Ji Tang

Chapter 1510 Taoist (Complete Book)

Li Chengqian is gone. So many people have passed away over the years, from his mother to his eldest grandson, Pingyang, and then to his wives and concubines. From the sadness at the beginning, he gradually got used to this journey where once he said goodbye, he would never see them again.

All the tears have been shed, and what is left is only the gradually numb heart.

Cheng Chusi, Yuchi Baolin, Fang Jun, Changsun Chong, and even Dugu Mou, who had always wanted to monopolize power, were all driven away by me. Looking around at my peers, I was the only one left.

How could they understand the loneliness of seeing familiar people disappear one by one?

If it weren’t for my filial children who occasionally take time to visit me, an old man, the monotonous life would drive me crazy!

Three years passed in a flash.

Ji Song suddenly had the urge to go out for a walk and see what the Tang Dynasty, for which he had fought all his life, had become.

But Ji Song's move almost caused an earthquake in Chang'an. When he walked out of the bamboo forest that he had not left since Li Chengqian's death, his news spread like wildfire.

Ji Run was stunned when he heard the news. When he reacted, he said quickly, "Hurry up and get ready. If anything happens to the old man, I will chop you alive."

"No, prepare the horses immediately, I will go there myself."

After saying that, he ignored everyone and hurried to the clan's land. While galloping, he smiled bitterly in his heart: Old man, what are you doing? If you move, can those people in Chang'an still make the decision?

In the palace, Emperor Li Jue was discussing the matter of the Arab envoy with his ministers. At this time, someone came hurriedly and whispered something in his ear. He was shocked and said, "What? The teacher walked out of the bamboo forest?"

"Your Majesty, what happened?" a minister asked.

"Quick, order the Jinwu Guards to protect the teacher as he walks out of the bamboo forest. There must not be any mistakes. You must ensure the teacher's safety." Li Jue could not care about him at this time, and even did not care about the presence of the Arab envoy, and hurried out.

Not only was the emperor panicking, but all the nobles and aristocratic families in Chang'an also rushed out without saying a word when they heard that the man had left the bamboo forest.

Outside the bamboo forest.

"Ah Huang, let's go!"

A majestic-looking dog with a golden and red body appeared in front of him. It seemed a little excited, barked at its owner a few times, and then ran out.

Ji Song shook his head. This was the descendant of Dahuang. The Dahuang family was now at its peak. Any noble family in the Tang Dynasty would feel embarrassed to go out if they didn't have a few Tang dogs.

That’s right, the descendants of Dahuang are also famous. Perhaps they inherited Dahuang’s spirituality. They not only look fierce, but also have human nature. Compared with other dogs, they seem like two different species.

Tang dog is the name of the descendants of Dahuang, and it is also the pride of the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Although there is no legal provision, people are extremely strict about the breeding of Tang Dogs. Not only is there a record of every pup born by a pure-blooded Tang Dog, but Tang Dogs rarely mate at will, so over the decades, the bloodline of Tang Dogs is extremely pure.

This was also chosen by Xiao Huang before he died. He sent it to him and passed away soon after.

Named after the Tang Dog, Dahuang's descendants spread throughout the Tang Dynasty. They were all proud to own a pure-blooded Tang Dog. Some were even trained to become military dogs, active throughout the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dog became the most friendly companion of the people of the Tang Dynasty. Whether it was guarding the house or providing companionship, it could bring people a lot of fun.

When he walked out of the bamboo forest, he saw Ah Huang squatting on the ground waiting. He greeted him without paying attention to the numerous guards around him, and he didn't even look at his eldest son Ji Run who was standing beside him.

Ji Run, who is already over sixty years old and is one of the most important ministers and top nobles in the Tang Dynasty, is like a child at this moment, with his head down and silent.

An ox cart appeared in front of him. Ji Song pushed away the guards who wanted to support him and climbed onto the cart with some difficulty.

"You all should go back. If anything happens to me in Chang'an or nearby, you should all find a rope and hang yourself."

After a light tap on the cow's butt, the old cow immediately walked forward slowly. People standing on the side of the road saw the old man on the ox cart and bowed to him without saying anything, as if they were afraid of disturbing the old man.

There were blue sky and white clouds in the distance, but there were many places where black smoke rose into the sky, destroying this beautiful picture.

