Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 267 Giving advice
It was already late at night when we returned to the governor's mansion.

Lu Zheng went to his own courtyard to rest.

Qing Wan stood on Lu Zheng's shoulder and said excitedly, "Lu Zheng, I feel like I've become stronger again. I wish it would rain a few more times like that!"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's not easy to encounter the grace of a saint."

Lu Zheng lay on the bed and said, "I'm going to check the sea of consciousness. Do you want to go to the Wen Palace courtyard?"

Qing Wan nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go and see how the flowers are doing!"

Lu Zheng had an idea and brought Qing Wan into his sea of consciousness.

The two came to the courtyard and found that the flowers and plants they had planted before were growing quite well.

"Hey, the peas I planted are growing bigger!"

Qing Wan looked at a patch of peas. She cared most about the pea sprouts.

According to Yun Xiao, the better the beans used, the more powerful the bean soldiers summoned will be, so she has always paid close attention to these bean sprouts.

Lu Zheng looked around and felt that he was nourished by the spiritual rain, and his sea of consciousness was also improved.

He turned and went to the Wen Palace Hall, and found that the strange visions inside were becoming more and more concentrated, and the righteous energy in the hall was as thick as fog.

"The literary aura is so strong..."

Lu Zheng discovered that he had unknowingly reached the perfection of the third realm and was about to enter the fourth realm of Confucianism and become a Confucian scholar.

For people who practice cultivation, breaking through from the third realm to the fourth realm is a hurdle.

There are different descriptions and forms of this breakthrough process.

Taoists call it refining qi to transform into spirit, and people in the immortal world call it breaking the elixir to transform into infant.

As for Confucian and Taoist scholars, they call this process "literati's heart-building."

After the breakthrough, they reach the fourth realm, with a hundred years of Taoism, and have undergone a complete transformation. They can master the abilities of flying with the wind and leaving their bodies.

It takes only a few days for a talented scholar to forge his mind, but it may take months or even years for an average-level talent.

Lu Zheng was thinking that concentrating his literary mind was not a difficult task for him.

He planned to deal with some things, then leave Hongzhou City, find a quiet place to retreat, and see what kind of literary mind he could forge.

"Take good care of your mind these two days."

Lu Zheng touched his chin, then exited his sea of consciousness and fell asleep.

The next day, the sky was slightly bright.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan got up early as usual. The two of them, one big and one small, faced the morning sun, breathing in and out to replenish their energy.

Lu Zheng was still holding the Su Wu Festival in his hand, and a little aura emanated from it, sharpening the two of them.

Not long after, An Dingyuan came hurriedly.

"Sir, there is good news!" An Dingyuan said excitedly.

Lu Zheng slowly opened his eyes and looked at An Dingyuan who was coming over. "What's wrong?"

An Dingyuan hurriedly said, "The government office just received two imperial edicts from His Majesty. One allows landless refugees to settle down and cultivate farmland... The other exempts all prefecture and county residents from land taxes for two years..."

An Dingyuan handed the imperial edict copied by the government office to Lu Zheng for him to read.

Lu Zheng took a look and couldn't help but smile: "This is a good thing."

At this moment, An Jing also came over and said with a smile: "This is the blessing of the people thanks to Master Lu."

"Huh?" Lu Zheng was confused.

An Jing smiled and said, "The emperor must have read the letter I wrote to him, which is why he issued this decree. Isn't this what Master Lu requested?"

Lu Zheng blinked and said, "How can you be sure that my words worked?"

"Intuition." An Jing said with his hands behind his back.

Her intuition has always been accurate. If the letter she sent back had not worked, An Taixuan would have no reason to issue such an imperial decree at this time.

Lu Zheng smiled when he heard this, "That's because your Majesty and the young lady are virtuous, otherwise my words would be of no use at all."

An Jing raised her eyebrows, "If that's what you say, I'll accept the compliment!"

Lu Zheng smiled and read the contents of the imperial edict carefully again.

He turned to look at An Dingyuan and said, "You will need to take care of me in the next two years."

An Dingyuan patted his chest and said, "It's my duty! Aunt, Sir, don't worry, don't think anyone will take advantage of this opportunity! I will govern Hongzhou well... Oh, by the way, the government has confiscated so much property. Even if part of it is handed over to the national treasury, there is still a lot of money left, and we don't know how to spend it..."

An Dingyuan looked at the two of them, wanting them to give him some advice, as he didn't dare spend money recklessly.

An Jing couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng, "You know better than me, give me some suggestions."

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Although we have suppressed some wealthy families, continuing to suppress the landlords and gentry will easily backfire. There is no need to deliberately target them. We must take it one step at a time..."

"Let's do something else that benefits the people first. First, organize people to eliminate the evil spirits that are doing evil in Hongzhou. If they are honest and well-behaved, we can adopt a conciliatory policy. The guards you brought with you are just the right ones..."

"Secondly, build water conservancy projects and roads. We have plenty of money now anyway. If we improve these water conservancy projects and roads, they will benefit future generations and provide a livelihood for thousands of years..."

