I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 552 The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea and Show Their Magical Powers

The visitor was also a monk, wearing a colorful monk's robe embroidered with gold thread. When he saw Ren Boan, he smiled and said, "Brother Ren has done a great deed for Tianjie Temple this time!"

Ren Boan said respectfully: "Ren Boan greets Master Deshen."

The visitor was none other than Monk De Shen from Shuiyue Zen Temple in Suzhou, and another person was Xu Fan, the eldest son of Xu Jie.

Ren Boan continued, "I have received great kindness from Tianjie Temple and have no way to repay it. So I have worked hard to earn some merits for Tianjie Temple and built monks' quarters and temples, and sculpted and gilded Buddha statues, which can be regarded as repaying the kindness and doing good deeds."

Xu Fan chuckled and waved his large monk robe, "I know who you are, Lao Ren. There's no need to play tricks here. I heard from Tan Shan that you made a lot of money on this trip."

"Ren only earns hard-earned money running errands, which is not worth mentioning. Why did Monk Deshen come to Tianjieyuan?"

Ren Boan knew Xu Fan's background, and he became a monk just to avoid disaster. He had a lot of fun in the past few years since he became a monk, and there were always charming and beautiful monks and nuns around him, which was obscene.

Hanshanyuan couldn't stand it anymore and secretly went to Xu Mansion.

This gentleman plays too extravagantly. Our temple is too small to afford it. Let’s choose another famous temple to house him.

After some discussion, the Xu family sent Xu Fan to the Shuiyue Temple, which had a more beautiful scenery by the Taihu Lake. In this remote and unknown Buddhist temple, Xu Fan had a great time and his fame spread widely in the Jiangnan romantic circles. The Shuiyue Temple also became a popular destination for Lechers.

Why did Xu Fan suddenly come to Tianjieyuan?
Tianjieyuan was the number one monastery in Jiangnan granted by Emperor Taizu. At least they should have some dignity. They could cheat some money from offerings, but if they held an open meeting, they would not be able to face anyone if the news got out.

Monk De Shen actually came here and Tianjieyuan took him in.

what happend?
Does the sun rise from the west?
Xu Fan smiled and said, "I felt something in my heart a few days ago. I dreamed of the Buddha. I know that I have committed serious sins. I need to worship Buddha and recite sutras to eliminate my sins."

You looked so serious that I almost believed it.

Xu Fan didn't say much, just nodded and left.

It’s not that I don’t want to live a happy life in Shuiyue Zen Temple, but if I stay there, I will die.

When Xu Fan received the news that Hai Rui was sent to Jiangsu, he felt something was wrong.

He had done too many dirty things for the Xu family before, especially after he became a monk, when he wore monk's robes and did several things for the Xu family. If any one of them was found out, it would be enough to cause the Xu family to be confiscated and exterminated.

In order to protect himself, my father would probably shut me up forever. Even if my father couldn't bear it for a while, my brother would definitely instigate him.

Shuiyue Zen Temple is located in a remote area. It is a good place to play, but also a good place to kill people and silence them.

Bribe the people around you, put a packet of poison in your food and drinks, and report that you died suddenly.

Or he could hire a few good fighters to sneak into the courtyard, kill the person with a single blow, then sink the body to the bottom of the lake, and then report that the body was summoned away by the Buddha, leaving no trace behind.

The more Xu Fan thought about it, the more scared he became. After some calculations in his mind, he headed straight for Tianjie Courtyard.

This is the royal Buddhist temple, the number one jungle in Jiangnan, with many eyes and ears from all sides. My own brother might send people here to take my life without any hesitation.

But my father is a cautious person and will never take action here. If he fails and is caught, he will be in big trouble.

But here, I can barely keep my life, but I can't live a carefree life.

Alas, you can’t have your cake and eat it too!

Ren Boan watched Xu Fan leave, blinked, and went straight to find Monk Zhongyuan.

Monk Zhongyuan is the head of the Tianjie Temple warehouse and one of the leaders of the Eastern Sequence. He is in charge of the expenditure of the Tianjie Temple warehouse and is the chief financial officer.

Ren Boan presented the account book of the Lahu Society to Monk Zhongyuan.

Zhong Yuan flipped through it casually, accepted it, and asked the young monk to pass it on to the temple's accounting monk.

"I'll ask them to take a look. I have great faith in what the donor Ren does. But the abbot, the chief abbot and the chief monk want to look at the accounts, so I dare not be careless."

This time the Buddhist Lahu meeting was a collaboration between the two parties, and the Tianjie Court secretly sent people in disguise to follow along.

Among them there are people who are well versed in Buddhism, who are checking for omissions and filling in the gaps. Under the banner of Tianjieyuan, they ask about Buddhism and Buddhist affairs, which is irrelevant. Isn't this damaging the reputation?

