Chapter 443: Knowing the Male and Guarding the Female
In Chang'an, Wang Can woke up and opened his eyes.

The warm kang beneath him provided him with endless strength, but he just didn't want to face the cold in the early morning.

After lying there for a while, he struggled to get up, grabbed the woolless sheepskin coat that covered his shoulders and put it on his back. He lay diagonally on the head of the bed, exhaled a long breath, and looked quietly at the wall and sword rack opposite.

An indescribable feeling of fatigue arose from the depths of his heart, and he couldn't help but raise his hands to cover his cheeks.

Then he rubbed it and looked at the sword rack on the opposite wall.

The four drum towers newly built by Chang'an University last fall rang the morning bell at this moment. The bell rang fifteen times, which meant that this was the second bell.

In another quarter of an hour the third morning bell would ring, a total of twenty-five times.

After the three morning bells ring, the fences blocking the streets will be removed by the guards, and the only shop will open.

Presumably, at this moment, many young people who came to Chang'an University to eat for free have already gone out in groups, waiting for the road to open, and then quickly reach the nearby cafeteria.

Spring plowing is coming soon, and when the weather gets a little warmer, many young people will return home together to participate in farming.

Then, it is very likely that, like last year, Qinghuawei will send people to the university town to recruit young people of the right age.

Last year, he picked up a group of poor young men who he had taken a fancy to. He had only conducted preliminary observations and had not yet conducted any assessments or had any further contact with these young men. As a result, they were all taken to the military camp for closed training.

When these young men come out, who will recognize him as the university chief priest?

Originally, he was the only chief academic officer, with an official rank of 600 dan, which was quite noble; the others were merely professors, teachers, assistant teachers, and assistant clerks, with official ranks ranging from 400 dan to 100 dan.

The lowest-level assistant clerk had the same food standard as the young people from all over the country who came to Chang'an. The biggest benefit they received was two sets of clothes a year, as well as shoes and socks for all four seasons.

But Zhang Song came and brought more than 2,000 people with him, and Zhang Song was also the chief priest.

Facing Zhang Song, Wang Can felt relatively better. After all, he had only lost weight, causing his skin to become deformed, but his facial features were still the same.

As for Zhang Song, it cannot be said that he has a crooked mouth or protruding eyes, but he just looks a bit unsightly.

However, Zhang Song's photographic memory, academic knowledge, family background, and immense financial resources were all advantages that Wang Can could not underestimate.

Thinking about Zhang Song, Wang Can immediately became much more sober and had the motivation to move.

He immediately untied the quilt, and as the heat from the kang rose up, he sat on the kang and put on his trouser legs. He put on the left and right double-layered trouser legs one by one and tied them up.

Then he put on shoes and socks, and finally the robe, and tied a copper-buckled carved belt. He tidied his hair to make it neat, and then put on the square black gauze crown. On the top of the crown was a relatively long ebony carved hairpin, with a ginger crown belt hanging from each end. Wang Can raised his hands to hold it from his ears to his temples, and let it fall on his front shoulders.

He straightened his outer robe a little, then hung his sword on his belt, shook his sleeves, and walked out of the dormitory.

As for washing face, brushing teeth and so on, Wang Can doesn't care.

As for the people around him and his face, no one cares whether he washes his face or not, and no one can tell the difference between washing his face and not washing it.

When he walked out of the independent small courtyard, he saw that most of the school officials and clerks living in various parts of the quadrangle earthen buildings had come out and were queuing up to get their meals.

Liu Yi, one of the teachers, was standing at the end of the line with his plate in his arms. When he saw Wang Can approaching, he immediately went to meet him with a broad smile, "Mr. Zhongxuan, the Grand Marshal entered Shanglin Garden yesterday. Will he come to Chang'an today?"

Wang Can smiled and thought: "Based on my understanding of the Grand Marshal, he should have crossed the river from Maoling and Pingling and headed straight to Ganquan via Chiyang. Perhaps he had already rushed north with a small group of people last night. How can we predict his whereabouts?"

