"What is Sanhua Empress looking at?"
"Well!"
Cat looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, but she didn't answer. Instead, she stopped at his feet and continued to turn her head and look at the ghost town.
"Let's go."
Song You said something and continued to follow the Imperial Master.
The cat also took steps to follow, but kept turning his head, looking up and down, left and right, everywhere.
Occasionally, I followed the wrong person and followed someone else. Fortunately, Sanhua Empress was smart and alert, and she recognized the footsteps of her Taoist priests, especially the horses. When she sensed something was wrong, she turned around and took a look, then ran away as fast as she could. Come back, continue to follow your Taoist priest, and repeat.
"The National Master is so generous."
"Fellow Taoist, you have misunderstood." The Imperial Master said with a smile, "It will take many years for manpower to build such a large underground city. However, this Ye Mountain and several surrounding mountains are empty inside and connected to each other. The fault below the ground seems to have been a piece of heaven and earth originally, and we just slightly repaired it. This is also an important reason why Pindao chose this place."
He paused for a moment and then sighed: "But it still took many years and a lot of manpower and financial resources..."
This sigh is probably true.
Since assisting the imperial government, this imperial advisor has led the promulgation of many policies to benefit the people. Anjifang, nursing home, and Luoze Garden are all based on his suggestions. He is also most concerned about natural disasters in various places, including the death of Empress Sanhua. The reason why elementary school books are so cheap is also thanks to him. There are nearly 20 million people in Dayan, and I don't know how many people have benefited from him. Even if the heart is fake, Song You is willing to treat it as true.
At least a few years ago, the construction of the Yeshan Ghost City was completed, and those civilians were actually let back. Song You met him when he asked for directions on the way here. Those civilians spoke highly of the Imperial Master.
I heard that when they were doing corvee work here, they ate very well, better than at home. Compared with some people who built eternal wonders for the government, the court, and the royal family to show the world and future generations that their civilization was prosperous but still It was so much better for them to ask the peasants to bring their own dry food, so many people came voluntarily. When the construction was about to be completed, another rumor came from someone's mouth, saying that they were building an underground palace and mausoleum for the emperor. After the completion of the construction, in order to prevent the secrets from being leaked, no one could survive. The national master also came out to speak, and he spoke for half an hour. Convinced everyone. After the repairs were completed, these civilians returned home smoothly, and I heard they even received a reward.
At least it's true.
"In recent years, gods from the Heavenly Palace have often come to me in their dreams and talked with me about the ghost city of Yeshan and the underworld." The national master said as he walked, "This ghost city also has their influence."
Song You was half a step behind the Imperial Master, turning his head to look around as he walked.
Except that this ghost city is inside the mountain, it basically imitates the layout of a human city. This is normal. The same is true for the heavenly palace. Even the clothes and makeup of the gods must be based on the aesthetics and habits of the world.
But unconsciously, a flash of blue-white light flashed in his eyes.
The air is clear, the scenery is bright, and everything is in full view.
The ghost town showed its original appearance.
It's a deserted place, but it's not.
The layout of the houses in the city should be made by Yin ghosts. It is the work of Yin ghosts. For people in the Yang world, it is between reality and illusion, but for Yin ghosts, it is real.
Just like the turtle city in Yanzhou, it was deserted during the day, but at night, it was intact as before.
Song Youzai scanned it carefully.
There are formations in the heaven and earth here, which should be laid out by the national master.
But it's just to prevent the ghost energy from leaking out.
Nothing unusual can be seen.
"The Imperial Master is already a great figure in the world, and the gods of the Heavenly Palace were nothing more than that during their lifetimes." Song You answered his words with almost no pause, "The Imperial Master only needs to listen to what is useful."
