Chapter 36 (2/2)
It truly……made people itch to step on him onceto pieces
Wouldn't this face, when covered in tears and pleading piteously, look even hed, ”I will not stop you if you want to leave, but I suggest you postpone it for a little During this period of tireed to fore of escorting Chen's envoy here Now the E to send an envoy to Chen with the written reply to Chen's request for an alliance He's afraid that the Country of Qi will intervene, so he has asked the Cleansing Moon Sect to escort theto hand the job to Bian Yano myself since I wanted to meet Ruyan Kehui”
”The leader of all Confucian sects, one of the Top Three experts in the world, is going to fight a duel with me Don't you want to see it with your own eyes?”
However detached Shen Qiao was, he could not resist a teestion: ”Have you already sent the challenge letter to Master-in-Charge Ruyan?”
”Why would I need a letter?” Yan Wushi+ sneered, ”Ah-qiao, you're not a confrontational person, but do you really think that other people will be the same as you? If Ruyan Kehui knows that I will be south of the Yangtze River, how could he not try to meet me? If he defeats me, it would raise his reputation by no s Moon Sect will be daed, and our influence in the Northern Zhou will be affected as well Without the Cleansing Moon Sect, whether it's those ant to seize glory and wealth or those ant to destroy Yuwen Yong's trust in e of And who kno many people would like to take part in such a lucrative business!”
Shen Qiao thought about it and agreed Even though he didn't approve of Yan Wushi+'s style in handling things, he did adhtly fascinated, he replied at once, ”The two greatestswords is an event that anyone would look forward to seeing If the news is released beforehand, even if the location is set inside the most unfathomable forest or on the most remoteover each other in their haste to witness the duel”
But Yan Wushi+ just had to shoot back at him, ”Oh, you mean just like the time when you lost to Kunye on Half-Step Peak You lose your face, and the whole world gets to know it immediately after”
This man was seriously too acrimonious Shen Qiao immediately shut his hing ”But this idea isn't bad at all Confucian scholars enjoy lecturing people with endless and lofty speeches I've always disliked how mouthy Ruyan Kehui is If I can defeat him and then force hiain, he'd probably prefer I kill hi, Shen Qiao followed Yan Wushi+ into the palace
The Emperor of Zhou even took Shen Qiao's eyes into consideration He sent a carriage for the them to head directly to Qian'an Hall without any interruptions As such, they could avoid the journey from the palace entrance to the main hall
In fact, the Central Plains had been under war for hundreds of years ever since the end of the Han Edo after the Jin Dynasty unified the land, a battle broke out again, forcing Jin to move its capital southeast After that was another hundred years of chaos between the Sixteen Kingdorand unification, the rulers sie palaces, as nobody knehen their country would be attacked Those kings who had soree of accomplishment would often choose to put their resources into war in order to seize more land and wealth, just like what the previous emperors of the Northern Zhou did As a result, the Northern Zhou's palace was not very big, unlike that of the Weiyang Palace or Changle Palace during the Han Dynasty
The present E's reputation, was somewhat polarized He lived a simple lifestyle and cared for the people, but at the same time, he was also mistrustful and harsh on his officials After he came to power, he banned both Buddhism and Daoism Later, he even distanced hialist School which had been gradually declining ever since the demise of the Emperor Wu of Han At the sa Moon Sect to secure his power, and was therefore criticized by many people After Shen Qiao left Mount Xuandu, he had heard both praises and criticis the way, and it seee a even the praises for him
Therefore, Shen Qiao hesitated for apolitely summoned him into the hall and asked, ”I heard that Mister suffered a lot during this period of tist the common folk I' them Noonder, how I am viewed in the eyes of the people?” However, he still decided to tell the truth, ”There are praises, but there is criticished out loud, ”What are they praisingme for?”
Shen Qiao answered, ”They praise Your Majesty for advocating si up political corruption Meanwhile, others criticize Your Majesty for exter people with harshness and pro asked, ”Mister, you were the sect leader of Mount Xuandu Since I banned both Buddhism and Daoism, I was your enemy too Do you not hate me for it?”
His questions caressive manner, as Yan Wushi+ only coldly watched without any intention to help Shen Qiao
Shen Qiao asked, ”May I venture to ask Your Majesty why you banned Buddhis explained, ”People who blindly believe in Buddhiss to the te for a windfall in their next life Buddhist and Daoist institutions have collected massive amounts of donations and far taxes and levy grains produced by the fields as their own If this goes on, the court will not be able to collect any grains in the long run, while Buddhisrow more powerful with no fear of the law and eventually become the sources of turo, when Faqing clairoup of people to rebellion”
Since ancient tiions Whenever a religion becah to threaten the Emperor's rule, it was the ti the practices However, the Daoist sects had been caught in the crossfire this ti siether
As for Confucianisinally decreed that Confucianis the Three Schools However, when he personally wrote a letter inviting Ruyan Kehui over to give a lecture in Chang'an, the other person politely turned hi, and he directly banned Confucianis all Three Schools
After he finished, Yuwen Yong stared at Shen Qiao, asking, ”Mister comes fro?”
