Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu arrived at Jinguan Mansion on the second day of November. After lingering in the city for a day, they left Jinguan Mansion on the third day of November and headed for Baidi City.
Then they would take a boat from Baidi City and go down the river to Huzhou, also known as ancient Jingzhou, and then from Huzhou to Wuzhou. This was their original route, passing through Yongzhou, Shuzhou, Huzhou, and Wuzhou.
There are four states in total, and finally it reaches Shangqing County, Shangqing Prefecture, Wuzhou, which is where the Zhang family has lived for generations and where the Dazhen Mansion of Yunjin Mountain is located.
The two of them walked out of the city gate of Jinguan Mansion together, wearing mended cloaks, and walked leisurely along the broad official road.
"Qingxiao, have you met His Majesty the Emperor?" Qi Xuansu asked without saying anything. Along the way, the two of them couldn't just be busy walking without saying a word. Most of the time, they were still chatting.
It can not only kill time, but also enhance mutual understanding.
Zhang Yuelu shook his head and said, "I haven't seen it before."
Qi Xuansu said: "I wonder what this Emperor is like?"
Zhang Yuelu thought for a while and replied: "This year is the 41st year of Jiuzhi. His Majesty has been the emperor for 41 years. I remember that he ascended the throne in his 60s. If you think about it, he will soon be in his 60th year."
, is already an old man. However, His Majesty the Emperor should have a good look. He should not have the appearance of an old man, but maintain his majesty, nor should he have the appearance of a young man, that is, the appearance of a middle-aged man." ??
Qi Xuansu sighed: "The authority of an emperor for forty-one years must be so important."
Zhang Yuelu said again: "The previous Wei Dynasty respected Confucianism, but this dynasty respects Taoism. From Emperor Gaozu to your Majesty today, they are all disciples of Taoism. Before Emperor Gaozu had not started the rebellion, he and the ancestors of the Li family, we Zhang
The ancestors of our family are listed as three deputy headmasters, the great master, and the position of the chief headmaster is vacant."
"Are they the Great Sword Immortal Li Daoxu and the old Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxiu in the Xuansheng Card?" Qi Xuansu asked.
Zhang Yuelu nodded: "Exactly. At that time, Xuan Sheng was still lower than the three people and only ranked fourth in the Taoist sect. Later, the Great Sword Immortal and the Old Heavenly Master ascended and passed away, and Emperor Gaozu decided to rebel against Wei.
No longer serving as the deputy head master Da Zhenren, Xuan Sheng became the master of the Taoist sect."
"After taking over the world, the Daxuan court respected Taoist sect as the state religion and respected the Supreme Taoist ancestor. Starting from Emperor Gaozu, he accepted the title of Taoist sect from the Supreme Taoist ancestor. In other words, the emperor has two identities. The first identity is naturally
The second identity of the Emperor is the Da Zhenren of the Dao Sect. He is above the Deputy Head Master Da Zhen. He is a super-level Taoist priest and is equal to the Grand Master. However, the emperor cannot interfere in Taoist affairs, so the only super-level Taoist priest in the Tao Sect is
Great Master."
"When people in our Taoist sect meet His Majesty the Emperor, we usually address him as 'Your Majesty', but if it is a formal occasion, we have to address him by his Taoist sect title. The current title of His Majesty the Emperor is 'General Master of Yin and Yang Gong Guo Zi Ji Da Zhen', or 'Zi Da Zhenren' for short.
The late emperor’s honorific title was ‘Zongzhang Yuanying Kaihua Yuandu Great Master’, referred to as ‘Yuandu Great Master’. Emperor Gaozu’s title was ‘Zongzhang Yuxu Wulei Changsheng Great Master’, referred to as ‘Changsheng Great Master’.
"Zhenren'. Generally speaking, it is enough to remember these three. But with our two levels, we will probably never see the human emperor living in the deep palace."
Qi Xuansu nodded to take note of it and couldn't help but said: "I didn't know that His Majesty the Emperor had such a Taoist status. Is this considered half a Taoist?"
"This honorary title was conferred by the Taoist Supreme Patriarch of the Taoist sect. Emperors of all dynasties regarded themselves as the emperor and disciples of the Taoist ancestors. These two identities do not conflict." Zhang Yuelu explained, "In fact, the same is true for the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde respected shamanism as
The state religion, Shamanism, believes in the Immortal Heaven. Its leader, the Witch King, means "the person who is favored by the Immortal Heaven", and the Golden Horde Khan means "the person who relies on the power of the Immortal Heaven to become a king." The two are interdependent, and the former cannot
After occupying the throne for a long time, the latter is favored by the Immortal God and can live forever, but cannot touch the throne."
This was the first time Qi Xuansu had heard of these semi-open secrets. He had no choice but to do so. In the past, he was in a low position, and he had been living in the world for a long time, far away from Taoism and temples, so he had no chance to come into contact with these secrets.
Zhang Yuelu asked: "Why do you suddenly care about His Majesty the Emperor?"
Of course, Qi Xuansu would not say that he was actually out of words, but just said: "I used to hear people say that the two most powerful people in the world, one is the Grand Master of our Taoist Sect, and the other is His Majesty the Emperor of the imperial court. Now the Grand Master
If the position of religion is vacant, then isn't His Majesty the Emperor the most powerful person in the world?"
"Absolutely." Zhang Yuelu said, "But it has nothing to do with us. Let the emperor's things belong to the emperor, and what belongs to the Taoist ancestors belong to the Taoist ancestors."
