The next day, at 2:45 am.
Zhao Rong got up and washed. After being busy for so many days, he finally had a good sleep. Although he was still worried about the furnace core made of Kuiniu Demon Pill that was lost somewhere, he also knew that he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.
He picked up the morning exercises and lessons that he had put aside for a few days, and bathed in the first rays of morning light, walking in the woods about a hundred or eighty steps behind the yard.
A thin mist slowly passed through the gaps in the lush forest, and in the beams of golden morning light that leaked through the gaps between the leaves, countless particles were leisurely wandering.
Zhao Rong completed the 300 repetitions of Lan Zhayi's fist stance in "Fu Shan Zhi" and felt that there was still no innate energy in his body. He smiled bitterly and shook his head, not knowing when he could find that innate energy.
Yesterday evening, Liu Sanbian came to see him and checked his progress and condition. The gloomy man, who seemed a little dull when he was not drinking, comforted him with a word to take it slow, and then left.
Zhao Rong wiped his neck with a sweat towel, returned to the yard, washed his face, then spread paper and ground ink on the table, preparing to practice calligraphy. A breeze blew outside the window, and Zhao Rong casually tilted his head and took a breath of the fresh breeze. His eyes looked through the lattice holes of the lightly closed lattice window and caught a glimpse of the cliff carving again, and his heart moved.
He carefully looked at the distant horizon and the vague four-character stone inscription. Combining the impressions in his memory, he slowly began to write and copied it on paper.
When he looked up for the first time, the ancient stone calligraphy left a deep impression on him.
Speaking of the four words "purity, tranquility and inaction", they truly describe the Taoist thoughts and governance techniques.
He knew that the conflict between the Lanxi Lin family and Chongxu Temple actually lay here.
To act or to do nothing.
Chongxuguan believes that the best solution is to implement the policy of non-intervention in governing the country in a big way, maintain the model of a small country with few people, and leave the details to Confucian scholars to manage in a small way.
One thing to note is that Chongxu Temple is Taoism, not Taoism. Taoism has the art of governing a country, but Taoism has its own limitations. It focuses on spiritual practice, and governing a country is just a side issue. Because it controls Zhongnan Kingdom, it is to better absorb the rich spiritual practice resources of Zhongnan Mountain.
Moreover, Chongxu Temple knew that if everyone practiced in peace and quiet and no one did practical work, the country would not last long. Therefore, in the absence of Taoists to govern the country, it was in their interest to support some Confucian forces and let Confucian scholars work at the middle and lower levels. The leader among them was the Lanxi Lin family.
In fact, before Lin Wenruo, the Lanxi Lin family, or the Confucianists in Zhongnan Kingdom, had always compromised with the Taoist forces headed by Chongxu Temple. After all, the king of Zhongnan Kingdom invited great Confucian scholars to govern the country with the tacit approval of Chongxu Temple. As the first comer, Chongxu Temple had a deep foundation in Zhongnan Kingdom, which was difficult for latecomers to shake.
However, slowly, looking back on the history of Zhongnan Kingdom over the past hundreds of years, a group of Confucian scholars headed by Lin Wenruo discovered that the way of governing the country by relying mainly on Taoism and supplemented by Confucianism and by doing nothing in the general direction was not feasible. Something had to be done, that is, "action."
The new law came into being. Unlike the previous "reforms" in Zhongnan Kingdom which were all loud thunder but little action, this new law was strongly promoted by a Confucian scholar and implemented very thoroughly, thus triggering a backlash from the existing interest classes. If the existing power structure of Zhongnan Kingdom was maintained, the new law would not be able to be implemented.
Therefore, Lin Wenruo personally directed this debate between Confucianism and Taoism in order to eradicate at the root the obstacles that he believed were hindering the progress of Zhongnan Kingdom and to completely seize power.
Zhao Rong was thinking while copying the four-character stone inscription. The sutra copying he had been doing for a while had helped him train his ability to multitask.
He narrowed his eyes and suddenly remembered Lin Wenruo's drunken words when they had a heart-to-heart talk at the pavilion in the middle of the lake on a moonlit night.
At that time, the Confucian scholar, who was not drunk but was intoxicated by the night scenery of Zhongnan, was holding a guqin, leaning against the railing, looking outside the pavilion with his head tilted. His expression could not be seen clearly, but his tone was calm.
