Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 255, Expelling Buddhas and Guiding Taoism

As Lin Lin had predicted, Xu Shaobao led over a thousand followers to abandon the city and flee the following day.

Lin Lin slammed his fist on the table in anger.

He guessed that Xu Shaobao must have fled to Shaoxing, so he offered another suggestion, requesting to lead men to pursue and intercept him by waterway.

Wei Xing refused again after hearing this, saying:

"To avoid falling into an ambush, we must not act rashly. Let me write a battle report for the general before making a decision."

As he spoke, Wei Xing wrote down the battle report.

In his battle report, he highly praised the achievements of his generals, including Lin Linxian's fire attack plan, which he did not conceal at all.

He asked Fang Yong for instructions: Now that Hangzhou has been captured, Xu Shaobao is too cunning and has escaped in advance. Should they pursue him?
At the same time, Wei Xing also requested Fang Yong to send a large amount of grain and officials...

Lin Lin didn't know the contents of the battle report written by Wei Xing; he just felt that Wei Xing was simply unreasonable.

Xu Shaobao only led a little over a thousand men in a chaotic escape. What could he possibly ambush? And how could he ambush them?

At that time, the grassland.

Dorrey reluctantly agreed to Fang Yong's terms.

Xue Ke watched with a smile as Dorrey signed the agreement.

In the agreement, Fang Yong was required to send troops to help Dore seize the throne of the Great Khan.

Dorei, in turn, was required to provide Fang Yong with 50,000 sheep, 20,000 horses, and 10,000 cattle annually.

At the same time, in the name of the Great Khan, Dore will also give Fang Yong a hundred-mile territory on the grassland from Yinshan to Daihai free of charge, to be used to build a city for the common prosperity of the grassland and Zhongxia, where Fang Yong will have the right to permanently station troops.

Furthermore, Dore was to send his sister, Imin, to Fang Yong in marriage as a testament to their friendly alliance. And once Dore became Khan, he was to send his sons to the capital as hostages…

It's fair to say that Dore has agreed to every condition he could.

Dorrey was now at his wit's end.

The Adil tribe had recently decided to reconcile with Tuolei and hand him over to Tuolei in order to end the war.

Dorrey had no way out; his only chance was to rely on Fang Yonglai to turn the tide.

This is his only hope.

Xue Ke seized upon this point. Coming from a merchant family, he exploited it to the extreme, making Dorrey agree to almost any condition he could.

Finally, an agreement was reached, and Xue Ke returned home satisfied.

"Send troops over here quickly!"

Dore gave his instructions.

Seven days later will be the re-alliance ceremony between the Adil tribe and the Abuka tribe.

He'll be given to Tuolei as a gift, and then everything will be over.

Xue Ke smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dorei Khan."

Dore was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then his heart leaped with joy, as if he could already see the day he would become the Great Khan.

If I could really become the Great Khan, those conditions wouldn't be impossible...

Beijing.

Another grand court assembly was convened.

Unlike in the past, the atmosphere at this grand assembly was somewhat tense.

First, Mao Cheng surrendered, and Ma Laohei led his troops back to Beijing.

The Huaiyin Army's power increased further.

Cheng Fan thought he had the victory in his grasp after Mao Cheng surrendered, since he had played a significant role in Mao Cheng's surrender.

He thought so.

However, Fang Yong ruthlessly chose to discard the useful tool after it had served its purpose.

Among the two lists of Grand Councilors announced, one is Meng Shen and the other is King Zhongshun.

Cheng Fan's name was not mentioned.

With Cheng Fan out of power, officials from the same faction as him were all in turmoil.

Cheng Fan did not react on the spot; he even congratulated Meng Shen and Prince Zhongshun, but what he was really thinking remained unknown. In addition to the Grand Councilors, Jia She was appointed Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

This is a very special position.

Their power can be great or small.

Shuntian Prefecture was responsible for many affairs in the capital, including civil administration, public security, and the judiciary.

Broadly speaking, apart from the Forbidden City, all affairs in the capital were under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture.

However, in reality, families in the capital were either very wealthy or of high social standing.

Generally speaking, the Shuntian Prefecture could not handle cases involving powerful and influential people; it could only mediate among the crowd and act as a scapegoat.

Jia She's sudden promotion to this position is clearly a very obvious signal, and many people realize that Fang Yong is about to take action against the officials in the capital.

I just don't know how strong or weak this attack will be, and how to deal with it...

In addition, Jia Lian was promoted to the position of Grain Commissioner of Shanxi, Wang Xifeng was granted the title of Fourth-Rank Imperial Lady, and Jia Rong, Liu Xianglian, and Feng Ziying were transferred to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, etc.

These are minor things that basically no one pays attention to.

Most people's attention was focused on Meng Shen and Prince Zhongshun, who had entered the Grand Council, with perhaps Jia She added as well.

Promotion or demotion in official rank represents not only a change in authority, but more importantly, a division of profits.

With Meng Shen and King Zhongshun rising to the position of Grand Councilors, the officials behind them naturally benefited as well.

Correspondingly, resources are limited in total. If you drink more, others will drink less, and the struggle will naturally begin.

Fang Yong silently watched as these corrupt officials fought amongst themselves.

The fiercer the fight, the better.

He planned to start with Cheng Fan, taking back the grain distribution channels controlled by the Cheng family to the state, which is why he promoted Jia Lian to the position of Grain Storage Commissioner of Shanxi.

This was his recognition of Jia Lian's abilities, and had nothing to do with Wang Xifeng.

It would be best if the Cheng family knew what was good for them; otherwise, they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless and heartless.

As for Prince Zhongshun and Meng Shen, they are Fang Yongfang's open targets. Once the Cheng family is brought down, it will be their turn.

Besides the eerie and scheming atmosphere in the imperial court, there was another matter: Fang Yong's previous use of a pretext to arrest all the monks and Taoists in the city.

Fang Yong didn't take this matter seriously at first.

After all, they were just a few monks and Taoist priests.

However, to Fang Yong's surprise, there were an absurdly large number of monks near the capital.

The number of monks alone exceeded 40,000. Among them, some chose to disobey orders and clashed with Fang Yong's army. If Fang Yong's army had not been so powerful, it is feared that these monks would not have been able to be stopped in time.

The number of Taoist priests is relatively small, only a little over six thousand, but it's still a bit too many.

Keep in mind, this is only some areas near the capital!

In times of chaos and famine, do people who can't survive all become monks?
How can that be done!

Monks don't pay taxes, don't marry, and don't respect the law. If there are a few of them, it's acceptable, but if there are too many, they will become a huge cancer in society!

How could Fang Yong accept such a thing?
Of course, some of these monks and Taoists must be genuine practitioners.

Transcend worldly concerns and cultivate one's true nature.

Fang Yong also admired these people.

However, in reality, it is inevitable that there are very few true cultivators, while those who steal fame and fortune flaunt themselves in the marketplace.

Fang Yong himself was a person who "respected the Taoist patriarch and believed in the Buddha," and it was precisely for this reason that he could not allow anyone to tarnish the faith in his heart.

He decided to find a place for these monks and Taoist priests to test their devotion to Buddhism and Taoism.

There's a saying that goes, "Labor is the most glorious thing."

Coincidentally, Fang Yong planned to build a road on this section of the road between Datong and the grassland, and then build a city between Yinshan and Daihai.

Cities can't be built out of thin air.

That depends on the efforts of Buddha and Taoism.

(End of this chapter)