Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 349 It’s Time to Change Your Identity

When Lin Dongcheng heard the three words "Salvation Church", his face suddenly changed and he wanted to leave.

But Lin Wenxu had already anticipated Lin Dongcheng's reaction, so he stepped forward and grabbed Lin Dongcheng's hand.

"Uncle, listen to what the student has to say..."

"Let go! Are you crazy? How dare you touch someone from the Salvation Church?"

Lin Dongcheng almost disregarded his image as an official, and reached out to pull Lin Wenxu's hand that was holding his arm, trying to pry his hand open.

But Lin Wenxu held on tightly and refused to let go no matter what.

Both of them are weak scholars, but Lin Wenxu's advantage is his youth, so his strength is ultimately greater.

Lin Dongcheng struggled to break free several times but failed, and angrily said, "Let go! Don't force me to call someone over!"

Lin Wenxu then let go of his hand and said sincerely: "Uncle, if you still want to call someone over after listening to my explanation, or even hand me over, I will have no complaints."

Lin Dongcheng finally calmed down, straightened his clothes, and said with an unpleasant face: "No matter what the reason is, it is wrong to contact the people of the Salvation Church. This is punishable by death! You are favored by the Left Prime Minister, why do you have to wade into this muddy water?"

Lin Wenxu sighed, "Students don't know how to judge people. Now that we are in this quagmire, how can we wade out of the muddy water?"

"What exactly is going on?"

"This matter has to start from the imperial examination in the 36th year of Tianwu..."

……

"You mean... the Jingzhou case involves Prime Minister Wu?!"

It was half an hour later that Lin Wenxu finally explained the whole story.

Lin Dongcheng was shocked when he learned that the high and mighty Prime Minister Wu was involved behind the Jingzhou bureaucracy!
At this moment, he felt a little regretful.

I shouldn't have contacted Lin Wenxu in the first place. Wouldn't it be better if I just pretended I knew nothing?

Now that Lin Wenxu had revealed everything in front of him, he had put himself in a dilemma.

Lin Wenxu sighed, "If the list in Lu Huaishen's hand is submitted to the court, the teacher will definitely be in trouble."

He looked at Lin Dongcheng and said, "Uncle, if the teacher falls, you and I are both members of the Wu Party. When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? The teacher fought for the position of imperial envoy for you, intending to use the merit of pacifying Jingzhou to help you become the Minister of War and take charge of the Ministry of War. But if the teacher falls, the current Minister of War Yuan Yue will not be suppressed by the teacher. How can he let you go?"

Lin Dongcheng was silent for a long while, his heart was already in turmoil.

Lin Wenxu struck while the iron was hot and said, "Uncle, this is both a crisis and an opportunity for you. If you can lend a helping hand, I will definitely remember your kindness. I remember that your eldest and second sons both took the imperial examinations. Now, the spring examinations are only half a year away. Don't you want to see three Hanlins in the Lin family?"

If one wants to enter the Hanlin Academy, it is not enough to just pass the imperial examination, one must also be ranked first in the class, and then one's official career will be extremely smooth.

Lin Dongcheng knew that this was the condition given by Lin Wenxu on behalf of Prime Minister Wu, and he couldn't help but say that he was tempted.

He held his forehead with his hand, a little anxious: "I understand the truth, the left prime minister was also deceived by the Jingzhou bureaucrats, but, but this matter is not impossible to turn around."

"Although accepting gifts is a disgrace to one's official reputation, it is a tacit understanding among everyone. Who among the officials in the court dares to pat his chest and guarantee that he has never received any gifts? The authority of the left prime minister is still there, who in the court dares to hold on to this point? In addition, the matter of accidentally eating the blood pill was also deceived..."

Lin Dongcheng talked a lot, but still hoped to handle this matter in the court.

You should never risk being charged with colluding with the Salvation Church by killing an official appointed by the imperial court.

Lin Wenxu smiled bitterly and said, "Uncle, no one in the court can do anything to the teacher. But what the teacher is afraid of is arousing suspicion from the one above!"

There is only one person above the left prime minister in the entire Daqian Dynasty.

That is the emperor today!
Everyone knows what Emperor Tianwu's attitude is towards the Salvation Church.

Success is due to the emperor’s favor, and failure is also due to the emperor’s favor.

Wu Yong can't afford the gamble!
Lin Wenxu saw that even after saying this, the Minister of War was still hesitant and unwilling to express his opinion. His face suddenly turned cold and he said in a heavier tone: "Now I have told you everything truthfully without hiding anything. If you agree, we can share the wealth. If you don't agree, I know that I can never fulfill your trust by myself, and I will die anyway. It would be better for you to call someone to tie me up and take me to see General Ling. Whether I am killed or cut into pieces, it will be a quick death!"

As he spoke, he took off his coat, sat cross-legged on the ground, supported his thighs with his hands, and looked like he was ready to be killed.

