Chapter 165 Hai Rui's destiny, the emperor is afraid! Who is taking action? The Taoist priest goes down the mountain, and the monk enters the world!
Ningbo Prefecture, in the study room at the back hall.
Hai Rui and Wang Yongji had already received information about everything that had happened in the court.
"Huh," Wang Yongji put down the letter in his hand after a moment, "This young cabinet minister wants to reform and make enemies with the Kong family. He first ran into the Confucian sect. He never thought that at this time, the dispute between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism would also occur. It's a troubled time..."
Hearing Wang Yongji's sigh, Hai Rui also put down the letter in his hand, but unlike Wang Yongji's melancholy sigh, there was not much expression on his face.
"The dispute between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism was deliberately created by the Yan Party." Hai Rui said in a calm tone.
"Hmm?" Hearing Hai Rui's words, Wang Yongji was startled. He subconsciously sat up straight and leaned forward slightly. "Brother Gangfeng, what do you mean? Did the Yan Party do this on purpose?"
Wang Yongji didn't quite understand what Hai Rui meant.
"The Yan Party wants to reform, and now it has offended Confucianism. There is no need for it to involve Buddhism and Taoism and make the situation even worse, right?" Wang Yongji said, spreading his hands.
Although Wang Yongji is now in the core circle of the Ming Dynasty's high-level officials, his political acumen is still somewhat inferior to that of the cabinet members and Hai Rui.
Of course, his understanding of Yan Song and others was not deep enough, or in other words, his understanding of the Yan family was still at the level of treacherous and corrupt officials. Like most people, he never regarded Yan Song as a capable minister.
Therefore, no matter what Yan Song did, from his perspective, it must be an act of doing bad things.
"Heh." Looking at his friend's confused expression, Hai Rui did not mean to look down on him. His serious face relaxed slightly, and a hint of smile appeared in his slightly concentrated eyes. He said:
"Because the biggest beneficiary of this incident is the Yan family."
"Yan family? Beneficiary?" Hearing this, Wang Yongji was confused again and said, "Brother Gangfeng, I said that the Yan family and the Kong family are now in conflict, which has led to the breakup of the Yan Party and the entire Confucian sect."
"Even within the opposition party, there are many people who have defected. The Inspectorate, the Left Censor-in-Chief Zhang Shenxing, is one of them!"
"Now they have provoked a dispute among the three religions. If chaos breaks out, how can the emperor forgive them?"
"What if the top leaders, including the emperor, all want to escalate the dispute between the three schools of Lu, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism and cause complete chaos?" As soon as Wang Yongji finished speaking, Hai Rui's voice also rang out.
"What?!" Wang Yongji was obviously a little slow to react after hearing this. He then took a deep breath and repeated, "Brother Gangfeng means that the emperor and the cabinet..."
"That's right." Hai Rui nodded and stood up. He stopped beating around the bush and explained directly to his friend, "The dispute between the three religions is escalating, which is equivalent to diverting the conflict between the Confucian sect and the Yan family."
"When the situation gets out of control, the court will have a reason to intervene, and that's when it's time to make a clean break." Hai Rui turned around and stared at Wang Yongji, saying:
"Let me ask you, what is the biggest problem facing the young minister in his reform?"
"The Kong family, or the Confucian school, in order to attack the Kong family, the young elder wants to let the Hundred Schools of Thought abolish the Confucian school. If this is successful, the position of the Confucian school that has lasted for thousands of years will be shaken, and its foundation will be uprooted..."
As he spoke, Wang Yongji was startled, a look of realization appeared on his face, and he spoke quickly: "If we make a big fuss about this, and the court takes immediate action, then the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism will all collapse completely!"
"It doesn't matter for Buddhism and Taoism. Even if they are given a lighter sentence, it's just a matter of a word. The key is Confucianism. This way, the road to reform will be smooth...hiss!"
Wang Yongji said this and took a breath of cold air.
At this moment, he suddenly felt as if something had suddenly dawned on him, and at the same time he felt that Yan Song had such a profound plan.
"If the court takes a one-size-fits-all approach, won't it be the court that will be held responsible? You and I both understand the status of the Confucian school. Aren't you afraid of a backlash from the Confucian school? And thus causing unnecessary panic?" Wang Yongji frowned.
"Ming Shou, you are wrong!" However, at this moment, Hai Rui suddenly said solemnly, "First of all, the court does not accept any threats!"
