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

Chapter 382 How to Use a Carving Knife! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Upon hearing the name Yang Xiong, Wang Qiang glanced sideways, and Liu Ao, seeing this, asked:

"Sister, do you know this person?"

Wang Qiang shook her head:

"I don't know him. The immortal mentioned Yang Xiong at lunch, calling him the Confucius of the West. He is said to be the only great Confucian scholar in the Han Dynasty who can be compared with Confucius."

Many great Confucian scholars emerged during the Han Dynasty, but there were still differences between them.

For example, Liu Xiang, Liu Xin, Gu Yong, Chen Xian, and Zhu Yun were all outstanding figures of their time, leaving their names in history and in the development of Confucianism.

But Yang Xiong was a great Confucian scholar among great scholars. He not only carried on the traditions of Confucianism but also profoundly criticized the various theories of Confucian classics interpretation that emerged at the end of the Western Han Dynasty.

"To abandon boats and sails to cross rivers is the worst approach; to abandon the Five Classics to pursue the Way is the worst approach!"

He felt that Confucius was the greatest sage, and that Confucius's classics were the most suitable for study. He believed that the great Confucian scholars of today were abandoning Confucius's teachings and adding their own interpretations, which was putting the cart before the horse.

In order to trace back to the source, Yang Xiong wrote "Tai Xuan" based on the "I Ching" and "Fa Yan" based on the "Analects". In terms of contributions, he is indeed qualified to be on par with Confucius.

Besides his contributions to Confucianism, Yang Xiong was also highly accomplished in literature, and he and Sima Xiangru were collectively known as "Yang and Ma".

When the great Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi wrote "Inscription of My Humble Abode", he wrote the line "Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage in Nanyang, Ziyun's pavilion in Western Shu". Ziyun was Yang Xiong's courtesy name.

Now, Yang Xiong, only seventeen years old, had just become Zhuang Zun's disciple and was unaware of his future achievements. He cupped his hands and asked:

"Excuse me, who is this immortal you're talking about? Are there really immortals in this world?"

Liu Ao smugly pulled out a laser pointer from his pocket and shone it around:
"This is a gift from the gods. The army has laser spotlights a thousand times more powerful than this, capable of blinding people... By the way, can you really see this carving knife glowing?"

Yang Xiong nodded:

"Yes, it's still glowing."

Liu Ao took the carving knife from Wang Qiang and handed it to him:

"This is something Confucius kept close to his body. The immortal ordered us to find out how to use it. Since you can see that it is glowing, why don't you give it a try?"

This guy originally came to watch the show, but now he shamelessly uses "we" to refer to himself as a member of the research group. No matter what Yang Xiong, Liu Xiang and the others figure out, the Crown Prince can at least be credited as one of the three authors, so he won't lose out either way.

Upon hearing the name Confucius, Yang Xiong's face immediately revealed an expression of "I knew it!"
"It's actually an item made by a sage; no wonder it glows."

Liu Xiang and Zhuang Junping also came over, wanting to see the wonders of the sage's object.

After receiving the Confucian Sage's carving knife, Yang Xiong's entire demeanor immediately became righteous. He closed his eyes to sense it for a moment, then strode out of Liu Xiang's house and came to a nearby river.

The river flows through the city, and the city's nobles draw water from it for their own use, and indiscriminately dump garbage into the river, making it stink.

Yang Xiong raised his carving knife and made a stroke across the river. The river's flow immediately increased significantly, washing away all the filth and clearing away any weeds, reeds, and other unwanted creatures.

Then, Yang Xiong walked two more streets and saw a river flowing through the courtyard of a nobleman. He raised his carving knife again and made a stroke, and the whole river seemed to come alive, bypassing the nearby nobleman's house and flowing past the living area of ​​the common people to the outside of the city.

In the midst of their conversation, they repaired the river and even changed its course, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

However, Yang Xiong's face had turned deathly pale by this time. He handed the carving knife back to Liu Ao, then lay down in the pavilion by the roadside and fell fast asleep.

Liu Xiang looked at Zhuang Junping and asked:
"Lord Junping, you have always studied the Laozi. Do you know why?"

Zhuang Junping was historically known as Yan Junping because when Ban Gu wrote history, the emperor at the time was Emperor Ming of Han, Liu Zhuang. In order to avoid using the emperor's name, Ban Gu recorded Zhuang Junping's surname as Yan. From then on, Zhuang Junping, who practiced both Confucianism and Taoism, became known as Yan Junping.

Zhuang Junping stroked his beard and said:
"When Confucius wrote history, he would correct any mistakes with a carving knife. If we consider mountains and rivers as words, then the carving knife can modify the course and direction of mountains and rivers. However, whether this is feasible still needs to be studied... Brother Zizheng, my master and I will be staying here for a long time in the future. Could you help us find a quiet place?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiang was overjoyed:
"Yes, yes, Lord Junping can stay as long as he wishes. I can even send someone to Shu to bring your family to Chang'an."

It is a blessing for the Han Dynasty that a great scholar is willing to live in Chang'an.

Liu Xin rode his horse and surveyed the river that Yang Xiong had altered, then excitedly exclaimed:
"The river has been widened considerably. I tasted it upstream, and it was sweet and refreshing, like a spring from the mountains."

After saying that, the guy took the carving knife from Liu Ao's hands, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then raised his hand and made a stroke, and the muddy road under his feet immediately turned into a smooth stone road.

Liu Xiang stomped his foot, feeling the thickness of the stone, and scolded Liu Xin:
"This is ridiculous! Changing a dirt road to a stone road will damage the hooves of countless horses. Change it back immediately to avoid causing panic among the people."

