Chapter 707: with translation of chapter title

Under the intense pressure of mighty military prestige, the Heavenly Duke Cult members became missionaries, beginning to explain to the populace the doctrine Chen Wuji had taught them.

Having them say those words is far more effective than sending Chen Wuji's own people to say them.

They are servants of the Heavenly Lord; to those believers who already have utmost sincere faith in the Heavenly Lord, their words carry more persuasive power than the authorities.

To preserve their lives, the Heavenly Duke Cult members nearly exerted their full capabilities.

When faced with their own lives, the Heavenly Lord instantly lost his sanctity.

Besides reciting what Chen Wuji taught them, these people fully exercised their imagination, wildly vilifying the Heavenly Lord.

The populace erupted in an uproar.

The other aspect of the Heavenly Lord left many people utterly unable to accept it; had it not been for the soldiers standing by to restrain them, they would have almost come to blows with those Heavenly Duke Cult members on the spot.

However, such cases are merely a few rare examples.

Among the populace there are also not lacking wise people; upon hearing these Heavenly Duke Cult members' words, their minds immediately turned.

Neither of these two groups is the majority; most people instead maintained doubt and watchfulness.

Chen Wuji did not think that merely saying it once would make the populace stop believing in the Heavenly Lord and stop pushing themselves into a fire pit.

Such a matter cannot be achieved in one gulp; you can't become fat by eating one bite.

This requires a process.

It might possibly be a lengthy process.

"Undoubtedly, take people to detain these Heavenly Duke Cult members; they will still be useful later," Chen Wuji ordered.

"Yes!"

"Eleventh Uncle, proclaim to the populace, tell them what these prisoners are about, then just chop them all!"

"Yes!"

Chen Wuji led the troops into the city.

He no longer concerned himself with outside affairs, entrusting them all to Chen Li.

Following Chen Li's order, heads rolled outside Wu'an City.

Over a thousand heads fell in unison, causing the still-present populace to feel a chill run down the back of their necks.

This scene efficiently and effectively healed that bit of resentment in their hearts; each gaze instantly became kind.

Chen Wuji's army took garrison in Wu'an City, and immediately a stream of military orders issued from his temporary residence.

He ordered the summoning of the magistrates, magistrates' assistants, and village chiefs of Wu'an and the two neighboring counties.

At the same time he ordered the Lu Halberd Unit's forces to disperse troops, destroy all Heavenly Duke Shrines, and strictly forbid the populace from privately making offerings.

Chen Wuji will explain the reasoning to the populace, but he will not personally do the explaining.

He will not do things like today again.

Having grasped a heavy weapon, naturally one must have corresponding means; forceful suppression!

Such explanations as today are merely going with the flow.

If someone fans the flames, using the populace as a spear to try to block his advance, then we might as well lend a hand.

If the entire Songzhou relied on this method to dispel the Heavenly Duke Cult's influence among the populace, that would be a bit of a fantasy.

The next day, early morning.

Chen Wuji had just crawled out of the warm blankets of Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan, not yet having time to wash up, when Chen Li came to report.

"Family Head, the magistrate, magistrate's assistant, and subordinate village chiefs of Wu'an County have arrived and are waiting outside."

Chen Wuji grunted, plunged his face into the large vat in the courtyard, scrubbed vigorously twice, and asked, "Have the people from the other two counties not arrived yet?"

"No, but reckoning the time, they should be soon." Chen Li said, "The Wu'an magistrate arrived last night and has been waiting outside for most of the night."

Lu Wanwan then walked over from behind, holding a towel, seriously and meticulously wiping Chen Wuji's face; after finishing she gave a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "Husband, the Third Madam also instructed me to do something, but I… I seem to have forgotten."

Chen Wuji ruffled Lu Wanwan's somewhat tousled head, "No problem, I'll do it myself!"

For such trifles, he has never liked being served.

He has continually been passively adapting.

The women at home can be said to be each obedient and well-behaved, but in these matters they are stubborn to the point of being useless no matter what is said.

After rinsing his mouth and, under Lu Wanwan's attendance, tidying his hair a bit, Chen Wuji then sat in the main hall, took out the clay stove that had accompanied him all along, and began to boil tea. When he has a little leisure, he likes to do these things himself; tea brewed by his own hand feels different.

"Eleventh Uncle, let them in."

Chen Wuji lit the fire, placed charcoal in the tea stove, then gave an order.

"Yes!"

Not long after, a group of people entered, trembling and fearful.

"Subordinate Cui Yun and Sanhu Zhou pay respects to the Commander!"

"Pay respects to the Commander!"

Chen Wuji bowed his head, earnestly cleaning the tea cup, not even glancing at this group.

The air pressure in the room suddenly dropped.

An intangible pressure, like a mountain, with a chilling sharpness, pressed upon the heads of Cui Yun and the others, causing their heads to lower ever more, their waists to bend ever more, and even causing some of their foreheads to break out in cold sweat.

The group held their breath, not daring to take even a deep breath.

Fearing that this would become a crime.

"Do you know about the Heavenly Duke Cult affair?" Chen Wuji finally spoke.

Cui Yun furtively wiped sweat from his forehead, then hastily and respectfully said, "Reporting to the Commander, this matter… we indeed know of it, but we are unaware of the details."

"Building temples and establishing Heavenly Duke Shrines everywhere is an order from the prefecture; although we harbor some doubts in our hearts, we cannot resist the higher command and must obey. Including Prefect Yu's desire to found a kingdom and proclaim himself emperor in Songzhou, we insignificant people have no other recourse but to comply."

"Before the Commander arrived, this Wu'an City garrisoned nearly ten thousand troops. The construction of temples and establishment of shrines were personally overseen by them; Prefect Yu even dispatched troops to distribute spell talismans for free to the populace. After they had done this for a while, they then selected people from among the populace to serve as whatever hall masters and Dharma elder brothers."

Cui Yun spoke in great detail, exhaling in one breath the explanation he had been pondering for most of the night.

Chen Wuji finally lifted his eyes and glanced at these people, "Have you all participated?"

"... Yes." Cui Yun said, forcing himself to speak.

This is also the order of the prefect; we dare not defy it. Prefect Yu Zhizhou forcibly demands that we allocate personnel, ensuring that every household in the county receives a spell talisman, and we urge the populace to worship the Heavenly Lord.

However, I, the subordinate, have always felt this matter is extremely suspicious and have not put my full effort into it. I also have some ailments, but I dared not drink that talisman water, and I dissuaded everyone in the xianya from taking it.

The taste of that talisman water really resembles what A Furong makes. I, the subordinate, specially sent people to investigate, and it can almost be confirmed that the Heavenly Duke Cult's spell talisman is a blend of what A Furong produced.

Chen Wuji showed slight surprise, "Even the hall masters of the Heavenly Duke Cult don't know what the spell talisman is made of, yet you do?"

I dare not deceive the Regional Commander; my family has practiced medicine for generations, and A Furong's thing has always been in our home. My father has always been wary of this herb. When I was young and studying medicine, my father repeatedly warned me.' Cui Yun said, 'I also once had the county medical workers examine it, which basically confirmed this.