Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 401: Educating and Governing the People
"Name?"

"Bai Fei."

"What strength?"

"Demon Level 2."

"Is there anything you're good at?"

"Archery."

……

In Kaiyang County, at the foot of Jiguana Mountain, many monkeys gathered together and lined up to be registered by the government.

Not far away, on a blue stone, Lan, the leader of the monkey tribe, was squatting there, playing with a wooden identity card in his hand, his bright eyes sparkling.

Lan never imagined that the government would register their identities and register them as citizens of the An Kingdom.

It is said that it was because of the benevolence and enlightenment of the current Emperor An that he gave these monsters in the remote mountains a chance.

Of course, not everyone can get such a status.

First of all, an investigation and trial is needed to determine whether a certain demon or ghost has done evil in the past.

Secondly, they must have developed spiritual intelligence and a certain understanding of the laws and rules of the human race.

Among all the monkeys in Jiguana Mountain, only a small number of them can obtain the status. The other monkeys are not yet enlightened and do not meet the requirements.

With an ID card, you can go to other places freely, even to the county town.

But if the law is violated, it will be punished according to the law.

In addition, even if you have an identity, you still have to pay taxes like ordinary people.

Since they are a group of newly-acquired monsters, they can be exempted from taxes for two years.

In addition, the Kaiyang County government also sent officials to guide and educate these monkeys, preparing to build this place into a demon village.

Next to Lan stood a weasel wearing clothes. It was Huang Shu, who had become an official.

Huang Shu stood up, holding his claws behind his back, and said quietly, "Lan, do you know any other demons? If there are any honest and law-abiding demons, call them over. We are in Kaiyang County and are in need of manpower to reform the law..."

"Reform?" Lan glanced at Huang Shu, a little confused.

Huang Shu thought for a moment and said, "It's about making Kaiyang County a better place! I tell you, it's because Master Lu Zheng's policies caught the attention of the bigwigs up there that this has happened. Otherwise, we monsters would have to stay in the mountains and become wild monsters!"

"With this status, I can't guarantee anything in other places, but in Kaiyang County, no one dares to do anything to you. Our county is much more peaceful now than before."

Huang Shu followed his colleagues in the yamen to work everywhere, and witnessed the changes in Kaiyang County with his own eyes.

In Kaiyang County today, not to mention harmful demons and ghosts, even ordinary ferocious beasts are rarely seen.

Ordinary people even dared to walk in groups on mountain roads at night.

Now the public security in the neighboring counties is far worse than that in Kaiyang County.

Huang Shu continued to ramble on: "It's spring now, you have to organize your men to farm well. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to farm well, we have people to teach you. We are all demons of status now, we can't be as barbaric as before, we have to be more civilized and don't let people look down on us..."

Huang Shu was preaching there and felt quite emotional.

Last year he was hiding in the mountains as a monster, but now he is eating government food and is responsible for the education and security of an area. This is a change he never dreamed of before.

……

Mu Bing just wanted to come and pay a visit to Shen Yu, but he was actually able to attend a banquet with her. He couldn't help but feel flattered.

Shenyu didn't care too much, but chatted with Lu Zheng about some interesting stories and discussed Taoist classics.

Shenyu discovered that Lu Zheng knew quite a lot, not just Confucianism and Taoism.

The banquet didn't end until the afternoon.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan were not polite at all and packed up all the leftover spiritual food and took it away.

Mu Bing saw that the two were so casual, but she couldn't let go of her pride.

She followed Lu Zheng and the other man out of the palace, still full of doubts in her heart.

Lu Zheng explained, "I met Senior Shenyu once before."

Mu Bing thought that it might not be just a simple encounter, as Shen Yu's attitude towards the two of them was obviously unusual.

Mu Bing couldn't help but whispered, "When I heard you say you wanted to visit Master Shenyu, I thought you were just talking..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's just a coincidence that I'm here."

"Where are you going next?" Mu Bing asked.

Lu Zhengdao: "Some things require me to stay here for a while."

Mu Bing didn't feel comfortable asking any more questions after hearing this, so she said goodbye.

Lu Zheng and Qing Wan returned to the guest room to rest for a while.

Qing Wan rubbed her belly and sat cross-legged on the bed to practice. She had eaten too much just now, and now even her burps were emitting spiritual energy. She needed to refine the spiritual energy in her body.

Lu Zhengze sat at the desk and began to read the martial arts technique that Shenyu had given him.

After savoring it carefully, Lu Zheng felt that this was a special practice compiled by a Confucian cultivator to practice the Tao of Water.

He couldn't help but recite this technique in a low voice, and immediately the strange phenomenon of water in his body resonated.

There is water spiritual energy flowing in the body, slowly circulating in the body.

Every time he completed a cycle, Lu Zheng found that his body and soul seemed to be cleansed, becoming purer and free from dirt.

Lu Zheng was slightly surprised. He knew that some high-level martial arts classics could bring benefits to people even if they were just read. This martial arts was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.

