Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 706 Buddha's Blessing

Yuan Zhong subconsciously glanced in the direction of the Garan Temple and whispered, "His Majesty hasn't left yet, has he? Don't shout things like that. I just want to live a peaceful life..."

Qingwan snorted, "What's there to be afraid of? It's just talk. There are so many princes, nobles, and powerful families in the world. They may not say they're rebelling, but their actions always corrupt the country. How is that any different from rebelling? You can't stand the sharp voices? Do you prefer to bury your heads in the sand and deceive yourselves?"

Yuan Zhong coughed lightly, "You're too kind, you're too kind. Let's get down to business."

Yuan Zhong couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng, "If we can really exempt the people of the whole country from grain tax, it would indeed be a very meaningful thing. I'm afraid future generations will record our achievements and make us famous for generations to come... But the specific implementation method still needs to be discussed carefully."

Yuan Zhong paused, then stroked his chin and said, "Speaking of which, it seems that this was not included in the Anguo Reform and New Policies. Could it be that its implementation was unsuccessful?"

Lu Zheng replied, “I did make a suggestion, but the conditions weren’t right. The national situations in Anguo and Weiguo are different. In Anguo, local forces are stable, making it difficult to implement many policies. But now that Weiguo is establishing Buddhism as the orthodox religion, it’s a good time to clean up and regulate local forces, and we can take this opportunity to try out some major reforms…”

"If Wei can exempt itself from grain tax, the impact will surely affect the entire world. If we take advantage of this to publicize it, it can serve as a model for other countries..."

"In that case, there would be many benefits for both the Wei Kingdom and Buddhism, and it would also benefit the people of all the countries in the world. This would be a meritorious deed..."

Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "When doing things, one should think long-term. I believe that the officials of the Wei court and the Buddhist monks are not fools. Some things are not impossible to do, but whether or not one is willing to do them."

Yuan Tao and Yuan Zhong pondered for a while and thought that there were indeed many feasible options.

Yuan Tao said, "When local governments reclaim official land, and when Buddhist temples confiscate fertile land and list it under the name of Buddhism, we should calculate it separately. We should at least promote the reputation of Buddhism, otherwise the monks will be reluctant to part with it..."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "That's fine. Also, the grain tax should be exempted, and local officials should be strictly prohibited from finding other ways to increase taxes on the people. In this way, even the best policies will become a means for others to harm the country and its people."

Yuan Tao said solemnly, "I will be careful."

The group discussed the matter further and proposed several policy solutions.

After calculating it this way, Yuan Zhong realized that even the money donated by so many wealthy people was not enough.

However, according to Lu Zheng, all investments will yield even greater returns in the future.

After sorting out his thoughts, Yuan Tao led Yuan Zhong and the others away.

Yuan Tao also planned to report to Emperor Wei that some important national policies involved matters outside of Buddhism, and as the crown prince, he did not have the authority to make such decisions.

It could be said that even the Wei emperor could not make the decision; he had to consult with the court officials.

Otherwise, if local officials don't cooperate after the government orders are issued, even the emperor can only watch helplessly.

After all, local officials were closer to the local powerful families, while the officials in the imperial court mostly came from powerful families in various prefectures and counties...

With various power relationships intertwined, even if the emperor's edicts were issued to the localities, their effectiveness depended on the actions of the local authorities.

Deceiving the emperor and acting against his will has existed since ancient times.

Lu Zheng and the others sat in the courtyard drinking tea. After talking so much, they were all a little thirsty.

Yun Xiao took a sip of her cool tea to moisten his throat, smacked his lips, and said, "I must say, you guys really care deeply about the people of the world, you've come up with so many ideas."

Yun Xiao looked at Lu Zheng with a meaningful look in his eyes and said, "Why do I feel like... the entire Wei Kingdom is being led around by you now?"

It is no exaggeration to say that the recent changes in Wei, and the changes that will occur in the future, can all be attributed to Lu Zheng's behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Of course, it cannot be said to be completely secret; at least several top figures in the Wei Kingdom were aware of Lu Zheng's actions.

They even, to some extent, agreed with Lu Zheng's idea and were willing to give it a try.

This can be described as a gamble, betting that the State of Wei will have a better future.

As the proposer, Lu Zheng's ability to get people to participate in such a high-stakes gamble is quite remarkable.

At least Yun Xiao felt that he couldn't influence the fate of a great nation through his abilities and means.

Qingwan, standing beside her, pouted and said, "If only we could really lead each other by the hand, it wouldn't be so complicated."

