Chapter 167 Bidding

With the deepening of exchanges between the East and the West, a wave of Western learning has gradually emerged in the past hundred years.

The so-called Western learning, in addition to learning and exchanging to learn from each other's strengths and weaknesses, also brought some Western habits to the East.

For example, auctions. The rules are simple. The prices of the auctioned items are not fixed, and the final goods are obtained by the person with the highest bid. There must be more than two buyers, only in this way can there be competition. Therefore, "auctions" are also called "bidding".

In fact, there were similar behaviors in the East Continent in the past, but they were not systematic. After the sea merchants brought this set of rules from the West, they spread immediately. The black market led by Qibaofang especially likes this kind of behavior. Qi Xuansu once participated in it as a Jianghu person, but because of his limited money, he did not bid anything.

There is a saying that correction must be excessive. At that time, the Great Jin Dynasty was inspired by the separatist regimes of the previous Great Qi Dynasty, and it always suppressed the generals throughout the dynasty. This dynasty, inspired by the civil official factional struggles and eunuchs’ meddling in politics in the previous dynasty, also paid great attention to the balance between civil and military affairs, so that civil officials would not suppress military generals, and military officials could also be appointed as prime ministers. The 24 inner court offices headed by the Silijian were directly abolished.

The same is true for Taoism. Before Taoism, Confucianism occupied the world’s orthodoxy. Taoism, inspired by the Confucianism’s late self-satisfaction, conservatism, and lack of successors, paid great attention to the promotion and appointment of young people and various innovations, so it was easy to accept new things. In addition, Taoism itself was the largest maritime merchant in the world, so this trend of Western learning also blew into Taoism.

There are also auctions within Taoism, which are generally handled by the Shibo Hall, mainly various precious goods with small quantities but large demand. Huasheng Hall and Tianji Hall occasionally hold auctions, mainly to promote their own products. Even Beichen Hall and Tiangang Hall have held auctions. Beichen Hall sells the property of various criminals, and Tiangang Hall sells captured spoils. However, Ziwei Hall and Ancestral Hall never participate. After all, Ziwei Hall cannot sell Taoist crowns and certificates, nor can Ancestral Hall sell benevolence, righteousness and morality.

This kind of auction is mostly participated by high-ranking Taoist priests, and some people from the court and Confucianism can also be invited to participate.

On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhengyi Dao and Quanzhen Dao will jointly hold an auction at Shangqing Palace.

The specifications of this auction are much lower. The Heavenly Master will not attend, and the two Canzhi Zhenren, Zhang Jucheng and Qi Jiaozheng, will not attend either. It is mainly for the purpose of maintaining relationships. In name, all the proceeds from the auction will be used to provide relief to the spiritual officials who died in the war in the Western Regions, and it is an additional relief, that is, the relief stipulated by the Taoist sect will be paid as usual, and the money will be allocated by the Duzhi Hall. This relief is an additional increase, which is almost the meaning of two reliefs.

However, the corresponding threshold has also been lowered a lot, and Zhang Yuelu received an invitation.

To be fair, with Zhang Yuelu's fame and status, it is quite reasonable for him to receive an invitation. It would be abnormal if he did not receive an invitation. After all, in a sense, Zhang Yuelu is the best proof of the friendship between Zhengyi Dao and Quanzhen Dao. He is a descendant of the Zhang family, but he was promoted by the Earth Master. The more such occasions, the more Zhang Yuelu should show up. It is probably a kind of mascot.

In addition, Tan Taiqiong, Zhang Juqi, Zhang Yuyue, and Dong Baijing who just arrived at Yunjin Mountain also received invitations.

Originally, Qi Xuansu felt that he would probably fall into some kind of embarrassing situation. He was ready to face it, but to everyone's surprise, Qi Xuansu also received an invitation. This invitation was not from Zhengyi Dao, but from Quanzhen Dao. It was said that a real person of Quanzhen Dao invited Qi Xuansu by name.

This made Tan Taiqiong think deeply. Could it be that Qi Xuansu had some relationship with Qi Jiaozheng's Qi family? Could there be some story that outsiders did not know, such as the bloodline of the Qi family left outside? She knew that Qi Jiaozheng had always been on good terms with Zhang Jucheng. Although Tianshi was the patriarch, he was still the deputy head of the sect and had to deal with a lot of affairs. Zhang Jucheng was the actual head of the family. If Qi Jiaozheng came forward to propose marriage, Zhang Jucheng would most likely agree.

For this reason, Tan Taiqiong also used his connections to inquire about it. As a result, he found that this matter had nothing to do with Qi Jiaozheng, the assistant master. It was another Quanzhen Taoist master who invited Qi Xuansu, who was not even working in Shuzhou.

In addition, Tan Taiqiong also heard a piece of news that Qi Xuansu was injured by Chen Fuan, the general commander of Shuzhong, in Baidi City. However, when Chen Fuan left the city the next day, he was intercepted by someone. The two sides fought fiercely. Some people saw the wind and thunder with their own eyes. In the end, Chen Fuan was seriously injured and even had an arm broken by someone. He left in embarrassment.

Afterwards, the Shuzhou Daofu and the governor of Shuzhou did not make any moves, as if this incident had never happened.

This made Tan Taiqiong even more confused about Qi Xuansu. He was obviously an ordinary young man from Wanxiang Dao Palace. How could he suddenly have a background? Was it a coincidence? Or did he not show his true colors?

