Chapter 255: Night Chapter
Chapter 255 Return to Beijing Overnight
At four o'clock in the morning, Xiao Xia was awakened by the soldiers outside the tent. He put on his warrior uniform and walked out while tying his leather belt. The sky outside was still full of stars and there was silence all around.
There were two soldiers leading horses standing outside the tent. Xiao Xia recognized them at a glance. They were his messengers.
"whats the matter?"
The soldier handed him a letter, "An express letter from Mr. Liu to the general!"
Xiao Xia opened the letter and read it carefully under the lantern near the account door. It was written by Liu Wenjing. The letter asked him to return to Chang'an immediately and the court promoted him to the position of Imperial Censor.
Xiao Xia was shocked. Being promoted to the position of Imperial Censor meant that Lingyan Pavilion would give him a task.
"Third brother, what's going on?" Yang Zhao also rushed over.
"Brother, you've come at the right time. The court is looking for me. I must go back immediately."
Yang Zhao nodded, "Okay, go ahead! I'll explain to the others."
Xiao Xia packed up briefly, jumped on his horse, and followed two soldiers to rush towards Chang'an.
The sky gradually brightened and everyone got up and busied themselves with their morning wash and grooming.
The female guests had already moved into the rooms in the villa. Cui Yu was sitting on the couch combing her hair when she saw her sister Cui Mei running into the room sobbing with red eyes.
Cui Yu smiled and said, "Why are you crying so early in the morning? Who bullied you?"
"Sister, Brother Xiao is gone."
"Ah! Where has he gone?"
"He went back to Chang'an. He left at midnight yesterday. He said he had something urgent to do. He had clearly agreed to go hunting today."
He actually left. That heroic and tall figure emerged in Cui Yu's mind, and she suddenly felt lost.
Xiao Xia changed horses and galloped all the way. It was already afternoon when he arrived in Chang'an. Xiao Xia went straight to the military camp. It was just time for the court to end. Liu Wenjing was packing up and preparing to go back.
Xiao Xia walked into the big tent and asked, "Mr. Liu, has the appointment been made?"
"The general is back!"
Liu Wenjing smiled and said, "The Censorate asked the general to go there tomorrow morning to see the Chief Censor Zhang Heng."
"Anything else?"
"Yang Gongren came to you this afternoon and told you to go find him tomorrow at noon after you get the title of Censor, but he didn't say where to find him."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I see. Is there anything wrong with the military camp?"
"Nothing big happens in the military camp. It's the same thing every day."
"It's getting late, sir, please go back first!"
Xiao Xia returned to his tent. There were only two appointment letters of captain on the table that needed his signature. He signed them immediately. Then Liu Wenjing stamped the official seal on them and the appointment took effect.
At dusk, Xiao Xia finished his dinner in the military camp and rode back home on horseback.
The next morning, Xiao Xia rushed to the Censorate and found Zhang Heng, the Chief Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat.
Zhang Heng was a close confidant of Prince of Jin Yang Guang. After Yang Guang's comeback, he was also promoted to Chief Censor.
Zhang Heng smiled at Xiao Xia and said, "It is impossible to change a dignified third-rank Right Wuhou Guard General to a sixth-rank Imperial Censor. That is too absurd. In fact, it is just giving the general a title of Imperial Censor. But don't underestimate this title. With the title, you have the power of the Imperial Censor. You have the right to suspend and investigate officials below the provincial governor. Of course, dismissal is the business of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Imperial Censor cannot interfere in this matter."
"Since it's a title, is there any token of trust?" Xiao Xia asked.
"Of course, otherwise why would I ask you to come to the Censorate?"
Zhang Heng took out a silver plate from the drawer and handed it to him, "This is the Imperial Censor's Token. This plate proves your identity as an Imperial Censor."
Xiao Xia took the square silver plate and asked, "Does Zhang Zhongcheng know why I was given the title of Imperial Censor?"
Zhang Heng shook his head. "This is the emperor's order. I just have to execute it. It's just a title anyway. General Xiao doesn't need to come to the Censorate again. When the title of Attendant Censor is cancelled, the general just needs to hand over the silver medal." Having said that, Zhang Heng took out another document and handed it to Xiao Xia.
"This is the investigation report on the cattle slaughter incident at Mangshan in Luoyang. The people sent by our Censorate to investigate have just returned. Prince Jin wants you to take a good look at it."
This was a good cover for the investigation. Xiao Xia took the report and asked with a smile, "What is the name of the censor sent to Luoyang?"
"The Imperial Censor Wang Tao and the Supervisory Censor Pei Yao. Pei Yao is very young, just over 20 years old. He was a newly-appointed Jinshi last year and has a promising future."
