I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 42: Fooling Cao Cao
The original "Quegu Shiqi Pian" is not suitable for human practice. Only a few Taoist geniuses can gain some understanding from it.

It was not until the Warring States Period that this method was finally corrected after countless experiments and revisions, allowing the human race to master their own method of eating air, which can be said to be the beginning of human qi refining.

Therefore, "Quegu Shiqi Pian" also became the root of Taoism's prosperity. Even in the early days of the Yanhan Dynasty, this method made the Taoist Huang-Lao school of thought become a prominent school of thought in the world and was used by rulers to govern the country.

Although there were already Qi-refining methods such as "True Yang Nine Refining" in the Central Plains long before "Quegu Qi-Eating Chapter", these methods often required corresponding "divine gifts" to practice, such as "True Yang Nine Refining" required the divine object Danyu.

This kind of practice is more like being initiated by others than refining qi.

However, the emergence of "Quegu Shiqi Pian" allowed ordinary people to step into the field of Qi refining, which opened a convenient door to enlightenment and made it possible for Taoism to be truly popularized and promoted.

It is precisely because of such great achievements that Lao Tzu was able to be listed alongside Huangdi and was respected by many Taoist schools, so much so that people in the world call Taoist learning the Huang-Lao school.

Even before Emperor Wu of Han, the most powerful Taoist school, Fangxiandao, still revered Laozi as the founder of Taoism and was respected by all other Taoists.

In the fake underground palace of King Wei, Wang Jing had seen the powerful power of the "Five Punishments Emperor's Scrolls", so he was extremely yearning for this extremely mysterious power of the Scrolls. He prepared for the future: "The Taiyuan Wang family has a long history, and there should be some hidden Scrolls. If there is a chance, I will get them out and study them carefully. Maybe there will be unexpected gains?"

Just as Wang Jing was daydreaming, outside Luoyang City, on the north bank of Luo River.

Zhang Jin faced the gurgling and endless waves and began to chant an incantation. He made hand gestures with his ten fingers, stepped on the magic steps, and began to practice Taoist magic.

"The sky and the earth are boundless, the universe borrows the law, the fish in the thousands of rivers, obey my command, command!"

At this time, what Zhang Jin performed was the Heavenly Master Taoism among the Three Masters Taoism of Man, Earth and Heaven as recorded in the "Fangxian Dao Lu". He used divine thoughts as the root and thinking ability as the basis to perform secret techniques, which were like imperial edicts and could command ghosts, gods and all living things to make them obedient and docile.

In a short while, hundreds of fish gathered on the river bank where Zhang Jin was standing, forming a black mass, as if they were paying homage to their king.

One of them was a fathead carp with a plump body, which was the most conspicuous among the school of fish.

Zhang Jin used his fingers as a pen to draw a spell in the air, and then used his mind as a pen and his thoughts as ink to perform the secret technique of "River Fish Sending Messages", leaving an encrypted message on the fish.

"go."

Following Zhang Jin's command, the fish scattered and their figures disappeared into the river.

The next day, Shuijing Manor.

On the lakeshore, the figures of an old man and a young boy were vague and blurry in the lingering mist.

Among them, the old man had a warm and gentle smile, a noble and extraordinary temperament, and was unique. He was Sima Zheng, who was known as the "good guy".

At this time, he was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, sitting on the shore fishing.

Suddenly, the float made of goose feathers sank suddenly.

"Ha~ You've taken the bait, get up!"

The moment the green bamboo fishing rod was pulled up, a carp with a golden belly jumped out of the water. It weighed about seven or eight pounds, and its head was big and round. It was obviously a big fish with plump meat.

"Grandpa Shuijing, can we eat braised carp slices today?"

The person who spoke was the boy next to Sima Zheng, who was about ten years old, still in school age. At this moment, he was drooling over the meaty fathead carp.

But it's no wonder he did that. After all, braised carp slices is one of the eight great delicacies of the Han Dynasty listed in "Salt and Iron Discussions·San Bu Zu Pian", and is as famous as stewed soft-shelled turtle, braised venison, fried caviar, deep-fried quail with shredded orange, wolfberry sauce, meat sauce, puffer fish with sour vinegar, black fish and other delicious dishes.

Only the rich and powerful can afford such dishes.

However, for Pang Tong, who was born into one of the famous families in Jingzhou and the Pang family in Xiangyang, it was nothing.

It’s just that in the past he just ate fish. This is the first time he catches fish first and then eats it. The taste is naturally very different from the past.

