Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 376, The Celestial Master Enters the Capital

After leaving the palace, Wu Yuan quickly spread the news that Fang Yong was preparing to establish a royal court office.

This step was to test the officials' attitudes and force them to take sides.

There was no option to wait and see; the only choices were to seek refuge or refuse to seek refuge.

After the news spread, the officials were very pleased.

The ministers of the six ministries, the censors of the central government, and the dukes, marquises, and nobles all undoubtedly pledged their allegiance to him.

Some people, concerned about their reputation and holding positions in the court, couldn't be too blatant. So they secretly came to Wu Yuan's residence at night, expressed their loyalty to Fang Yong, and added a name to the official list.

Some people are utterly shameless. They hold positions in the imperial court, such as Minister of the Six Ministries, yet they fawn over the emperor and choose to surrender directly, announcing their resignation from their official posts to become minor officials in the prince's palace.

After some probing, Wu Yuan discovered that almost none of the ministers in the court were loyal to Emperor Longqing anymore.

Only a very small number of officials made a different choice.

Some older officials, perhaps because they were about to retire and concerned about their reputation, did not choose to take sides. Others were relatives of the Longqing Emperor, such as Wu Feng, who was mentioned earlier, and did not choose to take sides.

Yu Lian should have been one of these people, but Fang Yong sent Yu Lian to Kailuan to run a coal mine two years ago, and then transferred him to Shaanxi to build an irrigation canal around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Therefore, Yu Lian was not in the capital and could not participate in this matter.

This old man was a traditional Confucian official, loyal to the emperor but also compassionate towards the people. He was unwilling to submit to Fang Yong, but he was willing to work for the people. Therefore, adhering to the principle of using him to the death, Fang Yong sent him all over the country.

Among the remaining people, there were basically no candidates to lead them.

Those powerful figures were all killed in the previous Blood Edict incident. The remaining people are basically powerless and cannot play any role. They can be wiped out with any excuse.

Wu Yuan reported these findings to Fang Yong.

Fang Yong told Wu Yuan that he would be making a southern tour in a while to check on the specific situation of the various places in the south that had submitted. He said that once he left, the Longqing Emperor would definitely be eager to make a move.

However, with Li Ni leading the Imperial Guards to guard him, the Longqing Emperor had no chance to resist.

He would deliberately let Li Ni turn a blind eye, giving Emperor Longqing the opportunity to make external contacts, and then wipe out all the people involved in one fell swoop.

Wu Yuan was overjoyed and said he would definitely cooperate with Li Ni's work.

Another half month passed, and Zhang Yingshun, the Celestial Master from Jiangxi, arrived in the capital with his son Zhang Zhidao to meet Fang Yong.

Fang Yong met this so-called Celestial Master.

Zhang Yingshun is sixty-five years old this year. His hair is gray, he wears a purple and gold lotus crown and a Taoist robe. He is full of energy and spirit, and his behavior is well-mannered and his etiquette is excellent.

He was the ordained Celestial Master of the Great Xi Dynasty, enjoying the honors and privileges of a third-class noble title.

Like the Confucius family in Qufu, Longhu Mountain is also a colossal site with a history spanning thousands of years.

From Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han Dynasty until now, for about 1,800 years, the family has been second only to the Confucius family, firmly holding the position of the second largest family in China.

However, compared to the Kong family, which controlled Confucian classics and whose disciples were spread all over the world, the Zhang family, which focused on Taoist cultivation, had much less influence, and Jiangxi was far less prosperous than Shandong.

Therefore, throughout history, the Kong family was often active on the political stage, sometimes being suspected by those in power, sometimes receiving their favor, but the Zhang family was often not well-known.

However, this is only relative.

In Jiangxi, the Zhang family's power should not be underestimated.

The Zhang family, with their numerous Taoist temples and famous mountains across the land, were treated as honored guests by high-ranking officials and nobles. Their members were found in all walks of life, possessing an extremely wide network of connections. If Zhang Yingshun had led the rebellion against Fang Yong in the name of the Celestial Master, the recapture of Jiangxi would not have been so smooth. Of course, if Fang Yong's actions were hindered, the Zhang family, this scapegoat, would inevitably be destroyed in Fang Yong's wrath. Given the Zhang family's thousand-year-old lineage, it was clearly impossible for them to do so.

