Pawn Crossing the River

The street in front of the Taiping Inn has been put under martial law, and the people in black from the Nanting Protectorate are in charge of it.

You can clearly see that the streets are lined with heavily armed men in black. Black armor and black face shields form two long black walls.

The entire Lion City is in turmoil. Who are they trying to arrest?

Chief Qi and Chief Zhang are not in Lion City. Could it be that they are arresting the old Taoist priest?

Qi Xuansu's motorcade slowly drove into the street in front of Taiping Inn.

The men in black on both sides of the street saluted uniformly, and the sound of armor was heard.

The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs.

In order for people to unite together, in addition to external threats, they also need some illusory concepts. Therefore, some meanings and a sense of ritual must be attached to some things to materialize these concepts and make people feel that these things are solemn. of.

Military affairs are to deal with external threats, and sacrifices are to correspond to these concepts.

Some people are cynical and flout the rules of etiquette, essentially deconstructing these concepts. Perhaps in their view, etiquette is just a trick to fool men and women. They think they have seen it all, and as long as they understand the concepts, they don't need to follow the rules.

This is actually a kind of arrogance. They have seen through it, but it does not mean that most people have seen through it. Talking about concepts directly is too vague and confusing, and it still needs to be embodied through specific rituals.

Therefore, the great masters of the Five Dynasties strictly prohibited this kind of deconstruction behavior to wipe out the cynicism of Taoist priests. Whoever wants to be cynical should just hand over the power and retire honestly.

This sets a tone that the Taoist sect must follow rules and be serious.

But this kind of ceremony will inevitably deteriorate and become a pomp.

Soon, Qi Xuansu's car stopped at the entrance of Taiping Inn, and people got out of the car one after another.

Qi Xuansu was walking in the middle, with Lin Yuanmiao on the left, a second-grade Taiyi Taoist who could not be fake, and Jiayin Lingguan on the right, a real first-grade Lingguan.

Anyone who sees it will be impressed by how grand it is. Even the real person in charge of the palace does not have such a formation when traveling.

At this time, a square formation of men in black stood in the courtyard of Taiping Inn. Seeing this scene, everyone was awe-inspiring.

The leading general in black shouted loudly: "Salute!"

All the men in black raised their spears.

Qi Xuansu looked calm and strode into the lobby of Taiping Inn, where the Protector was waiting.

After the two of them greeted each other, the Protector didn't waste any time and went straight to the point: "Mr. Jin has arrived."

Although Patriarch Jin Gong's surname is Lu, people still call him Mr. Jin or Mr. Jin. Perhaps only people of his generation like Mr. Lan Da still remember that Jin Gong’s surname was Lu.

Qi Xuansu said "Thank you" and walked inside.

Da Duhu, Lin Yuanmiao, and Jiayin Lingguan stayed outside.

This was the first time Qi Xuansu saw Patriarch Jin Gong face to face. In the past, he only saw Patriarch Jin Gong take action, but could only see a pair of divine palms, but not his true appearance.

There was only a coffee table and two chairs facing each other across the coffee table.

An old man is already sitting on one of the chairs. He is influenced by Western learning. He wears an Eastern crane cloak but uses a Western pipe. He has the jade pendant of an Eastern gentleman hanging around his waist. He also wears a Western gentleman's pocket watch on his chest. A pair of sunglasses made from fine black crystals.

Qi Xuansu finally knew who Wu Guangbi learned that outfit from, but Wu Guangbi developed on this basis.

The old man was puffing away smoke when he saw Qi Xuansu come in. He stood up, held the pipe in his left hand, and said, "Master Qi, I have long admired you." He extended his right hand to Qi Xuansu.

"Senior Lu, it's my turn to say this." Qi Xuansu shook hands with Patriarch Jin Gong, and then they sat down separately.

After Grandmaster Jin Gong sat down, he raised the pipe in his hand and said, "Do you mind?"

Qi Xuansu said: "Qi Niang is good at this. She has long been used to it and doesn't mind."

Patriarch Jin Gong nodded and continued to smoke: "Everyone has called me Mr. Jin over the years. Master Qi actually knows that my surname is Lu, which is rare."

Qi Xuansu asked: "Senior, was he also a member of the Taoist sect before?"

Patriarch Jin Gong said: "It used to be."

Qi Xuansu asked: "Why didn't it happen later?"

Patriarch Jin Gong answered the question: "Zhenren Qi's battle array is so big that half of the Lion City is under martial law."

Qi Xuansu smiled and said, "It's Patriarch Jin Gong who has a great reputation. The people below are worried that something will happen to me. They are afraid of taking responsibility, so they take matters into their own hands."

"Master Qi is honored." Patriarch Jin Gong held his pipe in his mouth and grinned, his voice a little vague, "When I was young, I also met a great master Shenzhi. At that time, I made up my mind to be a man. So it is.”

Qi Xuansu was not in a hurry to get to the point and continued: "In this case, the senior should stay in the Taoist sect. With the senior's ability, it is not difficult to know the real person, not to mention the real person Zhang Zhang."

Patriarch Jin Gong took off his pipe and blew out a puff of white mist: "Master Qi promoted me. If it is so easy, why is Mr. Zhou not Master Pingzhang? The person named Lu is already dead in the Taoist sect's roster."

Qi Xuansu's heart moved: "Historical question? Dare I ask who my predecessor studied under?"

