Fu Shifeng

Chapter 8
"I understand." Muxid seemed to have made a major decision in his heart, nodded slowly and said: "Since it is known as a holy relic of Zoroastrianism, if I don't show up again, I can't justify it. I will bring people to visit the Maocai Club in person. If It is a sacred object of our sect, so no outsiders can be allowed to steal it privately, even if the adults of the Protectorate come, I can still speak for it."

"But... What if Mani beads are not sacred objects of your religion?" Su Wangting asked.

Mu Xid smiled: "Yes or no, what I, an old man of Zoroastrianism, still has more weight than Maocai Society. I can request that the Mani beads be placed in the Fire Worship Temple, and the congregation pay homage to them."

Su Wangting pondered for a while, and then said: "Okay, then do as Elder Mu said. Another thing, does the Yingsuochuan Shunishi tribe also believe in Zoroastrianism?"

"Shunish tribe? I guess." Musid recalled for a moment and said: "They are Tule Bezhi. In the early years, they sacrificed to heaven, earth, mountains and rivers, wolves, eagles, horses and sheep. He also mistakenly regarded the gods I taught as the gods of the eagle."

Su Wangting said with a smile: "I have also heard from the elders that the image of the eagle alludes to the God of War of your religion, and has the power to protect the law and subdue demons. The Shunishi tribe worships the God of the Eagle, and it should be admiration for its mighty power."

"That's good, that's good. Su is very familiar with the scriptures I teach. If you have the heart to convert, maybe things will be easier." Mu Xide never forgot to persuade.

"I'm just a mediocre ordinary person, running around for money and vulgar things all day long. I'm stubborn. It's hard for Mingzun to teach me the magic method, so I don't need to bother Elder Mu." Su Wangting declined and said, "By the way, we came to visit the elder... "

Mu Sid said with interest: "I will not disclose it to the outside world, you must be careful when you do things outside."

Su Wangting stood up and cupped his hands: "Then we will take our leave. Elder, please stay and don't send us off."

After the two left, they found a deserted corner near the Fire Worship Temple and started talking.

"You don't seem to trust this Elder Mu completely?" Cheng Sanwu raised his knife to observe the Zoroastrian believers who were holding torches and shoulder to shoulder in the distance.

"In this situation, no one can be fully trusted. What if he turns his head around and exposes the two of us?" Su Wangting sighed softly, and then said: "But Musid will not turn a blind eye to the matter of Manizhu. "

"Did you disclose the news to him on purpose?" Cheng Sanwu also understood.

Su Wangting said: "The current situation is beyond my expectation. People from Chang'an sent a message saying that Manizhu is a sacred object of Zoroastrianism. I didn't think much about it at the time. Looking back now, the Zoroastrian Church in the Western Regions did nothing about such an important thing." Is it?"

"But Mu Sid doesn't seem to be making a big move." Cheng Sanwu said.

Su Wangting sneered: "Although he is highly respected, he is not the only one who can decide what to do with other people in the church. The corpse vultures you met before are likely to be the group of Zoroastrians who believed in the Zoroastrianism. They have a tradition of taming falcons in the past, and the shamans in the tribe can communicate with them to find enemies in the distance."

Cheng Sanwu was puzzled: "But I heard that the Shunishi Division has been disbanded long ago, and a military town has also been set up in the Yingsuo River area. Moreover, the corpse vulture is not like an ordinary bird. This kind of monster can only grow by devouring the soul. big."

"The tribe is broken up, but the people are still there." Su Wangting looked at the fire worship temple full of fireworks and people's voices: "If it is still an ordinary Shunishi tribe with horses and sheep, it will be broken up if it breaks up, but if you believe it What I taught, I became more persistent."

"It may also become more bewildered." Cheng Sanwu sneered.

Su Wangting was too lazy to say anything, Cheng Sanwu asked again: "You pushed Mu Sid to restrain Maocai Club, what are you going to do next?"

"Wait and see what happens." Su Wangting said: "I have already sent a letter to Chang'an, and when Master Lu learns about the situation here, he will naturally respond."

"You trust these officials too much." Cheng Sanwu reminded in a bad tone.

"Could it be possible to rely on the two of us to fight with hundreds of people from the Maocai Society?" Su Wangting said, "They got the Mani Pearl, but they didn't leave in a hurry, obviously because Quzhi City was guarded by heavy soldiers from the Dufu Mansion... …Oops!"

Cheng Sanwu saw Su Wangting showing a look of surprise: "What's wrong?"

"Since Quzhi City is guarded by soldiers and horses, and Mr. Wu can establish a relationship with the Duhu Mansion, maybe he can borrow soldiers and horses to conduct a large-scale search!" Su Wangting felt that something was wrong.

While the two were talking, they heard the sound of footsteps in the distance, accompanied by the friction of nails and the neighing of horses, followed by a loud shout:

"Search in the Protectorate's Mansion, everyone is not allowed to enter Lifang!"

