A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 666: The Ranger Xu Shu

It is still the fifth year of Zhongping, and Emperor Liu Hong of Han is still in power. The princes are still developing in secret and have not started blatant attacks.

Similarly, most of the strategists and generals in various places are still in the wild. Of course, this wild means that they have not yet recognized their master.

People like Dian Wei are in the wild in various senses. They have not recognized their master, and because they have killed people, they are wandering in the wild and cannot go home.

Some counselors or generals are traveling around the world to gain knowledge and choose a wise leader.

There are also many people who are studying at home, or gathering young and strong people to train in order to protect themselves or defend an area.

In a restaurant in Yangdi, Yingchuan County (Yuzhou, Henan Province in later generations).

Lu Cheng was sitting by the window on the second floor, while Dian Wei, dressed in tight clothes and holding two halberds at his waist, was standing beside him.

"Dian Wei, don't be so reserved, sit down and have a drink with me."

"My lord, how can Dian Wei sit with you?"

"You are just too strict. Li Dian, Dian Wei, you two can find another table nearby and have a drink with them."

"Thank you, Lord."

Lu Cheng picked up a glass of wine, took a sip, and put it aside: "The brewing process is too crude, not as good as our Liaodong sweet potato wine, you guys drink it."

At this moment, an accompanying guard came in from outside, came to Lu Cheng, took out a piece of information and handed it to him: "My lord, this is the information about Guo Jia, Xu Shu, and Xi Zhicai."

Lu Cheng took it and browsed through it, and had a general understanding of the current situation of these three people.

Speaking of which, in this era, those who can afford to go to school are either children of aristocratic families, children of wealthy families, or children of merchants. At the very least, they are from a poor family.

In fact, the so-called poor families are not ordinary people, but the declining aristocratic families.

In this era when papermaking was not popular, the main carrier of book knowledge was still bamboo slips. This also led to extremely high prices for books. Every book could be regarded as a family heirloom, and ordinary people had no access to books at all.

Those so-called scholars from poor families also gained knowledge and insight by relying on the books passed down by their ancestors, reading and gaining knowledge, and then communicating with each other.

One of the main reasons why great scholars like Lu Zhi and Cai Yong were admired by scholars all over the world was that they collected many books at home and were willing to share these books. Occasionally, they would give lectures to teach knowledge or accept a few apprentices.

In other words, knowledge and learning are the real foundation of those aristocratic families.

Among Guo Jia and the other two, Xi Zhicai and Xu Shu were considered to be from poor families. Their families had fallen on hard times, but they still had a legacy of books.

As for Guo Jia, he was a descendant of the Yingchuan Guo family's branch, and was also considered a descendant of an aristocratic family.

Yingchuan Guo family originated from the Eastern Guo State in the Spring and Autumn Period. After the Guo State was destroyed, one of the clansmen drifted to Yingchuan, where they spread out and took root.

After the development during the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties, the Yingchuan Guo family had become a well-known and prominent family in the local area. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was a famous criminal law family. At its peak, there were seven court judges in the family and many wise men emerged.

"Guo Jia, a descendant of the Yingchuan Guo family, had great ambitions since he was young. He was diligent and studious, and he studied behind closed doors for a long time. He liked to make friends with outstanding people and did not associate with ordinary people. When he communicated with others, he often talked about the situation in the world. He was proficient in astronomy and geography, and was familiar with the celebrities in the world..."

"Xi Zhicai, a poor boy from Yingchuan, is well-educated and talented. He often interacts with Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, and is well-known for his talent..."

"Xu Shu is a chivalrous man who loves fighting. He likes to wield spears and sticks the most and doesn't like to read. He often hangs out with knights-errant and punishes ruffians..."

After reading the information of the three people, Lu Cheng stared at Xu Shu's name, feeling a little emotional. The current Xu Shu was not the first-class strategist he would become, but a middle school boy who only thought about fighting and chivalry all day long.

But this young man who didn't like studying was later involved in a lawsuit while seeking revenge for others. He was forced to flee to another place, changed his name, and began to study.

In just five or six years, Xu Shu learned a lot of skills and became a first-class strategist. Later, he was able to compete with many other first-class strategists.

Even people like Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, and Zhuge Liang all started studying at a young age and were diligent and studious, which led to their later achievements.

