Chapter 134: Extermination
After the chief priest wrote down everything his wife had said before her death and handed it over to the Dali Temple, he took his wife's body back home.
The Dali Temple Minister took the confession into the palace.
In the Yangxin Palace, Song Yuzhu frowned as she looked at the confession submitted by Lu Shaomin. Listening to Madam Lan's description, the magic medicine sounded very much like opium in later generations.
Song Yuzhu was alarmed. In his previous life, almost everyone was afraid of opium because it almost destroyed the whole country. At that time, a large amount of opium was imported from abroad and flooded his country. Because it was very expensive, the people lost their fortunes and the country almost perished.
"How are the interrogations of the other people in the Dali Temple going?"
"Your Majesty, we are still interrogating because there are so many people involved. We will have a result by tomorrow morning at the latest."
Song Yuzhu said: "Report the results of the interrogation as soon as possible. I will use them in the morning court tomorrow."
"I obey your command." Lu Shaomin hurried away with the arduous task. After interrogating more than a hundred people, it seemed that he would have to work non-stop tonight.
On the other side, Bai Xiu, who was responsible for visiting Xuanyi Tower, also came back.
"How's Qingniang doing?"
"You are safe, but you have lost a lot of blood and are very weak. You will need to recuperate for at least ten days or half a month before you can get out of bed."
"Also... those people injured the tendons in Qingniang's feet when they were bleeding her. It's still unknown whether she can walk in the future."
Song Yuzhu gasped in pain. She didn't expect Qingniang to be so seriously injured. These people from Qingxu Sect deserve to die!
"I'll go to Xuanyi Tower tomorrow to see if there's any way to cure her." That girl's footwork is so good, it would be such a pity if she could never walk again!
"By the way, there's one thing I forgot to give you." Bai Xiu took out a handkerchief from her arms, which contained some black crumbs the size of a fingernail.
"I found this in a brazier in the underground palace. I smelled something special, so I took some of the residue back."
Song Yuzhu rubbed it with his hands, then put it to the tip of his nose and sniffed it. A pungent smell of ammonia filled his nose, which was the smell of crude opium!
"Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this thing?" Bai Xiu couldn't help but ask when he saw that he looked unhappy.
"That's a big problem! This thing is a drug. Once you become addicted, you can't live without it. If you don't take it for a day, it's like being possessed by ants, and your whole body is in unbearable pain and itching."
Bai Xiu was shocked: "We all smelled this yesterday, will we become addicted?"
"It shouldn't happen once, but you and Black Blade should pay attention these few days. Tell me immediately if you feel uncomfortable."
"I understand." Bai Xiu didn't bother to make jokes and nodded in agreement.
The emergence of opium reminded Song Yuzhu that drugs should be banned in any era, otherwise the entire country will fall.
The Qingxu Sect took advantage of the addictive properties of opium to control these people to do things for them. Their intention to subvert Daqi was obvious and they deserve to be killed!
This incident reminded him of the case some time ago where Yang Yuanji secretly sent people to assassinate him.
Although Yang Yuanji has already surrendered, poppies grow in Yunnan, and he happened to be the King of Yunnan. Maybe the Qingxu Sect also helped here.
Song Yuzhu put the handkerchief on the table and shouted, "Li Dehai!"
"Hey! I'm here." Li Dehai outside the door heard the sound and hurried in.
"Pass on my order, summon Zheng Da'an, Yang Ping, and Chai Rong to the palace immediately!"
"Yes!" Li Dehai ran out in a hurry. The emperor suddenly called three generals into the palace. Maybe something big was going to happen. Could it be that there was going to be a war?
*
"Boom..." After a burst of thunder, raindrops as big as beans fell down with a crackling sound.
In mid-June, Beijing enters the rainy season. At this time of year, the weather changes like a child's face. The sun is shining brightly one moment, and it rains heavily the next.
Chai Rong and Yang Ping arrived first outside Zhengyang Gate. When they got off their horses, they were soaked by the rain.
"General Chai, you are here too." Yang Ping said while wiping the rain off his face.
