No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 601 Rong Zhen: Ouyang Lianghan, are you teaching me how to do things? [8k5 two-in-one, monthly ticket requested! ]

What belongs to the Empress belongs to the Empress, and what belongs to Yuanjun belongs to Yuanjun.

After Li Yu said this just now, Ms. Rong and Old Yang fell silent.

Then, a hint of murderous intent suddenly rose in Rong Zhen's eyes, which were full of confusion.

Rong Zhen didn't understand why Li Yu, who had always been law-abiding and a good citizen of the Great Zhou, would do this.

Even if Li Yu told her that he supported Li Zhengyan's rebels who were fighting to restore Li Qian, it would be better than being "incomprehensible" as it was now.

At least Rong Zhen could understand it a little bit and felt better.

Because according to the logic of this classical era, if the king is really unjust and the people are unlucky, it really means that the divine power has been lost, the country is in decline, and the country is in danger of extinction. The Nine Cauldrons can fall into the hands of others and the Mandate of Heaven is no longer there.

But there will be a new Mandate of Heaven, a new dynasty, and a new emperor.

In the eyes of these two people who came from the violent organs of the Zhou Dynasty court and had enjoyed the emperor's grace for a long time, the current emperor was the representative of the divine right of kings.

The monarch is the representative and supreme leader of the country and possesses supreme power.

Theocracy and royal power were combined together to form an almost unbreakable feudal imperial power.

But this so-called "Yuanjun" belief can say "no" to it...

So this is one of the reasons why Ouyang Rong stepped forward and rescued Li Yu.

He was curious.

I am curious about what kind of belief this Yuanjun holds, why there are so many potential believers in this ancient land of Wu and Yue, and why they can compete with the feudal imperial power of the Empress of the Great Zhou.

Some even said, "What belongs to the Empress belongs to the Empress, and what belongs to Yuan Jun belongs to Yuan Jun."

Ouyang Rong sighed softly.

This Li Yu was a small surprise for him today...

"Ouyang Lianghan, I don't understand what you are doing?"

"Didn't I just say in the dungeon that I will also try my best to save the people under my rule and bring the lost lambs back to the right path?"

"I have tried it, it doesn't work."

"I can't stand by and watch without getting involved. "

Inside the state prison, in a dark, narrow, and foul-smelling corridor.

After Ouyang Rong pulled Li Yu ashore from the puddle, he temporarily left the dungeon and went straight to the cell in the prison.

Rong Zhen also caught up and asked the handsome young man who was walking in front with a graceful step, with a puzzled look on her pretty face.

Two figures, one in front and one behind.

After a while, Rong Zhen took the initiative to ask:

"Do you have any objection to my actions?"

"No."

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

"So... when you were watching the water torture just now, you also felt compassion?"

Rong Zhen said in a cold tone:
"I'm telling you, it's useless. I used to be like you, with some sympathy, but now I see that there must be something hateful about pitiful people. Don't waste your time. In the end, you'll still be dealt with the same way as I was dealt with."

Ouyang Rong looked calm:
"No, I'm not going to correct him. I just want to have a chat. If possible, I want to send him off for the last time and have a few drinks. It's better than dying in this dark dungeon."

"Does it make sense? It's not a waste of your time."

"Maybe, maybe not. But if you don't do it, there will definitely be no result."

Rong Zhen fell silent.

At this time, the two came to the cell where the jailers were.

Today, the jailers were in an exceptionally serious state. Those on duty stood up straight, and the jailers who were delivering meals also groaned loudly.

Everyone performed their duties conscientiously.

When facing Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen passing by them, these jailers looked straight ahead and devoted themselves to their sacred mission.

Ouyang Rong looked around, walked up, and patted the shoulder of a prison guard on duty who was concentrating on browsing the roster.

He asked in a friendly manner, "Excuse me, where are Li Yu's clothes and other belongings?"

"Ah...oh, wait a moment, sir."

The jailer nodded hurriedly, and before leaving, he looked at Rong Zhen for instructions. The latter lowered his eyes and remained silent. The jailer trotted away to get the clothes of the most serious criminal in the innermost part of the prison.

Speaking of which, for these jailers, today was truly unprecedented, as someone could actually walk out of that damnable water dungeon standing.

