Chapter 100: Ill Intentions

From April to June of the second year of the Jian'an era, Shen Chen traveled through the villages around Longzhong. Word of his plan to open a school naturally spread.

The "surrender faction" of Jingzhou—or perhaps it is inaccurate to label them as such, since they only surrendered to Cao Cao after Liu Biao’s death in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, or 208 AD—claimed at the time that they were loyal to the imperial court and had no connection to Cao Cao. Therefore, they should be referred to as the so-called "royalist faction" of Jingzhou. Their political stance was diametrically opposed to that of Shen Chen.

Shen Chen had already gained a small reputation in Jingzhou. At the age of nine, he entered the Xianshan Academy. After three years of diligent study, he accompanied Wang Can to visit many of Jingzhou's prominent scholars, such as Song Zhong, Wang Can, and Handan Chun, all of whom praised him, earning him a measure of fame. This in itself was not unusual; young talents in the Jingzhou literati circles were emerging like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Fu Xun, then a guest under Liu Biao and later a minister in the Cao Wei regime, frequently remarked on the many talented youths in Jingzhou.

However, earlier this year, due to political disagreements with his teachers and peers, a debate took place at the Xianshan Academy. Even Song Zhong admitted that Shen Chen’s mastery of the classics had surpassed his own. This made him famous far and wide, but it also left many of his peers in Jingzhou feeling resentful. Regardless of their feelings, his rhetoric deeply offended many of the "royalist" aristocratic families in Jingzhou, leading many young men to declare their intent to challenge him to a debate. Naturally, this was often instigated by their families.

The root cause was that the Emperor was currently propped up solely by Cao Cao. The noble families believed that the Emperor could only unify the realm through Cao Cao. Furthermore, since Cao Cao controlled the government, securing a position in the capital to serve as one of the Three Ducal Ministers or Nine Ministers—thereby revitalizing their lineages—required currying favor with the Cao clan. Shen Chen, however, had not only defeated Cao Cao’s forces and slain several of his top generals, but had also made a mortal enemy of him. Consequently, everyone feared that Cao Cao would vent his anger on the Jingzhou literati, leading to a situation where the court would refuse to recruit them into officialdom, thus jeopardizing their families' power. They were desperate to distance themselves from Shen Chen.

In fact, they went even further. They viewed Liu Biao himself as a traitor and a usurper, and many ignored his summons to serve. Figures such as Wang Jun of Runan, Ying Rong of Chen, Wei Xi of Guanzhong, Li Yan of Jizhou, He Qia of Yuzhou, and Du Xi of Yingchuan all refused his call. During the chaos of Dong Zhuo, refugees and elites from noble families across the land had flocked to Jingzhou—at least eighty to a hundred such men—yet they rejected Liu Biao’s summons, and all would eventually serve the Cao Wei regime.

The reason for this was that late last year, after the Emperor moved the capital to Xuchang, Liu Biao had simultaneously sent tribute to the court while secretly forming an alliance with Yuan Shao. This infuriated many Jingzhou scholars, leading to mass resignations among officials under Liu Biao. Deng Yi, Han Song, and Liu Guan explicitly opposed this collusion and hoped for a submission to Cao Cao. When others like Wang Jun, Ying Rong, and Wei Xi submitted memorials in protest, Liu Biao became enraged. Deng Yi fled his post, Han Song was persecuted, Liu Guan was executed, and countless mid-to-lower-level officials abandoned their offices during this period.

This illustrates the sheer scale of the "royalist" influence and those who demanded that Liu Biao submit to the court and align with Cao Cao. Even Liu Bei, who later fled south to join Liu Biao with the "belt edict," was nearly assassinated in a plot by Cai Mao and Kuai Yue at a banquet. To these people, Shen Chen’s open defiance of Cao Cao was an act of rebellion against the imperial court. Hearing of his plan to establish a school, many noble families sought to humble him to prevent him from "leading the youth astray." After all, if they could not afford to offend Liu Biao, they could certainly afford to offend Shen Chen.

Thus, by the fourth day of the sixth lunar month, hearing that Shen Chen planned to open his school in a place called Sui Pavilion near Longzhong, many scholars arrived under the guise of an outing. Over the past few months, Shen Chen had traversed the surrounding countryside, and the people in the villages west, southwest, and northwest of Xiangyang all knew his name. After the busy harvest season in May passed, the villagers heard that a young gentleman was willing to teach their children for free. During the lull in farm work, many parents sent their children to study.

