Chapter 622: The True Reformers of Confucianism
After the Dragon Bone Avenue landed, Hao Ren, who was wearing golden and luxurious clothes, wiped the non-existent sweat from his head, then put away the Dragon Bone Avenue and said with a smile, “There is a Sleeping Dragon Ban in this inner city. Without the Dragon Bone Avenue, even if the Naraku Ghost Emperor wants to chase him in directly, it will take some time.”

Then his eyes fell on the third-rank who followed in. He treated them all equally, whether they were from Daxia or the Shinto sect. “As for what you want to do during this time, you can do it. I will not stop you.”

His words aroused the suspicion of the third-rank people around him. In this dream, the third-rank novelist Sha Wu could even exert the combat power of the second-rank with the help of the power of the dream rules, so he had just caught up with Hao Ren’s Dragon Bone Avenue. When he heard that Hao Ren didn’t care about the people on the Shinto side, he couldn’t help but say, “Is this what Lord Zhou meant?”

“The Heavenly Lord has traveled to the blood sea in the east and has not returned yet, so how can he issue an order?”

Deng Zhenquan, a Confucian scholar of the third rank, hurriedly said, “Then please Director Hao, please put the people of the world first and stop the gods from awakening the drought demon!”

With the establishment of the General Administration of Railways, Hao Ren naturally became the right director. At this time, the Confucian people called Hao Ren the director, naturally wanting to win Hao Ren over. Although he didn’t know how far Hao Ren’s strength had progressed, it was really horrifying that the secret treasure just now could directly affect the power of the two Ghost Emperors.

Hao Ren laughed and looked at the Chief Censor of the Censorate. Before he could answer, the evil god next to him sneered, “Now you in Daxia know to put the people of the world first. Why didn’t your emperor of Daxia put the people of the world first when he wanted to live forever? Since Yanhuang God has not issued an order, it means that He has acquiesced to the development of this matter. Let the people of the world see what kind of people the emperor of Daxia is!”

The evil god spoke righteously and was also trying to win over Hao Ren. After all, Zhou Tieyi’s dual identity made him and his men vulnerable to attacks from all sides, and he would also be won over by both sides. Anyway, for Zhou Tieyi, as long as he could follow one path to the end, he could become a saint.

The evil god seized this opportunity and immediately attacked the Great Xia court. “Manager Hao, don’t be fooled by these beasts in human clothing. The Yanhuang God traveled east to the Blood Sea and fought a fierce battle with someone in the Blood Sea before disappearing. Everyone knows who that person is.”

“The Great Xia royal family spent ten generations burying ten drought demons. This is definitely not for the sake of the people of the world. There must be a shocking conspiracy. The battle between the God and the Great Xia Emperor is at a critical moment. If this conspiracy is not uncovered, I am afraid that even if the people of the world are saved, there will be no place for the God lineage in the future!”

“On the contrary, on our side, the God is the most ancient god, one of the nine ancient gods. Now he has accomplished the feat of uniting gods and immortals. If he overthrows the false dynasty of Daxia and reshapes the world, he will surely be able to make humans and gods live in harmony and stop the previous wars. This is the most suitable choice for the God!”

The Phantom Priest is good at bewitching people, and the Evil God, as a subordinate god of the Phantom Priest, is no less good in this regard. His words are flawless and more reasonable than the Confucianists’ threat to the people of the world.

Deng Zhenquan was about to open his mouth to argue when he heard Hao Ren wave his hand and say, “Okay, everyone, I won’t get involved in this matter. If you want to fight here first, I’ll make room for you.”

After saying this, Hao Ren’s figure gradually faded, and with the help of the [Yanhuang Tongbao]’s ability to conceal the secrets, he disappeared without a trace.

At the moment when Hao Ren’s figure disappeared, the Evil God and the third-grade gods around him also disappeared. In this dream, the strength that the Evil God can exert is even higher than that of the third-grade sand wizard of the novelist, and he is not interested in fighting life and death with Deng Zhenquan here.

Deng Zhenquan looked solemnly in the direction where the evil spirit disappeared. He did not rush to chase after it. Instead, he turned to Li Jianhu and said, “You can see the current situation. If the gods release the drought demon, the world will be devastated!”

As the chief judge, Deng Zhenquan has an extraordinary ability to perceive things. Although Hao Ren said that he would not help either side, since he helped Li Jianhu, it means that there must be something about Li Jianhu that Zhou Tieyi cares about. Now it is very important to win over Li Jianhu.

Li Jianhu knew relatively little information and was still digesting the explosive news. After all, he came to the Fourth Yama Hall only at the invitation of the panda Qin Jiangxue and thought it was a hint from Zhou Tieyi.

But now it seems that the things buried in the Fourth Yama Palace will plunge the world, which is already full of chaos, into greater chaos.

