Luoyang, White Horse Temple.

Liu Xiu looked at the monk in front of him who was basically not on the same level as the monk in his impression, he was really speechless, and when it came to the wit that was out of tune, Buddhists were really better at it than Taoists. Although Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" has a lot of strange words, compared with the Buddhist classics, it seems very straightforward.

He asked the monk of this month, "My heart is not quiet, I can't be quiet, why does the master teach me?"

As a result, the monk of the Yue clan said, where is your heart, I will help you calm down.

Liu Xiu was speechless, so he could only scold a few times in his heart. Give your heart to you, Lao Tzu is indeed quiet, and it is quiet for thousands of years. What is this? It is no wonder that Buddhism in later generations is more able to fool people than Taoism, and it has a great influence, but there are few monks who are really Taoist, and there are many abbots who drive BMWs and wear famous watches.

Liu Xiu decided not to discuss Buddhist scriptures with this foreign monk, and he asked if there were epic wars like the Battle of Zhuolu in the myths and stories of Tianzhu. Zhi Lou Jia thought for a long time, and nodded his gray-haired head: "Yes, but it is not handed down by the Buddha, we do not study." ”

Liu Xiu was both surprised and curious, and begged for a long time, and the old monk said that there was an ancient legend in Tianzhu, saying that in the distant past, there was a scuffle between the gods, and they used a weapon called Ernia, which was so powerful that it could burn the whole earth red and destroy cities and villages.

Nuclear weapon? A long-lost word suddenly popped up in Liu Xiu's mind.

The old monk originally thought that Liu Xiu came to ask about the Buddhist scriptures, so he began to be very enthusiastic, because Liu Xiu held a conference in Luoyang, he also participated, he didn't dare to be interested in those things outside his heart, but he was very thoughtful about Liu Xiu's hype level, Liu Xiu came to ask, he wanted to attract Liu Xiu over, and also help Buddhism, a foreign religion, to publicize it, but he didn't expect Liu Xiu to be not interested in Buddhist scriptures, but interested in those sideways stories, the old monk was very shocked, and he was not interested in talking to Liu Xiu anymore.

"Does the master know that there is such a text?"

"Yes, but not with me." The old monk forced his surname, "I don't know if An Shigao has it, you go to find him, maybe there will be a harvest." ”

When Liu Xiu heard this, the old monk was driving people away, so he had to leave in a huff. He then went to An Shigao, who was too old to get out of bed, and Liu Xiu took a lot of effort to learn from him that there was a scripture called "Mahabharata" in Tianzhu, which recorded the war.

However, at the moment they do not have this scripture, which is a Brahmanical scripture that Buddhists do not study, and this scripture is very voluminous, and it is written in Sanskrit, and ordinary people cannot study it at all.

Liu Xiu didn't think too much about it, the god of Tianzhu had nothing to do with him, he just felt a little surprised, why did several ancient civilizations record this kind of almost fantasy war, could there really be such a war?

After returning from the visit, Liu Xiu, Lu Shi and Fengxue chatted casually about the Tianzhu version of the battle of Zhuolu that the old monk said, and they were also very curious. However, they are all staunch theists, and their suspicions are far less serious than Liu Xiu's, and there is no psychological barrier to acceptance.

"Don't be too anxious, adults. Now that you are worried about the war in the northern frontier, it is not surprising that it is difficult to calm down. Cultivators usually live in the mountains and forests, and what they seek is that there is no interference, although the adults have good qualifications, but in the middle of the city to cultivate the Tao, it is indeed difficult, and it cannot be achieved without great wisdom. Lu comforted: "Maybe after this battle, the adults may be able to feel at ease." ”

Liu Xiu smiled bitterly, peace of mind? I'll wait to cry. If Tanshi Huai is really as powerful as Feng Xue said, this battle will undoubtedly be lost, and when the time comes, the northern Xinjiang will be full of flames, how can you feel at ease. However, what Lu said is also true for a few days, generally cultivators are looking for a secluded place, not asking about mundane things, how can a busy person like him who has to accompany the Son of Heaven to play art during the day and play with his wife at night can cultivate the Tao. If he had cultivated it easily, wouldn't Wang Zhi, who had been working hard in the mountains for decades, jump off the building.