"Yeah." Chai Rong twisted his collar, and the rain poured down. One could imagine how heavy the rain was.
"The palace sent a message asking you to enter the palace. I don't know what happened."
"I don't know either, but seeing how anxious the emperor is, it must be a big deal."
As they were talking, Zheng Daan arrived. He sneezed three times in a row, twisted his nose and said, "It's raining really hard."
"Does General Zheng know what happened?"
Zheng Daan heard some rumors: "Do you remember the gangsters who were caught at the sports meet some time ago?"
"Remember, I was the one who caught and interrogated him personally." Chai Rong said as he walked behind him.
"I heard that the Dali Temple arrested hundreds of people outside the city last night, all of whom were followers of the Qingxu sect. They suddenly summoned us to the palace today, most likely because of this matter."
Yang Ping said: "I see."
After half an incense stick of time, the three arrived at the entrance of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. A eunuch handed them a cloth towel, and the three wiped their faces before entering.
"I pay my respects to His Majesty."
"Get up, I called you into the palace today because I have something very important to entrust to you."
The three of them were shocked and pricked up their ears to listen to him.
Song Yuzhu made a long story short and recounted what happened in Changxi Palace last night and the harm of the Qingxu Sect using opium to control people.
The three men immediately understood the profound meaning of it. Those who can lead troops to fight are not fools, on the contrary, they are all smart people.
Zheng Daan asked, "Your Majesty, are you planning to wipe out the Qingxu Sect?"
"Not only must we catch them all in one fell swoop, I want this sect to be completely wiped out in Daqi." If the roots are not removed, they will grow again when the spring breeze blows. If we let them escape this purge, they will become more cautious and grow to threaten the country in the future. Song Yuzhu will never allow such a thing to happen.
The three of them were stunned. They rarely saw Song Yuzhu showing murderous intent. This look was actually 70% similar to General Zhao.
"I obey your orders!"
Since the emperor wants to mobilize the army, they must prepare in advance.
*
The next morning, before daybreak, the Dali Temple Minister delivered the second confession to the palace.
This confession was much longer than the previous confession of the wife of the chief priest. It was more than ten pages long. These were the results of the interrogation conducted overnight at the Dali Temple.
The court session was about to begin, and Song Yuzhu had no time to take a closer look, so he took the confession and went to the main hall.
All the civil and military officials in the hall were discussing the Qingxu Sect incident. Such a big thing could not be concealed.
"I heard that yesterday the Imperial Guards and the Military Affairs Department were all dispatched to search for people who believed in the Qingxu Sect from house to house."
"Yes, soldiers came to our house and turned the backyard into a mess."
"Who said it wasn't true? My wife was so scared that she couldn't sleep well at night. These soldiers are really too much!"
Many people have not yet realized the harm of the Qingxu Sect. They think that they are just a small and insignificant sect. If it is difficult to ban them, then just leave it at that. There is no need to make people panic.
Only Dali Temple Minister Lu Shaomin knew how serious the matter was.
Because what was uncovered during the interrogation last night was beyond his expectations, those followers, after being coerced and bribed, told him everything they knew, and even revealed that the Qingxu Sect was related to Yang Yuanji and the Japanese.
Some time ago, Yang Yuanji attempted to assassinate the emperor with the intention of treason. The Qingxu Sect must have contributed to it. How could the emperor let them go?
Not long after, Song Yuzhu walked in. The hall suddenly became quiet. The officials returned to their respective seats and knelt in an orderly manner to pay homage to the emperor.
Song Yuzhu sat on the dragon chair and looked down at the confession.
At the beginning, some officials began to make reports, but after a while, seeing that the emperor was so engrossed in his reading, no one dared to disturb him.
A quarter of an hour later, Song Yuzhu finally finished reading the ten pages of the confession. He looked up at the civil and military officials in the court and said, "My dear ministers, do you have anything else to say?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Then take a look at this." Song Yuzhu handed the confession to the eunuch next to him and asked him to distribute it for circulation.
Xu Bing was the first to finish reading. When he saw that the poison could make people addicted and control their minds, he frowned.
