The Book of Troubled Times

Chapter 700: Another battlefield without gunpowder smoke

Xiangyang at night looks like thousands of lights when viewed from the air. It looks more prosperous than the capital at the moment. Due to the curfew in the capital these days, the lights are dark at night, and there are not many places to light up the lights.

Xiangyang was not severely damaged during the Maitreya Rebellion. Although Lu Shiheng's fooling around almost delayed farming, he was stopped in time and got back on track. At this time, Xiangyang was a blessed land, more stable than most places in the world.

Especially in the south of the city, the lights are most concentrated. There are lanterns everywhere and there are a lot of people. From a distance, it looks like there is some kind of garden activity.

Zhao Changhe rode his horse over in surprise and landed in the woods in the distance. He hid the horse and strolled out to see the garden.

 You can hear people’s laughter far away, and the girl’s silver bell-like voice echoes in the night. It's really not easy. In such a chaotic world, there is such a scene. It is like Su Yang before Maitreya's rebellion. Just looking at it makes people miss the Xiaoxiang Pavilion at that time.

 Well, this is Xiaoxiang.

Zhao Changhe strolled over and soon saw that this turned out to be a temple fair in front of a temple. The temple was quite grand, and the square in front of the temple was so huge that it almost caught up with the square outside the palace... Having experienced the Maitreya Rebellion, Zhao Changhe instinctively I feel a bit wary of temples. Why did such a magnificent temple pop up when everything was deserted?

I was planning to ask a passerby when my eyes wandered and I suddenly saw an acquaintance.

 A young man was sitting near the lanterns setting up a stall. The stalls were filled with fragrant braised duck: "Hey, this girl, they not only sell the duck legs alone, but at least cut them into half."

 “I’m a girl…”

“Miss, if you lie down on this car, you can crush me to death, so leave the child alone.”

“You don’t know how to speak, how can you do business like this!”

"I cut off a leg for you, how can I sell this duck? If you buy another duck, will you just cut off the middle leg and take it back?"

 “How could there be a gangster like you before the temple?”

 “I’m just a duck seller, whether I want to buy or not.”

The customer drove away angrily. The man leaned lazily against the tree behind him, his eyes looking around. He didn't know whether he was looking at the girl from the temple fair or something else.

Suddenly a big face appeared in front of him: "Brother Zhou, are you going to be a duck?"

Da Zhou was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with ecstasy: "Could it be some kind of illusion? How could you be here suddenly?"

Zhao Changhe shushed: "There are so many people, why don't we change places?"

Da Zhou immediately grabbed the oilcloth spread in front of him, took all the ducks away at once, and ran away quickly: "Here, I'll treat you to a drink."

 A customer from behind shouted: "Hey, hey, you're selling ducks?"

 Da Zhou didn’t even look back: “I was packed up by everyone, including the boss!”

 …

"Could it be that the Chief has received our message? It's weird, we didn't hurry up. The road is difficult in the snow, and the messenger may not have arrived in Beijing at this time." At the secret station of the Zhenmo Division, Da Zhou happily warmed his wine while He cut a duck leg and handed it to Zhao Changhe: "Anyway, we have a backbone now that we are here. This time we feel at ease."

Zhao Changhe took the duck leg and gnawed on it: "How can you confirm that it's not an illusion?"

“Hey, I admit that this illusion can come true.” Da Zhou said: “How can any stupid bird ask me to be a duck when we meet?”

Zhao Changhe: "...Hey, shouldn't I be the King of Zhao and the Crown Prince in the imperial court hierarchy now? Are you having fun scolding me?"

"Ah? Do you like to be treated with respect?" Da Zhou looked at him curiously: "I have never seen a prince riding a horse all over the world to fight for his life."

Zhao Changhe clapped his hands and laughed: "Okay, okay."

Da Zhou poured hot wine and said with a smile: "If I like being an official, I won't be a spy for the rest of my life. I'm just too lazy to entertain the officials. Don't do this with me."

“Then why do you want to be a spy?” “To see things that are invisible to the public, so that monsters and monsters can’t hide.”

"Okay, okay." Zhao Changhe raised the bowl and drank a bowl with him, and said with a smile: "What's the situation? Since it said that a messenger has been sent to Beijing, it means that there is indeed something wrong. Am I not overly concerned?"

"Well...there is indeed a problem, and of course it's not up to the standard of emergency during wartime. I don't know if the first officer has received the news."

"I haven't received it. Even if I have received it, since there is no expedited sign, you will probably be put in the back. She has too many things to do now. It's okay. Just tell me when I'm here."

"This temple didn't appear out of thin air to be so big. You know that a long time ago, Buddhism was relatively prosperous in the world, but it fell into ruin after the former emperor destroyed Buddhism. The rise of Maitreya religion's underground preaching is also related to this background."

 “Hmm…so this temple existed in the early years?”