"How can a poor Taoist be so free and easy?" The Imperial Master smiled helplessly, and still walked in front without looking back. As he walked, he said, "Fortunately, most of the suggestions given by the gods are good. If the underworld is established, it should be from the Heavenly Palace. The gods are sent to take charge here, and since they have also left positions for Your Majesty and Pindao, Pindao has nothing to say, but I don’t know if Your Majesty is willing."
"Appreciate further details."
Song You was still talking and looking around.
But he gradually frowned.
The Imperial Master's practice of involving practitioners in politics was disliked by literati and disdained by military men, not to mention that he had held power for twenty years. If it had been anyone else, he would have been scolded to death. However, there are only a few people in the entire history who are recognized and respected by most civil and military officials in the court and are well received by the people. Even Chen Ziyi respects him very much. It is not easy.
Song You couldn't help but wonder whether it was right or wrong for him to be so suspicious of such a person.
But the doubts are real.
"If the underworld is established, it should imitate the Heavenly Palace. There is a master of the underworld. Needless to say, fellow Taoists should also know which one we have chosen." The national master shook his head helplessly, "But in the dream However, the gods used the excuse of sitting in the underworld and wanted to send an emperor to sit here to supervise all the officials of the underworld and sit together with the Lord of the underworld."
"Which emperor is it?"
"I don't know about that." The Imperial Master paused, "Buddhism also needs to send people to station, and the status is lower than the two. Regardless of whether the Government Affairs Palace seems to have no objection, His Majesty should also agree."
"That's it..."
Song You still looked around and nodded thoughtfully.
The theory of the underworld and reincarnation is the result of the fusion of Buddhism and Taoism as well as folk rumors. Today's Western Heaven of Buddhism can be considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Palace. Since the underworld is about to appear in the world, it leaves a higher status but no real power for Buddhism. The location is normal.
As for Emperor Dayan...
The emperor does not believe in Taoism or Buddhism, and he is the only one who is supreme. The royal family is still building Buddhist grottoes on the riverside plank road by the Yuqu River. If he becomes the master of the underworld, even if the heavenly palace is the Dayan Palace, what about the red gold emperor? He is his direct ancestor, but since there are gods from the Celestial Palace stationed there, even if Buddhism is not mentioned, I am afraid he is willing to add another Buddhist position.
"Folk legend has it that there is a ghost king in the underworld. Since the people's hearts are united, this cannot be violated." The national master continued, "I have planned to build three halls in this ghost city."
"please continue."
"The first hall is in charge of all the ghosts who come to the ghost city, registering them, judging good and evil, and reviewing merits and demerits to see if there are any demerits. The second hall is in charge of rewards and punishments. Good deeds will be rewarded, and delinquencies will be punished. Third hall The palace takes care of all the ghosts stranded in the underworld, keeping them in peace, performing their duties, and not causing trouble." The Imperial Master paused, "There should have been a fourth hall, in charge of future reincarnations, but now the underworld has not been completed. There is no reincarnation, and now in this ghost town, it is just an empty frame."
"Who are the ghost kings?"
"It hasn't been decided yet." The Imperial Master paused, "It's just a preliminary design, and it's not perfect yet. Fortunately, I don't have much time to slowly improve it, and there will be many changes in the future."
"It's always been like this with gods and ghosts."
Song You nodded, pondered for a moment, and then asked: "Why are there demon tribes here?"
"Haha, there are many ghosts here, including many evil spirits. The situation in the underworld will attract many demons and monsters to secretly covet them. However, the poor Taoist has limited moral skills and does not know how to fight." The national master smiled, "Of course we invite them here to help the poor Taoist. With one hand, we can suppress the evil spirits causing trouble and frighten the demons and monsters.”
"In return, the National Master will leave a place for them in the ghost town?"
"Leave a high position under His Majesty." The Imperial Master said, "Now the times have changed. From now on, whether the Tao is prosperous and the Buddha is declining, or the Buddha is prosperous and the Tao is declining, the world will always be ruled by humanity. These great demons No matter what, they can't make trouble. They are very capable, but they don't want to die. They want to find a position. The underworld is about to be completed, and the Ghost Emperor is weak and needs help. This is good for everyone."
