Chapter 233: Schemes of the Academy

“Little Luo, I’ve got something to take care of. I’ll call you back soon!”

“Just look at that.”

Xu Hao explained something to Luo Peng before hanging up. At that moment, Li Jue gestured for him, clearly signaling that something was amiss.

“Dean!”

“Xiao Xu.”

Before long, Li Jue appeared right in front of Xu Hao.

“Just got back? I was about to come to your place!”

“Not really—I just had a call.”

“Oh, then I’ll be brief. Get some rest; you’ve been swamped lately.”

“Dean, it’s really nothing!”

Xu Hao waved him off.

The restoration of the West Sixth Palace in 49 Imperial City had nearly wrapped up these past few days. Although supervision was necessary, it wasn’t as chaotic as expected.

“Xiao Xu, here’s the deal. At our last meeting, many researchers signed up to teach at Mingsha Academy. After a thorough discussion, we decided to appoint Secondary Researcher Meng Yuan as the head of the Ancient Architecture Department—essentially the director of the secondary Ancient Architecture Institute under Mingsha Academy.”

Li Jue continued.

“Teacher Meng Yuan?”

Xu Hao was slightly taken aback.

Coincidentally, Meng Yuan was also a member of the Imperial City repair team. After nearly two months of working together, the two had grown quite familiar.

Moreover, Meng Yuan is gentle and reliable, with a profound understanding of Long Kingdom’s ancient architecture—a real asset!

“Yes, though he hasn’t been notified yet!”

Li Jue nodded.

“Since you’ll be starting the construction of Mingsha Academy as soon as you return to Mingsha City, handling it alone might be too much. That’s why we’re sending Meng Yuan along with several selected teachers to assist you.”

“Send them along? That’ll work, right?”

At these words, Xu Hao’s face brightened.

After all, over in Mingsha City, even though Li Shaoqing is there, several projects are launching simultaneously. More hands make light work.

“Of course. They were all clearly briefed during the meeting—everyone who submitted an application must follow the institute’s arrangements. Besides, building Mingsha Academy is an institutional project; it can’t just be your burden!”

Li Jue stated firmly.

“Alright!”

Xu Hao offered no further objections.

While some courteous formalities might be exchanged with unfamiliar faces, there’s no need for that with our colleagues from the Ancient Architecture Institute.

“I’ll notify each of them tomorrow. By the way, when do you plan to return to Mingsha?”

“The morning flight on the 25th!”

“Great. Send your flight details to my phone so the institute can book tickets to accompany you.”

“Got it.”

“Also, Xiao Xu, one more thing about the teacher assignments at Mingsha Academy: the Ancient Architecture Institute side is settled, but the Traditional Culture Institute and Environmental Studies Institute will need extra attention. We can do open recruitment or even headhunt—there’s plenty of staffing room at the moment.”

After a brief pause, Li Jue added.

Originally, Cao Jun was supposed to handle this, but with the institute juggling so many matters, it’s all been entrusted to you, Xu Hao.

“Understood, Dean!”

After wrapping up the main business and discussing assorted small talk for over ten minutes, Xu Hao returned to his room and dialed Luo Peng’s number again.

“Brother Hao!”

“Little Luo, listen carefully. Mingsha Academy’s concept will draw inspiration from some of Long Kingdom’s top historical academies—primarily the model of Jixia Academy!”

Xu Hao outlined the construction concept for Mingsha Academy.

In its prime, Jixia Academy once hosted nearly a thousand scholars from nearly every school of thought—Daoism, Confucianism, Legalism, and more.

Notables such as Mencius, Zou Zi, Tian Pian, Shen Zi, Jie Zi, Juan Zi, Peng Meng, Yin Wenzi, Lu Lianzi, Zou Zi, and Xun Zi all emerged from Jixia Academy.

It’s said that Jixia Academy is the most culturally rich and deeply rooted academy in the Long Kingdom—second to none!

“Jixia Academy?”

Luo Peng was momentarily stunned.

He had earlier discussed with Zhu Qiang and assumed Xu Hao would go for a model like Yue Lu or Bailudong Academy. He hadn’t expected Xu Hao to aim as high as recreating Jixia Academy!

After all, to the public, Jixia Academy isn’t just another institution—it’s steeped in myth and legend.

Needless to say,

mentioning Jixia Academy instantly brings to mind an era of vibrant intellectual debate and, moments later, the legendary pre-Qin cultivators!

More importantly,

many of Jixia Academy’s legendary figures are still enshrined in temples or have been woven into Long Kingdom’s mythology. Announcing this would surely inspire a pilgrimage-like zeal among the people.

Failing to meet these high expectations could easily turn a blessing into a curse.

“Brother Hao, are we really basing everything on Jixia Academy?”

Luo Peng sought confirmation once more.

“Yes!”

Xu Hao confirmed.

Another major reason for choosing Jixia Academy was that H Country had already applied for intangible cultural heritage status for the Confucian Academy!

