Chapter 768: Extra: Luo Xing, the High Priest of the Suwang Temple
The road through the mountains is long and the Gobi Desert is desolate. Camel bells can be heard. Luo Xing rides on a horse with a sword on its back and a lance hanging on the horse.
As the sun set, Luo Xing and his companions set up their tents, set up the stove and began to cook. Diao Chan got off the carriage and prepared the food. Luo Xing squatted beside her and asked, "Chan'er, do you regret coming to the Western Regions with me?"
Diao Chan's face was still white and clean. She put a strand of hair behind her ear and said with a sweet smile, "My husband, I am not a delicate lady. Whether I kill people with a sword or stir a spoon with my bare hands, I am not inferior to others."
Luo Xing agreed with this statement, especially the Bi Yue sword, which was strange and unpredictable. If one was not careful, even a master like himself could fall into it.
Since leaving Zhaocheng and heading west, looking at the scenery that was gradually becoming different from that of the Central Plains, Luo Xing couldn't help feeling a little hesitant.
But the mission given by his family still made him determined to embark on this path. One of his most admired ancestors was Luo Zhongkan.
His name is not very famous in the world. Even except for the Western Regions, not many people in the Central Plains know his name. More people know his son, Luo Wuji!
But in Luo Xing's opinion, Luo Zhongkan was one of the five sons of the Luo family in the late Qin Dynasty. King Zhaosheng praised him as capable and even better than King Luo Wen.
With such natural talent, he should have been able to shine in the chaotic times at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, just like he did as King Zhaosheng, King Luowen, and Marquis Yingwen.
But for the sake of his family, Luo Zhongkan resolutely went to the Western Regions to expand the map.
Didn't he know that it would take him his entire life to explore an unknown dark place?
Doesn't he know that he will disappear without a trace in history books?
But he didn't hesitate.
Luo Xing believed that with his own abilities, he would be able to hold a high position of power no matter which faction of princes he joined, but that was not what he wanted.
He wanted to make his own contribution to the family.
The Western Regions is a place guarded by the family, but the Western Regions have not been extremely stable. The geographical environment of that place, especially the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, makes it difficult for a stable unified regime to emerge. King Xia only unified the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, and then used his powerful strength to make the countries in the southern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains surrender.
King Xia now focuses all his energy on attacking the Central Plains. He wants to enter the Central Plains to prove himself, which will invisibly relax the suppression of the Western Regions and may lead to accidents.
Luo Xing hoped that after he went to the Western Regions, he would be able to use religious power to maintain the suppression of the Hu people in the Western Regions.
Zhaocheng and his group soon walked out of the Hexi Corridor and entered the city on the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains. The natural environment on the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains was much better than that on the southern foothills, but there were still Gobi deserts stretching for hundreds of miles.
The vastness of the world made people feel insignificant. Luo Xing couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder the scholars who once traveled to the Western Regions have a sense of heroism in their poems."
The sound of camel bells rang out in the Gobi Desert, and along with the camel bells came a group of monks. Luo Xing naturally knew that the Western Regions were full of monks and Taoists. This group of monks seemed to have not expected to meet others. When they looked closely, they saw a tall phoenix flag flying. They were shocked and looked at the holy mark again. It turned out that it was the direct descendants of the Luo family who were traveling.
Ever since the death of Wushuang Zhongwu Marquis, no direct descendants of the Luo family have been seen in the Western Regions. Even the Temple of Suwang is not presided over by a direct descendant of the Luo family. Now, a direct descendant of the Luo family has appeared here.
The leading monk hurried forward to greet him, and then learned that Luo Xing was indeed going to the Suwang Temple in Wushuang City to preside over the sacrifice to Suwang again.
After a while, the group of monks left in a hurry. Luo Xing squinted at the monks, then recalled the Taoist priest he met in Qiemo City and smiled coldly.
In this western region, the priest of the Suwang Temple is the head of religion. Without the pressure of the Suwang priest over the years, these monks and Taoists have probably become accustomed to their freedom. Now that they know they are going to the Suwang Temple, they are naturally a little anxious, but the final result will not change.
In the Western Regions, unless King Xia unites with them to fight against the Temple of King Su and forcibly use secular power to suppress him, these people will not be able to raise their heads in front of him. As long as King Su is still alive and can show miracles for one day, Buddhism and Taoism are not strong enough in the Western Regions. If they want to get rid of the suppression of the Temple of King Su, the theories of Buddhism and Taoism must at least be able to break away from the current theories and redefine an incarnation.
After seeing these monks and Taoists, Luo Xing's pace quickened a bit, and then he arrived at the capital of King Xia.