"rational."
It is said that it is a place left in the ghost city, but the ghost city is the prototype of the underworld, and it will naturally extend to the underworld in the future.
These great demon clans passed down from ancient times are very capable. If they encounter a storm and do not restrain themselves, they may become another demon king who encloses the land and annihilates the heavenly palace. However, it is indeed no longer the case now. In their world, the possibility of them dominating the underworld is quite low. Regardless of the Heavenly Palace or Buddhism, the incense and fire divine way is essentially human, and they will not sit back and watch them grow.
Although the National Preceptor is not very powerful, maybe any god can kill him, but the gods come from the human world, but the National Preceptor holds real power in the human world.
It was normal for these big monsters to find him.
It is indeed good for both parties.
If the current emperor really became the Ghost Emperor, he would be happy to have such a powerful force.
Song You thought for a while and then asked again: "I was walking in the north before, and I often met people who asked me to interpret their dreams. They all said that they dreamed that their deceased relatives were burned by fire. I don't know why?"
"Those ghosts must have committed capital crimes during their lifetime, but they were not resolved, so when they came here, they were reflected in the karma mirror and burned to ashes. There was a secret connection between the close relatives." The Imperial Master answered without hesitation. He paused for a moment, "This is also a helpless move."
"What's the alternative?"
"First of all, the underworld has not yet been completed, and the ghost city has only just been built. However, the way of heaven is changing rapidly. There are more and more ghosts in the world, and the ghost city can hardly hold it. Secondly, the ghost city is actually still very fragile. Now is the critical moment for the establishment of order. We can't tolerate those evil ghosts causing trouble." The Imperial Master said, "So the punishment for evil ghosts is currently very strict, so as to prevent them from being instigated by someone with good intentions to cause trouble in the ghost city."
"In troubled times, we should use heavy codes."
"That's the truth." The Imperial Master nodded and said, "It's only in the past few years that several great demons from Yuezhou have come to help poor Tao."
"I see that this place is very orderly, just like a small underworld. Now that the world has changed, but the world is not in chaos, the national master is indispensable." Song You said to him.
"It is not the fault of Pindao alone." The Imperial Master said, "Pindao is just the central coordinator. To calculate the credit, we can only say that there are countless capable people in Dayan, and there are many capable ghosts when people die."
Song You smiled when he heard this, as if he just remembered:
"By the way, when I was walking to the north, I met a man from Yanzhou who was warm and simple. I was entertained by him for no reason. I was grateful, so I promised him to send a message to his son who was joining the army in the north. But when we went to Liaoxin in the north, At the time of the pass, I heard that the place had fallen, and not a single one of the defenders survived..."
"What's that person's name? Where is he from?"
"The surname is Lin, and there are many people in Yanzhou who are stationed at Liaoxin Pass." Song You saluted him.
"Go find it!"
The Imperial Master waved his hand, and a ghost in official robes beside him immediately left.
"Although the ghost city has just been established, all the ghosts who come here are recorded." The national master said to him, "It's just that not everyone can become a ghost after death, and not all ghosts can be sent by ghosts." I brought it here, so I don’t dare to promise fellow Taoists that I will definitely find it.”
"As expected, the Imperial Master has managed this place in an orderly manner." Song You complimented, his expression unchanged, "But it's troublesome for the Imperial Master. Of course it's good if you can find him, but it doesn't matter even if you can't find him. Regardless of whether you can find him or not, it's a substitute. I have ended that fate, so I should thank the Imperial Master."
"Easy to do."
The Imperial Master just smiled and said, "Just in time to see how the Yin Official in the First Palace is doing."
Then he continued to take Song Xing around the ghost town, introducing him side by side, what the different areas were doing, which official residences and offices were set up in the ghost town, and what he had in mind...
