The Court Struggled to Govern an Enlightened Populace

Zhang Shu's thank-you gift was quite interesting.

The money pouch contained a total of four strings of cash, nine hundred and ninety-nine and a half taels of silver.

Zhang Xuezhou was a wandering tourist, unaware of many of the rules governing the gates of Shu County.

But he knew very well that with the case of Master Zhao spending five strings of cash to treat him, Zhang Shu was unlikely to spend any more money.

This might be Zhang Shu taking a limit or threshold.

Even though Zhang Shu's strength wasn't top-tier in Shu County, the fact that he could follow a prefect to the side clearly showed that the prefect was well-versed in the rules.

Zhang Xuezhou found this kind of person very interesting.

If there were a suitable deal, and he was short of even half a tael of coins, Zhang Xuezhou thought he could make a deal with the other party between cultivators.

He accepted the money before going to the prefect's residence to see Dong Zhongshu.

"Zhao Liang's internal Law Power is surging; his treatment cannot be delayed!"

Are you ready to leave immediately?

Inside the prefectural governor's office, Dong Zhongshu and Wen Weng were busy copying bamboo slips.

Once Zhang Xuezhou entered, Dong Zhongshu immediately waved to him.

This made Zhang Xuezhou feel a little regretful before he asked the question.

"Ah, it'll be ready soon, but I'll have to wait for those few Qi and Blood herbs!"

Dong Zhongshu opened his mouth to agree, then nodded, before correcting the time.

This coincided with the timeframe Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou had planned, which immediately pleased him.

"You called me here to do something?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"I have official duties to perform for the court and cannot travel to the Northern Border Military Region via the official road," Dong Zhongshu said. "This forces us to travel via the trade route. Zhao Baojia has already established a merchant guild. Can you provide us with a pseudonym to act as 'jie'?"

If there's no merchant group, form one; if there's no goods, take a batch from your own territory.

Whether the goods sell or not is irrelevant, and whether they can earn even half a tael of silver is not the main point. The main purpose of the Zhao family's merchant group is to cooperate with Dong Zhongshu to go to the Northern Border Military Region and then seek possible treatment for Zhao Liang.

While people like Master Zhao could use their real names, those holding public office, such as Dong Zhongshu and Zhao Liang, had to use pseudonyms, and Wen Weng even had to draft the relevant documents.

"I don't hold any official position, so why should I use a pseudonym for 'festival'?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in surprise.

"You don't hold a public office, but you can't use your real name to 'celebrate'," Dong Zhongshu said. "Have you forgotten what happened in Lingnan?"

If Zhao Liang is a vengeful spirit haunting himself, then Zhang Xuezhou is a hidden bomb.

At this time, Emperor Jing's mind was unpredictable, and Dong Zhongshu had no desire to cause any related troubles.

He didn't want Master Zhao to go to Chang'an City to file a complaint, which would cause him trouble in the court, nor did he want Zhang Xuezhou's travel issues to attract Emperor Jing's attention.

Although it's highly unlikely that Emperor Jing would set his sights on a nobody like Zhang Xuezhou, what if...

Nothing can withstand the possibility of an unexpected event.

Despite being in a period of low fortune, Dong Zhongshu did not doubt the possibility of such a thing happening.

He gave a brief reminder, which made Zhang Xuezhou open his mouth slightly before quickly agreeing.

Using aliases was commonplace for Zhang Xuezhou; in fact, his real name in this world wasn't Zhang Xuezhou either.

Zhang Xuezhou showed no resistance to changing his name.

"Dongfang Shuo!"

Zhang Weimeng's pen name was casually used as a pseudonym, and Zhang Xuezhou acquired a new identity.

"Where is this Fuping County you're talking about? Don't make things too outrageous and I'll expose you!"

With his name finalized, Zhang Xuezhou's new identity and background were quickly determined by Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu.

"Fuping County belongs to Pingyuan Prefecture, which is in the Northern Border," Wen Weng said. "This county is one of the eight major counties under the jurisdiction of the Northern Border Military Region. Since you are originally from here, it is reasonable for you to lead merchant groups to sell goods as a guide!"

Won't this be discovered?

