Confucian and Taoist scholar

Confucian Temple?

Yuan Zhong was taken aback. There was indeed a Confucian temple in Pingcheng, which enshrined some Confucian sages, but the incense offerings in that temple were far less than those in the Buddhist temples of Pingcheng.

Yuan Zhongdao said, "You want to go to the Confucian Temple? No problem, I'll arrange it for you! When do you plan to go? I'll have someone make some preparations there..."

Lu Zhengdao: "Let's do it today. It's not urgent, but let's try to get it done first..."

Lu Zheng then looked at Miao Kong and the others and introduced them, "These are guests visiting from Taiping Domain. They would like to learn about the situation of Buddhism in Wei Kingdom. Could Your Highness send one or two people to arrange for them to visit Pingcheng?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhong said, "It's a small matter, no problem at all! I am also a Buddhist, and since you are young friend Lu's guest, you are also my guest. Guards!"

Yuan Zhong summoned a steward from the manor and ordered him to send someone to the Confucian Temple to make some arrangements, and also arranged for someone to take Miao Kong and the others to visit.

Miao Kong and the others felt a little uncomfortable staying in the palace, so after thanking the king, they left first.

After the others left, Lu Zheng asked, "How is things on the Wei side?"

Yuan Chong took a sip of tea and said quietly, "Not bad... These days, the Buddhist sects in Pingcheng have all behaved themselves, converting to Mahayana Buddhism one by one, and donating quite a lot of things. The temple buildings and Buddha statues have also been renovated according to the requirements..."

"Many monks whose conduct or practice did not meet the requirements were forced to change their registered residence..."

"His Majesty issued an edict to exempt all people in the country from land tax, which caused quite a stir. Fortunately, the decree was delivered to the local areas, and reforms are underway everywhere."

Yuan Chong paused, then continued, "However, there are still some people who think they can go against the imperial court. I've personally killed quite a few people recently, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep some of these petty villains in check. It's truly a sin, a sin..."

Yuan Zhong held the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and murmured a few Buddhist chants.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If you eliminate evil and accumulate virtue, then there is no such thing as sin. Even a compassionate Bodhisattva has moments of anger."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhong's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "I love hearing what you're saying; it makes me feel good!"

"Hey, what are you going to the Confucian Temple for? Is it convenient to tell me?"

Thinking about what Lu Zheng had done at the Garan Temple, Yuan Zhong was quite curious about what Lu Zheng was going to do at the Confucian Temple now.

Lu Zhengdao: "Go deliver some things."

As they were talking, Lu Zheng took out a journal and handed it to Yuan Zhong.

Yuan Zhong curiously took it and looked at it, but after only a while, his expression became a little strange.

You shouldn't read too many articles in this journal; they mostly criticize current affairs, condemn various realities of the world, and spread certain ideologies.

If an ordinary writer were to publish such a book, they could easily be charged with several crimes and imprisoned.

But Lu Zheng is no ordinary person; he is a young man recognized by even the ancient sages. With him producing these critical articles, those powerful and wealthy people can only grit their teeth and bear it.

Just like the remonstrating officials in the imperial court, their status and position are such that no matter how hurtful their words are, the emperor of the country cannot punish them for their words.

"This……"

Yuan Zhong was at a loss for words.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Does Your Highness find these articles unsatisfactory?"

Yuan Zhong quickly replied, "Ah? Good, very good! They're all well-written and thought-provoking. Did you write these articles?"

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "They were all written by other people from Taiping Domain."

Lu Zheng didn't submit any articles; he mainly wanted to see what kind of awareness others had and what kind of articles they could write.

In retrospect, he was fairly satisfied with the articles published in the first issue.

Yuan closed the journal again, looking at the words on the cover, feeling a bit complicated.

If such a book were to spread throughout the world, its impact would likely be quite significant, and there would be many more issues to come...

Lu Zheng slowly stood up and said, "Does Your Highness wish to go to the Confucian Temple?"

Yuan Zhong's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Great! Let's go! I'll have someone prepare the car! It's been a while since I went to the Confucian Temple to offer sacrifices, and today is an auspicious day..."

Putting everything else aside, Yuan Zhong was still happy to go to the Confucian Temple to join in the fun and see what kind of trouble Lu Zheng could cause this time.

So, Lu Zheng and Yuan Zhong took a carriage to the Confucian Temple.

Along the way, Lu Zheng also met Hu Qing, who was in charge of preaching in Pingcheng. He asked her to come along and inquired about the details of Buddhism.

However, after a short time apart, Lu Zheng noticed that Hu Qing was becoming more and more like a proper Buddhist practitioner.

