Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1008 I am Fan Huai
These words were spoken hesitantly and even tremblingly, but they were like a thunderclap, silencing the group of elite scientists who had been laughing loudly and arrogant just now.

This sudden silence made the students of general subjects feel a little helpless.

"You said you knew Fan Huai?" Among the elite scientists, a man suddenly pushed through the crowd and emerged. It was Li Cang.

His eyes were slightly red, and he looked quite aggressive. He asked, "Is Fan Huai in your general department?"

"Yes... yes." The ordinary science student was a little confused and answered rather dully. Perhaps he felt the aggressiveness of these elite science students towards Fan Huai, so he added: "You, what do you want to do to Fan Huai? This is the Ming Concession, and we are also disciples of King Zhou. His Royal Highness King Zhou will not allow you to do whatever you want..."

The other ordinary scientists also nodded. Although they did not dare to provoke these elite scientists from famous families due to the difference in status, they still subconsciously felt that they had no good intentions in looking for Fan Huai.

When the two sides were in a stalemate, suddenly, a student came running from outside.

The student was so excited that he didn't even notice the large group of elite science students who came with ill intentions. He just stumbled through the crowd and shouted with a red face: "Fan Huai, Fan Huai..."

"Where is Brother Fan Huai? Have you seen Brother Fan Huai?"

"Brother Chen!" Someone in the general science class recognized this as one of their classmates. This student named Chen was usually warm-hearted, so many general science students were on good terms with him. This morning, he volunteered to wait far away in the training ground to copy down the list for his classmates.

Now most of the students in the elite department have seen the list and no longer occupy the area around the list, so this student named Chen only saw the return of the list now.

"Brother Chen, Brother Chen..." Someone stopped him as he was looking for Fan Huai, and said, "I know you are anxious, but don't worry."

"Why are you calling for Brother Fan? You should at least tell me what happened, right?"

"Could it be that Brother Fan is on the list?" someone asked.

"More than on the list, more than on the list!" The student named Chen was so excited that his face turned red. "Top! It's top! Brother Fan got the top spot!"

"Ah?" The ordinary science student who asked him was stunned.

They also vaguely guessed that Fan Huai, who came from the ordinary department, must have good grades, so those people from the elite department suddenly came to cause trouble for him... But they could never have imagined that Fan Huai would actually surpass the elite department and take the top spot!
It was Fan Huai! It was Fan Huai from their ordinary department! Not those elite scholars who were born into noble families and had access to the classics since childhood.

He got the top spot in this school!
After a moment of shock, the students of the general department were so excited that they all blushed and felt proud. A group of people began to search around, trying to find Fan Huai's trace, but they never saw him. Finally, someone said excitedly: "I know where Brother Fan Huai is."

"In the back hill! At this time every day, he must be studying in the back hill! Let's go together to congratulate Brother Fan!"

The teaching grounds covered a large area, and within the built walls, there was indeed a back mountain that had not yet been built. Because there was nothing here, it had always been sparsely populated. Hearing that Fan Huai was actually studying in the back mountain, a group of ordinary science students shouted and left the school in a mighty procession, rushing to the back mountain.

On the other side, the elite scientists who had come just to feel superior stood there in a daze after seeing these peasants walk away on their own.

Li Cang was only thinking about what he had just heard about Fan Huai being in the back mountain. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's follow him!"

As he said this, he walked ahead.

Li Cheng followed his brother first, and then a group of elite science students followed him. Knowing that the top student was actually an ordinary student, they were a little disappointed, but they also wanted to see what Fan Huai looked like.

Annan has a hot and humid climate, so there are many bamboos growing on the hill behind the academy. The two groups of people from the general department and the elite department headed towards the hill. Several students from the general department searched in the bamboo forest while shouting at the top of their lungs, "Brother Fan Huai! Brother Fan Huai! Are you here?"

"I'm here." A graceful scholar wearing a royal blue gown and holding a book emerged from the bamboo forest. It was Huang Huai, who went by the alias Fan Huai.

