This is a simplified territorial map of the Tang Empire, and Xiling and Nanjiang are naturally included in it.
Yuwen Huaiqian drew red on the map, and it was clear at a glance. Qin Xiao could see at a glance that the reddest areas were located in Yizhou in Xichuan and Youzhou in the northeast, both of which were far away from Sizhou, where Kyoto was located.
"Currently, we have sorted out the local cases involving cults in the past three years." Yuwen Huaiqian explained: "After our statistics, the places with the most cult cases are Youzhou and Yizhou. In comparison,
, Yizhou has more cases, followed closely by Youzhou.”
"If the Queen Mother Society is really developing its power, logically speaking, the farther away from the Gyeonggi area, the better." Qin Xiao looked at the map thoughtfully.
Although counting cult cases is a means of investigating the Queen Mother Society, it is not certain that these cult cases are definitely related to the Queen Mother Society.
The ancients respected the gods. From the emperor to the common people, they all respected heaven and worshiped gods.
Therefore, some unscrupulous people use the theory of gods to confuse the people. This is also something that is difficult to prevent. There have been countless things that have used various gods to confuse the people for their own gain throughout the ages. In comparison, Xichuan and Nanjiang have no idea about the theory of gods.
Beliefs are even more serious, and the Xichuan cult is the most serious, and it is a matter of course.
Southern Xinjiang is under the control of the Murong family, and cases that occur there will naturally not be investigated by the imperial court. Therefore, neither the Dali Temple nor the Ministry of Punishment has kept records of various cases that occurred in Southern Xinjiang in the past ten years.
The number of cult cases in Youzhou in Northeast China is second only to Yizhou, but it was beyond Qin Xiao's expectation.
Youzhou was the barrier to the northeast of the Tang Dynasty, bordering the Bohai Kingdom. The empire established the Andong Protectorate in the northeast, and the government office was located in Youzhou to guard against the threat of the Bohai Kingdom.
At that time, the Bohai Kingdom often harassed the borders of the Tang Dynasty, sent troops to plunder Youzhou, and even encroached on it step by step, occupying several counties in Youzhou. This angered Emperor Wuzong and sent troops to conquer Bohai, causing Bohai's vitality to be severely damaged. He bowed and knelt down.
At the foot of the Tang Dynasty, it has not been able to fully recover for nearly a hundred years.
Qin Xiao's eyes moved to the Yongzhou area.
After entering Jiayuguan, there is Yongzhou, and passing through Yongzhou is the boundary of Liangzhou. Liangzhou is located northwest of Sizhou, where Kyoto is located. Among the eighteen states of the Tang Dynasty, Liangzhou has a small area, but its strategic location is extremely important.
It is the last barrier to the northeast of Kyoto.
Between Xiling and Liangzhou is Yongzhou, which governs thirteen counties.
Yongzhou is the first line of defense after entering the customs. Among the four northern towns, Woye Town is located in Woye County, just north of Yongzhou. After General Heiyu withdrew from Xiling, he took the initiative to ask Ying to sit in Yongzhou, not only commanding Woye
For the border army, General Heiyu also has the power to mobilize the Yongzhou camp in extraordinary times.
Yongzhou, centered on Jiebeifu, has a vast land. Compared with the 3,000-5,000-strong garrison of most state camps in the Tang Dynasty, Yongzhou has 8,000 troops due to its special geographical situation. In fact, for many years, General Heiyu has commanded
The army has nearly 30,000 troops.
Because General Heiyu is in charge, Yongzhou can be regarded as a peaceful place with few bandits.
However, on his way to Beijing, Qin Xiao passed through Yongzhou, and it was in Yongzhou that he discovered the existence of the Queen Mother Society, and witnessed with his own eyes a large number of people who were bewitched by the Queen Mother Society and became followers of the Queen Mother Society.
But at this moment, Yongzhou is very light on the map.
Yu Wen Huaiqian was a very thoughtful person in his work. The places where the most cult cases occurred are painted in dark red, while other areas are painted in lighter colors based on the number of cases.
Sizhou, where Kyoto is located, is supposed to be the lightest place, but on this map, it is clearly darker than the Jiangnan Three Prefectures and Qingzhou. The Jiangnan Three Prefectures and Qingzhou are among the lightest on the entire map.
To put it bluntly, in other words, the proportion of cult cases occurring in these places is the lowest.
Sizhou is slightly deeper, while Yongzhou is on the same level as Sizhou.
The color of other states is actually darker than that of Yongzhou.
Qin Xiao knew that people from the Queen Mother Society were always active in Yongzhou, and they traveled around Yongzhou to confuse the people. Logically speaking, there should be many cases in Yongzhou because of this, but the map showed that it was the same as in Sizhou, which really made Qin Xiao
Somewhat unexpected.
"Qingzhou was the place where the Queen Mother Society started, but it was also the place that was hit hardest." Yuwen Huaiqian said: "When the Queen Mother Society was at its peak in Qingzhou, it had developed tens of thousands of believers, and judging from the situation at that time
, it will take less than two or three years to develop hundreds of thousands of people. If it really gets to that point, the entire Qingzhou will fall into the hands of the Queen Mother Hui, and the consequences will be disastrous. The Qingzhou Battalion encircled and suppressed the Queen Mother Hui, but lost troops and generals. In the end, the imperial court still thought
When the seriousness of the problem was reached, the Shence Army was mobilized to encircle and suppress the Queen Mother Society and annihilate it in one fell swoop. For many years after that, Qingzhou pursued and fiercely attacked the remnants of the Queen Mother Society, and the Queen Mother Society's power in Qingzhou was almost wiped out. Therefore, Qingzhou has been
Cult cases are the least common, but they are also reasonable."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly and said: "Second Master, there are very few cases in Yongzhou, which is beyond my expectation. When I came to Beijing, I saw with my own eyes that the Queen Mother Society was developing followers in Yongzhou, and as far as I know, they are in Yongzhou
The activity time is not short...!" Pointing to the map, he said: "If under such circumstances, the color of Yongzhou is still so light, then judging from the map, wouldn't it be more obvious that the Queen Mother will be in other places?