If the reputation is ruined, how can we achieve sustainable development in the future?
Among them is the accountant monk, who oversees the Lahu Society’s income from begging and manages its expenses along the way.

Good cooperation starts with clear accounts.

Ren Boan reported to Zhong Yuan about his alms-begging along the way, and Zhong Yuan nodded repeatedly.

This impoverished scholar still has some abilities.

I have heard people in China talk about Ren Boan's origins.

It is said that he was very successful at a young age and passed the imperial examination at the age of fifteen. However, he offended the grand master, who was the governor of education, at a literary meeting.

This inspector was also a famous scholar, with classmates, friends, students and former officials throughout the government and the country, and a well-known university family. He was so angry that he announced that Ren Boan would be stopped from taking the imperial examination.

Ren Boan was fearless at the beginning. He tried for ten years. His writing became better and better and his fame grew, but he just couldn't pass the imperial examination.

He failed the imperial examination, but he had to support his family. Ren Boan was just a scholar, unable to carry heavy loads or till the fields, so he gradually took a side path and became a "Yifu".

Over the past decade, Ren Boan has become quite famous in the Jiangnan brothel industry. He is capable and has a bottom line, making a lot of money without causing too much trouble.

All Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are willing to cooperate with him.

The two chatted for more than a quarter of an hour, and Ren Boan followed up the conversation and asked, "Master, I just met Master Deshen at the backyard door. Did he come to Tianjieyuan to hang up his sign?"

Monk Zhongyuan smiled and said, "Monk Deshen said that he had offended the steward's brother, and the donations to Shuiyue Zen Temple were stopped. He could not stay there any longer, so he had to come to Tianjie Temple to register.

The grudges between the rich and powerful are hard to explain. Besides, we outsiders don’t care about this matter.”

He looked at Ren Boan and suddenly asked, "Ren Tanyue, have you met any suspicious people along the way?"

"Suspicious people?" Ren Boan was stunned for a moment. "When a waiter is out and about, he meets all kinds of people. I wonder what the suspicious people that the monk is talking about mean?"

"Earlier, there was a rumor in the capital that Hai Rui, the great emperor, was appointed governor of Jiangsu. Jiangnan was in turmoil, and officials and gentry in Yangzhou, Suzhou and other places were restless. Later, there was a rumor that Hai Qingtian was also entrusted with a secret imperial decree.

He was well-known throughout the world, and he was also the Right Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate. There was almost nothing in the world that he could not investigate. Everyone was anxiously speculating. In the first year of Longqing, Hai Qingtian was ordered to clean up Buddhist and Taoist temples. Although he was dedicated to the public, his methods were a bit radical, and both the Buddhist and Taoist circles looked askance at him.

A bit too radical?

In the first year of the Longqing reign, Hai Qingtian cleared up the long-standing malpractices in the Buddhist and Taoist circles in the capital, reclaimed the occupied fields and houses, and dismissed the monks and Taoists who had illegally ordained. His methods were not only extreme, but also drastic.

The capital city used to be a sea of ​​monks, but later even the bald monks dared not come out. All of you monks and Taoists, who doesn't curse Lord Hai in secret?

But the people applauded and were intimidated by Hai Qingtian's reputation, so no matter how angry they were, they dared not say it out loud.

Ren Boan couldn't help but sneer in his heart. "The monks and Taoists in Jiangnan were also worried that Hai Qingtian would be ordered to go south to collect taxes. They were worried that Hai Qingtian would disappear after entering Shandong. They searched for him everywhere but could not find any trace of him.

So I want to ask Ren Tanyue if he has encountered any suspicious people on the road. "

A light bulb went off in Ren Boan's head, and he suddenly thought of those six people.

Oh my god!

Hai Qingtian also knew how to use military tactics. This tactic of his concealed the truth from the public and deceived tens of thousands of officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.

They were still anxiously waiting, searching for Hai Qingtian's traces like hounds.

Who could have imagined that he had mixed up with a Lahu Society group and came to Nanjing quietly.

What a great Hai Qingtian!

However, Ren Boan hated those officials and gentry very much, especially those famous scholars and Confucian officials who talked about benevolence and morality but were thieves and prostitutes in secret. He hated them to the core.

That's why Ren Boan was unwilling to tell the Chinese side about Hai Rui's news.

This bald monk has close ties with the officials, gentry and wealthy families in Jiangnan. If he leaked Hai Rui's whereabouts to him, it would spread throughout Nanjing and Jiangnan in two or three days.

He thought hard and said, "We found a group of suspicious people in Xuzhou, but they are probably not Hai Qingtian and his party."

"Why is Ren Tanyue so sure?"

"That group of people stayed in a brothel overnight."

The Chinese side remained silent. Hai Rui would never stay overnight in a brothel, not even in private.

