Chapter Twenty-Four: Manipulating Hearts

  Liu Bu Yi also saw that this official was certainly a trusted person of County Magistrate Zhang. He was quite clever and capable, which made Liu Bu Yi appreciate him very much.

  The county government was not far from the yamen, and before the several treasurers of the Bao Lin Temple had been brought in, County Magistrate Zhang had already received the news and made preparations for the trial early on.

  The whole county was originally not big, and such a thing happened among the crowd, it immediately spread throughout the city.

  Soon everyone knew that the monks of Bao Lin Temple resented Liu Bei for treating the common people for free, so they used a poisonous plan to kill their own people and frame Liu Bei.

  This kind of thing spread far and wide, and originally Baolinsi Temple's reputation was not very good.

  This vast temple, covering thousands of acres, has a hundred or two monks and controls tenant households numbering in the tens of thousands. In this small county, it is already a giant!

  It's easy to imagine that such a big and powerful thing would not have a good reputation. Those monks, as well as various officials, would inevitably be guilty of bullying the weak, embezzlement, and other corrupt practices.

  Any organization has a natural tendency to expand its own power. When an organization stops expanding, it is often the moment of its demise. Even Buddhist temples are no exception!

  So people outside the temple will not have a good impression of Bao Lin Temple.

  Now, with this added commotion, the whole city is in an uproar. Countless people are packed outside the county government office, watching the excitement, and for a time, the streets are completely blocked by three layers of onlookers inside and three layers outside.

  County Magistrate Zhang sat on the main hall with an expressionless face, but in fact he was excited and slightly trembling.

  He originally had the monks of Bao Lin Temple arrested without cause, provoking a fight. With the law on his side, when Fa Lin returned, the great pressure made Xiangyang's governor unbearable, and he threw out this county order to block the arrows.

  The originally vigorous and ambitious Yin Gui faction, now seeing Fa Lin's return, suddenly became disheartened. Some even had the intention of abandoning Zhang County Magistrate, which made him both anxious and angry.

  Now, it's all set. Not only has he established a relationship with Liu Bu Yi, the top orthodox disciple of this Taoist sect, but also these monks from Bao Lin Temple have foolishly handed over such a big handle to him. If County Magistrate Zhang doesn't make good use of it, then he would be too foolish!

  "Awesome..."

  The two bailiffs stirred the water and fire rods, which made the county master's demeanor even more prominent. The noisy crowd outside also quieted down, and several prisoners had not yet been interrogated, but were already limp on the ground.

  In front of so many people, they have already spoken out of turn. They don't have such a strong psychological build-up to be able to talk nonsense at this time!

  Even if you really have this skill, the yamen's boards and various torture instruments are not just for show!

  "The audacious criminals, report your names! Speak quickly, how did you harm people to death and frame Liu Daozhang!" Zhang County Magistrate slapped the shock wood heavily and said.

  That loose-tongued fellow cried out: "We didn't intentionally want to kill anyone, Lai Zi was originally a consumptive and wouldn't have lived for many more days anyway..."

  Magistrate Zhang was furious: "How can you utter such inhumane words? Come, bring the wooden clubs!"

  The people outside the public hall made a loud noise of approval, and I was deeply ashamed of these guys' behavior!

  Liu Bu-yi, however, pulled over a rattan chair from the side of the public hall and sat down. He then said: "Wait a minute, can the execution be delayed for a while? I'd like to ask you people something - was there someone behind your actions?"

  He asked with great skill, and his voice was even more seductive. It made this guy who had already panicked react again.

  Reminded by Liu Bu Yi, the guy suddenly went crazy and shouted: "Right, right, it's the masters of Bao Lin Temple who let us do it. It was Master Yan Sheng, the guest monk, who ordered us to..."

  "Whoa..."

  Another shocking news!

  I thought these things were just the private doings of those foxes and dogs who rely on the power of others, but I didn't expect that it was actually the monks from Bao Lin Temple who personally instructed and instigated them!

  Those monks are dignified and arrogant in their daily lives. In their daily lives, most of the common people have a deep respect for them.

  One was afraid of the powerful influence of these monks, and the other was also afraid of the mysterious Buddhist law and hell. Now in the public hall, it is also a matter of not blaming the masses, and the momentum is suddenly strong. Adding to this, emotions have been accumulating and fermenting for so long, and at one point they became extremely angry.

  "Come on!" County Magistrate Zhang shouted: "Bring back those monks for interrogation!"

  The officials below shouted in unison and obeyed. The morale of the soldiers was greatly boosted!

  They didn't have a very good impression of this Master Ming, but after today's events, they suddenly gained a lot more confidence. With a proud and arrogant attitude, he led the team out to catch those monks.

  Liu Bu-yi then stood up and said to the onlookers outside, "Everyone, thank you for your help. It's getting late today, I'll continue treating illnesses for you all tomorrow!"

  Suddenly, a burst of cheers and applause came from outside. Today was wonderful, everything that happened could be talked about for several months!

  The people waiting outside the county government office slowly dispersed, and County Magistrate Zhang burst out laughing: "Brother Dao's grasp of the people's hearts is so thorough, playing with them in the palm of his hand, truly a great talent! He can be a prime minister!"

  Liu Bu-yi said faintly: "The prefect has mistakenly praised you, aren't you afraid that those monks will gather a crowd to resist?"

  Bao Lin Temple may not be a big temple, but it also has several hundred mu of land, thousands of tenants, and can gather dozens of martial monks. Once they resist arrest and fight back, Yin Cheng County really doesn't have the power to stop them!

  This place isn't anything important either. There aren't even any stationed troops. If we wait for the Xiangyang City's Yingyang Fu's military power to arrive, the yellow flower dishes will already be cold, and whether or not they'll send anyone out is something nobody knows.

  The social environment after the Han and Tang dynasties was vastly different from that of the Song and Yuan dynasties. During the Han and Tang periods, local powerful families and large households each had their own private armies, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, which were a normal occurrence. They even threatened government offices and emptied the imperial court, which was a common affair.

  If Bao Lin Temple really brings people, strikes Yin Cheng County and drives out Zhang County Magistrate. Then, relying on the great power of Buddhism, who knows how this lawsuit will be fought, but Zhang County Magistrate is already a scapegoat!

  County Magistrate Zhang's eyes flickered uncertainly as he said, "You and I have already taken things to this point. If the Yin Gui faction doesn't make a move now, that would be too unreasonable!"

  Liu had already figured it out, although Zhang County Magistrate said so, he was comforting himself a bit more, and he didn't have much confidence in whether the Yin Gui faction would make a move or not!