Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 407: Win-Win Cooperation
Lu Zheng recalled his experience in the forbidden area and still felt it was a bit dreamy.

He looked at Shenyu beside him and asked, "How much do you know about that forbidden area? After that, all the dragons here disappeared?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu replied, "What happened here back then is probably only known to those who are still alive. We, the Shen Clan, had no way of getting involved in such things back then... But it is said that a member of the Dragon Clan was saved. As for the more detailed circumstances, we don't know either."

Shenyu paused and asked curiously, "Why are you interested in things that happened hundreds of years ago?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say: "Just curious."

Shenyu said sadly, "It's been so many years. If you want to know the truth, you might have to ask some righteous gods of Chu."

Lu Zheng thought about it and realized that the god who could participate in the battle that year was definitely not a local god like Mi Chenghuang.

Now that his identity is quite sensitive, he should try to avoid contact with the powerful gods of the Chu State.

The two quickly returned to a city of the Mirage Clan.

In a small square somewhere in the city, many monsters gathered there. Qing Wan stood in the middle and talked incessantly, lecturing the monsters, teaching them literacy, arithmetic, and other useful knowledge.

These days, Lu Zheng has also distributed a lot of books, most of which are those he wrote. They are very practical books and not as difficult to understand as traditional Confucian classics.

So now the monsters of the Mirage Clan will more or less take a look and learn from it.

Gradually, these monsters became more civilized than before.

Not only Lu Zheng felt this way, even great monsters like Shen Yu felt that the atmosphere of the entire Shen clan had changed, with a thriving atmosphere.

The high-level members of the Mirage Clan had to admire that Lu Zheng did have some skills. When it came to local governance, they were still far behind the human race.

Shenyu looked at the tribesmen and whispered, "I used to think you would promote Confucianism, but I haven't seen you talk about the Four Books and Five Classics or anything like that these days..."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly upon hearing this. "The Four Books and Five Classics are the summaries of experience and wisdom by sages. Educating the people doesn't necessarily require rote memorization. Before the sages' classics, does that mean there was no reason at all, and no way to govern the country and its people?"

"Besides, you shouldn't lecture ordinary people on big principles. People who are busy making a living won't be able to listen to so much reasoning. The strong are more in need of the constraints of benevolence, righteousness, and morality..."

Upon hearing this, Shenyu said, "What if the strong are not bound by any rules?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "People like that won't last long."

Just then, someone came hurriedly to report that there were guests coming to the main city of the Mirage Clan, and asked them to go there as well, and specially invited Lu Zheng to go.

Lu Zheng did not refuse, and took Qing Wan with him to see what was going on.

Soon, the group arrived at the main city of the Mirage Clan.

A city located in the swamp in the heart of Star Island. There is a special fog in and outside the city, a kind of evil aura that can cause hallucinations, and is also called mirage by the monsters of Star Island.

It can be regarded as a means of defending the main city of the Mirage Clan against foreign enemies.

However, these mists are usually not active, and since Lu Zheng and Qing Wan are at a high level, they are not affected at all.

Shenyu quickly brought the two of them to a palace.

There were already quite a few people sitting in the palace, including some powerful Mirage Clan members that Lu Zheng had met not long ago.

There were also other unfamiliar faces, and the aura they exuded was no weaker than that of the strong men of the Mirage Clan.

Lu Zheng took a quick glance and found that Mu Bing was also there.

"Come, come, let me introduce you. These two are guests who came from Anguo..."

A powerful member of the Mirage Clan stood up and introduced them to everyone, then said to Lu Zheng, "These are from the Mermaid Clan..."

An old merman looked at Lu Zheng and said with a smile, "I returned from Yunmeng Lake a few days ago and heard a few things. Are you the Lu Zheng who was blessed with the literary spirit by the An Kingdom's literary saint?"

The other great monsters present all looked surprised when they heard this. It was the first time they heard this mentioned.

For a moment, everyone's eyes were on Lu Zheng.

They knew clearly who the literary saint of Anguo was. He was the living ancestor of the royal family of Anguo, a semi-saint-level existence.

Today, there are only a few semi-saints active in Confucianism and Taoism.

Even though he is only half a step away from becoming a saint, he is comparable to other saints who have attained enlightenment and is considered a top-level powerhouse.

They had been speculating about Lu Zheng's background before, and they found out that he was actually involved with such an existence.

Facing everyone's gaze, Lu Zheng said calmly, "It's Lu."

The old merman smiled and said, "Well, well, young people are really amazing."

The old man paused, then continued, "Come to think of it, you've saved my people time and time again, and yet we haven't treated you well. Why don't you come and be our guest later?"

Three times? Lu Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. The other party might have included the time when he killed the Toad Demon. He did save a few mermaids at that time, but he didn't expect this person to know about it.

It seems that these mermaids really investigated him before coming.

The Mirage Clan members nearby felt a little unhappy when they heard the old man say this, as they felt like he was trying to snatch people away.

A great demon from the Mirage Clan said, "Mr. Lu is currently a guest in our Mirage Clan, so I'm afraid he doesn't have time to visit you."

