Zhu Youde's eyes fell on the students in colorful uniforms, and he frowned slightly.
This man doesn't look like a poor student from Mingde College, but more like a noble son.
"Your Majesty, this is Hu Jingming, a student of Mingde College..." Li Mao said tremblingly.
"student?"
Zhu Youde was a little surprised and glanced at Hu Jingming with a surprised look.
"Your Majesty, Hu Jingming, a common man, has met your Majesty." Hu Jingming also hurriedly added his identity.
He is really a student of Middlebury College.
Zhu Youde was wondering in his heart, looking at the students gathered around him, he couldn't help but be surprised.
Among the poor students there were many aristocratic young men dressed in fine clothes.
"Are these also students from Mingde College?" Zhu Youde asked.
Li Mao nodded, "Your Majesty, you don't know something. Since you purged the four major colleges, the status of Mingde College has increased. Not only have more students from poor families entered the college, but even many noble princes have chosen to come to study..."
After hearing the explanation, Zhu Youde suddenly relaxed his brows and showed a happy smile.
He thought it was because Mingde College had changed its original intention and made friends with party members.
In this way, he breathed a sigh of relief. There must be no historical restoration in Daliang.
"All the students are safe. I'm just here to inspect you. I have no other intention."
With that said, Zhu Youde followed Li Mao into the inner hall.
The two sat opposite each other.
Li Mao brought a cup of tea and asked: "I wonder why your Majesty came here?"
"I listened to the advice of the cabinet scholar and said that Taishi Li is well-informed. Not only does he have a deep understanding of literary talent, but he also has some research on religion?" Zhu Youde said.
Li Mao paused slightly and put down the tea cup in his hand after a moment of hesitation.
"Your Majesty, I only read the annotations occasionally in private, not research..."
"I wonder if Grand Master can listen to the holy teaching?" Zhu Youde raised his voice to an octave and stared at Li Mao.
Li Mao chuckled twice and continued: "The Holy Religion is the largest religion near the capital and has a profound influence. How could I not know this?"
After hearing this, Zhu Youde's eyes shone. This gave him the opportunity to understand the Holy Religion from a side perspective.
Li Mao was a famous lecturer in the capital, and he must have had different views on the Holy Religion.
"Your Majesty, this holy religion..." Li Mao told Zhu Youde everything he knew.
It turns out that this holy religion did not originate from Daliang itself, but from Northern Yan.
During the reign of the late Emperor, Beiyan and Daliang had a close relationship. They exchanged trade routes and exchanged culture. The holy religion was spread from Beiyan to Jinling City.
It was first spread in temples on a small scale, and then became known to the common people. Because of its unique thought and culture, it was gradually accepted by the common people.
After several years of development, the Holy Cult has gained a certain status in the capital, but its real rise is closely related to the late emperor.
It was rumored that the Empress Dowager Cining of the East Palace was a believer in the Holy Religion, and was later favored by the late emperor and given the throne. The Holy Religion also spread rapidly in the capital because of the support of the Empress Dowager.
In addition, the late emperor advocated eternal life, sent people to search for eternal life elixirs, and also adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards the mysterious holy religion.
As a result, Holy Religion grew into one of the three major religions in the Liang Dynasty at the end of the first emperor's reign.
The reason why the Holy Religion can be accepted is not only the support of the royal family, but also its unique core ideas.
Zhu Youde listened to Li Mao explain the thoughts of the holy religion and sneered: "Cure all diseases? What a joke! Nonsense!"
An angry shout made Li Mao tremble in fright.
"I have never heard that practicing Qigong can cure injuries and illnesses, and achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven! It's so stupid!"
Zhu Youde was so angry that he originally thought that the core idea of the Holy Religion was something like serving the people.
But who would have thought it turned out to be: The sky is huge, the earth is below, and everything in the world is subject to reincarnation. As long as we practice seriously and influence the heavens, we can have no pain or injury...
What's even more bizarre is that the Holy Cult also has a set of exercises. As long as you practice regularly and supplement it with holy elixirs, you can cure all diseases.
The more Zhu Youde thought about it, the more he felt that the theoretical system of the holy religion was very familiar. Wasn't this the so-and-so church in the previous life?
It made a lot of noise, and was eventually found to be selling fake medicine, claiming that practicing Qigong can cure injuries and illnesses. It was all a lie!
In the final analysis, the ability to heal injuries and illnesses has a lot to do with the medicine you take.
Presumably it was the effect of the Heart-Controlling Pill, and the Holy Pill he took was most likely a specially made elixir.
Seeing Zhu Youde's anger, Li Mao smiled awkwardly, added some tea and said, "I didn't believe it at first, but I heard from an old friend who joined the core followers of the Holy Cult that it does have miraculous effects..."
