Volume 4 is in the ascendant Chapter 499: The Three Immortals at the End of the Han Dynasty
At the New Year's Eve banquet, government offices once again evaluated their merits and rewards and looked forward to plans for the new year.
There are many things to say about the third year of the Chuli period, from the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue's support for major projects, to the Ministry of Rites' scientific research on Confucius' relics and the re-interpretation of classics, to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice's tireless efforts to rectify the administration of officials and popularize legal trials, to the Privy Council's planned self-defense counterattack against Yizhou. All of these are worth writing about.
Needless to say, although the Ministry of Industry only provides a doctoral degree in overall coordination in specific projects, everyone understands that the plans of the Qi ship and Qi train are ultimately the credit of the Ministry of Industry.
Looking ahead to the fourth year of the Chuli period...what attracts most everyone's attention is the imperial examination held every three years. In the fourth year of the Chuli period, it is time for the second session!
Looking back at the first imperial examination, it seems as if it was held just a month ago.
In addition, in the fourth year of the Chu calendar, a preheating mechanism for the "school examination" will be set up. It is expected that in the fifth year of the Chu calendar, school examinations will be available in all parts of the Chu State.
In fact, government-run universities across the country have already begun recruiting students this year, but they are mainly based on "recommendations". After the academic examination system is established, universities will begin to recruit those who have passed the "academic examinations" from the public!
Next year is destined to be a busy and focused year for the Ministry of Rites.
At the New Year's Eve banquet, Bai Tu not only performed vigorously... no, he praised the Ministry of Rites for its rigorous attitude towards the research on the origins of Confucianism, encouraged the emerging "Wangxue", but also encouraged the upcoming second imperial examination and academic examination.
After three rounds of drinks, Bai Tu specially called Yu Ji to his side - although Yu Ji considered himself a Taoist priest, his position in the State of Chu was more like the Ministry of Works, so everyone just thought that Bai Tu had some matters to report to the Ministry of Works.
Yu Ji was very rigid, but also very polite, sitting aside. Although it was a chair, he just sat on the edge.
As for Yu Ji, who had made great contributions to the Ministry of Works, Bai Tu was not going to force him to say anything directly - just like if someone knew the location of a treasure, does it mean that he must tell the court?
Bai Tu felt that he should first give him a subtle hint, letting him know what he wanted, but not forcing him to say it out loud.
"Master Yu, when you look at this plate of fried yellow croaker, does it remind you of the yellow turban worn by the Yellow Turban bandits?" Bai Tu asked vaguely and naturally.
Yu Ji: …
"Look at this plate of soybeans again. Do you think of the beans that Zhang Jiao used to create soldiers by spreading beans?" Bai Tu continued to hint.
"Ahem, Your Majesty... have you also heard about Huang Tianji's affairs?" Yu Ji accepted Bai Tu's hint and spoke proactively.
"Ah! It turns out that Taoist Master Yu was thinking about reporting to me. I was worried that if I said it too explicitly, Taoist Master would feel pressured." Bai Tu said hurriedly.
Yu Ji: ???
So what just happened wasn’t considered an “explicit statement”?
Yu Ji suppressed the urge to complain and sighed. After carefully looking at the white map again, he said, "That's right. Actually, before I joined the king, I was in Jiangdong for Huang Tianji..."
"So that's how it is. Before the Taoist priest met the wise master, he came to Jiangdong for Huang Tianji." Bai Tu corrected slightly .
Yu Ji: …
"Master, you don't look like a man with great ambitions in the court affairs, so why are you obsessed with Huang Tianji?" Bai Tu asked.
"This matter has nothing to do with ambition. I don't want to do the same as Zhang Jiao, but because of the appearance of Huang Tianji, it is also a debt that I owe!" Yu Ji said with some emotion and sadness.
White picture: ???
This time it was Bai Tu's turn to be shocked - could it be that Yi Ji had a third way of being born besides human transformation and dragon vein transformation... sexual reproduction?
Yu Ji seemed to have sensed Bai Tu's thoughts. He twitched his lips and said, "To be more precise, it's Zhang Jiao's sin..."
White picture: !!!
You and Zhang Jiao...
Yu Ji seemed to be lost in memories. He ignored someone and continued to mutter under the influence of alcohol: " Fifty years ago, Zhang Jue and I became disciples of Master Nanhua... Master is the successor of "Heavenly Book Volume 8: Respecting Gods" after Duke Zhuang, and has mastered all the mysteries of it.
The three of us don’t have this kind of fate and qualifications, so we can’t inherit the Heavenly Book. However, our master divided the Heavenly Book he comprehended into three volumes, namely Heaven, Earth, and Man. The Heaven Volume was passed on to Brother Zuo Ci, who entered before us, the Earth Volume was passed on to us, and the Man Volume was passed on to Zhang Jiao…”
As Yu Ji spoke, Bai Tu also recalled what Lu Su said to him when he first heard him talk about the Heavenly Book many years ago - Zhang Jue was suspected to have some of the abilities of "Volume Eight: Respecting Gods", but the inheritance might have been tampered with, so he eventually died suddenly because of deifying himself.
It now seems that Zhang Jiao did not have the Heavenly Book, but it was just the inheritance of the holder of the Heavenly Book - the Heavenly Book can only choose its own master, and the holder cannot interfere with its inheritance, unless it is a situation like "Lu Su discovered Lu Xun" and "Xi Zhicai discovered Guo Jia", that is, when there is already an owner and other suitable holders appear, then it can be inherited artificially.