In the past, people who went in always came out lying down.

"Thank you."

After receiving a small bag containing Li Yu's clothes and personal belongings, Ouyang Rong said goodbye gently.

But before leaving, he pointed to the roster in the hand of the guard on duty, and said in an embarrassed tone:
"Um, you're holding the book upside down."

Jailer on Duty: ...

After a while, leaving behind the red-faced jailer on duty, Ouyang Rong carried a small bag and returned to the dungeon with Rong Zhen.

On the way, Ouyang Rong asked:
"Oh, by the way, Ms. Rong put Li Yu in jail, what about his family?"

On the way back, Rong Zhen no longer followed Ouyang Rong, but walked forward with his sleeves rolled up, saying without looking back:

"How do you think I will handle this?"

Ouyang Rong leaned back slightly and made a vertical and diagonal chopping gesture with his palm in front of him.

When Rong Zhenhao turned around and saw it, his chest couldn't help but rise and fall.

"Okay, you'd better not fall into my hands. I will follow your instructions next time."

Ouyang Rong blinked:
"Ms. Rong misunderstood. What I meant was to secretly break their shackles and chains. They are innocent, so let them go quietly without making a big fuss. Well, just deal with Li Yu and ignore them."

Real face:

"Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Ouyang Rong said seriously: "How dare I."

Rong Zhen was silent for a moment.

After a while, her slightly low voice was heard in the dim corridor where the footsteps of the two people were echoing.

"This time, it was Li Yu who was in trouble, and also his deceased wife. The other people in the Li family didn't know that these distinguished guests from Yunmengze that their master invited back would be traitors.

"They are not even accomplices, but innocent victims... Although the Great Zhou law stipulates that they should be exiled to the Jiaofang Bureau and confiscated as slaves..."

Ouyang Rong sighed: "That's true. It's really hard to get along these days. Even if you are a distant relative or friend, you may be wiped out along with your entire clan one day..."

"Don't ask me. I will make proper arrangements anyway. Don't worry. If you write to them directly to beg for mercy, the matter will only get out of hand and become even more difficult to handle."

"That makes sense. Ms. Rong is more experienced."

"I have selfish motives."

Rong Zhen corrected.

"This is the selfishness of great love. If it is not selfishness, Ms. Rong has a loving heart."

"Love?" Rong Zhen frowned slightly: "What a strange word, what does it mean."

"What it means is... Ms. Rong is cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

Rong Zhen, who was walking in front, seemed to lower his head a little.

"Ouyang Lianghan, stop talking nonsense. I've noticed that you've been pushing your luck a little too far recently, you know that?"

"Okay, I'll definitely change it."

Ouyang Rong was serious.

When Rong Zhen heard this, he felt extremely angry.

This guy always promises to do something, but does he really listen to what he says?
The two walked in silence for a while.

Rong Zhen suddenly spoke, his tone was stiff and kept people at a distance:

"Ouyang Lianghan, I've noticed that you don't seem to respect me as much as before. This is not okay. This is absolutely not okay."

Ouyang Rong was helpless: "Maybe we are more familiar with each other, so it is inevitable that we speak more relaxedly. Besides, isn't Ms. Rong also like this to me? Let's change together."

Rong Zhen stopped talking immediately.

After a while, a thin voice came from between teeth:
"Don't go too far."

Ouyang Rong shook his head and asked:

"What do you think about Yuan Jun's affairs? Didn't you say that this Yue Chuzi is the heir to Yuan Jun's throne? In the eyes of most people in Wu and Yue, she is half a Yuan Jun, with a noble status and half a godhood.

"In this situation, if you really arrest her and the news spreads, who knows how many people like Li Yu will come to make trouble. How will you deal with it then?"

Rong Zhen frowned:

"If it is really a god, it can be caught by us. It is just pretending to be a god. You southerners are superstitious about ghosts and gods, but I don't believe in them."

After a pause, she added:

“When we catch this girl, we can let those people who dare to make trouble come and see what the so-called gods are all about. We must let them know that the so-called Yue Virgin and the first heir of Yuan Jun is just an ordinary girl.

"This may help to dispel some of the superstitious beliefs in ghosts and gods in your ancient land of Wu and Yue."