"I've added a note to your document, stating that you lost your parents at a young age and were stranded in Shu County due to the war," Wen Weng said. "With the seal of my prefectural governor's office, few people will dare to investigate, and even if they do, they won't find anything!"

"This is mainly because Master Zhong is a low-key person who doesn't make enemies," Dong Zhongshu said. "You can use this identity with peace of mind; there won't be any obstacles if you want to go to Hibiscus City in the future!"

"That's good!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

Looking at the 'flexible and adaptable' Wen Weng and Dong Zhongshu, he felt that the two worked together quite well.

"Wen Weng is upright and incorruptible, but his heart is with the academy, and he's counting on me, the inspector, to help him relay messages!"

Only after all the busy work was finished and everyone left the office did Dong Zhongshu quietly explain why Wen Weng had helped to forge the documents.

"This matter concerning the academy is indeed worth promoting vigorously!"

Zhang Xuezhou thought about the embarrassment of his stall and realized that too many illiterate people made it impossible to get things done.

He hopes someone can pronounce it correctly as "specializing in treating superficial injuries" instead of "charging for medical treatment".

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Dong Zhongshu asked in surprise.

"If the people are without wisdom, how can the country be governed!"

Zhang Xuezhou replied in a literary style.

Let alone governing a country, with the current literacy rate, he would even have difficulty setting up a stall to treat patients.

In the real world, Gene Fighting Technique are monopolized by the upper echelons, but at least they haven't made people illiterate, which has led to more advanced social productivity.

Zhang Xuezhou couldn't explain these abstract concepts to Dong Zhongshu, but given the existence of schools in the real world, the official creation of academies was beneficial and harmless.

"When the people are more intelligent, their hearts become restless, and the court finds it difficult to control them," Dong Zhongshu said, pursing his lips.

"Domestic pigs raised in captivity die quickly when they encounter wild boars," Zhang Xuezhou said.

That makes sense!

Dong Zhongshu nodded.

In the matter of Wen Weng establishing the academy, Dong Zhongshu found it difficult to grasp the true thoughts of the emperor in the Weiyang Palace.

This kind of exchange between him and Zhang Xuezhou might be repeated in the Weiyang Palace.

However, the one asking the question would be Emperor Jing, and the one answering would be Dong Zhongshu.

Zhang Xuezhou's words were crude, but they contained the principles of national prosperity and decline.

In the past, there were times when the people were not enlightened. At that time, various schools of thought set up territories to teach, not only teaching literacy, but also imparting some rudimentary spiritual techniques to select talents.

There are the glory and decline of the original schools of thought, and new schools of thought are born as a result.

This involved various conflicts between schools of thought, and the dark ages of several centuries perhaps best illustrate the consequences of this kind of teaching.

If Wen Weng's academy had been widely established, perhaps the Great Han Dynasty would one day have repeated the mistakes of its past.

"In this situation, what do you think we should do?"

Dong Zhongshu asked a question.

This made Zhang Xuezhou blink slightly.

He had encountered similar situations in real life.

Unlike this world, the real world maintains extremely strict control over Gene Fighting Technique, and ordinary people have virtually no opportunity to come into contact with them.

In reality, such control may not be correct, but rashly loosening restrictions without sufficient preparation will inevitably lead to various problems.

Even within Western Capital, the problem of instability among the upper echelons remained unresolved.

In this situation, there is almost no possibility of opening up related to Gene Fighting Technique.

However, once this is lifted, it could very well lead to the dark and turbulent centuries that Dong Zhongshu mentioned.

And after unification after the bloodshed has reached its end, perhaps someone will do what Emperor Qin did and destroy everything related to Gene Fighting Technique.

"I can't answer that question right now; I need to think about it carefully!"

Zhang Xuezhou felt that this question had a very complex social nature and was difficult to answer in simple terms.

He was not interested in how Dong Zhongshu would report back to Chang'an City.

However, since he had already included his own interpretations of realm techniques and skills in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," Zhang Xuezhou felt it was necessary to seek an answer.

If the release of the Realm Technique and its associated techniques would lead to the reappearance of consequences that have occurred in this world, Zhang Xuezhou's personal agenda, which he included to sell his book, was undoubtedly the initial trigger.