As for people like Yu Ji, Zuo Ci and Zhang Jiao, who were not chosen by the Heavenly Book, the most they could do was to study the "second-hand Heavenly Book" written by the holder of the Heavenly Book.
Every holder of the Heavenly Book can comprehend different contents from the Heavenly Book, and a second-hand Heavenly Book only contains the part that the holder has comprehended.
Nanhua was able to write three volumes of books, and according to Yu Ji's opinion, he analyzed the heavenly book from three perspectives. His attainments can not be said to be not profound...
The Heavenly Book is like a polyhedron. Those who are recognized by it can see one side, while those who are not recognized can see nothing.
And if the people who saw it can truly comprehend this aspect, they can "draw" what they have comprehended for future generations to learn. Nanhua... saw it and comprehended at least three aspects!
“Thirty years ago, our master went on a long journey. Before leaving, he gave each of us a volume of the Nanhua Sutra, and told us that if we only studied and understood our own volume well, we would be considered to have inherited eight parts of the Sutra. We must not be greedy and must not share our insights…” When Yu Ji said this, his tone became more and more sad.
Bai Tu nodded when he heard this - now that things have come to this, it goes without saying... someone among you must have secretly learned something from other brothers!
"Zhang Jiao and I were both undecided at the time, especially Zhang Jiao... He had the most ideas and was very competitive. He took out his own scroll and wanted to share it with me and Senior Brother Zuo Ci.
While I was hesitating, Senior Brother Zuo Ci pulled out the dagger he was carrying and blinded one of his eyes, saying that it was his peripheral vision that saw the Taoist book handed over by Zhang Jue.
Zhang Jiao and I were terrified at the time and wanted to stop the blood flow and heal the wound for Senior Brother, but Senior Brother just wiped the bad eye and the blood disappeared, and he even had an eye patch added... I was not very knowledgeable at that time, and I didn't know whether Senior Brother was just sleight of hand or he was really blind in one eye, but later I heard that in some of the rumors about Senior Brother's appearances, one eye was covered.
Although my senior brother didn't say much, Zhang Jiao didn't dare to mention sharing the Taoist books again. After that... my senior brother went down the mountain separately from us. Since Zhang Jiao and I were from the same hometown, we traveled among the people together and studied our respective Taoist books.
Zhang Jiao's Human Volume is about 'inviting gods and welcoming immortals'. In the past twenty years of apprenticeship, we brothers and sisters have also learned something similar, but... rather than inviting gods, it is more like a kind of self-suggestion. The content recorded in the Human Volume should be more profound. "
When Bai Tu heard Yu Ji talking about the contents of the human scroll or guessing at the tone, he knew that it was not him who ultimately went against Nan Hua's words.
"My earth scroll focuses on 'knowing it through the spirit', which means knowing the nature of something. My 'drawing talismans' and 'refining pills' are essentially abilities that extend from this."
As everyone knows, Yu Ji's "drawing talismans" and "refining elixirs" are the "separation and extraction machine" and the "mixing and reaction simulator".
"What is the ability of Taoist Zuo Ci's Heavenly Scroll?" Bai Tu remembered that according to unofficial historical legends and novels, Zuo Ci was also related to Cao Cao's death, so he asked this question specifically.
“We don’t know about Senior Brother Zuo Ci’s Heavenly Scroll… but ever since he blinded himself in one eye in front of us, whenever I want to go against Master’s words, I always think of how Senior Brother destroyed his own eye, and I feel a dull pain in my eyes.
Sometimes I even feel that my brother's eyes overlap with mine, and he is watching us for our master, so I never offended him again. I once mentioned this to Zhang Jiao, and he also said that he had this feeling, but... I remember that my brother Zuo Ci had tattooed his left eye, but he remembered that it was his right eye!
This ability to give psychological hints to others is also a foundation that the three of us brothers have learned, but Zhang Jiao and I are not as proficient as Brother Zuo Ci, so I think the content of the Heavenly Scroll should also be related to this." Yu Ji speculated.
When Yu Ji said this, he ignored the rule that monks can drink but not drink excessively, and even went against his usual polite and rigid image in front of Bai Tu, and drank another glass even though his face was already red.
"Later, Zhang Jue got married." Yu Ji made an abrupt turn.
Zhang Jiao is getting married, why are you looking like this? Bai Tu looked at Yu Ji with a subtle look...
"I like his wife a lot, too, but they're married."
White picture: ...
As expected of a cultivator, Yu Ji’s words were very direct. If it weren’t for the nostalgic look on his face, one would have thought he had already let it go... and he unconsciously stopped referring to himself as “poor Taoist”.
"Then what? I'm talking about the Yellow Turbans." Bai Tu asked anxiously, saying that he was not gossiping.
"Zhang Jue is different from me, and also from Senior Brother Zuo Ci. He saw the decline of the Han Dynasty at that time, which had already affected the common people. He saw that the sick had no medicine, the old and the young had no one to take care of them, he saw the nobles wearing fine clothes and riding horses, and he saw the nobles and officials bullying the people...
Although I would guide people to be good and use magic water to save people when I see it, I would not think about it if I don’t see it. But when Zhang Jue sees it, he will feel angry if he puts himself in the other person’s shoes.”
"What about Zuo Ci?" Bai Tu asked curiously.
"Brother won't go to see it."
