Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune starts from Tianshi Mansion.

Chapter 418 417. I don't like this group (two chapters in one)

Under the observation of the Jade Purity Zhoutian Mirror, the Neo-Confucian scholars who remained in the city and the generals who left the city all appeared in Lei Jun's field of vision.

Some of them are like the ancient Taoist talisman school's teachings on talismans and their transmission of methods, or the even older art of spirit mediums.

But it looks a lot different.

The Ming Dynasty governor borrowed his own strength to fight, so he looked quite weak, as if he had lost the strength to fight with others.

However, as a great Neo-Confucian scholar at the third level of the eighth heaven, his cultivation level did not fall.

More like being temporarily hollowed out.

The general who followed his military orders and went out to fight seemed to have reached the third level of the eighth heaven in terms of cultivation, but overall, he looked rather superficial.

Judging from Lei Jun's understanding and vision, it should not be able to last too long.

The situation of the warriors under his command whose cultivation strength has improved is roughly the same.

In the process of suppressing the rebellion and fighting the enemy, it is easy to see that although their cultivation strength has been temporarily raised, neither their foundation nor their experience matches their current realm.

The leading warrior who was at the third level of the Eighth Heaven was obviously inferior in strength to the real martial arts masters of the same level.

It might be an exaggeration to say that the three-year-old child was dancing with a sledgehammer, but it was certainly not as if he was wielding it with ease.

However, with the overwhelming realm, it is enough to deal with the situation on the current battlefield.

What's more, he has many warriors under his command who are in similar situations.

As the overall cultivation strength increases, it is now like a wave, sweeping forward.

There are also some monks with other cultivation paths in the team.

However, it seems that rather than participating in suppressing the rebellion, their focus is on the changes that are happening to the Ming martial arts practitioners around them.

The rebel army was defeated, the main leaders were executed, and the middle and lower levels began to flee in all directions.

Chasing and killing the fleeing enemies would have been a good opportunity to gain military merit, but the Ming army generals instead ordered their troops to regroup.

The good news was quickly transmitted back to the city behind.

Upon hearing the news, the Ming officials waiting in the camp inside the city all breathed a sigh of relief.

Lei Jun used the Jade Purity Zhoutian Mirror to observe from high in the sky, and saw that the writings and calligraphy gathered in the city were constantly changing.

In the darkness, there seemed to be green smoke appearing, but it did not rise up to the sky. Instead, it fell from the sky and rolled back into the city.

The governor-general who was in the lead, and a group of Neo-Confucian scholars, began to regain their talent and literary talent.

"It is all thanks to your good command and strategic planning that we have today's victory." Everyone congratulated the leading governor Duan Cheng.

Duan Cheng smiled and said, "No, no, there is your majesty's grace above, the prime minister is in charge of the country, and the three armies are at your service. You are all meritorious officials."

Everyone present praised Lord Duan for his humble attitude towards achievements and his good governance.

Someone whispered, "Sir, although the main force of the rebels has been destroyed, the remaining remnants may have fled to other places and be gathered and used by people with ulterior motives. What we should do next..."

Duan Cheng: "The most urgent task is to report to the Prime Minister and focus on his reforms. This is a great plan that will benefit future generations. Once the reforms are completed, the few rebels can be easily defeated and will have difficulty causing chaos again."

Everyone said, "We will follow the orders of the governor."

At the moment, Lei Jun could not hear what Duan Cheng and others said, and could only see the scene with the help of the Jade Purity Zhoutian Mirror.

But it did not prevent him from guessing the intentions of the great Neo-Confucian masters of the Ming Dynasty:
It is too dangerous to charge into the battle personally and lead the troops.

Even if you don't have to engage in close combat with your opponent like a martial arts practitioner, there are still risks.

Especially for people like Chen Yu, Liu Chong and others who entered Xumi, and later Zeng Kui, Xi Zhichang and others who entered Penglai, if they were ambushed or unexpected changes occurred, it would be a blessing if they were not completely wiped out.

By then, no one will be left unharmed. No matter whether you are inferior in everything or only have good studies, the enemy will not treat you differently.

Now, there seems to be a solution.

As a Confucian commander, he just needs to sit in the rear, issue orders and make plans.

As the saying goes, a good warrior wins the battle from thousands miles away.

There are warriors fighting on the front line.

Lei Jun could see clearly that while Duan Cheng and other Neo-Confucianists were regaining their literary talent, the martial arts practitioners in the front-line army were returning to their original level of cultivation.

Maybe the time limit has expired.

It is possible that Duan Cheng and others took it back on their own initiative.

