Taoism was the state religion of the Zhou Dynasty, but it was not only the state religion of the Zhou Dynasty. Long before the Zhou Dynasty was founded, Taoism was the state religion of many dynasties.
The Pope was the wielder of divine authority in the Orthodoxy, the ruler of all believers in the world. From a certain perspective, he possessed a status even higher than a sovereign.
How did one become a good Pope?
Chen Chang Sheng was well-versed in the Daoist Canon and had seen the deeds of countless previous Popes, but this sort of thing was impossible to learn.
Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that his martial uncle the Pope had never taught him how to act, only attempting to influence him through his words and actions.
For example, prioritizing the world, hiding one's strength and biding one's time, being prudent and prudent, not caring about temporary gains and losses, not caring about the reputation of the world, and only caring about the people.
After leaving the capital, he headed directly to the north like many other young cultivators. He wanted to exert himself on the battlefield. However, the facts proved that this was of no use at all. On the contrary, it was easy for the frontlines to fall into chaos and the morale of the army to waver. He then began to use his medical skills to save people and refine the Cinnabar Pill. He had indeed saved many people, but it was still not enough.
Wang Zhice had mentioned in his notebook that positions were relative. In different positions, one would naturally have to choose different ways of doing things. He was currently the Pope. If he wanted to contribute to the world, he could not act like a swordsman or a doctor. He had to use different methods.
Su Li felt it beneath him to associate with this dark and decaying world, to look at it with disdain. If the mortal dust stained his body, he would slash it with his sword. The Tianhai Divine Empress, on the other hand, used even darker and crueler methods to suppress it, attempting to completely disperse that stale air. His martial uncle the Pope's methods were even gentler and more conservative.
From Chen Chang Sheng's point of view, these methods were all wrong.
It was impossible for him to be like his martial uncle, constantly conceding for the sake of the greater good, willing to sacrifice himself. He was also not like Senior Su Li, who was so alienated from the world. Although this world did not treat him kindly, he still liked this world and the people that lived in it. Of course, it was even more impossible for him to do what the Tianhai Divine Empress had done. Back when he had read Wang Zhice's notebook in the Lingyan Pavilion, he had already given up on any hope of having the world dance to his tune.
His method or method or what he wanted to do was actually very simple.
Since he didn't want to hand over the world to those rotten and boring people, he should stand up.
Just like the spring breeze had turned the Jiangnan shore green, just like wildflowers had bloomed all over the hillside. Just like that, it was open and aboveboard, it was announced to the world.
If he was alone, it would be very difficult. Fortunately, he had many people of the same age.
It would be great if that guy was willing to join them. Unfortunately, why wasn't he willing to come out of seclusion?
Chen Chang Sheng looked at the distant room that was still brightly lit. He didn't know what Luo Bu was thinking at this moment.
…
…
The demons truly had retreated, without any traps or holding anything back. From the northern reaches of Tianliang County to the western foothills of Mount Han in a radius of around two thousand li, not a single demon could be seen. Only two groups of wolf cavalry remained on the banks of the Lahu River, most likely used to monitor the movements of the Human Army.
Many people were still rather confused as to why the demons had retreated, but no matter how one looked at it, this was a victory for the Human race. The ten-some army headquarters and even more strongholds in the snowy plains of the north began to celebrate, their faces brimming with relaxed smiles as if they were celebrating a festival.
The mood in the Mount Song Army headquarters was different from other places. It was tense and oppressive, the two sides of the main street packed with people. Whether it was soldiers, merchants, or the few ordinary people, all of them had worry and unease written all over their faces. They were not gathered here to celebrate the retreat of the demon army, but to wait for the results of an interrogation.
In the past few days, many carriages had entered the Mount Song Army headquarters. Some of these carriages came from Blue Pass and Snowhold Pass, some came from Hanqiu City, and some even came from the distant capital. Each carriage represented a truly important figure.
Because Ning Shiwei was dead.
On a certain night, he had brought his bodyguards and left his camp, vanishing without a trace. Later on, his corpse was found to be badly mutilated. Crucially, he had not died on the battlefield of the snowy plains, but in an extremely remote mountain range.
A Divine General had mysteriously died, so it was naturally necessary to investigate the truth.
The soldiers, merchants, and people on the street also wanted to know what had happened.
They had no idea that many other people had died on that night. The newly appointed clan master of the Zhu clan, Zhu Ye, the second-generation descendant that the Tianhai clan had focused on nurturing, Tianhai Zhanyi, and the Tang clan's Seventeenth Master had all died on that frigid night, just like Ning Shiwei.
With so many important figures dead, there was naturally a need for even more important figures to investigate.
Two Divine Generals had come from Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass. A truly important figure had come from the Tianhai clan: clan master Tianhai Chenwu's younger brother, Tianhai Chenwen. However, he was not the person with the highest status in the Mount Song Army headquarters, as the Prince of Zhongshan had come from the capital as an imperial envoy from the Imperial Court. Only the Zhu clan of Tianliang County, because two generations of clan masters had passed away, did not have any other powerful figures. Its power had sharply declined, so it had only sent a random person. Presumably, this person would only be able to sit in on the investigation.
When these important figures came to the Mount Song Army headquarters, their first priority was naturally to investigate the deaths of Ning Shiwei and the others, but it was obvious that the most important thing was that position.
The position of the Divine General of the Mount Song Army headquarters.
When the Divine Empress was still in power, the war against the demons had not proceeded smoothly, but the army was still no weaker than it had been at its peak. It had thirty-eight Divine Generals. In the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, Xue Xingchuan, Tian Chui, and other famous Divine Generals had died one after the other. Afterwards, the struggle in the Imperial Court had been equally fierce, a storm raging. Now, only twenty-three remained.
The capital and Luoyang needed Divine Generals to stand guard, and even fewer Divine Generals could be left in the north.
On the snowy plains, besides Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass, which had special statuses, the other armies only had one Divine General. With Ning Shiwei's death, the position of Divine General in the Mount Song Army headquarters became vacant, and it was impossible to transfer Divine Generals from other armies. This meant that the Imperial Court needed a new Divine General.
To the Great Zhou Army and the Imperial Court, the Divine General was the most crucial position.
This was because Divine Generals had military authority. At crucial moments, they could even mobilize soldiers without orders.
Regardless of why Ning Shiwei had died, now that a position had become vacant, a new Divine General could be promoted. Whether it was the Prince of Xiang's faction, the Tianhai clan, or any other faction in the court, none of them would miss this chance.
In the depths of winter, snow did not fall on the Mount Song Army headquarters, but the stronghold built on the mountain was densely covered in dark clouds, and the light of the day was very cold.
It was just like the expressions on the faces of these important figures seated in the main hall of the army headquarters.
The Prince of Zhongshan sat in the center. Just as the rumors said, his face exuded a ruthless aura.
Tianhai Chenwen and Divine General Jian Xi from Snowhold Pass sat to the right.
The high official from the Grand Court of Revision who had come with the Prince of Zhongshan and Divine General Cheng Tao from Blue Pass sat to the left.
Their camps were extremely clear, as were their standpoints. Otherwise, the mood in the main hall would not have been so oppressive, even somewhat gloomy.
Divine General Cheng Tao looked at the commander of Gaoyang Village, his complexion extremely unsightly. He yelled, "The commanding general has come to your camp, and you actually don't know anything?"
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