But after Sima Zheng took the straight hook out of the fish's mouth, he stroked Pang Tong's beard and smiled: "This is a spirit fish that delivered letters. Even if it has no merit, it has worked hard. How can we kill it and eat it?"

After he finished speaking, Sima Zheng used his Taoist magic to give the fat-headed carp a wisp of water-borne vital energy to comfort it for the hard work of traveling hundreds of miles to deliver the letter.

The fathead carp had its intelligence awakened by Zhang Jin's Taoism, and now it had received benefits from Sima Zheng, so it fell back into the water and stayed there, refusing to leave.

When he heard that it was not edible, Pang Tong felt a little regretful: "Oh, what a waste, this fish is so plump and delicious."

Thump~
These words frightened the fathead carp so much that it flicked its tail and dived directly to the bottom of the lake, not daring to show its head.

Sima Zheng pinched Pang Tong's chubby cheeks, then burst into laughter and started his journey home.

After returning Pang Tong to his good friend Pang Degong, Sima Zheng entered the secret passage in the backyard and went deep into Yuxi Mountain alone.

This mountain has a solitary peak that is towering and shaded by green trees. At the northern foot of the mountain, there is a stone wall that looks like it was cut by a knife. In the wall there is a huge cave that is ten feet deep and about twenty-seven feet high. It is called the White Horse Cave.

There are two paths leading to this cave from the back mountain of Shuijing Villa.

One path goes up the mountain along the Tou Tianmen, crosses the stone arch bridge and then climbs the steps to the Er Tianmen.

Looking up from here, the bushes are like clouds and the stone walls seem to be collapsing.

A horizontal road was carved along the stone wall to the west, and a city wall was built on the outside.

After exiting the horizontal path, you will reach Huixian Gate. After another ten steps, you will enter the White Horse Cave.

And this place is where Longju Tiansi lives in seclusion.

At this time, Tian Si was sitting cross-legged with his five hearts facing the sky, facing the mountain wall with his eyes closed and concentrating. Although his back was facing the cave entrance, his spiritual thoughts had already covered the area within ten feet around him, and any movement could not escape his eyes and ears.

Therefore, there was no need to look back, Tian Si already knew who the visitor was.

"What's the matter?"

Sima Zheng walked slowly into the cave and reported the news he had received: "Ziyun has sent a letter on a fish, saying that Cao Cao was saved by Wang Jing, and he did not do anything. In addition, Yuan Shao has suggested to He Jin to bring foreign troops into the capital, and He Jin agreed. In this way, Yuan Wei's plan to rule the world will probably be accomplished soon."

"Haha~ The three generations of the Runan Yuan family have been busy and busy, and they really have great ambitions."

Tian Si had a sarcastic look on his face, sneering endlessly, and was obviously not optimistic about Yuan Wei's plan: "However, it is not so easy to establish a mind for heaven and earth. However, Yuan Wei's move is not a bad thing for our plan. At least it can test whether the will of heaven has awakened."

Sima Zheng was not surprised by this: "Is Tiansi planning to join the game and help the Yuan family succeed?"

"Well, it just so happens that Yuan Wei has something that our Tiangong is determined to obtain. This move can be said to kill two birds with one stone."

…………

Henan County Residence is very lively today with distinguished guests visiting.

Cao Cao, who had recovered from his injuries, came to visit Wang Jing with a cart full of gifts to thank him for his previous help.

"The Cavalry Captain..."

"Hey, Meng De, don't be so formal. We hit it off right away, and we killed the enemy together. We should call each other by our courtesy names to show our closeness."

"Haha, that's true. It should be made clear."

After saying this, Cao Cao raised his cup and started drinking. As they drank, Wang Jing, Xun You, Wang Ling and Cao Cao became drunk and familiar with each other.

Cao Cao, who has not yet experienced all kinds of dramatic changes in his life, is already thirty-four years old, but he is still full of passion and sincerity.

"It's a pity that the old thief Zhang Rang was so cunning, otherwise I would have chopped off his head that day."

After a few drinks, Cao Cao's face turned red and his true nature was revealed. He couldn't help but curse on the spot.

In fact, Cao Cao's grandfather was also a eunuch. During the reign of Emperor Huan, he even held the positions of Zhong Changshi and Da Changqiu. He had great power and was in charge of the government for more than 30 years. He served four emperors and was highly praised by the court and the public. However, Cao Cao was still a passionate young man, so he despised and even hated Zhang Rang and other eunuchs who acted recklessly, and wanted to kill them as soon as possible.

Seeing Wang Jing's calm face, Cao Cao was puzzled: "Your father almost died in prison because of offending Zhang Rang. Don't you, Yuanxu, want to kill this villain and vent your anger?"