He knew that it should be the location of the steel mill. Today, steel has already entered thousands of households. I heard that someone in the academy has successfully developed a steam engine and is now testing it. I don't know if I can see it.
The ride was very quiet, which made him feel a little uncomfortable, but he didn't say anything.

Time passed slowly, but the scenery along the way made him feel as if he was in another world, as if the picture was flowing and he returned to that era of achievement, making it difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

When the emperor came, he didn't even say hello. He just sat on the ox cart and drove the car himself.

"Why are you here to cause trouble? You are putting your teacher on the spot!" Facing Li Jue, who had no dignity of an emperor, he said unhappily, "What? Someone is restless again?"

Li Jue did not turn around, but nodded and said, "Teacher, we have been living in peace for too long, and some people have forgotten the difficulties we faced in the past. We recently found that many people were smuggling with the Arabs, and they have even become a profit group with a huge influence."

Ji Song was silent for a long time, then sighed, "I expected this. It's useless for you to come to me. This is human nature, and no one can do anything about it. Even if we eradicate it today, it won't be long before a new interest group emerges."

“History always repeats itself. As the saying goes, if future generations mourn it but do not learn from it, future generations will mourn future generations themselves!”

As he got older, he had seen through a lot. Now the people of the Tang Dynasty lived and worked in peace and contentment, all over the country, but it was not necessarily that good. Every generation had its own joys and sorrows. Perhaps what he considered a happy life might be seen as a life of misery by contemporary people.

"But they have already begun to infiltrate the imperial court. Many officials have been dragged into this trap and have no choice but to serve as their protective umbrella. The merchant interest groups and the noble interest groups are even more likely to merge. If this is not stopped in time, the imperial court will become a place for them to divide up their interests in the future."

"Please help me, teacher!"

Li Jue got off the carriage and bowed.

"Ah~"

Ji Song sighed, motioned him to stand up, and said: "I am already very old, and I may leave this world one day and follow the late emperor. Alas!"

Li Juehong's eyes said: "Grandpa handed over a prosperous and powerful Tang Dynasty to my father, and my father handed over a clean Tang Dynasty to me. Although my achievements are not as good as those of the late emperor, I must also hand over a stable Tang Dynasty to Ye'er. This is my responsibility!"

"Please help me, teacher!"

Ji Song remained silent for a long time, and then he said, "I will stay in Chang'an for a while. You can do whatever you want. I want to see whether this world is still the world of the Tang Dynasty."

"They are just some evil villains. I can still control them!"

Li Jue was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly said, "Thank you, teacher!"
-
When the emperor, with a look of joy on his face, drove the ox cart back to Chang'an, the faces of those who were observing secretly all changed drastically, and they all left quickly. They wanted to tell the people behind the scenes everything they saw today.

In front of the Chang'an city gate, there was an old man standing with his hands behind his back.

"Boss, do you think the teacher will come out this time?" Xue Li, who is already in his sixties, said solemnly.

As an old general in the Tang army, Xue Li had long since retired from the court, but as long as he was still alive, no one dared to underestimate him. Over the years, he had fought in many battles in the south and the north, and had already established a great reputation. He stopped his horse at Yanqi Mountain and conquered the world with three arrows, which was talked about by the people all over the world.

"Teacher, why do you need to come out of seclusion? As long as you stay in Chang'an, who in the world dares to move you? Who dares to attack you?" Ji Qing said disdainfully.

Although the teacher was not in the court, his four disciples, as well as his disciples and grandchildren, were all pillars of power in the Tang Dynasty, and their prestige in the army was extremely high. In addition, the students in the academy all remembered the teacher's kindness, so if there was a slight rumor, there would be people to deal with those scoundrels.

"We can't be careless. We will spread the news and let the brats move. We didn't want to bother with them before, but now that the teacher has come out personally, it's time to clean up the court. A bunch of greedy rats may have forgotten who removed the tight hoop from their heads." Ji Xiancheng's eyes sparkled. Although he had not been in the court for many years, he was becoming more and more energetic in learning. Now he has inherited his teacher's legacy and become a new generation of literary master.

The book "A Brief History of World Civilization" tells the causes and consequences of all civilizations in the world. It laid a solid foundation for the literati of the Tang Dynasty to open their eyes and see the world, and became the pioneer of a new historiography.

His influence was so great that students all over the world were in awe of him and felt honored to discuss philosophy and learn from him.