Although it is called the capital, due to the special climate of the Western Regions, it is naturally very different from the cities in the Central Plains that are nestled in mountains and rivers. After all, the Western Regions are a place of farming and nomadism.
After a brief war, King Xia was in a period of rest and recuperation, preparing to accumulate strength to march to the Central Plains and attack the four counties in Hexi.
Upon hearing that a direct descendant of the Luo family had entered the Western Regions, he quickly invited Luo Xing to the palace for a banquet.
The city wall is somewhat rustic, but the interior of the palace is decorated quite luxuriously, inlaid with gold, pearls and jade, and it is obvious that a lot of thought was put into it.
After King Xia met Luo Xing, all the ministers of Xia Kingdom could see that King Xia was very happy and raised their glasses to drink frequently.
After three rounds of drinking, King Xia finally asked the question that concerned him the most, "I heard that you are going to the Suwang Temple to preside over the sacrifice this time?"
Luo Xing replied in a clear voice: "That's right. Ever since Wushuang Zhongwu Marquis led the Western Regions' armies to the east, there has been no one presiding over the Suwang Temple. The head of the family was worried about this and was afraid that the Suwang Emperor would blame him, so he asked Xing to go to the Suwang Temple."
King Xia said solemnly: "Duke Zhao is right. Ever since the death of Wushuang Zhongwu Marquis in the Central Plains, the people of our Western Regions have been deeply saddened. One of the reasons why our Xia Kingdom is heading east this time is to uphold the ambitions of Wushuang Marquis.
For this reason, after I became king, I built temples in Wushuang City to worship successive Wushuang Marquis, and conferred Buddhist and Taoist deities on them, hoping that their souls would return one day.
While in the Western Regions, I heard many stories from the Central Plains, and I sighed for them. The princes of the Central Plains are really, alas.
Sir, are you willing to lend a helping hand to me?"
Luo Xing raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Majesty is able to unify the north of Tianshan Mountain. You are a rare hero in the world. It's a pity that Xing is already a member of the Suwang Temple, so I really can't help you."
Of course it was impossible for Luo Xing to be a minister to King Xia. That was simply a joke. He had never thought about being a minister to any of the princes.
King Xia was stunned, but he was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed and said, "Young Master, you really misunderstood. I am not trying to recruit you into my Xia Kingdom. I just want to cooperate with you."
cooperate?
Luo Xingyi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please continue to speak. Xing would like to hear the details."
King Xia pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, you must know that in my Western Region, most people believe in various religions. If you take charge of the Suwang Temple and help me spread the prestige of the Xia Kingdom in the Western Region, the Western Region will surely be more stable."
So that's how it is. Luo Xing looked at King Xia meaningfully. This King Xia was really extraordinary. Although he was a noble, he understood the situation of the people in the Western Regions very clearly. He knew that among the lower classes in the Western Regions, royal power was not as effective as religion. Royal power could only command those nobles, but the control over the grassroots was very low. However, if he could use the influence of the Suwang Temple, he could influence the most ordinary people and even slaves in a sacred way.
What King Xia wants to be is not just a political leader, he also wants to be as sacred as the emperors of all the Xia dynasties. Now all branches of Buddhism and Taoism in the Western Regions describe King Xia in this way, saying that he is the reincarnation of the Lord of Heaven, the reincarnation of some star lord, some great lord, or some Buddha or Bodhisattva. As long as there are gods and Buddhas that people believe in, King Xia is the reincarnation of those gods and Buddhas. There is really no way to avoid it. After all, although the Western Regions are called the Thousand Mile Buddhist Kingdom and the Thousand Mile Taoist Kingdom, almost every temple and Taoist temple believes in something different. There are really too many moral principles. This is a big religious poison pool, and no one knows what perverted things will be rolled out in the end.
King Xia himself sometimes couldn't figure out his own identity. He was certainly dissatisfied with this situation. The pursuit of great unification is the unremitting pursuit of every monarch, and King Xia was no exception. In today's Western Regions, the only place that can integrate these different doctrines is the Temple of Suwang.
All the temples and Taoist temples will shout in unison, "Suwang Shanghuang Da Tianzun, Suwang Shanghuang Tianshizun". If one can obtain the position of the sword bearer in the Suwang Temple, he will not only be the lord of the northern foothills of Tianshan Mountain, but also the master of the entire Western Regions. He will be able to mobilize more people of the Western Regions to participate in the war. His prestige will be greatly enhanced, and his strength will be greatly enhanced. If he can even get the temple army to join him, he will have an invincible ultimate army.
