Mu Sheng was greatly puzzled when he heard this and asked, "Master, why did you say this? Why can't I stay on the mountain and practice together with my brothers?"
At this time, the master's wife spoke: "Sheng'er, your master has his own reasons for letting you stay in the capital. Just listen to your master."
Li Wendao said, "Sheng'er, you can't just go up the mountain if you want. Even if you ask His Majesty, His Majesty will not agree to you going up the mountain to practice Taoism now. You should go back."
After hearing the words of his master and his wife, Mu Sheng understood a little. Maybe it was because of his title as king that it involved matters in the court. After chatting for a few words about family affairs, Mu Sheng said goodbye to his master and his wife and went down the mountain.
Before leaving, Li Wen ordered the gray-haired outer disciples around him to ask the old man Li Yuan to escort Mu Sheng down the mountain.
Before going down the mountain, Mu Sheng went to see his senior brother again to say goodbye. When he saw that his senior brother was not in Yuzhen Sect, he gave up. He guessed that his senior brother might have gone down the mountain for something. As a monk, he did not always stay on the mountain to practice. Most of the time, he still had to travel in the world. Cultivating one's mind is equally important.
On the way down the mountain, the old man named Li Yuan accompanied Mu Sheng all the way. Although this outer disciple was a white-headed man, he seemed to be in good spirits. He was out of breath and his heart was not beating all the way up and down the mountain. He seemed to be a practitioner. Family son.
Mu Sheng said politely, "Mr. Li, thank you for sending me off."
Li Yuanci smiled kindly and said, "What are you talking about, senior brother? How dare I refuse to do what my father ordered me to do? This is what I and other outer disciples should do."
When Mu Sheng heard this, he was shocked. The kind-hearted old man in front of him was actually the son of his master Li Wen? Judging from his age, he must be seventy or eighty, right?
He took a closer look at Li Yuan's eyebrows and there was indeed a hint of the master's charm, but at his age he didn't seem to be his master's wife's son, so Mu Sheng asked a few more tentative questions.
As he had guessed, Li Yuan was the son of the master's first wife. When he thought of a white-headed old man over a hundred and fifty years old calling his father to a man who looked to be only in his early thirties, he couldn't say it. weird.
Mu Sheng sighed in his heart. This was because the monks lived too long. As their cultivation level improved, they no longer looked old and had good looks, which made people feel weird.
Seeing that the master's sons were all very old, he estimated that the master's great-great-grandsons had already been born. People in this era generally got married very early. The Li family had spread out in the Yuzhen Sect, so it could be considered a big family...
During the conversation, Li Yuan was envious of monks like them who could truly practice. After talking to Li Yuan several times, Mu Sheng probably also had some understanding of the situation of the outer disciples of Yuzhen Sect.
In fact, the Yuzhen Sect has been constantly recruiting outer disciples from the society. If the outer disciples stay in the sect for up to three years and are unable to practice, or their cultivation qualifications are too poor, they will be given a settling-in allowance and sent home.
Among them, the outstanding outer disciples who can cultivate will be selected by the sect as inner disciples, and the sect will allocate resources to focus on training.
There are also ordinary people like Li Yuan who are completely unable to practice. Because he is the son of the master, there is someone above him, and he is the son of the top leader of the Yuzhen Sect, he will be arranged to be an outer sect director within the sect, and he is mainly responsible for managing the scattered areas. The industries of the Yuzhen Sect in various places are also extremely lucrative. It can be said to be a reality version. One person attains enlightenment, and chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
These outer sect directors in the sect are basically relatives or relatives of someone in the elders' house. Ordinary outer sect disciples don't even think about it. After three years, they immediately pack up and leave, unless they are selected as inner sect disciples by Yuzhen Sect. In that society The status immediately changed.
If he can't practice, even the headmaster's biological son can only stay in the outer sect, because there is no point in wasting cultivation resources on ordinary people.
I heard from Li Yuan that his father, Li Wen, was Mu Sheng's master. He gave birth to twelve children, seven boys and five girls, none of whom could practice. He also had more than thirty grandchildren and no one among his great-grandchildren could practice well. He was doing well. Some of them work outside to earn a living, or they work as tenant farmers here.