Wang Jing shook his head when he heard this: "My father's feud with Zhang Rang is not a personal grudge, but a matter of state. Moreover, killing one person will not save the world. It is better to save time and energy to do more meaningful things."

"If you can't kill one person, then kill all ten eunuchs and restore order to the world."

Cao Cao, who aspired to become the Han Dynasty's General of the Western Expedition since he was a child, had a simple and crude style of doing things. He firmly believed that as long as all the people who created problems were killed, the world would be completely peaceful.

However, Wang Jing, who came from later generations and was well aware that the Eastern Han Dynasty was already in a state of irreversible decline, was very clear in his mind that killing people would not solve the problem at all.

In other words, killing only the Ten Attendants is far from enough.

Therefore, Wang Jing held the wine cup and said in a slightly heavy tone: "The Ten Eunuchs should be executed for their crimes, but what can be done by killing them? The troubles of the Han Dynasty are not in the imperial palace, but in the local prefectures and counties."

"Hmm? What does Yuanxu mean by that?"

Cao Cao was obviously intrigued by this argument.

"Meng De, in my opinion, the Ten Eunuchs are nothing more than a minor problem. We can capture and kill them with a few dozen soldiers. But the aristocratic families entrenched in the local prefectures and counties are the real threat to the Han Dynasty. If Meng De really wants to save the country and society of the Han Dynasty, he should first take action against the aristocratic families and the powerful families. Otherwise, the world will forever be trapped in a cycle of order and chaos, with no escape."

Wang Jing's words made Cao Cao's scalp tingle, and a huge wave of shock rose in his sea of ​​consciousness.

This is because the world today is more of a world ruled by aristocratic families than a world ruled by the Han Dynasty.

As early as the time of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, local aristocratic families and powerful families had secretly contributed money, effort and even manpower to help Liu Xiu defeat Wang Mang and thus restore the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, over the past two hundred years, the major clans have become intertwined and dependent on the Yanhan Dynasty, becoming inseparable from each other.

Even the emperor could do nothing about it.

Emperors Huan and Ling successively launched the Party and Faction Persecution Disaster, using the eunuchs' monopoly of power to deal with the increasingly powerful aristocratic family groups. But after decades, didn't the result end with the death of the leaders and the collapse of the government?
From this we can see that although targeting aristocratic families and wealthy clans is the most correct choice, being correct does not mean that you can make this choice.

Cao Cao stared at Wang Jing, trying to see through his thoughts: "Yuan Xu, just tell me about this matter, but don't mention it in front of others, otherwise disaster will come."

Wang Jing smiled, drank the wine in the cup, and complained: "Meng De, please relax. I am a very timid person. I have read history books and know what happened to Shang Yang, who helped the Qin Dynasty become rich and strong. Today is just a joke, but the Han Dynasty is about to fall, and I don't know who can stand up and do something for the people of the world."

After saying this, Wang Jing also sighed deeply. Although he did not have much ambition or aspirations, he also understood that in troubled times, human life was really as worthless as grass. The scene was horrific.

If Wang Jing had said this to someone like Yuan Shao, he would definitely not say it casually, but as for Boss Cao, Wang Jing still wanted to try to exert some influence on the hero of the Three Kingdoms in front of him and change some of the inherent ideas in Cao Cao's mind.

Wang Jing thought that if he could not shoulder the responsibility, it would be best to find someone who could do it. Wang Jing felt that Cao Cao had such magnanimity and talent.

That's why he deliberately said these words today, wanting to see Cao Cao's reaction.

Even if I can't convince Cao Cao, I can at least plant a seed deep in his heart.

In fact, Cao Cao himself was actually an outlier in the General's Mansion.

Many people like Yuan Shao were only striving for personal power, but Cao Cao was different. At least he had lofty ambitions and certain political aspirations, and at least he wanted to make a career.

It was just that due to the limitations of the times and his position, Cao Cao was not perfect.

But Wang Jing had no better choice, so he could only give it a try.

Cao Cao looked at Wang Jing and said in a heavy tone, "Why is Yuan Xu so hostile to the aristocratic families? You are also from a famous family. Do you really think that the decline of the world is the fault of the aristocratic families and the powerful families?"

Wang Jing was very calm about this: "It's not that I am hostile to the aristocratic families, but for hundreds of years, the aristocratic families have been annexing land on a large scale, leaving the poor with no place to live. Farmers who lose their land will become refugees, and once a famine occurs, disaster will immediately occur. If there are some ambitious people behind the scenes who add fuel to the fire, the whole country will be in turmoil, with corpses everywhere and blood flowing like rivers."

