I studied in modern times

Chapter 805 Lu Huiqing's Fear
"Master Puji Huai'en... Zhiyuan?"

Lu Huiqing's brows twitched slightly.

Of course he knew Zhiyuan.

In the early years of Xining, when he first met Prime Minister Jiefu, Monk Zhiyuan was already a guest of honor of Prime Minister Jiefu.

Therefore, Lu Huiqing understood the monk Zhiyuan very well.

That's a liar!

Relying on pretending to be mysterious and mysterious to deceive the world!
However, what makes Lu Huiqing sad is that people in the world are always bewitched and deceived by these people.

This was something that Lu Huiqing found difficult to tolerate.

in particular……

The young master in front of him carries the hopes of many people, including him.

So, after thinking for a long time, Lu Huiqing mustered up his courage and said carefully: "Your Majesty..."

"You don't have words to say, but you have strange power and chaos!"

"Moreover, since the First Emperor of Qin..."

Zhao Xu smiled and interrupted him: "My lord, do you want to talk about the stories of Qin Shihuang and Xu Fu, Emperor Wu of Han and Li Shaojun, Shao Weng and others, and Emperor Taizong of Tang's superstition about immortality and alchemy in his later years?"

Lu Huiqing lowered his head: "I dare not!"

Zhao Xu laughed jokingly and began to tease: "You want to tell me the story of how the Zhen Temple believed in Helan Qizhen and Taoist Tongxuan, and the Ren Temple worshipped Li Zhongfang as the [Zen Master Xianhua]!"

Lu Huiqing was horrified, and immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "I am guilty of death!"

"How dare I have such a rebellious heart?!"

He certainly could not admit that he had any doubts in his heart about the "sages" of the ancestors of the Song Dynasty.

But he really had these worries in his heart.

Because the Zhao officials fell for the tricks of these monks, Taoist priests and charlatans.

The people mentioned by the young master are typical charlatans in the history of the Song Dynasty.

Helan Qizhen, who lived during the time of Emperor Taizong, claimed that he was a hundred years old and that he could achieve immortality through breathing.

After Zhen Miao ascended the throne, he heard about this man's supernatural powers and issued an imperial decree to invite him to Bian Jing.

He was worshipped as "Master Zong Xuan" and was given purple Taoist robes, platinum, land, houses, incense and countless other things.

With this precedent, the bigwigs in the Zhen Temple were immediately shaken.

One after another, they rushed to Beijing.

At that time, the farmers in Hezhong Prefecture and the hermit Taoist priests on Mount Hua all made a living and earned a lot of money by claiming that they "live a hundred years" or "have special skills" as claimed by Helan Qizhen.

They were even granted imperial titles and official positions.

Among these people, the most successful one is [Tongxuan Taoist].

This old Taoist priest who called himself the "Loshan Taiyi Cave Master" relied on various performance arts to claim that he was born in the Tang Dynasty and had personally experienced the turbulent times of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, thus deceiving the emperor of the real temple.

Many people say that the construction of the Zhen Temple Fengshan on Mount Tai was instigated by Tongxuan and others.

After Zhenmiao, the monks and Taoists of the Song Dynasty actually opened up a new track through the integration, development and fusion of the Zhenmiao Dynasty.

He is no longer a Taoist priest. He always talks about things like "I am a person from the Tang Dynasty", "I have special skills", "I can fast", etc., which are easily exposed.

Instead, monks and Taoists began to merge, and developed from "I have special skills and can XXX" to "I am good at medicine and can diagnose life and death, understand cause and effect, and know the future."

A typical representative is the Zen Master Xianhua Li Zhongfang.

He is considered the founder and originator of many sleight of hand used by monks and Taoists in the world from the Ren Temple to the present.

He is not a monk, but he always wears a cassock. He is not a Taoist priest, but he talks about the circulation of yin and yang, good and bad luck. He is not a doctor, but he claims that he can cure all diseases and even know a person's past and future just by taking his pulse, and can see through cause and effect and understand good and bad luck.

In short, the main character is a riddle man.

In the beginning, he relied on writing for people, taking pulses, and pretending to be mysterious to make money and establish his image.

It just so happened that Ren Miao was in his later years and was eager to have a child. When he met this person, he felt like he had found a savior and refused to let go.

Lin Zhongfang saw through this and kept saying some specious things, which made Ren Miao's IQ drop offline.

However, this riddle man who was not a monk but wore a cassock, who was not a Taoist but claimed to be able to know the flow of yin and yang and to tell good and bad luck, who was not a doctor but could cure all diseases and could know the past and future by taking the pulse, eventually died in front of the Ren Temple.

When he died, he was probably younger than Ren Miao.

But in his later years, Ren Miao believed in him to the point of obsession.

They insisted that the person was not dead, but had just transformed his corpse into an immortal being and ascended to become a Bodhisattva beside the Buddha.

They made his corpse into a golden statue, sent it to a temple for worship, and gave him the title of "Master Xianhua". They often sent people to pray for him to have a child.

If only Ren Miao could give birth to a healthy prince in her later years.

Maybe, this [Zen Master Xianhua] can be named a true Bodhisattva and establish his own temple.

To be honest, Lu Huiqing also couldn't understand how Lin Zhongfang made Ren Miao believe that he, a charlatan who spoke Taoist rhetoric all the time, but wore monk's robes, loved to drink and eat meat every day, and claimed that he could cure all diseases and know the past and future by taking the pulse, could have ascended to the Western Paradise and become a Bodhisattva?

But Lu Huiqing remembered very clearly that when he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination that year, his mentality suddenly changed after hearing about this incident.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty!

The 'benevolent and kind king' in the eyes of the people of the world, a 'wise king' who ruled the world for decades, was fooled by a liar.

