Pawn Crossing the River

Whether a person is good or bad has some relationship with one's origin, but it has no direct relationship.

Li Minghuang was born into a poor family, which does not affect him as a bad person, and Zhang Yuelu was born into a wealthy family, but it does not affect her as a good person.

Qi Xuansu once read a story with quite a moral.

It is said that two sheep are discussing the future direction.

A sheep thinks that it should go to a place with abundant water and grass, where there is more food and more lambs can be born.

Another sheep believed that places with abundant water and grass would also attract other ferocious beasts, which would be more dangerous. Going to a relatively barren but safer place would ensure the survival of more lambs.

In the end, they didn’t go anywhere. Instead, they all went to the slaughterhouse and became meat on the chopping block.

Why are predictions wrong? Is the logic wrong? No. It is they who have misjudged their relationship with decision-makers.

They mistakenly think that the relationship between themselves and the decision-makers is that of sheep and leader, but in fact it is the relationship of sheep and shepherd.

The leader is responsible for the flock, and the shepherd is responsible only for his own interests.

If you get the relationship wrong, you will inevitably get the ultimate goal of the core interest group wrong.

Therefore, Zhang Yuelu is a good person. Her goodness lies not in how she delivers justice, but in the fact that she puts herself in the position of the leader and always thinks about the future of the sheep, rather than putting herself in the position of the shepherd and thinking about the future of the sheep. The so-called overall situation.

But it's hard to say for others. There are only a few people in Taoism who regard themselves as shepherds.

As for Qi Xuansu, he has been wavering.

The selfish desires of human nature drove him to be a shepherd and achieve eternal greatness, regardless of the life and death of the people. However, factors such as the principles of his predecessors, Zhang Yuelu's influence, moral discipline, and his own conscience kept telling him that he should be a leader, put Taoism first, and think of the common people.

So Qi Xuansu always thinks that it would be best if he could look at both sides of the dilemma.

There is peace in the world, both ways can be achieved, and I will live up to the Tathagata and live up to you.

But there is no such thing as a good thing in the world.

Qi Xuansu thought about it, but there was still no way to get the best of both worlds, so he could only waver.

This shows that on the one hand, Qi Xuansu is becoming more and more like a big man who is obsessed with power in the traditional sense, and on the other hand, he advocates moral construction and wants to change Taoism. The whole person seems to be separated and contradictory.

Being poor cares themselves, being wealthy cares the world.

At this point, you can either be a free and unhurried immortal, don't get involved in these things, and naturally do everything as you please. Since you want to be a great leader, you can no longer say that you just want to take good care of your family. You must have the world in mind, otherwise your virtue will not match yours.

In fact, Qi Xuansu's change in thought can be seen from his attitude towards the law.

At the beginning, Qi Xuansu was still very innocent. Although he often did things that broke the law, such as killing Wan Xiuwu, he still respected the law in his heart and struggled with the so-called procedural justice.

Gradually, Qi Xuansu lost his respect for the law and realized that the law was just a rule set by the upper-level rulers, not a great law.

Then Qi Xuansu started to abide by the law. This was a bit strange. Why did he start to abide by the law when he was not reverent? Because Qi Xuansu gradually found the "thread" in the game and began to learn how not to foul and how to play within the rules to save his life.

However, as Qi Xuansu rose to a high position and saw more of the actions of the upper class, his ideas changed again. Is it the person who breaks the law? Or is it against the law? Various facts told Qi Xuansu that the law was not sacred and inviolable. As long as you were willing to pay and could afford the price, you could even choose not to abide by it.

In the end, Qi Xuansu became the real person of Shenzhi and completely understood the true meaning of the law. The law is the embodiment of the will of the ruling class and a tool to maintain rule. The law must be maintained by force, and it has a cost to play its role, so there is cost justice. statement. Strip away appearances such as holiness and solemnity, and its essence is a tool. The role of the law depends on the person who uses the tool.

At this time, we can define "doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times", "things can be done according to scriptures and authority", etc.

Therefore, Qi Xuansu is not superstitious about the power of rules. He never thinks that everything will be fine if Master Donghua becomes the Grand Master, nor does he think that Taiping Dao will be ready to die if the Grand Master gives an order.

At this moment, what he was most worried about was that Master Donghua had a sudden thought and wanted to take advantage of this seemingly perfect opportunity to kill Master Qingwei at the level of rules and laws.

If through normal elections, Master Qingwei is defeated in an upright manner, perhaps Master Qingwei and the Taipingdao behind him will be willing to admit defeat, and at worst, they will make a comeback when the Eighth Generation Master is elected. But if you fall into the trap of Buddhism and want to get it right in one step, thereby breaking the last bit of consensus and tacit understanding, it will be really out of control.

Qi Xuansu paced back and forth, his face darkened, and murmured to himself: "His heart can be killed, his heart can be killed!"

Of course, Zhang Yuelu understood that Qi Xuansu was saying that Buddhism was very cruel, and he had to admit that Buddhism was really good at grasping the essence of party struggle. Party struggle has always been more important than state affairs. If we can take this opportunity to defeat our opponents, What does it mean to be a dead Shenzhi Zhenren? Looking through the dynasties, are there many such things?

