Chapter 38 Speculation
This is also what Qi Xuansu felt.
Nearly two years of experience in the Taoist sect, from Tiangang Hall to Ziwei Hall, from Yujing to the local area, has turned him from a Jianghu person into a Taoist.
Taoists naturally need to know about the sect.
The highest authority of the Taoist sect is called Jinque, which holds two major powers.
One is the power called "personnel". For example, Qi Xuansu, the deputy hall master, was appointed by Jinque after being submitted to Jinque for discussion. Although it was nominated by Donghua Zhenren and promoted the nomination to be passed, it cannot be said that it was appointed by Donghua Zhenren. It must be appointed by Jinque, which is legitimate. In this process, Donghua Zhenren is actually part of Jinque.
This is real power.
Another power is called "decision-making". For example, whether to attack Fenglinzhou or not, whether to deal with the major case of Jiangnan Daofu, must be voted by Jinque, and finally a decision is made to decide what to do or not to do.
However, this power is virtual. Because decision-making is one thing, and specific implementation is another. The real implementation requires the Nine Halls and local Daofu to do it. If the Nine Halls and local prefectures pretend to obey but secretly disobey, or do not work hard, then these decisions can only float in the sky and cannot land on the ground. At the end of the dynasty, the government orders did not leave the capital, that's it. So this so-called decision-making power is virtual.
What power is real? The financial power is real.
It costs money to do things, it costs money to fight wars, it costs money to support Taoist priests and spiritual officials, and it costs money to do anything. Without money, nothing can be done. The reason why local prefectures have independent power is that they have some financial power. If they want to do something, they can pay for it themselves without asking Yujing for money, so it is difficult to be restricted.
The same is true for the Nine Halls. The Nine Halls control the finances of Yujing, and the major local prefectures control the local finances.
So Jinque has to use personnel power to check and balance the financial power of the Nine Halls and local prefectures. If you pretend to obey but secretly disobey, or do not work hard, I will replace you with an obedient one.
Only in this way can the decision be implemented.
This is the balance system of power in Taoism, which always follows the balance of Yin and Yang Pisces.
From ancient times to the present, if the central court delegates all personnel and financial powers to local governments, there will be a result that local governments will be independent and the court will be completely hollowed out.
Controlling the Golden Palace means controlling personnel power and indirectly controlling financial power, so it will reach the peak of power in Taoism.
For the Grand Master, if he cannot control the Golden Palace, he will be a lame Grand Master, and Zixiao Palace is a backdoor for the Grand Master to counter the Golden Palace.
The Sixth Grand Master gave up Zixiao Palace, and the result was that he was completely hollowed out, and the government orders did not leave Zixiao Palace.
On the contrary, if the Grand Master completely controls the Golden Palace, he will be like an emperor, and there will be nothing he cannot do. The Grand Master can even replace the Deputy Grand Master Da Zhenren who was established as a check and balance.
The Fifth Grand Master is an example.
In fact, the Fifth and Sixth Grand Masters were too extreme. In the history of Taoism, most of the time, the Grand Master and the Golden Palace were mutually restrained, just like the Yin and Yang Pisces, achieving harmony.
When the Grand Master was away, Jinque was the only one in power, but there were three forces in Jinque. The alliance between Zhengyi Dao and Quanzhen Dao was not wholehearted, and each had its own calculations, barely achieving a balance.
Therefore, the power struggle within the Taoist sect is complicated and simple. There is no need to pretend to be profound, no need to pretend, and no need to hide the clues for a thousand miles. It is more about responding to the situation and finally seizing the power to decide personnel.
Maybe someone will say that the Li family did this and that several generations ago, which can only be regarded as the continuity of decision-making, rather than accurately predicting today's situation many years ago and preparing a special plan. It is more about preparing for a rainy day.
Or maybe someone will say military power, but military power itself is also within the scope of personnel power. If you can decide who will be the commander of an army, you have already mastered military power. If the appointed commander of an army is sidelined, it means that this part of personnel power has been lost.
As for mutiny, it is to overthrow the old power system and establish a new power system.
Qi Xuansu figured this out, and naturally had a different view on Zhang Juquan's case.
He believed that it was not a sudden incident, nor was it unexpected, but a counterattack by Taiping Dao.
It looked like Taiping Dao didn't mind the third major case in Jiangnan. Anyway, this was a place of right and wrong, and it was easiest to catch a handle. And Taiping Dao controlled Fengxian Hall and Beichen Hall.
There was just one thing that Qi Xuansu couldn't figure out for the time being.
Taiping Dao's current priority was to win the battle in Fenglinzhou. Why did they have to stir up trouble at this time?
Did Taiping Dao feel that it had won the battle, and the overall situation in Fenglinzhou had been decided. Even if Zhengyi Dao dragged its feet, it could not change the situation. So it started a two-front war under confidence?
Or did Taiping Dao have different voices within Taiping Dao, and someone wanted to give Qingwei Zhenren a difficult problem at this time? After all, in normal times, Qingwei Zhenren was a big tree with deep roots and could not be shaken. But now Qingwei Zhenren was like holding up a boulder with both hands. Not only could he not free his hands, but he could not move his position. That was a godsend opportunity to do some small moves.
These two may be related to the intention of Qingwei Zhenren to let Qi Xuansu participate in this case.
