Daqin: The Greatest Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

"The reason I brought it out for presentation is not only because I don't want to bury it, but more importantly, I want you to have some fun with it in your spare time."

"As for whether immortals exist, this question is unknown. But even if they do exist, it is probably beyond the reach of mortals like us."

After answering the question, he returned to the main topic.

"Everyone, I, Old Man Sun, come out to give lectures to support my family. If you find it interesting, you can give me a few coins and put them in the bowl."

"Old man Sun, what you said is true. How can we not pay you for the tea?"

"Old man Sun, your story really tickles my heart. After I went back home, I was thinking about what would happen next. I couldn't sleep for half the night. I came here early today, just waiting for you to tell me the next story!"

......

Old man Sun picked up the book calmly. Normally, at this time, the person they had prepared would show up.

But this time, it was beyond Old Man Sun's expectations. A young man asked curiously.

He was dressed in white, with a white cape on the outside and a silver mask on his head. He had elegant manners and an extraordinary demeanor.

"I wonder what Old Man Sun is holding in his hand?"

Ying Zheng immediately saw the slightly yellowed book in old man Sun's hand, which was covered with densely written words.

After seeing Ying Zheng, Old Man Sun's pupils shrank slightly. He glanced at the guards behind Ying Zheng inconspicuously and was secretly shocked.

However, he did not show any emotion on his face, and replied with a smile, "This thing is called paper, it is as thin as a cicada's wing, light and convenient. The information recorded on dozens of bamboo slips in the past can be recorded on just one thin piece of paper in my hand."

"Is this Xuan paper?" Ying Zheng looked at it carefully with surprise.

Old Man Sun shook his head. "This is just the most common paper. If you want to buy some rice paper, you can buy it at the Violet Chamber of Commerce."

"The largest chamber of commerce in the east of the city is the Violet Chamber of Commerce. If you are interested, you can go and have a look." He then turned his gaze to the many farmers present, "The Violet Chamber of Commerce also has high-quality and low-priced farm tools. If you need them, you can go and have a look."

Violet Chamber of Commerce?

Ying Zheng murmured to himself, is it possible to popularize paper to this extent?

After thinking for a while, he clasped his fists and asked the last question, "I wonder if Old Man Sun knows who developed this paper?"

"Sir, do you know anything about Confucianism?" Old Man Sun did not rush to answer. After receiving Ying Zheng's affirmative answer, he smiled and said, "The person who developed the paper was none other than Xunzi's disciple, Mr. Su Xuan."

Ying Zheng was shocked.

It's him!

Even though he had never met him in person, the "Strategies of the Warring States" he wrote had long fascinated Qin Shi Huang.

The reason why he took a huge risk to come to South Korea this time was to meet Su Xuan and Han Fei.

Before he could react, the crowd was already boiling with excitement.

"The paper was actually developed by Mr. Su Xuan! We were wondering who had this ability. If it was Mr. Su Xuan, then it wouldn't be surprising at all."

"Speaking of which, Mr. Su Xuan is our great benefactor. If it weren't for the curved plow he invented, which saved us a lot of time, we would probably still be working in the fields. How could we have the time to listen to storytelling here?"

"This curved plow is really easy to use. When I used a straight-beam plow before, I had to keep pressing down on the plow handle. At the end of the day, I was exhausted and sore all over. Now with a curved plow, I only need to control the direction, which is much easier than before."

"If you ask me, the biggest advantage of this plow is that it saves labor. In previous years, our county did not have enough oxen to plow every year, so there would always be a part of the land that was not cultivated. But this year, all of it has been plowed, and this year will definitely be a bumper harvest!"

"Don't you think the biggest benefit is that the curved plow can turn at will? There was a piece of land on the hillside that was difficult to cultivate. With the help of the curved plow, I have cultivated all the land. Hehehe..."

......

Everyone expressed their gratitude from the bottom of their hearts, with smiles on their faces and respect in their eyes.

Ying Zheng was shocked, and suddenly thought of the four maxims at the beginning of "Strategies of the Warring States".

Gai Nie looked at the smiling faces of the farmers' disciples and was deeply moved.

A familiar line from The Strategies of the Warring States came to my mind.

I wish I had thousands of spacious houses to shelter all the poor people in the world and bring happiness to them!

He has always had an unattainable dream, which is to create an ideal country without war and killing. Although the dream is a little out of reach, he believes that as long as he works hard, he will be able to achieve it.

Especially when he saw Su Xuan's ideas in "Strategies of the Warring States", he felt a strong resonance.

Will there really be a day when we can have enough food and clothing, be content and happy, and do whatever we want?

Gai Nie got the answers he wanted from these farm disciples.

"Qu Gengli Violet Chamber of Commerce also sells it. If you are interested, you can go there and find out for yourself. Someone will be there to receive you." Old Man Sun reminded.

Ying Zheng nodded slightly.

"I'm really sorry for delaying your time to listen to the book today. Today's tea money will be charged to me as a small apology."

Ying Zheng clasped his fists slightly, being gentle and generous. The slight dissatisfaction of the farmer disciples disappeared instantly.

He was not in a hurry to leave, but listened with great interest to Old Man Sun telling the story of Monkey King.

In the story, after returning from his studies, Monkey King defeated the King of Chaos, made a big fuss in the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea, and found the weapon Ruyi Jingu Bang, the Phoenix Wing Purple Gold Crown, the Chain Mail Golden Armor, and the Lotus Silk Cloud-Walking Shoes as his armor. At the same time, he made friends with the Bull Demon King, the Dragon Demon King and other demon kings, and became the most powerful one at the time.

When Ying Zheng was listening intently, the story came to an abrupt end. No matter how the crowd cheered, old man Sun was unwilling to say more.

