Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 322 Learning Dao
Seven or eight days had passed since Wu Yong and his two companions returned to Liangshan County before [Ruyunlong] Gongsun Sheng finally returned to Liangshan County.

When he met Zhao Zhen, Gongsun Sheng said, "My Lord, I went to Song Gongming's place and found that the five people, Lai Yong'er, Huangfu Xiong, Song Qing, Kong Ming, and Li Zhong, the Tiger Fighting General, had secretly gone down the mountain with 20 to 30 of their trusted followers."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen hurriedly called Wu Yong and Zhu Wu.

After greeting, Zhao Zhen asked, "Now that Song Gongming is moved, how should we respond?"

Zhu Wu heard this and asked hurriedly, "There is a fight going on there, how dare so many people come down?"

Gongsun Sheng said: "It is hot now. Yun Tianbiao withdrew his troops back to Maying Town within a few days after the scholar left."

Wu Yong waved his feather fan and said, "Brothers Liu Tang and Shi Xiu are going to Qingzhou with many vehicles and horses to transport iron materials for the second time. Zhou Tong may also get some information. I will make two preparations here and divide them into three groups."

"How do you mean?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"For the first group, ask Shi Qian and Duan Jingzhu to monitor the visible group and report the news from time to time. The second group will ambush at Huangnigang in advance. If the Qingzhou troops cannot succeed, this group will have to take action. The third group will set up a tavern on the way back to the mountain. Just wait for them to pass by, drug them and knock them out, and then take the treasures."

Zhu Wu said: "There are more than 30 people in this group. They must be very careful on the road. How can they be easily deceived? It would be better to rob the birthday gift openly. As long as we select the people we trust and don't let anyone escape, we can enter the fog and sneak back to the county. Who can know?"

Wu Yong said, "After the birthday gift was lost, how could that old villain Cai Jing rest on his laurels? He must order a strict investigation. Once any clues are left, the consequences will be disastrous. It is better for Song Gongming's gang in Qingzhou to take action first. In this way, we can lead them to him. We cannot take all the treasures. There must be a few gold and pearl treasures on the ground in Qingzhou, so that we can clear ourselves of any involvement."

Zhao Zhen said, "Since they want to distance themselves from the matter, it would be best if the people from Qingzhou did it. I am not worried about anything else, but Mr. Yiqing mentioned that Yang Zhi, who is escorting the transport this time, is a very skilled man. I wonder if Lai Yong'er and his people can succeed."

Wu Yong said: "Lai Yong'er is a resourceful man. Since he dares to lead the team down the mountain, he must have made some plans. Now that the birthday gift has not yet been shipped, let Shi Qian and his two brothers monitor Lai Yong'er and his group and see what they are up to."

The plan was finalized, and Wu Yong went to arrange the follow-up matters. Gongsun Sheng stayed in Liangshan County.

Not to mention that Wu Yong arranged for Shi Qian and the other two to go investigate, it is only said that after Gongsun Sheng moved into the Lingguan Temple, Zhao Zhen went to visit him every one or two days, talked about Taoism, and asked for advice.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, a month had passed, and Zhao Zhen had finally learned several Taoist magics. The first magic was called the Art of Calling Wind and Rain, the second magic was called Palm Thunder, and the third magic was called the Art of Cutting Paper into Soldiers.

Of course, the so-called wind-calling and rain-calling spells were actually two spells, one for calling the wind and the other for praying for rain. With Zhao Zhen's current magical power and wearing a crane cloak, the wind-calling spell could only slightly blow the leaves. However, with the blessing of the [Fire Pearl], Zhao Zhen practiced the rain-calling spell and it rained twice in Dongxi Village. After that, Gongsun Sheng no longer allowed Zhao Zhen to perform magic on the altar.

As for the palm thunder, it was Gongsun Sheng who taught it to Zhao Zhen after seeing the Five Thunder Orders, Twelve Thunder Gates Bracelet and other magical instruments in Zhao Zhen's hand. After Zhao Zhen learned it, his own magic power was not as lethal as his fists. He could use the Five Thunder Orders and Twelve Thunder Gates Bracelet to hit people, which could paralyze Zhang Qi, Zhao Ji and others for three seconds, slowing down their movements. However, it was useless against Jiao Ting and others, and could only slow them down for a while.

These two spells were taught by Gongsun Sheng after he saw the magic weapon Zhao Zhen was holding. As for the last spell of cutting paper into weapons, according to Gongsun Sheng, this is the spell that a novice Taoist should practice. Although the above two spells are powerful, it is a pity that Zhao Zhen's magic power is low, so they have no power when used.

This paper-cutting military technique can create paper soldiers who do not need food or water, are not harmed by swords or guns, and can advance, retreat, charge and kill at will. However, due to the limitation of the material, the power of these paper soldiers is also limited.

Zhao Zhen saw the paper figures made by Gongsun Sheng fighting against Zhao Ji, and they were evenly matched. The quality of paper was more important than magic power.

