Chapter 118: Tianjin City

The negotiations in the first three days were still very formal. Even if it was just a show, it had to be realistic. The two sides engaged in fierce exchanges on issues such as punishing war criminals and handing over power, which are extremely difficult to reach agreement on.

Tianmen insists that the royal family must be pardoned and the royal status and corresponding powers must be retained. Only if Daomen agrees to this can the discussion continue.

Taoism will never accept this. The root cause of the Fenglinzhou chaos this time does not lie in Tianmen, nor in those rogues, but in the royal family. If you want Fenglinzhou to have long-term peace and stability, you must eliminate the influence of the royal family and make them step down from the altar and change from gods to humans. If this cannot be resolved, even if Fenglinzhou surrenders this time, the rebellion will continue in the future.

It is better to treat the symptoms than to treat the root cause. To treat the disease, we need to find the focus.

During the break of the peace talks on the fourth day, Zhang Qihan summoned Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu alone.

Zhang Qihan motioned for the two of them to sit down, set the ban personally, and then said: "There are still two days of negotiation, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to reach a specific result in these two days."

Qi Xuansu said: "It was expected, it was just a gesture."

Zhang Qihan said: "That's not what I want to say, what I want to say is another thing. This is the first time for you to come to Fenglinzhou, but Li Cixi and I have been in Fenglinzhou for many years. He, as Fenglinzhou The second deputy head of the Taoist Palace has a lot of social activities on weekdays, and he has a wide circle of friends, not only with people from Toyotomi Prime Minister's Palace, but also with the royal family, Tianmen, and Buddhism. When it comes to Fenglinzhou Buddhism, Do you know that Honganji Temple is as good as its people?"

Zhang Yuelu replied: "I know, Honganji Temple is the headquarters of the Pure Land Shinshu Honin Temple sect in Fenglin Prefecture. In Xianru's generation, he was given the official position of 'Quan Sengzheng'. Although Xianru was a Buddhist monk, he was also positioned as a Buddhist monk. One of the great names. After Xianru, Hongan Temple has been passed down to the thirteenth generation of Dharma Master Pinru, who is Xianru's grandson and still holds the position of Quansenzheng. Honganji Temple Pinru, who is the powerful monk, refused to go to Xiujing to meet the master of the army for various reasons. "

Zhang Qihan said: "According to the information we have, Honganji Pinyu has secretly defected to the imperial family and has become the backbone of the Zunbang Sect."

Zhang Yuelu asked: "I have never quite understood why Honganji Pinru supports the Zunbang Sect? He should know the strength of the Taoist sect, and he should understand that there is no way out if he opposes the Taoist sect."

Qi Xuansu answered on his behalf: "There is nothing I don't understand, because gods and Buddhas are in harmony."

Zhang Yuelu was startled. Of course she knew what "the combination of gods and Buddhas" meant. This was the reason for her doubts: "During the period of the combination of gods and Buddhas, Buddhism was the dominant force, and Tianmen was reduced to a vassal. Even the main god of Tianmen became Buddha. In the incarnation of Fenglinzhou, it was not until Confucianism was introduced into Fenglinzhou that Tianmen gradually got rid of the control of Buddhism. From this point of view, it is right that our Taoism and Tianmen should be hostile to each other, and Fenglinzhou Buddhism. Even if you don’t stand on our side by adhering to the concept that the enemy of your enemy is also your friend, you should still adhere to neutrality. How can you help Tianmen? "

Because Zhang Yuelu is serious about work, hardworking and talented, there are not many opportunities to show off in front of Zhang Yuelu. Qi Xuansu finally waited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so naturally he couldn't let it go easily.

Qi Xuansu smiled slightly and said: "Behind Tianmen are the three main gods. The three main gods are not the first generation gods of Fenglinzhou, but the third generation gods. Before they became gods, the three main gods were called 'Sanguizi' ', are the three youngest children of the second generation of gods. They were ordered to rule the world, and thus gained the power of incense and vows to become gods. But even so, they are only the subordinate gods of the second generation of gods, far from being the three main gods. ”

Zhang Yuelu is such a smart person. With a little reminder from Qi Xuansu and the large number of files she read, she immediately connected: "It was Buddhism that helped the three main gods defeat the second-generation gods of Fenglinzhou and sealed them under Furong Mountain. , which are the so-called evil gods, so the three main gods are willing to become the vassals of Buddhism."

Qi Xuansu nodded and said: "That's right. The deep connection between Tianmen and Fenglinzhou Buddhism is by no means as simple as it seems. From the period when gods and Buddhas came together to when Tianmen became the state religion, the only difference was who was dominant. In the past, Buddhism was the dominant one. , now Tianmen takes the lead, they are always one, so Fenglinzhou Buddhism will definitely stand on Tianmen’s side.”

Zhang Yuelu asked curiously: "How do you know these secrets?"

Qi Xuansu said truthfully: "Ask Suzuka Gozen directly. She has lived in Fenglinzhou for hundreds of years and knows everything."

Zhang Yuelu felt frustrated for the first time. She read through mountains and seas of files, but the result was not as good as Qi Xuansu's few words. However, when she was investigating this matter, Suzuka Gozen had not yet submitted to the Domen, so she could not say that she had chosen the wrong direction.

