"That's not necessarily the case. I can't hide the relic thing!" Wang Wenzuo secretly cursed, but he kept saying yes. He remembered the real purpose of his trip: "The Protector, the Chief of History, only subordinates can enter." Cheng Shi saw something and felt that he needed to report it to you two and come up with a countermeasure!"
"Oh? What happened?"
"That's what happened!" Wang Wenzuo described what he saw at the gate of the city as the Baekje people offering sacrifices under the cliff, and finally said: "My subordinates think this matter is not a big deal or a small matter. , if we just let it go, I'm afraid it will cause big trouble in the future!"
The room was silent, and the air was filled with the smell of embarrassment. Liu Renyuan's mouth was tightly closed, as if an invisible seal had been attached. After a while, Du Shuang coughed twice: "What do Wang Canjun think we should do?"
"I think we should be appeased!" Wang Wenzuo said solemnly: "No matter what, if we want to stay here for a long time, this matter is an obstacle that we cannot get around!"
"Wang Shenjun is exaggerating!" Du Shuang said: "The war is fierce. Isn't it normal for people to die on the battlefield? If a few people die and have to be comforted, how can we fight this war?"
"Du Changshi, those are women, not men!" Wang Wenzuo said coldly: "And the Baekje people had already surrendered in Kaicheng, and the war was over. I don't want to say who is right and who is wrong, but if we do nothing , if we let this continue, sooner or later we will reap the consequences!"
"Of course we don't do nothing. We should send people immediately to disperse them and capture the person behind them!"
"Du Changshi, this will only be counterproductive. It may be able to calm the situation temporarily, but the grievances of the Baekje people will only deepen. As long as we are slightly unfavorable, it will break out, and then we will regret it!"
"Sanlang, tell me what you want to do!" Liu Renyuan raised his right hand. He knew his old friend very well. He was born in the Jingzhao Du family and he had a strong sense of hierarchy. He didn't want this young man he valued very much to be with him. A direct conflict breaks out between old friends.
"Sacrifice the souls of the dead, set up temples to make offerings, and the families of the deceased will be exempted from labor and taxes!"
"Absurd!" Du Shuang stood up, his face pale with anger: "Aren't you exposing this matter to the world? Where is the face of General Su? Where is the face of the Tang Dynasty? How will it be recorded in the history books a hundred years later? ?”
"Du Changshi, if we win and the Baekje people become Tang people a hundred years later, then these things will be nothing. History books will only mention them in passing, or even not mention them at all, and the temples will just become people burning incense around them. Where you pray, time will dilute everything. Now, except for a few literati, who will remember the tragedy of Xiang Yu killing 200,000 Qin soldiers in Xin'an and Hou Jing besieging Taicheng? And if the Tang Dynasty failed to annex Baekje this time , no matter who rules here, he will write it down in the history books to encourage his people to resist foreign aggression. Only then will the Tang Dynasty lose face! The Tang Dynasty is not the only one who has writing skills in the world!"
"Okay, let's not mention it a hundred years later, but what about now? Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this?"
"Du Changshi, this matter is actually very simple: the Baekje people's sacrifice of the dead does not pose a direct threat to the Tang Dynasty. What is threatening is the hatred and rebel forces that arise during the sacrifice process. So since we can't stop the Baekje people from worshiping the dead , so why not bring this behavior under our control?”
"Under control?" Du Shuang was stunned when he heard this: "What do you mean?"
"Whether it's tax reduction or exemption, setting up a memorial tablet, and paying regular homage, the family of the deceased must be included in the roster and must frequently enter and leave the temple. As long as a few of our people are placed among the monks, if someone is up to no good, how can they hide it from these monks? My eyes and ears? With a roster in hand and informants, are you still afraid that these Baekje people might cause some trouble?"
"Wonderful!" Liu Renyuan raised his hands and smiled: "Old Du, this time you are not as thoughtful as Sanlang!"
"That's what the Protector said!" Du Shuang smiled a little awkwardly. He didn't expect Wang Wenzuo to think so deeply. He just said something so damning, but now he can't take it back.
"Sanlang, I know you always have a backup plan when doing things!" Liu Renyuan said with a smile: "You have already chosen someone for building the temple and offering sacrifices, right?"
"My subordinates think that it is best not to come forward directly about this matter. It is best to hide it behind the scenes!" Wang Wenzuo said: "I have a Baekje monk named Huicong. He is a monk from Dinglin Temple. I can let him preside over it." this matter."
"Huicong? Can this monk be trusted?" Du Shuang asked, "Will he do one thing in front of others and another behind his back?"
"It is possible!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "But as long as we are careful, this is actually a good thing, because we can take the opportunity to catch all the potential opponents as a warning to others! After all, it is much easier to stare at one person than tens of thousands of people. Got it!"
Liu Renyuan showed an "I see" look. They finally learned Wang Wenzuo's "trap within a trap" method. He nodded: "Who are you going to let keep an eye on him?"
"Monk Huicong's two servants are mine, and their parents are in my hands!" Wang Wenzuo said bluntly: "In addition, I also arranged a person beside him. This person's identity is only I know!"
"Very good. Since you have already considered it so carefully, I won't say more!" Liu Renyuan nodded with satisfaction: "Before sending troops, you explain everything to Du Changshi, and he will do the rest. Deal with it!"
"Yes!" Wang Wenzuo said solemnly: "Then go back and prepare first!"
Seeing Wang Wenzuo's back disappear from the door, Liu Renyuan smiled at his old friend: "How is it? Are you convinced?"
Du Shuang smiled a little awkwardly: "Wang joining the army is indeed a good plan, but after all it involves the general, do you want to think twice -"
"Don't think twice!" Liu Renyuan stood up: "We are surrounded by enemies on all sides now. If there is another commotion around Sixian City, can the general save us? Can the court save us? Only by surviving can we have a future, so just do this Do what Saburo says!"
"Yes!" Du Shuang nodded, and Liu Renyuan walked to the door, looked at the arm-sized locust tree in the courtyard, and laughed loudly: "When the old locust tree sprouts new branches, I will have a successor in the Tang Dynasty!"
Huicong walked through the corridor, and the sun shone in through the shade of the trees, leaving mottled tree shadows on the ground. More than a dozen archers were practicing archery in the yard. The sound of the machine's shooting and the sound of arrows penetrating into the grass targets were so integrated that they were almost indistinguishable. He didn't dare to take a closer look, lest he be thought to be spying on military affairs. Huicong had heard about the terrifying power of the Tang Dynasty's serial crossbows from Liu Pingji, but this was the first time he had seen it with his own eyes.
