What is theocracy? Why did theocracy decline?

The answer is simple, there are fewer and fewer stupid people and more and more smart people.

The reason why there are fewer and fewer stupid and ignorant people is precisely because of the construction of the academy and the children of poor families began to read and write more and more, so as to find another broad road to get ahead.

This path does not require worship or prayer to others, but all depends on your own efforts to achieve it, and everything you do determines the success or failure of your life.

Obviously, for people with independent self-consciousness, it is better to be able to actually control their own destiny in the imperial examination system than to worship and dedicate their spirit and body to God.

Rebuild the golden body for God, and God will not necessarily favor you in return. And for the opening of the imperial examination, the turning point of fate may be just around the corner.

Unknown and unsolved things, God often holds the right to speak, so as to take this opportunity to make himself extraordinary, and once the unknown and unsolved things become a secret that is not a secret known to the whole world, God will often fall off the altar in an instant and become ordinary.

Behind the Buddha statue is sacred or ordinary, even after reshaping the golden body, the back of the Buddha statue is often plain, far less than the solemn front of his treasure, which can make people's hearts unconsciously full of worship and piety.

So what is the secret behind the Buddha statue?

Zhao Shicheng, the king of Xin'an County, and Tang Wan looked at Yan Wang Ye Qing with some dumbfounded, and a voice sounded in the hearts of the couple at the same time: King Yan won't be a god, right? How can you suddenly discuss this with them? What does he want to do?

The other person, Xie Daoqing, has obviously been accustomed to Ye Qing's chatter in the past few days, so he can still drink tea and swim in the lake as usual.

The water surface of the West Lake is sparkling, the sunlight occasionally reflects the dazzling light on the water surface, the painting boat of the warbler song and swallow dance passes by them on the lake surface, the shore of the green trees is also full of tourists, and the scholars and beauties are in pairs.

Even in later generations, when people's fear of ghosts and gods began to fade slowly, and their trust in gods and Buddhas was further reduced, they began to connect some strange and unexplained affairs with aliens beyond gods and Buddhas.

Obviously, the alien visitors who take the initiative to hand over the right of interpretation to the alien planet are like the foreign monks who are known by the common people to chant the scriptures, and when they are not familiar with it, they often distrust everything that is closer to them, but believe in the novelty of outsiders more.

Don't believe the familiar people around you, only believe everything that outsiders say, just like everyone's adolescent rebellious period, the trust and dependence of parents in their hearts are greatly reduced, and the new affairs and novel ideas in the outside world easily gain their trust.

And if you want to be an outsider and gain the trust and recognition of the people of a world that you have conquered, obviously you need to have prestige in the local area, you need to establish influence in the local area, you need to give them certain benefits, let them know that these things that they have never been exposed to can give them more life security and opportunities to get ahead than the old world.

"So ......." Ye Qing looked at Zhao Shicheng and his wife, who were still dazed, and after a pause, he continued: "The Holy Lord estimates that he will drive the imperial expedition after the Yuan Day at the latest, and if he wants to be different from the suppression of Han Yanxuan back then, he can completely incorporate it into the territory of my Great Song Dynasty, I wonder if the King of Xin'an County is willing to do his part for the imperial court?" ”

"Me?" Zhao Shicheng pointed at himself with some disbelief, he didn't feel that he had any talent in leading troops to fight, and over the years, because his career had not improved for many years, and he was already alienated by the royal family, so Zhao Shicheng, who had passed half a hundred, had already disappeared from the heat of his career, and he could only place his affection on the landscape and humanistic pleasures, or he could only splash ink on the dance of three or five friends.

And especially after being slightly contaminated with the father and son of King Shu some time ago, Zhao Shicheng and his wife are now acting more cautiously, and now they just want to be able to live a peaceful life.

If it weren't for Ye Qing's invitation to the lake today, but someone else's invitation, I'm afraid that Zhao Shicheng and his wife would have refused immediately without thinking about it.

"Of course, it's not to let the county king lead his troops to fight with the saint, but ...... I want to use the connections between the county kings and the literati to be able to calm down the southwest in the sage, and the county kings will preside over the construction of our Great Song Imperial Examination Academy in Ziqi, Luodian, and even Dali. Ye Qing looked at Zhao Shicheng, who was a little surprised, and explained.

"It's ......." Zhao Shicheng was a little hesitant in his heart, and even a little incomprehensible, why did Ye Qing look for himself, it stands to reason that there are many people who are more qualified than him for this kind of thing.

Zhao Shicheng, who was a little hesitant, faced Ye Qing's calm and easy-going gaze, and unconsciously looked towards Tang Wan, the backbone of his right.

"The concubine is brave and wants to ask King Yan why he wants to let his husband ......." After Tang Wan felt Zhao Shicheng's gaze, she coughed slightly and asked.

