Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 645 This is the unity of knowledge and action.
Are you willing?
No matter how many grand principles you preach, they can't compare to the question, "Are you willing to accept this?"

I can risk my life for my family, and I can risk my life for the Qin Dynasty, but why should I risk my life for those Wei people who only submit to the Qin Dynasty and bring no benefit to the Qin Dynasty?

Inside the camp, the river workers clenched their fists.

The surrounding martial artists seemed to be deep in thought.

Song Huai-ren frowned, his expression shifting.

The other Confucian and Taoist officials stood there, looking at Zhang Yuan in front of them, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“But, but we study, we study…” A young Confucian scholar in a gray robe collapsed to the ground, his face pale.

His aura of righteousness was dissipating.

Zhang Yuan's words made his Dao heart show signs of collapse!

“Reading should enlighten one’s mind and inspire a heart to help the world. Marquis Qingyang, there’s a trap in your words.” Zhou Chang looked up, his eyes fixed on Zhang Yuan.

"According to you, if we can not save the Wei people today, we can not save the Qi people tomorrow, and then we can not save the eastern and western borders, it will be like the collapse of the Nine Provinces. Aren't those who are left behind also Qin people?"

Zhou Chang's voice echoed, and his righteous spirit surged like a tide.

His words made the eyes of the other Confucian officials and scholars around him shine brightly.

Indeed, there was a trap in Zhang Yuan's words.

If they agree with Zhang Yuan today, they will step back and not care about the people of Eastern Wei who have submitted.

In the future, he may no longer care about the lives and deaths of the people in the East.

Is spiritual practice ultimately this cold and indifferent?
Is this the legendary, ruthless way of treating all things as straw dogs?
Zhang Yuan's gaze swept over everyone, and his voice rang out again.

"To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations, one must study and practice martial arts. If one only cultivates oneself, it is impossible to step into the realm of the strong."

"The Great Way, what is the Great Way?"

"If one does not have the determination to establish an eternal and indestructible path for this world, then it is impossible for this world to recognize it."

"From this world you will receive resources and nourishment for your cultivation; you must then unite with the power of the Great Dao of this world."

Zhang Yuan was talking about spiritual practice.

But all that everyone present heard was talk of the Qin Dynasty.

What is the Qin Dynasty?

Is this the world I live in?

No.

The Great Qin is a flame that is eternally burning, a flame that is formed by the gathering of countless people, the unity of all hearts, the sacrifice of ancestors, and the inheritance of descendants!
Slowly rising, Zhang Yuan stood in the howling river wind, with the lingering sound of turbid waves behind him.

His voice, like the clash of metal, resounded in the ears of every scholar:

"To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth is to establish the backbone passed down through generations of the people of our Great Qin."

"When the Great Wall in the north collapsed, three thousand Confucian scholars used their noble spirit to build the Wall of Literary Mind. Their flesh and blood are still in the cracks of the Great Wall."

A faint spiritual power reverberated in the void, and the Confucian officials and scholars seemed to see the Wall of Literary Mind at the Northern Great Wall.

The river workers standing in the camp seemed to see the long river completed, its blue waves rippling for thousands of miles, its channels irrigating endless farmland.

Many people unconsciously smiled.

Isn't this the very essence of the universe?

Such a simple road.

"To establish a livelihood for the people is not just empty talk!" Zhang Yuan raised his arm and pointed to the river. The new river channel opened up by 200,000 river workers was reflecting the shimmering sunset. "Dangyang Prefecture suffered a severe drought. It was the crude and vulgar warriors you speak of who drew their swords to open the river."

"When the Jiuchuan River breached its banks, it was these illiterate river workers who used their backs to block the flood."

"Many things are not judged by what you say, but by what you do!"

How to do it.

Song Huai-ren staggered back two steps, and the Book of Rites fell into the mud from his hands.

He recalled that three years ago, when he inspected the river works, he had reprimanded the shirtless river workers for being "an eyesore."

At this moment, those bronze-colored spines gleam with a sacred luster, as if they were saving people from suffering.

The survival and livelihood of people is that simple.

"As for continuing the lost learning of the sages—" Zhang Yuan suddenly turned around, and the intent of the Mountain and River Fist soared into the sky, condensing into a phantom image of Zhang Hengqu lecturing at the Imperial Academy in mid-air.

