Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu and Huangfuji changed into casual clothes and headed to the Lion City.
In Huangfuji's opinion, the arrangements made by the Taoist government were all prepared in advance and nothing real could be seen. He wanted to see what the real Nanyang looked like and how it became an important financial pillar of the Taoist sect.
Qi Xuansu has been running Nanyang for a long time, and he still has quite a lot of confidence and confidence. In addition, Zhang Yuelu's new policy has indeed added a bit of new atmosphere, so he agreed to a private visit incognito. In principle, he would not give any notice, say hello, or listen to reports.
No need to accompany you.
The two set out at Yinshi and arrived at the Lion City at Maoshi, which happened to be the time when the city woke up from its slumber.
The streets were already bustling with people coming and going, including local Nanyang people, Central Plains people and Westerners, sailors, merchants and hawkers. Of course, Taoist priests were indispensable.
Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Jizhu just walked around and looked at various shops and some Taoist service points.
The Taoist sect cannot maintain its rule and govern the place by relying on just a few immortals. It is not difficult for immortals to destroy a city, but it is difficult to build a city. It is even more difficult to make a city prosper.
Therefore, the real foundation of Taoism is still these low-level Taoist priests.
Generally speaking, any ruling structure is a triangle. The higher you go up, the smaller the number of people, and the further down you go, the greater the number of people. Therefore, the number of Taoist priests at the bottom is quite large.
There is no vacuum in power. If you don't occupy and exercise some power, someone else will help you exercise it. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible not to send imperial power to the countryside. It must be pushed to the end with one stick. This is incomparable to Xidaomen.
Xidao Sect only controls military power and some upper-level power, but the power at the bottom is very empty, so Huangfuji is very interested in the bottom-level construction of Taoism.
This has to mention the Taoist sect's major examination system. Compared with the Confucian sect's imperial examination, the Taoist sect has relaxed restrictions, increased the number of people, and lowered the upper limit. After all, the Confucian sect's Jinshi starts at seventh or sixth grade. The Taoist sect starts with only
The ninth rank is a bit similar to the imperial examination, more like directly canceling the first level of Jinshi.
If you want to become a ninth-grade Taoist priest, you have to pass two exams. Qi Xuansu is the best among them. His status as a Taoist priest was obtained by his own ability and was not arranged by Qiniang.
Interfering in a major exam is a typical case of small gains and high risks. Once something goes wrong, it will immediately become a big deal, and the reward is a small ninth-level Taoist priest status. Those who have the ability to interfere in the major exams do not need to do so, and those who want to do so generally have no need to do so.
Can't interfere with the big exam.
It is generally easy for real dignitaries to obtain Taoist priest status. They can just go through special channels, such as Lin Yuanmiao and Xiao Yin. The so-called special channels are to directly grant Taoist priest status. It is a step further than granting Taoist status to fellow Taoist priests. Real big shots can use it.
There are several places available and can be allocated flexibly.<
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Since Zhang Yuelu implemented the New Deal, in addition to cracking down on corruption, he has mainly focused on cracking down on laziness and inaction, which has been very effective. At least it is a new atmosphere in the Lion City. After all, the Lion City is right under Zhang Yuelu's nose.
At least these low-level Taoist priests don't dare to do anything openly. They always talk in a good voice and solve problems seriously, which makes them more practical.
Of course, these Taoist priests also scolded Zhang Yuelu, saying that it was hard to make a living as a Taoist priest these days. With such a small amount of money, he arranged so many things, and put pressure on him at all levels. If he continued like this, he would just resign and become a wild Taoist priest.
In Zhang Yuelu's view, this is not enough. If we want to completely reverse this trend and eradicate it ideologically, there is a long way to go.
But in Huangfu Ji's view, this is not the case. It is not that he has no experience at the bottom. He knows very well what a low-level official is like. It is not an exaggeration to harm people's lives. It is not a fairy tale for a low-level official to accumulate tens of thousands of furniture.
Ordinary people will lose some skin if they fall into the hands of these people. The key is that they don't even bother to pretend, so they only have to clearly mark the price.
But the Taoist priests in Lion City, at least, can't see any problems on the surface. Not to mention what happens secretly, the Southern Continent can't even maintain fairness on the surface, so why talk about it secretly and privately?
This was the place that shocked Huangfu the most.
Then there is the application of Western learning. Different from the extreme radicalism in the Southern Continent, Taoism shows the tolerant mentality of the Celestial Empire. Use whatever is useful and there is no shame in it. Therefore, Western learning is very popular. Not only are there many Westerners,
There are even traces of Westerners in many habits, and Western items can be seen everywhere in daily life, such as sofas, etc., which are rarely seen in the southern continent.
Huangfuji couldn't help but reflect for a moment, was the Southern Continent a bit too extreme?
The two came to a Western-style park. There were many benches for people to rest and a small lake. Many people were walking here.
A peaceful and peaceful atmosphere.
It is difficult to see this kind of scene in the Southern Continent, where there is always a weird state of tension. It seems that happiness is associated with original sin and suffering is noble. The matter of enduring hardship is like a medal, it can be
It is shown off, whoever endures more hardships will have a sense of superiority, while happiness is shady and can only be enjoyed secretly. Anyone who dares to put happiness on the table is as if he has been sentenced to death and is being poached.
The one who digs up corpses.
