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In the early morning, before the sun had yet risen, Fei Qian had already climbed Lushan Mountain.
On the horizon, a single line of crimson clouds glowed. The sky was a deep, clear blue, and a few wisps of cloud drifted gently, floating with the breeze.
The mountain mist, blowing in from the forest along the side of the path, carried the unique fragrance of green leaves. It swept over Fei Qian, stirring the hem of his robe.
Lushan was indeed a place of particularly beautiful scenery—green mountains and clear waters, jagged rocks and sheer precipices, swift currents plunging straight down, and forests rustling and swaying. No matter what angle one viewed it from, it was like a painted scroll, a vista one seemed never to tire of beholding.
He had originally thought he might have to wait for a while. He had not expected that, since the elderly naturally require less sleep, by the time Fei Qian arrived, Pang Degong was already in the mountain pavilion, wrapped tightly in a thin quilt, sipping tea.
Seeing Fei Qian, Pang Degong extended a hand from within the quilt and beckoned him over.
"Are you still perplexed?" Pang Degong asked with a genial chuckle.
Fei Qian bowed deeply in salute and replied, "Many thanks to Master Pang for resolving my confusion." He understood now—understood, at least, in principle. But to truly put that understanding into practice was no easy matter.
Pang Degong gestured for Fei Qian to sit, then said, "The Qin lost the deer, and the Han have likewise lost the seal. A great chaos is gradually unfolding across the realm. You are gentle, sincere, and honest. You act with care and handle matters with prudence. These are your strengths, but they are also your weaknesses."
Fei Qian nodded and remained silent for a long while.
Pang Degong was truly worthy of his reputation; his words struck straight to the heart of the matter.
What kind of person had Fei Qian originally been? Perhaps only Uncle Fu had truly known. But having emerged from the office politics of a later era, Fei Qian inevitably approached matters with an excess of deliberation and a deficiency of decisive, unilateral action.
Whenever an issue arose, Fei Qian instinctively sought to balance the interests of all parties involved, to smooth over every aspect, to leave no flaw unaddressed, no trouble unquelled. He would tear down the east wall to patch the west, shifting and maneuvering left and right...
In these areas, Fei Qian was highly adept. But if he were suddenly required to transform into an overbearing, domineering, all-powerful overlord—slamming one person against a wall, then another—well...
It was a transformation Fei Qian was truly incapable of; he simply could not master the seventy-two transformations of the Monkey King.
Pang Degong did not press further, but simply gazed quietly at the waterfall cascading down the cliff beside him.
The waterfall was at its greatest volume where spring and summer met, then gradually diminished thereafter. Now, it was merely a single ribbon of water flying over the mountain rocks, its former majestic force long gone.
"In that case... what should this disciple do?" Fei Qian could not help but ask.
Pang Degong extended a hand from his thin quilt, pointed first at the quilt draped over himself, and then at the clothes Fei Qian wore. "Here, in the same place, why is it that you wear but a single layer, while I must wrap myself in a quilt?"
Fei Qian hesitated for a moment before replying, "Because our bodies are different?"
Pang Degong glared at him. "Since you already know the answer, why come asking this old man? Has the wind and sand of Bingzhou blown you witless? Be off with you, quickly now! Do not come here to pester me with your noise!"
Uh... but I just sat down...
Helpless, Fei Qian could only cup his hands in salute and take his leave of Pang Degong.
However, he had not withdrawn very far when he encountered an attendant of the Pang household, who stood respectfully to one side, holding a wooden tray. Upon the tray lay a single scroll. As Fei Qian approached, the attendant bent his knees slightly and reported that the scroll upon the tray was something Pang Degong had instructed be given to Fei Qian...
Fei Qian gently lifted it and unrolled it. The opening line read: "The heart's place within the body is the sovereign's throne..."
Ah, Pang Degong...
As ever, he was the same. On the surface, he treated both Fei Qian and Pang Tong with unceremonious bluntness, barking orders and shooing them away. Yet beneath it all, he was meticulous and thoughtful, even going so far as to specially prepare such a scroll to help Fei Qian dispel the doubts within his heart.
Fei Qian placed the scroll back onto the wooden tray, then knelt in the direction of the mountain pavilion where Pang Degong sat and bowed in deep gratitude. Only then did he take up the scroll and descend Lushan.
××××××××××××××
Beside the murmuring stream, a single hut stood.
By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, the few people inside the wooden hut had all already risen and were each absorbed in their books.
Pang Tong was the most languid of them all, actually lying half-reclined on a barbarian-style couch outside the courtyard as he read. Zao Zhi and Taishi Ming, on the other hand, sat perfectly upright behind their tables, their backs ramrod straight.
Xu Shu was standing—reading for a while, then pacing back and forth, shaking his head and swaying, then standing still to read for another spell...
These four seemed entirely accustomed to one another's peculiar habits, each engrossed in their own books, utterly unaffected by the others' presence.
Pang Tong shot a sidelong glance and suddenly burst out laughing. "Down the mountain so quickly? Nine chances out of ten, you got chased off again..."
The others also broke into laughter. Doubtless, they too had frequently received such treatment from Pang Degong.
It was not that Pang Degong had a bad temper; rather, he preferred that these young people mull things over and think for themselves, instead of blindly following the experience-based advice of their elders. Hence, he would often shoo people away...
Of course, such treatment was reserved only for those who were relatively close to Pang Degong. An ordinary person would basically never get to witness this side of him.
Fei Qian smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "Mhm. It has been so long since I was last scolded by Master Pang that I have sorely missed it. Today, my wish has been fulfilled."
Pang Tong drawled lazily, "Do you have any other wishes involving being rebuked? Do tell..."
Fei Qian lowered his eyelids, glanced at the scroll in his hand, and was silent for a moment. Then, lifting his head, he said, "Hmm... there are indeed some matters. As you all know, I now hold a small patch of territory in Bingzhou, and I am short of capable hands. Zijing, beneath the walls of Pingyang, barely three or four-tenths of the newly reclaimed land is currently under cultivation. Vast stretches still lie barren. Moreover, I plan to organize men to venture west of the river to procure new species of crops... I had hoped you would come. I would appoint you as Colonel of Agricultural Settlement, with sole responsibility for all matters of farming and sericulture—selecting superior seeds, improving the soil, refining farming implements. Perhaps, one day, you might become a new Divine Farmer, receiving the offerings of livestock from husbandman.
Zijian, Brother Xu entrusted you to my care, but I must apologize that I have had little time to guide you. You possess a natural gift for mathematics and calculation. If you were in Pingyang, my plan would be to appoint you as Attendant of Water and Weights, tasked specifically with establishing all standard measures, determining norms, calculating engineering projects, and overseeing corvée labor. Your ancestor, a Grand Historian, wrote an immortal work in the field of history. I hope that you might inscribe your own name upon the annals of mathematics and metrology.
As for Yuanzhi, you are a born strategist and advisor. I am soon to lead troops northward to the Yin Mountains, and after that, there will surely be countless battles awaiting us. You will by no means be idle. And my hope is that, in the end, you will command an army corps of your own, to expand our frontiers and carve out new lands.
Of course, these are all merely my own personal thoughts. But... I feel it is necessary to tell you this: in this process, as you reveal your dazzling brilliance to the outside world, you will inevitably be coveted by others. And those people may use any means at their disposal to lure you, or to coerce you..."
Before Fei Qian could even finish speaking, the group let out a unified, dismissive "Tch!" and scattered in a hubbub, leaving Fei Qian standing alone and abandoned on the spot...
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T/N: husbandman... anyone know this word?