Chapter 067 It’s the season for animals to breed again
No matter how bright the sea of flowers was, it could not soothe Di Qing's depressed mood at the moment.
The position of Privy Councilor was one of his obsessions, just like the tattoo on his face.
Only when he sat in this position did he feel that he had struggled to stand up from the oppression of the civil servants.
But the problem was that he did not feel the role he should play as the Privy Councilor.
In the court, when the civil officials talked about state affairs, he had no room to interrupt.
Because he didn't understand... As for military affairs, the border threat in the south has been resolved, and the war in the north is being handled by the Zhe and Zhong families. If he rashly intervenes, not only will he cause dissatisfaction among these two families, but even the civil officials will doubt his motives.
So now he mostly just stands there in the court, holding the position of Privy Councilor but unable to have a say at all.
Just over a month ago, Lu Sen's brilliant theory of "the fish that slipped through the net" completely ignited the entire Northern Song Dynasty's topic circle. Anyone with a little spare money, whether they were high-ranking officials or peddlers, would go to a fortune teller to have their fortune told.
Even Di Qing was no exception.
He pretended to be an ordinary wealthy man, and found a fortune teller who was rumored to be reliable, to calculate his future "fate".
As a result, the fortune teller said that he had reached the most prosperous period and there was no sign of him making any further progress. He would experience decline from his peak and might even suffer a bloody disaster.
Di Qing didn't really believe in fate. People who believed in fate wouldn't work as hard as he did.
But Lu Sen's sudden appearance gave the entire Song Dynasty an illusion: ghosts and gods really do exist in this world, it just depends on whether you can touch them or not.
Less than a month after the fortune teller said that he would be at the peak of his career, Lu Sen, the genuine "real man", asked him to give up his position as Privy Councilor.
It totally fits what the fortune teller said.
So now Di Qing was a little frightened and a little relieved.
"Master Lu seems to know my fate?" Di Qing leaned forward slightly, staring at Lu Sen with eagle eyes: "Not a good end?"
When the Prince of Runan heard this, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Lu Sen in surprise.
"I don't know." Lu Sen denied it flatly, and his expression didn't even change: "I just simply feel that General Di is not suitable for the position of Privy Councilor."
If an average person said that Di Qing was not suitable to be the Privy Councilor, he would naturally be upset.
But Lu Sen is different, he has supernatural powers.
In this era, even the most rebellious people have some fear for ghosts and gods in their hearts.
"Since Master Lu said that this general is not suitable to be the Privy Councilor, I think he is right." Di Qing didn't know whether he had figured it out or what, but his expression was much relieved. He turned to the Prince of Runan and asked, "Prince Zhao, if you use my current title of Privy Councilor as collateral, can you let me go to the northwest?"
Lu Sen smiled slightly.
Di Qing should have been on the battlefield, not trapped in the court.
The Prince of Runan had a calm expression, but his mind was filled with thoughts.
Although as a prince he does not need to form cliques for personal gain, if he can make use of the title of Privy Councilor, he can indeed make quite advantageous moves.
Moreover, the possibility of a son-in-law becoming a military supervisor will increase a lot.
"I'll do my best." The Prince of Runan thought for a while and said, "I can't guarantee it."
Di Qing raised the honey water and clinked it with the other party: "Thank you for your help, Your Majesty."
The Prince of Runan County smiled and said, "You're welcome."
An important official deal was concluded with just a few words from these three people.
It's simple and fast.
Prince Runan and Di Qing stayed in the yard for an hour and then left together.
After that, the Prince of Runan began to frequently contact the civil service group, whether it was the side of Grand Tutor Pang or the side of the Eighth Wise King.
It can be said that he really worked hard to make Lu Sen the military supervisor.
Time passed, and at the morning court session a dozen days later, after the routine quarrel among the civil officials, it was time for them to adjourn.
But for some reason, Zhao Zhen suddenly asked: "Master Lu, you have been attending the court for more than three months. Why haven't you expressed your political views?"
Lu Sen put his hands in his wide sleeves, his expression calm, and said, "I don't know anything about government affairs."
After hearing this, almost all the ministers nodded secretly in their hearts.
They personally actually have a pretty good feeling about Lu Sen.
From the fact that Lu Sen had discouraged the official from cultivating immortals, to his attitude of just watching the show and not saying anything in the past three months, he was really likable.
From a personal perspective, they have no prejudice against the Taoist group.
But they were afraid that the Taoist priest would use his supernatural powers to lead the officials down the crooked path of only caring about ghosts and gods and not about ordinary people.
During this period of time, Lu Sen neither interfered in court affairs nor had any intention of getting close to the government. He seemed to be aloof and independent from the world, which was exactly what they imagined a cultivator to be like, untainted by the mundane world.