If it is the former, then Qingwei Zhenren used him to create a rift between him and the Zhang family. To put it in a broader sense, it is to provoke the relationship between Zhengyi Dao and Quanzhen Dao.
If it is the latter, then Master Qingwei uses him because he wants to use his relationship with the Zhang family to send some signals to the Zhang family, and even play a role in easing the situation.
These two intentions are almost completely opposite. The former is to create friction, and the latter is to strive for unity.
Master Qingwei specifically told him not to tell Zhang Yuelu yet.
If it is to create friction, then this sentence is literal and can be understood as a warning to Qi Xuansu and put Qi Xuansu in a dilemma.
If he was striving for unity, it would be ironic. Because he was afraid that Qi Xuansu would forget, he reminded him in disguise.
No matter what his purpose is, Master Qingwei cannot speak too bluntly, because he is not Master Donghua who single-handedly promoted Qi Xuansu, let alone Qiniang. To put it too bluntly is to say that the communication is superficial but profound.
Otherwise, the mind is unpredictable. It is never easy to figure out the boss's mind.
Qi Xuansu couldn't understand this, so he had a brief conversation with Lu Yuting, who was born in Taiping Road, hoping to get some news or inspiration from Lu Yuting.
It's a pity that Lu Yuting is not Lu Yushu after all, and she doesn't know more about the inside story.
After Qi Xuansu thought about it carefully again, he decided to tell Zhang Yuelu that no matter what Master Qingwei thought, he must focus on the overall situation of the Taoist sect and strive for unity at the critical moment of the Fenglinzhou war.
After Lu Yuting left, Qi Xuansu contacted Zhang Yuelu through "Zhongji Jinglu".
Soon, Zhang Yuelu's figure appeared in front of Qi Xuansu. She was not wearing a crane cloak. She was only wearing a middle coat with her hair loose. She should be resting or doing her daily practice.
Zhang Yuelu soon discovered something was wrong. Not only was Qi Xuansu dressed in formal attire, but the background behind him didn't look like a camp, but more like a flying boat.
Before Zhang Yuelu could ask any questions, Qi Xuansu had already taken the initiative to briefly recount tonight's experience and his conjectures.
After Zhang Yuelu listened carefully, he fell into deep thought.
After a long time, Zhang Yuelu said: "This matter is indeed a bit complicated. If it were normal times, it would be business affairs. But now it is wartime, and the overall situation needs to be focused. I don't mean to be open to Zhang Ku. , He deserves it and must be severely punished. What I mean is that this matter cannot be allowed to become the trigger for a full-scale confrontation between Zhengdao and Taipingdao, or even affect the Fenglinzhou war. At this point, Master Qingwei’s attitude is crucial to prevent Zhengyi from thinking this is a provocative move by Taiping Dao and making the situation worse.”
Qi Xuansu raised an objection: "What if Taiping Dao deliberately provoked or took the initiative to attack? Can we prevent Zhengyiyi from fighting back? Zhengyiyi's counterattack was to cause Taipingdao to suffer a big defeat on the Fenglinzhou battlefield, further forcing Qingwei to It is a taboo for military strategists to resign as the commander of the army. This will undoubtedly cause changes in the situation in Fenglinzhou. However, the two of us cannot speak casually on this matter. If we are not careful, we will be punished. Considered a traitor."
Zhang Yuelu couldn't help but raised his forehead and said: "The dispute between the three ways has developed to this point. There is no longer a question of right or wrong, let alone a dispute between gentlemen. The so-called struggle without breaking up and unanimously dealing with the outside world are just forced by strong inertia. There is only a small consensus. This is also the most difficult part. I agree that Zhang Kuquan should be severely punished, which will already make the Zhang family gossip. If I advocate a gentle handling of this matter, the consequences will be that I will be in the Zhang family. On the contrary, if I advocate toughness and take the lead in counterattack, it will have the effect of winning over people."
Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu are not saints, and they cannot completely ignore their own interests and gains. However, due to their status, they are not qualified to talk openly and honestly with Master Qingwei, unless Master Qingwei takes the initiative.
Qi Xuansu changed his mind and said, "Let's assume that this is not Master Qingwei's original intention, but that someone wants to draw chestnuts from the fire. Who do you think this person might be?"
Zhang Yuelu, such a smart person, immediately said: "This is a matter of Jiangnan Daofu. Outsiders will not know so clearly, let alone kill with such a precise blow. The 'master' behind the scenes can only be from Jiangnan Daofu." People. The real person in charge of Jiangnan Dao Palace is from Quanzhen Dao. The chief deputy palace leader is my senior sister Bai Yingqiong. As far as I know, Zhang Kuquan has always had a good relationship with them. This is one of the reasons why he dares to act so boldly. , these two people will not be so cruel to Zhang Kuquan. The second deputy palace master Li Tianlan is the most suspicious."
Qi Xuansu said as he thought: "The Li family has always been dominated by the main family, the adopted son, and the son-in-law. But starting from the imperial master, to Qingwei Zhenren, and then to Li Changge, the heads of the three consecutive generations were all from the same family. The strong inertia of the three generations has come down. , it is likely to completely change the internal power structure of the Li family and form a certain convention, that is, the head of the Li family must come from the Li family. In this case, the cornerstone of the Li family's unity will inevitably be affected, and the adopted son faction and the son-in-law faction will meet. No other ideas?"