"As long as the reform can be carried out smoothly, anyone, family, or any other entity that dares to stand in the way will only have one outcome..." Hai Rui stared at Wang Yongji and said, "That is, they will be dealt with!"
"Secondly, even if there is a big chaos and we need to deal with everyone, there will be people who will take responsibility for it all."
"As long as someone takes responsibility for all of this, no matter who it is, whether they believe it or not, they cannot use the court as an excuse!"
Hearing this, Wang Yongji was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true. If the dispute among the three religions is resolved, even if some of the three religions are dissatisfied, they will not vent their anger on the court or the emperor for the sake of survival. However..."
As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something, looked at Hai Rui and said, "But who in the court dares to do this..." But this time, he immediately shut up halfway through his words.
His eyes widened as he stared at his friend in front of him.
Let me ask, in today's Ming Dynasty, who is the most suitable person to be the sword for the emperor, except for his good friend in front of him?
"Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, so what..." Hai Rui didn't look at Wang Yongji, who was also looking at him. He put one hand behind his back and used the back of his other hand to gently rub the Great Ming Law on the table with his fingers, saying, "No doctrine or sect can override the laws of the dynasty."
"Gulp." Looking at Hai Rui, who was staring at the Ming Dynasty Law in a daze, Wang Yongji swallowed subconsciously.
For some reason, at this moment he suddenly had the illusion that no matter how serious the dispute among the three religions would become, it would eventually end in the hands of his good friend Hai Rui.
It seemed that as long as he took action, any chaos could be suppressed.
His sight slowly shifted away, and Jiajing looked at everything in the study in the back hall of Ningbo Mansion that he had taken out separately in front of him. A smile appeared on his face, and he raised his fingers slightly, and the next moment his life force enlarged.
Then, everything in Hai Rui's sea of consciousness appeared in front of Jiajing, but at this time, in Hai Rui's sea of consciousness, there was a book emitting golden light lying quietly.
There were only three majestic characters written on it: Great Ming Law.
Yes, Hai Rui's natal chart is the law book "Da Ming Law". It is the same as Zhang Juzheng's natal chart, but the difference is that Zhang Juzheng's natal chart only has the word "Da Ming" written on it.
The main content is his philosophy of governing the country. Compared with Hai Rui's, it is much purer, just simple laws.
However, in Jiajing's view, the potential of this law is much stronger than that of Zhang Juzheng. The concept of governing a country has many limitations, and the development and direction of the Ming Dynasty is not up to him.
On the contrary, it is the laws of the Ming Dynasty. No matter how the Ming Dynasty develops in the future, it cannot be separated from the laws of the dynasty.
"According to the General Records of Cultivation, everyone's destiny has its own unique talent, just like Liu Quan's destiny is to see through falsehood, and can test whether a person is lying."
"This Great Ming Law is my destiny. I'm afraid that in the future, Hai Rui will be able to rule everyone in the Immortal Dynasty with just the Great Ming Law!"
Thinking of this, Jiajing's gaze withdrew from Hai Rui's sea of consciousness. Huh? With a wave of his hand, the three-dimensional Ningbo Mansion back hall study in front of him disappeared and merged back into his sea of consciousness.
Shandong, Qufu, in the lobby.
"Good!" Kong Zhengan looked at the specific content of the three religions' discussion in Yuxi Palace that day, which was sent from the court. He couldn't help but let out a low shout and said, "I really didn't misjudge Zhang Shenxing. Good!"
"In the discussion of Taoism in Yuxi Palace, our Confucianism alone suppressed Buddhism and Taoism. This should be known to the world... Shangxian!" As he said this, he looked at Kong Shangxian beside him and said, "Take a look too!"
Kong Shangxian, who was standing behind Kong Zhengan, took the letter in his hand and read it, but his brows furrowed slightly.
"Father," Kong Shangxian hesitated for a moment and said, "What are your plans?"
"Shangxian," Kong Zhengan stroked his beard gently, took a step forward, came to the door of the lobby, and looked at the scattered snowflakes outside the door, "Why do you think the emperor held a discussion on the three religions?"
"My son thinks that the Three Religions Discussion is probably to deal with the backlash from the Confucian school this time. The emperor wants to take this opportunity to calm the matter down," Kong Shangxian said, and Kong Zhengan nodded slightly. "I heard that Master Chanshuang was recommended by Yan Song."
"And the national teacher, Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren, was also recommended by Yan Song. Both Buddhism and Taoism can be regarded as members of Yan's party."
