Following these shouts, everyone's eyes turned to the courtyard wall next to the gate of Xiangguo Temple. People from the Police Department violently tore apart a section of this wall, leaving a flat open space.
Convenient for entering and exiting vehicles.
Cars were pulled out one after another, with baskets and boxes on them. The baskets were filled with golden copper coins, covered with net bags, and two seals were affixed, one from the Ministry of Punishment and one from the Ministry of Rites.
.The note from the Ministry of Punishments also had the signature of the censor responsible for supervising the count.
The box was full of gold and silver treasures, neatly stacked together, also covered with a net bag, and the same two seals were affixed.
Hundreds of baskets and nearly a hundred boxes were filled with piles of copper coins, gold and silver jewelry, as well as jades, paintings, calligraphy, corals and other valuables. They were all confiscated from the famous vault of Xiangguo Temple.
It came out, causing everyone to scream one after another.
Then came cart after cart of account books, also covered in net bags and sealed.
After transporting away more than a hundred carts of copper coins, gold, silver, jewelry, property, and account books, the police pushed out several carts of paper. This time they did not push them away, but pushed them directly in front of several high-ranking officials.
"Are we really going to burn them all?" Liu Zhengfu asked in disbelief, "There are at least millions of pledges and loan notes here, and they are all burned?"
Liu Kui glanced at him and turned to Cao Duo.
"Cao Liulang, please tell Minister Liu."
Cao Duo looked around and saw that he was separated by dozens of special police officers. The nearest civilians were twenty or thirty feet away. As long as they didn't shout at the top of their lungs, no one could hear them.
"In these notes, the pledge lists are all dead lies. Among them, there was robbery, bullying of men and women, and then killings. The pledged properties, houses or objects are being cleared and returned to the family members one by one. The involved cases
All the monks are also in custody, awaiting trial. Those lists have all been recorded and are of no use except for being retained as evidence. The rest are dead..."
As soon as Cao Duo finished speaking, Liu Zhengfu couldn't wait to ask: "Where is the loan note?"
"Xining's new law determines that the interest rate for green crops is 40%. Officials issued an edict in April that the interest on green crop loans must not exceed 20%, and the interest on other loans must not exceed 30%. The annual interest on loans from Xiangguo Temple is more than double, far from
It goes far beyond that and is illegal."
Cao Duo continued, "Moreover, these loan notes have not only repaid the principal, but also paid back 30% of the interest. It's just that the interest rate of Xiangguo Temple is too high, and it's a fool's errand, so many of them have been repaid for several years or more.
It has not been repaid for years, and many people have gone bankrupt, or even their families have been destroyed.”
"These bald donkeys who are desperate for money are not afraid of the Buddha's blame!" This time, even Liu Zhengfu, who was also self-restraint and returned to etiquette, couldn't help but curse out.
"Buddha is their biggest protection, so they are not afraid!" Cao Duo replied with a smile, and then said, "These loan notes have been registered. In addition to the principal, any interest that exceeds the new official interest rate will be refunded one by one.
To me. If I am deceased, it will be returned to my wife, children, and family members. Therefore, these pledge and loan documents can be said to be useless. It is better to burn them in public."
This is a way of trampling on the monks' faces to death while taking the opportunity to win over the people's hearts.
"What about the rest of the pledge and loan documents? I'm talking about legal pledges, not loans that can repay the principal." Zhang Shangying asked.
"This..." Liu Kui glanced at Cao Duo and said unhurriedly: "These are all illicit wealth and will not be confiscated by the government. When the case trial is completed, the headquarters will be handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"How should the Ministry of Household Affairs deal with it?" Zhang Shangying asked again.
"It should be an auction. Wells Fargo Bank, Fufeng Bank...the auction deposit has been paid."
Auction? Zhang Shangying and Liu Zhengfu could roughly understand what it was. When they heard the names Wells Fargo Bank and Fufeng Bank, their expressions changed slightly.
Wells Fargo's largest shareholders are the official family and Suiyang Society funded by the Zongzheng Prefecture. The remaining shareholders are the Ministry of Accounts and the Kaifeng Prefecture...
The largest shareholder of Fufeng Bank is the Military Retirement and Pension Security Fund of the Song Dynasty. It was established after the officials came to the throne. It is said to solve the worries of the horse infantry officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty. A proportional increase is allocated from the military salary every month and is added to the fund.
meeting.
