If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1241 Fenglin State

Yang Li only looks like a Taoist boy; he has lived for hundreds of years and is very mature in mind and wisdom.

Upon hearing Grand Tutor Yu's arrangements, he immediately felt a sense of crisis.

"Grand Tutor, you are now the Grand Tutor of the great nation of China. Your every move is being watched by the people of the world, and you are even regarded as a role model by all. You cannot afford to make a single wrong step!" he warned solemnly.

Xiao Yu said calmly, "I spoke up for the people and prayed for the souls of the dead. Where did I go wrong?"

Yang Li said solemnly, "Taoism and Buddhism are incompatible! Shenzhou is the land of Taoism, and all the people of Shenzhou are Taoist believers."

In recent years, Buddhism has become increasingly aggressive, gradually encroaching on the East from the barbaric lands of the West.

All those in our Taoist community who have aspirations are on high alert and vigilance.

If the Grand Tutor were to hold a Buddhist ceremony in the capital city of China, and actually use Buddhist teachings to deliver the souls of the deceased, it would be a momentous event that shakes the heavens. All the great immortals and deities of the Three Realms would be shocked, enraged, and then furious.

"What right do they have to be angry? They are immortal, yet they can't even let ordinary people be born into a good family?" Xiaoyu said.

"This has nothing to do with ordinary people; it's a belief held in the hearts of us cultivators," Yang Li said solemnly.

Xiaoyu sighed, "Do you really know the Daoist Ancestor's attitude towards Buddhism?"
The Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect almost represent the 'Twelve Immortal Leaders of the Xuanmen'.

Cihang Daoren became Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjushri Tianzun also became a Bodhisattva, and Samantabhadra Zhenren remained a Bodhisattva.

Julusun and the Old Master Randeng even became Buddhas.

If the Dao Ancestor were like you, would he have allowed so many disciples to defect to Mount Ling?
Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism are all originally very pure disciplines.

Once a school of thought becomes a 'religion', it becomes a 'brand' that different interest groups use to appeal to the public.

Go ask the merchants in Xianyang whether they put up signs for the sake of the signs themselves or to make more money.

Now, the owner of the Shanxi cuisine restaurant in Dongcheng District doesn't mind exchanging recipes with the owner of the Sichuan cuisine restaurant in Chengxi District in order to expand his business.

"You're just a waiter downstairs, an apprentice who hasn't even been officially hired yet, earning thirty coins a month. What's there to worry about for the boss?"

Xiaoyu pointed to herself again and continued, "At least you joined the restaurant and became a lowly waiter with no future."

As a beggar who begs for food on the street, I don't care about restaurants or signs.

"Whoever gives me a full meal, I will sing 'Lotus Flower Ballad' for them."

Yang Li looked conflicted and said, "Grand Tutor, you are now a renowned figure throughout the land. You can't be so pragmatic. You should at least have some principles and ideals, shouldn't you?"

Xiao Yu said frankly, "Of course I have ideals. My ideal is to follow the Dao Ancestor!"
The Dao Ancestor is Heaven, the Dao Ancestor is my mentor in life, and I will go wherever the Dao Ancestor tells me to go.

Now I see that the Taoist patriarch sent his disciples to the Western Spirit Mountain, so I followed him to cultivate the three religions of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

If I hold a Water and Land Dharma Assembly—cough cough, a grand Taoist ritual—and the Taoist Ancestor issues a decree criticizing me afterward, I will definitely correct it.

Or we could consult with the Taoist Ancestor before holding the Luotian Grand Ritual.

If the Dao Ancestor does not object, we will proceed; if the Dao Ancestor does not agree, we will not proceed.

I don't care.

Yang Li asked doubtfully, "The Dao Ancestor will definitely not pay attention to us. How could you possibly get the Dao Ancestor's approval?"

"The Dao Ancestor simply ignores you. When I was a barbarian in Tianmen Town, the Dao Ancestor often gave me enlightenment. Now that I have come to Shenzhou and become a great figure, the Dao Ancestor is even closer to me," Grand Tutor Yu said proudly.

Yang Li said, "Grand Tutor, you should be more cautious and discuss it with the other Celestial Masters first."

Grand Tutor Yu asked, "Have I convinced you? If I can't convince you, I can't convince them either. If I have, then you help me convince them."

