Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1989 Religion and Dualism

"Although the beliefs of the Buryat Mongols are relatively weak, the lamas are not without influence at all. If you want to compete with them for beliefs, you may have to go back and forth." Somewhere in the Hulunbeier Prairie, Army Captain Wei Wendu approached a The middle-aged man in a blue Taoist robe said.

The middle-aged man's name is Lou Mengxiong, and he is the closed disciple of Yu Ci, the patriarch of Taoism on the East Bank.It is also because of this that Lou Mengxiong became a real person at the beginning of this year and became a thriving existence among many Taoist priests in the Far East.

Lou Zhenren has now been officially appointed as the highest person in charge of religious affairs in the Manchurian-Mongolian Pioneering Team area and the Heishui Management Committee area. Do a good job of pioneering the colonial cause.

Today Lou Zhenren worked tirelessly and traveled across mountains and rivers to the remote and difficult Hulunbeier Prairie, intending to investigate the feasibility of preaching here.In the past two years, the promotion of East Coast Taoism in the Hulunbeier Prairie has not been very smooth. Although the number of believers has been steadily increasing, the growth rate is always unsatisfactory.Lou Mengxiong couldn't stay in Yantai, so he reached the Bank of Taiwan's boat and arrived at Temple Street Port, and then took a boat and a horse. It took a long time and finally came to the Hulun Buir Grassland with abundant water and grass.

Wei Wendu, as the highest local military and political officer, also accompanied him from Manguitun, through Alongshantun and Jinhetun—these two places were newly established halfway supply settlements, each with hundreds of people, and they are still It is in a difficult state of maintenance, and it mainly serves as a post station—all the way south, and finally arrived at Nahaibu, which is located on the edge of the Hulunbuir Grassland.

Na Haibu is a Buryat who fled from the north and took refuge.Although they belong to the Mongols, they are actually second-class citizens in the Mongolian world, and their status is lower than that of Khalkha Mongolia.This is also related to their impure background, the range of nomads is relatively remote, and they joined the Mongolian Empire relatively late, so it is understandable to be marginalized after several rounds of integration.It is more accurate to say that they are the second-class citizens of the colony rather than the people of the Mongolian Empire. Therefore, the centripetal force of the Buryat Mongols towards Mongolian culture is actually far less than people imagined, so it is actually a good way to promote Eastern Mongolian culture. An object of Taoism.

But what is surprising is that the promotion of East Coast Taoism here has not been as fast as expected, and it is still not the mainstream religion among the less than 3000 people in Nahaisuo.Especially for those older herdsmen who have believed in the Yellow Sect for half their lives, the majesty of the Buddha has penetrated into their bones, and the lama is as unattainable as the messenger of the god in their hearts.These people are no longer targets for winning over, or they can be forced to convert by force, but is it necessary?

Compared with them, those younger herdsmen or children are better at preaching.The Taoist priests on the east coast who have been following Na Haibu's preaching aimed at these people and achieved some results, but it was far from enough, so they alerted Loumeng Xionglou to come to check in person.

After Captain Wei Wendu led a small cavalry unit to escort Lou Zhenren to the destination (fortunately, the Nahai Department hadn't changed the scene yet), he saw a group of lamas jumping out from nowhere and holding religious activities at the Nahai Department.The Buryat Mongols in the tribe respected the lamas very much. They put on full costumes and welcomed the lamas into the tribe one by one. .

Lou Mengxiong didn't speak after hearing this, but looked forward intently.Standing behind them was a group of soldiers in khaki military uniforms with rifles slung across their backs. They looked a bit eye-catching, so the lamas paid more attention to them, but no one came to ask questions or find fault.

Na Hai's father-in-law wore an expensive leather hat custom-made from the Bank of Taiwan.This hat made of beaver skin has a wide outer brim, a large cluster of tassels made of red silk thread on the top, the tassels are fixed by a piece of precious small coral, and there are two red ribbons hanging down from the back of the hat. Made from wild silk from Punjab.All in all, the hat of Na Hai’s father-in-law is not cheap, or it can be said to be very expensive, not to mention the materials and workmanship on him are extremely exquisite, and it should never appear in the traditional Mongolian dress among Buryat Mongolians. This shows the wealth of the Nahai tribe who acted as a middleman for trade between the east coast and the grassland.

The leading lama was quite satisfied with Na Hai's father-in-law's respectful attitude.I saw him lightly touching the top of his head with a small scripture book wrapped in silk, expressing his blessing to Na Hai's father-in-law himself.Na Hai's father-in-law had clasped his hands together in front of his chest, but after receiving the blessing, he immediately beamed with joy, made a deep bow, and then walked backwards and left.

The lama's authority is profound.Even a nobleman like father-in-law Nahai was not allowed to turn his back on the lama immediately after receiving the blessing, because this was considered a disrespectful expression, and it was possible to get a punishment from the Buddha, and no one could afford it.

"The Mongols are very devout (obsessed) and honest (faithful). In their culture, the lama Buddha sitting in the temple is the most envied, even some little nobles on the grassland can't compare. Ah, What a fertile religious soil this is, Lou Zhenren, you must seize the opportunity and spread the glory of the Heavenly Lord to the entire Mongolian world. This is also the foundation for the formation of the dual system of our Mongolian pioneer team." The captain took out a cigarette and lit it, and said with a smile.

