Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 435 It’s Difficult, Difficult as Heaven
Although the governor of Hongzhou seemed to have been promoted in the past two years, he himself knew best how frustrated he was. Because of General Wang's trouble, the original 120,000 troops in Henan Province have been reduced to a certain number. No one would believe it if he told them.

Eight hundred! Eight hundred people!

In other words, the governor of Hongzhou was indeed a third-rank provincial governor, but there were only 800 people left in his camp, which was even less than the number of soldiers he led long ago.

But what else can he do? The eight hundred men have to be given to him because of his loyalty, otherwise they would not even give him these eight hundred men.

"Brother, it's not that I don't want to lend you soldiers. We two brothers have fought for our lives together. I can't do the empty things that those civil servants do. I really have no one here. There are only 800 people who are responsible for the city defense. I am in this position now, and I am neither up nor down. Others don't know how good I am, but God knows how many eyes are staring at me."

When others said this, Xia Lin was somewhat skeptical, but he believed what Hongzhou Mu said. This guy was a very honest person, and there were really only 800 people in the Luoyang camp, and they were all old, weak and disabled soldiers.

In fact, the reason is very simple. People in the court were all eagerly waiting for the reduction of military power. If it weren't for the warlords from all over the country waiting there with spears in their hands, the military power would have been gradually taken back to the court. But the problem was that Hongzhou Mu came to power at the wrong time. He came to power after Wang Shichong rebelled. Naturally, the civil service group would try every means to reduce his military power.

This matter was legitimate, and it was an open conspiracy that was punishable by death whether he advanced or retreated. If he did not hand over the troops, people in the court would say, "Look, everyone, these people should not have soldiers in their hands." And if he handed over the military power, he would actually be just a yes-man in the court. He had power but it was limited. Without military power, he would not be able to hold his head high when talking to other provincial governors.

"This matter is indeed difficult to handle. I just mentioned it casually and didn't really plan to tell my brother about it."

"Even if you don't say anything, I have to explain it to you first. Don't let this hurt the relationship between brothers. I don't know how to pronounce words, but I know that the way to get around the world is to rely on loyalty. So, brother, do you have any ideas? You have read a lot and have an active mind. If there is a way, I will definitely help you."

Xia Lin waved his hand: "Of course I understand what you mean, brother, but I have thought about it carefully and it is indeed not easy for you to do it. Luoyang is already occupied by powerful people. The destruction of Buddhism is almost equivalent to cutting off their financial resources. It's okay for me to rush in recklessly, but if you come forward, they will have their own ways to deal with you."

The current Wei Dynasty may seem calm, but in fact the waves hidden beneath the water have reached the point where anyone who dives in will be submerged. The power of the emperor, the power of the prime minister, the civil power, the military power, the local tyrants, and the central court have already become a mess. Whoever drops out first will be the first to be dealt with at this moment.

The calm is not real calm, it's just the storm accumulating energy. From now on, there are only two things left before the chaos breaks out. One is the collapse of the Dinghai Shenzhen, and the other is someone firing a shot for no reason.

Everyone wants to be the one who finishes something, but how many want to be the one who starts it?

But this would make it difficult for Xia Lin to carry out his work. Henan Province was originally a place where Buddhism was prevalent. To say the least, there was a temple every three steps and a nunnery every five steps was an understatement. Moreover, one of the aftereffects of Emperor Hongbao's belief in Buddhism was a broad mass base.

As for the destruction of Buddhism, Xia Lin believes that he will face three waves of impact. The first wave is the spontaneous resistance of ordinary believers. This is relatively simple. It is nothing more than a change in the direction of public opinion. Only three or four events are needed to shake the foundation of faith.

The second wave of impact was on the local wealthy families who had connections with the temples. After all, for them, the temples making money was the safest and most secure way of saving money, so most of the local wealthy people had very deep connections with the temples.

When their interests are affected, armed conflict is bound to occur.

The third wave is the temples themselves. Some temples have tens of thousands or even more monks, and these monks themselves are fighting forces.

At that time, they would most likely send out the entire monk army to mix with the local private armed forces. The number of people in the two groups would be over 100,000, and the number of people Xia Lin had was really not enough.

"Brother, I'm not trying to discourage you. You are here to do this. If you succeed, people won't say anything good about you. But if you fail, something bad will happen. You have to be prepared for this battle."

Hongzhou Mu said to Xia Lin earnestly: "At the moment, you and your people are like a drop in the bucket facing the vast forces in the Central Plains."

At this moment, Dugu Han spoke up: "What if I help him?"

"Brother Dugu, don't talk about your Dugu family. Judging from the current situation, unless His Majesty comes in person, even the emperor can't do it. Even Li Yuan is a little afraid, not to mention my brother Xia. No matter how powerful your Dugu family is, can it be stronger than the family that has been entrenched in the Central Plains for more than 2,000 years? Your family is just a new noble that depends on the Tuoba family."

The provincial governor still spoke with some toughness. Others would not dare to say that, but he felt no pressure at all when he said it.

