A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

It is said that the lineage of Zhang Tianshi in Longhushan Tianshi Mansion has been passed down for thousands of years, and can be traced back to Zhang Daoling, the first generation of Tianshi in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

Zhang Daoling is often revered as the founder of Taoism.

The Tianshi Mansion has now been passed down to the 62nd generation of Tianshi Zhang Yuanxu. Although it is hundreds of years younger than Confucius, it is not easy.

The four most populous surnames in China are Li Wang, Zhang Liu, and Li and Liu are both the emperors of the Han and Tang dynasties.

The king is because there have been many famous families in the past dynasties, such as the Langya Wang family, and many people from the previous dynasty will change their surnames to kings.

For Zhang, there is Zhang Tianshi, a person with great folk influence, who can be called the uncrowned king.

In many places, everyone's introduction is generally like this:
——May I ask your surname?
——Free your surname.

But Zhang's surname is quite special, and the word "Miangui" can not be added, because the Jade Emperor is also surnamed Zhang, which is a noble surname in itself.

The Town God's Temple at this time cannot be compared with later generations as a famous scenic spot, even the Buddhist temples of the same period can not be compared, and the overall look is not very grand.

It is very intuitive to feel that Taoism in the Qing Dynasty has declined very much compared to the Ming Dynasty.

Tianshi Zhang Yuanxu had already taken off the official uniform he wore when he was in Beijing, and put on a Taoist robe. The outside of the Town God's Temple was crowded with many believers.

Taoism can be roughly divided into two schools: Quanzhen and Zhengyi.

The Quanzhen school is mainly about self-cultivation and the study of alchemy; the Zhengyi school is more inclined to talismans, and is more inclined to help the world.

The Zhengyi sect is the sect of Zhang Tianshi in Longhushan. Compared with the Quanzhen sect, they are a little more free and have fewer precepts. They can practice at home and do not have to become monks, so they are actually quite attractive to ordinary people.

On the whole, the two schools of Buddhism and Taoism are still doing well. Unfortunately, there were very few official certificates issued in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is very difficult to become a serious Taoist priest or monk, just like taking a public examination.

And because there are too few orthodox monks and Taoist priests, many people who have not read a few Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures will pretend to be cheating and abducted. Therefore, cults abounded in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, and even many warlords believed in them.

Li Yu had only seen scenes of Daoist talisman painting in some Hong Kong ghost-hunting movies played by Lin Zhengying in the 90s and [-]s, and Zhang Yuanxu did it more easily in front of him.

After they finished their work, Li Shutong took Li Yu to meet the celestial master Zhang Yuanxun in a small side hall.

Zhang Yuanxu actually knew about Li Yu, and he said after meeting him, "When Pindao was in the capital, he had heard the name of the emperor's teacher many times, and he has admired him for a long time!"

Li Yu said: "The emperor's teacher is just a false name, and your reputation as a celestial teacher is much stronger."

Zhang Yuanxu sighed and said: "The name of the celestial master is not as good as in the past. Now the Western Catholicism is prevalent in the world, and there are foreign priests everywhere."

Li Yu didn't take it seriously at all: "The Orthodoxy has been rooted for more than 2000 years, how could it be shaken by a few foreign missionaries?"

But Zhang Yuanxu said helplessly: "Teacher Emperor looked at this dilapidated Taoist temple, and then looked at those gorgeous churches. In today's troubled times, it is inevitable to feel sad."

Li Yu quickly helped him dispel his doubts: "In troubled times, Taoism saves the common people, why should the heavenly master worry about a few small churches."

Zhang Yuanxu also felt that what he said was a bit too pessimistic, so he said: "I am ashamed, the poor Taoist has such thoughts."

Li Yu went on to say: "Nowadays, there are Taoist disciples all over the world, and I know a Taoist who is far away from Yumen Pass."

Zhang Yuanxu said, "Outside Yumen Pass?"

"Yes, thousands of miles away." Li Yu said.

Zhang Yuanxu said: "Sanqing is kind to the land, and the blessings reach as far as the border, which is very inspiring."

Li Yu hurriedly persuaded: "It must be very encouraging! Back then, Laozi only went out of Hangu Pass when he left the customs, but now the scope of purple energy is wider, as far as Yumen Pass. This Taoist priest outside the pass has heard the name of the Celestial Master for decades. I want to enter the customs and seek advice from you."

Zhang Yuanxu must want Zhengyi to expand its influence. After all, the Quanzhen sect is the majority in the north, so he said: "My Dragon and Tiger Mountain will always open its gates to those who humbly seek the Tao."

What Li Yu was waiting for was this sentence: "I just want to go to the outside of the pass, and trouble the celestial master to write a hand letter, and I will take it outside the pass. Maybe there will be many believers who come back."

Zhang Yuanxu asked: "This journey is far away, and it will be very difficult if you think about it. Is the emperor really going?"

"Of course I'm going!" Li Yu immediately assured her.

Zhang Yuanxu said: "Okay! The emperor is so strong! I can't let the emperor down."

