Chapter 57 King Yin
Although a preliminary offensive and defensive alliance was reached, the three parties were unable to do anything in the short term. As a new generation of mountain monster with high attack, thick defense and long health bar. Prince Yin is definitely not a small figure who can be easily dealt with with a round of impeachment. If the second stage of the vassalage system is triggered after a round of confrontation, they might all be in trouble.
So they had a deep conversation until before and after the curfew. In the evening, the prince and Mr. Gao changed their clothes and quietly slipped out of the back door of the Yan family. After returning home, they summoned several aides to discuss again, and then lay in wait for an opportunity.
The process in the next few days was quite boring. Three days later, Master Feixuan summoned the newly-appointed Jinshi to the Huangji Hall, received congratulations from the ministers, and assigned official positions to the first and second-class Jinshi on the spot. The cake of personnel arrangements had already been cut a few days ago. All the bosses had done their best and the results were satisfactory. With the help of some mysterious figures, Zhang Taiyue, who ranked sixth in the second class, got what he wanted. He was promoted to editor of the Hanlin Academy by imperial decree, and was given the power to draft imperial edicts, proofread documents, and revise the unsightly "History of Yuan Dynasty".
Don't underestimate the seemingly unremarkable job of "proofreading documents". In fact, the reason why Hanlin scholars were so powerful in Da'an was because of their authority to draft imperial edicts for the emperor and revise court documents. In the Spring and Autumn Period, every word was worth a thousand gold. The scholars could stir up a huge wave in the court in an instant by just moving their pens slightly in their imperial edicts. This ability to call the wind and rain and manipulate the political situation was the foundation of the Hanlin Academy's noble and self-respecting nature.
It is for this reason that the pen used to draft manuscripts in the Hanlin Academy is called the "Shibi", which is second only to the "Yubi" used by the emperor to write red comments and the "Shubi" used by the cabinet elders to write bills. Its authority is incomparable. There are dozens of people in the Hanlin Academy, and only the most respected scholars can be mobilized based on public opinion. Younger generations like Zhang Taiyue would probably have to endure ten years of hard work in the Hanlin Academy before they were qualified to grind ink for proofreading documents.
But now, the Hanlin Academy has been swept clean by the Yuan History Case, and several senior officials are basically lying in wait; the metabolism is alternating between the old and the young, and the new recruits have suddenly entered the fast lane of promotion. Master Feixuan placed a large number of new people in the Hanlin Academy in order to prepare for the major changes in the future - in other words, if the prince had not made a great effort to break through the unbreakable class of the Hanlin Academy a few months ago, how could the new juniors have such a bright future? Caring about the overall situation and working hard to support the younger generation is what an important official in the court should do. In comparison, those old officials who occupy high positions and are reluctant to leave are too inferior.
According to the usual practice, after the new Jinshi were appointed, there would be a grand ceremony in the Imperial Street where officials and ministers would celebrate together. However, the emperor issued a special decree to postpone the time of the banquet, saying that the royal family and princes would come to Beijing to celebrate the birthday soon. In order to show the sincerity of the royal family's filial piety, he had to wait for the royal family to lead the banquet together, which would also serve as a way to see the country's abundant talents.
This imperial edict contained a mystery that instantly touched a delicate chord in one's heart. Newcomers to the workplace who have just landed a job may still be ignorant and still look forward to the better life after they succeed; but the old foxes in officialdom, however, felt a jolt in their hearts, knowing that the dynasty's routine cricket fighting competition has begun again!
Eliminating dissidents and seizing power has been the tireless pursuit of emperors of all dynasties, but the specific practices have varied. Compared with Emperor Gaozu's style of doing everything himself, the current emperor, who is justified in doing things badly, prefers the art of checks and balances - in short, he is an expert at praising and stepping on others, instigating fights, pulling and stepping on others, bundling people up, making empty promises and climbing walls. He is committed to cultivating the court into a large, foul-filled fan club, in which he is the only one, high above everyone else, while below him are countless toxic fans who pull their hair out and spit at him, desperately cheering for the old immortal Feixuan Zhenjun. Being able to relax and yet be in power, the best of both worlds, isn't that great?
This logic has been consistent. Many years ago, he instigated the Great Ceremony Debate and fought against each other to secure his throne. In recent years, he supported the Qingliu and Yan Party in fighting each other to expand his authority. Now he is using the same old tricks again, and there is no doubt that he will force the civil servants to fight each other again, adding to the majesty of the imperial power.
