I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 619: I, Shi Zimiao, the Imperial Tutor of the Han Dynasty (Part )

Shi Zimiao remembered that during his last time with the prince he had raised, the prince once told him that only when the sands are washed away by the waves can heroes emerge.

Shi Zimiao doesn't think of himself as a hero, but he cannot deny that his reputation in Shaohua Mountain is growing.

At this time, Shi Zimiao began to feel worried. Would it be possible that one day he would be recommended to the prince who is now the emperor in another identity?

As more and more dignitaries came here, Shi Zimiao was very worried that someone who knew him might appear.

But if he were to leave Shaohua Mountain, Shi Zimiao felt that other places were far less safe than Shaohua Mountain.

Fortunately, the high-ranking officials were proud of their status and would not come to him rashly, so he had time to react. However, Shi Zimiao soon stopped caring about these things, because a drought occurred in Sanfu, and Shaohua Mountain was no exception.

Seeing that the mountain springs had dried up, Shi Zimiao had no choice but to go down the mountain.

What made Shi Zimiao happy was that, despite the drought and locusts, officials in the counties and towns of the three prefectures were generally providing disaster relief. Shi Zimiao didn't care much about material possessions, but of course, he didn't hate them. After observing the officials who were providing disaster relief, Shi Zimiao presented his savings from these years in Shaohua Mountain to a county magistrate who he thought was the most honest and capable.

Shi Zimiao didn't have much idea about money. Although he always thought that his master was a liar, some of his master's words still made sense - money cannot be brought into this world and cannot be taken away when you die, so it's enough to have enough for your use.

The gifts given to him by these wealthy and powerful people were a huge sum of money. Therefore, when facing the county magistrate named Mao Fang, Shi Zimiao predicted in advance that the other party would come to thank him, and he even left without leaving his name.

Then, Shi Zimiao regretted it.

Because he was so impressed by Mao Fang's praise, he accidentally gave away all his belongings.

It was of course impossible to go back and ask for some money... but he could still change his clothes and transform himself into a disaster victim - after all, he also contributed to the relief of the victims.

Shi Zimiao felt that he had a very good eye for people, and Mao Fang lived up to his trust. As a disaster victim, he was treated quite well, at least food and accommodation were not a problem - although another major reason he chose Mao Fang was that Mao Fang was a student of the Imperial College who responded to the prince's call in the past.

However, as a person who has experienced the test of time, how could Shi Zimiao be idle among the victims?
Whether it was diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medicine, or soothing people's hearts, Shi Zimiao could do it... Even when facing wild beasts in the mountains, Shi Zimiao had some self-defense methods.

Soon, Shi Zimiao was noticed by Mao Fang. Fortunately, Mao Fang was very sensible and knew that Shi Zimiao did not value fame, wealth and power. After one test, he did not bother him. Otherwise, Shi Zimiao would have to consider going somewhere else - during this period, he took another sum of money from a wealthy family.

This time, he learned his lesson and kept enough for himself.

During droughts, there were also locusts… Shi Zimiao actually didn’t believe in the existence of the locust god, but he couldn’t stop others from believing in it—even if he later revealed his identity as a Taoist priest.

This made Shi Zimiao very distressed.

However, all this changed with a piece of news - the emperor ate locusts and prayed to heaven, saying that if he had a spirit, he would suffer the consequences for the people of the world.

As soon as he heard the news, Shi Zimiao was the first to eat the grilled locusts, which tasted like chicken and were very delicious.

So, for a long time afterwards, the biggest problem for the victims was that they wanted to eat locusts but couldn't catch so many.

……

Eventually, the drought and locust plague ended, and Shi Zimi returned to Shaohua Mountain.

But this time he didn't dare go back to his original residence, but moved further into the mountains. This time, he changed his name again and interacted less with others.

Thus, rumors began to spread in Shaohua Mountain that there was a Taoist immortal in the mountain.

This caused Shi Zimiao a lot of trouble.

In his opinion, many dignitaries and their children are just too full to do anything. Wouldn't it be better for them to experience nature and comprehend the Tao around them? Why do they have to pursue immortals?

But then again, these people really have a lot of money!

Even though he had clearly told these sons of powerful people that he was not a god, but just an ordinary Taoist who had traveled here and settled down in a hut, and did not know any method of immortality.

But the more he said this, the more these people felt that he was lying... The more he rejected these people's gifts, the more eagerly they gave him gifts.

So, after having to accept these abandoned gifts, Shi Zimiao randomly picked a few that he liked and distributed them to the poor people at the foot of the mountain.

