"It's here!" Ouyang Xiu pointed to a building a hundred steps away from the carriage. He saw that the building seemed a bit like a Buddhist temple at first glance, but when he looked at it, he would find a clear difference, even with a bit of Western Regions style. In fact, this is a Mani temple, which is the Mani temple. Because believers are forbidden to eat meat, the people also call it the Cooking Sect, or another famous name - Ming Cult.

Manichi originated from the Sassanid dynasty of ancient Persia. It was introduced into the Western Regions during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and then from the Western Regions to the northern desert. The Uighurs believed in Manichi very much. At that time, the Uighurs had a good relationship with the Tang Dynasty, so Manichi also took advantage of the situation to spread to the Central Plains. Later, when Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty destroyed Buddhism, Manichi was also severely hit, so it turned underground and changed its name to Ming Cult because the Ming Cult believed that darkness was about to pass and light would come.

Although the Ming Cult has a bad reputation in history, especially for rulers, it has rebelled many times. However, during the Northern Song Dynasty, the reputation of the Ming Cult was not too bad. Except for Wu Yi and Dong Yi in the Five Dynasties, there was no major rebellion related to the Ming Cult, especially the Fang La Uprising has not yet occurred, so the Ming Cult is still a legitimate religion in the Song Dynasty, especially in places like Sishunfang, Luoyang, where the Uighurs gathered, it was not surprising that the Mani Temple appeared.

Li Zhang was also looking at this Mani Temple, to be precise, Dayun Guangming Temple. This is also the name of the Mani Temple built in Chang'an when Manicheism first entered the Central Plains during the Tang Dynasty. It was destroyed during the Huichang period. Now the Uighurs who live in Luoyang rebuilt Dayun Guangming Temple here. Of course, it is definitely incomparable to the Dayun Guangming Temple in Chang'an back then.

I saw that the Dayun Guangming Temple has a main entrance and two side doors. It suddenly looked very similar to the Buddhist temple. Even the statues of Mani were very similar to the Buddha. In fact, when Mani was introduced to the Central Plains, it was attached to Buddhism. Later, after being attacked during the Tang Dynasty, it was even more integrated with Buddhism. Many people even couldn't tell the difference between Buddhism and Maniche.

The scale of Guangming Temple is not very large, at least much smaller than the Guanghua Temple and Wuliang Temple that Li Zhang had seen before. Moreover, the Song Dynasty strictly managed religion, and even the Buddhist and Taoist religions were restricted, let alone the teachings. Therefore, there is only such a Mani Temple in Sishunfang. Uighurs who believe in Maniacism would come here to worship. When Li Zhang saw that the believers in front of the temple were also coming in and out in a constant stream. The only difference was that there were no business vendors next to him, which was somewhat different from the Buddhist temple and Taoist temple.

"Brother Li, are you sure the hat demon is related to Manichi?" Ouyang Xiu asked Li Zhang curiously. Last time Li Zhang took him to Sishunfang and saw Guanghua Temple and Wuliang Temple, he immediately asked someone to investigate other temples or Taoist temples in the temple again. As a result, Li Zhang quickly turned his attention to Manichi Temple, not the previous Guanghua Temple and Wuliang Temple, nor other temples.

When Li Zhang heard Ouyang Xiu’s inquiry, he smiled calmly. Then he did not answer him directly, but asked with a smile: “Brother Yong, what is the reputation of Manichaeism in Luoyang City? How do ordinary people in Luoyang think of these Manichaeists?”

"This..." Ouyang Xiu pondered for a moment, and then he said the truth, "The reputation of Manichaeism is indeed not very good. When Wuzong destroyed Buddhism, Manichaeism was implicated, but its development momentum was indeed too fierce at that time. If he let it go, there might be another religion that competes with Buddhism and Taoism. In addition, after the Manichaeism was renamed Ming Cult, he acted a bit strange. The Uighurs and Han people have different customs and conflicts in normal times, so the people in the city have always not liked Manichaeism very much, and only the Uighurs believe in Manichaeism."

"But look at the believers who are entering and leaving Guangming Temple now, in addition to the Uighurs, there are also many Han people. What made them suddenly change to Manichi?" Li Zhang pointed to the temple door outside the car window and smiled again.

During the Tang Dynasty, Manichaeism was hit and moved underground, and was renamed Ming Cult. It is now mainly active in the southern area. There are many Uighurs here in Luoyang. They also call their religion Manichaeism, but in fact they are in line with the Ming Cult and are essentially no different. The Ming Cult in the south acts in secret, and many people have no good impression of Manichaeism.

Ouyang Xiu was also stunned when he heard this, and then turned his head and observed carefully. He soon found that there were indeed some Han people among the believers entering and leaving. This surprised him and said, "When did the Han people in Luoyang City also start to convert to Manichi?"