Kong Zhengan kept nodding, motioning his son to continue.
"In this discussion, a national teacher and a Buddhist genius were both defeated by my Confucian sect," Kong Shangxian said with a slight hesitation, "I am worried that Buddhism and Taoism will not let this go."
Hearing Kong Shangxian say this, Kong Zhengan's snow-white brows frowned slightly, but he did not speak, but continued to listen.
"My son thinks that the emperor might use this discussion among the three religions to stir up dissatisfaction among Buddhists and Taoists towards our Confucian sect..."
"Shangxian," Kong Shangxian was interrupted by Kong Zhengan before he finished speaking, "You think too highly of Buddhism and Taoism." Kong Zhengan sneered and said:
"Are they worthy of being mentioned on the same level as our Confucian sect?"
"Father?!" Kong Shangxian was stunned when he heard his father's words.
"Your previous analysis is correct. Yan Song is the emperor's confidant. That Taoist witch and the so-called genius of Buddhism are nothing but dirty slaves. They are nothing but playthings offered by Yan Song to flatter him!"
"They really want to use this to target our Confucianism," Kong Zhengan's face suddenly turned cold when he said this. He then turned around and stared at his son Kong Shangxian, saying, "But the emperor is not going to use Buddhism and Taoism to deal with our Confucianism. The emperor knows that they are no match!"
"In other words, it is the unprecedented influence of our Confucianism that has frightened the emperor. A dynasty can leave Buddhism and Taoism, but it cannot leave Confucianism!"
"Father," Kong Shangxie frowned slightly after hearing his father's arrogant remarks, and then raised his arms and bowed slightly, saying, "The emperor is not the same emperor as before!"
"From rectifying the north and south, to rectifying the administration, to cleaning up the abuses of the royal family, and the war to destroy the country, to the current submission of the ten directions, all of these show that he is a heroic ruler."
"Please forgive me for not agreeing with my father's point of view. I will never compromise with Confucianism!"
"Humph!" After hearing what Kong Shangxian said, Kong Zhengan snorted and laughed. Surprisingly, there was no dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he chuckled and said:
"When did I ever say that the emperor would compromise with the Confucianist?"
"So what does father mean?" Looking at the smile on his father's face and the confident temperament emanating from his body, Kong Shangxian was a little stunned, his face full of confusion.
"You are right. Compared with the previous emperor, the current emperor is indeed a powerful ruler. The Ming Dynasty has also ushered in an unprecedented prosperity because of him. He will not compromise."
"But he cares more about whether the empire is peaceful and whether there is someone to govern it!"
"So, this incident is just a warning and a test. After that, he will pretend it never happened."
"You might as well wait and see. As long as my Kong family publicizes this matter, Buddhism and Taoism will definitely be dissatisfied. If the situation gets out of hand, we will abandon Buddhism and Taoism..."
"In this way, all the Confucian scholars in the world will divert the conflict. The Yan family may not be affected, but this matter will definitely be settled because of this, so my Kong family does not need to worry about anything!"
"He just needs to cooperate with the emperor. No, to be exact, my Kong family is willing to give him a way out!"
"One cooperates with his wishes, makes things worse, and then lets him deal with Buddhism and Taoism to calm the situation!"
As he spoke, Kong Zhengan stood with his hands behind his back, looking proudly at the heavy snow in the sky, and said with a smile: "The Confucian sect is powerful, and it should be a warning to the emperor, but we should also tell him not to make mistakes."
"Who else can govern the country except Confucianism? What are the hundreds of schools of thought? Over the past thousands of years, the only one who laughs last is Confucianism. How can the most perfect sword of the king, selected by countless emperors in practice, be discarded just like that?"
"Just wait and see, Shangxian. Yan Shifan wants to reform. No matter what happens, our Confucianism will remain standing, and Buddhism and Taoism will be the sacrifices of this reform. Hehehe..."
At this moment, Kong Zhengan felt that he had seen through the emperor's intentions. He knew that the reform would not stop. After all, judging from the previous events, the emperor had accomplished what he wanted to do.
And what he wanted was to use this incident to make a big fuss and tell the emperor that Confucianism would never be abandoned!
This kind of invisible tacit understanding with the emperor, after all, his son Kong Shangxian was too young and lacked experience.
After his father Kong Zhengan's analysis, Kong Shangxian suddenly realized and nodded.
"Then father, what's next?" Kong Shangxian asked.
