Chapter 265: Harvest (Part 2)
"Master Changxin has come to Linzi again."
Hearing this, Lei Hu and Gao Pang both raised their heads and looked at Qian Qing who told them the news. Gao Pang stood up impatiently and said, "Why not go and pay him a visit?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"I want to ask if there have been any changes in the southeast." Gao Pang spoke out his concerns in a straightforward manner.
Qian Qing stared at Gao Pang for a moment, then turned to Lei Hu, "Tiger, what do you want to ask?"
"I..." Lei Hu thought for a moment, and suddenly mustered up the courage to answer, "I want to ask about marriage."
Gao Pang smiled secretly in his heart. Everyone knew what Lei Hu felt for Qian Qing. But he didn't expect him to say it so frankly. Gao Pang stared at Qian Qing with a mood of watching the fun. He saw Qian Qing's long eyelashes drooping slightly, as if he was emotional, but he couldn't tell what it was.
This made Gao Pang admire her very much. Qian Qing usually acted like a big sister. In addition to being brave enough to take on tasks, she also responded decisively. She seemed carefree. However, Gao Pang felt that Qian Qing's thoughts were getting deeper and deeper. At least now Gao Pang could not judge Qian Qing's thoughts by her reactions.
Just as I was thinking, I heard Lei Hu ask tentatively: "What do you want to ask?"
Qian Qing chuckled, revealing a sly look, "You will know when you meet Master Changxin."
Since the three had made the decision, they immediately started to act. They did not ride horses, but walked directly to the Taoist priest Changxin. On the way, Gao Pang asked Qian Qing, "Commander, I read the Art of War by Sun Tzu, and read that if you know the heavens and the earth, you will have endless victories. I think the ancient sages were a bit exaggerated. This time the governor really scared me. You are the governor's disciple, are you usually like this?"
Qian Qing's face was originally quite proud of herself, but suddenly other emotions intervened, making her dignified and beautiful face seem to be shrouded in a layer of dark clouds. When the dark clouds dissipated, Qian Qing, who suppressed her emotions, replied calmly: "Sir, you can scare me at any time."
As they were talking, they arrived at their destination. Qian Qing stepped forward and asked the Taoist boy to go and report. Not long after, the Taoist boy came out and replied, "The Taoist priest said he doesn't want to see guests."
Lei Hu sighed slightly, and Gao Pang was also very disappointed. This Taoist priest Changxin had the demeanor of a great man. He said he would not see guests, and he would not see guests. No matter who came, it would not work.
Just when Gao Pang was thinking whether he should ask the Taoist priest when he was free, he heard Qian Qing say, "This time it's the number one scholar who wants to see you."
Gao Pang was stunned. He never expected that Qian Qing would use him as an excuse. Based on Gao Pang's understanding of Qian Qing, Qian Qing must have planned to invite Gao Pang along.
The Taoist boy quickly brought back the Taoist priest's response, "Please come in."
Gao Pang saw that Lei Hu was a little unhappy, so he quickly used Huo Chong's words to smooth things over, "Chief of Staff, don't blame me. I am also the commander's tool."
Lei Hu was amused and chuckled twice, and his unhappiness immediately disappeared.
The three of them entered the Taoist priest's big house, which was still filled with paper scrolls with all kinds of incomprehensible patterns and talismans written on them.
The Taoist priest did not exchange pleasantries. He called Gao Pang and began to ask him about his birth date and other things. After collecting the data, the Taoist priest made some calculations on abacus and took out some star charts to look at. The three of them did not dare to say anything and sat quietly. Then the Taoist priest Changxin stopped what he was doing and said without looking up, "You are a person born under the star of Tan Lang."
"Huh?" Gao Pang didn't know what to say. Just as he was about to ask, he saw the Taoist priest raised his hand and made a gesture to keep quiet.
The three of them didn't dare to disturb him, they could only stare at each other. Gao Pang himself didn't believe this, and he had been taught by the Taoist priest. He knew that the Taoist priest was not someone who made a living by fortune-telling. Those who made a living by fortune-telling would tell the person who came to tell the fortune, "You are XX fate, so your life will definitely be XXOO" or something like that.
Master Chang Dao firmly believes that the Great Dao is rolling forward, and everyone is just an insignificant existence in the world created by the Great Dao, moving forward with the Great Dao. Therefore, fate is just this existence accidentally moving forward in parallel with something. Once you want to rely on a certain fate, you will definitely be left behind by that "indescribable" existence.
Because he believed in the Tao, he would not lie down and do nothing. Gao Pang really admired Master Changxin.
Thinking back to these, the Taoist priest put down what he was holding. He raised his head and took out a cigarette from the cigarette box. Qian Qing quickly brought the incense sticks over to help the Taoist priest light it. The Taoist priest took a puff, relaxed for a while, and then asked, "You three kids, hurry up and ask questions so that I can continue to work."
Gao Pang immediately spoke up , and before the other two spoke, he asked, "Master, has anything changed in Jiangnan?"
"The crape myrtle is surging, and the trend of growth and decline is complete. As for where it grows and declines, I have never learned it, so I can't tell."
Gao Pang felt a little disappointed, so he changed the direction of his question, "Then there must be a distinction between Chinese and barbarians, right?"
The Taoist priest narrowed his eyes slightly, with a look of impatience on his face, "I should have told you earlier that each person can only ask one question. But since I didn't tell you first, I'll answer you."