Xia Lin held the wine glass beside him but did not drink. He just pursed his lips and remained silent for a long time: "Buddhism has seven or eight out of ten of the world's wealth. This matter must be done."

"That's hard, bro."

It's difficult, it is difficult. But difficulty is meaningful. Xia Lin is thinking about how to complete all the tasks that the Three Martial Arts and One Sect should have done at one time.

"Oh, brother, let me check the number of monks. I checked for you. In the whole Jiangbei area, there are more than 300 million monks and nuns, and more than 4 temples. Monks and nuns do not engage in production, and they pay less tax by about million taels of silver each year. In addition, temples have annexed a large amount of land. The largest temple has nearly acres of land."

Even Dugu Han was shocked when he heard this number. You have to know that these are just the numbers on the surface. If you take out the real numbers, it will be terrifying.

"It looks like you really have a tough battle to fight here."

Hearing Dugu Han's words, Xia Lin stood up and walked around the room with his hands behind his back: "If we want to do this, we have to do it quickly, accurately, steadily and ruthlessly, catching everyone off guard. I need a place to start. Brother Hong, let me ask you, where is the worst situation in Henan Province?" "That must be Xingzhou, which is now Zzhou. There are more temples than government offices, more tenants than farmers, and more monks than civilians. Do you know what people call it?"

"what?"

Hongzhou Mu narrowed his eyes and slowly uttered two words: "Buddhist Kingdom."

When it comes to the word "Buddhist country", the governor of Hongzhou gritted his teeth. He really hated this damn place. Normally, the population there is the largest in Henan Province, and the tax revenue should also be the highest, but the problem is that there are too many monks there. The monks took the land, and the farmers who lost their land turned into tenants. The tenants did not pay taxes, and the monks and nuns were also exempt from taxes. Last year, such a large place paid less than 200,000 taels of tax, a total of 75,110 taels.

Seventy thousand taels, the tax revenue for one place is seventy thousand taels, and they still have to rely on the road officials to build bridges and roads for them, and to open up mountains and fill up rivers. Isn't that just sucking their blood?

"It's so serious."

Xia Lin frowned and pondered for a long time, then shook his head gently: "I'm afraid it's impossible to get it right away if I start to bite the hard bone."

At this moment, Xiao Douya clapped his hands and laughed: "Finally, you have a difficult time!"

"I'm not a god. Everyone has troubles sometimes."

But after he finished speaking, he sat down again and said, "Let's surround the city from the countryside. I will first take over some small places around it, and then slowly connect the dots into a surface."

"What are you going to do, brother?"

"I'll walk around and take a look first, and then make plans after I understand the details."

"Alright."

Of course, Xia Lin couldn't start working right away. Things were still unclear and the situation in the entire Henan Province was too complicated. So he could only rest for a few days and then think about whether he could solve the problem in the safest way.

When he returned to Luoyang, his identity changed again. Walking on the once familiar streets, Xia Lin felt as if he was in another world.

When they came to Xu Ji Baozi Shop again, the boss was still the same boss, and the storefront seemed to have been renovated. Xiao Douya stood there looking at it for a long time, but said frankly that he had no appetite to eat the food here. On the contrary, Zhuo Heng finished eight dumplings in one breath before stopping.

"Old Zhang and I used to work in this restaurant. We could take some of the leftovers from the guests back home to eat. If someone held a banquet in the restaurant, it would be the New Year."

Xia Lin pointed out his past trajectory bit by bit to the people around him. He did not cover up his past like those people who came from poor families. Instead, he regarded all of this as his glory.

It is already after the Mid-Autumn Festival and the weather is getting colder. Although this year is much better than previous years, the chill will come with the autumn wind. After all, there are no carbon emissions and no heat island effect, and the temperature difference here is frighteningly large.

"Do you still have the heart to hang around here? Are you really not going to do this?"

Dugu Han asked curiously, "I thought about it all night last night, but I couldn't think of a way to break the impasse."

"That's because you can't." Xia Lin gathered his sleeves and walked forward: "Let's go sweep the grave of my sister Chunhua first, then I'll show you where I used to live."

"Sister Chunhua? Where did you come from, Sister Chunhua?"

"This is a long story." Xia Lin raised his head and smiled: "I will talk to you while we walk."

As they walked, Xia Lin brought them to where he used to live. It was really different now than it was back then.

When everyone knew that this was where Xia Lin came from, this area was bought by local wealthy families and turned into an academy. The old neighbors who lived here before also had good prospects. Some took the money and went out to do business, some returned to their hometown and rented land to live a stable life, and some still lived nearby, but now they have become successful because of Xia Lin, and many of them are doing really well.

But his old house was not demolished and no one dared to do so. After taking out the key, unlocking the door and going in, it was obvious that the inside had been renovated, and there might even be someone coming to clean it regularly. The original furnishings and layout remained unchanged, but the things looked very new.

"Did you live in such a shabby place before?"

Dugu Han covered his nose and refused to go in: "How on earth did you get from a place like this to the Golden Throne Hall?"
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I had to look after my son today and there was nothing I could do. I will make it up to you all tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)