Even being a tenant in the Yuzhen Sect is a good job that most people can't ask for. The hundreds of thousands of hectares of fertile land under the Yuzhen Sect's name do not need to pay taxes to the court, and tenants are exempted from corvee for life. Some local gentry even pay heavily to the Yuzhen Sect every year. The purpose of paying tribute was to get a quota as a tenant. Although the land was not actually farmed, it was exempted from corvee labor and the court would not arrest young men to build projects.
Serving as a corvee in ancient times was a very hard job. If the officials were corrupt and the construction deadline was tight, they might end up dying on the construction site. If the officials were lining their own pockets, the people doing the corvée might go hungry. Many people died.
The canal that Mu Sheng passed by when he came to Yue County was filled in with the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. They were really ordinary people, ordinary people, and their lives were as cheap as grass.
This is the origin of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising at the end of Qin Dynasty. In fact, there is no rule in Qin law that people who miss the deadline should be killed. The most is a beating.
Mu Sheng estimated that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's group were really frightened by the Qin Dynasty's too frequent corvee recruitment. They were either exploited by officials, or died of exhaustion and starvation on the construction site, so they simply risked their lives to pull them down. Later, the Han Dynasty After its establishment, it was very cautious about large-scale corvee recruitment, fearing that officials would force the people to rebel.
In short, being able to be exempted from corvee is an incredible benefit in this era. This benefit is more valuable than social security.
After hearing Li Yuan's explanation, Mu Sheng said in his heart, "What a good guy." The Yuzhen Sect is really more powerful than a wealthy family. It is comparable to more than a dozen Rongguo Mansion in the Dream of Red Mansions. It can be said that it is an incomparable country. .
Mu Sheng said, "Mr. Li, are you really living a happy life in Yuzhen Sect?"
Li Yuan sighed when he heard this and said, "Senior, to tell you the truth, although those of us who work as directors are rich, well-paid, and rich in oil and water, what can we do if we have money? What can we do if we earn this wealth? If we don't bring it in life, we won't die. Take it with you. In the end, you don’t come naked and leave naked. I’m getting old too. I’ll be almost eighty in a few years. But the great road will be in vain after all.”
"Unlike you monks, you have a long lifespan and still have the opportunity to understand the way of heaven and become an immortal. We mortals can only think about it. Seeing that our lifespan is about to end, we can only place our hope in reincarnation. Will I have the opportunity to become a monk in my next life..."
Mu Sheng responded silently when he heard the words. When he was almost at the foot of the mountain, he said goodbye to Li Yuan and headed to Quancheng.
Li Yuan's words caused him to think deeply. This was the first time he heard someone have an unabashed desire to practice.
that's true! He, Li Yuan, was born in a monk sect, and his father was also a big monk of the Yuzhen Sect. Even seeing his father's appearance, which is much younger than himself, would make people yearn for him infinitely.
People, when they are well fed and clothed, they always yearn for more things. Hungry people envy people who can eat every meal. People who can eat well envy people who live a happy and happy life. People who live a good life are envious. Envying rich people who have huge wealth, people's desires are always endless. This is human nature...
Mu Sheng thought of Li Yuan, who had white hair and beard, and felt a little emotional for a moment. It is human nature to be greedy for life, and he is not immune to it. He has died once, so he naturally cherishes this hard-won opportunity to be reborn. In my heart, I am actually more afraid of death. Since I am alive, I have to live well.
In this era without antibiotics or modern medicine, the average life span of ordinary people is generally around thirty-five to forty years old. People like Li Yuan who live over seventy years old are among the few who live a long life.
If Li Yuan were to be a monk, it would be completely different. Once a monk reaches the realm of Heavenly Master, he can live about 150 to 180 years. Yuan can reach the age of about four hundred years, and some ancestor-level monks can reach the limit of five or six hundred years old with the blessing of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Although monks cannot live as long as the heavens and live forever, it is enough to make ordinary people flock to it. Sometimes, even one extra year of life will make people want to do it at all costs.
Mu Sheng now somewhat understood why the emperor wanted to cultivate immortality and why he listened to the charlatan Zhang Daoling.
Mu Sheng kept thinking about what his master said before leaving. What is the more important mission? What is the more important mission? Why must he stay in the capital? Too strange……
Forget it, the boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge anyway. Mu Sheng originally planned to stay in the Yuzhen Sect to practice. A brick thrown out in a place like the capital can smash out a bunch of princes, princes, high officials, and important ministers. As a little prince, he said After all, it's nothing. With 3,000 households in the city, he is better off than other princes.
