Confucian and Taoist scholar

"call……"

The Moon Goddess let out a long breath, finally severing all ties with the Chu Kingdom's divine path.

Her current level of power has also declined as a result, and she is no longer as strong as she used to be.

However, leaving the State of Chu gave her a feeling of being reborn.

The Moon Goddess looked at Lu Zheng and said, "I need to rest for two more days to stabilize my cultivation."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "No problem, you stay here for now. I'll go take care of some things and come back to find you later."

After saying that, Lu Zheng left the small space.

He wasn't worried about the Moon Goddess doing anything in the small world; she no longer posed any threat.

Once outside, Lu Zheng met with some newcomers, handled some affairs, and then headed to Yongding City.

The Taiping New Kingdom did not establish a capital. Since Yongding City was located in the center and it was convenient to communicate with various regions, it was temporarily designated as the central area.

Lu Zheng found Yuan Si and said, "There is a person with a rather special identity who has defected to the new country. Representative Yuan, please help look after her and help her integrate into this place as soon as possible."

Yuan Si couldn't help but ask curiously, "Who?"

He was a little puzzled. Who would need him to look after and guide them?
Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Chu Kingdom, Moon Goddess."

Yuan Si was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, making sure he hadn't misheard.

With a thought, Lu Zheng brought out the Moon Goddess, who had recovered.

Lu Zheng looked at the Moon Goddess and said, "We don't keep idlers here. Since you've just arrived, I'll have someone show you around. You should recognize this person, right? The former emperor of Wei, now the regional representative of Xin..."

The Moon Goddess's eyes flashed with an unusual light; she hadn't expected Lu Zheng to send this person to teach her.

The Moon Goddess bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Yuan Si said calmly, "There is no His Majesty here. Just call me Representative Yuan or something like that."

Yuan Si paused, then asked with curiosity in his eyes, "You came here voluntarily?"

He had just thought that Lu Zheng had suppressed the Moon Goddess of Chu and sent her here, but it seems that's not the case.

The Moon Goddess nodded, but didn't offer any further explanation.

Lu Zheng said to the Moon Goddess, "I have already shown your article to the publicity department here, and they are preparing to do an exclusive interview with you."

"Representative Yuan, please take her to the Publicity Department first, and then help her adapt to this place as soon as possible..."

Upon hearing Lu Zheng's words, Yuan Si's eyes flickered slightly, and he said quietly, "Are you using me as a shield?"

Yuan Si roughly understood the situation. This Moon Goddess had probably betrayed the Chu Kingdom by joining this place; otherwise, what would she need him to protect?
As for having him watch over people, it's likely that the powerful figures from the Chu Kingdom wouldn't dare to retaliate against the Moon Goddess. After all, if he, the retired emperor of Wei, were to be injured, the situation could easily escalate into a conflict between the two dynasties.

The State of Chu was already facing enemies on two fronts. If the State of Wei were to send a large army to attack Chu, Chu would suffer even more.

The main reason why Wei is not targeting Chu is that it is busy consolidating its domestic situation and does not have the energy to fight any war.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but smile and said, "It's not that bad. I don't think those guys living in the shadows would dare to leave Chu and come here. The main thing is that Representative Yuan has some experience that can be passed on to her, such as how to write articles and memoirs, which can better promote our policies here."

Yuan Si thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll follow the organization's arrangements."

Of course, Yuan Si was also somewhat interested in the Moon Goddess, feeling that he could learn a lot of secrets about the Chu Kingdom from her.

Even if he reaches the level of a Bodhisattva, he cannot escape the gossip in his heart.

Lu Zheng then said to Yue Shen, "Learn from him well. I will also be in Yongding City for a while, so don't worry too much about anyone taking the opportunity to retaliate against you."

With things having come to this point, the Moon Goddess had no other choice.

She said softly, "My name is Mi Yao. You can call me that from now on."

After the great gods of Chu ascended to their divine positions, they were given divine titles, and their original names were generally unknown to outsiders.

Even the Moon Goddess felt unfamiliar with her former name.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, Miss Mi."

Yuan Si led the way, taking Mi Yao to the propaganda department.

Mi Yao followed beside Yuan Si and whispered, "Representative Yuan is very comfortable living here."

Yuan Si said leisurely, "Is there anything wrong with this place? I'm not exaggerating, but I feel more comfortable here than in the Luoyang Imperial Palace. The throne of the emperor isn't so easy to sit on..."

“Living a different life here isn’t so bad. I can experience many things here that I’ve never experienced before. Looking back now, what I used to pursue is insignificant.”