Yang Li hesitated and said, "I understand that what the Grand Tutor said makes sense, but I still can't get used to it."

"You'll get used to it after a few tries," Xiaoyu said.

Yang Li sighed and asked again, "Aren't we only supposed to convert the loyal and virtuous people of Qin?"
The Grand Tutor just mentioned holding the Luotian Grand Ritual to pray for all the 'citizens of Qin' who died in the war.

Does this also include the souls of Chen Sheng's subordinates?

Xiaoyu said, "Whether you're herding one sheep or two sheep, it's still the same thing."

For those who rendered great service to the Qin Dynasty but were not deified due to their lack of moral virtue, we prepare more paper money and blessings for them.

For the people who are affected, try to dispel their resentment and help them smoothly enter the cycle of reincarnation.

As for Chen Sheng's subordinates, they were no longer 'citizens of the Great Qin'.

Yang Ligang was heading to the Underworld with the Divine Book when Gray Crane Immortal followed closely behind, leading a boy in colorful clothes into the Department of Weather.

Grey Crane Master's expression was solemn, and the little boy in colorful clothes also had a tense little face.

"Greetings, Grand Tutor!"

After the two exchanged greetings, Master Grey Crane pointed at the child and said, "Grand Tutor, this is Cai Ling, the 'Azure Phoenix Envoy' who has just returned from Chen County. He has brought very bad news."

Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow and asked, "But this morning, Chen Sheng declared himself king?"

The boy in colorful clothes exclaimed in surprise, "Grand Tutor had already foreseen this?"

Xiaoyu said, "I did have a feeling about the celestial phenomena last night."

This morning, while I was researching the impending earthquake in China, I suddenly noticed that the power of the land in Chenjun had been slightly shaken.

The land of Chenjun showed a tendency to separate from the territory of Qin, thus confirming the conjecture.

Seeing the Grand Tutor so calm, and even having sensed something was amiss, Master Grey Crane breathed a sigh of relief and handed him a memorial.

"This is a secret report sent by Jiang Lü, the Prince of Nanyang."

Xiaoyu flipped through it carefully and nodded, saying, "Jianglu is quite capable! He can gather such detailed information with such high efficiency."

The incident that occurred in the morning was delivered to Xianyang that afternoon.

It seems he has already purged the military commanders of Nanyang, Chenjun, and even several nearby prefectures.

Jiang Lü's fiefdom was in Nanyang Commandery, but not limited to Nanyang. Some counties in neighboring commanderies such as Changsha and Yingchuan were also incorporated into the "Nanyang Kingdom".

In theory, the Sima Ling (a high-ranking military officer) belonged to the Zhongche Sima Mansion, which in turn was under the jurisdiction of the Grand Commandant. However, the situation has changed somewhat now, as Grand Tutor Yu has conferred titles upon the feudal lords.

The feudal lords should have the authority to govern and command the military within their fiefdoms, as well as the appointment and removal of ordinary officials.

Generally, only a few high-ranking officials, such as the prime minister and the chief minister of a fiefdom, were dispatched by the central court.

Grand Tutor Yu even relinquished this power, allowing the feudal lords to choose their own advisors.

Now, all Sima Ling within the territory of "Nanyang Kingdom" are under the jurisdiction of the King of Nanyang.

In terms of loyalty, the princes of the Ying clan were indeed much more reliable than the prefects and military commanders. In just a few months, the Prince of Nanyang regained control of the Sima Ling (military commander) within his fiefdom.

The urgent intelligence he sent now includes not only Chen Sheng's declaration of himself as king, but also the movements of Chen Sheng's forces in several other counties.

For example, when Chen Sheng declared himself king, his subordinate Ge Ying actually found "Xiong Xiangqiang" and, almost on the same day, made Xiangqiang the King of Chu.

In other words, at this moment, the Chu region has two more "rebellious kings".

"Grand Tutor, Chen Sheng established the 'Zhang Chu Kingdom,' not the 'Chu Kingdom' of the former Chu royal family, the Xiong family. A difference of one word makes all the difference!" said the Gray Crane Immortal.

Xiao Yu said, "That's not surprising. If Chen Sheng had declared the restoration of the 'Chu Kingdom,' he would have been at most a great general, and the King of Chu would have had to find a member of the old Chu royal family."