Or maybe both.

Although it is still uncertain whether Duan Cheng and others have any way to prevent warriors who have improved their cultivation level from becoming the masters, Lei Jun believes that they will not ignore this issue. They have various restrictive measures and will continue to innovate.

Lei Jun himself is not currently in the Ming Dynasty, otherwise he could observe the changes in the overall fortune of the Ming Dynasty.

The methods that Duan Cheng and others just used should not have been invented by Duan Cheng alone, but came from a higher level of Neo-Confucian scholars.

Is that Zhou Mingzhe, the current Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty?

If it is not limited to one place and a small number of people, but is to be promoted widely, then even a great Neo-Confucian scholar who has reached the perfect state of nine-fold heaven and balancing the world would not be able to do it on his own.

The Neo-Confucian moral code and ritual system is a top-down, comprehensive and profound system.

The current changes should also be targeted at the overall situation.

It may be because the Daqian Dynasty established by the foreign race earlier trampled on culture and culture. In the current Ming Dynasty, Confucianism suppresses other major sects, among which the most obvious influence is martial arts.

The warriors of the Ming Dynasty were shrouded in this sky of moral principles, and the restrictions they faced were even deeper than those of Taoism, Buddhism, and witchcraft.

No wonder some people target them first.

However, even with this foundation, overall change is still not easy.

Even if it does not change the overall architecture, it is just adding to the overall architecture.

Regardless of the original intention, speaking only from a technical perspective, the great Neo-Confucian scholar who led this change had a very high level of understanding.

Lei Jun even suspected that even the level of understanding at the Jinxiu level might not be enough to support this change.

The other party's understanding of Confucianism may be equivalent to the Taoist's understanding of the natural level.

However, this understanding is used in such a place...

While Lei Jun was thinking, he suddenly realized that someone among the soldiers on the front line was quietly sending a letter.

He was a mid-level general.

If it was before the war, Lei Jun would guess that the other party was colluding with the leaders of the civil unrest and passing on information and intelligence.

But now that the war has come to an end, this Ming army general who practiced martial arts has just sent out a message, which made Lei Jun unable to help but speculate more.

After contacting this person, his cultivation level had also been improved with the help of the military order. Lei Jun estimated that the secret letter he sent had nothing to do with the war, but was for the military order.

However, the secret letter was intercepted midway.

A flying sword flashed like a sword and intercepted the secret letter in mid-air.

After the army returned to the base, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, the middle-level general who delivered the message was not arrested immediately, but was put under special surveillance.

Lei Jun looked at this scene and had an idea in his mind.

This team may look inconspicuous, but it carries the important expectations of some old people in the court and verifies the feasibility of the reform through actual combat.

Judging from the results, although there are many problems, it basically meets expectations.

However, some martial arts practitioners also sensed something was wrong.

If this method is feasible, will there be no need for martial artists at a high level in the future?

Unfortunately, Duan Cheng and others had already been on guard against this.

Although the middle-level general was not immediately taken under control, some people had already begun to track him down and identify his accomplices.

Duan Cheng summarized the information from all sides and reported it secretly to the capital.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhou Mingzhe Zhou Mansion.

Zhou Mingzhe, who took over as the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty after Chen Yu, silently read the letters.

Next to him was the old man Zeng Kui, who had been injured in Penglai and returned to Beijing for recuperation.

After reading it, Zhou Mingzhe passed the letter to Zeng Kui who was beside him.

After reading it, Zeng Kui let out a long sigh and said, "Congratulations to Yuan Fu for opening up a new situation for Ming Dynasty and scholars all over the world."

Zhou Mingzhe: "Mr. Zeng is too polite. This is inseparable from the great grace of the emperor and the participation of people of insight from all sides."

Zeng Kui: "The disasters of Xumi and Penglai will never happen again!"

"The battle should be won in the palace, not thousands of miles away."

Zhou Mingzhe: "Although I have had this idea for a long time, it has taken me many years to finally come to fruition. Fortunately for the Ming Dynasty, it is not too late to mend the fences after the sheep have been lost. At present, there are still many shortcomings that need to be further improved."

Zeng Kui glanced outside and said, "Master Mo and Master Wei are currently at Yuan Fu's residence."

Zhou Mingzhe: "Yes, the relevant information will be passed on to them later."

Zeng Kui pondered for a moment.

Zhou Mingzhe: "One can learn from others' experience to polish jade. The current reform requires the assistance of Taoist masters."

