Chapter 436: Virtue of Enlightenment
Hanzhong, inside Yangping Pass.

Black Bear dismounted, and Zhang Lu came forward to greet him, turning around and bowing and extending his arms from time to time.

On Zhang Lu’s slightly round face, Black Bear could not see any trace of a youthful appearance or an immortal appearance.

Perhaps this heavenly master has hidden talents that are difficult for ordinary people like us to perceive.

After the gate tower was cleaned, Black Bear climbed up the wall of Yangping Pass again and found that Yangping Pass had been re-pasted during this period.

The outer layer of loess wall has been repaired for some time, so it is hard to tell how new it is.

But the guardrails, awnings, and cabinets on the walls are all made of brand new wood, and even the gatehouse was dismantled and rebuilt.

There is not even enough time to paint it, so it remains in its original wood color.

Inside the tower, the wooden stairs are spotless and the scent of pine wood is very strong.

Zhang Lu led the way, and soon a dozen people arrived at the spacious room on the second floor of the gate tower.

Black Bear also took off his mask and first came to the guardrail to look southwest. The endless stream of troops was still moving forward.

After taking a few glances, he asked, "Mr. Zhang, how is the scenery in the southwest?"

"Not as many as in Shu."

Zhang Lu stood aside with his hands down and head bowed, smiling gently, looking far to the southwest: "The Grand Marshal is truly a master of destiny. Wherever he goes, he wins. It is truly a blessing for the people of Yizhou."

"Then Mr. Zhang, do you think that I, as the Lord of the World, rely on the might of swords and weapons, or on the virtue of helping the world?"

This question was somewhat malicious. Zhang Lu restrained his smile. He naturally knew that this question was not meant to embarrass him, but to ask about his position.

Should we side with Confucianism, which advocates the invincibility of benevolence, or Taoism, which respects objective human nature?

After thinking for a while, Zhang Lu said, "The Shu people are arrogant. If we can frighten them, it must be because the Grand Marshal is so powerful."

"Yes, that's the truth."

Black Bear restrained his expression and said seriously: "The road to Shu is difficult and dangerous. If benevolence and virtue were useful, the people of Shu would have gone forward one after another and spent a hundred years to dig a wide road. But they enjoy the prosperity of Shu and have no ambition to open mountains and build roads. It's a pity."

At this time, the accompanying personal soldiers had finished their deployment, and the commander Gao Jun stepped forward. Black Bear then took off his helmet, mask, and cloak and handed them to Gao Jun.

Then he left the original floor-to-ceiling window and returned to the main seat. Zhang Lu and others also returned to their seats.

Fa Zheng replaced Yang Fu and sat diagonally below the black bear.

At this time, a group of young servants came up the steps and served wine and dishes to the tables.

Basically every table is the same, without any distinction.

Black Bear picked up the golden wine glass and shook it, pondering without saying a word. The hall was silent.

Zhang Lu quietly went to look at Yan Pu who was standing nearby. Yan Pu was not qualified to sit in the upper row at the moment.

But it was Yan Pu's persuasion that finally made Zhang Lu decide to send an envoy to beg for surrender. If Zhang Lu was treated unfairly now, Yan Pu would have no face to live as a human being.

He took a deep breath carefully to encourage himself. If he really couldn't be given a good resettlement, Yan Pu didn't mind sacrificing himself and would speak up for justice.

After a while, Black Bear looked at the wooden roof that had not been painted yet. "I was thinking about the meaning of life. The Shu people have lived in the fertile land for generations, creating the reputation of the Land of Abundance. In the 100,000 mountains outside of Shu, many mountain people live in isolation and in clans, and have lived like this for generations. The Shu people think that the mountain people are ignorant. The people in the Central Plains may also look down on the Shu people, thinking that the Shu people are ignorant because they are sitting in a well and looking at the sky."

Zhang Lu was immediately cheered up when he saw the other party suddenly pause and look at him, and responded: "That's right, what the Grand Marshal said is very true, the people of Shu, Ba, and the barbarians in the south are really ignorant." "So I think Mr. Zhang is a good person, a virtuous person."

Black Bear pointed at Zhang Lu with his right hand, then put his hand down and said seriously: "Zhang Jun implemented righteous governance in Hanzhong, and the mountain people rushed to join him. Then he destroyed the mountains and cut down the temples, and eliminated all kinds of blood sacrifices and evil sacrifices. This is a great achievement. Eliminating evil is good, and a great man like Zhang Jun should not be confined to Hanzhong. Instead, he should spread to the deep mountains in the south and southwest. This is my humble opinion. What do you think?"

