Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 376 Encouraging Confucius to Establish Schools! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Inside the Hunyuan Palace, upon opening the black notebook, the first thing one sees is the case of Crown Prince Liu Ao's murder:
[Liu Ao's killing of the Xiongnu deputy envoy demonstrates his iron-fisted character; merit +10]

After reading it, Zhou Yi thought he had misread it, so he rubbed his eyes and confirmed that it was Liu Ao and not Liu Ju. He was filled with anticipation for the future of the Yuan Emperor's world.

A historically infamous tyrant is no longer obsessed with women and even dares to slaughter foreign tribes. It feels like the Liu family's bloodline is starting to revert to its ancestral form.

Historically, shortly after Liu Shi's death, Wang Feng seized control of the court, and Liu Ao then became a hands-off ruler, saying, "If you want power, I'll give it to you; I'll just play and enjoy myself."

Wang Feng has a bad reputation in history because he was incompetent but insisted on taking power.

When Liu Ao first came to power, the Han Dynasty was already in decline, but it was still generally functioning. However, after Wang Feng's meddling, the entire system began to lag, display black screens, and crash.

After Wang Feng's death, Wang Yin took over, followed by Wang Shang, Wang Li, and other members of the Wang clan. It could be said that each generation was worse than the last.

But none of this had much to do with Liu Ao. He had no desire for power, nor any ambition to strive for advancement. Unable to seize imperial power, he sought out beautiful women to play with, which is why later generations kept criticizing the Zhao Feiyan sisters, saying that they brought disaster to the country and its people.

Liu Ao is only fifteen years old, yet he can take the initiative to attack and kill foreign tribes without being frightened by the bloodshed. This shows that he is mentally strong. With a little training, he will become an emperor full of martial virtue.

To be fair, this guy made the right choice by becoming Chen Tang's apprentice. Following a pedantic scholar only teaches you pedantic and pretentious language, but following Chen Tang, you can learn so much more.

Chen Tang has almost perfected the essential qualities of a ruler: thick skin and shamelessness. If Liu Ao can master these two points, he will far surpass the average emperor.

Moreover, Chen Tang has now found a group of outstanding advisors for Liu Ao, and with the diligent young Wang Mang also studying hard, the Han Dynasty can be revived and live a second life.

Just as she was imagining the future of the Yuan Emperor's world, Xi Shi walked in:

"Master, aren't we supposed to be going to Lijia Ferry to see the local earth god temple today? When shall we set off?"

Zhou Yi checked the time and said:
"I'll prepare lunch and then I'll leave."

The main structure of the land temple has been completed. Zhou Yi will go over to take a look today. If there are no problems, we will consecrate the statues as soon as they arrive.

Considering that the two little girls, Zhao Yan and Zhao Rui, and Wu Meiniang were not going, Zhou Yi steamed the sausage rice and then drove the beautiful woman down the mountain to Lijia Ferry Town in Lushan County.

On the way, Xi Shi talked about the changes in the Spring and Autumn Period:
"The old master changed many of the Confucian doctrines and even planned to compile a military treatise to ensure the dominant position of China over the barbarians. He advocated 'destroying the barbarians and reviving China,' which is almost the complete opposite of his previous advocacy of benevolence and righteousness."

The Book of Changes praised it, saying:
"Throughout five thousand years of history, the number of great figures who recognized their mistakes and were able to correct them quickly can be counted on one hand... No wonder Confucius was able to be deified; his personal virtue was absolutely impeccable."

Upon arriving at Lijia Ferry, Zhou Yi turned into the town's farmers' market and found the newly built land temple at the far end of the market.

Because it is located in a densely populated area, the temple has attracted many people to burn incense even before it has been fully built, and a temporary incense burner at the entrance is filled with incense and candles.

The small temple is very similar to the one in Sanlizhuang. Both of them do not have a gate, but the difference is that this temple is not a tiled house, but a single-story house, which is built by pouring concrete as a whole, which is more convenient.

