Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

Xu Fanghai was not an immigrant from Fan Yang, but with the convenience of the Marshal's badge and the introduction of Tang Jun's acquaintances, he was able to move around Yanqi Town without any hindrance.

After leaving Yuli Market Town, Xu Fanghai's first stop was to the most famous holy place in Yanqi Town - Yinglong Cave.

Yinglong Cave is located dozens of miles outside Yanqi Town. An official road has been built between the two. It only takes more than an hour to get there by horse-drawn carriage.

Yinglong Cave was originally built with a seven-star Buddhist temple. Later, due to the decline of Buddhism in Yanqi, the Buddhist temple was rebuilt into Yinglong Temple.

Under the temple, there is a cave, which is the holy place of Yinglong Sect and is called Yinglong Cave.

When Xu Fanghai arrived at Yinglong Temple, it was noon, the time when the incense was at its strongest.

The believers coming and going are rubbing shoulders one after another, the temples and houses are lined up in a row, and there is a lively scene everywhere.

Han Chinese, Daqi people, Turks, Uighurs, Tulun people, etc., different races, speaking different accents, shuttle among the vast temples.

After looking around, Xu Fanghai was surprised to find that among them were not only Yinglong believers, but also Buddhists, Zoroastrian believers, Taoist believers, Taoists, Christians, etc.

After asking the priest on duty in the temple, Xu Fanghai learned that the teachings of Yinglong Sect do not exclude other religions.

On the contrary, Yinglong Religion regards any religion as part of Yinglong Religion.

According to the patriarch’s explanation, there is only one Supreme God in Yinglong’s teachings, but there are many ways of existence and names for him.

In other words, there are so many religions and beliefs in the world, no matter whether you believe in Buddha or Christ, as long as you recognize monotheism, then you are part of Yinglong's teachings.

Yinglong's teachings do not exclude other religions, but unite many religions into monotheism. With this inclusiveness, Yinglong's teachings can spread rapidly among countries with different faiths.

Seeing that Xu Fanghai was a scholar and that he came from the Central Plains, the patriarch became more motivated and said a few more words: "Before Yinglong Sect was introduced to Anxi, the number of religions in Anxi could be described as hundreds.

It’s no exaggeration at all. The larger religions include Exoteric Buddhism, Esoteric Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, etc., while the smaller sects, such as Shamanism, Hunshan God, etc., can’t even be counted.”

"Originally, people of different sects, let alone sitting together and working together, would quarrel and fight even when they met and talked. For example, in the Anxi Army, different camps were set up specifically for soldiers of different religions, in order to avoid fighting with each other.

Conflicts arise.”

"After the Yinglong Sect was introduced, believers from different sects in Anxi came to a consensus on the Yinglong Sect without overturning their existing beliefs. It became much easier to get along with each other. For example, religious conflicts and

The barriers will be reduced a lot, which will greatly help the unity of the people of Anxi."

After hearing this, Xu Fanghai was surprised.

No matter where it is, for newly prosperous religions, in order to increase the number of believers, the common practice is to deny other religions and only respect the teachings of their own sect, requiring every believer to believe in their own religion completely and not to believe in other gods at the same time. This can maximize the number of believers.

Establish the prestige of Protestantism.

However, the Yinglong Sect does the opposite. It restricts its teachings to monotheism and uses this framework to accommodate most religions. While believing in the Yinglong Sect, believers are also free to believe in other religions.

religion.

This doctrine seems to make the faith of Yinglong believers uncertain, but in fact, it has expanded the ranks of believers and completed the unification of beliefs in the shortest possible time.

Since Xu Fanghai did not have a religious certificate from the Yinglong Sect, he was unable to enter the Yinglong Cave, so he could only regretfully return to Yanqi Town.

Walking on the streets of Yanqi Town, Xu Fanghai found a wine shop, ordered a pot of Bingyu Shao, and sat down.

Looking at the people walking around, Xu Fanghai always felt that the people here seemed a little out of place compared to other places in the Tang Dynasty.

After watching for a long time, Xu Fanghai finally reacted.

The people in Yanqi Town can't tell the difference between high and low, no matter in their words, deeds or demeanor.

