Chapter 070: The World's Scholarship Emerges from Huang-Lao

  Lu Min, who was walking in the front, also noticed these two people. He slowed down his pace and looked at the officer beside him with a questioning gaze. The officer did not hesitate much and took a step closer to Lu Min, lowering his voice to say: "I dare to inform you, sir, that they are from the Taiping Sect."

  "Oh." Lu Min responded with a slight frown, scanning the officer before turning to walk towards the other side of the city wall. The officer followed closely behind him, nodding slightly in greeting.

  Lu Min seemed to have forgotten the existence of the two, but didn't ask anything either. He simply pointed at Guancheng and asked some simple questions, then inquired about the daily life of the guards inside Guancheng, before falling into a long silence.

  The atmosphere on the city wall was a bit silent for a while, and the middle-aged man felt this discord. He took the green-clothed woman with a look of disdain down from the city gate. When the footsteps disappeared under the city, Lu Min let out a light breath and pointed to the city wall that extended to both sides of the mountain slope, asking: "What if enemies appear on both sides of the mountain slope?"

  The officer wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied respectfully: "Sir, you don't know that we also have watchtowers on the mountain. Look over there, there is a small stone house where someone is on guard day and night. In addition, inside the pass, there are soldiers who patrol at regular intervals, ten people per team, as far away as outside the valley. If the nomads come to attack, it's possible for a few scouts to sneak up the mountain, but if there are many people, it's hard to escape our eyes."

  He detailed the defense situation of Guanzhong to Lu Min, from how many garrison soldiers there were to what resistance measures would be taken in case of war, all of which were explained very clearly. Lu Min nodded repeatedly as he listened, and even Liu Xiu felt that his knowledge had been greatly broadened, never having thought that a small pass city like this could have so many things going on.

  "Sir, dinner is ready." A soldier who looked over fifty years old came up and greeted him.

  The officer listened and hastily invited: "Mr. Lu has come from afar, it's not easy, why don't you have a meal first, and then I'll explain the details to you later?"

  Lu Min nodded in satisfaction, chuckled and said: "This is very good. Although I have not finished speaking, I cannot delay everyone's meal. And this... Ah yes, I haven't asked for your honorable surname and name yet."

  The officer suddenly showed a smile and hastily said politely: "My humble name dares not pollute your noble ears. However, since Mr. Lu has asked, I dare not refuse to answer. My name is Xie Guanglong, and I am the official in charge of this Ju Yong Pass."

  "Xie Guanglong?" Lu Min raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly, without saying anything else, and walked down the stairs.

  "This kid is lucky." Liu Bei followed behind Liu Xiu, saying in a low voice: "As long as the master mentions his name in front of the Taishou of Shanggu, his promotion will be a matter of course."

  Liu Xiu smiled, although he wasn't very clear about the official positions of the Great Han, but from the enthusiasm shown by Xie Guanglong, this Guan Yu should be meaningless. Every day, guarding this pass, wind and rain, which is more comfortable than the city? Occasionally coming to experience one or two days may be fresh, but staying for a long time will definitely get bored. Moreover, the Great Han now attaches importance to civil officials and despises military officials. The famous general Duan Jie has made such great contributions, but still needs to flatter eunuchs to become an official. This small Guan Yu is even more hopeless.

  In comparison, Lu Min is just a commoner, but his father Lu Zhi was a great Confucian scholar who had held several high-ranking official positions of 2,000 dan. As long as Lu Zhi comes out again, Lu Min will eventually enter the imperial court as a lang, and once he is sent to an external position, even if it's not less than this Guan Yu, he will be at least one level higher, and his future can be said to be bright.

  The emergence of a great Confucian scholar can turn a humble family into a prominent one, and this is where the appeal of Confucianism lies. As the saying goes, "Leaving behind a thousand pieces of gold for one's son is not as good as leaving behind a single classic."

  "Thank you, sir. This is a key city and a strategic location, with strict defenses. Ordinary people can't stay here overnight, right?" Lu Min asked casually as he descended the city wall, "We've imposed on you today."