When selecting officials in the Ming Dynasty, appearance was also a very important factor. Huang Huai could sit in the high position of Prime Minister in history, so his appearance and temperament must be good. At this time, the bamboo shadow, the scholar, the long gown, the sage book, and the title of the top scorer, all these elements added up to create a picture of a talented scholar that impressed everyone.

Only Li Cang's eyes went dark...Fan Huai's appearance was so similar to the effect he had wanted to achieve before.

"Brother Fan, Brother Fan!" The student named Chen ran to Fan Huai with excitement and said, "Why are you still in this forest?"

"Don't you know yet? You got the top spot in this monthly exam! Top spot!"

"Why are you still reading this book? Go find His Majesty the King of Zhou and thank him!"

"His Highness has said before, maybe after this time, you will be accepted by His Highness and rise to prominence from now on!"

A group of ordinary scholars gathered around Huang Huai, congratulating him. Huang Huai was slightly startled at first, and then said, "Thank you, Brother Chen, for telling me. However, His Highness said that I have to rank among the top in several monthly examinations, not that I will be lucky enough to be admitted as a disciple if I rank first once."

"Huai was lucky enough to achieve this result, thanks to the generous teaching of His Highness and the teachers, and the help of all the classmates. I am not sure I can achieve such a good result next time... Besides, Huai has not finished reading this volume. It is not my fault to give up halfway."

"Let Huai finish reading the book in his hand first, and then go back with your classmates."

In just a few words, he expressed his modesty and showed his calm demeanor. Li Cang in the crowd was even more angry, and he couldn't hold it back anymore, so he stepped forward and said, "Fan Huai! I don't think your number one on the list is genuine."

"There might be something fishy going on here!"

His words angered the students in the ordinary department. Because their students had won the first place for the first time, they were very excited. When they heard that the son of the elite scholar family had slandered Huang Huai, they subconsciously became united against the enemy.

"You are slandering me! If there is something fishy going on, show me the evidence! You call yourself the children of a famous family, is this how you are brought up?"

"What's the trick? What's the trick? The list was established by the Academy. Are you questioning the injustice of His Royal Highness Prince Zhou's judgment?"

Most of them were from humble backgrounds, and usually they were submissive to these elite class dandies, giving in whenever possible, fearing that they would get into trouble. However, this time, they were so hot-blooded that they were no longer afraid of these noble children, and angrily rebuked Li Cang to his face.

Li Cang didn't expect that these ordinary students would dare to scold him, but on the one hand, even his father Li Jizhen would never dare to question the faults of His Royal Highness Prince Zhou of the Ming Dynasty; secondly, so many ordinary students glared at him at the same time, and he was really frightened in his heart.

Therefore, he did not dare to say anything to suggest that there was something fishy going on. Instead, he looked directly at Huang Huai and said, "Fan Huai, if you have real talent and knowledge, do you dare to fight me in a literary duel here?"

"If you beat me, I will admit that you are the best in this school. How about that?"

Everyone was stunned again. No one expected that Li Cang would do such a thing. Now the students of the general department stopped scolding him. Someone quietly asked the classmate next to him, "Who is this person? He actually wants to fight Brother Fan on the spot... Are you so unconvinced?"

"…This person seems to be Li Cang, the second-ranked elite. Maybe he is not satisfied with the fact that someone from our ordinary department got the first place, and wants to save face."

"Hey, he's actually ranked second... That's pretty impressive, but unfortunately, he was defeated by our brother Fan Huai..."

The whispering voices made Li Cang's face darker and darker. He forced himself to look up at Huang Huai and said aggressively: "Why, you don't dare?"

"If you don't dare, then just admit on the spot that you are not as good as me and make me the leader of the academy, how about that?"

"...Brother Li was born into a noble family and has been studying since childhood. He is no more than the son of a merchant. He has only been exposed to the teachings of sages for a month, so naturally he is far inferior."

Unexpectedly, Fan Huai did not follow the routine at all, and did not act in the way Li Cang expected. He continued, "Huai won the first place, but it was just a fluke."

"Brother Li, if you want the title of the leader of the academy, I will give it to you."

"Brother Li, please go ahead. I haven't finished reading the book in Huai's hand yet. I want to take advantage of the bamboo forest to read it carefully, so I won't see you off."

