Chapter 368 Zhao Zhengyi seeks to build a Taoist temple
Li Meier put his hands behind his back, turned to the door and shouted: "Come in."
The hollow wooden door of the study room opened, and a thin figure wearing linen clothes walked in. Li Siye turned around and saw that this Taoist was too poor. He was wearing straw sandals, his linen clothes were in pieces, he didn't even have a scarf on his head, and his hair was fluffy with vicissitudes of life.
, only a bamboo hairpin was inserted back.
After entering the door, the Taoist priest looked around as if he was observing Feng Shui. He looked free and natural, unlike ordinary people who were afraid of officials.
Li Siye regarded him as a member of the Taoist sect and extended his hand to invite him: "Sir, please sit down quickly."
The Taoist sat cross-legged on the futon, shook his head and pointed at the roof and said: "In the whole yard, this room is the most suitable for a wedding room."
"Here? That's fine too."
Li Siye didn't object, Twelve Niangs stood outside the door and monitored.
"General Li, based on the birth dates of you and Madam Li, I have calculated that the ninth day of the next month will be a good day to get married."
"On the ninth day of the lunar month, it's almost the end of the month. Fifteen days? It's almost a little early, okay."
After Li Siye nodded in agreement, he put his hands down and said nothing, waiting for the guest to take the initiative to leave.
Unexpectedly, this Taoist priest had no intention of leaving. He folded his hands slightly, looked up at Li Siye's head and said: "I have traveled far and wide, learned a lot of things, and practiced Dharma under Tianshi Zhang Guo, Taisu Zhenren, Ye Fashan, and Luo Gongyuan.
, I dare not say that I am proficient in the Dao now, but I am also accomplished in the technique."
After the Taoist priest said this, he lowered his eyelids and remained silent, probably waiting for Li Siye to ask and praise him. After all, these three are so famous now that even warriors who do not believe in gods and Buddhas have heard about it. Ye Fashan has mastered talismans and seals for five years.
In the early dynasty, the battle between Luo Gongyuan and Fukong Sanzang spread throughout the streets and alleys. Unfortunately, Li Siye was not interested in this. The last two names were equal to symbols for him. Isn't Zhang Guo one of the Eight Immortals, Zhang Guolao? He worshiped Zhang Guolao as his teacher.
This experience can be used to boast.
Maybe he really was bragging.
Li Siye waved to Mei'er: "Go to Twelve Niangs and ask for two coins. Give the Taoist priest some money for tea. It's getting late. Please send the Taoist priest back as soon as possible."
The Taoist priest quickly opened his eyes. Seeing that the trick of showing off his qualifications was not working well, he tugged on his sleeves and stretched out his hands and said: "Wait a minute, this poor Taoist is also proficient in the art of looking at Qi. Just before I entered the study, I saw five-color Qi balls on the general's roof.
surround……"
"Stop it, stop it!" Li Siye quickly stopped him and said, "You came to a certain house on the pretext of checking the feng shui and auspicious days of the bridal chamber, but you have other things to do?"
The Taoist priest raised his hands and bowed: "It is true that I have something to ask for."
"If you have something to say, just tell it, don't talk about these useless things."
"Actually, I should have asked the general frankly a long time ago. My name is Zhao Zhengyi, and he comes from Jiugong Temple in Jiugong Mountain..."
"Tell things."
Zhao Zhengyi wiped the sweat on his forehead and said, "I want to open a Taoist temple in Shule City."
Li Siye tugged at his beard and nodded: "It's a good thing to open a Taoist temple. As the chief official of Shule Town, I allow you to open a Taoist temple in the city. There are many open spaces in the city. You can choose the location yourself. You can avoid it.
If your land occupation fee involves demolition, you can settle it yourself."
Zhao Zhengyi extended his hands gratefully and bowed in salute: "Thank you, general, for opening the door for Pindao. However, Pindao has not yet raised the funds to build the temple, so I ask the general to raise a donation."
Want money from me?
I didn't ask you for money because of the local teachings. You still want to extract money from me?
"A certain person has served in the Qixi Army for several years. He is an honest official and does not care about private property, so I can't help you. Director Zhao should find a way to raise money by himself to see the guests off!"
"Wait a minute," Zhao Zhengyi said hurriedly: "General Li, my Taoist ancestor, Emperor Xuanyuan, is the ancestor of the general. Now the Buddhist family is the only one in Qixi, and there is no Taoist gate, one palace, one temple in the four towns of Anxi.