"Haha, the holy religion is really profound..." Zhu Youde murmured, and then looked at Li Mao.
"What about the other two major religions? Does Grand Master know anything about them?"
"Jiangnan Tiandi Sect originated from the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. It is a native religion of the Daliang Dynasty. It has existed since the ancestors of Daliang conquered the country and even played a certain role in quelling civil strife. Therefore, the ancestors allowed the development of Jiangnan Tiandi Sect."
"To this day, the inheritance of more than three hundred years has made the Tiandi Sect have a wide influence. From the Dragon Vein to the south, the spread of the Tiandi Sect is all over. It can be said that the entire people in Jiangnan are believers of the Tiandi Sect."
Li Mao preached in a slow tone.
Zhu Youde nodded and asked: "Where is the core idea?"
"According to the veteran's understanding, the core idea is that the world is vast, and living and working in peace and contentment is peace."
After just a few words, Zhu Youde was silent for half an hour before he finally understood.
The thoughts of Tiandi Sect can be roughly understood as - rule by doing nothing and do whatever you want. Paying attention to the ordinary is happiness.
Compared to the outrageousness of the Holy Religion, the Heaven and Earth Religion seems like a normal folk religion.
Although it does not encourage believers to be proactive and enterprising, it has stabilized the hearts of the people in Jiangnan to a certain extent and played a comforting role.
"As for the Feitian Sect in the northwest, I don't know much about it, because the information circulated is extremely sparse, and the northwest is far away from the capital, and few Feitian Sect members have settled in the capital. This also leads to the low spread of the Feitian Sect, and it can only be regarded as a regional religion.
"
Li Mao explained the third religion, which intrigued Zhu Youde.
Since Feitian Religion is not widely spread, why can it be called one of the three major religions?
Why is there so few documents circulated about Feitian Sect?
Amid many doubts, the mysterious Feitian Cult attracted Zhu Youde.
Seeing his doubts, Li Mao didn't give in.
"First, because the northwest is on the border of the Liang Dynasty and is mostly desert and Gobi, transportation is extremely inconvenient. It is difficult for believers to cross the desert to spread on a large scale."
"The second reason is that the folk customs in the northwest region are simple and honest, and the people are devoted to their work and live a self-sufficient life. They don't know much about the prosperity of the outside world, so they lack the initiative to communicate with the outside world."
"The third and most important factor is that the Feitian Sect has a single ideology and culture, which emphasizes the supremacy of virtue in persuading people and the supremacy of force."
"When there is a conflict between believers, most believers will first convince others with reason, pay attention to courtesy before fighting, and peace is the most important thing. If the conflict is difficult to resolve, you can apply to the church for a fair duel to determine the winner."
"Of course, a duel does not have to be by force, it can be in any field, as long as both parties agree. In the old minister's memory, I was lucky enough to meet the Feitian Sect followers to have a public debate. I did not expect that these two common people could be so knowledgeable.
knowledge..."
After speaking, Zhu Youde took a deep breath and his eyes flashed with joy.
Isn’t the core idea of Feitian Sect the religion he wants?!
Convince people with reason and advocate force.
Be polite before fighting, and peace is the most important thing.
The short sixteen characters are completely in line with the current predicament of the Liang Dynasty - developing culture at home and displaying force externally; if there is a conflict, be courteous before fighting, and try to value peace as much as possible.
It not only elaborates on domestic and foreign purposes, but also has a certain guiding role in diplomacy.
"Your Majesty, if I guess correctly, you should want to unify religions." Li Mao suddenly said.
Zhu Youde nodded without hesitation.
"In my opinion, Feitian Sect's sixteen-character policy is most suitable for the current Liang Dynasty."
After a pause, Li Mao continued: "But the Feitian Sect has a drawback..."
Zhu Youde frowned and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Is it because we advocate force? It can easily lead to unruly and uncontrolled folk customs?"
Li Mao nodded slowly: "There are many martial artists in the northwest region, many martial arts sects are established, and countless martial arts masters have been born. If the Northwest Feitian Sect is to be regarded as an orthodox religion, this problem must be solved..."
Zhu Youde fell into silence again. This is really a problem. People all over the world cannot give up farming and practice martial arts.
"I will discuss this matter with the cabinet. Once a decision is made, I will discuss it with the Grand Master."
Zhu Youde stood up and cupped his hands and said, "In addition, I have one more thing to ask for."
Seeing this, Li Mao was shocked, Your Majesty, this is...
How could he let Zhu Youde bow to him? He quickly stepped forward to stop him and knelt on the ground with a plop.
"Your Majesty, as a citizen of Daliang, I should share your Majesty's worries. If you have any cultural issues, please just tell me!"
"I would like to ask you to be the Governor of the Reformation!"
As soon as these words came out, Li Mao suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashed with a terrifying light.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..."
