Chapter 164: Counterattack

Carrying the world on your shoulders is really a big talk.

But after reaching a certain position, it is not a big talk. It is a problem that must be considered.

Fortunately, there is still plenty of time. At least there are still decades for Qi Xuansu to think slowly, think thoroughly, and understand.

Qi Xuansu now only has some general ideas and concepts, and it is not yet a system.

What is a system? Referring to the "Xuansheng Xianger Notes" of the Five Great Masters, his system is fully interpreted, what should be done now, what to strive for in the future, why to do so, what is the reason, what negative consequences will there be, and so on.

The emergence of this typhoon disrupted many plans.

Qi Xuansu had to preside over the relevant matters of resisting the typhoon, and postponed many things to be done. The progress of Jiang Dazhenren was not smooth either. The emergence of the typhoon caused subtle changes in the situation at sea, including the Queen of Heaven's Dragon Palace on the Sea and Lin Lingsu's Tongzhen Palace. Their trajectories have changed and need to be recalculated.

In this way, the Zhongyuan Festival is about to come, and Chen Shuhua's great transformation has passed for a month, and there are less than twenty days left.

If we miss these last twenty days, I'm afraid there will be a lot of variables.

Things happened one after another. After the wind disaster, the Daofu had to discuss matters and summarize the merits and demerits. When the Zhongyuan Festival came, the Daofu had to organize corresponding celebrations, which were all within the scope of the chief deputy palace lord's duties.

This is normal. It is impossible for a frontier official to handle cases all day long. Where do so many cases come from? If you engage in internal strife all day long, do you still want unity? Strictly speaking, these things are the real business. Since Qi Xuansu is the chief deputy palace lord, he must shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

Qi Xuansu did many things for the first time. Take the Zhongyuan Festival celebrations for example. Qi Xuansu has experienced many times, but in the past he was a participant and executor, either watching the excitement or maintaining order. As an organizer, this is the first time. Overall planning is a different perspective. The Shangyuan Festival, the blessing of the heavenly officials, and the Lantern Festival are naturally festive. The Ghost Festival, the Earth God pardons sins, and it is also the Ghost Festival, so it is not so festive. In addition, we have just experienced a typhoon, so we need to pay attention to the style. It is called a celebration, but it should be solemn and dignified.

Fortunately, there are many old masters who can follow the old practices of the past.

Of course, this is all on the surface. There are still undercurrents under the surface.

Qi Xuansu wants Ziwei Hall to grant Chen Jianchou the status of a fourth-grade Taoist priest. At the same time, someone wants to confirm Chen Jianchou's crime. What exactly is the crime, we can't talk about it for now, but we must confirm the nature of "guilty". After all, a person with a criminal record cannot be granted the status of a Taoist priest, which is against the rules. Without the status of a fourth-grade Taoist priest, the Beichen Hall branch can handle it on its own, and there is no need to report to the Lord of the House for discussion.

Qi Xuansu wants to operate Chen Jianchou's qualification of being a Taoist priest, and his opponent is also operating. It is not that everything will be fine if Qi Xuansu takes action. This matter is really not a simple matter.

To put it bluntly, the undercurrent has gradually surfaced, and the struggle between the two forces has become more and more superficial.

This is like playing chess, and it is not Go, but chess. You make a move and I make a move. There is no far-reaching layout. It is already a close combat, and every knife goes to the vital point.

Of course, the veterans of both sides have not moved yet. Once the veterans also go into battle personally, it will be a life-and-death struggle. I don’t know how many people will be unlucky.

At this time, the advantage of Qi Xuansu’s "mother's family" behind him is reflected. If someone else does it, it may take a while, but Qi Xuansu personally came forward to find Yao Shu, the chief deputy hall master of Ziwei Hall, and then Yao Shu completed the process in two days. In addition to Qi Xuansu’s face, it is also Chen Jianchou’s own pride. After all, he was praised by Donghua Zhenren.

When the chief head of the Ziwei Hall branch came to report the matter to Qi Xuansu, Qi Xuansu was slightly relieved. This move should be a victory. As long as Ziwei Hall confirmed Chen Jianchou's Taoist origin, he could intervene in the matter in the name of the Palace Lord's meeting, and follow normal procedures to ask the Beichen Hall branch to report the matter in detail. If Wu Xirong could not produce solid evidence, Chen Jianchou must be released.

If Wu Xirong still insisted in this situation, Qi Xuansu could use the special reason of high-grade Taoist priests to let the Beichen Hall take over the matter, and let Li Zhuyu take over the case. Once Li Zhuyu took over the case, things would be much easier.

The local branch halls were under dual leadership, and when they really reached a last resort, the chief officers of the branch halls could use the local Daofu as a shield to resist the main hall, or use the main hall as a shield to resist the local Daofu, in order to achieve the purpose of indirect confrontation, but they could not resist both the Palace Lord's meeting and the main hall. If they dared to do so, they would be self-determined by the Taoist sect.

