No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 700 Li Guoer: From now on, I have to call you Mr. Ouyang [ask for monthly pass! ]

After giving instructions to Wang Caozhi, Ouyang Rong became a hands-off boss and returned directly to Xunyang City.

He felt quite relieved because Wang Caozhi was at the Xunyang Grottoes.

He can help Ouyang Rong keep an eye on any small movement.

This kid is very shrewd. Every time Ouyang Rong goes there, he appears when he should and doesn't appear when he shouldn't. He has maxed out the two skills of reading people's expressions and moving around. Even Liu Lang may not be able to match him.

And I don’t know what happened, but it seems that every time when Wang Caozhi was mentioned in a conversation, Liu Lang would have a look of awe and secretly admire the other party.

This time, we were able to discover the sneaky and suspicious thin-faced man thanks to Wang Caozhi.

In short, this guy is really a talent.

Ouyang Rong laughed.

I happened to have some free time on the way back to Xunyang City.

Ouyang Rong pulled out the zither-shaped Mohist sword case from under his seat and stroked it with his hand.

He nodded slightly.

The sword case was intact and had not been touched by anyone.

However, Ouyang Rong still closed his eyes and felt it.

His face was slightly stunned.

[Jiangzuo] was feeling a little depressed, as if it was because... there was no fight, and he didn't get the chance to have fun on the field this time.

Realizing this, Ouyang Rong's mouth twitched slightly.

"You really don't mind making trouble..."

Shaking his head and putting away the sword case, Ouyang Rong shook out three Burning Sky Thunders from his sleeves and placed them under the seat.

Put them together with three small bamboo tubes filled with spiritual ink.

After doing all this, Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and entered the Tower of Merit.

The blessing bell was still standing still, but the numbers in cyan and gold fonts above the small wooden fish had gone up a bit.

【Merit: 5,588】

Ouyang Rong remembered that the merit points were more than 4,300 before.

This wave increased the merit points by nearly 1,300.

Inside the Pagoda of Merit, he frowned slightly, stood still, and his hand unconsciously stroked the round little wooden fish.

Ouyang Rong recalled carefully.

The reason why he frowned was that the increased merit points were far from matching the value of the Donglin Buddha.

Strictly speaking, the completion of the Donglin Buddha did not bring any merit.

According to the normal growth rate of his merit points in the past, plus the sporadic merit points contributed by Ms. Rong in the "Merit Experience Package" in the past few days, he estimated that he had about two hundred merit points.

Deducting this from the 1,300 merits means that the merits increased by more than 1,100 points just because the construction of the Donglin Buddha was completed.

Ouyang Rong clearly remembered that these more than 1,100 merit points increased suddenly at dawn when the first ray of sunlight shone on the head of the Donglin Buddha, creating a dazzling golden effect.

In other words, this was contributed to him by Rong Zhen, Nanny Song, Yi Qianqiu and other people who witnessed the "Golden Light Miracle" on the spot out of admiration and gratitude.

Because the better and more perfect the Donglin Buddha is built, the greater the merits of the people who contribute to it, and the more rewards they will receive from the saints and the Zhou court.

If these were removed, the merit gained from the Buddha's landing alone would be almost negligible, far from matching its specifications and not worthy of the time and energy Ouyang Rong spent on it.

Especially compared with the Digong Gate, Zheyi Canal and Shuangfengjian projects that he had previously presided over, it seems even more desolate.

After finishing the calculation, Ouyang Rong couldn't help but touch his chin and muttered:
"Is it because it is not effective and not as beneficial to the country and the people as I had imagined? Or is it because it does not benefit the people at all except for its good looks?
"Or is it that the construction of the Folding Wing Canal itself is an exception, and their effects are so good that they have skyrocketed the merits and raised my expectations? In fact, the current Donglin Buddha is the standard?"

Ouyang Rong's tone was doubtful, and his face showed a thoughtful look.

In fact, he had noticed before that the people of Xunyang had complicated feelings towards this giant Buddha. After experiencing the collapse and burning of the Xingzifang Buddha, they did not have much expectation and admiration for the Donglin Buddha, and even had many objections.

Anyway, most people are just taking a wait-and-see attitude.

Perhaps this is also the reason why the merits provided by the Buddha did not increase as expected.

From the perspective of Xunyang people's livelihood, it does not have any immediate effect in improving people's livelihood, at least not in the short term. It is more like an unnecessary face-saving political achievement project that is easily complained about by the people in private.

If this is the truth, then after the completion of the Donglin Buddha, Ouyang Lianghan's merits were not deducted. He should be thankful that God and the fellow villagers showed mercy.

From here, we can also see the role of a good reputation.