I examined the Book of Changes thoroughly, but found no problems.

To prevent evil spirits from taking over the temple, Zhou Yi pasted talismans on all four walls of the small temple to keep it clean.

After he finished looking at it, he communicated with the contractor about the time for painting the walls and laying the floor, and reminded him to reserve space for the statue.

The God of Fortune is the god of the land and grain. The statue of the god must be grounded with five-colored soil and cannot be made entirely of concrete.

By the time we finished dealing with all that, it was already noon.

The entire farmers' market was bustling with activity, and Zhou Yi was too lazy to go out again. He and Xi Shi strolled around hand in hand for a while, found a stall selling braised mutton, sat down, and each ordered a serving of braised mutton, plus two fried dough twists.

Slice the cooked mutton and simmer it again in mutton broth. Eat the meat and broth together. It's not only very filling but also very warming, making it perfect for cold weather.

Zhou Yi poured the oil into a bowl, added some mutton fat and chili, and said as he ate:
"When I was a child, every time I went down the mountain to the market with my grandfather, we would have a big bowl of stewed mutton like this. Thinking back now, I was really happy back then."

Although he has no parents, he has the meticulous care of his grandfather and the concern and love of his neighbors.

From childhood to adulthood, Zhou Yi has never been looked down upon, never been bullied, and no one has ever brought up his status as an orphan.

Xi Shi smiled and said:

"My sister said that when you first came to Hunyuan Palace, you looked so silly that she wanted to trick you into going to the Tang Dynasty."

Zhou Yi felt this was quite in line with the Empress's personality:

"I'd like to go, but unfortunately I can't."

At this point, he inquired about the diet of Confucius and others:
"How did they eat that white flour? Did you teach them how to steam buns using a solar cooker?"

Xi Shi said:

"The Master felt that eating white flour was a waste of resources, so he had Zilu mix it with half grains to make steamed buns for everyone. He also gave some white flour to the poor people in the neighborhood. Zigong suggested that they could sell some to nobles to exchange for food to help the poor, but the Master disagreed, feeling that buying and selling things bestowed by the gods was a great disrespect, and warned his disciples not to do so." Zhou Yi thought about the state of Confucius and his disciples, and felt that rather than wandering like this, it would be better to find a place to live in seclusion, cultivate the land himself, and with the support of the Hunyuan Palace, he could devote himself to research.

Upon hearing the word "seclusion," Xi Shi's eyes lit up:
"How about I tell the old master about my plan to live in seclusion? We can find Yunwu Mountain in advance, build our own home on the mountain, and with the help of the Confucius disciples' propaganda, we might even become a cradle of talent in the Spring and Autumn period."

This is a great idea; Zhouyi thinks it's worth a try.
"When Guiguzi went into seclusion, he cultivated a large number of talents for the Warring States period. Many of the talents who were active in the later period of the Warring States period were his classmates... If Confucius had been able to systematically cultivate a group of civil and military officials, his status would have been even higher."

There are still three years before Lao Tzu leaves Hangu Pass to the west. Instead of waiting in vain, why not set up a school in the area of ​​Yunwu Mountain and implement talent cultivation? This would be a good opportunity to utilize the strengths of Confucius' disciples.

Zigong was good at business, so he was entrusted with the preliminary preparations; Ziwo was skilled in diplomacy, so he was sent to various countries to promote Yunwu Mountain School and win over students; Yan Hui was content with poverty and found joy in the Way, so he was sent to lead the students to self-reliance.

In addition, organizational skills, coordination skills, and so on can be trained separately to enhance individual abilities.

If we persist for ten years, half of the talents in the entire Spring and Autumn period world will come from the Confucian school... Isn't this way of directly cultivating talents better than peddling one's own doctrines everywhere?
Moreover, Confucius's teachings begin by restricting the rulers of various states, forbidding them from doing this or that, requiring them to set an example, not to indulge in pleasure, and certainly not to speak rudely... No matter how brilliant these teachings are, it is difficult for rulers to accept them.

