Words That Became Law
"I have two nice neighbors in Chang'an City, one of whom is named Zheng Wukong..."
A neighbor is like half a relative, and Zhang Xuezhou, being away from home, had few people he could rely on in Chang'an City.
Zheng Wukong and others were the people Zhang Xuezhou sought help from. If Zheng Wukong and others were not present, the court physician Yi Shuo could also help. After Yi Shuo, Di Rang, the owner of an inn, was also a kind-hearted person.
The least desirable option is to seek help from Wei Shao'er. It's difficult to enter the Marquis's mansion and even harder to find Wei Shao'er, but he might be keeping an eye on Zhang Xuezhou. If the Zhang Household makes any moves, he might come knocking on their door on his own.
This was practically Zhang Xuezhou's reliable network of contacts in Chang'an City.
Half a tael of coins needs to be converted into grain and other supplies to be effective, which involves bulk purchasing and transportation out of the city.
Only those with genuine identities in Chang'an City can get things done.
As for Sang Hongyang, Kong Anguo, and others, their identities are difficult to ascertain and too conspicuous, which may cause trouble.
Zhang Xuezhou repeatedly gave instructions and even wrote a letter himself. As long as Lady Yourong and Zhang Changgong followed the caravan into Chang'an City and were sent to Zhang Household's door to deliver the letter, the matter could be basically resolved.
"Brother Zhouzi, aren't you coming back to that Chang'an City with us?" Zhang Changgong asked in a low voice.
"I'm currently on official business, and I can only return to Chang'an City after I finish my duties," Zhang Xuezhou said, shaking his head. "It wouldn't be appropriate if someone saw me there!"
"The officials in this imperial court have far too little freedom; even where they go is regulated!"
Zhang Changgong muttered something under his breath.
Without Zhang Xuezhou by his side, he had suffered a lot, and now he couldn't help but feel a bit panicked about the unknown future, unsure if he could do things well.
However, Zhang Xuezhou's mention that Zhang Cigong, Zhang Houtu, Zhang Houmu, Zhang Zhong, and others were all outside Chang'an City excited Zhang Changgong greatly, making him want to fly to the Chang'an City to reunite with his family.
"As long as you stay close to the caravan and greet the people of Jiangdu regularly, no one will question your 'chastity' if you follow the Jiangdu King's delegation to Chang'an City," Zhang Xuezhou instructed Lady Yourong.
"Kindness!"
"If you happen to be investigated during the festival, use the pretext of the King of Jiangdu. If that doesn't work, send some half-ounce coins. Under no circumstances should you escalate the situation, and definitely don't try to hide or run away," Zhang Xuezhou warned.
"Good!"
"The current rate of passage is around twenty and a half taels of silver. Just give them that amount. Giving too much might cause trouble, and don't give too little and upset them!"
As a master at clearing customs and skilled at creating fake customs, Zhang Xuezhou is extremely experienced in this area.
His relationship with the King of Jiangdu was limited; Dong Zhongshu was only at the stage of seeking intimacy, and Zhang Xuezhou could not easily feign loyalty in Jiangdu, especially since Lady Yourong was following him. If Zhang Xuezhou, as the master, could not produce proof, there would be no shortage of trouble.
It's better to avoid trouble, so it's not surprising that Dong Zhongshu suggested that Lady Yourong and others closely follow the Jiangdu tribute caravan.
Zhang Xuezhou shared his insights while also minimizing the risks of the journey.
Unable to use the Golden Wings for long-distance travel, Zhang Xuezhou exhausted all means and it still took him three days to return to Guangling. The Jiangdu tribute delegation would need at least half a month to reach Chang'an City.
After some calculations, Zhang Xuezhou felt it would be difficult to accurately insert himself into the tribute delegation.
He could only give repeated instructions.
Seeing the tribute delegation begin to move forward in their carriages, and with the King of Jiangdu riding a tall horse and followed by nearly a hundred strong men, Zhang Xuezhou quickly stopped talking.
"Dongfang Shuo, you have a real talent for finding water-based mansions. When you find me another water-based mansion with a dragon, I will reward you with 100,000 gold pieces!"