He actually wanted to see the guest off.

Li Cang was stunned for a moment, and then for a moment, feeling a little helpless: Huang Huai was so simple, admitting that he was far inferior to me. Then...then can I win the favor of King Zhou?

No, that's not right. There was a sting in Huang Huai's words. Saying "let me" made it sound like I was bullying him and had to admit that he was worse than me.

He said that I had been studying since I was young, while he had only studied for a month. That was not a compliment to me, but an insult to me! He could surpass me after studying for only one month, so what was the knowledge I had gained through years of hard study?
Thinking of this, Li Cang felt a nameless anger rising in his heart. He stepped forward and wanted to grab Huang Huai's sleeve, saying, "No! You must compete with me today!"

"Today, you and I will decide the winner!"

He only thought that he had to defeat Huang Huai in the competition, so that he could be justified in being better than Huang Huai. However, he did not notice that his behavior was quite rude.

The group of students around Huang Huai were already united in their hatred of the enemy, and because Huang Huai had killed the elite department, their morale was boosted. Seeing Li Cang trying to pull Huang Huai, the group of students from the ordinary department finally got completely angry. Someone slapped Li Cang's hand and cursed, "A gentleman should talk, not fight. Brother Fan doesn't want to fight with you. What else do you want? Are you going to change the literary fight to a physical fight?"

"Oh, in this world, who is forced to fight? Who is not allowed to leave if they don't fight? Did you learn all the knowledge of elite science from bandits and pirates?"

"Hey, you peasants, you're probably not going to accept my toast, so you're going to drink the wine for punishment..."

"You bunch of dandies from aristocratic families, you just rely on your good birth! You have spent your whole life studying, but Brother Huang Huai has only studied for a month and he is better than you!"

The ordinary class and the elite class, with Huang Huai and Li Cang as the center, launched a fierce war of words. The ordinary class had long disliked the elite class. Most of them were from local landlords or descendants of merchants in Annan. The Annan nobles monopolized wealth and exploited them wantonly. Their families could only accept it and suffered poverty and bullying for generations. This hatred also broke out at this time because of the list.

As for the elite class… they were already arrogant and thought that the lowly people in the ordinary class were not qualified to study in the same school with them. They only reluctantly "condescended" because of the pressure of the title of Zhou Wang Zhu Su and the separation of the ordinary class and the elite class.

Seeing that the people from the ordinary department dared to challenge them, a few of the playboys could not hold back any longer and were eager to teach these ordinary people a lesson.

The scene suddenly became chaotic. Although the ordinary people did not dare to take action, they were already ruthless in their words. The elite people started to push the ordinary people, but the ordinary people were much stronger than these playboys, so the elite people kept falling down.

The busiest one was Huang Huai, who constantly tried to prevent conflicts between the two sides, and kept repeating things like "Stop fighting".

"The teacher is coming!" Soon, before the situation escalated further, a student on the periphery suddenly screamed.

After a burst of hurried footsteps, the late instructor Huang Guan and several Ming army soldiers in battle robes appeared in front of the two groups of students. Huang Guan's face was as gloomy as water, and he shouted angrily: "What's going on! Are you here to learn literature or to fight?"

"Classmates fighting each other! This is disgraceful! If you want to fight, get out of the school! Get out of Wuqu Port!"

"This is our Ming Dynasty Concession! We will not allow anyone to fight privately! If this happens again, we will follow the laws of our Ming Dynasty and detain everyone in jail!"

Facing these brave Ming soldiers and Huang, a fifth-rank official in the Ming Dynasty, the two groups of Annan students were like eggplants hit by frost, not daring to utter a word. Seeing that the situation had been calmed down, Huang Guancai said, "Tell me, what's going on! Why are you fighting here!"

Although some people were reluctant to speak, Huang Guan asked a few people and quickly found out the reason.

"In this case, this time I will only punish the main culprit! Li Cang! Fan Huai! You two come with me and I will put you in solitary confinement for a day!"

"The rest of you, all disperse! If you do it again, I will show no mercy!"

(End of this chapter)