"Although the Buryat Mongols have a relatively weak faith, the lamas are not without influence at all, and if you want to compete with them for their beliefs, I am afraid that there will be a tug-of-war." Somewhere in the Hulunbuir Prairie, Army Captain Wei Wendu said to a middle-aged man in a cyan robe.

The middle-aged man's name is Lou Mengxiong, who is a close disciple of Yu Ci, the patriarch of Taoism on the east coast, and has devoted himself to preaching in Denglai for many years after crossing to Yantai, making great contributions to the promotion of Taoism. It is precisely because of this that Lou Mengxiong was promoted to the real person at the beginning of this year and has become a unique existence among many Taoist clergy in the Far East.

Lou Zhenren has now been officially appointed as the supreme person in charge of religious affairs in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Manchurian and Mongolian Pioneer Corps and the Heishui Management Committee, presiding over the religious development affairs of the two places, competing with Tibetan Buddhism and the Orthodox Church, and playing a pioneering role in the colonial cause of the Great East Bank.

Today, Lou Zhenren worked tirelessly and trekked through mountains and rivers to the remote and arduous Hulunbuir grassland, intending to investigate the feasibility of missionary work here. In the past two years, the promotion of Taoism on the east coast in the Hulunbuir grassland has not been very smooth, and although the number of believers has been growing steadily, the growth rate has always been unsatisfactory. Lou Mengxiong couldn't stay in Yantai, so he arrived at Miaojie Port on the ship of the Bank of Taiwan, and then took a boat and a horse, and finally came to the Hulunbuir prairie with abundant water and grass for a long time.

Wei Wendu, as the highest military and political governor in the region, also accompanied him from Manguitun to Alongshantun and Jinhetun, both of which were newly established midway supply settlements, each with hundreds of men, and was still in a state of difficult maintenance, mainly acting as a post station, all the way south, and finally arrived at Nahaibu, which was located on the edge of the Hulunbuir grassland.

The sea was a Buryats who had fled from the north. Although it also belongs to the Mongols, it is actually a second-class citizen in the Mongolian world, and its status is even lower than that of the Khalkha Mongols. This is also related to their impure origins, the relatively remote range of nomadism, and the relatively late entry into the Mongol Empire, which is understandable that they have been marginalized after several combinations. It is more accurate for them to be more colonial second-class citizens than the subjects of the Mongol Empire, so the centripetal force of the Buryat Mongols towards Mongolian culture is actually far less strong than people think, so they are actually very good targets for promoting Taoism on the east coast.

But what is surprising is that the spread of Taoism here on the east coast has not been as fast as expected, and it is still not the mainstream religion among the less than 3,000 people in the Nahai Division. Especially for the older herdsmen who have believed in the Yellow Sect for half their lives, the majesty of the Buddha has been deeply rooted in their bones, and the lama is as unattainable in their minds as the messengers of the gods. These people are no longer objects that can be won over, or they can be forced to convert by force, but is this necessary?

Compared to them, it is the younger herdsmen or children who are better able to proselytize. Several East Coast Taoist priests who had been following the missionaries of the Haibu aimed at these people and achieved some results, but they were far from enough, so they alarmed Lou Mengxiong and Lou Zhenren to come to check in person.

After Captain Wei Wendu escorted Lou Zhenren to his destination with a small cavalry unit (fortunately, the sea department had not yet changed), he saw a group of lamas who had jumped out of nowhere and were holding a religious activity in the sea department. The Buryat Mongols in the tribe respected the lamas very much, and they wore full costumes and welcomed the lamas into the tribe one by one, which made people very jealous, so they had what Wei Wendu said just now.

Lou Mengxiong didn't say anything when he heard this, but looked ahead intently. Behind them stood a group of soldiers in khaki uniforms with rifles on their backs, which looked a little dazzling, so that the lamas looked at them twice, but no one came to ask questions or find fault or anything.

Nahai's father-in-law wore a fancy fur hat custom-made from a bank of Taiwan. The beaver fur hat has a wide outer rim and is topped with a large cluster of tassels made of red silk thread held in place by a small piece of precious coral, and two red ribbons hanging down from the back of the hat, which are made of wild silk from Punjab. All in all, the hat of the father-in-law of Nahai is not cheap, or it can be said to be very expensive, not to mention that the materials and workmanship on his body are extremely exquisite, and should never appear in the traditional Mongolian dress among the Buryat Mongols, which shows the wealth of the Nahai tribe who acted as an intermediary between the trade between the eastern coast and the steppe.

The leading Grand Lama was also satisfied with the respectful attitude of Nahai's father-in-law. I saw him take a small scripture wrapped in silk and touch the top of his head lightly, expressing his blessing to Nahai's father-in-law himself. Father Nahai originally clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and after receiving this blessing, he immediately smiled, bowed deeply, and then retreated backwards and left.

The authority of the lama is deep. Even a noble person like Nahai's father-in-law should not immediately turn his back to the lama after receiving the blessing, because this is regarded as a sign of disrespect, and it is possible to obtain the Buddha's condemnation, and no one can afford it.

"The Mongols are very devout and sincere. In their culture, the Lama Buddha sitting in the temple is the most envied, even by some of the little nobles on the grassland. Ah, what a fertile religious soil this is, Lou Zhenren, you must seize the opportunity to spread the glory of Tianzun throughout the Mongolian world, which is also the foundation for the dual system of our Manchurian and Mongolian pioneer team to take shape. Captain Wei Wendu took out a cigarette and lit it and said with a smile.