Luo Xing thoroughly understood the thoughts of King Xia. This King Xia was truly a rare talent. He was only a generation old, but he could think of so many things and wanted to complete the great unification of the Central Plains which took a full hundred years to accomplish.
He didn't know that the Temple Army was a legendary legion created by divine artifacts. No one knew about this, so there was no problem at all with his plan. Generally speaking, the army would be loyal to whoever could give them money and food, but the Temple Army was different. No matter how good King Xia was to the Temple Army, the Temple Army would only be loyal to the Luo family.
For the Luo family, this is also a very beneficial thing. If things really develop according to King Xia's idea, Luo Xing's status will even jump to second in the entire Western Regions. If King Xia dies early, he can even become the uncrowned king of the entire Western Regions. He only needs to put a crown on King Xia and even replicate the deeds of King Zhaosheng.
But the key to the problem is that the Temple Army cannot attack internally at least for now. In essence, it is Luo's private army. The enemies it faces are those who disobey King Su and the Hu people who invade the Western Regions. Therefore, King Xia's plan is doomed to fail.
But Luo Xing would not directly reject King Xia here, as that would be too disrespectful to King Xia. After all, this is the Western Regions, and the man in front of him is the lord of the Western Regions. Now the Temple Army is supported by King Xia and can stay safely in Wushuang City.
Without using his family heritage and magical artifacts, although Luo Xing was confident that he could defeat King Xia's army in a field battle with the help of his three thousand temple soldiers, he would be the loser in the end if he fought in the Western Regions. He had to establish good relations with the local rulers, which was the way to survive.
Thinking of this, Luo Xing pondered for a while, then raised his glass to toast King Xia and said, "Your Majesty, I understand what you just said. If you can enter Guanzhong and occupy Chang'an, you will get what you want."
Enter Guanzhong and occupy Chang'an.
Everyone in the hall narrowed their eyes, including King Xia. This achievement was very subtle. The think tanks in the Western Regions had naturally calculated that entering Chang'an, with the current situation in the Western Regions, was basically the limit that the Western Regions' army and supply lines could reach.
This is because the Xia Kingdom placed its capital not far from the four counties of Hexi, which enabled it to raise enough food and grass. When the Han Dynasty first conquered the Western Regions, it set out from Chang'an. It was also a long expedition and the army was exhausted. The Xia Kingdom was far less powerful than the previous Han Dynasty, and Chang'an was its limit.
Luo Xing had never been to the Western Regions, but he was able to accurately grasp the pulse of Xia State. How could everyone not be shocked?
And what does Luo Xing mean by this?
He knew that the Xia Kingdom could only reach Chang'an at most. At this time, he would help King Xia so that he could mobilize the entire Western Regions, so that King Xia would have enough energy to continue moving eastward. The most important thing was that he didn't have to worry about a fire in the rear. This was Luo Xing's promise to King Xia.
To some extent, Luo Xing has agreed to King Xia's conditions, but if King Xia wants to get these things, he still needs to work hard. Now you are not qualified to be recognized by the entire Suwang Temple, so you have to work harder.
King Xia did not feel that he was being looked down upon. In the Western Regions today, there were many people who opposed him. Luo Xing's statement was enough to help him. At least Luo Xing did not oppose him, otherwise he really did not know what to do. Those princes and nobles were not devout in their belief in King Su, but they had the courage to rise up in the name of King Su to oppose him.
"Sir, once a word is spoken, it cannot be taken back. I will slap my hands and swear an oath here."
King Xia laughed out loud. He had not considered how difficult it would be to capture Chang'an or how difficult it would be to capture Guanzhong, which was known as a land of barriers. He was determined to march eastward. No matter how many difficulties there were, they were just stones that he had to cross on the road and would not become an obstacle for him.
After Luo Xing and his party left the capital of the Xia Kingdom, Diao Chan could not help but ask, "Husband, do you think the King of Xia can enter Guanzhong?"
Luo Xing laughed loudly and said, "His success rate in entering Guanzhong should not be high. He is indeed a great man, but the current Western Region cannot support his strategy. Most importantly, he was born in the wrong era. This era is the era when great men are rising in the Central Plains. That group of people experienced the most brutal battle in the world in the Central Plains. King Xia ran into this group of people head-on. The final outcome will not be very good. At most, he can take advantage of the civil strife in Guanzhong to occupy the four counties in Hexi. If he wants to enter Guanzhong, it is basically a dream."
Diao Chan asked in confusion: "My husband, if King Xia suddenly died in the Central Plains, would the Western Regions be in chaos? I always feel that the Western Regions are now relying on King Xia to maintain their existence."
