Religion and faith naturally had to be taken seriously. Zhang Lu had indoctrinated the people of Hanzhong quite thoroughly. If not for the favorable terms promised by General Wang, the people of Hanzhong would truly have remained steadfast believers in the Five Pecks of Rice. That would not do. Zhang Lu had to be suppressed.
Under such circumstances, Zhang Lu could not be allowed to continue operating in Hanzhong. They might as well be given Mount Hua and allowed to develop it themselves. After all, the famed mountains and great rivers of the present day were still nothing special, having yet to undergo any major development. If that clan wanted to develop Mount Hua through their own efforts, it would take at least eighty to a hundred years.
This was also the period when Buddhism was spreading eastward, though it did not yet have many followers and had not made much of a name for itself. It would only begin to rise after Buddhists adapted it to local realities and localized it.
Wang Yan had been paying attention to this matter for a long time. After all, if religion developed too strongly, it could influence politics and shake the foundations of rule. That was naturally undesirable and had to be restrained and supervised accordingly.
Wang Yan had no control over what would happen to later generations. He did not even know whether he would have descendants. But as long as he was around, there would be no chaos, and the system would remain sound and healthy. Problems in later generations would most likely be problems with people. That was certain. After all, institutions were implemented by people; if the people were no good, even the finest system would be wasted.
Meeting Zhang Lu had only been because General Wang had