Ouyang Rong shook his head gently:
"The power of Yuan Jun does not lie in whether he has divine power or not. You are wrong. This is not the way to look at it."

Rong Zhen frowned and turned back immediately:
"So what do you think?"

At this time, the two of them just arrived at the water dungeon.

Ouyang Rong remained silent

At the entrance to the dungeon, Old Yang was sitting under an oil lamp at the door, having moved a bench that Ouyang Rong had just sat on in the dungeon.

Ouyang Rong saw that Old Yang had a book with a blue cover spread out on his knees. Under the dim light, his only remaining eye was slightly narrowed, and his eyes were fixed on the book.

It seems like he is concentrating very much.

When he heard the footsteps of Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen returning, Old Yang immediately put away the book and stuffed it into his sleeve.

Ouyang Rong glanced at the cover of the book and saw the words "Fu Xing" written on it. Ouyang Rong had some impression that it should be a legalist classic and a relatively niche book.

But the key is not the niche or the majority, the key is...

The painting style is a bit weird.

A one-eyed old man who is proficient in water torture and likes to use perverted methods to torture prisoners, and is suspected to have been a cold-blooded and ruthless official, likes to read sage books secretly after executing executions?
No, you all have to take the postgraduate entrance examination today, right?

Ouyang Rong glanced at the expressionless one-eyed old man who stood up at the door and silently greeted them.

He shook his head slightly.

Ouyang Rong suddenly continued:

"Ms. Rong, to put it more practically and simply, what makes Yuanjun so powerful is the enormous power that comes with her identity."

"that power?"

"Well, it's power, not her own divine power. The former comes from others, from the consensus of thousands of people."

"What do you mean?"

"Ms. Rong, how do you think the power of the court, or the power we hold now, compares to hers?"

"How can an unorthodox southern-style obscene minor deity be compared with a national treasure?"

"No, no, no. When comparing power, we can't just look at the scope, we also have to look at the depth. After all, we are now standing on the old land of Wu and Yue."

The three men did not enter the dungeon and stopped in front of the door.

Rong Zhen and Old Yang saw Ouyang Rong raised a finger and waved it gently. He looked at them and said in a leisurely tone:
“There are three kinds of power, which I personally think can be divided into three levels, from outside to inside.

"The most superficial power is what we have. This power is based on a set of clear legal provisions. The people obey because they recognize and fear the imperial power and national laws. It is only maintained by... simple and crude punishments. It is compulsory."

"That's the power our office holds, it's just a hat, and we exercise this power based on laws on paper.

"This kind of superficial right is easy to circumvent, because any regulations written on paper can be reasonably exploited by people. So it is not the most powerful one."

“The second level of power is more powerful. It is based on some ancient traditions or tacit rules. It is difficult to create, but the cost of maintaining it is very low, so it is suitable for once and for all.

"They are some unwritten rules, such as some unspoken rules in official circles. Everyone knows that they exist, but no one dares to say that they exist. Since they are invisible, they are even more powerful because those who have this power have the final right of interpretation.

"It's not like a written rule. Everyone is afraid of its intangibility, and afraid of the consequences of being the first to break it.

"If the punishment is unknown, then the power is unpredictable. That's what I mean... But the third one is even more powerful."

Ouyang Rong spoke softly, and stopped here, looking at the torches hanging on the wall, wondering what he was thinking.

Rong was really fascinated by what he heard and asked urgently, "What is the third type? You haven't told me yet."

Ouyang Rong uttered two words:

"Saint, and...Yuan Jun."

Rong Zhen frowned, and he turned around:
"Ms. Rong, do I need to say more? Following the principle that the invisible is more powerful than the visible, the power built by faith and worship is naturally the most powerful.

“It’s difficult to explain, so I’ll just talk about one special thing about this kind of power… The first two kinds of power are ultimately coercive, but the third kind is not coercive. They subtly influence or control people’s thoughts and ideas.

"The most difficult thing in the world is to put your own thoughts into other people's heads and make them accept your truth from the bottom of their hearts. People say it is difficult to reason, it is difficult to reason, but in fact many people do not have the power to 'put their own thoughts into other people's heads'.

“There are very few people in the world who possess this authority. Ms. Rong must have heard of them… They became saints, kings, and primordial rulers. Because they possess this power, they are who they are.

