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Chapter 167 - 167: What Is This? A Confession Before the Battle?
Chapter 167 - 167: What Is This? A Confession Before the Battle?
Chapter 167: What Is This? A Confession Before the Battle?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Three days later, in the early morning at the Qingxian City yamen.
“Report! ”
Li Ming hurried in and made his report.
“Reporting to the magistrate, the brothers in charge of surveillance have sent news. The Qingxian Society is selling something called ‘indulgence tickets’… It’s the people under Bo Chang.”
“I know.”
Lu Xuan nodded with a smile, “That’s good.”
The idea of sin redemption tickets was Lu Xuan’s suggestion to Bo Chang.
He was guiding Bo Chang to initiate a “religious reform”.
The main content was to transform the oppressive and intimidating Qingxian Society into a harmless religion that controls believers mentally, leading them to voluntarily offer their devotion.
This was a tactic of the Black Lotus Sect.
Bo Chang propagated that buying these indulgence tickets was an offering to Qingxian. Your life is miserable because of sins in your past life, which you need to redeem in this life.
This concept incorporated many ideas of reincarnation – buying the tickets would lead to a better life in the next incarnation, primarily promoting the notion of spending money for safety and peace.
To ensure a coherent and meticulous logic, Lu Xuan had fabricated numerous myths, forming a relatively complete religious system.
He also added several layers of complexity to Qingxian, portraying it as the incarnation of a powerful deity.
Bo Chang spent three days promoting this, and today he finally began to reap the benefits from the believers.
If this religious reform were successful, it would definitely be a great progress.
However, Lu Xuan didn’t intend to let it succeed.
His aim was to intensify the conflict between the Bo and Gu families and to split the Qingxian Society.
The main target of the indulgence tickets were the commoners in the city, who were also the primary group offering tributes to Qingxian during the Qingxian Festival.
There’s only so much money in the hands of the common people; if Bo Chang got more, Gu Yang would get less.
The conflict between the two was inevitable.
Now, another rumor quietly spread in Qingxian City —
The true incarnation of Qingxian would have eight scales on its left shoulder.
However, most of the Qingxian statues in the city only had five.
Once this news spread, many citizens went home to check.
Indeed, most of the Qingxian statues had only five scales on the shoulder, while only some old statues had eight.
Thus, a debate arose: some claimed that the true deity had eight scales, and the five-scaled ones were false gods impersonating the true deity to usurp its authority.
Others argued that the five-scaled Qingxian was the true one, and the eight-scaled figures were foreign imposters trying to deceive the faithful.
Some people chose sides for their own benefit, while others firmly believed in the Qingxian they worshiped.
Gradually, two factions formed within Qingxian City’s faith: the “Five-Scale Sect” and the “Eight-Scale Sect”.
As for the reason…
The Qingxian statues, all made by craftsmen from the Qingxian Society.
Originally, the Qingxian statues did have eight scales.
But later, when the old master craftsmen died, their apprentices took over, cutting corners by carving only five scales.
Over generations, the new Qingxian statues all came to have only five scales.
“Is the training ground ready?” Lu Xuan asked.
“Replying to the magistrate.”
Li Ming replied steadily, “It’s all arranged. According to your instructions, we mixed strong and weak men and sent them out of the city.
Once they left the city, they were reorganized according to the roster, sent to different locations.
The weak and elderly went to a place three miles east of Qingxian City for training, while the young and strong went to a canyon five miles south. The people in charge were all carefully selected by you, ensuring no leaks.”
“Good.”
Lu Xuan nodded slightly.
“I ordered a batch of armor, which will arrive tomorrow afternoon. We need to go outside the city for the transaction… At that time, select some men to accompany me.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Evening.
At the magistrate’s residence.
The Gu, He, and Bo families gathered together.
“Gentlemen, the matter of organizing the militia has been scheduled.
According to my plan, this thousand-man troop shall be led by our four
parties.”
Lu Xuan looked at the three men before him:
“As the Commandant of Qingxian City, I will lead three hundred men… Any objections?”
“Of course not.’
The three men replied in unison.
“The remaining seven hundred places can be freely distributed among you.”
Lu Xuan said with a smile, “However, organizing the militia is quite expensive, and you all need to contribute some funds.”
“How much?”
Bo Cang asked.
“Ten thousand silver taels for every hundred men.”
Lu Xuan said amicably.
Upon hearing this, He Youde, the head of the He family, gasped in shock.
“Sir, isn’t that price a bit steep?”
He Youde remarked.
“This is for the safety of Qingxian City.”
Lu Xuan said sincerely.
He Youde inwardly cursed him as an old fox. This was clearly a ploy to extract benefits under the guise of Qingxian City’s safety.
He had sent people to scout the recruitment at the yamen. His men reported that Wu Bangde was only picking worthless candidates.
Initially skeptical, He Youde changed his mind after witnessing the scene himself.
The rich families of Qingxian City, to minimize their taxes, sent mostly older men, whose frail bodies couldn’t withstand rigorous training. The yamen, having accepted them, dared not train them harshly and had to take good care of them.
The wealthy who had prospered in Qingxian City were all connected to the Qingxian Society and were familiar with the practice of “returning all to the local gentry and sharing three-sevenths with the common people.”
It was clear to any astute observer that this was a scheme by the magistrate and the three big families to fleece the rich.
In other words, there was no real intention to fight a battle.
When the scythe of exploitation reached them, the only option for the wealthy, besides paying up, was to hope their elderly could eat more and heavily exploit the magistrate’s generosity.
After all, it was their money being spent..