Author: Mu Jili

Huang Zhou's face turned red with shame, and he stepped forward respectfully and bowed: "I have seen all the Taoist priests of the Immortal Sect, so my student Huang Zhou is polite."

Lu Liang looked the young farm boy up and down and saw that although he was skinny and skinny, his overall character and dignity had not been lost. He looked like someone who had attended a private school for several years. He nodded and agreed with a slight hum.

Zhang Yuqing raised his eyes slightly, flicked his sleeves and robe and waved a wisp of magic power to lift the latter up.

Huangzhou was greatly shocked, feeling an inexplicable force forcefully straightening his body, and looked at the exceptionally handsome young Taoist in the carriage with shock and fear.

Others saw something strange in his expression and immediately explained: "This is His Highness the Taoist Master of our religion, but..."

After some explanation, Huangzhou immediately knelt down in obeisance and thanked him with tears streaming down his face: "On behalf of the common people, I would like to thank Master Daozi for his help..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Yuqing waved his hand impatiently and lifted him up from the ground, saying coldly: "What is your identity? How can you be qualified to thank me on behalf of the people of the world?"

Huang Zhou's face was flustered. He didn't know where he had offended this Taoist disciple of the Immortal Sect. He just felt that the other party seemed to hate the Confucian scholar's robe he was wearing.

Everyone was surprised for a moment, especially Lu Zhixin, who was almost suffocated. As the person who personally promoted Huangzhou to meet Daozi, he could not escape the blame.

"Please calm down, Master, I'm waiting for death!"

Lu Liang was the most diligent in observing words and expressions.

He immediately pulled Lu Zhixin to his knees and kowtowed, not daring to raise his head.

Huangzhou looked panicked, calmed down for a moment, and then said loudly: "Daozi asked the student what his status was, and what qualifications he had to thank Daozi on behalf of the people. The student is not talented, he is just a child in Huangjia Village."

"but……"

His tone was respectful, but his eyes were sharp: "I am not a talented student, but I have also attended the lectures of great scholars."

Huangzhou looked pious: "A contemporary great Confucian in Hengqu once said: 'Establish a mind for the heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the livelihood of the people, inherit the unique knowledge of the past saints, and create peace for all generations!'"

"As a generation, we study Confucianism, and that's all we do!"

"Although the student is just a child, he has gone to school for a few days. He knows that when we study and write, we have to shoulder the burdens that others cannot handle and be able to do things that others cannot."

"Although Daozi believes in Taoism, the words and deeds of Daozi are more consistent with the four sentences of Hengqu than the students! Feeling like this for a moment, I can't help but feel a little dissolute. I don't know where I made Daozi angry. It's all the students' fault. Please punish me.

If so, punish the students!"

Huangzhou felt uneasy and bowed his head, waiting for his words.

Zhang Yuqing chuckled lightly and said: "Well, it's okay to talk to a Confucian scholar like you and raise your head."

Huangzhou slowly raised his head and looked at Zhang Yuqing quietly.

"You just said that you maintain your status as a scholar and think that you are qualified to express your gratitude to the heads of Guizhou who receive relief from our religion. Essentially, it is because you think that they are not as smart and grateful as the people you have studied, right?"

Huangzhou was slightly startled, intending to object, but saw that the Taoist priest in front of him had clear eyes, and it was as if he could see through the internal organs just by looking at him.

He smiled bitterly, cupped his hands and said honestly: "...Yes, Your Highness Daozi, the people are ignorant and do not know etiquette, so most of them have no chance to see Daozi in person..."

Zhang Yuqing interrupted him directly and continued: "Ignorant? Don't know etiquette? Whose etiquette do you know? Are you Confucian etiquette?"

When Huangzhou heard this, his face tightened and he said: "Exactly, does Taozi think there is something wrong with our Confucian etiquette? It should be noted that the principles of the world, the ruler, ministers, father and son, coincide with the number of heaven. This should also be respected by Taoism. If there is no etiquette, it will be chaotic.

Order will be like that day when people were fighting for rice porridge, causing chaos and increasing casualties..."

Zhang Yuqing said coldly: "You even misunderstood the basic definitions of etiquette and rules. No wonder you are so arrogant!"

Huangzhou sweated coldly and gritted his teeth and said, "Please, Taozi, please give me some advice."

"The so-called etiquette rules only exist for three things from the moment they are formulated."

"The first is to create a plan to rationally collect the world's wealth and control the subsequent distribution rights."

"This is the idea of ​​monarch, minister, father and son advocated by Confucianism. Why do the people have to pay taxes to the emperor? Because the emperor is the son of God and manages the people on behalf of God. The people must obey the emperor's orders."

"Second, formulate a framework for people to live within. No one can exceed it according to Confucian rules and regulations, and protect their basic living needs, such as the basic right to survival, which extends to education, medical care, public security, etc."

"This is the prefectural and county system. County magistrates need to protect the basic living needs of the people under their rule. The country needs to protect the territory from being invaded by foreign enemies so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment, and cultivate and support themselves."

"Third, in order to make this system run for a long time, we actively sacrifice the rights and interests of most people to protect the core tax rights.

Therefore, Confucian etiquette has been based on the assumption that the people are ignorant from the beginning, because if the people were not ignorant, they would realize that the emperor's theory was nonsense, and they would spontaneously refuse to pay taxes to the emperor, and finally ended up with a system

Collapse, the fate of the Yuan Dynasty’s organizational system!”