"It has the richest resources and the best location, but it has always been complacent. For thousands of years, the country has not made any progress, and the system has become increasingly corrupt. Problems are endless. Looking around, Dachen has the Legalist reform, Northern Qi has famous generals and a strong army, Southern Wei has capable ministers in power, and powerful enemies are everywhere. In the end, it is not safe in a corner, but a place that must be fought for. But now, it is in danger of internal and external troubles."
"Is it because I have no man in Zhongnan?"
Thinking of this, Zhao Rong suddenly stopped writing and looked at the four words on the paper.
"Quiet and inaction."
The conflict between the Lanxi Lin family and the Chongxu Temple is, on the surface, a dispute over state governance, but in essence it is a microcosm of the dispute over "action" and "inaction" between the Confucian and Taoist schools in the Xuanhuang world.
This is the fundamental difference between Confucianism and Taoism.
It involves the dispute between ancient and modern times, the dispute between morality, and the dispute between heaven and man.
Although he is now a Confucian scholar, he has looked at this issue from an objective perspective in his previous life in order to complete his graduation thesis on the pre-Qin philosophers.
He supported the down-to-earth Confucianism, but he did not hate Taoism. On the contrary, he admired the lofty principles of Taoism.
However, in his opinion, the "method of inaction" promoted by Chongxu Temple was not included in this list.
This is also one of the reasons why he agreed to let Lin Wenruo participate in tomorrow's Confucianism and Taoism debate, not just because of the invitation from a good friend.
"Zhao Rong, Zhao Rong..."
His thoughts were interrupted by the soft call of the little fox demon outside the door.
Zhao Rong stopped writing, tidied up a little, and went out to accompany Su Xiaoxiao to her yard to have breakfast.
This little girl was shouting yesterday that she had learned some extraordinary cooking skills from the cook, and that she would make him a hearty breakfast this morning that would both help him grow his brain and nourish his body. She said that if he didn't finish eating it, he would be disrespecting her, the "fox fairy little cook."
Zhao Rong glanced at Su Xiaoxiao's wide eyes, staring at him eagerly. He took a deep breath and, under the eager and expectant gaze of the little fox demon, he had no choice but to swallow the bun that was bigger than his face and hadn't eaten the filling even halfway through. Hmm? Why are there two small handprints on this bun?
Hey Su Xiaoxiao, is this handprint yours?
Quickly stretch out your hands from behind your back!
No wonder the buns are so big. It turns out you just pinched the dough casually and wrapped the stuffing directly in it. Is there anyone who makes buns like this?
Zhao Rong left Su Xiaoxiao's yard with a helpless look on his face and went out to do some business. Today he would go back to the exterior of Chongxu Temple again to try his luck and see if he could find the furnace core.
Su Xiaoxiao rubbed her snow-white little hands, which were turned red by the bad guy who ate the breakfast she worked hard to make and bullied her, in grievance. But when she saw the clean plate on the stone table, she tilted her head, squinted her eyes, smiled, hummed a song, and started to clean up.
She thought that she would not sleep in anymore and get up early to make breakfast. Well, she would make something for him as well, just by the way.
…
The sun rose high in the sky and then slowly set. In the afternoon, Zhao Rong returned to the manor feeling tired.
This trip to Mount Taibai yielded nothing. There was no clue about the furnace core at all. He had been "visiting" the temple for long enough. If he stayed there any longer, he would be very conspicuous. He might even run into the cold Taoist nun he met on the winding mountain road yesterday. If he was recognized, he would be doomed. So Zhao Rong had no choice but to return.
Gui couldn't help but say, "If it really doesn't work, forget it. Practice in the mountains and don't force yourself to do anything. I'll think of a way to recycle the nearly perfect Li Ji Sword Pill. As for the Thunder Purple Gold Furnace, although it's missing its core and can't be used, it's made of the rare Thunder Purple Gold. We'll melt it down and use it as the refining material for your natal flying sword in the future."
Zhao Rong nodded slightly, breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and returned to the yard.
But just after he rested for a while, he saw a tall and handsome man outside the yard, wearing a wide-sleeved robe and sandals instead of shoes, carrying a black lacquered wine jar with a red lid, and pushed the door open.