"Even if you don't understand government affairs, you can at least tell me some interesting stories about magic." Zhao Zhen's tone was a little pleading: "Open my eyes and those of my dear ministers."
It seems like there is nothing much to say, everyone has a different worldview... and so on.
Lu Sen suddenly remembered that since he wanted to change the "style" of the Northern Song Dynasty, why not take this opportunity to create some "spectacles"?
It just so happened that he had recently prepared all the materials for the 'large projector'.
He immediately had an idea.
All the ministers in the court were extremely good at observing people's expressions, including Zhao Zhen.
He asked excitedly at the time: "Master Lu, do you want to make some profound comments?"
Lu Sen shook his head: "I don't deserve the high opinion. I just remembered the days when my master taught me to read."
All the civil and military officials listened quietly.
"I haven't studied any Confucian classics. Since elementary school, I've mostly studied the study of things and the art of calculation, as well as some strange things I've seen and heard." Lu Sen organized his words as he spoke: "And the way Master teaches is also a little different."
"How is it different?" Zhao Zhen asked curiously.
This was also the doubt of other court officials. They really wanted to know what kind of education could cultivate someone like Lu Sen who had great supernatural powers at such a young age.
"The images of everything in the world." Lu Sen replied.
"Image?" Zhao Zhen pondered the word. He could vaguely sense the meaning of the word. This was the advantage of pictographic writing, but he didn't have an intuitive feeling. "Can you explain it in detail?"
"The officials should know about shadow puppetry."
Zhao Zhen nodded repeatedly.
“The image is an extremely realistic shadow play.”
"How realistic is it?"
"It's so realistic that the government officials will think it's real." Lu Sen continued, "Everything in the world is unfolding before your eyes. From the sun, moon, and stars to insects and mayflies."
Hearing Lu Sen say this, Zhao Zhen looked curious.
The same was true for other ministers.
"It's a pity that I can't see such magic." Zhao Zhen was full of disappointment.
Generally speaking, the enlightenment of the Tao school would not be known to outsiders.
"That's possible."
Why?
Not to mention Zhao Zhen, even the other ministers were stunned.
"Can it be spread?" Zhao Zhen stood up from the dragon throne excitedly and asked, "Master Lu's master won't blame you?"
"It's just the basics of elementary education. It hasn't touched upon the core of our sect's techniques yet."
"Who has the opportunity to watch the practice?" Zhao Zhen came down from the height, stood in front of Lu Sen, and asked, "Can my little one have this opportunity?"
Lu Sen thought for a while and said, "Regarding this matter, I want everyone in the entire Bianjing City to see it. After all, the image is very large."
Very big?
The ministers were discussing the matter, some of whom were unable to understand.
After all, humans have no way of imagining things they have never seen.
And Lu Sen wants the entire Bianjing city to see it?
Bao Zheng immediately frowned. He was about to stand up and suggest that too many people of the Song Dynasty should not be allowed to seek immortals.
But at this moment, the Eighth Wise King suddenly grabbed Bao Zheng and shook his head slightly.
As expected, Lu Sen continued, "The content shown in the video is just a small part of the creatures in this world. It has nothing to do with magic or cultivation. Please rest assured."
Bao Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what can I do?"
"I need to build a large thin stone wall on the west wall. Please allow me to do so."
“Isn’t the Western Wall going to be torn down?”
"Of course not, just make it higher."
Lu Sen chose that place purely because there were fewer tall buildings on the west side and the view was wider. At the same time, there were good viewing angles for the Imperial Palace and Fan Tower.
Actually it is mainly Fanlou.
The Prince of Runan truly treated Lu Sen as a family member. Over the past three months, he had given him all kinds of advice and support, and it could be said that he had kept almost nothing to himself.
Lu Sen is not an ungrateful person. The reason why Prince Runan is nice to him may be because of Zhao Bilian, but this does not prevent him from being grateful to Zhao Yunrang.
Therefore, building the screen behind Fan Tower was also a small reward from Lu Sen to the Prince of Runan.
"Then I'm relieved." Zhao Zhen asked expectantly, "How long will it take to see the images?"
"Three days at the shortest, seven days at the longest." Lu Sen thought for a while, estimated the time and said, "The more people we have, the faster it will be."
"Let's leave the manpower issue to the Prince of Runan's Mansion." Zhao Yunrang immediately stood up and said, "The servants in the house will all be assigned by my son-in-law."
In fact, when Lu Sen said he needed manpower, many people wanted to volunteer to lend manpower to Lu Sen as a favor.
But since Zhao Yunrang took the initiative to step forward, they had no choice but to retreat.