He said with a slightly bitter voice, “Did the emperors of Daxia really turn into drought demons in order to achieve immortality?”

His expression was painful. Before he came into contact with the real upper class, his previous education told him that the emperors of Daxia were saints and the masters of the world. It was because of the emperors of Daxia who suppressed the world that the people could live and work in peace.

But his experiences over the past year or so overturned this fact. This generation of Great Xia emperors gave up the holy throne of Yujing Mountain for immortality, which plunged the world into turmoil. The previous Great Xia emperors now seem not to be selfless. For the sake of immortality, they all turned into creatures like Hanba that were neither human nor ghost, hiding underground and plotting conspiracies.

Deng Zhenquan was silent for a while, then answered evasively, “All people in the world are innocent.”

Deng Zhenquan had always been nice to Li Jianhu when he was investigating the Moshi case, and later on he was almost like a semi-teacher to Li Jianhu, giving him secret treasures and favors, so when Deng Zhenquan said that, Li Jianhu found it difficult to refute.

“I don’t care about the people of this world!”

Qin Jiangxue saw that the young man Li Jianhu was about to be led by Deng Zhenquan. Of course, he would not let this trump card in his hand be taken away by others. He immediately interrupted defiantly, then turned to Li Jianhu and said, “Little Li, don’t take you so seriously. We are just here to get benefits. As for what the emperors of Daxia will become and whether they will be released, it is for them, the red and purple clothes, to worry about. If they have to die, they will die first and then you will go. Don’t be sold out and help them count money.”

After saying that, he pulled Li Jianhu inside. He came in with two missions this time.

Li Jianhu was pulled by Qin Jiangxue. He hesitated for a moment, bowed to Deng Zhenquan, and then turned and left.

Deng Zhenquan watched Li Jianhu leave but did not try to stop him, because in order to prevent Hanba from coming into the world, Li Jianhu would definitely need to actively cooperate, otherwise it would be useless to force Li Jianhu to stay.

Novelist Sha Wu watched Li Jianhu leave, and said to Deng Zhenquan anxiously, “Mr. Deng…”

After Li Jianhu’s figure disappeared in the thick fog covered by the sleeping dragon, Deng Zhenquan said in a serious tone, “Don’t worry, that kid is right. We have to do this first and set an example for the world. Otherwise, how can we win the trust of the people? The Li family of Da Xia has lost the hearts of the people, but we Confucians cannot lose the hearts of the people!” As soon as he said this, the other third-rank officials of Da Xia were slightly shocked. This was already a rebellious statement.

However, the Third Rank has become the backbone of all schools of thought. They are not as panicked about changes of dynasties as the common people. Even if a dynasty changes, as long as their doctrines can continue to be passed down, it makes no difference.

After all, the Great Xia Dynasty only lasted for a total of three hundred years. In this world of successful spiritual practice, even a Confucian who was not good at the art of immortality could live over 140 years old at the top three levels. Therefore, the grandfathers of many people present actually experienced the entire era of the Five Kingdoms of the North and the South.

Legalist Cui Wanxia said subconsciously, “Mr. Deng…”

Deng Zhenquan raised his hand. This time, the dark dream helped him make many decisions.

“The chaos is inevitable.”

Deng Zhenquan sighed, then said firmly, “If it was a year ago, I would have thought that as long as we could suppress the Zhou party, we could end the chaos in the world. But then, even though Zhou Tieyi has been helping to maintain stability in the world, his disappearance in the past month or two has proved that the world is bound to be in chaos. Whether it is the arrangement of the divine way, the revival of the Five Emperors’ Daoism, or even the hidden dangers of the Great Xia Dynasty itself, they have all surfaced one by one.”

“Even the Gods and Heavenly Lords can only suppress and delay the entire process. If we still pin our hopes on the Great Xia Saint as before, what’s the difference between that and trying to cover up one’s own mistakes!”

Cui Wanxia suddenly realized why he dragged her into this matter of the Fourth Yama Palace. What Deng Zhenquan wanted to do was to prevent the birth of the drought demon.

But if it is impossible to prevent the birth of Hanba, then for Deng Zhenquan, a Confucian, this itself is a symbol of destiny!
Cui Wanxia looked at Deng Zhenquan. At this moment, the aura on Deng Zhenquan’s body became heavier, as if connected to the earth. Cui Wanxia blurted out, “You broke through to the second level?”

As the chief Confucian official, Deng Zhenquan is already a leader among the third-rank officials. Last year, he participated in the Moshi case and traveled around the local area with Zhou Tieyi and Wang Mingyi.

If Wang Mingyi was able to gain huge benefits from Zhou Tieyi’s reforms, then Deng Zhenquan, the Confucian Constitutionalist, would naturally not be without any gains.

