Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 189 Confucianism and Taoism
Lu Zheng didn't make things too difficult for some students. He took out the remaining copper coins and asked, "Who else forgot to collect their money? Come and get it now!"

Seeing this, several students finally shamelessly took away their share of the wages.

Even though they were scholars, they still felt hungry after consuming so much energy throughout the day. If they didn't eat something, they would probably faint from hunger.

Afterwards, everyone followed Lu Zheng's example and ordered the cheapest food.

After all, they only had five cents, so even if they wanted to eat something good, they couldn't order other dishes.

Lu Zheng went to find the shopkeeper again and gave him some instructions, asking him to serve the same pancakes and soup as previous customers.

Originally, the shopkeeper wanted to make the cakes and soup better so as not to treat these scholars unfairly.

As a result, when the shopkeeper heard Lu Zheng's request, although he still didn't understand the situation, he could see that these people came to reminisce about the past and think about the good times, so it would be inappropriate to add anything without permission.

After a while, pancakes and vegetable soup were served.

The palm-sized yellow flour pancake is rough, dry and hard.

The soup only contained a few vegetable leaves and no oil or meat.

Most of the students here come from good families and have never eaten such rough food.

I'm afraid if I take it back to feed my own dog, the dog probably won't eat it.

Even if some people are extremely hungry, they will feel like they have little appetite after seeing this.

Li Zhao came to Lu Zheng with a flatbread in his hand, smiling, "Sir, please have some flatbread!"

Lu Zheng gave all his cakes to Xiao Shan and Xiao Qingqing, so he gave one of his cakes to Lu Zheng.

"Okay." Lu Zheng took the pancake.

Seeing that some students were eager to eat the bread, he said, "You have worked hard today. You don't need to give me any more. Eat more for yourselves."

Students: …

Lu Zheng broke the rough bread into small pieces, put them in his mouth and chewed them slowly, then took a sip of the slightly salty vegetable soup, and he didn't find it that bad.

Xiao Shan and Xiao Qingqing next to them also behaved elegantly, eating a simple meal without showing any embarrassment.

Seeing that the dean was eating the cake, the students could only lower their heads and swallow the cake silently, without saying a word.

After a while, Lu Zheng finished eating the noodles first and drank up the soup.

He slowly said, "Every meal and every bowl of soup is hard-earned. Since you have ordered food, please do not leave any leftovers. I cannot bear to see anyone wasting food."

Everyone was silent, eating their food slowly and with difficulty.

Li Zhao also finished his meal quickly, then stared at the others, "Don't worry, sir. If anyone dares to waste food, I'll stuff it back into their stomach!"

It was a rare opportunity to punish someone, and Li Zhao certainly didn't want to miss it.

Some students had poor appetites, but they still swallowed their food with difficulty, not giving Li Zhao such a chance.

Lu Zheng nodded with satisfaction, "Let's end today's class here. You can go back to the academy."

Many students were as if they had been pardoned. They bowed and said goodbye, fleeing.

After the students had left, Lu Zheng turned to look at Xiao Shan and whispered, "The disciple that the dean wants to choose should be chosen, right?"

Xiao Shan nodded slightly. After observing for such a long time, he did have a rough idea in his mind.

Even though some students behaved more restrainedly because of his presence, their behavior sometimes revealed their character.

However, accepting disciples is a two-way choice. Whether others are willing or not is another matter.

Xiao Shan couldn't help but ask, "Are you still going to substitute class tomorrow? I think you teach very well. With you here, they can change a lot."

Lu Zheng shook his head slightly and said, "That's not necessary. If anyone truly wants to learn from me, they will come to me. If they don't have that intention, and I continue to teach them in various ways, they will think I'm retaliating and torturing them. Without me, their true nature will continue to be exposed, which will be of no use."

Xiao Shan agreed and said, "Most of these people are from wealthy families. How could they understand your good intentions? You've worked really hard today."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "How can you say that? These students are very obedient. No one dares to stand up against me. Many of my methods have not been used."

Xiao Shan laughed heartily, "How dare they go against you? They would only be asking for trouble."

After chatting for a while, the three of them returned to Beishan Academy.

Lu Zheng went to Xiaoshan's study again, looking for books he had not read to increase his knowledge.

Xiaoshan also came to the bookshelf and picked out books.

He suddenly looked at Lu Zheng and asked, "Unknowingly, my friend is about to reach the fourth level of Confucianism. To become a Jinshi, one needs to concentrate on the literary mind. I wonder what kind of literary mind you want to concentrate on?"

Literary mind is a very complex thing, which mainly reflects the original intention and ambition of a writer.

The condensed literary spirit will bring certain benefits to the literati.

"Wenxin?" Lu Zheng thought for a moment, "I haven't thought about it yet. I wonder who the dean is, He Wenxin?"

He has been busy with various things recently and has no time to pay attention to this matter.

Xiao Shan said slowly, "When I was young, I often read the Analects. Later, I passed the imperial examination and, thanks to the Confucian Temple, I cultivated a heart of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. However, after experiencing the ups and downs of officialdom, I've lost my former sincerity. Now that I've turned to teaching and educating people, my ambitions have changed, and my literary aspirations have also shifted a bit."

