After the two talked for a while, Xie Lingyun took his leave, leaving Zhang Chen sitting in the room sipping tea.
Just then, a commotion erupted on the street outside the window, and someone shouted at the top of their voice: "Master San Can of Yellow Heaven Dao is here to preach. Anyone who joins Yellow Heaven Dao and worships the gods of Yellow Heaven day and night can receive a bundle of firewood and three catties of coarse rice!"
With the shouting voice, the street suddenly became noisy, and Zhang Chen pushed the door to look out, only to see that hundreds of raggedly dressed commoners had already crowded onto the street.
"Don’t rush, line up, one by one!" A man wearing a yellow turban and of powerful build stood in the center of the crowd maintaining order.
Seeing that all the commoners had lined up according to the rules, someone else spoke up, his voice loud and penetrating, obviously having some Martial Dao skills: "Fellow elders and villagers, if you want to receive firewood and rice, you must pass a test. Later, I will say a few words, as long as you can remember them, I will give you free rice, noodles, and diesel. If anyone remembers them all and remembers them well, I will give you some extra rice and noodles."
"Is everyone ready? I’m going to speak next, listen carefully, and if you don’t listen carefully and can’t remember, don’t blame me for not giving you rice and noodles." The man’s voice was high, with a very persuasive tone: "Remember, the one giving you grains is Zhu Ming, the God of Wealth under Yellow Heaven. Zhu Ming is a divine spirit in charge of wealth. If you want to change your poor destiny, you need to worship the God of Wealth Zhu Ming day and night after going home, then the God of Wealth Zhu Ming will grant you wealth..."
Zhang Chen, standing in the pavilion, looked at the man brainwashing the commoners, raising an eyebrow. He remembered this person as a former samurai of Huangli Temple, who had already refined Dark Force, making him a notable figure in the Martial World.
More and more commoners gathered at the scene, and the man’s voice became increasingly excited as disciples moved out statues, started distributing incense, and taught the commoners the process of worship.
Some even acted directly as shills in the crowd, and after the worship ceremony ended, suddenly shouted: "Wow, how did I get five taels of silver in my pocket? Could it be that Sir God of Wealth has manifested?"
"I also have silver, but why do I only have two taels?"
"I have seven taels of silver!"
"I found a pearl in my pocket..."
For a moment, shills appeared continuously in the crowd, driving the atmosphere even more enthusiastically.
"Why do I have nothing in my pocket?" Someone patted their chest, showing a bit of confusion in their eyes.
"You must not have shown enough reverence to Sir God of Wealth, so he didn’t grant you wealth." The preacher explained.
Upon hearing this, those unaware folks felt regretful, thinking they only wanted to gather some resources to endure the cold winter, but who knew Sir God of Wealth truly manifested.
The Yellow Heaven Dao cultivator looked at the regretful faces of the commoners without a word and said, "You didn’t receive money because you didn’t show enough reverence for Sir God of Wealth. However, Sir God of Wealth loves people and doesn’t want to see you suffer, so He is willing to give you another chance. Next, if you can answer the questions I ask, you can take a plaque of Sir God of Wealth back home to worship, and you can also receive rice, grains, and oil here."
At this moment, a Yellow Heaven Daoist was holding plaques and incense, distributing supplies while asking the commoners collecting supplies:
"What is the name of Sir God of Wealth?"
The refugee said, "Sir God of Wealth is called Zhu Ming."
"What is the birth date of Sir God of Wealth and where was he born?" Another disciple of Yellow Heaven Dao asked.
The commoner answered all the questions, and then the Yellow Heaven Dao disciple instructed: "After returning home, you must worship Sir God of Wealth day and night, and naturally, you will be blessed, as Sir God of Wealth will bestow wealth and help you achieve great fortune."
Then they distributed statues of the God of Wealth and rice and noodles, and the refugee happily accepted the supplies and left.