"The paper is knowledgeable, and there are naturally not a few people who can compare with the king of Xin'an County in the Great Song Dynasty, but those literati obviously do not have the identity and status of the king of Xin'an County, and naturally, they can't let the local people feel the importance of the imperial court to them, so after thinking about it, this matter must be the king of Xin'an County." Ye Qing said with a smile, his tone was still very easy-going, but it still gave people a feeling that could not be refuted.

Now he is already the King of Yan, with Shi Miyuan's dismount, Ye Qing's words and deeds, even if there is no difference from before, but because of the change in the situation, it also highlights Ye Qing's prestige in the hearts of others, and he unconsciously begins to surpass before.

And choosing Zhao Shicheng, the king of Xin'an County, Ye Qing naturally hoped to use Zhao Shicheng's clan identity and his prestige among the literati of the Great Song Dynasty, so that some literati of the Great Song Dynasty would be willing to take him as the leader, and also after Zhao Kuan pacified Ziqi and Luodian, with the identity of Zhao Shicheng's clan, let the local people realize the importance of the imperial court to them.

Sending a person from a poor family, with no status and influence, to Ziqi and Luodian, even if this person is talented and knows astronomy and geography, but for the ignorant people who are now self-defeating and Luodian, it is tantamount to playing the piano to a cow.

They obviously don't care, and they will never understand how different your knowledge and talent are, and they care more

Whether your status is sufficient for them to be willing to do what they are told, and whether you can give them tangible benefits and benefits in a short period of time.

There are not many clans in the Great Song Dynasty, if it is a clan that is too close to the power of the imperial court, a clan like King Shu's father and son, it will obviously make the imperial court worried, will it be a trouble to raise tigers one day?

Therefore, in Ye Qing's opinion, now it is suitable for Zhao Kuan to conquer the southwest, and the best person to stay to help Ziqi and Luodian who can write their names and count the people who can count is only Zhao Shicheng, the king of Xin'an County.

Seeing that he was still a little hesitant, and had not yet figured out why Ye Qing favored him alone, Ye Qing thought for a while and continued: "Zhu Xi has already gone to the Northland, otherwise he is also a good candidate, but because of his age, he is no longer suitable for running around. Let alone...... It is not only responsible for the construction of academies in Ziqi and Luodian, but also the four roads including Chengdu Fu Road, Tongchuan Fu Road, Kuizhou Road, and Guangnan West Road, which are handed over to the king of Xin'an County. ”

"The entire academy in the southwest?" Tang Wan obviously wanted to seem to know the topography of the Great Song Dynasty territory better than the King of Xin'an County, and when Ye Qing talked about the four roads, a picture had already formed in her mind.

Chengdu, Tongchuan, Kuizhou, and Guangnan are bordered by each other, thus forming a vast southwest territory, so if it is really as Ye Qing said, the entire southwest academy is handed over to the king of Xin'an County, then if Zhao Shicheng is still not moved, it is a lie.

"Yes, exactly." Ye Qing said with certainty.

"Yes...... Holy ....... Tang Wan asked with some uncertainty.

After all, the incident of King Shu's father and son had just happened, and King Shu's father and son secretly came to their mansion on the first day they arrived in Lin'an, so at this moment, neither Zhao Shicheng nor Tang Wan could believe that Zhao Kuo would ignore them and his wife, but instead gave them more important sends.

Although it is not a party to cover up King Shu's father and son, after all, it was the day before what happened in King Xin's mansion, King Shu and his son spent the night in their county king's mansion, so Zhao Shicheng, the king of Xin'an County, and Tang Wan, even if Ye Qing said what he said, they were already suspicious, and they really couldn't believe it.

"The king of the county over there doesn't have to worry, Ye will help the king of the county. Therefore, if the county king is willing, I am afraid that he will start planning the academy from today, and most of the folk customs of these four roads are different from those in the Central Plains, and the county king may need to be fully prepared. Ye Qing said lightly.

Ye Qing believed that as long as the county king should be sent to this place, then coupled with the guilt of Zhao Shicheng for taking in King Shu's father and son before, it would also make Zhao Shicheng more concerned than anyone else in the establishment of the academy.

"As for the money needed to establish the academy, the county king doesn't have to worry." Ye Qing looked at the shore scenery that was getting closer and closer, turned around and continued: "My Great Song Dynasty is already rich, and now that Shi Miyuan has been questioned by the imperial court, the treasury has become more sufficient, so the matter of silver is by no means a problem, the problem is ...... How can we make the completed academy full of students? ”

Ye Qing never mentioned the so-called four words of meritorious service, but at this moment, he could see from Zhao Shicheng's face the eagerness to make meritorious service, and even Tang Wan next to him seemed eager to try at this moment.

