Longzang

How did he suddenly become so brave and skilled in Chapter 753?

Wei Yuan didn't go into the details of the second step of the plan with Xu Yi. The plan was still somewhat vague, and many details needed to be refined, but the core was still for the sake of humanity and destiny.

Wei Yuan discovered that the amount of fortune one possessed depended not only on how well mortals fared in Qingming, but also on how poorly they had fared before. The more turbulent the five prefectures were, the hungrier the people were, and the more likely they were to contribute their fortune when they took their first bowl of thick porridge from the Qingming porridge stall.

At this moment, in the camp's prison, dozens of Wei Yuan's avatars were interrogating the people who had just been captured. Those being interrogated ranged from the head of the household and his wife to the head of the household servants and concubines who were allowed to entertain guests—all sorts of people were being questioned.

The content of the interrogation also puzzled these people. The questions were all about the details of daily life, such as when to eat, when to receive money, how much to receive, and so on.

As the interrogation progressed and all the information was gathered amidst the everyday events, Wei Yuan gradually came to a conclusion: at least in Xiangrong County, the mortals who depended on the powerful families were extremely loyal to them. Their first strokes of fortune had likely already been dedicated to their families.

It must be said that these upright officials were very good at managing their families, and their sons were, needless to say, extremely loyal. Even the farmers on the estate had been working on the same land for generations, never having moved, and had long regarded the estate as their home.

But for Wei Yuan, those who have already contributed their fortune to others are of much lower value. For them to generate a second fortune, they either need to improve their personal cultivation to a higher level, or they need to wait for a considerable period of time, which often takes ten years.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, the servants of wealthy families are all outstanding talents, but in Wei Yuan's eyes, they are all sugarcane residue that has already been squeezed dry.

As the data collected from the five counties was continuously analyzed, many conclusions became increasingly clear.

These families have established themselves here, forming self-sufficient little kingdoms, impenetrable and unshakeable. In the event of natural disasters or man-made calamities, the families will step in to protect ordinary people. In return, they collect taxes on their family's land, silver, grain, and the most easily obtained first-time source of good fortune.

Whether it's the Prince of Jin, Emperor Tang, or even just a Zhao banner being planted here, it's all the same. They can't collect anything here; all they get are small favors from these families out of politeness. These families, through various means, practically don't need to pay taxes.

Xiangrong County has a population of nearly ten million, but its tax revenue is only one million taels. Although it is somewhat stronger than the Xu family's territory, it is still significantly different from the tax revenue of the royal family's directly administered counties and the three core counties of the Lü family, which average over ten million taels. Even a fool could see the difference.

Wei Yuan then realized that there were indeed extraordinary people among the Qingliu faction. Or rather, the source of the Qingliu faction was an extraordinary person.

Whether it was Jin that occupied this place or Zhao that came, they all wanted to appoint upright and famous scholars. Zhuang Zhong and the others were just changing their official clothes; they were still officials.

This entire system design exploited Tang Lu's loopholes to the fullest extent, truly ensuring that no matter how the political landscape changed, the family would remain powerful for a thousand years.

How to break the game?

Wei Yuan flew into the sky, stood a thousand feet high, looked down at the earth below, and pondered quietly.

According to Wei Yuan's habits, the best way to solve a problem is not to solve the problem itself, but to eliminate the person who created the problem. Once that person is gone, the problem also disappears.

In today's terms, that would mean wiping out all the upright officials, and naturally, there would be no more upright families. The so-called powerful local families, without connections to officials in the capital, are just piggy banks; they'd be broken up whenever they needed money.

Wei Yuan continued to ponder: why didn't the emperors kill the upright officials? Besides the fact that these officials were powerful and controlled real power, making it easy for the emperor to die a violent death if he tried to kill them, Wei Yuan considered the historical examples and concluded that the biggest reason was that emperors all wanted a good posthumous reputation. The more incompetent and foolish the emperor, the more he wanted to be remembered in history. And the upright officials often exploited this, deceiving their superiors and subordinates to cleverly achieve their goals.

So why do monarchs want to be remembered in history? It's because they read the biographies of sage kings and virtuous rulers, which stirred their blood, and then, encouraged by the purists, they developed the desire to be remembered in history. All monarchs have this inclination.

Who wrote the history books? Qingliu.

Thus, a self-contained cycle is formed.

Wei Yuan was once again filled with utter admiration for the founder of the "pure stream" faction. His actions were far more ruthless than his own, yet his reputation was immeasurably better. In comparison, Wei Yuan felt he wasn't even worthy of carrying his shoes. Of course, perhaps the "pure stream" faction's initial intentions were good, but today it had completely transformed. Forming cliques and purging dissent had become the most basic requirement.

