Jinan Prefecture is approaching the end of the year. The bright red decorations in the streets and alleys complement the white snow on the ground. The sound of gongs and drums are heard from afar, and the children are running and fighting on the snow.

Gao Xianning had been in Jinan Prefecture for a while. The most he did was to appear at various banquets, contact classmates and meet new friends in Shilin. Gao Xianning was a student in Shandong. His deeds of fighting against the "Jingnan Army" in Jinan Prefecture were very consistent with Confucian loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. Although he was later forced to become an official in Yongle Dynasty, he had long become a famous scholar with an article. Now he is a former celebrity in the Wude Dynasty, and there are naturally countless people who are willing to make friends with him.

Today he returned to the mansion drunk again, but saw a man in black wearing a hat standing on the eaves in the yard. Gao Xianning suddenly saw this person and immediately woke up a little.

The slave at home stepped forward and whispered: "This man brought the seal from the Jinyiwei. The old slave asked him to go into the house and wait, and he insisted on waiting for his master outside."

Gao Xianning walked to the eaves, and the man in black lifted his hat upwards, held his fists and saluted, saying "Gao Da Ren". Gao Xianning immediately recognized that this person was a subordinate of Du Erlang, the Northern Fufu Envoy, and his surname was Chen, and he was a general. Chen was in Shandong for a long time and had not only seen Gao Xianning.

The people of the Jinyiwei sometimes obeyed the orders of the court officials, including obeying the orders of the generals who had worshipped the generals in front of them; at this time, some Jinyiwei's captains received an errand to assist someone in the dispatch.

"President Chen is here to invite him." Gao Xianning said.

The two walked into the living room, and Gao Xianning immediately closed the door. Chen Barman also took off his hat and placed it on the side of the door. He was wearing tattered clothes, which was naturally completely different from the image of wearing official uniforms when he was in the capital.

Chen Bazhu said directly: "The brothers who went to Linqu County, Qingzhou Prefecture recently collected some things. One of them was the leader of the local White Lotus Sect, named Bailong, who claimed to be a disciple of Maitreya Buddha. This person is good at bewitching the people and taught a lot. Among them, the obsessed ones obeyed him and did not hesitate to donate his family's wealth. The white dragon not only used this to make money, but also spread misleading principles, and violated morality and called all men and women to be mixed with each other, and they all called sisters."

He continued: "Now, a man named Huang in a local mountain village got married. On the night of the wedding night, the white dragon actually entered the bridal chamber to sleep with the bride, but asked the groom to serve outside the bed tent. The local villagers thought that this matter was injustice, so they reported it to the county government, but the matter seemed to have been suppressed."

Gao Xianning said in surprise: "I have never heard of it. The White Lotus Sect has such teachings."

Chen Bazhong clasped his fists and said, "As far as I know, there is no such thing. However, nowadays, the White Lotus Sect is complicated and loose at the top and bottom. There are often some people who use the name of preaching and doing their own interests. The White Dragon should be such people. In remote places and the followers of the church, they do whatever they want, becoming increasingly absurd. Those who are obsessed with it may not be able to judge them by the hearts of ordinary people."

Gao Xianning nodded and pondered: "If the White Lotus Sect had no such disaster, but was strict with each other and had a unified word and deed, they might be able to increase their power by hundreds of times. It is precisely because of omissions that they will perish themselves."

Chen Basong said: "Mr. Gao is right."

Gao Xianning paced back and forth, thought for a long time, turned around and said, "You go to Qingzhou Prefecture to investigate this matter immediately. I will then go to the prefecture city."

President Chen suddenly reminded: "The New Year is coming soon, why don't Gao Da go after the festival? The last time the general is in the capital, there is nothing else to do at the end of the year, so you can go there first."

"The important thing is important." Gao Xianning said.

"Yes." Chen Bashang responded, then said goodbye and went out.

...The Chen general and his subordinates rode a horse first. They went east to Qingzhou Prefecture City, then turned south to the county town, and met with the Jinyiwei School Captain who was sitting in the county government office. The three of them continued to go to the mountain village where the incident happened.

They wandered around the village and soon attracted the attention of several local villagers. Two old women came forward to interrogate and asked them what they were doing.

President Chen said casually: "Do you two donors believe in warding off the cult? You can drive away evil devils, cure all diseases, and ensure safety."

One of the old women holding a wooden basin shook their heads and said, "We only believe in the White Lotus Sect." The other was immediately annoyed and claimed that they would call someone to come and catch President Chen.

Chen Barman waved his hand quickly and said kindly: "I have a good intention, aunt, don't be anxious. Where is the White Lotus Sect better than the cult warding?"

The old woman holding the basin was going to be more kind. She thought for a while and said, "Others are not like you young people. They know that our family is short of people, so they often come to help carry water and harvest wheat, and give some food during the Chinese New Year and the holidays. They also ask us to go to the temple to worship Buddha, and there is also vegetarian rice."

Another woman said, "Everyone calls each other sisters, and they have a good relationship. They don't look like people who don't believe in the White Lotus Sect. Look at your legs and feet, you don't say hello. The sisters in the temple will not despise the poor and love the rich, but will only love each other."