"Mobilize all the connections of my Kong family and announce to the world that the dispute between the three religions has ended with a great victory for the Confucian sect."
"It would be best to arouse the desire to win between the Buddhists and Taoists, so that our Confucian sect can once again gain prestige. What we want is to make things worse!"
"If the emperor wants a way out, I will give it to him. I also hope that he can see clearly the power of Confucianism and how vulnerable Buddhism and Taoism are! Let him understand that imperial power cannot be separated from Confucianism!"
"Yes!" Kong Shangxian bowed, turned around and walked away.
Why was Kong Zhengan so confident? The reason is simple. This confidence stems from the role and indispensability of Confucianism in imperial power.
As a descendant of the Kong family and Duke Yansheng, he knows the essence of Confucianism very well!
To put it bluntly, the essence of the Confucian school's survival is to serve as the best tool for the imperial power to control its subjects. There is no emperor who does not like the Confucian school.
Therefore, in his view, this drama now seemed to be nothing more than the rebellious villain Yan Shifan's attempt to attack the Kong family. As emperors have always been suspicious since ancient times, and the emperor in the imperial palace in the capital was the same. It was more likely that he wanted to take this opportunity to test the Confucian monk.
This is how we have everything we have today.
This time, the power displayed by the Confucian school must have made the emperor realize that the Confucian school could not be abolished.
Then the final outcome of this matter will be extremely clear.
It must be just as he expected. He would cooperate with the emperor to make the matter bigger and create a more lively dispute among the three religions, so as to divert the attention of scholars and students all over the world.
In this way, the dissatisfaction of scholars and students caused by the emperor's intention to take action against the Confucian sect was eliminated invisibly.
Then, with the emperor suppressing Buddhism and Taoism, this chaos came to an end, and the matter officially came to an end.
As for the emperor's reform, let him do it, as long as it does not affect the status of Confucianism and his Kong family!
In fact, if this were done appropriately and gave the emperor a little shock... well, that's not bad?
Following an order issued by Yanshenggong Kong Zhengan, all the connections and networks of the Kong family were put into operation.
For a time, the Ming Dynasty, which had already sparked widespread discussion due to the dispute among the three religions in Yuxi Palace, was once again pushed to the forefront, and many scholars and students began to praise Confucianism.
Not only that, with the tacit cooperation of the Yan family, the Qingliu family, and the Kong family, who acted as the driving force behind the movement, Taoism and Buddhism were put on the spot, and many people began to criticize the two religions.
Some scholars and students even wrote poems to allude to the state teacher, saying that the Taoist sect had given rise to evil ways that bewitched people, and that Buddhist monks were extremely greedy.
Later, many government officials in the Ming Dynasty discovered that Taoist temples in the mountains were not places for spiritual practice, but places for murder, robbery, and human trafficking.
Not only that, some officials also discovered that in some Buddhist places, there were Buddhists who gathered nuns to sell their bodies and make money.
For a time, these things began to be infinitely magnified under the arrangement of people with ulterior motives. Buddhism and Taoism were despised by people all over the world, and many temples were besieged by angry people.
Some Taoist temples were also sealed off by government authorities.
Many people even shouted slogans, demanding that the court severely punish Buddhism and Taoism, and even threatened to destroy Buddhism and Taoism.
The matter grew bigger and bigger, sweeping across the entire Ming Dynasty. Within a month, both Buddhism and Taoism were almost in disgrace.
April 15, the 48th year of Jiajing, cloudy.
In the Western Garden, inside the Yuxi Palace, the Ming Dynasty statue in front of Jiajing was enlarged and placed in front of him, while Lu Fang was waiting quietly beside him.
When Lu Fang saw for the first time that the entire Ming Dynasty was actually in the hands of his master, he was really shocked. However, when he thought that his master could see and hear the Ming Dynasty, he felt that everything was normal.
In his opinion, the means displayed by the master were not too many. After all, the Ming Dynasty could develop to its current level, and they could cultivate immortality and hope for longevity because of the master.
Isn't it just treating the entire Ming Dynasty as something in the palm of your hand? Is it strange?
The master did not say why the entire Ming Dynasty was in his hands, and Lu Fang would not ask, nor did he need to know.
"Buzz." As Jiajing's mind moved, the Ming Dynasty's life in front of him suddenly enlarged. Jiajing was in it, and the imperial seal in his hand had turned into a pen.
"Wow!" As Jiajing waved his hand, the entire capital city was separated.