"This power is completely invisible. Scholars in ancient and modern times, court officials, common people, and the children of Wu and Yue today, no one forces them to accept the concepts of saints, kings, and primordial rulers naturally. These beings do not need to say too much, believers will help them debate the scriptures, and their brains, which are subtly influenced, will spontaneously make up explanations.

"Like the good water in Daozu's mouth, it takes on a form when it encounters something, and is all-encompassing... No, it's even more so, it's an invisible aura, and everyone breathes and sees it as normal... Ms. Rong, after meeting Li Yu today, are you sure you still want to look down on Yuanjun and the Yunmeng female cultivators? Do you want to look down on a hidden sect that has been preaching in Wuyue for a thousand years and has a longer lifespan than all the secular dynasties since the pre-Qin period combined?"

The eyes of the girl in palace dress had widened at some point, staring at his calm face.

Can such "expensive knowledge" concerning the nature of power be spoken out in such a dark and damp dungeon?

But looking at Ouyang Lianghan's expression, it seemed that he just said it casually without feeling any taboo. His face was so casual that it seemed like he found the old saying boring.

Not only was Rong Zhen shocked, but Old Yang at the side also stared at Ouyang Rong with his only remaining eye.

Ouyang Rong waved his hand, said no more, and walked into the dungeon.

After a while, Li Yu was brought out and no one stopped him.

Before leaving, Old Yang suddenly said:

"Mr. Ouyang, have you ever been the governor of Longcheng? Is there a Butterfly Creek there, and a Digong Gate upstream?"

"Yes, how do you know? Have you been there before?"

Ouyang Rong nodded.

Old Yang did not answer and asked again:

"I heard that there is a broken wing canal built there now? The Digong Gate has also been demolished, right?"

"Ah."

Ouyang Rong said in a gentle tone:

"It looks like you've been there before. Now you have a chance to revisit the place. Dragon City is different now. Everyone who goes there will like it."

Old Yang looked a little dazed, and it was unclear whether he heard it or not.

Ouyang Rong didn't care and took Li Yu away.

Looking at his back, Rong Zhen seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Old Yang suddenly said:

"Let the young scholar have a try."

"You trust him so much?"

Rong Zhen asked.

Old Yang said in a low voice:
"He is different from us. My punishment and Ms. Rong's violence, in his words, are just to maintain the power of the first level.

"This young scholar is very bad. He didn't tell you, Ms. Rong, what level of power he holds. Anyway, he is definitely different from us. This young scholar is very similar to the Master of the past."

"Master Di?"

Old Yang nodded.

Rong Zhen frowned and asked:
"Does he look like Master? What do you think..."

Old Yang suddenly said:

“The Master used to often ask me what I thought.

"How can I see it? I am just an executioner who can only execute people. How can I know how to see it? But the teacher just likes to ask me.

"During these years in Jinling, I read some books and thought about some things, and now I can really take a look at them."

Rong Zhen glanced sideways: "Are you familiar with Master Di?"

"Yes. When the master was demoted, my colleagues and I escorted him. We met on the way."

"As the cruel guards who escorted him, shouldn't you be...supervising his imprisonment?"

"Yes, so he is the Master."

The old man's eyes showed reminiscence:

"At first, my impression of him was that he was just an old-fashioned Confucian scholar who only knew how to show off his power and status and was pedantic and polite.

“There are many such old ministers in the court. They like to talk to us about moral principles and call us notorious cruel officials. We will have a lot of blood on our hands when we compile history in the future… We don’t know how much blood of these people we have stained.

"The master was very honest and cooperated with us from the beginning to the end. At that time, some colleagues in the escort team laughed at him in public and called him a cowardly old dog, but he remained calm.

"I only had an ordinary impression of him, because I knew that he could really get things done, as could be seen from the fact that the saint did not kill him like he did to other old ministers of Li Qian, so I just left him a way out at that time.

"When I first sent Master to Longcheng, I thought he would be disheartened. I heard that this was the place where Tao Yuanming, a hermit in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, spent his leisure time in the countryside hundreds of years ago.

"To throw a powerful prime minister who wants to get things done into such a small place, it would be hard for anyone not to feel depressed by this kind of gap.

