Han family achievements

Chapter 443 Magnificent
The Han Dynasty was in great embarrassment, not only the court, but also the local states, counties and counties.

For example, in Pingyuan County where Liu Bian had been before, Cui Jun begged his grandfather and grandma everywhere for money and food. After pretending to be a grandson, he almost sold the government office.

But this Pengcheng country actually had grain, cloth and porridge, and spread it for dozens of miles, allowing the people to eat!
What an incredible thing!
Every thing that goes beyond common sense must have its own paradox!
Liu Bian held the porridge and looked at Dian Wei biting the bread with big mouthfuls with a strange expression. He followed the crowd and kept walking forward.

The closer we get to Lu County, the number of ordinary people unknowingly decreases, while the number of monks increases. It seems that, except for a few of them, everyone else is a monk.

The bald monk, with his hands clasped together, moved forward piously, chanting words along the way.

Huangfu Jianchang, Zhao Yun, Sun Ce and others were riding horses, following not far away, watching Liu Bian's front and back.

Lu Yu looked back from time to time, wanting to talk to the monks behind him, but these monks had no intention of talking, and they were not very polite. They didn't respond at all to anything they asked.

Liu Bian was full of doubts and unknowingly came to the next porridge shed.

He followed the person in front of him, put down the bowl, and received ten cents.

"Hurry up and don't delay the eminent monks behind you." Buzhuo, a young official, urged Liu Bian.

Liu Bian weighed the copper coins in his hand and wanted to inquire a few words, but was pushed forward anyway.

Lu Yu took the opportunity to leave and went to Huangfu Jianzhang to mutter for a while.

When he returned, Liu Bian had already arrived at the gate of Lu County.

I saw the east main gate, with Buddha statues on both sides, and a plaque with strange fonts that looked like Sanskrit. There were also bursts of chanting and chanting coming from the city gate, and there was a strong smell of sandalwood. .

Liu Bian glanced at it, followed the crowd, and entered Lu County step by step.

After entering the city, the monks seemed to have their own places to go, and suddenly dispersed and walked in all directions.

Liu Bian looked at it at a loss, not knowing which way to go.

Lu Yu stood behind him and whispered: "Sir, there is a Holy Buddha Temple in the west of the city, and the Buddha Bathing Festival is being held there."

Liu Bian weighed ten copper coins in his hand, walked forward muttering to himself, and said: "Ten coins per person. According to the original estimate, there are thousands of people at least. Adding in what we can't see, and who knows how many days it took, In terms of cash alone, it’s probably millions.”

Lu Yu lowered his head and said: "Master, there are five days in total. If you include the porridge, it may cost more than 20 million."

Liu Bian's expression was as usual, his pace quickened a little, and he said, "Did all this money come from Zuo Rong?"

"Yes."

Lu Yu said: "The second young master said that Xiang Zuorong of Pengcheng is a devout believer in Buddhism. In recent years, he has carried out large-scale construction projects and built many Buddhist temples. A grand Buddha Bathing Festival is held every year, and one is added from time to time."

Liu Bian looked at both sides of the street, almost all of which were monks. He frowned and said, "Where did he get so much money and food?"

Although almost all of the county guards in the Han Dynasty came from well-known noble families, their families and official families were clearly separated, and it was impossible to use money from the family to handle court affairs.

So, where did Zuo Rong's huge expenses come from?
This one event is worth tens of millions, and there are several events held every year, which can reach hundreds of millions!

Asking this, Liu Bian recalled the time when Cui Jun almost knelt down to the Chen family for three thousand and five dollars.

Lu Yu hesitated for a moment, then said: "He is in charge of the water transportation of Pengcheng Kingdom, Xiapi County and Guangling County."

Lu Yu has always used his father as a role model and strives to "not say anything about other people's rights and wrongs", but he still said it.

Liu Bian was startled, stopped, turned to look at him, and said, "Water transport? I remember, water transport doesn't cost much, right?"

Liu Bian has always not taken water transportation seriously. There are two reasons for this. One is that he checked all taxation situations since the late emperor and found that water transportation is almost negligible. The second is that he subconsciously believes that today's water transportation is not enough. Developed, without significant income.

Lu Yu lowered his head and said: "Young master, there should be quite a few. Moreover, when you come here, there are tolls from time to time. Every summer and autumn, plus other things, it should be no problem to collect tens of millions."

Liu Bian's brows twitched fiercely, and he stared at him and said, "How much did you say? Tens of millions, just for the three counties of Pengcheng, Xiapi, and Guangling?"

"Yes." Lu Yu said.

Liu Bian narrowed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, and turned to look in the direction of the so-called Holy Buddha Temple.

Just three counties in Xuzhou can actually earn tens of millions!

