The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror
Chapter 305 - 143: Chongyang True Master Reincarnated, Reciting Scriptures for Feng Wu_3

Chapter 305: Chapter 143: Chongyang True Master Reincarnated, Reciting Scriptures for Feng Wu_3

The location was at Xu Qing’s farmstead.

He was a Scholar, and naturally had a considerable amount of tax-exempt land, but during the land survey process, Xu Qing did not directly accept peasants’ offerings and instead purchased the land directly.

People gathered in the newly built farmhouses.

It was winter now, and it was actually easier to find people to build houses.

After all, the cold weather was not suitable for agricultural activities, and many farming households were idle, happy to have work to do, earning wages, and allowing their families to have a bit more meat for the New Year.

The farmhouses were simple, but the workmanship was solid, and at least there were no obvious drafts, but it was still cold.

The people originally thought that Xu Jieyuan had summoned them for another lecture.

In fact, everyone understood the principles, and they had grown somewhat impatient with listening.

Saints express profound truths in subtle words, what principles could not be found, but the key was how to realize it?

This answer could only be found in history books.

And obtained through practice.

Xu Qing addressed the crowd, "Gentlemen, I know everyone thinks that I am going to give another lecture or talk about the eight-legged essay. Lecturing, surely you are tired of hearing, so I will not speak of it."

The crowd let out a sigh of relief.

Xu Qing continued, "If it’s about the eight-legged essay, indeed, I am highly skilled and could improve your abilities in it. But today, I will not talk about the eight-legged essay either."

The crowd couldn’t help feeling disappointed, yet curious, wondering what Xu Jieyuan intended to speak about.

Xu Qing smiled, "Surely everyone is curious about why I called you here today."

The crowd’s curiosity grew.

Xu Qing slowly began, "Today, I’d like to ask you all to join me in working. I plan to expand this farmstead into a scholarly palace, then construct a repository for books, let’s call it ’Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’. The scholarly palace will be named the Heavenly Mechanism Palace. From now on, this will be the headquarters of the Recovery Society."

"Top Scorer sir, we are scholars, how can we do such menial work?"

"That’s why I am prepared to endure this hardship together with everyone, and if anyone is unwilling, they may leave the Recovery Society."

"Ah."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion; the prospect of leaving the Recovery Society was out of the question.

However, not everyone felt this way.

A poor member inquired, "Sitting Hall, do we get paid for this work?"

"Of course, and it will be much more than what others outside get paid," Xu Qing said with a smile.

"Then I am willing."

"Not doing it, no matter how much wages are offered," said those marginalized youths from noble families.

But the poor members had already begun persuading their peers, "Building the scholarly palace is for our future use, and Sitting Hall will surely not short-change us."

"It’s good if they leave; in the future, when our literary skills improve, we can outpace them."

Many of the poor members buzzed with discussion.

This chatter was naturally heard by members of the other faction.

Being outstripped in scholarly skills signifies being left behind in the Imperial Examination, a burden they could not bear.

As it is, being members of the Reconstruction Society, they were valued by their families and provided with financial and grain support.

Should they leave now, they fear all these benefits would be lost.

At first, they thought they could change Xu Qing’s mind by public opinion, but those bumpkins actually didn’t play the game fairly, offering no resistance at all.

After all, the Recovery Society had started from humble beginnings, with the majority being from the Dirt Clothes Faction.

Their family circumstances had improved, but were far from completely better.

Moreover, Xu Qing had relaxed the entry threshold for Recovery Society; even those without the Scholar status could join.

Thus, even though some members had gone to Lingnan and some were surveying the land, there were still quite a number of members left.

In fact, many members born to aristocratic families were eager to take on the land survey tasks.

This was also a move made out of necessity, as poor members doing this work would be delayed and tripped up in the actual process, whereas the tasks were carried out smoothly and clearly by aristocratic family members.

Magistrate He fundamentally did not wish to escalate the matter too fiercely, so naturally, there was a tendency to be partial to members coming from aristocratic family backgrounds.

Xu Qing knew this well but did not force the issue.

Because to fight alone would only intensify internal conflicts.

The Recovery Society was a powerful weapon in his hands, not his burden, and Xu Qing could not be the first to charge ahead and do everything himself.

Do not underestimate others, nor overestimate oneself.

Building a scholarly palace was certainly necessary, but this action was not only about construction; it was a test of obedience and also a further strengthening of the organization, enhancing its practical capabilities.

Only those who can endure hardship are truly brothers to Xu Gongming, the timely rain of Jiangning.

If they are not willing to share this hardship, then Xu Gongming had no such brothers.

Actually, shared hardships can also be a way to strengthen bonds.

After a combination of soft and hard approaches by Xu Qing, about twenty members chose to leave.

These people had been specially selected by the nobles, and in reality, they held not insignificant statuses in their families.

Precisely because of this, they couldn’t endure hardship.

Xu Qing had preliminarily purified the ranks.

He was aware that this purity was only temporary; one day, old comrades turning into future adversaries was the norm.

But that was a matter for the future.

Xu Qing also composed a couplet for the under-construction Heavenly Mechanism Palace,

"Spanning the boundless void, rely on none but ourselves amid the universe’s stimulus and ground’s logic."

"Surviving the tribulation to come, all records and tallies of He Tu and Luo Shu are naught but emptiness to be relied upon."

These words, with his Divine Soul Realm, were highly artistic.

Almost as lofty as the new Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.

This business of constructing the Heavenly Mechanism Palace was just a general framework; the specifics required finding skilled craftsmen from the families in Jiangning Prefecture, even from Yingtian Prefecture, for guidance.

In reality, members could only do a limited amount of work, but they all had good learning capacities; Xu Qing would allow them to pick up work that was easy to learn and get started on.