"This remote Longcheng County is 3,000 miles away from Beijing.

"But the Master told us at that time that it was just right that he came back.

“I could tell that he was really happy when he looked at the thatched houses on both sides of Butterfly Creek.

"I am confused. What good is there in letting a prime minister be the magistrate of a small county?
"Master, seriously, everyone says he is from Dounan, but to be honest, he has spent most of his life in the south, but not much, in the north, in Chang'an and Luoyang. He hasn't been back to the south for a long time, and it's good to be back now...

"But at that time, I didn't stay too long. After two days, I heard that the flood was serious and the master began to get busy. The last time I saw him before leaving, he looked sad and tired, so I said goodbye in a hurry.

"Speaking of which, we had bad intentions during the few days we stayed here. When we came here, an important figure in the Imperial Prison Department privately warned us that if this teacher did not behave himself and complained on the way or after taking office, then within a few days, a new charge would appear on the Saint's desk..."

Old Yang straightened his clothes and sat upright, as if he had returned to his youth:
"On the day Master was rehabilitated and returned to Kyoto, I was the one who picked him up.

"The streets of Longcheng were deserted, and the people walked ten miles to see him off. Let's not talk about these clichéd situations of leaving office.

"Before he got on his horse and left, the Master said with some regret that he didn't have much time and could only build a sluice gate, which was only a temporary solution and not a permanent one.

"The flood in Jiangnan cannot be solved in a short time. I really hope someone can help him dismantle this sluice gate in the future.

“I’m curious, if the sluice gate is removed, there will be a flood, why would they remove it?

“I remember that at that time, the Master said in a very humble and ordinary tone.

“Those who dare to demolish must have the courage to manage flooding better, or have already managed it better.

"The only thing that can be better than Di Gong Zha, which took the symptomatic treatment to the end, is to treat the root cause.

"If not, even if it collapsed, the Digong Gate would be rebuilt again and again. Future generations always rely on the old successful path. As long as it can still be used, what's wrong with patching it up? Well, this is called the ancestral law cannot be changed... Speaking of this, the master seemed to laugh at that time.

“So it is certainly better to tear down the Digong Gate than to defend it.

“The Master also said that he hoped the gate could be demolished during his lifetime.

“Although most of us thought it was impossible after hearing it, at least not in our lifetime.

"But now, Ms. Rong, you also know what happened in Longcheng County."

Old Yang's tone was full of emotion.

Rong Zhen was somewhat silent, standing alone with his sleeves rolled up.

Old Yang stroked his sparse hair and his single eye:
“On the way back, I curiously asked Master, isn’t it to blame the Saint for employing cruel officials like us? So many of his colleagues died, including some like-minded political allies.

“The Master said without a second thought that in troubled times, severe punishments are needed, and kindness is not the way to serve the country.

"I asked curiously, how can it be called a chaotic era? Only the name of the country has been changed, and the country is still there.

"The Master smiled but said nothing. I don't know if he was afraid that we would ask him questions to frame him, but that wasn't the case. I just asked out of personal curiosity.

"Not long after, that is, after dark that day, the Master suddenly said something to me.

"He said, yes, thanks to the saint, the country is still here, still here...

"I don't quite understand his trance-like expression at the time. It was very strange. He looked happy, sad, and a little hopeful...

"Later we sent him to the capital, and before returning to the Prime Minister's Mansion, as he was about to get off the car, the Master said something to the cruel officials who were escorting us.

"He said that in troubled times, severe punishments are needed, and there is actually another sentence behind it, which is that in prosperous times, benevolent governance is needed."

Having said this, Lao Yangtou paused, as if giving Rong Zhen, who had not said a word, time to digest the thought.

"Then what?" Rong Zhen asked with a frown.

“And then… and then of course most people didn’t listen.

"But from that day on, I took the initiative to ask to be sent to the south. At that time, the Imperial Prison Department was in full swing, and it was considered the last heyday. It even changed from monitoring central officials to inspecting local officials, and it was going to expand its staff.

"I was assigned to the newly established Imperial Prison Division of the Jinling Supervisory Council to supervise local officials. Although I had considerable power, my companions in Luojing looked at me as if I were an idiot.

"Because just by raiding the homes of nobles and officials, you can make a fortune and get promoted. Why not enjoy such a good life?