Zhang Yuanxu asked for a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and quickly wrote an imperial edict titled "Ziqi Donghui".

Li Yu was quite satisfied and fully met the expected requirements.

I have gone through all sorts of troubles, but if I don’t believe it, I might not be able to deal with that stinky Taoist priest in Mogao Grottoes.

Before leaving, Zhang Yuanxu drew another talisman with his own handwriting and wrote a letter to Li Yu and Lu Bicheng, "Emperor Master, Madam, may this talisman ensure both good fortune and longevity, and a house full of gold and jade."

Li Yu said gratefully, "Thank you Heavenly Master."

-

After leaving the Town God's Temple, Li Yu asked Li Shutong to help contact the county government in Shanghai County to purchase the property rights of Yu Garden, and went to visit Zhang Taiyan himself.

At this time, he was still locked up in Tilanqiao Prison.

Li Yu bought roasted chicken and fine wine, and gave a silver dollar to the prison guard, and he was put in.

Zhang Taiyan was contented, reading books and newspapers there, and even drinking tea, but the teacups were rather shabby, but it didn't seem like he was in a prison anymore.

Zhang Taiyan was very happy to see Li Yu: "Shucai, oops! You're so good at coming! I was worried that I couldn't publish an article praising your deeds, so you came here and let me praise you in person!"

Li Yu laughed and said, "It's not easy to get a few good words from Mr. Taiyan, even if you come from the other side of the world!"

Zhang Taiyan saw Li Yuti's roast chicken wine again, and said: "Look at you, you always think that I am suffering in prison, and I come to deliver meals every day. It is either roast chicken or roast goose, which makes me have a little experience in prison. Not at all, and even gained a few pounds, this is really the most ridiculous thing in the world. It must never be like this again in the future!"

Zhang Taiyan kept talking, but he still reached out to fetch the wine bottle, and asked, "Have you eaten? If not, feel free, feel free!"

Li Yu asked: "Mr. Taiyan, how is Zou Rong's situation?"

Zhang Taiyan said: "He, he has traveled east to Japan to study."

Li Yu said: "That's good. It will definitely be of great benefit to improve your knowledge."

Zhang Taiyan saw Lu Bicheng beside Li Yu, and asked, "Who is this girl?"

Li Yu said, "This is my wife, an editor at Ta Kung Pao, a girl from Bicheng."

"Ah! I know, I know!" Zhang Taiyan said, "Your talent is not only famous in Beijing and Tianjin, but has already spread to Shanghai. I didn't expect that your appearance is so outstanding. Brother Shucai is really a blessed person."

Lu Bicheng said: "Mr. Xie Taiyan's praise."

Zhang Taiyan said: "Don't just stand there, it's like coming to your own home. Come here, I'll give you chicken legs, young people have a good appetite."

Although there is an iron fence, there are a few small stools outside. It is estimated that the prison guards are used to being visited, so luckily they left the stools outside the iron fence.

During the chat, someone came to visit Zhang Taiyan with a food box.

Zhang Taiyan laughed and said, "You are feeding me like a locked pig!"

The person who came was Ding Zuyin, a bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.

Ding Zuyin didn't expect someone to be there first: "If Mr. Taiyan is a pig, he must be a pig like Marshal Tianpeng."

"I'm being modest, but you really treat me like a pig? Could it be that I have to be fattened before killing?" Zhang Taiyan said.

Ding Zuyin said: "But Mr. Taiyan, you said it yourself first."

"Pigs are pigs! What's wrong with pigs?" Zhang Taiyan said again, "It's a coincidence that you came here. Have you heard of this Bicheng girl in front of you?"

Ding Zuyin was startled and said, "It turned out to be Miss Bicheng, I've wanted to ask you for an appointment for a long time!"

Lu Bicheng asked, "Appointment for a draft? Which newspaper?"

Ding Zuyin said: "I just founded the "Women's World" magazine in Shanghai, and I have been looking for talented women like you to contribute to the magazine. I have heard that the most famous talented woman in Beijing and Tianjin at this time is Miss Bicheng. Miss Qiu Jin who was far away in Japan last year She has contributed articles for us, and she has mentioned you many times in her letters. But I have never had the girl’s contact information, and it is a great blessing to meet you here today.”

""Women's World" sounds like a very appetizing magazine." Lu Bicheng said.

Ding Zuyin said: "The purpose of our magazine is to carry out 'family revolution' and 'political revolution' simultaneously. At the beginning of the publication, we took the transformation of Chinese women as our mission, opposed the old ethics, advocated equality between men and women, and strongly hoped that all Chinese women would wake up. .”

Lu Bicheng liked it very much: "Great, I have always hoped to have such a newspaper, and I have decided to vote for the manuscript!"

Ding Zuyin said happily: "There is a contribution by Bicheng, a talented girl from the north, which coincides with Pan Xiaohuang, a talented girl from the south who is in full bloom at this time."

Zhang Taiyan asked: "You are the editor-in-chief, have you seen that Pan Xiaohuang?"

