Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 87: The Northern and Southern Heavenly Masters
Gao Huan interrupted and said, "We in the Six Garrisons send messages to Luoyang through messengers like me. Is it the same in the south?"

Liu Bozhi nodded and said, "It is the same in the southern states. They use letters to convey urgent military information."

Gao Huan immediately said, "That's easy. All of us messengers have to deliver things to the Taiwei Mansion and hand them over to the special clerk. The one who is in charge of me is Zhang Lingshi from the Taiwei Mansion. If that Zhang Zhongyu really sent the Five Stones Powder via messengers, there must be messengers involved, right?"

Su Ze was somewhat moved when he heard Gao Huan say this. Gao Huan was whipped at that time because he pestered Zhang Lingshi of the Taiwei Mansion to buy hunting animals. Now he volunteered to help, which was enough to show Gao Huan's loyalty.

Throughout history, those who have accomplished great things would have found it difficult to gain the loyal following of their subordinates if they did not have some personal appeal.

Su Ze thought about it and said, "It is better not to bother Brother He Liuhun with this matter. Last time, in order to help me buy hunting beasts, you, He Liuhun, have already offended Zhang Lingshi. If there is really a messenger involved in the transportation of Wushisan, it is also a secret matter of the Taiwei Mansion."

But Gao Huan said optimistically: "Zhang Lingshi has always treated me well. I am afraid that I violated his taboo last time. This time I will bring gifts to apologize. He may be able to tell me some news."

Gao Huan was afraid that Su Ze would not believe him, so he quickly added: "Brother Su, you don't know that I have some friendship with the young lady from Zhang Lingshi's family."

After hearing this, Su Ze believed it. He was indeed a congenital male succubus. No wonder Zhang Lingshi found such a far-fetched reason to beat him up.

Liu Bozhi said, "I will go and inquire about the situation of the Southern Heavenly Master Dao."
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Liu Bozhi returned to the Qinghe Palace. After dark, he climbed into the small courtyard deep in the palace.

"Old Master."

The old man's voice came from the room: "Didn't I tell you last time not to come to me again?"

Liu Bozhi hurriedly said: "Old Heavenly Master, the Five Stones Powder of the Southern Heavenly Master Dao appeared in Luoyang."

After hearing about "Nantianshidao" and "Wushisan", the old man was silent for a moment and said, "You tell me now."

Liu Bozhi once again recounted the story of the night banquet at Zhang Zhongyu's house, and the old man then said:
"From what you said, it is indeed the Five Stones Powder from the Southern Dynasty."

"Master Kou once studied the Five Stones Powder of the Southern Dynasty. After taking the powder, you need to drink fine wine to disperse it. The best wine is the Tusu wine of the Southern Dynasty. When you first take it, you will feel like you are falling into the clouds, but after taking it for a long time, you will become addicted. You will not want to eat or drink, but just want to take the powder and have fun."

"People who take the powder for a long time will have very sensitive skin. Huan Wen, a powerful official in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, did not like to wear new clothes because he took the powder for a long time."

"When Emperor Taiwu was in power, Master Kou once told him about the disadvantages of taking Wu Shi San. Emperor Taiwu issued a ban, not allowing the court to take Wu Shi San. When Emperor Xiaowen was in power, he reiterated the ban and destroyed all the prescriptions for Wu Shi San in Luoyang."

"But the South has never banned it. But I have heard of Tao Hongjing before. He is the most proud disciple of the Southern Heavenly Master Lu Xiujing. He is also good at medicine and alchemy, and is very famous in the Southern Dynasty."

"It's just that he doesn't agree with the contemporary Southern Heavenly Master Dao, so he lives in seclusion in Mount Mao in Jurong and establishes a sect, focusing on the Shangqing Fa."

"The Lord of Liang often gave him things for alchemy and often sent people to ask him about state affairs. He was known as the 'Prime Minister in the Mountains'."