Hu Qing sat upright opposite Lu Zheng and said quietly, "There are some old foxes in Pingcheng who are very cunning, but unfortunately they underestimated me. After Qingwan taught me Buddhist teachings, they couldn't hide their true intentions anymore. No matter how well they pretended, it was all fake. We'll just have to wait for the right time..."

Hu Qing didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear: in order to uphold the orthodoxy of Buddhism, those incorrigible people would have to be eliminated sooner or later.

As for the Buddhist teachings that Qingwan passed on to Hu Qing, they were naturally the true teachings from the Buddha.

……

The Confucian Temple in Pingcheng is located within an officially run school.

The professors at the university primarily taught Buddhism, but also covered Confucianism and Taoism.

The students who could study there were almost all children of local powerful and wealthy families; there were hardly any students from poor or ordinary families.

This is a platform for the children of prominent families to exchange ideas; how much real knowledge they can learn is not important.

After all, these people can rely on their family background to become officials or pursue spiritual cultivation, and have a bright future. Why would they need to put in so much effort to learn so much?

At this time, the academy had not yet officially opened. Due to the influence of the regulation of Buddhist institutions, professors of Buddhist studies in various places were also affected.

From now on, any Buddhist scriptures to be taught must be reported to the government again.

Riding in Yuan Zhong's carriage, we entered the academy without any hindrance, and then arrived outside the Confucian Temple.

Yuan Zhong just had someone tidy up the Confucian Temple. The temple has been cleaned inside and out, and some decorations have been changed, making it look brand new.

The State of Wei did not have a Confucian sage, so the temples there were only dedicated to some ancient Confucian sages and worthies for people to admire and worship.

Although the State of Wei advocated Buddhism, there were still some Confucian disciples within the country, and there was a reason for establishing such a Confucian temple.

Lu Zheng and his group got out of the car and walked into the Confucian Temple.

Upon entering the Confucian Temple, Lu Zheng sensed the presence of Confucian and Taoist culture, though the aura was not particularly strong and only lingered around a few halls.

Upon entering the main hall of the Confucian Temple, one is greeted by lifelike jade statues of several ancient Confucian sages.

However, these statues do not contain any saintly thoughts. After all, it would take a lot of incense and literary energy for the ancient saints to maintain their will in the human world for a long time. There is no way to offer even a trace of saintly will here.

Back when Lu Zheng worshipped the Sage of Literature in Kaiyang County, it was only through the county magistrate's help that a few steps were taken to get a slight reaction from the half-saint of Anguo, but it did not disturb the ancient sages and worthies of the Confucian Way.

As for the later opening of the Haoran Literary Palace, that's another matter entirely.

Yuan Zhong, who was standing next to Lu Zheng, subconsciously raised his hand and put his palms together as if to offer a greeting. Suddenly, Yuan Zhong realized his mistake and paused.

In the past, worshipping Buddha statues had become a habit, but this seems to contradict Confucian etiquette...

Yuan Zhong put his hand down and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "By the way, how does your Anguo worship the sage?"

To be honest, Yuan Zhong hadn't been to the Confucian Temple many times. After all, he was a Buddhist, so why would he come here for no reason? He wouldn't receive any blessings of literary energy.

He said it had been a while since he'd been to the Confucian Temple, and that was quite a long time—Yuan Zhong had completely forgotten when he'd last been here…

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng thought for a moment and smiled, "Your Highness's sincerity is enough; there's no need to concern yourself with those formalities."

Yuan Zhong couldn't help but laugh, concealing a hint of embarrassment: "Ah, is that so? My heart is still very devout, after all, they are all ancient sages of our human race, and it is only right to respect them..."

Lu Zheng took out incense, lit it, and bowed to the saints in the hall to show his respect.

Afterwards, Lu Zheng placed a journal on the incense altar, and a surge of powerful literary energy erupted from his body, instantly enveloping the entire hall.

When Taoist priests invoke deities, they set up an altar to make it easier to summon the divine power that exists in the world.

Although this Confucian temple is devoid of incense offerings, it can still be considered a massive sacrificial altar.

Given the right conditions, it is possible to invoke the will of certain individuals or to perform extraordinary acts.

Sensing the literary atmosphere filling the hall, Yuan Zhong and Hu Qing couldn't help but step aside, keeping a little distance from Lu Zheng.

Yuan Zhong looked surprised. This was the first time he had seen such a magnificent and awe-inspiring literary aura in Lu Zheng. It was probably already at the level of a Grand Scholar.

There are probably no scholars of the sixth realm who are this young in the world today. Yuan Zhong felt that the gap between people was really too great.

A continuous stream of righteous energy flowed into the main hall of the Confucian Temple, and the statue of Zhou Wei and the journal he had erected also shone brightly.

