Longzang

Chapter 1212 Good Fortune Comes Naturally
The monk sighed softly and said, "Lord of the Realm, your sophistry is truly unbecoming. You have deprived all people of the opportunity to enter the Pure Land and enjoy the bliss of the Buddhist kingdom. They will surely hate and resent you, and from then on, you will be entangled in karmic debts, unable to ascend to the Immortal Gate!"

Although the monk spoke softly, each word he uttered shook the heavens and earth, as if it were engraved on the great Dao of the world, like a Sanskrit inscription.

After saying this, the monk coughed up two streams of white fluid from his nose and passed away with a smile.

Wei Yuan remained silent for a moment before saying, "Someone, take this lump to the Academy of Sciences as well."

The Pure Land monk launched a series of unexpected attacks. This monk's origins were unknown, yet his spiritual attainment was comparable to that of the old monk. The old monk, at the cost of his own golden body and a lifetime of cultivation, had converted mortals from several prefectures and hundreds of counties in one fell swoop, converting nearly 30% of the people in the ten prefectures of Ganzhou.

This monk's words became law, causing millions of believers to become entangled with Wei Yuan through karma. If Wei Yuan did not allow them to cultivate Buddhism, they would see him as destroying their paradise and ruining their next life. The resentment of these tens of millions of believers would bind Wei Yuan like chains, pulling him down when he ascended to immortality.

Wei Yuan's mental world was already extremely vast, and it was already extremely difficult for him to manifest in the present world and ascend to the Immortal Heaven. With the added burden of resentment, it was clear that they did not intend to let Wei Yuan ascend to immortality.

If Wei Yuan only considers his own ascension to immortality, he can only sit idly by and watch these believers' activities. Given Wei Yuan's personality, this is tantamount to being spat on every day. How could he possibly tolerate it? His Dao heart would most likely be in trouble.

At this moment, Wei Yuan sat still, but outside the main hall, there were heavy footsteps and the clanging of armor. A large group of armored soldiers suddenly rushed into the county government office, their bodies exuding a faint military aura.

These hundred or so armored soldiers were regular soldiers stationed here by Qingming. They were usually steeped in military discipline, but they were extremely difficult to subdue. Now they had come on orders. When their fierce eyes met those of the yamen runners, the runners immediately lowered their heads and dared not meet their gaze.

These yamen runners were usually afraid of regular soldiers, and these were all strong soldiers who could display military prowess, so they were naturally afraid.

The soldiers, following orders, carried away the monk's body after his death. Wei Yuan remained still, intending to observe the subsequent changes following the monk's passing.

With the soldiers gone, the oppressive military atmosphere in the hall dissipated, and the faces of the yamen runners gradually began to show strange expressions again. Although most of them lacked reason, fearing the power and divine might displayed by Wei Yuan and daring not to act rashly, a few among them were already restless, their hatred difficult to conceal.

However, they still retained some reverence, knowing to fear authority and power, and did not riot on the spot.

But outside the main hall, the grievance drum was already beating loudly. A large crowd surrounded the county government office, making a commotion and demanding the release of the Taoist priest.

Seeing the large and powerful crowd gathered at the gate, the yamen runners standing guard at the entrance began to feel uneasy.

An old constable's face twitched. He pulled out an iron ruler and began wildly beating the crowd, yelling, "Disperse! There are officials coming down from above on official business inside. Are you all here to die?!"

In the blink of an eye, several people were beaten until their heads were bleeding. But one of them suddenly grabbed the old bailiff's iron ruler and shouted, "What is there to fear in death? We are defending the righteous path. Even if we die, we will surely be reborn in the Buddhist kingdom in the next life for our merit in defending the righteous path and enjoy eternal bliss!"

"If you try to stop me, you are a demon, a heretic, and will be condemned to eternal damnation, suffering the torment of karmic fire day and night!"

Everyone's eyes flashed with ferocity as they stared at the old constable as if he were a demon.

The old bailiff, used to being arrogant and domineering, felt a chill in his heart when he saw these faces, who were usually obsequious in front of him, suddenly turn ferocious and angry. He dared not stop them anymore and silently retreated to the side.

Thousands of people rushed in, trampling down the gate, breaking the railings, and swarming into the main hall.

Wei Yuan remained seated in his official position, lost in thought.

The Pure Land converts mortals, leaving behind cruel officials like the old yamen runner. Wei Yuan could tell at a glance that this old yamen runner had done many immoral things in the past. In the Pure Land's parlance, he had committed numerous sins. Just his repeated acts of taking advantage of others and bullying weak women were enough to warrant beheading.

Wei Yuan understood that the Pure Land had presented him with a difficult problem. If he didn't personally quell the uprising, he would have to rely on people like the old yamen runners to maintain order and suppress the rebellion. And at that time, these people, acting like bullies, might do many bad things.

Tuchuan County is a microcosm of the Western Jin Dynasty at that time. Qingming occupied too much and too vast territory, and before they could manage it in detail, the fundamental tasks such as re-erecting boundary stones, dividing fields, and exploring the veins and minerals in the earth had already taken more than two years.

During this period, in order to maintain stability, Wei Yuan did not replace all the original officials, but only replaced the county magistrates, stationed troops in the prefectural city and a few large counties, and kept the clerks and officials largely unchanged. The local gentry and aristocratic families were left untouched, and only those related to the Lü family were removed and their property confiscated.

This approach, much like previous dynastic changes, immediately reassured the people. Its advantage was a stable transition, but its disadvantage was that it brought with it old problems, such as the old yamen runners who were ruthless in their beatings.