Lin Dongcheng looked at him with a complicated expression, and after a long while he spoke, "What do you want me to do?"

Seeing that he finally let out a sigh of relief, Lin Wenxu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He made the right bet!

"It's difficult to say this, as difficult as ascending to heaven. But my uncle is an imperial envoy, and he also controls the power of the palace soldiers. With his help, this matter will not be difficult..."

Lin Wenxu had already thought of his plan in his mind, so he lowered his voice and told it in detail.

……

That night, in the front hall of the county magistrate's mansion.

Ling Fang sat behind the desk. There was a candlestick on the desk, providing light.

At this moment, he was holding a secret report in his hand. As he read the contents on it, his expression became somewhat complicated and strange.

"This Zhao Guanxiang... is actually trying to infiltrate the Salvation Church?"

Ling Fang murmured softly, not knowing what expression to use to face it for a moment.

The imperial envoys had thought about planting a spy within the Salvation Church. Even the governor of the East Factory, Wei Sanyin, had been working on this recently.

But the effect is... minimal.

It is difficult to trace the whereabouts of the Salvation Church, and they are internally divided and do not communicate with each other. Even if you sneak into one of their hideouts, you cannot climb to a high position and find out much useful information.

The most fatal thing is that the Salvation Church is not a bandit or a rebel, it is a religion that worships gods!
This god is not a symbol, nor an illusory existence, but a real person.

Ling Fang dug out a mad god, and it was unknown how many similar mad gods there were in Jingzhou.

Believing in a mad god will pollute one's mind. Even a reliable person, once his mind is polluted, may turn into a crazy follower of the Messianic cult.

None of the people sent out by the East Factory came back, and there was no news of them all.

Ling Fang knew that these people were probably throwing meat buns at dogs and would never come back.

Now that Zhao Guanxiang had volunteered to be an undercover agent in the Salvation Church, he subconsciously wanted to reject it, but when he picked up the pen he hesitated again.

Zhao Guanxiang...is different from others.

There is a spiritual being of a Lingyuan god in his body. In a sense, he is a Lingyuan god!
Ling Fang didn't know why the National Master did this. It was obvious that the National Master had so many holy remains left behind by the powerful men of Jiuzhou. There was no need to use the holy remains of Lingyuan God to repair Zhao Guanxiang's foundation.

The lesson of the late crown prince is still vivid in Zhao Guanxiang's mind. Now that he has just entered the realm of heaven, the impact is not that great. However, with his talent, his future achievements will be at least that of the second rank. Aren't you afraid that he will be punished by heaven before he grows up?
"The Imperial Master would not do something aimless, nor would he deliberately harm his talented students. It seems that there must be some secrets about Zhao Guanxiang that I don't know..." "Anyway, he now has the spirit of the Lord of No Delusion in his body, and his mind will not be affected by the power of other mad gods. If he can really infiltrate the Salvation Church, it may be effective."

He couldn't help but ponder, thinking about the feasibility of this matter.

Just at this moment, a man came in from outside the hall.

"General."

The voice interrupted Ling Fang's thoughts.

He put away the secret report presented by Zhao Guanxiang, then looked at the visitor: "What's the matter?"

Li Shengtian bowed his head and said, "Minister Lin went to contact Lu Huaishen tonight. It seems that he wants to bypass us and escort Lu Huaishen back to Kyoto City."

Ling Fang's face turned stern, and he said in a deep voice: "It seems that my guess is correct. The list in Lu Huaishen's hand is to implicate Wu Yong. Lin Dongcheng is the confidant of the left prime minister. It's not surprising that he wants to send Lu Huaishen back to Kyoto City in advance."

Li Shengtian immediately said, "In that case, General, order Zhao Guanxiang to leave as soon as possible, so as to avoid being intercepted by Minister Lin."

The consequences would be completely different if Lu Huaishen fell into the hands of the Astronomical Survey or the Ministry of Justice or the Dali Temple.

In Li Shengtian's view, this was a good opportunity to deal with the Left Prime Minister, so it was naturally impossible for him to hand over Lu Huaishen to others.

But Ling Fang asked: "Why stop it?"

Li Shengtian was speechless: "This... is naturally... to deal with Zuo Xiang."

Ling Fang asked again: "Why do we need to deal with Zuo Xiang?"

Li Shengtian replied: "Of course, the Zuo Xiang has many shackles on the Astronomical Observatory, and there have been many conflicts between the Observatory and the Wu Party in recent days... Now is a good opportunity to deal with the Zuo Xiang, shouldn't we seize it?"

Ling Fang shook his head and said, "You are wrong. If Wu Yong is overthrown, can you and I take the position of prime minister? There will still be a new left prime minister in the court. If there is no Wu Party, there will be Lin Party and Qin Party."

