Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng sat in the detention room drinking tea, waiting for news.

Being in a high position, they do not need to do most things themselves, they only need to give orders.

As for what Li Tianlan is doing these days?

He was responsible for accompanying the Xidaomen delegation headed by Huangfu Ji to visit Jiangnan Daofu.

This was of course not Li Tianlan's original intention, but Zhang Jucheng's.

The reason given by Zhang Jucheng was: Li Cixi has been in Jiangnan Daofu the longest among us, and he is also the most familiar and knowledgeable about Jiangnan Daofu. It is best for Li Cixi to accompany the guests to visit.

The reason was legitimate, and Li Tianlan had no room to refuse.

This is the authority of the powerful ruler.

Even if Li Tianlan knew that Zhang Jucheng's move was to hold him back and make him unable to do anything, he also knew that Zhang Jucheng must have some agenda if he didn't come forward in person, but he had no choice. Who made Zhang Jucheng the real person in charge? Is he just the second deputy palace master? Just obey orders.

This cannot be generalized with Qi Xuansu's situation. When Qi Xuansu went to Borneo, he took the identity of Jinque's special envoy and was an imperial envoy. Second, he has the support of Master Lan Da. This is different from his background backer. Master Lan Da is a part of the Borneo Taoist House. He is on the surface and can speak directly and even suppress the master of the government. The background and backing have to go through a roundabout way to exert their influence. The county magistrate is not as direct as the current manager.

Combining the two situations, Qi Xuansu had so much autonomy and could not obey Wang Jiaohe's orders.

Later, Yao Shu was actually plotted by Donghua Zhenren, who single-handedly dominated the power structure of the Borneo Taoist government, including Pei Xiaolou, Xie Jiaofeng, Ji Jiaozhen and others, who were essentially his people. , they naturally understood Donghua Zhenren’s spirit and obeyed Qi Xuansu’s orders. Yao Shu is actually a member of Master Donghua, but after differences between Master Donghua and Earth Master, he is no longer a member of the same family. .

Li Tianlan does not have such conditions now. Because after the second major Jiangnan case, the power structure of the Jiangnan Provincial Government was reshuffled, and there was a major change of blood, which also caused many of Li Tianlan's plans to be in vain and his power was greatly damaged.

Don't think that Li Tianlan is weak. During the first major Jiangnan case, Donghua Zhenren advocated a strict investigation and claimed that he would use this as an opportunity to create a gap in the shady case. As a result, after the two major Jiangnan cases, Li Tianlan still stood firm. Even with the Li family as his backer, it can be seen that Li Tianlan's methods are quite impressive. But no matter how good the methods are, it is impossible to escape unscathed. Li Tianlan still paid a considerable price in the two major cases and was gradually weakened.

This gave Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng a chance.

Qi Xuansu also saw this. He originally thought that Zhang Yuelu would become the real person in charge of Jiangnan Daofu in the future, and then take down Li Tianlan as the real person in charge.

That is also a good story. Zhang Yuelu attacked Jiangnan Daofu three times.

But I didn't expect that Qi Xuansu would greatly advance the process and couldn't wait for Zhang Yuelu to handle the third major Jiangnan case.

The person who carried out the specific execution this time is named Zhang Qingyue, who is Zhang Yuelu's cousin. Although he is not as famous or as talented as his cousin, he is not an ordinary person. He is a seventh-generation disciple with immeasurable levels of cultivation. He is now in charge of Assistant manager of Dazhen Mansion. This time, Zhang Jucheng was specially transferred from Wuzhou to carry out the matter personally.

That's right, Zhang Qingyue is a seventh-generation disciple. Although she is the same generation as Zhang Yuelu in the family, she is one generation higher in the Taoist sect. Instead, she is the same generation as Zhang Jucheng, the clan uncle. In terms of age, Zhang Qingyue is almost the same as Bai Yingqiong, just biting the tail of the seventh generation disciple.

In other words, Zhang Qingyue is the youngest among the seven generations of disciples, and Bai Yingqiong is the oldest among the eight generations of disciples. The difference between the two sides is actually only one year.

As for why Bai Yingqiong is now running to learn about Zhenren, Zhang Qingyue is still an assistant. It can only be said that personal circumstances are different. Realm cultivation is only a rigid standard and the most basic pass. It does not mean that having a realm cultivation will necessarily lead to a high position. With the same cultivation as immortals, some people become great masters, and some people are just great masters of Pingzhang. This is also a matter of personal circumstances.

In this regard, male Taoist priests and female Taoist priests each have their own advantages.

Male Taoist priests are more likely to aspire to the highest power, or in other words, it is basically male Taoist priests who hold the highest power.

It is difficult for female Taoist priests to aspire to the highest power because of their lack of ability. This may seem unpleasant, but the fact is that in front of the highest power, no one will carry forward the gentleman's demeanor, and there is no talk of preferential treatment. They all rely on their own true ability. If they can do it, they can do it, and if they can't, they can't.

However, under the premise that Taoism promotes equality between men and women, female Taoist priests can take shortcuts, because many times there are certain requirements for the number of female Taoist priests. Many big shots jokingly call it arranging vases, so female Taoist priests are indeed fast at certain times and in certain positions. A few steps saves a lot of effort.

To put it bluntly, the competition among male Taoists is too fierce. Sometimes, with the same level of cultivation and the same qualifications, female Taoist priests can take a step forward and be used as role models and publicized widely, while male Taoist priests can only stand still and be regarded as ordinary.

