Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 726 Era and Ideas

Miao Kong and the others have lived in a secluded blessed land since birth, where the rules are not much different from those of the previous dynasty.

The strict class system and rules of the previous dynasty were even more rigid than those of the current dynasties.

Now that they have seen a place like the Taiping Domain, Miao Kong and the others find it difficult to understand and adapt, and feel out of place in such a place.

Even Miaokong, a Buddhist, felt as if he were in another world.

Lu Zheng noticed a hint of confusion in Miao Kong's eyes and couldn't help but smile, "Those guests from other places are actually quite similar to you, finding it difficult to adapt here. But take it slow. There are many things here that I can't explain to you clearly in a short time. You can wander around and explore on your own... If you don't understand anything, you can ask other people. The people here are all kind..."

Lu Zheng briefly explained some points to note here.

Just then, a figure swiftly approached from afar and gracefully landed in front of Lu Zheng.

"Hey, you've come over here! I was just about to look for you!"

Qingwan's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lu Zheng, then glanced at the group of people beside him. "Who are they?"

Lu Zheng said, "Guests from the north, please take a look around."

"Oh!"

Qingwan didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she took out an exquisite book and excitedly handed it to Lu Zheng.

The book cover features the words "Thought" in bold, blood-red lettering.

"I received quite a few manuscripts the day before yesterday, and then I selected some, arranged them according to their content, and compiled this journal. What do you think of it?"

Lu Zheng reached out and took the journal, then curiously flipped through it.

Qing Wanle, with her hands behind her back, explained, "These articles are unsigned because we were worried about the impact they might have if they were published. However, they are all on record and will be made public when the time is right."

"The first article was written by a student named Cheng Li from the Jixia Academy. I think it's quite well written and would be suitable for the beginning..."

"Oh, and that last article, I wrote it. But I felt the language was a bit sharp, so I put it at the end..."

Lu Zheng flipped through the pages very quickly, and soon reached the last page.

He discovered that Qingwan's article was titled "Class," and its content was not only somewhat sharp, but extremely sharp, and it could be said that it severely criticized certain classes.

Seeing that Lu Zheng had finished reading the journal, Qing Wan asked with a smile, "How was it? No problems, right?"

Lu Zheng nodded slightly and said, "The articles are all very good. The wording and sentence structure are simple and easy to understand, and the ideas are profound. Let's publish them as they are!"

Qingwan said, "Okay! I'll get the bookstore to start work right away. The main roads leading to the Wei border are almost finished. These periodicals will be printed and delivered to Wei for sale in just a few days. It'll be very fast!"

"However, the journey to other dynasties is quite long. I estimate that even if the caravans are quick, it will still take more than a month. Sending some people to deliver it seems like a waste of manpower. I've come up with a solution, but I don't know if it will work."

Seeing Qingwan's mysterious expression, Lu Zheng smiled and asked, "What method?"

Qingwan transmitted her voice, saying, "Wei also has a Confucian temple. I was wondering if you could borrow it and have it distribute this journal to other major powers..."

"Aren't you familiar with the sage Meng Sheng? Going to the Confucian Temple should allow you to communicate with those ancient sages and worthies, and get them to offer some incense and prayers..."

"Furthermore, if we do that, those dynastic powers won't be able to directly ban the articles and books transmitted from the Confucian Temple, will they?"

"We can't ban them once, we can't ban them two, three, or four times, we still have many more episodes to come..."

Qingwan felt that these articles were not of the same caliber as modern poetry and would be banned by various dynasties.

Moreover, the new poems were not completely banned after they were published; some people still circulated them privately.

Upon hearing Qingwan's suggestion, Lu Zheng couldn't help but smile. This girl really knew how to get things done.

Lu Zheng pondered for a moment, then said, "I'm going to Wei in a few days, I'll give it a try then..."

Qingwan said excitedly, "Okay, it's settled then. I'll go get busy now."

Qingwan flew away again, heading towards the bookstore.

……

That night, Miaokong, who had been settled into her accommodation, had no heart to rest, her mind filled with everything that had just happened that day.

All sorts of novel things filled his mind, making him unable to calm down for a long time. He felt that even his Buddhist heart was not very stable, and he had a lot of doubts and a bit of hesitation in his heart.