But at this time, the two of them had no choice. Because the incident happened suddenly, the Jinque discussion started directly without any foreshadowing. The two of them did not even have time to communicate with their respective masters, so they could only passively wait for the results.

At this time, Jinque's discussion had reached a critical moment. As Qi Xuansu expected, Jinque had indeed unified their opinions and had to counterattack. No one objected. Moreover, Taiping Road was extremely radical and wanted to start a war immediately.

However, the top priority is to determine the candidate to succeed Chen Zhengxian and stabilize the situation in the Western Region Daofu.

Because Wuniang is the new Da Zhenren in charge of the Taoist Government of the Western Regions, her opinions are very important, so she participated in the discussion in place of Shi Da Zhenren, who did not arrive in Yujing.

Before discussing the specific candidates, Master Donghua said something: "Today we are discussing the candidates for the Master of the Taoist Government in the Western Regions. It is different from usual, because the Western Regions are not peaceful. It is not enough to keep the achievements, whether it is a direct war or a clearing out. Being an internal traitor is not an easy matter. If you are entrusted with an unworthy person, it would be a serious irresponsibility for the Taoist sect. Therefore, I hope that Jinque must be cautious before reporting to the rotating master."

Master Cihang cooperated with Master Donghua, and then said: "Master Pei, when the war in the Western Regions started, you were the one who personally led the army. You are more familiar with the situation in the Western Regions. My opinion is that, by You suggest a candidate.”

As soon as these words came out, Master Qingwei was not easy to talk to. Although he had also served as a master in charge of the army, he went to Fenglinzhou. One is in the west and the other is in the east, more than ten thousand miles apart. A desert land and an island in the sea, the geography and humanities are completely different. In addition, the Western Region has always been the territory of Quanzhen Tao, so his say in the Western Region is not comparable to that of Master Donghua.

Master Donghua took advantage of the situation and said: "I have indeed considered the issue of the candidate. To be honest, this candidate is not easy to grasp. If Yujing is compared to the Imperial Capital, Kunlun Daofu is Zhili, then the Western Region Daofu is Liaodong, the gateway to Gyeonggi. . The Western Region is the gate of Yujing. A tiger general should be sent to guard it. A pig or a dog must not be sent. Although the pig's tactic has been used repeatedly, it will lean against the wall when attacked, leaving the enemy helpless. We may even get a bite from our sharp teeth, but this is a defensive method. We are taking the initiative this time, and we must go down the mountain to attack the tiger with one strike. "

Xu Dacheng interjected: "The military affairs have always been in charge of the master. Master Qi is a senior in the Taoist sect and has rich experience. There will be no problems."

Master Donghua said: "That's right. Of course I'm not worried about Master Qi Da, but the troops in the Western Regions cannot do without the support of food and grass. It is the Master of the Taoist Government of the Western Regions who provides the support and allocation of food and grass support, so this candidate is very important."

Master Tang Dazhen said: "My opinion is that we should send someone who is mature and prudent. In my opinion, I will choose one from among the seven generations of disciples."

Master Cihang objected: "That's not necessarily the case. I think we should send a young man, who is young, promising and full of energy. Throughout the ages, those who have made contributions on the battlefield have been mainly young people under the age of fifty. If we say She is mature and prudent, and she already has Master Qi. Let her take charge of the general direction. It is better to choose a young person to mediate the situation, so as not to get too angry. "

Speaking of this, everyone in the meeting knew it well.

Master Cihang rejected the proposal of the seventh-generation disciples, which was to recommend the eighth-generation disciples. After looking at the eight-generation disciples, who is qualified to be the master? Zhang Yuelu? Li Changge? Yao Pei? Or Bai Yingqiong and his ilk? neither.

There is only one person, Qi Xuansu, the son-in-law of Master Cihang and disciple of Master Donghua.

Wu Niang, who had been silent for a long time, finally said: "Zhenren Su's suggestion is good. I think Taiwei Zhenren Qi Tianyuan is more suitable. When we went to the New World, the two of us were partners. We cooperated well and had a tacit understanding. If it were replaced by another real person, , need to be re-adjusted.”

Master Donghua was not in a hurry to express his position, and looked at Master Qingwei: "Master Li, you are Master Taiwei's old boss. During the Fenglinzhou war, he was under your account, and later he went to Beichen Hall to be the chief. It’s your deputy, what do you think?”

Master Qingwei pondered for a moment and said: "Tianyuan participated in the Fenglinzhou War and the North-South War in the New World. He can be considered a knowledgeable soldier. Apart from being too young, he has no other shortcomings."

Master Donghua said directly: "It seems that Master Li and I are on the same page. I think that in addition to Master Taiwei participating in two wars, he is also the chief of Beichen Hall and has rich experience in the secret front. Xidaomen The Hu En Chawen was found out by Master Taiwei. Several great masters of the West Dao Sect and Master Huangfu praised Master Taiwei greatly. This time, the master of the Western Region Taoist House was not only responsible for logistics. It’s simple, and I have to be responsible for cleaning up the traitors within the Western Region Taoist House, so my opinion is that the real person in charge of the Western Region Taoist House should be temporarily taken over by Master Taiwei.”