Qingwan waved her small fist, shook her head and sighed, "We're still too weak. If we could control everything, would we need to waste so much breath? We could just subdue people with force and make them do whatever we want."

"Don't even mention exempting grain tax, exempt all taxes for the common people, and reform those powerful families, landlords, and gentry... If that happens, will a peaceful and prosperous world be far away?"

Yun Xiao's eyes flickered, thinking that this was not the Northern Region, and such a large dynasty was not a pushover. He should stop thinking about these things.

These claims are even less realistic than rebelling against the State of Wei.

After all, what powerful families would be backing those rebellious forces?

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Adapt to local conditions. As long as we can take the first step, that's good."

Qingwan blinked and whispered, "What did you talk about with Emperor Wei earlier?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "We talked about the situation in the world, and he agreed to some things. He said he would not interfere with the situation in the Northern Region in the future."

Qingwan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Yuan Tao had previously promised not to interfere in the affairs of the Northern Region, but the Wei Emperor's statement was clearly more authoritative.

Qingwan rubbed her hands together and said, "This is great news! Does that mean we can go all out now and not have to worry about being stabbed in the back?"

Previously, they were all on guard against people from the Wei Kingdom causing trouble in the northern regions and trying to stop their development.

Therefore, Lu Zheng made some plans to make Wei have more important things to do and not have time to attend to other matters.

Everything is going according to their expectations.

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but say, "Speaking of which, do you really want to unify the Northern Region? Further north, there are several great demon kingdoms with demon saints among them. How are you going to deal with them? Even summoning the saint's will might not be enough..."

Even a Saint Realm expert who is close to old age is still a living Saint Realm figure, and cannot be suppressed by a mere ancient Saint's will.

As for sending Saint Realm experts to fight against Saint Realm experts, it would be difficult for anyone to destroy an expert who has cultivated to that level.

If there is no deep-seated hatred between the two sides, there is no need to fight to the death.

Yun Xiao paused, then asked curiously, "Besides those in the sky, are there any on the ground behind you?"

Lu Zheng shook his head; there really wasn't one.

Qingwan couldn't help but say, "Daoist Master, you should cultivate diligently and strive to attain sainthood as soon as possible. Then we'll have someone to help you."

Yun Xiao's lips twitched slightly. "Oh dear, thank goodness, I appreciate your kind words. But even if you just said a few words, this humble Daoist wouldn't become a saint!"

He dreamed of becoming a saint, but he hadn't even reached the pinnacle of the Dao Inquiry Realm, and was still far from the threshold of sainthood.

Yun Xiao even suspected that when Lu Zheng reached that threshold, he hadn't even found the door yet...

Qing Wan turned to look at Gongyang Ming beside her.

Under Qingwan's gaze, Gongyang Ming could only smile and say, "At my age, I'm afraid I can't count on you."

Qingwan clicked her tongue and said, "Isn't Confucian cultivation supposed to disregard age? What if you suddenly have an epiphany one day..."

Qingwan paused, then came up with an idea, "How about we ask Lu Zheng to invite Sage Meng over to give you some guidance?"

Gongyang Ming and Yun Xiao both had a strange look on their faces. So, they're familiar with every sage they can summon at will... Lu Zheng said, "I've already lost the Mencius chapters I have, so I don't know how to invite Sage Mencius."

Upon hearing this, Yun Xiao asked, "Gone? How did it disappear?"

He was thinking of taking a look at it when the time was right, but it turned out that everything was gone?

Lu Zheng explained, "Something came up before, and Meng Shengxian used it."

Yun Xiao stared wide-eyed and said, "What? That kind of sacred artifact can be consumed...?"

Lu Zheng said, "Let's show the treasure to the Daoist priest when we find a suitable one later."

After all, he had promised Yun Xiao to study the chapters of the sage, and now that the sacred object was gone, he could only use other valuable items as a substitute.

Yun Xiao said quietly, "It's not that I care whether I can see it or not, it's just that such a sacred object can't just disappear like that."

Gongyang Ming, who was standing nearby, was confused and asked around before he understood what was going on.

"The sage Meng used it himself? That's a Confucian treasure..."

Gongyang Ming found it unbelievable that two of the sage's chapters, which countless Confucian scholars had searched for for many years, had actually been consumed by Mencius himself, and these were two very important chapters at that.

Gongyang Ming asked, puzzled, "What did Meng Sheng do with you?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng smiled faintly and said, "To find a way out for the world. What's the point of keeping even the best sacred object if it can't be put to practical use?"

Gongyang Ming opened his mouth, but was speechless for a moment; he still couldn't understand.