Thinking of it, Liu Xiu's mood was a little lighter, and he didn't have a match with them. He made fun of them and said, it would be nice to have this kind of weapon, I will make one and throw it back and forth, no matter how powerful the sandalwood locust is, it will definitely turn into a cloud of green smoke.

Feng Xue retorted that it was a weapon of the gods, and only gods could use it, and ordinary people were not qualified at all.

Liu Xiu laughed, and said in his heart that if he wanted to say so, the twenty-first century would be the century of gods, not only with such powerful weapons, but also with big iron birds flying all over the sky, and people even landed on the moon. Lao Tzu has taken a plane, is he also one of the immortals? Of course, Lao Tzu's soul that has traveled through two thousand years is the white ascension.

Liu Xiu's heart suddenly moved: "Madam, at the end of the practice, can the soul leave the body?" ”

Lu Shi laughed shallowly: "When a person dies, isn't it a soul leaving the body." The physical body is only the temporary abode of the soul, and only the soul is the original surname. In the soul, the soul is yin and turbidity, and when he returns to the underworld after death, he cannot soar, only the soul that is yang and clear can fly. My lord, although your cultivation is not enough, you do have a spiritual surname. ”

Liu Xiu was unimpressed by Lu's appreciation, but he was interested in the statement of soul and spirit, and he always thought that there was no difference between soul and spirit.

Lu Shi explained in detail, she specifically mentioned a problem, the soul was originally a saying in Chu witchcraft, the Central Plains generation only has a spirit, Chu is a heavy witch, but also the source of Taoist thought, Lao Tzu is a Chu person, although Zhuangzi is a Song country, but his ancestors are also Chu royal family, and he was later deeply influenced by Chu culture, in fact, he is still a Chu person. So far, the most secret inheritance of Taoism has been in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in the Bashu area, where many cultivators say that it is the last kingdom of God and are willing to go there to grow grass for a house.

Liu Xiu suddenly realized that there was an ideological basis for the establishment and growth of Taoism in Bashu. However, he is not very convinced of the last kingdom of God, he thinks that maybe it is because the environment of Bashu is relatively closed, and the deep mountains and old forests are more suitable for cultivation, maybe because the legacy of believing in witches and witches is quite widespread, witchcraft has developed into Taoism, and various folk religions plus Lao Tzu's five thousand words as a guiding principle, it is reasonable to develop into Taoism.

Fusheng stole half idle. The leisurely time always passed quickly, and it was already said that it had been slanted westward, Liu Xiu said goodbye to the Lu family and Fengxue, got up and went back to the house, just arrived at the gate of the house, and before he could get off the horse, Liu Bei greeted him.

"Your Majesty has summoned you to the palace immediately."

"What's the matter?" Liu Xiu didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly turned the horse's head, Liu Bei rode a horse, followed closely, walked side by side with Liu Xiu, and hurriedly said the news he had just received.

There was an accident in Bingzhou, the new assassin Zhang Yi was killed, Beizhong Lang sent Changshi Jia Xu to the horse, Zhang Yi forcibly levied the people, provoked a mutiny, and was killed by the rebels, but Situ Yuan Kui said that this must be Jia Xu's crime to go to war and incite the rebellious people to rebel, the crime is unforgivable, and he should be arrested immediately, and at the same time find out whether there is anyone behind it.

This spearhead is obviously directed at Liu Xiu.

Liu Bei was very worried, and reminded Liu Xiu all the way to deal with it carefully and not to get involved in this matter. Liu Xiu was indifferent, was there anyone behind it? Of course there is, it is Lao Tzu, but Lao Tzu is not fighting alone, and the Son of Heaven is the biggest instigator. The only problem now is that the Son of Heaven will not admit this matter, and he must carry the burden alone, so that Yuan Kui will not dare to get involved in the state again. The Son of Heaven will support him, but he will not do it himself.

As expected, as soon as Liu Xiu saw the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven couldn't help but smile, and nodded with his finger Liu Xiudao: "Small means? ”

Liu Xiu smiled and said nothing.