Over the past few decades, such tactics have been used too many times and too excessively, to the point where most officials in the court are exhausted. But there is no way. Power is such a brutal and unreasonable thing. No matter how tired of the barriers, the bureaucrats bound by fame and fortune can only rush forward without stopping, wrestling and biting each other endlessly, until this powerful pressure of natural selection selects out the natural enemy who can truly restrain Fei Xuan Zhenjun, and a top figure who sweeps away everything with a selfless and selfless heart.
Until such a character is born, the government and the public will remain silent. No one present dared to object, they could only lower their heads silently, with only one thought in their minds:
"I'm afraid this time the banquet will be very lively!"
·
On March 2, Prince Yin, who had stirred up the stagnant waters of the capital with two memorials, finally came to the capital leisurely and met the emperor in the Western Garden. The audience with the royal family and vassal was originally just a polite question and answer session, but the emperor became very interested after just a few words with this distant uncle. He personally ordered Li Zaifang to move Prince Yin's seat to the left side of the throne, and leaned forward to take the initiative to talk to Prince Yin, actually kneeling down to express his intention and wanting to have a long discussion.
This is not surprising. Ever since he got the Heavenly Book, his daily thoughts were either full of sarcasm and complaints, or he was doing ruthless and big things like "The Elder is locked up in the Western Garden during the deep spring". These two-pronged approach doubled the effectiveness, causing True Lord Feixuan to be repeatedly stimulated and his mental state to be precarious. He really needed a close and caring confidant to soothe his wounded heart. It's just a pity that the flattery from the outer court is all the same and there is nothing new. The old and pleasing favorite Yan Ge Lao was involved in the Heavenly Book incident and was mostly ruined. Now the various national masters kept in the palace all emphasize the great way of the Golden Elixir, and they don't know that Lao Deng has suffered a great loss from the Golden Elixir after drinking dozens of kilograms of milk. He frowned when he heard the pain, and of course it is impossible for him to be favored again.
And now, although this imperial uncle who came from afar rarely met, every word he spoke was full of profound Taoist terms. It was obvious that he had profound attainments in the field of cultivating immortality, and his various views were moderate and peaceful, which exactly matched the theoretical system of Feixuan Zhenjun and Wanshou Emperor. The most precious thing in academic research is to have like-minded friends. Meeting such a Taoist companion in this confused and bewildered time can just fill Lao Deng's empty and lonely mood at this time. So they hit it off immediately, and the two sides enjoyed the conversation more and more, and even forgot themselves in the conversation.
When the emperor summoned the princes, all the important ministers and nobles had to accompany him as usual, and they would chat with each other to show the court's sincerity in loving and respecting the princes. But seeing that the uncle and nephew who had nothing to do with each other were chatting and laughing about the evolution and application of inner alchemy since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the whole scene was heading towards a situation where people only cared about ghosts and gods instead of the common people. Everyone could only lower their heads and keep silent, and behave themselves like wooden men.
But Prince Yin's words became less and less appropriate as he spoke. Not only did he describe in detail the inner alchemy cultivation secrets he had summarized from the Taoist scriptures, he also patiently described to Master Fei Xuan the various benefits of his inner alchemy cultivation. However, his words revealed a hint of madness in the strange words of Taoism, such as "lively", "calm mind", and "the soul is sublimated". After being cleansed by the inner alchemy, the primordial spirit can get rid of the shackles of the filthy body and mind, and gradually be upgraded to a pure, flawless, bright and dazzling celestial spirit, enjoying eternal life.
These words are so strange that they are hard to understand. But King Yin explained things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, with clever metaphors. His discussion of the Dao was quite concise, and it always touched people's hearts. Even though the rest of the people were not obsessed with Taoism, after listening for a while, they were unconsciously attracted by the narrative rhythm and listened attentively.
The art of verbal debate is the most moving. After talking for only an incense stick of time, King Yin has already mastered the rhythm of the conversation and has firmly grasped the attention of everyone present.
Among the crowd of civil and military officials who were listening attentively, perhaps only the Prince of Duke Mu frowned secretly. The more he listened, the more he muttered in his heart - he didn't understand any Taoist magic; but in order to study "A Mortal's Path to Immortality", he had carefully consulted several books of folk customs; if the records in the materials were correct, then this King Yin's explanation seemed ordinary, but it was clearly mixed with a lot of mature words of the quacks to attract the audience. It was clever and sharp and went straight to the heart, and some of the techniques even had a far-reaching impact, which was one of the origins of pyramid schemes and wire fraud in later generations.
