After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

Winter has arrived, and the snow has fallen sharply. All the bridges that were collapsed by heavy rains have been repaired, and more than half of the water conservancy works are about to start.

In the backyard of the state capital, Pei Jiaoran was sitting by the window reading documents, with a cup of leftover tea on the table in front of him. She had just sent away the technical officer of the Metropolitan Water Supervision Bureau, and was now looking at the account books, drawings and water conservancy fortifications presented by him.

The copper bells under the eaves were swirling in the wind.

Putting down the last book in his hand, Pei Jiaoran reached out and pinched his eyebrows, closed his eyes and sighed. The war in Heshuo became more and more tense day by day, according to what Li Xiujing wrote in his letter. Tian Min has escaped several times. When the army surrounded Weizhou City a few days ago, he sent his confidants to flee along the path to persuade Dugu Bo and Wang You, the old general of Chengde who had surrendered to the court, to surrender.

She had heard about these two people. One was the current governor of Youzhou, and the other surrendered to the court after killing Li Weiyue and was awarded the title of Hengji Du Tuan Lian Observer for his merits.

The former was resentful because he failed to obtain the prosperous Shenzhou, and because he asked for taxes from the seven constant states to use as military pay, he was not allowed by the court. The latter was because he did not feel that his merits were higher than those of the regimental training and observation envoys in the deep Zhao capital, but he could not be granted the title of Jiedu envoy and the two states of Zhao and Ding. As a result, Tian Min of Weizhou took advantage of the situation and sent envoys to instigate the two.

Because of their rebellion, Tian Min was brought back to life. In order to successfully suppress the rebellion, the imperial court sent Shuofang Jiedu envoy Qin Huaiyi to lead 20,000 Shence to conquer Dugu and Wang. The first battle went smoothly. Who would have thought that due to his slackness in the initial victory, he was counterattacked by Dugu and Wang, causing the army to return to the camp in defeat.

Pei Jiaoran sighed when he thought of this. Originally, she didn't think that the war would be resolved quickly once it started, but the fact that there were so many details still made her surprised and irritated.

When she traveled to various places, she felt tired after spending a month on the road. The hardships that the sergeants endured during the months of fighting were unimaginable. Not to mention the fact that they were very particular about eating, drinking, sleeping, and sleeping. Being away from home for a long time also made the sergeants miss their families very much. In addition, the supply of clothing and materials for the various troops sent out also put great pressure on the imperial court.

The imperial court relied on Jianghuai for taxation. Previously, the taxation was blocked by Shannan Jieshuai and Ziqing Jieshuai for a period of time. Although it is now open, no one can guarantee whether Cai Xilie will have any alien intentions. Emperor Wei could only comfort him as much as possible, so as not to interrupt the imperial court's financial fortune.

After sorting through the thoughts in his mind, Pei Jiaoran frowned. Originally, she didn't really want to become the governor of Tongzhou, but considering that the implementation of the new order must have a state as an attempt, and because she wanted to avoid the edge of foreign enemies, she volunteered to stay here. But now the war in Heshuo is in a mess. If she stays here, the direction of the court may change.

As soon as she left Beijing, Tobe became a mess again. Together with Zuozang, he was embezzled by Neiku again, and Yan Ziku put his hand in. What's even more terrible is that the Ministry of Accounts once again raised the amount of money to eliminate Mo on the grounds that Zuo Zang had no money, and firmly held Fei Qian. This move caused dissatisfaction among many merchants and people.

I don’t know when the Heshuo War will end. She was worried that once public anger was aroused, the court would have to compromise with Heshuo Fanzhen. It will be difficult to regain the three towns in the future.

Pei Jiaoran looked down at the account books on the table and took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, the abbot of Prajna Temple has sent a letter. Please attend the lecture ceremony prepared by Prajna Temple in the future." The servant said outside.

Pei Jiaoran frowned when he heard the servant's voice.

