fifth form

Chapter 3242 The ruler leads his ministers, and the ministers assist the ruler

It flew into the sky from Shanglin Garden.

Piercing through the dark clouds, they traveled 1,800 li south, then turned back 200 li west, and arrived at Guangling City of Jiangdu Kingdom.

Zhang Xuezhou's first stop was not Guangling, but Gaoyou Shuifu.

With a fold of his jade wings, his body plummeted rapidly from the sky.

Before Zhang Xuezhou could even visit the Gaoyou Water Palace, he saw a man holding a feather fan looking out from afar on the lake mountain above the Gaoyou Water Palace.

"Who was it that came from afar? It turns out to be you!"

As they drew closer, Dong Zhongshu's face came into view, and his voice drifted over from afar.

"Did the Master foresee my arrival?"

Zhang Xuezhou landed steadily, somewhat surprised by Dong Zhongshu's abilities.

Dong Zhongshu's words did not reveal who was coming, but to be able to accurately predict that someone was coming was an extraordinary skill, a skill that was more than enough to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune.

"It was just a sudden whim," Dong Zhongshu said, pointing to the spot. "I originally thought they were here seeking revenge, so I even invited some guests to help with an ambush!"

The waves parted at the foot of the mountain in the center of the lake, and the reflection of the Gaoyou Water Palace appeared on the emerald green water, after which someone stepped out from it.

With one step, the other person appeared on the surface of the water.

"Master Zhenyuan has come too?"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in surprise and looked down at the familiar person who was bowing and greeting him.

If the guest invited is someone like Zhenyuan Shenjun, even if Daojun arrives unharmed, he will inevitably suffer a loss.

"As you suggested, I traveled eastward, searching for Confucian scholars who were well-versed in the skills of all schools of thought. I also met with various Confucian cultivators and finally had a discussion with Dong Zhongshu," Zhenyuan Divine Lord said. "Unfortunately, even today, there are still some things I cannot understand, making it difficult to break with the old and embrace the new!"

“I’m just like you,” Zhang Xuezhou sighed. “I’m still counting on Master Dong!”

"Don't be so modest, I'm counting on you too!"

Dong Zhongshu, standing on the hill in the middle of the lake, looked helpless.

Although Dong Zhongshu was somewhat arrogant, he had never been treated so politely by a cultivator at the True Self Realm. The other party's humility and eagerness to learn were rare, and his ability to comprehend and learn was extremely rare, almost no different from Dong Zhongshu's ability to learn anything when he was young.

As Dong Zhongshu grew older, his once-genius learning ability gradually declined, while Zhenyuan Shenjun, despite his advanced age, still possessed exceptional learning abilities.

This contrast prevented Dong Zhongshu from feeling arrogant.

As for Zhang Xuezhou, let's not talk about him. Dong Zhongshu watched Zhang Xuezhou climb from the bottom to the top. The fact that he reached this point without the support of any school of thought means that Zhang Xuezhou has extraordinary abilities and has his own unique path.

These are two master-level cultivators whose styles differ from those of their respective schools of thought. Dong Zhongshu dared not call himself a master, but instead hoped that they could help each other.

"You wouldn't come here without a reason, so you must be up to no good. Tell me what you need!"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the three of them glared at each other several times before stopping their pleasantries.

Dong Zhongshu pointed at Zhang Xuezhou first, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou could speak first and do the work.

“The matter is not complicated. When the King of Jiangdu entered Chang’an, he discovered that Han Yan was practicing magic. Han Yan has already been executed,” Zhang Xuezhou said briefly.

"Bah!"

Dong Zhongshu's face turned red, and he wanted to swear, but he ended up exhaling instead, which showed that he was extremely dissatisfied with the situation.

“If everyone in the world is to be executed simply for practicing a certain type of magic, that is indeed absurd,” said Zhenyuan Divine Lord. “That would be the behavior of a tyrant!”

“This shouldn’t be taboo,” Dong Zhongshu said. “The higher-ups fear that someone might use magic to seize power, but through my continuous practice, I’ve discovered that as long as the ruler leads his ministers, the ministers will inevitably assist the ruler, thus achieving a powerful relationship between ruler and ministers, rather than a mutually destructive infighting!” “How can one seize power simply by practicing magic?” Zhenyuan Divine Lord laughed. “If becoming an emperor only requires practicing magic, then there would only be one kind of magic left in the world!”