I finally became the ruler of a country, and you want me to be a primary school student? Who can stand that?

During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Han used Confucianism because it included the part of Confucianism that admonished his ministers: "Don't worry about whether I am in accordance with the way of being a ruler. First, do your duty. If you don't do it, you are disloyal, rebellious, and disrespectful."

From restricting the monarch to restricting the ministers, Confucianism made a complete 180-degree turn, becoming a tool of the emperor. However, over time, ministers began to use Confucianism to restrict the emperor.

It was like playing a ring toss game. The emperor would put a ring around the neck of his minister, and the minister would put a ring back after a while. Eventually, both sides would be choked and unable to breathe, but they couldn't stop.

After eating and drinking their fill, Zhou Yi, holding Xi Shi's hand, continued to stroll around the farmers' market, intending to digest their food.

I saw someone selling mooncakes by weight. It seems like they're all being handled by distributors. Mooncakes of various flavors are mixed together and sold by weight. The more you buy, the cheaper it is.

Boss Zhou Yichong asked:

How many of these mooncakes are there?

"There's plenty. People are paying more and more attention to health these days. Nobody eats high-oil and high-sugar foods. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, we'll have to sell them off cheaply. How many pounds do you want, brother?"

The Book of Changes says:

"I'll take as much as you want, ten or twenty tons is no problem. Besides mooncakes, you can also give me other processed foods that are high in oil and sugar. The price is negotiable."

The vendor seemed a little incredulous, pointing to a blue-plated truck not far away and saying:
"There are about five tons on the truck. If you want it, I'll deliver it to your door right now and guarantee the lowest price."

After agreeing on the price, Zhou Yi readily paid him a prepayment of 20,000 yuan. The vendor immediately packed up and drove after Zhou Yi, leaving the market and heading towards Yunwu Mountain.

Foods that modern people dislike due to their high oil and sugar content were delicacies for people in ancient times, and soldiers from all over the world were encouraged to try them.

After unloading the truck, Zhou Yi readily paid for the goods. The vendor offered a discount and then asked:

"Do you only need this one truckload, or do you want it long-term?"

"I need it long-term. As long as you can get your hands on it, just take it up the mountain. But let me make it clear first, it can't be moldy or spoiled. If there are any quality issues, I won't be so polite."

The vendor patted his chest and assured him:
"Don't worry, just because this is a Taoist temple, I wouldn't dare to cheat you."

After the vendor left, Zhou Yi asked Wu Meiniang to take inventory and then distribute it to each world. When new ones arrived, they would be distributed to each world in the same way.

While he was collecting supplies for the ancient world, Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty was in the Weiyang Palace.

Covered in blood, Liu Ao wept incessantly upon seeing Liu Shi, denouncing the Xiongnu's disloyalty. He had always upheld the principles of a gentleman, yet he had been forced to act in self-defense, violating Confucianism, and begged his father, the emperor, for punishment.

Liu Shi was overjoyed that his precious son would dare to kill a foreign tribesman.
“The Xiongnu are an uncivilized and strange race. Ao’er’s killing of them did not violate the way of the sages… My son has truly grown up and is better than his father.”

When Wang Zhengjun saw her beloved son covered in blood, she was terrified. After confirming he was unharmed, her shock quickly turned into raging fury.

"The Xiongnu dared to assassinate the Crown Prince. All Xiongnu within the territory of the Han Dynasty should be eradicated to set an example!"

Liu Shi looked at Gan Yanshou, who was thoroughly enjoying the killing, and said:

"I request that General Wei lead the troops to attack and wipe out the Xiongnu who attacked the Crown Prince. As for the specific tactics, the old general can decide for himself!"

Old Gan immediately accepted the order and led two thousand Northern Army soldiers away from Chang'an with murderous intent to meet Huhanye.

Upon hearing this news, Stan was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time:

"Is this the highest level of etiquette that the Grand Master and the others were talking about last night?"

(End of this chapter)