He stood up and stood with his hands behind his back: "In a few years, as more and more people in our dynasty become scholars, the Dharma will become more mature and the laws will become more stable. At that time, it will be fine to make further adjustments."

Zeng Kui stood up with him and said, "So, not only the Taoist sect, but also the Buddhist sect should not move for now, in order to avoid alerting the enemy?"

Zhou Mingzhe: "Taoism and Buddhism may be used by the Ming Dynasty, not to mention the White Lotus traitor. The key is to control them well."

Zeng Kui: "Han Qingtao rebelled, Mu Chunyang died, and the situation on the Taoist side is now simple."

Zhou Mingzhe did not respond, but fell into deep thought.

Zeng Kui: "Prime Minister?"

Zhou Mingzhe: "Is Master Mu of Zhenwu Temple...really gone?"

Zeng Kui was surprised.

Zhou Mingzhe said nothing and walked away with his hands behind his back.

He is the leader of the Chu Party.

For a long time, due to geographical reasons, Zhenwu Temple has been quite close to the Chu Party.

Zhou Mingzhe and Mu Chunyang also often interacted with each other.

Compared to Han Qingtao who caused such a big mess, Zhou Mingzhe has actually always been more concerned about Mu Chunyang who has been mediocre all year round.

“If there is anyone in our Ming Dynasty who is closest to opening the gate to immortality, it is probably the master of Mu Temple, Mu Zhenren.” Zhou Mingzhe suddenly said.

Zeng Kui was shocked.

Zhou Mingzhe nodded: "Even though our Ming Dynasty is currently flourishing, he is probably closer to us than the previous Chen Ge Lao. As for me, we have made great achievements in reform and should be ranked higher than him."

On the other hand, wasn't I also half a step slower before... Zeng Kui thought to himself.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty was in its heyday.

Under the influence of Neo-Confucianism, the other party could not turn the tables. What's more, Mu Chunyang attached great importance to the inheritance of Zhenwu Temple.

Zhou Mingzhe stood still and looked at the tree branches outside the window: "In recent years, I have sent people to inquire about the truth of Master Mu's life and death, but unfortunately there is no conclusive information so far."

Zeng Kui: "Has there been any recent changes to Zhenwu Temple?" Zhou Mingzhe: "Not at the moment."

Zeng Kui wanted to say something but stopped.

Zhou Mingzhe smiled: "Maybe I'm worrying too much."

He changed the subject: "The reform has made some initial progress. We should speed up the improvement of some of its shortcomings and then promote it. Now the civil unrest is spreading everywhere, which is indeed harmful to the country and should be eliminated as soon as possible."

"What the Prime Minister said is true."

Zeng Kui paused for a moment and then asked, "What about Yuan Fu, in Qingzhou?"

Zhou Mingzhe: "You can move now."

The area of ​​Qingzhou is the place where the momentum is strongest after the Ming Lian Sect started the uprising.

A large number of top experts of the White Lotus Sect are active there, and with this as the center, their influence continues to spread to all parts of the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the people responsible for civil unrest in other places are now related to the White Lotus Sect.

The people currently in charge of suppressing the rebellion there are, on the one hand, the Bodhi Temple, the authentic holy place of Ming Buddhism.

They are old enemies of the White Lotus Sect, so there is no need to say more at this point.

On the other hand, there was the Ming army.

In addition to the important officials of the dynasty, Grand Secretary Chao Feng, who personally went to the front line to preside over the war, the last group of high-level martial arts masters of the Ming Dynasty were also gathered there.

After consecutive defeats at Xumi and Penglai, famous officials such as Chen Yu, Liu Chong, Gao Ming, and Xi Zhichang suffered heavy casualties, not to mention the martial arts generals who led the troops in the front.

However, now that the reform has been successful, the Ming Dynasty is not in such urgent need of masters from other traditions, especially martial arts masters, to replenish its ranks.

Apart from……

"In the palace?" Zeng Kui asked softly.

Zhou Mingzhe: "The eunuch party did more harm than good. To be fair, if they hadn't been so eager to win the credit, there wouldn't have been such a huge defeat.

But now, in order to reform the new law, we need your majesty's approval. In addition, the war has already begun, and we cannot allow chaos in the palace right now.

Therefore, the expenses for employing and maintaining troops elsewhere can be reduced, but more funds need to be allocated to the palace.

Although this is only a temporary measure, we must not be careless. We must pay more attention to the palace on weekdays and not let those eunuchs use your majesty's name to disrupt the country."

Zeng Kui: "What the Prime Minister is worried about is correct."

