Chapter 174: What I Saw

Early the next morning, Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji changed into casual clothes and went to Lion City.

In Huangfu Ji's opinion, the arrangements made by the Taoist government were all prepared in advance, and the real stuff could not be seen. He wanted to see what the real Nanyang looked like and how it became an important financial pillar of the Taoist sect.

Qi Xuansu had been running Nanyang for a long time and was still quite confident and confident. In addition, Zhang Yuelu's new policy did add a bit of new atmosphere, so he agreed to come for a private visit in disguise. In principle, no notice was sent, no greetings were given, no reports were heard, and no accompaniment was required.

The two set off at Yinshi and arrived in Lion City at Maoshi, which was just the time when a city woke up from its slumber.

The streets were already bustling. Among the people coming and going, there were local Nanyang people, Central Plains people, and Westerners, seamen, sailors, and merchants. Of course, there were Taoist priests.

Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji walked and looked at various shops and some Taoist service points.

The Daoist sect cannot rely on a few immortals to maintain its rule and govern the local area. It is not difficult for an immortal to destroy a city, but it is difficult to build a city, and it is even more difficult to make a city prosperous.

So the real foundation of the Daoist sect is still these grassroots Taoists.

Generally speaking, any ruling structure is a triangle. The higher you go, the fewer people there are, and the lower you go, the more people there are. So the number of grassroots Taoists is quite large.

There is no vacuum of power. If you don't occupy and exercise some power, someone else will help you exercise it. Therefore, it is absolutely impossible for the imperial power not to go to the countryside. It must be pushed to the end, which is incomparable to the Western Daoist sect.

The Western Daoist sect only controls the military power and some upper-level power, and the bottom-level power is very empty, so Huangfu Ji is very interested in the bottom-level construction of the Daoist sect.

This has to mention the Daoist examination system. Compared with the Confucian imperial examination, the Daoist sect has relaxed restrictions, increased the number of people, and lowered the upper limit. After all, the Confucian scholars started with the seventh and sixth grades. The starting point of Taoism is only the ninth rank, which is a bit similar to Juren, and it is more like directly canceling the first level of Jinshi.

To become a ninth-rank Taoist priest, you have to go through two exams. Qi Xuansu is the best among them. His Taoist priest status was obtained by his own ability, not arranged by Qi Niang.

Interfering with the big exam is a typical case of small benefits and big risks. Once there is a problem, it will immediately become a big event, and the benefit is a small ninth-rank Taoist priest status. Those who have the ability to interfere with the big exam don’t need to do so, and those who want to do so generally can’t interfere with the big exam.

It is generally easy for real dignitaries to solve the Taoist status. Just go through special channels, such as Lin Yuanmiao and Xiao Yin. The so-called special channel is to directly grant the Taoist status, which is a step further than granting the same Taoist origin. The real big figures have several quotas in their hands, which can be flexibly allocated.

Since Zhang Yuelu implemented the new policy, in addition to rectifying corruption, the main focus is to crack down on lazy politics and inaction, which has also achieved remarkable results. At least it is a brand new atmosphere in Lion City. After all, Lion City is under Zhang Yuelu’s nose.

At least these low-level Taoist priests dared not do anything in public. They all spoke in a good tone, solved the problems seriously, and were more down-to-earth.

Of course, these Taoist priests also scolded Zhang Yuelu, saying that Taoist priests are now living in misery. With such a small amount of money, so many things are arranged, and the pressure is passed down layer by layer. If this continues, he will resign and become a wild Taoist priest.

In Zhang Yuelu's view, this is far from enough. If he wants to completely reverse this trend and cure it from the ideological perspective, there is a long way to go.

But in Huangfu Ji's view, it is not so. He is not without low-level experience. He knows what the low-level public officials are like. It is not an exaggeration to say that they killed people. It is not a fairy tale for a low-ranking official to accumulate a fortune. Ordinary people fall into the hands of these people and lose a layer of skin. The key is that they are too lazy to pretend, and they are just short of clearly marking the price.

But the Taoist priests in Lion City, at least, can't see any problems on the surface. Not to mention what is going on in secret, the Southern Continent can't even maintain fairness on the surface, so what is there to talk about in secret.

This is what shocked Huangfu Ji.

Another thing is the application of Western learning. Unlike the extreme radicalism in the South Continent, Taoism shows the tolerance of the Celestial Empire. If it is useful, use it. There is nothing shameful. Therefore, Western learning is very popular. Not only are there many Westerners, but even many habits have Western shadows. Western items can be seen everywhere in daily life, such as sofas, etc., which are rarely seen in the South Continent.

Huangfu Ji couldn't help but reflect on it. Is the South Continent a bit too extreme?

The two came to a Western-style park. There are many benches for people to rest, and there is a small lake. Many people are walking here.

A peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

It is difficult to see such a scene in the South Continent. There is always a weird tension there, as if happiness is original sin and suffering is noble. Suffering is like a medal, which can be shown off. Whoever suffers more will have a sense of superiority, while happiness is shameful and can only be enjoyed secretly. If anyone dares to show his happiness on the table, it is like being sentenced to death and his grave will be dug up.

Suffering is even linked to morality. Suffering and abstinence must be morally noble. On the contrary, it means that morality is flawed. ..

