Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 170 It Hurts Me Too
Not everyone is willing to follow Lou Rui in making trouble.

Wei Jiong is one of them.

The local nobles in the border areas might be willing to do so. After all, military farming is a long-term business for them.

But for officials like Wei Jiong, they were just passers-by to the local area. Military farming was a job that took a long time to show results and required a long duration, which really did not bring them much benefit.

Even if they made a fortune from farming, it would take five or six years, and they could not ask for benefits from others like Lou Rui did, so they just worked for Lou Rui for free.

Even for the so-called military farming plan, it would damage the interests of their counties and lose their own political achievements, which is really harmful rather than beneficial.

But now Liu Taozi has the support of the prime minister, and reducing grain transportation losses has become a consensus in the court, and they, the local officials, have no way to stop it.

Wei Jiong's visit to Liu Taozi was a subtle expression of his resistance.

If the other party does not have the courage to touch Tianle Temple, then that's fine, but they just don't have the nerve to continue asking us for things in the future.

It would be great if the other party had the courage to attack Tianle Temple.

This Tianle Temple involves a wide range of people. Once action is taken, the subsequent events that will be triggered will be enough to make this young general anxious and exhausted, and there will be no need to talk about military farming.

Seeing that the other party was interested, Wei Jiong smiled and cleared his throat. Just as he was about to start talking, Liu Taozi said, "Wait a minute."

He called a soldier and whispered something to him.

Wei Jiong didn't have anything urgent to do, so he sat down and drank his tea calmly.

The North Parade Ground is particularly lively at this moment.

Tian Zili sat in the middle of the parade ground with a row of people standing in front of him.

They were all local laborers, young and old. They stood on tiptoe and looked at the sacks piled up around Tian Zili, with gleams in their eyes.

"Murong Chi, um, can you read?"

Tian Zili took the "pass" that the other party had brought out and asked.

When they had previously checked the number of people in various places, they had given them a crude "pass" to prove their identities.

The old man nodded and said, "I can read. I used to be an official in Sizhou."

"Come on, write your name."

There was a piece of paper beside Tian Zili. The old man bent down and picked up a pen. At this moment, the old man was stunned for a moment. "I haven't held a pen for a long time."

He then lowered his head and wrote his name in a very serious manner.

He looked at the pen in his hand again, then put it aside.

The old man took a deep breath and said, "Sir, you..."

Tian Zili saw the other party's fear, and he said seriously: "What kind of person is the general? Do you still need to doubt him?"

The old man dared not speak.

Tian Zili looked at the words he wrote and nodded, "Not bad, not bad, take it, this is your new token, this is your first month's salary, someone will distribute the hundred households to you later, from now on, you will be in charge of these hundred households."

"Hundred households."

"Yes, we have to select ten heads of households, and someone will tell you what to do. Just go ahead!"

This was the first time Murong Chi heard of such a thing. He didn't dare to ask for details. He just nodded, took the food and token, thanked Tian Zili, and turned to leave.

The next person to come was a young man.

The young man bowed and greeted Tian Zili.

Tian Zili narrowed his eyes and looked at him, "Sun Jihu, can you read?"

"Ah."

“Write your name.”

The young man hurriedly picked up the pen and started writing. After he finished writing, he quickly stood up and bowed again.

Tian Zili lowered his head, looked at the name, and suddenly laughed, "Come on, write the word Wuchuan again."

The young man was stunned, "Sir, I..."

"Hahaha, your handwriting is so awkward, how can you be a person who can read? I'm afraid you learned how to write your name from someone else and came here to collect food?"

The young man was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and shouted, "Official, please spare my life!"

"That's clever. How about this? Go learn the characters first, and then I'll use you after you've learned them!"

"Thank you, sir."

Tian Zili was busy when someone suddenly ran over in a hurry, "Mr. Tian, ​​the general wants you to go to the office immediately."

Tian Zili was stunned, and quickly stood up, handed the things in his hands to others, and left in a hurry.

The clerks in the parade ground are still busy.

Tian Zili hurried to the door of the government office, but found that Yao Xiong was already waiting for him there.