"The Astronomical Observatory and the officials in the court should have checked and balanced each other. This is why the court can still function even though Your Majesty has not been involved in government affairs for many years."

"I have never thought of dealing with Prime Minister Wu. I am just doing my job. No matter how fiercely Prime Minister Wu has fought in the court over the years, has he ever personally dealt with the Astronomical Observatory? It's all tacitly understood."

Ling Fang's explanation made Li Shengtian's eyes widen, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Ling Fang couldn't help but sigh inwardly when he saw this.

Although the Observatory is also part of the imperial court, it is outside the imperial system. The senior officials in the Observatory are either from the military or vagrants. They know little about the ins and outs of officialdom, and therefore their thinking is much simpler.

For example, Major General Li Shengtian was born in the underworld and still carries the spirit of the underworld. He is full of heroism and bravery, but lacks strategy.

Li Shengtian hesitated for a while, then asked awkwardly: "Then General, shall we... just ignore it?"

Ling Fang shook his head and said, "We still have to take care of it. After all, this time it's not just about escorting Lu Huaishen to the capital. It's just that Zhao Guanxiang... has other important tasks, so we have to decide on someone else to escort him. Let's transfer General Fan Yanhu back and let him do this."

"Yes!"

……

At the same time, in the backyard of the County Magistrate's Mansion.

Lin Dongcheng was sweating profusely, and said earnestly: "Lu Guozhang, now that the Fourth Prince has joined the Second Prince's army, you and I are in the same camp. How could I harm you?"

Lu Huaishen sat upright behind his desk.

The candlelight on the table shone on his face, making his angular features look more three-dimensional.

Just by sitting there, he exuded a kind of majesty that was intimidating without even showing any anger.

Even the current left prime minister seemed three points less majestic in front of him.

But for such a charismatic person, who would have thought that his life would be so mediocre.

Lu Huaishen had little literary talent and it took him eighteen years to take the imperial examination, from the reign of Emperor Shengde until the twelfth year of Tianwu, when he finally passed.

But even if he passed the imperial examination, he would only be a third-class Jinshi, and his family had no power, so he could not stay in Kyoto and could only be sent out to serve as a county magistrate.

His official career was not smooth. He failed to make any achievements while in office and had no hope of promotion.

If nothing unexpected happens, his tenure as a county magistrate will be over.

But there is one thing that makes Lu Huaishen stand out from the crowd, and that is good genes.

He himself was very brave and heroic when he was young, and his daughter was extremely beautiful.

This woman was later known as Concubine Zhen, Lu Zhen.

By offering his daughter as a gift, Lu Huaishen was finally promoted to become the governor of Dongyang County.

But Dongyang County in Jingzhou...is not a good place to go.

Now that Lu Huaishen is involved in the Jingzhou bloody case, although he has a backup plan and jumped out to report others, his situation is still precarious.

Lin Dongcheng seized on this point and came to lobby Lu Huaishen tonight.

He took out a stack of official documents from his sleeve and said to Lu Huaishen with a serious face: "Don't think that you can redeem yourself by reporting your colleagues. Many officials in Jingzhou have spoken out. These are all confessions against you. Do you want to take a look? Do you think you can save your life if you are put in the prison of the Xuntianjian?!"

Lu Huaishen looked down at the confession that was slapped on the table. He did not reach out to read it, but remained silent.

Lin Dongcheng's tone softened a little, and he advised: "The Left Prime Minister is willing to protect you, but you also need to cooperate, right? I have arranged everything. You leave Tianyuan County at night, and I will send someone to escort you to Kyoto City. Only after you are out of the control of the Patrol of Astronomy, and after you enter the capital, the Left Prime Minister will have a reason to detain you in the Ministry of Justice. Once you are in the Ministry of Justice, it will be their territory, and I guarantee that you will not suffer at all."

"I will not hide the truth from you. You have colluded with the officials of Jingzhou and there is no hope for you to continue to serve as an official. But at least your life can be saved. At your age, it is time to retire. Why do you cling to it? Even if His Majesty is unwilling to forgive you, Prime Minister Wu has a way to change your identity and ensure that you will be safe for the rest of your life. Isn't that enough?"

Lin Dongcheng struggled to persuade Lu Huaishen, who was sitting opposite him, finally responded.

"Minister Lin..."

Lu Huaishen opened his mouth slowly and said, "You are right. It is time for me to change my current status."

The next moment, he slowly raised his head, with divine light flashing in his pupils.

Lin Dongcheng met Lu Huaishen's gaze and saw three points of light in his pupils, as if three candles were lit in the depths of his eyes.

Lin Dongcheng's expression gradually became dull, and his eyes gradually lost their luster.

As the three spiritual lamps in Lu Huaishen's eyes gradually went out, a light like candlelight gradually lit up in the depths of Lin Dongcheng's eyes...

(End of this chapter)