Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 404: What the hell is this?
Tao Guangyi did not attack immediately, but waited patiently until the patient in front of him left. He then asked his servants and guards to stop the patient behind him, and then he came to Zhu Danxi with the book and asked.

"It is said that Mr. Danxi never put down his books. I originally thought that he only read medical books, but I didn't expect that he also read this kind of books. I wonder where he got this book 'Gongshuzi' from. Can you tell me?"

Zhu Danxi glanced at the book and said indifferently, "This is not my book, but one left by a patient. I saw it was a handwritten copy, so I thought it must be very valuable. When the patient found out that he couldn't find it, he might come back to look for it. So I put it on the bookshelf, but he never came back."

Tao Guangyi certainly didn't believe it. He continued to ask without comment, "Sir, do you still remember when that person came and what he looked like?"

Zhu Danxi frowned, recalled for a moment, and then said, "I can't remember the exact date, but it was about a year ago. The man was about 30 years old, about the same age as Tao Wanhu. He was a foreign merchant with a Jianghuai accent. He got dysentery due to acclimatization, and found me after hearing someone introduce him to me."

"One year ago? Can you be sure, sir?!"

Tao Guangyi was very shocked and looked at his son. He did not expect that Lu Jin's spies had infiltrated Jinhua a year ago, but he could endure it so much. He did not move when Xu Song attacked Hangzhou. He waited until Xu Song was defeated and retreated to Jiangxi. He waited for more than half a year before crossing the river in September and starting the Eastern Expedition in November.

How much intelligence did Lu Jin collect in the past six months? He must have known all the city defenses, officials, and military strengths in eastern Zhejiang. What else did Lu Jin not know about the situation in Jinhua? If these spies had been lurking in Jinhua a year ago, it would not be easy to find them now.

Lu Jin is such a terrible person!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Danxi said, "I am old and forgetful, but even if it is less than a year, it is almost the same. After all, it was the beginning of spring last year."

"Have you read this book, sir?"

Zhu Danxi stroked his beard and said, "Of course I have read it. It seems to be a book called Lu Ban's Biography. However, the latter part records that Lu Ban flew east in his later years and was never found again. It seems to imply that he ascended to heaven. It seems too bizarre, so I naturally don't believe it.

"But I have also heard some legends about Tao Wanhu. How come Tao Wanhu is interested in this Ascension Technique? Then I can ask Tao Wanhu to copy a copy of this book, but the original copy must be left to me. If the person who lost the book comes looking for him, I can give him an explanation."

After hearing this, Tao Guangyi was certain that Zhu Danxi had indeed had contact with the rebels. Zhu Danxi obviously knew the details of the book, but just didn't want to admit it, so he simply made it clear.

"I advise you not to play dumb. The title of this book is Gongshuzi, and the rebel who controls Jianghuai, Jiangzhe, calls himself Gongshujin in his manifesto. There is no guarantee that this book has no connection with that rebel. Do you dare to keep such a book privately?"

Zhu Danxi's expression did not change, but he looked up and looked at him provocatively, "Why, could it be that Tao Wanhu suspects that I, at my age, would still collude with the rebels?"

Tao Guangyi did not comment, but asked, "Why don't I see your great disciple Dai Sigong? Where did he go?"

Zhu Danxi was not panicked and said directly, "Half a year ago, Ge Kejiu from Pingjiang Road encountered a difficult case. He was a little unsure about the treatment, so he called Yuan Li to help. After that, Yuan Li worked as a doctor for his uncle for a while.

"After that, he encountered the rebels' expedition to the east, and his road was blocked, so he has not returned yet. I don't know whether he is alive or dead. Tao Wanhu has great magical powers. If you know the whereabouts of my disciple, please tell me something, so that I don't have to worry about him all day long."

Upon hearing this, Tao Guangyi thought to himself, half a year ago, wasn't that September last year, exactly the month when Lu Jin crossed the river? Could Dai Sigong be related to Lu Jin's crossing of the river, or has Dai Sigong been developed into a spy by Lu Jin?
After thinking for a while, Tao Guangyi said, "Pingjiang Road is now occupied by rebels. I really can't help you find this disciple now, but if you can provide some more clues, I can give it a try. I saw it written in this book that there should be eight volumes of Gongshu Secret Canon, and this Gongshuzi should be just one of them. Do you know where the other seven are?

"Sir, you said this book was left behind by a patient. Are there other books left behind?"

"No." Zhu Danxi answered very straightforwardly.

Tao Guangyi looked at him for a moment. Seeing that the old man showed no fear at all, he could do nothing about him. Instead, Zhu Danxi was the first to ask impatiently, "What do you think, Tao Wanhu, do you want to ask more? Can I continue to see the patient now?"

