"Your Majesty, does this mean that the imperial court intends to deepen its presence in Xiliang?"
Taoist Xuanqing asked curiously.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "We have worked so hard to build this land, so we must manage it well and leave something behind."
Taoist Xuanqing stroked his beard and said, "It seems that the imperial court has no intention of deepening its presence in Xiliang, so they agreed to hand Xiliang over to the Marquis of Lu."
Gu Jiu reminded him, "He should be called the King of Anxi. The imperial court has officially issued an edict to confer upon the Marquis of Lu the title of King of Anxi, giving him control over all military and civilian affairs in Xiliang."
Taoist Xuanqing laughed and said, "If I have the chance to meet King Anxi, I will definitely say congratulations."
"Master, there must be a chance."
Taoist Xuanqing remained noncommittal. "I'd like to hazard a guess. Your Majesty and Your Highness are worried that Xiliang might revolt, and that the Northwest Army, unable to suppress them, might return to the northwest and cause trouble for the imperial court. Therefore, they are helping the Northwest Army stabilize the situation in Xiliang. Your Majesty and Your Highness are truly worried."
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, "Master, your words are always so sharp."
"It seems that I have hit the mark of your Majesty's concern."
"Those who know my thoughts must obey my orders. What do you think?"
Xuanqing stroked his beard and closed his eyes in thought.
Gu Jiu was not in a hurry and waited patiently.
"Tao follows nature, and I don't want to compete with Master Wuwang."
"I'm not asking you to fight each other. I'm just giving the Northwestern Army and the locals another option. When you go to Xiliang, your doctrines will need to be modified appropriately to suit the local conditions."
Taoist Priest Xuanqing suddenly opened his eyes, "Your Majesty wants to revise my Taoist scriptures?"
Gu Jiu said nonsense seriously, "Not really! We just need to use more understandable language to help the local people calm down their hatred and fear, face reality, accept everything, and everything will get better and better."
Taoist Xuanqing twitched his beard and said, "That bald donkey can do this job."
The corner of Gu Jiu's mouth twitched.
It's too quick to change your attitude.
He just respectfully called Wuwang "Master", but in the blink of an eye he turned into Wuwang Bald Donkey.
"Have you ever met the Taoist priest and Master Wuwang?"
"I've met him once."
"What's your impression?"
"Food and sex are human nature, but I entered the Buddhist world."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled. "Xiliang has a new master, and the hopeless have their own responsibilities. I will hand over the important task of assimilating the people of Xiliang to you, Taoist priest. Ten carts of medicinal herbs are my welcome gift. When you leave, another thirty carts of medicinal herbs and twenty carts of books and writing materials will accompany you to Xiliang. Whether to give the herbs away for free or sell them at a high price is entirely up to you. How the books and writing materials are used is also entirely up to you. Sanhe Express and Xitong Trading Company will fully cooperate with you. I will also give you several prescriptions."
Bai Zhong held a wooden box and placed it on the table.
Gu Jiu pushed the wooden box forward and said, "The prescription is inside. It might be helpful for the Taoist's trip to Xiliang."
Taoist Xuanqing stared at the wooden box for a long time, "Your Majesty, are you sure that I will go to Xiliang?"
Gu Jiu asked with a smile, "If not to Xiliang, where else can the Taoist go?"
Taoist Xuanqing laughed, "Your Majesty is using both soft and hard tactics. I don't think I have any room to refuse."
Gu Jiu said softly, "Very few people can refuse me, including Prince Anxi."
Taoist Priest Xuanqing opened the wooden box and flipped through the prescription. The corners of his eyes twitched and his expression changed slightly.
Bang!
He closed the wooden box.
"How can Your Majesty take out such a prescription so easily?"
"The gift for the Taoist priest should be valuable and of his liking."
Taoism has a tradition of refining elixirs and medicines.
The Five Stones Powder was broken down by a group of Taoist students from Shanhe Academy and is a chronic poison.
Nowadays, Taoist students no longer make elixirs, but instead make medicine.
Taoist Priest Xuanqing's beard twitched. He opened the wooden box and looked at the prescription. Now he was in a difficult situation. It seemed that the only way out was to go to Xiliang.
Gu Jiu said, "Master, don't feel burdened. Shanhe Academy has several extremely talented students in the Taoist subjects. You can choose from them."
Taoist Xuanqing took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
"Your Majesty and His Majesty want to assimilate the people of Xiliang ideologically and culturally, so they haven't just arranged for Wuwang Bald Donkey and me. I'd venture to guess that it's time for Shanhe Academy to make some moves as well."
Gu Jiu laughed, "As expected, nothing can be hidden from the Taoist priest. This time, one hundred and fifty students from Shanhe Academy will follow the Taoist priest to Xiliang. When the time is right, Xiliang may become a fixed graduation training ground for Shanhe Academy."
"Your Majesty's plan is indeed long-term, and she seems to have extremely high expectations for Xiliang. If so, why did she split the land and crown a king, leaving Xiliang isolated and vulnerable to breaking away from the Great Zhou at any time?"