The next moment, the brush in his hand slid, and then an "∞" symbol appeared. In the middle of this symbol was the location of the imperial palace. Then Jiajing used the brush to outline the edge of this symbol.
After a while, lines were drawn out from the edge of this line, and soon they were spread across the entire capital city. At each point, a "●" appeared.
When the natal star was magnified, Lu Fang saw clearly that these “●” were the people in the cabinet and the two royal palaces.
Thinking about the day when the master came out of retreat and said that he wanted to lay spiritual veins in Daming and guide the tributaries of the spiritual veins directly to the mansions of the cabinet members, Lu Fang immediately understood that the master was planning the route for laying the spiritual veins.
After marking the spiritual vein tributaries that needed to be introduced, Jiajing also marked the points of the 'reverse spirit gathering array' on the spiritual vein route.
The Ming Dynasty now has only one spiritual vein. Although this spiritual vein is a seventh-grade spiritual vein, the spiritual energy can be said to be extremely rich, but after all, the entire earth has not been included in the natal object, and the spiritual energy will still dissipate. Therefore, in order to ensure the full utilization of the spiritual energy, this "reverse gathering spirit array" must be laid out to prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating. In addition, even in the world of cultivating immortals, it is still inseparable from the spiritual vein combing. The sect must also imprison the spiritual vein and lay out the "reverse gathering spirit array" to ensure the maximum utilization of the spiritual energy of the spiritual vein.
This would be even more so in the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, even if the 'Reverse Spirit Gathering Array' is set up, it is impossible to perfectly block the leakage of spiritual energy. After all, the Ming Dynasty is not a world for cultivating immortals.
In the world of cultivating immortals, it is enough as long as the spiritual veins roughly guide the spiritual energy into the designated locations and ensure that it does not leak out. The local leakage can be regarded as the abundant spiritual energy in the sect area.
The most important thing is that the entire Daming Immortal Sect in the world of immortal cultivation is covered by a sect protection formation. In addition, there is an even larger spirit gathering formation. Therefore, the stronger the grade of the spirit vein, the richer and more abundant the sect's spiritual energy will be.
"It's done." As he raised his hand, the imperial seal turned into a pen and scattered into golden light, then disappeared. Looking at the route of the spiritual vein, he thought to himself, "In the next period of time, we only need to set up the formation base in Daming, and then arrange the formation diagram of the reverse spirit gathering formation, and then we can complete the laying of the spiritual vein, and the capital will become a blessed land."
The capital city is the core of the Ming Immortal Sect in the future. The concentration of spiritual energy here must be increased unlimitedly!
In fact, Jiajing had already planned that if he obtained a higher-grade spiritual vein in the future, he would start from the capital and extend it to all parts of the Ming Dynasty and even the entire world!
"What about the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism?" Raising his hand to disperse the Ming Dynasty in front of him, Jiajing walked towards the backyard with his hands behind his back.
Seeing this, Lu Fang hurriedly followed and began to report what had happened in the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism over the past month.
"Hmm?" When Jiajing heard that Buddhism and Taoism had become the rats crossing the street, his eyes also showed a trace of surprise, "Xu Jie and others helped Yan Song?"
"My lord, it's not that." Seeing the doubt in his master's expression, Lu Fang smiled and said, "It's the Kong family..." Then he repeated all the actions of the Kong family.
"Is this Kong Zhengan getting senile and mad?" Jiajing came to the yard, and under a three-meter-high willow tree, he turned around and looked at Lu Fang in surprise.
Jiajing was really confused. Of course, the reason why he didn't know was because the Kong family was not in his eyes at all. When he was auditing the world, he naturally didn't pay special attention to it.
But I didn't expect that Kong Zhengan, the Duke of Yansheng of this generation of the Kong family, would be so blind.
"I don't understand it either," Lu Fang said, shaking his head in confusion, "Logically speaking, he should be able to see that the Confucian school will surely become the target of public criticism if it wins over Buddhism and Taoism."
"If someone adds fuel to the fire at this time, then his Confucian sect will have to face the counterattack of Buddhism and Taoism.
At this time, the most important thing for him to do is to keep a low profile, but he chose to make such a move..."
Lu Fang boasted that he was at the pinnacle of power in the Ming Dynasty, and his political acumen and brain were no less than anyone else's. Now any discerning person could see that the court was going to take action against Confucianism, and Buddhism and Taoism were the tools to deal with them.
But at this time, Kong Zhengan not only did not keep a low profile, but instead began to anger the Buddhist and Taoist sects. What was he trying to do?
