Chapter 9 Immortality and Power

The layout of Tianjing is unique.

The main city was built on Yujing Mountain, and the Golden Palace was hidden halfway up the mountain. The high-rise building with double eaves overlooks the entire Heluo Plain.

Surrounding Yujing Mountain, there are four auxiliary cities, named Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque and Xuanwu respectively. Each of the four auxiliary cities has its own purpose. Baihu City was built along Luoshui River. It has always been the home of military heroes. Fierce generals led troops to guard the four directions, and their direct family members all lived in Baihu City.

It is called an auxiliary city, but from Zhou Tieyi's modern perspective, it is more like a top-level residential area with a pure circle.

It's just that the military heroes who founded the city back then wanted to restrict their descendants, so although there is no shortage of goods in Baihu City, there is not even a place to have fun.

The entire Baihu City has a population of only 300,000, but it covers a very large area. Take the Zhou family's Huwei General's Mansion as an example. Although it is only a second-class general's mansion, it covers an area of ​​3,000 acres. It not only has pavilions and towers, but also has its own barracks for the general's personal guards to live in when he returns home.

In this fantasy world, the emperor is really not afraid of rebellion by his subordinates. Zhou Tieyi sat in the Spider Tower and walked through the corner towers in General Huwei's Mansion. The towers were connected by carved railings and covered bridges.

Arriving at Shouyi Courtyard where Zhou's mother lived, the Spider Tower quietly descended and opened the hatch.

The lights in Shouyi Courtyard were on at this time, and it was obvious that Zhou's mother was waiting for her son to come back.

Zhou Tieyi straightened his clothes and recalled his memories with his mother. As the memories merged, it seemed as if they were the same person in past and present lives.

The story of Zhou's mother is also a legend. She was born out of the wild of a fisherman's wife. Even her father was unknown and she had no surname. But when she was six years old, she got a Taoist scripture by dissecting a fish. She learned Taoism without a teacher and started practicing Taoism from then on. Later, she became a nun in Taiyi Temple, took the Taoist name Yulong, and directly entered the fourth rank.

However, when everyone in the martial arts world thought that Zhou's mother would take over Taiyi Temple and get a glimpse of the upper third-grade wonderland, Zhou's mother returned to secular life and married the powerful general Zhou Qinlong. She gave birth to two sons in succession, which damaged her vitality and caused her to remain at the fourth grade.

"I am an unfilial child, causing my mother to suffer late at night for me."

Zhou Tieyi walked in, knelt in front of Zhou's mother and said that although his previous life was a playboy, he was extremely filial.

Mother Zhou was wearing a dark blue Taoist robe with a mysterious pattern and sitting on a rosewood soft chair with gold threads. As long as General Huwei did not return home, she would dress the same at home as when she was in the Taoist temple.

Looking at her youngest son, Zhou's mother snorted coldly, "If you are filial, you should study hard all night and pass the exam to get a good reputation, instead of hanging out in the red-light district and making enemies with others."

Zhou Tieyi stood up with a shameless face, walked to Zhou's mother, half-knelt down and massaged her legs, "Mother is right, but Second Uncle said that this matter is not my fault."

Zhou's mother was well-maintained, looking as if she was in her twenties. She frowned slightly and looked at Gongshu Sheng who was hiding in the shadows at the door. "What did Gongshu Steward tell you?"

Zhou Tieyi honestly repeated Gongshu Sheng's analysis. During this process, he was also trying to figure out why Gongshu Sheng had enlightened him today, while his mother seemed unaware of it.

After listening to her son, Zhou's mother looked at his face and asked seriously, "What do you think?"

Zhou Tieyi hesitated for a moment, and answered according to the original owner's personality, "I want to learn martial arts. I am already seventeen years old. It will be too late if I don't learn martial arts now."

The transition from martial arts practice to military practice is a smooth road. Before the age of twelve, children are not fully developed and their blood is unstable, which is not conducive to practicing martial arts. Between the ages of twelve and eighteen, their bones are growing, which is most suitable for strengthening the foundation.

"When the dynasty is prosperous, Confucianism is the right path."

