Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 712 How can I obtain ten thousand mansions?

Seeing that the chief priest didn't seem to intend to hold him accountable, Cheng Li couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Faced with the headmaster of the Jixia Academy, he ultimately lacked the courage to defy some of the other party's decisions.

Since it wasn't coming for me, there's less trouble.

Hearing the caravan drive away, Cheng Li couldn't help but glance sideways.

Will you go back to the academy?

The old man suddenly spoke, looking calmly at Cheng Li.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Li said softly, "I will return once I have completed my studies."

This is his decision, and it's also what everyone thinks. One day they will spread their new ideas throughout the world.

Even if some ideas are considered heretical or incomprehensible by others.

But as long as the seeds of ideas are sown, those sparks will eventually ignite a prairie fire and be accepted by the world.

After receiving Cheng Li's reply, the old man smiled and said, "Alright. Go and do your thing."

The young man beside him hesitated, thinking to himself, "What does the Jixia Academy need students like this for? Haven't they already made a big enough fool of themselves?"

If we were to let someone as disrespectful to the emperor as this return to the academy, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause!

Cheng Li said nothing more, bowed respectfully again, then hurriedly turned around, mounted his horse, and rode away.

The young man frowned and asked softly, "Chancellor, is Cheng Li really not bewitched? He's completely changed..."

The old man chuckled and said, "People always change. How can you possibly see through someone's heart?"

The young man said, "How can someone like him be allowed to return to the academy? Just for those outrageous words he just uttered, he should be expelled..."

The old man sighed softly, "There's more than one Cheng Li here."

Besides Cheng Li, there were other students from the Jixia Academy, as well as teachers from the academy, and virtuous people from other parts of Qi.

Everyone here is staying under the banner of practicing the truths of sages and saints.

If we really try to distance ourselves from those people at this point, it's hard to say who will end up being the laughingstock.

The old man, with his hands behind his back, said leisurely, "Let's go, let's go take a look."

East of Jiamu City, outside the high walls, stand rows of neat and uniform houses.

This is a designated relief area.

Those in charge of the area, having learned of the caravan's return in advance, were already busy making various preparations, working with great enthusiasm.

Large quantities of food, medicine, clothing and other supplies were transported from various warehouses in the city.

Many idle city residents, upon hearing the news, also came to help.

The minotaur and the man arrived at the location first.

Without even taking a breath, the half-demon put down the man and excitedly ran off to help transport the goods.

The man was still a little dizzy from being shaken along the way. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath before running to the nearest housing area to help.

A caravan, resembling a long dragon, stopped at the edge of the relief area.

One by one, the carriages opened, and figures filed out from inside.

They were all impoverished humans or demons in poor health.

The journey had taken its toll, and everyone's condition had deteriorated further.

A person was waving a bright little flag in front of them, calling out to the crowd and leading them to a nearby canteen.

The canteen staff had already prepared a sufficient amount of nourishing meat porridge with medicinal herbs.

The people receiving aid lined up to receive thick meat porridge and crowded into the warm dining hall.

After a flurry of activity, the caravan members who had returned went to the relief area.

A caravan manager handed over some documents to the head of the relief area.

"A total of 32,561 people were brought back this time. Seven elderly and seriously ill people did not make it through the journey... Fortunately, everyone was safe and sound on the last leg of the journey."

"Thank you for your hard work, you've done a great job."

"After resting for two days, we will go out again. This time we also picked up some people from Wei. Wei also suffered from snow disaster. In some places, the officials did not do their job, and the people could not survive. Some people heard that we could live in peace here, so they risked going north to escape... I don't know how many disaster victims died on the road in such cold weather."

"Ugh, this damn world."

Although Taiping Domain has formed several merchant caravans to go to Wei Kingdom for disaster relief, even Lu Zheng has provided relief along the way to alleviate the disaster.

But ultimately, manpower is limited, and it is impossible to take care of so many disaster-stricken areas in Wei.

The caravan leader was handing over the mission to the head of the relief area.

Some of the caravan members stayed here to assist with certain matters, while others drove their vehicles to the relevant areas to rest and replenish supplies.

