Pawn Crossing the River

The Governor of Shuzhou is located at the end of the nine major governors. Most of the other governors are in charge of two states. Only the Governor of Shuzhou is in charge of one state. One reason is that Shuzhou is vast in area. Although it is slightly smaller than Xizhou, it is far larger than other states. In terms of population, Shuzhou is far better than Xizhou. The second is that before the world was in chaos, Shu was in chaos. The world was already settled but not Shu. This place was connected to the southern border, and the chieftains often rebelled, so the imperial court specially set up a governor here.

The governor is in charge of military and political affairs, and under him are the governor in charge of civil affairs and the admiral in charge of military affairs. Under the admiral's military affairs chief is the garrison chief.

Looking at the entire Shu Prefecture, there are a total of four garrison general officers, namely the Shuzhong Chief Military Officer, the Jianmen Chief Military Officer, the Jinxiu Chief Military Officer, and the Southern Xinjiang Chief Military Officer.

The ranks of the four major garrison generals are the same, but the order of their orders is different.

Among them, the general military officer of Southern Xinjiang mainly prevents rebellions by chieftains in various places. He has the largest number of soldiers under his command and is also the most elite, ranking first. Jinxiu Mansion is the capital of Shuzhou, with Jinxiu Chief Military Officer taking the second place. Jianmen Pass in Jiange Mansion is the gateway to Shuzhou and is in a dangerous location. Therefore, the chief military officer of Jianmen is ranked third, while the chief military officer of Shuzhong can only occupy a certain position.

Speaking of Shuzhong Mansion, there is also a Quanzhen Taoist family here, the Tang family.

This is a rather special family. It is slightly inferior to the Yao family, Pei family, and Qi family, and slightly better than the Shangguan family, Xu family, and Ji family. It is somewhere in between, and the Tang family is very low-key. , rarely leaving the territory of Shuzhou.

Similar to this situation, there is another Zhang family. This Zhang family is not the Taoist Zhang, one of the three major families in the world, but is inherited from the lineage of Zhang Suqing, the chief minister of the previous dynasty. The Tang family is more low-key. Even when the Zixian Mountain case happened at their doorstep, they never came forward. Zhang Jiaoling joined Quanzhen Taoism, and the Zhang family did not rush to join the sect with Zhang Jiaoling. They were like a hermit, so the world said The Zhang family generally refers to the prestigious Zhang family. If two Zhang families are distinguished, the Zhang family of Zhang Yuelu is generally called Shangqing Zhang, and the Zhang family is called Jiangling Zhang.

Although the Wanshou Chongyang Palace is located in Qinzhou, Shuzhou is the foundation of Quanzhen Taoism. In addition to the Tang family, the Qi family and the Ji family have also lived in Shuzhou for generations. There are two mountains in Shuzhou, one is Tiancang Mountain, which is the seat of the Shuzhou Taoist Government and the residence of the Ji family for generations. The other is Shushan. The clouds are emerald green, and the eyebrows are like the head of a moth, thin and long, beautiful. And Yanye, also known as Emei, was originally one of the four famous mountains of Buddhism and a place where Buddhism and Taoism were intertwined. After the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism, it was taken under the name of Taoism and became the residence of the Qi family for generations.

On the contrary, the Pei family is a bit different. Their ancestral home is in Qizhou, and they are close neighbors to the Li family. They should be members of the Taiping Tao, but by various opportunities and coincidences, they became a member of the Quanzhen Tao. But it is still being cleaned up. It is true that it is easy to enjoy the shade under the big tree, but no trees can grow under the big tree. If you stay away from the big tree of the Li family, you can go to the next level.

This is where the situation of Quanzhen Tao is complicated. There is no backbone like the Zhang family of Zhengdao and the Li family of Taiping Dao. They are scattered and scattered, each with their own calculations. It is difficult to integrate and the internal friction is serious. As a result, Quanzhen Tao has nothing at all. Strong strength, but was overwhelmed by Taiping Dao. In other words, Quanzhen Tao can still maintain this framework when it is stationary and defensive. But if it really decides to move, switch from defense to offense, or even attack from all sides like Taiping Tao, the situation is hard to say. At least The senior leaders of Quanzhen Tao do not have this confidence.

Qi Xuansu did some homework before coming to Shuzhou. He did not rush to Shuzhong Mansion, but went to Qingcheng of Tiancang Mountain first.

This is the location of Shuzhou Daofu.

Of course, Qi Xuansu went to Shuzhou Taoist Mansion not to talk to the real person in charge, Qi Jiaozheng, about the Qi family's affairs, but to see Taoist Ji. Qi Xuansu remembered that Taoist Ji, who was kind to him, said that he had the position of deputy palace master in Shuzhou Taoist Mansion. There were only nine deputy palace masters in total, so it should not be difficult to find one.

Qi Xuansu walked against the wind and saw thousands of acres of bamboo forest like a sea from a distance. When the autumn wind passed by, the bamboo sea swayed with the wind like thousands of blue waves.

If it is summer, the bamboo sea is as cool as early autumn, without any heat. It is late autumn now, and it is a bit cold in the bamboo sea.

This sea of ​​bamboo belongs to Tiancang Mountain. Because the bamboo forest is evergreen all year round, and Tiancang Mountain is surrounded by peaks, it looks like a city, so it is called "Qingcheng".

To be fair, all Taoist palaces and Taoist palaces in Daomen are never the same, but each has its own style, and they are all located in beautiful places. Just walking around all the Taoist palaces and Taoist palaces in Daomen is an excellent tour. experience.