The Son of Heaven beckoned and motioned for Liu Xiu to go with him, Liu Xiu didn't understand what he meant, and followed the Son of Heaven around a few doors and came to a small courtyard, the Son of Heaven pushed open the door excitedly, and said to Liu Xiu triumphantly: "Look, how is my set of tools better than yours?" ”

Liu Xiu took a look, there was a finely carved pottery tool in the center of the very tidy room, and there were neat carving tools on the case next to it, all kinds of bamboo knives and skewers were readily available, and there were several rows of shelves along the wall, which were also made of precious wood, and the carving was exquisite and complicated. There are a few works that have just been completed on the shelf, although they are still a little lacking compared to him, but as a novice who has only studied for a few days as the Son of Heaven, Liu Xiu has to admit that this guy is like an emperor, but he is very talented in playing art.

"Your Majesty's family is worth a lot."

"You mean to say that my craft is not good?" The Son of Heaven immediately tasted the subtext that Liu Xiu didn't say.

Liu Xiu laughed, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that His Majesty can make such a work in only a few days, which can indeed be said to be a thousand miles." It's just that Your Majesty, the minister thinks that you are standing too low, and what you see with your eyes is just a boxy sky, and you can see things that you often see. ”

"What do you mean?" The Son of Heaven asked puzzled while rolling up his sleeves.

"Your Majesty, the minister means that you have nothing to say about your craft, and your progress is very fast. However, what you want to make is probably just the utensils that are often used, I wonder if the minister guessed correctly? ”

Tianzi was stunned for a moment, and his eyes rolled, "You mean to say that my works are too rigid in practicality?" ”

Liu Xiu clapped his hands and praised: "Your Majesty is really born smart, draw inferences from one example, no, it is to know ten by example." ”

"Less." The Son of Heaven was in a very good mood, and with a wave of his hand, he interrupted Liu Xiu's sycophancy, sat on one side of the roulette wheel with his legs crossed, pointed to the opposite side, and motioned for Liu Xiu to sit down as well. Liu Xiu is a little embarrassed, this posture is very common in later generations, but now it is a very rude action, called Ji sitting, most of the pants worn by people in the Han Dynasty are still two-legged crotch pants, this posture is very easy to walk away. He is used to riding horses and wears crotch pants, so he doesn't have this worry, but if he sits opposite the Son of Heaven like this, when the Son of Heaven is excited, he will inevitably have the possibility of going out.

If the Son of Heaven is a big beauty, Liu Xiu may still be a little interested, a big man, Liu Xiu doesn't have this taste.

"Your Majesty, how dare the minister sit with Your Majesty, the minister is still waiting on the side." Liu Xiu said very humbly.

The Son of Heaven didn't want to have him, so he fiddled with the mud by himself, and said softly: "Yuan Kui is angry, and he wants me to issue an edict to kill Jia Xu, and tomorrow the court fights, you come to participate, and extinguish his prestige for me." ”

Liu Xiu had already prepared, and hurriedly agreed: "Only." ”

"I guess that if Yuan Kui can't take away the state, he will also force you to obey Yuan Shao's command. I know that Yuan Shao used to be your subordinate, and now he is under his command, and you must be a little unhappy in your heart. The Son of Heaven slammed the mud hard, and the sound of crackling was endless, as if he was hitting Yuan Kui's face, I don't know if it was because of force or pride, a blush appeared on his face: "However, I hope to ...... You can...... Patience. I can't bear it...... then the chaos ...... Conspiracy. ”

"Listen to Your Majesty's teachings."

"Hey, hey." The Son of Heaven raised his arm, wiped the fine sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, looked at the mud on the case, and beckoned: "Come and see, is this okay?" ”

Liu Xiu hurriedly walked over and glanced at it: "Your Majesty, you are not familiar enough, and if you fall a hundred or ten times, you will be almost gone." ”

The Son of Heaven was taken aback: "One hundred and ten times? It's a lot of work. He thought about it, rolled his eyes again, and said to himself: "I understand, no wonder the previous works are deformed as soon as they are burned, it turns out that the mud surname is not familiar." ”

"Your Majesty, the hundred steels are rounded around the fingers, which is the same as slow-cooking old chicken, if the heat is not good, it is not delicious. Otherwise, pottery is a good way to hone one's heart, and this is not only when it is made, but also from the beginning of clay refining, in fact, it is ......."

