249: There are also disputes within the sect

In Li Qinghe's eyes, the highest position was occupied by Cao Dai God, followed by Laozi, Sakyamuni, and Confucius in the first row below Him.

The second row featured Guanyin, Li Bai, and Guan Yu.

The third row had Jesus.

The fourth row had Jiang Ziya.

Gods of Cao Dai

It truly was a religion where one bow acknowledged deities from both East and West.

Following the devotee, Li Qinghe toured the entire church, and from the various decorative details, he could discern the convergence of Eastern and Western cultures.

As they passed a corner of the main hall, several white-robed devotees chanting there caught Li Qinghe's attention, because their demeanor and the bulging at their waists were quite different from other white-robed devotees.

The devotee leading the tour, seeing Li Qinghe's obvious interest in these individuals, immediately stopped.

Perhaps because Li Qinghe had come with Vu Linh Huong, the devotee felt a great sense of trust. He looked around and quietly told Li Qinghe that these were the Cao Dai's Protector Warriors.

After the unification of South Vietnam and North Vietnam, Cao Dai was almost banned by the authorities, the reason being that during the Franco-Vietnam War, Cao Dai had its own armed Protector Warriors.

A force that once commanded 25,000 armed warriors would indeed be viewed with suspicion by any government. Before Cao Dai was closely monitored by the Vietnam government, the number of Protector Warriors had been reduced to 1,000.

Later, the Protector Warriors were disbanded, but these armed personnel could not possibly leave the religion; after all, they were the most loyal warriors and believers within the sect.

The final result was a transition from overt to covert; these individuals had only temporarily laid down their guns, but their ability to use them had not diminished.

After more than a decade of close surveillance, seeing that Cao Dai had made no unusual moves, the Vietnam authorities gradually eased their monitoring of Cao Dai.

During the chaotic process of development, many of Cao Dai's numerous industries were coveted by others.

To protect its industries and for the future development of the religion.

Those Protector Warriors from back then once again took up their weapons.

However, as they aged, it was impossible for them to continue fighting on the front lines, so these individuals selected suitable people from among the believers and retrained a new batch of Protector Warriors.

Vietnam itself is adjacent to chaotic countries like Cambodia and Laos, so as long as one has money, purchasing some firearms and ammunition is not difficult.

This was also why Li Qinghe had just noticed the bulging weapons at the waists of those Protector Warriors; they seemed to be trying to conceal them, but in reality, nothing was truly hidden.

This situation is already tacitly approved by the Vietnam authorities.

Because Cao Dai's four seats in the Vietnam National Assembly are not just for show.

Even a gang has its own enforcers; what's wrong with a major religious sect of millions having a few of its own Protector Warriors?

The current situation is one where the people do not report, and officials do not investigate; everyone knows it, but no one will expose it.

The devotee, caught up in the moment, also gave Li Qinghe a detailed explanation of the internal divisions within Cao Dai.

The Cardinal who had just gone to greet Vu Linh Huong was one of the three Cardinal Bishops within Cao Dai.

The entire Cao Dai is divided into six Cardinal Bishops.

Three of them are Supervisory Cardinal Bishops, and three are Executive Cardinal Bishops.

The Executive Cardinal Bishops are further divided into three sections.

Because while Cao Dai embraces eclecticism, its core doctrines are still primarily based on Eastern religions.

The main components are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

The bishops Li Qinghe had just seen, wearing robes of different colors—red, yellow, and blue—belonged to different branches.

Buddhist bishops wear yellow robes.

Taoist bishops wear blue robes.

Confucian bishops wear red robes.

Therefore, the one meeting and communicating with Vu Linh Huong belonged to the Confucian bishop faction.

They say wherever there are people, there are rivalries, and this is especially true for an inclusive religion like Cao Dai.

Among them, the Taoist bishops and Confucian bishops, due to their cultural origins, naturally have a great fondness for the Dragon Country.

The Buddhist bishops, however, waver between India and the Dragon Country, generally leaning more towards India.

Standing before Li Qinghe, this white-robed devotee seemed very familiar with the internal workings of the sect.

Because he spoke too much, he inadvertently let slip a complaint about the Buddhist bishops within the sect.

Although Buddhism originated in what is now southern Nepal and flourished in the Ganges River basin of central India.

The Maurya Emperor Ashoka, often lauded by Indians, adopted Buddhism as the state religion.

However, in modern India, Buddhism has almost become a heresy, facing near extinction.

Many Indians, when speaking of Buddhism, first react by saying it is a foreign religion, and some even associate it with cultural invasion from the Dragon Country.

Against this backdrop, the Buddhist branch of Cao Dai still considers India an excellent partner to align with.

This directly provoked opposition from the Confucian and Taoist branches.

So, while Cao Dai appears calm on the surface, there are undercurrents of tension beneath.

Different branches have begun to reach out and solicit support from the outside world.

They use external forces to balance internal disputes.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this devotee's loquaciousness immediately made Li Qinghe aware of some internal issues within Cao Dai.

It seems that Vu Linh Huong's arrival signifies that the Wu Family and the Confucian branch within Cao Dai have begun to cooperate.

As the white-robed devotee shared, Li Qinghe secretly became more vigilant.

From the words of this white-robed devotee, it could be inferred that the Protector Warriors he saw belonged to the Confucian branch.

This situation suggests that both the Taoist and Confucian branches have their own Protector Warriors.

When people without force clash, it might just be a verbal argument.

When people with force clash, it usually escalates into a full-blown physical confrontation.

Li Qinghe felt that when Vu Linh Huong finished her communication and returned to Saigon, they would need to be extra careful on the way.

After touring the entire church, Li Qinghe sat on a long bench at the back, watching the devotees in the church seemingly chanting something.

Vu Linh Huong and the Cardinal held a closed-door meeting and discussed for a long time.

When they emerged, both seemed to have satisfied smiles on their faces, indicating that the closed-door meeting was very successful.

Vu Linh Huong had also very successfully completed the task assigned to her by the Wu Family.

The kind-faced Confucian Cardinal personally escorted Vu Linh Huong back to the main entrance.

Seeing that Li Qinghe had already approached, Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao quickly drove the car to the church entrance.

However, as soon as she got into the car, Vu Linh Huong wearily leaned her head onto Li Qinghe's shoulder.

Although it was a cooperation, negotiations for their respective interests were inevitable.

Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao was only responsible for Vu Linh Huong's safety; she could not participate in the negotiation process at all.

Vu Linh Huong seemed to have relied on the conditions provided by her family to conduct difficult negotiations alone with several high-ranking officials of Cao Dai.

This was a great drain on both mental and physical energy.

Watching Vu Linh Huong, who fell soundly asleep in his arms shortly after, Li Qinghe was about to ask Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao to drive more steadily.

"There's a car following us."

Nguyen Thi Xuan Tao suddenly frowned, looking at the car's rearview mirror.

Li Qinghe also looked back. About 100 meters behind their car, a gray Toyota minivan was following unhurriedly.

This type of vehicle is very common in Vietnam; besides family use, it is also used for short-distance passenger transport.

This distance was perfectly within the flight range of the future camera.

Li Qinghe immediately directed a camera to confirm whether this car was indeed following them.