In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

····

"What a fine Master Mingchen!"

Not far away, a protector of the White Lotus Sect watched Master Mingchen listening respectfully to the Dharma assembly.

Although Master Mingchen did not participate in the discussion of Buddhist teachings, these elderly monks were the main force in the debate on the scriptures, and Master Mingchen's humble and attentive manner showed his meticulousness in accepting instruction.

No one would think that Master Mingchen was just putting on an act.

For Master Mingchen, this was indeed a rare opportunity. He had become a monk halfway through his life and was subjected to rote learning.

At this time, with the quotations and discussions of several great Zen masters, their understanding of Buddhism became increasingly profound.

Even without it, one's temperament becomes increasingly extraordinary and refined.

This made the several Zen masters nod in agreement, realizing that Master Mingchen was a promising talent.

In addition, at least a thousand monks on the four lower floors chanted sutras for the deceased, creating a spectacular scene!

The Water and Land Dharma Assembly is to be held for seven days, but the fundraising begins on the first day.

After all, the donated supplies and money from the 963 donation drive mean that the sooner they reach the disaster area, the more lives can be saved.

The Zhang family also stipulated the location for large donations, while small donations were to be made through a donation box.

Large donations are for the sake of prestige, so at least thousands of dollars are required to justify such donations.

Small donations are donations of money or supplies. Even an old piece of clothing, an old pair of cloth shoes, or a small bag of flour is a good deed!

The fundraising site was packed with people, even more lively than a Buddhist ceremony.

The number of staff responsible for the work has increased from dozens to hundreds, handling tasks such as item identification, sorting, and packaging.

This greatly shocked the prefect of Suzhou; this was the power of the Zhang family.

Because no one would suspect that the Zhang family would line their own pockets.

Moreover, they even collect old clothes, old shoes, and old grain, which are actually transported to the disaster area, not just distributed locally.

It wasn't until noon the next day that most of the supplies were finally sorted out.

Amidst everyone's attention, a grand procession of over a hundred ships carrying supplies was transported to the flood-stricken areas.

The sheer quantity of donated supplies completely shocked everyone.

They simply donated some useless items from their home, never expecting to donate so much.

As for money?

They are currently counting and tallying the money, mainly because there is too much loose cash.

However, the large donation amounted to over one million gold coins, of which 500,000 gold coins came from the Zhang family.

Such a huge sum of money, if the prefect of Suzhou hadn't known that the Zhang family's business was beyond his control, he would definitely have taken action to forcibly seize it.

Even if 90% isn't deducted, 10% is still more than ten times the 100,000 taels of silver he earned during his three years as a "clean prefect"!

Such a massive donation is only for Suzhou.

The most awe-inspiring of all was the story of the Venerable Wusheng.

Not only did they benefit from Zhang Xiaoshan's actions, but Zhang Xiaoshan also gained a great deal of prestige in Jiangnan.

In the future, when the Zhang family is mentioned, everyone will give them a thumbs up.

Chapter 227 The Duan Family of Tiannan and the Zhang Family of Jiangnan

"Young master, the tally is complete: 1,327,000 taels of gold and 316,253.7 taels of silver."

"so much?"

Hearing about these donations, even excluding those from the Zhang and Wang families, there were still 800,000 taels of gold and 300,000 taels of silver, which was an absolutely enormous sum.

"It was mainly the top ten merchants in Suzhou who donated no less than the Wang family."

They've all been put on the spot by the young master this time, and they probably hate him to death by now.

The head manager looked at Zhang Xiaoshan. This time, the merchants of Suzhou had been thoroughly ripped off by the Zhang family.

Inscribing merits on stone is a perfectly legitimate and aboveboard strategy!

A single transaction is capped at 500,000 gold coins, with a minimum of 30,000 gold coins; these are all within the range for the top merchants in Suzhou.

"I had agreed with Madam Wang that it would be 10,000 taels of gold, but who knew this woman would suddenly become so compassionate and donate 30,000 taels of gold!"

By the way, how much did those eminent monks donate?

"Several Zen masters donated over ten thousand taels of gold, especially Zen Master Wangyou, who privately donated over thirty thousand taels; most of the other famous temples donated over a thousand taels, which can be described as a huge donation!"

Although the Zhang family donated 500,000 gold coins, which is four times more than the 100,000 gold coins donated by the Buddhist sect, what kind of wealth does the Zhang family have?

Just last time, Zhang Xiaoshan amassed nearly ten million taels of gold from the Murong family.

Those boxes of antiques were accumulated by the Murong family over generations, representing the most outstanding collection of each era.

And those jewels, each worth a fortune, were also packed in a box.

"Make it public, and in addition to paying the service staff with one thousand gold coins from the Zhang Family Merchant Guild's accounts, also have someone make a merit tablet."

The front side lists the top ten donors from Suzhou, while the back side shows donations from various temples, along with a total list of all donated supplies.

"Yes, young master!"

As for revenge?

The Zhang family is now a behemoth and is not afraid of their pressure at all.

Instead, everyone had no choice but to suffer in silence this time!

Seven days have passed in the blink of an eye!

When the Water and Land Ceremony ended, a merit stele ten feet tall appeared where the original Buddhist altar had been.

The Zhang family did not participate in the inscription on the monument because they were not locals of Suzhou and had simply tricked everyone this time.

Of course, the Zhang family also went to great lengths, killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of their own.

But the Zhang family basically gained all the fame.

Given the limitations of this era, it's unlikely that people from the disaster area will be able to come to Suzhou.

They will only be grateful to the Zhang family; who cares how much the Suzhou merchants donated? Besides, this was initiated by the Zhang family; all that people will see is the Zhang family's great enlightenment.

Even the locals in Suzhou would only think that the Zhang family was righteous.