"Then wait for news from Master Lu. If nothing else, let's leave the court."
In order to get Lu Sen to work faster, Zhao Zhen took the initiative to ask all the ministers to leave.
As the court officials returned home, the news that Lu Sen wanted to perform the "Xianjia Shadow Play" for the people in the capital spread throughout the entire Bianjing City in just one afternoon.
People in the market were talking about this immortal shadow play, and how it was different from the shadow play in the secular world!
As a result, the number of views on shadow play has greatly increased in the past two or three days.
Since you can’t see the Xianjia shadow play, just watch the ordinary shadow play to satisfy your craving.
At the same time, during these three days, Lu Sen did not go to court again, but took the people from Runan County Prince's Mansion to the riverside to dig white stones.
Make it into bricks and put them into the system backpack.
Finally, they brought it to the west city wall and built a white stone screen that was 50 meters long and 30 meters high.
Although the shadow play has not yet begun, the appearance of this stone screen is already surprising.
Because almost everyone in the city watched the white stone wall being built, and it was completed in just one hour.
Then Lu Sen entered the palace and informed the emperor that the screening would start after 19:00 in the evening.
And this news also spread from the palace to the people.
A large number of ordinary people wearing thick clothes and holding small wooden stools took up seats under the west city wall.
Even the cold winter cannot stop their passion to see the new and exciting things.
There are a lot of vendors shouting around.
"Front row seats, benches, melon seeds and bean juice for sale."
"Selling dried meat and rice crust!"
"Selling steamed buns, three for one copper coin, hehehe."
Wait, I have to say, doing business in a busy place seems to be an instinct passed down from ancient times to the present.
The nobles naturally would not squeeze with the common people. They all went to Fanlou or sat in the tavern next to Fanlou.
It doesn’t matter even if the price is two or three times more expensive than usual.
Bao Zheng and the Eight Wise Kings sat on the west side of Fan Tower, from where they could see the white wall and the palace.
The Eighth Wise King had sharp eyes. The candlelight in the palace was bright. He could even see Zhao Zhen holding his young son and sitting on the west side of the palace wall.
"Xiren, what do you think is the difference between Master Lu's so-called 'Immortal Shadow Play' and ordinary shadow plays?"
Bao Zheng took a sip of Fenjiu and said, "Didn't Master Lu say that it is much more realistic than shadow puppetry?"
"I still can't imagine that this shadow play is just a curtain with a few paper-cut figures, illuminated by candlelight, twisting and turning." The Eighth Sage King was born into a wealthy family. When he was young, he indulged in sensual pleasures and thought he had seen all kinds of delicious and fun things. "The fairy shadow play has the word fairy, so it probably can't get away from the essence of shadow play. I don't think it's very good. If Master Lu's shadow play this time is just a large paper-cut figure, it will be a big blow to his reputation."
"The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment." Bao Zheng turned his head and looked at the empty space under the city wall in front of Fanlou, which was crowded with a large number of people: "But Master Lu in this prefecture is not the kind of person who talks nonsense."
While he was speaking, Sima Guang and several colleagues came over.
After they exchanged polite greetings, they sat down nearby.
Sima Guang said, "I just walked around Fanlou and found that almost all the court officials were there, and a group of people were sitting in the wine shop next door."
"It's a rare event. I hope Master Lu doesn't mess it up." The Eighth Sage King crushed a walnut and stuffed the flesh into his mouth: "How long is it until the hour of Xu now?"
" Less than half an incense stick of time." Sima Guang replied.
"Look on the city wall, isn't that Master Lu? He seems to be holding something!" Bao Zheng pointed to the city wall.
When they looked over, they found that Lu Sen was fiddling with something in front of the white stone screen on the city wall.
Several people were waiting quietly...or rather, the entire city of Bianjing was waiting quietly.
It was as if the world suddenly became quiet.
After some time, a beam of light shot out from the black box that Lu Sen put down, projecting diagonally onto the white stone wall and covering it.
Then extremely brilliant colors appeared above. Light and shadow formed the world, the grassland, and the living grassland creatures.
At the same time, there was exciting and inspiring music coming from the other side of the city wall.
“Is this the Xianjia shadow play?”
The Eighth Wise King muttered to himself in a voice so low that it was difficult to hear clearly.
In his eyes, the stone screen presented a world called wilderness that he had never seen before.
Between the big trees and the green grass, there are countless groups of black cattle moving.
There were many lions wandering around, seemingly looking for prey.
The above pictures, in his opinion, are all real.
It’s not a shadow play at all, but a mirage created by immortals.
At the same time, a warm and deep male voice came from the other side of the city wall.
"In this hot land, it's the mating season for animals again."
