From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

The vegetarian meal on the table was fragrant, and the light of dawn illuminated the hall. Lin'an Prefecture was still Lin'an Prefecture, but the owner had changed temporarily.

Looking at the unfamiliar faces and the skeletons around him, Song Shanzi felt cold all over, and a sense of sadness surged in his heart.

Zhou Yuan said softly: "Is the vegetarian meal not to the Taoist's taste? Or does the Taoist eat meat?"

Eat meat? When these two words were mentioned, Song Shanzi remembered the scene of the Taoist friends being eaten by poisonous insects last night, and his stomach was churning for a while.

He used to eat meat, but he was afraid that he would not dare to eat it for a long time in the future.

"Or is the Taoist mourning for his dead fellow disciples?"

Zhou Yuan's voice always carried a hint of teasing, which made people uncomfortable and afraid.

Because this kind of teasing seemed to contain endless confidence and grasp of the current situation, but it was clear that Lin'an Prefecture had fallen, and Jiangnan could not hold on for a few days.

Songshanzi didn't understand where the other party's confidence came from.

He could only bite the bullet and said: "Your Excellency, just say what you want to say. One or two meals can't buy me off."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "Let me introduce you. This is Director Zhuang Xuansu, the head of the Inner Court Department and the Queen's personal female official."

Songshanzi subconsciously looked at Zhuang Xuansu. Thinking of the fierce battle last night, he knew in his heart that this feud had already been taken.

Zhou Yuan said: "I plan to let her make a suggestion to His Majesty and start the plan to destroy Taoism in the world. This plan is very simple. In summary, it is: destroy Taoist temples, burn Taoist scriptures, and kill Taoists."

"What do you think of the twelve-word mantra?"

Song Shanzi felt cold all over and could not help but yelled: "You are going against the will of heaven!"

Zhuang Xuansu said coldly: "Her Majesty is the heaven of Dajin! If she says to kill, then there will be no one left!"

"As long as there is an imperial decree, all Taoist sects in the world will become rebellious sects, equivalent to the Wusheng Sect."

Song Shanzi looked at the woman in front of him in horror and said in a trembling voice: "You are taking revenge for personal gain!"

"Wrong, this is a dispute over the great way!"

Zhuang Xuansu narrowed his eyes and said: "The world is competing for supremacy. Longhu Mountain, as a famous Taoist sect, openly supports the rebels. Shouldn't it be destroyed!"

Song Shanzi opened his mouth, but couldn't find words to refute. He just regretted it in his heart. It was all because of his radicalness for a while that caused the Taoist friends in the world to suffer.

If this is true, then wouldn’t I become the eternal sinner of Taoism?

Zhou Yuan said calmly: "Okay, no need to threaten anymore, Songshanzi, I have been polite, now it's time to show my cards."

"It's very simple, if you listen to me, I will keep your sect safe."

"If you don't listen to me, remember the twelve-character mantra above, it's not a joke."

Songshanzi said quickly: "If you have something to say, just say it!"

Zhou Yuan said: "I want you to send out invitations to heroes all over the world in the name of Longhu Mountain, and make public the fact that Annan Hou colluded with Wushengjiao to rebel and cause chaos."

"Including but not limited to exposing Annan Hou's extravagant life, exposing gambling houses' human trafficking, child maiming and other behaviors."

"The most important point is that you must tell it out, that is, the twelve-character mantra above, tell everyone that this is what Annan Hou promised Wushengjiao."

The previous emperor valued Taoism, and there are countless Taoist sects in the world, with a huge influence. If this crime is put on Annan Hou, it will not be so easy.

Song Shanzi glared and said, "If you do that, Annan Hou will definitely send troops to slaughter my Longhu Mountain!"

Zhou Yuan shook his head and sneered, "Do you really think Longhu Mountain is a dish? Is it worth it for the other party to send troops? Now Annan Hou is doing big things and can't care about you. Dealing with Longhu Mountain will be a matter of time."

"And how can you be sure that he will win?"

Song Shanzi shouted, "He has more than 100,000 troops and occupies the richest place in the world. As long as he cooperates with the bandits and Mongolia, he can overthrow the Jin Dynasty."

"It's a pity that he met me!"

Zhou Yuan said proudly, "This is his misfortune, but your luck, because except me, no one will give you a chance to atone for your sins."

"If Her Majesty the Queen knew about this, think about her cruel methods, how can the Taoist sect survive in the world!"

After speaking, he stood up and waved his hand, saying, "Xiaoying, take him down to write. I want to see his letter before noon."

Song Shanzi cursed and was taken away by Xiaoying.

Zhuang Xuansu frowned and said, "Is he reliable? I mean, he may not be that valuable."

Zhou Yuan said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We have a lot to do, but there must always be a beginning."

"Song Shanzi is unreliable, but he has weaknesses. After all, he cares too much about the Taoist sect."

"If he can't write the letter today, you will set out at night to Longhu Mountain and chop off the head of the headmaster of Longhu Mountain."

Zhuang Xuansu sighed and said, "But what's the use? Lin'an Prefecture fell in just one night. The Liangjiang army did not move, which means that they are already in the same blood with Annan Hou."

"Within three days, Jiangxi will fall, and at most ten days, the entire Liangjiang will be completely controlled by the enemy."

She was very anxious and whispered, "It's late July now, and in two or three months, it will be the autumn tax."

"If the court can't collect this money, it can't hold on."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Now the annual tax of Dajin is about 80 million taels of silver, of which the army and officials' expenses basically spend 60 million taels."

"The remaining 20 million will be used for palace expenses, disaster relief in various places, and other livelihood work, which is almost not enough to spend."

"If there is another war, there will basically be no money to support the soldiers. It can be said to be difficult!"

Zhuang Xuansu asked in confusion, "You...you even understand these? ”

Zhou Yuan continued: "It is extremely difficult to pacify the world of the Great Jin Dynasty, and it is even more difficult to revive it."

"I originally wanted to be a free and easy person, living a life with many wives and concubines, but the situation is difficult and it has reached the point where someone has to stand up."

"Otherwise, do you think I am willing to take care of this mess?"

"Lin'an Prefecture is so beautiful, isn't it good for me to enjoy life here?"

Zhuang Xuansu said angrily: "As a citizen of the Great Jin Dynasty, how can you think so? A big man should serve the country!"

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said: "You should tell these words to the queen, she may like to hear them."

"Now let's talk about something practical. The loss of Liangjiang is inevitable. If we fight, we will definitely not be able to fight back. The court does not have that ability."

"The only way to pacify Jiangnan is to disintegrate them from within. The key lies in the soldiers of Liangjiang. "

"I have an idea, but I still lack some necessary conditions, which need time to ferment."

"What you need to do now is to keep in close contact with the Queen, including the situation around Liangjiang."

"We need to judge the time to act through these situations."

Zhuang Xuansu frowned for a long time before sighing, "I don't understand."

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "So choosing me is your only way at the moment, and in fact, it is also the Queen's only way."

"Tell her, my name is Zhou Yuan."