Most people couldn't help but beat their chests, sigh, throw down one or two copper coins, and leave angrily.

Ying Zheng put a few knife coins into the bowl and prepared to go to the Violet Chamber of Commerce to take a look.

Several farm disciples who stayed nearby were whispering. When Ying Zheng heard who they were discussing, he couldn't help but stop.

"Have you heard? It is said that in order to keep Mr. Su Xuan, King Han even betrothed his daughter to him!"

"What's so strange about this? With Mr. Su Xuan's talent, he will be highly respected no matter which country he goes to."

"I really want Mr. Su Xuan to stay in Korea!"

......

Ying Zheng's heart suddenly sank and he left quickly.

Chapter 101 Marriage

A courtyard in the Han Palace.

Honglian was wearing a pink and white dress and was waving the sword in her hand vigorously, looking indignant.

This damn bastard! Why is he haunting me all day long?

During this month, the news she heard the most was about Su Xuan. Everyone was praising him, saying that he was a genius rarely seen in a century.

Even my father had lost his mind and was thinking of marrying me to him.

That guy has such a bad character!

She, Honglian, would never! She would never marry him!

It was as if someone's teasing smile appeared in front of her, and she swung even harder.

After slashing several times with the sword, she finally felt relieved.

Whoosh!

She took a deep breath and felt much more refreshed. She put away her sword and walked into the pavilion.

On the stone table in the pavilion was placed snow-white rice paper, with several lifelike sketches randomly superimposed on it. There was a picture of a green lotus blooming, a scroll of mountains and waters, and at the very top was a portrait of a man who was as gentle as jade and handsome.

Honglian looked at the turtle patterns on both sides of the man's cheeks, and a smile appeared in her eyes.

She held the paintbrush in her right hand and rested her left hand on her hair. The scene of their meeting emerged involuntarily in her mind.

Clearly a month has passed, yet it seems as if it were just now vividly remembered.

She put down her paintbrush and looked at the rice paper in front of her with mixed feelings.

In the past, she always painted on silk, which is much more complicated than painting on paper, and the lines are far less delicate than on paper. A mistake would ruin the entire painting, but this problem does not exist on rice paper.

She paints as much as she wants.

She knew that he was the one who developed Xuan paper, including the curved plow that her father praised.

Really has some skills!

She muttered quietly.

And at this moment, a duck-like voice was heard.

"The king has arrived!"

"Father." Honglian greeted him reluctantly.

"Honglian, what do you think?" Han Wangan went straight to the point.

"Father, Honglian just wants to be with you." Honglian walked to Han Wangan, hugged his arm, and began to act coquettishly.

"Honglian, your father can obey you on other matters, but you must listen to your father on this matter!" Han Wangan's face became serious.

"No way!" Honglian puffed up her cheeks, turned her head to the other side, and began to act willful.

"Honglian, can't you understand your father?" King Han sighed suddenly, appearing to be troubled.

Honglian secretly glanced at Han Wangan, seeming a little surprised that he said such a thing.

In the past, when my father’s persuasion was futile, didn’t he just make harsh remarks and leave in anger?

Why did you suddenly change your temper today?

"Why do you think our father insists on letting you marry Mr. Su Xuan?" Han Wangan asked.

"Do you think father did this for himself?" Seeing Honglian didn't say anything, King Han continued, "Father did this for you and for Korea!"

Honglian turned to look at Han Wangan, with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"You should know that being born in an imperial family means that many things are beyond your control." He paused, then continued, "This includes marriage."

"Rather than marrying you to other powerful people, father would rather marry you to Mr. Su Xuan."

"He is your ninth brother's senior apprentice and Master Xun's top student. He has a good character and Father knows him well. Father can safely hand you over to him, but can Father be confident in other people?"

There was a flash of confusion in Honglian's eyes. Could it be that her father really did this for her?

Han Wangan took out the lines he had prepared long ago and asked, "How many young talents do you think can surpass Mr. Su Xuan in this world?"

Honglian was obviously stunned for a moment, because among the people she knew, no one could compare to Su Xuan.

At this moment, she had to admit Su Xuan's excellence.

"Can you tell father why you don't want to marry Mr. Su Xuan?" Han Wangan further tested.

Honglian's pink lips trembled, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

How could I possibly say such an embarrassing thing out loud?

She remained silent.

It wasn't a big deal, she was just playing a trick on him with the painting and never really thought about revenge.

The reason for rejection may be that the decision was made without asking for your opinion at the beginning.

"It's also your father's fault for spoiling you too much since you were a child." Han Wangan sighed, seeming to blame himself, and said helplessly, "If you don't want to get married, then don't get married."

Han Wangan retreated to advance, "Father is old, and now there are many things that are beyond his ability. I thought that if you marry Mr. Su Xuan, Mr. Su Xuan would more or less help father and South Korea. Now, alas..."

He shook his head, turned and walked away.

Looking at Han Wangan's desolate and lonely back, Honglian's heart trembled and she felt extremely guilty.

She saw a few strands of gray in Han Wangan's hair and realized that her father was really old.

Maybe, this time, I was really too willful.

"Father..."

"I'll...consider it." She bit her red lips lightly, her head feeling a mess.

King Han paused, with an expression of joy that was hard to conceal in his eyes.

Prime Minister Zhang's strategy of using emotion and reason to persuade the people and retreating to advance was indeed effective!

But thinking about it is not enough! He has to add fuel to the fire.

It’s best to make it a done deal!

Because even if Honglian agreed, it was only a unilateral agreement, and Mr. Su Xuan did not say he agreed.

But once they have physical contact, Mr. Su Xuan can't refuse!