The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 502 Maitreya Buddha will arrive in Thonburi

Qi Lin, Zhang Zhengmo, Nie Jieren, Yao Zhifu, Xu Tiande, if someone who is familiar with the historical White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan and Hubei is here, he will be able to see the value of these people.

Among them are veterans like Yao Zhifu, who was around 40 years old when the uprising started and is now in his twenties, and young people like Qi Lin and Xu Tiande, who were in their thirties when the uprising started and are now around twenty years old.

Oh, that’s not right. In history, Qi Lin was reported before he could start the uprising, and was arrested and executed by the Qing government. The one who started the uprising on his behalf was his wife and Saint Queen Wang Cong’er.

Looking at these people, I look at you and I find that a core figure is missing, the leader of Hunyuan Sect, Song Zhiqing.

Then they didn't feel that surprised. Among so many people, only the leader Song Zhiqing was a true believer who regarded himself as the spokesperson of the Mother of No Birth in the mortal world.

As for the others, Zhang Zhengmo was a wealthy businessman in Yidu, and his family was known to be the richest in Yidu County; Nie Jieren was a big landlord in Yidu County; and the Qi Lin family had been clerks in Xiangyang for generations. These people were all local figures who had connections in both the black and white worlds.

Although they are nothing in the eyes of real big shots, they are definitely not something that ordinary people at the bottom can't survive.

They initially joined the cult in order to perform tricks to cheat people out of their money, or to facilitate their careers. Eventually, as their strength grew, they gradually became unwilling to continue to stay at the bottom.

To put it bluntly, they are local heroes whose upward path is blocked by the imperial examination system. Some of them are willing to stay in the middle and lower classes all their lives, while others are not.

Among them, the only one who came from a poor background was probably Yao Zhifu.

Only this elder brother and his family fled from Nanyang, Henan. After his parents, brothers and sisters starved to death one after another, he joined the church by chance. Because he was a righteous man, he won the support of the lower-class people and thus climbed to the top of the church.

Now that the imperial court wants to recruit people, people like Song Zhiqing who are truly involved in cults will naturally be doomed to die, but people like them still have some value in being used.

These people stayed in the scorching sun for more than an hour, and no one came to greet them. When they were almost unable to hold on, they heard the sound of horse hooves in the front and a flying horse in golden armor came to announce them.

"General of the Cavalry, Duke of Shuofang, Governor-General of the Three Provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, Superintendent of the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu Armies, and Commander-in-Chief of the Four Yong Army of the Xingtang Camp in Beijing, and Commandant of the Princess of Yue, Li Gong Xianwen, has arrived."

This long list of names immediately intimidated the group of local leopards. Then Li Xianwen arrived on horseback, escorted by two hundred European-style cuirassier cavalry and four hundred Chinese-style cotton-armored cavalry.

These six hundred cavalrymen were dressed in bright armor, riding on fine horses, and the sabers in their hands flashed with cold light, looking as majestic as they could be.

So when Li Xianwen just dismounted, Qi Lin and the others, who were completely shocked, fell to the ground and shouted in unison: "Greetings, Duke of the County!"

Li Xianwen nodded and said with satisfaction: "Come in!"

After bringing this group of people into the Chongqing government office, Li Xianwen was not very arrogant and said to them very calmly:

"Twenty years ago, I, Li Xianwen, was just like you, worshipping the Mother of No Birth. So there's no need to tell you any more nonsense. You know who I am, and I know your details, too."

"Your Highness is right, we are all family, we are all family." After hearing what Li Xianwen said, these coaches quickly came out to express their opinions.

"It's good to know that he's one of us. As for me, I won't beat around the bush with you. Everyone has heard about what happened to Coach Liu, right?

The court's intention, your majesty's intention, is that you should organize the capable believers below you and go to Shaanxi and Gansu to cross streams and traverse mountains and seas. If you do a good job, you will be rewarded with official hats and good land."

The Coach Liu that Li Xianwen mentioned was Liu Song, the founder of the Hunyuan Sect. The Qing government arrested him a few years ago, but did not realize the danger he posed and thought he was just an ordinary member of the White Lotus Sect. Little did they know that he was the founder of the Hunyuan Sect.

So they simply exiled Liu Song to Longde, Pingliang Prefecture, Gansu (Guyuan, Ningxia) and did not impose too many restrictions on him.