But Xu Shu had been playing since he was young and only studied for five or six years, but he was able to match others who had studied hard for more than ten or twenty years. His talent is evident.

"My lord, Xi Zhicai, Guo Jia and others usually like to live in the pavilion in the bamboo forest east of the city, reading books and discussing things, exchanging knowledge. Xu Shu often wanders around the nearby villages, but he is very filial to his mother and always returns home every night. At this moment, Xu Shu should be fighting with others."

"Oh? Then go and have a look."

After having a good meal and a drink, Lu Cheng and his followers came to a willow forest in the south of the city, where they saw a group of young people gathered together, practicing martial arts with each other.

As soon as Lu Cheng and his companions approached, the group of young men looked over and asked, "Who are you? Do you want to compete with us?"

Lu Cheng took a look at the group of people, all of whom were energetic teenagers around 17 or 18 years old, and nodded to a guard beside him.

The guard immediately walked out, laughing: "I heard that you have several masters here, who love to defend the weak. It just so happens that we brothers also like to wield spears and sticks, why don't we have a competition?"

"Why not? Let me first learn from your superior skills."

A tall young man stepped forward and challenged Lu Cheng's guard.

The two sides fought for less than one round, and before the young man could react, Lu Cheng's guard had already placed the long sword with its scabbard at his waist on the other's neck.

The man took a step back, somewhat unconvinced: "You sneak attack, I don't accept it."

The guard laughed and said, "Then come again."

The young man rushed out again, and before he got close, he swept the wooden stick in his hand, trying to attack first, but unexpectedly the wooden stick was blocked by the scabbard in the guard's hand, and then the scabbard slashed and pressed against his neck again.

The guards who could follow Lu Cheng were all warriors who had been through many battles and were selected from among hundreds of soldiers. How could these young knights compare to them?

Then, another person stepped forward from the crowd and said, "Li Meng, step back. You are no match for him. Let me do it!"

"Yuanzhi, be careful, this guy is very evil."

The young man who came out was none other than Xu Shu Xu Yuanzhi.

Xu Shu was very cautious. He drew his sword from his waist and bowed to the guard: "My dear warrior, swords have no eyes. Please be careful."

The guard took a look at Xu Shu's sword-holding gestures and the direction of his footsteps, and knew that he was no mediocre fighter. He immediately paid some attention and drew his sword to show respect: "Please!"

"Dang" the weapons in the hands of the two men collided with each other, making a crisp sound of metal clashing. Both sides were surprised by the power transmitted from the weapons in their hands, and then they attacked without hesitation.

"Dang dang dang" "Bang bang bang" In a blink of an eye, the two men had fought for more than twenty moves, and it was difficult to tell the winner.

Xu Shu became anxious as he could not defeat the enemy for a long time. The guards soon caught him in a flaw and took the opportunity to rush into his arms, knocking the weapon out of Xu Shu's hand. They then turned the handle of the knife upside down and pressed it against Xu Shu's neck.

Xu Shu was startled, then his face was filled with disappointment: "I lost."

Lu Cheng's guard took a step back and bowed: "Thank you. You are quite skilled, but you lack some experience in fighting enemies and have never experienced fighting on the battlefield. If you had the same experience as me, it would not be so easy for me to defeat you."

"Defeat means defeat, Xu Shu admits defeat. Your Excellency has such ability, you are not an unknown person, may I ask your name?"

The guard laughed and said, "My name is Li Tie. I am not a big shot. I am just a guard under the command of my governor."

Xu Shu was stunned when he heard this: "You are just a guard? How can a guard have such ability?"

"Yes, the governor has at least a hundred guards like me under his command. There are also many experts in the army."

"No less than a hundred people? Even more?" Xu Shu was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the skill he was so proud of could only be used to compete with one guard.

At this moment, Lu Cheng stepped forward and said with a smile: "Are you Xu Shu Xu Yuanzhi?"

"Yes, I am Xu Shu."

"If you concentrate on learning martial arts, you may be able to become a garrison commander or a military officer in the future. If you give up martial arts and study literature, and study the art of war, you may be able to plan and defeat thousands of troops in the future."

Xu Shu was startled: "Who are you, sir?"

"Liaodong Governor, Lu Cheng. If you want to give up military service and pursue literature, you can come and find me."