It is no wonder that such sophisticated rhetoric in preaching the Tao can attract Lao Deng's frequent attention and make him extremely happy - these high-ranking ministers and nobles, who are far away from the common people, have probably never experienced such a gripping and fast-paced preaching, no wonder it can have such an effect!
...But how did a prince who lives deep in the palace learn such eloquent skills?
The prince frowned slightly.
When Prince Yin finished his last few sentences, the Prince of Mu, who had been struggling to understand the answer, finally woke up and instinctively realized that something was wrong:
[Wait, what kind of weird things is this old wall lamp talking about? ! “Ascension” and “brightness”, do Taoism have such terms? 】
The heartbeat suddenly occurred, and Master Feixuan, who was originally sitting on the imperial couch, felt his hands tremble and his face was slightly disturbed. But after all, being criticized for so long had honed his mind, and Master Feixuan did not show any sign of inappropriate behavior. He didn't even waste time examining the ministers' expressions one by one, but instead keenly grasped the key point:
——“Heretical cult”?
Ever since the strange book fell from the sky, Feixuan Zhenjun and Wanshou Emperor have summoned important officials to the Western Garden many times to listen to Taoist teachings, but the banished immortal's heart voice was basically silent. Even if he did, it was to complain about the emperor's overtime work in the early morning and he never made a comment on the long Taoist speeches. Now he actually broke the convention and complained about the "evil and unorthodox"; so how outrageous were the things King Yin said?
Master Feixuan straightened up immediately, with a gleam of light flashing in his eyes!
Oh, don't get me wrong, although Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou are known as the Great Immortal who subdues demons, he has no intention of exorcising demons and defending the way of Taoism and scolding the emperor's uncle at this time - of course, if the banished immortal is willing to teach him the righteous Taoism, Master Feixuan is willing to sacrifice an imperial uncle; but if the immortal is reluctant to reveal his true identity, then the method that is certified as "evil and unorthodox" by the Heavenly Book may not be a novel way!
——The Taoism that is praised by the immortals is of course amazing, but don’t the unorthodox Taoism that the immortals pay special attention to also have great value?
Ignoring is the greatest contempt. No one will waste energy on an insignificant pawn. Officials who are fortunate enough to be insulted as "deceiving heaven" by Master Feixuan himself must at least be senior officials of the rank of vice minister or above who are qualified to interfere in the government affairs of the court. As for the rest of the unknown juniors, they will only be beaten to death by the eunuchs. By analogy, can the ones who are qualified to have a banished immortal criticize them for their evil magic be ordinary trash?
Lao Deng was only thinking about immortality, and the specific way to achieve immortality was not important.
As an emperor with great wisdom and cunning, Zhenjun made up his mind in an instant. His smile became warmer, and he turned his head to talk to King Yin. On the one hand, it was to encourage his uncle the Emperor to speak more and reveal some more evil secrets; on the other hand, it was to provoke the immortal who was somewhere unknown, forcing him to lose his patience and spit out more and more powerful insults!
When it comes to cyber cricket fighting, Master Feixuan is the professional today; even the immortals in heaven should not dream of escaping his provocation.
Sure enough, after King Yin happily said a few more words, the immortal could no longer hold back:
[“Sinful flesh”, “bright spirit”, “pure spirit” - Gnosticism! Dualism of good and evil! This is definitely not Taoism, and it can't even be a local doctrine. This is definitely a foreign religion covered with a localized skin! You, a shifty old wall lamp, actually became a missionary to the barbarians!
The second elder brother of the Kingdom of Heaven, Hong Tianwang, sewed folk sects and traditional loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness into the God Worshipping Society, and this old wall lamp sewed Gnosticism and dualism into Taoism. These facts eloquently prove that we in Da'an also have our own Hong Tianwang, and we in Da'an also have our own religious suturing technology, and we will never be strangled by the Qing demons and Western barbarians - it doesn't cost money anyway, just sew a little; sew, you can sew anything, there is nothing that can't be sewed!
】
Fei Xuan Zhenjun didn't quite understand what "Gnosticism" was, but it was obvious that the immortal had been stimulated to the point of being a little overwhelmed, to the point of being incoherent and almost crazy. Seeing the remarkable effect, His Majesty's smile became even more brilliant and warm, and his expression became more relaxed.
However, if the emperor and Prince Yin were the only ones performing a monologue back and forth, the conversation would seem too cold and would not be conducive to creating a harmonious and cordial atmosphere in the royal family. Seeing that the situation was under control, the emperor leaned back, looked around, and decided to call on another favorite general to further heat up the scene.