"You crow's mouth!" Cheng Sanwu complained, and immediately drew his sword.

"Wait!" Su Wangting hurriedly held down his sword-drawn hand: "That's the soldiers and horses of the Duhu Mansion. If you make a move, everything will be over!"

"The Maocai Society is clearly going to kill people with a knife!" Cheng Sanwu took a look outside, and then said, "There are not many people, just a team of armored infantry. If it is impossible, we can bypass it."

"Don't go out in a hurry." Su Wangting quickly reacted: "This is the Zoroastrian Square where the congregation lives together. Mu Xide and the others will definitely not allow the soldiers and horses of the Duhu Mansion to come in and search at will."

Cheng Sanwu frowned and said, "How dare these guys who pout their buttocks and worship gods dare to fight against the government?"

Su Wangting looked serious: "They really dare."

"No wonder you came to them, and no wonder the emperor ordered the law to be banned and the temple destroyed." Cheng Sanwu slowly put the knife back into its sheath, but still gripped the handle tightly, ready to fight at any time.

"In fact, the Duhu Mansion may not really enter the Fire Worship Temple." Su Wangting used the cover of the corner to carefully observe the direction of the entrance of Lifang. Are shouting loudly.

"Why didn't you go in?" Cheng Sanwu asked, "Afraid of causing trouble?"

"Almost." Su Wangting said: "Although the imperial court ordered the destruction of temples against the Zoroastrian ban, the decree came out of the Central Plains, and the Western Regions were indifferent."

"Because there are too many followers of Zoroastrianism, the Duhufu is afraid of causing riots among the believers?" Cheng Sanwu also understood.

Su Wangting squatted down and observed the distance: "If there are simply too many people, there are other ways. But the imperial court used money in the Western Regions to use troops, build military towns, and dig rivers. The treasury alone cannot afford it. Zoroastrian believers Among them, there are many merchants and travelers, and we need to use them to find out the situation in the west. Over time, there are even Zoroastrians in the Governor's Mansion."

"That doesn't sound like a good omen." No matter how stupid Cheng Sanwu was, he couldn't detect something bad.

Su Wangting said with emotion: "The most troublesome thing in this world is that there is me in you, and you in me."

"The Duhu Mansion does not dare to search the Fire Worship Temple, but will search other places, even the entire Quzhi City." Cheng Sanwu felt that the situation was in dire straits: "Is this Maocai Society forcing us to show up?"

"Now it seems that's the case." Su Wangting couldn't help complaining: "This Wu Maocai, I didn't expect to make a set of calculations. I really underestimated him before."

"It is estimated that there is an expert to help." Cheng Sanwu scratched the beard under his chin: "Didn't you say that he was blessed with magic before? It can be seen that there are capable people and strange people around him."

"This is not a wandering Taoist priest who deceives village men and women by drawing ghostly charms with his hand. There are very few people in this world who can cast spells." Su Wangting said.

Spells are not comparable to martial arts. You can't achieve results by seeking and practicing hard. If you don't have special talents different from ordinary people, you are destined to miss out on magic.

And whether it is Taoism or Buddhism, or foreign religions like Zoroastrianism, or even shamans on the grasslands, each has its own way of practicing magic.Legend has it that a very small number of high-level people can fly into the sky, hide from the ground, and call the wind and rain, but even if the territory is as vast as Daxia, such people are as rare as a feather.

The Great Xia opened up thousands of miles of territory, and the customs favored martial arts. There were many people who practiced martial arts, no matter in temples, military forces or rivers and lakes.But when it comes to spells, there are many strict laws.

No matter what school or sect you came from, all those who practice magic must be recorded in the government and reported in due course.

On the one hand, the imperial court strictly controlled those who practiced spells, lest they conspire to cause chaos, but on the other hand, they also gave preferential treatment and reuse, not only distributing Lumi money every month, but also granting additional land slaves.If there are monsters causing trouble, the imperial government will call in magicians to deal with it.

In the Central Plains, most of the magicians belong to the Buddhist and Taoist schools, and most of them are Taoists. They are proficient in five-element thaumaturgy and talisman spells, and are good at dealing with all kinds of demons and ghosts, which is well known to the world.

Therefore, there will also be monks and Taoists in the Great Xia army.Wu Maocai, as the concubine son of the British and Chinese courts, was working in the Western Regions, so it is not too strange to get the help of a magician.

The two hid in the dark and observed for a while, and the development of the matter was exactly as Su Wangting said, the staff of the Duhu Mansion faced the protests and refutations of the Zoroastrian believers, and did not forcefully search inside.

And the leader of the team was invited into the fire worship temple, and then Mu Sid came forward in person. When the team leader saw the Zoroastrian elder, he quickly crossed his hands and bowed down with full respect.

