The Great Seminary

Chapter 208 The Sage's Poisonous Scheme
Chu Tuantuan personally visited his fiefdom, which made Zhang Gui even more puzzled.

After thinking for a moment, he asked:
"Besides leaving me a letter, what else did Chief Chu do when he came here?"

"He took away that Yuanshan man, Wuritu, who had gone mad in front of the yamen."

“Urtu…”

I have no intention of blaming this star official for being so slow-witted that he had to ask me about such an important matter before he would speak up.

Zhang Gui recalled the hypocritical expression of Yuan Shanren, the man who had offered to sell him twenty-five catties of fine rice for one tael of silver, outside the government office not long ago.

I felt like I had grasped a clue, but upon closer inspection, I realized I had nothing.

Finally, he simply stopped thinking about it, got up and activated the divine energy within his body, "Zongheng Ruyi", and his figure soared into the sky.

It covered a distance of over a hundred feet in a single leap, rushing towards 'Longmen Lake' as if flying over land.

He carefully savored the wonders of "Zongheng Ruyi" along the way, but unfortunately, without growing his physical body to a gigantic size, he couldn't grasp the deep connection between this technique and the bloodline of Kuafu.

However, under the clear blue sky, he brazenly unleashed the "Black God Explosive Soldier Master's Complete Technique" within the Ming-Song territory, transforming into a metal giant to travel.

Even in today's world, this is far too arrogant; it's utterly reckless.

Therefore, Zhang Gui had no choice but to abandon his ambition and silently speed up his pace.

In less than half an hour, we stepped onto the bluestone path outside Longmen Lake.

On the huge plaque above the gate tower, the three golden characters "Shaoweimen" still stand as magnificent and imposing as ever.

However, the port city is visibly much more desolate.

Following the flow of people, we arrived at the 'Longmen Port Bureau'.

Zhang Guichao informed the gatekeeper of his identity and was immediately and respectfully led into the depths of the courtyard, to Chu Tuantuan's study, a place where she never entertained guests.

As soon as the two met.

Chu Tuantuan then gestured for the newly promoted confidants in the room to leave.

Once only he and Zhang Gui were left in the study, he carefully closed the door.

A magic array that can provide sound insulation and early warning is raised.

Chu Tuantuan sighed.
"Prince Congyang, are you aware that you have become a thorn in the side of the entire Ming-Song officialdom?"

"I've been staying obediently on that wretched island of Xianrong lately, so why have I suddenly become so hated for no reason?"

Zhang Gui was startled.
"Is there a problem with the fact that you took away Uritu as the head of the Eastern Depot in Siyang County?"

"That's him."

Do you know who this person is?

"What kind of identity is he? Just a crazy lunatic."

These days, people come to my land and ask for one tael of silver to sell me twenty-five catties of fine rice, offering to deliver it to my door with unlimited supply.

Even as his biological father, I wouldn't dare to hope for such a filial son!
So, suspecting something was amiss, he pierced the boy's collarbone with a lock and picked him up.

Is it wrong to tether it to a lighthouse at the dock and display it to the public?

"Of course, there is not a single mistake."

But precisely because it was so correct, it made others feel awkward and uncomfortable.

"Brother Tuantuan, stop playing the riddle-maker and just tell me what happened."

"The truth is that the powerful ruler of Yuanshan, Changsheng Tiemu, knew that our Ming Song Southern Kingdom was suffering greatly because of the war between the court and Yuanshan, and he couldn't bear it."

Therefore, he levied 200 million dan of grain from the Xiangfanji Plain, which he occupied, and sold it at a fair price to the local government offices of the Ming and Song Southern Kingdoms.

The price is one tael of silver for twenty-five catties of fine rice…

“Ah, for the local people to buy this cheap grain is to engage in trade with the enemy, and not to sell it is to allow the people under their jurisdiction to suffer.”

If the disaster victims commit crimes because of this, it wouldn't be much better if his whole family were skinned alive.

The central government, by allowing local authorities to buy the grain that the enemy chieftain mercifully sold at a bargain price, is tantamount to throwing the emperor's face on the ground and trampling it.

