Qin Official

People at the time said: There are hundreds of rivers and mountains in Guanzhong, but Taihua and Zhongnan are the most victorious. The victory of Huashan lies in danger, while the victory of Zhongnan lies in beauty. This mountain is steep and beautiful, like a splendid painted screen, standing in the southwest of Xianyang. It is famous for its rich production of medicinal materials and rare birds and animals.

After the scholars from Guandang Province entered the Qin Dynasty in Qin Yihai, Han Zhong, Hou Sheng and others came to Zhongnan Mountain for inspection and reported back to Qin Shihuang, saying that I traveled west to Qin and ate dew and alchemy here, so he lived a long life. It's easy to find medicinal materials nearby, so it's a good place to build an altar and refine elixirs.

Qin Shihuang was doubtful, but he still allocated money for them to build a "feeding platform". Every year, a lot of cinnabar was transported from Bashu for this group of alchemists to toss.

On this day, Hou Sheng, the leader of the "Chizao Zhiwu Sect", was inspecting the dew and medicinal materials picked by his disciples from Zhongnan Mountain, but he heard that a guest was visiting...

When Hou Sheng came out and took a look, he saw the back of a man wearing a green robe and a head full of black hair. When he turned around, he was shocked to realize that this man was not young, he was at least fifty or sixty years old.

Hou Sheng suddenly laughed: "Who did I think it was? It turned out to be Lu Gong."

The person who came was none other than Lu Ao from Yan, one of the leaders of the "Overseas Immortal Seeking Sect". According to him, he was nearly seventy years old.

Both of them are outstanding alchemists. Although they compete with each other, they are often familiar with each other. Hou Sheng invited Lu Ao into the room and poured the Zhongnan fruit wine he brewed to entertain him.

After sitting down, Hou Sheng joked: "Why did Mr. Lu come to Zhongnan Mountain if he didn't go to Jieshi to seek the two immortals Xianmen and Gao Shi? He also didn't look for Penglai and the abbot. Isn't this the opposite."

Lu Ao didn't feel dissatisfied, and gracefully raised his hands and said: "Don't mock me, Mr. Hou. We, the alchemists who seek immortality, have been living in Xianyang for these years and are not used by your majesty. How can we have the money and silk hands to go overseas to seek immortality?"

He looked at the alchemy temple occupied by Han Zhong and Hou Sheng, and said with a smile: "But it seems that Hou Gong is not much better. Your house and temple have not been repaired for a long time, and they are infested with termites."

"Mr. Lu has a good eye."

Hou Sheng did not deny it: "There were indeed a few termites in the second pillar on the left hand side after entering the door."

Lu Sheng smiled: "More than that, I heard that you and Han Zhong recently submitted a letter stating that they needed to collect rare medicinal materials from the border areas, but they were also rejected?"

The implication is that their overseas Immortal Seeking Sect is not doing well, while your Ancestral Zao Zhiwu Sect is doing just fine.

Hou Sheng's face was serious: "Did Mr. Lu come here today to ridicule me on purpose?"

"How dare you?"

Lu Sheng became serious: "Mr. Hou, although you and I have different opinions on how to achieve immortality, we both reach the same goal by different paths. You should know that I, Lu Ao, and even all the alchemists who advocate your majesty's overseas pursuit of immortality, to you , we are friends, not enemies, and we currently have a common enemy, Kansai Wu Zhu!"

This is what Hou Sheng is most unconvinced about. After hundreds of years of inheritance, their magicians have formed a strict set of theories.

Use the ethereal and mysterious rhetoric in Laozhuang to package yourself, and borrow the "Great Kyushu Five Elements Theory" of the Yin and Yang family to complete it, making people believe it to be true. In the past hundred years, they have also deceived many kings. The traditional witchcraft of Qi, Chu, and Central Plains are no match for them.

Therefore, when they first came to Xianyang, Hou Sheng and Lu Ao did not pay attention to Wu Zhu in Qin at all, and both regarded each other as their biggest competitor.

Unexpectedly, just when Warlock Fang was about to persuade Qin Shihuang to find immortals and refine medicine, Wu Zhi from Chen Bao Temple stood up. This gap-toothed old guy memorized half of the "Biography of Emperor Mu" and told some legends about the Queen Mother State of the West, which attracted Qin Shihuang.

