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Chapter 698 Fairy Book
"Master, have you read the books I sent to the temple?"

But after Zhang Xianyong arrived in Beijing, he was not summoned by the emperor immediately. Instead, he was arranged to stay temporarily in Lingji Palace in Lingjing Hutong. Then the Cuju team sent three books to him, and he was summoned to the palace for questioning after four or five days.

"Your Majesty, I have read every line carefully, not daring to miss a single word."

Zhang Xianyong was not too old, probably in his forties, not tall, with a dark face and long beard. He wore a bright yellow robe bestowed by the emperor and a nine-beam scarf on his head. His every move was very methodical, more polite than the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, but he was less free and easy, and even a little restrained.

"What do you think?" Hong Tao knew why a great master would behave like this, but he could not change it.

Not only Zhang Xianyong, but also ministers who used to be able to communicate with him face to face and neither humble nor arrogant, such as Yuan Keli, Yuan Yingtai, Gao Panlong, and even Wang An and Zhang Ran, gradually became a little restrained, and would involuntarily avoid his gaze as soon as he looked directly at them.

This may be the so-called aura, but it does not come from changes in status, but rather a recognition of ability or even fear. It can also be said that it is hard to see through, and the unknown itself has the attribute of fear.

But making everyone afraid is not Hong Tao's ultimate goal. In this state, one's words can have final say, but there is no room for a hundred flowers to bloom. No matter how good a person's brain is, there will be omissions after all, and it needs to rely on collective wisdom to make up for it.

"..." Such a simple question put Zhang Xianyong in a dilemma.

"There is no need to think about it. It is true that the book was written by me, but I am not a god. Right is right, wrong is wrong, and the speaker is innocent." Well, if you want to hear the truth, you have to be enlightened. Even so, there is a great possibility that you will not hear the truth.

"…I dare to say that although Your Majesty is not a god, you are not far from it. Everything written in the book can come true. Turning stones into gold and ascending to heaven is just around the corner. However, I am stupid and dare not learn the immortal arts."

Zhang Xianyong had been thinking all the way since he set out from Mount Longhu, trying to figure out the true purpose of the emperor's summons. In the end, he could only come to one conclusion: Jiajing was possessed! Emperor Jingyang might have to follow his great grandfather's path, believing in Taoism and ascending to heaven through cultivation.

As a result, when I arrived in the capital and lived in Lingji Palace, I received three books sent by the eunuchs. After reading them by lamplight at night, all my previous judgments were overturned. How can I describe my mood? It was as if there was a golden pill in front of me. If I ate it, I might ascend to heaven, or I might die forever.

The most troublesome thing is that he has to eat it, because this golden pill was made by the emperor himself, and he is staring at it closely, waiting to see the result.

What kind of three books could make the Taoist master so confused? It is even more strange to say that they are unknown. "The Art of Medicine", "The Art of Alchemy" and "The Art of Divination" are all books that I have never heard of, but they are very famous, written by the emperor himself.

There is a rumor among the people in Jiangnan that Emperor Jing was good at using strange and lewd tricks, which was criticized by the literati. The glassware and self-ringing clocks from Liuguangzhai and Shijigongfang also confirm this statement to some extent.

Although Zhang Xianyong was a monk, he had many contacts with local scholars and naturally heard of this saying. After reading these three books today, I immediately felt cheated. Emperor Jingyang was not good at tricks, he was simply the ancestor of tricks, with endless strange ideas, which made people dizzy. In these three books, the emperor described dozens of methods for treating difficult and complicated diseases, the methods of refining more than a dozen panaceas, and the tricks of mapping the starry sky, the earth, mountains, and rivers in an unquestionable tone.

Believe it or not, there are details, quantities, specific techniques, steps, and links, and they are so clear and logical that even people who don't know much about the industry will find them reliable. Believe it or not, these methods, tricks, and products are unheard of, and you can't find a benchmark to make a preliminary judgment based on experience.

If you just read it, it's fine. At most, you can make fun of yourself for not understanding it. But the emperor's requirement is not just to read it, but to learn and use it. To be more specific, he asked the Zhengyi sect to select two books to study carefully internally first, and then vigorously promote them to the people as part of Taoism.

This request may sound insignificant, but it has far-reaching significance, which is equivalent to changing some of the core ideas of Taoism. Zhang Xianyong did not dare to agree to such a major decision, even if the other party was the famous, or even notorious, Emperor Jingyang, who almost destroyed Buddhism due to a disagreement.

More importantly, some of the things in the book are too incredible. No one can say for sure whether they are true or not. It would be a joke if all the work is just nonsense.

"Well, this is how you should study. Hearing is false, seeing is believing. Don't be reckless and don't believe easily. Today I will demonstrate it to you. Not only must you see it with your own eyes, but you must also know why it is so. Wang Chengen, go to Qiongdao. Tianshi, come with me to take a look."

Don't believe it, right? It doesn't matter. Hong Tao was well prepared and got up and left. In order to recommend these three books to Taoism, the Cuju team and the technicians of Yongdinghe Alkali Factory have been preparing for more than half a month. It's time to show the results.

Why did they have to recommend these three books to the Zhengyi School and let them flourish? In the final analysis, it was still two words: interests. Zuo Guangdou and Li Rumei took office in Luzon, and the navy also borrowed several thousand soldiers from Annan by intimidation and deception, which could temporarily stabilize the situation.

However, military deterrence and suppression alone cannot bring long-term peace and security, nor can it cover the entire area of ​​Luzon. It can only guarantee the safety of Manila City, Cebu Port and its surrounding areas. Even if some local indigenous tribes were won over by coercion and inducement, and several larger resistance forces were hit, most areas are still out of control.

In order to achieve long-term stability, in addition to continuing to strengthen military deterrence and winning over some indigenous tribes, the most important thing is cultural infiltration, and religious beliefs have the fastest and most lasting effect.

In fact, religious beliefs are not only needed in Luzon, but also in the Ming Dynasty. If you talk to the people about political economics and geopolitical theories, they neither understand nor like to listen, and will not follow you. But if you talk to them about gods and ghosts, it is easier to reach a consensus. This is called the limitations of the times.

It was under this huge demand that Hong Tao cracked down on Buddhism in the Ming Dynasty on the grounds of abiding by the rules and regulations, and indirectly supported Taoism as the state religion. However, the Taoist model could not fully meet the demand. If the people only thought about cultivating to become immortals and passing through walls all day long, it would not be good for the development of the country.

What to do? Two words: change. How to change the content of Taoism? Just talk. Hong Tao asked himself that he did not have the talent of a charlatan and could not play such a high-end program. Then he could only try something practical, such as medicine, chemistry and surveying and mapping.

(End of this chapter)