Chapter 63: Standing upright with an upright heart
Author: Wu Seding
Chapter 63: Standing upright with an upright heart
"This is a memory bead produced in Tianzhu. It is a bit of the student's harvest from running Baochang Society over the years. I would like to ask the teacher to accept it."
In the past, Su Wangting worked under Prime Minister Lu, not just as a clerk handling documents, but also studying the knowledge of managing the world and benefiting the people from Prime Minister Lu. Therefore, calling himself a student is not only not wrong, but also can greatly bring the two of them closer.
At this moment, in the main hall of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Su Wangting handed the cyan blue orb contained in a lacquered wooden box to a maid in red clothes, and she brought it to Prime Minister Lu for inspection.
Although most of the imperial government offices are located in the imperial city, the emperor's residence before he ascended the throne was located in Xingqingfang in the east of Chang'an City. After he ascended the throne, it was expanded into a palace several times and became the place where political affairs were conducted daily.
The several lanes near Xingqing Palace naturally became the best areas that the princes and ministers were eager to pursue. Prime Minister Lu was deeply trusted by the emperor and gave his residence to Shengye Square on the west side of Xingqing Palace. Therefore, Prime Minister Lu usually stayed at his home
Manage affairs in the mansion, rather than going to the imperial government office.
The main hall is deep and wide, with a screen separating the two sides. A dozen officials of the imperial court are writing at their desks behind the screen to assist Prime Minister Lu in his office. There are also many documents and tables hanging directly on the screen, and the dense text makes it easy to read.
Those who came to visit felt invisible oppression and seemed to be able to see how a huge country operates.
Su Wangting did not dare to look around. He handed over the gift and stood with his head bowed, waiting for Prime Minister Lu to ask questions.
"There is also a memory bead hidden in the palace, which was brought back by Master Tripitaka." Prime Minister Lu picked up the cyan memory bead, held it in his hand and rubbed it gently, showing a rare smile.
"What did you talk about with Wang Yuanbao at Puji Temple?" Prime Minister Lu immediately put away his smile and asked bluntly.
Su Wangting did not hide anything and replied: "Wang Yuanbao hopes that students will help him manage some of his properties. In order to build up his reputation, he wants students to organize the Weinan Treasure Fighting Party before the winter solstice this year."
"Then what are your plans?" Lu Xiang asked.
"If you work on Wang Yuanbao's side, it will help the teacher, and the student must try his best." Su Wangting did not use twists and turns like before, but explained his attitude straightforwardly.
Prime Minister Lu nodded slightly. He has always been serious about words. This was his way of expressing satisfaction: "You should have read the eight new policies implemented by the imperial court. Next year, Changpingcang offices will be set up outside Kyoto. I need people to go to various places.
All the provinces and counties in the southern section of the canal are losing."
"Students are willing to go." Su Wangting did not hesitate. Even though he had not listened to Xiang Lu's details, based on the news he had heard in Chang'an these days, plus the words and deeds of Xiang Lu in the past, he had roughly pieced together in his mind what he was going to do in the future.
The territory of Daxia is vast, and the products in the east, west, south, and north are different, with different surpluses and deficiencies. Most merchants take advantage of this difference to travel back and forth by boat and cart, buying low and selling high, thereby seeking profits.
For people like Lu Xiang, products from various places seem to be circulated, but most of the time supply and demand in various places still do not match, and the excess and deficiency do not make up for the shortage. In order to make more profits, some well-informed wealthy businessmen resort to hoarding.
The method of dispersing light and heavy things can lead to huge man-made disasters in an instant if there is a natural disaster.
If they are just mere merchants, no matter how much money they make, they are just like ants to the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China, who can be wiped out in the blink of an eye.
But just like Su Wangting was able to run the Baochang Society in Quzhi City in a prosperous manner. He not only relied on Lu Xiang, but also maintained contacts with the Protectorate and made a lot of contributions. Although it is not a single family, it is not left to anyone.
A soft egg to handle.
Even if the Governor of Qi finally banned the Baochang Society, it would be by taking advantage of the competition for the Star Essence between all parties to force the Lu Xiang forces out of the Western Regions, while secretly drawing a clear line with the British Duke - Su Wangting had already done this in Quzhi City
I got the general idea from the inspector.
Similarly, if Prime Minister Lu wants to implement the New Deal, he cannot rely on his high position and power to force him to do so, and he may not be able to rely on government agencies to completely replace merchants from various places in the short term. This gives Su Wangting a place to use.
"The decree will still be debated in the court for some time, and it will not be implemented until at least next year. I will arrange specific matters for you later." After speaking, Prime Minister Lu gently shook the bell on the case.
Hearing this sound, the scribes on both sides of the screen stood up one after another and filed out. The last person closed the door, and the entire deep and wide main hall suddenly became quiet.
Su Wangting guessed that Prime Minister Lu had something confidential to tell him, but when he saw that the maid in red clothes did not avoid it, he did not dare to think wildly.