Shen Qiao said, ”Dao is like water, benefiting all living things while keeping none for itself The law of Dao is to be what it is People who follow the law of Dao should soften their own glare and unify themselves with the ordinary Only those who cos and sense the co people can achieve the real Dao”
In other words, those Daoists who benefited thest the Daoist sects They could not be the representatives of Daois's harsh look relaxed as he saw that Shen Qiao was different from those Daoists he had met previously They had tried every possible way to speak on behalf of the banned Daois, and his stance was clear and fir said joyously, ”I've heard the na time, but only till today did I finally have the fortune to meet Mister As expected, you live up to your reputation Every passing day I only hear those people speaking on behalf of Buddhism and Daoism, but I should really let the is not true Daoiser and swindle in the name of the immortals Those people don't benefit the country or its people It's better to wipe them out early than late!”
His words were extre
It was not easy for Shen Qiao to reply to hi Daoist, he was still a believer in Daois's savage words
Yuwen Hu wasn't expecting to hear any flattering words from hi at his lower left, and his voice softened, ”The moment I saw Mister, I felt like ere old friends Mister's bearings are highly admirable I want to help Mister re-establish the foundation of Daoism and rebuild the Daoist sect, and I would like to seek Mister's opinion on that”
Shen Qiao said, ”This poor Daoist doesn't really understand what Your Majesty is referring to May Your Majesty please explain it inhad always been a decisive and straightforward person He didn't like to talk in roundabout ways either, ”Junior Preceptor Yan has already told me that you would not have been defeated on Half-Step Peak that day if you hadn't fallen as a victim to their treachery beforehand If that's the case, then the Purple Mansion of Mount Xuandu has no right to depose you from the sect leader position Even if there's no room for you over there, there will always be other places for you Since Mister couldn't stay on Mount Xuandu, why not re-establish the Daoist orthodoxy of Mount Xuandu over here in Chang'an? I'm sure that with Mister's superior talent, you will shi+ne no matter where you are”
Shen Qiao finally exposed his astonishment
Yuwen Hu was very direct about it He wanted Shen Qiao to start a sect in Chang'an and set up another Purple Mansion of Mount Xuandu He was originally the justified sect leader appointed by Qi Fengge It was official, and no one would be able to say that he was a fake
However, there would then be two Purple Mansions of Mount Xuandu, and the new sect established by Shen Qiao and the other Mount Xuandu would be standing in opposition against each other far across the land
What Yuwen Yong implied was to support Shen Qiao with the power of the imperial court However, this help would not come for free Shen Qiao's new sect was bound to be weak in its founding stages, and because of that, he would have to rely on the support fro Shen Qiao to plant his own voice and influence a the Daoist sects
Of course, Shen Qiao would benefit froreed, he would i with the other sects Yan Wushi+ could no longer treat hiain looked at Yan Wushi+, that lazy and casual way of sitting could only belong to the leader of the Cleansing Moon Sect His expression was just like his posture, loose and relaxed, a faint s's words posed no threat to him Instead, he seemed to show more interest in Shen Qiao's reply
Shen Qiao did not conte, ”I thank Your Majesty for your suggestions, but h to accept this offer I'h expectations”
Yuwen Yong was both a little startled and unhappy In his opinion, even though his desire for consolidating his rule could be inferred froeous for hi told Your Majesty that Ah-qiao was a gentleman ould rather break than bend He would never accept Your Majesty's suggestion Your Majesty did not believe me and still wanted to bet on this Now that Your Majesty has lost, has Your Majesty decided on what to do about it?”
With his interruption, Yuwen Yong resigned, ”I don't understand Mister has fallen so far — don't you want to pull yourself together? Are you willing to give up Mount Xuandu, allow everyone to misunderstand you, and think that you're useless?”
Shen Qiao only replied with a s was, he could not arrest soestion, and so he could only give up, ”Never mind Mister can take your tiret it, you can come tell me any time”
Then he smiled at Yan Wushi+, ”To the Junior Preceptor, there are no treasures that are unattainable The only thing in this palace that can be considered precious is that volu You've already read it before, so how could the rest be worth anything to you? Why don't you give me a way out and let me take care of today's lunch for the both of you?”
With his aggressive personality, it was rare for him to be able to talk casually with others The only reason he could treat Yan Wushi+ like this was because Yan Wushi+ was also a powerful nized it and admired him for it, and so he was even more respectful towards Yan Wushi+ than he was to his court councilors
Yan Wushi+ and Shen Qiao had their lunch inside the palace before they left As soon as they exited the e sent from the Residence of the Junior Preceptor, Yan Wushi+ asked, ”Hoas it?”
Shen Qiao frowned ”Judging by his voice, I' tiht not be able to live for long”