Zhang Yuqing looked at him coldly: "You think that the people are ignorant, but you don't know that it is because of Confucian scholars like you that the people of the world have to be ignorant!"

Huangzhou was sweating profusely, his mouth and tongue were dry, and he murmured for a long time before murmuring: "But doesn't Taozi think that the world does not need rules to restrain it?"

Zhang Yuqing sneered: "Of course etiquette and systems are indispensable in the world, but if you want to talk about etiquette, you must first talk about whose etiquette it is. You are still a Confucian scholar, haven't you ever heard of the saying that etiquette cannot be inferior to common people?"

Huangzhou collapsed on the ground with a thud, countless thoughts suddenly appeared in his mind, and he seemed to have figured out something.

'No wonder this Taoist dislikes my status as a Confucian scholar...'

"The etiquette, rule of law, and systems currently running in the Song Dynasty were all proposed by your Confucians.

Since we want to talk about etiquette and systems, we must know that it was precisely because of the Confucian policy of obscuring the people that no less than ten thousand people in the Song Dynasty froze to death every day and starved to death."

This flood washed away the fields that countless people relied on for a living, displaced tens of thousands of people, and hundreds of people starved to death every day.

But in the eyes of Bianliang, Lin'an and the Hengqu scholars you call, all this is so commonplace."

"But for the villagers of Huangjia Village, is there any need for this kind of cannibalism rule?"

Huangzhou's face turned pale, then turned red for a moment, and murmured: "But the people's lives are getting better and better. This is the result of the education of generations of great scholars. Could it be that His Highness Daozi thinks that the promotion of Taoism is

Will the world be a better place?"

Zhang Yuqing glanced at him contemptuously and said, "This is natural."

"I am a true disciple of the Immortal. I have thirteen thousand and five hundred volumes of Immortal Dharma. If the system of my religion is implemented in the world, there will be a world where there will be no bones on the road, no people will suffer from disasters, and everyone will be able to live a long life."

Huangzhou still refused to admit defeat. Although he had seen the magical power of His Highness Daozi, Ziyu didn't blame his strength for confusing the gods. He immediately frowned and said: "The reason why Daozi is so sure is that the officials are unwilling to promote Taoism."

It’s just a theory about the rule of law. Naturally, no one can verify the authenticity of so-called things that have not happened.”

Zhang Yuqing was too lazy to talk to him and ordered: "Lü Liang!"

"Why!"

Luliang got up from the ground quickly, took out a sack, and took out the fairy rice one plant after another.

"This is the rice seed I improved according to the immortal method. Each plant will bear 500 seeds, and the average yield per acre will be 1,200 jin, which will prevent the people of the world from starving to death. Can you prove that our religion is more suitable than Confucianism?

Do you govern the people?"

Huangzhou's eyes were about to burst, and his eyeballs almost fell out of his head when he looked at those immortal rice plants.

After all, he is also a farmer, so he can naturally understand the concept of a yield of 1,200 kilograms per mu.

"This, this is impossible..."

Huangzhou muttered to himself, his worldview almost collapsed.

He was stunned for a long time. The iron-clad facts were placed in front of him, and the knowledge he had gained from studying hard in the past was instantly eclipsed.

He had worked hard for so many years to get rid of the title of "farmer's son", but now he felt like a joke in front of the words of Changshengjiao Daozi.

'Confucianism is the chief culprit that confuses the people of the world?'

This doubt appeared in his mind for the first time, and then he felt a cold feeling behind him and shook his head hurriedly.

At this moment, his eyes looking at Zhang Yuqing became extremely frightened.

Huangzhou realized that if today's discussion of Taoism between him and Daozi spreads, what a serious blow it will have to the reputation of Confucianism!

Of course, Huangzhou is undoubtedly worrying too much.

After all, in this kind of discussion about orthodoxy, it is often difficult for the common people, as the subject of the discussion, to distinguish the difference.

And those who can understand its meaning must be people who have read books and understand the truth.

Unfortunately, in today's Northern Song Dynasty, not only 99% of such people are Confucian scholars, but at least 100%.

Will Confucian scholars agree with Zhang Yuqing's theory?

This truth is self-evident and can be understood by just thinking about it with your toes.

So in an era where Confucianism controls the right to speak in public opinion, can making such remarks really deal a blow to the reputation of Confucianism?

It can be said that the impact may be there, but it will be minimal.

Therefore, Zhang Yuqing had no intention of promoting Confucianism to the world. His main idea was to create a population siphon effect through obvious institutional advantages.

As long as everyone living in the areas governed by the Changsheng Sect can live and work in peace and contentment, then people in other areas of the Song Dynasty will decide their heads and spontaneously join his camp.

As for why I debated these things with Huangzhou on a whim, it was mainly because I thought of it for a while, and planned to use this debate to instill Confucian confusion and chaos in Lu Liang, Lu Zhixin, and some disciples of the Immortality Sect who have been following him for a long time.

It will be useful in the future when I want to seize the right to speak from Confucian scholars.

Huangzhou gave up his struggle. His eyes never left the immortal rice plants, and then looked at the cold and handsome Taoist in front of him.

The sun shone on Zhang Yuqing's clothes from behind. Huangzhou suddenly felt his eyes flashing slightly, and a halo seemed to rise behind the Taoist's head.

'Is there an...immortal who can truly save the world?'

At this moment, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

He wants to join the Immortality Cult.
To be continued...