Of course, the reality of Pingliang Prefecture also dealt a heavy blow to Liu Song. Just when he thought he had escaped, he discovered when he arrived at the local area that the space for missionary work had long been blocked by the Muslim sect.

Liu Song was detained in Delong and performed desperately for a year, but he failed to attract many believers. So he kept asking Song Zhiqing and others in Xiangyang to find a way to help him return to the Central Plains to preach.

So when they heard what Li Xianwen said, Qi Lin, Zhang Zhengmo, Yao Zhifu and others couldn't help but look at each other. It was obvious that the court wanted to use them as pawns.

Because the imperial power did not extend to the countryside, the court could defeat the Muslim rebels entrenched in the northwest, but it was absolutely impossible to completely eliminate those hiding among the people.

To accomplish this, they had to go out into the countryside and search the mountains and seas to clear it out bit by bit.

This job is not easy!
However, if it is really done, the benefits will be huge.

"In the next few days, you can enjoy yourself in Chongqing Prefecture, and then report to the court the core believers you can take away. The court will train you.

In addition, those miscellaneous doctrines should not be spread everywhere.

You can talk about Baiyang, Hongyang, Qingyang, and the Blood Lake Hell, but don’t talk about the birth of Niu Ba anymore.

As for the specific teachings, the court will appoint the Great Awakening, Broad Virtue, and Puji Master to gather all the eminent monks of the White Lotus Sect to discuss them with you."

As for the White Lotus Sect, they mixed a little bit of everything. In addition to using past and future doomsday theories like Bai Yang and Hong Yang, they also played the card of anti-Qing and restoration of Ming.

Niu Ba is the word Zhu split apart. Whenever someone preaches, they often claim that they have discovered the reincarnation of Niu Ba, and that following them can create a peaceful and prosperous era.

After these White Lotus Sect leaders left, Zheng Xin, wearing a monk's robe and with bright eyes, walked out from behind the screen.

This person's status was too high, so Li Xianwen had to take the initiative to greet him as a junior, "Master, do you think these people can accomplish anything?"

Zheng Xin chuckled, "They look a bit like falcon lackeys, but they lack a leader."

As he spoke, Zheng Xin suddenly took out a scripture from his wide monk's robe, gently placed it on the table, and then turned around and asked:

"You are now in charge of the Northwest. What instructions does the Emperor have? He has always had a long-term vision and must have different views on Northwest affairs." Li Xianwen extended his hand for Zheng Xin to sit down, then replied, "His Majesty said that the reason why there are so many Muslims in the Northwest, and even in Xi'an, is that the fundamental reason is that we Han people have lost our ethnic status."

"Oh, I haven't heard of that. Tell me what the emperor has to say."

Zheng Xin's face was full of curiosity. He admired Mo Zibu's vision and was even a little bit in awe of it.

“The emperor said that the northwest has been in constant turmoil since the end of the Ming Dynasty. For example, my ancestor, Emperor Yongchang, all rose to power in the northwest.

During these thirty years, they fought across the country, taking away most of the elite men in northern Shaanxi and causing the Han people in the northwest to lose their territory for a time.

Afterwards, Shaanxi and Gansu experienced repeated battles. The heroic swordsmen in the countryside either died or joined the army and left to eat food. The rural clans were also dispersed. This was the second loss.

By the time the Qing Dynasty established its rule, the Han people in the northwest were not only severely weakened, but also became a people of money. At the same time, the clans that were responsible for maintaining the countryside had almost disappeared.

If the Muslims came again at this time, the powerful ones would have already died or fled, and the mediocre ones had no clans to organize themselves, so how could they have the ability to resist?

After a hundred years of repeated washing, those who accept it can survive, while those who don't accept it are ostracized and suffer everywhere. How many people can still persist in not believing it?"

"There is some truth to that." Zheng Xin nodded. He was born in Chaoshan, where the clan atmosphere is the strongest, so he naturally knew the role of clans in the countryside.

In fact, it is not only the northwest, but also the same in Henan and Hebei. The strong suppression of the Qing Dynasty caused the clans to lose their vitality, and other gray forces filled in.

However, the Mesopotamia was the heartland of the Central Plains after all, so the Muslim sect did not infiltrate it. Instead, it was replaced by various bizarre White Lotus sects.

All of this is due to the fact that clan, village covenant and other forces were broken up in advance, but the government's governance capabilities did not reach the grassroots level in a timely manner.

