Suddenly there were seven more people, and Wan's house couldn't accommodate no matter how big it was. Wan Lei had to ask someone to clear out an old Yuan Hou Mansion to let the sloppy Taoist Priest and others stay temporarily. Of course, Wan Lei also knew that this old guy was coming at this time.
They are here to fight for the interests of Taoism, so they have to go through long-term negotiations to determine their respective rights and obligations.
Wan Lei did not take the initiative to talk to the sloppy Taoist about this matter, but put him aside and asked him to try preaching to the citizens of Beiping City without paying to see if anyone believed him.
Their actions were blocked, and they understood how deep the water in Shuntian Mansion was, and everything would be easier to discuss at that time.
Wan Lei didn't look for him, and the sloppy Taoist priest was too embarrassed to take the initiative to come to Wan Lei. Both sides were exhausted. However, the sloppy Taoist priest was more anxious than Wan Lei because the Qingshou Temple in Beiping City had been occupied by Buddhism, but Qing Shou Temple was occupied by Buddhism.
Shou Temple is also the largest temple in Beiping City, and it also enshrines the statues of tens of thousands of Beiping soldiers. It can be seen that Buddhism has occupied Beiping City in advance, which makes the sloppy Taoist priest who is determined to promote Taoism not be anxious.
Since Buddhism had taken the lead, the sloppy Taoist priest naturally wanted to find a way to take the lead back. No, he brought six disciples with him. The main purpose was to preach in Shuntian Mansion. So before Wan Lei could say anything, he
We started sending people to the streets to publicize it first.
But it doesn't matter if you don't go to the streets. Once you go to the streets, you realize how difficult it is to preach. These six Taoist priests set up a stall on the street, intending to tell people's fortunes while performing on the streets for publicity, but they failed.
For a long time, no one paid attention to them. Many people just glanced at them with disdain and left in a hurry.
After playing boringly for more than ten days, not to mention developing a believer, there were no people who even listened to their sermons. However, they did not gain anything. They found that the people in Beiping City liked to hang out at a bulletin wall outside the government office.
They gathered around and squeezed in to take a look, only to find that there were either laws or regulations posted on the bulletin board or some announcements about investment and labor recruitment. They also tried to post some Tao Te Ching and other stuff on the wall, but no one read it.
They find it more boring.
There was no progress on the side of the sloppy Taoist priest, but Wan Lei lived a comfortable life. After many days of experiments, Wiaoyu and others successfully mixed ferric sulfate and potassium chloride extracted from brine with other substances in proportion.
, made into the first generation of chemical fertilizers, applied to gramineous plants, which played a role in promoting growth and preventing drought.
As soon as the experimental results came out, Wan Lei naturally did not want to waste time. The chemical fertilizer plant supporting the copper smelting plant immediately started work, striving to produce the first batch of chemical fertilizers in the shortest time and apply it to the 10,000 acres of experimental fields outside the city for comparison.
The output is to accumulate actual data for the future development of more efficient chemical fertilizers, and also to increase food production and income. After all, Wan Lei is really afraid of the days of food shortage.
In the busyness, August has passed by in a hurry. It is approaching late autumn and the weather is getting colder and colder. People have changed from summer clothes to sweaters. On the fifth day of September, the envoy to Beiyuan came back and brought back
For the new credential, the envoy explained that Guilichi had established himself as Khan and abandoned the name of the Yuan Dynasty and changed its name to Tatar, so the credential needed to be revised again.
Wan Lei doesn't want to get involved with this kind of red tape. Besides, this is just a matter of the country's title. Just change the credentials of both parties to the letterhead and that's it. The important thing is the content of the negotiation. The envoy has fulfilled his mission.
In addition to bringing back a new letter of credence, he also brought back the other party's envoy to reschedule trade matters.
The old fox Zhao Hongru was naturally responsible for bargaining with others. Wan Lei only gave him a base price. As long as it was not lower than this base price, a peace agreement could be concluded. Of course, Wan Lei would also be happy if more benefits could be obtained.
Seeing the success, he instructed Zhao Hongru to bargain with the envoy with all his heart.
In fact, Gui Lichi was quite satisfied with the previous trade terms, and the envoy he sent had no intention of bargaining. However, on the newly added arms trade, the two sides had some disputes. It was not about the price, but the quality of the artillery.
The problem was that Lai Shi insisted on purchasing artillery from Shuntian Prefecture, and this condition was unacceptable to Wan Lei.
In the bottom of Wan Lei's heart, there is still a feeling that people who are not from my race will have different feelings, so he can sell artillery to Madam Liu and his group, or he can sell cold weapons to the Mongols, but he cannot sell artillery to them.