"Did you bring Mr. Changqing from the Terma Palace to Chang'an?" Prime Minister Lu asked.
Su Wangting felt that the sharp gaze of the other party was coming towards him like a real sword blade, and his eyes stung. He quickly lowered his head and crossed his hands, and replied cautiously: "Reporting to the teacher, the student initially only returned with Mr. Changqing, but later learned that he wanted to
After participating in the Taoist examination, the students felt that he would achieve great things in the future, so they thought of making friends and sponsors."
In front of Prime Minister Lu, Su Wangting did not dare to hide it, and he could not hide it. He made friends with Changqing because he had a long-term view. By forming a good relationship with such a Taoist master, he might be able to deal with a lot of troubles in the future.
However, Changqing has the arrogance and conceitedness of a cultivator, and it is difficult for him to be moved by worldly wealth. On the contrary, Cheng Sanwu's straightforward temperament is more suitable for him to get along with.
Su Wangting talked with Changqing all night long, hoping that he could take care of Cheng Sanwu, but on the other hand, why didn't he hope that Cheng Sanwu would take care of Changqing, a young man?
"You have been doing business in the Western Region for more than ten years, and your grasp of people's hearts has improved a lot." Lu Xiang said: "Even if you are a Taoist with magical power, you will still trick him into coming to Chang'an, and he will even think that he wants to come."
Su Wangting lowered his head lower. He was really dwarfed in front of Prime Minister Lu.
"Do you know who this Mr. Changqing is?" Lu Xiang asked again.
Cold sweat broke out on Su Wangting's forehead, and he suppressed his fear and replied: "In the first year of Xiantian, the student was ordered by his teacher and prime minister to purchase a mansion and property in Nanyang, Dengzhou, to settle a mother and son. Later, he heard that his mother died of illness and his son was
A Songyue Taoist picked him up. If the student’s guess is correct, that child was Mr. Changqing today.”
"He was less than five years old when he left my house. I think he already remembered it." Lu Xiang showed a reminiscence look. Su Wangting had never seen in him this kind of temperament that was almost nostalgic for the past.
In Su Wangting's impression, Lu Yan was not the kind of person who would be bound by old friendships. What he learned from Lu Yan was the ability to delve into practice and gain insight into people's hearts.
"Zijin... no, Mr. Changqing must be resentful of me, right?" Lu Yan's emotions calmed down in an instant, and he once again became the current Prime Minister who would not be avoided.
"Yes." What else could Su Wangting say? If possible, he would also like to mediate between these two people, but as smart as he is, he feels powerless at the moment.
"Master Daguan will enter the palace to preach Taoism at the winter solstice." Lu Xiang said: "At that time, you can bring Mr. Changqing back to Chang'an, and I will meet him in person."
"Students obey orders."
Su Wangting did not dare to ask any other questions. After saying goodbye and leaving, Lu Yan did not rush to ring the bell to call in the scribes. Fairy Qiu next to him said: "I used the cave flute to convey the sound of the sword last night, and I have already prepared the "Liu Hong Penetrating the Moon Sword"
"Imprinted into Zijin's sea of consciousness."
"The sword intention is profound and profound, but there is no sword intention, and it cannot be said to be a perfect swordsmanship." Lu Yan said: "If you can't hold the sword yourself and practice the sword skills thoroughly, it will be of no use in the end, let alone against the opponent.
The courage to confront the enemy."
"I plan to give you some advice later." Fairy Qiu changed her tone: "But the move of passing the sword last night seemed to have made Cheng Sanwu aware of it, and he has been protecting Zijin until the fourth watch."
Lu Yan was silent for a long time after hearing this. Fairy Qiu stared at him and asked, "You said before that Cheng Sanwu was originally an immortal and ancient demon. Are you not afraid of anything happening if you let him stay with Zijin?"
"Cheng Sanwu took the initiative to protect Zijin, which shows that they succeeded." Lu Yan sat back, and he was incredibly shocked, expressed in such a subtle way.
"Them? You mean Fu Shifeng?" Qiu Xianzi asked, "Didn't you already part ways with them?"
"It's nothing more than allowing me to make my own decisions. Fu Shifeng is not a sect with strict rules to begin with. It's just a group of like-minded people who have passed down the tradition for a long time." Lu Yan's tone seemed to be a bit mocking.
"What did you mean by 'success' just now?" Fairy Qiu asked again.
"The sages of Fu Shifeng tried their best to kill the demon, so they chose to find another way to make the demon fall into self-conflict and self-destruction." Lu Yan explained: "More than a hundred years ago,
Many experts used their own methods to finally transform the demon into a human being."
"Transformed into a human?" Fairy Qiu was slightly confused: "Did he seal the ancient demon into the human body?"
"No." Lu Yan denied: "I haven't seen how they did it, and I don't know much about it. In short, the demon who brought disaster to the world seems to have been reborn and transformed into a newborn human."
"If we look at the Heyang murder case, this person cannot be said to be a good person." Fairy Qiu reminded.