Miao Kong chanted Buddhist scriptures but could not find peace, so she went out to visit Lu Zheng.

At this time, Lu was engrossed in his studies at his usual residence in Qingcheng, and was not at all surprised to learn of Miaokong's visit.

Miao Kong bowed and said, "This humble monk has come to visit so late at night, I am truly sorry to have disturbed you..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Cultivators like us don't distinguish between day and night. Please come in!"

Lu Zheng led Miao Kong inside and poured her a cup of hot tea.

Miao Kong thanked him and, holding the hot tea, said softly, "What I have seen and heard today is something I have never understood even in the classics. I have many questions in my heart and would like to ask Benefactor Lu to enlighten me."

“This humble monk has a general understanding of the situation in this region and also understands what you have done. No wonder you have received the Buddha’s mark.”

"This humble monk is somewhat curious. Since you do not primarily practice Buddhism, and do not seem to be a Confucian disciple, how did you manage to cultivate to such a level?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and replied, "Gathering the strengths of all schools, putting words into action, and doing one's best... If I were to say which school of cultivation I favor, I would say it is Legalism."

Legalism?

Miao Kong looked slightly surprised upon hearing this.

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "It may be different from the Legalism you know; mine is the law of democracy."

"As the ancients said, the world belongs to all people; this world should belong to all people, not just one person or one family..."

"So you won't see any kings, officials, or noble families here. Even Confucian scholars, Taoist priests, and monks who practice spiritual cultivation must abide by the rules that everyone should abide by. No one has special privileges, and I am no exception."

Lu Zheng calmly explained some of the basic concepts of the Taiping Domain.

Lu Zheng then said, "I see that you are practicing the orthodox Buddhist teachings, but you may still be lacking in some depth. In a couple of days, I will take you to the Wei Kingdom, where there are orthodox Buddhist schools. You can go and learn from them."

"Oh, by the way, here you can practice Buddhism, but you are forbidden from privately transmitting the Dharma to others. You can't break the rules."

"Besides, now that you're out here, your previous identity doesn't really matter anymore. You'll have more choices about who you want to be outside..."

Miao Kong nodded blankly.

After a moment of silence, Miaokong spoke softly, "My secular name is Zhao Kong, and I am a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. I don't know what kind of person I will become in the future, but I would like to make friends with Benefactor Lu, if Benefactor Lu doesn't mind my identity..."

Lu Zheng smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "Okay."

Seeing Lu Zheng's attitude, Miao Kong suddenly felt much more at ease and let go of many things.

He couldn't help but put his hands together in a gesture of respect, saying, "I won't bother Brother Lu any longer, farewell."

With that, Miaokong left with light steps. Lu Zheng watched Miaokong disappear, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, and murmured, "There are so many people in this world with backgrounds and connections. It's not easy to get them to lower their status."

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and Miaokong and the others had become familiar with the situation in the Taiping Domain.

Some of them simply couldn't adapt to life here.

After all, they felt that they were born with status, and even in a blessed land, they didn't have to bend over to do any strenuous work.

In the Taiping Domain, however, status and strength are not important.

The more capable a person is, the more they actually do.

Asking them to create value for the collective with their own hands is pointless; they might as well stay in their paradise and enjoy their blessings!

If even these relatively young representatives think this way, then it's likely that some of the people in that blessed land are no different.

Lu Zheng observed the reactions of some people but did not say anything.

After all, some people with ideals had come here before, but left because they could not accept the ideas here.

On the contrary, perhaps because of Lu Zheng's special status, the monks did not seem to mind living here.

Even though Buddhism is still prohibited here, they did not raise any objections.

Although there was no Buddhist temple here, they still saw a stone statue of Buddha standing in the square, and people were commemorating it.

At least on this point, they felt that it was as Lu Zheng said: Lu Zheng was destined for Buddhism, but not necessarily for the Buddhist community.

Lu Zheng summoned Miao Kong and her group and said, "I'm planning to go to the Wei Kingdom. If you'd like to come along and see for yourselves, you can come with me."

Someone asked, "We don't have identities from that side, won't that arouse any suspicion?"

Lu Zhengdao said, "Just follow me. The Wei Kingdom won't investigate that thoroughly."

