The people of the Confucian Sect were far from the only ones to receive the news. At the same time, in the Wang Family Residence, Wang Chong was dressed in plain clothes, his long black hair held in place by a hairpin. As he stood in front of his desk, he exuded both the elegance of the scholarly path and the dignity and bearing of the martial path. On the table in front of him were reports from the various provinces and commanderies.
"Not bad! In just a few short moments, we've already broken through fifty thousand! "
A smile crept onto Wang Chong's lips as he read the message. This number was far greater than he had imagined. The daily expenditure was so astonishing that even the ancient clans of the capital with two or three hundred years of history and astonishing wealth could not afford it. In normal circumstances, no single person or faction could accomplish this.
But in the Battle of Khorasan, Wang Chong had obtained 1.9 billion taels of gold from Mutasim III. One billion had been given to the Imperial Court, one hundred million had been used to buy the Hyderabad Mountain Range, and two hundred million had been used to compensate the deceased soldiers and to repay the tribes of the Western Regions and Greater and Lesser Balur that had participated in the battle.
At the same time, Wang Chong, Go Seonji, and the others still had around 600 million gold taels in their hands. It was with this immense wealth that Wang Chong was able to support the construction of the massive number of body tempering halls across the country.
This step was not just to deal with Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect. In truth, long ago, when they had first obtained this sum of gold, Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi had discussed in Khorasan how they would use this sum of money to enrich the country and strengthen the people. This included building body-strengthening schools throughout the empire, teaching martial arts, and raising the martial strength of the people of the Tang dynasty.
At the time, they had even received the fervent praise of Gao Xianzhi. But now was the right time, and they could use this opportunity to fully carry out the body-strengthening school plan.
In his last life, in the battle against the otherworldly invaders, Wang Chong had always been faced with a lack of soldiers. Although the Central Plains had tens of millions of people, very few people were suited for the battlefield and could join the army. This was also the reason why Wang Chong came up with the body-strengthening club plan.
"Six hundred million taels of gold. Although it's impossible to sustain this for a long time, it should be able to last for at least ten years. It should be enough to last until the calamity arrives. As long as the body-strengthening club plan continues, we will be able to cultivate a large number of qualified warriors for the Tang dynasty. "
Wang Chong put down the letter and thought to himself.
This was the real plan to make every citizen a soldier. However, apart from Wang Chong, not many people knew about it.
Hualala! Just as he was thinking about this, the sound of wings breaking through the air could be heard. In the blink of an eye, an extremely sharp golden eagle flew over the window and landed in front of Wang Chong's table. Seeing this special eagle, Wang Chong's eyes twitched.
This was the signal that Wang Chong and The Eagle had agreed upon. There was finally news from Lu Tingzhi. Two days later, a letter accompanied by a thick carriage of documents was transported from the distant Jing Prefecture to the capital and into the Wang Family Residence.
Wen Choushu's identity had been confirmed, and Lu Tingzhi had gained far more than he had imagined. Not only had Lu Tingzhi fulfilled his long-cherished wish of many years and met Wen Choushu in person, he had also unexpectedly obtained a large amount of information on Bird Seal Script from this number one bibliophile of the Central Plains. Lu Tingzhi had discarded the purely academic materials and sent the information that he found useful from the Jing Prefecture to the capital. He had also marked all of them so that Wang Chong could read them.
"Milord, Scholar Lu has said that he has placed the most important book on top. You only need to read the first book to understand the meaning of that black mark."
Su Shixuan sternly said.
Wang Chong said nothing more. He picked up the black ancient book at the very top of the box and opened it. At first glance, Wang Chong saw a bookmark, stamped with a red square seal.
"Wen Choushu!"
Wang Chong recognized the contents at a glance. As he flipped to the first page, Bird Seal Script characters leapt into view. With a glance, Wang Chong knew that Lu Tingzhi was correct. There truly was a character in the center of that black mark, and it was the Bird Seal Script that Lu Tingzhi had spoken of. The style of the two was exactly the same.
Wang Chong said nothing and continued to flip to the next page. This was an ancient book that systematically discussed Bird Seal Script. It had come from a great Confucian of the Wei and Jin Era around five or six hundred years ago. He seemed to be particularly interested in Bird Seal Script and had gathered a great deal of information to produce this book. Besides the various Bird Seal Script characters, it also discussed the origins of the various characters and the related legends.
After reading around twenty to thirty pages, Wang Chong flipped to the label that Lu Tingzhi had left in the book. A unique Bird Seal Script immediately leapt into view. The moment he saw this character, Wang Chong's pupils constricted as if they had been pricked by a needle.
The characters in this ancient book that Lu Tingzhi had sent were almost identical to the characters in the center of the black mark of the Confucian Sect.
