Longzang

Chapter 1210 Rectifying the Chaos
The core of this outline is to open a door for people outside Qingming, allowing anyone who meets certain standards and has made certain contributions to move into Qingming with their families and settle there, thus becoming citizens of Qingming. A few with high cultivation levels and significant contributions may even be able to move their entire clan into Qingming.

Here, Wei Yuan used the term "minority" rather than "individual." Qingming's official documents are strictly defined in their wording to ensure compliance and prevent any disobedience. Here, "minority" refers to the area between 10% and 20%.

The previous "Outstanding Cultivator" program targeted high-level cultivators, while this outline is mainly aimed at ordinary Dao Foundation cultivators, and even Body Forging cultivators and mortals.

The key to this citizenship program lies in its extremely low threshold. Any ordinary person who is healthy, has completed the enlightenment process, has served Qingming for more than five years, and has passed the special examination set by Qingming, can move to Qingming with one wife, one concubine, three sets of parents, and all their children, and register their household there!
Therefore, the release of the "Outline for Naturalization" not only caused a stir in the surrounding areas, but also stirred up huge waves within Qingming.

Many template cultivators, original Dao Foundation Ancestors, and even high-level Dharma Aspect cultivators and old demons had reservations about this. The Dao Foundation Ancestors, in particular, had endured countless near-death experiences and fought their way into the Azure Netherworld during its various battles, only to gain recognition and become members of the Azure Netherworld. The sudden drastic lowering of the entry requirements left them feeling incredibly disappointed.

Most of the high-ranking demons and high-level cultivators migrated here as a whole clan, originally intending to bestow titles and privileges upon their wives and children and to protect their clans, so that their clansmen could continue to be superior to others in the Azure Netherworld.

Dharma Aspect cultivators remain scarce, and the treatment they receive from Qingming has never changed. However, the problem is that Qingming's population is increasing exponentially every year, and the standard of living is also rising accordingly. In contrast, the treatment of the Dharma Aspect old demons' clansmen has remained stagnant, and the gap between them and low-level mortal cultivators is visibly narrowing.

In other words, these descendants of Dharma Masters no longer enjoy as many privileges and wealth as they did in the past.

The Dharma Masters were naturally dissatisfied and had appealed to higher authorities through various channels several times, but Xu Henshui rejected them all with very blunt and unforgiving replies.

Although the high-ranking demon cultivators were displeased, they were powerless to stop him. Xu Henshui was not only one of the Twelve Immortals, but also a pillar of the Xu family and the prospective abbot of the Taichu Palace. Any one of these identities was enough to suppress them completely. The high-ranking demon cultivators would oppress lower-level cultivators in the same way that Xu Henshui oppressed them.

Besides the visiting cultivators, many local officials in Qingming also strongly opposed this.

In their view, in the most extreme case, an adult male who is not even a fully-formed body could bring more than twenty people to settle in Qingming, and since there is no limit to the number of children, he could even bring more! This is practically tantamount to opening the door wide!

Although these minor officials were originally from elsewhere, and some were even refugees, this did not prevent them from now considering themselves the legitimate successors of Qingming and strongly opposing the letting people in.

Immediately, various criticisms arose, but since the "Outline for Naturalization" was personally approved by Wei Yuan, it was published and promoted despite all opposition.

Having dealt with this major matter, the investigation into the expansion of Buddhism and Taoism in various parts of the Western Jin Dynasty was nearing completion, and reports began to be compiled one after another.

Wei Yuan read through the thousands of reports one by one, his mood growing increasingly heavy. Then, one of his avatars in the Immortal Mansion rose and flew south, eventually arriving at a certain county.

This county town was originally quite rich in resources, so it had a large population and was quite typical of the Lü family in Ganzhou.

Wei Yuan transformed into a green-robed cultivator, carrying a long sword on his back. This was the most popular image of a green-robed swordsman at the time, and seven or eight out of ten young heroes dressed like this.

As he wandered around the county town, he saw groups of three or five people gathered together in the streets, alleys, and fields, discussing and interpreting Buddhist teachings.

There were originally not many Buddhist monks in the city, but now each one is preaching and expounding the Dharma, and hundreds of people have gathered around them. Everyone looks joyful and happy, as if they have attained great bliss.

In the county town, several plots of land had been cleared and were under construction. Wei Yuan casually inquired and learned that they were all for building temples. Moreover, the funds for the temple construction were plentiful, all donated by wealthy households in the county, and most of the craftsmen were volunteering, willing to contribute to this charitable cause.

There were many county soldiers and yamen runners on site maintaining order, but in fact, there was no need to maintain order at all. Everyone looked happy, and the order was well maintained. They were even closer than brothers.

The constables were no longer the arrogant and domineering figures they used to be. They were chatting and laughing, and some even rolled up their sleeves and worked alongside the others.

In an academy in the county town, several hundred people gathered around a Dharma Master at the head of the group. They were all weeping bitterly, confessing their sins in this life and vowing to undergo ascetic practices and suffering in exchange for being reborn in the Pure Land of Buddha in the next life and attaining eternal bliss.

The monk preached and explained the scriptures as he spoke. He still had some stubble on his head and no ordination scars, clearly indicating that he had just shaved his head himself. He would say a few lines of scripture, then explain it, and then say a few more lines of scripture.

The explanations were crude and simplistic, clearly indicating a lack of formal education; the speaker was merely literate. However, despite the rough language, the Buddhist principles were quite profound, and the scriptures he described were extremely complex, containing many characters that even the Qingming Higher Academy wouldn't teach.