Although there are those who collect taxes and share profits randomly with clever excuses, if all over the country are put together and planned properly, it should not be a problem to collect them several hundred million a year!
But after so many years, no one told him about this!
"Did you just know it now, or did you know it a long time ago?" Liu Bian clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes twitching coldly.

Listening to the indifferent tone, Lu Yu's heart suddenly became cold. He immediately realized something and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, this is very complicated, and only the ministers know about it. This water transport involves many things, even if the imperial court wants to accept it, It won't be collected for a while, and the court...may not know what's going on. "

"Don't know what's going on?"

Liu Bian snorted coldly and said, "I guess they all know that this is a thankless hard bone that is not easy to chew. There are already so many, so they are unwilling to add this one more."

Lu Yu didn't dare to say anything.

It was indeed the first time that he knew about water transportation, but that was all. The second young master's words were too simple, and it was difficult for Lu Yu to understand the whole story.

Liu Bian thought for a while and said, "Let's go and see how Prime Minister Peng Cheng manages the counties and ensures the safety of the people."

"His Majesty."

Suddenly, Huangfu Jianchang came behind Liu Bian and whispered in a somewhat urgent tone.

Liu Bian looked back at him and said, "What's wrong?"

Huangfu Jian stretched out his hand and pointed in one direction and said, "There are some things over there that your Majesty needs to see with your own eyes."

Liu Bian followed his gaze and saw a somewhat dark corner. After thinking about it, he walked straight over without asking.

"Your Majesty, go around and go to the second floor over there." Huangfu Jianchang suddenly said again.

Liu Bian let him go and stepped forward.

After twists and turns, the group of people came to a remote small building and went up to the second floor.

Huangfu Jianchang took the lead in walking to the window and quietly pushed it open.

Suddenly a foul smell came out, making everyone gag.

Liu Bian frowned deeply and covered his nose with his sleeves. He forced himself to get closer.

Looking down, Liu Bian's face instantly darkened, and his eyes burst out with unprecedented murderous intent!
Behind this remote small building is a ditch, which is filled with corpses and emits a stench.

On the shore, there were many soldiers carrying corpses and throwing them into the ditch. At the same time, there were also people transporting truckloads of soil, seemingly for landfill.

It was just a simple estimate that the number of corpses in the ditch exceeded several hundred. Liu Bian was frightened just thinking about the exact number!

"Who did this!?" Liu Bian gritted his teeth, his tone hoarse and filled with murderous intent.

Since leaving Luoyang, Liu Bian has seen countless dark and dirty things, but he has always looked down from a high place and rarely had murderous intentions.

This is the first time!
Huangfu Jian, who had a face as strong as iron, said: "Your Majesty, it should be Zuo Rong. This person has an excellent official reputation in Pengcheng and other surrounding areas. He is willing to do good and charitable, and is honest and upright. However, he has another side, which is a violent personality, capricious killing, and arbitrary expropriation. Under the rule, people died of hunger."

Liu Bian took a deep breath, his eyes widened suddenly, and the smell immediately filled his chest. He couldn't help but turn around, lie down in the corner, and vomited.

In that quick glance, he saw numerous corpses floating in the stinking ditch, miserable and indescribable.

Layers upon layers, as if filled with smelly ditches. Liu Bian wiped his mouth after vomiting for who knows how long, and said with red eyes: "Let's go!"

Huangfu Jianchang heard the coldness in Liu Bian's tone and followed him silently.

Lu Yu was a little worried and said: "Your Majesty, there are people from Zuo Rong everywhere in Lu County. It is better to send him back to Luoyang before dealing with him."

Liu Bian snorted coldly and continued walking forward.

Lu Yu was worried that something had happened and turned to look at Huangfu Jianchang.

Huangfu Jianchang hesitated, but when he saw Liu Bian, he didn't even look back. He called over a plainclothes guard from the Imperial City and said, "Go and inform General Zhao Zhonglang and inform him of the situation here."

"Yes." The plainclothes guard responded and left quietly.

Liu Bian didn't take it seriously. He left the remote building and went straight to the so-called Holy Buddha Temple.

He walked very fast, a little hastily.

A group of people behind him followed closely, even more anxious than him.

Not long after, we arrived in front of the Holy Buddha Temple.

Liu Bian stood at the foot of the steps, looking at this magnificent Buddhist temple. There were hundreds of steps in front of him. Not far away, the words "Zhengfo" were dyed in gold, shining in the sun.

On both sides of the main entrance, there are two Buddha statues, one looks like Guanyin, and the other is unknown to Liu Bian.

Liu Bian raised his feet and climbed up the steps, stepping forward step by step.

After walking a few steps, I realized that the stairs under my feet seemed not simple. I stamped them with my feet and said, "Is this jade?"

Lu Yu leaned over and observed for a while, then raised his head and said, "Yes."

Liu Bian had no expression on his face and strode upwards.