Tao Guangyi had no choice for the time being. This person was helping his father with his illness, so he couldn't really break up with him. So he could only bow his hands helplessly and said, "Sorry to bother you today, but I'm afraid this book is really related to the rebels. Leaving it here will only bring disaster to you. It's better for me to keep it for you temporarily. If the person who lost the book comes looking for you, you can also send someone to call me over, and I will definitely bring the book back.

"As for your disciple, I will let you know if there is any news."

Zhu Danxi said indifferently, "Then I'll have to trouble Tao Wanhu. Wen Er, call the next patient over."

"Okay sir."

Seeing that he was acting like nothing had happened and continued to ask people to see the doctor, Tao Guangyi and his son didn't seem to be prepared to pay any attention to them, they looked at each other and went to the backyard where Grandpa Tao was.

As soon as the father and son arrived at the backyard, Tao Guangyi's wife Zhao Yuanzhen came up and asked in a low voice, "What happened? I heard from the janitor at the clinic that you stopped the patients outside and interrogated Mr. Danxi. He is treating my uncle now, so please don't do anything rash."

Tao Guangyi immediately said, "Don't worry, Madam, I'm just asking about some official matters, it's nothing serious."

Zhao Yuanzhen frowned and saw that he was holding a book in his hand, but the book was rolled up so she couldn't see the title. She asked in confusion, "Mr. Danxi is a doctor, and you are a clerk, not a constable. What business can you have with him?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just take good care of my father. Anyway, nothing has happened. Don't worry about it." Tao Guangyi said perfunctorily.

Zhao Yuanzhen glanced at the father and son, then snorted, "I don't want to bother with you two." Then she turned and went into the house.

The father and son came to the yard and opened the book again. Tao Jingming asked again, "Dad, is what Mr. Danxi said true?"

"It's fake, he's lying. The rebels must have had contact with him, and his apprentice Dai Sigong might be with the rebels now." Tao Guangyi was very sure, and then he looked thoughtful. "But if he wants to rebel and contact the rebels, I don't believe it either. It must be the rebels who took the initiative to find him, but why they found him, I can't guess. Zhu Danxi is a famous doctor, maybe he was asked to treat the disease."

Tao Jingming asked curiously, "Then why is Dad so sure that Mr. Danxi is lying? What if the book was really left behind by a spy?"

"Oh." Tao Guangyi sneered, "You are still young and don't know Zhu Danxi's past. When he was young, he was as old as my father and he dared to contradict the government. He has a bad temper. If someone dared to stop his patients like today and prevent him from seeing them, he would have cursed them long ago.

"But when I questioned him with the book just now, he was very calm and unhurried. This is obviously abnormal. He should have scolded me right away. The fact that he didn't scold me just shows that he is guilty."

"I see." Tao Jingming suddenly realized, and then asked, "What are you going to do now, Dad? Mr. Danxi is still treating Grandpa. We can't really arrest him, right?"

"Catch him? What's the point of catching him?" Tao Guangyi immediately shook his head.

"All that was just my speculation. There is no evidence. Arresting him will only cause a lot of trouble. There must be many people speaking up for him, and he may not know much. The one who is really connected to the rebels should be his eldest disciple, but he is now in the rebels' territory, so we can't do anything to him."

Tao Jingming asked again, "What about the book? Is it true that Mr. Danxi only has one copy?"

This time Tao Guangyi frowned and said, "It's hard to say, but there may really be only one copy. The rebels have two purposes for looking for him. Either they want him to treat their illnesses, or they want him to be a spy for them. But no matter which one, there is no need to give him the entire set of Gongshu Secret Book. This is not to recruit a disciple. Bringing this Gongshuzi may just be to show his identity."

Tao Jingming nodded, "That makes sense. What do you think of the contents of this book? Did Gongshu Ban really comprehend the Way of Heaven in his later years and ascend to become an immortal? And the 'materialism' and 'methodology', could they be false?"

Upon hearing this, Tao Guangyi frowned even deeper. He flipped through the book and thought for a long time before speaking.

"My father has also read the Mohist Canon. The Mohist doctrine on ghosts and gods is one that can be believed or not, but they claim to believe in them. However, their main purpose is to use ghosts and gods to warn people that there are gods above our heads, and to warn people not to do evil.

"This book also says that Gongshu Ban and Mozi, the leader of the Mohist school, were enemies, teachers, and friends. Gongshu Ban clearly disagreed with all the Mohist ideas, and this article on materialism also clearly stated that Gongshu did not believe in ghosts and gods.