This move made these people more determined.

Shi Zimiao could do nothing about this.

Then, Shi Zimiao heard that Zhang Wen, the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, had also heard of his name and was coming to visit him.

Shi Zimiao knew Zhang Wen, and he was sure that Zhang Wen must also recognize him.

Therefore, during the period when Zhang Wen was expected to come, Shi Zimiao left Shaohua Mountain again and went traveling.

Shi Zimi returned only after Zhang Wen left Jingzhao Yin.

Then, he saw that those sons of powerful and wealthy people who were seeking immortality looked at him more eagerly - soon, Shi Zimiao finally figured out the reason - in the eyes of these people, he was not greedy for fame and fortune, did not curry favor with the powerful, did not like money, and even cooked for himself. If he was not a famous Confucian scholar living in the mountains, then he must be an immortal!
Shi Zimiao could do nothing about this.

He even planned that if nothing unexpected happened in the future, he would stay in Shaohua Mountain.

At most, when someone like Zhang Wen who knows him comes again in the future, he will continue traveling!

But as expected, an accident happened.

At some point, a monk appeared in Shaohua Mountain.

Although this monk was also an outsider like him, Shi Zimiao did not take it seriously at first. Isn't it enough for Taoists and monks to keep out of each other's way?
The monk also lived in seclusion on Shaohua Mountain. Because of Shi Zimiao, people who came to Shaohua Mountain to seek immortality and Taoism inevitably noticed the monk. The monk also seized this great opportunity and madly exported Buddhist views, talking about Prajna merit, cultivation and so on.

Shi Zimiao had heard people talk about these things before. He felt that these were similar to the Taoist scriptures passed down by his master, which were all principles for discussing with people... If one really wanted to practice Taoism, one still had to cultivate oneself.

Therefore, at the beginning, Shi Zimiao did not care about this neighbor... But not long after, this neighbor became restless - gradually, the monk had more and more followers, and people close to Shi Zimiao told him that the monk encouraged mutual assistance among believers and organized rich families to provide relief to the poor - although Shi Zimiao felt that the world was getting better and better under the governance of the emperor he raised, he had no intention of leaving the mountain, but if this could really happen, it would be nice.

However, Shi Zimiao discovered that the monks' thatched huts gradually turned into courtyards, first with earthen walls and thatched roofs, then brick and tile houses... When Shi Zimiao saw it last time, someone was already building a temple against the mountain.

Those who participated in the construction were all believers of the monks. They came here voluntarily. When Shi Zimiao inquired out of curiosity, he learned that these believers came here to work during the slack season, and the monks only provided them with meals that were just enough to fill them up - even when they were providing disaster relief, they didn't exploit people like this - they would give extra meals to people who worked.

The reason why these believers do this is for the so-called blessings mentioned by the monks.

——Building temples for Buddha is to pursue the blessings of Prajna with one's own actions. How can one expect food and money as a reward? If one's heart is not sincere, it is difficult to pursue the blessings of Prajna.

Shi Zimiao even heard that the monks were planning to build a golden statue for the Buddha. The monks had only been here for a year, but when it came to the golden statue, the believers actually wanted to donate their limited money.

Shi Zimiao was very familiar with the rhetoric used by monks to persuade believers.

This is the method his master taught him to deal with those high-ranking officials, but his master only used this method on the powerful and wealthy. According to his master, this is what Lao Tzu said, "The way of heaven is to reduce the surplus and make up for the deficiency."

But now, in Shi Zimiao's eyes, this monk was taking what was lacking to make up for what was surplus. This was the way of man, but it was not the way he wanted to see. In the long run, Shaohua Mountain would not only no longer be a quiet place, but it might even be filled with filth.

Therefore, Shi Zimiao, who has always been kind to others, decided not to let it go on.

He decided to discuss the matter with the other party!

The monk already knew Shi Zimiao's reputation, and when he heard that Shi Zimiao came to him on his own initiative, he immediately agreed.

However, they demanded that it be made public, otherwise the monks would not agree.

Shi Zimiao hesitated again and again, but finally agreed, taking the risk of the appearance of powerful people.

The good news was that there were no officials who could recognize him when he was discussing Buddhism. The bad news was that they were all monks.

There were no high-ranking officials among them, but mostly poor people who believed that believing in Buddha from the West would change their well-being.

At the end of the discussion, Shi Zimiao thought he had won, but the monk deceived the believers present with his obscure remarks and brazenly announced his victory.

The monk never intended to compete with him in a debate.

Faced with such a shameless person, Shi Zimiao was enraged.

