Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 392 Public Opinion War

After the Hangzhou government, the military, and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs jointly investigated and tried the Wei family massacre, the evidence, evidence, and witnesses were convincing, and it was the work of the evil cult Maitreya.The next morning, the court of Wuyue Kingdom notified the whole country, and issued a sea arrest document to the whole country, arresting hundreds of demon monks suspected to be Maitreya Sect.At the same time, the members of the Southern Tang Mission were imprisoned.And after the news that Lu Jiang herself was one of the Four King Kongs of the Maitreya Sect and had mysteriously disappeared was confirmed, it was confirmed from the side that the Maitreya Sect was the murderer of this terrifying tragedy.

Except for the three witnesses who lived in the family compound of the Wei family, plus dozens of officials who came to pay homage to Wei Xin, a total of nearly 500 people were massacred by the Maitreya Sect.Such a tragic massacre has already shocked almost everyone in the entire Wuyue Kingdom.

You must know that the Wei family is the first family of Wuyue State, and has great prestige among the civil service system and scholars of Wuyue State.In addition, it also directly controls Wei's firm, one of the seven major firms in the Wuyue Kingdom, and usually pays attention to managing its own reputation among the common people, so it is extremely influential in both the business world and the common people.

Therefore, the court of Wuyue Kingdom has conclusive evidence. After it was announced that the tragedy was committed by the Maitreya monk, many officials, people and businessmen of Wuyue Kingdom were filled with righteous indignation and hatred towards Maitreya Sect.At this time, Ye Chen asked Hu Sanguang to start spreading the evil deeds that the Maitreya Sect did in Houshu back then and the Southern Tang Kingdom today, including a large number of deceitful deeds that were either factual or fabricated by the intelligence department staff. And the case of the family of a businessman and gentry being ruined.Hu Sanguang even spent money to hire a large number of storytellers in teahouses and taverns to fabricate vivid and colorful stories, and launched a vigorous publicity and public opinion offensive in Wuyue State, intending to completely characterize Maitreya Sect as a cult that everyone hates in Wuyue State.

In addition, during this period, Qian Hongchu, the leader of the Wuyue Kingdom, issued some orders, and the Wuyue Kingdom’s imperial court and local government also posted a notice in an official capacity, officially notifying Maitreya Cult as a cult, and stating that anyone who finds Maitreya Cult The members of the cult will be reported, and some rewards and punishments have been set up for this.

Soon, within two or three days, almost everyone in Wuyue Kingdom, except for some people who had been secretly developed into fanatical believers by Maitreya Sect, had recognized the evil nature of Maitreya Sect.As a result, Wuyue State's power in Maitreya Sect fell into the vast ocean of people's war.People from all over the world have reported the people who believe in Maitreya and the temples and strongholds of Maitreya.Some were destroyed by angry people, and more were arrested by the local government who had been reported.Among them were several influential commercial firms, many gentry, and even four officials.

In fact, those big business houses, gentry and four officials were so deeply hidden that it was impossible for ordinary people and the government to detect and discover that they were believers or direct descendants of the Maitreya Sect.The reason why these people or forces can be exposed is the result of the investigation led by Hu Sanguang's intelligence department, and then they were exposed skillfully, allowing the local government to wipe them out.

In a few days, by using the massacre of the Wei family, the Maitreya Sect of Wuyue Kingdom could be driven into the abyss, making the whole people believe that the Maitreya Sect is the most evil cult in the world.In addition to the various methods and propaganda offensives that Ye Chen learned from the later generations of the government to deal with cults, there is also a big reason that the court and royal family of the Wuyue Kingdom have high prestige among the common people, officials, and businessmen.

Most of the people in the various groups of the Wuyue Kingdom have become accustomed to believing what the Wuyue Kingdom’s court and the state leader said, as well as the will issued.Ye Chen knew that this was the reputation and prestige that the court of Wuyue Kingdom and successive rulers had spent nearly 60 years building up.

In addition, during this period, according to Ye Chen's instructions, some deeds and national policies related to the wiseness and martial arts of the emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, the power of the Great Song Dynasty, the enlightenment of the imperial court and the Song Emperor, etc. were also under the specific control of the intelligence department personnel led by Hu Sanguang , quietly began to spread in Wuyue Kingdom.For example, the emperor of the Song Dynasty often pardoned the people's taxes, so that the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.Moreover, the court of the Song Dynasty was very strict with the criminal law. The bandits and robbers in the Song Dynasty were all wiped out by the government. The people and gangs in the world were very honest and never bullied the people.The words are very real, directly related to the interests and security issues that the people are most concerned about and care about.

At the same time, Qian Hongchu, the lord of Wuyue, and Ye Chen, the envoy of the Song Dynasty, reached a consensus on the marriage between the two countries. The princess will marry the eldest son Qian Zhiyin in seven days.And on the second day after the wedding, the envoy of the Song Dynasty, the world-renowned Xiangfu Hou Yechen wanted to worship the daughter of the founding monarch of Wuyue Kingdom, the aunt and grandmother of the current monarch, the guardian god of the Wuyue Kingdom for decades, and the sword emperor. Known as Qian Yuechan as his teacher.

These two news came from the palace of King Wuyue.Naturally, it aroused widespread concern and discussion among the court of Wuyue Kingdom and the common people.