Perhaps feeling he was losing out, or perhaps the Water Palace had disappointed King Jiangdu, when King Jiangdu rode closer to greet him, he emphasized the conditions for the reward he offered.
Zhang Xuezhou readily agreed.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will inform you first as soon as the underwater palace is discovered!"
Okay, you remember!
King Jiangdu nodded.
Although the Gaoyou Water Mansion was not entirely satisfactory, finding it was a good thing.
Moreover, the King of Jiangdu felt that his own water palace was much more luxurious than the Huai River water palace, which gave him some comfort.
Of course, the literary works presented by Dong Zhongshu were also quite excellent, which has put the King of Jiangdu in a very good mood recently.
He spurred his horse and galloped joyfully towards Chang'an City.
To Zhang Xuezhou and others, the King of Jiangdu was generous and magnanimous, but once they went into the city and listened to more people, they found that the King of Jiangdu's reputation was actually quite poor.
The more generous the King of Jiangdu was, the more he needed a source of wealth.
The production of Banliang coins from mining and smelting is only one aspect. The large-scale production of coins will impact the commerce in the region, causing prices to soar and reducing the purchasing power of ordinary people's wallets.
The price of grain in Guangling City is about twice that of Chang'an City, and the prices of many other ingredients remain high as well.
The economic countermeasure adopted by the King of Jiangdu was to undertake large-scale construction projects.
However, this approach only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.
If Jiangdu were not located near water, allowing many of its lower classes to make a living by fishing, Jiangdu would surely have descended into chaos long ago.
Ordinary people dare not speak out, but some cultivators certainly do.
On his way to Gaoyou Water Palace, Zhang Xuezhou heard many stories and witnessed another side of the story that Dong Zhongshu had mentioned.
He could only shake his head in the end, waiting for Dong Zhongshu to come to power in Jiangdu and bring about possible changes.
Following the Changhe River, Zhang Xuezhou traveled along the river to Gaoyou Water Mansion.
Although he couldn't enter the Gaoyou Water Palace at the moment, it had excellent geographical advantages. Even the top of that cliff was a good place for cultivation, and Zhang Xuezhou believed that he would have better luck by the water.
This led him to lean towards the influence of destiny when his efforts to promote the Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity failed.
Of course, the main reason was that Zhang Xuezhou didn't have much time left. It was inconvenient for him to travel at this time, and it was difficult for him to ride his horse northward. So he simply came to the water area to try his luck.
"A single thought, a single thought!"
Zhang Xuezhou felt the nearly half of his magical Law Power depleted from releasing the Technique Method, then kept his mouth shut, seeking the feeling that Gongsun Hong had pointed out.
He could either achieve the Law Power restoration effect brought by the Righteous Qi Technique with a thought, or guide the Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity required to release other Technique Method with a thought.
Zhang Xuezhou kept thinking about the feeling of suddenly cutting into the sky and experiencing free-floating energy.
"This is too difficult!"
Even after using his cloud-riding technique to walk back and forth on the top of the cliff for several hours until it was almost dark, Zhang Xuezhou still did not feel Resonance Between Heaven and Humanity.
"Heaven and earth exist..."
Just as Zhang Xuezhou was about to end his day of arduous cultivation, he recited the "Treatise on Righteousness" to restore his Law Power and flew back to Guangling City.
After reciting just three words, he felt a rapid connection between his body and the sky. Floating white light spots emerged from the unknown depths of the sky, beginning to restore the Law Power within him.
This timeframe was far too short for him to receive a response after reciting most of the "Upright and Righteous Spirit" chapter.
"The recovery time is way too early!"
Using the Righteous Qi Technique to travel back and forth between the two worlds, Zhang Xuezhou, who could not restore his magical Law Power with a mere thought, even after six to eight years of continuous cultivation, was almost incapable of doing so, unlike others.
But he discovered that after holding back for a long time, he seemed to have begun to possess the same ability as the Emperor to make his words lawful in the chapter on Righteousness and Righteousness.