Please don't force me to be a god.

During the feudal period, productivity was low, transportation was inconvenient, and information was not smooth. National governance usually relied on local tyrants and gentry.

Therefore, there was a saying that "imperial power does not extend below the county level".

It was not that the emperor did not want to, but that he could not afford to support so many officials.

He could only focus on the big and let go of the small, so that the towns and villages below the county level could achieve semi-autonomy.

That night, Tangzhou was quiet.

The people spent the night with a little trepidation. No soldiers went to the streets to rob, and even the usual street urchins were not seen.

Only then did they truly believe that the Xiangyang Army was truly "not a single hair was harmed".

The next morning.

The incense shops in Tangzhou City were sold out.

Originally, they wanted to kneel down in front of the government office to worship Zhang Tian.

Everyone in the general's mansion knew that Zhang Tian did not like this, so they had to disperse them.

Everyone saw that since the government office where the immortal was located could not be worshipped, they naturally had to go to the temple.

The local temples were directly crowded.

Many people lined up until noon, but still couldn't squeeze in to worship.

In the end, they had to light incense, candles, and treasure paper in their own courtyards, facing the government office.

For a time, the whole Tangzhou city was filled with fragrance, and the smell of incense and chicken, lamb, duck and other meats were everywhere.

When Zhang Tian landed in Xiangyang, the people of Xiangyang were as crazy as the people of Tangzhou now.

As soon as Zhang Tian got up, he smelled these smells.

He was very familiar with these smells. Every time a "miracle" appeared, the local people would do this.

"Xu Wen, what's going on outside?"

Xu Wen, who had been waiting for a long time, said: "Master, now the people of the whole city are worshiping you, hoping to get a little blessing from you."

"Ah... Do you remember what I told you?"

Xu Wen said: "Disciple, remember, real immortals do not need the incense of mortals, and the immortal master naturally does not need it either."

"The immortal master also taught disciples that the heaven is vigorous, and gentlemen should strive for self-improvement. Don't fall into ignorance because of worshiping gods."

Zhang Tian nodded: "Just remember it."

"Now Tangzhou City may fall into this fanatical ignorance because of me. Do you have any solution?"

In fact, Zhang Tian knew that the best way was not to show "miracles" from the beginning.

This would shock ordinary people a lot less.

Although there are still some legends, if you haven't seen them with your own eyes, at most you will mix yourself with the legendary gods and won't be so fanatical.

However, things have priorities.

This Northern Expedition not only needs to recover the city and land, but also needs to win back the hearts of the people to ensure that there will be no fire in the backyard when going north.

These tricks of pretending to be gods have to be used again.

But Zhang Tian does not want to leave fanatical believers in every place he passes.

Being too fanatical is harmful and useless.

Many extreme religions in later generations are typical.

Those believers not only created tragedies everywhere and hurt innocent people, but also scared away many countries and organizations that wanted to establish normal exchanges with them.

Xu Wen thought for a while and said: "Since I followed the immortal master, I have some ideas, but I haven't tried them yet."

Zhang Tian smiled and said: "Then you dare to try it. How much manpower and money do you need? Go to General Guo yourself."

"Yes, I will start to do it now."

…………

Xu Wen first found a local craftsman and made a two-sided inscription.

Then he found an open space in Tangzhou City and built a high stone base to stand the inscription on it so that everyone can see it.

Some literate people read it out in front of everyone:

"Introduction:"

"In the past, the disciple Xu Wen personally saw the immortal master catching a dragon in the river. At that time, he was ignorant and did not know the immortal master's deep meaning. He ignored the immortal master's advice and wanted to watch from a closer distance."

"Afterwards, the immortal master reprimanded his disciple and told a parable to teach him."

"The Immortal's Words: Three Ways to Save Believers"

"In the past, there was a believer who believed in God very much and adhered to the good way throughout his life."

"One day, a flood suddenly came, and he was trapped in a high tower with no escape. However, he was determined and believed that God would come to rescue him."

"At first, a man threw a rope from the shore to guide him to the shore. He said: "If I don't go, God will come to save me."

"Then, a boat came and the traveler persuaded him to board the boat. He said, "If I don't go, God will come to save me."

"Again, a big bird descended from the sky and wanted to carry him away. He said, "If I don't go, God will come to save me."

"Finally, the man was drowned and died.

"Because of the good deeds he had accumulated throughout his life, his soul was able to ascend to heaven and see the face of God."

"He asked, "God, I have been kind and devout throughout my life, so why can't you save me in the future?"

"God replied, "I have sent ropes, boats, and giant birds to save me.I wanted to carry you, but you didn't accept it. Now you die, but you blame me, what do you think? "

This is the inscription on the first side.

On the other side of the stone tablet, Zhang Tian's views on worshipping gods are engraved.

The general idea is to let the people strive for self-improvement. It is okay to worship gods, but don't be superstitious.

It's not that whoever worships more will be effective, but you should do more good deeds in normal times and take the initiative to seize opportunities.

If you are lazy and miss the immortal's hint, you can only blame yourself for being stubborn.

I heard that the immortal's disciples set up a "immortal words monument", which immediately attracted thousands of people.

Everyone came to see it.

The inscription on the monument advises people to value good deeds, strive for self-improvement, and worship less superstition.

Ordinary people sighed, this is indeed a true immortal, not caring about worldly things.

It is completely different from the monks who usually only ask people to donate money and materials.

The place where the immortal monument is located naturally becomes a place for believers to worship.

However, the atmosphere is completely new.

If many people bring too much incense and candles to worship, they will be ridiculed as ignorant and disobeying the will of the immortal.

When they meet each other, they ask how many good deeds they have done and what they have worked hard to do?

This makes it difficult for the local temples.

Not only do the people rarely come to their temples to worship, but they are also unwilling to pay much incense money. .

Zhang Tian saw it and thought that Xu Wen's mind full of ghosts and gods was finally used in the right place.

Once this stele was published, it could be regarded as a benefit to the people.

…………

The Tianjin Kingdom in the north was puzzled when it saw the Xiangyang army stationed in Tangzhou for a few days at first.

This is completely inconsistent with the military strategy of "speed is the essence of war".

The longer it drags on, the more time the opponent can prepare.

This is extremely disadvantageous to the attacking party.

When the spy reported the situation in Tangzhou City, Emperor Tianhui, the court officials, and the fourth prince Abulu on the front line were all silent.

So First, if they conquered a city, they would win back the hearts of the people.

In the future, even if Tianjin wanted to attack again, they would probably be strongly resisted by the local people, who would risk their lives to help the An Dynasty defenders.

In this way, the Xiangyang army only needed to leave a small number of troops to defend a city.

The original strategy of abandoning the front line and letting the Xiangyang army disperse its forces in each city was ineffective.

After leaving Tangzhou, the Xiangyang army did not immediately go north, but went west and east.

Marched to the nearby Dengzhou, Caizhou, and Yingzhou.

At this point, the Xiangyang army finally ushered in a decent resistance.