Then... he left happily.

There was no way. If Shi Zimi had not been kind to the people living at the foot of the mountain and had not enjoyed prestige in this area, he might not have been able to leave safely.

But Shi Zimiao was not reconciled.

When had Shi Zimiao ever suffered such a great loss? In addition to being forced to raise the prince, even when his master accepted his family's money and took him in as a disciple, he often caused trouble for his master in terms of food and accommodation.

He is a Taoist, so logically he should be able to remain calm even when faced with a huge crisis. However, Shi Zimiao never felt that he had reached the point where he could remain unperturbed by fame or disgrace.

Shi Zimiao felt that his thoughts were not clear because of the monks. Since the thoughts could not be changed, the only thing he could do was to change the person.

So, Shi Zimiao began traveling again.

This time, he followed the method taught by his master and combined it with the reputation he had accumulated, and soon he had a large group of followers.

Then he returned to Shaohua Mountain.

As expected, Shi Zimiao, who had more people and more power, won a great victory in this debate.

However, Shi Zimiao did not do anything to the monk. He only asked him not to build new temples and only allowed Buddha statues to be made of clay.

Then, Shi Zimiao moved back into his thatched hut.

As it turned out, Shi Zimiao had thought too highly of the monk. However, ten days later, when Shi Zimiao was out collecting herbs, he was delayed and failed to return to his residence in time... When he came back, his thatched hut had turned into ashes.

Shi Zimiao didn't know what the people who saw the fire and came to rescue felt when they saw him appearing behind them.

Anyway, he was extremely angry.

Especially when someone told him that a devout monk returned home in the middle of the night.

Anyone who can endure anything is a dead person... Besides, Shi Zimiao felt that his cultivation was not enough and was unwilling to endure.

So he immediately took people to the monk's place and planned to demolish the temple.

To Shi Zimiao's surprise, the monk was quite skilled in martial arts, and he wielded a sword that he had come from nowhere with great power.

Although Shi Zimiao knew some martial arts, he was unable to defeat the monk for a while. At this time, Shi Zimiao's good deeds in his early years finally paid off. The people living at the foot of the mountain heard that the monk had led people to burn down the thatched huts of the immortal Taoist priests in the mountain, and they all came to support him with their farm tools.

At first, the monks were able to lead the believers to protect the temple, and even turned the tables... But as more and more people arrived, more people pointed out what went wrong last night, such as the dog at home suddenly barking for a long time at night, and someone left in the evening and never came back...

Therefore, under the rule of the truth of numbers, not only was the temple demolished, but the people also surrounded Shi Zimiao and escorted the monk who obeyed the truth to the county temple.

Originally, both Shi Zimiao and the common people believed that the punishment of the monks was a foregone conclusion. Even if there were still doubts about the evidence, they could continue to investigate!

But when he really arrived at the county temple, Shi Zimiao found something wrong.

He had already met the county magistrate, but after sending the people away, the magistrate implied that he hoped Shi Zimiao could keep things peaceful.

Shi Zimiao noticed something was wrong at first glance.

The monk has some followers, but that wouldn't be enough to make the head of a county so cautious... So, there is only one answer - there is someone behind the monk!
Thinking of this, Shi Zimiao directly expressed his attitude that he would never compromise unless the monk was severely punished.

However, privately, he had sent someone to deliver a letter to Mao Fang, with whom he had a good relationship... Although Mao Fang was the county magistrate of Youfufeng, not the Jingzhao Yin where he was, Shi Zimiao felt that with Mao Fang's character, he would not ignore the matter... As long as he made a big deal out of this matter, he would not be afraid of the people behind the monk doing something tricky.

The facts were just as Shi Zimiao had thought.

The county magistrate was in a dilemma, and the matter soon reached the ears of Jingzhao Yin Tao Qian.

Although Tao Qian had served as an official in Luoyang, in Shi Zimiao's memory, Tao Qian did not know him.

After Tao Qian intervened, the truth soon came to light - the monk was actually Tao Qian's fellow townsman from Danyang County!

At first, Shi Zimiao was worried that Tao Qian would take sides because of their fellow townsmanship, but Tao Qian immediately put his fellow townsman in jail. It turned out that there had been monks in Danyang County causing chaos before, and the monk who came to Shaohua Mountain was one of them - he was related to a retainer that Tao Qian brought from his hometown.

Now that his identity has been found out, just when Shi Zimiao was planning to hide his achievements and fame, he found that he was being targeted by Tao Qian.

Sure enough, after all the trials and tribulations, he still couldn't hide himself!

(End of this chapter)