"Could it be that there is any back-up plan?" Lu Fang said, looking at Jiajing curiously, trying to get some answers from his master.
Of course, it was not only Jiajing and Lu Fang who were confused at the moment, but also Yan Song and his sons and the Qingliu people.
Yanfu.
In the Lingtian courtyard, Yan Song’s thatched cottage.
"Could it be that the Qingliu took action?" Yan Shifan frowned, looking at the intelligence coming from various parts of the Ming Dynasty in the past month, and looked at his father Yan Song who was also silent.
"The Qingliu people are close to those who claim to be scholars and officials, and most of them are close to the Kong family," Yan Shifan said, his expression gradually becoming more certain, and said:
"It should be them, hum..." Thinking of this, Yan Shifan snorted again and said, "These beasts know that the reform is the emperor's will, so they want to take credit for it!"
"Does my Yan family still need their help?"
In Yan Shifan's view, this was the Qingliu faction seeking credit. According to the arrangements made by him and his father, there was no need for the Qingliu faction to fan the flames behind the scenes. The desired goal could be achieved.
Now these grandsons suddenly intervened, isn't this just for the emperor to see? Will the emperor be able to get away with their benefits?
Hypocritical, cunning, mean, shameless, and vulgar.
"This is inevitable. The Qingliu will certainly add fuel to the flames behind the scenes," Yan Song said in a submissive tone, "The Kong family has been put on the spot this time... Shifan!"
"Dad!" Yan Shifan knew that his father had made another arrangement, so he leaned forward and waited for his father's instructions.
"I asked the Ministry of Public Administration to set up a 'miscellaneous report' in addition to the official reports. How is the preparation going?" Yan Song looked up at Yan Shifan.
Miscellaneous newspapers have a similar function to the Ming Dynasty’s official reports.
The difference is that the content of the official reports mainly includes the emperor's decrees, court affairs, mutual impeachments among officials, natural disasters in various places, etc.
The court reports are mainly divided into two parts: within the capital and outside the capital.
People in the capital could receive a court bulletin every day, but outside the capital, the news would arrive at different speeds depending on the distance.
After the court bulletin was written and finalized by the Ministry of Public Administration, it was copied manually by scholars and then sent to various government offices in Beijing.
The court bulletins outside the capital were re-edited by the titang officials, who would extract information related to the province and then send them back to the province via official postal services.
Generally speaking, the court bulletins were specifically for reporting important court affairs.
The "miscellaneous newspaper" that Yan Song wanted to establish was a completely different kind of newspaper, recording miscellaneous gossip, such as strange stories and rumors, or some anecdotes from the martial arts world, or promotions for certain restaurants and inns, etc.
It is something that is more likely to arouse people's interest, and make them buy, read, and guide public opinion.
Once this thing becomes popular, it will be applied to the entire Ming Dynasty, including the two capitals and thirteen provinces, and the details will reach even the villages and towns.
Yan Song had already started publishing miscellaneous newspapers long before Yan Shifan's reforms. Of course, this was also approved by the two kings and the cabinet, as well as by everyone in the Imperial Household Department.
Well, as for the red-letter documents, Lu Fang had naturally asked about them through prayer when Jiajing was in seclusion.
Nowadays, local government offices have established special "newspaper offices". Generally speaking, if there is no special decree from the capital, local government offices can print newspapers independently.
Of course, since it is for profit-making purposes, ordinary people, some booksellers, or businessmen are allowed to publish propaganda.
However, the pricing varies, and all prices are based on the local government's pricing standard. However, charges cannot be random, and the court will conduct regular inspections.
In the present Ming Dynasty, as the rectification of civil service has begun, the system has become increasingly perfect.
For example, the inspection in the two capitals was originally conducted once every six years, but now it has been shortened to once a year. Inspections at the local level are also conducted once every six months, or even at any time.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, no one dares to embezzle the money.
"Dad, everything is ready. People in the local area are waiting for news from the Tongzhengsi," Yan Shifan said.
"Where is Wu Cheng'en? How many chapters of his first draft of 'Journey to the West' has he revised?" Yan Song asked again.
"This is the 55th chapter, and the others are still being revised." Yan Shifan said.
"Well," Yan Song nodded, "It's quite a lot. Let's start publishing it. For the first edition of the miscellaneous newspaper, write more about the dispute between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. The main purpose is to stir up conflicts among the three religions. The other purpose is to make Journey to the West popular. Although the fire is already very big now, it is not enough."