The people of Xunyang did not blame Ouyang Rong as the governor, and they might even understand him.

Because everyone knows that behind this Donglin Buddha is the saint in Luoyang, and it is her will... No one can blame her, and Ouyang Rong, as the governor, cannot disobey her.

So everyone’s emotions are more complicated…

The thought that his merits and virtues did not increase brought up on him, and when he thought of this, Ouyang Rong sighed softly.

In fact, Ouyang Rong had asked himself the question of whether the Buddha should be built and whether it was worth building, and he even asked Rong Zhen about it.

Rong Zhen's attitude was firm, in addition to the fact that she was close to Her Majesty the Queen and was loyal to her.

Rong Zhen also told him confidently that the Donglin Buddha could reverse the situation on the southwest front. It could help the court stabilize the Jiangzhou and Hongzhou fronts and become the ballast stone for the rich southeast rear. She said that this was a national event and everything else had to give way to it.

Ouyang Rong was noncommittal about Ms. Rong's promise.

Ms. Rong may be right, but she actually has a longer-term consideration.

It's about culture and art.

There are some things in this world that benefit the present and future generations.

Some things are useless in the present but will benefit future generations.

There are also some things that may even cause harm in the present but benefit future generations.

It now seems that the Donglin Buddha is most likely neither the first nor the third type.

But the second one.

The Donglin Buddha itself is not important. What is important is the construction of the Xunyang Grottoes that it promoted.

Xunyang Grottoes has never had only one main grotto, nor has it ever had only one Buddha statue standing.

From the moment Ouyang Rong planned it, he did not regard it as a simple construction that could be done overnight, but as a long-term shared project that would be continuously filled in by future generations.

According to the plan, Xunyang Grottoes will have hundreds of caves of various sizes and nearly a thousand large and small Buddha statues. There is a detail here, that is, each cave can accommodate multiple small Buddha statues.

Even this number is still to be determined, and it can be added to later. We just need to extend it to the left and right sides of the river bank and continue to build grottoes.

But this is definitely not a project that can be completed overnight and in a short period of time.

Ouyang Rong has only built the most core main cave and the largest Buddha statue.

It was like leaving a blank scroll for everyone, and he only wrote a few words on it as a beginning.

In the future, the Donglin Buddha will play a leading role and will inevitably attract major Buddhist temples in Jiangzhou, Jiangnan and all over the world to build statues here and spread their respective Buddhist teachings. They will try every means to leave their most sophisticated stone carving, painting and other skills in Xunyang City, a place with convenient transportation and converging rivers.

Moreover, it is not just about spreading Buddhism. The cultural openness of Mount Lu and the celebrities in Xunyang has made Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism all merged here, rather than one school dominating. The Xunyang Grottoes, which were built together, will never become a place where each family admires its own beauty. It is destined to be a place where hundreds of flowers bloom in autumn, competing for beauty, and will clash with dazzling sparks, which will be scattered on the cliffs of the grottoes on the north bank of Shuangfengjian.

By then, the Xunyang Grottoes, located on the north bank of Shuangfengjian, may become the pinnacle of stone carving skills of this era in the eyes of future generations, and become a treasure house of some kind of art.

From this perspective, the significance of Xunyang Grottoes is in no way inferior to that of Zheyiqu, and may even be better.

Future generations may see this in history books: "In the third year of Tianyou in the Wei Zhou Dynasty, the emperor's order was difficult to resist, so Xunyang governor Ouyang Rong built a large Buddha statue on the north bank of the river. This was the beginning of the Xunyang Grottoes."

Although Ouyang Rong did not care much about this false reputation, there were many people, such as the Queen of the Great Zhou, who cared a lot about it.

The saint in Luoyang City hopes that the descendants a thousand years later, when they look up at the giant Buddha by the river, will clearly know that it is her face, and that her appearance will remain unchanged for a thousand years.

As for other things, such as culture and art, the hard work of craftsmen, and the prosperity of tourists, she actually doesn't care.

But Ouyang Rong cares, he cares about these.

Sometimes, a famous poem can make a building famous for a thousand years, and people thousands of years later will know the name of a place they have never visited.

This is the fame of a city or a place in the cultural map, and it is also one of the sources of pride for the locals. The sense of belonging comes from cultural consensus.

The same is true of Xunyang Grottoes.

From this perspective, its significance to Xunyang City in Jiangzhou may really be described as "benefiting future generations".

Ouyang Rong's gaze was very far-sighted, some of which he couldn't even tell others. He mentioned it to Rong Zhen once, and she only half understood it. She didn't know whether she understood it or not. She only remembered that day, after Rong Zhen heard it, her gaze towards him changed a little...

