"Shandong has its heart. The beauty here is unlike anything in the human world."
Lu Shiyi's casual emotion made Zhang Pu fall into deep thought.
"When you say this, I feel that this place is far away from us. Confucius is like the sun, moon and stars in the sky, instead of teaching in our ears."
Sun Shenxing and Guan Yingzhen nodded silently.
They feel this way too.
It's just that none of them understand what this feeling means yet.
And this is the effect Zuo Mengeng wants to achieve.
Let Confucius attain enlightenment and become an immortal, far away from the human world.
Confucius is Confucius, and Confucianism is Confucianism.
After stripping away Confucius, Confucianism can be interpreted according to Shandong's meaning, making it more in line with the needs of the development of the times.
Because the entire Confucius and Saints Museum is still under construction, the whole picture cannot be seen, and the pilgrimage of Zhang Pu and others was not perfect.
They also wandered around the fields and countryside of Qufu, looking for people to ask questions.
They were still holding on to the possibility, hoping to seek support for Yan Shenggong's existence.
It's a pity that everyone they met here was so disgusted when they talked about Yan Shenggong that they wished they could spit on him.
When talking about the new life now, everyone is extremely happy, and their words are full of praise for the current Shandong government.
"Alas, people's hearts are like this. I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will never come back, and neither will the righteous path!"
Standing on the hillside, staring at Qufu's booming vitality, Zhang Pu let out a desperate cry.
Unlike him, Sun Shenxing had other thoughts.
"If a politician loves the people so much, why should the world worry about not being prosperous? The people of Shandong can be said to be role models for the world!"
"They are rebels!"
Facing Zhang Pu's roar, Sun Shenxing only said one sentence.
"The people are the most valuable, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important."
Zhang Pu's weak body suddenly swayed, and then he sat down on the ground, looking as lost as a defeated fighting dog.
It is impossible that he has not read Mencius's words.
He even knew that under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, Mencius was ignored intentionally or unintentionally.
Just because the founding hero of the Ming Dynasty felt that Mencius's words were rebellious and unethical, he only respected Confucius but not Mencius.
However, this sentence of Mencius has been the true meaning pursued by all scholars for thousands of years.
Could it be that the Taoist tradition that these scholars worked so hard to maintain turned out to be wrong?
For the first time in his life, Zhang Pu had self-doubt.
After leaving Qufu, Zhang Pu and others continued to travel in Shandong.
They also discovered that Shandong was really open to those who were hostile to them, allowing them to come and go as they pleased.
Not to mention anything else, Zhang Pu and others have already developed admiration for Zuo Menggeng just because of his openness and magnanimity.
And in every place in Shandong, every thing that happened was so novel that it made them keep walking and watching.
On this day they arrived in Qingdao.
This is a new city.
Compared with other places, Qingdao’s vitality is even more high-spirited.
At the same time, because there are not many traces of the old era, the new city seems to be incompatible with other places.
It is almost impossible to find a completely traditional house in this city.
Every building here is full of unique beauty.
Three-story and four-story buildings are common here.
Although there are no carved beams or painted buildings, the courtyard is not as deep.
Whether it’s a house, a wall, or even a gate, there isn’t much detail in it.
Many times, at first glance, one house looks exactly like another, so much so that it creates an illusion.
But this kind of building makes the whole city look orderly.
At least Zhang Pu and others have never seen it anywhere in the world. The streets here in Qingdao are horizontal and vertical, like a chessboard.
This is the benefit of new cities.
Politicians can plan as much as they want, leaving enough plans for the next few decades or hundreds of years.
Zhang Pu and others also watched a good show at the Qingdao Municipal Government.
The two chief officials in Shandong actually got into a fight, which showed no dignity at all.
"What are you doing? If you have something to discuss, what is the propriety of using force?"
Zhang Jimeng sat aside and looked at the embarrassed Dang Huanchun and Fu Yusun, who had black lines on their heads.
It's a pity that his reprimanding words did not make Dang Huanchun and Fu Yusun feel any shame.
The two people who had just had a fight turned around and pointed their fingers at him.
"Hmph, you, Mayor Zhang, don't try to fish in troubled waters. I will tell you clearly here today that the velvet plantation and textile factory have nothing to do with your Dengzhou."
"That's right. Your Dengzhou city is located in the north of Liaodong and is close to the sea. You have everything you want. How dare you be so greedy?"
Facing the attack of the two men, Zhang Jimeng could no longer sit still on the Diaoyutai.
"Together, you Yizhou and Qingdao only drink from the northwest wind, right?"
He pointed at Fu Yusun and directly revealed his background.
"You have salt fields and ocean fishing companies in Qingdao. Just selling seafood every year brings countless wealth. The naval base is still here, and every year the consumption of naval officers and soldiers is cheaper in your local area. How dare you reach out?
Velvet plantations and textile mills, are you afraid that your greed will kill you toad?"
"Mayor Zhang is right, you Fu Yusun is a dog. If you ask me, this velvet plantation and textile factory can only be placed in our Yizhou."
"Why?"
This time Zhang Jimeng and Fu Yusun united again to fight against the party.
In the lobby, in addition to Zhang Pu and others, there were also a group of guests.
And these guests are the objects that Fu Yusun and the three of them compete for.
Bao Yong and other velvet merchants from Fujian.
The last time Liao Zhongjian went south, he met Bao Yong in Fujian and sincerely invited Bao Yong to come to Shandong to build a factory and produce velvet locally.
After hearing Shandong's sincerity, Bao Yong was greatly moved.
However, when news of the rebellion in Shandong came later, Bao Yong was frightened and delayed his trip north to Shandong.
It was not until the incident subsided later that I saw that Shandong businessmen were getting bigger and bigger with a backer, and Tolerance once again strengthened their confidence.
He also knew that what he did was a bit shameful.
In order to make up for it, he contacted everywhere and actually attracted several big local businessmen in Fujian.
When they arrived in Shandong, they didn't know how to deal with local officials.
Unexpectedly, when they learned that they had arrived, the chief officials of Dengzhou, Yizhou, and Qingdao cities in Shandong got into a fight.
Dang Huanchun and Fu Yusun actually took action.
Of course, there is only one purpose.
They are trying to get Bao Yong and other Fujian businessmen to build factories on their territory.
Nowadays, Shandong officials have seen the benefits of industrial production and commercialization, and are doing everything possible to increase the gross product value within their jurisdiction.
Bao Yong and their arrival can at least bring a gross production value of hundreds of thousands of taels to a place every year.
In the face of such a huge benefit, the three chief officials completely lost their elegance and easy-going, and they did not hesitate to take action.