This weird worship of suffering probably does not come from Taoism. Taoism has always advocated frugality and has something to do with Confucianism. After all, when heaven is about to entrust a person with a great responsibility, he must first suffer his will, strain his muscles and bones, starve his body and become depleted. its body. It also has some relationship with the Eastern Church branch of the Holy See.

Why does this happen? How to get rid of this phenomenon?

This is what Huangfuji has to think about. After all, Huangfuji, as the core figure of Xidaomen in the future, also has great ambitions and must accomplish something. Huangfuji knows very well that no matter how aggressive Tawanting is, It is impossible to penetrate the steam gospel in the north, and ultimately we have to return to the theme of development.

Therefore, Huangfuji came here this time not only to establish a friendly relationship with the Taoist sect's senior officials, but also to learn something from the Taoist sect's governance experience.

It is true that Lion City is a developed area and can be ranked high in the vast territory of Dao Sect. In those unknown and remote areas, it is by no means like Lion City. But Huangfuji didn't use the ordinary cities in the southern continent to benchmark the Lion City. He used New Paititi, but the result still disappointed him.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu took charge of Lion City one after another. The Lion City under the rule of their husband and wife was far better than Xin Paititi, which Xidaomen had spent countless efforts on.

No wonder that the vast Nanyang, with Lion City as its economic center, can become one of the important financial pillars of Dao Sect.

The two left the park in the central district and entered the northwest district, which was a relatively chaotic area.

Then Huangfu Ji saw a rather Western-style building here, with a Chinese-style plaque hanging on it, which read: "Eight Tribes of Alchemy Union."

Huangfuji knows these words. As a person from the New World, he also knows what alchemy is, but he feels that it is inconsistent. Babuzhong is a Buddhist term. It was later used by Taoists in the Babuzhong plan. Now it is used by Westerners. When combined, it is truly a fusion of Chinese and Western styles, with a myriad of atmospheres.

Qi Xuansu happened to know this place and introduced: "That is an industry jointly established by the Eight Tribes and the Ziguang Society in response to the Taoist government's call. It is mainly engaged in the localization of Western alchemy and its application for people's livelihood. It is still in its infancy, mainly recruiting Some apprentices of civilian origin. In Lion City, the control of some secret associations is not so strict, and they are allowed to operate some gray industries. This can also be regarded as a pilot window for Taoism. On the premise of severely cracking down on some extreme secret associations, others are allowed. Moderate and clandestine societies normalized.”

Huangfuji once again lamented the openness and tolerance of the Taoist sect. Alchemy was like heresy in the Southern Continent. Of course, the higher-ups would understand it and control its use, but if civilians at the bottom dared to learn alchemy privately, they would be punished and executed.

Although this is a tough measure taken as a last resort when facing a strong external enemy, it is indeed a bit extreme. Compared with Daomen, it does lack the ambition and magnanimity of a big country.

Yangyang Taoist Gate is, after all, the supreme state of heaven.

Huangfu walked around the so-called Alchemy Guild with great interest. Shangguan Ya was not there, nor was the Yuheng Star Master. There were only a few ordinary instructors training the newly recruited apprentices.

The apprentices sat neatly behind their desks, flipping through brand new books according to the teachers' requirements.

These apprentices have light in their eyes.

This kind of spiritual outlook is lacking in the Southern Continent, which has not yet completely gotten rid of slavery.

Huangfu Ji also sat in for half an hour outside the classroom, listening to the teachers talk about the origin of alchemy and its relationship with theology. He did not modify it or add some political factors, but simply described it, once again demonstrating what the heavenly state should have. magnanimity.

It's like a beautiful woman is never afraid of being called ugly because she knows it's false. If an ugly girl is told that she is ugly, that is a puncture in her lungs.

Lies don't hurt, the truth is the sharpest knife.

To be fair, apart from the solidification of classes and frequent internal fighting, Dao Sect is still very good. Although there are reasons for this to be set off by peers, it is unrealistic for Taoism to have such a vast territory and be able to divide the world with Westerners without advantages.

The Northwest District was originally very prosperous, but many establishments involved in the slave trade were severely attacked by Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu and have been shut down. They have not recovered yet, which makes the Northwest District a little deserted.

Fortunately, Huangfu Ji was not interested in these slave trades at all - the most indispensable thing in the New World was slaves, regardless of whether it was north or south. These slaves can be sold for high prices in Nanyang because Taoism severely cracks down on the slave trade. Things are rare and valuable. In those countries that retain slavery, it is really nothing.

The two of them walked along the Northwest District to the port.

Then Huangfu Ji saw a huge Western iron-clad ship slowly sailing into the port, with the Holy Court's flag hanging high on it.

"What is this?" Huangfuji asked.

Qi Xuansu said: "They are merchant ships of the West Posuzhou Company under the name of the Holy Court. They are legal here."

Immediately afterwards, another cargo ship docked next to the armored ship, with a five-color flag hanging high. It could be vaguely recognized that this flag was a mixture of the leaders of the five families of Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Holy Court, and Shamanism. .

"What is this?" Huangfu Ji looked strange.

Qi Xuansu replied: "That is the merchant ship of the 'Tianting', and it is also legal here."