Happy and carefree

Taoist Le woke up before daybreak. As he got older, he no longer had the habit of sleeping in. He got up, washed up, and walked out of the room.

"Good morning, Master." A young man in a Taoist robe came up quickly and bowed respectfully. "Do you want someone to prepare breakfast?"

Taoist Le shook his head and said, "Let's go to the cafeteria to eat today."

He was the head of a temple and the founder of the Gongshan sect. In a smaller country, he could have been a state teacher. Logically, he should have been well-dressed, meticulously dressed, and well-fed. However, ever since he began teaching Gongshan, he would intentionally or unintentionally wear the same robes and eat the same food as his disciples.

The so-called "public good" naturally requires "public" to come first. How can he preach the doctrine while acting so arrogantly and distinguishing between the superiors and the inferiors in the temple?

The disciple was used to his master's casualness, so he led everyone to the cafeteria.

Although it was still early, most people in the temple had already gotten up. After all, they had to clean the temple and attend morning classes. They all rushed to eat in the cafeteria so that they could go to work early.

Seeing Taoist Master Le enter, everyone immediately stood up and saluted, some calling him "Master" and many calling him "Abbot". Taoist Master Le casually waved his hand and asked everyone to sit down, then he found a random table and sat down.

Now the people sitting at the same table with him became nervous. Taoist Le said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? It's not my first day eating here. Don't worry, eat your food."

The disciples nodded quickly and ate more elegantly. Taoist Le glanced at the food in their bowls and asked, "How many times have you eaten duck eggs this month?"

A brave disciple immediately said, "This is the third time. We've added sweet potatoes to the porridge these past two days, and it tastes pretty good."

Today is the middle of the month, so we get duck eggs every five or six days, which is pretty good. Knowing that the kitchen didn't skimp on food, Taoist Le nodded in satisfaction, but couldn't help but mutter, "I can't get used to sweet potatoes. They always give me stomach acid."

This made everyone around him laugh. One boy said, "This sweet potato isn't easy to digest, but it fills you up. I heard there's a new, sweeter variety on the market."

"Sweet potatoes are only delicious when they are roasted. They have no flavor if they are boiled."

"Peanuts are still better, but unfortunately they are still too expensive."

"After all, we have to extract the oil."

The group of young boys quickly started chatting, their previous restraint gone. Taoist Le listened with a smile. He knew much more than these boys, and he had even tasted the sweet potatoes and peanut oil given by the gang leader, so he knew their taste.

However, these appetites were not as important as the General Temple. The disciple swiftly brought a tray, which contained the same breakfast as everyone else: porridge and salted duck eggs, and the portion was just right. Taoist Le then began to eat slowly and attentively.

As they were eating, some people over there couldn't sit still anymore. After mustering up their courage a few times, a skinny young man asked, "Master, I heard we've conquered Jiangdong. Should we also send people to Jiangdong to open a general's temple?"

Taoist Le nodded slowly and said, "Yes, but it's not in Yuhang."

"Isn't Yuhang the seat of Jiangdong? How come banks can be opened there, but our General's Temple cannot?" Someone immediately objected. That's Jiangdong, one of the richest places in the world, with a huge population. Isn't it a good place to spread the religion?

"Because the people we in Gongshan Sect want to save first are always the poor people like you. In a big city like Yuhang, it's okay to spread the word privately, but it's not a place to build a temple." Taoist Le knew that these guys wanted to achieve great things, and the more so, the more cautious they should be in not acting rashly.

This caused a buzz of discussion among the crowd. The skinny boy pursed his lips and said, "But there are also poor people in big cities. Shouldn't we save them?"

Taoist Le raised his eyelids and glanced at the young man: "Have you ever eaten a dish that cost a few taels of silver? Have you ever seen a piece of clothing that cost over a hundred taels?"

The boy was stunned and shook his head in confusion. Most of their disciples were refugees, not quite the same as those from the Red Banner Army. Surviving the disaster was already difficult, so how could they possibly have witnessed any extravagant scenes?

Taoist Le sneered: "Then how can you maintain your Dao heart and not be blinded by vanity?"

This seemed to imply that he would forget his roots and become like those evil thieves who exploited the people. His face immediately flushed, and he said forcefully, "I will never betray you. I will never forget my duty..."

