"What? Baoguo Temple is on fire?"
Liu Zhang was the first to jump out and head straight for the window.
Sure enough, thick smoke billowed and flames flickered about four or five miles west of Feifeng Tower.
I could faintly hear people running and shouting.
"It serves Baoguo Temple right that it caught fire!"
Upon learning that it was Baoguo Temple that had caught fire, Liu Biao leisurely took a sip of wine and cursed.
Why does Jingsheng dislike Baoguo Temple so much?
Liu Dai, unaware of the situation, immediately asked.
“The monks of Baoguo Temple, taking advantage of Empress He’s faith in Buddhism, fawned over her and offered her money. Empress He protected and indulged them, letting them do as they pleased.”
"With Empress He as their powerful backer, these monks seized land outside the city and engaged in usury. Countless people in Luoyang suffered as a result, forced to sell their children and become homeless."
"In terms of the depth of their harm, they are even worse than the Ten Attendants."
Then Liu Biao said smugly, "When I took office as the governor of Jingzhou, the first thing I did was to confiscate the local temples and their assets. I made quite a fortune!"
"My fellow clansmen, you can give it a try!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yao and Liu Dai were immediately intrigued.
Yangzhou, in particular, has many temples, and the local Confucian gentry harbored resentment towards Buddhism. If they had followed Liu Biao's example, they could have amassed considerable wealth while also winning the hearts of the local Confucian scholars.
Liu Yao immediately kept this in mind, and after returning to Yangzhou from the year-end court assembly, he put his skills to good use.
Liu Yu shook his head.
He didn't have many temples in Youzhou, because there were too many Xianbei people and the Han people were weak.
"Judging from the raging fire, it certainly didn't start on its own at Baoguo Temple; it must have been deliberately set on fire."
"I wonder which chivalrous person performed such a heroic act. It's truly gratifying, and we should have a big toast!"
After watching the commotion, Liu Zhang returned to his seat and began to grope the two beautiful women beside him.
"Ji Yu, can you guess who did it?" Liu Biao asked.
"Uncle Jingsheng, I can't guess."
Liu Zhang shook his head. "Since Baoguo Temple has such a deep connection with Empress He, and Empress He has profited a lot from them, it must be the work of Empress He's enemies!"
Liu Biao laughed and said, "Aren't Empress He's enemies Empress Dowager Dong and the Ten Attendants? Could it be that they ordered someone to set this fire tonight?"
"So, their dogfighting is actually a wonderful thing for our royal family!"
Liu Zhang laughed loudly, "Come, come, let's drink!"
"After you finish this cup, there are three more to go!"
When Liu Hua heard the crowd discussing the fire at Baoguo Temple, he was also secretly pleased.
She glanced at Liu Wei unintentionally.
Liu Wei, however, squinted his eyes and enjoyed being fed by the two beautiful women next to him.
He seemed completely uninterested in the fire at Baoguo Temple.
That's not right!
"Empress He is also Liu Wei's mortal enemy. Yesterday, Liu Wei was tricked into the palace by Empress He and almost fell into a trap."
"How could Liu Wei be so calm and collected now that he's heard about his mortal enemy's defeat? This is rather unusual!"
"Could this have been done by someone he sent?"
Thinking of this, Liu Hua glanced at Liu Wei again.
Liu Wei just looked up at Liu Hua and gave him an innocent smile.
"Nephew, what do you think?" Liu Hua asked, as if possessed.
"Hehe, what else can we say? However, I have some inside information that Empress He has invested in the money that Baoguo Temple uses for usury."
"I wonder how much Empress He has lost tonight?"
After Liu Wei finished speaking slowly, he raised his wine cup and took a big gulp.
Judging from the fire at Baoguo Temple, Shen Lian and his group must have succeeded.
Tonight is sure to be a fruitful night!
"Hehe, it would be best to empty his pockets completely, leaving Empress He with nothing but tears!" Liu Zhang said gloatingly.
Liu Yu said, "We shouldn't worry about what's going on at Baoguo Temple; it's not our place to concern ourselves with it."
"Let's talk about what's in front of us."
"Now that the imperial relatives and eunuchs hold power, His Majesty's authority has been usurped. We, the few members of the imperial clan who govern a province or region, have gathered here. We should work together to save the Han dynasty and not allow the imperial relatives and eunuchs to control the government, oppress the people, and cause them to suffer!"
"Zongbo is right. My father proposed that a member of the imperial clan be appointed as governor of a prefecture, and His Majesty readily supported it. This is because the maternal relatives are too powerful, and His Majesty wanted our clan to share His Majesty's burdens."
Liu Zhang immediately responded.
Liu Yan's proposal was widely discussed among the clans.
Unfortunately, it was Liu Zhang's third brother, Liu Xun, who went to Shu, which made Liu Zhang somewhat regretful.
Liu Dai then added, "We need to seize control of local military and political power so that we can purge the court of corrupt officials and Your Majesty can rule in person."
"Gongshan, don't we all think the same way?"
Liu Biao shook his head, "Unfortunately, His Majesty is seriously ill and probably doesn't have much time left."
"With the grand court assembly at the end of the year approaching, there are undercurrents flowing between the two palaces of Empress He and Empress Dowager Dong."
"No matter who succeeds to the throne, we may not have a good life."
Liu Yu said, "That's right. Of the thirteen provinces in the world today, our clan has five, He Jin has Bing Province under Dong Zhuo, Liang Province under Ding Yuan, and Sili Province under Yuan Shao!"
"As for Han Fu of Jizhou, Tao Qian of Xuzhou, Jiao He of Qingzhou, Kong Zhou of Yuzhou, and Jia Zong of Jiaozhou, although they were appointed governors by His Majesty, they will definitely act according to the situation in the court."
“When the Prince of Hongnong ascends the throne and He Jin comes to power, he will definitely take action against the five prefectures belonging to our clan and seize power.”
"If an imperial edict is issued to seize power, we will be powerless to do anything!"
"But if His Majesty were to establish the Prince of Chenliu, it would only cause more chaos in the court!"
Liu Biao didn't take it seriously: "Therefore, we must control the military and political affairs of the prefectures and counties. If He Jin forges an imperial edict to seize power, we will simply ignore it."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