“An emperor without the cooperation of his ministers is helpless and can only fight on his own. The late emperor was very talented but had difficulty using his abilities. His situation proves this point,” Dong Zhongshu said. “Even if there are dangers in ministers practicing magic, it is not as great as the consequences of vassal kings ruling independently. If the court can tolerate vassal kings but not ministers, it will inevitably weaken in the long run!”

"The Shang Dynasty lasted for five hundred years, and the Zhou Dynasty for eight hundred years. Neither of these dynasties perished because anyone practiced magic, but because their people were inept at adapting to change and stubbornly adhered to outdated rules, which became unbearable and ultimately led to rebellions by various warlords!"

Zhenyuan Shenjun spoke slowly, mentioning the past.

The emperors who establish a new dynasty may seem to have great fortune and ascend to the throne, but their fortune is merely a contributing factor. The real reason for their defeat and victory lies in the corruption of the old dynasty.

“A country’s development must adapt to the improvement of social productivity, and it needs to be pragmatic in order to seek development,” Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

What social productivity?

Zhenyuan Shenjun discussed the history of the destruction of ancient kingdoms, while Zhang Xuezhou summarized it based on modern experience. Dong Zhongshu nodded repeatedly, but then suddenly realized that he hadn't understood.

"What I mean is that times are changing rapidly, and countries must make timely adjustments in order to keep moving forward, rather than remaining stagnant and refusing to change," Zhang Xuezhou said.

“Then you have repeated what Master Zhenyuan said,” Dong Zhongshu concluded.

"It's very difficult to be realistic!"

Zhenyuan Shenjun sighed.

Recognizing the changes of the times and then seeking to adapt to them inevitably requires sacrificing the interests of many people, including even emperors themselves.

You can't mess with a tiger's backside, let alone a group headed by an emperor.

Cutting off the interests of a subject only requires an imperial edict, cutting off the interests of a vassal king requires a righteous trial or a war, but when it comes to the emperor's own interests, it requires extremely high level of understanding to make a decision.

In a dynastic system, emperors come and go, and it is extremely difficult to ensure that every emperor is a wise ruler, which inevitably leads to the dynasty's downfall.

It was precisely because it was so difficult to do that Zhenyuan Shenjun felt so moved.

“If the emperors of your Great Han Dynasty are inflexible, Dong Zi can go to the Western Broken Soul Ridge to find me. My place is small, but not just anyone can come up and trample on me,” said Zhenyuan Divine Lord.

"Thank you!"

Dong Zhongshu cupped his hands in greeting, knowing that the great cultivator who had accompanied him for two months held him in high regard, which was why he had made this invitation.

But he was destined not to go to the West. The roots of Confucianism were in the Han Dynasty, and Dong Zhongshu's roots were in Confucianism.

Dong Zhongshu's lifelong wish was to create the Confucian system and then promote and develop Confucianism, thereby unifying the various schools of thought.

No matter how a dynasty develops, it ultimately needs a system of knowledge to maintain order and integrity.

This is a competition that has lasted for hundreds of years in the Southern Continent. Times are changing, and schools of thought are gradually disappearing. There are very few schools of thought that can compete with each other now. Dong Zhongshu does not want to leave at this time.

Dong Zhongshu was also curious about what would ultimately result from the competition among various schools of thought, which resembled a hundred boats racing against each other and insects vying for dominance.

Before that, he needs to remain calm and avoid being discovered, and he also needs to use the benefits brought by the technique to move forward until he breaks free from his own constraints.

His spiritual practice was like a thin sheet of paper, which Dong Zhongshu repeatedly tried to break through but felt was missing something.

He wasn't without the opportunity to enter the realm of true self, but Dong Zhongshu always felt that it wasn't the realm of true self he wanted to pursue.

One thought can lead to mediocrity, another to transcendence.

Dong Zhongshu felt as if he were standing at a crossroads where he had to choose between the simple and the complicated.

The former is easy to navigate, while the latter is difficult to access yet possesses endless allure.