The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 223 The Temple of Movable Type (3k)

Five days later, a cavalry brigade, carrying the imperial flag, escorted the old general and galloped all the way to the Lock Dragon Well.

Here, the old general, who had rushed here day and night from Hansong Mountain as soon as he received the notice, only had time to glance at the densely packed, chaotic army camps all around him.

He then took a deep breath and said to the person who had come:

"I am Xiao Jing, personally appointed by the imperial court as the Grand General Who Guards the South and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Southwest, overseeing all military and political affairs in the Southwest. I have come by the decree of the immortal, please introduce me immediately!"

Soon, the old general Xiao Jing was led to the Dragon-Locking Well.

Here, before the old general even saw Du Yuan, he first saw a temple in its early stages of construction, as well as dozens of bandit leaders of varying ranks from the rebel army.

Many of them were even formidable generals whom they had met before.

Upon meeting, both instinctively gripped their sword hilts.

This is because their battle was really too intense.

You killed my comrade-in-arms, I killed your brother; the hatred between us is immense.

"We must not waste this rare opportunity."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly bowed in the direction from which the voice came.

"This humble general greets the immortal master!"

Du Yuan walked over from the unfinished temple.

Upon meeting, he immediately addressed the old general:
"I suppose the old general already knows why I summoned you here?"

The old general cupped his hands again and said:

"I understand the immortal's instructions."

Du Yuan laughed:

"Then is it possible?"

The old general did not answer immediately, but instead asked Du Yuan:

"May I ask, Immortal Master, is the Abbot of Guanzhen Mountain truly dead?"

After much deliberation, the old general finally chose a compromise title.

They were neither called bandit leaders nor given any honorific titles.

Du Yuan nodded, looking towards the direction of the old camp of the chaotic army, and said:

"Yes, I personally watched General Su Hui of Yingtian leave. As for the left and right generals of the rebel army, I personally killed them!"

"The three leaders of the rebel army in the southwest are all currently absent. So, what is the imperial court's opinion on this?"

Du Yuan nodded in confirmation.

The old general felt relieved and said:

"In that case, the Emperor decrees: If the rebel army in the southwest is willing to surrender, the soldiers may lay down their arms and return to their fields, and the officers may be demoted and reassigned! All previous crimes, except for the three major offenses, will be pardoned without punishment!"

The dozens of generals in the chaotic army had just breathed a sigh of relief, but when they heard about the three major crimes, they all frowned again.

Du Yuan also asked:

What is meant by "three major sins"?

The old general cupped his hands and said:

"Firstly, those who massacre a city must not be spared! This applies to both the enemy and our own forces! This applies to the rebel army, and even more so to the government army!"

The southwest is part of the country, and its people are also the people of the Son of Heaven. Regardless of the reason or affiliation, the people must not be harmed!

Du Yuan nodded and said:
"That is only natural. And rest assured, those who can stand before me now are naturally not afraid of this!"

After seeing the old man off, Du Yuan walked around the camp.

That time, a lot of people were 'counted' before leaving.

The other dozens of rebel leaders also nodded in agreement. They were mostly from impoverished backgrounds and naturally wouldn't do such a thing.

"And what about the rest?"

The old general continued:
"Secondly, those who collude with foreign vassals must not be spared! The southwest is located on the border. Although there are no vassal armies attacking, there may still be those who secretly collude with us!"

Regardless of the reason, anyone who associates with foreign vassals during such times is a traitor to the country!

Du Yuan nodded in agreement.

"That's okay."

As soon as she finished speaking, Du Yuan's gaze swept over the dozens of rebel generals present, and her brows furrowed slightly—most of them looked calm and nodded in agreement, but only a few had their expressions subtly change.

After a moment of silence, the men suddenly sighed in unison and stepped forward side by side. They turned to their former brothers who had shared life and death, solemnly bowed in farewell, then drew their long swords from their waists and, with swift and decisive movements, committed suicide on the spot.

They may not have had any intention of betraying their country for personal gain, but they certainly did it, and it was clearly more than just a simple exchange.

So they accepted it.

At this point, everyone fell silent.

After bowing to the crowd, the old general continued with the third point.

"The last rule is that anyone who kills a powerful family or clan without authorization shall not be spared!"

Aristocratic families are the pillars of a nation. They must not be shaken!
If the first two points were something even the rebels themselves acknowledged, then the last point caused an uproar.

As mentioned before, those who survived Du Yuan's purge were all from impoverished backgrounds.

In their eyes, it was simply a pipe dream to ask them to let go of those powerful clans who continued to exploit the people even during years of famine!

So as soon as these words were spoken, they all drew their swords from their waists.

"Damn it! Those beasts won't let us kill them, what are we going to do?!"

"That damned imperial court really doesn't treat us like human beings. Let's fight them!"

"At worst, I'll die. Who's afraid of who!"

Seeing the crowd's agitation, the old general said nothing more, but solemnly stated:
"This matter is of great importance and cannot be refuted!"

Seeing the situation escalating, Du Yuan solemnly spoke:

"quiet!"

The cacophony vanished instantly, as if the previous uproar had been a dream. Everyone turned to look at Du Yuan.

Du Yuan looked at the old general and smiled:
"The first two points must be implemented, but as for this last one, I think we should skip it!"

The old general hesitated:

"Master, I'm afraid the imperial court will not agree to this!"

Did the emperor want all the powerful families in the southwest to be wiped out?
Of course, we hope so! These people are local tyrants; how could the emperor tolerate other 'emperors' running a state within a state on his territory?
But hope is hope, and reality is reality.

Powerful clans and aristocratic families remain the pillars of the nation. Their ideas must be carefully considered, and at necessary moments, we must make way for them!
However, as mentioned earlier.