Ye Qing realized from the beginning that the two of them were now only giving, so after dispelling the worries of Zhao Shicheng and his wife, and after he personally promised to persuade Zhao Kuo, Zhao Shicheng and Tang Wan were like going to a heart disease, and the big stone in their hearts was finally put down.

"If King Yan can make the saint eliminate his distrust of Zhao, Zhao will definitely do his best to build a academy in the southwest that satisfies King Yan and the saint, and promise to contact more learned scholars to accompany Zhao to lecture in various places in the southwest." Zhao Shicheng glanced at Tang Wan, who nodded slightly, and then got up and saluted Ye Qing and said.

"That's naturally the best, if the Holy Lord learns that the county king is willing to help him, he will naturally be very happy." Ye Qing picked up the teacup and motioned for Zhao Shicheng to sit down and speak.

The boat slowly leaned towards the shore of the West Lake, and the crowded wharf was full of red men and green women, scholars and beauties with various expressions, but no matter what, the people who came to the place where the West Lake was located were obviously in pursuit of spiritual and spiritual relaxation and freehand.

For Zhao Shicheng and his wife, the beautiful scenery of West Lake today is obviously a little more beautiful than the beautiful scenery that they have seen at any time.

For the couple, after many things related to the clan happened in Lin'an City, Lin'an was no longer an ideal place for them to live, so looking at the beautiful scenery of the West Lake at this time, they naturally cherished it more.

As for where the couple will seek a place to live after they go to the southwest, and where they will spend the rest of their lives, Ye Qing does not need to give them advice, not to mention, there has always been a close relationship between the southwest fourth road and the royal clan, which is not a difficult choice for the Xin'an Junwang couple.

Time passes silently between the fingers, but it is always running fast between people's subtleties, time flies and time is difficult to endure has always been like this, in people's contradictions, still moving forward by themselves.

Li Fengniang has never cared about time as much as she does now, and she has never sighed at the wonder of time like she did at this time.

Ye Qing's watch, which had been worn on his wrist, was held by Li Fengniang in his hand at the moment, and the phoenix eyes stared closely at the movement of the second hand, looking extremely focused and serious.

And the so-called one minute, in Li Fengniang's eyes at the moment, seems so long, and even makes Li Fengniang a little suspicious, every minute that Ye Qing said, under the drive of this so-called second hand, is the time it takes to walk around really exactly the same?

Li Fengniang was very suspicious that the second hand would speed forward without her attention, and when she began to stare at the second hand, as if the second hand seemed to be aware of it, it began to become regular and slow down again.

A stick of incense, a cup of tea, and a missing engraving were all boredly used by Li Fengniang to verify whether the so-called second hand was fast or slow, but in the end, she was still confused and did not draw any conclusions.

The second hand is unhurried, the minute hand

It moves almost imperceptibly, and the hand called the hour hand, as if it were frozen somewhere, is always invisible to its movement, but it always unconsciously crosses one block after another.

The moon overhead always looks very special on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and even makes people a little unclear, whether the hazy moon has become more poetic because of the festive atmosphere, or because of the original poetry of the moon to have a special Mid-Autumn Festival night.

Complementing each other, the Mid-Autumn Festival night in Yanwangfu is also very different this year.

In addition to the Empress Dowager Li Fengniang's rare visit to the Yanwang Mansion, even the current saint rushed to the Yanwang Mansion tonight, but now he did not accompany Li Fengniang and Ye Qing in the back garden to enjoy the moon.

Unlike Li Fengniang, in just a few days, Zhao Kuo has been to Yanwang's Mansion several times, and even if Ye Qing is not in the mansion, Zhao Kuo will stay in Yanwang's Mansion for a long time, and then he will either be thoughtful or quite excited to leave Yanwang's Mansion.

And now, after Yu Yunwen returned to Lin'an after many years, Zhao Kuo finally saw Ye Qing's real right-hand men.

Yu Yunwen, who is similar to Ye Qing, has a hint of wisdom and calmness between his literary qualities and politeness, compared with Ye Qing's sharp edge between his gestures, the title of Confucian general is obviously more appropriate for Yu Yunwen.

It is precisely because of Ye Qing's importance to Yu Yunwen and Yu Yunwen's own temperament in front of Zhao Kuo that Zhao Kuo's heart was full of trust when he saw Yu Yunwen for the first time.

The map of the southwest has already been made by Mo Xiaobao and Zhong Silkworm in the past few days, and now Yu Yunwen, Zhong Silkworm, and Mo Xiaobao are surrounded by the stars like the moon, introducing to Zhao Kuo how to attack Ziqi, Luodian and even Dali's plan.

