Chapter 38: Lighting up the river lanterns to honor the dead

It is said that if you understand the laws but not the principles, it will be all in vain when you grow old; if you understand the principles but not the laws, your ten years of hard work will be in vain.

Theory is also a very important part of the assessment.

If you want to surpass other minor officials, you have to be more comprehensive. If their magic performances are almost the same, then the one with better magic theory will be selected as an official.

Zhao Xing casually picked up a book from the bookcase, titled "Seventy-two Phenological Months in the Lunar Calendar", which was included in the ancient farming book "Shi Xun Jie". The original author is no longer traceable, and it was re-compiled by Wu Cheng, the Minister of Agriculture during the Taizu period.

"At the beginning of the first lunar month, the east wind thaws the ice; the warm sun arrives and the frozen ice disperses."

"The second phase is when hibernating insects begin to stir; stir means to move."

"The third sign is that fish are swimming up and carrying ice. To rise means to accumulate, to rise, or to get high. The Yang Qi has already started, and the fish are gradually swimming up and getting closer to the ice."

Zhao Xing activated his night vision and began to read carefully.

In pursuit of stable celestial phenomena, ancient agricultural sages tried to find stable and long-term adaptable rules from them, and thus created many theories.

"The 72 Seasonal Changes" is one of them.

It uses five days as a period, three periods as a climate, six climates as a time, and four times as a year. There are a total of seventy-two periods in a year's "twenty-four solar terms".

Each phenology corresponds to a phenological phenomenon, which is called "phenological response".

Among them, plant phenomena should include the sprouting of young shoots, flowering, and fruiting; animal phenomena should include the beginning of animal vibrations, the beginning of singing, mating, and migration; and non-biological phenomena include the beginning of water freezing, thunder, and moist soil.

"In early February, peaches begin to bloom. In early February, peaches begin to bloom. Yang and warmth appear, and from then on, they gradually flourish."

"The second sign is the singing of the oriole."

"In the third phase, the eagle turns into a dove. The eagle is a bird of prey. At this time, the eagle turns into a dove, and in autumn, the dove turns into an eagle again."

The 72 lunar months record many miraculous phenomena.

For example, the "Eagle Transforms into a Dove" in early February.

The "rat turns into a quail" in early March.

At the end of September, "sparrows enter the water and turn into clams."

This is the "species climate change" caused by the change of the four seasons, coupled with the drastic changes in the environment and vitality.

The above are not particularly exaggerated.

The ancient version of "Shi Xun Jie" also records that in early April in some places, "earth dragons will transform into earthworms."

That is to say, the earthworm will turn into a ground dragon hundreds of feet in size!
In early August, the 'young swallow turns into a black bird'. An ordinary swallow or sparrow can turn into the 'black bird of destiny'!
At the end of December, in the North Sea, there was a "Kunpeng Transformation". The Kun fish soared up overnight and transformed into a nine-sky great peng!

Ordinary "climate change" is measured in years, and there are also "decadal climate change", "centennial climate change" and "millennial climate change".

The version compiled by Wu Cheng only records the "ten-year climate change" and briefly mentions the centennial climate change.

As for the almost legendary "Millennium Climate Change", it was deleted.

Because the Minister of Agriculture would never see the thousand-year climate change in his lifetime, and after the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the changes in vital energy were no longer so drastic, and the possibility of such examples occurring became less and less.

Another reason is taboo.

Such as "the young swallow turned into a black bird", "the black bird was sent by heaven to give birth to the Yin Dynasty."

It is said that Taizu of the Yin Dynasty was raised by the Black Bird of Destiny. If another Black Bird of Destiny appears in someone's family, it would probably cause turmoil.

"I have seen the 'Kunpeng Transformation' twice in the North Sea in my previous life, but I can't remember the exact time. As for the Heavenly Fate Black Bird, I have only heard of it but never witnessed it with my own eyes. I don't know if I will have the chance in this life."