Of course, some people were too dull-minded to remember, and Yellow Heaven Dao disciples led them to the side, patiently teaching those refugees who still couldn’t grasp it, and after they stumbled through most of it, distributed rice, noodles, and plaques, sending the commoners off.
After about two hours and as rice, noodles, and various supplies were exhausted, the commoners gradually dispersed.
As the commoners gradually dispersed, the Yellow Heaven Dao senior brother instructed the people below: "Tonight, select a few believers and throw some broken silver into their yards. From now on, every few days, select a few lucky ones, and this matter will be settled."
Upstairs, Zhang Chen listened to the Yellow Heaven Dao disciples’ conversation below and couldn’t help but sigh: "Goodness, these guys really have a plan; who can resist in this ignorant era?"
After a series of continuous tactics, nearly all the commoners were bewildered.
Let alone these people, even in a certain special era, when the state organized classes to research Qi Gong to counter atomic bombs... better not say it, the river crab crawls by!
Even in the time of great leaders, the commoners were confused, let alone now, when there really are people with supernatural abilities. If someone possesses powers close to those of divine spirits, who wouldn’t be confused upon encountering them?
So, ordinary people’s ignorance cannot be entirely blamed; it’s truly the depth of the environment and the cunning of these powerful people’s strategies.
"These people lack martial virtue." Zhang Chen took a sip of tea: "Especially with how Prince Pingbian’s Mansion fully opened up the propagation rights to Yellow Heaven Dao, coupled with the backing of major families, all contributing to the commoners drowning in a wave of ignorance, caught in the net woven by the various grandees." Zhang Chen pondered: "Discourse power and media power are in the hands of the powerful, ordinary people simply cannot escape this meticulously woven gigantic web."
However, just as Zhang Chen was about to close the window and head to Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, another burst of commotion erupted on the street:
"Fellow villagers, the Medical God has arrived! Come quickly to worship the Medical God. The Medical God can bring people back from the brink of death, wielding the Power of Life, able to resurrect the dead and heal the ailing." At this moment, another batch of Yellow Heaven Dao powerful warriors emerged from somewhere, banging gongs and drums to promote to the surrounding commoners:
"Those who worship the Medical God can receive a portion of herbs, three feet of cloth, and a bowl of grain..."
With the sound of the promotion, in no time, another group of commoners ran out, starting to line up and crowd eagerly to participate.
At this time, a Yellow Heaven Dao powerful warrior wielded a Purification Bottle and proclaimed: "I have Divine Water bestowed by the Medical God, capable of driving away illnesses, curing the sick, and healing the injured."
"Master, please save my child; my child has been coughing blood for three days and is on the verge of death." At that moment, a man holding a sickly child rushed over, kneeling before the Yellow Heaven Dao powerful warrior, pleading incessantly.
The child’s face was sallow and thin, with blood seeping from his mouth, bearing a bluish face and weak breath.
From upstairs, Zhang Chen watched the kneeling man pleading for medical help, a look of astonishment in his eyes: "Goodness, I remember this man seems to be called Zheng Bolun. And that pale, sickly child looks quite familiar too?"
Zhang Chen thought for a moment, and with his current memory, quickly recalled that he had seen these two before; they were all part of Yellow Heaven Dao. As for the pale, apparently terminally ill youth, Zhang Chen also recalled, he was once taken up the mountain by the Daoist Temple disciples to undergo brainwashing for three months and then disappeared without a trace, turns out he descended the mountain to swindle.
Looking at the people preaching below, Zhang Chen couldn’t help but retort: "All this strategy, total stratagem!"
Since ancient times, deep emotions can’t hold people, only strategies win hearts.
Zhang Chen stood at the window, watching the senior brother of Yellow Heaven Dao perform with Talisman Water to save people, and sneered internally, as precious as Talisman Water is, how could it be used on commoners? The water in that bottle wasn’t even herbal water, just ordinary plain water!