Xu Xing was at a loss for what to do when Elder Zhizhen proposed to help her. Xu Xing then stopped her departure from the temple and asked, "We have to kill over five thousand people, and there's also the cult to deal with. What method do you have?"
Elder Zhizhen said seriously, "I have lived in Jiucheng for over fifty years and know many things about Jiucheng like the back of my hand. I can offer you both a lot of advice at this time. Moreover, eradicating the cult and upholding justice is also something our orthodox Buddhist sect must do. Please accept my help."
Xu Xing pondered for a moment. Since she had no other ideas, she might as well listen to the old monk's advice. If his words were reasonable, she could consider them, but if not, there was no need to think about it.
Therefore, Xu Xing directly said, "Then give us your suggestions. We are all ears. Brother Lin Yue, please monitor the surrounding sounds."
Elder Zhizhen unhurriedly took out three prayer mats and led the two to the main hall. They sat down, and then he said, "To eradicate these two demons, we need to understand the means by which they control their power, then cut off the root of their power and deal with these means to eliminate the evil spirits in one fell swoop."
Xu Xing and Lin Yue listened attentively. They could see that this old monk was no ordinary person, and his views must be very learned.
Elder Zhizhen continued, "First, let's talk about Xue Ba. He has the most methods, but they can be summarized as coercion and temptation, and skillful acquisition and plunder."
Xu Xing listened intently. It was rare for someone to analyze the enemy for her, so she naturally had to listen carefully. Perhaps the old monk truly had profound insights that could help her complete the mission.
"First, coercion and temptation. This means that by bringing five thousand villains, he has grasped the most powerful force in Jiucheng. Temptation means giving privileges to his subordinates and many wealthy individuals in the city, allowing those who control more advantageous resources to follow him. With control over power and resources, no one can stop Xue Ba's rule in Jiucheng," Elder Zhizhen said.
Xu Xing nodded and said, "That's right, Elder. You speak well."
"Then there's skillful acquisition and plunder. Skillful acquisition naturally refers to collecting taxes, extorting Jiucheng with various excuses, and establishing the work system in Jiucheng. People have to work for more than fifteen hours a day and still not get enough to eat. This way, hardworking people can barely ensure they don't starve, and they won't have the strength to resist. As for plunder, there is too much. For example, they directly occupied the arable land near Jiucheng, forbidding others from planting. Even if they cultivated it themselves, they would forcefully harvest it upon discovery, thus controlling all the grain in Jiucheng. With grain and military power in hand, they are naturally invincible," the Elder said with great distress.
Xu Xing nodded and continued, "I know about these things, but I couldn't connect them."
"As for Dong Chao, his methods are the simplest: brainwashing. But he is the most troublesome person, even more troublesome than Xue Ba. This is because the power controlled by the devil Xue Ba can be seen. However, Dong Chao's method is to deceive people with twisted theories and heresies. Those who are deceived will willingly serve Dong Chao. Believe it or not, even if you lead an army to attack the cult, many deceived people will stand in front of Dong Chao. This kind of spiritual control is even more terrifying," Elder Zhizhen said sternly.
Xu Xing and Lin Yue nodded. The uncle's family where they stayed last night had a daughter, Xiao Cui, who was mentally controlled. She willingly accepted clients without realizing it, and even thought she was accumulating merit. Such behavior was truly insidious.
Lin Yue interjected, "Is there any solution to this?"
Elder Zhizhen said, "It's difficult. At least it's impossible to achieve this within the city. Even if you two are both rare superhumans, you cannot eradicate these two demons. The grain is controlled by them, the guns are controlled by them, and even many civilians are controlled at the spiritual level. It is almost impossible to achieve anything in the city."
Xu Xing reacted quickly. After hearing the old monk's words, she immediately asked, "Then, Elder, do you mean that to completely eradicate these two demons, we need to start from outside the city?"
Elder Zhizhen nodded quickly and said, "That's right. Please listen to my analysis. While Dong Chao and Xue Ba were committing evil in the city, many people could not bear this life and were forced to leave. These people are actually refugees from outside the city. Because they have no money, they are even forbidden from entering the city. There are at least fifty thousand refugees outside the city."
"Fifty thousand refugees?" Xu Xing couldn't help but frown. What use could these refugees be? They could only eat tree bark.
Elder Zhizhen then said, "When the fifty thousand refugees left Jiucheng, they were filled with resentment. As long as they can be gathered, they can surround Jiucheng and then launch a psychological offensive, inciting rebellion within the city. In this way, great success can be achieved. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you two are, you will not be able to completely eliminate these two demons and their forces. Now, what do you two think of my suggestion?"
Xu Xing, who had no other plan and could only resort to brute force, suddenly saw the light after hearing the old monk's plan. With a few words, the old monk had grasped victory, which was truly remarkable.
However, Xu Xing also discovered something amiss, which was the issue of gathering refugees. She immediately said, "This method is indeed quite good. If the refugees follow me, they can't even fill their stomachs. Will they still follow me to fight in such a situation? Why do I feel it's impossible?"