After the two chatted for a while, Zeng Kui said goodbye and left, with servants from the mansion seeing him off.

Later, a young official came to visit Zhou Mingzhe.

"Teacher." The young official stepped forward and saluted.

Zhou Mingzhe smiled: "Qiao Shan is here. Have you met Taoist Priest Wei and Taoist Priest Mo?"

The young official named Nie Song replied respectfully: "I haven't been there yet. Before I go, I will first listen to the teacher's teachings."

Zhou Mingzhe smiled: "Then let's go together."

He walked out of the door and Nie Song followed respectfully behind him.

Looking at this truly young student, Zhou Mingzhe felt a little emotional for a moment.

He was the chief examiner in the most recent imperial examination.

According to the traditional rules of the Ming Dynasty and the principles and rituals of Neo-Confucianism, all students who passed the imperial examinations were considered students of Zhou Mingzhe.

This major examination is a rare experience in the life of a Neo-Confucian scholar that does not require him to endure years of hardship, and some of them will pass the examination at a young age.

However, after becoming an official in the court, most people had to follow the rules.

According to the information Zhou Mingzhe had, this Nie Song came from the justice of heaven.

His father Nie Zhongjie made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty in cleaning up the Small Ming Court and gained a foothold in the Ming Dynasty.

Nie Zhongjie himself did not pursue the imperial examination route, but instead focused on educating the children of his family.

His second son, Nie Song, was the best among them.

This time he lived up to everyone's expectations. After ranking first in the imperial examination, he was selected by the Emperor Ming as the top scholar of this year's exam, which was an instant success.

What is even more eye-catching is that his teacher is Zhou Mingzhe, the current Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

A smooth and easy road has already opened up before Nie Song.

Zhou Mingzhe really admired this new student.

On the one hand, because the other party is quite outstanding.

On the other hand, looking at Nie Song reminded him vaguely of Xi Zhichang when he had just passed the imperial examination.

Zhou Mingzhe was very saddened by the unexpected death of his favorite disciple Xi Zhichang in Penglai.

Now the new legal reforms are beginning to show results.

Looking back to the past, before Zhou Mingzhe became the Prime Minister, he had discussed related matters with Xi Zhichang, and the teacher and student discussed them together.

Unfortunately, before the plan could be accomplished, Xi Zhichang encountered an accident and died in Penglai.

If this method and ritual had been developed earlier, Xi Zhichang would have been able to avoid the disaster.

When Zhou Mingzhe recalled it, he couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Nie Zhongjie had frequent contacts with Xi Zhichang. Now his son Nie Song was also a promising talent and became Zhou Mingzhe's disciple, which made him feel a little comforted.

"Master Mo, Master Wei."

When they arrived at the place, Zhou Mingzhe greeted the Shushan Sect elder Mo Qingshi and the Zhenwu Temple elder Wei Jing.

"Thank you both for your hard work during this period," Zhou Mingzhe said.

Mo Qingshi and Wei Jingyi both said they dared not.

Zhou Mingzhe looked at Wei Jingyi and said, "Fortunately, the current ritual can be completed in the next few days, so it won't delay the ceremony of Taoist Wei taking over the Zhenwu Temple."

Wei Jingyi: "I am a poor Taoist with limited knowledge and talent. I will do my best to live up to the grace of His Majesty and the Prime Minister."

Zhou Mingzhe: "Master, you are too kind."

He turned to look at Mo Qingshi again: "I wonder what the situation is like in Shushan recently? The incident with the traitor Han Qingtao must not happen again. Master Mo, please come back to the mountain later to check."

Mo Qingshi: "Yes, Yuanfu."

.....................

Lei Jun was in Penglai, the light of the Jade Purity Zhoutian Mirror was spinning and sweeping across Daming.

Overall, there are limits to the range.

But across the vast mountains and rivers, Lei Jun could see that the number of Ming troops similar to Duan Cheng's was gradually increasing.

Taking other factors into consideration, Zhou Mingzhe or the Ming court's implementation of reforms was not fast overall and was always gradual.

The more times he watched it, the more relevant details Lei Jun understood.

Overall, this is an extremely large ritual established based on the principles of Ming Dynasty Neo-Confucianism.

Limited by the rituals, the martial arts practitioners who have been promoted are more seriously influenced by the principles of Neo-Confucianism.

Not only was it difficult for them to strike back against the Neo-Confucian monks who had delivered the orders and taught them the Dharma, it was even difficult for them to cause effective harm to other Neo-Confucian monks.

