The village chief led a group of villagers to kneel and kowtow at the entrance of the village, but the man in white ignored them. He was interested in this group of businessmen in the village. To be precise, he was interested in these more than a hundred mules and horses.
Interested in goods, the war has just stopped, the people are poor, and there is no money to be made, so it is rare to see this kind of caravan taking shape.
He waved to the village chief and asked him a few questions. The village chief immediately came over and asked, "Which of you is the big proprietor?"
Just as Yang Yuanqing was about to speak, Cheng Yaojin stepped forward and said in a loud voice: "I am the one!"
The village chief quickly saluted him and said, "Fo Sun, please ask the great proprietor to ask questions."
Cheng Yaojin has been in the arena for many years and has extremely rich experience in the arena. When he saw the man in white looking at the goods with a gleaming eye, he knew that this man had a thief heart. He stepped forward without bowing and asked coldly: "Look for grandpa."
What's up?"
He was full of gangsterism, but the man in white was not angry and asked with a smile: "Do you have any silk for sale here?"
"Yes, how much do you want to buy?"
"I will buy as much as you have. In addition, I will buy all your goods."
Cheng Yaojin looked him up and down, frowned and asked, "Where is your money?"
The man in white - patting his chest, "I have the money, it's all in silver, but you have to come with me to get it in the county town."
Cheng Yaojin pretended to think about it, "Well! We have to discuss it, this is not all my goods."
Cheng Yaojin turned back and asked Yang Yuanqing in a low voice, "Do you want to go to the county seat with him?"
The village chief next to him was so anxious that he winked at him and told him not to agree. Yang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "Tell the man in white that we want to eat something in the village, and then follow him."
Cheng Yaojin went back and said, and the man in white was very happy, "You go eat, I'll wait for you."
The crowd led their horses into the village, and Yang Yuanqing was pulled into a room by the village chief. He said to him urgently: "Young man, please don't go. If you do, you will not be able to save your life."
Seeing that there was no one outside the room, Yang Yuanqing closed the door, took out a military card and said to the old man: "Old man, don't be afraid. We are the Sui army in Taiyuan. We have been ordered to investigate the incident of worshiping the Maitreya cult. Can you tell me some news?"
The old man was stunned for a while and then sighed, "This Maitreya Cult has killed people. The war has just subsided and everyone is busy repairing houses and cultivating the land. Who wants to worship Maitreya? But if you don't join the Maitreya Cult, the government will not distribute food relief to everyone."
The only way was to join, but when I joined, I was controlled and ordered to sacrifice the family property, and even the pretty women in the family had to be sacrificed to Maitreya. Everyone is in trouble!"
When Yang Yuanqing heard that the government was using food relief to threaten people into converting to Christianity, he was extremely angry. He restrained his anger and asked, "Who is that Zhang Fosun?"
"That's a scoundrel from our hometown, named Zhang Wulang. I've known him as a thief and kidnapper since he was a child, and he's never done anything good. He joined the Maitreya Sect two months ago and was recognized as a Buddhist grandson. He is in charge of ten people around us.
In several villages, they used to be surreptitious, but now they are openly extorting, and I don’t know how many good women have been ruined.”
"Old father-in-law, what is Buddha Sun and who else is there? Can you tell me?" Cao Yuanqing asked again.
This old man also hated the Maitreya Cult. Since this young man was sent by the army to investigate, he did not hide it and said, "This Zhang Fosun told me during dinner at my house that the Maitreya Cult has a very strict organization. Fosun is their
At the bottom level, there is a Buddhist grandson in charge of five hundred letters.
Then the five grandsons of the Buddha were managed by a Buddha. There were nine great Buddhas on top of the Buddha. The leader was called Buddha. No one had ever seen him. It is said that when he preached about Buddhism, a huge Buddha would appear behind him.
Maitreya Buddha, so there are many believers, at least tens of thousands."
"Can it grow to tens of thousands of people in two months?" Yang Yuanqing asked a little strangely.
The old man sighed again, "Not surprising, even the government has joined in. One time, Lord Zhang was drunk and said that Magistrate Zhou of Pingyuan County was one of the Nine Buddhas."
Yang Yuanqing immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much, father-in-law!"
Yang Yuanqing came out of the room, beckoned several soldiers over, and gave them a few instructions in a low voice. The soldiers turned around and left.
After a moment, several wolf-like soldiers dragged Zhang Wulang, a man in white, into the room. Zhang Wulang turned pale with fright, knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "Master... spare your life! Spare your life!"
He no longer had the initial arrogance and arrogance. Several gleaming knives were placed on his neck, almost making him wet his pants. He had realized that the group of people in front of him were not businessmen, but well-established people.
Yang Yuanqing glanced at him and said coldly: "If you want to survive, just tell the truth. If you dare to tell even a lie, I will kill you immediately!"
Zhang Wulang was shaking like chaff and couldn't say a word. Yang Yuanqing asked again: "Who in the Maitreya sect does Magistrate Zhou of Pingyuan County worship?"
Zhang Wulang hesitated, Yang Yuanqing immediately winked at the soldiers, and the soldiers raised their swords, and Zhang Wulang's ear was cut off!"
The pain made him scream like a pig, and the soldiers grabbed his other ear, frightening him out of his wits. He kept saying: "I say! I say! Magistrate Zhou is one of the Nine Buddhas in the religion--"
"Damn it!"
