Chapter 632: Meeting the Cult
If at the beginning they just thought that they needed to deal with the local people in this place, now they finally understand.
In fact, ordinary people are nothing at all. What is powerful is the invisible big hand that controls the ordinary people behind the scenes.
Because the invisible big hand is the truly powerful character, and this powerful character is gradually using his abilities to devour other ordinary people.
They can even replace the government offices here, which is very scary.
Neither Liu Baihu nor Wang Dahai had expected that they would have to deal with such a complicated thing, so after thinking for a long time, they finally decided not to take charge of the matter themselves.
The two of them first sorted out all the matters in the City Lord's Mansion, and then made a report on the situation here and quickly reported it to Xia Yuanji, the governor of Sanfuqi Capital.
Because they feel they are not capable of handling the things here.
After all, when it comes to the real mastermind behind the scenes, although the navy now has such powerful weapons, if those people cannot be defeated at the ideological level, there will be endless wars in the future.
Because those people just need to hide in the deep mountains and forests. Can the Ming navy burn the mountains and kill them?
It's just unrealistic, and there isn't enough manpower and resources to deal with them.
However, if they continue to make trouble behind the scenes, it will also have a huge impact on the naval port that the Ming Dynasty will build here in the future.
Captain Liu and Wang Dahai are indeed experts in military affairs and can handle things on their own, but when they really have to face the mastermind behind it, they feel that they are not qualified to do anything.
So when they delivered these letters to Xia Yuanji, it was already the third day.
In fact, Jincheng is not far from Mandala City, but the journey is so difficult because the road here is so bad that the messenger can only go there slowly, so sometimes it takes even longer.
This is also a problem that needs to be solved urgently.
During the Ming Dynasty, Chen Han put forward a very loud slogan, which is "If you want to be rich, build roads first." If no road can be built, then nothing can be done.
So after Captain Liu and Wang Dahai reported the situation here, they also gave some suggestions, which was to build a road as soon as possible.
This makes it convenient for the two places to communicate with each other and also allows information to be conveyed quickly.
After all, if information is not flowing smoothly in this place, it will be very difficult to govern.
Moreover, if the capital wants to control other cities, it must first build a good road.
When Xia Yuanji received the letter from Captain Liu and Wang Dahai at the Governor's Office that they had captured the city of Mandala, he was very happy and immediately summoned Lan Yu and the others.
Lan Yu also took a look at the letter sent by Captain Liu.
To be honest, he didn't have much confidence in Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai's ability to take the city at first.
After all, it was a city second only to the capital, and the number of people they brought with them was not very large, but they did not expect to take it so quickly.
However, after reading what Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai said about the so-called religious religion, the two of them fell into deep thought.
Xia Yuanji asked directly, "General, what do you think?"
The reason why Xia Yuanji asked Lan Yu was because Xia Yuanji came to Lan Yu and was more experienced in this kind of thing.
Because Lan Yu had fought in the southwest, there were many various so-called sects in that area.
The more backward the place is, the more likely people are to believe in gods, and those people use the so-called gods to deceive ordinary people. This kind of thing is not uncommon.
So when Xia Yuanji asked Lan Yu this question, he was actually asking the right person.
Xia Yuanji had also done some research on this aspect. After all, on the way here he had heard that since this land was relatively backward, the people here were more likely to believe in ghosts and gods.
After all, when people have no way to confirm whether the environment they are in is correct, they are always prone to believe in ghosts and gods.
Because they feel that ghosts and gods may give them some broadened perspectives on this place.
However, they did not expect that some people who were smarter than them used these spooky things to make money.
Just like what Captain Liu and his men encountered now, the invisible hand in Mandala City, it can be seen that it must be the so-called evil element who used gods and ghosts to make money.
Although those guys are not from the government, they can use faith to control the local people.
It's just like why ordinary people don't go to see a doctor even if they are sick.
Because a so-called god told the local people that if you get sick, you either have to endure it or die.
You survived because of the blessing of God, and you died because of your heavy sins.
These people are just trying to block both ends, because whether you are alive or dead, it doesn't matter to them.
If you survive, you will thank the gods because it is the gods' blessing. If you don't survive, they will say that you may have committed too many sins. You should reflect on yourself and think about whether you have done anything immoral in your daily life.
But no one is perfect, because everyone is selfish, so they will definitely do a little bit of so-called selfish things, and people will easily blame themselves for all these things.
It is precisely because of this that they can be invincible. Whenever something like this happens, they will gain more, and the gain is that if you survive, you have to pay.
Because it is our gods who are blessing you. If you die, you still have to pay.
Because after you die, if your soul wants to be guided to a better place and be reborn in a better place in your next life, you have to pay money to bribe our gods.
Our gods will reincarnate you into a better place.
People are afraid of death, but they are also most afraid that they will be reborn into a more miserable place in the future. So for the sake of their own future, they still have to pay the bill first.
They make money in this way, control the people in this way, and treat the entire people as a place to create profits for them.
But this kind of cult must never exist. This is why Xia Yuanji called Lan Yu over. This is beyond the capabilities of Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai in Mandala City.
Lan Yu smiled slightly after reading it. Why is it that countries with longer histories have more ability to solve problems?
Because the longer the history, the more predecessors there will be, and they will have the same methods to deal with those individuals.