Once the King of Chu secures his position, he might lose his life. He spent ten years in Dazexiang, just for this?

The country now being established is Zhang Chu Kingdom, which has a similar name but a completely different meaning.

The legitimacy of the Zhang Chu state rested entirely with Chen Sheng himself, not with the former Chu royal family.

“But he started his rebellion under the banner of Xiang Yan and claimed to be restoring Chu. Now, having only occupied one prefecture, he has already revealed his true colors. I’m afraid he won’t last long,” said Master Grey Crane. “You’re worried he won’t last long?” Xiao Yu asked back.

"Uh, no, that's not it." Gray Crane Master laughed awkwardly. "I'm just wondering, he has no shortage of immortal advisors around him, so why did he make such an obvious mistake?"

Chenjun was not Dazexiang, and Chen Sheng was a newcomer with an unstable foundation.

It's perfectly acceptable to wait another year or two, until you've completely conquered Chen Commandery and taken over the surrounding commanderies, before declaring yourself king.

Chen Sheng made many mistakes.

His premature declaration of kingship and loss of the noble cause of 'restoring the old Chu' was a grave mistake.

He also concealed his true thoughts from his trusted generals, making them believe that he had no intention of becoming king and wanted to restore the former Chu state.

So much so that General Ge Ying found a former member of the Chu royal family, Xiang Qiang, in Dongcheng County, Jiujiang.

On the same day, Ge Ying even appointed Xiang Qiang as the 'King of Chu'.

"Two tigers cannot share one mountain," and at this time, the newly established "Chu Kingdom" already had two kings.

Xiao Yu sneered, "You didn't underestimate the wisdom of the immortal masters around Chen Sheng, but you overestimated their integrity, and probably also overestimated Chen Sheng's magnanimity."

Cai Ling said, "It wasn't written in the secret report, but I heard the Prince of Nanyang and the others discuss it."

There were indeed people who advised against establishing the 'Zhang Chu Kingdom,' but Chen Sheng did not listen.

Chen Sheng believed that the elders and local gentry of Chen County had repeatedly asked him to be king, and that he was destined to be king.

Since he wouldn't listen, the others stopped trying to persuade him.

They didn't discourage Chen Sheng from declaring himself king, but instead kept urging him to divide his forces into multiple routes, just as he had established the Zhang Chu state in the Chu region, to quickly restore the former six states of Shandong.

They had no intention of helping Chen Sheng stabilize the Zhang Chu state; instead, they focused on disrupting the situation in the Central Plains, causing our Great Qin to be unable to attend to all aspects of the country.

The Gray Crane Immortal seemed to understand something, “Many immortals did not regard Chen Sheng as the master of the ‘Southeast Emperor’s Aura,’ and therefore had no intention of following him steadfastly.”

Xiao Yu said to the Azure Phoenix messenger, "Go and tell the King of Nanyang, as well as all the feudal lords who may have encountered Chen Sheng's generals."

The top priority right now is to safeguard our own fiefdom and ensure that the new policies are implemented effectively so that the people can truly feel the goodness of the imperial court.

Do not try to encircle and intercept the rebel forces, and do not be greedy for merit and act rashly.

If I'm not mistaken, the immortals on Chen Sheng's side will soon be active everywhere.

The ten-year benevolent rule had only been in effect for a few months, while the people of the Central Plains had suffered under the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty for hundreds of years.

The deep-seated problems are difficult to reverse, and public sentiment cannot be changed immediately.

Once incited, there will surely be restless "outlaws" who will rise up in the county town in response to Chen Sheng.

The local people will either be coerced or actively seek refuge, and soon there will be more large-scale rebellions.

You told the various feudal lords not to panic and not to disrupt their own rhythm.

Even if one day their vassal state is about to perish, they will insist on implementing "ten years of benevolent governance" and allowing the people to rest and recuperate until the day before their demise.

Don't mobilize a large number of civilians to fight the rebels to the death.

Cai Ling asked in confusion, "If the imperial court doesn't quell the rebellion and instead acts so cowardly, won't the rebels become even more arrogant and take the initiative to attack the princes' fiefdoms?"

Grand Tutor Yu said calmly, "I only told the princes to keep things calm; I didn't say the court wouldn't quell the rebellion."

