Han Du was thinking hard, and suddenly a thought occurred to him, and he said with a smile: "Your Majesty, since we can't let one Buddhist family dominate overseas, why not bring in another family?"
"Invite another family?" Lao Zhu was stunned for a moment, then realized and said: "You mean, bring in the Taoist sect as well. Let them go to preach overseas like the Buddhist sect?"
"Exactly," Han Du explained with a smile: "If there is Buddhism alone, then Buddhism will definitely expand unscrupulously overseas. But with the addition of Taoism, it will be different. Taoism will definitely not want to see Buddhism grow. , so they will inevitably expand to deal with Buddhism. With the restraint of Taoism, it will not be easy for Buddhism to grow."
Lao Zhu couldn't help but hesitate after listening to Han Du's words. After all, he was too old, his hair was all white, and even his eyes were starting to become cloudy.
However, his mind was still as clear-headed as ever. He pondered for a moment and asked, "What if both the Buddhist and Taoist sects grow stronger together?"
Han Du straightened his back, shook his head and said: "Even so, it doesn't matter. If any one of them has undue thoughts, as long as the court tilts towards the other one, it will be enough to stop them from taking any rash action. "
"I believe that even if both sects become stronger, they will only obey the imperial court's orders more and will not take over the throne."
Lao Zhu finally nodded with satisfaction, agreeing with Han Du's idea.
He laughed loudly and said: "In this case, it is better to choose a day than to hit the sun. I will summon Zhang Tianshi here. You can also see what he thinks."
"My lord, I obey." Han Du stood up and bowed.
Lao Zhu turned his head and ordered to the old eunuch: "Pass the decree to summon Tianshi Zhang to the palace for an audience."
...
The Zhang Tianshi mentioned by Lao Zhu is exactly the current Tianshi Zhang Yuchu.
Zhang Yuchu is the eldest son of the previous Celestial Master Zhang Changcheng. He is also known as one of the most erudite scholars in the history of the Celestial Masters of the Zhengyi Sect. He is known as a master of Taoism.
In the tenth year of Hongwu's reign, Zhang Changchang passed away, and Zhang Yuchu inherited the Zhengyi sect and became a new generation of heavenly masters.
In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu issued an edict to pardon Zhang Yuchu and confer him the title of "Zhengyi Sijiao Dao He Wuwei Chanzu Guangfan Da Zhenren", and ordered him to build a temple and a memorial ceremony in Zhongshan, and build a sacred temple for Zhang Yuchu to preach. . In the twenty-fourth year, Lao Zhu issued another decree to grant the "Longhu Mountain Celestial Master Zhengyi Xuantan Seal".
Receiving the "Longhu Mountain Celestial Master Zhengyi Xuantan Seal" is not a good thing for the Zhengyi Sect. Because at the same time, Lao Zhu also decreed that from now on, the private sale of talismans was prohibited, which meant that the Zhengyi sect could not freely give talismans to recruit Taoist priests.
If you want to develop Taoist priests, you must have Lao Zhu nod his consent and stamp the "Longhu Mountain Tianshi Zhengyixuan Altar Seal".
Maybe some people think that stamping a big seal is not easy? Anyway, the "Longhu Mountain Celestial Master Zhengyixuan Altar Seal" is now in Zhang Yuchu's hands. Didn't he just take it out and cover it if he wanted to?
But this thing is equivalent to the official seal given by Lao Zhu. The official seal is indeed in the hands of every official, but has anyone seen any official who can randomly stamp the official seal at will?
It was precisely because of the restrictions from the emperor that the Zhengyi sect struggled to develop, and even Zhang Yuchu was demoted for a time.
Yes, Zhang Yuchu is indeed a genius, but the emperor does not like Taoism. Even if he has thousands of beautiful things in his heart, he will not have the opportunity to show any of them, and no one will see them.
When Lao Zhu's decree was conveyed to God, Zhang Yuchu was fasting in the Zhenwu Hall.
A young Taoist priest had a surprised expression on his face and jumped up from the steps in a panic. When he passed the temple gate, he tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground with a "plop" and rolled several times.
Zhang Yuchu turned his back to the palace door and asked calmly without any blame: "Did you fall?"
"No, no, please ask the Heavenly Master to punish you." The little Taoist priest quickly bowed down.
Zhang Yuchu turned around and asked without any intention of accusing him, "What makes you so panicked?"
"Celestial Master, this is good news, great news." When the little Taoist heard the question from the Celestial Master, he immediately remembered the news he had brought and said quickly: "The emperor has sent a decree to summon the Celestial Master to the palace immediately."
Zhang Yu was happy when he heard this at first, but then he became strange. It stands to reason that the current emperor dislikes him very much, otherwise he would have issued a special edict to prohibit him from teaching the talismans privately.
Although Buddhism is also prohibited from ordaining people privately, it also establishes ultimatums to strictly manage the number of monks in the world. But Buddhism is already vast, so even in so many years, there has not been a new ultimatum. The number of monks in the world,
There are also many more Taoists.
And Buddhism has always been incompatible with their Taoist sect. Of course, Buddhism will not let go of the opportunity that the Taoist sect is now weak, and has carried out crazy suppression on the Taoist sect.