Besides this, Qi Xuansu had another backup plan. It was true that Fengxiantang and Beichentang often jointly investigated cases, but when the Nine Halls were established, their original intention was to check each other. Under his instruction, Fengxiantang had begun to secretly investigate Wu Xirong, especially the relationship between Wu Xirong and Guo Yongyan. Once this was confirmed, Qi Xuansu could not only replace Wu Xirong, but also return the favor and take down Wang Jiaohe's secretary. It was rude not to reciprocate.

The fundamental purpose of this matter is to attack Qi Xuansu by attacking Chen Jianchou. By labeling Chen Jianchou as a cult monster, Qi Xuansu, who hired Chen Jianchou, can also be dragged into this matter. If it can be proven in the end that Qi Xuansu is related to the secret society, it will be difficult for Master Donghua to come forward and speak for Qi Xuansu when it comes to this kind of thing, and then Qi Xuansu can be pulled down.

Maybe Qi Xuansu can save himself and continue to be a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest in another place. But once Qi Xuansu leaves, the situation will be different, and the situation may be reversed.

Qi Xuansu is of course related to secret societies. This is actually an unspoken rule within the Taoist sect. There must always be someone doing dirty work, and secret societies are undoubtedly the best choice. As long as you don't get caught, that means nothing. The three families are not clean and hold each other's hand, and generally would not make a fuss about this kind of thing.

Even if Qi Xuansu arrested Li Tianzhen, he did not reveal the matter. Instead, he contacted the Li family privately and asked Master Qingwei to take him back. The key point is that Li Tianzhen shot Qi Xuansu first, Qi Xuansu counterattacked, and Wu Guangbi was injured in the end. Li Tianzhen was in a bit of a mess at most, but his body was intact, and the Li family couldn't say anything.

It's just that this kind of thing cannot be brought to the table after all. Wang Jiaohe was also forced to become anxious and started to make a fuss about this kind of thing.

Qi Xuansu naturally had to be careful and not involve himself. After Ziweitang had the results, Qi Xuansu went to see Jiang Dazhen again and asked Jiang Dazhen to hold a Taoist meeting in the name of the master in charge.

Jiang Dazhen agreed to this request, which was regarded as Qi Xuansu's support.

Taoist affairs are different from those of the palace master. In addition to the deputy palace master, other assistants, spiritual officers, and chief ministers can also participate. After Master Landa went into seclusion, Qi Xuansu used this move to gain the initiative. This time he was repeating his old tricks. Although Ke Qingqing estimated that Qi Xuansu could have an advantage in the palace master's deliberations, Qi Xuansu still did not want to take risks and chose the more secure Tao Mansion deliberation, which took place in the auditorium of Sheji Palace.

Although this Taoist meeting was held in the name of Jiang Dazhen, it was Qi Xuansu who actually led the meeting.

After the proceedings officially began, Jiang Dazhen only made some remarks, and then Qi Xuansu spoke.

To the surprise of many people, Qi Xuansu did not directly mention the matter of Chen Jianchou, but emphasized the word "rules".

"Without rules, there is no square." Qi Xuansu said, "Without rules, the world will be in chaos. Every time there is a change of dynasty, the old rules are broken, but the new rules have not yet been established, so the world will be in chaos. What are rules? They are rules. It is a law and a procedure. Confucianism sets rules for the world, and Taoism also sets rules for the world. We all perform our duties under the rules of Taoism. To put it more clearly, Taoism strictly stipulates what each of us should do. "What should not be done, what should not be done, and how should be done should not be dereliction of duty or overstep of authority."

"Many Taoist friends may think that I want to talk about Chen Jianchou's matter at the Taoist government meeting. After all, he is my secretary. I always have to show my attitude, whether it is to prove my innocence or self-examination. In short, it is to show my attitude to others. Please express your feelings. But I don’t want to talk about Chen Jianchou today, because Chen Jianchou is not the deputy palace master, nor is he the master of the Dayu Kingdom. He is not qualified to be discussed at the Taoist Council. Even if he is heinous, he can be discussed by the palace master. , the Taoist government meeting is the place where important matters of the Taoist government are discussed. This is where everyone performs his or her duties.

"I would like to talk about some of the issues reflected behind the Chen Jianchou incident. Only by rectifying people's hearts can the world be pacified. If people's hearts are not righteous, the atmosphere will not be righteous. How to rectify people's hearts? Although preaching is necessary, rules are also indispensable. What I just said Just to emphasize this point, follow the rules and follow the procedures. You cannot just do whatever you want. Even if you are the Grand Master, the Real Master, or me, the Chief Deputy Palace Master, when you make decisions, you must comply with the rules. In compliance with procedures.”

"Of course, I know that there is a saying of "obedience to authority when the matter is urgent", and this situation does exist, but does Chen Jianqiu's case really reach the point of "obedience to authority when the matter is urgent"? I personally think not."

Qi Xuansu paused slightly and looked around at everyone.

The auditorium was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

"It seems that everyone agrees with me." Qi Xuansu emphasized his tone, "Since it is not urgent to obey the authority, then we must follow the rules."

"It is up to Beichen Hall and Feng Xiantang to judge whether Chen Jianqiu is guilty or not. This is beyond the scope of our discussion today. What we want to discuss is why this case was not reported to the reporter's office? This is a procedural error."