Seeing Tian Zili, Yao Xiong was overjoyed and hurried forward, "You are finally here, brother is waiting for us!"

"Why don't you go in?"

"Who knows whether it will be a good thing or a bad thing? If I go in with you, even if it is a bad thing, there will be someone to share it with."

Tian Zili ignored the reckless man and asked the soldier to go in and report.

Yao Xiong said: "You are living comfortably. You just sit in the training ground and don't have to go anywhere. You are so comfortable."

“Oh, it’s not easy.”

"In the past, the garrison commander sold literate people in the city, which made them very scared. They were afraid that we would trick them out and sell them. It was because my brother had a very good reputation at the time."

As the two were talking, a soldier came out and asked them to go in immediately.

Wei Jiong took another sip of tea and saw two people walk into the house.

One of them was tall and had blue eyes, undoubtedly a Khitan. The other one looked very capable, thin and strong.

Liu Taozi motioned for the two of them to sit next to her, then looked at Wei Jiong, "Please continue."

Wei Jiong then slowly opened his mouth.

"This Tianle Temple is the largest temple in Shuozhou. It was built not long ago, but it is very famous. Every year, many people come from Jinyang and even Yecheng. The volume of the Daji Yuezang Sutra written by Emperor Wenxuan is here. Every year, there are rewards and expansion every year. At present, most of the arable land in Guangning is in their hands. The nobles from Huaishuo and Wuchuan have arranged the ancestral tablets here and asked the great virtues in the temple to chant sutras for them."

"Their host is Master Zhichang. It is said that he has great supernatural powers. The nobles of Jinyang often give him large sums of money to fulfill their wishes."

Wei Jiong told the story seriously, and the three people sitting in front of him listened very attentively.

Wei Jiong did not mind the trouble and, while drinking tea, he carefully described the scale, background, wealth, power, etc. of Tianle Temple.

After talking for a long time, the two men stood up and were seen whispering something to Liu Taozi, then turned and left.

Liu Taozi took a sip of tea and said, "Please continue."

Given the current weather, Wei Jiong couldn't travel any further, so he didn't worry. He ordered some good tea and sat down to tell Liu Taozi about the many temples on the border, which were no longer limited to Tianle Temple or even the border.

Gao Huan respected Buddhism, and Gao Yang respected it even more. When Gao Yang was in power, he rewarded these temples many times. At the same time, he conscripted a large number of laborers to build Buddha statues and create murals, which cost a lot. He used the cries and blood of these laborers to build one bright and beautiful temple after another. The Buddha statues sat in them, holding flowers and smiling, but they overwhelmed countless ordinary families.

The entire Da Qi has become a paradise for these fat monks, with more than 40,000 temples and more than 2 million monks and nuns.

They did not engage in farming, did not pay taxes, but recited Buddhist scriptures and chanted Buddhist scriptures. They owned a large number of tenants and occupied vast arable land, but they directly distributed the tribute to ordinary people.

Even Wei Jiong had some pity in his eyes when he talked about these things.

"I believe in Buddhism myself, but what these monks did is not like that of monks, but more like bandits."

Wei Jiong stopped and looked outside. Some soldiers had lit candles and it was already pitch black outside.

"How miserable are the people of the world?"

Liu Taozi looked at him and asked, "Does the governor also know the sufferings of the people?"

"Hahaha, what can we do even if we know? The people who petitioned His Majesty to stop building the Buddhist temple are now missing."

Wei Jiong smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Anyway, I have told the general everything I know. As for whether the general wants to take it and how to take it, the general has the final say. I will not interfere."

He stood up, his face full of fatigue. Liu Taozi finally stopped stopping him. He said goodbye to Liu Taozi, and a soldier took him to a temporary residence.

Sitting in the room, Wei Jiong looked at the darkness outside and suddenly he no longer felt sleepy.

The country is in danger, but the nobles in the court are only thinking about making money, and the generals are only thinking about military merit. A useless person like me can only live an ordinary life every day, neither up nor down, like living, but also like dead.

"Hey! Ah!"

Wei Jiong woke up with a start. He sat up and looked around.

