After taking Tulga to solve the financial crisis, Alan began his own life as a rice worm again.

On this day, Alan was drinking Solomon's coffee in the courtyard, blowing a warm breeze, it was already autumn, and the sun was not as hot as summer, so it was a good time to enjoy afternoon tea. Sebasti stood beside him, reporting to Alan on the month's expenses.

"So in general, our total monthly income is around 10,000 gold coins, and our total expenditure is around 4,000 gold coins. In addition, there were 50,000 gold coins received from Tulgar. Sebastian said.

"Yes." Alan took a sip of coffee and said, "It seems that the financial situation is good."

Sebastian was also very happy, after all, the financial crisis was solved, and the table that was sold was back, and finally did not go to the seller. The young master has finally grown up and can be on his own, don't worry, master. Sebastian said silently in his heart.

"Young Master, it is said that Zeno and his apprentices are about to arrive in Esis on a study tour recently. As the hosts of Essis, should we give a banquet to welcome?" Sebastian said.

"Oh, what's that Zeno for?" Alan discovers that there are rare creatures like university scholars in this savage world, and Alan thinks that the entire human race is in a dark period.

"Young master, Zeno's full name is Zeno-Faramon, he is the youngest son of the Faramon family, when he was young, he once traveled to the continent to study under the university scholar Antisthenes, and after completing his studies, he became his own faction, and later many people called him and his apprentices Stoics." Sebastian explained.

"And what does this Stoic Zeno do?" Alan asked, picking up a piece of cake and putting it in his mouth.

"The Stoics declared that the rationality of the world determines the development of things. And world reason, which they think is the divinity, is the master of the world, and the individual is only a part of God's whole. However, because this theory overlaps with the Holy Light Doctrine of the Holy Light, it has always been denounced as a pseudo-doctrine by the Holy Light. ”

"It seems that this Stoic is an idealist school. But then again, what's going on with this Holy Light Cult? If the Holy Light Cult does not recognize their doctrines, why are they allowed to preach them everywhere?"

The Holy Light Cult is a very large church on the mainland, somewhat like Earthly Christianity, which has a great influence among the people, but it is not prominent among the nobility. This is due to the fact that the Holy Light Cult does not interfere in the daily life of the aristocracy like Christianity with strict canons, and the second is that the Holy Light Cult does not require everyone to believe in the Holy Light Cult. Therefore, in the life of the aristocracy, there was generally no dealings with the Holy See.

But this in no way means that the Cult of Light is a religion of peace, and the Cult of Light, like all hard religions, has an Inquisition dedicated to all those who threaten the teachings of the Cult of Light, or who are hostile to it.

"Although the Stoics overlapped with the teachings of the Holy Light in some concepts, their main purpose was not to oppose the Holy Light Cult, and their numbers were scarce, and the nobles of various countries did not pay attention to them, so the Holy Light Cult tolerated them." Sebastian replied.

"Okay, okay. After all, we Ouranos are also a glorious old aristocrat, and we still have to have the dignity we deserve. Sebastian, go ahead and arrange it. Alan took a sip of coffee to relieve the sweetness in his mouth, fiddled with the parasol on his head slightly to block out the sun, and lay down in his chair and fell asleep.

"Yes, young master." Sebastian saw that Alan was asleep, and he didn't bother anymore, beckoned the maid next to him to stand aside, and went to deal with the affairs of the dukedom. After Alan conquered Tulga, the entire Duke's domain expanded by one-third in an instant, and the things that needed to be dealt with suddenly increased, and Alan was not interested in these government affairs, so Sebastian had to take on this important task alone.

Two months had passed since the return of Tulga, and more than half of the summer had passed, and now the weather in Essis was getting cooler, and the nobles had to add a dress or two to protect them from the wind and cold.

But in Allen's Venus Manor, the atmosphere of summer is still maintained, and the stars and moonflowers are gently swaying in the autumn wind, and the blooming flowers do not seem to be aware that summer is about to pass, and the situation of autumn is coming, still showing their style presumptuously.

The banquet in Venus Manor was equally warm, the fireplace flame in the hall was warm and bright, but there was not a trace of charcoal smoke, which was high-grade smokeless charcoal, a detail of the top family. At the same time, a small amount of water pine wood is added, so that there is a faint pine fragrance that surrounds the hall.

Today's ingredients are both luxurious and elegant. The silver cod sauce from the deep sea is white and tender, not greasy, and paired with fluffy bread, it has to be said to be a classic choice. And in order to remove the fishy smell, it is also served with diced tomatoes.

The best geoduck is a rare mussel from the West Sea, and the delicious meat and the seafood soup cooked for three hours with Arctic shellfish is another highlight of the dinner.

As for the finest foie gras and the traditional Escisian veal steak, it is an excellent flavor for the dinner.