"The Way of Heaven is so mysterious that one can never fully comprehend it in a lifetime." He said with a smile, "However, among my subjects there are also those who are devoted to the Way and have unique ideas. For example, the prince of Duke Mu's family is very capable in handling affairs and has quite some knowledge on elixirs."
After saying this, he raised his hand and pointed accurately at the prince who was standing behind several important ministers.
The finger pointed out, and the scene was earth-shattering; not only did the prince of Mu look up in shock, with a confused look on his face; even the eunuchs Huang and Li who were serving behind the throne trembled all over, and almost couldn't hold the whisk in their hands -
Ah, Prince Mu?
To be honest, even if the emperor picked up his golden hammer and smashed it down now, he could hit a dozen people in this hall who are more suitable and more knowledgeable about elixirs than the prince - this is not to say that the prince does not understand elixirs, in fact, this is not a question of whether he understands elixirs or not; but, but the prince is really that kind of person, very rare, very unbelievable -
Well, Eunuch Li and Eunuch Huang can’t hold it back any longer!
Your Majesty, how can you let this madman out?
If we let him out, what secrets of elixirs can he possibly tell us? Double the firepower, physical ascension, what is the story that the Prince and Feixuan Zhenjun have to tell?
Prince Yin is already old after all. Aren’t you really afraid that your uncle will be frightened?
Unfortunately, these millions of shouts could never be heard by Master Feixuan; or, even if Master Feixuan heard the cries of his subjects, he would not think it mattered much - he certainly did not want the prince to show off his brilliant ideas, it was just that his conscience occasionally struck and he wanted to protect his confidant. He had already read the memorial submitted by Prince Yin a few days ago, and had basically guessed what his uncle meant. It just so happened that the emperor was recently in need of a few tools, so he would not refuse such a temptation.
...However, Zhenjun was very happy that Prince Yin submitted this memorial; but Zhenjun was not very happy that Prince Yin insisted on mentioning the loyal and impeccable prince in the memorial. That’s why today I specifically called up the Prince of Duke Mu to let the two of them meet and build their relationship, to prevent things from getting too awkward between the two of them, which would make it difficult for Zhenjun, the head of the family, to be caught in the middle.
——Old Deng sometimes understands human nature, you have to admit that.
But the prince obviously found it difficult to understand Lao Deng's painstaking efforts. He stepped out blankly, saluted blankly, and then stood there at a loss, unable to do anything but remain silent. It was Prince Yin who gave the emperor face and asked in a tone of elders:
"Is the prince also proficient in the art of alchemy? I wonder what kind of elixir he is refining and what kind of magic he is using? You can also tell me about it so we can learn from each other!"
Prince: …………
He spoke dryly, "The elixir I have refined now is the True Lord No. 1 - 'Test Version'; as for the magic used, it is mainly calculus, analytic geometry, conic sections, and basic mechanics."
King Yin:? ? ! ! !
Prince Yin’s confident smile froze. Since entering the palace, he has been extremely intelligent and eloquent, and he has completed the control of the situation according to the plan. But this sudden sentence was like a fairy from heaven, which made him hesitate for a moment. Then he looked around subconsciously, but saw that the ministers and eunuchs from top to bottom were all looking at him with their eyes wide open, without any surprise on their faces, as if this was really an ordinary answer and nothing surprising.
——No, is it your brain that is wrong or my ears? Does this sound like human language? Is this your reaction?
King Yin took a long breath, barely suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and decided to change to a new tactic to forcibly seize the initiative:
"Then did you understand the various mysteries of Taoism that I discussed with His Majesty just now?"
The prince answered honestly: "I didn't quite understand."
That's right. Prince Yin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and decided to continue explaining according to the master's instructions, using his long-trained rhetoric skills; at the same time, he intentionally or unintentionally suppressed this inexplicable prince with his rhetoric, and re-established his own authority.
But he was still thinking about the wording when Prince Mu spoke again:
"I listened to it, but I only heard something about 'primordial spirit'. Thinking about it carefully, I probably only got one understanding -"
He thought about it carefully, and finally said loudly: "'Spirit, start!'"
King Yin: …………
Prince Yin's mother could no longer hold it in. His old face was twisted like a giant pumpkin that had been stepped on. If he were in the palace, he would have ordered people to drag this lunatic out and beat him to death with sticks; but now, under the watchful eyes of Master Feixuan and Master Wanshou, he couldn't utter a word, and his face turned purple from holding it in!
