For scholar-bureaucrats like Fan Zhongyan, the existence of Bailian Society, a demagogue and turbulent society, was a cancer of the Song Dynasty, which must be cut off as soon as possible to avoid serious troubles.
It is ironic to say that the scholar-officials in feudal society were the most opposed to cult organizations. The White Lotus Society valued the people's support, and the scholar-officials valued the people's support even more.
For them, ordinary people are the foundation of a country, and even the strength of a country can be directly linked to its population.
In the eyes of scholar-bureaucrats, the people are the wealth of the country. The more people there are, the more land can be cultivated, and the more land that can be cultivated, the more people can be fed. In this virtuous cycle, the dynasty will become richer.
The richer the dynasty is, the more they can reflect their values and ambitions!
But what happens next? Corruption must begin to appear, and all kinds of exploitation, oppression, and political chaos emerge in endlessly, turning a strong and healthy dynasty into a frail and sick waste.
If the gap between the rich and the poor is too wide and the people cannot survive, the peasant uprising will break out first, dealing a severe blow to the declining dynasty.
And those foreign enemies who had been suppressed for a long time began to turn their attention to the Central Plains Dynasty. Under internal and external difficulties, the Central Plains Dynasty finally collapsed in the storm.
And precisely at this time, many talented people will emerge, and literati will express infinite emotions such as "the country is broken, the mountains and rivers are there, the city is springy and the vegetation is deep."
Whenever the Han family went through the pain of rebirth, there would always be extraordinary people appearing, either changing dynasties, or becoming sinners of history and the Han family.
But no one will remember that this tragic cycle is caused by the group of scholar-bureaucrats who call themselves literati and Confucianists. While they pursue someone's stability, they are destroying the stability of society at the same time.
On the one hand, he hopes that the dynasty will enter a prosperous period, and on the other hand, he desperately tries to commit suicide when the prosperous period arrives.
Ye An didn't even know whether these scholars and officials played a positive role in the inheritance of Han civilization. Perhaps it was because of their existence that the Han civilization continued to pass through rounds of inheritance.
The Han civilization has always been a linear inheritance method. The concept of country does not apply to the Han family. This civilization only has the replacement of dynasties, but there is no concept of the replacement of countries.
With the order of Fan Zhongyan, the pacifier, Bailian Society was once again pushed to the forefront. The people, merchants, and victims of the disaster in Suzhou City discovered that Lidong Grain Store had actually started selling grain at a low price.
Although the price has not dropped to what it was before the disaster, a bucket of rice only costs 30 cents. Although it is a bit expensive, ordinary people can afford it. The victims are not penniless, and they can always come up with some money, and now
If you can sell thirty cents, there's no telling if it will get even cheaper in the future.
The other grain stores were caught off guard. They didn't know what happened. They only knew that after Lidong Grain Store lowered its prices, it would be difficult to sell their own grain at high prices.
Lowering prices is their only option. At this time, all the grain stores in the market will either advance or retreat together, or they will become the only one. Unfortunately, Lidong Grain Store, the only one that can dominate, has been controlled by Ye An and Fan Zhongyan.
Fan Zhongyan did not return the grain from the official warehouse, but continued to sell it in Lidong Grain Store. Seeing Ye An's confusion, he immediately smiled and said: "The price of thirty copper coins is already high enough. Let's sell it like this. No.
It doesn’t go up or down, there will be more food soon.”
I didn't understand what he meant at first, but then I thought about Ye An and couldn't help but stick out my thumb.
Not lowering prices is not because Fan Zhongyan is cold-blooded, but because he wants more grain to appear in Suzhou. The grain price of thirty cents per dou has left enough profit margins for merchants who hoard a large number of grains.
As a matter of course, Fan Zhongyan asked Ye An to help him and sent people from Puhui Company to buy grain from Tokyo City and transport it to Suzhou City for sale. Ye An initially disagreed, but Fan Zhongyan said: "You think I want to give you Puhui Company?"
What's the benefit? It's just a side trip. As long as your Puhui Company purchases grain and transports it to Suzhou, this will be the first shipment of grain from the north to the south. And as long as your Puhui Company makes money, how many merchants in the world will not flock to it?
"
This is taking Puhui Company as the leader. Ye An had no choice but to smile: "What Mr. Fan said is that as long as Puhui Company purchases grain in Tokyo and transports it to Suzhou, the news will soon be known to the whole world.
There will only be more and more food!”
Fan Zhongyan has been in the officialdom for many years, and he still has a good grasp of human nature. People who can achieve such a high official position in the Song Dynasty are definitely not pedantic. Never mix people recorded in later generations with real historical figures. They should be gentle and elegant.
That's right, but there are also clever plans and cunning strategies. Mr. Dong Heng, who seems to be tepid, sometimes gets angry and resorts to thunderous tactics.
Ye An has suffered many losses, and now he realizes that civil servants are not necessarily the stereotyped civil servants. They also have many shortcomings such as treacherousness, greed for money, lust, and so on. They also have inner monologues of family and country justice. These civil servants themselves are
A contradictory existence that combines good and evil!
The price of food in Suzhou City finally stabilized. After the people got affordable food, Ye An immediately asked Zhang Qian to send his yamen to make a propaganda in the streets, putting the credit of appeasing envoy Fan Zhongyan first, and at the same time announced that the court was sympathetic to the suffering of the people.
, and a large amount of food will be transferred from Tokyo City.
The most angry person at this time was probably the White Lotus Society. Ye An took people in disguise to go to the Empress Temple, but before they reached the core area, they heard the followers of the White Lotus Society angrily denounced Suzhou Zhizhou.
The White Lotus Society, which had already begun to take shape, is now facing the loss of a large number of believers.
People seemed to have become accustomed to the existence of the White Lotus Society. They came to the White Lotus Society when the government was not working, and returned to the rule of the imperial court when the government was doing practical things.
Ye Anxin left with satisfaction, and he came to the conclusion that as long as society is stable, the demagogic rhetoric of the White Lotus Society will become pale and powerless.
But he forgot that what the White Lotus Society is best at is creating panic and spreading fear. In addition, the teachings of the White Lotus Society have a profound brainwashing effect. The people have returned to the rule of the imperial court, but some people have not given up on them.
Belief in the White Lotus Society.
In their view, as long as the court does not ban the White Lotus Society, they can believe whatever they want. Moreover, the White Lotus Society is an association under the guise of Buddhism, and there is nothing wrong with it. The doctrines it promotes are just practicing exercises and practicing at home.
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It seems that Fan Zhongyan and Ye An have calmed down the White Lotus Society, but in fact the White Lotus Society is secretly growing. They have only one purpose, "to welcome Maitreya to the world." But how to welcome Maitreya to the world? That is to kill the old Buddha and let the
Leaving the divine position to welcome the new Buddha into the world.
"In front of me, under the Shuanglin tree, there is the great master Shanhui who came to be liberated. He is the ancestor of our society. Later, there is Jizhou Samana Faqing, who is the "new Buddha." He said: Whoever kills one person becomes a Bodhisattva of one dwelling, and whoever kills ten people becomes ten dwellings.
Bodhisattva, slaughter the temples, kill the monks and nuns, and burn the sutras and statues. This is the way to welcome Maitreya to the world!"
In the main hall of the Empress Temple, the "virtuous teacher" mentioned by Fang Linyue was sitting on a lotus throne with his hands in a seal, and his appearance was solemn, but the words coming out of his mouth were horrifying.
Instead of being afraid, the believers in the audience were extremely excited, their cheeks turned red, and they howled at the top of their lungs...