The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 11: I hereby bestow upon you the title of King of the Same Rank

Jiang Feng was slightly disappointed that the Corpse Demon never attempted to curse and kill the Buddha before its death.

"Sigh, I gave you a chance but you didn't do it."

[Your compassion and willingness to reveal your kinship to the Corpse Demon, facilitating his curse, have moved the heavens. You are hereby rewarded with mastery of the "Transformation Technique".]

Jiang Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the reward he had received.

With illusions, transformations, and all sorts of tricks and deceptions at his disposal, it seems he only needs the "Ten Abodes of Mahayana Practice" to become the new leader of the "Mahayana Sect."

He took out some flammable oil and set the corpse demon on fire. In the ashes after the burning, a jade tablet engraved with the image of the monk Faqing was left behind.

Cui Ying frowned slightly and said, "As expected, it was the work of the Mahayana Sect once again."

Jiang Feng said, "In the few days you were gone, I found a dilapidated Buddhist temple left behind by the Mahayana sect. There were traces of magic being used on the Buddha statues, so it should be one of their strongholds."

How's it going on your end?

Cui Ying was somewhat downcast: "It didn't go very smoothly. When Master learned of the Mahayana Sect's news, he only sent Senior Brother Xiao, who cultivates sword immortal techniques, to exorcise the demon."

And as you said, the King of Jin did not admit that there were any displaced people under his rule, let alone open the granaries to distribute grain.

I'm planning to transfer grain from our clan to provide relief to the displaced people. What do you think?

A hint of hesitation flashed in Jiang Feng's eyes: "People have done this before you, such as Zhang Jiao, Sun En, and even Fa Qing. The court has a common name for these people—traitors."

"You're doing things that the court won't do. Isn't that obviously an attempt to win over the people and plot a rebellion? In the end, not only will Yang Guang not tolerate you, but even Yang Jian won't be able to tolerate you."

"Of course, if you are truly determined to do this, I will consider it your support for my uprising. After it succeeds, I will bestow upon you the title of 'King of Equal Rank'."

Cui Ying: "..."

That's completely unnecessary!

Zhao Hongtu, who was standing to the side, could no longer bear it and scolded in a low voice, "How dare you talk about treason in front of me, the county magistrate? Shut up right now, and I'll pretend I didn't hear you!"

"The war that lasted for three hundred years has only just ended. If the people could see a way to survive, who would want to follow me in rebellion..."

Jiang Feng hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How much grain can you mobilize?"

Cui Ying said, "I've already calculated it; it's barely enough to feed 100,000 refugees for three months."

Jiang Feng gasped, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Cui Ying: "No way, you have that much power in the Cui family?"

Cui Ying did not reply, but the expression on her face spoke volumes.

Jiang Feng still found it unbelievable: "I'm starting to doubt whether your father is a younger brother to you!"

Cui Ying: "@#￥%￥#@……"

"If that's the case, things will be much easier."

Jiang Feng's eyes lit up, and he continued, "Although the imperial court won't allow you to provide disaster relief, no one will care if you donate to build temples."

You will raise funds and provisions under the guise of building the Wishing Temple, while I will recruit displaced people to build monks' quarters, which will then be allocated to them for residence.

Zhao Hongtu breathed a slight sigh of relief, then frowned again: "This will allow them to get through the winter, but what about after that? How will they survive without land?"

Jiang Feng said, "They lack land, but some people don't. Whoever took their land, we should ask them to take it back."

Zhao Hongtu shook his head as he listened: "You are going to confront the entire Jiangnan gentry directly. Even with the Cui family mediating and the influence of Buddhism and Taoism behind you, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven."

Jiang Feng asked, "What if we add Yang Guang to the mix?"

Zhao Hongtu was taken aback: "Didn't the Prince of Jin refuse?"

Jiang Feng said, "I'll handle this. I'll give him a reason he can't refuse."

Jiangdu, the Grand General's Residence of Yangzhou.

