"Finally sent her away." Sei Itō let out a light sigh.
Just now, Ito Sei had a long discussion and debate with Shi Feixuan about the importance of business and technology, their influence, and all the possible effects. Until just now, he relied on a large amount of theoretical knowledge from later generations to persuade Shi Feixuan and send her out of the Imperial Palace. So much so that Ito Sei believed that after today's conversation, even if he did not conform to the wise ruler Li Shimin recognized by her sect, it would inevitably cause ripples in the lake of Shi Feixuan's heart, so that she would begin to carefully observe the differences between him and Li Shimin, to see who was the real wise ruler, and not like the original author who had already recognized Li Shimin as dead.
"Fortunately, she did not ask about my plans for Buddhism and Taoism. Otherwise, even if there were changes in her heart, she would not choose me." Sei Itō thought to himself.
Sei Itō really did not like the Buddhist and Taoist sects of the Tang Dynasty. Not only did they not engage in production or pay taxes, they also occupied large areas of fertile land and population. They also had a deep influence on the people of that time. Compared to the Taoist sects that could research several new technologies from alchemy, the Buddhist sects were much more disgusting.
Therefore, Sei Itō planned to wait until China was completely stabilized before promulgating new religious regulations. It stipulated that the Buddhist and Taoist sects must pay taxes and cannot own land privately. Even if they owned land, it must be redistributed according to the size of the temple and the number of monks. They must not occupy more than that. Their Buddhist and Taoist scriptures must be re-established. In the future, without the approval of the government, relatives, and the temple, as well as the joint submission of a naturalization permit, they must not shave their heads and become monks. This was to prevent the future of shaving their heads and claiming to be monks being able to escape arrest by the government, as well as the emergence of people without registration and so on …
That's right. There was also a Scripture Level 4 and 6 examination for registered monks. Those who passed could continue to be monks. Those who did not pass would immediately be forced to return to the secular world and be reformed according to their own circumstances. In short, it was to ruthlessly suppress the Buddhist sects and not let these monks have an easy time.
Of course, Sei Itō would still encourage the Taoist sects that were not good at management and encouraged production so that the people could pursue freedom. He even sent some researchers over to help them with their research, so as to prevent the Daoist sects from falling into desolation like the later generations.
On the other side, Shi Feixuan, whose face was filled with a pensive expression, once again returned to that temple's meditation room.
"Master." Shi Feixuan greeted the only woman left in the meditation room — Fan Qinghui.
"How is it?" Fan Qinghui, who was meditating with her eyes closed, asked without opening them.
"I have not seen the Jade Annulus of He Clan with my own eyes, but His Majesty the Great Hua Emperor also insisted that the Jade Annulus of He Clan was a gift from the heavens; presumably, he would not admit that it was stolen from somewhere else," Shi Feixuan softly replied.
"No one would admit it." Fan Qinghui opened her eyes slightly and sighed softly.
"After that, Feixuan and the Emperor of Great Hua had a discussion on the concept of governance," Shi Feixuan continued.
"Oh?" Fan Qinghui's expression changed. He turned to look at Shi Feixuan.
"From my observation, the Emperor of the Great Hua Dynasty's philosophy is somewhat radical. But, it's still a means of governing the world. He can be considered a wise ruler," Shi Fei Zhuang lowered her eyes as she replied.
"You think he is stronger than Li Shimin?" Fan Qinghui frowned and asked.
"Feixuan has seen Li Shimin from afar and knows that he has the appearance of a ruler. There are many capable ministers and generals around him. But, because I have not sat down and talked with him face to face, Feixuan is unable to make a judgment, "Shi Feixuan replied.
"Feixuan, could it be that you want to choose him as a wise ruler?" Fan Qinghui frowned and asked.
"If we can't get the Jade Annulus of He Clan back, the Emperor of Great Hua might be an option," Shi Feixuan raised her head to look at Fan Qinghui and said.
"I'm afraid things won't be that easy," Fan Qinghui softly sighed and said.
She understood Shi Feixuan's plan. If they really couldn't get the Jade Annulus of He Clan back, then they could only admit that Sei Itō was the Master of Destiny. Only then could Ci Hang Jing Zhai's reputation not be affected. They would continue to maintain a transcendent status. But, if that happened, their previous arrangement would be completely wasted. The influence and propaganda effect on Buddhism would be even more different. This was not in line with the benefits they had invested!
But, at this point, how long could the Li Tang power that they thought highly of hold on? Could it be that they had to swallow their pride and let the people of Buddhism and Taoism kill them? If that happened, even if they really pushed the Li Tang power up, Ci Hang Jing Zhai's reputation would be tarnished. Not to mention, they would owe them a favor afterward. Whether or not Ci Hang Jing Zhai's transcendent status would continue to be a problem.
But, if they chose Sei Itō …
"Alas!" Fan Qinghui couldn't help but sigh again. She couldn't help but recall the information sent back by a certain subordinate force.
The reason why Fan Qinghui was like this was because the information she had thought of was none other than the movements of Sei Itō and the Demon Sect. In particular, An Long, Zuo Youxian, Bi 'an, and the other representatives of the Demon Sect, as well as the relationship between Dan Meixian, a half Demon Sect woman, and Sei Itō made her feel uneasy. She was deeply afraid that in the future, the Demon Sect would use Sei Itō to suppress Buddhism and Ci Hang Jing Zhai!
Although her worry was wrong, the result was not bad. It was exactly the same as Sei Itō's plan.