Zhao Zhen followed Gongsun Sheng's instructions and at midnight in a quiet room, he stacked seven-color paper in the order of white, yellow, red, blue, purple, and black, glued them together, and cut them into seven-inch-tall paper figures, forty-nine in total. They were enshrined in the Lingguan Temple. Although their combat effectiveness was worrying, they could delay time when they were alone.

After a month, Zhao Zhen had some understanding of magic. The same magic, when cast by different people, would have vastly different powers.

In addition to these protective spells, Gongsun Sheng also taught Zhao Zhen a set of breathing techniques, which were much better than what Dong Laodao taught him. With this, he could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and improve his magic power. These days, he taught Zhao Zhen the spells of talismans and water for curing diseases, exorcising ghosts, and praying for blessings. Many of them did not require magic power, but chanted spells and relied on divine power to act. Take the wind-calling technique for example. When Zhao Zhen used it, he could only blow the leaves, but when Gongsun Sheng used it, he could set off three-foot waves. After seeing the differences in magic, Zhao Zhen finally gave up the extravagant hope of becoming a master of magic quickly. He resumed his previous routine, but he was more diligent in the morning class every day at the hour of Mao.

Zhao Zhen asked Gongsun Sheng for advice on magic, and Gongsun Sheng did not hide his knowledge, and explained the spells, formulas, and key points one by one. Zhao Zhen was not stingy either, and took out lightning-struck jujube wood and thousand-year-old peach wood for Gongsun Sheng to buy magic tools. Gongsun Sheng cut off a section of lightning-struck jujube wood and made two fifth-level Five Thunder Demon Slaying Seals to assist in the practice of the Five Thunders Orthodox Method. He gave one of them to Zhao Zhen, and when Zhao Zhen's palm lightning fire was ready, he would teach Zhao Zhen the Five Thunders Orthodox Method.

These days, Taoist Dong saw Gongsun Sheng's magic, and despite his age, he shamelessly worshipped Gongsun Sheng as his master and became a registered disciple. He also taught the old Taoist the magic of cutting paper into soldiers.

Taoist Dong only learned this one magic spell, and his magic power was much higher than Zhao Zhen's. He devoted himself to practicing it, and the power of his paper man spell was much higher than Zhao Zhen's. The two of them fought with paper men, and Zhao Zhen's two paper men could not beat Taoist Dong alone.

These days, Taoist Dong actually found a papermaker and planned to make a batch of good paper and refine paper figures. The bamboo scraps left over from weaving cool bamboo mats in the carpenter's workshop were used to make cool bamboo paper, and the paper figures cut out of it were half as powerful.

The one who benefited the most was Xiao Rang. When he saw the paper, he wanted to learn the formula and asked Zhao Zhen to promote papermaker Cai Gang to be the manager. He recruited apprentices and set up a papermaking workshop. He produced a large amount of this bamboo paper and named it "Yuzhu Paper", which actually became a specialty.

Yuzhu Paper (specialty, made from cool bamboo, with wax paste, phellodendron, glue, alum, color, gold and silver accessories. The paper is smooth and absorbs ink. The tip of the brush is sharp. Even if you hold it for a long time, the ink will never fade.)
Use it to write a book, and it will not attract insects.

Taoist Dong still felt that it was not enough, and he collected materials everywhere to make paper. Zhao Zhen did not stop him. He tried hemp paper, parchment paper, and rattan paper, but none of them was as powerful as Yuzhu paper.

When Zhao Zhen saw it, he took out seven or eight sacks of fallen leaves and branches from red-leaf trees and asked Cai Gang to make a batch of paper. The paper was of second-grade quality. With this, Cai Gang, a second-grade papermaker, not only advanced to the third grade in one go, but his rank also rose from an ordinary soldier to a heroic one.

Name: Cai Gang (Liangshan County Paper Mill Manager)
Race: Terran

Reputation: 15 (Papermaking Skills)

Occupation: Papermaker

Sub-career: None

Level: Level 3 Level 1 (Strength 6)

Attributes: Strength 15, Constitution 20, Agility 10, Spirit 15
Skills: Papermaking (Level 3, good at papermaking, Strength +3), Material Selection Level 1 (selecting materials, Spirit +1), Apprenticeship Level 1 (teaching apprentices, Spirit +1)

Martial Arts: None
Equipment: Cool bamboo paper curtain

Monthly salary: 5 dollars

Huanhua Paper (Second level, Huanhua Paper Peach Blossom color, good for writing poems and chanting jade hooks)

Characteristic 1: The poem is written on red leaves, why bother with flower-washing paper? The color is red, but the texture is strong and thick.

Feature 2: Show off wealth.

Taoist Dong cut out paper figures, and after testing them, Zhao Ji was no match for them. Gongsun Sheng and Zhao Zhen saw this and also cut out 49 red paper figures out of Huanhua paper.

(End of this chapter)