Chapter 795: Leaving Home Young, Returning Old
Zhang Yuelu’s answer perfectly resolved the dilemma posed by Zhang Jucheng, and the effect was immediate.
After receiving Zhang Yuelu’s reply, Zhang Jucheng went to meet the Heavenly Preceptor.
He agreed to take the position of the Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master and let Zhang Yuelu become the Second Deputy Wuzhou Daoist Mansion Master.
Although these personnel changes would be scheduled after the war in Fenglin ended, a consensus had to be reached early in order to begin preparations.
After all, personnel changes at this level were not simple matters. They involved extensive compromises and negotiations. Even with the Heavenly Preceptor personally orchestrating it, effort was still required.
The Holy Xuan disapproved of autocratic rule by a single individual, so the Daoist Order’s power structure was designed for collective leadership, from the Golden Tower Council down to the Deputy Daoist Mansion Masters.
The Golden Tower Council was the highest governing body of the Daoist Order—a collective, not a single person. The Heavenly Preceptor could not simply declare Zhang Jucheng the Chief Deputy Jiangnan Daoist Mansion Master with a word, as that kind of authority was reserved for the Grand Master. Setting aside his time as the Great Sage Lunzhi, the Heavenly Preceptor held only about one-third the power of a Grand Master.
The Holy Xuan had underestimated the ingenuity of later generations in exploiting loopholes. Successive Grand Masters used their authority over appointments to have the heads of the Nine Halls concurrently serve as the Deputy Palace Master at the Zixiao Palace. They would then issue orders as Palace Masters of the Zixiao Palace instead of as the Grand Master, thereby circumventing the Golden Tower Council. Unless the Golden Tower Council formally initiated procedures to depose the Grand Master, there was no way to restrain the Zixiao Palace.
This was precisely why Zhang Yuelu believed that only by becoming the Grand Master could she truly reform the Daoist Order.
The Heavenly Preceptor agreed to the matter, as he was satisfied by Zhang Yuelu’s way of handling it.
Involvement in politics required learning to compromise and yield. Charging forward might be the Jianghu way of solving problems, but it certainly did not suit any court.