Chapter 0084: A Merit
Afterwards, Zhou Liang revealed the complete plan to Chen Jiancheng. In order to make Chen Jiancheng believe him, he also told several embarrassing stories about Huang Yanjiong, intending to belittle Huang Yanjiong and elevate Chen Jiancheng without leaving any trace.
As he spoke, Chen Jiancheng's expression became more and more serious, more and more anxious, and more and more happy. It seemed that he was extremely satisfied with the plan.
After hearing everything, Chen Jiancheng immediately stood up and instructed the followers around him to treat Zhou Liang as the protector of Qingfeng Sect from now on, and to follow the leader's lead in all aspects of food, clothing and other expenses.
This treatment was supposed to be given after the plan was completed, but now it is given in advance. I have to say that Zhou Liang really falls for it. The fundamental reason for his pettiness is that he loves to enjoy life, and it would be best if the whole world revolves around him, then he would be happy.
Chen Jiancheng showed his attitude, and Zhou Liang naturally reciprocated the favor. He stood up, bowed deeply to Chen Jiancheng, and said a few auspicious words, indicating that he had officially joined the Qingfeng Sect. Chen Jiancheng nodded in satisfaction, then turned and left.
The two people who were chatting happily just now both looked gloomy as they separated. Zhou Liang was in the room, wondering how many guardians were around Chen Jiancheng. He had been here for so long, but he had never seen a single one. Was Chen Jiancheng intentionally separating him from the other guardians, or was he simply not letting himself enter his real territory?
There seems to be no difference between the two, but in Zhou Liang's mind, there is a big difference. The latter is just normal and does not trust him enough, while the former excludes him from Chen Jiancheng's team. He does not like this feeling of being isolated. After all, in the past, he has always been the one who isolates others, not others who isolate him. ...
Chen Jiancheng left his room, and the expression on his face gradually disappeared without a trace. He returned to his residence, but this time he did not lie back on the bed. Instead, he sat at the table, pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head.
It's not that Zhou Liang's plan is bad, at least it sounded very feasible just now, but Zhou Liang was a vengeful person, and he had to use Huang Yanjiong, which might be his intention to get rid of an enemy. Regardless of whether King Zhenbei was okay or not, at least Huang Yanjiong would not survive, which would definitely be beneficial to Zhou Liang, but it would be a waste of time for their Qingfeng Sect.
So no, he couldn't just listen to Zhou Liang.
Thinking of this, Chen Jiancheng became more and more irritated.
Li Xiuheng, this idiot, enjoyed his protection for two years and received countless benefits. He even gave three beautiful women to Li Xiuheng. As a result, not only was the unrest in Yizhou suppressed quickly, the Xianbei invasion also failed, and even he himself died in vain.
After Li Xiuheng's death, the Qingfeng Sect was completely destroyed. Not only did its initial investment fail, but it also made such a huge enemy with the Xianbei that it would be difficult for it to use them in the future.
The value of a living person is far greater than that of a dead person. Although Chen Jiancheng wanted to cut Li Xiuheng into pieces, Li Xiuheng was still useful at that time. Li Xiuheng had previously revealed to Qingfeng Sect that among Qu Yunmie's subordinates there was a man named Yuan Baifu, who was completely different from Qu Yunmie. He had good intentions and was very sentimental, and could be used by Li Xiuheng. If Li Xiuheng was really a smart man, he should not have fled Yizhou at that time, and betrayed Qingfeng Sect in a self-righteous way, and decided to join forces with others to join Huang Yanjiong. He could have gone to Yizhou to win over Yuan Baifu, and he could have instigated one of the four major generals under Qu Yunmie to rebel, which could be considered as a merit to atone for his crime.
By then, he could also show mercy and leave Li Xiuheng with an intact body. …
But what's the point of saying all this now? Li Xiuheng is just a fool. If he was smart, he would not have been fooled by the Qingfeng Sect in the first place.
Chen Jiancheng has a problem. He likes to repeatedly recall things that have happened, constantly blaming the people who made mistakes in these things, and then imagine how good the situation would be now if these people had not made mistakes.
For example, if Li Xiuheng did not make any mistakes, the Zhenbei Army would now be condemned by everyone and in danger.
For example, if Xizhu did not make any mistakes, Sun Renluan would have died suddenly now, and Yang Zangyi would also realize how stupid his behavior was.
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "if" in this world. Chen Jiancheng sighed, then turned around and asked his subordinates beside him: "When will the Great Protector come back?"
The subordinate looked at him silently and said, "I don't know that the Great Protector did not evacuate with the other followers. He sent someone to bring a message to you, Master. Please don't worry about his whereabouts. Ask Zhou Liang for advice and increase your understanding of the enemy. If everything goes well, while getting rid of the King of Zhenbei, we can also successfully resolve the feud with the Xianbei."