, because if the artillery fell into the hands of the Mongols, the muzzles of these guns would be aimed at him sooner or later. Wan Lei would not do this kind of thing that would harm himself and benefit others.
There was an ongoing dispute over the issue of artillery. Finally, seeing that Shuntian Prefecture was resolute, the envoys had no choice but to give up this idea. However, they were not easy to dismiss, and they took the opportunity to expand the proportion of grain trade, that is, they asked Shuntian Prefecture to
The price of horses and soda ash was paid with grain, and only the wool was paid with iron.
If the other party asked for more grain, Wan Lei would definitely not agree to it in the past. However, now that the Beiping Mansion has received more than 100,000 shi of grain from Mrs. Liu, the grain storage is sufficient, and Guo Ying, who guards Shandong and Shanxi, also agreed to use 70,000 shi of grain.
Thousands of stones of grain were exchanged for the Mongol Khan, so it didn’t matter if he sold some.
The peace talks here had just been concluded, and just one day after the envoys left, the Tatar caravan appeared. It seemed that the new Tatar Khan was really poor and was eager to wait for supplies to fight the war.
Since this was not the first time for bilateral trade, Wan Lei did not personally take part. He only explained some matters that should be paid attention to and let Zhao Hongru take full charge of the matter. With the backing of the Peking Army Changping Department, the trade
The process should be trouble-free.
In fact, Beiping City is also short of various materials, especially wool. Due to the large number of weavers, the yarn spun from the wool that was exchanged last time has been used up, and many looms are facing shutdown. As the official name of Shuntian Prefecture,
Master Chieftain, Wan Lei certainly can't let the people stop production, so this batch of wool trade comes in time.
In addition, Wan Lei also encouraged people to grow cotton and hemp to realize the diversification and self-production of textile raw materials as soon as possible. Of course, there is no such thing as planting mulberry and raising silkworms. After all, the north is not suitable for this, and silk is high-end.
Luxury goods are expensive to produce and difficult to sell, so it is obviously thankless. Cotton and wool spinning are the right way to go.
After struggling for less than half a year, the food in Beiping City is basically self-sufficient, and the people will not be hungry for the time being. There are also several factories, pillar industries have been formed, and the people have jobs. The city head has also been repaired to a great extent, even if it was destroyed.
We can withstand the siege of a large army.
In addition, the Peiping Army is seizing the time to train and will not suffer any losses in the field; the Mongolian ministries are fighting among themselves and will not go south in the short term; the admiral sent by the imperial court to take charge of Shandong and Shanxi is a good old man and will not use troops against Shuntian Prefecture for the time being. Therefore,
Shuntian Mansion is safe for the time being, and Wan Lei can finally relax and do some more important things.
Early that morning, Wan Lei brought a bunch of drawings to Tiefu and gave them to Tiexuan, asking him to build an open-hearth steelmaking plant next to the blast furnace ironworks according to the drawings. Of course, these drawings were only part of the factory design. As for the blast furnace, etc.
The design drawings of important equipment are in the hands of Chixin and Chicheng, and they are responsible for building them.
Wan Lei did not give them a time limit, as long as they tried their best to complete the task. After all, the financial resources of Shuntian Mansion are still limited. If it were not for the newly discovered copper mine, Wan Lei would not be able to mention the steelmaking plant project. For ironmaking and
What is the difference between steelmaking? Although Tie Xuan's surname is Tie, he can't tell the difference. However, he is too lazy to care about it. He just pats his chest and promises to complete the task as soon as possible.
After explaining the important things, Wan Lei returned home and was about to do research behind closed doors, but was disturbed by Zhao Xueer who rushed in and said somewhat unhappily: "If you don't practice with your master, why are you here here in the free time?"
.”
Zhao Xueer blushed. In the past ten days, she has changed from Wan Lei's follower to a sloppy Taoist priest. It is typical for a master to forget his brother. It is no wonder that Wan Lei does not give her a good look. However, she
He has always been very thick-skinned. He grinned and said with a smile: "Brother, Grand Master is treating me to a treat. Please come over."
"Oh." Wan Lei just responded softly, but still fiddled with a bunch of magnets on the experimental table, with no intention of leaving. Of course he knew why the sloppy Taoist asked him to do it at this time, but he was not in a hurry, and he didn't
Need to be anxious.
"Oh, don't wait any longer, hurry up, they are all gone." Zhao Xueer was anxious, pulling Wan Lei's sleeves to drag him out, and this scene happened to make Fu who was giving snacks to her husband
Wei saw it in her eyes, she shook her head and smiled, and said: "Lei Zhi, things are not urgent now. You can go and see the Taoist priest first."