In other states and counties of the Tang Dynasty, when common people met officials, poor people met rich people, and untouchables met noble people, the former mostly walked sideways to give way, looked down to the ground, and had a flattering attitude, so you can tell without too much discrimination.

The people on which side have a more noble status.

But in Yanqi Town, everything was unclear.

Xu Fanghai saw with his own eyes that a craftsman covered in dust and dressed as a craftsman, who was supposed to be from a lowly family, was walking on the road with his head held high. People in luxurious clothes often saw him and said hello loudly before going up to chat.

Another ordinary citizen in linen clothes saw an official in official robes and actually stopped him and asked something loudly. The official scratched his head and scratched his head when asked, and in the end he could only nod his head.

Xu Fanghai was stunned when he saw it, so he called the bartender in the shop and planned to ask what happened.

The wine girl is a Persian woman, about thirty years old, with healthy complexion, plump figure, and quite talkative.

Hearing Xu Fanghai's question, the Persian wine lady said: "Although the craftsman you saw is from a lowly family, his pottery skills are top-notch, and he has dividends from several workshops. Now the merchants are vying for him. That Anxi

The Liangjian Order stipulates that all lowly households sign living deeds and their property is privately owned, so skilled craftsmen like this are the most popular in Anxi."

Xu Fanghai suddenly realized, then pointed to the common people questioning the officials and asked: "Aren't the people worried about being caught when they challenge the officials?"

The Persian wine girl smiled and said: "I don't know about other places, but it certainly won't happen in Yanqi... There is a council in Yanqi town, and the officials in it are elected by the people. If the officials fail to do good things, they will be scolded.

, or in severe cases, dismissed."

Xu Fanghai: "Is there such a way to select officials in the Tang Dynasty? Does the Anxi Protectorate not care about it?"

Persian Wine Lady: "Of the four towns in Anxi, only Yanqi Town uses councils to decide political affairs. Earlier, the Anxi Protectorate also said that it would cancel the councils and appoint officials to replace them. However, envoy Yinglong issued an order

, no one is allowed to change the status quo of Yanqi Town, so the Protectorate gave up."

Xu Fanghai: "Ying Long Envoy?"

The Persian wine girl stopped smiling and said solemnly: "Yinglongshi is what you Tang people call Zhou Duhu, but we foreigners like to call him Yinglongshi."

Xu Fanghai was about to ask the wine girl why Zhou Jun was called Yinglongshi, when a Persian child of about ten years old walked in from the door, carrying a large book basket behind him.

When the Persian wine girl saw the child, she left the guest and ran over and asked: "Have you finished the private school today? What did the teacher say?"

The Persian child said dejectedly: "Arithmetic is fine, but poetry is really difficult."

Persian wine girl: "Then you should study hard. In order to enter that private school, your father and I spent a lot of money. If you want to pass the imperial examination and become an official in Anxi in the future..."

When Xu Fanghai heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Is it possible to become an official through the imperial examination?"

The Persian wine girl turned around, raised her eyebrows, and asked Xu Fanghai: "What? Do you think my child can't be an official?"

Seeing this, Xu Fanghai waved his hands quickly and said: "That's not what I meant. It's just that few foreigners can become officials through the imperial examination. Moreover, both the capital and the capital are now in the hands of the Dayan... rebels, so naturally the imperial examination cannot be carried out.

."

Persian wine girl: "I'm afraid you don't know. In addition to the Anxi Liang Jie Order, the Duhu Mansion issued a new order a few months ago. Due to frequent wars in the Central Plains, this year's imperial examinations are planned to be held in Anxi. Moreover,

Any resident of the four towns in Anxi, no matter what type of worker, peasant, scholar, or merchant he is from, or which country he comes from, as long as he has lived in Anxi for a certain number of years, has a clean family background, and has no criminal record, he can take part in the imperial examination."

Hearing this, Xu Fanghai was shocked and asked in a trembling voice: "The imperial examination will be held in Anxi? And regardless of origin or nationality? This..."

At this time, an idea suddenly arose in Xu Fanghai's mind.

Everything about Anxi completely overturned all his previous perceptions.