Chapter 277 Brother Li, You Are Already the Golden Gong Night Watchman

Zhao Shou and Wei Yuan entered Li Changan's courtyard one after another. Xu Lingyue left Xu Pingzhi behind and trotted to meet them.

"My Lords, the Master said that if there are any more guests, please go to the study to chat."

Afterwards, Xu Lingyue took the two important figures to Li Changan's study. The courtyard with six entrances was really large and it took a while to walk through it.

Xu Pingzhi hid in a corner, mingling with the servants, and never showed up.

It is best for small people with no power to avoid contact with people with great power, otherwise a random word from them may decide their fate.

This is the philosophy of life of Xu Pingzhi, a seventh-rank centurion. Especially for a figure as powerful and terrifying as Wei Yuan, it is better not to have any contact with him.

Zhao Shou and Wei Yuan entered Li Changan's study and saw Li Changan writing. The words flowing from his pen were the sequel to the Thirty-six Chapters on Military Affairs.

"I am Zhao Shou, I will not disturb you, Brother Li. Please continue!"

Zhao Shou said this quickly, then stood obediently by the side, staring intently at the newly completed manuscript.

"This is Wei Yuan, the most powerful official in the court. You don't have to pay attention to him. With me here, he won't dare to do anything to us scholars."

Wei Yuan came in a few moments late and had already been seized by Zhao Shou. What do you mean by "you scholars"? Wei is also a well-educated man.

What does the most powerful official mean? It sounds like Wei is here to cause trouble.

At this moment, Wei Yuan regained his elegant demeanor and said casually, "Wei is here to invite Mr. Li to the Night Watchman's Office for a chat."

But the moment he looked at Li Changan's manuscript, his eyes became hot again, and he felt like he had found a confidant.

He looked at Li Changan again. He looked less than 20 years old, but he could write such a masterpiece. Could it be that he had fought a war in his dream?

Wei Yuan, who was originally concerned about Li Changan's background, is no longer concerned about it and wants to recruit him first.

Based on Wei Yuan's many years of experience in judging people, he believed that if Li Changan could be allowed to join the Night Watchmen's Office, it would help him solve a lot of problems, so he had to win him over.

Both he and Zhao Shou came with the purpose of recruiting Li Changan, so open and covert fighting, as well as sarcastic remarks, were inevitable.

Not long after, Li Changan divided the manuscript in his hand into two parts. "Time is limited, and I have only written six articles. Please correct me, gentlemen."

He handed the three chapters of "Strategies of War" to Wei Yuan, and the three chapters of "Governing People" to Zhao Shou. He wanted these two to see with their own eyes that these manuscripts were written by him.

After Wei Yuan and Zhao Shou finished reading, they exchanged each other's content and then reluctantly put the manuscript back on the table.

Afterwards, the three of them discussed the contents of the book for a long time, and finally Wei Yuan and Zhao Shou both believed that the book was indeed written by Li Changan himself, because he explained the ideas in it very clearly.

Because when he was writing this book in his previous life, Li Changan had discussed it with Prime Minister Zhuge countless times and could recite it by heart.

More than two hours later, Wei Yuan and Zhao Shou looked at each other. They were both shocked and unbelievable at first, but now they both believed that Li Changan did have the ability to establish his own sect.

"Brother Li, are you free to go to the Night Watchman's Office to have a chat?"

"Brother Li, Yunlu Academy is where you should go."

Wei Yuan actually changed his words and called Li Changan "Brother Li", which surprised Zhao Shou!

It was common for scholars to discuss teachings among their peers, and there was no problem with that if one was well-educated. However, despite Wei Yuan's enormous power, he never did so.

Could it be true, as Zhang Shen said, that these ideas on military management and leading troops were so brilliant that even Wei Yuan was obsessed with them?

In fact, Wei Yuan had already realized that if Li Changan joined Yunlu Academy, he would be on the same level as Dean Zhao and the four great Confucian scholars.

If he still regarded Li Changan as the same generation as Yang Yan and other Jin Luos, then wouldn't he be his own nephew? Now it seems that Li Changan is obviously a little arrogant and should not be willing to accept such treatment.

Of course, the most important thing is that Li Changan has the ability.

Li Changan said, "Let's go and have a look. Go to whichever is closer first."

Afterwards, the three of them first came to the night watchmen's office, where Wei Yuan personally explained the composition and status of the night watchmen's office and what it usually did.

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou followed behind in fear and trepidation. Both of them could not have imagined that the dignified Lord Wei would personally invite Li Changan over, and be so polite!

"Brother Li is a great hero in Jianzhou, and so is my night watchman office. As the saying goes, one should be loyal to the emperor and eat his salary. Night watchmen are always involved in major cases."

