Chapter 350 Exchange of Interests
Yelu Qi recalled that more than a year ago, the young man in front of him was just a small Taoist priest, but now, he has become an important figure in the area north of the Yangtze River.

Moreover, even his own father, Yelu Chucai, suspected that the Taoist Yin Zhiping who assassinated Kublai Khan was sent by Xin Zhen.

This suspicion is very reasonable. The Quanzhen Sect launched uprisings in the area north of the Yangtze River, assassinated Mongolian officials, obstructed the Mongolian court from collecting taxes, and attacked the Mongolian court's mines. The Quanzhen Sect tried almost every means to disrupt the Mongolian court's rule over the area north of the Yangtze River, so that Mongolian officials were afraid to go out.

Before Kublai Khan, several high-ranking officials equivalent to the second and third ranks had been assassinated, and there were even more local officials who had been assassinated.

My father, Yelu Chucai, once said that the various measures taken by Quanzhen Sect had shaken the Mongols' foundation in the area north of the Yangtze River.

This is also the reason why Yelu Qi came this time.

The Mongols had a retreat route. If they were defeated, they could just return to the northern desert. But his family couldn't retreat now. They came to the Central Plains because of political struggles. If they went back, they might not even know how they died.

When Yelu Qi saw Xin Zhen, he bowed deeply to the ground and said very respectfully: "Yelu Qi greets Master Yang."

Xin Zhen reached out his hand to help Yelu Qi up, and said with a smile: "Brother Yelu, you are being too formal. We hit it off right away when we met before, so let's not be so distant now."

Yelu Qi forced a smile and said, "This is a different time. The last time we met, we were both very busy. This time, I feel even more like a lost dog."

Xin Zhen was surprised and asked, "Brother Yelu, why did you come to this?"

Yelu Qi smiled bitterly and said, "Master Yang is a very smart man, so why bother pretending not to understand our situation?"

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Let's go to the place where I usually practice meditation and have a cup of tea."

Xin Zhen took Yelu Qi to the quiet room where he practiced daily, boiled water on a small charcoal stove, made tea, and the two chatted while drinking.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Yelu Qi said, "Master Yang, this time my father ordered me to entrust these 84 craftsmen who want to return home to you. I hope you can help them. Among these 84 craftsmen, there are 20 blacksmiths, 20 forgers, and the other 44 are craftsmen who study firearms, including artillery and muskets. I entrust them all to you."

Xin Zhen was very happy, and he held Yelu Qi's hand and said, "Brother Yelu, thank your father for his kindness on my behalf. If the Yelu family needs anything from me, please let me know."

Yelu Qi shook his head and said, "My father asked me to ask Master Yang a question. If the Mongols retreat, will the people in the area north of the Yangtze River be named Zhao or Yang?"

Xin Zhen took a sip of tea and then smiled, "The Zhao family is not worthy. They abandoned the people of the North and fled in disgrace. So this land no longer belongs to them."

Yelu Qi's eyes lit up, and then became hot. He looked at Xin Zhen and said, "My father asked again, can the children of the Yelu family become Taoists?"

Xin Zhen was surprised and asked, "Brother Yelu's martial arts should have been taught by the ancestor Zhou Botong. Didn't he accept you as his apprentice?"

Yelu Qi shook his head and said, "Although Senior Zhou taught me martial arts, he looked down upon my character, so we are not considered master and disciple."

Xin Zhen nodded and smiled, "The master will probably like Brother Yelu as his disciple. Oh, and your sister can also become his disciple."

Yelu Qi whispered, "Shouldn't we ask Master Yin first?"

Xin Zhen smiled and said, "It's okay. If my master doesn't like you, I still have many uncles. If it really doesn't work, I can take you in as my apprentice."

Yelu Qi immediately knelt down and said, "Master Yang, Yelu Qi hopes to be your disciple."

Yelu Qi rested his head on the floor and did not hear Xin Zhen's response for a long time. He glanced secretly and found that Xin Zhen was looking at him with a smile.

Yelu Qi's face suddenly turned red.

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Okay, since you are so sincere, I will accept you as my disciple. However, you can just be my lay disciple like Wanyan Ping." Yelu Qi was a little disappointed, but then he was also happy. He kowtowed to Xin Zhen again and said respectfully, "Yelü Qi greets the master."

Xin Zhen nodded and said, "Okay, sit down."

Yelu Qi quickly said, "Disciple, just stand there."

Xin Zhen did not force it, but nodded and said, "Does your father have anything else to say?"

Yelu Qi quickly shook his head and said, "No more."

Xin Zhen said, "Then you can stay here first. I still have to inform my master that I am accepting you as my disciple."

Yelu Qi quickly bowed and left.

Looking at Yelu Qi's back, Xin Zhen smiled.

The Yelu family has a lot on their mind.

Xin Zhen sighed.

However, Xin Zhen didn't care. Even in daily life, between friends, couples, parents and children, although friendship, love, family affection, etc. are used as a cover, in fact, it is still just an exchange of interests.

Friends exchange information and money;
The union between a husband and wife is essentially the union of two economic entities;
Between parents and children, one is the investor and the other is the investee, and the agreed return is that the investee will provide pension for the investor.

Nothing wrong with that.

Yelu Chucai tried to find out Xin Zhen's attitude towards the Song Dynasty. If Xin Zhen said that he wanted to recognize the Song Dynasty and hand over the area north of the Yangtze River to the Song Dynasty after expelling the Mongols, there would be no subsequent conversation.

Xin Zhen did not give a perfunctory answer, but told Yelu Qi very clearly that the Zhao people had no right to get involved in the territory that the Quanzhen Sect had seized.

In other words, Xin Zhen has made it clear that he wants to fight for the world.

So Yelu Qi immediately proposed to join the Quanzhen Sect, and Xin Zhen took the opportunity to accept it, as Xin Zhen also needed the strength of the Yelu family.

However, there were some disagreements at this time. Xin Zhen wanted to accept disciples on behalf of his master, while Yelu Qi wanted to become Xin Zhen's disciple directly.

There is a difference here. It seems that the relationship between being Xin Zhen's master and his brothers is more equal, but if one can become Xin Zhen's apprentice, the authority will be different.

Xin Zhen is the headmaster of Quanzhen Sect. If someone is accepted as a disciple by Xin Zhen, he is called the headmaster's disciple and one may even have the opportunity to become the headmaster in the future.

However, although Xin Zhen did not refuse to accept Yelu Qi as his disciple, he made it clear that he could only be a lay disciple.

The meaning is very clear: If you want power in the Quanzhen Sect, I can give it to you, but don’t even think about becoming the head of the Quanzhen Sect, it will be impossible for me to give it to you.

So Yelu Qi was a little disappointed, but more of it was still happy.

Xin Zhen stopped his thoughts, but even if he was a lay disciple, his power in the future would not be too bad.

Since the Quanzhen Sect wants to fight for the world, after it gains the world, it will inevitably go through a process of secularization. Yelu Qi does not really want to be a Taoist priest, so being a lay disciple is actually enough for him.

(End of this chapter)