"Just recently, at the beginning, I asked someone to investigate the missionary situation of these Buddhist and Taoist schools, but I ignored the Manichaeism. So after I went back that day, I asked someone to investigate it again and found that the Manichaeism also took advantage of the opportunity of the hat demon to preach, claiming that their God of Light can bless believers from being attacked by the hat demon, and also used some small favors to attract believers. As a result, some foolish men and women really became believers of Manichaeism." Li Zhang smiled faintly at this time.

Li Zhang has always been neutral about religion, but he believes that religion must have its own bottom line, such as not being able to enter the world, and preaching should be based on voluntary power, and never use coercion or deception to make people enter the religion. In the past, Hongfa Temple used deception to restrain believers, and now it has also received the punishment it deserves.

"But didn't the Guanghua Temple and Wuliang Temple take the opportunity to restrain their believers? Why do you doubt Manichaeism, Brother Li?" Ouyang Xiu asked again in confusion.

"The suspicion of Wuliang Temple and Guanghua Temple has not been completely ruled out. However, they were both famous temples and Taoist temples in the city before. Even if they had the same methods as Hongfa Temple, there was no need to hurt people. You should know that not only were people injured by the hat demon in the city, but there were even a few who died of serious injuries. This is a matter of life. If Uncle Yong, your temple's host, would you do such a thing?" Li Zhang also showed a serious expression at the end of his speech.

"No, Buddhism and Taoism have deep foundations, and Wuliangguan and Guanghua Temple are both well-known temples. It is not a good idea to use such extreme means to attract believers. In this way, Manichaeism is the most suspicious!" Ouyang Xiu also said with a shocked look after hearing Li Zhang's analysis.

In fact, they all made a mistake before, thinking that the mastermind behind the hat demon was a certain person or force, and even Li Zhang thought so before. However, after the Xuanyue incident, Li Zhang suddenly thought of a possibility, that is, the hat demon's affairs were probably not done by one person or force, but by several people or forces. After all, there are so many smart people in the world, and it should be more than one or two people who see that the hat demon is Kong Minglan.

It was under the above idea that Li Zhang divided the hat demon into two types. One was that the hat demon appeared but did not hurt anyone. For example, during the birthday party of Judge Zhou, although the hat demon appeared, no one was injured. The other was that the injury occurred. This situation was closer to the situation of the hat demon in the second year of Tianxi. Not only did the hat demon appear, but the hat demon also changed into a wolf and broke into a house to hurt people.

Li Zhang also specially checked the confessions of the injured people, and the confessions of these people were surprisingly consistent. They all first saw the hat monster in the air, and then suddenly a monster like a wolf broke in at home. Most of their wounds were bitten or scratched. After the coroner in the yamen tested the wound, they found that they did not seem to be injured by weapons.

"If these Mani people were making trouble, then the hat-demonization of wolves can be explained. After all, they are nomadic peoples, and I heard that there are methods to drive wolves and train tigers in the Western Regions. The Uighurs might use this method to drive wolves to hurt people!" Ouyang Xiu suddenly thought of something again, and said excitedly again.

However, Li Zhang shook his head when he heard this, "It may not be a real wolf. After all, the hat demon only appeared a few months ago. If the Uighurs want to use a real wolf, they must catch the wolf for training and then transport it to Luoyang City. It may not be too late for such a short time, but they can use people to pretend to be a wolf. After all, the light at night is dim and the injured person is full of fear. It is impossible to tell whether the other party is a real wolf or a fake wolf."

Ouyang Xiu nodded in agreement when he heard Li Zhang's words. Indeed, it is indeed not easy to find wolves around big cities like Luoyang, and it will take some time to transport them from other places, so it is more likely that the wounded wolf is pretending to be.

"Brother Li, then should we go in, or just ask someone to go to Guangming Temple to search?" Ouyang Xiu asked again at this time.

"The investigation must be investigated, but I am worried that they should destroy the evidence. Even if they go in and search, they may not find any useful evidence." Li Zhang said lightly at this time.

However, he did not regret making Kongming Lantern public before. After all, Luoyang was already panicked by the hat demon at that time. One day later, there would be more risk. There might even be something like the hat demon hurting people. Since the Kongming Lantern public, Luoyang City has not only calmed down, but no hat demon has ever happened again.

"What should we do? If these Mani people no longer pretend to be hat demons, wouldn't we have no choice but to do anything to them?" Ouyang Xiu said again in great anxiety.

"Haha, Brother Yong, don't worry, I have a way!" Li Zhang smiled again with a confident expression at this time. He has not been idle these days. In addition to investigating the affairs of Manichaeism, he is also considering how to obtain evidence that these people pretend to be hat demons to hurt people. Now he has a detailed plan, and this time he came to Guangming Temple to implement this plan.

When Ouyang Xiu heard Li Zhang's words, he was also very curious. He asked about Li Zhang's plan at the moment. But Li Zhang refused to say more, but instead took him off the carriage, and then asked someone to go to Guangming Temple to show his identity, and told the other party openly that he came to investigate the case of the hat demon.
Chapter completed!