After saying this, Wang Jing even looked at Cao Cao and said, "Meng De, you have personally witnessed the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Do you want to witness such a scene again in the future?"

Cao Cao's expression froze when he heard this. Although he didn't know how to refute, he still disagreed with Wang Jing's idea in his heart: "Does this mean that we should kill all the noble families in the world? How is this different from Zhang Jiao, the evil man of the Taiping Dao?"

Zhang Jue's fame was well-known in the late Han Dynasty. After all, he was a ruthless man who kicked half of the Yanhan Dynasty into the grave.

His own cultivation is even more profound, and he is listed as one of the Five Symbols of Xuanzong, and is revered as the Earth Symbol.

With his Huang Tian Dao magic, he killed countless generals, masters, and famous scholars from aristocratic families. It can be said that he made the aristocratic families tremble in fear.

Of course, being able to kill people was not the reason why the aristocratic families hated Zhang Jue the most. What made the aristocratic families most angry was Zhang Jue's demand for reforms to equalize land rights.

Land was the lifeline of the aristocratic families and wealthy clans. Zhang Jue's action undoubtedly angered the people, which led to the imperial court uniting and ruthlessly encircling and killing him.

Cao Cao mentioned Zhang Jue at this time, also wanting to remind Wang Jing not to follow in his footsteps.

Wang Jing naturally had no intention of equalizing land rights, because he knew very well that as long as productivity did not develop and there was no transformation from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization, there would be no point in distributing land equally, because even if land annexation was curbed, population growth would inevitably lead to insufficient land output.

In fact, Wang Jing has a set of strategies on how to reform.

There are all kinds of magical skills in the Three Kingdoms. You can find another way and try to climb the technology tree in another way.

Instead of being like today, where land, resources and even knowledge are completely monopolized by aristocratic families and wealthy clans, it is difficult for ordinary people to have a chance to succeed, so that many talents are buried in the fields and wilderness, and technological progress is extremely slow.

So what if there are strong people who can fly and hide in the ground?

The masters cannot go to the fields to farm themselves, cannot improve social productivity, and can only fight and kill. How is they different from bandits who can only occupy hilltops and grab territories?
Wang Jing despised him for having no vision at all.

At this point, Wang Jing finally revealed his true intentions and said to Cao Cao: "If Meng De wants to save the Han Dynasty, he should shoulder the responsibility of reforming the world. If anyone dares to stand in his way, he can just wield his sword and wipe them out."

Cao Cao was obviously frightened by this momentum. He drank three more cups of wine and looked at Wang Jing with mixed feelings: "Yuan Xu, what you said makes sense, so why don't you do it yourself?"

"Jing is not talented enough, but Meng De is different. I think you have the ability. You are a great hero."

However, facing Wang Jing's deception, Cao Cao shook his head like a rattle and said, "Forget it. You should be the hero. I want to be nothing more than the general of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty."

Wang Jing obviously didn't give up: "How about you reconsider it, Meng De?"

Cao Cao glanced at Wang Jing speechlessly and said, "Yuan Xu, do you have a deep hatred for me? You are instigating me to become an enemy of the whole world. Do you hate me so much that you want me to die without a burial place?"

Then he gulped down half a pot of wine, and said with a sigh: "I thought I was unorthodox enough in doing things, but I didn't expect that Yuan Xu you are even more rebellious than me. I have to admit defeat."

At this moment, Cao Cao was also in awe of Wang Jing's idea. It was hard for him to imagine how crazy a person must be to think of standing against the aristocratic families.

Although Cao Cao also had the ideal and ambition to govern the country and bring peace to the world, it was more of a patchwork reformism. He could neither solve the contradiction between land and population nor had the courage to overturn the chessboard and recreate the world as Wang Jing said.

Seeing Cao Cao leave in a daze, Wang Jing was disappointed.

My own deception actually failed.

Then Wang Jing looked at Xun You: "Gongda..."

Xun You was shocked. He and Wang Ling had not said a word just now. Only then did he come back to his senses from his shocked thoughts and said to Wang Jing: "My lord, such a world-changing move is impossible for You to do."

Wang Jing looked at Wang Ling again: "Yan Yun..."

Wang Ling's eyebrows jumped when Wang Jing looked at him, and he quickly shook his head: "Second brother, only a man of your talent and wisdom can shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

Wang Jing was so angry that his teeth ached: "Can't each of you have a little more vision and tolerance? I have handed you such an opportunity to go down in history, but you are unwilling to seize it?"

(End of this chapter)