Zhang Yuchu was indeed an outstanding individual, facing the pressure from the Buddhist sect, which was several times stronger than the Taoist sect, and the restrictions from the imperial court. He was actually able to swim upstream and make the Tao Sect flourish and prosper.
However, Zhang Yuchu knew in his heart that the emperor did not want to see him. Now that he was suddenly summoned, could he be ordered to pray for rain again?
Zhang Yuchu couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts, so he immediately taught himself a lesson.
"Good luck!"
Zhang Yuchu had never divined this hexagram for himself since he learned divination, and he never expected that he would divine it on this ordinary day.
wrong! Perhaps this day was ordinary in the past, but from now on this day will be an extraordinary day for him and even the Taoist sect.
"Hahaha, where is the person who delivered the decree? Pindao will go to the palace immediately to see him."
...
Han Du was left in the palace and could not go anywhere.
If it were the past, Han Du would definitely take this opportunity to pay a visit to Queen Ma. After all, Han Du spent a lot of time at sea in the past, and could not stay in the capital even half of the time. Naturally, the number of visits to Queen Ma in the palace was not many.
Although Queen Ma did not blame Han Du for this, Han Du himself felt apologetic in his heart.
But now that Queen Ma is gone, Han Du can no longer go to Lao Zhu's harem.
Moreover, Lao Zhu recruited another beauty Zhang in the past few years. It is said that he was only 28 years old at the time, and he is only in his twenties now.
Sure enough, a man will remain a boy until he dies, and even Lao Zhu is not exempt from this. Even if he is seventy years old, he still likes eighteen-year-olds.
...
Zhang Yuchu came very quickly. He was even more anxious to see the emperor than the eunuch who went to deliver the decree.
But no matter how anxious he was, he could only wait outside the palace gate. After the eunuch who passed the order came to the palace to report, he would have the opportunity to see the emperor.
After listening to the eunuch's report, Lao Zhu sent someone to call Zhang Yuchu to come over.
After Han Du arrived, he was still sitting aside by Lao Zhuci.
Lao Zhu smiled and said to Han Du: "Do you know who the current Heavenly Master is?"
Han Du shook his head slightly and said, "This minister doesn't know what he is doing."
Han Du is not interested in Buddhism and Taoism, so he has many contacts with Buddhism. That's because he accidentally got into trouble with Buddhism, and later on, he got to know each other well. But Han Du really knew nothing about Taoism.
Lao Zhu didn't care. Instead, he seemed to have thought of something and fell into memories. He sighed: "This Zhang Yuchu is a capable person. You will know when he comes soon."
While Lao Zhu and Han Du were talking, a eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the great master Zheng Yijiao Dao He Wuwei Chan Zu Guangfan has arrived~"
Lao Zhu withdrew his gaze from Han Du and said in a deep voice: "Pass!"
The old eunuch immediately took a step forward, waved his fly whisk, and said loudly: "Pass! Zheng Yisi teaches Taoism and Wuwei Chan Zu Guangfan, the great master, Zhang Yuchu comes to visit~"
Zhang Yuchu heard the message outside the palace gate and immediately sorted out his thoughts. He also held a whisk, lowered his head, bowed slightly, and walked quickly into the hall like an audience.
When he came to his position and stood still, Zhang Yuchu bowed respectfully, without any sign of a master.
"Zhang Yuchu, pay homage to the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor~"
Lao Zhu raised his hand slightly and said: "Sit down if you are flat!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Yuchu stood up and slowly straightened up before he dared to look up at the Emperor in front of him.
As soon as he raised his head, he saw a young man wearing a marquis python robe, with handsome features, a fair and rosy complexion, and a small beard sitting beside him.
Zhang Yuchu just glanced in surprise and then turned his attention to the emperor. The last time he saw the emperor, the emperor still had black hair, but now it has become a full head of white hair.
At this time, the eunuch also moved a Jin Dun, which was placed just opposite Han Du.
Han Du was on the emperor's left hand side, and Zhang Yuchu was on the emperor's right hand side.
From the perspective of the left hand, it is obvious that the opponent's status is higher than that of Zhang Yuchu. Although his status as the Great Master of the First Cult is only the second rank, since he is the leader of the Taoist sect, his status is no worse than that of an ordinary marquis, and may even be slightly higher.
Since it's not because of his status, it means that this person's status in the emperor's heart is higher than his.
Zhang Yuchu suddenly thought of the "good fortune" hexagram he had figured out before going out. He immediately looked at Han Du and smiled at Han Du hoping to get closer.
Han Du was suddenly stunned when he saw him. He didn't understand how he could signal to him like this when it was his first time to see him. However, Han Du still responded with a smile.
After Zhang Yuchu sat down, Lao Zhu smiled and said, "Do you know why I summoned you to the palace today?"
Zhang Yuchu quickly lowered his head and said to himself: Although Pindao doesn't know what it is, Pindao knows that it must be a great and happy event.
"Zhang Yuchu didn't know, but he still asked the emperor to give orders. Zhang Yuchu would go through fire and water without hesitation!"
When Lao Zhu heard this, he laughed happily, waved his hand towards Han Du, and said: "Han Du, you should tell him."
"My lord, I obey the order!" Han Du bowed to Lao Zhu.