The place where the five and six Zhenger Ba Jingren can really attract the attention of the public these days is the Yuzhen Sect. The identity of this direct disciple is really cool. It is the first time to worship the mountain gate, and they all went out to hold a meeting just to see him?
A direct disciple, he is well paid and has a high status. All he needs to do is cultivate wholeheartedly. He can do a good job for less money and get a good job close to home. He also has a great beauty like Feng Jiu accompanying him, and a younger junior sister who takes the initiative to support him. He is simply happy to be in Shu. .
Although Mu Sheng usually stays at home and doesn't go out very much, these days when he goes out he is surrounded by the inner disciples, not to mention the outer disciples, which really makes him feel a little elated. After all, he is a serious figure in Yuzhen Sect. ah.
In the future, senior brother Li Chen will take over the leadership of the Yuzhen Sect, and Mu Sheng will also be considered the second person in the Li family class. With the stubbornness of the old guys in the Presbytery, Master Li Wen will enter the Presbytery, and the senior brother will take over the leadership of the Yuzhen Sect. Mu Sheng will Sheng is the most likely to become the first senior brother, and he will definitely be the headmaster of the Yuzhen Sect in the future. How can his status in the world be so high? Hahaha……
Mu Sheng couldn't help laughing when he thought of this.
Hua Zilan, who was traveling with him, asked in confusion, "Master, what's wrong with you? Why are you so happy?"
Mu Sheng smiled and waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay. I'm going home soon. I'm happy."
Mu Sheng thought to himself, if the master asked him to stay in the capital, just keep it! Anyway, this direct disciple's social status has always been there, and he will definitely not be able to fly. It will be who knows how many years later when it is his turn to succeed the headmaster of the Yuzhen Sect. To be the headmaster, you must at least cultivate to the point where the four elements are unified. You can control your situation only if you have a high level of cultivation. Otherwise, if your cultivation level is low, who will listen to your orders?
By the time he reaches the point where the Four Elements Unify, he will be almost the same age as his master. At that time, when the crown prince succeeds to the throne, the fourth emperor, Prince Bai, may not even be able to survive him.
The two entered Quancheng, and Mu Sheng and Hua Zilan went straight to a wine shop in the city. Before leaving, they made an appointment with Huang, Lin and their junior brother Hong Ze for a dinner. It was fate that these two people could get together and get to know each other.
When Mu Sheng and Hua Zilan walked up to the private room on the second floor, in addition to Lin and Huang, junior brother Hong Ze, and junior sister Zhang Lin were also present.
Is this little girl quite well informed? Mu Sheng did not inform her before leaving.
Mu Sheng intuitively felt that Hong Ze's big mouth might have leaked the news. He stepped forward to say hello to a few people and then took his seat.
At this time, Zhang Lin pouted and said to Mu Sheng in a long voice, "Senior brother... you didn't inform me before you left. Could it be that my status in your heart is not as good as those of the outer disciples?"
Mu Sheng explained, "Hey! No, I'm afraid that it will delay your homework. Besides, this is a gathering between us men. We will inevitably drink a lot of wine and talk about big things. It's inconvenient for you to live in a girl's house."
Zhang Lin turned his head and snorted unhappily after hearing this.
Why! Really, this little girl was really straightforward in her speech. She directly expressed her contempt for the outer disciples like Lin and Huang.
Seeing that Lin and Huang both looked a bit confused and embarrassed, could they say this directly in front of others?
In addition to being embarrassed and having trouble getting into trouble, Lin and Huang were not only giving Mu Sheng face, but the main reason was that there was someone in this little girl's film. Lin and Huang were just outer disciples, and they really couldn't afford to offend them. Just say what you said. Why don't you still say it? What can I do to others?
Moreover, Zhang Lin is indeed an inner disciple. Outer disciples have no status in front of the inner disciples. This is also true in Yuzhen Sect. The only people who can really make the inner disciples look good to the outer disciples are those like Li Yuan It’s the same with the outer sect directors. The outer sect directors are also relatives of their respective teachers. They don’t look at the monk’s face and the Buddha’s face.