At this time, the canteens in the relief area were already full of people.

When the elderly and young people arrived here, they felt that almost everyone they saw was a poor disaster victim.

There were also people in various uniforms coming and going, busy looking after the disaster victims and maintaining order.

The young man smelled an indescribable stench permeating the cafeteria, and his brows furrowed deeply.

Having lived for so many years, he had never seen so many slovenly and filthy people. If the chief priest hadn't been right next to him, he would have turned around and left this place immediately. It felt like this was not a place for normal people to stay.

In a corner of the cafeteria, Cheng Li was holding a small, thin child and carefully feeding him porridge with a spoon.

Cheng Li was just passing by to check on the situation of this canteen, but he saw that the child was so thin and weak that he couldn't even hold the bowl steadily. He could only put the bowl on the ground and lick it like a puppy...

Cheng Li gently hugged the child and asked softly, "Is it delicious?"

"Ah."

The child responded in a voice barely audible.

"Where are your parents? Did they get separated from you earlier?"

"He died. He starved to death before it snowed, and was eaten... But I had no flesh on my body, so I wasn't eaten..."

The child's voice was calm, as if it held a detached calmness towards life and death, a numbness to life that came from suffering too much. Cheng Li's expression froze for a moment, then he said softly, "Then you must live well, live for them. You don't need to worry about not having food here."

"Oh……"

The child's eyes sparkled, but the light vanished in an instant.

A woman working in the relief area saw Cheng Li and said with a smile, "You must have just returned from the caravan, right? Go and get some rest. Let me take care of this child... Judging from your appearance, you're probably not even married yet. I'm a woman, and I know better than you when it comes to taking care of children. The way you're holding him is wrong..."

Cheng Li smiled sheepishly upon hearing this, thanked her, gave her a few more instructions, and then handed the child and the bowl of porridge to the woman.

"We're all family, no need to thank me. Young man, go and rest!"

The woman said casually, then looked at the child with pity, "Oh, look how thin this child is! My son used to be just as thin, sometimes so hungry he couldn't even get thin soup. Thank goodness..."

Cheng Li walked out of the canteen and saw the chief priest and the young man standing outside, so he stepped forward and said, "Shall I show you around here?"

The old man nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

Cheng Li took a deep breath and then calmly led the way.

"This is the canteen in the relief area. People who have just been sent here can eat here every day, three meals a day, with vegetables and meat..."

"When they first arrived, their meals were supplemented with many herbs that replenish qi and blood, including spiritual herbs..."

"Go this way, the washroom area is just ahead. After those people finish eating, someone will lead them here to wash up, change their clothes, and then line up for a doctor's check-up."

"If someone's health condition is really bad, they will be taken care of separately and given some prescriptions or pills."

"After that, it's just a matter of registration and distributing living supplies. Basic necessities are generally available, and there will be no shortage of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. If some people don't get enough to eat in the canteen, they can cook for themselves. Basically, if you need anything, you can apply for it for free..."

“It’s winter now, so these newly arrived residents will stay in this area temporarily and receive some education. Someone will plan their future lives based on their situation and assign them some simple tasks or jobs. Children, for example, only need to go to school to learn to read and write; they don’t need to do anything else.”

"As long as you become a part of this place, you can enjoy many things for free and have no worries about making a living."

Cheng Li looked at the old man and said in a serious tone, "I can say without any doubt that the life of an ordinary person here is more affluent than that of a small landlord or gentry in the State of Qi."

The young man beside him exclaimed in disbelief, "How is that possible! How can you have so many supplies here for people to enjoy for free! You even said you can give ordinary people pills to heal their injuries? That's absurd..."

Cheng Li said calmly, "Didn't you notice those lands when you came here? Besides plenty of farmland, we also have many workshops and livestock farms..."

"The hundreds of thousands of people in Jiamu City alone have a daily supply of meat! We also have a lot of goods to trade outside!"

"As for spiritual materials, although the quantity is not large, it can still be supplied."

"Did you know that a newly initiated cultivator's productive capacity far exceeds that of ten ordinary laborers!"

