Chapter 75: The Daoist Priest's Crisis

“Master Wang has not yet returned,” Zhang Yingchen secretly wondered why Zhuang Ben would suddenly want to see Master Wang. Wang Ruixiang had only met him a few times, and they were not close. From the cautious attitude of the Zhuang family, they were not willing to have a deep relationship with this colonist who had transported a large number of refugees but whose origins were not clear.

Seeing his anxious expression, as if there was something urgent, he said, “Although Master Wang has not yet returned, he will be back in a few days. If the matter is not urgent, you can tell me first.”

“This matter is actually related to the Daoist priest,” Third Master Zhuang said hurriedly. “Yesterday, the servant I sent to the county border reported that a large group of refugees had entered the country from the north, totaling tens of thousands…”

In a year of famine and great disaster, the most feared thing was the entry of foreign refugees. It was a great pressure for both the government and the local gentry who were in charge of disaster relief. However, the behavior of shifting the disaster to the neighbors was common in many places. Some counties or governments were either incompetent or unwilling to provide disaster relief, or the large households were unwilling to contribute grain. They often used the lure of grain in the neighboring counties to trick the victims into fleeing. Of course, if the victims could not get local relief, they would eventually have to flee.

The fleeing refugees would certainly beg along the way, but once they formed such a large scale, they would inevitably become a destructive force. Eating from large households was a light matter. If they were incited by others, it was not impossible for them to riot and plunder along the way, or even raise a flag and rebel.

Therefore, in years of disaster, the yamen and large households in each county often sent a number of “detectives” to be stationed in the county to report as soon as a large number of refugees entered the country, so that the county could make preparations in advance.

Because Yizhou had the four major powerful families led by the Zhuang family to provide relief and disaster relief, and the Daoist priest and Wang Ruixiang were constantly transporting refugees out, the pressure of refugees in the territory was relatively small, and the people’s lives were better. As a result, the news that there was a way to live in Yizhou spread like wildfire in the southern part of Shandong and the northern part of Jiangsu, and refugees from all over the country flocked there like a tide.

At this moment, this news was a godsend for the three people in Yizhou. What they wanted was refugees. In the past, the roads were blocked and the transportation was hindered. Now that the roads were clear, of course, the more refugees came, the better.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as the road to Longkou is smooth, it doesn’t matter how many refugees come,” Zhang Yingchen said nonchalantly.

“The refugees this time are not friendly,” Zhuang Ben lowered his voice. “There are many disciples of heretical sects mixed in.”

The Daoist priest was shocked. It was not surprising that there were believers of folk religions among the refugees, but they rarely showed their religious feelings on the way of escape. When they were about to starve to death, “eating” was the only faith.

“I would like to hear the details!”

Zhuang Ben said that the origin of this group of refugees was very strange. There were many strong men mixed in who, although dressed in rags, were very energetic. The refugees seemed to be organized in units, with flags as their signs, and they marched in an orderly manner in groups of a thousand. Before entering the county, they were just on their way. As soon as they entered the territory of Yizhou, they raised all kinds of strange banners, and there were also non-monk, non-Taoist figures chanting scriptures and incantations loudly, which was very lively.

In this way, it was beyond doubt that this group of refugees was organized by some folk religion. But why did they come to Yizhou so ostentatiously?

Since the White Lotus Rebellion in Shandong, the government’s suppression of folk religions had been very strict. Unless they were planning to formally start an uprising, it was hard to imagine that such a folk religion would be so ostentatious.

“I asked the militia to inquire and got some news,” Zhuang Ben said. “I heard that this group of refugees seems to be coming for you, Daoist priest.”

Zhang Yingchen was shocked. He thought to himself, what is to come will come! He had seized the territory of the Namo Liang Jiao in Yizhou and killed and turned several high-ranking officials of the sect. How could the Namo Liang Jiao let it go? In these days, he had been keeping a close watch on Ma Weisan through Min Zhanlian. It was not so much that he was afraid of him causing trouble, but rather that he was worried about the counterattack of the Namo Liang Jiao. He estimated that if the Namo Liang Jiao wanted to counterattack, a surviving powerful figure like Ma Weisan would be the target of their efforts.

He didn’t expect them to come directly at him, taking advantage of the famine and the abundance of refugees!

Speaking of which, this was indeed a great opportunity. At present, refugees were everywhere, and small-scale riots and disturbances were constant. The Namo Liang Jiao could incite thousands of refugees to attack his small missionary base without much cost.

Zhang Yingchen was nervously calculating. He only heard Third Master Zhuang say that there was a rumor among the refugees that a “black water demon” had appeared in Yizhou. In order to cultivate and practice spells to collect souls, Shandong had been flooded for the past two years. It was all this demon, that is, Zhang Yingchen, who was practicing spells to cause floods, in order to collect millions of lives to refine demon pills. Not only did it kill countless common people, but it also made the dead unable to be reborn and fall into eternal damnation…

In short, the central idea of the other party’s incitement of the refugees was that as long as they “purged the demonic atmosphere,” the floods and famine would stop, and the souls of the dead common people would be able to be reborn and ascend to heaven.