This old yamen runner wasn't just one person, but represented an entire clan, even the whole local gentry. County magistrates came and went, but these men remained in their posts for decades. Those who could hold these positions, though not high in rank, but wielding real power, were all from prominent local families; otherwise, their positions would be unstable. Within the county and townships, most of the cultivators and local militia were controlled by these powerful clans. Whatever the county magistrate wanted to do—whether it was adjudicating cases or providing disaster relief—he had to rely on these local clans. In many remote villages, people only knew the clan elders, not even the county magistrate.

Furthermore, in every village and town, there are often reclusive cultivators. If these cultivators were to suddenly rise up, the damage they could cause would be immense. Therefore, preventing their attacks also relies on local powerful clans, who can immediately detect any unfamiliar faces appearing.

Local powerful clans did not form out of thin air. Most of them were actually officials who had left their hometowns to pursue high office, and then returned to settle down in their old age, thus forming clans. Therefore, a clan in a village could very well be the descendant of a certain official in the capital, or a descendant of a high-ranking official. The relationships were so complex that they could not be clearly traced back to the beginning.

Therefore, even during dynastic changes, these local clans mostly remained unchanged, and many ancestral halls in rural areas have histories of over a thousand years. Even the kings of various kingdoms were unwilling to alter this situation, as doing so would cause chaos.

But in Wei Yuan's eyes, this was not a problem at all. According to his plan, he only needed to stabilize the situation first, then transport grain to provide relief to the poorest people, and let Qingming's majesty be deeply rooted in people's hearts. Then he could easily manipulate these gentry and clerks who were the foundation of the past dynasties.

If anyone rebels, we will quell the rebellion, suppressing each one and pacifying each county. We will exterminate the ringleaders and their families, and disregard the commoners who blindly follow. After a few years of fighting, we can bring peace to the four directions and eradicate these stubborn problems that have plagued dynasties throughout history.

But now, the Pure Land has seized this opportunity to convert mortals and even officials sent down from the Azure Netherworld, while leaving all the sinful people to Wei Yuan.

Even if Wei Yuan manages to quell this crisis of salvation with their help, what can he do in the future? He can either let things drift and become another Western Jin Dynasty, or he can bear the infamy of killing meritorious officials.

Relying solely on the Qingming Sect officials is not enough; if the current situation remains stagnant for even a few months, Buddhist cultivators will become rampant.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan had already drafted countless plans in his mind, only to reject them one by one.

Facing the surging crowd that rushed into the county government office, Wei Yuan said in a deep voice: "You have been bewitched by a heretical cult and have spoken and acted recklessly. But considering that you have no cultivation and are powerless to resist, this crime is waived. You may all leave."

Wei Yuan's voice carried great magical power, and in an instant, the people within a radius of several miles regained their clarity. The people in the hall were as if waking from a dream, and were immediately terrified. Knowing that they had committed a great disaster, they all knelt down and prayed haphazardly in all directions.

Upon seeing this, Wei Yuan sighed inwardly.

This is the daily reality for ordinary people: offending the authorities is like the sky falling, leaving them with no dignity whatsoever. In comparison, the ferocity of the mob storming the government office just now actually made him feel more at ease.

However, the bravery gained through conversion is not true bravery. Just like when the witch tribe attacked, those slave soldiers who were blessed by the witch tribe and were fearless of death would scatter as soon as the blessing disappeared. Who is truly not afraid of death?
At this moment, several more cultivators flew down into the courtyard. The leader, a Dharma Avatar, hurriedly entered and was taken aback when he saw Wei Yuan's avatar.

Wei Yuan's avatar did not use his true appearance, so the other party naturally did not recognize him. However, he recognized the silver waist token in front of Wei Yuan, and immediately bowed and said, "I am Sima Duan, the Assistant Magistrate of this prefecture. I have been assigned by my superiors to handle the affairs of this county. May I ask what sir..."

"I'll leave everything here to Lord Sima." Wei Yuan didn't reveal his identity; he simply handed over the duties and left the county office to inspect other places.

Over the course of several days, Wei Yuan visited dozens of counties, all of which were largely the same. Among them was Lanyang County, which originally had a suitable climate and abundant farmland, and should have been a prosperous place. However, precisely because of this, many people from the surrounding areas had migrated there, and no matter how much grain they had, it was never enough, so it remained extremely poor.

However, the poverty of the villagers did not affect the powerful clans and wealthy families in the county. It has been said that the power of these clans is only determined by the size of their county. In a large but poor county like Lanyang, the powerful clans must also be very influential.

It was midsummer, a crucial time for farming, and should have been the busiest period. However, temples of all sizes had sprung up in the fields, and countless farmers who should have been in the fields were either repairing temples or worshipping and chanting scriptures. The fields, which should have been the most populated, were left aside, and the leaves of the lush green seedlings were already showing signs of scorching.

A scholar was walking through the countryside, occasionally stopping a farmer and asking, "Why aren't you working in the fields? What scriptures are you reciting?"

"This is a precious scripture. Reciting it once can eliminate a year's worth of sins. After it's all gone in this life, it can even go on to the next, and the life after that. If you recite it 9,999 times, you will surely be reborn in the Pure Land in your next life! You don't know this precious scripture yet? Come, come, let me teach you..."

Wei Yuan, disguised as a scholar, had to interrupt him, saying, "If we don't farm now, what will we eat in autumn and winter?"

“These trivial matters are nothing compared to eliminating bad karma. That’s a matter that will last for lifetimes!” The farmer said with a devout expression, thinking the scholar was truly foolish.

When the scholar asked again, he replied, "Just focus on your cultivation, and good fortune will come naturally. What does it matter whether you farm or not? The Azure Sky will deliver provisions anyway. Isn't this the good fortune we receive from our cultivation?"

(End of this chapter)