Nine Ministers
Fa Zhen was known for being studious and well versed in readings from different schools of thought. His fame as an erudite scholar spread throughout the Shaanxi and Gansu areas. He had hundreds of students who came from various locations to study under him. Among them was Fan Ran (范冉). The "Sanfu Jue Lu Zhu" (三輔決錄注) recorded that when Fa Zhen was still a teenager, he once attended a meeting between his father and his father's subordinates. After the meeting, Fa Xiong asked his son, "(Among them,) Who do you think is a great talent?" Fa Zhen replied, "Hu Guang (胡廣) possesses the calibre of a high minister." He was proven right because Hu Guang rose through the ranks later and held positions among the Nine Ministers and Three Ducal Ministers.