Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 705 Beware of Confucianism

"The bystander sees most of the game? Then who do you think should be the ruler of all the nations in the world?"

Emperor Wei looked at Lu Zheng, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

Lu Zheng calmly said, "Dynasties will not last long; the world will belong to all people. As the sages said, 'When the Great Way prevails, the world is for all...'"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wei chuckled and said, "Is it that same old story you told in the Northern Regions again?"

Ever since learning that Lu Zheng had annotated the true scriptures, Emperor Wei had ordered a thorough investigation of Lu Zheng.

He knew more about Lu Zheng and the situation in the Northern Regions than the high-ranking officials and nobles of Wei.

Lu Zhengdao: "Has Your Majesty ever considered a world without dynasties and emperors?"

Emperor Wei narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, then said quietly, "I really can't imagine it."

Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "I've heard that in ancient times, there were no so-called emperors or kings. There wasn't such a big difference between mortals and cultivators, or between rulers and subjects..."

"Later, a set of rules came into being, tribes and clans emerged, cultivation sects arose... and then emperors ruled over regions..."

"These systems are rules that exist to maintain survival and order, but no one can say that they are born with the right to rule and enslave others, and no one is born to be used as a slave..."

"Some outdated and conservative rules will eventually fade into history and turn to dust. This is why sages pursue the great principles and truths, to pave a broader path for future generations, to bless their descendants, and to prioritize the well-being of all people rather than to protect the interests of a small group of people."

“The unfinished work of the sages should be continued by us, their descendants, instead of using their names to enjoy wealth and status while doing things that betray the sages.”

Lu Zheng looked at Emperor Wei, his gaze calm yet as profound as the boundless starry sky.

"Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Emperor Wei's throat bobbed slightly. He found that, as the emperor of Great Wei, he found it difficult to look a young man in the eye at this moment.

These sharp words, like a sword forged from righteous energy, pierced straight into the heart of the emperor.

Emperor Wei felt that he was facing not only a young man, but also a soul that carried the will of all sages, a soul that was resolute and pure.

The Emperor of Wei said softly, "In the entire Great Wei, there isn't a single person who would dare to say such things to me. You..."

Emperor Wei was at a loss for words to comment on Lu Zheng, and could only say, "He truly deserves to be the one chosen by Buddha."

Emperor Wei, with his hands behind his back, said quietly, "I don't consider myself an enlightened ruler. The historical records of later generations probably wouldn't even consider me a benevolent one. Such is the state of the world; it's difficult to be a good emperor… Those who can uphold righteousness in this world are truly precious…"

Emperor Wei sighed for a while, then reminisced about the past.

In his youth, he was also full of vigor and ambition, wanting to become the ruler of the Great Wei, a wise and benevolent monarch who would unify the world...

However, many things did not go as he wished, and he himself was not quite sure when he changed.

Was it when he ascended the throne, or when he faced strong opposition during his discussions with officials, or perhaps...?

Emperor Wei raised his hand to rub his temples, then turned to ask Lu Zheng, "If you fail in the Northern Region, what are your plans afterward?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty thinks I am someone who gives up easily."

Emperor Wei smiled and said, "It doesn't seem like it."

Lu Zheng said in a serious tone, "Even if I fail, I will persevere. Nothing can stop me from moving forward to explore the truth, not even death."

Emperor Wei stared at Lu Zheng, and from Lu Zheng's expression, he could see that he was ready to die.

The Wei Emperor said, "It is what my heart desires, and though I die nine times, I will not regret it. I am truly looking forward to seeing just how far you can go."

Lu Zheng said softly, "If one day His Majesty regards me as an enemy, I'm afraid he won't be so looking forward to it."

"Is it……"

Emperor Wei chuckled and said, "I hope that day will never come."

Emperor Wei paused for a moment, then said, "I have benefited greatly from our conversation, so I will give you a piece of useful advice."

Lu Zheng replied, "Your Majesty, please speak."

The Wei emperor's eyes flickered, and he said softly, "Beware of the Confucianists!"

Lu Zheng was slightly surprised to hear Emperor Wei say that.

Lu Zheng nodded. "I've got it."

Emperor Wei noticed that Lu Zheng's expression hadn't changed, so he said, "It's not that I'm trying to sow discord..."

Emperor Wei lowered his voice and said, "That new classic of Confucian poetry should be related to you, right?"

"Of course, you don't need to admit anything directly; this is something I've figured out."

"I think it wouldn't be too difficult for you to write medical and agricultural books, annotate Buddhist scriptures, and compile a collection of poems and essays, would it?"