Precisely because of this, he was mentally prepared for the feedback that the merits of the small wooden fish were almost zero this time.

Ouyang Rong left the Tower of Merit and opened his eyes to see the swaying carriage.

After a moment of distraction, the carriage arrived at Jiangzhou Hall.

Ouyang Rong entered and went straight to Yuan Huaimin and told him about the painting.

Yuan Huaimin was surprised: "Ah, me?"

Ouyang Rong waved his hand casually and said, "That's right, it's you. Pack up and prepare to go to Xunyang Grottoes to paint, and wait for Ms. Rong's orders."

Yuan Huaimin had a miserable face.

"Lianghan, can I not go?" he asked in a low voice.

"Of course, but you have to get past Commander Yi first. She fought hard for you. Think about it carefully."

Yuan Huaimin: ...

Ouyang Rong patted his friend on the shoulder and walked towards the main hall with his hands behind his back.

Sitting in the main hall, he summoned a group of officials and issued an order that the flood control work at Shuangfengjian was completed and martial law was lifted... Time passed quickly, and after the work was done, Ouyang Rong turned around and left the Jiangzhou lobby.

Return to the carriage.

Ouyang Rong sat quietly for a moment.

Ali, who was driving outside, took the initiative to ask:
"Master, where are we going now?"

Ouyang Rong hesitated for a moment, then he lifted the car curtain and looked in the direction of Xingzi Lake.

After a while, he retracted his gaze, pursed his lips and said:
"Let's go to Xunyang Palace first."

"Yes, sir."

……

"Tan Lang is back!"

"Are you okay, Tan Lang? Why do I feel like you've lost a lot of weight in the past few days? Did you not eat well?"

As soon as Ouyang Rong arrived at Xunyang Palace, a maid turned around in surprise and ran to tell others. Li Xian and Li Dalang arrived first and surrounded Ouyang Rong.

Li Xian remembered something and spoke with a nervous look on his face:
"Tan Lang, how is it over there..."

Ouyang Rong looked him in the eye and nodded slightly.

Li Xian looked at his face and saw a look of joy that he could hardly suppress.

At this time, Wei Mei and Li Guoer also came to the hall one after another.

When Wei Mei saw him, she breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest and said comfortingly:

"Okay, okay, just come back safely."

Cai Shou, who followed behind, saw that before approaching the hall, her young lady was walking very fast. When she reached the door, the young lady slowed down her pace slightly, and even turned around, directly snatched the "Youyou" from her arms, and walked slowly inside with the cat in her arms.

When Li Guoer walked in, Ouyang Rong looked over and obviously looked at her twice more, paying special attention to what was behind her.

I didn’t see the fiery red figure that I expected to see.

"What is Tan Lang looking at?" Li Xianqi asked.

Without waiting for Ouyang Rong to speak, Li Guoer chuckled:
"Don't look for her anymore. Sister Xie isn't here. She went out this morning. I think she went to Xingzifang. She didn't come back for lunch either. I don't know where she is now."

Ouyang Rong was stunned for a moment and nodded:

"it is good."

When everyone arrived, they went directly to the familiar Lixian study. As soon as they entered, Li Dalang couldn't wait to ask about the big Buddha.

Ouyang Rong's face was calm and he spoke briefly.

After hearing this, everyone's faces gradually showed joy.

Ouyang Rong remembered something and spoke:
"By the way, there was actually a little incident this morning..."

Li Xian asked curiously: "What episode?"

Ouyang Rong thought about it and told the story of the golden light miracle.

After hearing this, everyone's faces turned slightly strange.

Li Dalang pounded his fist joyfully:
"Although this flattery is just icing on the cake, it seems that Tan Lang has removed the word "acting" from the title of governor, and his promotion to the fourth rank is a sure thing. In the future, he can be appointed to a position of high or low rank and become a fourth rank governor!"

Li Guoer stroked the cat and said jokingly:

"What's Ouyang the governor? You should call him Mr. Ouyang."

Ouyang Rong's first reaction was to frown.

But Li Xian, Wei Mei and everyone else around them all had smiling faces.

He then realized that the word "husband" in this era did not seem to mean husband, but a respectful title for the prime minister in the Council of State.

However, it still didn't make Ouyang Rong laugh, because "Mr. Ouyang" sounded weird.

Li Guoer tilted her head and asked, "What is Mr. Ouyang imagining? Why is he so absent-minded?"

Ouyang Rong looked at Li Guoer who was smiling lightly and calling out to him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

I don't know whether to nod or refute.

How come this princess is still unaware of the loss she has suffered...

(End of this chapter)