In Hou Sheng's view, Wu Zhi's words had no technical content. Any of his apprentices could make up better than him. Warlock Fang felt deeply ashamed to lose to such a person!

Lu Ao stroked his beard and said, "I was once puzzled as to why we lost to Wu Zhi. Only recently did I understand..."

Hou Sheng knew that Lu Ao was knowledgeable and intelligent, so he bowed and said, "Please give me some advice from Mr. Lu."

Lu Ao said: "Housheng Sheng should know that Your Majesty is an impatient person. If any alchemist offers medicine and fails to achieve the desired effect, it will be regarded as deceitful and may lead to death!"

This is the sharp sword hanging over the head of the alchemist, so Hou Sheng and the others kept making requests to Qin Shihuang, saying that refining the elixir requires all kinds of rare medicinal materials, some of which are far away in barbarian lands and only exist in legends. After ten years, it is impossible to get it.

There is no other way. Only by exaggerating the difficulty of refining immortality can the alchemists waste time without failing to complete the task and all lose their heads.

Of course, Hou Sheng himself was convinced that he could turn stone into gold and refine the elixir.

"It just requires some precious materials and a lot of time...I heard that thousands of miles away in the south, there is Ganoderma lucidum that is half a man tall. If it can be harvested, it will definitely become a medicine!"

This has become his clever way to fend off Qin Shihuang.

Lu Ao pointed out the foolishness of this approach: "You have been refining medicine for five years, but you have always pushed back and forth, and no medicine has been produced. It has only been three times. After several times, Your Majesty will naturally be disappointed. The money and silk became less and less day by day."

After exposing Hou Sheng’s shortcomings, Lu Ao also exposed his own shortcomings:

"The same is true for those of us who seek immortality. Although there are Penglai and Abbot outside the sea, and there are immortals and the medicine of immortality on the three sacred mountains of Yingzhou, if people seek this medicine and take it, they can live forever. But this theory was once criticized by Qi Wei The King, King Xuan, and King Yan Zhao believed it and sent alchemists into the sea to seek it, but they couldn't find it. Of course, Your Majesty is still doubtful."

The most important thing is that these three kings do not live long and can hardly be regarded as successful models. Warlock Fang can only say that their "virtue" is insufficient, so they cannot find the fairy mountain.

The implication is that Your Majesty, your merits are greater than those of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors. As long as you are sincere, you will definitely reach the Immortal Mountain and win the favor of the gods.

But even so, apart from bragging that he had seen an immortal on the sea when he was a child and ate dates as big as melons given by the immortal, so he was still full of black hair at the age of seventy, Lu Ao could not provide any more expectations.

"This is not the case with the kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West that Wu Zhi mentioned. The legend of the ruins of Kunlun is older than the overseas fairy mountains. It is also like Penglai. It is illusory and difficult to find traces. However, it is said that King Zhou Mu saw the Queen Mother of the West and received the gift from her. Immortal medicine, longevity for a hundred years.”

There are no successful cases of seeking immortality overseas, but the opponent has, and Warlock Fang loses one point first.

"Furthermore, His Majesty's policy of westward expansion has lasted for more than four years. Whether it is the land of Shuofang just captured the year before last, or the conquest of the Yuezhi in Hexi this year, or the news returned by envoys from Wusun and Loulan, merchants from Some strange products brought back from the Western Regions.”

"In the past four years, almost every few months, His Majesty heard something new, which made him feel that the things about the West written by Emperor Mu were meaningful, and he felt that it was necessary to find the land of the Queen Mother of the West. Things are proceeding in an orderly manner..."

The Alchemist couldn't come up with anything practical, so he only knew how to delay and prevaricate, constantly asking for this and that. The process of searching for the Queen Mother State of the West was accompanied by the expansion of territory, military victories, and the visit of Hu chiefs to the court, which made the emperor happy. Coupled with the continuous feedback sent back, seeking immortality in the west seemed to be more and more reliable. Scored.

"This is why he won and I lost!"

After Lu Ao made some analysis, Hou Sheng was sweating profusely. It turned out that what really made his side lose was not the quality of rhetoric, but a series of subsequent events.

He thought about it, and realized that it was impossible for him to provide the emperor with so many expectations and satisfaction, and his face suddenly turned pale: "What can I do?"