The suppression of the rebellion was handled by the "Grand Marshal of the Army and Cavalry" of Xingyang, along with various military commanders and the "Supervising Eunuch" dispatched by the emperor.

If a feudal lord can stabilize the situation within his fiefdom and prevent large-scale rebellions by local gentry, he has performed a great service.

By the way, has that scoundrel Zhao Gao arrived in Pengcheng yet?

Cai Ling nodded and said, "Zhao Gao has taken office as the 'Grand Commander-in-Chief' and is following the Pengcheng Army Marquis westward to prepare for the encirclement and suppression of Chen Sheng's forces."

"That's settled then!" Grand Tutor Yu waved his hand, indicating that he could leave.

"How many divine birds and 'messengers' does the Imperial Observatory still have?"

The Gray Crane Immortal said, “There are forty-two Azure Phoenixes, four pairs of Fire Phoenixes, twelve Vermilion Birds, and sixty-three Peacocks.”

Of these divine birds, only the Azure Phoenix serves as a messenger.

The peacock was quite powerful; it lived in the garden of the Epang Palace and did nothing but serve as a decoration for nobles.

The Vermilion Bird, through the 'Vermilion Bird Divine Seal,' became the guardian beast of twelve important towns in the Central Plains.

For example, at the eastern gate of Xianyang, the soul of the Vermilion Bird merged into the city gate, forming the 'Vermilion Bird Seal', which can cover an area of ​​dozens of miles and protect the people in the city from evil spirits.

Behind the East Gate, there is another "Vermilion Bird Avenue," where incense offerings and prayers are collected for the Vermilion Bird imprint, thus fulfilling everyone's purpose.

"What did Fenglin Prefecture say? Did they request the return of these phoenix-like divine birds?" Grand Tutor Yu asked again.

Grey Crane Immortal shook his head and said, "Fenglin Prefecture is a large and powerful place. Many tribes have tens of thousands of divine birds. They don't care about a few dozen wandering outside."

Xiao Yu gently flicked her sleeve, taking out the phoenix egg that Guan Huchen had given her before his death, and asked, "Could you ask the phoenix of Fenglin Prefecture to help me hatch this egg? This should be a phoenix egg, right?"

Grey Crane Immortal took the phoenix egg, carefully touched and sensed it for a while, and asked in surprise, "Where did Grand Tutor get this divine egg?"

It looks like a phoenix egg from ancient times.

Its bloodline is older, purer, and more noble than that of the phoenixes of Fenglin Prefecture.

But it doesn't seem to belong to the Grand Tutor.

It was almost recovering, wasn't it? It's only recently quieted down.

Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise, "You have such a keen eye! It didn't originally belong to me; someone gave it to me before they died."

When I got it last year, I did experience noticeable fetal movements.

The eggshell glowed red, as if it were breathing. The surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) also spontaneously gathered.

Given the circumstances at that time, hatching would have occurred within a few dozen days.

This year, it turned into a lump of rock.

The Grey Crane Immortal said, "Its original owner must have been a very fortunate person. How could the phoenix egg have died so suddenly before it even hatched?"

"I killed him."

Xiaoyu didn't shy away from the story and recounted her complicated relationship with Huchen.

"Alas, since he offended the Grand Tutor, it's not surprising." Gray Crane Master immediately felt relieved.

Even if a tiger minister has great fortune, can it be greater than destiny? Even someone as fortunate as the Heavenly Emperor himself suffered a setback in front of her.
"First of all, Guan Huchen's fate is special. It is his good fortune to obtain this ancient phoenix egg; it is also the phoenix egg's good fortune to meet him. The two complement each other."

The Grand Tutor, however, had no chance of getting the phoenix egg.

It's not that it doesn't want to hatch, but rather that it lacks a certain 'opportunity'.

Guan Huchen could give it, but the Grand Tutor couldn't.

Secondly, Guan Huchen constantly nourished it with his own 'Fire Crow True Qi,' which provided it with nourishment and caused it to grow rapidly.

"Now that it's with the Grand Tutor, does the Grand Tutor sometimes feed it with fire-attribute immortal energy?"

Xiao Yu said awkwardly, "It was only when I saw the Azure Phoenix Envoy today that I suddenly remembered that I still have a phoenix egg."

(End of this chapter)