Last October, in the Government Affairs Hall in Pingjindu, three great Confucian scholars, Deng Zhenquan, Yao Qin of Huxin Academy, and Lu Shanqing of Lulin Academy, discussed Zhou Tieyi’s reforms. At that time, Deng Zhenquan was already moved, so he said, “It would be great if Zhou Tieyi could return to Confucianism.”

But at that time, there were strong voices in the court opposing Zhou Tieyi. Si Min Dong Xingshu secretly supported the new Confucianists, and the Minister of Education Tang Anshi represented the stubborn conservatives. With the suppression of these two people, even if Deng Zhenquan wanted to do something, he did not find an opportunity.

However, within a few months, the situation in the court changed again and again. First, Tang Anshi stabbed Dong Xingshu in the back, and then Dong Xingshu joined forces with Zhou Tieyi to dismiss Tang Anshi from office. However, Dong Xingshu also lost a lot of power, so there were more ideas among the various Confucian factions.

In particular, the three Confucian scholars Deng Zhenquan, Yao Qin and Lu Qingshan have vaguely formed a new school of thought.

Huxin Academy is in Tangzhou Prefecture, and Lulin Academy is in Shantong Prefecture. Both are at the forefront of the reform. However, Yao Qin and Lu Shanqing’s quick turnaround meant that the Confucian students in the two places were not cleared out, and they all began to study Zhou Tieyi’s doctrines.

As “old guys”, Yao Qin and Lu Shanqing naturally have the advantages of old guys. That is, during the process of this school of thought shift, Dong Xingshu’s attitude was still unclear at that time. The two naturally seized Deng Zhenquan, the central official with whom they had reached a consensus, and thus obtained the news from the central government and the power to speak in the central government!
With the secret support of the two major colleges, Deng Zhenquan actually already had an exaggerated idea!

Although he and Wang Mingyi were both Confucian “reformists”, Wang Mingyi’s theory still supported the rule of the Li family of Daxia and tried to repair a dynasty that was about to collapse, because Wang Mingyi was the orthodox descendant of Dong Xingshu and the representative of the central government’s interests!
But with the support of local colleges, Deng Zhenquan, although also an important central government official, saw another path for Confucianism!

Now, because of Zhou Tieyi, Tangzhou Prefecture and Shantong Prefecture are actually semi-independent from the central court, but the people’s livelihood in the two places has not only not deteriorated, but has been getting better and better in this year of great disaster. Doesn’t this mean that even without the Great Xia court, as long as Confucianism can complete local reforms, it will naturally be able to establish a new dynasty!
This idea was so horrifying that Deng Zhenquan could not confirm it, but the appearance of Hanba gave him a chance to make a decision.

If Hanba does not appear, it proves that destiny is still with the Li family, and his idea is wrong. But if Hanba appears, it means that destiny is no longer with the Li family, and he naturally has to follow destiny!
Deng Zhenquan turned to look at Cui Wanxia and said, “The first Confucian quality is ‘establishing virtue’. What does establishing virtue mean?”

Cui Wanxia certainly knew, and answered solemnly, “Establish a mission for the people and leave the law for all eternity.”

Deng Zhenquan looked at the novelist Sha Wu next to him and said solemnly, “To establish virtue is not to be above the nobles. Therefore, although Jie and Zhou were emperors, they were not as good as Confucius, who was a minister. Please write a book for me.”

The reason why Sha Wu followed Deng Zhenquan here was that they had a life-and-death friendship. When Deng Zhenquan said this, he immediately understood what Deng Zhenquan was going to do.

Deng Zhenquan has already comprehended some of the principles of the second and first grades, but Confucianism has three levels: establishing words, establishing merit, and establishing virtue. With Deng Zhenquan’s accumulation, if he is given another ten years, or even a few years, he will be able to complete the level of establishing merit and touch the level of establishing virtue.

But there is simply not enough time for Deng Zhenquan now, so when he entered the Fourth Yama Palace, Deng Zhenquan wanted to take a risky move.

If he could prevent Hanba from being born, such an unprecedented feat would naturally enable him to complete the level of meritorious service, and at the same time would also help him touch the level of moral integrity.

In the real world, he can only complete it step by step, but now he is in a dream. The rules and logic of the dream itself are not strict, so Deng Zhenquan can complete the moral cultivation in advance with the help of the novelist. After all, Confucianism itself can replace the heart of heaven with its own heart when it reaches the fifth level of “pacifying the people”. At this time, if Deng Zhenquan forcibly uses the Great Xia official seal to arouse the dormant Great Xia dragon energy here and integrate the heart of heaven in this dream world, and suppress the drought demon with the help of the novelist, he can complete the reversal of cause and effect and achieve moral cultivation.

(End of this chapter)