Zhao Shou said, "The duties of the night watchman are to monitor the officials, protect the royal family, and guard the capital. Participating in major cases is just one of them..."

Afterwards, the three of them came to an attic with a very high threshold.

"President Zhao, this place is not convenient for outsiders to enter. Please wait outside for a while."

Wei Yuan said this, and then he and the two golden gong night watchmen took Li Changan into the attic.

A couplet in the lobby on the first floor is very eye-catching, "I wish to serve the Buddha with a deep heart, not seeking benefits for myself."

Li Changan knew that this was written by Wei Yuan himself. Of course, such words could only be slogans. There is no one in the world who does not pursue his own interests. Even if there is, it is impossible that he is in the night watchman's office of the secret service agency.

Then, two clerks came in holding two brocade boxes. Li Changan immediately raised his eyebrows. Wasn't this the qualification test for Xu Qian'an when he joined the night watchman?

Wei Yuan looked normal, showing no emotion, and was still talking about his experience in writing the couplet. The two golden gong night watchmen behind him had their hearts pounding, as they were going to drag Li Changan into the night watchmen's office without him even noticing.

Once you pass the qualification test, you will become a night watchman in the yamen.

Wei Yuan suddenly changed the subject and talked about the boxes in the hands of the two officials in front of him. "In the boxes in their hands, one is empty and the other is not empty. You choose to ask each of them a question. One of them only tells lies and the other only tells the truth."

As expected, Old Deng casually threw out the questions about the intelligence test, obviously intending to take advantage of Li Changan's unpreparedness and start the aptitude test directly.

But Li Changan had read the script. In the original book, Xu Qian'an was given a stick of incense time for a aptitude test.

The average night watchman would think of the answer within twenty breaths, but as a policeman who had tackled a lot of logic questions in civil service exams, Xu Qian'an gave the answer in twelve breaths, not even deducting the time the clerk was in a daze.

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou stared at Li Changan intently, trying to see how long it would take this genius who could write a masterpiece that would shock Duke Wei to come up with the answer.

Wei Yuan seemed casual, but his peripheral vision was also watching Li Changan's actions. Li Changan randomly picked an official and asked, "If you were him, tell me which box is empty."

When saying "he", Li Changan pointed to another clerk. At this time, Wei Yuan's eyelids couldn't help twitching, and Nangong Qianrou and Yang Yan took a deep breath at the same time, because this answer was correct.

Back then, Yang Yan took nineteen breaths, Nangong Qianrou took fifteen breaths, and Li Changan almost blurted it out without thinking at all.

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou looked at Li Changan's tall back, and their admiration for him deepened. He was indeed a master!

The clerk who was asked was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and then said, "His box is empty."

Li Changan nodded, pointed at the box in the clerk's hand, and said to Wei Yuan, "There is something in here."

"Hahaha, Brother Li is really quick-witted. This little game has stumped many night watchmen."

Then, the four people continued to walk upstairs. There was an antique bronze mirror hanging on the pillar on the second floor. When Li Changan saw the mirror, he knew that this was the "questioning of conscience" session.

The function of this mirror is to prevent people from doing things against their will. They will do what they think. In the hall on the second floor, there is a Buddha statue with a rich body and a solemn appearance. The incense table is filled with incense and offerings.

Li Changan looked at the Buddha statue without any ripples in his heart. The Buddha in this world was also a super-class cultivator and there was nothing to respect about him.

Wei Yuan and the others also showed no emotion, and it was obvious that they did not respect the Buddha.

The third floor enshrines the Taoist master, who is wearing a Taoist robe, holding a wooden sword and stepping on auspicious clouds.

Seeing Dao Zun, Li Changan walked forward a few steps and stood beside Dao Zun.

"Duke Wei, if I stand here one day, I should be more majestic than Dao Zun."

Li Changan practices Taoism, and there are a large number of advanced Taoist methods in his system. It will not be difficult for him to surpass the Taoist Master in the future.

But the corners of Wei Yuan's mouth twitched unconsciously, and he thought that this kid must be practicing fake Taoism and was so disrespectful to the Taoist Master.

"Haha, Brother Li is so handsome and graceful that he can indeed rival the Dao Master."

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou kept swallowing their saliva. They had never seen a cultivator who dared to stand on equal footing with the Taoist Master.

Li Changan added, "If I were standing here, I would definitely make a sculpture of the beautiful imperial teacher to accompany me."

Wei Yuan quickly grabbed Li Changan and said with a strange look, "Brother Li, stop talking and go upstairs."

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou couldn't help but feel emotional. Brother Li really trusted them and dared to say such words in front of them.

The fourth layer is a Confucian saint, wearing a Confucian robe and a Confucian cap, with a solemn expression, looking into the distance.