At the same time, quietly, the news that Wuyue Kingdom might be peacefully merged into Song Kingdom spread from somewhere.This caused an uproar in Wuyue Kingdom, and many officials and businessmen panicked.However, as some news and discussions about what would happen if Wuyue Kingdom was really merged into the Song Dynasty continued to spread and spread, most officials and businessmen no longer panicked. disturbed.

Under the coordination of Hu Sanguang, hundreds of spies from the Intelligence Department of Huaxia Weifu came to Wuyue Kingdom, and they were scattered in various states, paying close attention to the reactions of local officials in various states and counties and the civil and military officials of Wuyue Kingdom.From time to time, they collect and inquire about the opinions and attitudes of wealthy businessmen, giant gentry, and common people in various places, and then report to Ye Chen after analysis and judgment by the elite analysis and intelligence team led by Hu Sanguang.Finally, it is up to Ye Chen and Hu Sanguang to discuss and decide to take the overreactions that have appeared or may appear to be unfavorable to the merger of Wuyue Kingdom into the Song Dynasty by the people of various prefectures and counties or a certain influential official or wealthy businessman in Wuyue Kingdom. Certain measures.

Regarding the handling of this matter, Ye Chen was extremely decisive and ruthless. In just two days, four local civil officials of the seventh rank or above who reacted fiercely in Wuyue State died of illness or accidents. It was reported that he had colluded with the Maitreya Sect, and Gao Chengxiang sent people to arrest him directly and put him in prison.The three extremely active wealthy merchants colluding everywhere were suddenly exposed to crimes and were taken down by the court of Wuyue Kingdom.

Of course, in the court of the Wuyue Kingdom, and even among the private businessmen, there are many talented and sharp-eyed people. These few people have guessed some real inside stories from the various strange changes and things that happened in the Wuyue Kingdom in the past few days.But on the one hand, most of these people are very knowledgeable about current affairs, and it is wise to keep silent.Even if a very small number of people wanted to do something, they were frightened by the few officials and gentry who died in various accidents.Be obedient and dare not move a little.

There is also a very special character among them——Gao Chengxiang, No. 1 in the military of Wuyue Kingdom, commander of the Eight Capitals.Whether it was Qian Hongchu, the lord of the country who had a few days left to live, or Qian Yuechan, who was dying, they did not hide Gao Chengxiang about this matter.

Gao Chengxiang's disciples are all over the army, and many important positions in the army are directly descendants of the Gao family, and they have a high prestige in the Wuyue army.Controlling the military for many years is itself an anomaly among countries.

You must know that under normal circumstances, no emperor or royal family would trust a person or family so much in ancient and modern China and abroad.A country's army will be handed over to one family or one person for such a long time.

Ye Chen was quite puzzled about this, and after secretly asking Hu Sanguang to investigate, he only understood a little bit.

What Ye Chen understands includes four aspects.

First, the tax distribution of the Wuyue Kingdom is very special. Since the founding of the Wuyue Kingdom, [-]% of the tax revenue has been directly attributed to the royal treasury.

Second, the sources and distribution of the military salaries of the Wuyue Kingdom's army, from generals and officers to ordinary soldiers, are quite different from those of other countries.At the beginning of the founding of the country, it was directly distributed through the internal treasury controlled by the royal family, and later it was directly withdrawn from the Wuyue bank controlled by the royal family.This is unimaginable in other countries.But after Ye Chen heard it, he was taken aback, and he admired the wisdom of the successive rulers of Wuyue Kingdom.

Third, the court of Wuyue Kingdom strictly stipulated that military personnel could not engage in business in any form.

Fourth, no one from the Gao family can get involved in business.

The latter two aspects were even written into the decrees of the Criminal Ministry of Wuyue Kingdom, and those who committed crimes in this aspect have always been severely punished.

In addition, there is another point that the army of Wuyue State implements the policy of high salary and honesty. According to Ye Chen's knowledge, the salary of Wuyue State's army is the highest among all countries, even three times that of the Song State's forbidden army.

Under the joint impetus of the above aspects, the [-] troops of Wuyue Kingdom were firmly controlled by the Wuyue royal family.However, due to the long-term lack of war, the combat effectiveness of Wuyue's army is the lowest among all countries.Of course, this is also related to the fact that Wuyue Kingdom is located in a prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River, where business is prosperous and the people have lived comfortably for many years.

In the land of China, since ancient times, there has been a saying that "warriors from the north conquer the world, and scholars from the south rule the world".Among them, the living conditions in the north are difficult, and the people are bloody, while the people in the south live comfortably, have free time and material conditions to read and play, but this also leads to the extreme lack of blood in the ordinary people in the south of the Yangtze River.

In fact, it was precisely because of this that the agreement between Ye Chen and Qian Yuechan was realized.Just imagine, in the previous Northern Han Dynasty, Later Shu Dynasty, or even the Southern Han Dynasty, if you want to be peacefully annexed by Song State without a single soldier, even if you have a situation similar to Wuyue State today, it is almost impossible.

"It's just that although most of the people in the south of the Yangtze River lack blood, the scholars and literati in the south of the Yangtze River are very proud, and their patriotism is far more than that of the northerners who are often ravaged and persecuted by war. Therefore, the focus of your monitoring and prevention should be on those Wu Yue On the son of a literati."

In the Hang Garden, after hearing Hu Sanguang's report, Ye Chen said the above words after pondering.

(End of this chapter)