Qi Xuansu had heard this saying, which was a famous quote from the Western Continent by the Third-generation Archbishop. The background was that Confucianism, one of the three great priests of Confucianism, raised a question to the Third-Generation Archbishop, that is, how to deal with the relationship between Taoism and the imperial court.
.The third generation of great masters responded with this, which probably means that water in a well does not offend the river.
…
Bohai
The mansion is located at Sanhui Haikou, known as the gateway to the imperial capital. It is not only a water transportation hub, but also faces the sea to the east. It has many ports, including civilian ports for merchant ships and military ports for warships. If you go there by sea
Imperial Capital, this place is a must-pass.
A huge ship docked in the military port today, making other ships look extremely small.
This is a majestic giant ship with a whole body of iron armor. It has no complicated sails, only an observation deck and a huge chimney.
This is the iron-clad ship that traverses the four seas. Like Daomen's flying boat, it is known as the "Two Dragons".
In addition, the battleship is also equipped with the latest artillery.
Two hundred years ago, warships in the East and West were generally equipped with breech-loading guns. Although they were greatly improved compared to front-loading guns, the breech-loading guns at this time used the back-loading technology, that is, the barrel of the artillery passed through the ears.
The shaft is connected to the gun mount. When the artillery is fired, the gun mount bears the recoil force. The gun body, together with the overall recoil of the gun mount, will produce a large displacement after firing. It takes a lot of time to reset and aim, so the rate of fire is very slow.
It even set the slowest record of firing twice in half an hour.
In order to improve this defect, the Western Continent developed tube retreat technology. This technology installs a recoil retractor on the artillery, so that the rear seat part of the artillery can automatically return to its original position using its own recoil after firing.
It saves the time of resetting and re-aiming, and the rate of fire of the artillery is greatly improved. It was later spread to the Eastern Continent and was widely used by the three major naval divisions of the imperial court. ??
A group of people appeared at the bow of the ship. The leader was wearing a black crane cloak and a lotus crown. He was the owner of the warship, Qingwei Zhenren, who was in charge of Qizhou Dafu.
As for why Qingwei Zhenren, a member of the Taoist sect, could own an armored battleship, it can be traced back to the Wei Dynasty.
During the Wei Dynasty, the sea was closed and the imperial navy was almost abandoned. The Confucian sect became the largest landowner in the world. The Taoist sect found another way and vigorously developed the fleet to fill the gap. The ocean-going fleet could reach the Western Continent, and finally relied on the prosperity of sea trade to succeed.
It went beyond the self-proclaimed Confucianism.
The vast sea is like a land without an owner. Naturally, pirates are raging. Daomen's fleet has to be equipped with artillery and trade with swords. It can be said that the ship is strong and the artillery is powerful. Among them, the Li family's fleet is the most powerful. After three naval battles,
, establishing its status as maritime hegemony.
When fighting for the world, the Li family's fleet divided into two groups, heading north to bombard Bohai Mansion, and heading south from the mouth of the sea to the river to block water transportation. They achieved great success.
After the Daxuan court conquered the world, it established three major naval divisions. The predecessors of these naval divisions were the Daomen fleet, and the Li family fleet was the main one. Donghuang, who was not yet 30 years old at the time, was the first
The Admiral and Chief Military Affairs Officer of the Donghai Navy. There are naturally inextricable connections between the two. To this day, the Li family still has a profound influence in the Navy. Every admiral and Chief Military Affairs Officer of the Donghai Navy
They all have Li family backgrounds.
Qingwei Zhenren is not only a Taoist master, but also a member of the Li family. He does not live in Qizhou on weekdays, but lives in Qingling Palace on Fangzhang Island, next to Penglai Island where Zhenjing Villa is located. It is the home of Taiping Dao and Li
The number two person in the family.
This time he went to Beijing on the emperor's order and set off by boat from Fangzhang Island. In a sense, this was Master Qingwei demonstrating his power.
There are also superiors and inferiors among the Zhenzhi Zhenren who are in charge of the same Taoist government. Some Daoist Zhenzhi Zhenren can only balance the forces of all parties in the middle, while some Zhenzhi Zhenren can say the same thing.
Nowadays, the three deputy head masters and the other great masters of Pingzhang are all over eighty years old and cannot compete for the position of chief master. So most of them will have to elect one from the thirty-six masters. Taipingdao
Qingwei Zhenren, who is backed by the Li family, is undoubtedly one of the most promising people.
Qingwei Zhenren's true age is difficult for outsiders to know. Judging from his appearance alone, he is very young, about thirty years old, with a slender figure and extraordinary handsomeness.
The Master Shenzhi, who is expected to become the seventh-generation Grand Master, looked down and saw the crowd of people preparing to greet him below like ants.
The Imperial Capital and Zhili are the only special places that have not established a Taoist government, so the people who came to greet him this time were all court officials and disciples of Taiping Temple, including many descendants of the Li family.
Master Qingwei withdrew his gaze and turned to the direction of the Imperial Capital.
He is an orthodox member of the Li family, a direct descendant of Great Sword Immortal, Xuan Sheng, and Dong Huang. The Li family has produced two great masters, four deputy masters, and twenty-eight real masters, although they are not among the three great masters in the world.
Among the family, it is undoubtedly the first family in the Taoist sect.
For the Li family, a Master Shenzhi is really nothing. Now that they already have a deputy headmaster, the Great Master, what the Li family needs is a great headmaster to revive the glory of Xuansheng.
So he was going to the Imperial Capital to meet with His Majesty the Emperor. Although the emperor could not interfere in Taoist affairs, as a Taoist master, the attitude of Ziji Zhenren was an invisible force.