This can be seen as a corrective or preferential treatment, limited to the bottom and middle tiers. At the top, it will become a disadvantage.

Whether this is a form of invisible discrimination or an expression of objective facts is a matter of opinion.

Bai Yingqiong also has an advantage, and that is his status as an eighth-generation disciple. This label just corresponds to the youthfulness advocated by the Taoist sect. Zhang Qingyue suffered a big loss. She was a seventh-generation disciple and received no preferential treatment. The Taoist sect didn't pay much attention to seniority. Being a higher generation really didn't mean much.

All in all, the highest level of these preferential treatment is for the second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest. After that, it doesn't matter whether they are male or female. It all depends on each person's true ability.

The fact is that among the Golden Palace, male Taoist priests still account for the absolute majority. Qi Xuansu only came into contact with three women, namely Zhenzhen Zhenzhen Cihang, Li Ruoshui, and Ye Qingshuang.

After all, a leader must be strong to convince the crowd and make people feel safe. Women more often like to label themselves weak and play the role of the protected rather than the protector. A man who cannot protect his wife and children will be ridiculed and criticized, but no one will accuse his wife of not being able to protect her husband. So who can believe that a protected person, as a leader, can protect the safety of others?

Some people, when they are old, still call themselves female students and regard themselves as children. How can they take on important responsibilities?

Only by first tearing off the label of being protected and assuming equal responsibilities can we gain true equality and equal power.

The power gained through preferential treatment is nothing but charity from others. Today I can give you charity for one right, and tomorrow I can take it away for another right. .bμν.

Is it up to you?

Today I can lift you to the sky, and tomorrow I can crush you under my feet.

What, you are not convinced?

Emperor Shizong of the Wei Dynasty said it well, no matter what anyone promises you, it only counts if you can make the decision yourself.

It will never work if you both want and want. Whatever is gained, something is lost.

Getting back to the topic, after Zhang Qingyue received Zhang Jucheng's order, she immediately brought people to Li Tianlan's residence.

Of course, Li Tianlan kept corresponding guards here, but it was impossible for him to send an infinite-stage master to guard his home. The cultivation level of these guards was quite limited.

In fact, for Li Tianlan, the biggest barrier is not these guards, but the Taoist gate.

If someone outside the Taoist sect wants to touch his family, that is provoking the entire Taoist sect, which will cause the Taoist sect to fight back. The Taoist sect will step in for him, even if it is not capped. If a person within the Taoist sect wants to touch his family, he must be reasonable, otherwise he will be punished by the Taoist sect, which is equivalent to shooting himself in the foot.

So Qi Xuansu and Zhang Jucheng spent a lot of effort and went around a lot of circles just to make this reasonable.

Zhang Qingyue knocked on the door of Li Mansion. The Taoist who came out to open the door had a certain air of his own. His heart was a little stern, but his expression remained unchanged: "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

After all, he was the third-rank official of the prime minister's concierge. Although he was just a Taoist, he did not have the slightest fear in the face of a group of Taoist spiritual officials.

Zhang Qingyue was silent. The Taoist priest beside him took out a warrant and said solemnly: "I am ordered to ask the mistress of your house to come with us and accept the investigation."

The Taoist man didn't react at all: "You want my wife to come with you? Do you know who my master is?"

"Master?" The Taoist priest smiled coldly, "Now is no longer the era of Confucianism, why do we still have such a useless title as 'Master'?"

The Taoist said: "What's wrong is not rubbish. The master is the master. My master is the second deputy master of Jiangnan Daofu. Whose order did you take?"

The Taoist priest said calmly: "Of course it's the order from the master."

Until this time, the Taoist people were a little scared. The real person in charge now is no better than before. He has such great official power, and his own master has to give him three points.

What should I do?

At this moment, Zhang Qingyue, who had been silent until now, finally said: "Get out of the way!"

The Taoist priest next to Zhang Qingyue stretched out his hand and pushed the Taoist aside, and then Zhang Qingyue led the people into the Li Mansion.

At this time, a group of guards from the mansion also rushed out.

Zhang Qingyue said in a deep voice: "On the order of the real person in charge, Gu Ying is taken away for investigation. Anyone who dares to obstruct it will be against the Taoist government!"

To fight against the Taoist government is to fight against the Taoist sect.

All the guards hesitated. The hat was too big and they couldn't bear it. And the situation is unclear now. If something happens to Li Tianlan, there is no need for them to be buried with him.

The leader of the guard said bravely: "Who are you? I have been in the Taoist mansion for many years, but why have I never seen you?"

Zhang Qingyue said: "I am Zhang Qingyue, assistant manager of Dazhen Mansion, and I have been ordered to assist in handling cases in other places."

Hearing the words "handling cases in other places", everyone's faces turned pale again. If it wasn't to deal with their own people within the Taoist government, how could they transfer people from other places?

But where their responsibilities lie, they don't dare to give in easily, neither to advance nor to retreat. There are people who are not afraid of the Taoist government, such as people from the "Heavenly Court", but it is impossible for Li Tianlan to keep a bunch of unknown people in his home all day long. Isn't that giving people a handle? These people from the "Heavenly Court" are all Retreat immediately after doing the dirty work. These current guards all have serious status. .qgν.

Just when this was about to happen, Gu Ying finally appeared.