Looking down from the air, Xiangyang at night looks like a myriad of lights, more prosperous than the capital city at the moment. The capital city has been under curfew these days, and it is dark at night with few places with lights on.
Xiangyang was not severely damaged during the Mile Rebellion. Although Lu Shiheng's mischief almost delayed farming, it was back on track after being stopped in time. At this time, Xiangyang could be called a blessed land and was 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 bustling voices. From a distance, it looks like there is some garden party going on.
Zhao Changhe rode his horse over in amazement, landed in the woods in the distance, hid his horse, and strolled out to see the garden.
People's laughter could be heard from far away, and the girl's voice like a silver bell echoed in the night. It was really not easy. In such a chaotic world, there was such a scene. It was just like Su Yang before Maitreya's rebellion. Looking at it made people miss Xiaoxiang Pavilion at that time.
Well, this place is Xiaoxiang.
Zhao Changhe strolled over and soon saw that this was actually a temple fair in front of a temple. The temple was quite magnificent, and the square in front of the temple was extremely large, almost as big as the square outside the imperial palace... Having experienced the Maitreya Rebellion, Zhao Changhe instinctively became wary of temples. How could such a magnificent temple emerge when everything was deserted
Just as I was planning to find a passerby to ask, I suddenly saw an acquaintance while my eyes were wandering.
A young man was setting up a stall near the lanterns, and the stall was full of fragrant braised ducks: "Hey, girl, I don't sell duck legs alone, I'll cut at least half of it."
"I am a girl..."
"Miss, if you lie down on this car, you can crush me to death, so forget the child."
"You don't know how to talk, how can you do business like this!"
"I cut off a leg for you, how can I sell this duck? When you buy other ducks, would you only cut off the middle leg and take it back?"
"How could there be a hooligan like you in front of the temple!"
"I'm just a duck seller, you can buy it if you want."
The customer drove away angrily, and the man leaned lazily against the tree behind him, looking around, and it was unclear whether he was looking at the girls at the temple fair or something else.
A big face suddenly appeared in front of me: "Brother Zhou, are you a gigolo?"
Da Zhou was stunned for a moment, his eyes filled with ecstasy: "Could it be some kind of illusion? How could you suddenly get here?"
Zhao Changhe hushed, "There are too many people here, how about changing places?"
Da Zhou immediately grabbed the oilcloth in front of him, scooped up all the ducks, and ran away quickly: "Come, I'll buy you a drink."
A customer behind me called out, "Hey, hey, you selling ducks?"
Da Zhou didn't even turn his head: "They were packed up, including the boss!"
… …
"Could it be that the chief received our message? That's strange, we didn't rush it. The road is difficult in the snow, and the messenger may not have arrived in Beijing by now." At the secret station of the Demon Suppression Division, Da Zhou happily warmed the wine and cut a duck leg and handed it to Zhao Changhe: "Anyway, now that they are here, we have a backbone, and we feel at ease this time."
Zhao Changhe took the duck leg and nibbled on it: "How can you be sure it's not an illusion?"
"Well, I accept that this illusion can be so real." Da Zhou said, "How can a fool ask me to be a gigolo when we meet?"
Zhao Changhe: "… Hey, shouldn't I be the Prince of Zhao and the Crown Prince in the imperial court? Are you enjoying scolding me?"
"Ah? You like being treated respectfully?" Da Zhou looked at him in surprise: "I have never seen a prince riding a horse all over the sky and fighting hard."
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 my whole life. It's just that I'm too lazy to entertain officials. Don't try this on me."
"Then why do you become a spy?" "To see things that are invisible to the officials, to make the demons and monsters have nowhere to hide."
"Okay, okay." Zhao Changhe raised his bowl and drank with him, then said with a smile, "What's the situation? Since they said they have sent a messenger to Beijing, it means there is indeed a problem. Am I just being overly suspicious?"
"Hmm... There are indeed problems, but they are not up to the standard of emergency during wartime. I wonder if the First Lord has received the news."
"I haven't received it. Even if I did, since you don't have an expedited mark, it will probably be put on the back burner. She has too many things to do right now. It's okay. Just tell me when I get here."
"This temple didn't just appear out of nowhere. You know, a long time ago, Buddhism was relatively prosperous in the world, but it fell into decline after the previous emperor destroyed Buddhism. The rise of Maitreya Sect in underground preaching is also related to this background."
"Hmm... So this temple existed in the early years?"
