Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 325: The Talents of a Great Scholar
Mi Gu has lived for so many years and has met many different kinds of people.

Based on his observation and understanding of Lu Zheng, Mi Gu believed that Lu Zheng had the potential to become a great scholar.

This evaluation is already very high. After all, looking at the whole world, there are only a few famous scholars.

Of course, having the potential to be a great scholar does not necessarily mean that one can grow up to become a great scholar.

There are many talented people in the world, but not many can truly reach the peak of their personal potential.

"A great scholar?"

The old man looked at Mi Gu, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.

The old man was a little surprised that Mi Gu, a member of the Chu royal family, made such an evaluation of a young scholar from An State.

Based on his understanding of Mi Gu, he would definitely not flatter a young man for no reason.

The old man couldn't help but ask: "Why do you think so?"

"Well..."

Mi Gu smiled slightly and slowly told him some things about his time with Lu Zheng.

However, Mi Gu concealed certain things and inferences and did not mention them.

Listening to Mi Gu's story, the old man had a general understanding of Lu Zheng.

The old man said quietly, "So, he is even better than the rumors say."

There are always some people who are famous for a while in the world, but most of them are either seeking fame or are not worthy of their reputation. There are few people who are more powerful than the exaggerated rumors.

Mi Gu smiled and said, "When I heard about Lu Zheng's deeds before, I thought the people of Anguo were exaggerating too much. But on the Double Ninth Festival, he alone received the blessings of heaven and earth. I think those rumors are too low-key."

Even though Lu Zheng had lived in his house for some time, Mi Gu felt that he didn't know him very well.

Mi Gu paused, then asked curiously, "I wonder why Mr. Meng wants to see him?"

What Mi Gu was most curious about was why this great scholar suddenly wanted to meet Lu Zheng.

The old man said bluntly: "Hao Wei Zheng Qi."

"Haoran Zhengqi?" Mi Gu blinked, puzzled. "Even in the State of Chu, even if there aren't many scholars who cultivate Haoran Zhengqi, there must be some, right?"

The old man smiled and said, "I heard that he has a great sense of righteousness and is somewhat different from others, so I want to talk to him."

It is difficult to cultivate the righteous spirit of Confucianism and Taoism. Their Meng family inherited the blood of Meng Sheng. Although it is easier for them to cultivate the righteous spirit than other Confucian and Taoist scholars, not every member of the Meng family possesses the righteous spirit.

The old man couldn't help but become interested when he learned that a young scholar had suddenly become famous and had cultivated a pure and upright spirit.

If it were appropriate, he wouldn't mind helping and teaching Lu Zheng, even though Lu Zheng was a scholar from Anguo.

"That's it..."

Mi Gu thought about it and felt that Lu Zheng's righteous spirit was indeed very different, it seemed purer and more agile?

Mi Gu pondered, "Come to think of it, Lu Zheng's control over the righteous energy is very flexible, and his hammer exudes the same aura of righteous energy. It's really strange."

"Hammer?" The old man's eyes moved slightly.

Mi Gu gestured and said, "It's a big iron hammer. I thought it was a spiritual weapon at first, but after careful consideration, I'm afraid it's one of his literary tools. I'm surprised. Would a normal scholar use such a big hammer as a literary tool?"

Although he had never sparred with Lu Zheng, Mi Gu vaguely felt that the literary weapon was no worse than the divine weapon he used.

The old man smiled slightly and said, "Anything in the world can be made into a literary tool. This is not surprising. In ancient times, Confucian and Taoist sages, who were good at both civil and military affairs, there were many who were good at using and practicing martial arts. He practiced both civil and military skills, so it is normal for him to use a hammer as a self-defense weapon..."

Self-defense? Mi Gu felt strange, it felt like it was not for self-defense, but for beating people, gods, demons and ghosts.

Mi Gu continued, "That's the thing. Lu Zheng has probably left Yongzhou now. If Meng Daru wants Meng Yu and the others to bring Lu Zheng back to Yingdu, it might not be easy."

Few people in the Meng family knew that the old man wanted to see Lu Zheng.

I originally thought that by sending a few young people over, they could communicate with each other and invite people over, but in the end, things turned out to be a complete mess.

The old man nodded slightly, "I understand. Thank you very much for coming to tell me, City God Mi."

"No, no." Mi Gu said with a smile, "Meng Daru and I have a long-standing friendship. Naturally, I can't just sit back and watch something like this happen."

The old man thought for a moment and said, "I'll have to trouble the City God Mi to pass on a message..."

When Mi Gu heard the old man's small request, he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

After a while, Mi Gu stood up and said goodbye.

The old man thought about it, and a door opened.

Mi Gu hurriedly stepped out, left the Meng family in a hurry, and returned to the temple.

On the way, Mi Gu's eyes turned. He didn't see what Meng Daru's attitude towards Lu Zheng was just now, but it seemed that there shouldn't be any big problem.

……

Yongzhou City, City God Temple.

Mi Gu flew out of the City God statue and returned to his mansion in a blink of an eye.

He walked briskly and came to the courtyard where Meng Yu and the others were staying temporarily with a happy face.

When Meng Yu and Meng Jie learned that Mi Gu was coming, they hurried out to greet him.