Qi Xuansu walked along the way, from the Taiping Palace on Taiping Mountain to the Daxue Mountain Palace, from the Qing Palace on Yunjin Mountain to the Wuxu Palace in Xijing Prefecture, from the Summer Palace in Beimang Mountain to the Wanxiang Taoist Palace in Longmen Prefecture, and then from the Wanshou Chongyang Palace in Difeishan Mountain to the Heavenly Palace. Cangshan Qingcheng, the scenery you see is unique.

The institutions of the Taiping Palace, the white snow of the Daxue Mountain Palace, the cliffs of Yunjin Mountain, the distant view of the Summer Palace, the upper palace of the Wanxiang Taoist Palace, and even the formations of the Wanshou Chongyang Palace and the bamboo forest of Qingcheng all impressed Qi Xuansu deeply.

Qi Xuansu did not dare to fly directly into Qingcheng. Instead, he landed back on the ground early and hiked up the mountain.

A spiritual officer checked his identity, but he was very polite when he saw that Qi Xuansu was dressed as a Taoist priest of the fourth grade offering wine. When Qi Xuansu showed the ultimatum, he knew that Qi Xuansu was not only a member of Quanzhen Taoism, but also from Ziweitang, the head of the Jiutang. , even more polite. After learning about Qi Xuansu's intention, he even personally led Qi Xuansu's way. This made Qi Xuansu lament that in the past, when he went to Luzhou Daofu and Zhongzhou Daofu, he was not treated like this.

Under the guidance of the two spiritual officials, Qi Xuansu arrived at the outskirts of Qingcheng.

The core of Shuzhou Taoist Palace is called Shangqing Palace - there are four Shangqing palaces in total in Taomen, namely Shangqing Palace at Jin'ao Peak in Taiqing Mountain in Langya Prefecture in Qizhou, Shangqing Palace at Qionglin Peak in Yunjin Mountain in Wuzhou Shangqing Prefecture, and Qingcheng Palace in Tiancang Mountain in Shuzhou Shangqing Palace, Shangqing Palace on Cuiyun Peak of Mang Mountain in the north of Longmen Prefecture.

The most famous one is of course Shangqing Palace in Yunjin Mountain, so when mentioning Tiancang Mountain in Shuzhou Taoist Prefecture, Shangqing Palace is usually not mentioned, only Qingcheng in Tiancang Mountain.

Shangqing Palace is the real residence of the head of the palace. The deputy palace masters are scattered around Qingcheng with Shangqing Palace as the center. Ji Daoren is only in name and often travels around. He does not take care of things much, so his residence is far away from Shangqing Palace and is located in Qingcheng. The outskirts of the city are very simple and made of local materials. The whole building is made of green bamboo, almost blending in with the surrounding bamboo forest.

Qi Xuansu was lucky. Taoist Ji did not go out for a wander today, but stayed in Qingcheng, Tiancang Mountain.

After the Lingguan informed him, Taoist Ji did not put on any airs and went out to greet him personally.

"The ancients said that after three days of separation, scholars should treat each other with admiration. The last time I saw Brother Qi, Brother Qi was still at the Yuxu stage of cultivation. Now that we meet again, Brother Qi has already become a heavenly being. He has advanced so fast that Zhang and Yao , Li Zhiliu is nothing more than that," Ji Daoren said with a smile.

There are many people in the Taoist sect who are indifferent to fame and wealth, but there are almost no people who don't even care about realm cultivation. After all, the fundamental purpose of the Taoist sect is to seek immortality. If you don't even want immortality, it would be too indifferent. The same is true for Taoist Ji. He didn't care much that Qi Xuansu was promoted to the fourth level of wine priest, but he was surprised by how quickly Qi Xuansu's cultivation level improved.

Qi Xuansu said humbly: "First, I followed Qingxiao. I benefited a lot and had some chance encounters. Later, I went to the Wanxiang Taoist Palace to further my studies. Under the earnest guidance of Master Sun, I became a heavenly being."

"This is Master Sun from the Wanxiang Taoist Palace. He is an old man of the 'He' generation and a loyal elder." Taoist Ji nodded, "Brother Qi is indeed lucky to have the teachings of Master Sun."

Taoist Ji invited Qi Xuansu into the main hall of the bamboo building. Although the bamboo building looks simple from the outside, it is the residence of the deputy hall master after all. It is not just Taoist Ji who is here alone, but also his subordinates, so the interior is really... It has been carefully polished. Not only is it not shabby, but it has an air of tranquility.

A Taoist priest brought tea to the two of them.

Qi Xuansu said: "I feel ashamed to say that I have known Senior Ji for a long time and received many favors from Senior Ji. I still don't know Senior Ji's name."

Ji Daoren smiled and said: "Since I call Mr. Sun Master Master, and I am a member of Quanzhen Taoism, it is natural that I have the word 'jiao'. My name is Ji Jiaozhen, and Quanzhen Zhen is just 'jiaozhen' and 'jiaozhen' The word "real" has a homophonic sound. Ever since I was a child, my brothers and friends have often made fun of me with these two words. As time went by, I stopped mentioning them. "

Qi Xuansu coughed slightly and turned to say: "I heard that Zhao Fu'an, the commander-in-chief of Shuzhong, had an arm broken when he left Baidi City. In addition, someone visited me when I was recuperating in Huasheng Hall. I."

While talking, Qi Xuansu took out two small wine gourds from the Xumi objects. The word "Ji" was written in seal script on the gourds.

Ji Jiaozhen did not deny it, and said with a smile: "It's a small effort, not worth mentioning."

Qi Xuansu said sternly: "For Senior Ji, it's just a little effort, but for me, Qi Xuansu, it's a deep feeling of kindness. It's always easy to add icing on the cake, but it's difficult to provide help when it's time."