"No, really. The Taiping Dao has been very quiet these past few days. There haven't been any major moves, at least not any large-scale personnel mobilizations. They've just been spreading the word that they've been wronged. That's all," Huangfu Song said calmly.
On the surface, it seems they were truly wronged. After all, they didn't directly raise an army, nor did they purchase large quantities of grain or weapons; at least the price of grain in Ji Province didn't rise, did it?
"Yizhen, are you sure you didn't use any underhanded tactics here? You absolutely mustn't frame Taiping Dao just for the sake of personal gain. After all, the whole country is watching this matter right now."
"If you really did it, then quickly resolve the related issues. Otherwise, once things are exposed, even the Huangfu family, with its generations of loyal officials, won't be able to withstand it!" Zheng Xuan casually set up a barrier and whispered a reminder.
To be honest, if it weren't for their decent relationship, and if it weren't for the Huangfu family's long history of loyalty, Zheng Xuan wouldn't have said that.
Soldiers, wanting to fight and gain military merit, often do unexpected things to hold the imperial court hostage.
For example, frontier generals often prefer to plunder enemy states, inducing them to attack, which then allows them to wage a decisive battle. After winning, they can be promoted and become wealthy.
"This time, I really didn't do that!"
"..."
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Chapter Sixteen: A good wife cultivates good fields, a bad wife cultivates bad fields.
Taiping Mountain, this place wasn't originally called Taiping Mountain, but it got this name after Taiping Road was built.
At this moment, the envoys sent by the imperial court also arrived at the foot of the mountain. They were a chief envoy, Zheng Xuan, and two deputy envoys—an unnamed vice minister of the Ministry of War, and a eunuch, Zhao Zhong, one of the Ten Attendants.
Of the three, the Vice Minister of War was the weakest, only around the fourth rank. Zhao Zhong was second, around the peak of the fifth rank. Zheng Xuan was the strongest, around the early sixth rank.
A sixth-level cultivator, and a scholar at that—the scholar who best counters the immortal path! It can only be said that the imperial court has put its heart into this matter this time.
"Greetings, esteemed lords. My name is Zhang Ning. My father is currently in seclusion in his grotto-heaven, so he has not been able to come to greet me in person. I hope you three will forgive him," Zhang Ning said directly.
Upon hearing this, even Zheng Xuan subconsciously raised his head and glanced at it carefully! In the past few days, the three of them hadn't been idle; at least the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in Jizhou had all been mobilized.
In Ji Province, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had a unit of one thousand households. Of course, this unit was an enhanced version, because Ji Province was so wealthy that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had several times more personnel than in other provinces.
With the addition of various non-staff members, although the time is still short, it shouldn't be a problem to inquire about Taipingdao.
The final result was quite surprising. The Way of Peace never deliberately hoarded food or purchased weapons. These two points alone were very satisfactory.
However, for some reason, Zhao Zhong felt that something was amiss. Could it be that the Taiping Dao was truly being framed?
"Then, when will he emerge from seclusion?" Zhao Zhong asked directly.
“My father will emerge from seclusion in three days. Why don’t the three of you rest on the mountain first? That way, you can discuss anything with my father directly,” Zhang Ning said kindly.
"good."
...
“Lord Kangcheng, what do you think Zhang Jiao really means? Does he want to rebel? According to the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Taiping Dao has developed far too quickly in recent years!” Zhao Zhong said directly.
Today, the Way of Peace is the number one sect in the north, and in terms of its middle and lower-level members, it is much stronger than the Way of the Celestial Masters in the south!
The problem is that the Celestial Masters sect has been developing for thousands of years, but what about the Way of Great Peace? Since Zhang Jiao founded the sect, it has only been a little over a hundred years!
"I don't know either, but just in case, we must be careful for the next three days. Let's wait until three days later," Zheng Xuan said somewhat uneasily.
Although everything seemed fine at Taiping Dao, Zheng Xuan became even more uneasy. The fact that there seemed to be no problem was itself the biggest problem.
Well, as a religion, it's actually quite normal for them to do things like having children without a vagina.
For example, the Shaolin Temple in later generations once did something like this to its tenant farmers: a good wife cultivates good fields, and a bad wife cultivates bad fields.
For example, in ancient times, many witches would drown infants as sacrifices to the river god, or help female benefactors have sons. These kinds of filthy things have actually been done by almost all religious groups, whether Taoist or Buddhist.
Even if you, Zhang Jiao, are upright, a true moral gentleman, highly cultivated, and never do anything bad, so what? Can you guarantee that every Taoist in the Taiping Dao is such a gentleman?
Even if the inner disciples or direct disciples are well-mannered, what about the outer disciples? Can you guarantee that?
But the truth is, he really didn't do anything wrong! Therefore, after seeing the intelligence provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zheng Xuan felt something was wrong.
"The Taiping Dao is far too clean! Either the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been bribed, or it has been infiltrated and provided false intelligence. Otherwise, it's truly inexplicable." The Vice Minister of War stared at Zhao Zhong and said fiercely.
In his view, Zhao Zhong must have accepted bribes from the Taiping Dao; otherwise, how could such an investigation result have been obtained?
"It wasn't me, this time I really didn't accept any bribes..."
However, just as Zhao Zhong was about to continue explaining, Zheng Xuan suddenly slammed his teacup down on the table with a loud thud!
"Alright, after observing for so long, Zhang Jiao, aren't you coming out yet?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhong, who was arguing, turned pale instantly. If Zheng Xuan's words were true, then the problem was indeed serious.
That means Zhang Jiao really wants to rebel! So, what good will come of this messenger? As one of the Ten Attendants, isn't he the perfect person to be killed as a sacrifice to the flag?
"This, this, this can't be true, right? Duke Kangcheng, you must be joking, right?" Zhao Zhong said, his words somewhat insincere. At the same time, he was also a little flustered.
slap slap slap
Amidst a round of applause, a voice rang out.
"As expected of Duke Kangcheng, he discovered me so quickly."
Seeing this, Zheng Xuan couldn't help but sigh, realizing that his old friend was indeed quite cautious.
Even now, even though he has completely fallen into the trap, he still doesn't show himself and doesn't give himself any chance. It seems that the Taiping Dao's rebellion has been going on for quite some time.
Thinking of this, Zheng Xuan secretly crushed a jade pendant. The pendant then transformed into light and vanished. However, it suddenly disappeared as he left the room.