What does this prove?
The young Lu Huiqing knew it at that time.

The emperor is also a human being!
You can also be deceived, cheated and even fooled!
Moreover, the emperors' IQ in this regard may be even lower than that of ordinary people!

This laid the foundation for Lu Huiqing's future official career.

This is one of the reasons that shaped Lu Huiqing into the person he is today - when he realized that the emperor could also be deceived and blinded.

So, what else can make him feel awe?

So, he began to act recklessly and had no taboos.

At the same time, Lu Huiqing no longer believed in any of the words of monks and Taoists, and was even full of doubts.

He is even more instinctively hostile towards people like Li Zhongfang.

Because Lu Huiqing knew that once such a person succeeded, he would inevitably cause harm to himself.

They will compete with me for the emperor's favor, and they will seduce the king before me.

And the facts proved his idea. Back then, Zhiyuan once relied on his rhetoric to gain the trust of Jiefu.

How could Lu Huiqing tolerate him? !

He repeatedly made things difficult for Zhiyuan and exposed Zhiyuan's tricks in front of Mr. Jiefu many times.

As a result, Zhiyuan faded out of Jiefu's circle.

But now... this beast has reappeared and has gained the young master's trust!

This made Lu Huiqing feel a sense of crisis again.

Bald donkey!

How dare you get ahead of me and deceive the Holy Wisdom?!
Kill!

Just ...

Lu Huiqing raised his head and looked at the smiling young master, and some creepy thoughts arose in his mind.

"Young Master, since you are well aware of the affairs of the monks and Taoists of previous generations..."

"Why do you reuse Zhiyuan?"

Thinking about this, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty is a wise man, and you know the monks and Taoists... why..."

"Why did they use Zhiyuan so highly?" The young master chuckled and helped him say what he dared not say: "They even used the Buddha's tooth relic to boost his reputation and used the power of the court to help him become famous?"

Lu Huiqing swallowed and crawled on the ground.

Then he just listened to the young master saying leisurely: "Monks, Taoists, gods and Buddhas are believed by many people in the world, and there are few who do not believe in them!"

Even Wang Anshi and Fu Bi were fooled by these charlatans.

Not to mention the rest of the general public.

In the Middle Ages, superstition was the mainstream.

People who are not superstitious are actually different.

Moreover, the higher up the ruling class one is, the more superstitious they are.

For example, both the two Empresses in Law were devout Buddhists.

He fasted and chanted Buddhist scriptures every day, and on the first and fifteenth day of every month, he would send his eunuchs to burn incense and pray for blessings.

For example, the prime ministers of the time all believed in Buddhism or Taoism to a greater or lesser extent.

The only person who did not believe in ghosts and gods was the deceased Sima Guang!

As for the eunuchs and female officials around Zhao Xu...

Every one of them, in private, burns incense, chants sutras and prays for blessings.

Even if Zhao Xu had not had the experience of studying abroad in modern times, he would probably more or less believe in what the monks and Taoists preached.

Even though he had studied abroad in modern times, to be honest, he still had a fear of ghosts and gods.

After all, living as a human for three lifetimes is either the power of gods and Buddhas, or the power from a higher dimension!

However!
He is a very confident person!

Now, after three lifetimes as a human, the moment he woke up in Qingning Palace, he confirmed that he had returned to his youth and started living his life again.

He had already realized—

Why can I live a third life?
Obviously, I have a destiny!
With destiny in hand, there are no taboos!
I am the destiny!

Then, all evil spirits will be shunned! No gods or ghosts will invade!

Therefore, he is not afraid of any gods or Buddhas!

If you have the ability, show yourself!
Otherwise, I will just accept that the gods in heaven and earth all support me.

With this mentality, Zhao Xu could manipulate the big monk without any scruples and squeeze the powerful people hard.

Even, no reward was given to them!
Just like last year when there was a severe drought in Huainan, Zhao Xu did everything he could to rush all the big monks in Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in Beijing to Huainan to hold rituals, chant sutras and pray for blessings, to liberate the souls of the dead and to comfort the people.

But afterwards, they were not rewarded even a penny.

It's based on his mentality.

In Zhao Xu's opinion - I have been given the mandate of heaven, and you have served me well, which is already a blessing and a virtue. Why should I reward you?
If I give you rewards, it will harm your practice!

Therefore, you should kneel down, worship me, be grateful to me, and say: Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help!

Naturally, Zhao Xu also treated Zhiyuan as a tool.

Moreover, he always believed that it was he who provided Zhiyuan with such a good entrepreneurial platform and opportunity.

Therefore, Zhiyuan and his disciples should be grateful to him.

Under the influence of this mentality, Zhao Xu slowly said to Lu Huiqing: "So I used Zhiyuan as a chess piece and placed it in Xihe!"

"So..." Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes and looked at Lu Huiqing: "After you take office, you can respect Zhiyuan, but you must remember that you are the one who carries out my will and coordinates Xihe!"

"Zhiyuan is just a pawn to assist and support the lord in implementing the strategies of the imperial court and the Xihe shogunate regarding Tubo, Dangxiang and even Uighur!"

Hearing these words, Lu Huiqing couldn't help licking his lips and bowed his head again: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Just ...

For some reason, he felt even more frightened.

That creepy and chilling feeling became even stronger!
Lu Huiqing swallowed.

He soon found out the reason!

This is fear!

Fear of the young master in front of him!
The reason for fear is...

Young Master... He even treated gods and Buddhas as tools and chess pieces.

What else, then, is there that he fears?

What can the emperor do when he loses his sense of reverence?

This reckless and huge power, once used in the wrong place...

The damage it caused is probably far greater than the damage caused by the Zhen Temple when it was superstitious about immortality, rushed to offer sacrifices to the gods, and built a large-scale project to create the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace!
(End of this chapter)