Song You and Sanhua Empress both listened carefully and looked carefully.
It’s just that even with the help of Qingming’s spiritual power, Song You couldn’t see any abnormal arrangements. Listening to the Imperial Master’s narration and careful understanding, he couldn’t see any big differences. Even if the Imperial Master had a plot, it was probably just the most important thing. The ghost king of that palace was left to him. No matter how great he was, he just made some tricks and relied on the arrangements to push out the emperor who was not dead, and he firmly took the position of ghost emperor.
But this is not what Song You is looking for.
In other words, even if the Imperial Master really plans to become the Lord of the Underworld, as long as he can be recognized by the Heavenly Palace and as long as he can kick the emperor out, Song You doesn't care at all.
Maybe he is better than that emperor.
This is how the current Chijin Emperor came. It is obvious that he does not manage the Tiangong very well.
And the Heavenly Palace is different from the Underworld.
Most of the gods of the Heavenly Palace are people with outstanding virtues. It is difficult to say how much influence the Chijin Great Emperor has on the operation of the Heavenly Palace, whether it has more benign influence or more malignant influence. Moreover, there are not many gods in the Heavenly Palace, so they are relatively easy to manage.
But the ghosts in the underworld are endless.
These ghosts do not have the virtues of gods.
A lord of the underworld who lacks virtue may have a greater impact than a lord of heaven who lacks virtue.
In this regard, Taoist priests are not as good as Sanhua Empress.
At least Sanhua Empress can easily find the answers to her questions here.
"There are no rats here!"
The calico cat raised its head and said to the Taoist.
"Because the ghost spirit is too strong."
The Taoist gave the answer calmly.
"Because it's too heavy~"
The cat repeated something in a low voice, then lowered its head again, continuing to look around and smelling the rotten and turbid smell in the air.
After wandering around for a long time, the Yin official finally came back.
At this time, he was holding a book in his hand.
"Reporting to the Imperial Master, there is indeed such a ghost. He was detained in the ghost city three and a half years ago." Yin Guan came over and said, and showed the book to the Imperial Master and Song You, "That Lin You originally had a pure heart. But later, after joining the army, he became involved in problems with the soldiers in the north. He once robbed money and killed civilians in the north, and even raped and killed women."
"..."
Song You was silent for a moment and continued to ask: "I wonder how he will end up?"
"Death by burning in the fire." The Yin official replied.
"Burning, killing, and looting are commonplace in the army. Even though crimes are now heavily punished, when faced with northern sergeants, as long as the mistakes they make are not too big, even poor officials will ask the underworld officials to give them a lighter punishment." The national preceptor said, "This criminal The crime he committed should be particularly unforgivable, that’s why.”
"..."
Song You took the book and looked at it.
It's written clearly above.
There are related records before and after. The recorded ghosts are divided into five categories. Their names and places of origin, why they died, when they died, when they came here, how good and evil they were during their lifetimes, and what they are doing now are all clearly remembered.
Song You had long known that Lin You's ghost was burned by the fire, and now he just wanted to know the reason.
But I really can't find fault with it.
Even if he trusts Lin Chang's family and trusts that Lin You was kind-hearted before joining the army, as the national preceptor said, burning, killing, looting and looting are commonplace in the army these days. People from Saibei did what they did when they came to Dayan, and Dayan's army probably went to Saibei as well. Such virtue may even be the same for one's own people, who are kind-hearted and kind-hearted. When it comes to the dyeing vat, it is difficult to get out of the mud without being stained. Or even if you try your best to persevere, sometimes the atmosphere and timing are all in place, and with a single thought, you will follow the crowd and make a big mistake.
Really can't fault it.
Song You had no choice but to look down at Sanhua Empress.
Sanhua Empress seemed to sense something. She was seriously visiting the ghost town, but she also raised her head and stared at him with a pair of bright eyes.
But I don’t know what Empress Sanhua thinks.
(End of chapter)