Zhang Qihan is an easy-going person. He did not feel unhappy because the two young people were discussing something in front of him. Instead, he waited until the two young people had finished discussing and then said calmly: "That's exactly what I said. Honganji Pinru also came to Jincheng. Yesterday he contacted Li Cixi and expressed his intention to 'come back anyway'. Li Cixi agreed to meet with him privately today. "

"Anyway" here means "setting things right", which can be understood as surrendering and returning to the right path.

Zhang Qihan paused slightly: "I'm very worried. I always feel that this is a conspiracy of the Zunbang faction, and there is even the possibility of trapping and killing Li Cixi. I can't leave for the time being, so I want you to go and pick up Li Cixi."

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu looked at each other, and then Qi Xuansu said, "May I ask the Great Immortal, is it just a support?"

Zhang Qihan asked back, "What else do you want?"

Qi Xuansu unconsciously lowered his voice: "If Honganji Pin really has ill intentions, then can we just kill him..."

Qi Xuansu made a downward cutting gesture with his hand knife.

Zhang Qihan was not angry, but pointed at Qi Xuansu and smiled, "No wonder people say that you Qi Xuansu have a sense of the world. Today, I see that it is true. But our Taoism originated from the world, so this is not a bad thing."

Qi Xuansu asked tentatively, "Does the Great Immortal agree?"

Zhang Qihan said, "It is still important to protect yourself. There is no need to take risks. But be flexible. If there is a suitable opportunity and it does not endanger yourself, I agree that you should clean up some stubborn people."

"Yes." Qi Xuansu said in a deep voice.

Zhang Qihan said: "They agreed to meet on the beach in the port dock area. Li Cixi will leave our unique Taoist mark along the way, so it is not difficult to find."

Tianjin is a port city. The other half is completely by the sea, and one-third of the area belongs to the port dock area. A large number of ships enter and exit every day, which is why the reinforcements of the Rangdao faction can land through Tianjin.

For some reason, the Taoist sect did not send the navy to blockade Tianjin. It was not until the Jiashen Lingguan's troops began to besiege Tianjin that the East China Sea Navy blocked the port of Tianjin. However, with the beginning of the peace talks, in order to show the sincerity of the Taoist sect to the world and occupy the hearts of the people, the Taoist sect not only ordered the front battlefield to stop the attack, but also asked the East China Sea Navy to lift the blockade.

After that, Zhang Qihan got up and left, preparing for the next negotiation.

On the other side, Li Tiangang, dressed in an ordinary Taoist robe, had arrived at the port dock area mentioned by Zhang Qihan.

Here, you can smell the salty and wet sea water.

People come and go, rubbing shoulders with each other, even in wartime, you can still see the prosperous and lively scene.

When attacking Tianjin, Daomen maintained a considerable degree of restraint and only launched several tentative attacks. If it is a full-scale attack, there are thousands of heavy artillery in the front and the fleet of the East China Sea Navy in the back. It should be noted that the caliber of the navy's naval guns is almost all above the land heavy artillery, and its power is needless to say, with a range of more than 100 miles, which can cover the lower half of Tianjin.

Because the carrying capacity must be considered on land, in addition to the weight and volume limitations of ground artillery, the ground load-bearing is also a big problem. Mountains, slopes, swamps, and tidal flats cannot bear too much weight. The caliber of the artillery is proportional to the length of the barrel. The larger the caliber, the larger the volume, and the heavier the weight, the mobility is greatly affected. The ground army has high requirements for mobility. Breaking through the defense line and fortifications, too large volume and too heavy weight will seriously slow down the marching speed.

On the other hand, at sea, the above problems are not a problem. There is no need to consider the load-bearing and mobility issues, so large-caliber naval guns have become the absolute mainstream.

What's more, the Taoist sect also has a large flying boat force, occupying absolute air superiority. When necessary, the "Phoenix Eye" dropped from the sky can turn the entire city into a sea of ​​fire.

The Sonnang faction understood this point, and Jincheng could not be defended anyway, so they proposed peace talks.

Li Tiangang chose to meet Honganji Pinru on the beach in the dock area this time because of this. Although this place is located in the city of Jincheng, there is a fleet of the East China Sea Navy on the sea. If there is any accident, he can escape to the sea.

Of course, in accordance with internal discipline, he also reported to his boss Zhang Qihan and asked for Zhang Qihan's opinion, instead of acting on his own.

Soon, Li Tiangang came to the place where the two agreed to meet.

This place is remote and there are no docked ships, so there are no idle people. There is only a monk in black, with his back to Li Tiangang, looking at the sea.

Li Tiangang stopped not far away and said straight to the point: "Master Pinru asked me to come out. Is it for yourself? Or for others?"

The black-robed monk turned around and chanted a Buddhist name first, then said: "Why represent yourself? Why represent others?"

Li Tiangang said: "Back then, the Taoist sect defeated the Confucian sect, reformed the land system, and cracked down on the gentry. In this process, only a few gentry betrayed the gentry class, and not all gentry gave up the interests of the gentry class. It is the same today. I never thought that the Fenglinzhou Buddhist sect would stand on the side of the Taoist sect, but I believe that some monks will distinguish right from wrong and choose the right direction from their own standpoint."

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