"Feixuan, go and call your Martial Uncle Liao Kong and the others over," Fan Qinghui softly ordered.
"Yes, Master." Shi Feixuan answered and turned around to leave the meditation room. She walked to the other meditation rooms that were adjacent to each other and conveyed Fan Qinghui's message to them.
After a while, Fan Qinghui, Xin Chen, Liao Kong, Buchen, Buchi, Butan, Bufu, and Shi Feixuan gathered in Fan Qinghui's meditation room again. They listened quietly to Shi Feixuan talk about all the details of her meeting with Sei Itō.
"Senior Brother Liao Kong, what do you think?" After a while, Fan Qinghui looked at Liao Kong, who had his eyes closed and was silently kneading prayer beads.
"He is not a member of our Dao," Liao Kong said with an airy voice.
"Looks like that's the only way." Fan Qinghui, who completely understood the meaning behind Liao Kong's baffling words, nodded slightly and said, "Then, we'll have to trouble you to come with us tonight, Senior Brother Liao."
"It's my duty," Liao Kong replied with his head lowered.
Soon after, Liao Kong and the monks of the Four Nos left Fan Qinghui's meditation room one after another and returned to their own meditation rooms to rest. Similarly, Fan Qinghui, Xin Chen, and Shi Feixuan, who watched Liao Kong and the others leave, did not say anything. They each found a place to sit cross-legged and rested their minds, preparing for the operation at night.
In this kind of silence, time passed quickly without them noticing, and night came …
"Amitabha Buddha." Following Liao Kong's sudden Buddhist chant, Fan Qinghui, Xin Chen, Liao Kong, Shi Feixuan, and the monks of the Four Nos, who did not wear casual clothes at all, moved like fairies in the night, toward the Chang 'an Imperial Palace.
With the eight people's extraordinary speed, they soon arrived at one side of the wall of the Chang 'an Imperial Palace.
"The four of you wait here," Liao Kong said to the monks of the Four Nos.
"Yes," the monks of the Four Nos replied in unison.
Then, Xin Chen, who was dressed like a nun, threw up with one hand. A slender rope with a hook attached to one end immediately shot up with a whistling sound. Then, with a light "ding" sound, the rope hooked onto the wall of the Imperial Palace.
Xin Chen stretched out her hand and tugged on the rope. After confirming that it was fixed, she nodded slightly to Fan Qinghui, Shi Feixuan, and Liao Kong beside her. Then, she pulled on the rope and used her lightness skill to borrow the force to rush to the top of the wall. With just two leaps, she landed on the top of the wall.
Then, according to the rules, Fan Qinghui, Shi Feixuan, and Liao Kong also rushed to the top of the wall.
Although it was troublesome to go up, it was easy to go down. Xin Chen, Fan Qinghui, Shi Feixuan, and Liao Kong, who pulled back the hook, jumped down from the top of the wall at the same time. With the help of their superb lightness skill, they landed lightly on the ground inside the Imperial Palace. Then, they set off in the direction of the Imperial Study.
It had to be said that although they called themselves righteous people and never dared to do anything sneaky, when it came to this kind of action of climbing over the wall, they weren't any worse than professional sneaky people. In fact, because of their profound cultivation, they were even more dangerous and frightening than professional people. Relying only on their spiritual sense, Fan Qinghui and the others smoothly forced their way past the patrolling troops and hidden sentries in the Imperial Palace. They arrived outside the Imperial Study.
"I didn't sense the breath of an expert," Fan Qinghui said in a low voice.
"I didn't sense it either," Liao Kong said in a low voice.
"It seems that we worried too much," Fan Qinghui said with a sigh of relief.
"Let's go," Fan Qinghui said in a low voice with a serious expression.
As soon as she finished speaking, the four people quickly rushed out of their hiding places. They arrived near the window where the Imperial Study had the fewest guards and no one was paying attention to them. They used their inner strength to shake open the wooden bolt used to seal the window and flashed into the Imperial Study.
Because no one was working, the Imperial Study was dark.
"Let's split up and search," Fan Qinghui said in a low voice.
Xin Chen, Liao Kong, and Shi Feixuan nodded and split up to search the Imperial Study.
The Imperial Study wasn't big to begin with. It was only about thirty square meters. The interior was mostly decorated with bookshelves, paintings, and paintings. There was also a set of tables and chairs used by the Emperor to work, as well as several square-backed wooden chairs prepared for the ministers who came to discuss matters. There was basically no place to hide anything. Therefore, under the search of the four experts, they quickly found the Jade Annulus of He Clan hidden in a square wooden box at the side.
"That's right. It's authentic." Liao Kong looked at the Jade Annulus of He Clan in the wooden box held in Fan Qinghui's hand and nodded in confirmation.
"I really didn't expect that the dignified Zen Master Liao Kong of the Jingnian Monastery and the House Master and successor of Ci Hang Jing Zhai would do such a despicable thing. It's really unexpected." Just as Fan Qinghui closed the box and prepared to leave, Sei Itō's voice suddenly rang out in the Imperial Study. It made Fan Qinghui and the other three people's hearts tighten. They subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice.
In an instant, Sei Itō's figure appeared in front of them. He was wearing simple white satin underclothes with a mocking and smiling expression on his face.
"This thing can't be stolen by you just like that." Then, Sei Itō didn't seem to make any movements. The wooden box containing the Jade Annulus of He Clan instantly appeared in front of him and was held by his hand.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