"I also really hope that this place can exist for a long time..."

Soon, the two arrived at the publicity department.

The publicity department's professionals conducted an exclusive interview with Mi Yao and asked her many questions.

Mi Yao knew she had to show sincerity and expose some of the dark secrets of the Chu Kingdom.

To this end, the Publicity Department worked overtime to compile a special interview journal, which was prepared for distribution to expose the dark side of the Chu Kingdom's religion and let the world know the ugliness of some gods.

The so-called gods and immortals are corrupt and greedy, and are not so holy.

Although the propaganda department has previously promoted this idea to enlighten the people and prevent them from being so ignorant, the effect has been limited.

Now that a great master from the State of Chu is personally promoting it, the effect will definitely be much better.

The Chu state might be furious about this.

Thinking about all this made the people in the propaganda department excited to the point of madness.

Seeing the reactions of these people, Mi Yao felt that besides Lu Zheng, there were many other people in the new country with extraordinary abilities who also had a fervent desire for peace and prosperity.

Perhaps Lu Zheng was too dazzling, causing people to overlook the others.

The journal was completed quickly. After Mi Yao reviewed it and Lu Zheng confirmed that there were no problems, it was immediately printed and distributed in large quantities.

Within two days, tens of thousands of books and periodicals had been delivered to the State of Wei.

The officials and soldiers of the border cities of Wei also regularly subscribed to various articles and publications from the Taiping Yu Xin Kingdom, almost without fail.

The main reason was that publications from the new country were a very fast source of information. Many things were published in the new country's newspapers before the imperial court had even informed them.

Moreover, you can learn a lot from those publications and broaden your horizons.

This time, the State of Wei discovered that the publications being sold were quite different; they were actually about the State of Chu.

Some of the content exposed the despicable and underhanded tactics of the Chu state's righteous gods, which was truly shocking.

"This publication must be sent to the State of Chu with utmost urgency!"

At the suggestion of a general of the Wei border army, the army's best soldiers distributed a large number of books and periodicals to the Chu state at almost the fastest speed.

When a neighboring country is in trouble, how can they not add fuel to the fire?
This shameful thing definitely needs to be spread far and wide so that the people of all the kingdoms and dynasties can know about it.

Wang Meng's army also received a publication brought by the Wei envoy from afar.

Upon seeing the publication, Wang Meng couldn't help but slap his thigh and burst into laughter, "Excellent, excellent..."

……

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Emperor Chu roared in the palace, his expression one of uncontrollable rage.

Inside the hall, the princes, ministers, and priests remained silent.

The Chu Emperor was furious, his voice trembling with rage.

"You have utterly disgraced the Great Chu! You have done dirty deeds behind the scenes, and now the whole world knows! You have all done a good job! You are all good subjects of the Great Chu! Excellent..."

The Chu Emperor slumped on his dragon throne, his chest heaving.

Everyone remained silent. Who would have thought that the Moon Goddess had defected to the Taiping Domain New Kingdom and revealed so many secrets, clearly intending to break with them and become their enemy?

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that someone be sent to execute the traitorous Moon Goddess and that the world be informed that her words of treason are fabricated..."

Someone spoke cautiously.

The Chu Emperor didn't even lift his eyelids, and said indifferently, "Oh, since you have this intention, then go to the north and kill the Moon Goddess."

"what……"

The speaker's expression froze. He was a civil official, going to the new country to kill the Moon Goddess? Wasn't that just courting death?

The others kept their eyes down, their minds elsewhere, and didn't agree with the suggestion at all.

Who was so foolish as to go and kill the Moon Goddess?

I'm afraid even those big shots wouldn't want to go.

As for announcing to the world that the content of their publication is fabricated...

If this gets out, it will be obvious whether the people of the world will believe the Chu court or the new state.

However, if nothing is done, firstly, it confirms the content, and secondly, it makes it easier for various forces to target the State of Chu without any scruples.

This is truly a case of being stubborn and getting stuck on both ends.

The veins on the Emperor of Chu's forehead throbbed, and he felt a dull ache in his head.

Then someone else said, "I request that all publications from the new country be banned, and that people be strictly prohibited from discussing related topics, in order to silence any dissent."

The Chu Emperor's eyes turned cold, and he said in a chilling voice, "The mouths of the people? Can you silence the mouths of all the states under heaven? It is easier to stop the people from speaking than to stop a river from overflowing. Do you think I don't understand this principle? What, do you think you can't see the problem if you cover your eyes?"