The sun was a little dazzling, Wei Jiong put on his clothes hurriedly, listening to the noise outside, a little surprised.

He lives next to the government office. How could anyone dare to make a noise here?
He pushed open the door. There were several confidants in the courtyard, all leaning against the wall to watch. Wei Jiong was a little angry, "Come down! If you want to watch, why don't you go out and watch?!"

Those people came down one after another, Wei Jiong pushed open the door and walked to the main road.

The road was particularly busy at this moment. Knights were seen escorting things towards the government office. They were endless and almost occupied the entire road.

Wei Jiong looked at the scene in astonishment, looked around, and finally found an acquaintance in the crowd.

That person was the Hu man that Liu Taozi had called in yesterday. The Hu man was riding a horse and shouting something to the knights.

Wei Jiong walked quickly to the man's side, "Sir, what happened to Wuchuan?"

Yao Xiong turned around and saw his brother's distinguished guest. He immediately got off his horse with a smile and shook the thing in his hand, "Look!"

Wei Jiong took a closer look and realized that the other person was holding a bloody head. He quickly stepped back and asked, "What happened?!"

"Don't you recognize him? This is the Zhichang you mentioned last night."

Wei Jiong took another look and saw that it was indeed the head of a Hu monk.

At this moment, Wei Jiong's whole body was stiff and his mind was blank.

Yao Xiong smiled and said, "After listening to you last night, we went to Tianle Temple. You were right! They are really a bunch of villains!!"

"Do you know? That great abbot, who is known as a high-ranking monk, actually keeps more than a hundred women in his backyard, and more than half of them were taken by him. In their warehouse, hey, these people are really richer than Hui Luo!"

"I used to wonder, why is it that in such a big place, the people are so poor?"

"Now I know that in such a big place, all the money is in the hands of people like Hui Luo and Zhi Chang!"

Yao Xiong was quite excited at this moment. The money, food, land deeds and the like that he had seized this time were enough to solve their current major problems. He looked at Wei Jiong in front of him and felt that this man was kind and amiable, and he wanted to give him a big hug.

Wei Jiong just stood there in a daze, watching these knights slowly moving forward carrying human heads, grain carts, and all kinds of supplies.

"Kill them all?"

"Those who resisted were killed, and those who didn't were left to till the land. Do you know how many tenants they had?"

Wei Jiong didn't want to know, he asked blankly: "Why did you do it?"

"Didn't you order the action?"

"No! I just said they have food. How can you attack Tianle Temple without any reason?"

Looking at the frightened Wei Jiong, Yao Xiong scratched his head, "It seems to be a rebellion, hiding armor and powerful crossbows, and saying that the black-clothed people want to destroy Da Qi, anyway, that's it."

Yao Xiong was not good at chatting, so he didn't say anything more to him and continued to be busy.

Wei Jiong stayed where he was. He was silent for a long time, his mouth trembling with greed.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulders and pulled him aside. Wei Jiong was so scared that he almost screamed. When he turned around, he saw that the person behind him was Liu Taozi.

Looking at Liu Taozi in front of him, Wei Jiong was furious, "Liu Taozi!! You!! You!!"

Liu Taozi spoke up, "Let's leave as soon as possible while no one else knows."

"Last night, Wei Jun didn't say anything, and I didn't hear anything."

"Five days ago, my scout supervisor was tracking down the fake Zhou spies and found that they were related to Tianle Temple, so he took action."

"All of this has nothing to do with you, so let's go."

Wei Jiong stood there in a daze, looking at Liu Taozi blankly, with some hesitation in his eyes.

"I swear to God that I will not implicate Lord Wei, and leave now."

Wei Jiong turned around, only to find that his back had been soaked without him noticing. Shivering, he returned to the yard, called everyone over, and with their help, he rode the horse. However, he failed to get on the horse several times and nearly fell off. His confidants were greatly alarmed, and after he finally got on the horse, Wei Jiong rode away.

The knights on the road had smiles on their faces, and they proudly talked about their victories.

Cars were lined up all the way outside the city, and the food loaded onto the cars seemed to exude a bloody smell.

Wei Jiong didn't care and ran all the way, finally rushing out of the city gate.