Li Changan stared at the saint for a long time without saying a word.

Wei Yuan stroked his chin and said, "This man is a Confucian sage. It seems that Brother Li still respects him very much."

But Li Changan turned a deaf ear to Wei Yuan's words, shook his head and sighed, "You are useless, you are just a scholar... Continue to go upstairs."

Wei Yuan's pupils shrank sharply, and the two night watchmen were also ashamed. This Li Changan practiced martial arts, Taoism, and Confucianism, but he did not respect Taoism or Confucian saints. Who was he?
Just as everyone was about to go to the fifth floor, Wei Yuan stopped Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou, "You two don't need to go up."

Yang Yan and Nangong Qianrou obeyed the order and stopped following. It was obvious that Wei Yuan didn't want these two to see certain things.

Yang Yan thought to himself, the upper level has a statue of the founding emperor of Dafeng, if Li Changan doesn’t kneel...hiss!

Nangong Qianrou rolled her eyes, but what she thought of was, if Duke Wei didn’t kneel...hiss!

On the fifth floor, there is a man in a dragon robe, standing tall and majestic, with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, and an awe-inspiring aura.

The two of them reached the fifth floor. They first looked at the clay sculptures for a while, and then began to stare at each other.

"Lord Wei, this clay sculpture is quite majestic."

Wei Yuan said with a half-smile, "Of course, he is the most difficult to sculpt."

Li Changan continued, "I think Duke Wei must be very majestic standing there!"

Wei Yuan almost stumbled and looked at Li Changan meaningfully. What a madman who has no king, no father, and no regards for gods and Buddhas!
But then he looked down at his straight knees and didn't know what to say.

My knees are too stiff, I can’t kneel down!

"Brother Li, you are joking. Let's continue walking inside."

The two walked around the statue of the emperor and went deeper into the floor. The space inside was larger, and the hollow windows were filled with mottled sunlight, which illuminated the wooden platform in the room. A poem was engraved on the wooden platform.

"He killed millions of enemy soldiers, and the sword on his waist was still bloody. He returned holding the golden mace, and the civil and military officials in the court dared not say a word."

Li Changan said with a smile, "Duke Wei is so imposing, loyal to his country, unrivaled in his achievements, and supervising all officials... He is so arrogant."

This poem is placed here to express empathy. With the bronze mirror here, if you can empathize with the poem, you will definitely be able to express something.

"Pen and ink are at your service."

As Wei Yuan expected, Li Changan was indeed touched. Wei Yuan couldn't help but become curious as he didn't know what Li Changan would write.

Li Changan wrote fluently and without any hindrance, expressing his true views on imperial power.

"When prosperity occurs, the people suffer. When it dies, the people suffer."

After reading it, Wei Yuan thought that Li Changan was indeed different from others. It was obvious that he was dissatisfied with the world.

"Brother Li, do you mean that no matter whether a country rises or falls, the people will suffer?"

Li Changan said calmly, "That can't be said. A prosperous era without turmoil is the best era."

Wei Yuan said to himself, "A prosperous age without turmoil... How can it be called a prosperous age without the use of weapons and construction projects?"

"It's not difficult. As long as the wise ruler of a prosperous era doesn't become wise first and then corrupt, the people in the second half of the prosperous era will still be very happy."

Wei Yuan coughed twice and said, "You've come back to the same thing again, hinting that the current emperor was first wise and then foolish, right?"

Although Wei Yuan himself thought so, this idea was hidden very deeply. He didn't know why Li Changan dared to say these words in front of him.

After these six tests of conscience, Wei Yuan had already determined that Li Changan was a man with no fear in his heart.

“Only when you have nothing to fear in your heart can you turn the world upside down.”

Wei Yuan said this in his heart, and then he had a comprehensive understanding of Li Changan.

How could a person who disrespects gods, Buddhas and the emperor in his heart possibly respect a eunuch like himself?

"Brother Li, you have successfully passed the night watchman qualification test. You will be the Golden Luo night watchman from now on."

Li Changan said, "Duke Wei, it seems you didn't ask for my opinion."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "You are above all the Jinluo. We won't bother you unless there is a big and difficult case, but you will enjoy all the privileges of the Jinluo."

Li Changan said, "Then I am in a high position with great power and no need to work hard, and I have become a parasite of Dafeng."

Wei Yuan pointed at the calligraphy and said, "Those who write about the suffering of the people in the rise and fall of a country under the mirror of their conscience cannot become parasites."

Li Changan took the golden gong handed over by Wei Yuan and said, "Then I won't be polite. From now on, I can use the power of the golden gong to bully men and women."

"By the way, Lord Wei, how is Li's qualification?"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "His talent is beyond compare, and he is a Taoist sage!"

(End of this chapter)