Lou Mengxiong didn't say anything when he heard this, but his eyes were fixed on those arrogant lamas. As a religious person, he had read a lot of documents and information, and he knew how terrible the privileges of these lamas were on the steppe. Some of the most respected lamas tend to live in fixed temples that are very strong, spacious and magnificent (which is actually not cheap in the grasslands), with a top-down management team. This team is composed of lamas at all levels, some are responsible for religious promotion, some are responsible for liaising near and far, some are responsible for financial expenditures, some are in charge of herds - don't doubt it, lamas are not poor, let alone proletarians - of course, there are also people responsible for cultivating a reserve echelon of lamas, in short, this is a class with privileges and a lot of property, and the influence is so deep that the Mongolian nobles in the secular world have to treat them with great courtesy, and when they encounter major events, they have to speak to lamas of the highest level such as the Living Buddha.

To tell the truth, Lou Mengxiong Lou Zhenren is very envious of these "peers" on the grassland, because they are so cool, their status is too noble, and they can enjoy a luxurious life that is no worse than that of ordinary tribal chiefs without doing anything, which is unimaginable to the servants of Tianzun. At the same time, this also stimulates Lou Zhenren's ambition even more, Nima is not active in proselytizing at all can be so happy, if we vigorously promote Taoism on the east coast of Mongolia and achieve great results, then what kind of happy scene should it be?

"Captain Wei, what you said is actually right. The Mongols are the best believers, and now they have not accepted the correct faith, so we need to redouble our efforts to make the majesty and love of the Heavenly Venerable known to more Mongols. Lou Mengxiong replied: "But we should not be too optimistic, and we should also see the various difficulties that exist in reality." The Mongols were very educated and never convinced of outsiders. They can bow to the pressure of your force, greet you in every way, kiss the tips of your boots, but they are truly unattainable nobles in their own Ulus. Even ordinary herdsmen who seem to be honest and honest can lie on the ground and kowtow when they ask for help, such as some people who beg our Taoist priests to heal them; And if they don't need you, they may turn a blind eye to you, even if they walk by in person, and sometimes even want to be rude to you. This kind of character often makes us very embarrassed and even a little confused. Compared to them, the Tunguska barbarians, who live in the mountains and forests all year round, are even more straightforward and lovely. ”

"Of course, we shouldn't be too pessimistic." Lou continued: "The Mongolian world is still worth investing heavily in, and the returns will be very good. What's more, the Buryat Mongols are closer to the Tunguska, and culturally have more of a barbaric atmosphere, not as cunning as those Khalkha Mongols. Our first step should be to make a breakthrough among the Buryat Mongols, to conquer their spiritual world first, and then to do anything else. This is already being done, the Russians are an obstacle, but we are still working on it. ”

"Then Hulunbuir gave up? Faith here doesn't matter? Wei Wendu asked in disbelief.

"Then the sea must return to the true faith." Lou Mengxiong replied bluntly: "I will find a way to increase the missionary efforts here after I go back, and your army can cooperate." We also want to follow the example of those lamas and build a very large Taoist temple here as the center of our mission. I don't believe it, with this mission base, can't compete with those lamas? Many of them are even liars at all! ”

"Ahem, be cautious, be cautious." Wei Wendu smiled awkwardly and changed the subject: "I just like Lou Zhenren's courage." You want to build a Taoist temple in the Hulunbuir grassland, I agree with this, and I appreciate it, and I will negotiate with Nahai about this. It is unrealistic to travel thousands of miles to transport materials here, and the people and materials who built this Taoist temple still have to find a way for him, and we just have to compensate him from somewhere else. And I also hope that your missionary actions will bear fruit as soon as possible, and that the majesty of the Heavenly Venerable will completely envelop the entire Nahai tribe as soon as possible, and then march on the other Mongolian tribes. The dualist strategy of our Manchurian and Mongolian pioneer team has just begun to be implemented, and it is difficult to say where we can go in the future. There are only a few thousand people in the sea department, and all the adult males are only a few hundred people, even if they are all equipped with muskets and cannons, they are useless, how much territory can they conquer? So, at this time, you need the help of your religious system. Religious weapons, religious weapons, this is not just talking, religion can also be a good weapon in many cases, we need you very much in the future, Lou Zhenren. ”

"I am very sure that the Heavenly Venerable will bless you, and at the same time will forgive the poor people of the Sea who have lost their true faith." Lou Mengxiong shook the dust in his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "The Manchu and Mongolian pioneers want to establish a dualistic ruling system, which is to grab territory with Bogd Khan of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and at the same time, it is also to grab territory with Galdan of Moxi Mongolia. As far as I know, the vast majority of lamas in Mobei and Southern Mongolia are still inclined to the Manchu Bogd Khan. In the eyes of these people, Galdan, like us, is not a partner to work with. Cruel, violent, and controlling, Galdan is a man of the world, whom they do not like; And we're implementing a different system, we're digging into their roots, and they don't like it even more. In short, there is still a long way to go, and it is even more difficult to walk. Company Commander Wei, you must be prepared for a long-term struggle, if one generation does not work, there will be two generations, and if two generations fail, there will be three generations, in short, the glory of Tianzun must be spread to the entire Mongolian steppe. ”