Although the mother and daughter were not in harmony, Tan Taiqiong would never deny her daughter's intelligence. This person could be in her daughter's eyes, maybe her daughter had discovered some unknown inside stories.

However, Tan Taiqiong was wrong in one thing. She made the mistake of judging others by herself. It was okay to say that Zhang Yuelu had never experienced suffering or that Zhang Yuelu was a scholar, but Zhang Yuelu always had an ideal romantic color. This was also the most impressive thing about Zhang Yuelu to Qi Xuansu. However, Tan Taiqiong always used her own utilitarianism to guess Zhang Yuelu's thoughts, and naturally came up with a completely different answer.

If you want to look at family background, then wouldn't Li Tianzhen be better? If we talk about family background, how many people can compare with Li Tianzhen?

Qi Xuansu himself was also shocked. He couldn't figure out which real person invited him. Could it be Daoist Ji? Either it was the real person in charge of Tiangang Hall, and these two real people were the only ones who knew about this little person Qi Xuansu.

But even these two real people have no reason to take the initiative to invite Qi Xuansu. It is reasonable to say that they invited some people and also invited Qi Xuansu, such as inviting all the deacons of Yaoguang Division, including Qi Xuansu. , but it is really unjustifiable to specifically invite Qi Xuansu by name.

Finally, Zhang Yuelu made the point: "You'll know if you go and see me. Isn't it because I invited you to meet you?"

So Qi Xuansu went to Shangqing Palace with Zhang Yuelu.

This is also the first time Qi Xuansu has seen the tip of the iceberg of the upper Taoist sect, because this matter was brought forward by the Shangqing Palace. The standard is not high compared to the night banquet on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, but in fact the standard is very high, and there are many second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests in attendance. , there are even more third-grade Youyi Taoist priests.

The main venue for bidding is located in the auditorium of Shangqing Palace.

The so-called auditorium is similar to the layout of Jinque.

The layout of the Golden Tower is not complicated. It is much larger than the auditorium. There is a Xumizuo in the middle. There is only a simple rosewood chair with armrests on it. That is the position of the Grand Master.

There is a huge three-legged covered copper incense burner behind the seat. The cover of the burner is engraved with Bagua images. In the center of the north wall directly above the copper incense burner hangs a very plain white framed nave with four words on it. A big character: "Peace in the world."

The Grand Master's chair faces south, and there are twelve seats in each of the other three directions: east, south, and west. There are thirty-six seats in total, corresponding to the thirty-six true practitioners. And at the top of every twelve seats is another chair with superior specifications, a total of three seats, corresponding to the three deputy head masters. The seats of the other great masters of Pingzhang will be distributed on the left and right sides below the Xumizuo where the great master is located. After the thirty-six seats, there are the seats of ordinary real masters for observing the proceedings, about one hundred and eight. , neatly arranged, and the spacing is far less loose than the thirty-six seats.

The auditorium is similar, except that the seats for the three deputy head masters have been removed and replaced with a whole row of seats for twelve people. The remaining seats are not deliberately divided into three camps.

However, when Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu came over, the door to the auditorium was closed before the time came. Those who arrived early were lingering in the hall outside the auditorium. As for the big shots, they were the last to come over, so naturally there was no need to wait. .

At Zhang Yuelu's request, both of them wore casual clothes instead of Taoist formal clothes. The reason is that Taoist formal attire has different levels. Qi Xuansu, a seventh-grade Taoist priest standing here, will inevitably attract many strange looks. He is not standing out from the crowd, but Zhang Yuelu was afraid that Qi Xuansu would be embarrassed, so he took the initiative to accompany him in casual clothes. Originally, at Zhang Yuelu's age, wearing the formal attire of a Taoist Priest of the Fourth Grade Wine Ceremony was extremely revealing.

It is said that a man is judged by his clothes. Zhang Yuelu was dressed in a pale white dress, and his demeanor was very different from usual. He was dignified and elegant, but also revealed a bit of gentleness. He was not as heroic as a man on ordinary days.

Qi Xuansu's clothes were bought by Zhang Yuelu. He was wearing a moon-white robe with gold piping and patterns, square-head cloud shoes with black patterns on a white background, a jade-inlaid belt, and a white jade crown, which actually revealed a bit of chicness. The young master means that the roughness of the Jianghu people has disappeared.

The two of them stood side by side, looking like a perfect match for each other.

Many people around also noticed the two of them. Most of them recognized Zhang Yuelu, the proud daughter of heaven, but did not recognize Qi Xuansu. They couldn't help but be particularly curious about this young man who was close to Zhang Yuelu, and they all speculated on Qi Xuansu's identity.

Some people say that Qi Xuansu was born in the Yan family, and had already made a marriage contract with Zhang Yuelu, and this time he came to prepare for the wedding.

Some people also say that Qi Xuansu is a young leader of the Qi family of Quanzhen Taoism. This visit to Dazhen Mansion with his elders is to add to the quasi-alignment between Zhengyiyi and Quanzhen Taoism, and to have a beautiful ending with the marriage of the two parties. After all, it was never a secret that Master Qi and Master Zhang had a good relationship.

Tantai Qiong and Zhang Kuqi arrived a little later and were traveling with Zhang Yuyue and his wife. Those who didn't know better thought they were a family of four and Zhang Yuelu was the richest daughter of the Zhang family.