I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 476 Inventory
"Are there many lewd temples not only in Qinghe State? Is the issue of lewd temples in Qingzhou so serious?" Liu Bian was furious after listening to the report. He questioned the ministers present, "Why didn't anyone report this before?"

Faced with the emperor's anger, the officials who were summoned to the imperial court were silent for a moment.

People like Yuan Shao who had nothing to do with the matter were naturally more relaxed, but people like Sikong Yang Biao knew about the matter.

Now, as the only one of the Three Dukes accompanying the emperor, after a brief thought, Yang Biao answered without waiting for the emperor to call his name: "Your Majesty, the trend of lewd temples in Qingzhou has existed for a long time. It was already like this during the time of Emperor Guangwu. In recent years, many lewd temples have been abandoned, and only a few, such as the Three Emperors Temple, remain..."

"But the obscene temple that harms the people is still there! And does it mean it's right just because it's been there for a long time? What do you think, Captain Yuan?"

Yuan Shao was stunned for a moment, then he realized that the emperor was talking about him.

He was able to return to the government by supporting the emperor, so he immediately replied, "I think all obscene temples should be demolished! For example, the Temple of the Three Emperors has always been used by the emperor to offer sacrifices. Ordinary people are ignorant and it is not in accordance with etiquette to offer sacrifices to the Three Emperors. As for other obscene temples, they were all built privately without the imperial decree, so they should be abolished, without exception!"

After Yuan Shao finished speaking, he secretly thought that he was sorry for his brother-in-law who introduced him.

I have to apologize privately later.

Since he had already drawn a clear line with Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji, Yang Biao still had to try to win them over.

"You are right!" Liu Bian first praised Yuan Shao's speech, and then asked: "Do you have any comments?"

Seeing that the emperor's intention was very clear, all the ministers agreed.

Liu Bian said, "Immediately draft an imperial edict and send it to Qingzhou, ordering the two thousand stone officials in each county and state to investigate the obscene temples under their jurisdiction. All obscene temples, whether they are dedicated to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors or to the kings, will be abolished! Those witches and wizards who use the benefits of obscene temples to oppress the people will be convicted according to the law!"

"Let Qingzhou Governor Chen Yuanfang supervise him!"

After the announcement, Liu Bian left angrily.

He really didn't expect that there were still such things hidden in Qingzhou today.

After Liu Bian left, Yang Biao wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was afraid that the emperor would be angry and dismiss him because of this matter. After all, he had once supervised the investigation of Qingzhou's administration.

Who could have thought that a small lewd temple could bring down the emperor's wrath.

"Mr. Wen, your Majesty asked me just now, so I can only speak frankly. Please don't blame me..."

Hearing Yuan Shao's words, Yang Biao was secretly angry in his heart - just speak frankly, why use the example of the Three Emperors Temple he mentioned?

But seeing Yuan Shao lower his attitude, he could only say, "No problem, no problem."

"In front of His Majesty, we should uphold justice and speak freely."

Yuan Shao was relieved when he heard that Yang Biao had forgiven him.

On the other hand, Liu Bian, whose anger had calmed down a little, thought that Sun Ce was now staying in Pingyuan State to wipe out the obscene temples. He had always relied on his bravery and was careless, but there were many fanatics among the people who were superstitious about obscene temples. What if someone took advantage of Sun Ce's unpreparedness and attacked him.

He then called Qian Zhao over and gave him a few instructions.

Qingzhou, Qi State, Linzi County.

After receiving the imperial edict from the emperor, Chen Ji felt like he was losing face.

He was in charge of supervising Qingzhou on the orders of the emperor, and the emperor had great trust in him. He did not expect that he would have to be urged by the emperor to do things under Qingzhou.

In fact, the problem of lewd temples in Qi State where Chen Ji was located was relatively minor, similar to that in Jinan State which had been demolished by Cao Cao - yes, the person who had demolished all the lewd temples in Jinan State was Cao Cao.

But even so, Chen Ji was still not satisfied. After receiving the imperial edict, he not only sent his subordinates to various places, but also personally led the state soldiers to inspect the counties.

Whenever they encountered an obscene temple, they would send troops to destroy it.

Chen Ji thought that because Qingzhou was close to the emperor's residence in the east, the officials would not dare to collude with the witches to commit fraud, so he set out from Qi, went north to Le'an, and then headed east to Beihai and Donglai.

In the past, in the Beihai Kingdom, Liu Bei, with the help of Chen Ji, led his troops to clear out many powerful strongholds and dealt with some corrupt officials. Later, he used Sun Gu of the Sun family in Gaomi County to force the powerful families in Beihai to provide money and food to help the people of Beihai overcome difficulties.

Today, the Beihai Kingdom is still enjoying the benefits of what Chen Ji and Liu Bei did.

When Chen Ji arrived in Beihai Kingdom, he naturally discovered the existence of the lewd temple.

His attitude is consistent and ruthless.

On this day, Chen Ji inspected another lewd temple. Although this lewd temple was built without government permission, it was dedicated to Confucius.

This is a statue of a saint!

However, Chen Ji hesitated again and again, and after finding out that this obscene temple forced the people to contribute grain... he finally made up his mind - to demolish it!

He believed that if Confucius knew that he was being used by the witches as a tool to make money, he would definitely allow him to demolish the temple!
But before the demolition, Chen Ji decided to pay homage to Confucius.

It was his respect for the great sage.

This time, before demolishing the temple, he did not forget to say to the onlookers: "After demolishing this temple, I will rebuild the statue of Confucius in the school of Beihai State! If you want to worship Confucius, you can go to the school in the future and worship him! There is no need to worship in this obscene temple that collects grain as offerings."

After saying this, he went into the temple to pay his last respects.

However, just as he bowed and had not yet stood up, he suddenly saw two people emerging from behind the statue of Confucius, rushing towards him with sharp blades in their hands.

Chen Ji reacted quickly. He was not frightened, nor did he think that this was a punishment sent by the Sage. His first thought was that there was an assassin, run!
But he is old after all, and his body can't keep up with the reaction.

Because he was kneeling on the ground and worshipping Confucius, he could only watch helplessly as a sword stabbed towards him.

The sharp sword was about to hit him, and Chen Ji finally thought of a countermeasure. He fell to the ground, rolled over, and avoided the sword.

At this time, Chen Ji's guards had noticed that something was wrong and rushed over.

Just because the envoy wanted to pay a visit to Confucius, they did not follow too closely.

It seemed too late to stop the other assassin who had gained the upper hand.

The man stabbed Chen Ji and shouted, "You are disrespectful to the gods, you deserve to die!"

Chen Ji had just rolled around, his old strength was gone and his new strength had not yet been generated.

Just when he thought his life was over, he suddenly saw that the assassin who was about to stab him stopped. Upon further inspection, he saw that the assassin had been hit by a short arrow in the chest.

Looking back, he saw one of his guards took out a crossbow from him. At this time, Chen Ji was still thinking - he didn't remember that his guards were equipped with crossbows!
While he was thinking, the assassin who had first missed the target became panicked because his companion was shot by an arrow, and then he no longer had any chance.

Chen Ji hurriedly shouted: "Leave him alive!"

However, the first assassin made no secret of his origins - "I am a retainer of Lord Sun Gu of Beihai. Today I have come to take your life and avenge Lord Sun!"

(End of this chapter)