Liu Yi and several people around him suddenly realized what was going on. Their expectant and excited expressions disappeared, and their eagerness to try also dissipated.

Wang Can was not surprised by this. From the very beginning, he concluded that the other party would not come to the university town.

After staying here for such a long time, Wang Can probably understood the function of this place. Isn't it like a prison to him?
What was that Grand Marshal seeing in Chang'an University Town for no reason?
Did he come to pay homage to the remains of the former Han Dynasty, or to see him as a prisoner in jail?
This is a prison.

If he had entered the government or actively participated in government and military affairs from the beginning, how could he be in his current situation?

So when the strong competitor Zhang Song appeared, Wang Can actually felt some sympathy for him.

In another earthen building next to it, Zhang Song was washing outside his bedroom, with two servants serving him.

Zhang Song was only wearing a middle coat, which was a white silk with dark patterns as white as snow. He wiped his hands, then held the clear bronze mirror in his left hand, and used the index finger of his right hand to gently wipe his two moustaches, which were not thick but long and delicate, with fragrant butter.

When you open the lid of this fragrant ghee, the aroma spreads.

When Zhang Song rubbed his index finger open, the fragrance in the courtyard became stronger but not overpowering.

This special ghee is a specialty of Futu Dao, and it is difficult to imitate even today due to the rich products of Shuzhong.

This kind of incense seems to be able to communicate with the gods and can calm the mind when used. Zhang Song really enjoys the feeling brought by this fragrant oil.

In his eyes, the Buddhist sect was just that, but because of this fragrant oil, he was also willing to do business or deal with the Buddhist sect and Buddhist merchants.

When he was eating and preparing to leave, an old official came in and said in a hurry: "Mingsir, scholars and students gathered outside, saying that the Grand Marshal returned to Guanzhong and stayed overnight at Shanglin Garden. He might come to Chang'an today."

"He doesn't look like someone who takes academics seriously."

Zhang Song smiled and took a thumb-sized rice ball, put it in his mouth, took a small bite, raised his eyebrows while chewing, and then dipped it in a layer of maltose syrup before putting it in his mouth to chew the whole thing.

In fact, he was not so extravagant, but he had roughly understood the current way of the world.

Only those who follow the rules of nature are virtuous people.

Only when you follow the way can you be virtuous.

Only people with virtue will have blessings and luck.

Morality is one, and different paths lead to different virtues.

Being under the rule of Guanzhong, Zhang Song knew very well what the true virtue here was.

If excess wealth is accumulated, or if money is used to make money, there will be immediate punishment from heaven.

The axe is used to chop branches and leaves and trim your body, it is really for your own good. Whether it hurts you or not is your business. It is a great blessing that you are not struck to death by lightning.

In this case, apart from leaving some money in the bottom of the box, the sooner the rest is spent, the better.

The money cannot be kept, nor can it be spent for nothing to win people's hearts.

So he buys whatever luxury goods are available in the market.

Unable to control other people, all Zhang Song could do was to follow the thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi and be a person who "knows the masculinity and keeps the femininity".

The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang, Hanzhong and Shuzhong all had their say on how powerful and majestic the other side was.

As someone who had experienced the surrender in Shu, Zhang Song knew very clearly that now was not the time to show off his strength.

Although teeth are strong, they are the first to die before people get old.

Zhang Song did not want to destroy himself meaninglessly, so keeping a low position and remaining useful became the best choice.

Regardless of whether there will be opportunities in the future, being able to observe and listen carefully, and watch the changes in the situation, is also a rare life experience.

As for whether there will be opportunities in the future?
Zhang Song firmly believed that there must be one, because the other party was just cleaning up the dead branches and rotten wood in the courtyard.

In the future, there will definitely be all kinds of lush trees in the courtyard that meet the other party's requirements.

Now we just have to wait patiently for the weather to change.

When the rules of nature change, the corresponding virtues will also change.

Given his age, what's wrong with waiting another twenty years?

(End of this chapter)