Luo Xing was startled, and gently stroked Diao Chan's hair and said, "Yes, the Western Region is now maintained by King Xia. If he didn't want to attack the Central Plains, I wouldn't be so anxious to come to the Western Region. I'm just worried that he would encounter an accident in the Central Plains, causing chaos in the Western Region. My uncle asked me to come to the Western Region to maintain stability in the Western Region, but I don't know if it will succeed. So far, no one has ever relied on the power of faith to stabilize a piece of land. It still needs a strong political power to match it. King Xia should have been the best choice, but it's a pity that people with different ideals cannot work together."
Diao Chan has the ability to hide the moon, and she has a natural intuition. The reason why she asked that question just now was because she felt that something was wrong. The Western Region now seemed like an existence that could explode at any time. Now after listening to what Luo Xing said, she realized that the Western Region has always been like this. In fact, it had exploded once after Luo Kong left, and it was King Xia who put it together again.
After this conversation, the couple did not talk about this topic anymore and headed straight for Wushuang City. After more than two months of trekking, they finally arrived at Wushuang City. If it was a large army trip, it would take more than four months. Such a long distance would have exceeded the extreme wall of the empire they ruled.
The Han Dynasty was able to rule here thanks to the blessing of the Su Wang belief and the defense of the Wushuang Marquis of all generations. Otherwise, it would have long been alienated from the Central Plains and become a separatist force.
Before Luo Xing came here, Luo Kong's mother had already been taken back, and there were almost no Luo family members here. When the phoenix flag appeared in Wushuang City again, the people in the city even thought they had seen it wrong. But when they saw Luo Xing riding on a horse, after a brief silence, there was a sudden burst of cheers like waves.
Luo Xing and Diao Chan were standing on the street of Wushuang City. On both sides and in front, behind, and to the left and right were all the people in the city, all looking at them with shining eyes. They didn't know who was taking the lead, but they only saw a sea of people kneeling down like a tide. It was a very shocking scene. In a land thousands of miles away from Zhaocheng, there was a group of people who had infinite trust in the Holy Scar.
Luo Xing hurriedly called out to everyone to get up. Suddenly, a knight came riding over and the people dispersed. Luo Xing knew as soon as he saw them that they were the rare members of the Luo family who stayed in the city. They had white hair and it was possible that their ancestors had lived here. So after a large number of Luo family members moved back to Zhaocheng, these people chose to stay here.
Moreover, Wushuang City does need some members of the Luo family to stay here to take care of affairs.
When the white-haired old man saw the holy mark on Luo Xing's forehead, he immediately burst into tears and said, "My lord, I thought I would never see the master return to Wushuang City in my lifetime. Today, I have seen your face and the master's return to Wushuang City. Even if I die immediately, it is worth it."
Luo Xing stepped forward and bowed to the old man, saying, "Luo Xing is here to preside over the sacrifice at the order of Lord Zhao."
Upon hearing this, the old man hurriedly said, "Sir, please follow me."
Although the people in the city did not want Luo Xing to leave, when they heard Luo Xing say that he would stay in Wushuang City to preside over the sacrifices at the Suwang Temple, they knew that he would not leave, so they gradually dispersed. Luo Xing and others followed the white-haired old man all the way to the center of the city.
The most noble buildings of the entire Wushuang Marquisate are all there, and the former Wushuang Marquis Mansion is also there. No one has lived in the Wushuang Marquis Mansion for a long time, and Luo Xing can live there in the future.
The white-haired old man led Luo Xing and others directly to the Suwang Temple. After arriving at the temple, several people walked out of the temple. They were all women. Some looked Han Chinese, while others looked like people from the Western Regions. They were young, young and pretty. When they saw the old man, they all saluted, and then turned their eyes to Luo Xing with curious expressions. They were all native people from the Western Regions.
The white-haired old man pointed at a few people and said, "Young Master, these girls are now handling some sundries in the temple. They are quite skillful and know a lot about the sacrificial rituals in the temple. Now take them to get all the sacrificial items out."
Then he said to the women, "This is Gongzi Xing from the Zhaocheng Lord's family. By the order of the Lord, from today on, he will be the High Priest of the Suwang Temple and will preside over the sacrifices of the entire Suwang Temple. You must be respectful."
really!
When they saw someone with holy marks coming to the Temple of Suwang, they guessed that they might be here to fill the vacant position of high priest. However, what attracted their attention more was Diao Chan standing next to Luo Xing. These girls were all very beautiful, otherwise they would not have been chosen to come to the Temple of Suwang. But the Diao Chan in front of them was definitely the most beautiful woman they had ever seen in their lives.
Luo Xing and his companions walked into the temple. The first item Luo Xing took, which was also the most crucial one, was the high priest's staff.