"It's time to clean up. We've been fed up with some things over the years. Our ancestors overcame all difficulties, but let these rats steal the fruits of the prosperous times. This is a slap in our faces." The reckless and dangerous light in Wang Xuance's eyes is just because he is old. If he were younger, he would have dealt with those people long ago. Wouldn't he wait until the New Year to not kill them? "Some people are so greedy. Just after we defeated the noble families, these interest groups jumped out. Do they really think no one can control them?" Zhang Rentan said.

That’s right, this man was Xiaomao’s husband. After he fled to the Western Regions, he quickly stood out with his extraordinary abilities and courage. In just ten years, he became a cabinet elder and served as the Minister of Justice.

Now he has three children and many grandchildren. After he became successful in the early years, he married into the Ji family, so Ji Song went with the flow and walked down the stairs. When he got older, he thought about everything. For this, the kitten cried with joy and finally let go of his obsession.

Ji Song knew that if it weren't for the support of his brother-in-law Ji Run, Zhang Rendan would not have achieved such success even if he had great ability. Although he knew it, he turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.

"coming!"

Just then, the ox cart arrived, and the four people hurried forward, bowed and said, "Disciple Ji Qing!"

"Mr. Ji!"

"Wang Xuance!"

"Xue Li!"

"Greetings, teacher. I wish you good health and freedom from illness and disaster!"

"I, the son-in-law Zhang Rendan, greet Master Taishan!"

Ji Song stretched lazily. The emperor had already left. After getting Ji Song's promise, he couldn't wait to make plans.

"It's you guys. You look fine!"

Ji Qing smiled and said, "Thanks to the teacher, we are all doing well!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's good, that's good!"

Wang Xuance personally led the oxcart into Chang'an City, and the other three stood beside the oxcart. As the oxcart entered the city, the road was unknowingly filled with Chang'an citizens.

They looked at the old man in the car with reverence. They knew that it was because of this old man that there were so few wars in recent years. If he was gone, they didn't know how long this prosperous era could last.

"Grandma, who is that grandpa? Why are so many people giving way to him?"

At this time, a child's voice came from the side of the road. The innocent words made Ji Song look back. Perhaps knowing that she had said something she shouldn't have said, the little girl quickly hid in the old woman's arms, but her clear eyes were always looking at him.

"That's our Tang Dynasty's ancestor. Don't be disrespectful to him. Go and call him Grandpa!" Facing her grandmother's urging, the little girl called Ji Song crisply "Grandpa". After that, she immediately hid behind her grandmother shyly.

"Oh, good child, come here. This is a gift from your grandfather. When you grow up, use it as your dowry. I hope you can find a husband of your dreams!" Ji Song handed over a jade pendant with a smile.

"Oh, no, I can't do that!" The old woman quickly refused, but how could she take back something she had given away?

"Take it. This child and I have a connection. Just leave it as a souvenir!"

After leaving the jade pendant behind, the oxcart continued its journey, and more and more people from Chang'an gathered. He saw hope in their eyes, and saw their expectations of him, and their expectations that he could change the current situation.

Ji Song smiled bitterly and said to Ji Qing beside him: "See, this is the will of the people!"

He didn't expect that in just a few decades, those people brought so much injustice and helplessness to the people of the Tang Dynasty. He should have thought that money corrupts power, and power serves money. This is the evil of human nature!

"Go ahead and tell them that the prosperous Tang Dynasty is not for them to abuse their power, but for them to be the best and control the world. Business laws should be changed!"

"There are also Tang Dynasty laws. Some parts are no longer suitable for the current Tang Dynasty."

The four of them were shocked when they heard this. The teacher wants to amend the law?
-
In the fifth year of Longfeng in the Tang Dynasty, Ji Qing, the former chief minister of Qilin Pavilion who had long since ignored state affairs, wrote to the emperor Li Jue, saying that the Tang Dynasty was changing with each passing day, new things were emerging in an endless stream, and the earlier laws could no longer adapt to current affairs. He requested His Majesty to summon all the experts in the law and great Confucian masters from all over the world to come to the capital to rebuild the laws.

Emperor Li Juecai readily agreed after consulting many of his old ministers, and ordered Ji Run, the son of King Zhou of the Tang Dynasty and Marquis of Haozhi, who shared the same fate with the country, to preside over the matter.