The enjoyment of such top nobles did bring great stimulation to these earth-steamed nobles, and after Allen conquered Tulka City in two days, the nobles who were still waiting to see Allen's jokes couldn't help but pay attention to it. Now, this banquet shows the profound heritage of the Ouranos family, and it has made the major families re-face this new Duke of Essis.

However, at this time, Allen's heart was dripping blood, although Allen asked Sebastian to arrange a dinner party because he naturally knew Lao Sai's aristocratic taste, but the extravagant act of eating a thousand gold coins in this meal still made Allen's heart ache.

Taking a bite of the gold coin, it was a steak, and Alan said to the white-bearded old man Zeno beside him: "Dear Sir Zeno, I have heard your name for a long time in Esis, and I hope this dinner can help you wash away the fatigue of travel, so that you can enjoy the beauty of Essis."

Zeno replied, "Your Excellency Duke is gracious, and it is my honor to be invited by you. Such a perfect dinner is rare even on the mainland. I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for your hospitality. ”

"Hahaha, Sir is polite, it is naturally an honor to invite a university scholar like Jazz." Alan replied politely, "I've heard that Jazz often says that the world is rational, I wonder if Jazz can solve my doubts?"

Zeno knew that this was a question that every nobleman would ask, and it was polite to ask about the other person's expertise in the nobleman's communication, and Zeno also valued every opportunity to promote his ideas. He replied, "I think that the universe is a beautiful, orderly, perfect whole, that comes from the same starting point and tends to the same goal. Man is a part of the universe, so he should coordinate himself and be in the same direction as the universe. ”

"So what's the benefit of humans if they reconcile themselves?" Alan asked.

"Your Excellency, do you think that the sickness and death of people is a good thing or a bad thing?" Zeno asked rhetorically.

"Bad thing."

"Are you afraid of death, then?" Zeno asked again.

"I'm afraid." Alan said, he seemed to understand what Zeno meant.

"If even the valiant Duke is afraid of death, let alone others. But it is precisely because some fools are afraid of death and illness that they will lose their original reason and do extreme things. This is because they don't realize that they are part of the universe. Whether to live or die is a natural law, and man must learn to accept his fate. Only in this way can human beings have rationality, and only society can have rationality. And a rational society will be an orderly society. Zeno said.

Alan understands that Zeno actually believes that all development and change in nature are regular. He called this law rationality. At the same time, human beings, as a member of the natural world, are naturally regular, so people need to adapt to their own environment and status, so as to establish a rational society and reduce social chaos.

Zeno himself was born in a dilapidated aristocratic family, due to the dilapidated family, but Zeno's family is unwilling to accept such a situation, and is still desperately trying to maintain the life of the nobles, although they maintain dignity in front of people, but everyone is miserable in private. Therefore, Zeno had a deep understanding of the human psyche, and in his youth he studied with the scholar Antisthenes and accepted Antisthenes' idea of attaching importance to virtue. To despise all comforts and pleasures by believing that virtue is the only goal to be pursued, which can only be attained through the painstaking tempering of the flesh, is the only possible happiness.

Later, he traveled to the continent and sublimated his theory to the relationship between man and nature, thus creating the Stoics.

Zeno's doctrine was absolutely positive for society in Allen's view, and in this era, as in the Middle Ages, the aristocracy lived in luxury, and was unwilling to care about the lives of commoners, let alone serfs. Therefore, the current society is a sand-like society, and although there are nobles who maintain basic ties, this bond is also very weak.

And this weak social relationship seriously affected the rule of the country, just like the Tulga Collar after Allen defeated Andrew, there was no change, but it was the same as a different lord, whether it was a nobleman or a commoner serf, there was no difference between eating and drinking. How can such a society form a centripetal force, how to build consensus, and how to develop rapidly?

Zeno didn't disturb Allen's thinking, he naturally saw Allen's attitude as a university scholar in his sixties who had traveled the entire continent, but he was not in a hurry and waited quietly for Allen.

After a while, Alan muttered, "So how do you think people need to know themselves?"

Zeno smiled slightly: "A life that is consistent with nature is a moral life, and nature guides us to morality, so we will move towards morality."

It turned out to be morality, Alan soothed his brows and asked again: "Then what do you think of the country and the government?"

Zeno replied solemnly: "Since human beings are part of nature, then there is no difference between human beings, whether they are serfs, commoners or nobles, they are all human beings, and since this is the case, then the same kind of people should have only one country, one kind of citizen." And the country should also be ruled by wise monarchs. ”

Alan listened to Zeno's words and was very satisfied, although Zeno's proposition was a thankless task for the other nobles, and no one wanted to do it. However, Alan was very interested, and some of Zeno's ideas were very similar to the cultures that Alan was exposed to on the planet, which made Alan feel very close. Although this is a strange world, if there is a little shadow of his hometown, it still makes Alan feel a lot closer.

Alan raised the cup in his hand, stood up and said to everyone, "Let us welcome Sir Zeno once again, and I extend my sincerest greetings to you on behalf of the entire Duchy of Essis. Let's toast to Sir Zeno!"