Zhang Yingchen thought to himself, this rhetoric is so vicious! Not only did it make the ignorant refugees think that he was the culprit of the flood, but it also made people have great fear for the souls of their relatives who died in this disaster.

The other party did not need to give the refugees anything substantial. They had already incited a large number of refugees to oppose him with just an illusory threat. “There are also rumors that the Yunsheng Temple has stored tens of thousands of shi of grain,” Third Master Zhuang continued.

His hands and feet were cold. Tens of thousands of organized refugees, incited by a heretical sect, even if they ran to the foot of Yizhou City, the government would not dare to do anything to them. They would just close the city and defend themselves. As for the large households and powerful families along the way, if they formed a joint defense, they could barely protect their territory and pacify the people. Otherwise, they could not even protect their villages. What was the use of his own earthen wall and a hundred militiamen?

Although there were not tens of thousands of shi of grain in the earthen wall at present, there were indeed one hundred thousand daily relief rations newly transported by Wang Ruixiang. In a year of famine, these grains alone could make many people fight for their lives, not to mention these terrible rumors that fueled the refugees’ “righteousness.”

“I originally thought that Master Wang was here, so I came to report,” Third Master Zhuang said. “I saw that he had some brave and skilled men by his side, as well as sea ships. If anything untoward happens, he can protect the True Person and let him escape first.”

The so-called brave and skilled men were the Ye Mengyan squad. In order to avoid suspicion, Zhang Yingchen had counted this squad under Wang Ruixiang’s name.

Hearing this, Zhang Yingchen already understood: the Zhuang family had made the worst plan. Obviously, the Zhuang family did not think that their own strength could resist the tens of thousands of refugees incited by the Namo Liang Jiao, and they had no intention of sacrificing Dadian Village to protect him. The so-called looking for Master Wang was false, and the real purpose was to use it as an excuse to tell him that the situation was critical and he should escape early.

Zhang Yingchen closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then asked, “How many days have the refugees been without food?”

“According to the militia’s report, the road is littered with corpses. They should have been without food for a long time.”

“Is there any food supply along the way?”

“They plundered along the way, forcing large households to ‘offer grain.’ The large households along the way have joint defenses, and the militia resisted effectively. It seems that they have no intention of spending time attacking, but just went south all the way, straight here. They didn’t get much grain.” He suddenly said in a low voice, “I heard that some of the hungry people are already eating human flesh!”

Zhang Yingchen’s heart trembled. He had heard many true and false stories of cannibalism in the past year. Every time he heard it, he felt a chill and his hair stood on end.

However, since the other party was already in a state of starvation, they were just supported by a false fire. The main threat was the core members of the Namo Liang Jiao who were mixed in. It was under their constant drive that this group of refugees kept moving forward like unconscious zombies.

Zhang Yingchen calculated for a long time and already had a plan in his mind. The base of Yunsheng Temple must not be lost. Not to mention that there were tens of thousands of refugees and a large amount of grain gathered here. As soon as he left, his reputation as an “immortal” would suffer a fatal blow, and the little foundation of the new Taoism he had established in Yizhou would be uprooted. When he came back in the future, his stuff would not “sell” anymore.

Fortunately, although there were many refugees incited by the Namo Liang Jiao, they had been without food for many days. It didn’t matter what the other party incited. The key was food! As long as they gave the refugees food, no matter if you were a human or a demon, they would treat you as a living bodhisattva who saved them.

He had one hundred thousand relief rations in his hands, as well as several hundred shi of grain collected by the local large households and gentry. He could take a gamble. But these grains could only last for a very short time. It depended on how much relief grain could be transported from Qimu Island in a short time. That place was currently the distribution and transshipment center for refugees and relief grain in the entire northern region. A large amount of relief grain was stored there, and potatoes from Jeju Island had been recently added. The grain reserves were very rich. It should not be a problem to ask them to transport some over.

Thinking of this, a confident smile appeared on his face, “It doesn’t matter. They are all pitiful people who have been deceived by heretical ways. Let them come here to be saved.”

He had already calculated in his heart that his chances of success were about fifty-fifty. If he failed, although Wang Ruixiang had taken away some of the special reconnaissance team members, Ye Mengyan and another part of the team were still there. At the very least, it would not be a problem to save his own life and escape.

If he succeeded, his fame in Yizhou, and even on the land of Shandong, could be raised to a higher level.

Zhuang Ben saw that he seemed a little flustered at first, but suddenly he calmed down, as if he had a plan in mind. He was quite surprised. His purpose in coming here was, as the Daoist priest had guessed, to persuade him to hide for a while to avoid the destruction of Yunsheng Temple. After all, this Daoist priest had saved his brother’s life, had treated many people in the village, had saved countless lives, had not taken a penny, and had used all the donated silver and rice to relieve the refugees. Not to mention whether he was a real “immortal,” just based on his medical skills and medical ethics, he was a rare good person. It was a pity to let him stay here and die in vain.

“Is the Daoist priest not leaving?” he asked. “The situation is critical. Please make a contingency plan.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zhang Yingchen smiled calmly, flicked his robe sleeves, and said with an extraordinary air, “Devils and heretics, what are they worth talking about!”