Wei Yuan felt that he had to break this stalemate. As for why he needed to break it, Wei Yuan couldn't explain it, but he had an inexplicable aversion to this system from the bottom of his heart.

There must be a reason for this sudden impulse, but Wei Yuan couldn't think of one right now. So he knew that either the time wasn't right or his cultivation level wasn't high enough.

As for how to break the current situation, Wei Yuan suddenly realized that he actually possessed a supreme and wonderful method called "Horse Bandit," which could relieve all kinds of suffering in the world... Wei Yuan was suddenly startled. How could he have thought of that?! The idea itself was fine, but the wording was wrong!
He looked around and shouted, "Come out! I see you!"

“Benefactor Wei, you are prone to lying and will surely be struck by lightning.” The Peacock Buddha Mother emerged from the darkness, accompanied by the young monk Red Lotus.

After many days apart, both the Peacock Buddha Mother and the young monk had become even more beautiful. The Peacock Buddha Mother was radiant, while the young monk was enveloped in a subtle, precious light, indicating that he had already achieved perfect cultivation and could break through to the Dharma Body stage at any moment. Considering his age, the young monk's progress in cultivation was quite remarkable.

Wei Yuan frowned, staring at the Peacock Buddha Mother, and said, "Why have you appeared again? Haven't you passed away yet?"

Ever since learning from Qing Tong that he had become close to the Great Joyful King Buddha again, Wei Yuan has become extremely wary of the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land and feels agitated whenever he sees a monk.

The peacock clasped his hands together and said, "This humble monk is deeply sinful and will have to endure another 18,000 to 19,000 years of suffering in this cycle of reincarnation. I am grateful for your concern, benefactor."

Wei Yuan snorted and said irritably, "Master, you live so long, you're bound to achieve enlightenment. Even if you don't become a peacock before Buddha, being a stepping tortoise would be just as good."

The young monk Honglian retorted angrily, "We've helped you fight the Witch Clan for so long, and instead of thanking you properly, you're insulting us!"

Wei Yuan pointed at the peacock and said, "Ask him what tricks he played behind the scenes. How did I end up getting close to the Great Joyful Buddha again?"

Peacock suddenly realized and said, "So that's what it is! You truly have a deep affinity with Buddhism. You have been making great progress during this time and have already vaguely grasped some of the true meaning of the Buddha. You don't need to read scriptures or see the Dharma body, but you can understand the true meaning by relying on your own mind. If you are talking about affinity with Buddhism, then there is no one else in the world who can compare to you."

Wei Yuan stretched out his hand, grabbed the peacock, and lifted him up, angrily saying, "You better explain yourself clearly later, how did I become so brave and skilled?!"

The peacock said sincerely, "Benefactor, your precious light is now perfect, and you are about to take another step forward to comprehend the true meaning of the King Buddha. If this is not courageous and diligent progress, what else can be considered courageous and diligent progress?"

"I'm asking you, what exactly did I do to be regarded as courageous and diligent?" This was the question Wei Yuan cared about most. He had pondered it repeatedly, including examining it with the lens of worldly affairs, but he found that he had not done anything to align himself with Buddhism.

The peacock smiled mysteriously and remained silent, refusing to utter a single word no matter how much Wei Yuan tried to bribe or threaten her.

Unable to get any answers from his inquiries, Wei Yuan had no choice but to give up. He couldn't really resort to violence, and the fact that Peacock and Red Lotus fought for months and killed countless enemies during the Rain Kingdom's attack was enough for Wei Yuan to treat them with the utmost respect for the rest of his life.

"What brings you two here?"

The Peacock Buddha Mother said, “Benefactor, you now control the five prefectures. We have had good karma with you in the past, so we have come to ask for your help. The five prefectures are about to be in turmoil, and I would like to build some temples in the five prefectures.”

Building a temple is not as simple as just constructing a few main halls; it also involves feng shui and the land's veins, and the purchase of surrounding farmland as temple property. Sometimes, multiple temples occupying different nodes of the land veins can even alter the feng shui and fortune.

Wei Yuan then asked, "Which Buddhas are enshrined in the temple?"

"The Buddha King does not need incense offerings, so there are more Vairocana Buddhas."

“Okay.” Wei Yuan nodded. As long as there’s no coercion, building a few temples isn’t a big deal. Besides, with Peacock’s abilities, the other party will surely offer up the land they want willingly.

Wei Yuan has no plans for the five prefectures at the moment, so any problems with these temples will be a headache for those who come later.

Having received Wei Yuan's promise, Peacock and Red Lotus turned and left without saying anything more.

Wei Yuan frowned slightly. The peacock's sudden appearance here couldn't be solely for the sake of a few temples. Was it trying to remind him of something, or did it have another plan?

(End of this chapter)