Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals

The most important principle in gift-giving is to cater to the recipient's preferences.

If you want to gain the new emperor's praise during the tribute mission, you must figure out his preferences.

"His Majesty favors talented people," Gongsun Hong said. "If Jiangdu were to recommend a hundred people to go to Chang'an, this should please His Majesty!"

"Good idea," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "But how do we highlight Master Dong's role in this? Does Master Dong have hundreds of students in Jiangdu?"

"It will take me three to five years to learn the skills, and I'm afraid it's too late to teach you on short notice," Dong Zhongshu said with difficulty. "Jiangdu has a strong martial spirit, but I have few disciples here. Moreover, it's difficult for the King of Jiangdu to send talented people to Chang'an. Even if he doesn't choose my students, it's difficult for him to send His Majesty a group of learned scholars."

"Paying tribute is merely sending gifts; it's not about emptying one's own coffers to curry favor with His Majesty," Zhang Xuezhou agreed. "The gift must please His Majesty, be linked to Master Dong, be affordable for the King of Jiangdu, and even something he'd be willing to part with!"

"That's difficult!"

Gongsun Hong murmured.

Not to mention Gongsun Hong, the King of Jiangdu has also been troubled by this matter for some time, and many of his subordinates have offered advice and suggestions.

King Jiangdu's desire to capture a dragon and share it with the new emperor was genuine. This serendipitous fortuitous opportunity made King Jiangdu willing to share, and an important reason was that King Jiangdu found it difficult to possess it alone, and naturally wanted to share the risks.

The crowd whispered among themselves about the gifts, which ranged from those sent to learned scholars in Jiangdu to money, armor, weapons, and treasures.

Offering money to the emperor would involve far more than 100,000 gold coins; even a million gold coins would be considered an insult to the emperor. It required striking the right balance.

Besides the sword-appreciation festival, the various vassal kings also paid regular tribute, which included money and other valuables.

It's not that money can't be given away, but if money were given away, Dong Zhongshu wouldn't have had any chance.

Zhang Xuezhou listed three criteria, which are actually things that everyone must consider.

One standard is achievable, but three standards are undoubtedly extremely high, and even the most intelligent person would find it very difficult to understand.

Moreover, they need to make decisions quickly, lest the King of Jiangdu actually transport a large sum of money to Chang'an City without a plan.

"Treasures have no fixed value, making this the most suitable offering to involve Zhongshu," Gongsun Hongdao said. "Furthermore, the King of Jiangdu would generally find it difficult to convert them into normal value, which might also please His Majesty!"

"This must be the King of Jiangdu's previous plan to slay the dragon," Dong Zhongshu said helplessly. "This plan is impossible to achieve!"

Did Zhongshu not obtain any great treasures from the underwater palace?

No!

"Dongfang Shuo, where's the dragon pearl in your mouth?"

"It's been retrieved. If you can get it back, things will be much easier!"

The Gaoyou Water Palace was once the best fortuitous opportunity to offer sacrifices, but this fortuitous opportunity became utterly useless due to a series of coincidences.

Gongsun Hong looked at Dong Zhongshu, then at Zhang Xuezhou, and felt that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find anything wrong with these two.

Although he suspected that Dong Zhongshu and Zhang Xuezhou were hiding something, since both of them had given their guarantees, there was really no way to ask any further questions.

"What a pity. If they were connected to the Dragon Kings like the Great Dragon God of Rain, any one of their important artifacts from the rivers and seas would be a rare treasure for our court," Gongsun Hong lamented.

At present, not only are they unable to capture the dragon or obtain the dragon ball, but they also have no connection with the Dragon Kings.

With this path completely blocked, Gongsun Hong had no choice but to rethink his strategy.

"Zhongshu, I remember you previously wanted to promote the essentials of Confucian School. Why not take this opportunity to compile Confucian School doctrines and present them to the court?"

After much deliberation, Gongsun Hong finally proposed an feasible plan.

"I am not one to hoard my possessions, but my cultivation is not yet at its peak, so it is difficult for people to believe what I say. Even if I write a book, it will just be piled up in the library," Dong Zhongshu said.

"Although Zhongshu was not the first person in our Han Dynasty, our Confucian School has produced Sage Kong and Sage Meng. A school of thought with two sages is already considered to have top-notch foundation. Your Majesty should at least give it some consideration," Gongsun Hong said.

"The Huang-Lao School has Laozi and Zhuangzi, both considered sages, and they were the few undisputed foremost figures of their time," Dong Zhongshu said. "As long as Huang-Lao Daoism remains in the court, the reputation of our Confucian School sages will be overshadowed!"

"Everyone only sees the number one person in the world," Gongsun Hong sighed. "Our Confucian School having two people ranked second is actually quite impressive!"

"Of course!"

Although Dong Zhongshu was politely declining, he was genuinely moved by Gongsun Hong's words.

If he were to present Confucian classics, he could indeed directly insert himself into the tribute process, and the King of Jiangdu would certainly be happy to accept such a tribute.

Given that Dong Zhongshu was unable to return to Chang'an at the moment, it was only natural for him to present Confucian classics to the King of Jiangdu.

But how to please the new emperor with his scriptures would depend on Dong Zhongshu's exceptional abilities.

"I hope that you, Ciqing and Dongfang Shuo, can lend me a hand!"

After pondering for several seconds, Dong Zhongshu finally invited Gongsun Hong and Zhang Xuezhou.

Gongsun Hong was also a Confucian School scholar. Regardless of the interspersed content, there was no problem with Gongsun Hong doing the censorship.

The involvement of Zhang Xuezhou mainly stems from the Yin-Yang School, Dong Zhongshu needed the Yin-Yang School's knowledge of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

At this point, he was still some distance from integrating Yin and Yang and the Five Elements into the Confucian School Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity. Dong Zhongshu felt that he could submit a first draft.

Although he did not fully put his theories into practice, Dong Zhongshu believed that they were theoretically feasible.

The new emperor will not change his ways and follow Dong Zhongshu in cultivation, but there are indeed some aspects of Dong Zhongshu's cultivation that will overlap with the new emperor's.

Dong Zhongshu pondered for a while, and with some gestures, he began to form a preliminary outline in his mind.

If you don't have the writing skills in your heart, you won't have much to write even after ten years.

However, as long as one has a clear plan, a book can be completed even in three to five days.

After pondering for a while, Dong Zhongshu went to find some bamboo slips and picked up his pen again.

"I say, Your Excellency, listen to this: Dongfang Shuo will fill the vacancy!"

Dong Zhongshu invited the two of them.

He held the brush for a few seconds before writing the five characters "Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity) heavily on the bamboo slip.

"Zhongshu, offering your most treasured possession is a huge gamble, but be careful that this gift doesn't reach His Majesty even after being presented to the Queen of Jiangdu," Gongsun Hong said upon seeing the first five characters of the inscription. "Only by returning to the ordinary can people avoid harboring any ill intentions!"

"The Vice Minister is right!"

Dong Zhongshu nodded.

He was corrected by Gongsun Hong when he first wrote five characters, which made Dong Zhongshu feel fortunate to have Gongsun Hong by his side.

Regardless of Gongsun Hong's knowledge and abilities, he undoubtedly had more experience in handling matters with caution.

This made Dong Zhongshu ponder for a moment, and the five characters of the "Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity) were subsequently abandoned. Instead, the four extremely ordinary characters of "Chunqiu Fanlu" (Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals) were used as the beginning.