If the nonsense of Prince Mu was secondary, then what made him most furious and surprised was the faces of the people in the court who remained as calm as ever - no, someone has gone so crazy in public, how come you don't even have a reaction? !
Are you out of your mind? Or was his mouth stuffed with an eggplant? !
To be honest, the shock and terror at that moment was greater than those crazy words. Prince Yin almost thought that he had walked into a madhouse created by some demon. Now, all the people in the court had become puppets whose minds had been polluted by some evil demon and who would no longer react in any way. It seemed that if they had any abnormal expression, they would be devoured by the terrible thing.
——Did the scene get dragged into some weird rule story that doesn’t allow for surprise? What a distorted world view this is!
Prince Yin's face was distorted for half a cup of tea before it finally returned to normal. Perhaps because he saw that the uncle's expression was really wrong, Master Fei Xuan finally frowned and scolded him:
"What a mess! Who allowed you to talk nonsense? If you don't understand something, just say you don't understand it. Don't talk nonsense casually!"
The prince immediately apologized, bowed to King Yin, and stopped talking.
Perhaps to comfort his uncle who had never seen the world, Zhenjun took the initiative to speak again:
"Uncle Yin just talked about the various wonderful uses of the Yuanshen, which is quite inspiring. I wonder what effect it will have after cultivating the Yuanshen?"
Prince Yin finally calmed down his emotions and couldn't help but feel slightly happy when he heard the words. He had secretly hidden a hook related to the Yuanshen in his words before, but he didn't expect that he would hook up the True Lord's black carp. It was really an unexpected gain - whether it was useful or not was another matter. As long as the emperor didn't shout "Yuanshen, start!", he would find a way to get back on his words!
"How dare I lie to your majesty? For example, I have been practicing this method for a long time and have made some progress. Although I dare not claim to have supernatural powers, I still have some ability in divination and fortune-telling."
The emperor immediately became interested: "Is that true? I wonder if Uncle Wang could give it a try?"
King Yin agreed immediately: "This is not difficult. I can find a minister here to test it. As long as this person asks a question, I will be able to predict the answer. But there is one thing I must say, this question cannot be absurd or ambiguous, it must have a definite answer."
The emperor was of course happy to see such a rare thing: "Then please give it a try, uncle, so that I can broaden my horizons."
King Yin looked around, looking for the object of his divination. After looking around, he pointed his finger as well:
"I don't want to bother two masters with one thing. I'll just ask the Duke Mu's son!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole audience was stunned; even the prince was slightly stunned, and then he reacted: the reason why this person deliberately pointed him out seemed to be that he really wanted to suppress him again and forcibly regain his ground; and the so-called "divination answer" was most likely a trick of psychological deception. Since "absurdity" is not allowed, then all difficult questions cannot be asked; since "ambiguity" is not allowed, of course, subjective judgments cannot be mixed into the questions, and some abstruse academic questions cannot be asked. And deliberately choosing him, a son of a noble family, avoided the biggest risk - the civil servants might be a bit cunning and eccentric, while ordinary sons of noble families were uneducated, but their knowledge reserves were too easy to guess!
All of these are tricks used by quacks to spy on people's hearts, and all of these moves are secret techniques that have been passed down among the people for a long time. Where did this person learn them?
The prince thought for a moment and was a little embarrassed: "Your Highness has ordered me, how dare I disobey? But I am not very knowledgeable, I only have some doubts in my studies, and I can't figure them out. If I rashly ask for advice, I am afraid it would be a blasphemy to Your Highness."
Prince Yin smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Please tell me, my lord."
Although he suffered two setbacks, he also saw the truth secretly. This Mu guy is just a bit crazy and different from ordinary people, but he doesn't have any other remarkable abilities. Even if he studies, what can he learn from it? That crude and boring book "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality"?
Since the emperor has banned him from talking nonsense and acting crazy, this Mu guy has run out of tricks and can no longer escape from his grasp.
The prince thought for a moment and said slowly, "I read the Book of Sui and found that Zu Chongzhi calculated the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle to eight digits, but the Book of Sui only recorded 30 feet, 1 foot, 4 inches, 1 minute, 5 centimeters, 9 millimeters, 2 seconds, and 6 seconds, a total of six digits. May I ask your highness, what are the next two digits of pi?"
…King Yin’s smile froze.
·
——King Yin swore that if he got what he wanted one day, the first thing he would do after taking the throne would be to cut this Mu guy into pieces!
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