In the entire culture of the Xia Dynasty, the meaning of the staff of imperial envoys is very special. Nowadays, the highest treatment for officials from the Central Plains when they are traveling abroad is to be an envoy with imperial envoys, which means that the emperor has given you a certain degree of decision-making power. When envoys go on missions, they all carry a staff of imperial envoys. With this thing, your status is different.
There are not many magic staffs in the Luo family. In the entire Zhaocheng, only the head of the family has a magic staff, the high priest has a magic staff, and in the Suwang Temple in the Western Regions, there is also only one magic staff. Luo Xing held the magic staff in his hand and felt that what he was holding was not just a magic staff, but power, a power that could rank first in the entire Western Regions.
This power is stronger than the sword in his hand, and stronger than his martial arts strength of over ninety. It is an existence evaluated in another dimension.
After taking the magic staff, they were about to go to other halls when they heard footsteps from outside. Luo Xing and others heard the sound and went outside, and saw three big men with weapons on their waists walking into the temple. One of them looked like a Han Chinese, and two looked like people from the Western Regions. The three men had anxious looks on their faces and happened to meet Luo Xing and others.
When the three saw the holy mark on Luo Xing's forehead and the staff in his hand, they immediately knelt on one knee, bowed their heads and clasped their hands in salute, and said in unison: "Captain of the Temple Army, we pay our respects to the high priest. May the high priest be safe and sound."
It’s the Temple Army!
As soon as these three people appeared, Luo Xing had a feeling. He had felt that feeling from spiritual weapons before. It was the scent of the divine artifact of destiny. Now it seemed that it was correct.
Luo Xing asked in a deep voice: "Why are you here in the temple?"
The Han lieutenant said in a deep voice: "The soldiers of the Temple Army heard that a direct descendant of the Luo family was coming to succeed the position of the high priest. The soldiers asked the three of us to come and invite the high priest to the army. The soldiers have not seen the face of the high priest for too long."
Luo Xing nodded and said, "Okay, we'll go to the Temple Army later."
Then Luo Xing searched out the high priest's crown and robes and put them on one by one. He was originally a military commander who fought on the battlefield, but at this moment, wearing this outfit, there was no sense of incongruity at all. It was full of majesty and sacredness.
Luo Xing wore this outfit and went to the camp of the Temple Army. The Temple Army was the guardian army of the Suwang Temple, and its base was in the city. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the camp.
As soon as he approached the camp, Luo Xing sensed the strong scent of the divine artifact, emanating from every soldier.
This made Luo Xing feel extremely comfortable. It turned out that this was how it felt when Wushuang Marquis led the Temple Army. When Wushuang Wuxiang Marquis led the Temple Army to the north of the desert to wipe out the Huns, he was probably just as high-spirited and energetic.
He strode into the barracks of the Temple Army and looked at the faces there. This was the Luo family's greatest support in the Western Regions, the strongest army in the world that had made great contributions, the Temple Army.
At the same time, it is also his greatest reliance in the future. Whether he can defend the flat and war-torn Western Regions depends on the performance of the Temple Army in the future.
For the Temple Army, due to the influence of the Destiny Artifact, they have a natural liking for the Holy Scar. As long as the Luo family does not do anything too outrageous, the army as a whole will always be loyal. Looking at Luo Xing at this moment, it is like recalling the days when they were under the command of the successive peerless marquises.
The Temple of Suwang has a high priest again, and the temple army is no longer rootless, doing nothing every day and not knowing what to do.
Luo Xing raised his staff high, and the soldiers all looked at him. Luo Xing said loudly: "I am ordered by the head of the Luo family to come to the Suwang Temple to take over the position of high priest. The sacred light of the Suwang will shine forever in the Western Regions, and the light of the Suwang will spread to the dark lands farther away.
The Temple Army will always be the strong shield that defends the faith of the Su King and the sharp sword that destroys everything."
People need a sense of identity, not to mention the temple army, who need it the most. Upon hearing the words, they all cheered loudly and waved their weapons.
Luo Xing raised his staff again. The cheers gradually stopped, and he shouted, "Soldiers of the Temple Army, the Su King will be with you!"
How long has it been since you heard this blessing?
Some soldiers who had been in the Temple Army for a long time even had tears in their eyes when they heard this. They knelt on the ground, first opened their arms, then bowed their heads and saluted, muttering: "The spirit of the Su King is in the sky, and his glorious name will last for thousands of years."
Luo Xing did not expect this scene.
Since he entered Wushuang City, he has seen such scenes countless times. Countless people kneeled on the ground like a tide, praying for the magic wand in their hands.
He clenched his fists tightly. This is the Western Region!
(End of this chapter)
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