Chapter 13: Change the World
Xuanjing City, Zhuangyuan Building.
A group of scholars gathered together to read the ancient books that had caused a sensation in the world recently.
Since the ancient books came out a few days ago, the bookstores in the city have been reprinting them non-stop. Even so, the books published are in short supply. These scholars finally bought a few volumes today, so they invited a group of friends to come here to enjoy them together.
"The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending with them. Wonderful, wonderful!"
"Tao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things. Just a few words, but reading them suddenly gives me a sense of infinite mystery. This scripture is truly extraordinary!"
"In my opinion, these three thousand words alone are worth all the articles I have read before!"
“I feel the same way!”
"No, no, no, in my opinion, the exquisiteness of the Yi is even higher than that of Daode. Although the text is obscure and difficult, every word is like a pearl, as if it contains the ultimate truth of heaven and earth."
"That's right. As Heaven moves forward, a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself! This speaks to the aspirations of our generation!"
The scholars were discussing enthusiastically, looking very immersed in the discussion.
At this moment, one of them suddenly sighed and said, "I never thought that such exquisite writings would be buried deep underground for thousands of years without anyone knowing. Every time I think of this, I feel heartbroken!"
This statement also aroused the echo of everyone.
"Yes, my master loved reading when he was alive. If he could read these few volumes of scriptures, I wonder how happy he would be."
"In the past, all the scholars in the world who could not read this scripture were unfortunate!"
"But, were these scriptures really written by our ancestors and lost due to wars, with only fragments preserved in ancient tombs? I read "Nanhua" and "The Analects of Confucius", and none of the people, events, or matters were recorded in history books." A voice sounded abrupt among the crowd.
Everyone was silent at first, and then they came to a decisive conclusion.
"That must be the case. Such texts cannot be forged by modern people. The existing history books only have a history of nearly three thousand years. Before three thousand years ago, there were basically no detailed records. I think these classics are the products of that time."
"I heard that the ancient scholars said when they met the emperor that in ancient times, there were hundreds of schools of thought, and the classics that were born were as numerous as the stars in the sky. The few volumes of scriptures we read today are just a tiny part of them."
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate exclamation in the restaurant.
"There is such a thing!"
"When I think about how many classic articles are buried underground, never to be seen again, I feel extremely heartbroken and can't sleep at night!"
“I wonder what the other classics look like.”
…
"But after all, these ancient books are hidden deep in various ancient tombs. The idea of the Antiquity School to excavate ancient tombs and search for lost classics is really against human ethics."
The scholars instinctively wanted to agree, but when they thought of the countless classic articles still waiting to be discovered underground, their tone became less resolute.
"Didn't the leader of the Antiquity School say that what they are doing is protection, rescue excavation, not destruction?"
"Yes, I heard that every time they excavate an ancient tomb, they don't destroy it wantonly like the tomb robbers in the past who only took the gold and silver. Instead, they carefully take out all the objects in it and preserve them properly. If there is any damage, there are people responsible for repairing it."
"Indeed, we cannot simply compare them to tomb robbers."
However, there are still many people who hold opposing views.
"It's just a nice thing to say. What's the difference? Who among you doesn't have ancestors? If your ancestral tomb was excavated like this, how would you feel?"
"The river must not be opened in this matter, otherwise it will cause endless disasters. We should do our best to dissuade them."
“That’s right.”
…
Some people did not express their opinions and acted as peacemakers.
"The emperor and the ministers in the court must have already made a decision on this matter, so we don't need to worry too much."
"Let's just wait and see. Let's just wait and see."
…
As Tao Te Ching spread throughout the world, heated debates broke out in various parts of Daxuan.
There are countless scenes similar to the one in Zhuangyuan Building today.
Li Fan knew that it would be impossible to change the minds of the people in a short period of time.
Now, it's just the beginning.
But Li Fan was not worried at all that things would not be done.
In today's world, it is the scholars who hold the power of speech after all.
With countless classics as bait, Li Fan was not afraid that these scholars would not submit.
What's more, Li Fan doesn't ask for their support, as long as they don't jump out to oppose it.
…
While secretly seeking to conquer the world, Li Fan was also gradually increasing the influence of the School of Visiting Ancient Things among the secular world.
Six years after the Anchor, the Emperor suddenly fell seriously ill and was bedridden. The imperial doctors were helpless. At this time, the Ancient School came to see the Emperor with an elixir. They said that the elixir was found in an ancient tomb and was suspected to be left by an immortal. It has the effect of reviving the dead. Taking it may save the emperor.
The emperor ignored it at first, but as his health deteriorated day by day and he was about to die, he still took the pill with the mentality of trying everything possible.
Who would have thought that the elixir was so effective that the emperor recovered within a few days.
The whole court was shocked, and the ministers were talking about it.
The emperor even summoned the leader of the ancient school to the palace at night to ask him about the immortals. He did not attend court for several days.
Since then, the emperor has firmly believed in the existence of immortals. He secretly instructed his core members in the army to cooperate with the ancient exploration school to search for traces of immortals in ancient tombs.
Nine years later, the Ancient Visiting School held an exhibition in Xuanjing City and invited ministers and princes and nobles in the capital to watch.
Although these people were also very wealthy and knowledgeable, after seeing the rare treasures in the exhibition, they were all immersed in it and reluctant to leave.
After that, the school of visiting ancient relics relaxed the restrictions, and ordinary people could enter one of the pavilions as long as they bought a ticket.
Xuanjing City was suddenly in an uproar.
Countless people lined up to enter the exhibition to take a look at the treasures. There were so many people that the roads in the capital were blocked. Fortunately, the emperor issued an order and the garrison battalion maintained order with armor, so there was no greater riot.
The grand event lasted for more than half a month.
After that, the exhibition not only did not stop, but began to travel around and was held in various places in Daxuan.
Eleven years later, Jianghuai Prefecture cracked a vicious tomb-robbing case and arrested a tomb-robbing team of more than a hundred people.
This group of people excavated ancient tombs in the deep mountains, causing incalculable losses.
According to the law, all of these people should be sentenced to death.
However, the case involved too many people and involved too many people. Li Fan, the governor of Jianghuai Prefecture, did not dare to make a decision on his own. He wrote a letter and had it sent to Xuanjing City at an express speed of 800 miles, asking the emperor to make a decision.
Some ministers were extremely angry when they heard the news, and wrote a letter to the emperor requesting immediate execution.
However, strangely, the vast majority of court officials remained silent at this moment.
The emperor also suppressed all the memorials and did not make any statement.
A full month passed before the emperor's edict finally arrived.
He was not sentenced to death, but only to slavery and imprisonment in the capital.
Almost no ministers in the court wrote letters of opposition.
Li Fan looked at the imperial edict and smiled slightly, knowing that the situation was set.
(End of this chapter)
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