Yang Yuanqing cursed and waved his hand randomly, "Drag him out of the village and kill him!"
"Spare your life! Spare..."
Zhang Wulang was gagged and dragged down by the soldiers. Pei Qingsong beside him couldn't help but said: "General manager, since you have promised not to kill him, why..."
Yang Yuanqing glanced at him coldly, "If he goes to Ande County to report, you know what the consequences will be. Can you keep your word and bear it?"
Pei Qingsong lowered his head and did not dare to say a word. Yang Yuanqing then ordered: "Take his four followers out of the village and kill them. No one is allowed to be left alive."
Cheng Yaojin shouted in his heart that he would kill everyone. This is the true nature of a man. He quickly asked: "General manager, shall we go to Pingyuan County next?"
Yang Yuanqing nodded, murderous intent bursting out in his eyes. He wanted to know how brave the magistrate of Pingyuan County was, even at the risk of losing his head, following the Maitreya Sect's "Spreading Wings Without Watermark" rebellion.
…
Pingyuan County, like other small counties in Hebei Province, with the end of the war, a large number of farmers hiding in the city returned to their hometowns. The county suddenly became deserted, and there were few pedestrians on the streets.
But on the other hand, as the economy began to gradually recover, business in a few shops began to improve again, especially blacksmith shops and grocery stores. There was an endless stream of farmers buying farm tools and groceries, wine shops were also open for business, and many old diners returned, and the streets
The shadows of businessmen began to appear.
Yang Yuanqing, a traveler, entered the county at the time of Huang Fu and stayed at the largest inn in the county. Although there was no trace of Maitreya worshipers during the day, the influence of Maitreya worship gradually became apparent at night, and people began to work in groups of twos and threes.
Go out of your home, gather together, listen to teachings, and hold religious initiation ceremonies.
The innkeeper, his wife, and several waiters all went to listen to the teachings. There was only one other waiter who was busy in the inn, but there were not many guests, only Yang Yuanqing and his group.
As the night progressed, Yang Yuanqing brought more than a dozen soldiers to the county government office. The back house of the county government office was the county magistrate's residence. The wall of the county magistrate's house was not high. It could be easily climbed in by climbing a big tree.
, the height is not the wall, but the official prestige in the hearts of the people, even if there is no wall, no one dares to step inside.
The two guards climbed in lightly, and then the door opened, and Yang Yuanqing walked into the back house with his hands behind his back.
The magistrate of Pingyuan County was named Zhou Chou. He was originally the magistrate of Pingyuan County in the Sui Dynasty. After Dou Jiande took charge of Hebei, he was promoted to the county magistrate. Then the new Sui army drove Dou Jiande out of Hebei. Zhou Jue then became loyal to the new Sui Dynasty and became the new Sui Dynasty.
The magistrate of Pingyuan County.
This was also a measure taken by the Sui Dynasty to maintain the stability of the people in Hebei. As long as they had not committed any evil crimes, they would try to keep them in office. Facts have proved that this measure was not correct. It was the efforts of these officials who were familiar with the situation that made it possible.
People's livelihood in Hebei began to recover rapidly.
But nothing is perfect, and this measure has also allowed some people with ulterior motives to escape the purge and remain in office.
Zhou Jue, the magistrate of Pingyuan County, is one of them. He joined the Maitreya Cult and used his power over disaster relief food to force farmers to join the religion. As a result, he made a lot of money. Of course, he was not just doing it for money.
Zhou Wou had been feeling uneasy these past two days. He received news from above that Chu King Yang Yuanqing was probably in Hebei Province, and asked him to pay attention and report immediately if hundreds of cavalry teams appeared.
The geographical position of Pingyuan County is relatively important. It is at the junction of four counties. Therefore, Pingyuan County is particularly valued. Zhou Jue knows that the worship of Maitreya Cult is huge and will be exposed sooner or later. He has already made nearly three thousand taels of gold through Maitreya Cult. If
If he escapes before the incident, he can spend the rest of his life in glory and wealth, otherwise his life will be hard to save.
Zhou Jue was pacing back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back, thinking about his future worriedly. Suddenly, the door creaked open. Zhou Jue had already ordered that no one should disturb him. He was furious in his heart.
I looked up and saw two strange men in black walking in.
He was so frightened that he was trembling all over, and just when he was about to shout, a horizontal knife was already coldly placed on his throat, "If you dare to scream, your head will fall to the ground!"
Then five or six men in black walked in. Zhou Wou was so frightened that his voice trembled, "Who are you...?"
Yang Yuanqing walked in with his hands behind his back and looked at him with a half-smile, "County Magistrate Zhou, do you still recognize me?"
Zhou Jue's eyes suddenly straightened, his legs became weak, he fell to his knees and kowtowed, "Your Highness, King Chu, have mercy on you! Your Highness, King Chu, have mercy on you!"
After Yang Yuanqing defeated Dou Jiande in Hejian County, he met with many officials from counties and counties in Hebei. He also met Zhou Jue, so he knew him.
Yang Yuanqing sat down, glanced at Zhou Jue, and said coldly: "I trust you, so I won't hold you accountable for your past loyalty to Dou Jiande, but you joined a cult and tried to gather people to cause a rebellion. You said it yourself."
, are you worthy of the people of Pingyuan County and the trust I have given you?"
Zhou Jue knelt on the ground and was extremely ashamed. He moved his lips and said, "The matter is not as simple as His Highness thought. It actually has something to do with Tang Zun."