"However, this kind of thousand-year climate change did not seem to occur during the reign of Emperor Jing. At most, there was only a hundred-year climate change. When and where did it occur?"

Zhao Xing thought about it and his memory was a little fuzzy. He only vaguely remembered that it seemed to be related to certain events.

"When people come to the land, it will flourish, and the loess will turn into real gold."

"Of the Five Elements, earth is the most precious and does not compete with fire for fame."

Zhao Xing read the "Five Elements and Four Seasons Theory" for a while. This is another classic work. It is a theoretical doctrine that unifies the five elements and the four seasons to complete a self-consistent system. "It is easy to match the five elements with the heavenly branches and earthly stems, but it is really a headache for the agricultural sages and the candidates who take the exams." Zhao Xing couldn't help but smile as he looked at the book.

He had been tested on the five elements and four seasons many times before. An authentic Si Nong official who compiled the "Solar Terms Order" must have a good understanding of the five elements and yin and yang, otherwise the solar terms he ordered and the resulting solar terms would be neither fish nor fowl.

"The most popular theory at present is 'Earth King Season Summer Theory', which means spring wood, summer fire, season summer earth, autumn gold and winter water."

"This system of matching the five elements with the moon is still imperfect. The time for the fire element and the earth element to correspond is too short, which is inconsistent with the idea that the five elements should be in an equal position."

"But let's just bear with it for now and see what questions come up, then make plans." Zhao Xing said secretly.

He understood many theories that were improved in later generations, but these versions were too advanced and might not be applicable today.

He is a county-level official. If he writes a shocking theory, it may cause a great shock during the temple examination. Being too high-profile may not be a good thing. He has to take it one step at a time.

After studying hard all night, Zhao Xing put down his book only when the golden rooster crowed.

Looking at the panel, there was already a series of records.

[You read in the dark, Bright Eyes spell proficiency +2]

[You read in the dark, Bright Eyes spell proficiency +3]

[You in the dark night...]

The spell Bright Eyes is very easy to master, and the rate of proficiency increase is almost calculated on a minute-by-minute basis.

Zhao Xing studied hard day and night, focusing on the spell of "Bright Eyes" and soon achieved remarkable results.

After one night, the Bright Eyes spell had broken through to the fourth level.

Mingmu night vision, night vision is just the entry-level function of Mingmu.

If one wants to achieve the effect of 'clear eyes capable of seeing ghosts and gods at night', the fourth turn is still not enough.

"Looks like I have to take a shortcut." Zhao Xing went out and ran to the medicine shop in the market town, bought a bunch of mugwort leaves and a box of high-quality tung oil.

At the same time, he also bought "yellow paper", "bright sand", "Tianxin grass" and other items.

After a big shopping spree, I returned home.

"I think I'm not mistaken about the quick method to become a bright-eyed person. I really don't know which ruthless player came up with it."

Zhao Xing muttered to himself as he lit a mixture of mugwort, mingsha and tianxin grass.

A line of smoke and dust was like a pillar, condensed and not dispersing.

Zhao Xing moved closer to the smoke and began to smoke his eyes.

"Sigh~"

The smoke is not choking, but has a light fragrance, but it really irritates the eyes!
After a while, Zhao Xing felt a spicy sensation. After enduring it for a while, he had to move away.

Then I applied tung oil on my eyelids, and a cool sensation came over me, which made me feel much better.

[Night Vision spell proficiency +20]

[Night Vision spell proficiency +30]

The hard work paid off, as his spell proficiency began to increase dramatically.

Zhao Xingyi imitated the above operations and began to practice repeatedly.

In addition to going to the Sinongjian to practice the spells of cultivating the right time and place every day, he would take time out at night to specialize in the spell of bright eyes.

Finally, before August 22, Zhao Xing had cultivated the Bright Eyes spell to the ninth level.

"Tomorrow is the beginning of summer heat, we will light river lanterns and offer sacrifices to the dead. I don't know if we can get any benefit from it."

(End of this chapter)