The "top-up" money is used for various "investment" profits and for the preferential care of the cavalry infantry officers and soldiers who are retired, disabled or killed in the line of duty.
small book booth
The second largest shareholder is the Navigation Society under the Gewuyuan. The third largest shareholder is Maritime First Insurance Company...
Xiangguosi's loan slip went into the pockets of Wells Fargo Bank and Fufeng Bank. Who dares not to pay it back?
Liu Zhengfu said hesitantly: "Why not burn them together?"
Cao Duo glanced at him and said sternly: "The law strictly prohibits relying on the strong to bully the weak or doing illegal things. However, it does not take the weak as a threat. The key is to uphold justice. No matter how strong or weak, no one can go beyond the law.
. Among Xiangguo Temple's loans, those who have not repaid the principal are still within the permission of the law for the time being. What we have to do is to reduce the interest and regulate it within the legal range. The borrowed money still has to be repaid.
.”
I am really convinced by you people that you can still play this way. The people benefit, and the government benefits from the name. Inside and outside, the biggest loser is Xiangguo Temple. Not only is the entire temple bankrupt, but its reputation is also ruined.
"Cao Liulang, did this instruction come from the official or the secretary's department?" Liu Kui asked.
"It was the arrangement made by Mr. Xuanming after he reported it to the officials."
The eldest grandson Moli...
Everyone suddenly understood and stopped talking.
Seeing cart after cart of pledges and loan notes being dumped on the ground, and soon piling up into a mountain, the onlookers were all excited.
What is this for?
It seems that the posture is to roll these donkeys and burn all the debts of the King of Hell! That is really shocking! Since the founding of the country, there has never been such a bold and generous thing.
The people began to squeeze in frantically, wanting to see clearly what was inside. Patrol officers and special police officers desperately maintained the human wall to prevent them from rushing in.
Cao Duo stood in front of the small mountain of bills, holding a large iron trumpet and loudly shouted: "According to the official order, these harmful pledge and loan bills in Xiangguo Temple are burned!"
Hearing this announcement, the people watching were in an uproar.
At this time, more than a dozen old men walked out, all well-known and respected village elders on the street.
They were invited to the pile of bills, and Cao Duo indicated that they could check them at will.
These more than ten village elders randomly looked through it and found that they were indeed notes from the Xiangguo Temple's pledge treasury, all of which were pledges and loans. As for other details, they definitely couldn't see it.
These village elders held a stack of bills and shouted to the people around them: "It's the bill from the Xiangguo Temple's Treasury, that's right!"
An emotional village elder even cried loudly: "My poor grandson, their whole family was ruined by this damn Xiangguo Temple's treasury! My poor grandson!"
Ten village elders were led away. A policeman came forward with a tin bucket, poured kerosene on the bills, and then threw a torch inside.
A large fire suddenly broke out in front of the Xiangguo Temple. The flames danced and were extremely bright red.
"Officials are benevolent!" Someone shouted! It was like another torch was thrown into the crowd, and another fire exploded with a bang.
I don’t know who is taking the lead. Tens of thousands of people watching raised their hands and shouted in unison: "Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"
The sound was overwhelming and shook the entire city of Kaifeng.
The four great monks Wu Fang and others, who had been standing nearby as invisible men, looked even more bitter.
Alas, the reputation of Buddhism has been completely ruined by these monks from Xiangguo Temple.
The general trend has been established. If we want to stop the losses in time, we must reach an agreement with the court and declare Xiangguo Temple and other temples and monks who have corrupted Buddhist rules and practiced lawlessness to be the scum of Buddhism, and then follow the footsteps of the officials and rectify Buddhism.
Today's officials are no less courageous than the former Zhou Shizong. What's even more terrifying is his methods, which know how to win the hearts and minds of the people.
What Buddhism can rely on is nothing more than its "virtue" and "reputation" among the people, and the people's support. Now this foundation is already shaky, and if you continue to resist stubbornly, you may even dig out the roots.
Who knows what cards the officials hold, and no one doubts their determination to do things. At the preparatory meeting of the Buddhist Qingzheng Conference, some gossips circulated privately do not seem to be groundless.
Thinking of this, the four Wuxiangs looked at each other in understanding, and then chanted in unison: "Namo Amitabha!" This chapter has been completed!