"Ordinary people will commit violent crimes when they experience that kind of accident. It just depends on whether they can do it." Lu Yan said calmly: "I got the news that yesterday the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent people to the criminal record library to check the old files. It's a pity that they
I don’t understand that Cheng Sanwu’s plan to kill the entire Sun family was not a conspiracy, he just did it.
"I defined the Heyang massacre as a retaliation and rebellion by the villagers. It was not an attempt to gain power for personal gain. That is the fact. As for asking Your Majesty to recall the pursuers, it was because I did not want to cause unnecessary casualties."
"This is what you call 'success'?" Fairy Qiu probably understood.
"It was an accident that Zijin and Cheng Sanwu met in the Western Region." Lu Yan said: "I was a little worried at first, but when I heard that Cheng Sanwu was protecting Zijin, it showed that the ancient demon was indeed firmly suppressed.
."
"You want Cheng Sanwu to protect Zijin?" Fairy Qiu responded: "Are you worried that Zijin will be involved in huge disputes in the future?"
"Taguanzi has arranged for me to teach him not to be quiet and inactive, but to teach a bunch of military strategists to fight in battle formations and to save the world and protect the country. Zijin has made up his mind. Even if I stop him, I'm afraid he will rush in on his own." Lu Yan said.
Shaking the copper bell on the case, he said at the end: "In that case, let's put a reliable support beside him and let him control the future direction by himself."
…
"You suddenly want to practice swordsmanship for no reason?"
In Chang'an East City, Cheng Sanwu followed Chang Qing to the iron shop. This was actually the blacksmith shop set up by Jing Zhaoyin. It usually made kitchen knives, cooking utensils, iron nails, chains and other daily items for the people, but occasionally it also forged swords.
The imperial court had its own weapons supervisor to build a large number of armors, but the folk customs of Daxia were martial, and even young scholars were willing to carry swords when traveling, which naturally created demand.
Chang Qing looked at the long swords placed on the cabinet shelf, and looked at them one by one, but he was not satisfied. Cheng Sanwu muttered beside him: "I think these are just average. When it comes to a real fight, if the swords hit each other, they will collapse immediately."
Make a gap."
"What? You also know swordsmanship?" Chang Qing glanced at the Bailian Magic Sword on Cheng Sanwu's waist and thought that this sword from the Taoist forgers was definitely not a sword with poor workmanship in the iron shop and could be compared to an iron bar.
can be compared.
"Have you never eaten pork, and haven't you seen pigs running?" Cheng Sanwu akimbo smiled and said, "I also know that you scholars like to play swords, and you look down on us knife players and think we are rustic."
"You're just being mean!" Chang Qing retorted: "I'm just thinking that in the future, I can't walk around the world empty-handed. In the Taoist weapons and martial arts, the sword is the sect, and it is more wonderful to be in harmony with Taoism."
"I know, it's just those flying swords that are shooting everywhere!" Cheng Sanwu waved his hands and almost knocked over a weapons shelf next to him.
Seeing this, Chang Qing realized that the iron shop did not have what he needed anyway, so he hurriedly left with Cheng Sanwu, walking on the street and saying: "The flying sword is a serious magic, not a sword-holding skill. It is said that the flying sword is refined."
To the extreme, you can reach the state where man and sword become one."
"Wouldn't that mean he became a swordsman?" Cheng Sanwu scratched his beard and laughed.
"One day you are poked in seventeen or eight holes by a flying sword, don't ask me to save you." Chang Qing shook his head repeatedly.
Last night, when Chang Qing was quietly contemplating, a jade girl holding a sword suddenly appeared in the sea of consciousness. Normally, Chang Qing would have thought that it was an intrusion from an external demon.
However, the sword-wielding jade girl destroyed the divine general with one sword, filling the sea of consciousness with the sword's will. When Changqing reacted, he discovered that the other party had taught him an extremely superb swordsmanship.
This happened without any warning, and even Chang Qing was greatly shocked. Although he had read many legends in books about immortals teaching dharma and meeting true masters in dreams, he still did not dare to believe them.
But when this happened to him, Changqing felt an unprecedented shock. He couldn't sleep at all for the rest of the night. He kept recalling the swordsmanship, confirming that there was a ray of sword intention lingering in the sea of consciousness, and understood that his thoughts were not temporarily confused.
.
It wasn't until daybreak and Su Wangting went to the Prime Minister's Mansion that Chang Qing vaguely figured out that perhaps he had been spotted by a swordsman hiding in Chang'an, but the other party didn't want to reveal his identity, so he used this tortuous and sophisticated method.
Means teaches swordsmanship.
Although it is extremely rare to teach skills through the mind and spirit, it is not too unfamiliar to Changqing. When he was practicing in the Fu Zang Palace, he went to a mysterious place built by Daguan Zhenren.
In the formation cave, I understood the Taoism left behind by the master.
However, the idea of sword transfer in the virtual realm was too unbelievable. Chang Qing did not intend to tell others, but he also had the idea of practicing swordsmanship, so he brought Cheng Sanwu to buy weapons.