If the emperor did not believe in them, he would not have money or silk to invest, and the elixir that Hou Sheng believed in would never be refined. His dream of immortality for himself and his family would become empty talk.

Lu Ao encouraged: "Now that things have happened, the two factions of magicians will survive if they unite, and die if they separate!"

Hou Sheng avoided the table and asked, "How can we join together?"

Lu Ao said: "First of all, we need to unify the purposes of the two schools. Let's say that the stove in the temple can bring about things, and the cinnabar can be turned into gold. When gold is turned into eating utensils, life will be long. Life will be long, and the Penglai Immortal in the sea can be seen. See Those who have achieved great merit will be given elixir, and then use the elixir to refine it in a refining vessel, so that they can eat it and become immortal..."

In this way, they can take ordinary gold objects, pretend to be made of stone cinnabar, and then use some tricks to blind others, so that they can deceive others and let the emperor see that the alchemist finally has Point results.

At the same time, they need to endorse each other so that the theories of the two schools can be closely integrated. Those who refine alchemy need those who seek immortality, and those who seek immortality also need those who refine alchemy.

Lu Ao will also continue to improve Eastern legends such as Fusangmu, Tanggu, Kunpeng, etc., and even compile some fake books...

"You can let people who are good at speaking, imitating ancient bronze inscriptions and seal scripts, write a "Peng Zu Jing" and describe Peng Zu as the beginning of the magicians. He took food and made elixirs. He lived from the time of Yao and Shun to the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and became immortal at the age of 800. Ascend to immortality!”

Hou Sheng held up his palm and said, "It's very good. I'll write it myself right now!"

There is something Lu Ao didn't say. In addition, he can also make up some ambiguous prophecies to confuse the audience...

After summing up, he encouraged Hou Sheng: "These books and rumors must be compiled as soon as possible, because this year is probably our best and last chance to convince His Majesty!"

Hou Sheng was also well-informed and lowered his voice: "Could it be..."

Lu Ao nodded: "Of course, there is news that Qiong in the south has surrendered, and the Yueshi in the west have been wiped out by Li Xin. The captives in the two places will be escorted back to Xianyang in three days to be presented to His Majesty."

"Everything is level in the west and the south. Your Majesty has many achievements to boast about. After the prisoner sacrifice is over, he will start his eastward tour!"

Unfortunately, because of Hei Fu, Qin Shihuang canceled his twenty-eight-year plan to patrol the east and concentrated on taking down the Xiongnu and Yuezhi first. Warlock Fang and the Confucian scholar took turns trying to persuade him for several years, and their words were worn out. This long-delayed trip was finally about to begin!

"Although I don't know the itinerary of the Eastern Tour, Your Majesty must first go to Mount Tai to pray for Zen, and then cruise to the seaside. Jiaodong and Langya must be visited."

Over the years, whenever Lu Ao was summoned by Qin Shihuang, he would intentionally or unintentionally talk about his knowledge and experiences at the seaside. This made Qin Shihuang, who had never seen the sea, very interested and kept making plans to go and have a look.

Or did this indirectly lead Qin Shihuang to pay special attention to Jiaodong and send Heifu to govern the county?

Lu Ao regretted this incident, but now, no matter who is there, they can only bite the bullet and said:

"I have also contacted two people. They are both local sorcerers from Qi. They are waiting in Linzi and Langya respectively. These two people will endorse our theory and lobby your Majesty together!"

Hou Sheng could almost guess: "One is Langya Xushi, who is the other one?"

Lu Ao smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes. There are three hundred people in the world who are refining alchemy and star energy. This time we must work together to promote this matter and we must complete their achievements in one battle!"

Hou Sheng nodded: "I will seize the opportunity and ask your majesty to let me accompany you. I think your majesty will be yearning for it when he sees the misty waves of the sea. On Zhifu Island, speaking in front of the Eight Gods, you will get twice the result with half the effort!"

"It should be so, but..."

Lu Ao looked troubled: "Our biggest opportunity lies in Jiaodong, and our biggest obstacle is also in Jiaodong!"

Hou Sheng concentrated: "Could it be that what Lu Gong said is..."

He dipped it in wine and wrote the word "dog" on the desk!

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