Don't deceive in the dark!

People like Hai Rui pay the most attention to this.

Zhongyuan's eyelids drooped, "What should I do? Hai Qingtian is nowhere to be found.

When he shows up, there will probably be a bloody storm. The officials and gentry in Jiangnan, as well as the Buddhist and Taoist circles, are all trembling with fear and keeping silent.

Oh, how can this end? "

Starting from Emperor Taizu, Tianjieyuan relied on the royal power to occupy farmland and became one of the largest landlords in Nanzhili. Later, it devoted itself to the traditional Buddhist industry - pawnshops and loan sharks.

During the Early Song Dynasty, the largest pawnshop in Kaifeng was the Daxiangguo Temple, and the largest pawnshop in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty was the Tianjieyuan.

In addition to lending money at high interest rates, Tianjieyuan had accumulated countless grievances over the past hundred years. During the last turmoil in Nanjing, Hai Rui and the public focused their attention on the nobles, salt merchants, and aristocratic families, and did not notice the dirty things happening in Buddhism.

In the first year of the Longqing reign, Hai Rui was ordered to rectify the Buddhist and Taoist circles in the capital, and only then did he discover that the secular world was also a place of filth and corruption. If he came to Nanjing, do you think he would investigate?

If Hai Rui found out everything, how would the Tianjie Court be able to escape without suffering heavy consequences?

Looking at Monk Zhongyuan’s sad face, Ren Boan said something in his mind.

Live it!

Zhong Yuan suddenly said, "I heard that Hai Qingtian went to Jiangsu to govern Jiangsu for the former councilor Cai Guoxi. There is confirmed news that he has gone to Songjiang, Suzhou. Haha, someone is taking the blame, so my Jiangnan Buddhist sect can escape this disaster."

As he spoke, his mood improved. As long as there is someone more unlucky than me, I will be happy.

Soon, the young monk brought back the accounts checked by the monk in the temple's accounting office. Every item was clear. After deducting various expenses, the total profit was 236,400 silver dollars.

After deducting all the details, Tianjieyuan received 118,200 yuan. Ren Boan prepared all the bills, all of which were from Wells Fargo and the Commercial Bank.

Seeing the thick stack of bills, Monk Zhongyuan quickly forgot his worries, counted the bills, and smiled like Maitreya Buddha.

"Danyue Ren is very particular about what he does. We in Tianjieyuan are all assured to cooperate with you.

Let's cooperate again as soon as possible. We will go south, Suzhou, Changzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and then all the way to Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Guangzhou. They have become very rich over the years due to maritime trade, but they always forget to pay respect to the Buddha. The Buddha doesn't know how to bless them.

We are accumulating merit for them and praying for their blessings. "

When it comes to making money, the Chinese side is no longer afraid of the missing Hai Rui and is planning the next collaboration.

You can use the name of Tianjieyuan without any capital or effort. You just need to send a few people who are proficient in Buddhism and accounting. They will provide food and accommodation, as well as starting wages. You can also get half of the money when the work is done.

China would like to have such no-cost business every day.

Ren Boan smiled and replied, "I have to wait until these bastards have spent all their money before I can gather them together again."

Monk Zhongyuan laughed out loud.

When Ren Boan returned to his residence, Huangfu Tan stopped him and led him to the small courtyard.

Seeing Hai Rui sitting there waiting for him, Ren Boan understood and stepped forward, bowing and saying, "Meetings, Lord Hai."

Hai Rui stroked his beard and said, "You two uncle and nephew are indeed talented. I can't help but cherish your talents. But the task I want to do can only be done by Hao Ju.

As for you, Ren Boan, I recommend you to meet someone and give you a chance to redeem yourself from your crime, are you willing?"

Ren Boan asked back, "Mr. Hai, may I ask who you are going to see?"

Hai Rui smiled faintly: "You will know when you go there."

In the flower hall in the backyard of Xu's mansion in Huating, Songjiang, Xu Jie had been feeling restless these days. Today, he was walking around in circles in the garden with his hands behind his back.

Hai Rui has disappeared, this is not a good thing!

The previous time, this Hai Heizi also disappeared, but when Cai Guoxi knelt in front of the Xu Mansion, he suddenly appeared. Then the eldest son of the old man left home, and the family business that he had worked so hard to save was gone, and 300,000 acres of fertile land disappeared.

It hurts, my flesh aches!

This time he was even more elusive and disappeared before entering Shandong. Thousands of officials and gentry in dozens of prefectures and counties along the canal mobilized people to search for him, but there was no trace of him.

Hai Heizi is trying to hold back something big.

The more he holds it in, the more harm we will suffer!
"Master, there is a visitor." The third son Xu Ying walked in with a business card.

Xu Jie took the business card and was stunned for a moment.

"Him? He's a rare visitor!"

(End of this chapter)