Liu Xin stuck out his tongue, quickly raised his carving knife, and made a cut. The path under his feet wasn't changed back to a dirt road, but became a blue brick road. A drainage ditch was also added next to it to drain excess rainwater into the river, preventing waterlogging. After finishing all this, Liu Xin was also extremely sleepy, so he lay down in the pavilion and fell into a deep sleep.

Liu Ao, itching to try his hand at carving, also picked up a carving knife and tried to carve around, but he couldn't make a single mark on either the road or the river.

After observing for a while, Liu Xiang finally figured out some of the tricks of the trade:
"This thing must be initiated by a Confucian scholar with certain achievements; not everyone can do it. This prevents the possibility of people wantonly destroying the mountains and rivers."

Only highly learned scholars can use it, so the threshold is quite high, which is a good thing.

Wang Qiang hadn't expected to find out how to use the carving knife so quickly. She planned to send it back and tell Zhou Yi how to use it, and then take it back when needed... She really didn't feel comfortable leaving such a precious thing in someone else's hands.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, she vanished into thin air and appeared in the Hall of Salvation from Suffering of Hunyuan Palace. She ran all the way to the back hall of Sanqing Hall and met Zhou Yi:

"Master, the method of using the carving knife has been figured out. Great scholars can use this tool to change mountains and rivers."

She handed the carving knife to Zhou Yi and played the video she had recorded again, from Yang Xiong changing the river in the city to Liu Xin changing the road, which left Zhou Yi astonished:

"If we bring a great scholar with us into battle, wouldn't we be able to clear paths through mountains and build bridges over rivers?"

This thing has a very prominent effect, but it has a threshold for use. Only a great Confucian scholar can activate it, which makes it possible for Confucian scholars to go to the battlefield, and even "traveling ten thousand miles" is no longer just empty talk.

Wang Qiang currently has no merit, and Chen Tang is not in Chang'an. Zhou Yi plans to have his eldest disciple try to activate it using merit. If successful, it can still be used on the battlefield.

He returned to his room and wrote down how to use the Confucian sage's carving knife:
"It can change existing natural conditions, but its specific uses need further exploration."

Speaking of which, the carving knife and the Confucian pen are used in completely opposite ways. The pen is used to create things out of thin air, while the carving knife is used to change the existing state... After a year, when the two are combined, it feels like it will be invincible.

Wu Meiniang followed in, glanced at the records of the Book of Changes, and asked:

"If merit could be used to accelerate this, what would you most like to do, Immortal Master?"

"Fly to an island nation, turn all their deep-water ports into shallow waters, flat land into hills, urban areas into canyons, concrete buildings into adobe houses, and Mount Fuji into a erupting state..."

Wu Zetian said with a smile:

“What you keep in mind will surely come to pass. I believe you will be able to achieve your wish.”

Wang Qiang handed the leaves of Emperor Gouchen to Wu Meiniang, and then said:

"I will come again in five days, and I will prepare enough horses for you then."

Zhou Yi instructed her to bring some mooncakes and salt to Liu Xiang, as they would be relying on these great scholars for their help in the future, so she couldn't be stingy.

After Wang Qiang returned to the world of Emperor Yuan, she gave the gift of the Book of Changes to Liu Xiang, and then she and Liu Ao returned to the East Palace and began to try to install solar panels and other items according to video tutorials.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, solar panels and wind turbines have been installed in Li Qingzhao's mill, and the electric mill equipment will soon be installed as well.

Li Qingzhao planned to wait until the flour was ground before going to Hunyuan Palace, so as not to be ridiculed by everyone for having no achievements.

Li Hang, the mill's chief engineer, was assembling various parts according to the blueprints when he saw his older sister looking distracted and couldn't help but say:
"Go if you want to. Don't act like you're lovesick. If you put this energy into studying, our Great Song Dynasty would have produced a female champion long ago."

These were the words Li Qingzhao usually used to discipline him, and now this kid used them verbatim on his own sister, quickly earning him a severe beating:
"You're just a kid, what do you know? Hurry up and install it, don't delay tomorrow's trial operation."

Tomorrow, the mill will begin its trial operation phase. Customers who grind flour here can enjoy a 50% discount. Li Qingzhao started promoting it a few days ago, and even the name of the mill is pasted on the pole of the wind turbine.

Besides grinding flour, the mill also sells various grades of refined wheat flour, rice flour, mixed grain flour, bran, etc. If you accumulate enough flour, you can open a pastry shop.

In the evening, when Li Gefei finished his shift, he took a longer route over and saw that all the equipment was ready. He then became worried about safety.

"What should we do if a petty thief comes in and causes trouble?"

Li Qingzhao pointed to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams symbols pasted in the courtyard and said:

"Anyone who comes in at night will fall into an illusion. We need a lot of laborers to dredge the canal recently, so let these people do their part."

This girl is usually quite free, so she has considered all the possibilities. In addition, the day after she rented this courtyard, she offered incense at the nearby land god temple and city god temple as an envoy of Hunyuan Palace. If anyone causes trouble again, it means that the city god and land god need to be re-appointed.

That night, quite a few people did indeed climb into the mill courtyard, and then they all started spinning in circles until the next morning when the officials from the Kaifeng government came to arrest them, at which point they gradually came to their senses.

After seeing these people off, Li Qingzhao urged the mill to start work immediately, as she couldn't wait to go to Hunyuan Palace to show off!

(End of this chapter)