"Yes, it has been abandoned for a long time. But after the demise of Maitreya, traditional Buddhism has shown signs of revival. Before, they didn't dare to make a big fuss, but after the death of the late emperor, they had no scruples and flourished." Da Zhou sighed while drinking hot wine: "Look, it hasn't been too long since the late emperor passed away, two months at most? The temple has been renovated, believers are enthusiastic about donating money and materials, and various temple fairs are crowded with people."
Zhao Changhe asked, "How come there is a temple fair when there are no festivals or celebrations?"
"Yes, today is Laba Festival. Laba Festival is a Buddhist festival that no one celebrated before, but now it has begun."
"Well… "
"The new governor believes in this and is making things easier for us. Theoretically, the prosperity and peace of mind of the people can be considered as a result of education. We don't know if this situation is problematic... We instinctively feel that anything that can win the hearts of the people and gather people to do things may not be a good thing, so we report it. To be frank, Your Majesty has not rescinded the previous emperor's order to destroy Buddhism. Isn't it a bit wrong to just pretend that it never happened?"
Zhao Changhe nodded. These Demon Suppression Bureau spies were very sensitive and 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 Religion are not naturally so suitable. It will take a long time of propaganda to change the connotation of gods coming to the world to rule everything to gods coming to the world to allow everyone to transcend and achieve bliss.
They are certainly no match for Buddhism and Taoism at the moment, as their accumulated publicity and awareness have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This is also the reason why Gui Chen so calmly "retired to Mount Tai". His Taoism already has a sufficient foundation, and there is no point for the Four Symbols Sect to compete with them.
Originally, this was not a bad thing... But once bitten, one is afraid of the rope for ten years. After being manipulated by the Maitreya Sect, those who are a little sensitive are afraid of this kind of association and gathering of people. If it goes wrong, it will be another Maitreya Rebellion. Therefore, the spies of Da Zhou and other places watched it as if they were facing a great enemy, and reported it to the capital.
"The main reason is that we feel that they have revived too quickly, and we feel like they are pushing the issue." Da Zhou's expression became serious. "Let's not talk about anything else. The fact that the governor exempted them from tax has led to farmers donating their land to the government. In addition, becoming a monk to avoid corvée labor has led to a large number of civilians becoming monks. If this continues, it will be strange if there are no problems."
Zhao Changhe nodded. This happened to come at a time when the imperial court was too busy to deal with these matters. Once this became a routine in all places, it would be very difficult to deal with.
Da Zhou was muttering: "Why did the previous emperor destroy Buddhism in the early years? I was young at that time and didn't know. Now it seems that if it develops for another ten or eight years, the current emperor may do the same thing again."
Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and asked, "Is there any bullying of men or women?"
Da Zhou said, "We have been keeping an eye on them, but we haven't found anything yet. We haven't seen any frauds similar to the Maitreya Sect in the past. There are no flaws and everything is aboveboard. But there has been a public security incident where someone was disrespectful to Buddha and was beaten to death by fanatical believers. At that time, the brothers of the Blood God Sect were extremely dissatisfied with this and almost had a big fight. It was the governor who calmed both sides down. In fact, the conflict between the brothers of the Blood God Sect and the Buddhist believers will sooner or later cause trouble. I don't think the governor can suppress it. You will be safe if you come."
Zhao Changhe looked back and looked towards the direction of the temple fair in the south of the city.
The art of looking at qi was quietly activated, and it seemed that one could see a vortex of the power of faith gathering in the sky and then merging into an unknown place.
Da Zhou's voice echoed in his ears: "I think... this is just a milder version of Maitreya, there is not much difference in essence... Of course, the Blood God Cult is not a good thing either, it is just a bunch of firecrackers that will explode at any time..."
Zhao Changhe pondered for a long time, and suddenly asked: "The Taoists are here, but there is no sound at all?"
"Yes. But it seems like someone is suppressing them. They are much more low-key and mainly stay in Taoist temples outside the mountains... In fact, the late emperor never destroyed Taoism in the past. The power of Taoism has always been strong, but it has never been exposed. I don't know if it is a habit or if they are hiding something."
Zhao Changhe thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Who is the abbot of this Buddhist temple? Why does the governor trust him so much?"
Da Zhou said: "This is also related to you. This abbot is Master Yuancheng who was once dragged by you to beat Maitreya. Although they did not act in your name, in the eyes of local officials, you naturally have this halo."
Zhao Changhe suddenly remembered the tea remnants on the table in Tang Buqi's courtyard and laughed, "I see. There's no need to sit here and think about it. I'll go explore the temple and talk to Master Yuancheng."
(End of this chapter)