Lou Mengxiong didn't speak when he heard the words, but his eyes were fixed on those arrogant lamas.As a religious person, he has read many documents and information, and he knows how terrifying the privileges of these lamas on the grassland are.Some highly respected lamas often live in very strong, spacious and magnificent fixed temples (this is actually not low cost on the grasslands), and have a top-down management team.This team is composed of lamas at all levels. Some are responsible for religious promotion, some are responsible for contacting people far and near, some are responsible for financial expenses, and some are in charge of herds—don’t doubt, lamas are not poor, let alone proletarians—of course there are also people who are responsible for cultivating a reserve echelon of lamas. In short, this is a class with privileges and a lot of property, and its influence is so deep that the Mongolian nobles in the secular world have to treat them with courtesy.

To be honest, real Loumeng Xionglou is very envious of these "colleagues" on the grassland, because they are so cool, their status is too high, and they can enjoy it without doing anything, compared with ordinary tribal chiefs. The poor and luxurious life is beyond the imagination of Tianzun's servants.At the same time, this also stimulated Lou Zhenren's ambition even more. Lamas who are not actively preaching can be so happy. If we vigorously promote East Coast Taoism on the Mongolian grasslands and achieved great results, then what should we do? What a joyful scene?

"Captain Wei, what you said is actually correct. Mongols are the best believers, and they have not yet accepted the correct belief, so we need to redouble our efforts to let more Mongolians know the majesty and love of Tianzun. Lou Mengxiong replied: "But we should not be too optimistic, and we should also see all kinds of difficulties in reality. The Mongols are very enlightened, and they never believe outsiders. They can succumb to your force, They flatter you in every possible way and kiss your boot toes, but in their own Ulus they are indeed unattainable nobles. Even those ordinary herdsmen who look honest and honest, when they ask for you, they can kneel on the ground and kowtow , such as some people who beg our Taoist priests to heal them; and if you are not needed, even if they walk past you, they may turn a blind eye, and sometimes even want to be rude to you. This kind of character, many times It made us all very embarrassed, and even a little bit at a loss. Compared with them, those Tunguska barbarians who lived in the deep mountains and old forests all year round were even more straightforward and cute."

"Of course we shouldn't be too pessimistic." Lou Zhenzhen continued: "The Mongolian world is still worth investing in, and the returns will definitely be very good. What's more, the Buryat Mongols are closer to the Tungus people, and the culture It also has a more barbaric atmosphere, not as cunning as those Khalkha Mongolians. Our first step should be to make a breakthrough among the Buryat Mongols, first conquer their spiritual world, and then try other things. This It's already being done, the Russians are an obstacle, but we're still working on it."

"Then Hulunbeier gave up? The beliefs here don't matter?" Wei Wendu asked in disbelief.

"The Haibu must return to the correct belief." Lou Mengxiong replied bluntly: "After I go back, I will find a way to increase the intensity of preaching here, and your army can cooperate. We also want to learn from those lamas and build A large-scale Taoist temple serves as the center of our missionary work. I don’t believe it. With this missionary base, can it still not compete with those lamas? Many of them are even liars!”

"Cough, be careful, be careful." Wei Wendu smiled awkwardly, and changed the subject: "I just like Lou Zhenren's courage. You want to build a Taoist temple in the Hulun Buir Grassland. I agree and appreciate it. I will negotiate with Nahai on this matter. It is unrealistic to transport the materials from thousands of miles. The people and materials for the construction of the Taoist temple still have to find a way with him. We can only compensate him from other places. And I also hope that your The missionary action will produce results as soon as possible, and the majesty of Tianzun will completely cover the entire Nahai tribe as soon as possible, and then march into other Mongolian tribes. The dual system strategy of our Mongolian pioneer team has just begun to implement, and it is still hard to say where we will go in the future. There are only a few thousand people in the Haibu, and all the adult males are only a few hundred people. Even if they are all equipped with muskets and cannons, it is useless. How much territory can they conquer? So, at this time, you need the help of your religious system Well. Religious weapons, religious weapons, this is not just talking, religion can also be a very good weapon in many cases, we need you very much in the future, Lou Zhenren."

"Tianzun will bless you all, and at the same time forgive those poor people in Haibu who have lost their true belief. I am absolutely sure of this." Lou Mengxiong shook the dust in his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "Man Meng The pioneering team wants to establish a dual system of governance. This is fighting for territory with Bogd Khan of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and at the same time competing for territory with Galdan of Moxi Mongolia. According to my rough understanding, Mobei and Monan Mongolia The vast majority of lamas still tend to be Manchu Bogd Khan. In the eyes of these people, Galdan, like us, is not a partner for cooperation. Galdan is cruel, violent, and has a strong desire to control. He is a secular world. They don’t like the heroes of our country, but we are implementing another system, digging their foundation, and they don’t like it even more. In short, there is still a long way to go in the future, and it is even more difficult. Company Commander Wei, we must do a good job in the long run. Prepare for struggle, if one generation fails, then two generations, if two generations fail, then three generations, in short, we must spread the glory of Tianzun to the entire Mongolian grassland."

(End of this chapter)