Pawn Crossing the River

This was also what Qi Xuansu felt.

Nearly two years of Taoist experience, from Tiangang Hall to Ziweitang, from Yujing to the local area, turned him from a Jianghu person into a Taoist man.

Taoists naturally want to know the affairs of the sect.

The highest authority of Taoism is called Jinque, and Jinque controls two major powers.

A power called "personnel", such as Qi Xuansu, the deputy hall leader, was appointed by Jin Que after being submitted to Jin Que for discussion. Although it was Donghua who nominated and promoted the nomination, it cannot be said that he was appointed by Donghua. It must be appointed by Jinque. This is justifiable. In this process, Donghua Zhenren is actually part of Jinque.

This is real power.

Another power called "decision-making", such as deciding whether to attack Fenglinzhou or whether to handle major cases in Jiangnan Province, must go through Jinque's vote and finally form a decision on what to do or not to do.

But this power is illusory. Because decision-making is one thing, and implementation is another. Real implementation needs to be done by Jiutang and local governments. If the Jiutang and the local governments act contrary to the needs of the government, or if they do not work hard, then these decisions will only be floating in the sky and not fall to the ground. At the end of the dynasty, government orders did not leave the capital, and that was it. Therefore, this so-called decision-making power is illusory.

What power is real? Financial power is real.

It costs money to do things, it costs money to fight, it costs money to support Taoist priests and spiritual officials, it costs money no matter what you do. Without money, nothing can be done. The reason why local governments have independent power is that they have partial financial power. They can pay for anything they want to do without having to ask Yujing for money, so it is difficult to be restricted.

The same is true for Jiutang. Jiutang controls the finances of Yujing, and the major local governments control the local finances.

Therefore, Jinque will use personnel power to check and balance the financial power of Jiutang and the local government. If you violate the rules, or do not work hard, I will replace you and replace you with an obedient one.

Only in this way can decisions be implemented.

This is the balance system of Taoist power, always following the balance of Yin and Yang Pisces.

From ancient times to the present, if the central court decentralized all personnel and financial powers to the local governments, one result would be that the local governments would become independent and self-reliant, and the court would be completely emptied out.

Controlling Jinque means controlling personnel power and indirectly controlling financial power, thus reaching the pinnacle of power in the Taoist sect.

For the Grand Master, if he cannot master the Golden Tower, then he is a lame Grand Master, and the Zixiao Palace is a backdoor for the Grand Master to compete with the Golden Tower.

The Sixth Generation Grand Master gave up the Zixiao Palace, and the result was that he was completely ignored, and no government orders could leave the Zixiao Palace.

On the contrary, if the Grand Master completely controls Jinque, he will be like an emperor, and there is nothing he can't do. The Grand Master can even replace the Deputy Master, Da Zhenren, who was established as a check and balance.

The Five Dynasties Grand Master is an example.

In fact, both the Fifth Generation Grand Master and the Sixth Generation Grand Master were too extreme. In the history of Taoism, most of the time, the Grand Master and Jin Que were mutually restrictive existences, like Yin and Yang Pisces, achieving harmony.

When the Grand Master was away, the Jinque family was the dominant one. However, there were three pillars within Jinque. The alliance between Zhengyiyi and Quanzhen Tao was not wholehearted, and each had its own calculations, barely achieving a balance.

Therefore, the power struggle within the Taoist sect is complicated at the same time, and simple at the same time. There is no need to pretend to be sophisticated, pretentious, or knowledgeable. It is more about seeing tricks, adapting to circumstances, and finally seizing the power to decide personnel.

Some people may say that the Li family has been doing what they did several generations ago. This can only be regarded as a continuity of decision-making, rather than accurately predicting today's situation many years ago and specially preparing a clever plan. It is more about preparing for a rainy day.

Some people may also want to talk about military power, but military power itself is also within the scope of personnel power. If you can decide who will be the commander of an army, you already have military power. If the appointed commander-in-chief of the army is replaced, it means that this part of the personnel power has been lost.

As for mutiny and rebellion, it is about overthrowing the old power system and establishing a new power system.

Qi Xuansu figured this out and naturally had different views on Zhang Guquan's case.

He believes that it was not an unexpected incident, nor was it unexpected, but a counterattack by Taipingdao.

Looking at it like this, Taiping Dao doesn't mind the third major Jiangnan case. Anyway, this is a place of right and wrong, and it's easiest to catch people. Taipingdao also controls Fengxiantang and Beichentang.

There was just one thing that Qi Xuansu couldn't figure out for the time being.

Taiping Dao's current priority is to win the Fenglinzhou war, so why should it provoke trouble at this time?

Did Taiping Dao realize that they had a sure chance of victory, and that the overall situation in Fenglinzhou was decided, and even if they were pulling back, they couldn't change the situation, so they started a two-front war with confidence?

Or are there different voices within Taiping Dao, and someone wants to pose a problem to Master Qingwei at this time? After all, in normal times, the Qingwei Zhenren tree has deep roots and cannot be shaken. But now Master Qingwei is like holding a huge boulder with both hands. Not only can't he free his hands, but he can't move his position. This is a God-given opportunity to make some small movements.

These two may involve Qingwei Zhenren's intention to let Qi Xuansu participate in the case.

