Du Ze didn't know Li Xiuyuan, but this was normal.
His fame only took a few years to rise, and it spread mostly among ghosts and gods in the south. Some ghosts in the capital only knew that there was a saint from the south, but they didn't know much about the others. After all, there were also ghosts before the Song Dynasty.
There is nothing too special about being a semi-saint.
Moreover, a person like Du Ze, who is in a high position and handles government affairs, rarely pays attention to a person outside the capital. He will only pay attention to someone outside the capital unless something happens inside the capital.
"It seems that you don't know me." Li Xiuyuan said with a calm face: "But it doesn't matter. After all, the ghosts in the capital will soon know my name, Li. The three words of me, Li Xiuyuan, will be like a sharp sword.
Hanging above the heads of you ghosts and spirits, the style of this capital from now on
The situation also needs to change."
"You can't take away the body of the minister of the Ministry of Justice. You can't be a spirit who has accomplished cultivation alone, right? Just now I saw centipedes everywhere in the courtyard. There are many poisonous insects that have been practicing Taoism for hundreds of years. I am new here and I know the situation in the capital well.
I don’t know clearly, but I also know that the imperial advisor of the current dynasty,
Well, the Dharma name is Cihang Pudu, he is a thousand-year-old centipede spirit."
Li Xiuyuan slowly fell from the sky, and the abyss that opened on the ground quickly closed.
The courtyard was restored to its original state, and the centipedes all over the ground fell into the underworld and disappeared.
"Master Du, if you don't mind, why don't you tell me what kind of relationship the Imperial Master has with you?" Li Xiuyuan said slowly.
Du Ze's eyes narrowed slightly at this moment, with a look of surprise: "How did you learn about the identity of the ancestor?"
Cihang Pudu has been practicing Taoism for thousands of years. When he joined the imperial court as a national preceptor, no one knew what his true identity was. However, some ghosts and gods speculated that the national preceptor practiced the way of incense. After all, he started collecting money as soon as he became the national preceptor.
Scraping money, casting golden Buddhas, absorbing incense.
Use the national power of the Song Dynasty to support his practice.
"Ancestor? So you are also a descendant of the Imperial Master? He is really capable. I don't know how many centipedes he gave birth to. I saw two when I was in Jinling City before, but I didn't kill them.
Because there are still some transactions between me and the national master."
Li Xiuyuan said, "I just didn't expect today that the Imperial Preceptor's hand has reached out to the six departments of the imperial court? What does he want to do? Does he want to use heretical magic to control the government?"
Du Ze immediately fell silent.
He felt that this person might be a person of the same level as his ancestor. After seeing through his identity, he spoke frankly to his ancestor without any fear. Such an attitude could not be achieved by anyone in the capital.
.
"Go and call the Imperial Preceptor, no, no, since you are the Minister of Justice, you must have the Imperial Preceptor's golden body enshrined in your home." Li Xiuyuan's eyes moved slightly and he looked in the direction of the study: "There is a smell of incense permeating the air.
"
Immediately, he walked directly towards the study room.
In one step, there was a distance of ten feet, and in two steps, he had already entered the study.
"Is it a magic that shrinks the ground into an inch? He is indeed a person on the level of an immortal. Now that I have lost my demon body and occupied Du Ze's body, my magic is no longer what it used to be. If I fight with him, I will definitely be killed.
"A trace of cold sweat broke out on Du Ze's forehead.
Although spells such as soul transfer can be reborn through the body, like other spells, they have good and bad sides.
The bad side is that after this spell is cast, the goblin will lose its true identity, its Taoism will be frustrated, and its practice will be difficult to progress. Generally speaking, it will not be cast unless it is absolutely necessary.
Of course, there are also some heretical people among the people who specialize in practicing this magic, and then select wealthy masters to cast the spell, so that they can seize the body, seize other people's property, and enjoy other people's wives and concubines.
As soon as Li Xiuyuan entered the study, he saw an altar set up in the corner of the study.
There is a golden Buddha sitting on the altar. There is an incense burner in front of it with many burned out incense candles. It can be seen that this golden Buddha is often worshiped.
"National Master, don't tell me that you didn't notice anything about what happened today? I encountered a lot of things when I came to the capital. I saw a lot of ghosts and monsters. I knew how turbid the water in the capital was. It's just that your minions have reached into the capital.
In the hall, the palace of the Minister, don’t you want to talk about this matter?
What?"
Li Xiuyuan said to the golden Buddha.
This golden Buddha does indeed have the compassion of the Buddha, but it gives him a strange feeling, making people feel like something is attached to it.
His voice fell.
Immediately, the golden Buddha emitted a dazzling golden light, which formed a circle, like a Buddha seal.
From this golden light, an old man wearing Dharma robes, resembling a monk and a Taoist, appearing dignified, noble, compassionate, and kind, slowly walked out.
"Is it the incense clone again?" Li Xiuyuan's eyes moved slightly.
Ever since he dealt with this national master, he has not dared to show his true body, and has always appeared as an incense clone.
Is it because I can't get away? Or I'm afraid to face myself and don't dare to show it.