The old merman laughed and said, "Do you have the final say on whether I'm free or not? I want to be your guest, are you going to force me to stay?"

The Mirage Clan members were not in a position to refute Lu Zheng's words. After all, they really couldn't control where Lu Zheng wanted to go. Although Lu Zheng had agreed to help manage the Mirage Clan, it would only last a month at most, so leaving early was in line with the agreement.

Seeing the strange atmosphere between the two sides, Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "You all asked me to come here, not for such a trivial matter, right? How about we talk about business first?"

He didn't believe that the two tribes of great demons gathered here to discuss where he should visit.

After hearing this, both sides' expressions changed slightly and they began to talk about business.

The old merman said, "My merman clan wishes to form an alliance with the mirage clan. We will stand together from now on. How about having Master Lu be a witness?"

The other demon tribes have seen the changes that have taken place in the Mirage Tribe during this period.

In the past, the various demon tribes on Star Island were relatively balanced, but now the actions of the Mirage Tribe have broken the balance.

The Mirage Clan is not only vigorously developing itself, but also starting to accept other demon clans, accepting all who come.

By spending some money, you can become a member of the Mirage Clan and receive protection.

As long as you are not stupid, everyone can see the ambition hidden by the Mirage Clan.

The mermaids and the mirages used to have close interactions, and some members of both tribes were even related by blood.

After witnessing the changes in the Mirage Clan, the Mermaid Clan naturally could not sit still.

Watching other demon tribes gradually grow stronger is more painful than seeing them go downhill.

After learning some information, the leaders of the mermaid tribe unanimously decided to form an alliance with the mirage tribe and develop together to avoid being squeezed out of Star Island.

After all, there is a precedent. Before, the demon tribe on Star Island fell into decline and could only become vassals of other big tribes.

Although there are some strong people in the mermaid tribe, they are all old monsters and it is impossible for them to remain strong forever.

The future of the mermaids still depends on the young and middle-aged generation, and they have to think long-term.

The mermaids came here this time to discuss an alliance with the mirage tribe, in an effort to not lag behind other demon tribes.

The Mirage Clan also understood that it was not easy for them alone to establish absolute power on Star Island, and they would need the support of other demon clans.

The Mirage Tribe was also surprised that the Mermaids would come to them to form an alliance so quickly.

Of course, the fact that the Mirage Clan was so happy to have an ally so quickly also showed that some of their actions did work.

The two sides hit it off and prepared to form a cooperative alliance.

But the two sides have not yet reached a conclusion, and some conditions have not been negotiated yet.

After all, forming an alliance is not something that can be done by just saying a few words or clapping hands. It involves many aspects and concerns the interests of both tribes, so it needs to be discussed properly.

Lu Zheng was the instigator of the whole incident, so they invited Lu Zheng to come and be a witness.

Seeing that the two major demon tribes on Xingdao wanted to form an alliance, Lu Zheng thought that this was a good thing. There was no harm in the two tribes forming an alliance. On the contrary, it would be beneficial to both sides.

It will also help him to verify some ideas, which is a win-win situation.

Lu Zheng said, "Okay, I appreciate your kindness. I am willing to be your witness."

Although Lu Zheng claimed to be of lower generation, these great monsters really did not regard Lu Zheng as a junior.

When you go out, besides your strength, your identity and background are also important.

They all felt that Lu Zheng had a great background and was qualified to sit at the same table with them.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was willing to be the witness, the two tribes began to discuss the alliance.

But after a while, the two sides began a heated discussion, and neither wanted to suffer any loss in certain alliance conditions.

Finally, after the argument could not reach a conclusion, everyone wanted Lu Zheng to make some suggestions.

In this kind of matter, Lu Zheng naturally chose not to offend either party.

He thought for a moment and said, "Since the two tribes have chosen to form an alliance, they should be united in their external defense. Why should we be so divided over such a small dispute of interests? Why not put the dispute aside for the time being... Star Island is not small, and the waters it encompasses are not small either."

After hearing what was said, the two tribes thought about it and felt that what was said was indeed reasonable. If they formed an alliance and grew stronger in the future, this area of water would be enough for them to develop. There was no need to argue fiercely at this moment. They should take a long-term view.

Afterwards, the two tribes drafted a letter of alliance and held a fairly formal ceremony. Lu Zheng even signed the letter of alliance.

In this way, the alliance between the mermaids and the mirages was concluded, and everyone was happy.

The elder from the merman tribe looked at Lu Zheng and said, "Our tribe would like to ask Mr. Lu to temporarily manage the tribe's affairs. What do you think?"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Senior, you are very kind. However, since the two tribes have become allies, why not visit each other more often?"

Lu Zheng’s meaning was very clear. You two just need to help each other and improve your relationship. There was no need to ask him to do anything specifically.

After hearing what Lu Zheng said, the Mirage Clan had no choice but to express their opinions. They directly told them that if they needed anything, they could ask their people to help.

Lu Zheng also gave some booklets to the mermaids, which contained his management experience, so he was not completely unhelpful.

(End of this chapter)