Chapter 851

The most basic point is that cultivators may not necessarily harbor malice toward mortals, but…

To communicate with a cultivator on equal footing, at the very least, one must become a cultivator.

Mortals, no matter how nicely put, are just living beings under the command of cultivators.

There is no great difference between them and the plants and beasts.

Of course, this is the thinking of the Peng Bird clan. As for other Spirit clans, perhaps there are gentler ones, and there are also more vicious ones.

But no matter how vicious, under the management of Shushan, there is always a limit.

One cannot rashly take action to do things that cause heaven's wrath and people's resentment; after all, there are too many mortals, and accumulating karma is possible.

As for cultivators and mortals being equal under the law?

That is a joke.

It's not like Shushan has to stand up for mortals just because a cultivator killed someone.

Shushan is very clear about what is light and what is heavy.

As for the court officials, listening to Jiang Xuan Chen and the others teaching Ying Zheng such political concepts, they all felt uneasy.

In the minds of some, Ying Zheng was already tyrannical enough; now with such teachings, wouldn't it be…

Ying Zheng pondered for a while, came back to his senses, and looked at the many ministers and princes and princesses below with a calm expression.

Especially Fusu, who was kneeling below with a pale face.

After looking for a long time, Ying Zheng did not express anything.

After a while, he said slowly:

"You ministers may not know what has happened, so here, I will inform you."

"These three are from the Peng Bird clan of the Shushan cultivation world in the Great Thousand World."

"Of course, in other words, you might be more familiar with them."

"The Golden-Winged Great Peng, the Miemeng clan, and the Black Bird clan."

"This is the Patriarch of the Black Bird clan, and also the Great Qin totem, the Black Water Black Bird."

"He is also the ancestor of our Great Qin royal family, the Third Elder of the Peng Bird clan, Elder Jiang Xuan Chen."

"From now on, seeing the three ancestors is like seeing me."

Hearing this, many princes, princesses, and members of the Ying clan were overjoyed.

The civil and military officials and the royal family knelt on the ground.

"Greetings to the Immortal Master Ancestors, may the ancestors live forever!"

Jiang Xuan Chen and the others nodded slightly and did not express anything.

Ying Zheng continued:

"The arrival of the three ancestors is to bring this world under the command of the Shushan cultivation world."

"From now on, Great Qin will belong to the Peng Bird clan. If there are people with outstanding talent, they can follow me to the Shushan cultivation world to cultivate."

"Members of the Ying clan, if there are those with pure bloodlines, they can also return to the Black Bird clan."

"As for the Great Qin of this world, I will decide on the next Emperor in a few days."

If it were before, hearing Ying Zheng say he was going to decide on the Crown Prince would definitely have caused a huge uproar.

But now…

These were all minor matters.

The real big matter lay in who Ying Zheng would take to cultivate.

That was cultivation and longevity, an existence that countless people longed for and dreamed of.

In comparison, being a mortal Emperor, even with overwhelming power, would ultimately turn into a handful of yellow soil after a hundred years.

What's more, Ying Zheng was already cultivating; who said he couldn't come back after going to the cultivation world?

In the end, this was still a bitter job.

Not only could one not cultivate, but one also had to work hard. If one didn't do well, wouldn't Ying Zheng give them a severe beating when he returned?

"Fusu…"

Ying Zheng looked at Fusu with an expressionless face and said faintly:

"I am very disappointed in you."

Immediately, Fusu's face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground trembling.

"Father Emperor…"

"I let you study the Confucian Dao only because I hoped you would implement benevolent governance. The second-generation Emperor of Great Qin cannot be a person who is constantly conquering like me."

Since he was already cultivating, Ying Zheng didn't mind speaking openly.

"Great Qin has exerted the remaining strength of six generations to unify the world. In your eyes, is it brutal? You keep saying it is for the sake of the world."

"Do you know whether the people of the world need endless war?"

"Re-implementing enfeoffment, after a hundred years, the Great Qin world will fall into the conquests of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods again, and the people will live in misery."

"I ask you, in this world, are those people meant to die? Is only the power and interests of the nobles the true interest?"

"You keep saying you want to restore the Dao of the ancient Sage Kings. If the Great Zhou was truly a Sage King, why would it let the world split and fall into endless war?"

"Are the people really meant to die, and should they live such days of not knowing if they will survive until the evening?"

"I unified the world. Of those who say I am brutal, how many are ordinary people, and how many are the royal nobles of the seven kingdoms?"

"Can the people really think so much? They just want to eat their fill and live safely."

"Since Great Qin is unified, why start the flames of war again? Let them live a peaceful life and return to the days of exchanging children to eat?"

"Have you considered all of this?"

Fusu swayed unsteadily, his heart thundering as if struck by a bolt of lightning.

In this moment, he seemed to understand: he had kept claiming to act for the sake of the world, but in reality, the "world" he spoke of was still the world of the nobility.

He had never once thought of those ordinary people.

But were ordinary people not also subjects of the Great Qin?

Fusu gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice:

"Father, your son has disappointed you! Your son understands now!"

"I beg Father's permission; your son wishes to travel among the common people personally and listen to the voices of the ordinary subjects."

Ying Zheng let out a hum.

"Still salvageable!"

584. The Great Qin Imperial Clan are all Mysterious Birds

"Ancestor, although Fusu is somewhat pedantic, he is, after all, my eldest son. I ask that you offer him some guidance."

Ying Zheng turned his head and looked respectfully toward Jiang Xuan Chen.

The latter slowly opened his eyes, looked at the somewhat bewildered Fusu, and sighed.

"Very well... he does, after all, possess the bloodline of my Mysterious Bird clan."

Fusu felt a sense of urgency and said hastily:

"Ancestor, Fusu knows that I have disappointed you and Father, but I implore you, Ancestor, to point out Fusu's errors."

"Fusu will certainly strive to correct them!"

Jiang Xuan Chen nodded slightly and said calmly:

"In the ancient world of cultivation, there were the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. The supreme Daoist school was the Shushan Sect, to which we spirit clans were attached."

"The Confucian school also had a supreme figure, and that supreme figure was extremely revered by all the people of the cultivation world. Do you know why?"

Fusu shook his head blankly.

"Because the people of the Confucian school each harbored a breath of vast, righteous Qi; they were truly saintly individuals."

"The precepts of the Jixia Academy, the supreme institution of the Confucian school—I shall now impart them to you."

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the living, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, and to create peace for all generations!"

These words struck instantly at the hearts of Fusu and many Confucian scholars; even quite a few other court officials were filled with solemn respect.

Compared to the narrow-minded understanding of the Confucian scholars, this Jixia Academy was the true Confucian school.

Fusu repeated the words in his heart a few times, unable to stop tears from streaming down his face.

He kowtowed respectfully to the ground.

"Many thanks, Ancestor, for pointing out the path ahead! Fusu was wrong... Fusu knows he was wrong..."

"Fusu's Dao was too narrow. Many thanks, Ancestor, for pointing out the true path of the Confucian school."