So Lan Yu smiled and said, "I seem to have heard a story that there was once a man named Ximen Bao who disciplined those witches and sorcerers by asking them to go down and ask the river god what was going on." In the end, the witches and sorcerers were drowned, and everyone realized that they had no ability to communicate with the river god and that the river god did not exist.
"Then can you punish those so-called witches like Ximen Bao did, and let the common people here know that those so-called witches and sorcerers cannot collude with the gods.
"They are just using the so-called gods to make money. Wouldn't this defeat their so-called scheme?"
Xia Yuanji laughed after hearing this. In fact, he had also thought of this problem at the beginning, but he didn't know whether it could be implemented.
The reason why Ximen Bao was able to solve this problem so quickly was that he had the military power in his hands, so he needed Lan Yu to cooperate with Lan Yu's navy.
As long as we can capture these people and then destroy their so-called gods in front of the common people, it will be easy to deal with.
Xia Yuanji laughed and said, "That's true. Our ancestors have already thought through all these supernatural things.
"Okay, I'll have them get started right away. Let them bust those so-called witches and witches, and make sure they don't have a market to make money."
Then Xia Yuanji immediately told the story of Ximen Bao and wrote it down briefly. At the same time, he instructed Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai to learn from Ximen Bao's method, catch those so-called witches and sorcerers, and then let them pray to the gods in front of the common people.
As long as they cannot invite the gods, they will directly destroy their so-called gods. In this way, the common people will be able to see that these people are just bluffing.
In this way, there will be no market for these individuals, and in the future the common people will be more confident in the power of the Ming Dynasty. This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.
When the letter returned to the hands of Liu Baihu and Wang Dahai, they suddenly realized what was going on after reading it.
"The Governor really has a good idea. This idea is really great."
After five or six days of investigation, they have gradually figured out who the so-called witches are in the city of Mandala.
This is the Wushen Cult, and actually there are about eighty core figures.
These eighty people hold various positions in this sect, and there is even something like a temple.
This temple holds a big temple fair every half a month. The temple fair is not like the ones in the Central Plains dynasties where everyone sets up stalls and there is all kinds of excitement and people come to perform acrobatics. It is not like that. They mainly invite the gods to the fair.
What this means is that on this day, when everyone comes here, there will be a witch who can communicate with the gods, and a group of people who perform rituals similar to skipping ropes, and then they can communicate with the gods.
After communicating with the gods, they grant the witch some abilities, and the witch will release these abilities into the holy water.
As long as every citizen pays a certain amount of money, they can take this holy water back, which can heal wounds and diseases and prolong life.
As for money, just give it as you see fit.
In fact, it is said that you should give as you see fit. If you give less, those people will say that you are not sincere. The meaning is actually very simple. You still have to give more.
Wang Dahai said, "It just so happens that in two days it will be the so-called temple fair. After hearing that our Ming Dynasty is coming, these people are very nervous, so I heard that they have gathered a lot of people for this temple fair."
Captain Liu smiled after hearing this and said, "The more people come, the better. We need to expose their little tricks in crowded places so that the common people can know that the so-called gods they have always believed in are just tools for these people to make money."
After the two men made a plan, they first sent out 400 navy men to ambush near the temple. Then they and a few guards disguised themselves and went to the temple to see for themselves what they were doing.
It was a sunny and lively day, with people going about their daily lives in the streets and alleys.
Because after the Ming Dynasty came in, it did not harass the common people.
In fact, in ancient times, there was no difference between the army and bandits.
As the saying goes, bandits pass by like a comb, and soldiers pass by like a rake. There is also a saying since ancient times that soldiers and bandits are one family. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, all soldiers were the same as bandits.
The People's Army is unique in the world. Even in the same era, the People's Army is the best in discipline, and the relationship between the military and the people is as close as that between fish and water.
This is a unique piece that cannot be found in any era.
Nowadays, these soldiers, whether because of discipline reasons or because of lack of pay, will plunder the common people.
Especially when fighting in a foreign land, since they will not stay there for a long time, they will of course plunder the common people unscrupulously.
Even during wars in ancient times, generals would make promises to the soldiers under them.
For example, if they captured a city, they would be given three days to do whatever they wanted. This was a way to motivate the soldiers, but it was also the evil of war in ancient times.
Although wars in ancient times were sometimes fought with blood and were cruel, they were even more cruel for ordinary people.
No matter whether it is our side or the enemy's side, as long as a city is occupied, they will definitely start with burning, killing and looting.
When their own army comes and drives away the enemy, they will do it again, because after all, they have to reward the soldiers.
How to reward them then?
Just get robbed by them. This is how battles were fought in ancient times. It's so helpless.
But this time, the navy did not do so after entering Mandala City, but instead restrained the soldiers.
In fact, this is also to let the people here know that we are different from the previous armies.
Don't worry, don't be afraid.
This action did have some effect, at least it made the local people aware of it.
It turns out that the Ming Dynasty’s army had such good military discipline.
Captain Liu and Wang Dahai changed into casual clothes, and with a dozen guards, they followed the common people in the crowd and headed towards the temple.
The road was packed with people, roughly estimated to be thousands of people.
With this number of people, once they donated a little money to bribe the gods, dozens of them would be able to make a fortune. No wonder they live such a good life...
(End of this chapter)