But if we explicitly forbid local purchases, it would be tantamount to strangling the mouths of millions of suffering commoners in the south, forcing them to starve. We fear that popular support would be lost immediately, and the nation would collapse.

So the best way is to pretend you don't know anything, and everyone should pretend they don't know this happened!
Just then, I decided to give one of the messengers sent by Changsheng Tiemu to sell grain at a low price a good beating.

He took it as if it were a crazy lock.

He was publicly displayed in court at a busy pier.

More importantly, fearing he might use some clumsy counter-espionage scheme, they deliberately didn't gag him.

Ha, ha, ha ha ha…

This kind of undeserved misfortune has befallen me; it's truly the worst luck I've ever had!

After sulking for a while, Zhang Gui calmed down and said:
"However, Tie Mu Changsheng's open scheme was truly upright and flawless."

Even without my unintentional cooperation, it was still a deadly move that would wipe out the entire family!
I have no idea which holy deity offered such a 'poisonous scheme' that could be called the way of saints!

"Such a mind could only have come up with by the learned and virtuous people of our Ming and Song dynasties."

Chu Tuantuan said quietly.

Zhang Gui's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out:
"No, it couldn't be that his wife died of grief and anger because her hometown was destroyed by thieves and her entire family was wiped out, and she vomited blood."

The war between Yuanshan and Mingsong led to the collapse of order in the southern kingdom.

So, is the one who went to the vast grasslands to meet Tie Mu Changsheng, to earnestly persuade him to end the war, 'Master Qingdou' Huaihe?

"If it weren't for this great sage of our time, who else could have persuaded Changsheng Tiemu to take out two hundred million dan of grain to save the millions of common people in the Ming and Song Southern Kingdoms?"

It is said that this Qingdou Mountain Master knew that although Emperor Yuanshan had no intention of ceasing hostilities, citing the reason that "once a national war begins, it is like an arrow on a bowstring that must be released."

However, he lamented that the people of the Southern Kingdom of Ming and Song had suffered greatly from natural disasters and man-made calamities, and were so displaced that they were almost forced to exchange their own children for food. Therefore, he ordered the collection of 200 million dan of grain from Xiangfan to save the people.

Overwhelmed with emotion, tears streamed down his face, and he nearly fainted. In a daze, he knelt and wept before Tie Mu Changsheng's tent.

Then he really did faint for three days and three nights, and almost died.

After realizing that he had actually knelt before the emperor of the empire, he felt ashamed to return to the Ming and Song dynasties and settled down in Yuanshan.

But he also swore that he would never serve two masters and would never serve as an official in Yuanshan.

They only set up private schools to educate the sons of the wealthy and powerful in Yuanshan about etiquette and a sense of shame.

Changsheng Tiemu, deeply moved by Mr. Huaihe's noble character, personally named the school "Xianhezhai".

Several children from the "Bojijin" family, who were supposedly of the golden bloodline of Yuanshan, were sent there.

For now, only we, the eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, know a little about this news, thanks to the secret agents hidden in Yuanshan.

It didn't spread.

Otherwise, it would surely alarm the court and the public.

Zhang Gui was stunned for a while, then suddenly opened his mouth, clapped his hands, and burst into laughter.

"Good, good, good, good! What a fine scholar, a fine academician, a fine sage!"

Even if this news gets out, what difference will it make?

After all, Mr. Huaihe saved millions of ordinary people with his words. Even you or I, in front of him, could we utter a single word of 'wrong'?"

Chu Tuantuan was speechless upon hearing this.

Finally, he sighed and said:

"In fact, when a great power undergoes a period of change, those powerful families will inevitably split up and hedge their bets."

I suspect that Mr. Huaihe's actions were also agreed upon by his elder brother, Mr. Hexiang.

Throughout history, during times of great strife, there are countless examples of powerful families and wealthy clans having their own brothers serving different masters and fighting to the death for each other.

It's all just the same old story playing out again.

(End of this chapter)