"This……"

Zhang Lu understood and also liked these tall hats, but he really didn't want to go to the southwestern mountains or Nanzhong.

During the Han Dynasty, Nanzhong was a place where criminals were exiled.

Who among the decent families would settle down in Nanzhong?
"Mr. Zhang, don't rush to answer. Just look at this."

As Black Bear spoke, he turned to look at Fa Zheng. Fa Zheng stood up and bowed to everyone present, whether he knew him or not, before leisurely taking out a sheepskin scroll.

Coming to the side of Zhang Lu's desk, Fa Zheng grabbed the scroll and slowly spread out the map, introducing: "When the king was in Shu, many wealthy merchants came to pay him a visit. The king was very curious about the world outside the Middle Earth, so he sent envoys to visit many caravans, gathered the business routes of these wealthy merchants and what they saw along the way, and roughly made this scroll of the map of the southern country."

Fa Zheng pointed at the map and said, "This is Nanzhong. It is spring-like all year round and is surrounded by mountains. This is southeast of Jiaozhou, and this is Rinnan. This is the South China Sea."

Then he pointed to the west and said: "There is also a sea here, which should also be called the South China Sea, but to the west is the Kingdom of Sindhu, so it is reasonable to call it the Sea of ​​Sindhu. Your Majesty means that you hope to conquer Sindhu and change the name of the Sea of ​​Sindhu."

Zhang Lu held the map in both hands and lowered his head to study it. He barely recognized the symbols of the mountains. "But these mountains in the south are called the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the Southwest by the Grand Marshal... I'm afraid they are not easy to pass through."

"People should have perseverance. After the father dies, the son will succeed. After several generations of hard work, success will surely be achieved."

Black Bear looked at Zhang Lu: "Mr. Zhang is from the Zhang clan, so he should have the ambition to promote Taoism, enlighten the barbarians, destroy evil worship, and expand our territory. If this can be accomplished, it would be reasonable to establish a Taoist country on earth to govern the people."

At this time, Fa Zheng also whispered to persuade him: "There are 100,000 mountains blocking the way. Even if Master cannot conquer the Kingdom of Sindhu in this life, he can still live freely in the south. The successor of the Heavenly Master in the future will continue to go south, and there may be opportunities."

The Hundred Thousand Mountains are difficult, but they can successfully and effectively isolate the enemy from Middle-earth.

Given Zhang Lu’s status in Tianshi Dao…the further he was from the Central Plains, the less he would be constrained by the morality of the scholars.

In other words, the further south you develop, the higher Zhang Tianshi's authority becomes, and he becomes a real master.

By that time, it would be better not to have the image of a good guy.

As for the believers' enthusiasm for attacking... as long as the system of accumulating merit and promotion within Tianshi Dao operates effectively, the believers will naturally be able to maintain their pioneering spirit.

When the goal of war is no longer wealth, but actual ruling power can be obtained in the name of gods, middle and low-level believers and Taoists will inevitably have a certain degree of enthusiasm.

Seeing Zhang Lu deep in thought, Fa Zheng said, "With Shuzhong as our support, we can provide you with an endless supply of weapons and medicines. Please save the remaining people in the southwest from ignorance."

Zhang Lu nodded slowly and asked, "Excuse me, Grand Marshal, what about this map?"

"The map can't be wrong."

Black Bear said firmly, "I not only consulted foreign merchants, but also the books kept by the royal family. The wealth of Sindhu is far greater than that of Qin. The people here have three crops a year, so they are lazy. It's just that the climate is very hot, and it's difficult for outsiders to adapt suddenly."

Three harvests a year, this is the paradise on earth.

For a moment, everyone who heard it for the first time gasped.

They all looked over, and Black Bear nodded slowly: "This is true. I have asked Envoy Yuan of Jiaozhou to search for this kind of rice for me. If we can't harvest three or four times a year, we can harvest two times a year, and it can also save countless lives."

Looking around at this group of country bumpkins, Black Bear couldn't help but smile: "The areas south of Sindhu, Jiaozhou, and the coastal states can produce five crops a year. Five crops is the limit for rice."

(End of this chapter)