Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 240: Mr.
An Jing and Lu Zheng ate and chatted, "I thought you were still studying in Kaiyang County, but I didn't expect you to come to Hongzhou City and do these things... Haven't you considered the bad consequences? Even if you received the Holy Gift, I'm afraid the ancestor won't show his Holy Power again for something like this."

"Bad consequences?" Lu Zheng smiled faintly. "What consequences could be worse than before? The people are oppressed and dare not appeal their grievances. The wealthy and powerful families are like mosquitoes and flies, sucking the blood of the country and the people."

Lu Zheng paused, then continued, "Miss, do you think that if I make such a fuss, I will die? As the ancients said, 'Even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will still advance.' The wealthy families in Hongzhou City don't have that many people. How could they let me retreat? They can't kill me, they can only make me stronger. This is my way of cultivation, right?"

An Dingyuan, who was standing next to him, had a strange expression on his face. What kind of Confucian or Taoist scholar practices like you?
Only the Confucian scholars in ancient times dared to defend their doctrines with their lives.

As for now, times have long changed...

Today's Confucian and Taoist scholars are no longer as pure as they were in the past.

Upon hearing this, An Jing couldn't help but say, "It seems you have really learned the words of the sages."

An Jing turned to An Dingyuan and said, "Bring the booklet over here."

An Dingyuan quickly handed the booklet to An Jing and stood beside him.

An Jing added, "Don't stand here like a pillar. I asked you to come here to learn. Find a seat."

"Okay."

An Dingyuan took a look, then tiptoed to a stool and sat next to Lu Zheng.

An Jing looked at Lu Zheng and said, "I've read what you wrote several times. It's very well written and contains good strategies for governing the country."

"A good policy for governing the country?" Lu Zheng shook his head. "This is Kaiyang County's plan. If it governs an area of 100 li, it's fine. But if we use it to govern the country, even if we only adopt one or two of its points, I think it will cause chaos and harm the people, with no benefit."

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" An Jing asked humbly.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Using copper as a mirror, one can adjust their attire; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of things; using people as a mirror, one can understand gains and losses. Young lady, you are of noble birth, and your knowledge should far surpass mine. You should understand this principle."

"Reforms throughout history have often ended in failure. Isn't that because the government policies were bad? No."

"As I just said, some people, having tasted sweetness, don't want to suffer anymore. They'll even try to snatch the sweetness from others..."

"Any slight change is enough to shake the whole country."

"Even if a policy is beneficial to the people, when it is implemented, it is easy for others to seize the benefits, which will result in a waste of money and labor... When it reaches a certain level, it will only lead to national unrest."

"For example, the previous dynasty..."

Lu Zheng talked freely and expressed some of his thoughts.

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion." Lu Zheng paused, then added, "If you two have any different opinions, please feel free to raise them."

An Dingyuan next to him couldn't help scratching his head, feeling like he was back in his Girls' Generation classroom.

An Jing frowned slightly. Lu Zheng's words were so reasonable and well-founded that she couldn't find any grounds for rebuttal.

She suddenly thought and said, "There are many successful people who have implemented new policies. If you don't try, how can you know it's impossible?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "From ancient times to the present, there have been many countries. Most of them have had wise rulers who founded the country, but few have had rulers who revived it. That's because after the country is torn down, the resistance to reconstruction is smaller."

"The world is still unsettled. If you want to do these things, young lady, it will be impossible due to internal and external troubles."

"If you insist on doing it, my suggestion is to unify the world first. Only then can you gain enough power to intimidate certain people."

An Jing and An Dingyuan: ...

Unify the world first? This is more difficult than becoming a saint.

Unified dynasties are rare, but there are many people who have become saints through spiritual practice.

"This……"

An Jing didn't know what to say for a moment.

Lu Zheng said leisurely, "In fact, the principles of the world are similar. For example, when reading the books of sages, how many people can achieve the same level of achievement as the sages? The same is true for these policies. They seem beautiful, but they are difficult to implement..."

An Jing stared at Lu Zheng, "So what do you think we should do now?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I'm still looking for a better way. Maybe I can find it, maybe not. But I will try my best. Even if it takes my whole life, even if I fail in the end, I will leave something behind, and there will always be people who will come after me..."

An Jing was deeply moved and stood up to bow. "No matter what, since you have such a heart, I would like to thank you on behalf of the people of the world..."

Lu Zheng waved his hand and said calmly, "That's not necessary. Life must have a goal. I just want to do what I want to do."

An Jing thought to himself that this was no ordinary matter. No wonder Meng Sheng and the ancestors both valued Lu Zheng.

She looked at the sky and said, "I've asked someone to prepare dinner. It should be ready. Let's talk while we eat. I want to have a long chat with you..."

"Okay." Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

The three of them left the study and went to the dining room.

In the corridor, a white fox took small steps leisurely.

Suddenly, the white fox turned its head and saw the three people. Its eyes fixed on Lu Zheng and its hair stood on end.

Lu Zheng noticed something and glanced sideways.