"Did they alert the Luoyang authorities?"
Zhang Heng shook his head. "They were ordered to make a private visit and never met with the government!"
"Thank you, Zhang Zhongcheng, for telling me!"
Xiao Xia clasped his fists, bowed, and left.
Xiao Xia did not return to the military camp. Instead, he found a tavern and had lunch early before riding to the Weiyang Palace.
Soon he arrived at the Lingyan Pavilion, where Yang Gongren was already waiting for him.
"Sit down!"
Yang Gongren asked Xiao Xia to sit down and said with a smile: "You have already received the title from the Censorate!"
Xiao Xia nodded, and Yang Gongren smiled and said, "I told you last time that you are a steward, and stewards have to go out and do things. Of course, Lingyan Pavilion is not the Dali Temple, and Lingyan Pavilion will not deal with small cases. Only major cases that endanger the country will be dealt with by Lingyan Pavilion. But everyone never attacks in the name of Lingyan Pavilion, but with various titles, with the most being censors. Yuwen Chengdu went to Yuzhang County with the title of Assistant Censor to investigate the case of illegal gold mining."
At this point, Yang Gongren took out a sheepskin bag from the drawer, put it on the table and pushed it to Xiao Xia, "This is your task, take it back and study it slowly, and set off tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
"Could you please give me a brief explanation, Envoy Yang?"
Yang Gongren nodded. "Your mission is to go to Luoyang to investigate the cult. This cult was wiped out in Hebei three years ago, but suddenly rose up again in Henan County half a year ago, and it has become more and more intense. Even many soldiers stationed in Luoyang have been dragged into it. According to reports from Luoyang officials, the leader of this cult has appeared in public wearing a dragon robe. The situation is quite serious. The emperor has instructed Lingyan Pavilion to take action to eliminate their core leader. You can take a thousand elite soldiers and complete the mission within two months."
Xiao Xia hesitated for a moment and asked, "Have other officials from the court gone?"
"The Dali Temple sent people there, and they said they were unsuccessful, with heavy casualties. But you are handling the case independently, so it has nothing to do with them."
"I understand. I'll leave tomorrow!"
Xiao Xia then returned to his residence to study the information in the sheepskin bag.
The problem of cults has always run through Chinese history, and it can basically be divided into three stages.
In the early days, the Taiping Sect and the Five Pecks of Rice Sect flourished, represented by the Yellow Turban Rebellion. In fact, the three Zhang Jue brothers used the Taiping Sect to deceive the people and call on the followers to revolt.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, cults began to use Maitreya to recruit followers. In addition, Western doctrines also caused trouble in the Central Plains. The most typical example was the An-Shi Rebellion, in which An Lushan used Zoroastrianism to control a large number of soldiers and generals, making them loyal and willing to work for him.
To some extent, An Lushan was the founder of the Ming Cult and its first leader.
After the Song Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect rose and the White Lotus Religion began to develop. The White Lotus Religion lasted throughout the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Cults created by Western doctrines were also causing trouble, and the God Worshipping Society of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was a typical example.
By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, there were countless cults.
The evil cult that Xiao Xia was going to investigate was a branch of the Maitreya sect, called the Mahayana sect, and its leader was Song Zixian. The teachings of the Mahayana sect were extremely evil, and they divided their followers into ten levels of residence, and they could advance in level by killing people. Killing one person promoted them by one level, and they could kill anyone, including their parents, wives, and children. The more people they killed, the higher their level would be, so it attracted countless vicious criminals to join them.
The leader Song Zixian himself knows a little bit of magic, that is, he uses various props to create illusions and confuse the people. He makes himself look like Maitreya who has come to the earth to save all living beings and collect money, which has caused countless families to lose their fortunes and donate their wealth to him.
A few years ago, Song Zixian caused trouble in Zhuo County and Shanggu County, recruited followers, and defrauded money. He was later cleared out by the government. Song Zixian got the news in advance and ran away with a dozen core leaders. His whereabouts are unknown.
This time he continued to develop Mahayana Buddhism in the Henan County area. His methods were more sophisticated and deceptive, and he did it very well. Even many officials and troops were dragged into it.
In the study, Xiao Xia carefully read the various collected materials. Xiao Xia felt that this Mahayana teaching had not only appeared for half a year, but should have been spread secretly for a long time, but it had not been taken seriously by the government.
At this time, Ah Chu came in and said, "Young Master, Brother is here!"
Xiao Xia was startled. Why is his elder brother here? Isn't he in Liquan County Manor?
(End of this chapter)