Suffering is even connected with morality. Suffering and abstinence must have high moral standards. On the contrary, it means moral flaws.
This weird worship of suffering probably does not come from Taoism. Taoism has always advocated frugality and has something to do with Confucianism. After all, when heaven is about to entrust a great responsibility to a person, he must first suffer his will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and skin, and become exhausted.
He is also somewhat related to the Eastern Church branch of the Holy See.
Why does this phenomenon occur? How to get rid of this phenomenon?
This is what Huangfuji has to think about. After all, Huangfuji, as the core figure of Xidaomen in the future, also has great ambitions and must do something to achieve something. Huangfuji knows very well that no matter how aggressive Tawanting is,
It is impossible to break through the steam gospel in the north. In the end, we have to return to the theme of development.
Therefore, Huangfu Ji came here this time not only to establish a friendly relationship with the Taoist sect's senior officials, but also to learn something from the Taoist sect's governance experience.
It is true that Lion City is a developed area and can be ranked high in the vast territory of Dao Sect. In those unknown and remote areas, it is definitely not like Lion City. But Huangfu Ji did not compare it to ordinary cities in the southern continent.
Against the Lion City, he used the new Paititi, but the result still disappointed him.
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu took charge of Lion City one after another. The Lion City under the rule of their husband and wife was far better than Xin Paititi, which Xidaomen had spent countless efforts on.
No wonder Nanyang, with Lion City as its economic center, has become one of the important financial pillars of Taoism.
The two left the park in the central district and entered the northwest district, which was a relatively chaotic area.
Then Huangfuji saw a rather Western-style building here, with a Chinese-style plaque hanging on it, which read "Eight Tribes of Alchemy Union".
Huangfu Ji knows these words. As a person from the New World, he also knows what alchemy is, but he feels that it is inconsistent. Babuzhong is a Buddhist term. It was later used by Taoists in the Babuzhong plan. Now it is used by Westerners.
When combined, it is truly a fusion of Chinese and Western styles, with a myriad of atmospheres.
Qi Xuansu happened to know this place and introduced, "It is an industry jointly established by the Eight Tribes and the Ziguang Society in response to the call of the Taoist government. It is mainly engaged in the localization of Western alchemy and the application of people's livelihood. It is still in its infancy, mainly recruiting some
Apprentices from civilian backgrounds. In the Lion City, the control over some secretive associations is not so strict, allowing them to operate some gray industries. This can also be regarded as a pilot window for the Taoist sect. On the premise of severely cracking down on some extreme secretive associations, other groups are allowed to be moderate.
Clandestine societies are normalized.”
Huangfuji once again lamented the openness and tolerance of the Taoist sect. Alchemy is like heresy in the Southern Continent. Of course, the higher-ups will understand it and control its use. However, if the lower-level civilians dare to learn alchemy privately, they will be punished and executed.
Although this is a tough measure taken as a last resort when facing a strong external enemy, it is indeed a bit extreme. Compared with Daomen, it does lack the ambition and magnanimity of a big country.
Yangyang Daomen, after all, is the supreme state of heaven.
Huangfu walked around the so-called Alchemy Guild with great interest. Shangguan Ya was not there, nor was the Yuheng Star Master. There were only a few ordinary instructors training the newly recruited apprentices.
The apprentices sat neatly behind their desks, turning the pages of brand new books according to the teachers' requirements.
These apprentices have light in their eyes.
This kind of spiritual outlook is lacking in the Southern Continent, which has not yet completely gotten rid of slavery.
Huangfu Ji also sat outside the classroom for half an hour, listening to the teachers talk about the origin of alchemy and its relationship with theology. He did not modify it, nor did it incorporate some political factors. It was just a simple description, once again demonstrating what the heavenly state should have.
of bearing.
It's like a beautiful woman is never afraid of being called ugly by others, because she knows it's false. When an ugly woman is called ugly, that's a puncture in her lungs.
Lies won't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife.
To be fair, apart from the solidification of the hierarchy and the frequent infighting, the Taoist sect is still very good. Of course, there are reasons for this to be set off by peers, but it is unrealistic for the Taoist sect to have such a vast territory and be able to divide the world with Westerners without advantages.
The Northwest District was originally very prosperous, but many places involved in the slave trade were severely attacked by Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu and have been shut down. They have not recovered yet, which makes the Northwest District a little deserted.
Fortunately, Huangfu Ji was not interested in these slave trades at all - the most indispensable thing in the New World was slaves, regardless of whether it was north or south. These slaves could be sold at high prices in Nanyang because the Taoist sect severely cracked down on the slave trade and rare things were valued.
In those countries where slavery is preserved, it really doesn't matter.
The two of them walked along the northwest district to the port.
Then Huangfuji saw a huge Western iron-clad ship slowly sailing into the port, with the Holy Court's flag hanging high on it.
"What is this?" Huangfuji asked.
Qi Xuansu said, "They are merchant ships owned by the West Posuzhou Company under the name of the Holy Court. They are legal here."
Immediately afterwards, another cargo ship docked next to the armored ship, with a five-color flag hanging high. It could be vaguely recognized that this flag was a mixture of the heads of the five families of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Holy Court, and Shamanism.
.
"What is this?" Huangfu looked strange.
Qi Xuansu replied, "That is the merchant ship of the 'Tianting', and it is also legal here."