Zhou's mother still wanted to persuade her son.

Zhou Tieyi thought about it seriously. If he could take advantage of the situation, he could practice Confucianism again.

The self that has integrated memories is not as stubborn as the original self.

But was he really suitable for practicing Confucianism? Zhou Tieyi asked himself.

In this world, practicing Confucianism does not mean you can rise to the top by just reciting a few lines of Tang poetry.

The most important thing is to establish virtue, the next is to establish merit, and finally the last is to establish words.

The Confucian way requires not only the recognition of the concept, but also the benefit of the people. There are countless people who have studied the classics for a lifetime, but few who can put knowledge into practice. Although I was not bad at studying in my previous life, I was just an average person. I spent three years as a student, three years as a scholar, and three years as a college student. Even if I practiced the Confucian way in the most perfect manner, it would take nine years to achieve qualitative change, which is simply not enough to cope with the current changes!

After a moment, Zhou Tieyi raised his head, not hiding his inner ambition, and said seriously, "I want immortality and power."

"Besides, even if you practice military science, you will have the opportunity to switch to Confucianism later."

The Confucian school has produced a saint. If the military school reaches the end, it will not be possible to become a saint. As a time traveler, Zhou Tieyi certainly wants to take a glimpse of the saint's realm that is as vast as the sun and the moon in the sky.

Mother Zhou laughed in silence, "You are wishful thinking. It is possible for a military strategist to switch to a Confucianist, but for this kind of cultivator, the fourth rank is already the limit, and it is difficult to reach the highest level."

"why?"

“Because the Confucian scholars do not approve of it.”

Zhou Tieyi pondered this sentence carefully.

In the previous life’s imperial examination system, it was understandable that civil officials would not approve of military officers who wanted to switch to internal affairs, but why is there so much partisanship in this transcendent world?

Moreover, can it be difficult for practitioners to make progress simply by not being recognized?
What exactly does Confucianism cultivate?
Just when Zhou Tieyi was thinking about it, Zhou's mother suddenly said, "Time waits for no one. It's too late for you to join the Confucian School now. It's nothing. You just don't have the blessing."

Mother Zhou stood up and walked out the door. Zhou Tieyi quickly followed, holding her arm, "Does mother agree?"

Zhou's mother did not answer.

Gongshu Sheng, who had been waiting in the shadows, took a lantern from the maid and asked respectfully, "Are we going to the ancestral temple?"

"Lead the way." Zhou's mother replied to Gongshu Sheng with a cold face.

Mother Zhou turned to Zhou Tieyi and said, "I agree, but there is one thing we need to agree on. You must swear in front of me that you will not compete with your brother for the military power of the Zhou family."

"Is there any taboo here?"

Zhou Tieyi did not agree immediately, but asked in detail.

The original body had a very good relationship with his own brother, but Zhou's mother was obviously planning to hand over the power of the Zhou family to the eldest son and leave nothing for the second son.

Zhou's mother replied, "When a soldier enters the third rank, he is inseparable from the military power. Our Zhou family now has the hope of supporting a third rank soldier. If the military power is divided, we can't even support one person."

It turned out to be the case.

Considering what Zhou's mother just said about not having the approval of Confucian scholars, it is impossible to enter the third rank. Perhaps in this world, to cultivate to the upper third rank, ordinary people are needed as a foundation.

Thinking of this, Zhou Tieyi asked tentatively, "At worst, I can use martial arts to change to Taoism."

Mother Zhou paused, nodded and said, "That's a way."

After saying that, she stared at Zhou Tieyi, and Zhou Tieyi quickly vowed not to compete with his brother for the military power of the Zhou family.

After walking for half an incense stick of time, we arrived at the Zhou family ancestral temple.

The ancestral hall is a three-story simple black pavilion hidden among lush bamboos, with only gourd patterns as decoration on the door frame.

Seeing the bamboo forest, Gongshu Sheng, who was holding a lantern in front, stopped. Only real members of the Zhou family could enter from ahead, even though he was as close as a brother to General Zhou Qinlong.

(End of this chapter)