Wei Yuan was well-versed in Buddhism and could tell at a glance that the text had the influence of various Agamas and resembled the "Heart Sutra." Specific chapters also contained teachings on the retribution of sins, and the main theme was the cycle of reincarnation and karmic retribution.

Even many eminent monks in grand temples struggle to understand such scriptures, yet this man spoke of them with remarkable clarity. However, the profound nature of the scriptures he spoke of contrasted sharply with his simple explanations. Wei Yuan immediately recognized him as someone who had been converted by a great master and had been force-fed the true meaning of the scriptures.

But this was Wei Yuan's opinion. In the eyes of orthodox Buddhism, this person was born with innate wisdom and divinely bestowed with Buddhist teachings. Wei Yuan then looked at the academy's environment and found it very familiar. It couldn't be unfamiliar, after all, all the academies run by Qingming in the world had fixed regulations, and they all looked roughly the same, especially the primary enlightenment academies.

Therefore, this academy was originally established by Qingming. Regardless of age or gender, anyone could enter and receive three terms of enlightenment, each lasting three months, by paying a small fee. After completing all three terms, one would be able to recognize three thousand characters and master basic reading and writing. Outside of Qingming, this would be enough to become an accountant or manager in a wealthy family, barely scraping by on the edge of intellectual development.

But the academy has long since changed. The lecture platform has been replaced by a Buddhist shrine, the desks have been removed, and only meditation cushions remain. The lecturer is nowhere to be found, and it's unclear how many of the hundreds of people below are still the original students.

Wei Yuan scanned the area with his divine sense and found only a few dozen people with wooden plaques indicating their disciple status. When he established the academy's rules, Wei Yuan had fully considered the nature of ordinary people; those from Qingming were required to enroll and pay a fee. Of course, the fee they paid was less than a tenth of the actual expenses, but paying it ensured that most people would study diligently.

In the Western Jin Dynasty, academies were just beginning to emerge and were few in number. The rules had already changed somewhat; enrollment was not mandatory, but a small fee was required. However, outside of Qingming Academy, the rules were much stricter; entry was forbidden without payment. Furthermore, because academy places were limited, admission was considered a reward, mostly given to those who served Qingming.

These people not only mostly don't have disciple badges, but they've also turned the academy funded by Qingming into a lecture hall!
The large sums of education funds that Wei Yuan allocated ended up providing convenience for these bald men, turning it into their training ground!
Occupying a public office is a serious crime in Qingming.

Wei Yuan was furious, but he did not disturb these people. Instead, he recorded it with a recording stone and went straight to the local county government office, entering the main hall.

Some oblivious constables tried to stop him, but Wei Yuan simply flashed a silver identity token in front of them and walked inside.

Some particularly short-sighted individuals had barely uttered, "Where did this troublemaker come from..." when Wei Yuan struck them with a backhand palm, sending them flying several feet through the air, knocking them unconscious.

Wei Yuan went straight to the main hall, sat in the magistrate's seat, slammed his waist token on the table, and said coldly, "Where is the magistrate? Tell him to get out here and see me!"

At this moment, all the yamen runners and clerks felt as if a huge mountain was pressing down on their heads, as if they would jump out if they made a move.

They were all cultivators, especially the clerk, who was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Upon sensing Wei Yuan's aura, he was immediately filled with fear: "This... could it be that some Dharma Aspect Master from above has descended..."

He glanced again at Wei Yuan's silver waist tag and felt a chill run down his spine. The tag depicted a nine-tailed, four-eared sheep, a Bo Tuo, a mythical beast with the ability to eavesdrop.

This waist token is the identity certificate of the Qingming Surveillance Bureau. A silver waist token is a third-rank token, which is enough to inspect a prefecture and deal with a county magistrate.

The clerk quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Today is not the day for court proceedings, so the county magistrate is at home with the old lady listening to the sutras."

Wei Yuan had already scanned the area with his divine sense and knew that the magistrate was listening to the sutras in the back residence. He pretended not to know and said calmly with a blank expression, "Then I will wait here until the magistrate takes the court."

The clerk broke out in a cold sweat, knelt down with a thud, and repeatedly said he dared not. Then, seeing that the yamen runners around him did not move, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and say, "I, I will go and invite the magistrate over."

Wei Yuan said calmly, "When I gave the order, not a single person responded. This county is truly well-governed!"

The clerk broke out in a cold sweat again and hurriedly said, "In fact, the magistrate had given a strict order beforehand, saying that it was rare for a high-ranking monk to come, so he had to accompany the old lady to listen to the sutra. No matter how important the matter was, it had to wait until the sutra was finished before we could talk about it."

"Oh..." Wei Yuan's voice softened, "Then it is indeed inappropriate to disturb them."

The clerk broke out in a cold sweat for the third time. He had been in officialdom for some time, so how could he not understand the implied meaning? He was only annoyed that all the clerks in the hall were believers in the law and not one of them was willing to disturb the magistrate from listening to the sermon.

So he gritted his teeth, got up, apologized, and fled.

After waiting for a full quarter of an hour, the magistrate finally arrived. The magistrate looked to be in his early forties, with a refined and dignified face. He strode into the hall, head held high, and looked at Wei Yuan, saying, "This humble official was unaware of Your Excellency's arrival and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive my inconvenience. However, Your Excellency's journey was not preceded by official documents, which is against protocol. I am sorry I cannot receive you."

"Please return first, sir. We can discuss matters after I receive the official document. Until then, please excuse me from your post; to sit in my official seat without permission is a grave offense."

　Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing you good health and great success in the coming year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)