bookrebus Chapter 91 Deceiving Wang Bao
Chapter 91 Deceiving Wang Bao
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Liu Ye sat down without any ceremony, facing Wang Bao, crossed his legs, and asked leisurely, "Daoist, your nose is quite sharp, isn't it? Li Jiucheng and his men just captured Dengzhou City last night, and you followed them into the city today. Nothing can be hidden from you!"
Wang Bao pretended not to hear the mockery in his words and turned to Bai Lian, saying, "Holy Maiden, I heard that you and General Li made an alliance that after you take Dengzhou, our sect can openly recruit believers in Dengzhou City?"
Bai Lian's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously looked at Liu Ye. Liu Ye, however, was not surprised at all. He had infiltrated the rebel army through Wang Bao's introduction, so there must be people from Wang Bao's faction in the army. It was not surprising that Wang Bao knew what she had done in the rebel army. He immediately took over the conversation and said, "That's right. Li Jiucheng sent me to Dengzhou to contact Geng Zhongming that day. That was the condition I set, and I won't run errands for nothing."
Wang Bao said with a smile, "The Holy Maiden has made such a great contribution and secured such favorable conditions for our sect. With the White Lotus Sect growing stronger, it will be just around the corner to unify all the sects and factions in Shandong."
Bai Lian lowered her eyelids and replied coldly, "I, Bai Lian, only know how to spread the doctrine. I don't understand anything else, nor do I want to get involved."
Wang Bao said eagerly, "Why do you say that, Holy Maiden? You hold a high position, and our sect is expanding its strength. You should also contribute your share. If you are not interested in doing these trivial matters, then I will do them for you."
After experiencing the rebels' entry into the city, the fierce battle with them, and witnessing their atrocities, Bai Lian had become much more indifferent to the affairs of the sect. The sect was a mixed bag, and she couldn't shoulder the burden alone. The rebels were too brutal and selfish; she disdained associating with them. Her initial enthusiasm for recruiting the rebels to revitalize the White Lotus sect had long since vanished. Wang Bao's desire to use this opportunity to rapidly expand his followers in Dengzhou was purely for his own selfish gain, something she neither could nor wanted to control. Whether to give him this opportunity was up to Liu Ye, since she had fought for it.
Seeing that Bai Lian didn't answer him but instead stared at Liu Ye, Wang Bao knew that this matter still had to fall on Liu Ye, so he immediately said to him, "Brother Liu... Brother Liu, although you haven't joined my White Lotus Sect, since you have a close relationship with the Holy Maiden, you should also bear the responsibility of promoting the White Lotus Sect. If you are willing, we can make a gentleman's agreement: I will recruit believers in the East City, and the West City will be yours and the Holy Maiden's, how about that?"
In his view, Bai Lian and Liu Ye were going to great lengths just like him, trying to recruit followers, expand their power, and increase their influence within the church. He had money and manpower, while the three of them were inferior to him in terms of both resources and manpower. The fact that they were willing to split the profits 20/50 was already a huge concession; otherwise, the three of them alone could never have taken over such a large operation.
When Liu Ye initially proposed those conditions, it was merely a smokescreen; he had no interest in becoming a charlatan and recruiting followers. Since Wang Bao had smelled the fish and wanted to make a quick buck in Dengzhou City, he might as well let him have his way, lest his inaction arouse suspicion from Li Jiucheng and the others.
However, he couldn't just agree for nothing. He never did anything that didn't benefit him, and he couldn't give away something he didn't want to Wang Bao for free. Liu Ye thought for a moment, and then a brilliant idea struck him. He could use Wang Bao's connections to find an opportunity to send Sun Yuanhua and the dozen or so Portuguese out of the city. Otherwise, he couldn't do it all by himself.
“Master Wang, you’re right. Although I haven’t joined the sect, I’ll still respect the Buddha’s teachings. You’re very experienced in recruiting followers, so you can handle it all. However, you have to agree to one condition.”
Wang Bao was overjoyed, not expecting this kid to be so agreeable all of a sudden, and hurriedly agreed: "No problem, no problem, I'll agree to any conditions."
"There are a few Portuguese in the governor's office who were Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde's instructors when they practiced using the Portuguese cannons. Li Jiucheng doesn't want to kill them, and with all this chaos, he can't spare them for now. I've been asked to help them get out to sea and back to their hometowns by boat. You'll have to help me then." Liu Ye's words were half true and half false, and he didn't mention Sun Yuanhua, only referring to the Portuguese, to avoid arousing Wang Bao's suspicion.
Upon hearing this, Wang Bao hesitated for a moment and asked, "General Li, is that really what you think? Would releasing them anger you?"
"Don't worry, Li Jiucheng is focused on becoming king. He doesn't have time to care about a few Franks. He'll probably forget about it by tomorrow. Besides, we still have a bond of kinship. Even if I knew they left without saying goodbye, it wouldn't matter. I'm not going to risk my life to save a few barbarians, am I?"
This explanation seemed reasonable, and Wang Bao believed it. He had disciples serving as personal guards to Li Jiucheng, and he knew that Li Jiucheng harbored ambitions to become king himself. How could someone who aspired to great things get entangled in such matters? If he wanted to kill someone, he would have done so long ago; why would he be placed in the governor's office?
However, how could he know that these barbarians were indeed killed by Li Jiucheng in history, but Liu Ye had only temporarily spared their lives. If Sun Yuanhua had not submitted to the rebels, these barbarians would have eventually died.
"Such a small matter, I agree." Wang Bao patted his chest. But now that he'd given him the territory, what was this kid after? He probed, "Brother Liu, you're so generous, what are your plans for the future?"
Liu Ye understood his thoughts and continued to deceive him: "Since I haven't joined the religion, I naturally won't compete with you for these believers. Right now, I'm staying by Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde's side, helping them come up with ideas. If the court offers amnesty in the future, I might be able to get an official position. To be honest, it was my idea to take Dengzhou by working together from the inside and outside; it was me who contacted Geng Zhongming and others. They trust me very much now."
Upon hearing this, Wang Bao became even more convinced. Liu Ye was after a government position, so naturally he looked down on these religious activities. He didn't have that kind of luck, so he'd better stick to running his altar, performing rituals, and swindling money from his followers. In this day and age, even parents aren't as close as money.
After seeing Wang Bao off, Liu Ye explained to Bai Lian, "Fairy, the conditions I made with Wang Bao earlier were not agreed to by you..."
Bai Lian raised her hand to stop him, saying, "I've already thought it over. I can't and don't want to manage the affairs of the sect. I haven't decided what to do next. Besides, you risked your life to get all of this. I won't interfere with whoever you want to give it to."
Liu Ye said gratefully, "The fairy is very understanding and righteous, and I am very grateful."
"Liu Ye, are you really going to save those barbarians? They're not related to us at all," Ling Xi'er asked curiously.
"That was a lie to Wang Bao. I actually wanted to save Lord Sun. He was a good official, concerned about the country and its people, and shouldn't have died at the hands of the rebels. I pretended to ask Wang Bao to save those barbarians, and then disguised Lord Sun and mingled him among them, taking him out with me. Otherwise, if I had just said I wanted to save Lord Sun, Wang Bao would never have agreed."
Bai Lian nodded, approving of his actions: "Since he is a good official, it is natural to save him. You did the right thing!"
Liu Ye sighed inwardly. He had told Wang Bao a lot of lies, and he had also lied to Bai Lian, all out of his own selfish motives. He would find an opportunity to tell her and Ling Xi'er his true identity. Although they were members of a religious sect, they were not inherently bad.