Before he could finish, the old Taoist waved his hand. "Don't bother. If they're determined, they have plenty of ways to do it. You're using the name of the Red Flag Gang and the legitimacy of the General Temple, but aren't you just a thorn in their side? This is Jiangdong, where aristocratic families abound. It's home to some of the smartest and most ruthless people in the world. They've been immersed in power struggles their entire lives. Who can be sure they can withstand corruption? If even the people at the General Temple can be deceived, how can you talk about fairness and kindness to the people?"

These words silenced everyone in the cafeteria. After a long moment, the boy spoke first, "So we're going to have to hide from those wealthy families for the rest of our lives? If we don't even have the courage to confront them head-on, how can we achieve universal peace and equality for all?"

This is what all Gongshan disciples learn, and this is the aspiration they hold deep in their hearts. But how can they achieve this if they don't even dare to confront the noble families?

"Of course not. Just like in Panyu, it's also a big city with many wealthy merchants and noble families, but why is there a General Temple? Of course it's because the Red Flag Gang controls this place. Even the prefect and the admiral have to salute when they see the gang leader. No one dares to act improperly where the cannon is pointing." Taoist Le answered proudly.

Hearing these words, everyone's blood boiled. Now, in Panyu, weren't they the ones who had the final say? What was that common saying in the military? Only where artillery fire could reach could there be justice.

"We have only conquered Jiangdong, but have not yet taken over Jiangdong." Someone has come to his senses and said this very philosophical statement.

Taoist Le laughed heartily, "That's not bad. We have to wait until we conquer Fujian and take Quanzhou before we can slowly manage Jiangdong."

"Then once we conquer the world, can we also spread Gongshan Sect everywhere and bring peace to the world?" Some people couldn't help but feel fascinated. In the eyes of these young people, the Red Flag Gang was the most powerful and the one that treated the people the best. Wouldn't it be easy for them to conquer the world?

Taoist Le suddenly grew solemn. "You're facing a code of ethics that has endured for thousands of years, something learned by millions of people since childhood. How can it be easily changed? Right now, we're relying on the Red Flag Gang for expansion, but in three, five, ten, or eight years, the Red Flag Gang might be relying on us to fight for the world and the hearts of the people. How many principles have you learned, how many words do you know, but can you compete with those scholars?"

The other party opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word. He had only just begun studying after arriving at the General Temple. How could he have the confidence to argue with a scholar who had studied all his life?

"As the saying goes, it takes ten years to grow a tree, and a hundred years to cultivate a person. Since this is your ambition to change the world, you must be patient and courageous enough to proceed step by step. In the future, you will not only spread the teachings of charity, but also teach those illiterate people the true meaning of the world. This cannot be rushed." Taoist Le said this and stopped talking. He put down his clean bowl and stood up. "Who wants to attend the morning class today?"

A bunch of people raised their hands again.

Taoist Le nodded: "Then finish your meal quickly and go to the backyard to attend the class."

The temple holds morning classes every day, usually involving explanations of the Gongshan teachings and the recitation of scriptures. Not every disciple can truly grasp the true meaning; their performance during the morning classes, along with their individual understanding and character, is considered in order to select the disciples who will inherit the true teachings.

However, looking at the rows of raised hands, Taoist Le was not too worried. There were still more poor people in this world. Why would he be afraid that no one would learn a religion established specifically for the poor?

Le Laodao walked leisurely out of the dining hall, ignoring the disciples following him. He went straight to the main hall, first burning incense at the statue of General Zhenhai, then turning back to the side hall. There were many rows of tablets, and further away, towering stone tablets. These tablets were erected for those with meritorious service, and on the tablets were the names of martyrs.

This is something that no one has ever done before. After all, anyone who can accompany gods and Buddhas must be a person of status and good fortune, just like only famous ministers and generals can be buried in the emperor's tomb. Without extraordinary merits, how can one be worthy of being worshipped in such a tone?

But the Red Flag Gang was different, and the General Temple was different. They never venerated emperors and generals, but rather the brave warriors and heroes who died in battle after battle, fighting bravely. It was these countless bones that paved a different path, a path that could save countless lives and reshape the destiny of a nation.

If they hadn't succeeded in a hundred years, I'm afraid all those high-ranking officials would have tried their best to wipe out the Gongshan Sect. But at this moment, in this place, Le Laodao was not afraid at all. Because no one could kill all the people in the world. As long as they continued to pass on the spark, one day it would spread like wildfire.

With a light chuckle, Taoist Le waved away all his wild aspirations, and respectfully burned incense and chanted scriptures as if he were to the statue of General Zhenhai.

Rhythmic chants echoed in the hall, as pious as the rising incense.