Does the general just watch helplessly as the teachings of our ancestors and the edicts of Taoism are blocked to the east of Yumen Pass?"
Li Siye was quite helpless. This big label was applied to him one after another. If I don't pay this money, I will become an unworthy descendant and a national sinner.
It is true that Taoist thought is more focused on seeking within and being pure and inactive, so it is not as widespread as other religions with pyramid schemes. There are already churches in Chang'an such as the Food Sect, Persianism, Nestorianism, and Zoroastrianism, but Taoism is nestled in the Central Plains.
We haven’t left Yumen Pass yet.
There is not a single Taoist priest in the world who is keen on spreading it to the outside world. This in itself is divorced from Taoist teachings. So what is this about Zhao Zhengyi?
Li Siye smiled and shook his head, patiently persuading him: "If you want to practice Taoism, it would be great in Chang'an, where lay people are everywhere, and you can also raise funds. But it is not a good place in Shule City. Most of the people here believe in Buddha, and some also believe in Zoroastrianism.
, Dashijiao, I am afraid that your Taoist temple will not be accepted by the people for a while, so I changed my mind. Wouldn't it be better if I give you some money to go back to the Central Plains to raise money to build the temple?"
Unexpectedly, Taoist Zhao stood up, looked at the night outside the door, and said with a determined look: "Who said that this Qixi is the place where the demons of his Western religion dance wildly? Emperor Xuanyuan, the ancestor of Taoism, once visited the great ruins of Kunlun and visited the Tianshan Yaochi.
Queen Mother of the West, aren't Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain located to the north and south of Qixi? I am planning to build a Taoist temple in Shule City to trace the traces of Taoist ancestors."
"If you want to say that, I have another way. You go back to Chang'an and ask the saint to give an edict to Anxi, asking the Protectorate to allocate money and manpower. You can build it wherever you want in the four towns of Anxi.
,how."
Zhao Zheng turned around and clapped the back of his hands and sighed: "If I could see the saint, would I still have to wander thousands of miles to come here to Qixi?"
Li Siye keenly captured some information. This man was not a Taoist priest who was keen on missionary work. Moreover, Taoist priests were not keen on missionary work. He was just a speculator. He probably came up with the idea of practicing Taoism on a whim within a few months.
As for why we came to Qixi, a place where Buddhism flourished and Taoism rarely set foot, it must have been for the sake of becoming a powerful person. This is the only explanation that can be made.
The profession of Taoist priests is the most popular in Chang'an and Luoyang. After all, it is close to the royal family. Both Longyou Li and Zhaojun Li are believers. Any wealthy family sponsors a fast, which is enough for a Taoist priest for half his life. However, the employment pressure in popular places is also high.
There are so many monks and Taoists in Chang'an in China. If they want to be like Zhang Guo, Luo Gongyuan, and Ye Fashan, they want to be honored like Zhang Guo, Luo Gongyuan, and Ye Fashan, and be worshiped as a heavenly master by the emperor. It is estimated that they will never achieve such an achievement after a lifetime of hard work.
But Zhao Zhengyi had the ability to think reversely and took the initiative to jump out of Chang'an, a place where Taoists competed. Instead, he went to the Western Regions to flourish outside the walls of a place as far away as Shule, built Taoist temples, and traveled between Tianshan and Kunlun.
.Once some fame spreads in the future, it will spread back to Chang'an and reach the ears of saints. The gimmick of the title alone is refreshing. The founder of the only temple in the Western Regions and the first person to preach to the west sounds awesome.
Not awesome? Is it high-class to practice and preach between Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain?
This is simply a model of reverse thinking marketing, and it is nothing more than rural areas surrounding cities.
But no matter how well Zhao Zhengyi thought, Li Siye still refused to pay to help him. This seemed to have no practical benefit to him. Besides, the money required to cultivate a Taoist temple was not a small amount, and it was not a charity.
A melon with two dates, all the money he has now must be spent wisely.
"Tao Zhang, it's a pity that I can't help you because my ability is limited. Why don't you try to go to Qiuci? Or go to Yiwu? Gaochang? That's closer to the Tianshan Mountains."
Zhao Zheng is so focused on talking nonsense that even you, a genuine descendant of the Li family, are not willing to bleed. Those husbands who are wise, Gao Xianzhi and Hu people are not willing to help me?