Chen Jiancheng raised his eyebrows slightly. As a fellow Central Plains native, he had no good feelings towards the Xianbei. He felt that it didn't matter whether they were enemies or not. The reason he felt angry was that the Xianbei were also a big country. Without their secret support, he would have a hard time for a while.
Forget it, I'll just listen to the Great Protector.
Chen Jiancheng was worried because he was afraid that his chief protector had also been captured. However, he soon got the news that the chief protector was fine and none of the people sent by Xiao Rong had discovered his true identity.
While worried, Chen Jiancheng was also a little proud. Look, no matter how much people praise you, you are still no match for the great protector beside me. Just like the King of Zhenbei, to whom you are loyal, he can do nothing but fight and kill, and he is destined to be defeated by me.
However, Chen Jiancheng's pride didn't last long. He was still worried about the safety of the Dharma Protector. Chen Jiancheng's concubines were all over the world. He would feel sad if one of them died, just like a piece of a puzzle that he had worked so hard to put together was lost. But these concubines combined were not as good as a Dharma Protector. If something happened to the Dharma Protector, it would not be a puzzle piece lost for Chen Jiancheng, but the house that contained the puzzle was burned down. ...
So he thought about it again and again, and finally told his subordinates: "Tell him to come back early after he finishes his work!"
The subordinate agreed with a humble look.
Zhao Xingzong has been having a very complicated time these days.
First of all, after he surrendered to the King of Zhenbei, he did not live the kind of life he had imagined. He could not even think about making decisions or making great contributions. He just went to report to the Buddhist disciple every day. When the Buddhist disciple closed his eyes and meditated, he would read a book or write. When the Buddhist disciple finally finished meditating, they would deal with some trivial matters together.
To be precise, he was the one who handled it, while the Buddhist was writing letters to others.
Fuzi's social circle covered almost all the princes and nobles in the world. He would write a letter to this king today and to that prince tomorrow. One day, Zhao Xingzong even discovered that Fuzi was writing a letter to the princess of a certain country.
Zhao Xingzong was shocked, his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish. He had a lot to say, but when he looked at the compassionate face of the Buddhist disciple, he could not utter a word.
I always feel that I am being filthy. ...But is this really appropriate? How can you, a monk, write a letter to an unmarried princess?
Secondly, Zhao Xingzong was very depressed to find that few people in the palace could remember his name. Even the most amiable Prime Minister Gao blurted out and called him Zhao Yaozu one day. Zhao Xingzong's heart was broken, but he could only force a smile, then he covered his broken heart and left.
It would have been fine if he was not taken seriously, but what Zhao Xingzong could not accept the most was that since the end of the summer retreat, the Buddhist disciple had suddenly become busy. He no longer wrote letters or dealt with trivial matters. He stayed outside every day, sitting down and talking with many monks. In the words of the monks, this is called a debate. Zhao Xingzong looked at the increasing number of monks and ordinary people around him, and he increasingly realized that he and the Buddhist disciple were not from the same world at all. Under the light of the Buddhist disciple, he was gradually becoming a mediocre person. If this continued, he would really become the Buddhist disciple's follower.
Zhao Xingzong always believed that he followed the Buddha, but it was just a test given to him by Xiao Rong to test his character and ability. He didn't really want to stay with the Buddha. He didn't believe in Buddhism, he believed in Taoism more. He couldn't accept the Buddhist idea of suffering. As a man with great dreams, Zhao Xingzong had only one goal in his life: to bring glory to the Zhao family and become a patriarch that the Zhao family admired more than their ancestors. ...
How could such a person pursue happiness in the afterlife? To him, everything in this world was the most important. When he was young and still suffering from the second-year syndrome, he even considered becoming a Taoist priest, because Taoist priests all pursue immortality. At that time, Zhao Xingzong felt that living long was important. Only by living long could he realize his great dream.
But this idea ultimately failed because Nanyong was established, and many laws were promulgated in the early days of Nanyong. One of them was to restrict Taoists. It was no longer the people who supported the Taoists, but the Taoists were required to support the court instead. Every Taoist who was registered had to pay an annual tribute, which included a piece of paper, an ingot of ink, and a bushel of rice.
Everyone knows how expensive paper is. The Zhao family is a poor family and cannot afford the money. It is already difficult to support Zhao Xingzong's studies, and no one in the Zhao family would agree to let him give away paper for free.
In fact, the annual tribute of Taoist priests is paid by the Taoist temple. As long as the incense is constantly burning, there is no pressure to pay these things. But Zhao Xingzong didn't understand this. He just made a fuss for half a year, and then he never mentioned becoming a Taoist priest again. ...
Following the Buddhist disciple out early and back late every day, Zhao Xingzong's patience had almost reached its limit. One day, just as Zhao Xingzong returned to the palace, he saw a group of people in Taoist robes walking leisurely towards the direction where Gao Xunzhi and others lived.
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