"If one cannot transform the classic text 'The Treatise on Rivers and Canals' into practical strategies for water management and 'The Essentials of Military Strategy' into a battle-hardened army, then even reading all the classics will only make one a bookworm!"

Zhou Chang's official robes fluttered without wind, and the jade belt at his waist suddenly snapped open with a "crack".

He vaguely saw the night of the bloody battle in Fengtian County, where those border soldiers who couldn't even recite the Thousand Character Classic used their bodies to build the last line of defense on the city wall.

That is the true continuation of lost arts.

In the camp, a young Confucian scholar suddenly rushed to the long table. Looking at Cao Jiada standing behind the table, the scholar said loudly, "I am Xu Yechang, and I am willing to follow Lord Cao in managing the floods for three years."

Several martial artists around them exchanged glances, their expressions solemn.

The river workers also slowly clenched their fists.

They don't understand any profound principles.

But they all understood what Marquis Qingyang was saying.

They didn't have any ancient or profound knowledge, but they had strength and experience passed down from their predecessors.

Would you consider this a unique skill?
May peace reign for all generations!

Zhang Yuan's voice suddenly turned low as he lightly stroked the hilt of the Dragon Sparrow Blade.

"Wu Daoling's 300,000 taels have been converted into disaster relief grain for the three prefectures of Donghan County."

"Eternal peace is too far away; I, Zhang, only wish to bring peace to my Great Qin for one lifetime."

"Zheng——"

Zhang Yuan drew his sword and slashed towards the sky. In the flash of the sword, the phantom of Master Hengqu appeared: "These four sentences are not meant to be hung on the golden plaque of the academy, but to be engraved into the very bones of the Qin Dynasty!"

"Martial artists should use their blood and flesh to create peace, scholars should use their pens to determine the fate of the nation, and river workers should use silt and sand to build the destiny of the country—this is the true way to create peace for all generations!"

With a glint in his eyes, Zhang Yuan's voice echoed slowly: "This is the unity of knowledge and action."

The unity of knowledge and action.

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

"Boom-"

As the rosy dawn pierced through the clouds, the newly erected bronze bell on the top of the seven-story Wen Dao Pavilion of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion rang three times.

Outside the Donghan County government building, in the pavilion, the teacup in Yao Baiyue's hand shattered into nine pieces with a "clink".

"The Great Dao resonates; what exactly did Marquis Qingyang do?"

Looking at the spilled tea in front of her, Yao Baiyue murmured to herself.

At the river engineering camp, Zhou Chang looked at the mud on his official robe and smiled slightly.

"Knowledge and action are one; worldly cultivation leads to the same ultimate goal."

Spiritual practice.

Martial arts is a form of spiritual practice.

Confucianism and Taoism are forms of self-cultivation.

Even these river workers are practicing cultivation.

Cultivating oneself is about cultivating one's mind.

The Confucian scholars in the camp looked up at the river workers around them, who looked somewhat uneasy, and their expressions were solemn.

"Gentlemen, Fang Dacheng from Heyang is willing to join the Hegong Camp."

"My lord, Yang Guan from Dongyuan County is willing to contribute to the repair of the river embankment."

One by one, the Confucian scholars straightened their robes and spoke loudly.

Zhang Yuan remained calm and nodded slightly.

That night, three hundred Confucian scholars volunteered to be incorporated into the river engineering camp as civil officials.

Two days later, the seventy-six sects and families of Donghan County donated their sect and clan classics to the Donghan County Prefectural Government.

Within three days, eight thousand warriors swore a blood oath to guard the newly opened river channel.

The Great Qin Imperial City.

Chongwen Hall.

Before Emperor Yuankang, a long scroll slowly unfurled.

The four large characters “unity of knowledge and action” gleamed with a faint golden light.

"Confucianism and Taoism, seeking the unity of knowledge and action—was this something he began planning back when he was on Qingtian Continent?"

With his eyes narrowed, Emperor Yuankang placed his palm on the desk.

"Issue an imperial decree to have the Ministry of War reconsider the defense of Fengtian County in those years."

"Knowledge and action are one; the Qin soldiers fought to the death without retreating, and that was not wrong."

(End of this chapter)