Just as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by Zhu Youde: "I have thought about it for a long time. The only person inside and outside the capital who is qualified to hold the position of governor is the Grand Master! I hope the Grand Master will not refuse!"
Zhu Youde helped Li Mao stand up with his own hands and patted the back of his hand heavily.
He was once the head of the loyal ministers of the Liang Dynasty. He was dismissed from office due to his incompetence and returned home. He taught students at Mingde College and provided a number of pillar talents for the government.
He knew the abilities of the Grand Master, and he had a very high prestige in the hearts of the people. With him as the Governor of the Reformation, there would be no opposition in the government!
"Your Majesty..." Li Mao's eyes were filled with tears, and he met Zhu Youde's eyes and remained silent for a long time.
"The student is stupid, I hope the teacher can help!" Zhu Youde took out the golden token and put it in Li Mao's hand.
……………………
After leaving Mingde College, Zhu Youde did not return to the palace immediately, but walked to a remote alley.
The figure behind him flashed, and Li Renjie appeared.
"What's the matter?" Zhu Youde asked.
He had just discovered Li Renjie's signal in the academy.
"Your Majesty, there is news from the Holy Cult that we are going to the temple tonight..."
"What can you say?" Zhu Youde hesitated for a moment. He had just been baptized two days ago, what would he do today?
Li Renjie took out a jet black whistle: "Your Majesty, this is a token of the core believers. I secretly obtained the identity of another believer. You can go to the temple in person tonight, and I will follow you..."
Zhu Youde took the whistle and glanced at it. It looked similar to the whistle used by the Meihua secret guards before. It should not only be a token, but also have a communication function.
After disguising himself, Zhu Youde put on a veil again and headed to the southern suburbs temple with Li Renjie.
It was still a quarter of noon, and the roadside was dark and eerie.
Zhu Youde didn't understand why he chose such a node in the underworld.
Entering the temple, it was lit with red candles and lanterns, and it was very dark, making it difficult to see clearly even when facing each other.
Li Renjie took Zhu Youde and stood in the corner, waiting quietly for the saint to appear.
More and more believers entered the temple. Zhu Youde was puzzled. When he first entered, there was almost no one on the road...
The surroundings are very quiet and you can faintly hear breathing.
Just as he was thinking about it, a white figure suddenly appeared on the high platform of the temple.
"Saint!"
Li Renjie pulled Zhu Youde and bowed to salute.
The saint looked around and waved everyone to get up.
"Today I have received the secret order from the Holy Lord, and I am here to teach you the most important existence of our religion - the Holy Teaching Technique!"
As soon as these words came out, the believers all shouted excitedly.
Zhu Youde immediately understood that it must be the exercise that Li Mao said could cure all diseases.
Watching Saint Panxi teaching each movement, Zhu Youde couldn't help but snort in his heart.
Isn't this just an ordinary body-building technique? The first page of Huangji Jue says that it can only strengthen the body, but it can cure all diseases in the holy religion?
A quarter of an hour later, the saint stood up and personally gave instructions to each saint.
"If you practice this method with the Holy Pill, the King of Hell will never even think of killing you!" She gave instructions while giving each person a white pill.
It wasn't until she walked up to Zhu Youde that she saw those eyes clearly.
Sharp and cold.
She looks exactly like the arrogant female assassin in my memory.
Although he couldn't see his face clearly under the veil, his figure alone made Zhu Youde swallow his saliva.
Not inferior to the wives at home...
Looking at it, I can't help but compare it with Qingyu. Both of them are cold beauties, but Qingyu has a delicate heart...
Just as he was thinking about it, the saint's cold voice interrupted: "Why are you wearing a veil?!"
Zhu Youde was shocked, wouldn't this guy want him to take off his veil?
"Holy Lady, I caught a cold yesterday. I was afraid of infecting you, so I put on a veil."
The saint stared at Zhu Youde for a few seconds, popped out the pill with her finger, and said: "Go back tonight to practice the holy teachings, and take the holy pill tomorrow to ensure that the medicine will cure the disease!"
"I thank the saint for the reward, I thank the saint for the reward!"
…………………………
After walking out of the temple, Zhu Youde breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he was able to deal with it without any danger.
Although it is extremely risky to go there in person, the information collected is extremely useful.
Originally, he thought that the core followers of the Holy Religion were only warriors, but otherwise, there were not only warriors, but also doctors, poison masters, craftsmen, etc.
The Holy Cult has recruited a group of top talents from almost all walks of life.
"Go and check the background of these people today, and look at the relationship between the Holy Cult and Beiyan..." Zhu Youde ordered Li Renjie.
He suspected that the Holy Cult not only had actions in Daliang, but also had deployments outside the territory. After all, the Holy Cult originated from Beiyan...