Chapter 216: Strike First
In the quiet room, Lu Sen and Bilian sat on one side, and a dozen Taoists sat in a row on the other side.
Although Lu Sen’s side has fewer people, if they really start fighting, they will definitely be a crushing force.
Zhao Bilian alone can kill all the enemies with just her sword.
I guess she is the only swordsman in the world now.
Not to mention that Lu Sen is now very strong in combat.
After placing a cup of tea in front of Lu Sen, Zhang Tianshi clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Thank you, Master Lu, for your honor."
"If you have something to say, just say it. We are all outsiders, so there is no need to get involved in the twists and turns of the secular world ." Lu Sen also clasped his fists in return and said, "To be honest, I don't understand why you are looking for me."
The Taoists looked at each other, and then looked at Lu Sen with a somewhat subtle look.
Zhang Tianshi sighed softly and said, "Bao Longtu and the imperial palace have sealed off Mount Zhongnan."
Lu Sen took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I know about this."
"This Zhongnan Mountain is the place where our Taoists show their holiness. It has been sealed off just like that. Don't you think it's a pity, Master Lu?" Tianshi Zhang looked at Lu Sen with a rather reproachful look: "Don't you think we should find a way to save it?"
Lu Sen sighed softly, "Although the previous emperor had liver yang hyperactivity, it was not difficult for him to live another twenty or thirty years. But he was fed a few pills by your Taoist priests from Zhongnan Mountain and died. I think that the Zhao family has done a great favor by sealing off Zhongnan Mountain but not killing all of you."
Lu Sen was telling the truth. After Bao Zheng sent people to seal off Mount Zhongnan, he only beheaded the six main culprits, imprisoned more than twenty old Taoist priests who were "highly respected and virtuous", and drove all the Taoist priests out of Mount Zhongnan. That was all.
If it happened in another dynasty, poisoning the emperor would have resulted in the death of hundreds or even thousands of people, and it would have been difficult to complete the task.
A dozen Taoists glared at Lu Sen.
Zhang Tianshi's face was not good either: "Master Lu, don't forget that you are the master of our Zhongnan Mountain and a member of the Taoist sect. Now our Taoist sect has been forced into a desperate situation. The monks have taken our place and are already walking around in the palace. If this continues, the current good situation will be taken away by the monks."
"It's none of my business." Lu Sen chuckled and said, "After all, it's still you who are causing trouble! I find it strange that other Taoists in the world didn't come after you."
Zhang Tianshi clasped his fists and pointed eastward, humming: "That's because fellow Taoists all over the world are united and know what's important. They understand that when the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? Now we Taoists must first work together to resist the foreign enemies. Other things can be discussed later."
This statement accuses Lu Sen of completely disregarding the overall situation.
Zhao Bilian's face turned very bad at this time. In fact, it was not good from the beginning. Now she was a little angry and wanted to hit someone.
She wouldn't allow anyone else to say that about her husband.
Lu Sen couldn't help laughing out loud: "Master Zhang means that you did something wrong and you want me, Lu Sen, to clean up your mess?"
"No, all the Taoist sects in the world are one body, not just you and me."
"You still have shame." Lu Sen put the cup in his hand on the table, and then swept his eyes over all the Taoists in the room, his disdain overflowing: "Before the incident, the Taoists of Zhongnan Mountain ate 70% of the offerings from the Taoist sects in the world. You are all greasy and fat, while the other Taoists are poor and practice in the deep mountains and old forests. Now that something has happened, it seems that all Taoist sects in the world are one, and you should eat up all the benefits, right?"
Lu Sen was previously a Langzhong in the Ministry of Rites, in charge of all Buddhist and Taoist rituals in the country.
Logically speaking, during the first six months after he took office, he could have had a share of all the offerings from Taoist monks throughout the world, but he didn't touch a single cent.
The main reason is that he is too lazy to care about these things, and just wants to keep things the same as before.
But when he occasionally went to "work", he would still look at official documents to get a general idea of the situation of Taoism and Buddhism in the world.
Mount Zhongnan is truly a money-sucking black hole for the Taoist sects all over the world. The vast majority of Taoist temples are under their control, and each temple has to hand over a large amount of "offerings" to them.
This time, all the Taoists' faces turned green.
They also remembered that Lu Sen was indeed a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue before, and he should know something about their affairs in Zhongnan Mountain.
Zhang Tianshi pursed his lips, dispelling the anger on his face, and smiled: "Master Lu, what you said is wrong. We, the Taoists in Zhongnan Mountain, are the pioneers of Taoism. We are responsible for spreading the great principles day and night, and we go in and out of the homes of generals and ministers. If we are poor, we will naturally have no way to enter. We should put aside the worldly thoughts of money, so that we can spread the great principles to the wealthy families of the world. I think Master Lu should understand this principle."
Zhao Bilian was stunned for a moment. When she heard this, it seemed to make some sense.