On the contrary, too many people donated, and those who wanted fame did not receive the 'reward' they were promised.

"Amitabha Buddha, may the Dharma Master rest in peace!"

Master Mingchen arrived as if stepping on the moon, and now he departs as if stepping on the moon again.

The silhouette she left behind for countless 'believers' was filled with endless imagination and reverence; they had never imagined that such an extraordinary woman existed in the world.

Moreover, this time it also completely opened the door to Buddhism for Mingchen!

With his mastery of Tantric Buddhism and the Buddhist finger-pointing technique as his foundation, Ming Chen is now a rising star in Buddhism and a top expert in Buddhism. No one doubts Ming Chen's identity.

"Young Master, Mingchen will be in seclusion for intensive cultivation from now on. I hope you will not disturb him!"

Zhang Xiaoshan often raided her at night, but this time Mingchen gained a great deal from the Dharma assembly and wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly understand it, so her seclusion period might not be short.

Zhang Xiaoshan's appearance was bound to disturb her Buddhist faith.

"Don't worry, Master, I know my limits!"

Master Mingchen nodded and entered the ship's Buddhist hall for seclusion.

At the same time, the disaster relief funds will be escorted by Zhuo Qianshan of the Jiangnan Escort Agency and Lin Zhennan of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, and personally transported to the disaster area.

At this point, given the Zhang family's reputation and the strength of the two major escort agencies, naturally no one dared to rob the caravan.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan also saw that the fourteen-year-old Lin Pingzhi was beginning to take over his father's business!

····

"Master Huangmei, how's the intelligence gathering going?"

After Duan Zhengchun transported the grain to the disaster area, he originally intended to let the government take over.

But a little inquiry revealed that once the grain reached the government offices, it would likely be divided up on the spot.

Food is scarce everywhere, and the government's disaster relief grain supplies were already quite low. Sending in 200,000 shi of grain will relieve their worries about food shortages.

But how much of it can be put to practical use remains to be seen.

Therefore, Duan Zhengchun found a camp that looked like a survivor base and sent Master Huangmei to gather intelligence.

"Your Highness, this is the Zhang family's disaster relief site."

Not only is the disaster relief order well-established, but it also has the right to supervise each other with the major sects in the Central Plains. It can be placed here!

"The Zhang family? The Zhang family of Lin'an Prefecture?"

Duan Zhengchun was immediately invigorated, his eyes flashing with a bluish light.

This time, he, as a prince, didn't need to personally escort her. His purpose in coming here was because of Li Qingluo and her daughter, Duan Yuyan.

Wang Yuyan's birth date and time are very likely those of his daughter, a princess of the Dali Kingdom.

But now, with a marriage certificate, his daughter is to be betrothed to another man as a concubine. How could Duan Zhengchun possibly allow such a thing to happen?

And all of this is related to the Zhang family.

"Indeed, the reason why the flood was stabilized so quickly is thanks to the Zhang family."

Not only did they organize the people's sanitation checkpoints in an orderly manner to prevent the spread of disease, but they also rebuilt their homes through a work-for-relief program, and most of the grain brought by the Zhang family from Southeast Asia was used here!

Dali is close to the border of the Biao Kingdom, and over time, it naturally learned about the Zhang family's plans in the south.

The monk Huangmei had been to Southeast Asia and met Zen Master Xianxia and Abbot Juewu. He knew that the young master of the Zhang family was exceptionally talented.

"I've heard of the Zhang family; they're known for their benevolence and generosity."

Does the master find this believable?

“The Zhang family is trustworthy. The Prince’s Mansion has not set foot in the Central Plains for many years, yet they are unaware of the Zhang family’s great righteousness!”

The Zhang family has donated millions of shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, transported in batches of 300,000 shi at a time, until the disaster ends. Furthermore, with the supervision of major sects in the Central Plains, the Zhang family will not ruin their reputation over such a trivial matter.

"Then let's leave it here."

Entrusted by Duan Zhengming, Duan Zhengchun would do everything in accordance with the orders of the Yellow-Eyebrow Monk and would naturally not seek trouble for himself.

Since the Yellow-Eyebrow Monk trusts the Zhang family, it shows that the Zhang family has an excellent reputation. It would be good to befriend them in the future.

"This time, when Zhengchun travels east to the south of the Yangtze River, we will need your guidance, Master!"

"Amitabha Buddha, this is what this old monk should do!"

As for Liu Ruochen, the Sword Master of the Southern Region, he stayed behind to guard the grain.

He wasn't close to the Dali Duan family, and he knew that all the major sects in the Central Plains had come when he was invited. He was just here to make his presence known and to travel around the Central Plains.

When the food ran out, it was time for him to leave.

They traveled downstream with their four retainers, and after a hundred or two miles, they found themselves in beautiful scenery along the riverbanks, a stark contrast to the hellish landscape they had encountered earlier.

"How much does the master know about the young master of the Zhang family?"

"Young Master Zhang?"

Amitabha Buddha, the Zhang family is the richest family in the south of the Central Plains, possessing wealth that rivals that of a nation;

In the martial arts world, the Zhang family is a giant, just like the Duan family in Tiannan. The Zhang family is the Zhang family of Jiangnan, and no force in the entire Jiangnan region can rival them.

Even in the martial arts world, the Zhang family stands among the top powerhouses!

The words of the Yellow-Eyebrowed Monk startled even Duan Zhengchun, who had never expected the Zhang family of Jiangnan to be so terrifying.

Compared to the south, the difference between Jiangnan is like that between big cities and the countryside.

Regardless of population, culture, economy, or the complex web of various powers, the two are not on the same level.

Therefore, the fact that the Zhang family could rule the world like the Duan family in such a remote and unrestrained place as Jiangnan speaks volumes about their strength.

"What about the young master of the Zhang family?"