Bringing the Railway to Daming

Li Chengwen laughed and said, "I am a Confucian scholar who applied to become a Taoist priest in the name of the State. I did not use my Taoist priesthood to commit fraud. Even if Counselor Wang reports it to the authorities, they have no reason to punish me."

"Furthermore, as far as I know, although Counselor Wang needs to recruit a group of Confucian scholars, Taoist priests, and monks, the current number he has probably not been much, right?"

"If that's the case, why insist on recruiting real Confucian scholars, Taoists, and monks? Looking at the notice, Confucian scholars who go to the Dai Kingdom are most likely to be assigned to teach the Western barbarians Chinese. That should be suitable for anyone who is literate. At worst, we can have them bring Confucian classics and recite them from the books."

"As for Taoist priests and monks, the same applies. We only need to select those who are literate and ambitious, and let them go to the Dai Kingdom to become Taoist priests and monks. The Western barbarians did not know Buddhism and Taoism before, and they are beginners in the Ming Dynasty. I believe we can educate them."

Wang Mingli's eyes lit up after hearing this, realizing that Li Chengwen made sense; he had indeed been confused before.

After nodding slightly, he pressed on, "You haven't yet explained why you applied to become a Taoist priest in the Dai Kingdom."

Li Chengwen: "To be honest, more than ten years ago, I was dissatisfied with some of the policies of the former emperor, so I angrily retreated to the mountains to study Buddhism and Taoism and lived the life of a hermit."

"Three years ago, I heard that the current emperor had ascended the throne and changed the era name to Wenlong, so I went down the mountain. Only then did I discover that the world had changed drastically and the Ming Dynasty was very different from what it was more than ten years ago."

"In the past few years, I have traveled to various parts of the Ming Dynasty. I have witnessed the changes in the Ming Dynasty and know that these are all due to the natural science brought by the Marquis of Jiangning. As a result, the court has promoted science, Confucianism has declined, and even Buddhism and Taoism have been greatly impacted, with their various theories being questioned."

"In these three years, although I have dabbled in natural sciences, I am not proficient in them. All I have learned in my life is Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism."

"Since the Ming Dynasty had no place to use Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and had heard many strange and wonderful stories about the outside world after the Ming Dynasty opened its seas, I naturally wanted to go and see for myself."

"The warring states of Europe were another civilized land besides the Ming Dynasty, India, and Persia. It just so happened that the Prince of Dai established his own kingdom, so I thought of going there to serve him. As for whether I would become a monk or something else after I got there, it would depend on the circumstances."

After hearing Li Chengwen's words, Wang Mingli was completely certain that this man was likely a man with the talent to assist the state and was aiming to become an official in the Dai state.

He then smiled, stepped down, and formally bowed to Li Chengwen, saying, "Your Excellency is truly talented. If His Majesty knew that Your Excellency had come to serve him, he would be overjoyed!"

Li Chengwen smiled modestly, "Counselor Wang is too kind."

The two then talked for a while, mainly about the arrangements for the Daifan immigrant caravan to set sail, before Li Chengwen left under the pretext of needing to make preparations.

After Li Chengwen left, Wang Mingli called over someone and said, "Go and investigate whether this Li Chengwen has committed any crimes. Oh, and also Xi Yingzhen and Gui Longzi—that Xi Yingzhen should be a fairly famous Taoist priest from the late Yuan Dynasty."

The person who handled the matter nodded and left.

The Dai prince also had a simple intelligence network in the Ming Dynasty, and he could inquire about some things from the relevant officials of the court, so it was not difficult to investigate two people.

After leaving the Prince of Dai's residence, Li Chengwen did not go straight to the inn where he was staying, but instead strolled around the city with a follower.

He was well-versed in Confucian classics and almost entered officialdom. Later, dissatisfied with the emperor's policies, he went into seclusion in the mountains. He was not poor, but a landlord with considerable wealth. Of course, in the parlance of scholars, he could only be considered a poor scholar whose family had fallen on hard times.

He lived in seclusion in the mountains, where his former servants farmed and served him. Even when the servants occasionally went out to buy things, they would not discuss the outside world with him. Therefore, he had indeed lived a secluded life for more than ten years.

When he descended the mountain, the changes in the Ming Dynasty were even more exaggerated to him than the dynastic change of the past when the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Ming Dynasty and established it.

When he learned that all of this was related to the sudden emergence of the Marquis of Jiangning and the natural sciences that the court was now promoting, he inquired about the Marquis of Jiangning, but the more he heard, the more confused he became.

The most popular folk tale is that the Marquis of Jiangning was a celestial being banished from heaven! He could foresee five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future, and he brought all sorts of magical treasures to the mortal realm to help the Ming Dynasty prosper so that he could return to heaven and regain his celestial position!
Because he was well-versed in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, Li Chengwen felt that this claim was very unreliable.

However, other explanations fail to account for the various changes that the Marquis of Jiangning brought to the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that the suddenly appearing cross-river bridge was indeed not something the Ming Dynasty could build.

Therefore, later on, Li Chengwen also became skeptical about the claim that the Marquis of Jiangning was a banished immortal.

Then, he began to study the journal "Natural Science", which was supposedly run by the Marquis of Jiangning. Unfortunately, he had neither a foundation nor the aptitude for it. After three years of study, his understanding of natural science was still very shallow, probably equivalent to that of a middle school student in the Ming Dynasty today.