Qingwan, who was standing next to her, said, "I've heard that the Jixia Academy has a large collection of original classics, and not just Confucian classics... How many sages did Master Gongyang encounter when he came into contact with those classics?"

Gongyang Mingdao said, "Those classics, even I cannot easily come into contact with them. Moreover, the spiritual essence and principles contained within them recover very slowly after being depleted, and the thoughts of sages and saints do not easily manifest. What virtue or ability do I possess to have met so many sages and saints..."

Although he was a teacher at the Jixia Academy, the academy did not belong to him. He could freely browse through the original classics, but he mostly read various copies.

The spiritual energy contained in the instance is not much, not enough to make the thoughts of a sage manifest.

Even after spending so many years at the Jixia Academy, Gongyang Ming only had a few occasions to get close to the original classics and to feel the Daoist wisdom left behind by the sages.

But the number of times I actually had the opportunity to see the thoughts of sages and saints could be counted on one hand.

I didn't have much interaction with those thoughts either.

Unlike Lu Zheng, who could casually meet with ancient sages and chat with them, Lu Zheng was not so accustomed to such encounters.

Thinking of this, Gongyang Mingdu fell into deep doubt, wondering what he had done wrong that prevented him from accessing the thoughts of the ancient sages.

……

When Yuan Tao went to pay his respects to Emperor Wei, he saw that Emperor Wei was still sitting in a Buddhist hall facing the Buddha statues with green lamps.

However, none of these Buddha statues had any thoughts.

"Father..."

Yuan Tao spoke softly, slowly explaining his purpose.

Emperor Wei listened quietly until Yuan Tao finished speaking, at which point he showed some reaction.

"Abolishing grain tax sets an example for the world..."

The Wei Emperor's eyes flickered uncertainly, and he gently rubbed his right thumb and forefinger together, remaining silent for a moment in contemplation.

After a long silence, Emperor Wei spoke calmly: "Judging from your words, you strongly support this matter?"

Upon hearing the Wei Emperor's unwavering tone, Yuan Tao's initial enthusiasm and excitement were somewhat dampened.

He slightly suppressed his joy and said softly, "Does Father Emperor find anything amiss?"

Emperor Wei said quietly, "It's a good thing, but it's not easy at all."

Yuan Tao couldn't help but say, "Where there's a will, there's a way. As long as Father Emperor permits, I will certainly take care of everything..."

When we discussed things with Lu Zheng and the others before, they took all aspects into consideration.

Yuan Tao naturally knew that it would not be easy to make such a thing happen, but how could he know if he could succeed if he didn't try?

Emperor Wei shook his head slightly upon hearing this, "Yuan Tao, you are now the Crown Prince of our Great Wei, the heir apparent of the country. You should think carefully before you act."

"It seems you haven't understood that young man, Lu Zheng. His thoughts on the world and his actions are all for the sake of the people..."

Yuan Tao was taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong with this?"

Emperor Wei said, "You are the Crown Prince of Wei. You should consider not only the common people, but also others... Otherwise, the country will collapse like a great building, and it will be difficult to recover."

After speaking with Lu Zheng, Emperor Wei understood that everything Lu Zheng did in Wei was for the benefit of the people of Wei.

As for the fate of the Wei Kingdom, whether it prospers or declines, they simply don't care.

It could even be said that the disappearance of all the kings and nobles in the world would be something the other side would be happy to see.

Yuan Tao remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "Your subject understands these principles, but I feel that if we don't do certain things, we'll just be watching the tall building collapse."

"Your subject is not ignorant. Your subject has considered many things. Sometimes, when you have to make a choice, your subject is willing to choose this one..."

“I have witnessed some things firsthand in the Northern Regions. Even though the situation in Wei is different from there, I still want to do something, to be a benevolent crown prince, instead of doing nothing and ruining our ancestors’ legacy…”

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wei smiled and said leisurely, "Haha, you do resemble me in my youth. You truly are my son."

Emperor Wei tapped his finger lightly and then said, "I grant your permission! I will personally speak with the officials! You don't need to worry, just do your job."

Yuan Tao was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Father!"

Emperor Wei waved his hand, "Go, you still have a lot to do."

"My son, please retire!"

Having received the answer he wanted, Yuan Tao bowed and took his leave.

After Yuan Tao left, Emperor Wei sat there with a deep expression, showing little joy.

"My family is vast and powerful, so I'll take a gamble with you all and see who the biggest winner is."

Emperor Wei spoke in a low voice, then got up and went to the main hall of the Garan Temple.

He offered another stick of incense to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and bowed with his hands clasped together.

"May Buddha protect us!" (End of Chapter)