"But since there are no gods, how can humans ascend to heaven? And the preface says, 'You can reach the moon in the sky, catch turtles in the five oceans, borrow the power of heaven and earth, and perform the powers of ghosts and gods.' It clearly means that if you learn the Gongshu Secret Code, you can perform the powers of ghosts and gods, and even fly into the sky and into the sea. Isn't this contradictory?"

Tao Guangyi looked very confused. According to the description in this book, some of his worldviews were obviously overturned. If people cannot become immortals and cannot ascend to heaven, then what was he doing making elixirs and playing with kites before? But the book said that Gongshu Ban ascended to heaven, but also said that there are no ghosts and gods. On the one hand, it emphasized that there are no ghosts and gods, and on the other hand, it said that Gongshu could exercise the supernatural powers of ghosts and gods. He found it difficult to understand for a while.

The father and son stood in the yard and pondered for a long time. Tao Jingming was the first to react and said, "Dad, I may understand what the book means."

"What do you unserstand?"

Tao Jingming immediately said, "Gongshu Ban should not have become an immortal."

Tao Guangyi frowned and said, "But the book says that he suddenly felt something one day, so he said goodbye to his wife, flew east, and never came back. It also says earlier that this thing is called an airplane, and it can carry people and fly into the sky. Doesn't this mean ascension?"

Tao Jingming shook his head and explained, "Yes, the book only said that he created something that could fly and could fly on it, but it didn't say that he became a god. Being able to fly doesn't mean he became a god. Becoming a god is just Dad's own guess."

"My own guess?" Tao Guangyi frowned.

Tao Jingming continued to explain, "According to the explanation in the book's 'Materialism', only what you observe is the truth. So, the child has never seen ghosts and gods since he was a child, but the child has seen chickens, ducks, geese, swallows, sparrows, and swans. These birds can fly. If flying is equivalent to becoming immortals, then chickens, ducks, and geese are also immortals. Swallows, sparrows, and swans can be shot down with bows and arrows. But if these birds are immortals, how can they be slaughtered and eaten by people?"

Tao Guangyi frowned and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "Well, what you said makes some sense, but the book also says 'You can reach the moon in the sky, catch turtles in the five oceans, borrow the power of heaven and earth, and perform the power of ghosts and gods'. How do you explain this sentence? If there are no gods, doesn't this contradict materialism?"

Tao Jingming continued to explain.

"Dad, the explanation is in the article "Encouragement to Study" by Xunzi that you asked me to read. Xunzi said: When you stand on a height and wave, your arm does not become longer, but people can see you from afar; when you shout in the wind, your voice does not become faster, but people can hear you clearly. The one who borrows a carriage and horses does not have fast feet, but can take you a thousand miles; the one who borrows a boat and oars does not have the ability to swim, but can cross rivers and lakes. A gentleman is not born different, but he is good at borrowing from things.

“A man cannot outrun a horse, but a man riding a horse can travel a thousand miles. A man cannot outrun a boat, but a man riding a boat can travel on rivers. A gentleman is not born with special abilities, but is good at using tools.

"Then extend this sentence. Humans cannot fly like birds, but they can fly in the sky by controlling the airplane, soaring into the sky, overlooking the mountains and rivers, and hundreds of cities are at their feet. This does not mean that Gongshu Ban is a god, but that Gongshu Ban is good at using tools.

"Didn't the book also say that he only borrowed the power of heaven and earth to perform abilities that ordinary people see as ghosts and gods? Dad, think about it, if a person can use tools to fly in the sky like a bird, wouldn't he be like a ghost in the eyes of ordinary people? So this sentence means literally.

"And this 'Materialism' and 'Methodology' teach people to comprehend the power of nature and heaven and earth through the method of studying things. As long as you comprehend the truth of heaven, you can create magical tools and use these tools to perform some 'immortal arts' or 'demon arts' that ordinary people regard as ghosts and gods."

Tao Guangyi suddenly understood, "So that's how it is. This is actually Gongshu's mechanical technique. He used the principles of nature to create some mysterious instruments, such as the musket and cannon!

"But if that man is really the descendant of Gongshu clan and has powers comparable to those of ghosts and gods, then why are we fighting? If he really has created something that can carry people into the air, wouldn't it be enough for him to fly in from the city? Just like what Gongshu Ban said to Mozi in the book, your city walls may be strong, but there is no roof on them. If the enemy comes from the air, how can the defenders stop them?"

Tao Jingming spread his hands immediately after hearing this, "I don't know about this child, and Daddy has to make the decision himself."

(End of this chapter)