Before Ye Qing returned to Lin'an, Guangnan West Road had already sent the army led by Cao Beihai and Li Yu here, so what a few people wanted to study at the moment was naturally how to lead the army from Chengdu Fulu into Ziqi and Luodian, and then go south.

Several people in the conference hall discussed quite intensely, and even from time to time Zhao Kuo would interject a few words, whether it was some layman's words or some issues that could be slightly closer to the point, Yu Yunwen and the three of them would know everything in front of Zhao Kuo.

The meeting hall was in full swing, and the back garden was about to look quite leisurely, Li Fengniang no longer stared at the watch in her hand, and repeatedly wore it on her white wrist to feel the heavy weight, and finally seemed to have lost the last trace of curiosity and interest, and then handed it to Ye Qing.

Looking at the hands at a quarter past nine, Ye Qing put the watch on his wrist, and then said: "There are two people on Guangnan West Road, Cao Beihai and Li Yu leading an army to wait, while Zhong Silkworm and Mo Xiaobao led the army of the Flower Planter to go out with Zhao Kuo, as for Yu Yunwen...... In a few days, they will first go to Chengdu Fulu to gather several other armies, and then wait for Zhao Kuo and their arrival ....... ”

"I don't care who you designate for Kuo'er to follow him on his personal expedition, in short...... I only have one request, if Kuo'er suffers the slightest grievance, you Ye Qing will wait to get out of Lin'an for me. Li Fengniang took a deep breath, and her towering chest instantly became infinitely beautiful.

And Ye Qing wanted to pull Li Fengniang's hand several times, but Li Fengniang refused because Zhao Kuo was still in the front hall.

And in addition, this is also a rare reunion outside the palace since Ye Qing returned to Lin'an to meet once in the apricot garden.

"As long as Zhao Kuo doesn't come nonsense, and Yu Yunwen, Mo Xiaobao and them will lead the troops to fight, then there will be no problems." Ye Qing said confidently, and then thought for a while and said, "I originally planned to mention this matter to Zhao Kuo first, but now it seems that it is difficult to have the opportunity to talk to him about ......." ”

Li Fengniang couldn't help laughing, of course she understood what Ye Qing meant, after all, not long ago, when Ye Qing went to his own council hall to see how Zhao Kuo planned to fight in the southwest, he was finally driven out by Zhao Kuo on the grounds that military affairs and people who were not involved did not need to know, and then sighed and accompanied Li Fengniang to admire the moon here.

"Say it, the saint doesn't listen, but this palace is still willing to give you some face as King Yan." Li Fengniang said with a smile.

"Originally, Yu Yunwen alone was enough to do all the post-war dispatches, but because the southwest is different from the folk customs of the Central Plains, and if you want to use the imperial examination to convince the people, studying hard in the cold window can change your fate and get ahead more than reciting Buddhist scriptures, so I plan to ...... Let the Wang and his wife follow him to the southwest to build a college. Ye Qing looked at Li Fengniang's side face and said.

"Did the couple agree?" Li Fengniang glanced at Ye Qing lightly and asked.

Since the incident of King Shu's father and son, Li Fengniang has always felt a little uncomfortable with the Xin'an Junwang and his wife, although that day, after realizing that Shu's father and son came to Lin'an, it may not be the intention of the imperial court, so they also went to Ye Qing to inform the truth as soon as possible.

But even so, now Li Fengniang is still not very satisfied with the Xin'an County Wang and his wife, so when she heard that Ye Qing planned to give Zhao Shicheng such an important mission, although she didn't say anything on the surface, she was still reluctant to let Zhao Shicheng participate too much in court politics.

"Naturally, I agreed." Ye Qing looked at half of Li Fengniang's cheeks, always paying attention to some subtle expressions, so as to judge whether Li Fengniang was willing or unwilling.

"Why did you choose them? If it comes to knowledge, the Great Song Dynasty is probably able to find a basket of high-ranking fighters, why ...... Do you have to be the king of Xin'an? Li Fengniang said in a calm tone.

"Because they are a clan that has been alienated by the royal family, I am afraid that it will be difficult to get close to the center of royal power in this life, the next life, or even the next life. And it is precisely because they are alienated by the royal family, but they have the status of royalty, which also makes them the best candidates. Ye Qing said calmly.

"Do you want to be a fox and a fake tiger in front of those barbarian people?" Li Fengniang asked lightly.

Ye Qing nodded silently: "That's right." ”

Li Fengniang unconsciously sighed again, and then looked up slightly at the bright moon, the full moon on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, obviously at this moment, it was quite able to bring a trace of peace to her uncalm mood, but when Li Fengniang looked at the bright moon in the distance, it was rare for snowflakes to fall in the north on this night.