Emperor Wei chuckled and said, "Some of your words and actions are quite in line with the essence of that new poetry classic, which is truly thought-provoking."

"The impact that book can have is far greater than that of Buddhist scriptures. After all, Confucian scholars are everywhere, and even our Wei Kingdom has no shortage of them. If all the Confucian scholars in the world were to study new poetry, the future of Confucianism would be...tsk tsk..."

Emperor Wei shook his head, finding it hard to imagine that scene.

This is why the emergence of new poetry caused a sensation throughout the world, and many countries banned the complete classics.

The rulers of all the countries simply did not want to see countless well-behaved Confucian scholars suddenly deviate from the norm, shouting about speaking up for the people and daring to change the world...

In fact, the State of Wei was the least affected, since Wei revered Buddhism and the status and influence of Confucian disciples were minimal.

Therefore, Emperor Wei was not particularly dissatisfied with Lu Zheng regarding the new poems.

After all, there are many people in the world who are more dissatisfied with the current state of modern poetry than he is, and who want to find someone to compile a book.

Out of respect for Buddha, Emperor Wei decided to watch the show from the sidelines and gave Lu Zheng a little reminder.

Emperor Wei found a seat, took a couple of sips of fragrant tea, and looked relaxed and content.

"Confucianism is a huge mountain, much bigger than Buddhism!"

As he spoke, Emperor Wei subconsciously glanced in the direction of the main hall of the Garan Temple.

Although it was just him and Lu Zheng chatting now, it was hard to say that the other person was all-powerful and knew about what was going on here.

Emperor Wei said leisurely, "But if we really want to talk about it, most of the countries in this world have Confucian scholars who take the imperial examinations to become officials. Many people's Confucian and Taoist attainments are achieved through these examinations, far from the self-cultivation of ancient times... Can you say that these people can be considered proper Confucian scholars, disciples of Confucian sages?"

Lu Zhengdao: "It's hard to say, everyone is different."

Emperor Wei stroked his teacup with his fingers and said in a low voice, "In your opinion, this is ultimately a bad thing, isn't it? What do you think we should do?"

Regarding the matter of Buddhism, establishing Mahayana Buddhism as the orthodox doctrine and requesting the Buddha's true will to descend to earth can be considered as correcting the wrongs, and the impact it has brought is at least positive in retrospect.

But the problems that exist within Confucianism today involve a much more complex situation...

Even as an observer, Emperor Wei couldn't fathom how other major powers, which relied heavily on the Confucian civil service examination system, could effectively restrict the Confucian school of thought.

Lu Zheng thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know. This kind of thing is very complicated and a big problem. We need to carefully consider some measures, and perhaps we can find a solution. I can't give any advice for now." Emperor Wei raised an eyebrow. "From what you're saying, it seems you've thought about these things?"

Emperor Wei paused, then suddenly realized, "That's right. You can even compile new poems and plan for Buddhist affairs. How could you not have thought about the current state of Confucianism... It seems that my reminder was a bit unnecessary."

He had originally thought he could give Lu Zheng some useful advice, but now it seems that this young man was thinking about more things than he was.

Emperor Wei then said, "Since you were able to produce the true scriptures, you must have discussed some terms with Yuan Tao. I will not inquire about your affairs, but you can now tell me your demands as a reward for your efforts."

Lu Zheng pondered for a moment after hearing this, and then made some requests.

After that, Lu Zheng left the palace.

Emperor Wei sat alone in the palace with a somewhat complicated expression.

“This young man…”

He couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. Lu Zheng hadn't asked him for any tangible benefits; instead, some of his demands were about how he should govern and treat the people of Wei well.

Even though Emperor Wei did not agree with some of Lu Zheng's words, actions and ideas, he still admired him for being such a pure person.

Emperor Wei raised his cup, facing the main hall, and spoke softly.

"The way of the sages is not solitary!"

……

As Lu Zheng passed through one of the temple's gates, he saw Qing Wan waiting there with Qing Yi.

"Hey, you're out!"

Qingwan looked Lu Zheng over and, after confirming that he was alright, felt a little relieved.

"Let's go, Yuan Tao is waiting for us at his residence..."

The three returned to their secluded residence and found Yuan Tao chatting with Yun Xiao and Gongyang Ming in the courtyard.

When Yuan Tao saw Lu Zheng return, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Lu, did Father Emperor make things difficult for you?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty is a very easy person to talk to."