"Third, strengthen the cultural education of ordinary people and the ideological education of wealthy families..." Lu Zheng spoke slowly and presented his suggestions.

An Dingyuan quickly took out a pen and paper and wrote it down word for word.

Lu Zheng's words were very straightforward, unlike those classics and policy essays. An Dingyuan could understand them at once and knew how to implement them.

After a while, Lu Zheng finished his suggestions and continued, "Actually, there are many things you can do, but don't take such big steps. Just do the first three well and you'll be good enough."

"Of course, this kind of proposal is easier said than done. I'm just talking about it on paper. You officials should know better than me how to do it."

An Dingyuan couldn't help but say, "What you said, sir, is more profound than many officials... Aunt, do you have any suggestions?"

An Jing said, "Just listen to Master Lu. He speaks very well. I have no objection."

She couldn't even find anything to add to Lu Zheng's suggestions, so there was no need for her to say anything more.

"Okay." An Dingyuan nodded repeatedly. "If there's anything I do wrong, please point it out to me so I can correct it!"

Lu Zhengdao: "Later? I plan to leave here in two days."

Lu Zheng expressed his intention to leave so that he wouldn't have to mention it again when he was leaving, as he might have something else to ask him.

An Dingyuan was surprised and asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? Where are you going, sir?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Reading thousands of books is like traveling thousands of miles. I plan to go all the way west. Chu State is close by. If possible, I plan to go and see the customs and people of Chu State."

It is said that Chu State and An State are very different. Shintoism is prosperous there and there are significant cultural differences. So Lu Zheng was a little curious and planned to go there to see it for himself.

"Chu State."

Seeing Lu Zheng like this, An Jing was afraid that he really wanted to travel around the world, and she couldn't keep him.

She couldn't help but say, "That place is nothing compared to Anguo. Your identity as a scholar from Anguo will only bring you trouble. If you want to go there, be careful. I have spies in Chu. Would you like me to introduce you to two? Once you go there, you will be able to quickly understand the local situation..."

Spy? Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Young lady, you have so many things to manage. But that's not necessary. I prefer to be alone and don't like to bother others. Besides, I'm a spy, so it wouldn't be good if I were exposed."

"You are still so distant." An Jing said softly.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's just a small matter, I really don't want to bother you. Besides, I don't even know when I will go to Chu State or where I will go..."

"Okay." An Jing nodded. "I'll take Anyang away tomorrow and visit Kaiyang County. After that, it's time to return to Tai'an City."

"Aunt is leaving too!" An Dingyuan's expression changed when he heard this.

He tried hard to make a sad expression, but he couldn't suppress the smile.

Away from Tai'an and without anyone to supervise him, this is the life he has always wanted.

An Jing glanced at An Dingyuan and said calmly, "Be a good governor here, my people will always keep an eye on you."

"Uh……"

An Dingyuan was really sad now.

Lu Zhengdao said, "I have some friends in the city and I need to say goodbye to them. If you need any help in the next two days, you can just tell me. I don't know when we will meet again."

An Dingyuan thought for a moment and said, "I don't have anything to trouble you with, sir."

An Jing also shook his head when he heard this, "There will be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future, just do your thing."

"Okay, I'll go out for a while." Lu Zhengdao.

He quickly left the governor's mansion and prepared to go talk to Yun Xiao first.

An Dingyuan saw Lu Zheng leaving and whispered, "Aunt, how can we let such a talented person like Mr. travel around? It's so dangerous."

"Can you keep him?" An Jing asked.

"Uh, this..."

An Dingyuan thought about it and felt that there was really no way to keep the other party. Lu Zheng didn't seek fame or fortune at all.

……

"Oh, you want to go to Chu, that's a pity, I'm going to the east, we're going the different way."

Seeing Lu Zheng coming to say goodbye, Yun Xiao couldn't help but say, "I thought you were planning to go north to the capital of Anguo to have some fun."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "There are many important people in the capital. If a small person like me goes there, it will be difficult for me to gain a foothold."

"Tsk tsk..." Yun Xiao looked at Lu Zheng and said with a smile, "You are in the limelight now. It is indeed easy to be photographed if you go to a place like that. You came here to say goodbye in advance, but you didn't just come to say goodbye, right? You want to buy something from me?"

"Does the Taoist priest sell Shinto techniques?" Lu Zheng asked.

Yun Xiao blinked. "This kind of book is banned here. I can't say whether I have it or not. What are you going to do with it?"

Lu Zhengdao: "Knowing yourself and your enemy will make it easier to deal with any evil spirits if you encounter them."

Yun Xiao raised his eyebrows. "Young man, you're still thinking about slaying gods? I have a few spells that can restrain the power of gods, but I don't know if you can learn them... Oh, have you learned the Five Thunder Method? There are two spells that can be used in conjunction with the Thunder Method to easily slay some evil gods."

Lu Zheng raised his hand, and a ball of purple lightning flashed in his palm.

Yun Xiao saw the ball of thunder, his eyes widened, and he said in disbelief: "You kid..."

(End of this chapter)