"Yes, it was just abandoned for a long time. But after the demise of Maitreya, traditional Buddhism showed signs of revival. Before, it didn't dare to make too much of a fuss. But once the former emperor died, it no longer had any scruples and flourished." Dazhou Drinking hot wine and sighing: "Look, the late emperor actually died not too long ago, two full months? This temple has been renovated. Believers are actively donating money and materials, and various temple fairs are crowded with people."

Zhao Changhe said: "There is no festival or celebration, how can there be a temple fair?"

“Yes, it’s Laba today. Laba is a Buddhist festival that no one has celebrated before, but it’s starting now.”

"Well…"

"The new prefect believes in this, and it opens the door to convenience. Theoretically speaking, the prosperity and wealth now bring peace to people's minds, which can be regarded as an educational achievement. We don't know if there is any problem with this situation... Instinctively, we feel that it can spread widely Those who try to win over people's hearts and gather people to do things may not be a good thing, so report it to the police. To be honest, Your Majesty did not cancel the late emperor's order to destroy the Buddha. Isn't it a bit wrong to just treat it as if it didn't happen? "

Zhao Changhe nodded. The sensitivity of these agents of the Demon Suppression Division was high enough. Most people would never think so much.

It can only be said that in such troubled times, people's hearts are in great need of sustenance, and the teachings of the Four Symbols Sect are naturally not so suitable. To change the flavor of gods coming to the world to rule everything to gods coming to the world to let everyone transcend bliss, it will take a long time of publicity. Just fine.

They definitely can’t compete with Buddhism and Taoism at the moment. Their accumulated propaganda and knowledge have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This is why Guichen calmly “retires to Mount Tai” so calmly. His Taoism already has enough foundation. The Four Symbols Sect can compete with them. fart.

Originally there was nothing wrong with this... But being bitten by a snake in one move, being afraid of well ropes for ten years, and being messed with by the Maitreya Cult, even those with some sensitivity are afraid of this kind of association and gathering of people. If it goes wrong, it will be another Maitreya disaster. chaos. Therefore, Da Zhou and other spies watched as if they were facing a formidable enemy and even reported it to the capital.

"The main reason is that we feel that their resurgence is too fast, and it feels like a push." ​​Da Zhou looked solemn: "If nothing else is mentioned, just because the prefect allowed them to be tax-free, it caused farmers to donate their land. In addition, Being a monk is exempted from corvee labor, which also leads to a large number of civilians being tonsured. If things continue like this, it will be strange if there are no problems."

Zhao Changhe nodded. This happened to come at a time when the imperial court could not spare any time to take care of these matters. Once this became the norm everywhere, it would be a big problem.

Da Zhou was muttering: "Why did the late emperor destroy Buddha in the early years? I was young at the time and didn't know. Now it seems that if it develops for another ten or eight years, your majesty may have to do this once."

Zhao Changhe thought for a while and asked, "Is there anything about bullying men and dominating women?"

Da Zhou said: "We have been watching, and we haven't found anything famous so far. We haven't seen any tricks like the Maitreya Cult in the past. There are no flaws. Everything is fair and aboveboard. However, there have been cases where some people were disrespectful to the Buddha and were beaten by fanatical believers. At that time, some brothers from the Blood God Sect were extremely dissatisfied with this incident and almost got into a big fight, but the **** calmed both parties down. In fact, it was just a conflict that the brothers from the Blood God Sect and the Buddhist believers couldn't stand each other. , something will happen sooner or later, I don’t think the **** can suppress it, you can just come and it will be safe."

Zhao Changhe looked back and looked in the direction of the temple fair in the south of the city.

The art of looking at the Qi is faintly activated, and it seems that the whirlpool of the power of faith can be seen gathering in the sky, and then merges into an unknown place.

Da Zhou's voice echoed in his ears word by word: "I think... this is the milder version of Maitreya Cult. There is not much difference in essence... Of course, the Blood God Cult is not a good thing, it is just a group of firecrackers. Just explode..."

Zhao Changhe pondered for a long time and suddenly asked: "The Taoists are here and there is no sound at all?"

"Yes. But it seems that someone is suppressing them. They keep a low profile and mainly stay in Taoist temples outside the mountains... In fact, the late emperor never destroyed Taoism in the past. Taoism has always been very powerful, but it has never been public. I don't know if it is like this. Still hiding something?"

Zhao Changhe thought for a while and suddenly asked: "Who is the abbot of the Buddhist temple here? Why does the prefect trust him so much?"

Da Zhoudao: "This also has something to do with you. This abbot is Master Yuancheng who was once dragged by you to fight Maitreya. Although they did not use your name to do anything, they naturally have this halo in the eyes of officials everywhere."

Zhao Changhe suddenly remembered the leftover tea on the table in Tang Buqi's courtyard, and laughed: "I know, then there's no need to sit here and think about it. I'll go explore the temple and talk to Master Yuan Cheng."

 (End of this chapter)