As soon as I arrived in front of the gate, I heard bursts of bells, accompanied by loud chanting, and the rich incense of sandalwood.

Liu Bian glanced at the carved door carvings and stepped into the threshold.

Inside the gate, there are monks sitting cross-legged everywhere, worshiping the Buddha devoutly without raising their heads, concentrating on their work.

Liu Bian moved forward step by step, and soon he came to the Main Hall. He climbed the steps and saw a golden Buddha statue at the entrance.

Liu Bian entered from the small door and saw many monks chanting sutras, and even more, Buddha statues of different sizes, each one was pure gold in color, shining with an inexplicable luster under the golden light. .

Liu Bianzi looked at it carefully, his expression seemed to be frozen.

Huangfu Jianchang quietly came up behind him and whispered: "Young Master, it's all true."

Really, that is, all pure gold!
Liu Bian's face twitched and he turned around and walked out.

Pure gold, Zuo Rong is really rich!
"Donor, please stay." Suddenly, a monk with white beard and hair clasped his hands and smiled at Liu Bian and said, "You are destined to come here, why not listen to the sutra?"

Liu Bian took a look at him and saw that he was Zhou Zheng, not a philistine. He suddenly took out ten coins from his arms, put it in the merit box, and then bowed to the golden Buddha statue with his hands clasped together.

"Amitabha." The old monk performed Buddhist rituals and sang loudly.

Liu Bian returned the favor with the old monk and then left silently.

Lu Yu, Huangfu Jianchang, Dian Wei and others looked at each other and left immediately.

The old monk looked at Liu Bian's back and frowned involuntarily.

"Master, what's wrong?" A young monk came over and asked doubtfully.

The old monk sighed and said, "I saw nobility and evil spirit in that young man."

The young monk was a little confused and said, "Master, what does this mean?"

The old monk shook his head and said: "If he is good, the people will be blessed, but if he goes astray, it will be difficult for the people."

The young monk still didn't understand, and he couldn't see Liu Bian's back.

Liu Bian turned around the Main Hall and came to the Heavenly King's Hall. It was not a magnificent place, but it was also very exquisite. The surface was made of gold and jade, and the body was made of copper and iron. It was majestic and domineering.

Then, Liu Bian came to the Guanyin Hall and saw the Guanyin made of jade. Each one was lifelike, and some were even carved from complete jade, exuding a warm color.

Liu Bian walked out, looking at the sky in silence.

He had heard about Zuo Rong's large-scale construction projects before he came, but only after he arrived did he realize that there was such extravagance behind the large-scale construction projects.

It is obviously inappropriate to describe a Buddhist temple as extravagant, but here, Liu Bian felt that the word "extravagant" was not enough to describe it.

Huangfu Jian was long, and Dian Wei looked at Liu Bian's back and did not dare to say anything. He could only look at Lu Yu.

Lu Yu waited for a while and saw people coming and going around. He was really worried about Liu Bian's safety, so he stepped forward and whispered: "Your Majesty, there is also a Buddhist scripture building..."

"Don't look at it."

Liu Bian didn't know what his expression was, but he felt that the corners of his face were very stiff. He walked towards the stairs and walked straight out.

After taking a few steps, they found that they were unable to walk away.

Groups of monks came over and blocked the door. They lowered their heads, chanted sutras, and moved slowly and uniformly around a big tree that looked like a bodhi tree.

Liu Bian stood still and waited for them to walk in. It took a long time before the door became free.

When Liu Bian walked out of this holy Buddhist temple, he couldn't help but let out a long breath. He stood at the foot of the steps and looked at this luxurious Buddhist temple again. He couldn't help but said: "Second Young Master, come here to estimate the price. How much money will be needed to build this Buddhist temple?" How much food?"

Huangfu Jian didn't know that Liu Bian was angry. He stopped playing as before and looked at it carefully and said, "Your Majesty, it will cost at least several hundred thousand yuan."

"Hundreds of thousands of coins, tens of millions of dollars, right?"

Liu Bian put his hands behind his back and sighed softly.

The annual taxes of the Han Dynasty were only tens of millions, but Zuo Rong spent tens of millions to build a Buddhist temple here.

You know, money at this time is very valuable!

Huangfu was strong and Lu Yu and others did not dare to say a word.

Such a Buddhist temple costs tens of millions. Where did Zuo Rong get the money? With so much money, do we have to build such a luxurious temple? Are we going to turn a blind eye to the many people who are crying for food?

Countless people starve to death over there, but worship Buddha devoutly here?
"It's really easy for an official to earn this money..."

Liu Bian took a long breath and said with a smile.

Zuo Rong spent all his money and squandered it wantonly. Cui Jun, on the other hand, was looking for money everywhere, but he couldn't get it even though he was a small boy.

(End of this chapter)