"We must create a situation where the three religions are at war to the death."
"Don't worry, I know," Yan Shifan nodded heavily to show that he understood, but then he couldn't help but frowned again and said:
"Dad, now the Confucian sect is bullying the Buddhist and Taoist sects, but these two sects have not made any moves so far..."
"Oh," Hearing this, Yan Song chuckled and said gently, "The Taoist sect has not made any move, so it should be because Qingfeng sent the letter. The Buddhist sect has not made any move, so they should be waiting for the emperor's attitude..."
"The Taoist sect has Qingfeng girl here, so they can hold on. There's no need to worry. The Buddhist sect has no backers. If they fight with the Confucian sect, they won't act rashly before they know the attitude of the imperial court. This is just the way the Buddhist sect has always protected itself."
"When the miscellaneous reports are published, the emperor will also give Master Chanshuang a status. At that time, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism will all have equal status."
"Only when the three parties are evenly matched can a protracted war be fought, and only then can a great chaos be caused by the three religions."
"I understand. I'll do it right away!" Yan Shifan nodded, turned and left.
Xu Mansion, in the lobby.
"Who of you took action?" Zhao Zhenji asked the first question at this time.
At this time, they were also confused and didn't understand why Emperor Ruzong reacted so violently this time. It was as if there was someone fanning the flames.
It is definitely impossible for the Yan Party. The Yan Party today has already shown signs of disintegration. Those truly capable officials of the Yan Party have basically broken away from the Confucian school, the Kong family and the Yan Party.
At this time, the only ones who have the ability to push things to such a point are the Qingliu faction.
Zhao Zhenji looked around, looked at Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong, and finally stopped at Xu Jie.
"It's not me," Xu Jie shook his head slightly, "We are only a pusher in this incident. We will have to wait until Yan Song takes action before we can take action..."
"I didn't make a move either." Seeing that Xu Ge Lao denied making a move, Zhang Juzheng also quickly shook his head, indicating that he didn't make a move either. "You know me. If I made a move, I wouldn't be so eager."
Hearing this, Zhao Zhenji nodded. Indeed, Taiyue always planned before taking action. Even if it was to add fuel to the fire, he would not be so hasty.
"Humph," Gao Gong snorted coldly at Zhao Zhenji's gaze, and said, "Me? Rushing to help the Yan Party? It's a shame to kill him!"
"Could it be the palace?" Zhao Zhenji asked suspiciously, but soon shook his head. "The dispute between the three religions led to the chaos, and finally the introduction of the Hundred Schools of Thought to achieve the goal of reform was promoted by Yan Shifan. The emperor will not cover for Yan Shifan."
"Who on earth is this?" Zhao Zhenji said speechlessly, "It can't be the Kong family themselves, right? Seeing the dispute between the three religions in Yuxi Palace, they got a little bit of fame and started to lose their sight and don't know where to go?"
"Oh," Zhao Zhenji shook his head and said, "That Duke Yansheng is not a stupid man. He should be able to see clearly that the court wants to reform, and their Confucian sect is a stone that hits the road of reform."
"The court is trying to find a way to kick them out, so he should be the one who least wants to make things worse right now."
"Tsk," Zhao Zhenji smacked his lips and said, "Could it be that there is a fourth force in the court of our Ming Dynasty?"
Of course, apart from the people in the capital, those who were confused at the moment were also those far away in Ningbo Prefecture, who were paying close attention to the brewing dispute among the three religions that was about to usher in a storm.
Hai Rui couldn't figure out what was going on.
Just when everyone was wondering who had fanned the flames before the Yan Party and the Qingliu factions, the imperial court soon announced a decree to the world.
[The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims:
The heaven and earth have their regularities, yin and yang have their order, and all things have their proper places.
The Buddha's light shines everywhere, compassion and wisdom work together, guiding people to be good. Today, there is a Buddhist disciple named Chan Shuang, who has a gentle nature, outstanding virtues, deep wisdom and a pure heart. He is specially given the Dharma name: Master Chan Shuang Prajna Pure Wisdom and Bright Heart.
To show his virtue and encourage future generations. May he spread the Dharma and benefit sentient beings, make many good friends, assist me, and help me overcome difficulties. You, my subjects, should all respect him, so as to increase the prosperity of the country and bring blessings to the people. I decree this. 】
For a moment, the court and the public, which had been in an uproar over the dispute among the three religions, suddenly fell silent.