"You talk a lot, and you talk like a mother-in-law?" The Son of Heaven stretched out his hand and scooped it out in the muddy water, and suddenly wiped it on Liu Xiu's face, his eyes glared: "Isn't it that if you don't teach me a lesson, you will be uncomfortable?" ”

Liu Xiu touched the muddy water on his face, very embarrassed, not laughing, not angry.

Seeing his embarrassment, the Son of Heaven couldn't help but smile again, and waved his muddy hand: "Okay, I understand your intentions, it's nothing more than governing a big country like cooking a small fresh, so I can't be in a hurry." In the future, I will use this pottery to sharpen my surname, and by the way, I will also practice my body. Look, my arm...... Got a lot stronger, right? ”

The Son of Heaven rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders, bent his white arms with great effort, and puffed up his barely visible biceps.

Liu Xiu nodded solemnly. In any case, it is better for the Son of Heaven to do some pottery every day than to fight with the concubines and fairies. With his small physique, it is estimated that it will not take a few years to be squeezed by those women who have nothing to do all day long and have serious excess energy.

"Nominally, you are under his command, but I tell you, you can't really listen to him. Otherwise, there's a good chance he'll push you into the fire pit. The Son of Heaven continued, "You have to watch from the sidelines, if the war goes well, you see the opportunity to pounce on it and take a bite, if you can bite the sandalwood locust to death, then of course it is the best, it really doesn't work, you have to make some contributions, you can't let Yuan Shao be proud." If the war ...... It's not going well...... The movement of the Son of Heaven's hand slowed down, paused for a moment, and his voice was a little astringent: "Then you also have to guard the state for me, and you can't let Tanshi Huai take advantage." He put down the mud and propped his hands on the side of the desk, his thin shoulders shrugged, and his head bowed, as if his shoulders were weak to support his head: "No matter what, save me some face." ”

Liu Xiu's nose was sour, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy, as the emperor of an empire, the Son of Heaven had actually exposed his inner powerlessness when he said this. It's not that he doesn't know that the odds of winning this battle are very small, it's just that he has no other way to think of but to pin his hopes on a miracle.

"Minister...... Never give up. ”

"You can't die." The Son of Heaven laughed to himself, and hid his frustration: "I still want to use you, reuse you, not only to assist me, but also to teach my prince, you are the pillar of me, how can you die." ”

"Your Majesty, in fact, this battle is ......"

"Can you not fight?" The Son of Heaven turned his head to look at Liu Xiu, and grinned silently, both helpless and resolute: "The arrow is on the string, I have to send it." ”

Although the edict has been issued, and the armies from all walks of life are already collecting, the Yuan family is raising grain and grass, and it is far from being in place, and it is still too late to regret it at this time. When the world is stirring, and the people are like sparks, one after another, it is too late. Do you think those people will support the Yuan family with their own property? They will definitely transfer most of the burden to the powerless people, and destroy the last bit of foundation of the Great Han, even if they win this battle, it is only a matter of time before the Great Han collapses, and it will certainly not be too long.

However, the Son of Heaven was reluctant to bring up this topic again, and if he forced it, not only would it have no effect, but it would only waste his hard-earned trust. Liu Xiu sighed secretly and swallowed back the words that came to his lips.

…… Yuan Mansion.

Yuan Kui and Yuan Shao sat silently, He Hao, Chen Yu, Xun Shuang and others sat on the side, all with dark faces, no one spoke, only Yuan Shu jumped like thunder. Zhang Yi is the candidate he recommended, originally thought that he could get the military power of Bingzhou, and then led by him to participate in the war, he had already heard Yuan Shao say that the 10,000 elite cavalry in Bingzhou was built by Liu Xiu, and it was the best equipped and strongest cavalry in northern Xinjiang so far.

As a result, no one thought that Zhang Yi would be beheaded as soon as he arrived in Bingzhou. Yuan Shucai didn't believe in the merge state mutiny, this must be Liu Xiu's trick, he first forced Zang Min away, and now killed Zhang Yi, obviously he wanted to occupy the state and not let go.