He rode his horse and stood at the city gate, but saw that the convoy extended all the way to a place he could not see.

Wei Jiong's expression suddenly became solemn. The horse under his crotch rubbed its hooves nervously and made muffled groans.

Liu Taozi stood in front of the government office and watched those people transporting food into the office. People in the whole city were extremely busy at this moment.

At this moment, a horse galloped towards Liu Taozi.

When the horse rushed to Liu Taozi, dozens of knights had already drawn their bows and arrows, aiming at the newcomer.

Liu Taozi looked at Wei Jiong who had turned back and signaled the knights to put down their bows and arrows.

Wei Jiong's face turned red at this moment, and he stared at Liu Taozi in front of him.

"Why?!"

"Why do you do this?"

"I told you that Tianle Temple is of great importance. You have offended Huiluo, but you have only angered those Qihu nobles."

"You attacked Tianle Temple, and you offended all the nobles in the court! Except for the Prime Minister, everyone hates you and wants to kill you. They are against you day after day. The Prime Minister can protect you for one day, but not for a thousand days!"

"You have a bright future ahead of you, but you are doing this and ruining your future. Is it worth it? Why are you doing this?!"

Facing Wei Jiong’s loud questioning.

Liu Taozi just looked at him calmly.

"How miserable the people of the world are."

On the way back, Wei Jiong seemed to have lost his soul. He walked on the road in silence and in a daze. The knights followed him and didn't know how to persuade him.

Accompanying Wei Jiong to the county town was Tian Zili.

He set out earlier and arrived at the provincial government office before Wei Jiong.

Lou Rui had just woken up and still reeked of alcohol.

He was very happy to see Tian Zili. Before he could ask more questions, Tian Zili took him to the South Courtyard.

Lou Rui was wearing only his underwear and didn't even have time to change into formal clothes before he followed Tian Zili to the South Courtyard.

"What do you want to show me? What do you want to see?"

Tian Zili pointed to the ground.

On the ground, boxes were opened one after another, and jewels were piled up like mountains, shining brightly. The entire South Courtyard could no longer hold them, which was truly dazzling.

Lou Rui was stunned. Looking at these things, he suddenly came to his senses. He grabbed Tian Zili's hand, with panic clearly flashing in his eyes. "Zili! It's not Tianle Temple? Right? It's not Tianle Temple?"

Tian Zili bowed his head towards him and said, "Lord Lou is indeed as good as a god. This is exactly the stolen goods from Tianle Temple."

"Ouch!!"

Lou Rui screamed, and then he jumped up in fear.

"What a disaster! What a disaster! It's over! It's over! My Ye Ye's spirit tablet is enshrined in Tianle Temple!!"

"It's over. I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!!"

Tian Zili hurriedly said, "Lou Gong, the evidence is complete."

"What the hell is this?"

"I'm about to be killed by you guys, and you can take this? You think this is Chongguang Temple?"

Tian Zili said solemnly: "My general has said that if Lord Lou finds it difficult to deal with, my general will tie himself up now and let Lord Lou send him to Yecheng for punishment."

Lou Rui slowly looked at the treasures piled on the ground.

His expression gradually became obsessed, and a different light flashed in his eyes.

"He's already dead, what's the point of talking about his fate?"

"Colluding with the fake Zhou?"

"Yes, they colluded with the Pseudo-Zhou and attempted rebellion. The evidence is complete."

"You guys go out and wait for me!!"

Lou Rui waved his hand.

Tian Zili led everyone out and closed the door.

Lou Rui walked forward slowly and gently stroked these treasures that were casually placed on the ground. He stroked them one by one, and his eyes became more and more blurred, as if he was looking at his lover.

I don’t know how much time had passed before Lou Rui opened the door and walked out.

Tian Zili hurried forward to pay his respects.

"Lou Gong!!"

Lou Rui pursed his lips and said, "I will be killed by these treasures sooner or later. You have caused me so much trouble."

"Go back and tell Zhizhi to get more evidence and witnesses. The more the better. I will write the petition myself."

"Never again."

Lou Rui slowly looked towards Tian Zili.

There was a wolfish green light in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)