Chen Bachang thought for a while and asked, "Do you two know about the young wife of the Huang family?"

Duan Pin frowned and said, "Sisters and Maitreya disciples preached the Dharma for the new wife. What's so strange about Bailong's wife? She also got along with men in the village."

After hearing this, Chen Ba nodded without saying a word.

Another old woman pulled her companion, and the two of them walked into the village with their things. Chen Bar watched for a while and greeted the follower and said, "We will have trouble in a while, let's leave here immediately."

They returned to the capital the next day, when Gao Xianning, the minister of Dali Temple, also arrived and was living in an inn.

When Chen Bashen met Gao Xianning, he saw that there was a thin, middle-aged scholar in the inn room, wearing a square scarf and a cloth robe. The scholar expressed his identity in his words, and it turned out that he was the prefect of Qingzhou, Wang Zhai.

Gao Xianning sat on the chair, and his voice said, "Prince Wang issued a document and took it to Linqu County Government. He ordered the county magistrate to send an official to capture the 'white dragon' and to interrogate it according to the law."

Wang Zhai bowed and said, "Gaosi's ministers are very clear. It is probably difficult to do it with the county token ticket and a few official servants. The "White Dragon" will not be allowed to be captured. The White Lotus Cult in Qingzhou Prefecture is not only active in one place, but the church members echo each other in many places. If they are not careful, they may arouse civil unrest. These situations have been reported to the magistrate and envoy, so they have not dared to act rashly."

He paused for a moment and suggested: "There is a Muling Pass Office in the south of Linqu County. If the county government summons Kuaishou to go there and then transfers the staff of the inspectors, it will be easier to capture the criminals. However, the officials still thought that before this, if they report to the Ministry of War first, they will receive the order from the Qingzhou Prefecture Guard, and make careful preparations, and then take action to ensure that everything will be safe."

Gao Xianning nodded slightly and said, "The Prime Minister Wang can report this matter to the governor Chu Da. But you do as I told you, and I will take care of you if something happens. Is the Prime Minister Wang willing?"

Wang Zhai was silent for a moment, as if weighing something. After a while, he finally bowed and said, "All officials are following the instructions of Gaosiji."

Gao Xianning said: "Please ask the prefect Wang to do it immediately."

After Wang Zhai agreed, he said politely: "Please settle a better place for Gaosiji to stay."

Gao Xianning said: "It's great to stay in the inn, it's easy to be convenient and there is no need to worry too much."

Wang Zhai then bowed: "Yes, the official is leaving."

After the prefect left, Chen Bazhong came forward to report: "The matter is really inconsistent. The last general found the lieutenant who was sitting in the hall and asked carefully. He took advantage of the time Gao was on the road and rode a horse to the local area and asked two villagers. At that time, the last general was worried about the emergence of the situation and did not explore much, but learned from the village woman that this was indeed the case."

Gao Xianning nodded and said, "It's great. It's true. We can't just accuse others of others, so as not to backfire."

"Yes." Chen Bazhong said.

Chen Ba also felt that the suggestion of the Prime Minister Wang just now might be the most reliable way. But he didn't talk much, just listened to Gao Xianning's meaning. Gao Xianning often went in and out of the palace and was close to the emperor. He said that he could take care of anything, so he would definitely bear it. Chen Ba did not need to worry too much.

In just a few days, things were indeed as expected by the prefect Wang. The official officer went over without any preparation and could not get the person. It was reported that the county magistrate wrote the cinnabar card and sent the servants to get the person. When the official arrived in the village, the signing card was torn on the spot. Then several officials were beaten and beaten by a group of people. The scene was very chaotic. One officer was beaten to death by accident, and several others were seriously injured. They fled back to the county government to report the news. The county magistrate hurriedly sent a quick horse to the post road and reported the urgent matter to the city that day.

Gao Xianning continued to issue another incredible order. He passed the prefect Wang and asked the county government to continue to take people, and wanted to capture the main culprit who was injured and killed by the official officer and punished them for multiple crimes.

This time the movement became even greater. The county magistrate received an order to issue a license ticket to recruit Ding from the local area to deal with it in an emergency.

According to the general situation of county governments in various places in the Ming Dynasty, ordinary county towns generally have no army at all. If there are major events such as bandits passing through, county officials have the right to mobilize first, summon local civil servants to gather together to form an army, let the strong men bring their own weapons, collect the weapons stored in the county government, and then the magistrate then urgently report to the Shangguan. This kind of people are mainly composed of temporary civil servants, including archers, quick-shou, etc., and probably some weapons such as guns, sticks, hunting bows and arrows, and there is no armor supply. Most of the time, they are almost a group of mobs with no combat power, but they can still use it to guard the county town on the wall.

Moreover, because we have to mobilize and gather people first, the formation is huge and takes a long time. The White Lotus Sect has many powers in remote places, so of course we can know in advance and have prepared for it.

As expected, when the magistrate of Linqu County brought a large group of people, the main criminals named "White Dragon" and a group of confidant religious members had long disappeared. The county was surrounded by mountainous areas, so it was naturally difficult for officers and soldiers to find people in a short period of time.
Chapter completed!