So Yuan Shu said, it's useless to pursue Jia Xu, it's right to arrest Liu Xiu directly, Jia Xu is a dog of Liu Xiuxiu, without Liu Xiu's instructions, he dares to do this?

It is a pity that there are almost no people who support him, whether he is impassioned or indignant, no one echoes him. The people sitting here are the core strength of the Yuan family, and the disciples around him are not qualified to sit here to discuss matters, and he is the only one left, looking very helpless.

The more this is the case, the more angry Yuan Shu becomes, he feels that these people are blind, and they only recognize Yuan Shao, the concubine, but they don't take him as a concubine in their eyes.

In the silence of everyone, Yuan Shu brushed his sleeves away.

It wasn't until Yuan Shu's voice disappeared outside the door that Chen Yu opened his mouth unhurriedly. After the news reached the palace, His Majesty sent someone to find Liu Xiu, Liu Xiu was said to have asked the immortals, but he never came. However, judging from His Majesty's mood, this matter seems to be expected by His Majesty. ”

Yuan Kui's forehead was bruised, and the matter of raising money and food had already made him anxious, but he didn't expect that Bingzhou would become a bone that could not be gnawed, and Zang Min and Zhang Yi missed one after another. That Xiliangzi Jia Xu did even more desperately, and actually directly asked people to kill Zhang Yi, isn't he afraid that the court will hold him responsible?

"Jia Xu is a person who never does anything reckless." Chen Yu said, "I have heard some things about him in the palace, this person seems to have no reputation, not obvious, but thoughtful, and he will hit the shot." He twisted his beard, pondered for a moment, and then said: "He took the first exam, and his results were not bad. ”

Yuan Kui's eyelids twitched, and he couldn't help but glance at Chen Yu. The Son of Heaven issued an edict to use the Five Classics as a model to conduct a nationwide examination, wanting to destroy the foundation on which the family could stand, but he gently led it, resulting in a large number of officials who were selected for the examination to be dismissed, and the reputation of the examination was also ruined, and only more than 1,000 people took the examination this year, and less than 100 were admitted, all of whom were poor children with little future. It can be said that the national examination has existed in name only, just waiting for the next edict to be canceled one day, and he is the biggest contributor to this.

Jia Xu didn't jump into that trap? Yuan Kui thought of Mrs. Ma Lun's words, and couldn't help but be a little more disappointed in Yuan Shu. After he released his words and resolutely refused to succeed Yuan Shu, Ma Lun still didn't give up, and a few pillow winds moved him again, but now he felt that Yuan Shu was really incorrigible. Jia Xu stayed well in the palace, but Yuan Shu bullied him and drove him to Northern Xinjiang, and now he is in big trouble for himself.

"The state is Liu Xiu's, and in a short period of time, we can't grab it." Yuan Shao suddenly raised his head, his eyes were clear and firm: "Since this is the case, then let him go back to Bingzhou and still be his Beizhong general." ”

Yuan Kui and the others turned their puzzled eyes on him.

"Can he do your bidding?" Yuan Feng asked worriedly.

"At least I don't believe he will do such a thing as a black hand behind his back." Yuan Shao stood up and calmly: "I have fought side by side with him, I know his strengths, and I am equally clear about his weaknesses." Having him in the state isn't a bad thing for me. ”

Chen Yu also nodded in agreement: "Liu Xiu is bold, but if there is no Son of Heaven behind his back, he will not dare to be so presumptuous." Now it seems that the Son of Heaven does not want to put all his hopes on the general of Zhengbei, and also wants to control part of his own strength, if we forcibly fight for the annexation of the state, I am afraid that it will backfire. ”

Yuan Kui tightened his eyes, and his mouth was a little bitter. Of course he knew this, but now he was riding on the back of a tiger and couldn't get down. This time, in order to make Yuan Shaoli make a great contribution, he used all the strength of the Yuan family, and exposed these forces in front of the Son of Heaven, so that he had no way to retreat, only to move forward.

When the Yuan family is attacking with all their might, leaving the state to Liu Xiu and the Son of Heaven will be another hidden danger?

(To be continued)