"Thank you, Taoist priest." Gao Pang replied quickly.
The Taoist Priest Chang Dao did not say much, and directly answered: "Heaven and earth are not benevolent and treat all things as straw dogs. This world originally belongs to the Great Dao. Is there any distinction between Chinese and barbarians in the Great Dao?"
Gao Pang shuddered, feeling as if he had been awakened. With the kind of shock from the heart when he suddenly became enlightened, Gao Pang felt that the Taoist's realm was indeed far higher than his own. The distinction between Chinese and barbarians was Gao Pang's standard for defining the world, but it was not the standard of the Tao itself. Since the entire world was born from the Tao, and China was, then wouldn't the barbarians, who were also part of the world, be not?
If this is the case, doesn't it mean that the barbarians have the characteristic of existing independently from the great way?
Just as he was shocked and moved, Qian Qing asked, "Master, since there is the Milky Way in the sky and rivers on the earth, is there any connection between the two?"
"Girl, what did you hear from Huo Chong?"
Gao Pang was stunned. He didn't expect that the question raised by Qian Qing would force Master Changxin to ask a question in return. It was obvious that there must be something strange going on. Looking at Qian Qing thinking about how to organize his words, Gao Pang couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He was listening to the same story, but he couldn't ask such a profound question.
Qian Qing should have thought it through by now, because she asked, "Master, don't the rivers on earth echo the stars in the sky? The rivers on earth are more powerful than mortals."
"That may not be the case." Master Chang Xin waved his hand while speaking, reinforcing his negative attitude. "The rivers are the result, and the land under our feet, oh, the earth. The sun, moon and the earth under our feet are the cause. This is what Huo Chong told me when we were discussing the formation and evolution of the earth. I agree with it. Since it is the result, how can it resonate with the stars? On the contrary, although people are also the result, they have initiative and can change. They are the result, but also the cause. The stars shine, and talents rely on the change, which may be some chance."
Qian Qing did not participate in such a profound discussion. She answered straightforwardly: "Master, please tell me what you can see."
Chang Xin said with a sigh, "The purple myrtle is surging, and the destiny is rising and falling. It seems subtle, but it actually contains a huge situation. In two or three years, there will be a big change. As for how it will change, we will know when the time comes."
Gao Pang listened with his ears perked up, afraid that he might miss a word. Then he heard the Taoist priest continue, "Girl, you have finished asking questions. The one next to you, it's your turn."
Gao Pang admired the Taoist priest's decisiveness and thought that if he faced a question that interested him, he would get to the bottom of it. Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest stopped at the right time, which was truly a master's style.
When Lei Hu was asked by the Taoist priest, he hesitated for a moment before answering, "I'll let Commander Qian take my question."
The Taoist priest looked at Lei Hu with a squinting look. Gao Pang felt that his expression was indescribably similar to Huo Chong's. Then he heard the Taoist priest say, "Heavenly dog, Heavenly dog, has nothing."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Qing asked, "Master, if..."
"I've already answered this kid's question, so get out of my way and stop interrupting my work."
Qian Qing was anxious, "Master, he didn't ask anything."
"I have already answered!" said the Taoist priest, raising his hand and pointing towards the door.
The three of them did not dare to provoke this enlightened master, so they could only stand up and say goodbye.
After leaving the yard, Qian Qing smiled and said, "Tiger, I didn't expect you to be a heavenly dog. You are so majestic. But you are a tiger, how come you are the reincarnation of a heavenly dog..."
Gao Pang also felt strange. Thunder Tiger became a Heavenly Dog, but it was still a Heavenly Dog with nothing. But Heavenly Dog swallowed the sun and the moon, which was indeed very majestic. However, no matter how it swallowed, it had to spit it out in the end.
When the three of them returned to the government office, Qian Qing said, "I'm going to Jinan with everyone else. What about you?"
Gao Pang told the two that he was going to go to the local area with Huo Chong to work in the farmers' association.
Lei Hu sighed, "We have to prepare the deployment of troops. Brother Gao is right, we really need a good situation. If we have a good situation, we only need one or two sides to fight the enemy. If we don't have a good situation, we will have to face the enemy on at least three sides. If we only occupy Henan, we will be in a place where we will fight on four sides. I used to think this word was very impressive. Now I know it is not impressive at all, but extremely dangerous."
"Don't worry, we will help you if you need it." Qian Qing comforted.
Lei Hu sighed again, "If the governor leads me to do this, I won't have to worry. I don't know when the governor will come back."
While speaking, Lei Hu kept looking at Gao Pang. Gao Pang wanted to follow Huo Chong to do the work of the Farmers' Association, so he could only answer: "If I have time, I will ask the governor to see where and how to assign people and horses."
The three of them communicated well and went about their business. Gao Pang prepared several notebooks to record everything that happened during the journey.
As they walked along, Gao Pang saw Huo Chong's eyes slightly closed, as if thinking about something . Gao Pang felt bored and asked carefully, "Governor, what are you going to talk about with the farmers' association this time?"
Huo Chong responded: "Talk about what we are going to do and why we are doing it."
Gao Pang was a little unsure, "Can they understand such a complicated arrangement?"
"So, I was thinking, maybe I'm too focused on results. Things like this should be more open, transparent, concise, and highly feasible, and can be imitated by everyone." At this point, Huo Chong suddenly laughed at himself, "I've been thinking about all kinds of calculations over the years, but I didn't expect that I couldn't do something honest and upright."