He also heard about the Qingxu Sect yesterday, but he didn't expect it to be so serious.
There is also a confession written by the owner of Shangjing Wangjing Restaurant, who was also one of the earliest members of Qingxu Sect. He had contact with many people and knew more.
From him, I learned that Yang Yuanji was also a member of the Qingxu Sect, and there were many Japanese from the East in the sect. These magical medicines were brought by that person.
Xu Bing said: "Your Majesty, this evil cult harms the country and the people, it must be eradicated to prevent future troubles!"
Zheng Da'an immediately stepped forward to ask for permission: "I am willing to lead the troops to personally wipe out the Qingxu Sect."
The civil and military officials behind him echoed: "Your Majesty is wise, this teaching should not be kept for long!"
Song Yuzhu issued a military order, ordering that all temples and palaces built in the name of Qingxu Sect and Moon Goddess be demolished.
The people who participated in the Qingxu Sect and reported it to the government were forgiven. The court also helped the people who were addicted to opium to quit the drug addiction for free.
However, anyone who dares to shelter or conceal the fact that they continue to believe in the Qingxu Sect will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and exiled to Lingnan.
In order to completely eradicate the two Qingxu sects, Song Yuzhu even used the method of collective responsibility to supervise. Ten families formed a group, and if a Qingxu believer appeared in one of the families, the rest would be punished.
*
In July, hundreds of Qingxu temples and Changxi Palaces in Yuhang area were demolished.
Tens of thousands of Qingxu believers took the initiative to report to the government, including peddlers, wealthy businessmen, and children of noble families.
It’s not that their awareness has suddenly increased, but the imperial court has sent 20,000 troops south, and if they dare to disobey orders, these people will really fight!
Fifty strokes of the cane would kill a good person, not to mention a long-term opium addict. Even if they survived, they would be exiled to Lingnan, where there were many miasma and mosquitoes, and it would not be easy to survive.
In the end, they could only choose death over a life worse than death. After all, if they really had the courage to die, they would not have been controlled by the Qingxu Sect with opium.
After two months of rigorous crackdown, the Qingxu Sect had been completely destroyed.
But how could we get rid of all those cockroaches hiding in the dark at once...
*
In a courtyard in Shangjing, a skinny, pale-faced man was tied up with ropes and rolled on the ground. This man was Wei Yunxiang, the second son of Wei Hao, the commander of the military department.
"Kill me! I can't stand it!"
The old woman and young woman standing nearby were wiping their tears with handkerchiefs in their hands.
"Son, hold on a little longer."
"Mom, I can't bear it anymore, let me die! Let me die!" The man banged his head against the bricks on the ground. In the blink of an eye, a cut appeared on his forehead and blood flowed out.
"Ouch! Go and stop the young master!" The old lady stomped her feet in pain.
The servant next to him ran over and hugged his head.
"Yunlang, please bear with it for a while." said the young woman.
"You vicious woman! Why did you tell mother that I took the magic medicine?"
The woman said with tears in her eyes: "If you don't give up that thing, it will be over if people find out."
The man burst into tears: "Please, let me take a breath, mother, mother, please love your son, love your son!"
The old woman looked at her daughter-in-law next to her and said, "Yuxia, why don't you let him suck it one last time."
"No!" the woman stopped him sternly.
"Mom, if you let him smoke that stuff, you're killing him! Our whole family will be implicated by him. He's not afraid of death, so are you?"
The old woman retreated: "Son, please bear with it for a while."
"Ah! The man collapsed and hit the ground with his head again."
The man continued to torment until dark, when his drug addiction finally wore off. He was then carried back to his bedroom by the servants.
Originally, he would have been able to quit the drug addiction if he had endured it a few more times, but who would have thought that Madam Wei, who loved her son so much and was afraid that he would have too much trouble enduring it, actually sent someone out secretly at night to buy a magic medicine.
The servant quietly slipped out to buy medicine according to the address given by Wei Yunxiang.
But when I came back, I didn't expect that someone had already caught up with me...
(End of this chapter)
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