"Li Shengren went north to Beijing to serve the country and the people. His good thoughts inspired half of the capital. I saw all kinds of visions in the imperial city very clearly. I don't know what made Li Shengren unhappy today, so he actually wanted to
Call me out to talk about something? It’s not that I avoid seeing you, it’s because the imperial city is uneasy.
I have to sit in the imperial city. I only have to wait for Li Shengren to come to the court in a few days to report his duties. You and I are ministers in the same court, good at home and king outside, and we are each other's horns. We must govern this capital and the world well. This is Li Shengren, you
My pursuit is also my pursuit.”
The Imperial Master had a smile on his face, a kind look on his face, and a respectful tone in his tone.
"See Ancestor."
Du Ze walked in at this moment. When he saw the Imperial Master, he was immediately shocked and hurriedly knelt down to salute.
"It is indeed possible for you and me to cooperate, but I have not agreed to your cooperation. Before that, wouldn't the Imperial Master want to tell you what happened to Du Ze, the Minister of Punishment?" Li Xiuyuan pointed at Du Ze.
The Imperial Preceptor smiled and said: "Du Ze was a corrupt official in the past. He formed cliques and private interests, and ignored the national laws. Some villains and sinners who should have been beheaded escaped the death penalty because someone bribed him.
Some prisoners who should not have died have instead taken the place of death row prisoners.
I was beheaded in vain."
"There used to be a yamen in the capital who bullied men and women. Relying on his father's power, he robbed and insulted the wives of foreign businessmen. After the incident, he murdered the businessmen and more than ten servants in total. This was originally
On the day of execution, Du Ze was charged with a crime that warranted beheading because he had accepted bribes.
In order to bribe him, I brought in prisoners who I thought were similar in size and appearance and sent them to the execution ground."
"Did you know that the prisoner who died as a scapegoat was only imprisoned for a few days after a fight. Because he had no power in his family, he became a scapegoat."
Li Xiuyuan frowned: "The court's laws are out of balance. This is the result of unfavorable official governance. What do you want to say?"
"The officials are also powerless. The ministers form cliques and private parties, collude with each other, and have the intention to control the government. Coupled with the decline of national power, the court's majesty is gradually losing. How can a minister of the Ministry of Punishment be punished? If you want to be punished, you have to refer to the book and file a complaint.
Okay, but who among the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty would take such an idea?
Did you offend the Minister of Punishment?" the Imperial Master said with a smile.
Li Xiuyuan said: "So you thought of a way and used the soul transfer technique to let the centipede spirit under your hand occupy Du Ze's body, turning him from a corrupt minister into a fair and strict one.
A good minister?"
"Exactly, this is a strategy I thought of for governing the country."
The Imperial Master said: "Don't worry, Li Shengren. The spirits I have selected are all well-read in poetry and books, know etiquette, justice, integrity, and know loyalty, justice, filial piety, and brotherhood. Their appointment as officials will be a blessing to the people and all peoples, and I will also supervise them from behind."
, to ensure nothing goes wrong.”
"Is it just your sincerity?" Li Xiuyuan frowned deeply.
"It's absolutely true. Do I need to tell you some lies to deceive you, Li Shengren? At our level, what we pursue is just the ideal in our hearts. The saint's ideal is that the world is prosperous and stable, and the people are peaceful and live in peace and contentment.
, my philosophy is the same, and I hope that
My surname is wealth and the world is peaceful. Otherwise, with my ability, I would have become an immortal and live happily, so why would I need to stay in the human world and be involved in this rolling world of mortals."
The Imperial Master said with emotion, indeed showing a compassionate attitude.
"However, I have very few manpower. If I can get your help from Li Shengren and slay some evil spirits blocking our way, then it is not impossible for us to complete this idea in our lifetime. But before that,
, you will be the saint, of course, and I will be the devil, of course.
, Inner king and outer sage? Why worry that the world cannot be stable? Moreover, I live a thousand or ten thousand years. As long as I don’t die, I can protect the world for thousands of years and avoid the pain of dynasty replacement. Isn’t this better? "
After speaking, the Imperial Master looked at Li Xiuyuan sincerely.
Li Xiuyuan fell silent.
The reason for his silence was not that he couldn't find a reason to refute, but that he saw the feasibility of this plan.
From the perspective of a state advisor, what he did was not wrong. Instead of letting corrupt officials control the government, it would be better to let the monsters under his control govern it.
Seeing Li Xiuyuan's silence, the Imperial Master shouted to Du Ze: "This is a saint from the south, with a very noble status. Why don't you kneel down, kowtow, and apologize?"
Du Ze did not dare to disobey his ancestor, so he immediately knelt down, kowtowed to Li Xiuyuan and said: "The little demon has eyes and cannot see Mount Tai. Please forgive me, the saint."
"Li Shengren, if you think there is anything wrong with Du Ze being the Minister of Punishment, you can kill him, but I will not protect him." The Imperial Master said still with great frankness.
Li Xiuyuan stood with his hands behind his hands and saw Du Ze kneeling beside him, kowtowing to him.
He knew that the real Du Ze was dead, and what he saw in front of him was just a spirit pretending to be Du Ze's body.