  "It's nothing, it's nothing. With Mr. being here for a night, the whole city will gain some face." Xie Guanglong's face was radiant with joy, and his attitude became even more respectful. He smiled and said in a low voice, "Mr. Lu is right, this place... indeed doesn't allow ordinary people to stay. Those two... are friends of the governor."

  He spoke in a very low voice, and if it wasn't for Liu Xiu's good hearing, he almost couldn't hear what he was saying. Lu Min let out an unexpected "oh" and turned her head to look at Xie Guanglong, who looked somewhat embarrassed, nodded thoughtfully, and didn't ask anything else.

  Liu Xiu had been following Lu Min for quite some time and was very familiar with his bookish temper. Although Lu Min seemed to show no particular expression, he was obviously very dissatisfied with the two Taiping Taoists staying in Guanzhong City. However, he did not want to say much to Xie Guanglong, the governor of Guan, and instead wanted to blame the prefect of Shanggu who had dealings with the Taiping Taoists.

  A governor and a Taiping rebel are friends? Liu Xiu's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously turned his head to glance at Mao Jiang. Mao Jiang didn't notice him, but Liu He followed up from behind, smiling ambiguously as he looked at him: "De Ran, you exchanged glances with those two just now, did you have any feeling?"

  Liu Xiu was taken aback and asked cautiously: "What feeling?"

  Liu smiled, stroking his short beard under his chin, looked around at the people, and then naturally slowed down. Liu Xiu understood and also slowed down his pace, falling behind. After everyone had descended the steps and followed Xie Guanglong into the main hall, Liu He smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that person should be the one from Shangu Valley."

  Liu Xiumu silently looked at him, quietly listening to what came next.

  Liu He stood in the shadow of the city wall, unable to see his face, but felt that his voice was somewhat ethereal: "It is said that among the eight disciples of the Taiping Sect who preached in all directions, each used one of the Eight Trigrams as their title. Youzhou is located in the northeast, which corresponds to the Zhen Trigram."

  Liu Xiu suddenly enlightened, nodded repeatedly, and Mao Jiang had pointed it out to him before, the carriage indeed had a shock trigram.

  "It is said that this disciple, who preaches in Youzhou, is skilled at using incantations to heal people." Liu He's eyes shone with an unusual light: "The governor of Shangguo, Gong Shaofu, was also a master of the Taoist arts. His father was well-versed in the art of divination by astrology and his calculations were always accurate. When he was the magistrate of Hongnong, the area east of the Three Auxiliaries was flooded, but the people of Hongnong were spared because this Governor Gong had calculated when the flood would come and had the people move to higher ground in advance, thus avoiding the disaster."

  "Is it really that amazing?" Liu Xiu was half-believing and half-doubtful, thinking that this was almost as good as the weather forecasts of later generations. He smiled and jokingly said: "I've heard that Governor Shi is a devout Confucian, with benevolence extending to the barbarians, but I didn't expect you to be so reverent towards such a stick."

  "Shén guàng?" Liu He was somewhat surprised, he stared at Liu Xiu for a long time, pondered the meaning of this word, and suddenly laughed, shaking his head: "You're wrong, this Gong Sunmu is not some kind of charlatan, his Confucianism is also extremely refined, and he has his own unique insights on Han poetry and Gongyang Spring and Autumn."

  "What... is he still messing around with that River Luo push... what technique?"

  "Heh heh, you don't understand this." Liu He covered his mouth with his hand, as if stifling a laugh. After a while, he raised his head and said: "Your husband studied classical literature, so it's not surprising that you wouldn't know about this. For scholars who study modern literature, the art of divination by river and lake is no less than the sacred scriptures. Your husband's teacher, Ma Fu Feng, was well-versed in this art, but compared to his top disciple Zheng Kang Cheng, he was slightly inferior. As for your husband..."

  Liu shook his head and stopped talking, but the meaning was very clear. Lu Zhi was obviously not up to par in this aspect, and compared with his teacher and that great Confucian scholar, he fell far short.

  "The Taoist arts originated from Huang-Lao." Liu He said, "The River Luo divination is also said to have originated from the Yellow Emperor. How can it be summarized by a single formula? However, if you have the opportunity to visit the Imperial Academy in Luoyang, you will learn more. Most of our Han dynasty's most learned scholars are there or have studied there."