Everyone turned toward the voice. The speaker was an old man with a stern face.
He was none other than Hua Xin, one of the great Confucian scholars participating in today's debate, hailed as the Dragon's Head of Jian'an!
As he spoke, he stared intently at Guo Jia.
Hua Xin's words were razor-sharp. He took aim directly at what Guo Jia had just said, openly accusing and questioning him.
Zheng Xuan frowned slightly. The debate had not yet begun, and Guo Jia had only come over to greet them out of courtesy. Hua Xin's words were truly rather overbearing.
But before he could speak, he saw an extraordinarily ugly scholar step forward from behind Guo Jia and speak.
"Confucian principles have fallen into neglect and cannot be sustained. Minister over the Masses Guo advocates New Learning to make our Great Han strong and prosperous. His heart is devoted entirely to the public good."
"I heard that Mr. Hua was once summoned by the Cao Thief to Xuchang to assist the Pretender Emperor. May I ask what purpose you had in drawing a Han salary while aiding rebels?"
"If Minister over the Masses Guo has forgotten his ancestors while recounting their history, then how should your own conduct be judged, Mr. Hua? Please do not spare your instruction."
The speaker was, of course, Pang Tong.
His assault was nothing short of ferocious. He opened by bombarding Hua Xin directly with barbed sarcasm, leaving him not a shred of dignity.
Hua Xin did have a dark episode in his past: after Sun Ce's death, he had answered a summons from Cao Cao.
Only later, as the struggle between the two emperors grew increasingly bewildering, had he finally chosen to leave Xuchang and retire to the countryside.
But no matter what, he had