However, Master Zhu had retired to the thatched cottage many years ago, no longer caring about worldly affairs. Even when the imperial clan came to visit, he refused to meet them.
Although Li Junxian was the leader of the Confucian Sect, if Master Zhu was unwilling, not even he could do anything.
The thatched cottage was quiet. Li Junxian gazed at Master Zhu and silently waited.
"Understood! I will handle this matter!"
After some time, Master Zhu suddenly said.
Whoosh!
Li Junxian inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Many thanks, Senior Brother!"
Li Junxian deeply bowed and stood up.
… …
Two days later, a matter shook the world. In Gaozong's era, the one and only remaining 'Master' of the world, Master Zhu, had finally appeared.
This matter caused a stir throughout the world, especially in the Confucian Sect. Countless famous Confucians, eminent Confucians, and noble Confucians, could no longer restrain themselves and began to rush to the capital in agitation.
"Lord Father, you are already very old, and the capital is very far from here. Given the state of your body, I fear that you won't be able to endure the fatigue of the journey!"
At a certain place in the Nine Provinces, a son pulled on the carriage of his eighty-year-old father and did his utmost to stop him.
"Bastard thing, do you know who Master Zhu is? Let alone the fatigue of the journey, even if I die on the road today, this old man will have no regrets. On the contrary, if you stop me, I will live in regret for the rest of my life. Your father will never forgive you! "
In the carriage, the white-haired old man spoke with a stern expression. He disregarded the objections of the entire family and insisted on moving forward.
Similar scenes were taking place throughout the Nine Provinces. Master Zhu's news had cast a massive stone over the Nine Provinces, and even the disputes between the militarists and Confucians were greatly reduced.
At the appointed time, the capital was filled with excitement. Countless Confucians, famous Confucians, and old Confucians, had gathered in front of the temple of learning and were silently waiting.
Such a grand occasion attracted the attention of countless people. Many of these people were not even thirty or forty and had no idea of Master Zhu's existence, but when they heard of Master Zhu's background, all of them felt deep veneration.
"Living immortal, this is a real living immortal!"
All of the commoners were filled with deep veneration, and some of them even began to worship Master Zhu's living memorial tablet in their homes. Even the imperial family sent out Golden Guards to guard the area around the school temple to maintain order.
From daybreak in the east until the sun was high in the sky, to the middle of the day, there was still no sign of Master Zhu. Tens of thousands of scholars gathered in front of the ancient and solemn temple, but none of them showed the slightest bit of impatience. After an unknown period of time …
"Look!"
All of a sudden, someone shouted. In an instant, the crowd burst into an uproar. Everyone turned to look in the direction of the Academic Temple. Under the gazes of countless people, the originally empty front of the Academic Temple was a slim figure, dressed in robes as white as snow, untainted by a speck of dust.
That person had his hands clasped behind his back. Just by standing there and fighting, there was an aura of a lofty mountain spreading out endlessly.
"Master Zhu!"
"Master Zhu!"
…
Seeing that figure, the crowd in front of the school temple was filled with excitement. All the scholars dropped to their knees and kowtowed to the figure. Some of the old men in their seventies and eighties even began to weep in agitation.
In the eyes of many people, they were old and respected figures of virtue and prestige. But only they knew that in front of Master Zhu, they really weren't much. Compared to Master Zhu, they were truly just 'youths'.
When they were still children, Master Zhu was already fifty or sixty years old. His name had long since spread throughout the world, and he was revered as the leader of the Confucian school. By the time they had become famous, Master Zhu had long since retired. For many of these old Confucians, being able to see Master Zhu in their lives was already a great honor. They could truly die with no regrets.
Looking at those old masters wailing in agony, all of the Golden Guards of Insignia were incomparably shocked. When they had come, they had only known that they were here to protect an important leader of the Confucian school, but they had no idea that this person was someone as important as Master Zhu. Some of the Golden Guards also put down their weapons and knelt to Master Zhu.
Master Zhu said nothing, only calmly looking at the scene before him. Then, he turned around. To the side, someone had already stepped forward and unfurled a blank banner. Master Zhu extended his hand. Someone had already prepared the ink and respectfully handed over a brush covered in ink.
"Everyone, look! Master Zhu has written a word!"
Someone suddenly shouted, immediately attracting everyone's attention. Countless gazes gathered on Master Zhu in front of the Education Temple.
Swish! Swish!
Under everyone's gazes, Master Zhu's writing was vigorous and forceful. He wrote down two large words in front of everyone's eyes.
Benevolence! Righteousness!
Boom!
The crowd once more boiled over at the sight of these two characters.