The Kong family has a history of submitting to the emperor, and the Zhang family has received investiture from successive dynasties; the essence of their development is basically the same.

Fang Yong didn't have much affection for this Taoist master.

Expelling Buddhists and suppressing Taoists was a national policy formulated by Fang Yong. Monks who did not engage in production needed to be reformed, and the same applied to Taoists. He could not allow these theocrats to interfere with the policies and rule he had formulated.

However, to Fang Yong's surprise, this Master Zhang's bottom line was unexpectedly flexible.

After Zhang Yingshun bowed to Fang Yong, he took an ancient book from his son behind him and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the teaching passed down by our ancestral master, the foundation of our Celestial Masters Taoism. However, after a thousand years of wear and tear, there are many omissions and deficiencies, making it difficult to complete. I have heard that Your Majesty is a divine being descended to earth, the Great God of Agriculture who controls rain, and ranked among the True Lords who bless the thick earth. I humbly request Your Majesty to complete the teachings passed down by our ancestral master. The Zhang family of Longhu Mountain will be eternally grateful!"

Fang Yong took the ancient book from the waiter, opened it, and found it to be a blank book. He couldn't help but smile.

This Master Zhang is much more sensible than those monks at Huguo Temple.

In this way, Fang Yong could freely alter the doctrines of Taoism, and these Taoist priests could help him promote certain policies. They would not be obstacles, but rather become aids in the implementation of Fang Yong's policies.

On this day, Fang Yong and Zhang Yingshun had a very pleasant conversation.

Zhang Yingshun agreed to hand over the land that the Zhang family had acquired in Jiangxi, leaving only 5,000 mu around Longhu Mountain for his own use.

The Zhang family is large and sensible, so leaving them 5,000 mu of land is not an unreasonable request. Fang Yong not only had no complaints, but also praised them.

In addition, Zhang Yingshun also gave Fang Yong a map of Jiangxi Province.

This is a very large map, which includes detailed information about the mountains, rivers, land, resources, minerals, population distribution, the distribution of powerful families and landlords, and officials from various factions in Shanxi.

The Zhang family has been deeply rooted in Jiangxi for thousands of years and knows this land like the back of their hand. With this map, Fang Yong's takeover of Jiangxi will be much smoother.

The Zhang family offered their pledge of loyalty, and Fang Yong naturally wouldn't be stingy with his.

Fang Yong stated that he plans to establish an official system to manage Buddhism and Taoism throughout the world, clearly distinguishing the ranks of monks and Taoist priests, including the construction specifications of temples and Taoist monasteries, the number of monks and Taoist priests they can accommodate, and the incense offerings they receive.

In this way, both Buddhism and Taoism can be controlled, which would benefit the country and its people.

As the first to join them, Zhang Tianshi will become the first "head of the three religions" and take charge of all religions in the world.

Zhang Yingshun felt somewhat apprehensive after learning of Fang Yong's idea.

This change was too drastic. Although all dynasties had exercised control over monks and Taoists, none had ever been as thorough as Fang Yong's. He could already imagine the amount of resistance that would be provoked after the policy was promulgated.

But isn't this also an opportunity? Thinking about Fang Yong's current strength and that elusive yet real destiny, Zhang Yingshun felt relieved.

The number of monks and Taoists who were captured is said to be close to 100,000. They keep saying that they want to resist the Fang traitors and that the Fang traitors will suffer retribution, but they have been obediently working on the grasslands for almost two years.

And what about Fang Yong?

He didn't see any so-called retribution; all he saw was the joy of the autumn harvest on the faces of the people on the way there, with the wheat as tall as a person, plump grains, and the aroma of wheat filling the air.

Ah, with such a harvest, what can we use to fight back?

Three days later, at the grand court assembly, Fang Yong promulgated the national religious management system.

(End of this chapter)