Lu Sen clicked his tongue and shook his head at the same time: "Master Zhang is a great debater, he can even turn crooked things into truth. The great Dao of the world does not need you to spread it. The great Dao of tranquility and inaction is what Laozi taught. You are obsessed with wealth and fame, you no longer have the Dao in you."
After that, Lu Sen stood up and said to Zhao Bilian, "Let's go."
"Wait a minute." Zhang Tianshi shouted, stood up, and said, "Master Lu is unwilling to help, but please tell the world from today on that you, Lu Sen, have left the Dao Sect and are no longer a member of the Dao Sect, okay?"
Lu Sen stopped and said with a grin, "I wanted to think that you were just too greedy, Zhang Tianshi, but now it seems that you are just an idiot."
"What do you care about me?" Zhang Tianshi snorted, "I am still the Tianshi now, so I have the power to control the Taoists in the world. From today on, you, Lu Sen, are no longer a real person. You are a traitor to Taoism."
In order to force Lu Sen to help, Zhang Tianshi was really anxious and made this stupid move.
Lu Sen looked at Zhang Tianshi for a while as if he was looking at a fool, and then said, "It's so unlucky that I actually wasted most of the day with a bunch of fools."
After saying that, Lu Sen took Zhao Bilian away.
Zhang Tianshi looked at Lu Sen's back with resentment. After a while, he turned his head and said angrily, "Lu Sen, this young boy, is simply not a good son. The Dao sect is in such a great crisis, and he has the ability to turn the tide, but he sits there and does nothing. How can this be possible?"
The Taoist priests nearby also kept cursing, which was extremely unpleasant to hear.
According to them, Lu Sen's crimes were so heinous that he could never be cleared of his guilt even if he died eight or ten times.
In fact, Zhang Tianshi and his group have become somewhat insane.
How prosperous and comfortable their lives were before!
He had endless money, numerous servants, and many wives and concubines.
It can be said that even the princes of the Zhao family who were sent out to other places did not live as carefree as they did.
But all this disappeared more than half a year ago.
Bao Zheng not only sealed off their Mount Zhongnan, he even emptied all the money in the entire Mount Zhongnan and put it into the treasury of the palace.
This directly more than doubled the amount of money in the palace’s private treasury.
One can imagine how rich these Taoists in Mount Zhongnan are.
So when they have no money, they are extremely sad and feel that the sky is falling and the earth is breaking.
And now the only one who can save the situation is naturally Lu Sen.
It can be said that if Lu Sen was willing to return to the court to serve, the entire court would definitely give Lu Sen face and allow Mount Zhongnan to reopen.
By then, Zhang Tianshi and others will naturally be able to regain control of Taoism.
Then Lu Sen refused!
Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. Now in their eyes, Lu Sen is almost the same as the enemy who killed their father.
It was completely "reasonable" for these Taoists to curse Lu Sen.
Lu Sen brought Zhao Bilian back to the cave, called the family guards, and said, "Send some people to protect Zongshi. If there are any Taoists who dare to sneak around the Zhao Mansion, arrest them directly. If they dare to resist, beat them first and cut off their hands and feet."
The family general took the order and left.
Zhao Bilian was nearby, and when she heard this, she angrily asked, "They want to harm my brother?"
As she spoke, the long sword behind her flew out of its sheath and spun in the air, which was enough to prove her mood at the moment.
Lu Sen smiled and said, "It's just to be on the safe side. Unless those Taoists are hopelessly stupid, they will never touch Zongshi. They will just try to deal with me!"
"That's even worse." Zhao Bilian was furious: "Sir, I will go with Jinhua, Mei'er and the others to kill all those dozen Taoists."
Lu Sen waved his hand: "Don't bother, I suddenly have some ideas."
At that time, he wrote a letter and then sent it to the hands of the Prince of Runan through the Zhao family's channels.
After reading the letter, Prince Runan immediately found time to meet with Master Pang.
After reading the letter, Master Pang frowned and snorted, saying, "This kid doesn't even come to see us elders, but just tells us what to do."
Looking unhappy.
The Prince of Runan County said with a smile: "Master Pang, stop pretending. Who is the person who always brags about having a good son-in-law?"
Master Pang snorted, "Isn't it you?"
The Prince of Runan clicked his tongue, touched the spirit tortoise on his shoulder, and said, "So both of us should stop pretending, and the sons-in-law of our two families should be more motivated, right!"
Master Pang put his hands in his sleeves, pretended to sneer, and then said: "Then let's talk business, what do you think of Sen'er's idea?"
"It's quite interesting." The Prince of Runan thought for a while and said, "I just don't quite understand what the saying 'religion can help assimilate barbarians and expand the territory' means?"
The Prince of Runan had never accepted such an idea, and no one had taught him such things, so he didn't quite understand it.