Ding Zuyin shook his head: "Miss Pan is very talented. I only know that she is seventeen years old and has never been able to see her beauty. And it's not just me, there are too many people who want to see him."

There is a saying that "the more mysterious, the more perfect".

Zhang Taiyan said: "At the age of 17, with such a writing style, it is a strange woman, so it is naturally sought after by countless people."

"Isn't it!" Ding Zuyin said, "My newspaper office receives heartfelt love letters every day, and each of them must be favored by Miss Pan. There are even high-ranking officials who are willing to marry her as a concubine with a thousand taels of gold."

There are definitely not a few people who have this kind of thinking. Talented women were very rare in ancient times, and powerful people were proud to marry a talented woman, at least it was capital to show off.

Therefore, in history, Hu Weide, as a member of the second rank, and Yuan Kewengui, as the son of the Yuan family, will continue to pursue Lu Bicheng.

Zhang Taiyan asked: "Are there any writers who write love letters?"

Ding Zuyin said: "It's all nonsense! I think it's right for Miss Pan not to show her face in public, so as not to be full of gossip. By the way, Miss Bicheng, are you not afraid of such troubles?"

Zhang Taiyan said: "Of course she doesn't, because Bicheng girl already has her own heart."

Ding Zuyin was surprised: "Who has such a blessing?"

"It's far away in the sky, but it's close in front of us." Zhang Taiyan said.

Ding Zuyin was surprised: "Brother Taiyan, you are too supernatural, even in prison you can meet talented women from Beijing and Tianjin!"

"It would be fine if it were me!" Zhang Taiyan laughed, "Miss Bicheng has already married Li Yu in front of her."

Ding Zuyin looked at Li Yu: "Your Excellency is actually Li Yu, the emperor who won the Swedish Nobel Prize! I'm really sorry, but I thought you were Mr. Taiyan's student when he was in Japan when I came in."

Li Yu replied, "It doesn't matter."

Ding Zuyin said: "The emperor is a pioneer of new learning, and if he can be the husband of a Bicheng girl, he must also be an advocate of women's rights. How about you also contribute an article for my "Women's World"?"

Li Yu said with a smile: "Sir, you really don't forget your business all the time."

It was not difficult for Lu Bicheng to contribute, and she still had a lot of manuscripts in hand.Li Yu is in trouble, and can only talk a little about the benefits of women's education.

-

Several people chatted for a while before Li Yu left the prison. When he came out, Lu Bicheng said to Li Yu: "I also think that Miss Pan's actions are right. A dignitary pursued her only to take her as a concubine. It should be hidden."

Li Yu said: "This Miss Pan may not be a real Miss."

Lu Bicheng said, "Isn't it Miss? Could it be Madam?"

Li Yu said, "Maybe it's a man."

Lu Bicheng couldn't believe it: "A man? How come!"

Li Yu shrugged and said, "No one has seen it before, so how can we be sure it must be a woman?"

Lu Bicheng said: "In that case, it would be bizarre."

Naturally, Li Yu knew that this Pan Xiaohuang girl who had fascinated countless Shanghai men was actually Liu Yazi.

But since he didn't say it himself, Li Yu would definitely not expose it.

Two days later, Li Shutong had already contacted Li Yu to complete the procedures for purchasing Yu Garden. It was actually very simple, as long as the money was in place.

At present, the Shanghai county magistrate has no spare time, let alone spare money, to manage this place. He is very happy if someone is willing to buy it.

At this time, the status of the Shanghai county magistrate was a bit embarrassing. Compared with the nearby concession, the area of ​​Shanghai county was small, and it was far less prosperous than the concession, so many people were running to the concession.

Shanghai County has protested against the expansion of the concession area many times before, but it has no effect. They have moved the territory to the edge of the county seat.

Moreover, the Shanghai county seat is only one block away from the bustling Xiafei Road in the concession. The gap is too big to keep people at all.

The entire land in Yu Garden cost less than 1 taels, which was almost free compared to the houses on Nanjing Road in the concession.

The next day, Li Yu went to look at the piece of land west of Jing'an Temple. Thanks to Yang Sisheng's hard work, it was almost finished.

After that, Xie Yuxi can help buy equipment and books.There is no need to worry too much about things like Cai Yuanpei, who is an education guru like Cai Yuanpei.

Li Yu also outsourced the renovation project of Yu Garden to Yang Sisheng's construction company.

This kind of project is similar to decoration, and the money spent is not easy to control. It can cost a lot of money or a little money, depending on the budget of the host family.

Li Yu's request is simple to say: restore the original state as much as possible.As for how much it costs, it will be settled at the end.

Li Yu paid an advance payment of 1 taels. Yang Sisheng was very excited and thanked him a lot: he took on such a large project again, and it was a traditional garden project, which would be very helpful for him to expand his business scope in the future.

Li Yu couldn't stay in Shanghai for too long, and set off for the capital after explaining all the matters.

The next chapter will be released tomorrow morning~