When refugees are pushed to desperation, they will indeed attack cities, but they cannot be made to fight on an empty stomach. Moreover, the refugees have no weapons, so surrounding the city would be useless.
Upon hearing this, Elder Zhizhen pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, we need to solve the grain problem first. Not too much is needed, just enough for a week's supply. Additionally, we need to find a way to get guns, otherwise, flesh and blood cannot withstand bullets."
Xu Xing looked at Lin Yue and asked, "Brother Lin Yue, can I request support from Yuzhou? Not too much is needed, just food for fifty thousand people for a week, and two thousand, no, just a thousand guns."
When Xu Xing heard that she needed grain and guns, she immediately started missing Yuzhou. With Yuzhou's support, this matter could definitely be resolved perfectly.
However, Lin Yue directly refused Xu Xing's request, saying, "It's impossible, especially the grain. You don't know how important the city lord values grain. Especially this year, there has been a famine across the country, and Yuzhou has been importing grain from the Qinghong Gang. If they support you now, what will Yuzhou do? Moreover, the city lord has already made it very clear before that you should complete this matter independently."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xing immediately showed a distressed expression. If Yuzhou could not receive support, what would happen next?
Just then, Elder Zhizhen said, "We can borrow grain. Just below Jiucheng is Zhaotong. After crossing the Yangtze River, you can reach the other side. It's half a day's journey round trip. As far as I know, Zhaotong has not suffered disasters and has surplus grain."
"What about the weapons? We also need to give the refugees some weapons, otherwise, these refugees will have no power to fight back," Xu Xing had another problem. Even if they could borrow grain from Zhaotong in the south, they wouldn't have weapons. Would they have to borrow weapons from Zhaotong as well?
Elder Zhizhen frowned and thought for a moment, "There are definitely some guns in the civilian sector, but they are not in the hands of the public. If all else fails, we can only target the surrounding bandits and snatch the guns from them to arm the refugees."
Xu Xing nodded and said, "It seems that's the only way."
Suddenly, Lin Yue asked, "The soldiers were very respectful to you just now. What's going on? Shouldn't these lackeys be vicious fellows?"
When he said this, Elder Zhizhen immediately showed a pained expression and said, "This is all my fault for misjudging people. Actually, the leader of the cult you mentioned is my disciple, Dong Chao. This guy pretended to be devoted to Buddhism before, and even I was deceived by him. I also told him many Buddhist doctrines. Later, he founded the Huanxi Sect, and many of its doctrines were distorted from the orthodox Buddhist doctrines. This is my sin."
This news immediately surprised Xu Xing and Lin Yue. In their eyes, Elder Zhizhen was a high monk. To think that such a high monk was the master of the cult leader. A high monk taught a degenerate, which was truly speechless.
"And I know that this is the sin I have committed, so I have always wanted to atone for my mistakes. Although I am not the one harming people, countless people have been harmed because of me, and I cannot shirk my responsibility. As long as I can witness the death of this demon Dong Chao with my own eyes, I will be satisfied," Elder Zhizhen said helplessly in the end.
In Elder Zhizhen's view, the emergence of the cult was not entirely caused by him, but it was related to his poor judgment of people. He blamed himself for not seeing through Dong Chao's true nature back then, and therefore, he felt a heavy sense of guilt now.
Xu Xing pondered for a long time and found that she could only follow Elder Zhizhen's suggestion. She had no other plan and could only kill them one by one. As for the possible obstacles, she had no way to deal with them. Now that Elder Zhizhen had proposed a complete plan, it was natural to choose the complete plan.
"Then let's go and do it. I'll go borrow the grain now. Elder, take care. If things go wrong, hide in the cellar," Xu Xing immediately said to Elder Zhizhen.
Elder Zhizhen nodded, stood up, clasped his hands together, and said, "I only wish you success in slaying the demons and eliminating the evil."
After Xu Xing and Lin Yue left the temple, the entire city was on high alert. There were very few people on the streets. Xu Xing and Lin Yue quickly headed towards the city walls. On the way, they were spotted by several soldiers. When these soldiers saw Xu Xing and Lin Yue wearing chef uniforms, they actually opened fire.
Xu Xing and Lin Yue's reactions were very sharp. They dodged the bullets. They could vaguely see the trajectory of the bullets. Although they couldn't dodge the bullets, they could predict the direction of the shots and escape.
When they reached the bottom of the city wall, Xu Xing and Lin Yue climbed over the wall. A five-meter-high city wall could be reached by a single leap. At this time, the soldiers on the wall had not yet reacted. Then, Xu Xing and Lin Yue made a潇洒 departure.
"The enemy has escaped. Quickly inform the city lord. These two are definitely not simple. They might even be superhumans." The soldiers saw this scene. The enemy could even dodge bullets, and in this situation, they directly leaped onto the city wall. Such strength was too exaggerated.
The residents in the city, upon seeing such figures, also showed hopeful eyes. At this time, it seemed that they could be saved.