If it is the former, then Master Qingwei uses him to create a gap between him and the Zhang family. To put it more seriously, it is to sow discord between Zhengyiyi and Quanzhen Tao.

If it is the latter, then Master Qingwei uses him because he wants to use his relationship with the Zhang family to send some signals to the Zhang family, and even play a role in easing the situation.

These two intentions are almost completely opposite. The former is to create friction, and the latter is to strive for unity.

Master Qingwei specifically told him not to tell Zhang Yuelu yet.

If it is to create friction, then this sentence is literal and can be understood as a warning to Qi Xuansu and put Qi Xuansu in a dilemma.

If he was striving for unity, it would be ironic. Because he was afraid that Qi Xuansu would forget, he reminded him in disguise.

No matter what his purpose is, Master Qingwei cannot speak too bluntly, because he is not Master Donghua who single-handedly promoted Qi Xuansu, let alone Qiniang. To put it too bluntly is to say that the exchange is superficial but profound.

Otherwise, the mind is unpredictable. It is never easy to figure out the boss's mind.

Qi Xuansu couldn't understand this, so he had a chat with Lu Yuting, who was born in Taiping Road, hoping to get some news or inspiration from Lu Yuting.

It's a pity that Lu Yuting is not Lu Yushu after all, and she doesn't know more about the inside story.

After Qi Xuansu thought about it carefully again, he decided to tell Zhang Yuelu that no matter what Master Qingwei thought, he must focus on the overall situation of the Taoist sect and strive for unity at the critical moment of the Fenglinzhou war.

After Lu Yuting left, Qi Xuansu contacted Zhang Yuelu through "Zhongji Jinglu".

Soon, Zhang Yuelu's figure appeared in front of Qi Xuansu. She was not wearing a crane cloak. She was only wearing a middle coat with her hair loose. She should be resting or doing her daily practice.

Zhang Yuelu soon discovered something was wrong. Not only was Qi Xuansu dressed in formal attire, but the background behind him didn't look like a camp, but more like a flying boat.

Before Zhang Yuelu could ask any questions, Qi Xuansu had already taken the initiative to briefly recount tonight's experience and his conjectures.

After Zhang Yuelu listened carefully, he fell into deep thought.

After a long time, Zhang Yuelu said: "This matter is indeed a bit complicated. If it were normal times, it would be business affairs. But now it is wartime, and the overall situation needs to be focused. I don't mean to be open to Zhang Ku. , He deserves it and must be severely punished. What I mean is that this matter cannot be allowed to become the trigger for a full-scale confrontation between Zhengdao and Taipingdao, or even affect the Fenglinzhou war. At this point, Master Qingwei’s attitude is crucial to prevent Zhengyi from thinking this is a provocative move by Taiping Dao and making the situation worse.”

Qi Xuansu raised an objection: "What if Taiping Dao deliberately provoked or took the initiative to attack? Can we prevent Zhengyiyi from fighting back? Zhengyiyi's counterattack was to cause Taipingdao to suffer a big defeat on the Fenglinzhou battlefield, further forcing Qingwei to It is a taboo for military strategists to resign as the commander of the army. This will undoubtedly cause changes in the situation in Fenglinzhou. However, the two of us cannot speak casually on this matter. If we are not careful, we will be punished. Considered a traitor."

Zhang Yuelu couldn't help but raised his forehead and said: "The dispute between the three ways has developed to this point. There is no longer a question of right or wrong. It is not a dispute between gentlemen. The so-called struggle without breaking up and unanimously dealing with the outside world are just forced by strong inertia. There is only a small consensus. This is also the most difficult part. I agree to impose a severe punishment on Zhang Juquan, which will already make the Zhang family gossip. If I advocate a gentle handling of this matter, the consequences will be that I will be in the Zhang family. On the contrary, if I advocate toughness and take the lead in counterattack, it will have the effect of winning over people."

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu are not saints, and they cannot completely ignore their own interests and gains. However, due to their status, they are not qualified to talk openly and honestly with Master Qingwei, unless Master Qingwei takes the initiative.

Qi Xuansu changed his mind and said, "Let's assume that this is not Master Qingwei's original intention, but that someone wants to draw chestnuts from the fire. Who do you think this person might be?"

Zhang Yuelu, such a smart person, immediately said: "This is a matter of Jiangnan Daofu. Outsiders will not know so clearly, let alone kill with such a precise blow. The 'master' behind the scenes can only be from Jiangnan Daofu." People. The real person in charge of Jiangnan Dao Palace is from Quanzhen Dao. The chief deputy palace leader is my senior sister Bai Yingqiong. As far as I know, Zhang Kuquan has always had a good relationship with them. This is one of the reasons why he dares to act so boldly. , these two people will not be so cruel to Zhang Kuquan. The second deputy palace master Li Tianlan is the most suspicious."

Qi Xuansu said as he thought: "The Li family has always been dominated by the main family, the adopted son, and the son-in-law. But starting from the imperial master, to Qingwei Zhenren, and then to Li Changge, the heads of the three consecutive generations were all from the same family. The strong inertia of the three generations has come down. , it is likely to completely change the internal power structure of the Li family and form a certain convention, that is, the head of the Li family must come from the Li family. In this case, the cornerstone of the Li family's unity will inevitably be affected, and the adopted son faction and the son-in-law faction will meet. No other ideas?"