Just as the moral principles of ruler and subject, father and son, teacher and student are established, the upper level as a whole exerts strong suppression on the lower level within the framework of the big system, and is not limited to a single individual.

It is also very simple for a Neo-Confucian monk to take back the literary talent that he bestowed upon a martial arts monk.

Nothing in the world is absolute. If you want to shake this point, you must first shake the entire Ming Dynasty Neo-Confucianism system of ethics and etiquette.

In other words, the country is unstable and the world is in chaos.

On this basis, the restraint of Neo-Confucianism on other Taoist traditions will be weakened and loosened.

Currently within the Ming Dynasty, except for the great demons, the only human cultivator who is exempt from the moral and ethical rules of Neo-Confucianism is the professional rebel, the White Lotus Sect.

When encountering White Lotus Sect monks, everyone has to rely on their own abilities and fight head-on, and the Neo-Confucian monks no longer have such a clear advantage.

After observing for a period of time, Lei Jun estimated that this might be related to the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

From this perspective, it can be said that it was quite difficult for Han Qingtao to take advantage of the loophole and rob the Duxu Shuttle.

"Brother, I have a question..."

Chu Kun, who returned from the Ming Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty via Guizang and then to Penglai, raised a question:
"This large-scale ritual that the Neo-Confucianists of the Ming Dynasty are currently carrying out is indeed very ingenious, but from the perspective of actual combat, it has a lot of shortcomings, right?"

“Well, a martial arts practitioner or other cultivator who has temporarily elevated his cultivation level by having his literary talent enhanced by a master of science, is ultimately not as strong as someone who truly has that level of strength.” Lei Jun understood what Chu Kun meant.

Such a framework will naturally be effective against relatively weaker opponents.

Facing an opponent of the same or higher level is another matter.

From the perspective of Neo-Confucianists seeking their own safety, if they go into battle themselves, they will face dangerous opponents. Even if they are accompanied by warriors of lower realms blessed with their literary talent, it will be impossible for them to defeat their opponents.

In addition to the practical significance of exploring the ambush circle, when encountering a tough battle...

"Keep using people to grind?"

Chu Kun scratched his head: "This feels more like the fighting method of the Wu Sect and Ghost Sect..."

Lei Jun: "It is always much easier to train low- and middle-level cultivators in large numbers than high-level cultivators. After saving resources in other places, we can further concentrate more resources to train more high-level Neo-Confucian cultivators, and then either rely on numbers to siege them, or grind them down slowly as you said.

Of course, the Ming court may have continued to improve on this method, with other new changes and enhancements, or perhaps other ideas.

What we can see now is that the Ming Dynasty officials' control over their own people and subordinates will be further strengthened.

"All things are inferior except reading, which is becoming more and more true."

Chu Kun looked at Lei Jun: "Brother, your eyes are a little cold..."

Lei Jun did not try to hide his true thoughts in front of him: "I really don't like this group, but I want to see how the human beings themselves will react to this."

Chu Kun understood.

This head senior brother of our family is not as hot-tempered as Senior Sister Tang, but he is also not like the eldest brother who completely believes in the saying "less trouble is better" either.

Otherwise, the fate of the Five Surnames and Seven Families of the Tang Dynasty and even the Li Family of Xinzhou would be uncertain.

Chu Kun, who was at the eighth level of the heaven, came to Penglai to help sort out the Penglai ruins and explore various fairy islands. Lin Shan and other descendants of the Tianshi Mansion suddenly felt much more relaxed.

Later, Lei Jun hosted Penglai and a new guest arrived.

Because the person opposite was Mu Chunyang, the abbot of the Zhenwu Temple of the Ming Dynasty who was at the Ninth Heaven Realm, the current head of the Chunyang Palace of the Tang Dynasty, Jiang Yu, came to Penglai in person to meet him.

With Lei Jun around, the Tang Chunyang Palace doesn't have to worry about safety issues.

Instead, Jiang Yu brought a piece of news that came from the inheritance of Chunyang Palace in the Han world.

Pan Hailin, the descendant of the Han Dynasty's Longhu Mountain, reappears in the world.

Moreover, he has achieved the ninth level of Mahayana in the Taoist Talisman School.

In recent years, the Han people have also begun to see a surge in spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

As a famous young genius, Pan Hailin's success in taking this step was not unexpected, but...

"Brother, according to the inheritance of Longhu Mountain in the Han Dynasty, this is a further conferment of the ordination by the ancestor above the Ninth Heaven, right?" Chu Kun looked at Lei Jun.

Lei Jun nodded slightly.

　PS: 6k1 chapters
　　
　
(End of this chapter)