Gu Jiu said solemnly, "Because this is the best solution at the moment. If we don't divide the land and enthronize the king, and rely on the imperial court to send officials to govern Xiliang, Xiliang will be in turmoil again in ten years at most. Once the imperial court is unable to cope with the expenditure of the Xiliang government, Xiliang will soon become Xiliang for the Xiliang people and completely abandon the Great Zhou.
"Cultural and ideological assimilation is nothing but castles in the air, a pipe dream. The imperial court expended vast sums of money and sacrificed countless lives to seize Xiliang, only to gain nothing and leave the land in ruins. If such a situation were to occur, future generations would learn from it, and no one, from the imperial court to the people, would be willing to expand their territory. Everyone would cling to their existing territories and muddle through. That would be just another example of the rise and fall of a dynasty."
"Can splitting the land and becoming king avoid this situation?"
Gu Jiu laughed. "Sending officials, the land belongs to the court, the taxes belong to the court, and the people belong to the court. Who would bother to travel thousands of miles to Xiliang to manage the country for the court? Of course, they will squeeze as much as they can. After all, the emperor is far away and the people are suffering. So what if they can't make a living?
To be crowned a king means owning your own territory, your own people, and your own taxes. Their dedication is unmatched by that of a mere official. Even if Xiliang were to break away from the Great Zhou, everyone would still share the same language, culture, and ideology. Dynasties may fall, but culture can be passed down from generation to generation.
Sharing the same language and ethnicity, long periods of separation will inevitably lead to reunion, and long periods of reunion will inevitably lead to separation. Who can be sure that a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, this place and Xiliang, thousands of miles away, will not be the same country? Even if we cannot be the same country, as long as our culture and beliefs dominate the world, what a proud thing it is. And what a wonderful thing it is to be able to communicate seamlessly in any corner of the world, using the same writing and language.
Taoist Xuanqing, who was pure-hearted and had few desires, was moved for the first time by someone's words.
Dynasties may perish, but cultural beliefs will not.
What a noble character it is to spread the seeds of cultural belief throughout the world.
He suppressed his inner excitement. "Others plan for a lifetime, for a family and a surname. Your Majesty plans for eternity, for thousands of families and surnames, for thousands of generations to come. Your Majesty has a long-term vision, which I cannot match. Since Your Majesty thinks highly of me, I will accept this important task and travel to Xiliang for you."
"Very good!" Gu Jiu's eyebrows curved and he smiled happily.
Bai Zhong took out another wooden box and placed it on the table.
Taoist Xuanqing was suspicious, "What is this?"
Gu Jiu personally opened the wooden box and took out the manuscript inside. "This is the revised outline of the sutra that I prepared for you. You still need to fill in the details."
The excitement was instantly cooled down as if a bucket of cold water was poured on me.
Taoist Priest Xuanqing returned to his calm demeanor, "Your Majesty, you are so thoughtful."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "I know that the Taoist priest is dissatisfied with this. However, Xiliang's living habits, climate, and folk customs are completely different from those of the Great Zhou. Without modifying the scriptures, it will be impossible to promote them, and the goal of assimilating their thoughts and culture will not be achieved."
Even though Taoist Xuanqing was dissatisfied, he still reluctantly accepted the outline of the scriptures.
"Once I get to Xiliang, I'll observe the local customs and habits, and then fill in the gaps in the content."
"It's natural."
Gu Jiu smiled, the change in the meaning of the scriptures seemed to be just a trivial matter.
She continued, "I will write to King Anxi and ask him to facilitate this for you. I will also remind King Anxi to encourage single soldiers to marry local young women and establish friendships between the two ethnic groups. This will help them integrate into the local community more quickly and be accepted by the local people. We will also establish free schools to spread cultural ideas from a young age."
Taoist Priest Xuanqing asked, "Now that the King of Anxi has become the local emperor, will he listen to the Empress's advice?"
Gu Jiu nodded and said affirmatively, "If he wants the Pei family to last for generations and take root in Xiliang, he will definitely accept my advice. Every suggestion I make is beneficial to King Anxi's rule over Xiliang. Ten years from now, when this generation of Northwest Army grows old and new blood is added to the army, how can we ensure the army's purity and loyalty?
We can only rely on education from childhood, intermarriage between the two ethnic groups, and the efforts of your Taoist and Buddhist sects. The task is arduous and the road is long. I am afraid that I will not be able to return for ten or twenty years after going to Xiliang. I will offer you a cup of tea instead of wine."
Gu Jiu picked up the teacup with sincerity.
"Your Majesty, you're welcome!"
Taoist Priest Xuanqing felt somewhat at a loss for the first time.
Gu Jiu drank the tea in his cup in one gulp. "This place is quiet and peaceful, a good place for spiritual practice. Xiliang is very windy and sandy, and you will have no more free time after you leave. Thank you for your hard work!"
Taoist Xuanqing quickly calmed down, "If your Majesty really cared about me, you shouldn't force me to go to the barren land of Xiliang."
Gu Jiu laughed heartily. "You, an old Taoist priest, haven't left the mountain gate for over ten years. It's time to go out for a walk and loosen up your muscles. Spread your Taoist philosophy to the Western Regions and let the people of the Western Regions bathe in the emperor's grace."
Taoist Xuanqing was delighted when he heard this!
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