Yang Guang, who was hosting a banquet, suddenly shuddered. He waved away the musicians and dancers in the hall and asked the strategist below the steps, "Mr. Lu, what is your opinion on what Cui Ying said about the Mahayana sect?"

"My father has entrusted me with the task of overseeing the Jianghuai region, placing high hopes on me. If rebels were to incite the people to revolt, how would my father view me then?"

Lu Zhiming shook the feather fan in his hand and said slowly, "Your Highness is only worried about one thing, which is governing Jiangnan."

If we want the situation in Jiangnan to be stable, the only way is to befriend the gentry.

Although the power of the Jiangnan gentry was weakened after the fall of the Southern Chen Dynasty, they still controlled a large amount of land and local connections. Your Highness can appease the gentry and make use of their power by appointing their clansmen as assistant officials in prefectures and counties.

As for Mahayana Buddhism, it is nothing more than a minor ailment.

The people of Jiangnan are mostly Buddhists, and among the eminent monks, Master Zhiyi is revered. Your Highness only needs to invite Master Zhiyi to Yangzhou to propagate Buddhism, and the people will naturally be influenced by the Dharma and understand Your Highness's difficulties.

Yang Guang nodded repeatedly: "Sir, your insight is brilliant! Guards, continue the music and the dance!"

While Jiangdu was bustling with song and dance, a completely different scene unfolded at Guankou, a thousand miles away.

At the mouth of the Guanjiang River, a man in black stood by the water with a worried expression, leading a black dog. The figures of the man and the dog looked very desolate.

At that moment, a gust of evil wind howled in, accompanied by a roar filled with boundless hatred.

"Your sister conspired with others to kill me. I swear I will kill all her relatives and make her live in the pain of losing her loved ones forever!"

Don't blame me when you're in the underworld; blame your sister for meddling!

This evil wind was formed from the resentment of the corpse demon that Jiang Feng killed. After the corpse demon died, it could not find Jiang Feng's relatives, so it transferred its hatred to Cui Ying.

Then he discovered that Cui Ying had quite a few relatives, including a biological brother, so he came to take revenge without hesitation!

His intense resentment transformed into an evil wind, which slammed violently into the man in black.

However, before he could get close, a tremendous magical power appeared out of thin air, automatically forming a shield behind the man in black, which violently blasted him away!

The man in black turned around, his eyes flashing with a stern light: "You said you wanted to kill all of my sister's relatives?"

The remnant soul of the corpse demon felt a tremor deep within its soul and stammered, "I... I was just teasing you!"

The man in black said coldly, "I never play games with anyone in my life. You'd better keep your word, or I will not let you off easily."

Go kill our uncle first; everyone calls him—the Jade Emperor!

The remnant soul of the corpse demon suddenly stiffened:

"ah??!!!"

The next instant, a vertical line appeared on the black-clad man's forehead, and a divine eye slowly opened.

"Erlang Shen, the True Lord of Manifestation!"

The remnant soul of the corpse demon could no longer withstand the immense fear, and the evil wind formed from its resentment was actually frightened away.

Seeing the corpse demon's soul dissipate, Yang Jian sneered, "Useless! So cowardly, yet you dare to come out and be a monster!"

The black dog spoke up, "There aren't many monsters in the Three Realms who dare to cause trouble for Master, are there?"

Yang Jian made a grabbing motion in the air with his right hand, and a slip of paper appeared in his hand. After reading the contents of the slip of paper, the coldness in his eyes gradually melted, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"My younger sister encountered some trouble during her training in the mortal realm. Her master in the mortal realm asked me to go and stay by her side to protect her for a few days. Sigh, she's such a worry."

"Howling Celestial Dog, you stay home and guard the house. Don't call me unless it's absolutely necessary."

The Celestial Hound chuckled, "Look at what you're saying, Master. It's as if you'd abandon the Third Holy Mother and rush back if something important came up to you."

Yang Jian looked down and asked, "Hmm?"

Howling Celestial Dog: "..."

Oh no, how did I end up saying what was on my mind!