Deyang Palace.
After Liu Hong and Xi Zhicai established the general policy for promoting education in the future, they then discussed the specific details in detail.
"Your Majesty, I believe that if the Taiping Sect's schools are able to gain a foothold this time, we should check and balance them as soon as possible afterward, and not let them grow too powerful!"
In my opinion, Taoism should only serve a pacifying purpose; it must never be allowed to overstep its bounds and become a tool of rule!
Having said that, Xi Zhicai looked at Liu Hong with a firm expression.
Xi Zhicai was always wary of Taoism, so he didn't mind using the tactic of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.
"Hmm, Zhicai's suggestion is good. It's best to keep education in our own hands! We need to clarify who to teach, how to teach them, and what to teach them!"
Liu Hong also agreed with Xi Zhicai's suggestion.
Liu Hong didn't care whether religion would affect royal power. The reason why the Western church was able to suppress royal power was because the church had mastered the powerful weapon of knowledge and writing.
The Western church controlled knowledge and public opinion, so the monarchy had to suppress it in order to maintain its rule.
However, China is fundamentally different from the West. When Christianity was just emerging in the West, China produced the First Emperor, who standardized writing and weights and measures, buried alive sorcerers and magicians, and firmly grasped the spread of knowledge, culture, and ideas in the hands of the monarchy.
This is why, for thousands of years, China has never had a proper religion.
It can be said that the First Emperor forged two Great Walls for China: one is the one that everyone knows, and the other is the one that is spiritual and ideological.
This is why, no matter how prosperous Buddhism and Taoism became later, they were quickly suppressed.
For example, during the infamous Three Wu Emperors' persecution of Buddhism, how terrifying was Buddhism at that time? It controlled almost half of the population and land, yet it was still wiped out in no time.
In the West, this country would probably be finished immediately, but in China, it didn't even cause a ripple.
The reason is that the Chinese people are protected by that spiritual Great Wall.
Therefore, there is absolutely no controversy that the First Emperor is called the greatest emperor of all time.
Moreover, with the advent of ink, paper, and printing, the speed of cultural dissemination has accelerated, and religion could not have risen to prominence without the support of royal power.
From beginning to end, Liu Hong has only used the Taiping Sect as a tool in his hands, such as this promotion and education campaign.
Subsequently, Liu Hong and Xi Zhicai discussed the Daoist Academy and initially stipulated the future teaching content and personnel restrictions for the Daoist Academy.
At noon, Jian Shuo led Zhang Jiao to the outside of Deyang Palace.
Upon seeing Jian Shuo walking quickly towards them, Liu Hong and Xi Zhicai also stopped talking.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Jiao of the Taiping Sect is waiting for an audience outside the palace!"
"pass!"
"promise!!"
Soon, Zhang Jiao followed Jian Shuo into the Deyang Palace.
"Zhang Jiao, at the head of the table, pays his respects to Your Majesty!!"
"Get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After bowing, Zhang Jiao stood there with his head bowed and a look of awe on his face, waiting for Liu Hong to give him instructions.
Liu Hong nodded slightly at Zhang Jiao's expression, then asked:
"How is the Taiping Religion developing these days?"
"Your Majesty, the Taiping Sect currently has five hundred disciples, including one hundred core disciples, one hundred preaching disciples, and three hundred protecting disciples!"
There are approximately 50,000 outer disciples and lay believers in total.
Zhang Jiao also respectfully explained to Liu Hong the current scale and overall structure of the Taiping Sect.
"Hmm~, what are those protective disciples for?"
After hearing Zhang Jiao's explanation, Liu Hong feigned curiosity and asked a question.
"In response to Your Majesty, those disciples who protect the Way are the most loyal believers. They were established to uphold the glory of our Lord and to punish and judge heretical doctrines!"
"Heh~ So, the incident a few days ago where the monks of Baima Temple were beaten was done by those disciples who were protecting the monks?"
Upon hearing Zhang Jiao's introduction, Liu Hong couldn't help but chuckle.
Although Zhang Jiao sounds nice, in layman's terms he was a henchman in Taoist philosophy.
When faced with people who are eloquent but stubborn, if you can't win an argument with them, you have to resort to force. This is similar to winning people over with virtue.
"Yes, Your Majesty!!"
Faced with the emperor's question, Zhang Jiao did not hesitate and directly chose to admit it.
"Alright!! But... try not to fight in the city in the future, and especially don't go to people's temples to cause trouble, understand?"
Liu Hong shook his head helplessly at Zhang Jiao's quick admission, and then gave him some advice.
Zhang Jiao quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I understand. Please rest assured, we will not fight them within the city anymore..."
In Zhang Jiao's understanding, Liu Hong's words meant that since they couldn't take action inside the city, they could only do so outside.
"Fine, whatever you want!"
Liu Hong didn't bother with Zhang Jiao's behavior and then asked:
"I've heard that the princess of Gaochang has been staying with you recently?"
Zhang Jiao nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Hmm, how is she?"
"She has now been taken as my core disciple. She strongly agrees with the doctrines of the Taiping Sect and has also done considerable research on Taoist practices..."
Zhang Jiao then explained the situation of Lan Zhi to Liu Hong in detail.
"Hmm, not bad!"
Liu Hong nodded, then asked:
"What do you think of this Lan Zhi? Is she capable of shouldering the important task of missionary work?"
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