Although he had decided not to stay in the Ming Dynasty to devote himself to natural science, when Li Chengwen walked in front of a bookstore and saw that it was selling the latest issue of the "Natural Science" magazine, he still couldn't help but buy a copy.

At this moment, he noticed a middle-aged man with a peculiar demeanor browsing through various magazines in the bookstore, accompanied by two men who were clearly guards.

He immediately realized that this person was not simple, and went up to greet him.

"My name is Li Chengwen. May I ask how you are addressed?"

Liu Kuan looked at the strangely-looking scholar in front of him and smiled, "My name is Liu Chang."

He then pointed to the "Natural Science" magazine in his hand and asked, "Do you also read 'Natural Science' magazine, my friend?" Li Chengwen smiled and said, "Nowadays, how many knowledgeable people in the Ming Dynasty do not read 'Natural Science' magazine?"

"What does my friend think of the recent issues of the journal *Natural Science*?"

Li Chengwen said, "It's similar to the previous ones, explaining some natural science knowledge in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and the few small experiments are also very interesting. However, it often uses some Buddhist and Taoist sayings as negative examples, which is a bit inappropriate."

It's quite normal for Buddhist and Taoist teachings to frequently mention deities and Buddhas, and for natural sciences to use them to present opposing viewpoints.

Liu Kuan asked with a smile, "What's wrong with it?"

Li Chengwen said, "Although the classics of Buddhism and Taoism contain some stories fabricated by our predecessors, as mentioned in the publication, they are still the result of thousands of years of development in China. Buddhist and Taoist thought was as deeply rooted in people's hearts as Confucianism was before."

"Most importantly, some of the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism are still very useful, and it is no exaggeration to say that they are the words of sages. In the current situation, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are almost completely negated because of natural science, and the achievements of the sages will be destroyed in an instant. Isn't that a pity?"

Liu Kuan was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that a scholar he randomly encountered while shopping for books on his day off would have such insight.

After regaining his senses, Liu Kuan said, "My friend has remarkable insight. There are indeed many wonderful contents in the thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which are worth inheriting and will be of great use to individuals and countries even five or six hundred years from now."

"However, natural science is not necessarily completely contrary to the thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and they are not mutually exclusive. If you can understand the way of natural science more and more deeply, you will find that there are actually many similarities between them."

"In addition, there are indeed many dross elements in the thoughts, classics, and sayings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Now is a time of great change and great contention. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism must remove the dross, retain the essence, and seek innovation and change in order to be passed down."

After listening to Liu Kuan's words, Li Chengwen fell into deep thought and stood there for a moment.

Seeing this, Liu Kuan quietly left the bookstore with his guards—he finally had a day off, and he had many places to visit today. Of course, it wasn't all for leisure; he also wanted to check on his own businesses.

It's never good for the head of a family to be completely ignorant about their own business.

It was quite some time after Liu Kuan left that Li Chengwen came to his senses and murmured, "That person was truly a master, and must be a high-ranking official in the court... Liu Chang, there doesn't seem to be any high-ranking official in the court with that name... Could it be Liu Kuan, the Marquis of Jiangning?!"

Even someone as shrewd as Li Chengwen couldn't help but get excited at the thought of a certain possibility.

Then came regret.

He missed a great opportunity to get to know the Marquis of Jiangning!

It should be noted that someone of his status might not even be able to meet Liu Kuan even if he went to the Marquis of Jiangning's residence to present his visiting card.

Firstly, given the difference in their social status, the gatekeeper might not even show the visiting card to Liu Kuan. Secondly, if Liu Kuan received any visiting card from just anyone, he wouldn't have anything else to do; he could stay at home all day waiting to see guests and still not be able to see them all.

"The Prince of Dai is a student of the Marquis of Jiangning. When I go to the State of Dai in the future, I will ask the Prince of Dai and find out whether the person I met today was indeed the Marquis of Jiangning."

'If he truly is the Marquis of Jiangning, our chance encounter and conversation today would be a truly remarkable story, and would certainly add a special qualification to my resume in the Dai Kingdom!'

Thinking of this, Li Chengwen was initially happy, but his smile quickly turned into self-mockery—after more than ten years of seclusion and in-depth study of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, he was still just an ordinary person after coming down from the mountain.

However, I heard that his uncle, the monk Daoyan, had long ago joined the service of the King of Yan and was now like a prime minister in the Yan Kingdom, but he was also a very ordinary person.

Finally, after carefully considering Liu Kuan's words about natural science and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, Li Chengwen suddenly had an idea and thought to himself: Now that I understand the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, since the Marquis of Jiangning said that natural science and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have something in common, why don't I study natural science more thoroughly?
If I can integrate Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and science, even if I don't become a saint of my time, I will surely become a great sage whose name will be remembered for generations to come!

Thinking of this, Li Chengwen became excited, as if he had regained the passion he had when he was a teenager or in his early twenties to apply what he had learned!

He immediately began to search carefully in the bookstore, intending to buy more magazines and books related to natural sciences for his studies.

···
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In the blink of an eye, three years of Wenlong had passed, and it was now the fourth year of Wenlong.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Kuan brought his entire family to the Dashan Temple to participate in the movie-watching banquet hosted by the Zhu family.

On the morning of the third day of the eighth lunar month last year, Lao Zhu followed him to the cross-river bridge to wait for the strange fog to arrive. Unfortunately, the strange fog did not show up this time, which made Lao Zhu very unhappy.

However, Liu Kuan still had a considerable amount of material in hand, more than enough to find the videos and movies needed for a film screening banquet. (End of Chapter)