"How much change can a powerful demon at the Tongxuan Realm bring to a city if it devotes all its energy to production and construction? A complete upheaval!"

Cheng Li looked at the young man calmly, "How could you, who have been pampered since childhood, know these things?"

The young man glared at him and said in a deep voice, "Weren't you like this before?!"

In terms of family background, Cheng Li was no worse than him, and he used to be quite dashing in the academy.

Cheng Li said calmly, "Yes, I used to be the same. I used to study the classics diligently, considering myself the pride of my family and an outstanding student of the academy..."

"But when I got here, I realized that my previous thoughts were wrong. I live a life of luxury without doing any work, not because I am blessed by my family, but because I am exploiting and oppressing ordinary people!"

“My Cheng family owns tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, but many farmers toil and sweat to cultivate it. We have countless businesses, yet we are profiting at the expense of ordinary people…”

“I was once proud of my family background, and I spent money lavishly and freely… I have studied the classics, I should not have acted like that!”

Cheng Li turned to look at the old man and said softly, "I joined a caravan that was helping the people. During this time, I saw many people, many dead people. Some died of starvation, some died of freezing, and some even ate the dead because they were starving... I don't understand, with so many Confucian scholars who have studied the classics, why is the world still so bad after thousands of years?"

"Master of Ceremonies, why is that?"

Cheng Li's eyes were red, and he looked at the leader of the Jixia Academy with a puzzled expression.

The old man sighed inwardly and said softly, "Cheng Li, this world is very complicated. Some things are not as simple as you think."

"Is it difficult?"

Cheng Li looked around and said, "When I came to this city, there were no relief zones yet, but now, in less than a winter, this area alone has saved nearly 100,000 people!"

"There are many such districts throughout the Taiping Domain. Including the original residents, the number of people we have saved could be in the hundreds of millions!"

"How long has it been? If you want to do it, is there really anything you can't do?"

Cheng Li sighed softly, "Is it really more difficult to help some people and do something meaningful than to bury yourself in studying the classics and texts of sages? I don't think so."

As someone who has studied the classics of sages and saints, Cheng Li feels that what he is doing now is much easier than studying those classics diligently.

Moreover, during this period of hard work, he gained a deeper understanding of the principles of sages and saints, which led to a greater improvement in his Confucian and Taoist cultivation than during his time studying at the academy.

“The sages wrote books not so that we would just bury ourselves in books… Master, the path of Confucian and Taoist scholars in the world today has gone astray, and it should not be like this.”

In the past, Cheng Li had many things he couldn't understand, but after living here for a while, he has come to understand many things.

So many Confucian scholars in the world, including myself in the past, are actually one of the root causes of the stagnation and chaos in this world.

The young man looked grim. He had seen Cheng Li criticize the emperor before, and now he dared to speak recklessly about Confucianism and Taoism. Had he lost his mind?

The young man said in a low voice, "Cheng Li, do you know what you're saying?"

Cheng Lidao said, "I know what I'm saying and what I'm doing. I remember all the words of the sages and worthies of the past! Do you want me to recite them to you?"

Cheng Li's expression turned serious, and suddenly his body rippled, releasing a pure and righteous aura.

This righteous and fearless spirit made Cheng Li stand tall even when facing the Imperial Academy's Chief Instructor.

"You, you actually..."

The young man's expression changed slightly. He had no idea that Cheng Li cultivated righteous energy, and that he had cultivated it to such a high degree.

Sensing the fluctuations in their aura, it seemed their cultivation levels had increased significantly.

Cheng Li said, "Thanks to the teachings of Brother Lu and Mr. Lu, I have recently experienced various worldly affairs and gained some insights. I have cultivated a noble spirit and have not disgraced the name of the sage."

The young man asked, "You call him 'sir'?"

The young man recognized the person Cheng Li was referring to: Lu Zheng.

Cheng Li calmly replied, "As the sage said, 'Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me.' I am far inferior to him, so why can't I be called his teacher? I am fortunate to have come to the Northern Region, to have the opportunity to practice the truths of the sages, and to be both teacher and friend to Lu Zheng." (End of Chapter)