Chapter 248: Teach Seriously, Learn Seriously

In Wangluo Garden, when the actions of the God-Slaying Division finally came to a halt, the merchants of Qian Guangyun's faction, who had nothing to do with the matter, were still worried.

This was because too many people were arrested today, one batch after another. As a result, everyone was worried that they would eventually be arrested and taken to the God-Slaying Division.

When the morning light rose, the actions of the God-Slaying Division gradually slowed down. After all, it took time to arrest so many people and search their houses.

Qian Guangyun's expression changed from solemn at the beginning to a faint smile, and he even had the mood to order his servants to prepare breakfast for the businessmen present.

When the hot noodles, porridge, tofu pudding, soy milk and fried dough sticks were served one by one.

The businessmen also realized that this matter would not involve them. They couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and many of them even looked at Qian Guangyun with gratitude.

Only when something really happens can we know who the true Buddha is.

Other chambers of commerce are now in a state of unrest, but the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, which has been denounced as a traitor in recent days, can eat breakfast in peace. This is all thanks to President Qian!

Without President Qian in charge, there's no telling what will happen to the Southeast Chamber of Commerce.

When the servants served breakfast, Qian Guangyun looked around and said with a smile, "Do you all know why you are still sitting here? Can you sit here and enjoy your breakfast peacefully?"

"It's all thanks to President Qian."

Qian Guangyun shook his head slightly.

Someone who was thoughtful immediately said, "It's all Zhou..."

Before he could finish the three words "Inspector Zhou", Qian Guangyun interrupted and said, "This is for everyone to abide by the law!"

Although everyone didn't quite understand, but once Qian Guangyun set the tone, everyone immediately agreed and vaguely understood that Zhou Tieyi should not be mentioned in this matter.

When everyone quieted down, Qian Guangyun sneered, "Although we abide by the law, many people do not. This group of merchants actually want to burn warehouses and raise prices. They are really the black sheep among our merchants!"

"For this black sheep, we should eradicate its roots and act in the name of justice!"

He looked at the crowd again.

The purchase of shops, grain and cloth in the past few days have caused great losses to his business. Fortunately, it is only a few days, and with Qian Guangyun's background as the president of the Southeast Chamber of Commerce, he can still bear it.

Although they know that they will earn back a hundred or a thousand times in the end, there is no businessman who does not care about his own capital chain.

Before, he had hinted to the people under the Southeast Chamber of Commerce to do things to supplement his working capital. However, apart from his own confidants, there were many factions within the Southeast Chamber of Commerce. Everyone was more on the sidelines and did not want to place a bet easily.

Now the situation has become intense. If they continue to wait and see, they will need to be cleared out...

Qian Guangyun's smile became kinder. "You all understand what I mean, right? Lord Zhou taught me to be impartial and abide by the law. I hope you all will also be impartial and abide by the law, and at the same time, cut off the roots of those lawless elements."

Just do what I do. Don't be indecisive. This is your last chance!
Many businessmen understood what was said instantly. Their expressions were greedy and fearful, as despicable as a group of thieves being driven to the dining table.

Qian Guangyun pointed to the table full of dishes and said, "Everyone, let's eat."

The merchants looked at the table full of food and began to tremble all over. The greed in their eyes overwhelmed the fear.

Compared to what you eat, the tax you pay is so little!

······
Confiscating property takes time, but when cartloads of valuables are sealed and transported back to the Zhushen Division like a long dragon escorted by Zhushen Division soldiers in brocade uniforms, all the time spent is worth it.

In the warehouse yard, Jiao Guoping thought he had seen money before, but when he actually saw the wealthy merchants in Tianjing being ransacked and their families being exterminated, and when the carriages carrying wealth and goods lined up in a long queue, he still held his breath slightly.

Zhou Tieyi was eating breakfast on the side and complained, "It's a pity that many of their properties are in the local area. We don't have enough manpower to confiscate the local land and warehouses. If we let the local pacification envoys do it, we will probably only have 50% left. They are really too greedy!"

Jiao Guoping was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard Zhou Tieyi scolding the local pacification envoy for being greedy. For a moment, he didn't know whether to agree with him or to comfort him.

"Master Zhou, with so much money, I'm afraid we need to report it to the Ministry of Revenue..."