"I didn't care about that. When I got to Jinling, I had time to read some of the books that Master recommended during our casual conversations on the road. At first, I was really eager to read them...

“But Ms. Rong also knew what happened later. The Imperial Prison Department was downsized and almost existed in name only. The Imperial Prison Department branch in Jinling was naturally also cancelled.

"Fortunately, maybe because I had been away for a long time, or maybe because my position was not high, I did not attract much attention. Later, I was directly assigned to the nearby Jinling Prison to sit on the bench.

"But I do have a lot more time. I can read more books. If I encounter something I don't understand, I will write to the teacher every once in a while to ask. This kind of life can be considered leisurely. Anyway, I have no children. It may be because I have done too many immoral things and lost too much merit.

"In fact, there are smart people among those colleagues. They have thought that the situation will change one day. Those who can enter the prison department are not necessarily smart, but at least they must be more perceptive and cunning than ordinary people. Otherwise, they would not be able to catch the favor of His Majesty...

"But everyone thought they could catch the last train, seize the opportunity to get promoted and make money, and have time to go ashore and clean up. But no one expected that the transition between the heavy punishments in troubled times and the benevolent governance in prosperous times would be so fast, almost in the blink of an eye. It was like a saint sleeping for a while, and when he woke up the next day, the wind direction had changed, and he couldn't escape.

“These years, when I was on duty at Jinling Prison and reading in my spare time, I often wrote to the Master.

"He was the prime minister of a country, but he always wrote back to me. Although most of the time his words were brief and to the point, they were all written by him. Moreover, I was not very good at studying, so some problems really required too much ink and paper. The master always pointed out the problems directly. Although each time he wrote back, there were only a few hundred words on the paper, I would think carefully for a long time. Perhaps it was because I had too much free time in prison, so I was content..."

The old man suddenly remembered something, turned around and smiled. His wrinkled one-eyed face had a scary smile, but his hoarse voice was joking:

"When we met in Longcheng before, the master looked a little thinner. I haven't seen him for so many years, so I don't know if he has gained weight now. It's not convenient to ask in the letter.

"Have you seen Ms. Rong recently?"

He said a little embarrassedly:

“I…have always had a sense of respect for you. Even though we’ve known each other for so many years and we’ve exchanged so many letters, I’ve always been very formal and rarely exchange pleasantries.

"That's right. A person like you should be at the front of the crowd. It's not about respect and hierarchy, but... any bright light that guides the way in the middle of the night must face the deepest darkness alone, leaving its back to the people behind."

Old Yang felt quite emotional.

Rong Zhen stood in the dimly lit corridor and listened intently for a while. She nodded slowly:
"Yes, he is a little fat, but... I am young and have never seen Master Di's previous appearance."

"That means I'm fat. Before, I just had a fat face, haha."

Old Yang waved his hand:
"Ms. Rong, I'm sorry to have said so much, but today I seemed to have met another young master, and I couldn't help but feel deeply touched... In addition, I have spoken too little in recent years, and my voice is almost gone."

Old Yang took out the water bag, tilted his head back and drank a sip of water to moisten his throat.

He was in a daze for a while, and Rong Zhen also waited in silence for a while, as if he was digesting it.

At this time, Old Yang broke the silence:

"Today I was inspired by this sentence that Master gave me: 'In troubled times, use harsh punishments; in prosperous times, use virtuous policies.' Today I am passing it on to Ms. Rong.

"Or rather, I gave it to people like us. These saints' confidants are, in other people's eyes, the court's lackeys."

Rong Zhen was silent for a long time and nodded slightly.

"Old Yang, you are very lucky to have met the Master at that time, but I..."

When Old Yang heard about this outstanding young girl who had a much brighter future than he did before, he paused and said seriously:

"And I am also very lucky."

After saying this, the girl in palace dress turned and left.

Old Yang silently watched her back as she walked towards the direction Ouyang Rong had just left.

After a while.

The one-eyed old man sat down again, took out the book, lowered his head and slowly turned the pages.

On the wall, a torch lengthened his shadow.

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(PS: 8k5 burst update, one update returned, currently owes 17!

I beg for a monthly ticket again! or2)

(End of this chapter)