"Benevolence! Does Master Zhu mean that the foundation of learning is benevolence and righteousness? "
"To be able to see Master Zhu with my own eyes is already an incredible honor. To be able to see Master Zhu write a word and personally lecture on the Confucian Dao, this old man can truly die with no regrets! Hahaha … "
"Benevolence and righteousness are the essence of Confucian culture. For Master Zhu to write these two characters, he must have a deeper meaning."
… …
The crowd was in an uproar, seemingly intoxicated. Even more people were muttering the words' benevolence and righteousness', as if trying to fathom the deeper meaning behind Master Zhu's actions.
In front of the temple, Master Zhu did not give any explanation for these two words. He tossed the brush in his hand onto a golden plate in the hands of an attendant, then with a wave of his sleeve, he left.
In front of the temple, there was a sea of people, but the crowd refused to leave.
Although only a few moments had passed since he had appeared and left, the effects of this matter were far from over. A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. Master Zhu's appearance and the two words he had inscribed were like a boulder that stirred up endless waves in the land of the nine provinces.
Master Zhu!
These two words, as if they had wings, quickly spread to every corner of the Nine Regions. Even three-year-old children knew how to say these two words and put away their previous naughty appearance.
… …
"Master Zhu? Just who is this person?! "
At the same time, in the Wang Clan Residence, Wang Chong looked at the person across from him, his eyes filled with shock. This matter had been too sudden.
"It's normal that you don't know. It's not just you. Even people of my generation and your father's don't know much."
On the other side, King Song put down the teacup in his hand and gave a detailed account of all the information he had gathered on Master Zhu.
"In truth, it's not just you. Even I am shocked. During the reign of the previous emperor, I occasionally heard about Master Zhu, but I only caught a glimpse of him. Rumor has it that he passed away in meditation long ago. Who could have expected that he would still be alive?"
The King of Song sighed at the end.
Wang Chong sat there in a daze, his mind in turmoil. This was yet another important figure that had surfaced because of him. There was no doubt that if he had not interfered, Master Zhu would have lived out his remaining years in peace and passed away. At the very least, he had not heard anything about him in his previous life.
"This matter isn't good!"
Wang Chong frowned slightly, feeling rather uneasy. If the King of Song had not told him, he would have found it very difficult to believe that a living legend like Master Zhu existed in this world. But of all times, Master Zhu had appeared. One was the spiritual leader of the Confucian school, while the other was the Confucian school.
Both had the word "Confucian" in them, and this was the moment of the most intense conflict between "Might Makes Right" and "Benevolence and Righteousness". Wang Chong did not believe that this was a coincidence.
"Wang Chong, Master Zhu's influence and status in the Tang dynasty has already surpassed that of the imperial family and any secular authority. Your publication of 'Might Makes Right' naturally clashes with the benevolence and righteousness of the Confucian school. Master Zhu's appearance at this time is likely to be disadvantageous to you. You must be extremely careful. This is also why I have come to warn you."
The King of Song said gravely.
The King of Song's conjecture and Wang Chong's premonition were quickly confirmed a few days later. In just two days, news arrived that Master Zhu, as the spiritual leader of the Confucian school, had personally refuted Wang Chong's' Might Makes Right '.
"Benevolence and righteousness cannot be abandoned!"
These were Master Zhu's original words!
This news spread like a hurricane through the capital, and then from the capital to the rest of the Nine Prefectures. Unlike Li Junxian's' Benevolence and Righteousness' and 'The Theory of Birds and Beasts', Master Zhu's status in the Confucian school was unrivaled. In other words, anyone in the world who could read was Master Zhu's student!
One could easily imagine Master Zhu's status.
When Master Zhu had appeared in the Confucian temple, he had already attracted the attention of all the Confucians of the world in the capital, and Master Zhu's words had swiftly passed through these esteemed Confucians and reached all the schools of the world. A storm had begun.
The Confucian school had been spreading through the Central Plains for more than one thousand years, and its influence had imperceptibly seeped into every aspect of the common people's lives. Even the illiterate would know a little of the Confucian school's ideas and be deeply influenced. And when Master Zhu used his status as the head of the Confucian school to issue a summons and denounce Wang Chong's' Might Makes Right 'as a heretical theory, the millennia-old influence of the Confucian school gradually began to manifest its enormous influence.
In just one day, countless esteemed Confucians responded to Master Zhu's summons and wrote books criticizing Wang Chong's' Might Makes Right '. The scale and number of such books were unparalleled, and this influence was swiftly spread to every school and every student.
In just one day, several hundred students were expelled from their schools and forbidden from entering any other school.
Respecting one's teacher and respecting the Dao was the foundation of the Confucian school. For someone of Master Zhu's status to dare to promote a heretical theory in their school and defy Master Zhu was a great disgrace.
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