Liu Bozhi finally understood what kind of person Tao Hongjing was. He asked, "It's impossible for a person like Tao Hongjing to refine the Five Stones Powder, right?"

The old man said: "That's right. It is said that Tao Hongjing was obsessed with Master Kou's art of making medicine and gold. Lord Liang also sent people to the north to search for him but to no avail." Liu Bozhi was shocked. "Medicine and gold" again?
The controversy over Prince Qinghe's medicine gold has not yet subsided. Although Prince Qinghe can enter and leave the palace, he still stays in the mansion to compile "Xianzhonglu". In the final analysis, it is all because of this medicine gold technique.

Tao Hongjing was seeking the secret recipe for refining elixir, and now the Wu Shi San, which was nominally made by him, was transported to Luoyang.

Liu Bozhi felt that the matter was complicated and confusing, and his head was like a mess.

He could only write down all the information. Unconsciously, he had placed Su Ze in a core position. Whenever he had a problem he couldn't figure out, he would go to Su Ze for solutions.

The old man said, "This Southern Heavenly Master Dao is different from the Heavenly Master Dao established by Master Kou. Master Kou opposed the false laws of the Three Zhangs, especially the Daoist official system established by Zhang Lu in Hanzhong. However, the Southern Heavenly Master Dao attaches great importance to Daoist officials. Daoist officials must participate in all matters concerning believers. Daoist officials must also compile registers and collect Daoist taxes."

"If you encounter people from the Southern Dao, they especially like to form associations and are good at acting in secret, so you must be careful."

Liu Bozhi nodded quickly. The role of Taoist officials in Taoist organizations is the biggest difference between the Northern and Southern Tianshi Dao.

Kou Qianzhi chose to "abandon his own martial arts" and gave up the Taoist official system that had existed since the founding of Taoism, and transformed the Northern Tianshi Dao into a purely religious organization.

However, the Southern School insisted on the "Taoist official-centered" system and wanted to establish a Taoist "kingdom on earth" just like Zhang Lu who ruled Hanzhong during the Three Kingdoms period.

Therefore, compared with the fragmented Northern Tianshi Dao, the Southern Tianshi Dao was more tightly organized and more likely to arouse the rulers' fear.
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Su Ze opened the map. Sikong Zhang's mansion was a red area on the map. Its danger level was similar to that of the maps of the mansions of most important officials of the court.

You should know that the Zhang family is a big family in Hedong. Zhang Yi's grandfather Zhang Xing brought several thousand households to Jizhou, and in less than 30 years, the family had grown to tens of thousands of households.

Therefore, these Han Chinese Jia families sometimes look down on the noble families of other nations, and even some of the distant relatives, and are unwilling to marry into their families with them.

Top-notch families like the Zhang family, which have been cultivating a state for many years, have generations of loyal soldiers in the family, as well as "house servants" who are ready to take up arms and fight at any time.

This is also what makes Su Ze confused about the history books. Zhang Yi is not from a poor family, but a senior official of a top-notch family. The so-called elite Yulin may not be able to defeat the "house servants" of Zhang's mansion.

Even if the Yulin army was outnumbered and could not defeat the enemy, the servants of Zhang's mansion could just hold out. The Yulin Rebellion was a violent protest, not a rebellion. Many of the Yulin army did not even bring weapons, so it should have been impossible for them to capture Zhang's mansion.

Fortunately, Zhang Zhongyu had a bad relationship with his family, and in order to make it easier for him to entertain guests, a villa was built on the side of Zhang's mansion, which was where Liu Bozhi attended the banquet.

The defense of the villa is much more lax than that of Zhang's residence. Although it is still red on the map, it already displays "Challenge Level: 35".

This level is only slightly higher than the Mahayana stronghold of Longhua Temple. Su Ze directly placed the chess piece representing Su Bai on it and let Su Bai, the egret messenger, sneak into the villa for reconnaissance.

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(End of this chapter)