There was naturally awe in Jiao Guoping's tone towards Zhou Tieyi.

Less than a month had passed, and even though Jiao Guoping knew that Zhou Tieyi was powerful, he had never expected that he would be so convinced.

When had their God-Slaying Division ever been so powerful?

When had their warehouse ever been so prosperous?

Wei Shaoan is actually a great threat to the God-Punishment Department!

Zhou Tieyi swallowed his breakfast, took the towel and wiped his mouth and palms, then said, "Master Jiao, how come you are confused at the critical moment!"

Jiao Guoping gave a bitter smile. With such a huge sum of money, I couldn't help but be confused.

Without you to support me, if the Ministry of Revenue really sends people to investigate me, how can I withstand it?

"Master Zhou, please explain this to me."

Zhou Tieyi sighed, "The Ministry of Revenue has trouble with money and grain, so they owe us salaries. We can certainly understand this, but we have so many warriors, small flags, and general flags working hard in the front. It is really unreasonable not to pay them. Even the emperor can afford hungry soldiers. I think it is better to report the confiscated money to the account of the Ministry of Revenue first, and then we will keep a verified account book, and report it to the Ministry of Revenue after it is fully counted. This is also a win-win solution."

Jiao Guoping swallowed his saliva and said, "The Ministry of Revenue sent someone to check the account books..."

Zhou Tieyi sneered, "It's hard to check the assets of these criminals. Many of them involve industries outside Tianjing. We haven't arrested all the people in the God-Slaying Division yet, and haven't checked the money and land clearly. Why are they causing trouble? Let's spend a year or two to check it out first. As for them going to the emperor to complain... I know how to deal with it."

Jiao Guoping nodded, "I know what to do."

Zhou Tieyi added, "By the way, my God-Slaying Division didn't do anything before, so it was normal to receive a basic salary, but now that we have started to do something, the Treasury Department must also come up with a reform plan and compensate the people below."

"How to change?"

Zhou Tieyi looked at the bright sunshine outside. "For example, in this hot summer, ice is indispensable. Ice is expensive in summer, at least one tael of silver per pound of ice, and once it is used, it is gone."

"Every time we go on a mission, we lose a lot of weapons. We have to purchase more from the Huwei Weaponry. We also have to work overtime at night. Of course, we can't let the people below starve. And so on... By the way, my horse Jueying has made great contributions to this matter. The food and necessities he usually eats should also be reimbursed to the account. Lord Jiao, do you understand what I mean?"

Jiao Guoping sighed and bowed, "Thank you for your advice."

······
The setting sun cast a red glow over the entire middle of Yujing Mountain.

The evening drum sounded, and the students of the Imperial Academy finished their lessons one by one. As soon as they walked out of the school, they heard someone shouting outside, the voice was no less than that of the evening drum, "Newspapers for sale, freshly-baked newspapers, first come, first served!"

newspaper?

Isn’t the Awakening News coming out tomorrow?
Many people looked over with confusion.

I saw Zhang San sitting on a stool with his shirt half-open, and next to him were two thousand newspapers, just like a melon farmer selling melons on the roadside.

It’s just that Zhang San, the melon farmer, is a famous sixth-rank farmer, so he was born with a loud voice.

As a madman, Zhang San has done many extraordinary things, so when he suddenly sat down and sold newspapers today, no one was surprised, but at the same time they were curious and wanted to see what kind of thing Zhang San was going to do today.

"Zhang San, you won't be able to sell this newspaper this late."

Someone came over and teased with a smile.

Zhang San is used to ridiculing everyone on a daily basis, and no one can argue with him, so they just call him by his name when they see him.

Zhang San waved his hand and said, "Other people sell newspapers in the morning, and I can't sell as much as others, so I sell them in the evening, which can be regarded as avoiding their sharp edge."

Zhang San's words actually aroused more people's interest.

Zhang San is a madman, he actually said such words.

Some people have already walked forward and seen the huge font printed on the first edition.

"New Learning".

"Is this your own newspaper?"

Zhang San covered his sleeves and said, "You can't see it unless you buy it."

This aroused everyone's curiosity even more. Although Zhang San was annoying, he was never a stingy person.