"Oh, I can't go there even if I want to wait for some snacks." Wan Lei also complained, grabbed two pieces of rice cakes from the plate, and said to Zhao Xueer: "You stay at home with your sister Wei'er, and stop running around."
"I want to follow too, Grand Master is still waiting for me." Zhao Xueer caught up.
"We are talking about business. You little girl, don't get involved. Learn how to be a female worker at home with your sister Wei'er, and find a good husband in the future." Before Wan Lei could finish his words, he had already walked a few feet away.
As the saying goes, there is no good banquet. The reason why Wan Lei did not let Zhao Xueer come with him was to prevent her presence from affecting the outcome of the negotiation. After all, this time it was a showdown. The discussion was about the principled issue of who leads whom. The love between children must not be allowed.
There can never be any compromise.
Wan Lei came to the house where Taoist Sloppy was staying temporarily, and saw Taoist Sloppy and a group of disciples waiting in the courtyard. It was obvious that there were many people, and Wan Lei came alone, so his momentum was naturally not as strong, but Wan Lei did not
Although he was timid, he still walked into the hospital carelessly, greeting all the Taoist priests, old and young, openly, as if he was the owner of this place.
Of course, Wan Lei was originally the master of Beiping City, which the sloppy Taoist priest could not deny. He also experienced the power of this host personally. After the Taoist priests exchanged a few words with Wan Lei, he said bluntly: "Wan Lei,
I invite you to come, but we have something important to discuss. How about we go to the inner courtyard to discuss it in detail?"
"Talk behind closed doors?" Wan Lei asked in return. The sloppy Taoist priest nodded and made a gesture of invitation. Seeing that the master wanted to talk behind closed doors, the small and medium-sized Taoist priests did not dare to say anything else and left one after another.
In a small living room with closed windows and doors, the sloppy Taoist priest and Wan Lei sat down as guest and host, but the atmosphere was a bit solemn. The sloppy Taoist priest poured two cups of tea, and one cup was flicked in front of Wan Lei.
Then he said: "Bulk, I wonder if you still take the agreement you made a few months ago seriously?"
Wan Lei took a sip of the tea, feeling the bitter aftertaste, and then said: "Taoist Master, please rest assured, I promised to help you reform Taoism, and I will not break my promise."
"It's not that I doubt the sincerity of the lay people, it's just that I'm getting older day by day, and the disciples have been in Peiping for several months, but they haven't developed any followers, but Buddhism has preconceived ideas, so I can't help but feel a little worried."
"Taoist Master, you are worrying too much. Master Mu Dao and other eminent monks only care about worshiping Buddha and chanting sutras. They have no right to interfere with worldly matters." Wan Lei said calmly, and the implication was to tell the sloppy Taoist priest: I can let you preach.
But don't interfere in worldly affairs.
"Oh." The sloppy Taoist let out a long breath, but then said: "Then the layman, can you also let me teach you to hold a sermon in Peiping?"
"Of course, as long as it does not violate laws and regulations, our Shuntian Mansion will not restrict the people's freedom of belief." Wan Lei said. Of course, what he said was not restrictive, but it was actually a restriction, because anything that he had not encouraged would not be allowed in Beiping City.
People generally won't accept it.
The sloppy Taoist priest was obviously dissatisfied after hearing what Wan Lei said. In the past ten days, he had already tried to preach independently, but the effect was very poor. He also saw the crux of the problem - Wan Lei.
Lei has firmly controlled the people's hearts in Beiping City. As long as he does not speak, others will not be able to gain a foothold.
However, the sloppy Taoist priest couldn't say it clearly. As soon as the topic changed, he said: "A few of my old disciples have been taught by the layman for a long time, and they have learned a lot. It's time to start teaching. I don't know what the layman's opinion is."
"Playing strike? This old guy is quite good!" Wan Lei secretly sneered in his heart and said: "That's fine, they just came to study. After they have accomplished their studies, they should naturally leave. Let's ask them to pack their bags tonight.
, I might as well hold a banquet to thank them. These days, they are the ones protecting me. There is no merit but hard work. It’s just that I don’t have much, so I can only express my thanks with a few coins. I’m really ashamed.”
Wan Lei simply let him go, but the sloppy Taoist priest was riding a tiger and was in trouble. He originally just wanted to blackmail Wan Lei. After all, these six disciples played a great role, and he was sure that Wan Lei would not be willing to let him go.
, now it’s fine, you shot yourself in the foot.
"There is no need for reward. The disciples have been carefully taught by the layman, and what they have learned is real talent and practical knowledge, which is enough to be used throughout their lives. However, these talents can only be displayed in Shuntian Mansion. I don't mean to let them leave Beiping City.
