Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 237 4.33 Li Gua Cult activities in Linqing Prefecture are very frequent
Volume Four

4.33 Li Gua sect activities are very frequent in Linqing Prefecture
A new month has begun again, and it just so happens that it has entered a new plot stage. The author will add an update to thank you for taking care of me last month, and also to speed up the plot.

The result of their activities together was that when the two finally returned to the restaurant on the second floor, the Zhao sisters and Qingwen were all waiting without saying anything, and it was past half-hour.

"I've seen thousands of households in the East!" Zhao Qiying stood up with a smile and gave a slight salute, then looked at Zhou Yang and said, "Master Zhou is so excited. He really deserves this morning glory, but he doesn't know if the things we discussed yesterday can still be done now?"

What, two more people?A certain girl who was close to her was pouting and angrily punishing the buns and rice porridge. She had no time to talk to the two shameless masters. Zhao Yanling's cheeks were slightly red, and she gave someone a roll of her eyes and said nothing again—— It's not appropriate for her to say much.

As for the reason for the exposure, let’s not talk about Dongfang Bing and Zhou Yang’s obvious early morning bathing behavior, nor Dongfang Bing’s obviously overly moisturized face, and Zhou Yang’s face that couldn’t hide the comfort or rippling. This cruise ship just arranged sound insulation. There is no way that there will be no movement in the design, and with the delay of more than half an hour, the two "people in the room" in front of them can't tell.

"Sister Zhao is joking!" Dongfang Bing's expression remained unchanged, but her lips were obviously stretched, showing that her heart was not as simple as it appeared.

"Okay, of course we have to take care of what we discussed yesterday, let's eat first!" Not only did someone who had passed the shyness period not feel embarrassed, but he also deliberately threw a "fascinating look" at him, but Zhao Qiying stared back without saying anything. He also fell into the two-finger meditation of Dongfang Qianhu.

The meal was eaten quietly, truly "eating without talking or sleeping without talking", and the speed was so fast that a certain girl pouted. After only half a stick of incense, Qingwen was the only one left in the restaurant who hadn't eaten. After that, everyone else went to pack their things. What we discussed yesterday was to visit Linqing Pier this morning.

Because the pier was very prosperous or crowded, Zhou Yang simply took Dongfang Bing and Zhao Qiying with him. The three of them all changed into men's clothes, got on the fast horses and got off the cruise ship; in this way, a certain maid who could only ride in a car was , now I can only stay on the boat with a pout, and appreciate the prosperity of the city through the portholes. Even Zhao Yanling is left behind. At least there is someone who can take care of things.

"It is indeed a place known as 'Prosperity overwhelms the two capitals'. Such a scene is really worthy of its reputation." Zhao Qiying looked around in admiration and said, "Just looking at these ships that are constantly coming in and out, even if the government only collects some simple taxes, I am afraid that It can be extremely wealthy, not to mention that it also contains a large number of grain ships, which is even more difficult to underestimate."

"This is the most prosperous water transport terminal. It seems that Zhang Xun is doing his best." Dongfang Bing's tone was much calmer. "And when the government collects taxes, it naturally doesn't just collect a little money for entry and exit management; Judging from the surface, the harvest in this city in a year is probably comparable to that of some poorer provinces."

"Let's go, we can't just look at the pier, let's go in and have a look too." Zhou Yang said hello with a smile and rode forward. All the pedestrians he met voluntarily got out of the way. There was no other way. The three of them were now wearing precious energy. They were all wearing uniforms and weapons. Even Zhou Yang and Dongfang Bing's horses were hung with bows and arrows. How could ordinary people dare to stop them?
"The Linqing branch of the Xue Zihao is not far from the dock. It is mainly engaged in cargo transfer business. It used to also operate shipping, but now I'm afraid it will no longer be possible." Dongfang Bing looked at the exit of the dock and said, "It's still Yes, we only had basic information here before, so we can only find out the specific situation of this semicolon first."

However, as Xinma left the pier and slowly entered the city, when they saw the scene in the city clearly, the expressions of the three people became solemn, because the situation here was completely different from before, and it was obviously only more than a hundred steps away. , but it seems like two worlds.

"What on earth is going on?" Zhou Yang became the most frustrated one, "This is a very prosperous place, why are the people so poor?"

"Brother Zhou, something is wrong." Zhao Qiying said with a solemn expression, "Look at these stores, most of them are not very good at business, but some of them are obviously different from other stores. The business is too good. There must be something fishy here, because this kind of large shopping area should not be so different normally.