"You really have changed your temper today." Zhang San said with a look of contempt, "If this newspaper of mine falls into the hands of a useful person, it will be worth a thousand gold coins. Of course, I won't allow others to read it casually."

A huge sum of money?
This really aroused everyone's curiosity. Even for students of Tai Academy, 1,000 gold is a lot of money, so more people gathered around him. Word spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Soon, Zhang San was surrounded by people.

"Then how do you sell this newspaper?"

"Today's issue costs one ounce of silver."

One tael of silver was already an extremely high price, but it was still an affordable amount for the students of Taixue Academy. Moreover, Zhang San spoke so confidently. For many children of wealthy families, even if they were cheated, it was worth spending one tael of silver to criticize Zhang San.

So they shouted one by one, "Zhang San, give me a newspaper."

Zhang San began to distribute newspapers and urged those who held the newspapers, "Read them aside and don't disturb my business."

In less than an incense stick of time, the two thousand newspapers were almost sold out, and even many lecturers from the Tai College bought one.

Many people who bought the newspaper earlier started passing it around. Zhang San ignored the scolding, thinking that he had earned back the money he had earned from buying the newspaper today.

Not that he really wanted to make much money from the newspaper.

Instead, he discovered that the newspaper run by Zhou Tieyi could gradually become self-sufficient.

This is very important, so the newspaper he publishes must move in a direction that can reconcile the accounts from the very beginning.

Even though he was just groping for methods in this process, at least it was more useful than those idiots who could only shout about benevolence, righteousness and morality.

Zhang San was counting the money and thinking. The first person had already finished reading Zhang San's newspaper.

"You actually published his article in your newspaper!"

Wang Mingyi's junior fellow apprentice Gou Yishen angrily clenched the newspaper, clenched his fist, and rushed towards Zhang San.

"Foolishness."

The sixth quality of famous writers, "words of truth", can, on the one hand, allow language to influence the environment through spirit, and on the other hand, can strengthen the characteristics of things themselves.

What Zhang San strengthened was Gou Yishen's "stupid" characteristic.

The word "stupid" was directly imprinted in Gou Yishen's mind. As a Confucian of the seventh rank, Gou Yishen's mind was filled with Confucian classics that turned into illusory, translucent white necklaces, trying to resist Zhang San's attack.

If it is used to deal with other evil ways, it is naturally enough and can even rebound the damage.

But Zhang San's understanding of Confucian classics is much deeper than Gou Yi's. Even though he gave up his own Confucian practice, he still retained his understanding of Tao.

That word "stupid" directly turned into thousands, transforming into the problems of the Confucian classics themselves.

These questions were not rejected by Bai Shi Yingluo, but instead combined with Bai Shi Yingluo to question Gou Yishen.

These questions were already profound and obscure, and coupled with the word "stupid", they became even more troubling to Gou Yishen's mind.

He just felt his head swelling. All the knowledge that he didn't understand in his daily life filled his mind and occupied his actions, to the point that he couldn't even control his body.

After dozens of breaths, when the sound of Zhang San's word "ignorant" completely disappeared from his mind, Gou Yishen regained control of his body. He looked at Zhang San, who seemed to be smiling, and his face flushed. He realized the gap between himself and Zhang San.

He took two steps back and ran towards the teaching building.

Since I can't stop Zhang San from spreading that person's knowledge, there are people who can stop him.

There is an old saying that goes, if you have any questions, find a teacher!

After Gou Yishen, the troublemaker, was driven away, the others stepped forward with complicated expressions and took a deep breath. "If we can solve the problem and surpass his article, will you also publish it in the newspaper?"

Zhang San smiled and said, "If it is a good article, I will publish it in the newspaper. As for whether it can surpass his article "On Teachers", it will be judged by the world. Don't worry, if it can be surpassed, I will give it a huge sum of money and also give it some treasures for cultivation."

A reward of a thousand gold is offered just for an article that is better than "On Teachers". Although it is a topic-based essay, everyone also wants to give it a try.

Most of the students at Tai Academy were drawn to the 1,000-gold reward for their writing, while the rest, because of their family involvement, were watching the news about the warehouse burning case.

Although "New Learning" published an article about the warehouse burning case, the language was extremely concise and without any subjective color, but it made clear the cause and effect of the events of the past two days.

On one side is the unscrupulous Zhou Tieyi, and on the other side are the daring businessmen.