In the seventh year of Longfeng, the new commercial law, the Tang Code, was revised. When it was announced, the whole country was in an uproar, merchants were terrified, officials were panicked, and memorials to stop it flooded towards the emperor.

But before they could make any move, the Tang army was mobilized collectively, deployed to major passes and cities across the country, and forcibly implemented the new Tang Law and Commercial Law.

Not only did they collect heavy taxes from merchants all over the world based on their profits, but they also restricted the industries that Tang Dynasty merchants were involved in. They were not allowed to get involved in anything related to people's livelihood and the economy.

In addition, the long-dormant Hundred Cavalry Division, the Supervisory Division, and the Military Intelligence Division were all dispatched to monitor the world. Anyone who violated the law would be severely punished.

It also regulated the behavior of officials and the policy guidelines. The power of local officials was divided into three parts: the county magistrate, the county lieutenant, and the county magistrate, who were in charge of policy, military affairs, and justice. A tax bureau was set up to be in charge of taxation, which was directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial cabinet and was not appointed or dismissed by local officials.

At the beginning of the tenth year of Longfeng, Emperor Li Jue passed away and Crown Prince Li Ye succeeded to the throne.

When the unpopular prince ascended the throne, officials who thought they could breathe a sigh of relief almost sprained their backs. The first thing Li Ye did after ascending the throne was to reconfirm the policies of the previous emperor. Not only did he not relax them, but he also strengthened them in many areas.

Afterwards, there was a major reshuffle of the army, and many unqualified people were dismissed.

With these three measures, and the continuous strengthening of the two generations of emperors, the world's atmosphere suddenly changed. Merchants were restricted, officials had a knife hanging over their heads, and all the nobles became turtles, not daring to show their heads, for fear of being targeted by the new emperor.

The new emperor named the reign Jiande, which means to re-establish morality. It is extremely ironic, but he was too rigid and arbitrary, and did not listen to the opinions of court officials at all.

In the third year of Jiande, Li Ye was in the morning court when suddenly a sad voice broke through the court. A man staggered into the hall and shouted, "Your Majesty, King Zhou, King Zhou, he..."

Before he could finish, he was already in tears.

"What? Tell me, what happened to King Zhou? Tell me quickly!" Li Ye grabbed the other person's collar and roared like a demented beast.

"Good news! His Royal Highness King Zhou passed away at noon today. King Zhou is dead!"

Dengdeng~
Li Ye took a few steps back and almost fell to the ground. He said sadly, "How cruel God is to me! My Tang Dynasty has lost its pillar. Ah~ I am so hurt!"

Li Ye was so excited that he vomited blood and fainted.

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty, wake up! Someone, go and call the imperial physician." The ministers were terrified. The old King Zhou had just left. If something happened to Your Majesty, the world would be in chaos.
-
At the foot of a small hill beside the white Jiuyi Mountain, an old man with white hair and a frosted face stood there. Looking closely, his sleeves were empty, fluttering in the cold wind.

"I didn't expect that I didn't make it back when you were still alive. Do you know what I have suffered over the years?"

"Should I thank you, or should I hate you?"

The person in front of him was none other than Zhang Shaoling from Longhu Mountain who had gone to the West to preach!
For decades, preaching in the West with a strong religious atmosphere is no different from digging up their ancestral graves. He lost his arms in a persecution. If the Tang Dynasty had not suddenly taken action to put pressure on him, he would have been reduced to dust.

But his suffering was not in vain, for decades, Taoist disciples from the Central Plains continued to come forward, including Li Chunfeng in the front and Zhang Shaoling in the back. With the unprecedented unity of Taoism and the efforts of thousands of people, Taoism finally gained a foothold in the West.

Although it cannot be compared with those major religions, at least several countries believe in Taoism and even regard it as a state religion. Therefore, Chinese civilization was also spread to the West and gradually accepted by people, and they were proud of learning Chinese characters and speaking Chinese.

"All the achievements of the past have been reduced to dust. Mr. Qing, I am really tired. I just want to live for myself in my last days."

He built a simple thatched hut with his own hands. Faced with this, Ji turned a blind eye and only sent him food every few days.

From this day on, no matter what changes happened outside, there has always been an old Taoist priest guarding here, telling his past stories to the tombstone every day.

Until one day, when the descendants of Ji came to pay homage, they saw only a pile of ashes and the disappeared thatched house.
"The Complete Book"