After discussing it, the group decided to leave a few people here while the others went to the State of Wei to take a look.

After that, Lu Zheng led everyone directly south.

Lu Zheng led his men to fly along the main road, taking the opportunity to check the road conditions.

Along the way, Lu Zheng also saw a commercial city under construction.

Continuing south, they arrived at a border town of the State of Wei.

The Wei court had already informed the soldiers in the border cities.

These border soldiers had never met Lu Zhengzhen, but they remembered his portrait.

Seeing that Lu Zheng and his men were registering at the border, they were not questioned and were allowed to pass directly.

Miao Kong and the others now had a general understanding of the situation in the world, and they thought that Lu Zheng was really capable, as he could maintain such a friendly relationship with the Wei Kingdom's border troops.

Upon arriving in the territory of Wei, the group saw Wei's towns and people, and felt as if they had entered another world.

Compared to the prosperity of Taiping Domain, this place is like being on the ground and in the sky.

The difference was so great that Miaokong and the others were unable to adjust.

They thought that even if the people of the dynasty didn't live as well as the people in the Taiping Domain, they could still manage to get by, but it seems that's not the case.

Everywhere in the city, one could see poor people dressed in thin clothes, struggling to make a living, and even beggars with barely any clothes to cover their bodies, begging along the streets.

There were dirty and chaotic streets, and dilapidated houses...

It seemed that the scene before their eyes was the real human world.

Miaokong lowered her eyes and couldn't help but softly chant a Buddhist mantra.

Lu Zheng said softly from the side, "The heavy snow before the New Year caused disaster here as well. I had a lot of supplies sent here. Otherwise, many people in this city wouldn't be alive today..."

"I'm not praising any achievements I've made, I just want to tell you that there are countless people in this world suffering, and I hope that more people can do something for them, instead of exploiting them even more..."

"The previous dynasty perished precisely because it lost the hearts of the people."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed slightly, as if Lu Zheng's words had pierced their hearts like a needle.

Lu Zheng continued leading the group south, but they found no trace of the prosperity and vitality of the Taiping Domain.

In Miao Kong and the others' view, after this comparison, it seemed that the Wei Kingdom was probably not far from its demise.

However, the real world is like this, and the State of Wei has not yet reached the point of destruction; the people of the country still have many days of suffering ahead.

After flying over numerous mountains and rivers, a huge city appeared in everyone's sight.

Lu Zheng said, "That is Pingcheng, the old capital of Wei. I have some business to attend to there later. There is a Buddhist temple in the city. I can have someone take you there to see it and learn about Mahayana Buddhism."

Soon, everyone successfully entered the city.

Lu Zheng led his men directly to the Prince's residence for a visit.

Upon learning that it was the Wei Kingdom's palace, some of the people who had come with Lu Zheng were quite surprised. If they hadn't still trusted Lu Zheng, they would have almost felt like they were being taken to turn themselves in.

A commotion suddenly erupted inside the Prince's residence.

A short while later, Yuan Zhong, dressed simply, greeted them with a smile.

"Oh my, young friend Lu has arrived! Please come in!"

Yuan Zhong warmly stepped forward and pulled Lu Zheng into the mansion. The two had a good relationship and there were no formalities or affectations.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I came to Pingcheng on business and took the opportunity to visit Your Highness. I thought Your Highness wasn't in Pingcheng."

Yuan Zhong smiled and said, "I've been back for a while now. How can Pingcheng function without me! There are too many stubborn old men here; I can't keep them in check without me..."

The imperial court wanted to implement reforms and also to regulate Buddhism, and Pingcheng was a top priority.

Yuan Zhong was entrusted with an important task and given greater power, in order to counterbalance the powerful figures and Buddhist forces in Pingcheng.

"Look how thin I've become, but thanks to the blessings of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, I feel much better than before..."

Yuan Zhong, beaming with joy, led Lu Zheng and the others to a spacious garden to rest.

As for the people following behind Lu Zheng, he didn't pay much attention to their origins.

Yuan Zhong then asked, "I know you're very busy. What brings you to Pingcheng this time? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Lu Zheng asked frankly, "I've heard there's a Confucian and Taoist temple in Pingcheng. May I borrow it for a while?" (End of Chapter)