Therefore, Zheng Xin sighed, "I had no idea when I was in Southeast Asia. It was only when I returned to Tangshan that I realized how much oppression we Han people had suffered.

For example, in the northwest, the Han people are just penny-pinchers, without any honor or dignity.

If you believe in Islam, there are always a few imams to take charge and gather everyone together, so that you can unite and fight against problems when they arise.

In contrast, more people naturally joined the religion in order to make their wives and children live a more comfortable life. After reciting the religion for ten or twenty years, they forgot about their ancestors and the imperial court.

For a moment, the air was silent. Both of them realized the core of the problem. It would be difficult to completely resolve the situation by force alone. The spiritual void must also be filled.

"Your Majesty also said that since the end of the Tang Dynasty, trade routes in the northwest have been cut off and it has gradually become a dead end. Not to mention comparing it with Jiangnan and Lingnan, it is even inferior to the Central Plains and Huguang.

This man was poor, and his living environment was harsh. In his pain and numbness, he always wanted to find some spiritual sustenance. So, even though he knew that the White Lotus Sect was not very safe, he was willing to let these people go there to preach for the sake of stability.

Zheng Xin nodded and said in agreement, "There's nothing we can do about it. One is a deadly poison that's about to kill you, and while the other isn't a good thing either, there's always a chance of reversing the situation."

After saying that, Zheng Xin suddenly patted the scriptures he had just placed on the table, and the expression on his face became very sacred in an instant.

"When I was in Taiping, I often received guidance from the Buddha in my dreams, saying that I was the future Buddha. Since then, I have always believed that I should be in Southeast Asia, but I did not expect that I would be in the northwest.

I think that in my dream that day, the Buddha allowed me to sit on the lotus platform in the northwest direction and ordered me to study the scriptures again so that I could achieve enlightenment. I think there was something in his meaning, but it’s a pity that I didn’t understand it at that time.

Fortunately, I have been reading Laozi's Huahu Jing more recently, and the emperor also recommended it to me. Suddenly, I had an epiphany and my eyes were opened.

Suddenly I remembered that on that day, a golden Buddha appeared to the south of the lotus platform. I thought that the Buddha had granted me a great opportunity and ordered the golden Buddha to wait in the south. I should take it.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Xin chanted a Buddhist mantra and asked a guard at the door, "Are there any famous mountains south of Chongqing?"

The guard was stunned, his eyes suddenly widening, and he blurted out involuntarily, "One hundred and fifty miles south of here, there is a Golden Buddha Mountain. The locals once said that this mountain was transformed by Buddha, and that ten thousand-foot golden Buddhas often appear in the world."

"Hahahaha!" Zheng Xin laughed and sang loudly: "Looking at the Golden Buddha Mountain in the morning, looking at the Golden Buddha Mountain in the evening, the golden Buddha is so tall and majestic, among the misty clouds." He walked straight down.

This scene shocked Li Xianwen. At this time, Mo Hui, wearing a men's Taoist robe, walked out from the corner and stared at Zheng Xin's back.

"King Zheng still can't let go. He can't be a king in the mortal world, but he wants to be the king of the immortal world. It seems like he wants to be the Maitreya Buddha incarnate!"

Li Xianwen stroked his chin and took a deep breath. "I did hear that during the Taiping period, King Zheng forced all the major temples to recognize him as the future Buddha. He also said that his blood was white and not human. Could this really be true?"

"Send the 800-li flying cavalry to report to His Majesty, and let His Majesty make the decision personally.

If His Majesty agrees, he will definitely order Buddhist monks and Taoist masters from all over the country to go to Jinfo Mountain to build momentum.

If you don't agree, then take King Zheng back to Zhoushan as soon as possible. This king is really capable of making trouble."

After hearing what Mo Hui said, Li Xianwen did not delay and immediately stood up to prepare to write a secret report. This matter was indeed not something he could decide, and he had to see the emperor's intentions.

Looking at Mo Hui outside the door, he suddenly whispered in Li Xianwen's ear: "It's really lively, but it's a good thing the queen can't have children, otherwise the court would be trembling if the eldest son and the second son started fighting."

After Li Xianwen finished listening to this, a drop of ink as big as a bean fell onto the paper. He quickly changed a piece of paper and rewrote it.

Queen Zheng Shishi is indeed infertile, but there is still Zheng Susu as a substitute. As expected, few people can be open-minded about fame and fortune.

(End of this chapter)