An invisible force surged from the Confucian Temple straight into the sky.

A moment later, a colorful radiance descended from the sky.

Amidst the radiance, a hazy figure appeared and disappeared, exuding a sacred aura of Taoism.

The figure glanced at Lu Zheng through the haze, then slightly raised his hand, and the periodicals on the incense table transformed into wisps of literary energy.

Immediately afterwards, all the literary energy in the Confucian temple gathered together, and together with that ethereal figure, it transformed into a beam of light and disappeared into the heavens.

The entire Confucian temple returned to peace in the blink of an eye, and all the strange phenomena disappeared without a trace.

Yuan Zhong looked at the spot where the figure had just stood, swallowed hard, and whispered, "Who was that...?"

The phantom that just appeared was too blurry; even its outline was indistinct, let alone its features.

Yuan Zhong and Hu Qing didn't dare to use their divine sense to take a closer look, unaware of who had descended.

Lu Zheng began, “The most revered teacher of Confucianism, Confucius.”

"hiss……"

Yuan Zhong couldn't help but gasp, looking at Lu Zheng with a surprised expression.

Why did he feel that Lu Zheng could invite the saints so easily? He could easily make the wills of those ancient saints who opened up the path of cultivation manifest.

If there weren't so few precedents to prove it, Yuan Zhong would almost suspect that Lu Zheng was some kind of saint reincarnated.

In fact, Lu Zheng was somewhat surprised by Confucius's appearance. He only wanted to use the Confucian Temple to deliver the journal to the high-level Confucian temples of other major countries.

A wisp of saintly will descended to see him, which could be considered an extra bonus.

With just one look, Lu Zheng understood a great deal of meaning.

For example, as long as he dares to do certain things, he will receive support from certain entities.

Lu Zheng looked at the statues of the saints before him and bowed once more.

"What happened?"

Several people appeared outside.

The unusual activity at the Confucian Temple has caught the attention of many powerful figures in Pingcheng.

Some people rushed over immediately to check the situation.

Yuan Zhong walked out unhurriedly with a smile, and said, "I came here to pay homage to the Confucian sages. Nothing happened, but I'm sorry to have disturbed you all..."

When the crowd saw that it was Prince Huaiyang, Yuan Zhong, they didn't think much of it.

After all, the strange phenomenon came and went quickly, and they hadn't figured out what was going on yet.

The remaining atmosphere here is nothing special; one can only assume that Yuan Zhong has done something.

As for Lu Zheng and Hu Qing in the hall, these people didn't pay much attention to them.

People came and went intermittently.

A man approached Yuan Zhong and couldn't help but whisper, "I've heard that the Crown Prince intends to give more important positions to Confucian scholars. Is Your Highness preparing something...?"

"What?"

Yuan Zhong was stunned for a moment. There had indeed been rumors of this before, but Crown Prince Yuan Tao had not taken any such measures. He did not expect that someone could make such a connection to what happened here.

Yuan Zhong's expression was slightly strange, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "That's not true, don't talk nonsense! Our Great Wei upholds Buddhism as the orthodox religion, how could we favor Confucianism? Don't spread such things! I am a devout Buddhist!"

Abandoning Buddhism and venerating Confucianism would shake the very foundation of the Great Wei Kingdom even more than regulating Buddhism; such matters must not be spread carelessly.

The man couldn't help but whisper, "Your Highness, given our relationship, could you give me a heads-up? I have some talented younger relatives in my family. If they're suitable, it wouldn't be a bad idea to let them study Confucianism."

Yuan Zhong couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Are you showing off or what? Trying to put your eggs in several baskets?"
Yuan Zhong said calmly, "The younger generation has good talent, so let them do whatever they want. You ask me these questions, but I can't give you any answers... I still need to go back to worship Buddha. You can let them cultivate Taoism, but that's none of my business..."

Yuan Zhong was too lazy to explain further, feeling that the more he explained, the less clear things would become, so he left the Confucian Temple with Lu Zheng and Hu Qing.

Once back in the carriage, Yuan Zhong asked curiously, "Is everything settled?"

Lu Zhengdao said, "There shouldn't be any problem. I sensed something just now, and I estimate that it won't be long before the Confucian temples of the top universities in various countries receive that journal."

Yuan Zhong clicked his tongue and said, "With someone like you around, the Confucian school of the world will not be... peaceful in the future."

Yuan Zhong felt that the journals Lu Zheng had produced would cause a lot of controversy within the Confucian community.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly upon hearing this and said softly, "The Confucianism of this world should return to its original form, and it won't be long."

Yuan Zhong's heart stirred, but he truly couldn't imagine what Confucianism would be like if it returned to its original form. (End of Chapter)