The Chu Emperor was furious, his voice growing colder, "If I become the ruler of a fallen kingdom, I will make you all pay with your lives. When the country perishes, you will not escape responsibility."

These words caused many people in the hall to change color.

It seems their emperor wasn't joking...

The High Priest slowly spoke, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. At this critical moment, it would be better to grant a general amnesty, exempt the people from some taxes, and then purge those harmful divine officials to stabilize the people's hearts. It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost..."

The Chu Emperor said indifferently, "I will follow the Grand Master of Fate's advice. I need to see some results as soon as possible. Otherwise, I will not care about saving face."

The Chu Emperor rose and left in anger, leaving behind a group of court officials to discuss the details of the matter.

The Chu Emperor arrived at a spacious hall, his eyes shifting uncertainly.

"Keep an eye on everyone in the court. If anyone makes any unusual moves, execute them first and report later!"

A faint, almost imperceptible response came from inside the hall.

The Chu Emperor's expression grew increasingly cold. He knew that after this incident, some people would definitely have thoughts of rebellion, and some might even have ideas of deposing and installing emperors. He had to be on guard.

Even the Moon Goddess betrayed the country and did such a thing.

In the current court, the Chu Emperor can no longer fully trust anyone.

……

The State of Yan, the Northern Hu Commandery.

Inside the prefectural government office, which was heavily guarded, a group of people sat in the spacious hall to discuss matters.

Seated at the head of the table was a distinguished young man, dressed in gleaming armor; he was the seventh prince of the Yan Kingdom.

Since the coup in Yandu and the death of the Yan emperor, the throne has been undetermined, and royal families in various places have risen up in rebellion to establish their own independent regimes.

The Seventh Prince was one of those forces, but the one he led was relatively weak.

Yesterday, the third prince of Yan sent an envoy to win him over, promising him high-ranking positions and generous rewards.

As a result of this incident, his subordinates split into two factions: one faction advocated for peace and to pledge allegiance to the Seventh Prince, while the other faction suggested waiting and seeing how things went, allowing the Seventh Prince to seize the opportunity, as there was a chance he might be able to win the position.

The Seventh Prince was also wavering on this matter, mainly because he really lacked the confidence to compete for the throne, since he was not a direct descendant of the royal family and there were several people in the royal family who were more qualified to ascend the throne than he was.

A group of people were making a lot of noise and discussing things there.

In a corner, a young aide watched the argument with great interest, remaining silent.

The seventh prince, sitting above, keenly observed the different reactions of the crowd and turned his gaze to the young advisor.

He remembered that this aide had been with him for two years and had done a lot for him; he was a rare talent.

When the young aide saw the Seventh Prince casting a glance at him, he calmly responded with a smile.

The Seventh Prince was deeply moved and raised his hand to signal everyone to stop talking.

The lively atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

At this moment, the young aide slowly stood up and said, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Prince said, "You may speak freely."

The young advisor slowly said, "I see that Your Highness intends to cooperate with the Third Prince. Is it because you feel that your background is not good enough to ascend to the throne?"

Everyone's expression changed upon hearing this. How could such words be said in front of His Highness? Wasn't this like reopening old wounds?
The seventh prince frowned slightly, but neither got angry nor did he respond.

The young aide said leisurely, "Your Highness need not think that way. In terms of status and reputation, I believe Your Highness is the only choice."

The seventh prince was stunned for a moment, unable to figure out what status or reputation he had that could compare to his uncles and brothers.

The Seventh Prince couldn't help but ask, "Why do you say that?"

The young aide said unhurriedly, "Your Highness is Mr. Lu's student. Just based on that alone, you are superior to them."

The expressions of the Seventh Prince and the others changed.

Someone asked, "Are you talking about that Mr. Lu from the new country?"

The young aide nodded and said, "Exactly."

The Seventh Prince looked strange. He had always been in Yan Kingdom. When did he become Lu Zheng's student?

Others who knew about the Seventh Prince's daily life were also puzzled.

The young aide said leisurely, “Your Highness may not have been before, but you may be in the future. In today’s world, everyone knows the name of Mr. Lu, and people from all countries praise his merits… If Your Highness were Mr. Lu’s student, you would surely be able to command a hundred responses and gain the support of the local people. If you were to ascend the throne one day, who would dare to say anything against Your Highness?”

The Seventh Prince's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Lu Zheng's reputation in Yan Kingdom was also quite good, and he was highly praised by the people.

If he truly possessed this identity, even if he wasn't the late emperor's legitimate son, the common people and local officials would support him, and he might not be without a chance of winning the throne. (End of Chapter)