"Sure enough, it's all arranged." Cheng Sanwu was too lazy to look at it, and then asked: "Then what should we do now? The Duhu Mansion dare not search here, but there is no way to hide elsewhere."

"There is a shortage of manpower right now, and there is nothing we can do. There is no need to go out and fight head-on." Su Wangting said, "Let's observe for a while, and when the news of the Mani Pearl spreads, it will be Maocai Society's turn to face the menacing trend of thousands of Zoroastrian followers."

"Oh, boring!" Cheng Sanwu twisted his neck.

……

"What?! Say it again!"

In Baochangfang, Mr. Wu was flipping through the account books, intending to familiarize himself with the industrial layout of Baochang Society, when he heard his subordinates report, his expression changed drastically.

Xu Yan said again: "The Zoroastrians in the city learned about the Mani Pearl, and they gathered a crowd in the city to make a noise, demanding that we hand over the sacred objects belonging to the Zoroastrianism."

"Fart!" Mr. Wu slammed the account book on the table: "Why should we hand over the Mani beads that we finally obtained?!"

Xu Yan didn't dare to refute for a moment, Mr. Wu walked back and forth in a rage, and said to himself a little anxiously: "No, no! Why did they know that the Mani Pearl is in our hands? How did the news leak? Could it be that Su Wangting and The Zoroastrians colluded and colluded with news? But if he did this, wouldn’t he hand over the Mani beads to others? How would he get in touch with Prime Minister Lu?"

At this time, another servant reported that Wen Changshi of the Protectorate had arrived, and Mr. Wu hurried out to greet him.

"Could it be that Wen Changshi came here because of Zoroastrianism?" Mr. Wu asked as soon as he came up.

"Hehehe, I think this matter has spread throughout Quzhi City." Wen Changshi said with a gentle face, "Then I won't beat around the bush. This time, it's your Maocai Society's fault, and it's impossible for the Duhufu to show favoritism to the end."

"Wen Changshi, it's not that I, Wu Maocai, are greedy for treasures. This mani pearl will be presented to His Majesty in the future!" Mr. Wu lowered his voice, but his tone was impatient: "If this is done, my father can assist in the rectification of various places." Strongly advise on the matter of redundant personnel. The four towns' capital guards govern the vast territory of the Western Regions, and Wen Changshi knows more about the number of Zaza than I do!"

After hearing these words, Wen Changshi had a meaningful expression on his face: "I heard that the person who wrote to rectify the redundant staff is Lu Xiang?"

"That's right!" Mr. Wu hurriedly added: "The Baochang Society was able to gain a foothold in the Western Regions and continue to grow because of the great backer of Lu Xiang. We have never heard about the Mani Pearl. It must be Su Wangting and the Zoroastrianism. Qu, the purpose is to hinder us!"

"But right now, we can't tolerate our forced suppression." Wen Changshi reminded: "Mr. Wu, you have never seen those Zoroastrian believers who are excited. Once they make trouble, the situation will be difficult to deal with. And if Zoroastrianism in the Western Regions make trouble When the news is sent back to the Central Plains, do you think anyone will participate in the impeachment of the Chief Protector?"

"Is there really no room for maneuver?" Mr. Wu was like an ant on a hot pot, almost unable to stand.

"Most guards are away, and there is no time to return to Quzhi City right now." Wen Changshi pondered for a moment: "I will try my best to delay it for two or three days, and claim to the public that we are negotiating. You should leave Quzhi City at this time."

"But..." Mr. Wu recalled Mr. Changqing's strategy: "The Western Regions are in turmoil right now, if we leave Quzhi City, wouldn't it be more dangerous?"

"Mr. Wu, are you questioning our Duhufu?" Wen Changshi didn't just give in, but showed a bit of majesty: "The horse thieves and demons who have been haunting the Western Regions recently are all unbearable in front of the strong army of the Duhufu. It’s okay for outsiders to be ignorant, but how can you, Mr. Wu, be so confused? Don’t forget that many soldiers in the Duhu Mansion are your father’s former troops!”

"Yes, I was reckless." Mr. Wu hastily bowed his head to apologize. After all, he has no official status, so it is impossible to issue orders to the staff of the Duhu Mansion.

"That's it. You pack your bags as soon as possible and prepare to leave. I'll go to the Fire Worship Temple to appease you." Wen Changshi reminded again: "Also, don't say anything about my coming here. When you leave Quzhi City Be as low-key as possible."

Mr. Wu agreed immediately, and then sent Wen Changshi out.

Not to mention how Mr. Wu summoned his subordinates and arranged everything, but in a corner outside Baochangfang, a red-clothed orchid slowly appeared from the shadows, those green eyes were like phosphorous fire.

"Things are getting more and more interesting. I wonder what that good brother will do when he finds out about this?" Hu Ji in red smiled softly, then turned around and disappeared into the shadows.

(End of this chapter)