Although most families did not do so—as children from poor households often became half-laborers by a young age, needing to cut pig feed, forage for wild vegetables, or herd livestock even during the slack season—the sheer scale of the population meant that among the tens of thousands of people in the surrounding townships, a few wealthy farmers or families who understood that "knowledge changes destiny" were willing to grit their teeth and send their children, even if it meant hardship for themselves. By the fourth day of the sixth month, when Shen Chen announced the opening of his school in a courtyard he had purchased in Sui Pavilion, about four miles east of Longzhong, two or three dozen students had already arrived with their parents.

It was mid-summer; the sky was clear and cloudless. Just after the morning meal, Sui Pavilion became very lively. In ancient times, a *ting* (pavilion) functioned like a township administrative center. It was not a large settlement, consisting mainly of a pavilion building staffed by a few officials responsible for local security, surrounded by scattered villages. It was larger than a village but smaller than a modern town.

Sui Pavilion was special; it served as the administrative seat of Longzhong Township. The saying went, "A *ting* every ten miles, a *xiang* (township) every ten *ting*." The township held greater significance; it was where people bought tools, clothing, salt, and oil, or sold their handicrafts, hunted game, livestock, and surplus grain. Thus, Sui Pavilion was larger than a typical village, with rows of shops lining the streets for one or two hundred meters, a market, and even an eatery.

The courtyard Shen Chen purchased was in the west of the pavilion, only three or four miles from the valley where Zhuge Liang lived. The residence was small, occupying about two acres, with a few trees in the front yard. The main hall, rather than being a reception room for a wealthy family, was set up like a classroom—square, spacious, and neatly arranged with over thirty tables and mats. The gates were open, and many villagers gathered from afar, curious to watch.

Beyond them, further out, were others. Outside the livestock market east of the pavilion, many carriages had stopped. From them stepped young men in their late teens or early twenties. Their attire was far superior to that of the villagers, who wore simple hemp trousers or rags. These youths were dressed in fine silk and brocade, with swords hanging at their waists. Those under twenty wore silk headscarves, while those over twenty wore ceremonial caps, some even adorned with jade pendants. Even if not from the top-tier aristocratic families, they were at least from the powerful local clans of the county.

They greeted each other, clearly acquainted. "Brother Zhao, long time no see. How is your father?" "He is well. I haven't seen Brother Fu in a year; I did not expect to see you here." "Indeed, my father sent me to have a look." "Same here."

The group grew to twenty or thirty. Most were from powerful clans in Xiangyang, Deng County, and Fancheng—local gentry, though not the top-tier families of Xiangyang. For instance, there were the Zhao clan of Anzhong, the Fu clan, the Hu clan, the Liao clan of Deng County, the Zhou clan of Fancheng, the Zhang clan of Yicheng, the Xiong clan of Lingling, and the Wen clan of Chaling. The eight great families of Jingzhou had not sent anyone; they sent these lower-tier county families to serve as the vanguard. There were also students of famous scholars, such as the disciples of Ying Rong, who had refused to serve Liu Biao. Most significantly, the Hu clan of Xiangyang was present; their head, Hu Zheng, was an aide to the General who Pacifies the South and a confidant of Cai Mao. Their presence implicitly signaled Cai Mao’s attitude.

Hu Shang, son of Hu Zheng, spoke to his close friend Wen Xia, a disciple of the Runan scholar Wang Jun. Wen Xia asked, "I heard this young man in the Xianshan Academy surpassed even Master Zhong in his knowledge of the classics. My master sent me to investigate. But I heard he... is it true?"

Hu Shang nodded. "The imperial court sent Minister Cao south to campaign against Zhang Xiu, yet this man led villagers to ambush the Minister’s army, killing the generals Cao Ren and Yue Jin. He defies the court and is disliked by all."

"Are you here at the behest of Master Cai?" Wen Xia asked tentatively.

Hu Shang lowered his voice. "Indeed. Master Cai is loyal to the court, but Liu Biao... if we allow this Shen Chen to grow in influence, it will be bad for everyone. We are here to prove that he is merely a man of empty reputation, lacking true talent, to ensure the villagers are not misled."

This was the core of the conflict. The Jingzhou elite, fearing that offending Cao Cao would destroy their dreams of high office in the imperial court, could not tolerate Shen Chen’s defiance. Because they could not use official authority—as Liu Biao, who valued Shen Chen as a potential pillar of his own independence, would protect him—they resorted to intellectual confrontation. They aimed to debate Shen Chen, expose his "lack of talent," and ruin his reputation.

Thus, although many from local gentry families attended the opening of the school, their intentions were far from benign.