EFB Chapter 601 1 Echo
Chapter 601 1 Echo
Chapter 601 One call and hundreds of responses
Lu Zheng looked at the old monk and said, "Get up. Go and gather the people still alive in the temple. If anyone has escaped, arrest them..."
Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "In addition, arrange some more houses. There are still some people in the underground palace beneath this temple who need medical treatment."
The old monk was taken aback upon hearing this, unaware of what lay beneath the ground.
However, seeing that Lu Zheng had given such instructions, it was clear that he would not be punished for the time being, so he happily replied, "This humble monk will go right away, Bodhisattva, please rest assured!"
Having said that, the old monk moved swiftly and left in a hurry.
Lu Zheng turned his head to look in one direction, and a streak of light flew swiftly from the sky; it was his spirit boat.
Soon, the spirit boat landed in the ruins of the temple.
Qingwan and Qingyi disembarked from the spirit boat, taking the grandmother and grandson with them.
The boy and the old woman were still in disbelief when they saw the Great Buddha Temple reduced to ruins, as if they were dreaming.
The old woman was a devout yet foolish believer, and the various things she had encountered in the past few days were too much for her to process.
The young man, however, took it all in stride. Seeing the temple so badly destroyed, a hint of pleasure flashed in his eyes.
"I knew it! There's nothing you can't do!"
Qingwan smiled and looked at Lu Zheng, then looked him up and down with concern, "Are you tired? You made quite a commotion just now..."
When Lu Zheng used the sacred power of the new poetry classics to empower himself, Qing Wan and the others watched from afar.
Even though she was quite far away, Qingwan was still shocked. She hadn't expected that Lu Zheng would actually summon the power of the Great Sage.
She had heard Lu Zheng mention Sun Wukong before; he was a remarkable figure, and the person who wrote his poems and essays was even more impressive.
Sending a poem to invoke the saint is not something that can be accomplished easily.
When Lu Zheng conveyed the new rules, Qing Wan and the others knew that Lu Zheng had solved the problem, and then they rushed over in a hurry.
Seeing Qingwan observing him with bright eyes, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's alright, I still have some energy left."
After three days of separation, you should look at each other with admiration.
Lu Zheng is no longer the same person he was a few months ago; he has grown and matured a lot during this time.
Even now, if we use an entire poem from a classic modern poetry collection, we can still retain some of its power.
Seeing that Lu Zheng's blood and energy were indeed in good condition, Qing Wan couldn't help but ask for more details out of curiosity.
Lu Zheng gave a concise and to-the-point explanation.
The boy and the old woman standing nearby, upon learning the situation, were still somewhat incredulous that the three bodhisattvas were actually transformed from a powerful demon.
Let alone them, even those who witnessed it firsthand probably find it hard to accept this fact.
Lu Zheng couldn't help but say, "Those three great demons have been reduced to ashes, but there are still some demon corpses in this temple. If you are interested, you can go and take a look."
The boy's eyes lit up, but seeing that his grandmother didn't move, he didn't want to run off on his own, so he stayed to keep her company.
Lu Zheng then told the grandfather and grandson to rest and think about their future plans.
Then, Lu Zheng led Qing Wan and the other person to the underground palace.
In a certain underground palace, many handsome young men and women, as well as some people with Buddhist nature, are imprisoned.
Many people are missing limbs, and some have become mentally disabled due to prolonged feeding here.
In a secret room, Lu Zheng and his group found many corpses and skeletons.
Some of the corpses still showed signs of life, suggesting they had been persecuted not long ago.
In particular, several emaciated corpses made Lu Zheng realize that they were so-called pilgrims.
Lu Zheng and his group rescued the victims and then ordered the monks of the temple to make proper arrangements for them.
Afterwards, Lu Zheng instructed Qingyi to burn all the magical artifacts and remains in the underground palace to ashes, leaving nothing but dust and ashes.
Lu Zheng then instructed the monks in the temple to convey another rule.
"From now on, no one is allowed to use living or dead people to make ornaments or magical artifacts. Anyone who violates this rule will be turned into an artifact while still alive."
What makes us human is our knowledge of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame, and our understanding of the difference between good and evil.
If anyone continues to take pleasure in practicing alchemy, they are no different from beasts.
Lu Zheng would not show any mercy to such people and would deal with them with severe punishment.
Such a cruel punishment would not have been seen even in a great dynasty, and might even have been criticized as inhumane.
However, Lu Zheng didn't care about these things. He felt that the Confucian concept of benevolence should have certain limits. In such chaotic times, severe punishments should be used, otherwise it would be irrelevant to managing the people here who had been severely brainwashed.
Lu Zheng then said to Qing Wan and Qing Yi, "You two go into the city and find out what's going on. Find some suitable people to help those nobles and landowners emancipate their slaves..."
"If anyone is unwilling, then arrest them, confiscate their property, and reform their thinking. This is a harsh and cold place, and survival is not easy, so let those people do labor, reclaim wasteland, build water conservancy and roads... there will always be something for them to do."