Lu Zheng was slightly surprised and asked, "The literary mind can also change?" Xiao Shan smiled and said, "Of course, there are not many people in this world who can stick to their original intentions. My friend, you cultivate the great and righteous spirit, which seems different from us scholars."

"Is that so?" Lu Zhengdao said.

Xiao Shan said, "However, my friend, you still need to be cautious when concentrating your literary mind. If you cannot stick to your original intention, it will greatly affect your future practice."

"It's like I have a heart of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, but I have nowhere to display it. My literary mind has been obscured, and my ambitions have shifted. It's very difficult for me to make significant progress."

Lu Zheng pondered, "What the dean is doing now, teaching and educating people, and providing talents for the country, isn't that also considered patriotism?"

Xiao Shan smiled and said, "It's still different. I don't think so myself. I can't get over it in my heart..."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but sigh: "People's hearts are complicated."

Xiao Shan said, "Yes, some scholars say one thing in public and another in private. It's hard to see their true intentions."

Lu Zheng blinked, a little curious about what Xiao Shan had experienced in the officialdom.

Xiao Shan added, "Recently, after seeing the policies that my friend has proposed, I've started to think about doing something more for the country and the people."

"I know some friends in the officialdom, and I might be able to get them to implement some policies... Speaking of which, you also know the eldest princess. What do you think?"

Lu Zhengdao: "We are just ordinary friends, it doesn't matter."

Anyway, An Jing treated him as a friend in the letter, so Lu Zheng naturally would not treat An Jing as a princess.

Xiao Shan had a strange expression. Who could consider Princess Anguo as a friend? Was this considered unrelated?
However, judging from Lu Zheng's attitude, it seems that he really doesn't take this relationship seriously.

Xiao Shan asked, "Have you ever thought of showing those policies to the Princess?"

"Let's do the things at hand first," Lu Zheng said. "We can talk about it later after County Magistrate Li has made some achievements."

Lu Zheng didn't know much about the current situation of Anjing and Anguo, so if he directly offered them some policies that would benefit the people, they might not care.

But if any substantial achievements are made, it will definitely attract the attention of those in power.

It won’t be too late to implement those policies then.

Xiao Shan nodded and said, "That's right, I was the one who was anxious."

"That shows that the dean still has a heart for the country and the people." Lu Zheng said with a smile, "Does the dean still want to serve in the court?"

Xiao Shan's expression changed, and it would be a lie to say that he didn't miss her.

If he could accomplish something in the court and leave his name in history, why would he stay in a remote small county and be the dean of an academy?
Xiao Shan said, "As you said, if I don't know the suffering of the people, how can I be a good official? I'm ready to go out and travel. If I can become an official again, I will have to wait until after I travel."

It was because Xiao Shan saw what Lu Zheng did that he decided to give it another try.

"That's great." Lu Zheng agreed.

If there were more people like Xiaoshan in the court, the people of the world would live in much greater peace.

Lu Zheng held a book and asked, "We scholars have a Wen Palace, and the Wen Palace can also be improved. I don't know how to improve the Wen Palace. What should I do?"

Xiao Shan was surprised and asked, "Did the Saint's will not guide you?"

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "No. I read in these books that it is possible to build a Wen Palace using Wen Qi, but there is no detailed explanation..."

Lu Zheng only recently had time to learn about the methods of improving the Wen Palace, but these books did not explain them in great detail.

He tried it once or twice, but found that his Wen Palace didn't respond much.

Xiao Shan said with a smile, "It's actually not that difficult. As long as you have enough literary energy, you can change the Wen Palace. Are you interested in visiting my Wen Palace?"

"This, isn't too bad?" Lu Zheng couldn't help but say.

Xiao Shan said, "There's nothing wrong with it. My Wen Palace is nothing special. Friends have visited it before."

"Let's take a look?" Lu Zheng asked curiously.

Xiao Shan waved his hand, and a portal formed by literary energy appeared.

Xiao Shan invited, "Please come in, young friend."

"This, go in directly?" Lu Zheng was slightly surprised.

Xiao Shan said with a smile, "I am a Confucian scholar of the fourth level. The Wen Palace can now receive living people. You can enter through this door."

Lu Zheng walked in with curiosity.

There was a flash of white light, and when Lu Zheng blinked, he found himself in a small courtyard.

The entire courtyard is not big, about 100 square meters. Half of it is a house, and the other half of the yard is open space with tea tables and chairs, as well as flowers, plants and trees. It looks no different from the courtyards outside.

Lu Zheng sniffed and smelled a floral scent, a real fragrance.

"Real flowers?" Lu Zheng asked curiously.

Xiao Shan, who was standing next to him, said, "Some are real, some are fake. Some of the spiritual flowers I brought in from outside, and some of the flowers and plants I painted, or were condensed from my literary energy..."

“When I first entered the realm of scholars, the Wen Palace was just a simple wooden house, only ten feet wide. It took so many years to transform it into what it is now.”

(End of this chapter)