After she came to Tongzhou, she had no interaction with any Buddhist temples in Tongzhou, and she had not set her sights on them for the time being. But it is really strange to invite her to attend a Buddhist conference right now.

After saying "I know" in reply, Pei Jiaoran sent his servants to retreat. He stood up and walked out of the house.

The branches were bent under the weight of snow, and there was ice under the eaves.

"Why do you look so sad?" Zhou Mancao's voice came from the front.

Looking up at the door, Pei Jiaoran stood leaning against the vermillion-lacquered corridor pillar with his arms folded. "The abbot of Prajna Temple invited me to attend a lecture. But I have no interest in Buddhist scriptures, but I have to go."

"Can't you find an excuse to evade it?" Seeing that her exposed fingers were red from the cold, Zhou Mancao stuffed Xiuluo into her arms and said leisurely: "You don't seem to like Buddhism? You even say you don't believe it at all. ."

Looking at the sleeves with curly grass patterns in his arms, Pei Jiaoran licked his lips and laughed, "Xiao Yan worshiped Buddhism, but starved to death in Taicheng. If they wanted to live in peace, they would only teach principles. But they were restless and embezzled the people's land wantonly. It’s really unpleasant, but it happens to be where the people put their trust.”

"Common people must have something to rely on when they are born in this world. The Yellow Turban Rebellion and Sun En's Rebellion in the past were also related to this. The common people firmly believe that religion can comfort their souls and allow them to become Buddhas and immortals after death. That's why they believe in them Nonsense." Zhou Mancao said slowly.

"It's okay to have sustenance, but the rebellions of Zhang Jiao and Sun En are all related to the people's grievances. The two have a clear understanding of the people's grievances, and use the divine words to create legitimacy for their rebellion." Pei Jiaoran sneered lightly, "The people are dissatisfied with the imperial court, so naturally they feel that these two are Those sent by God to save them responded to the rebellion one after another. Although the rebellion was eventually put down, it also affected the national destiny of the Eastern Han and Eastern Jin Dynasties."

"In this way, religion and politics cannot be tied together. But why do kings of all ages always like to take orders from the four characters of heaven?"

When asked about it, Pei Jiaoran smiled and said, "The two cannot be discussed together. When kings succeed to the throne, they are often willing to use the divine right of kings to promote the legitimacy of their throne, but once religious power becomes too large, it will threaten the imperial power. Therefore, kings often They borrow the power of religion to achieve their own rule, but while using religion, they will ignore one point. The stronger the principles and principles of a religion, the stronger its control over believers. If it is used well, it will be good, and if it is not used well, it will be good. It was a mess. Xiao Yan was the first person to use religion to achieve his goals, but his end was not good in the end."

Pei Jiaoran couldn't help but sigh when he thought of Xiao Yan. As the eighth friend of Jingling, Xiao Yan is both civil and military. It can be imagined that Buddhism is used to enter and exit the world and is highly praised by aristocratic families, which is the same as Taoism and Confucianism. And taking the advantages of the three families to maintain his own rule is really impressive. But unfortunately, he eventually became the object of Buddhism, and at the same time he was unable to mediate conflicts, so that people in various states became resentful.

"So you don't like Buddhism because you think they are not good people and are causing harm to the people?" Zhou Mancao said in surprise.

"Whether they are kind or not is not up to me. It depends on how they propagate the Dharma." Pei Jiaoran seemed to remember something, "But just talking to you like this has awakened me. I have listened to the Dharma conference at Ci'en Temple. , maybe someone wants to use this to cause trouble. After all, I said something very disrespectful that day."

"Then you still want to go?"

"Of course you have to listen." Pei Jiaoran returned the sleeve furnace to Zhou Mancao, "You and Ming Luan should go to Prajna Temple to hear what principles Prajna Temple believes in, and then ask if anyone from Chang'an has been here. .”

She was not wearing official uniform, but was wearing a homely Tianshui blue skirt. In this snowy winter, the whole person looks even colder and sharper. She wanted to see what those people in Chang'an planned to do.