Why is it so rampant? Except for Jiangnan and Qingzhou, people from the Queen Mother Society are everywhere in the Tang Dynasty?"
"It cannot be inferred like this." Yuwen Huaiqian said: "Not all cases involving cults are related to the Queen Mother Association, and it cannot be concluded based on this picture that the Queen Mother Association will be throughout the entire Tang Dynasty." He stroked his beard and said: "Statistics
Before the results came out, my guess was that the more cult cases occurred in places, the more likely it was that the Queen Mother Society would exist. Before this picture came out, I had always thought so, but now I suddenly thought of another one.
possible."
Qin Xiao seemed to have thought of something and whispered: "Second Master, are you saying that the Queen Mother will create a maze formation?"
"It's possible." Yu Wen Huaiqian nodded slightly: "Once the followers of the Queen Mother Society join the society, they will be like zombies. They will obey the orders from above and will never leak information about the Queen Mother Society. Even if a case is caused as a result,
Followers of the Queen Mother will also try their best to cover up the case and prevent the case from being exposed, and try their best to prevent the government from knowing about it."
Qin Xiao nodded slightly, and Yu Wen Huaiqian continued: "However, it is absolutely impossible to say that there will be no signs of the Queen Mother Association's development. People in the Queen Mother Association may also be worried about the attention of the court and even the government.
They even thought that the imperial court might use our current methods to find out how powerful they were, so we created a maze to confuse the imperial court's eyes." "In places where the strength is weak or even without a foundation, cases are deliberately created.
But where the power has really developed, they try their best to cover it up." Qin Xiao frowned: "Just like now, when we see this map, if we don't think deeply about it, we will think that the power of the Queen Mother Society is concentrated in Youzhou and Youzhou.
Xichuan and Yizhou, but Qingzhou and the three Jiangnan states are not on our radar."
Yuwen Huaiqian nodded and said: "This is a possibility that I have thought of. If it is true, there are indeed experts in the Queen Mother Association secretly planning it."
Qin Xiao's eyes were fixed on the three states in Jiangnan.
The three states in the south of the Yangtze River are Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou from north to south. This area includes the most developed places in the empire's commerce. There are many merchants and all kinds of trade are in full swing here. If the Jianghuai area is the most developed in the Tang Dynasty,
As an important grain depot, the three states in the south of the Yangtze River are the most important money bags in the empire. It is no lie that the tax revenue in the south of the Yangtze River is half the world's.
"If this is true, has Jiangnan and Qingzhou become the foundation of the Queen Mother Society?" Qin Xiao frowned.
Yuwen Huaiqian's expression also became solemn: "The Queen Mother Society is trying to cover up, I just hope that my judgment is wrong. Qingzhou is the place where the Queen Mother Society first emerged. Although the imperial court sent troops to encircle and suppress the Queen Mother Society, almost all the heads of the Queen Mother Society were killed.
It was clean, but the Queen Mother Society developed tens of thousands of followers in Qingzhou. Those believers finally did not dare to follow the Queen Mother Society due to pressure from the court, but no one can guarantee whether those believers really completely severed ties with the Queen Mother Society.
When I say severing ties, I don’t mean no longer in contact with the Queen Mother Association, but whether the things that the Queen Mother Association originally planted in their minds are really clean."
Qin Xiaowei nodded, knowing that those tens of thousands of believers were bewitched by the Queen Mother Society back then. Even if some people woke up, it was impossible for all tens of thousands of people to wake up. And once the Queen Mother Society comes back, those who have not yet woken up will
Believers will inevitably become followers of the Queen Mother Society again.
"Qingzhou is okay, but if Jiangnan has really been infiltrated by the Queen Mother Society, the situation will be very serious." Yuwen Huaiqian looked at the Jiangnan area on the map: "After the Jiayuguan is blocked, trade with the west will be cut off. This will
It will definitely have a heavy impact on the Tang Dynasty's treasury. Nearly half of the treasury depends on the taxes from the Jiangnan area. Once the Queen Mother will form a climate in Jiangnan, even cause trouble in Jiangnan, and cut off the taxes from Jiangnan, the direct consequence will be that the empire's
The national treasury is in even greater danger of collapse."
Qin Xiao was already thinking at this time. If Yuwen Huaiqian's judgment was correct and the Queen Mother Society had secretly formed a climate in Jiangnan, then was the case of the Jiangnan Neiku related to the Queen Mother Society? What magical powers did they use?
, can Jiangnan’s inner treasury be completely stolen overnight?
"There can be no chaos in the south of the Yangtze River." Yu Wen Huaiqian said softly: "If there is banditry in the south of the Yangtze River and the imperial court wants to encircle and suppress it, it will inevitably increase taxes in other places. This is likely to cause rebellions in more places. At that time, the world will surely fall into chaos.
A dangerous situation that cannot be reversed." Looking at Qin Xiao, he said: "Although we are not sure that the Queen Mother Society has definitely taken root in Jiangnan, I personally think that the imperial court should send people to Jiangnan to investigate secretly, before the Queen Mother Society rebels.
, nip them in the bud.”
Qin Xiao looked at Yuwen Huaiqian, thought for a moment, and finally sighed: "I was about to go to Jiangnan. I was not very confident at first. Now that I know that there may be a Queen Mother Society in Jiangnan, this errand will probably be even more difficult.