Thus, Mingsha City must build an earlier academy to showcase the true forerunners of academic culture to the world. H Country’s proud intangible heritage is merely one branch of Jixia Academy’s wide-reaching legacy.

Other renowned academies in the Long Kingdom, like Yue Lu Academy, were considered but ultimately passed over.

Compared to Jixia Academy, these institutions just lack the necessary historical depth.

“But Brother Hao, an expert recently announced that archaeologists in a city of Lu Province uncovered the ruins of Jixia Academy. By the remains, it seems to have been only about 200 meters long and just over 100 meters wide—especially when compared to the area we’ve set aside.”

Luo Peng paused, worry evident in his tone.

This time, Mingsha Academy has been allocated 4.5 square kilometers—nearly 7,300 acres. If we modeled it on the current ruins, there wouldn’t be a crevice to spare.

Furthermore, there appears to be only one surviving map of Jixia Academy, and it’s unclear whether it’s a modern recreation or a textbook illustration—hardly a reliable reference.

“Don’t worry about that! Historical records speak of thousands of scholars studying there, not to mention positions like the Grand Sacrificer. It can’t possibly have been that small! Besides, we have plenty of historical texts to supplement our research.

Also, Mingsha Academy is, after all, a university. It will be divided into academic, ancillary, and residential zones—meaning not every planned area needs to mimic the academy’s original layout.”

Hearing Luo Peng’s concerns, Xu Hao immediately reassured him.

During his time in Yan City, he frequently visited the Long Kingdom Library to pore over relevant texts. Now, he had a rough vision of what Jixia Academy should look like.

The only challenge was that Jixia Academy is revered as a sacred academic site in the Long Kingdom. Without that ethereal charm, the design simply wouldn’t suffice.

“Oh, Brother Hao, then…”

“Alright. I’ll send you the main beam specifications and requirements shortly. Tomorrow, have the master carpenter start preparations. Also, the main beams and columns for Taiyi Hospital need to be prepped simultaneously.”

“No problem, Brother Hao!”

The next day, as the sun rose, Mingsha City buzzed with activity. The A Chinese Odyssey district remained a top tourist attraction.

At that moment, over at Haofang Agency, Xu Xin looked at Fang Hou in astonishment.

“You want Haofang Agency to handle casting for this ancient costume comedy?”

Ever since Mingsha City built several new office buildings, Haofang Agency had its own dedicated office. Moreover, all of their signed artists now had personal managers and even exclusive apartments in the staff dorms.

“Yes!”

Fang Hou nodded in agreement.

“And what about you? With A Chinese Odyssey trending so high these days, I was planning to really push Zhou Xing and our deputy—especially Zhou Xing. He could easily become a box office guarantee!”

Xu Xin continued,

“Previously, Haofang Agency helped Haofang Culture with casting because you were overwhelmed in Yan City. But now that Haofang Culture is booming—even Zheng Dan can handle some of the workload—there’s no need to rely on Haofang Agency anymore.”

“General Xu, I understand. But isn’t this a sign of us being overworked?”

Fang Hou let out a slight sigh.

“How could we be? As far as I know, you don’t have any other film projects. With just one ancient costume comedy, how can you be swamped?”

Xu Xin raised an eyebrow. “General Xu, we are truly overloaded. We’re building multiple identical sets. Besides, many second- and third-tier celebrities will be auditioning—and that’s more than just relying on your presence. I’m really struggling here.”

Fang Hou chuckled dryly, tossing in a compliment.

“Identical sets? For an ancient costume comedy? Who do you think you’re fooling? Besides, with help from Mingsha Labor, setting up the scenery will be a breeze.”

Xu Xin narrowed her eyes.

Thanks to Fang Hou’s close ties with Xu Hao—casually known as ‘Second Sister’ outside work—nothing was left unsaid.

“General Xu, it’s true. Although it’s an ancient costume comedy, the plan isn’t to turn it into just another tourist check-in spot, but to serve a practical function as well.”

Fang Hou hurriedly explained,

“What kind of function?”

“General Xu, Haofang Culture’s production ‘Longmen Escort Agency’—as per Haozi’s plan—is designed so that, as an escort agency, it will eventually handle express deliveries for Mingsha City.

Consequently, a building must be constructed at the City Gate; one at the Protectorate of West Liang; one at the intersection of Longmen Inn and Vermilion Bird Building; one at Qixia Town; one at Wudi City; one at Langya Pavilion; and one at Nanzhao Ancient Capital. With Mingsha Tourism busy with major projects, the task falls solely on Haofang Culture.

Fang Hou glanced at Xu Xin.

Even though building seven identical Longmen Escort Agencies is a tall order for Haofang Culture, once completed it will ease the delivery headaches considerably.

At present, both Mingsha Tourism and Haofang Culture’s employees often complain about online deliveries.

Packages can only be delivered to the City Gate, and picking them up outside is a real hassle.

But with Longmen Escort Agency, packages will funnel to a central hub at the City Gate, then distributed via escort carts to branch offices—making the process efficient and stress-free for everyone.