Mi Gu looked at Meng Yu, whose face was slightly pale, and couldn't help asking, "Is Master Meng feeling better?"

Meng Yu nodded stiffly, "Not bad."

Mi Gu said quietly, "I was a little worried about you, so I just used my magic to awaken my spirit in Yingdu and made a special trip to your Meng family to meet with Master Meng."

When the two heard this, their expressions changed.

Meng Jie was nervous and asked, "I wonder what the old ancestor said?" Mi Gu smiled and said, "Meng Daru told you to stay here and take good care of yourself. There's no need to rush back."

"Then, Lu Zheng?" Meng Jie asked again hurriedly.

Mi Gu shook his head and said, "Meng Daru didn't say it clearly, but you don't need to worry about it."

Upon hearing this, the two men's faces turned pale and then blue.

Doesn't this mean they messed up?

Mi Gu said calmly, "Oh, by the way, while conditioning your body is important, you can't fall behind in your studies. Master Meng wants each of you to copy the Mencius ten times..."

The two were stunned. Is this a punishment? The punishment is not too severe.

Mi Gu saw the changing expressions of the two Meng family members and said, "It must be copied with literary style. Even if the words are not coherent, it must not lack literary style."

Even a great scholar would be exhausted if he wanted to copy a classic in a coherent style, so naturally he would not have such high expectations.

But even if they copied it word for word, it was still a heavy punishment for Meng Yu and the others.

The two men's faces suddenly turned ugly, but they didn't dare to refute anything.

Mi Gu said enthusiastically, "If you are in need of the Four Treasures of the Study, just tell me and I will provide them for you."

Meng Jie's smile was a bit forced. "I really don't want to trouble the City God Mi too much. We have these things ready for when we go out."

"Good good..."

Mi Gu had a kind face, gave a few more instructions, and then walked away.

"I really can't help you..."

Mi Gu put his hands behind his back, shook his head and sighed. He thought the two Meng family disciples could figure it out, but they still had an expression of not knowing their fault.

Mi Gu slowly returned to his study, but before he entered the room, he saw Zhao Ming hurried over.

Zhao Ming lowered his voice and said, "Sir, there is news about them."

Mi Gu was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized who Zhao Ming was talking about. He couldn't help but ask, "Didn't he just leave? What happened?"

Zhao Mingdao said, "The City God of Shanyang County met them, and they even helped guide the digging of the canal..."

Mi Gu had a strange look on his face. Shanyang County was only a hundred miles away. How could Lu Zheng and the others be so free that they were not worried about offending the Meng family at all and even helped dig the canal along the way?

No, the important thing is how Lu Zheng knows everything?
"Forget it, don't worry about them, everything is fine anyway." Mi Gu said leisurely, "They are not in a hurry, why should you be in a hurry?"

Zhao Ming blinked, "The Meng family?"

Mi Gu said calmly, "I just went to talk to Meng Daru in person..."

……

In Shanyang County.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan flew on birds and looked at the earth below. Suddenly, they saw people coming and going by the river, and the fluctuations of spiritual power and magic could be vaguely seen.

Qing Wan's eyes widened and she said, "They seem to be repairing a ditch!"

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly and found that there was indeed a group of people repairing the canal. Judging from their appearance, they were either local priests or government officials with martial arts skills.

In order to complete the tasks assigned by Mi Gu as quickly as possible, the local city gods were reluctant to organize ordinary people to do the work, but instead brought their own teams to the battle.

Even some wild gods, demons and ghosts were pulled in.

Of course, Mi Gu would not let these subordinates work for nothing. Part of the money allocated previously would be counted as wages.

Once you get paid, you have to ensure quality and quantity and not be careless.

It was rare for Lu Zheng to see these gods so enthusiastic. He guessed that some officials had never encountered such things before.

Lu Zheng, an outsider who had never repaired a canal before, thought that these people were amateurs.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng took Qing Wan and landed directly on the riverside.

When everyone saw two people coming, they all looked over.

The City God of Shanyang County was giving orders and pointing things out when he suddenly saw Lu Zheng and his heart skipped a beat.

He had met Lu Zheng during the Double Ninth Festival, and had heard a lot about Lu Zheng's deeds recently.

The expression of the City God of Shanyang County changed. Isn’t this person a guest at the adults’ house?

He quickly greeted him with a smile, "Mr. Lu, we meet again..."

Lu Zheng had some impression of this person, so he nodded slightly, "You are repairing the canal."

"Yes, yes. As subordinates, we must do our utmost to fulfill Lord Mi's mission..." said the Shanyang City God. Lu Zheng stroked his chin and asked, "Is this how you build canals in the Chu Kingdom?"

Shanyang City God's eyes flickered. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Lu Zheng had seen some of the canals in Anguo and vaguely remembered some more scientific water conservancy projects in books.

The canals built by these people can only be called small ditches.

Why did he feel that these people didn't understand at all, or were just doing things perfunctorily?

Lu Zheng couldn't help but express his opinion.

Shanyang City God and others were confused. Are there so many tricks to building a canal?

Normally they don't care about these things. There are no flooding rivers in the area, and the canals in the villages and towns are basically built by the people themselves. So no one knows anything about it and they just think digging a ditch or a pond is enough.

Even the supervisors and inspectors didn't think there was anything wrong.

(End of this chapter)