Water Margin people

Chapter 1567 Emperor's Religion

"How about this, you all come with me to the west to preach. As for the others, just return according to the original plan. The Western Region has been taken over, so the journey will be smooth."

Sun Lei nodded and said that he was going to take a group of people to the west to preach. The situation in Western Liao was also very complicated. Buddhism, Arabism, Shamanism, Zoroastrianism and other religions emerged one after another, and they had control over the people. All of these had to be suppressed.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Everyone was very happy and they also wanted to join the army to fight.

Seeing that it was getting late, Sun Lei went straight to the camp in the valley to rest.

"This elephant is really big!"

Sun Lei looked at the elephants in the camp. These animals were sacred beasts in India. Being able to get a few of them showed that he had really defeated those people.

"It's troublesome that those people offered these elephants as tribute. These animals are too heavy, walk too slowly, and eat a lot. Some places don't have their food, so we have to prepare it in advance!"

Gongsun Sheng said helplessly that he actually didn't want these elephants as they were not suitable for long-distance marches, but those believers were so fanatical that he had no choice but to accept them.

"By the way, Your Majesty, we have established a new sect, the Imperial Sect. Your Majesty is the incarnation of the Supreme Being, the Emperor of All Saints, in charge of everything in heaven and earth!"

Gongsun Sheng looked at Sun Lei and said.

"The Imperial Cult?"

Sun Lei was stunned for a moment. He was thinking of asking these people to set up a new church, but he didn't expect it to be set up so quickly and already publicized.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Religion has now spread all over India, and those who want to join the religion are vying for it! The queues in front of the church we set up can stretch for miles."

Gongsun Sheng said with a smile.

"So popular?"

Sun Lei was surprised. It was not easy for a new religion to start a war. Preaching and attracting believers were both troublesome things.

"Let's use the method your majesty taught us, distribute some rice, salt, cloth and the like, and those people will not care about anything else. Those who originally believed in Brahmanism will also come to our imperial religion!"

Gongsun Sheng said with a smile.

"So that's how it is. Money still paves the way!"

Sun Lei suddenly realized that no matter what time it is, the method of preaching is basically the same, using reason, appealing to emotions, and enticing with benefits.

"Your Majesty, this cannot be blamed on us. It can only be blamed on the Brahmans for their excessive plunder. The land there is fertile, there are large plains, and the climate is good. It is normal to grow three crops a year, but even so, they still cannot get enough to eat!"

"In this case, we just need to give them a little hope, abolish the exploitation of Brahmanism, and establish more relaxed taxes, and the people will naturally make their choice."

"I have an idea. After a few months, when the teachings of the Imperial Religion spread, I will send troops to conquer in the name of Your Majesty and establish a unified province here!"

Gongsun Sheng looked at Sun Lei and expressed his thoughts. He originally thought that Tianzhu was a desolate place. Everything he saw when he first landed in Zhu Luo was the same as his idea. But as he went deeper and understood more, he felt that this land was very good. The arable land here was larger than that in the Central Plains. The value of the land alone was immeasurable.

"Okay, go ahead and do it. Remember, to establish a province, you must completely control this land. This time you established the Imperial Religion and suppressed Brahmanism, but the religious war will not end!"

Sun Lei looked at Gongsun Sheng and said.

"I understand. We must eradicate all evil and root it out!"

Gongsun Sheng saluted and said that he understood what Sun Lei meant. They had won the debate against Brahmanism this time, but the opponent's foundation was still there, and they were probably accumulating strength in secret and looking for opportunities to counterattack.

"It's good that you know. Don't be too merciful. Just like this time, you killed too few people. You won the debate, so you have the moral high ground. You should hunt down the loser." "This is not the Central Plains. Our morality does not apply here. It's the law of the jungle here. You have to adapt to it when you come here!"

Sun Lei looked at Gongsun Sheng and spoke.

"I understand!"

Gongsun Sheng nodded. In fact, he was aware of all this, but he still couldn't let go. Now that he had the emperor's order, he had nothing to worry about.

"Tell me more about this Imperial Cult!"

Sun Lei sat down in the military tent, then looked at Gongsun Sheng and asked, since it is called the Emperor's Religion, and he is the incarnation of the Supreme, the Emperor of All Saints, then he must have an understanding of his own religion, otherwise he would not know how to respond if someone worshipped him that day.

Gongsun Sheng introduced the Holy King Religion in detail. It was a religion based on Taoism. The Supreme God opened up the world and created all things...

Sun Lei just listened to it as a myth, but he wanted to add that comparative religion requires sufficient rigor.

"brother!"

Lu Zhishen walked in from outside holding a jar of wine.

"The Taoist priest is here too!"

When Lu Zhishen saw Gongsun Sheng was also there, he chuckled.

"Didn't you know that alcohol is prohibited in the military?"

Sun Lei frowned when he saw Lu Zhishen holding a jar of wine.

"Brother, just pretend that I haven't joined the army today, okay? I haven't drunk alcohol for several months. You don't know, that place is so poor that there is no alcohol. I finally got some from those nobles, but it tasted like the water used to wash the pot..."

Lu Zhishen complained that he could tolerate anything else but he really could not stand without wine. What's more, he was just preaching, not fighting, so the ban was not that strict.

"Forget it, for your hard work!"

Sun Lei waved his hand. Lu Zhishen had really worked hard this time. It was really difficult for him to let such a rough man lead the way and do missionary work.

"hey-hey!"

Lu Zhishen smiled and took out three more bowls, pouring a bowl of wine for Sun Lei and Gongsun Sheng respectively.

The next morning, the army continued its journey westward, while Dao Ji, with a group of monks and soldiers, continued to head east along Xuanzang's old route.

Apart from some small nomadic tribes, we didn't meet any other people along the way.

Sun Lei did not make things difficult for these small tribes. After asking for the route, he continued to move forward.

"Yelü Dashi, your governance is just average. These herdsmen are so poor, how can they support an empire?"

Sun Lei looked at Yelu Dashi and said that the poverty he had experienced along the way had refreshed his understanding. This place was even poorer than Liaodong and the grassland.

"They were worse before I got here than they are now! You don't understand this place. Ordinary people's lives are worth nothing!"

Yelu Dashi said unconvincedly that he was a genuine imperial scholar with both literary and military strategies in his mind, and Sun Lei, a wild bandit, actually dared to question his policy on governing the country.

"I don't need to understand this place, it's this place that needs to understand me! Do you understand? This is what an emperor does!"

Sun Lei looked at Yelu Dashi with a smile. He had never systematically studied the art of governing a country, nor had he written any policy papers. However, the emperor should not change because of anything. The emperor was the center of everything.