From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 251 Suppressing Confucianism: This is the Only Way

Late spring in Tai'an City always carries a sticky feel. Zhao Dun stared at the blank imperial edict on his desk, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly. The candlelight on the desk flickered in the night wind, casting indistinct shadows on the dragon-patterned screen.

Zhu Xian!!
These two simple words carry immense weight.

Zhao Xun's words before he left also made him lose his composure.

He could no longer understand the world. If even he couldn't understand it, how could his sons understand it?

Zhao Xun is right. His sons are all just average, and in this situation that even he can't understand, they simply can't control the situation.

Not only could they not control themselves, but the people standing behind them could not control themselves either.

Yuan Benxi is no longer capable.

Despite his immense prestige and status as the Imperial Preceptor, he unfortunately harbored wicked intentions.

If one's intentions are not upright, one cannot even stand firm in the imperial court.

The imperial court has now unknowingly spiraled out of control.

Standing in the imperial court, one who is not a sixth-rank Confucian scholar will be looked down upon.

You can't even cultivate a sense of righteousness, how dare you stand in the imperial court?
If you cannot cultivate a righteous spirit, it means your heart is not upright. If your heart is not upright, you are a treacherous minister. If a treacherous minister stands openly in the court, and is even the national advisor, Your Majesty, are you a foolish ruler?

In the past, he would have had him dragged out and flogged long ago, but now?
No.

A sixth-rank Confucian scholar possesses a righteous spirit and an aura of integrity. With just a slight expression, he exudes an imposing presence, so much so that even the palace guards dare not be disrespectful to him.

At first, things were alright. Not everyone in the court could master Confucianism. In fact, most court officials could only reach the seventh rank and not the sixth rank of Confucian scholar. Only a few court officials, like Zhang Julu, could reach the sixth rank and cultivate a sense of righteousness.

But as time went on, these officials who did not reach the sixth rank inexplicably committed crimes one by one, while the officials who replaced them were increasingly skilled in Confucianism. Now, thinking about it carefully, it seems that he was deceived by Zhang Julu.

These officials were promoted entirely based on their political achievements, which was due to the implementation of the performance evaluation system strongly promoted by Zhang Julu.

The performance evaluation system strictly regulated the promotion of officials, with the capable rising and the mediocre falling. As a result, officials with firm beliefs and a heart for the people naturally achieved outstanding results and had wider paths to advancement. These people were naturally not weak in their cultivation of Confucianism. As for those who were single-mindedly focused on flattery and fabricating achievements, they could not fabricate their cultivation. An official with excellent political achievements but a low level of Confucian cultivation would easily be suspected of wrongdoing, and once suspected, he would be investigated, and the investigation would be accurate.

Under such circumstances, the imperial court was gradually occupied by a group of upright and righteous ministers. After these ministers occupied high positions, another unexpected result occurred: flattery became impossible, and the cunning and manipulative Yin Zi could no longer be manipulated.

Are flattery and money really that appealing? Can they compare to my improved cultivation level or my increased lifespan?

It's incomparable!

As a result, the upward mobility channels for those officials who had already been destined for the path of treacherous officials were almost completely blocked.

All of this happened without Zhao Dun realizing it, and by the time he came to his senses, it was too late.

The political landscape in Liyang has changed drastically.

Just as he was feeling regretful, the sound of boots came from outside the hall. Looking up, he saw that it was Nan Huaiyu, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, requesting an audience.

Looking at Nan Huaiyu, Zhao Dun felt a surge of irritation.

"What is it now?!" "Your Majesty, for some reason, the fortune of the Confucian school has become completely intertwined with that of the Li Yang dragon vein, inseparable, and even the national fortune of Li Yang has grown much stronger, but..."

"But what?"

"However, the fortunes of Buddhism and Taoism suddenly declined, as if they had encountered some unforeseen event."

"An unexpected turn of events?!" Zhao Dun raised an eyebrow, thinking of the words "Slaying Immortals," the upright officials in the court, the nation's current fortunes, and Zhao Xun's words before his departure...

"Alright, I understand." He waved his hand, his face somewhat dejected. "Don't say more about matters of destiny. This is their karma with Zhao Xun, and it has nothing to do with me. You may leave."

“This…!” Nan Huaiyu looked up at Zhao Dun with a puzzled expression, but seeing that Zhao Dun seemed to have no intention of explaining, he had no choice but to take his leave.

Only after Nan Huaiyu disappeared into the night did Zhao Dun raise his head and say to those outside the hall, "Summon the princes to see me."

※※※

Longhu Mountain, Celestial Master Hall

Inside the hall paved with green jade bricks, seven white-robed celestial masters sat in a circle, their faces solemn.

Zhao Xituan sighed softly, "Ancestor Huanglong is dead, killed by Zhao Xun. Just now, the Golden Lotus of Fortune of my Longhu Mountain showed signs of withering. Most importantly, our fortune has become separated from that of the Liyang Dynasty. Things have developed too quickly. Does anyone have a good solution?"

"The instigator of this whole affair was Zhao Xun. Back at Diaoyutai, he even told me that he wanted to conspire with us to join forces with Buddhism and share in the fortune. Now, it seems... haha...!" Qi Xiaotianshi, who was guarding Diaoyutai, chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Back then, even he probably couldn't have imagined that Confucianism would develop so quickly!"

Everyone was speechless.

Confucianism has developed too quickly, and the power of Confucianism has expanded rapidly, now reaching an unbelievable level.

Longhu Mountain now holds a dominant position in Taoism across the land, wielding immense power and possessing a keen understanding of global trends.

Today's Confucianism is no longer something that Taoism and Buddhism can contend with.

"No need for cultivation, no need for meditation, just reading; with talent one can gain enlightenment, and with a righteous heart and unwavering faith one can rapidly improve. Such a method of cultivation has never appeared before; it's almost a heretical path!!"

A white-haired Taoist priest sighed softly.

“Even the heretical path, when its power reaches a certain level, will become the righteous path.” Zhao Xuansu, with her youthful face, said coldly, “Now, even if the Buddhist and Taoist sects join forces, they will not be able to contend with them.”

"Are we just going to stand by and watch Confucianism devour our fortune, just watch them cut off our path forward?" A Taoist priest, his face flushed red with grief and indignation, pounded the ground and roared angrily, "Are we to study those Confucian classics in the future, to change our ways, to kneel at the feet of those teenagers? Shame, shame, utter shame! Utter shame!!!"

"It's not that there's no way!" At this moment, a withered old man spoke up, "Cooperate with Buddhism to open the Heavenly Gate, join forces with the immortals, and wipe out the Confucianists!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.

Several people looked at him at the same time.

"Zhao Huangchao, you've gone mad! Whether you're a reincarnated immortal or possessed, you're ultimately no match for them. If you open the Heavenly Gate and let immortals descend to the mortal realm at will, even if you wipe out the Confucian school, where will we be then?!"

"Isn't our goal to ascend to the Immortal Realm?!" Zhao Huangchao raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his pale yellow eyes. "The current reality is that the Confucian school has become too powerful to control, wantonly devouring our fortune. We are powerless as a family, and even if the two families join forces, they are powerless. Only by introducing external forces can we possibly fight against the Confucian school. This is the only way, and we must act quickly. If we drag this out any longer, even our descendants may not be of one mind with us!"

(End of this chapter)