Chapter 342: Wizard Cult
"If there is something wrong with your fourth sister, then what is her purpose?"
Zhao Xing thought about it for a while but had no idea, so he threw the question to Minglan.
Minglan thought about it carefully, shook her head and said, "As for the purpose, there are many possibilities, and I dare not guess. However, I think I should not think from the perspective of Fourth Sister, but from the perspective of the Madam. Given the Madam's personality, the only possibility that Fourth Sister can convince her is related to Fifth Sister."
"Yup!"
Zhao Xing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he realized that he had fallen into a misunderstanding.
There are many possibilities for Molan to contact Madam Wang, but there are not many possibilities for Madam Wang to be willing to contact Molan.
Just as Minglan guessed, it might be related to Rulan.
Then Molan, or the person behind Molan, is most likely targeting Rulan.
No, that's not right!
Zhao Xing quickly denied this speculation. Rulan was the only concubine, so it was possible that Molan wanted to harm Rulan.
If there was someone behind her, it was unlikely that the real target was Rulan.
Then the person behind her might very well want to harm him through Rulan?
Thinking of this possibility, Zhao Xing's face turned cold.
With Minglan's intelligence, she naturally thought of this possibility and her face changed drastically.
If the speculation is true, whatever happens to Zhao Xing, the Sheng family will be doomed regardless of whether Rulan knows about it or not.
No matter how much Zhao Xing likes them, this cannot be changed.
Plotting to murder the emperor is a capital crime punishable by the execution of the entire family.
Although Minglan felt that Molan would never do such a stupid thing, what if?
She didn't dare gamble with the lives of her grandmother, biological mother and younger brother.
"Your Majesty, I will write a letter to your grandmother right now and ask her to pay attention to it," Minglan said anxiously.
"No!" Zhao Xing shook his head, and after a moment's silence, he said, "You haven't been home for a while. Go back tomorrow and let Rulan accompany you. Pay close attention to what Madam Wang has to say. I want to see what the people behind her are planning to do."
"Your Majesty, Fifth Sister would never do anything to murder Your Majesty," Minglan said anxiously.
"Haha." Zhao Xing smiled and held Minglan in his arms, saying, "I also understand Rulan's personality. I don't believe she would harm me. But someone wants to use her to harm me. She can't find out even if it's intentional. That's why I asked you to keep an eye on her."
"I understand." Minglan hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if it is really the fourth sister..."
"The Sheng family is unaware of the situation, so I won't pursue the matter. But your fourth sister must be aware of the situation, and she must die," Zhao Xing said.
Minglan fell silent after hearing this. Although she had no feelings for Molan, they were sisters after all, and she didn't want to see her die like this.
But if Molan was really instructed by someone to murder Zhao Xing, she would not be able to save Molan.
"Don't think too much." Zhao Xing patted Minglan on the back and said, "People choose their own paths. Once they have chosen, they must bear the consequences."
"Yeah." Minglan leaned in Zhao Xing's arms and nodded.
…………
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Yin Hanzhang bowed.
"No need to be polite!" Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "What do you want to do?"
Yin Hanzhang didn't say anything and looked around.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Xing sent everyone in the hall away.
"Go ahead."
"Your Majesty, after some investigations in the past few days, I found that the store should have some relationship with the Wizard Cult." Yin Hanzhang said. "Wizard Cult?" Zhao Xing frowned slightly when he heard this, and thought about it carefully and said: "Are you talking about the wizards who were popular in Jiangnan in the past? Haven't these people been wiped out?"
The ancients were superstitious, so naturally some people took advantage of this superstition to spread the belief in ghosts and gods.
This kind of thing is common throughout the dynasties, and has been used in many peasant uprisings in history.
Like the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Fang La Uprising, and the Red Turban Army in which Zhu Yuanzhang joined in the late Ming Dynasty, they were actually rebel armies formed by the White Lotus Sect.
Before the establishment of the Song Dynasty, the world was in chaos, rites and music had collapsed, and there were even more people who used the stories of gods and ghosts to deceive the people.
The most famous among them is the wizard. Wizards were first popular in the south of the Yangtze River and deceived the people through means such as sacrificial talismans.
As the world was unified, wizards spread everywhere, their methods became more and more brutal, and even people were killed for sacrifice.
You have to know that these wizards are not deceiving ordinary people, but some landlords, gentry and wealthy people.
It is even more terrifying when these people believe in it.
Later, an industrial chain was even formed, with some bandits often hired to kill and dismember passers-by and then sell them to rich people for "sacrifice".
After the imperial court learned about it, it issued an "anti-witch law" and ordered local governments to crack down on witches and execute those who were caught by slow slicing.
Only through this iron-blooded method did the wizards gradually disappear.
In fact, not only the Song Dynasty, but also the Han Dynasty, after experiencing the witchcraft disaster, had cracked down on it vigorously.
"Because the imperial court vigorously cracked down on them, those wizards disappeared. The Wizard Cult was founded by these wizards." Yin Hanzhang said.
"Why didn't you report it before?" Zhao Xing asked with a grim expression.
"Your Majesty, the court has actually always known about the existence of the Wizard Cult, but because it was difficult to eradicate and it did not continue to cause trouble, the court did not care about it anymore," said Yin Hanzhang.
Zhao Xing calmed down a bit after hearing this and asked, "What did you mean by what you said before that it might be related to the Wizard Cult?"
"I sent people to investigate the shop and found that the Buddha statues enshrined in the shop are very different from those in the temple. Instead, they are similar to the Buddha statues enshrined by those families who believed in wizards in the past. Therefore, it is only a guess and cannot be confirmed yet." Yin Hanzhang said.
Zhao Xing was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "Assuming that your guess is true, what do you think the purpose of the wizard's teaching is?"
He remembered that there was no Wizarding Cult in the original drama, and the Wizarding Cult had always been well hidden. It was unusual for it to suddenly appear now.
Although Yin Hanzhang said it was just a guess, Zhao Xing always felt that the person behind it should be the Wizard Cult.
Otherwise, he couldn't think of anyone in the court who had such courage.
"If it is really related to the Wizard Cult, then it is very likely because Your Majesty's investigation of land in Jiangnan has shaken their interests. As far as I know, there are many landlords and gentry in Jiangnan who believe in the Wizard Cult. It is also because those landlords and gentry cover up for them and provide money and food that the wizards are difficult to eradicate. Apart from this, I can't think of any other possibility." Yin Hanzhang said.
"You continue to investigate. If it is really related to the Wizard Cult, then find out for me which landlords and gentry have connections with the Wizard Cult." Zhao Xing said coldly.
He did not want to stir up too much unrest, so during the process of checking the land, he only targeted officials.
Even if it was found that the landlords and gentry had occupied land or concealed farmland, they did not investigate further.
It’s not that he is soft-hearted, but most of the landlords and gentry in the world are in this situation. If he kills them in large numbers, it would be tantamount to forcing those people to rebel.
Now it gave him a good reason to take action against these landlords and gentry.
The imperial decree banning witchcraft was issued by Emperor Taizong. Although the imperial court had explicitly prohibited it, these people still had contact with the witch cult, which gave him a reason to take action.
However, the prerequisite is to be able to identify all the people involved and resolve them all at once.
Otherwise, once the wizard cult incites the people to rebel, it will cause chaos.
"Your Majesty, those who join the Wizard Cult will only worship in private. They look no different from ordinary people, so it would be very difficult to find them." Yin Hanzhang said with difficulty.
(End of this chapter)