lao school of thought, then Sima Hui was the successor of the ancient text Confucian classics.

Where there are ancient text classics, there are naturally modern text classics.

The divergence between ancient text classics and modern text classics began with the infamous event of Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying of scholars.

At that time, Li Si, the highest-ranking civil official in the Qin dynasty, advised Qin Shi Huang: "I request that all historical records not pertaining to Qin be burned. Except for the books held by the official scholars, anyone in the empire who dares to possess the "Book of Songs", "Book of Documents", or the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought must hand them over to the local authorities to be burned. Those who dare to discuss the "Book of Songs" or "Book of Documents" in public shall be executed. Those who use the past to criticize the present shall be exterminated along with their families. Officials who fail to report such offenses shall be punished equally. Anyone who fails to burn the books within thirty days of this decree shall be branded and sent to labor on the Great Wall. The only books exempt from this order are those on medicine, divination, and agriculture. If anyone wishes to study law, they must take officials as their teachers."

Under such a policy, many families' collections of the "Book of Songs", "Book of Documents", and other works of the Hundred Schools of Thought were "handed over to the local authorities to be burned." Only books on medicine, divination, and agriculture were spared and allowed to survive.

Thus, the study of the classics suffered greatly during this period. The limited surviving texts were largely part of the imperial library of Qin Shi Huang, stored in the Epang Palace.

What happened next is well-known. Yes, even this small portion of surviving texts did not escape disaster. They were all burned to ashes in the fire set by Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

By the time of the Han dynasty, the restoration of the classics relied on the surviving scholars who had lived through the chaos of war. These scholars, appointed as official "Doctors of the Six Classics," reconstructed the Confucian texts based on their memories and oral accounts from others. These newly compiled texts became known as the modern text classics.

The ancient text classics, on the other hand, were the texts secretly buried by some Confucian scholars during the Qin dynasty and later rediscovered. For example, Liu Biao's ancestor, Prince Gong of Lu, was said to have unearthed a collection of Confucian texts.

Sima Hui was one such inheritor of the ancient text classics. In his view, only the ancient text classics were the true scriptures, while the modern text classics, tainted by too many personal interpretations, were incomplete and not authentic.

Therefore, when the Zheng Xuan commentaries, which blended ancient and modern texts, emerged and began to dominate the study of the classics, Sima Hui could no longer sit idly by. He sought out Pang Degong.

Now, seeing that his and Pang Degong's plans were gradually unfolding, Sima Hui felt a sense of relief and joy, knowing that his teachings would have successors.

As the two chatted, Sima Hui suddenly pointed to someone approaching up the mountain and said, "Good, good! Isn't that Master Huang? He's here too? How wonderful!"

The three men greeted each other warmly.

Sima Hui laughed and said, "Good, good! Master Huang, how have you been? What brings you here?"

Huang Chengyan also smiled and pointed at Sima Hui. "Since you're allowed to come, why can't I? Pang Gong hasn't said anything, yet you're acting like the host?"

"Good, good! That's a fair point, but." Sima Hui, used to their banter, shook his head with a smile. "I'm speaking on behalf of Pang Gong. Now, out with your purpose for coming!"

Pang Degong laughed beside them. "I don't need you to speak for me."

After some laughter and teasing, the conversation gradually turned to more serious matters.

Sima Hui didn't hold back, as Huang Chengyan was also involved in part of the plan. He spoke openly about his recent visits to various families and mentioned the newcomer at the foot of the mountain—Xu Fu.

Xu Fu, also known as Xu Shu, was someone Sima Hui had coincidentally met while traveling in Yingchuan. Although Xu Shu had once committed a crime out of impulsiveness, he had since reformed and vowed to abandon his martial ways and devote himself entirely to scholarship.

Sima Hui noticed that despite Xu Shu's lack of formal education, he learned exceptionally quickly and worked very hard. Impressed, Sima Hui gave him a letter of introduction and sent him to Pang Degong for an audience.

To Sima Hui's surprise, Pang Degong allowed Xu Shu to stay. This was an unexpected delight, as it indicated that Pang Degong was at least somewhat willing to impart some knowledge to him.

Pang Degong nodded and said, "Although he appears rough on the outside, he is quite meticulous in his thinking. While his knowledge is limited, he delves deeply into what he studies. That's why I allowed him to stay, to observe him further."

This was a reasonable approach, and at least it was a good start. Sima Hui agreed with a smile and gestured to Huang Chengyan, indicating that it was his turn to speak.

Huang Chengyan hesitated for a moment but then decided to share his thoughts with Pang Degong and Sima Hui.

Despite his usual cheerful demeanor, Huang Chengyan had many worries, the most pressing of which was the issue of succession within the Huang family.

Huang Chengyan had once had children, but infant mortality was high in ancient times, and they had died young. Now, Huang Yueying, his daughter born in his later years, was very intelligent and dearly loved by him. However, within the Huang family, there was resistance to the idea of a woman inheriting the family leadership, especially since Huang Yueying was still unmarried. This uncertainty about her future made some of Huang Chengyan's supporters increasingly anxious.

After all, Huang Yueying's marital prospects were uncertain, and this instability led some of Huang Chengyan's former supporters to quietly shift their allegiance to Huang Zu in Jiangxia.

Although Huang Zu was not from Huang Chengyan's direct lineage, he was still a Huang. The two families had some connections, and while Huang Zu wasn't particularly knowledgeable about craftsmanship, when it came to choosing between Huang Zu and Huang Yueying for the family's future, many supported Huang Zu, as he was, after all, the governor of Jiangxia.

In truth, Huang Chengyan was quite fond of the idea of marrying Huang Yueying to Pang Tong. The Pang and Huang families had long been close, and Pang Tong was exceptionally bright. Such a union would greatly help stabilize the Huang family's legacy.

Unfortunately, although Pang Tong and Huang Yueying were familiar with each other, they just didn't click.

Pang Tong wasn't particularly interested in craftsmanship and had no desire to learn it. Meanwhile, Huang Yueying declared that she would rather marry anyone but Pang Tong, reasoning that she was already quite dark-skinned, and marrying someone even darker would be unbearable.

Thus, the matter was left unresolved. But as Huang Yueying grew older and Huang Chengyan himself aged, the issue became increasingly urgent, gradually becoming the Huang family's greatest hidden crisis, ready to erupt at any moment.

As the head of the Huang family, Huang Chengyan felt it was his duty and responsibility to ensure a stable future for those who had followed him for so many years.

Therefore, today, Huang Chengyan had an idea he wanted to discuss with Pang Degong.