But hope he
We are mainly preaching for the time being, and the lay people usually have errands to do, so just tell them to do it." The sloppy Taoist priest added, and he changed his identity and asked these disciples to serve as Wan Lei's assistants and preachers at the same time.
Taoist priests use Wan Lei's name to develop Taoism.
Naturally, Wan Lei was well aware of the sloppy Taoist master's petty calculations, so he just smiled lightly and said: "If all the senior disciples leave, I will have time to teach other disciples. With many disciples to help, I will generally not trouble you senior disciples.
"
Wan Lei directly said that he would recruit another disciple, making it clear that he wanted to estrange his relationship with the sloppy Taoist priest. The sloppy Taoist priest was even more anxious now, because if Wan Lei really did this, his several months of hard work would be in vain. He looked intently.
Wan Lei glanced at Wan Lei, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and seemed to understand something. He closed his eyes and pondered for a while, and then said bluntly: "I want to establish Taoism as a state religion. I wonder what lay people think?"
"This is a good thing. Taoism is a local religion and should be established as the state religion." Wan Lei still looked like it had nothing to do with him. The state religion is the religion of a country. Now Shuntian Prefecture is not a state, so naturally it has nothing to do with him.
Hanging up.
The sloppy Taoist Master was also an old man. Seeing Wan Lei's words of approval, but his face was unconcerned. Of course, he understood that Wan Lei would not be able to afford it early, so he took a sip of tea and said: "Householder, Ru Ruo
Our religion helps you establish your country, are you willing to establish our religion as the state religion?"
"That's right!" Wan Lei still shook his head and said: "First of all, our Shuntian Mansion is just a chieftain's mansion and cannot establish a country; furthermore, the people of our Shuntian Mansion advocate truth, goodness and beauty, and Taoism..." Wan Lei stopped talking.
, the meaning could not be more obvious. Taoism is still far from the requirements of truth, goodness and beauty. If it wants to become a state religion, it must first be reformed.
"Then the layman thinks, how can I teach to become a state religion?" The sloppy Taoist priest frowned and asked again.
"The so-called religion is just to establish a spiritual home for the world, so it must first have true principles, good nature, and beautiful heart. If the principles are not true, people will not believe; if the nature is not good, it will lead to disaster; if the heart is not beautiful, it will lead to all kinds of evil. I obey
The people of Tianfu are all simple in nature. If they do not abide by the national religion of truth, goodness and beauty, there will be only disadvantages but no advantages, so it would be nothing if not established."
"I, Taoism, advise people to seek truth, goodness and beauty, which is the teaching of true principles, good nature, and beautiful heart. The establishment of concentration has advantages and no disadvantages."
"Haha, not necessarily." Wan Lei chuckled again, and then said bluntly: "I won't hide it from the Taoist Master. Now that the overall situation of Shuntian Mansion has been achieved, hundreds of industries are waiting to be prospered. If Taoism can be used, I will use it.
If you can't use it, just throw it away. I don't need to establish a religion that is hostile to me."
"I can guarantee that our religion will not be hostile to lay people."
"You are so old, how many years can your guarantee last? If I establish Taoism as the state religion, and your disciples rise up against me, wouldn't that be raising a tiger and causing trouble?" Wan Lei rolled his eyes at the sloppy Taoist priest.
"This..." The sloppy Taoist priest was also speechless, because what Wan Lei was worried about was not impossible, but very possible. In the past, many Taoist disciples were unwilling to be lonely and embarked on the road of pursuing power, and finally lost their reputation and failed.
Taoism has a bad name, but Buddhism knows how to advance and retreat. Regardless of whether it is in power or not, monks generally do not interfere in politics.
"It's not impossible for me to establish your religion as the state religion, but you have to give me an insurance first. Let's make an iron oath. The leader of Taoism will be canonized by the government and promise never to interfere in secular affairs. The Taoist priest will be my Shuntian Fuzi first.
The people are the people in Taoism and there is no legal exemption
Privileges are all the same as those of ordinary people; all Taoist priests who serve as officials must leave the religion and are not allowed to use their power to benefit the religion; Taoism has a quota, and the number cannot exceed 1% of the people; Taoism is divided into parishes, responsible for persuading people to do good deeds and publicity
Justice prohibits Taoist priests from attacking the government with words."
"With so many restrictions, how can our religion develop and grow?" The sloppy Taoist priest was not happy, because according to what Wan Lei said, Taoism would become a vassal of the government, without any independence at all.
"Don't worry, as long as the Taoists keep their status quo, I will give them some more important powers. Of course, the premise is that my power cannot be endangered."
"A more important power? What power?"
"The power to control technology is not powerful enough?"