Seeing this, An Jing waved to the white fox and said, "Why don't you come over and pay your respects to Master Lu?"

The white fox had a dark look in its eyes. It trotted over to Lu Zheng, raised its paw, and said crisply, "This servant has met Mr. Lu."

"Hello." Lu Zheng paused and continued, "I heard that some clever foxes will rob bird nests. You are eating birds indiscriminately. There is a little fellow I know in this city."

The white fox couldn't help but say: "I didn't do that kind of thing..."

She is not a wild fox, why would she do such a thing?

"That's good." Lu Zheng said with a smile. The white fox turned to An Jing and said, "Master, I won't bother you anymore, then?"

"Go ahead." An Jing said calmly.

The white fox was as if pardoned, and quickly turned into a white light and left.

After they walked away, the white fox muttered softly, "This Lu Zheng feels much more terrifying than before. How come he's practicing so fast? No, I have to work harder. I can't let him look down on me..."

The three of them came to the spacious dining room, and soon someone brought in exquisite meals.

Lu Zheng brought Qing Wan out from the courtyard of the sea of consciousness and introduced her to her.

Afterwards, Qing Wan stood on Lu Zheng's shoulder and whispered, "Lu Zheng, I found two more problems!"

"What?" Lu Zheng asked curiously.

"That's it..." Qingwan gestured for a while.

The two people, one big and one small, were talking in low voices there.

An Jing and An Dingyuan were confused and had no idea what the two were talking about.

After a while, Qingwan ran outside to do experiments.

An Dingyuan took a look and thought Qingwan was playing with some strange toy.

An Jing couldn't help but ask curiously: "What were you talking about just now?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's about studying things."

"Oh!"

An Jing suddenly realized something, and she remembered something else. She whispered, "Has a Taoist priest come to you recently to ask about mathematics?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "There is indeed such a person. He said his name is Xu Shou. Miss, you know him. What is his background?"

An Jing explained: "He is Grandmaster Xu, the head of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory..."

Hearing An Jing's story about Xu Shou's origin, Lu Zheng was slightly surprised. He actually had such a great origin. Did Xu Shou even teach the emperor?
An Dingyuan next to him was even more stunned. Even that person came to Lu Zheng to ask for advice on mathematics. Was he dreaming?
An Jing asked curiously again, "The Grand Master asked me about your origins before, but I didn't tell him. He must have figured out your location... I wonder if you can help him solve this mystery?"

"I solved part of it, but the rest is a bit profound. I explained it several times but he still couldn't understand it. I told him to go back and figure it out slowly on his own." Lu Zheng said truthfully.

An Jing and the others were shocked when they heard this. Even Grandmaster Xu couldn't learn mathematics, so they had to figure it out on their own?

"Is mathematics so difficult?" An Dingyuan couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "No matter what you learn, it all depends on your talent. Especially if you want to learn to the extreme, hard work alone won't do."

An Jing couldn't help but laugh and said, "What you said, doesn't it mean that you are very talented in mathematics? Is it really as the rumors say, that no one can compare to you?"

"That's just other people's flattery." Lu Zheng smiled. "I still know myself well. I'm still far from being a true mathematician. Speaking of which, I'm a little curious, what do people like you usually study?"

"Well, there's a lot to learn..."

The two of them were chatting slowly there, and An Dingyuan sat beside them, not daring to interrupt, and just listened silently.

After eating for a while, An Dingyuan got up from the table and ran to see Qingwan.

He saw Qing Wan fiddling with some small objects and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Doing an experiment!" Qing Wan said without turning her head.

"What experiment?" An Dingyuan asked curiously.

Qing Wan said slowly: "The nature and properties of the spiritual energy in the air. Does the spiritual energy have a power that can affect..."

An Dingyuan felt confused and didn't quite understand what was being said, but it seemed very powerful.

He watched Qing Wan doing experiments while writing symbols he couldn't understand in a small notebook, and he couldn't help but feel amazed.

Even the little goblin beside Lu Zheng is so different?

Time passed unnoticed and soon it was late at night.

Qingwan went back to the courtyard to rest according to her daily routine.

An Jing and Lu Zheng talked a lot and felt that they gained a lot.

Seeing that it was late at night, An Jing told An Dingyuan, "Take Lu Zheng down to rest."

Upon hearing this, An Dingyuan quickly responded with a smile.

After the two left, An Jing continued to sit where he was, took out a pen and paper to record his thoughts and gains.

She felt that she had made the right decision to come here this time. She didn't expect that Lu Zheng had so many novel insights in governing the country, which was really eye-opening.

After returning, An Jing decided to talk to his father and see what his father thought about these things.

An Dingyuan walked beside Lu Zheng, with a more humble attitude than when they first met.

Lu Zheng said, "Governor, go back and rest. Just find a servant to lead the way for me."

"Hey, how can this be, Lu..."

An Dingyuan paused, not knowing how to address Lu Zheng.

He suddenly had an idea and said seriously, "Mr. Lu is very talented. Dingyuan wants to take him as his teacher!"

(End of this chapter)