There are also these people, most of whom are in rags and have no food. It stands to reason that with such a prosperous scene on the dock, as long as they are willing to put in effort and endure it, they can feed themselves and their families no matter what, and Linqing is located on the bank of the canal. , it stands to reason that fish and shrimp are indispensable, right?How could the people be so poor? "

"You may not have noticed that most of these stores that are prosperous have the same mark on them." Dongfang calmly pointed to a restaurant and said, "Pay attention to the piece of iron Bagua above the door beam. Only The 'Li' bit is red, and the others are just ordinary engraved lines." "They all belong to the same family?" Zhou Yang frowned, not quite understanding the situation in front of him.

"Remember, the princess said before departure that I have other important matters." Dongfang Bing said with a solemn expression, "We received a tip-off that the Li Gua Cult in Linqing Prefecture has very frequent activities, and it has the vague style of the White Lotus Demon. , But that’s it. After that, the informants originally placed in Linqing lost their response.

The Iron Bagua on the beam just now is nominally used to guard the house and ward off evil spirits, but it is actually a sign of the Li Gua Sect. Anyone with such a sign should be an industry that the Li Gua Sect has already mastered; it is not just that. , when we just left from the dock, those forces were obviously too orderly. "

"You mean, the Li Gua Sect was also taught on the dock." Zhou Yang was confused. Dongfang Bing didn't know, but he knew in modern times that the White Lotus Sect is divided into many branches, each with different names. One of them claims to be The "Bagua Sect" is internally subdivided into many small sects according to the hexagrams, and the Li Gua Sect is exactly one of the famous sects!
"All members of the Li Gua Sect who believe in the Li Gua Sect will be organized and occupy various industries on the dock. Ordinary people who do not believe in the religion will starve to death and cannot intervene in this aspect." Dongfang Bingbing said calmly. Said, "The same goes for these shops. Except for the Li Gua Sect's own business, other shops will be suppressed."

"Eastern Thousand Households." Zhao Qiying looked very confused.

"Okay, we are all family members. I am a few years older, so you can just call me sister." Dongfang Bing forced a smile, nodded and said, "I know what you mean, the government shouldn't just watch. It's about taking action; logically speaking, this is not difficult. Not only that each yamen has its own yamen and catchers, even the governor's yamen for water transportation also has soldiers in the canal camp.

This is the most serious part, because it shows that the Li Gua Sect has enough strength and means to prevent the government from seeing the actual situation; they only need to pay the full amount of taxes according to the court regulations, and the entire Linqing becomes their own. , this is a terrifying source of wealth. "

"You missed one point. No matter how powerful the Li Gua Sect is, it is impossible to really control a county, because there are still gentry and wealthy families in the city, and these people are the real bosses." Zhou Yang shook his head and added, "Change In other words, it is difficult to say whether this prosperous place in the world has the surname Guo."

"That's right!" Dongfang Bing nodded solemnly, "It seems that the so-called 'Li Gua Sect' forces are just pawns pushed out by others. They usually do dirty work. If the imperial court really shows its power, they will be thrown out. Be a scapegoat; anyway, the money is already in their hands, and once the imperial court has regained control, they will just launch a new force and continue under another name!"

"That's what I mean." Zhou Yang nodded, "Actually, this is not an isolated case. All previous dynasties have recorded problems like this."

The Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was obviously caused by the indulgence of the local wealthy families. The subsequent fragmentation was basically a struggle for hegemony among aristocratic families. During the Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms periods, the people of the entire Northland were in ruins, but the impact on the major aristocratic families was not great. These When people cooperate with foreign races, they do not show any "feelings for family and country."

The Sui and Tang dynasties were the last carnivals of aristocratic families. Wu Zetian's rise to power included factors of internal strife within the aristocratic families. However, when Her Majesty the Queen killed people, there was no distinction between aristocratic and poor families. Unfortunately, she could not really solve the problem, but these aristocratic families did not It took too long, because the Huang Chao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty completely ended the inheritance of the family in the form of "the streets trampled all the bones of public ministers".

But the end of the aristocratic family does not mean the end of the local power. What followed was the rise of the so-called "gentry" power, which rose in the Song Dynasty and became rampant in the Ming Dynasty. In the early Manchu and Qing Dynasties, it was temporarily suppressed by the killings of people, but it declined in the Qing Dynasty. In the process, these people took the opportunity to rise again, and their peak performance was the "Southeast Mutual Protection" until Red China was completely cleansed.

"It seems that this so-called 'Li Gua Sect' has big plans and must report to the court." Dongfang Bing said with a solemn expression, "Moreover, take a look at the trading house over there. Is there a flag floating on the flagpole? Snow logo?"

"But there is also a secret message from the Li Gua Sect on the door of this store." Zhou Yang shook his head and was really too lazy to say more, "Okay, let's withdraw. This information is completely enough. We can't solve it with any more information. Not as good as”

"It's time to pick up the God of Wealth -" Just as everyone was preparing to return to the cruise ship, a continuous chant was heard from a distance at the street entrance. The originally orderly commercial street suddenly became noisy. Within a short time, a spacious road was opened!
(End of this chapter)