One could also say that aristocratic families are aristocratic families, and immortals are immortals.

Du Yuan, understanding the implied meaning, said with a smile:

"Oh, is that so? Then let them come and talk to this humble Taoist priest!"

The old general immediately laughed.

"Since the immortal has spoken, then on behalf of all the officials in the court, I will waive this third clause for now!"

Although the Xiao family was also among the prominent families, most of the prominent families in the capital, apart from a few truly powerful ones, were essentially part of the "royal faction." Their fates were intertwined—one for the good, the other for the bad!
The rebel generals, who had just been at each other's throats, all smiled and sheathed their swords.
"This is right!"

"I told you long ago, the emperor is old, cough cough, His Majesty should still be grateful to us for pacifying the stubborn problems in the southwest!"

Seeing that things had largely settled, Du Yuan turned to the rebel generals and said:

"So, are you all willing to surrender?"

As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of rebel generals knelt down on one knee, clasped their hands in front of them, and shouted, "We are willing to surrender!"

Du Yuan's smile deepened. She nodded slightly, then turned to the old general, raised her eyebrows, and said with a smile, "Old general, you've seen it all? Why don't you quickly surrender?"

The old general's eyes were full of joy as he smiled – the monumental task of pacifying the southwest was actually about to fall upon his shoulders!
He hurried forward and personally helped each of the kneeling rebel generals to their feet, repeatedly saying:
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please rise! Your surrender today marks the end of the chaos in the southwest. In the future, I will certainly speak on your behalf before the Emperor, and you will all be rewarded with promotions and titles!"

For a moment, the atmosphere was pleasant and harmonious.

Du Yuan stood in the crowd, watching everything unfold with a smile.

Not long after, the old general, having identified everyone, returned to Du Yuan's side. He looked curiously at the Dragon-Locking Well and said:

"Immortal, is there really a dragon locked up in this well?"

Du Yuan was extremely happy at that moment, so he also made a sarcastic remark to the old general:
"Why don't you jump down and see for yourself?"

The old general was immediately frightened and waved his hands repeatedly:
"Alas, this old general's bones can't withstand this, and besides, how could this general dare to linger in front of the Dragon King?"

If someone eats it, we'll have no one to complain to!
After saying that, the old general looked curiously at the temple that was being repaired and said:

"May I ask, sir, does this temple have a name?"

He knew the origin of the temple, but not its name.

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan looked at the temple, which was merely a framework, and said:

"I've made up my mind."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

Du Yuan also laughed:
"Let's call it 'Museum of Living Type'."

It's not very elegant, but Du Yuan thinks it's the most suitable name for this temple.

We came to live, and we were built to live.

The old general nodded repeatedly:
"Hmm, wonderful, wonderful indeed! But Immortal Master, who do you intend to have guard this temple?"

The old general had a thought in mind when he asked this question; he wanted to take on the task.

The temple was personally supervised by an immortal, and there is a well in front of the gate that supposedly contains a real dragon.

Who wouldn't be envious? Since they're in such a convenient position, they naturally want to see if they can get the moon first!

But then Du Yuan said:
"Although this temple is called the 'Temple of Living Type,' it is mainly used for the deceased civilians and soldiers who died in the southwest to pray for their souls to be reborn in the afterlife. Therefore, I have already chosen someone."

After looking around, Du Yuan, having found the person, pointed to the old man in front of the temple who was learning to plane wood and said:
"That is the temple keeper I have chosen!"

The old man seemed to sense something and turned to look in their direction, then smiled apologetically and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

He then continued to bury himself in studying how to use the plane effectively.

The old general looked away with slight disappointment.

"Now that someone has been chosen, I can rest assured."

After smiling, Du Yuan left and went to talk to the old man.

After Du Yuan left, one of the old general's close associates stepped forward and whispered in his ear:

"General, I once visited Guanzhen Mountain and met the abbot. That person looks very much like this one!"

Upon hearing this, the attendant saw the old general staring at him with a frosty expression, his eyes seeming to want to kill!
The attendant's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, his knees trembled slightly, and he lowered halfway down, but his voice suddenly stopped, carrying a hint of urgency as he thought of something:

"General! I misspoke! That's not what I meant!"

He quickly lowered his head, speaking rapidly yet steadily:
"The abbot of Guanzhen Mountain was a victim whose fate was determined by His Majesty's own decree. His body is long since cold; this is an irrefutable fact! This old man before us could absolutely not be him!"

He paused, and when he looked up again, the panic in his eyes was gone, replaced by a clear and earnest expression:

"I overheard a subordinate from Guanzhen Mountain mention that the abbot has a younger brother who was separated from him at a young age! It is said that the two are cut from the same mold, and even their accents are similar!"

"Now that the southwest has been pacified, the biggest fear is that someone will make a fuss about this 'similarity' by making a big deal out of it, saying something like 'the abbot is not dead,' thus disrupting the situation."

He took half a step forward, lowering his voice even further, but each word was clear:

"I think it would be better if you, General, could submit a memorial to His Majesty and request that he issue a special decree stating that the abbot has indeed perished, but his brother is still alive and is currently praying for the victims at the Temple of Living Type. In this way, we can both silence the slanderers and show the court's compassion. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"

At that moment, even the old general's eyes widened.

He suddenly felt that even he, a nobleman from Wuyi Lane, was like a green recruit in front of his personal attendant.

After a long silence, he patted his attendant on the shoulder and said:
"Good, very good, keep it up. Um, I will ask His Majesty for permission. Oh, by the way, later, later you get me a copy of that, that Su family genealogy!"

The attendant hurriedly cupped his hands and said:

"This subordinate understands!"

(End of this chapter)