“Those noble lords have been riding on the backs of others and enjoying themselves for most of their lives. It’s time for them to experience the hardships of life.”
"If there are those who have committed heinous crimes, do not rush to kill them. Instead, capture them and make use of their talents."
"You can handle the specific details yourselves..."
Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "New laws are needed here. I need to take some time to think about it. I'll leave some things to you." Qing Wan chuckled and said, "No problem! I guarantee I'll complete the task and arrange everything perfectly!"
As the saying goes, learning should be applied to practice. Qingwan learned a lot from Lu Zheng and did a lot of things.
They did something similar before when they were with the demons in Star Bay.
The situation here is a bit different, but since most of the people here are ordinary folks, there are few obstacles to implementing certain rules, and they don't have to be too constrained.
Qingwan carried two Legalist artifacts, then, along with Xiao Qingyi, asked a monk to lead the way to the city at the foot of the mountain.
Although Lu Zheng destroyed the largest temple in the area along with its three "Bodhisattvas," and even agreed not to make offerings to the monks in the future.
However, the influence of Buddhism in this area cannot be eliminated in a short time.
To promote certain rules, we still need to rely on the reputation of the local monks.
Otherwise, if it were just the three of them doing it, who knows how long it would take.
Of course, Lu Zheng will not continue to promote Buddhism here, and will gradually reduce the influence of Buddhism on the public.
These monks will also have to undergo ideological reform through labor in the future.
When Qingwan and her companions descended the mountain, they encountered many ragged people ascending it.
Those people were local slaves who had just gained their freedom after being granted a miracle by the "Buddha" and were thinking of going up the mountain to seek refuge.
After all, even if they gained their freedom, they had nowhere to go but to pray to "Buddha".
Upon seeing this, Qingwan waved her hand and revealed her magic, shocking everyone present.
Qingwan then informed everyone that she had been instructed to go down the mountain to deliver orders and fight for freedom for the most vulnerable people.
Go and distribute the money, grain, houses, and land so that everyone can live a peaceful life, be their own master, and no longer be slaves to others...
There were also monks from the Great Buddha Temple nearby as witnesses.
In an instant, the call was met with overwhelming response, and cheers erupted like a tsunami.
Then everyone followed Qingwan and the others down the mountain.
On the mountain road, some noblemen were observing the situation. After learning what had happened, their expressions changed. Was this for real?
With so many slaves in the house, who would do the work if those people weren't available?
Are you suggesting we make our servants do all that hard work? These people don't know how to farm or anything like that, and without them, who will take care of us on a daily basis?
I just heard that the law says money, grain, houses, and land will be distributed. Whose land will be distributed?
It is obvious that, apart from monks, these noble landowners have the most assets.
The noblemen were filled with panic, feeling as if the sky was about to fall.
They thought that Buddha had shown them a miracle and that they would have a better life in the future, but who would have thought that things would turn out like this?
Upon witnessing this scene, some slaves were so excited that they threw their masters off their heads and rushed over to join the ranks.
"Ouch!"
The nobleman who had been thrown cried out in pain and anger, "This is treason! Guards, seize him! I'll beat you to death!"
The nobleman, holding a whip, instinctively ordered the servants beside him to seize the slaves.
How dare a slave treat him like this? He must be tired of living.
The servants kept their eyes down, pretending not to hear.
Everyone said that it was the true Buddha who had manifested himself. The Buddha had even declared the abolition of slavery, so how could they dare to disobey such a deity?
Moreover, there are so many slaves over there. If they really went over to arrest people, they would probably all be beaten to death.
Seeing that his servants did not move, the nobleman became anxious and angry, his voice trembling as he said, "Rebellion! Rebellion!"
One of the servants couldn't help but remind him, "Master, this is a sacred mountain. Aren't you afraid that Buddha will hear you saying such things?"
The nobleman suddenly shuddered, recalling the towering figure from just now, and a chill ran down his spine.
"Let's go, let's go back, let's take another route, around them..."
The nobleman wiped away a cold sweat, and suddenly felt much more agile. He hurriedly thought about getting home.
I had been thinking of going up the mountain to pay my respects to the Buddha, but now I just wish I had two more legs so I can go back home and avoid this place.
Now that things have escalated to this point, the family is probably in complete chaos.
Meanwhile, Qing Wan led a large group of slaves on their way to the Holy City.
Along the way, more and more escaped slaves joined the group.
On the walls of the holy city, the guarding monks felt a chill run down their spines as they watched the dark mass of people gathering like a torrent.
Some of the warrior monks were quick-witted. Seeing that the leaders included monks from the Great Buddha Temple and so many slaves, they quickly figured out what was going on.
Upon seeing this, the monk, weapon in hand, strode forward, swore allegiance, and declared that he would take Qingwan into the city to carry out the Buddha's command.
Qingwan was both amused and exasperated to see that the locals genuinely regarded Lu Zheng's miraculous abilities as manifestations of Buddha or Bodhisattva.
However, when faced with these people who are deeply brainwashed by Buddhism, it is difficult to explain to them in a short time, so this excuse is temporarily used to facilitate their actions.
(End of this chapter)