Master Pang nodded, "I can vaguely understand it, but if I think about it carefully, it's like looking at the moon in the moonlight or flowers in the fog, which is not very real. The plan is to let the Buddhist and Taoist sects go to sea to spread Buddhism and Taoism. After the barbarians let down their guard, they will let the failed scholars educate them and establish a pro-Song puppet regime, so that they can obtain local resources without bloodshed. Hiss... Isn't this kid a Taoist? How can he be so insidious in the officialdom?"
The Prince of Runan also nodded: "So, Sen'er's master, Taoist Feng Ling, must be very wise, otherwise he would not be able to teach such a talented person like Sen'er."
Master Pang frowned, "It's just that the words here seem blunt and unpleasant. For example, if this 'long-arm jurisdiction' is called 'pick up a chess piece on the board', wouldn't it have a more bold and imposing manner of playing tricks on the world?"
"Putting all this aside, Master Pang, how feasible do you think Sen'er's idea is?"
Master Pang thought for a moment and said, "If we can really implement it step by step, it will be at least 70%."
The Prince of Runan gently closed his eyes, then opened them again and exclaimed, "It seems that Master Pang admires Sen'er's talent very much."
"The method looks crude." Grand Tutor Pang nodded: "But the advantage is that a new river has been opened. If this method can be used in Xixia and Khitan..."
Both of their eyes lit up.
Master Pang stood up and said, "While Xiren has not left the capital yet, I will go and discuss with him whether this method is feasible. I will also call Yongshu (Ouyang Xiu) and we can discuss it together. If it works, it can at least protect the peace of the border of the Song Dynasty for a hundred years."
After Master Pang stood up, he looked at the Prince of Runan and asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to come and listen?"
"Forget it. You scholars are so talented in discussing government affairs. When will it be my turn as a greedy prince?" The Prince of Runan County waved his hand. "Forget it. I have to help my son-in-law solve the problem of those Taoist priests from Mount Zhongnan. Sigh... In other families, the son-in-law flatters Taishan. But here, the two fathers-in-law think about helping the son-in-law every day, and they are willing to do it."
After listening to this, Master Pang pointed at the Prince of Runan, then laughed and left.
The Prince of Runan returned to his home, called several confidants, gave them orders, and put into action the secret plan he had hidden for a long time.
Let’s talk about Taoist Zhang Xuanxing.
They left Hangzhou and returned to Xi'an.
Mount Zhongnan is just south of Xi'an. Although it is considered the rear of the battlefield and has been closed, it is still their base camp.
They have a strong presence here.
Sitting in a manor about ten kilometers north of Zhongnan Mountain, Zhang Xuanxing sat in the first seat, sitting cross-legged like a pine tree.
Below him, there were at least thirty-five Taoists sitting cross-legged.
This manor is one of Zhang Xuanxing's properties and is mainly used for brewing wine.
It is now temporarily used as a gathering and meeting place.
Even though most of his property was sealed, Zhang Xuanxing's financial resources were still much stronger than most people.
"Lu Sen, that young boy, is unwilling to contribute to our Dao Sect . If that's the case, let's make him lose his reputation." Zhang Xuanxing snorted, "All the Dao Sect brothers in the world are suffering, but he is the only one who enjoys himself. This is fine! If he was an unknown Taoist, it would be fine, but he is a Taoist who has mastered the magical powers. It is a big mistake for him not to provide us with the Taoist skills. Originally, we could have ignored it because he has won some glory for the Dao Sect, but now it is really infuriating. What do you think, fellow disciples?"
Most of the Taoists were indignant and shouted that Lu Sen was not a good son and did not understand the overall situation.
However, several Taoists also said, "Master Lu has never hung a seal in my Zhongnan Mountain, so he is not considered a Zhongnan Mountain native. It is not appropriate to harm him like this."
"Master Lu from Mount Zhongnan!" A Taoist priest immediately retorted, "This is a title bestowed by the government. It uses the name of our Mount Zhongnan. So he is not considered one of ours?"
Alas... several Taoists who were unwilling to be enemies with Lu Sen all sighed.
Zhang Xuanxing waved his hand, and after everyone quieted down, he said, "I don't mean to beat him to death. I just want him to know that it's not enough to have gods in this world. We need people and unity. When he realizes his mistakes and is willing to discuss things with us, I will naturally let him go..."
Just as Zhang Xuanxing was talking happily, the door opened and a young Taoist came in with his back bent, saying, "Master, there is something I must tell you."
Zhang Xuanxing frowned and asked, "What's the matter? Didn't you see us discussing important matters..."
The young Taoist said hurriedly, "The court has just issued a wanted order, saying that a pile of bones were found under the Taoist temple in Zhongnan Mountain, and there is a suspicion of injustice. All Taoists in Zhongnan Mountain are wanted, dead or alive, one tael of silver for each person who is dead, and five taels of silver for each person who is alive!"