The old man did not answer directly: "A person who is unlucky and in the wrong team. Otherwise, I would not have left Yujing and traveled far away."

Qi Xuansu adjusted his sitting posture slightly: "I would like to hear the details."

Patriarch Jin Gong's eyelids slightly drooped: "Zhenren Qi should know that the Fifth Dynasty Grand Master once deposed the three deputy headmasters, and then supported the three new deputy headmasters, which are the three who are now calling the shots on the stage. Master. When new people come to power, they must use their own people to suppress the old people. Even if the newly appointed deputy head master Da Zhenren is not willing to do this, the fifth generation chief head will force them to do so. Otherwise, the replacement of the fifth generation chief head will be difficult. It makes no sense. The family master is the confidant of the previous national master, so he will naturally be involved. As the saying goes, one will be prosperous and one will suffer, so how can I escape? "

Qi Xuansu said: "As far as I know, Patriarch Jin Gong has a very good relationship with the Imperial Master."

"These are all things that happened later. To be precise, they happened after I became successful." Patriarch Jin Gong said calmly, "The good relationship now does not mean that the relationship was good before, nor does it mean that the relationship will be good in the future. Moreover, the family teachers are from the fifth generation. The newly appointed National Master did not dare to confront the people directly named by the Grand Master. In fact, until the death of the Fifth Generation Grand Master, the three masters who now control the situation were all obedient. "

Qi Xuansu said: "But the senior was just a young man at that time, so he wouldn't be involved in this."

Patriarch Jin Gong smiled: "Let me put it bluntly, Master Qi is also a young man. If Master Donghua falls, will there still be room for Master Qi in the Taoist sect?"

At this point, Patriarch Jin Gong laughed at himself: "Master Qi, are you probably tired of hearing this? It's all about old sesame seeds and rotten millet. There's really nothing to say. After all, I'm a figure from the old days, so I can't compare with you young and handsome people. ”

Qi Xuansu shook his head and said, "I'm not bothered."

Patriarch Jin Gong smiled slightly: "Since Master Qi is not bothered, I will say more. People's ideas are basically finalized in their prime years. Unless they encounter a big change, it is difficult to change. When I was young, I Yujing has met many important people, and even met the five great masters of the Five Dynasties. In addition, I have a good background and a distinguished teacher, so I have a strong idea of ​​"acting like a real man". Since it cannot be realized within the Taoist sect, I have no choice but to I went to look for it outside the gate."

Qi Xuansu asked: "What did the seniors do after they came to Nanyang?"

The old man wrote lightly: "It's just a struggle and a narrow escape from death. It's not good to compare with a decent person like Zhenren Qi."

Qi Xuansu said: "It's just eight words. It's easy to say, but how difficult is it to do?"

The old man gently stroked his pipe, "It's not difficult to say, it's not easy to say, time is fate. At that time, the Nanyang United Mutual Aid Association had been reorganized into the Nanyang United Trading Company. The Wang family, as the old branch of the fifth-generation master, was also a new upstart in the Taoist sect, and was rising. It has not yet fully risen, and it is far from being able to control Nanyang. The Taoist government also has many problems. It is not as mature and stable as it is now. At that time, the whole of Nanyang was in chaos and pirates were rampant. Many people hoped for an orderly market, but apart from me, No one has this ability.”

Qi Xuansu said: "In this way, the younger generations like me will still benefit from the market rectification of our predecessors."

"I don't dare, I don't dare." Patriarch Jin Gong's attitude was very humble, "Every generation has its own responsibilities, and new people always have to replace the old ones."

Qi Xuansu sat up straight: "Senior, let's talk about business."

Patriarch Jin Gong nodded slightly: "Okay, let's talk about this difficult matter."

Qi Xuansu said: "The nature of this matter is very bad..."

Patriarch Jin Gong interrupted Qi Xuansu: "We are willing to compensate Qi Zhenren for all his losses, including mental ones, whether he was frightened or frightened."

Qi Xuansu said: "It's too straightforward."

Patriarch Jin Gong blew out smoke, and then the smoke turned into the character "二" on its own.

"How?" Patriarch Jin Gong put the pipe back into his mouth.

Two million peace money.

To be fair, this is not a small amount.

Back then, Master Gao offered Qi Xuansu 200,000 Taiping coins. Now, Patriarch Jin Gong offered Qi Xuansu 2 million Taiping coins, which was a full tenfold increase, which meant that Qi Xuansu's status had also increased at least tenfold.

Qi Xuansu was unmoved: "I'm afraid this is not a matter of money."

Patriarch Jin Gong did not speak, but the smoke changed again and turned into the character "三".

Qi Xuansu emphasized slightly: "I said, this is not about money."

Patriarch Jin Gong said: "When Emperor Bai lived in Qizhou, he was greedy for money and goods and loved beautiful concubines. Now that he has entered the pass, he has nothing to gain and women have no luck. This is because his ambition is not small. Qi Zhenren has great ambitions now, and naturally he has no wealth. So these things are not for Mr. Qi, but for Nanyang United Trading Company. Tianting will fully cooperate with Nanyang United Trading Company in its various business operations."

Qi Xuansu still didn't speak.

Patriarch Jin Gong took a deep breath: "In view of Wu Guangbi's involvement in this matter, I will let Wu Guangbi rest for a while, Quan will think about his fault in front of the wall, and Liu Gui will be responsible for the affairs of the 'Tianting' and formally inform all parties." ”