For a moment, the students of Tai Academy didn’t know who to scold, and they just thought, it would be best to let them fight each other!
Some students wanted to buy a few more copies of the newspaper to bring back to their families, but Zhang San said that there were only so many. In desperation, they could only copy down the key points.

This article, which was limited in quantity, had its own gimmick, and was timely, became a hot commodity. Half an hour later, the first wave of people who copied it copied it again, and it spread from the student class.

······
In Zuo Zhisheng's classroom, Zhang San was selling newspapers outside. Of course, he heard it, but he couldn't control Zhang San as a student, and now he didn't want to control him anymore, so he didn't want to join in the fun.

During this period, as Zhou Tieyi's reputation grew, he understood more and more why Che Wenyuan sighed for him several times on the Wu Yu stage that day.

I feel like I have really done something wrong. I have done some things wrong over the years.

Although it is said that it is easy to change the country, it is difficult to change one's nature.

But the death of a colleague who had worked with you for twenty years could still change a person's mind, especially when it seemed that he could change everything back then.

Dean Zhang Shizhong did not blame him or punish him, but this made Zuo Zhisheng more and more confused recently, to the point that he even scolded students almost nothing.

“I haven’t figured it out myself, how can I teach others?”

Zuo Zhisheng sighed to himself. He suddenly had an urge to leave this Taixue Academy and leave the cage of fame and fortune of being a Doctor of the Five Classics that he had always dreamed of. Perhaps only in this way would he be able to figure out this problem.

"Master Zuo! Master Zuo!"

Gou Yishen’s urgent shout brought Zuo Zhisheng back to reality.

Zuo Zhisheng frowned slightly and looked at his disciple Che Wenyuan. If he had yelled so loudly in the past, he would have definitely scolded him, but now he just sighed slightly, "What's the matter?"

Gou Yishen placed the crumpled newspaper in front of Zuo Zhisheng, "Look at Zhang San! He even published that person's article in the newspaper and distributed it to the students of Tai Academy!"

Which person?
Zuo Zhisheng took the newspaper with doubt, put it on the table, and then spread it out. With the sunset glow coming in from the window, he saw the three words "Zhou Tieyi". His pupils shrank instinctively, but he did not make a direct judgment as before. Instead, he carefully read "On Teachers".

After watching it, Zuo Zhisheng stood like a statue in the setting sun.

Gou Yishen waited for a long time, but there was no reply from Zuo Zhisheng, so he hurriedly called out, "Master Zuo, Master Zuo!"

This suddenly woke Zuo Zhisheng up, but the confusion in Zuo Zhisheng's eyes did not diminish. He looked at Gou Yishen, thought of Zhou Tieyi who wrote the article, and abruptly recited the words in the article, "So the saint is still a saint, and the fool is still a fool..."

He sat down slowly and said to himself, "A teacher is supposed to teach, accept students and answer questions. What exactly have I been teaching all these years? Can I be a teacher?"

······
At night, Simin Mansion.

The people of Tianjing did not feel it, but officials of all ranks understood that a real political storm was beginning to gather, waiting for tomorrow's court meeting to officially explode.

In the study, an official eagerly took out a newspaper and handed it over, "Mr. Dong, take a look."

Dong Xingshu took the "Xin Bao" and read it carefully. After reading it, he didn't say anything.

Most of the children or relatives present were studying at Tai Academy, so they naturally had obtained the "New News".

If it were a few days ago, they would definitely criticize the students who published this newspaper.

But now they are more concerned about what this represents, whether Zhou Tieyi is behind this, and whether this is the beginning of another conspiracy by Zhou Tieyi. Therefore, they dare not act rashly, fearing that they will end up like those businessmen and unable to escape.

"Who publishes this newspaper?"

Many people looked at Zhang Shizhong, the president of Taixue Academy.

Zhang Shizhong sighed, stood up and said, "It's Wang Mingyi and Zhang San."

Dong Xingshu nodded and criticized, "You are too young, and a little eager for quick success, so you think things are too simple. If you write like this, it will easily cause everyone's worries. But your heart is good, you have to teach them more, so that they won't be taken advantage of."

He lifted it up gently, and then put it down gently, as if to pass over the matter.

(End of this chapter)