"Tong!"
As Wang Chong looked at the explanation left behind by the great Confucian of the Wei and Jin Era, his eyebrows jumped. In that instant, he faintly thought of something. In his last life, he had seen this black mark twice, but Wang Chong had never imagined that it would contain a character. As he continued to read, he found that the book also recorded the origin of this character.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, the various countries were at war and the people of the Divine Continent were plunged into misery and suffering. Among them, there was a Sage who traveled everywhere, seeking audience with the monarchs of the various countries in hopes of persuading them to abandon their selfish desires. However, from the age of thirty to the age of seventy, that Sage spent forty years to no avail. In his later years, not only did the wars of the Divine Continent not stop, they only grew more and more intense.
When his last disciple, who had once accompanied him in persuading the various monarchs, died in the chaos of war, the last Sage of the Spring and Autumn Era could no longer hold back his grief and indignation. He spat out a mouthful of essence blood and dipped his finger in it. Before the eyes of his young followers, he created a new Bird Seal Script, the character for "Tong".
This word contained all of the Spring and Autumn Saint's ambitions and unwillingness. After writing this character, the last Sage of the Spring and Autumn Era expressed his unwillingness and regret to his young followers before passing away.
It was rumored that after the Sage's death, one of his young followers took the character he had written and fled deep into the mountains. Using this character as a blueprint, he founded a sect called the Confucian Sect.
The majority of people believed this legend to be a baseless rumor. Even in the Wei and Jin Era, many people treated it as unofficial history. But the great Confucian of the Wei and Jin Era believed that while the first half of the legend could not be investigated, the second half of the Confucian Sect was not necessarily groundless fabrication.
This was because the great Confucian of the Wei and Jin Era had mentioned that in the Qin and Han Eras, there had been bits and pieces of the Confucian Sect.
Buzz!
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was attentive. Even the author of this ancient text had only collected information on Bird Seal Script and had not taken it too seriously. But when Wang Chong finished reading this description, his heart began to tremble.
"How could this be?!"
In Drunken Moon Pavilion, Wang Chong had heard Li Junxian talk about the destruction of the one hundred sages, but he had never imagined that the Confucian Sect really was connected to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods. If this ancient text was correct, the Confucian Sect behind Li Junxian had a history of more than one thousand years!
This had completely surpassed Wang Chong's imagination.
A sect that could last for more than one thousand years, survive through war, famine, and the change of dynasties, and survive until the Tang dynasty … If he had not seen Li Junxian and the members of the Confucian Sect with his own eyes and seen the black insignia on their hands, Wang Chong would have never dared to believe that all this was true.
Wang Chong continued to flip through the pages, but this ancient text did not have many records on the Confucian Sect. After switching to another book, Wang Chong continued to flip through the pages. The majority of the contents were repetitive, all of them explanations of Bird Seal Script. But when he flipped to the third book, Wang Chong once more saw that familiar insignia and the legend of the Confucian Sect.
This was the work of a great Confucian of the early Northern Zhou. According to his records, a Confucian Sect had once appeared in the early Northern Zhou, and this great Confucian of the Confucian Sect had loudly advocated for the Northern Zhou and the other countries of that time to put aside the grudges and hatred between them, put an end to war, abandon selfishness, and return peace to the people of the world. This person had only appeared for a very short time before vanishing.
As for the matters regarding the Confucian Sect, they had only appeared for a brief moment. The people's understanding of them was limited to that great Confucian and his proposals. There was nothing else.
In that era, the marks they had left behind were not very deep.
Even the great Confucian of the Northern Zhou who had written these records had only skimmed over them, not delving too deeply into them.
Wang Chong put down the three books and continued to read. This time, the insignia had appeared in the era after the Northern Zhou, during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Great Sui.
The more Wang Chong read, the more shocked he became. The Spring and Autumn period, the Warring States period, the Wei-Jin period, the Northern Zhou period, the early Sui, the era of the Holy Emperor … if the records were true, this faction called the Confucian Sect had appeared in every period of history.
"How could such a faction exist in the Central Plains?!"
Wang Chong muttered to himself as he put down the books. If it weren't for a great scholar like Lu Tingzhi, very few people would have been able to glean any clues from these books. At this moment, Wang Chong suddenly understood why Lu Tingzhi had sent these books to him instead of personally explaining it to him.
There were some things that could not be explained clearly with words. Seeing was believing. Only by seeing with one's own eyes could one understand the veracity of these legends.
Moreover, this truth was simply too shocking!
Wang Chong had never imagined that the experts he had encountered in his last life during the End of Days would have such a background.
"Su Shixuan, have The King of Song's men arrived?"
Wang Chong asked.
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