Hearing Lu Zheng say this, Yuan Tao felt relieved. He had been worried that the conversation between Emperor Wei and Lu Zheng might not have gone well, which would have put him in a difficult position.

Just then, a sound came from outside.

Yuan Chongxing came in from outside, his face full of smiles and wrinkles.

"It's out! It's out!"

Yuan Zhong was so excited that his hands trembled slightly as he handed the thick roster to Lu Zheng and the others to look through.

He just led some soldiers to find people to donate to charity, and they were all wealthy and powerful people.

Then, one by one, those people couldn't refuse and voluntarily donated money and goods to accumulate good karma for themselves and their families...

There's no way around it. Even the golden bodies of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were melted down to save all sentient beings. How could these devout believers dare to refuse to give even a single hair?

Some intelligent people suspect that if their names are not on the merit list, they might be on a different list altogether.

After all, the entire Wei Kingdom will need to regulate Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout the country later. They can just find some excuse and pin some crime on them...

Some people can only grit their teeth and accept it as a way to avoid further trouble.

Yuan Tao flipped through the register, exclaiming in surprise, "This... they really collected so much money, plus the accumulation of those Buddhist temples, wow..."

This really could create mountains of gold and silver...

Yuan Zhong rubbed his hands together excitedly, saying, "The Great Wei's treasury hasn't collected this much money in several years! This amount of money..."

Yuan Tao said, "This money is all for the people of Wei to spend!"

Yuan Zhong was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded and said, "Oh, I know! It's just that with so much money, how should we spend it?"

To be honest, even Yuan Tao didn't know how to spend the money in a way that would be truly useful.

After all, he had never had such an exaggerated amount of money at his disposal before.

I feel like I've suddenly become a nouveau riche, and I don't know what to do.

Qingwan, standing nearby, said, "There are so many places to spend money, is this much? If you really calculate it for every citizen of Wei, each person wouldn't get much..."

"If you don't know how to use money, then go and spend it on agriculture first!"

"Food is the most important thing for the people. Only when everyone has enough to eat can everything else be discussed!"

"Alas, it's just that your Wei Kingdom's system is too backward, and some agricultural policies are really difficult to implement."

Qingwan shook her head, her little brows furrowing slightly.

That's so outdated...

Upon hearing this, Yuan Tao and Yuan Zhong's expressions turned somewhat strange.

Qing Wan said slowly, "We can't expect you to directly attack landlords and gentry and distribute land to the common people, can we?"

If they dared to do that, the State of Wei might declare itself extinct the very next day.

Lu Zheng said, "I do have a few ideas, but I don't know if they'll work."

Yuan Tao's eyes lit up, and he said, "Mr. Lu, would you like to hear what I have to say?"

Lu Zhengdao: "Establish a Ministry of Agriculture at the county level, and organize local governments to reclaim land and designate it as official land. Many temples in various places possess large tracts of fertile land, a significant portion of which can be confiscated. The produce from these lands will be used for local tax revenue and grain taxes remitted to the national treasury, directly exempting the people from paying their grain taxes..."

Yuan Zhong clicked his tongue and said, "The people not paying taxes is unprecedented!"

Qingwan, standing nearby, retorted unhappily, "What do you mean 'never before'? In ancient times, many places were self-sufficient through farming. In our Northern Region, we didn't pay taxes. We cultivated so much land, and everyone was able to eat their fill and even sell our produce to other places!"

"It's because you're too greedy. You're capable but don't work, yet you insist on snatching that little bit of food from the mouths of poor people!"

"They do nothing of substance, all they do is try to squeeze money and grain from the people, and then complain that they don't pay enough. Even bloodsuckers aren't this despicable!"

Qingwan put her hands on her hips and said indignantly, "Let me tell you, we are all smart people, not so easily fooled! I've calculated it, even if all the people of Wei don't pay their taxes, you won't starve to death, and your lives will only be a little worse!"

"But even if we're living in poverty, are we still worse off than those who don't have enough to eat after paying their taxes, or even starve to death? You're just ungrateful!"

Yuan Zhong was speechless after being rebuked and could only stand there with a forced smile.

Qing Wan said, "Don't talk about how difficult it is to implement government orders. Now you have money, manpower, and the banners of the imperial court and Buddhism. If you are determined, how could you not solve this problem? It's not like we're asking you to rebel. Why is it so complicated?"

Yuan Zhong was startled. "Oh dear, Grandma, you can't say things like that..."

Yuan Zhong felt a chill run down his spine. These young people really dared to say anything. (End of Chapter)