Lu Zheng studied it for a while, and then tried to write this technique in literary style. However, he soon found that this technique was not easy to write, even more difficult than some of the complete poems he had written.

After all this, Lu Zheng consumed a lot of his Haoran Qi and couldn't even write half of the skills.

"Is it because of insufficient realm or insufficient understanding?"

Lu Zheng muttered to himself and prepared to take a rest and relax.

After calming down, Lu Zheng quickly realized that there was someone outside, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but go out and see that it was Shen Yu's four subordinates who came here under Shen Yu's orders and were at his disposal.

Lu Zheng looked at the four people and found that one of them was a member of the Mirage Clan with a cultured air.

Looking at the Mirage Clan members in front of him, Lu Zheng asked, "Do you know why you are here?"

One person replied, "Lord Shenyu said that you are good at governing a country. Let us cooperate with you to govern the Shen Clan better and make it the largest demon clan in Xinghai Bay."

Although they knew nothing about Lu Zheng, they dared not disobey or question Shen Yu's orders.

Good at governing a country... Lu Zheng thought to himself that he hadn't even governed an area of ten miles, let alone a country. Shen Yu thought too highly of him.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Come with me to your Mirage Clan's place."

Lu Zheng called Qing Wan and went to check the situation together.

The four members of the Mirage Clan followed behind, not daring to get too close, nor too far away.

Lu Zheng asked, "I heard that you still have slaves here?"

"Yes." One person answered.

Here, many demons with status and position have servants and slaves. Some were bought from outside, and some were local demons who signed a contract to sell themselves and became slaves.

Lu Zhengdao: "How about cancelling the slaves' contracts and switching to an employment relationship?"

The four Mirage Clan members were stunned when they heard this. What did they want to do?
Lu Zheng explained: "Those should belong to the labor force of the entire Mirage Clan. Some people shouldn't have so many slaves. It's a waste..."

Facing these monsters, Lu Zheng could only explain using words they could accept.

"I'm afraid they won't be willing." someone said.

They were all slaves bought with money, how could those demons be willing to release their slaves?

Lu Zheng said calmly, "How dare they disobey Lord Shenyu's orders? At most, we can give them some compensation."

"As a human being... or a demon, you should look at the long term and not just focus on the immediate benefits."

Lu Zheng took a few people to the outside of the city, to the residence of some ordinary Mirage Clan members.

"These things need to be changed, too. Since we're of the same ethnic group, we should help each other. These people live such a poor life. Aren't you ashamed? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by outsiders?"

Several people were speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute.

The Confucianist from the Mirage Clan couldn't help but say, "Sir, please tell me how to govern this matter."

"It's simple, just..."

Lu Zheng slowly talked about some improved policies.

The few members of the Mirage Clan were not stupid. They understood everything they heard and wrote it down one by one. After making a decision, they ordered their subordinates to do it.

Lu Zheng added, "What about the laws here? Let me see if there's anything I can correct."

Several people looked at each other. They did have some rules here, but there were no law books.

After all, in the eyes of these demons, strength is respected, and whoever has the ability has the final say, which is the truth and the rule. Why do they need laws?

Seeing this, Lu Zheng couldn't help but shake his head. "Without clear laws, how can you govern the place? How is this any different from uncivilized barbarians? You are also a descendant of an ancient demon race, so why have you come to this?"

After hearing these words, no matter how shameless the Mirage Clan members were, they couldn't help but blush and feel ashamed.

A burly man couldn't help but shout angrily upon hearing this: "I respect you as Lord Shenyu's guest, but why do you want to humiliate my clan like this? Here, we respect strength, not words!"

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly, "Do you want to compete with me to see whose fist is harder?"

The burly man stared without saying a word. Lord Shenyu told them to obey Lu Zheng's orders, so how could he dare to take action?

Seeing this, Lu Zheng raised his hand and slapped the other person. His movements were slow, but they were filled with powerful pressure.

Seeing the palm slowly approaching, the strong man felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on him, making him unable to move at all.

The sturdy man's face suddenly turned red, and he tried hard to use his strength to resist the pressure.

Lu Zheng raised his hand, took a step forward, and gently slapped the burly man on the shoulder.

"thump……"

The strong man couldn't bear it anymore and knelt down, his knees making two small holes in the ground.

Lu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said quietly, "You're such a grown man, how come you can't stand steadily?"

The strong man was sweating profusely, his whole body was trembling due to being suppressed, and he couldn't even speak.

Lu Zheng said coldly, "My fist is harder than yours, so does what I said make sense?"

"You think I'm just good at talking. Are you questioning me, or are you questioning your Lord Shenyu's poor judgment?"

The strong man was shocked when he heard this. If these words were to get to Shenyu, he would be skinned alive if not dead.

"I, I didn't..." the strong man said with difficulty.

Seeing this, several people nearby hurriedly spoke out to comfort him.

(End of this chapter)