The Emperor actually appointed a national teacher again!
Previously, the Taoist girl, Qingfeng, was conferred the title of the Great Ming Imperial Master, and was given the honorific title: Qingfeng Xuanling Shouzhen Huiwu Zhenren.
Now the emperor has appointed another imperial teacher, this time a genius in Buddhism, and also bestowed him with the honorific title: Master Chanshuang Prajna Jinghui Mingxin.
When the imperial edict was issued, the court and the public were in an uproar.
Yan Mansion, Lingtian Courtyard, Yan Song’s thatched cottage.
"Master Chanshuang Prajna Pure Wisdom and Bright Heart?" Yan Shifan looked at the official report in his hand, then looked at his father Yan Song and said, "Dad, the emperor has given a signal, which means the finale of the Three Religions' Contest can begin."
"Well," Yan Song nodded, slowly put down his hand, and read the fifty chapters of Journey to the West that he had customized and edited by Wu Chengen. He said in a submissive tone, "I will send letters to all places right away."
"The first edition of the Ming Dynasty's miscellaneous newspaper will be sold throughout the country within fifteen days!"
"Don't worry, Dad," Yan Shifan smiled confidently, then sat opposite Yan Song, took a sip of tea, and said, "As early as when the imperial edict was issued, I had already asked Ling Falcon to deliver the message."
"With the speed of the Spirit Falcon, it can spread to all provinces of Ming Dynasty within three to five days."
"After that, within half a month, each province will issue a decree, and it will be implemented throughout the country!"
"The finale of the dispute between the three religions is finally about to begin." Yan Song said, staring out the window.
The Taoist sect took action.
On this day, countless Taoist temples and famous places in the Ming Dynasty responded one after another, and bells rang loudly in the deep mountains.
Baiyun Temple, Taiqing Palace on Laoshan Mountain, Shangqing Palace on Longhu Mountain, Tianshi Cave on Qingcheng Mountain, Zixiao Palace on Wudang Mountain, etc.
Countless Taoists put on Taoist robes, carried their swords, held whisks in their hands, walked out of the mountain gate, and went down the mountain chanting Taoist mantras.
On the fifth day of the fifth month in the forty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign, the Taoist priest descended the mountain.
After that, a month later, Buddhists also took action. In countless famous ancient temples throughout the Ming Dynasty, the sound of chanting could be heard and the sound of bells could be heard.
For example, countless great monks and respected Zen masters from Shaolin Temple, Famen Temple, Hanshan Temple, Lingyin Temple, and White Horse Temple walked out of the mountain gate, wearing a Buddhist robe, a string of Buddhist beads, and chanting the Buddha's compassion.
On the fifth day of June in the forty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign, a novice monk entered the world.
For a time, throughout the Ming Dynasty, in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, in towns and cities large and small, one could often see people wearing Taoist robes, both men and women, old and young.
There were people from the Taoist sect who openly provided free medical treatment. At first, many people were wary of these people because of the smear campaign by the Confucian sect, but with the arrangement of some people with ulterior motives, the people soon tried their services.
Soon, Taoism's reputation began to reverse.
There are also Buddhist monks who enlighten those who have lost their way and help them let go of their greed, anger, ignorance and hatred, allowing many people to feel the compassion of Buddhism.
Both Buddhism and Taoism were very smart in reversing their image as soon as possible.
However, this is not the end. With the release of Zha Bao, with the joint efforts of the Yan Party and the Qingliu, the most "hot" and "top-tier" literary work of the Ming Dynasty, "Journey to the West", became popular.
The public's understanding of Buddhism and Taoism is becoming more profound.
For a moment, the people were confused and the arguments became louder and louder.
Some people received the grace of Buddhism and became devout Buddhist believers, some people felt the sincerity of Taoism and became loyal supporters of Taoism, and the imperial court seemed to have no intention of stopping it.
Allow Taoism and Buddhism to recruit large numbers of believers.
Not only that, local government officials also began to believe in Buddhism or Taoism, leading the people to follow suit.
Coupled with the spread of "Journey to the West", discussions about Buddhism and Taoism were everywhere in the streets and alleys, and after meals.
Today's Taoism and Buddhism are not in a hurry to debate with some great scholars and celebrities of Confucianism, but are quickly absorbing believers.
An air of impending storm hangs over the heads of all those with clear minds and good eyesight.
Everyone knows that the real storm of the conflict between the three religions is coming soon!
"..."
(End of this chapter)
