Sheng Ming saw Yang Lianzhong's face, and he was also angry in his heart, but he was more helpless, after all, it was a foregone conclusion that he would be removed and held accountable, and the wall was pushed by everyone.

Already, but no matter what his future is, he is also in his position, seeking his own government, and even more out of his own integrity and conscience, he just wants to quell the rebellion as soon as possible, so that the people in Yangzhou City will suffer less from the chaos.

So he calmed down his emotions and said, "General Yang, the state government is willing to fund 100,000 yuan in military salaries, what do you think?" ”

Yang Lianzhong said in a strange manner: "Master Sheng, you are here to ask for food, right?" In this case, my son-in-law will not agree. ”

Sheng Ming secretly gritted his teeth at this time and said, "General Yang, you can tell me the number, this official won't go around in circles with you." ”

Yang Lianzhong said a little proudly: "Master Sheng is really acquainted, I will also say it directly, the salary of 600,000 yuan is enough."

Sheng Ming laughed and said disdainfully: "General Yang is really a lion's mouth, even the border army can't ask for 400,000 yuan, General Yang is simply too much!" “

He then scolded angrily: "Why, did General Yang see that his official was about to lose his official position, so he didn't take this official seriously? Don't forget that it is your duty to quell the rebellion and wait for the forbidden army, and this official also wants the people of Yangzhou to suffer less from the chaos out of affection, so he will fund your military salary. You are still rampant, who gave you the guts, if you have the courage, you will not send troops to try. If the military plane is delayed, I will lose my official position, and I will also make a statement to Lu Xianggong, expose your face, and make you lose your official hat. ”

After saying that, Sheng Ming turned around and threw his sleeves away, and said as he walked: "General Yang, the Yangzhou government will subsidize a maximum of 250,000 yuan in military salaries, and if there is more, it will not be a penny, and if it is late, there will be no penny, you can watch it." ”

Yang Lianzhong was sitting in the big tent at this time, and was reprimanded by Sheng Ming so frightened and stunned; The fame is gone, and he still can't get back to his senses.

When he came to his senses, he hurriedly stood up and looked out, then patted his chest with a look of horror.

He said to himself: "This guy is quite infiltrating when he starts a fire, and a toothless tiger can bite people." ”

But when he remembered what Sheng Ming had just said, he suddenly became happy, and he got a military salary of 250,000 yuan for nothing, and it was worth the training.

He hurriedly raised the tent to count the troops, and soon the commanders of the five battalions arrived at the camp tent, so he hurriedly assigned the task and asked them to order the troops and horses, and immediately went to Yangzhou City to quell the rebellion.

Before leaving, Yang Lianzhong went to the front of the battle to inspect and improvised a word to boost morale.

I saw him standing on the towering platform and said loudly: "The sons and daughters go to kill the enemy as much as they can this time, but they must not kill innocents indiscriminately; Listen, at this time, there will be a reward for returning from the expedition, with an additional salary of 20 yuan per person, 50 to 100 yuan for the wounded, and 500 yuan for those killed in battle. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, at this time, the military salary funded by the Yangzhou government also arrived, Yang Lianzhong got off the platform, walked to the carriage, opened the covered tarpaulin, and there were boxes of money inside.

He opened a box, a whole box of coins, folded and glowing in the sunlight, and the eyes of all the generals were straight.

He took out a few coins at any time and put them in his hand to play with them, and suddenly made a pleasant "clang" sound of metal colliding.

And he repeated the reward of the soldier while the iron was hot,

When all the soldiers heard this, they cheered, and their spirits were immediately lifted, and they were all ready to fight.

Yang Lianzhong saw that the soldiers were excited and their morale was high, so he nodded with satisfaction, and he led the army out of the camp with high spirits.

At this time, the area around the yamen, the state capital of Yangzhou, was already in chaos, and the rioters were already wantonly looting shops, burning down public places, and constantly destroying landmark buildings regardless of the safety of others.

The street was in a mess, Chen Erleng and other officials had been beaten to death by the chaotic people, and the out-of-control chaotic people were still angry and were abusing the corpses.

I saw that these corpses were disemboweled, mutilated, the scene was bloody, and several chaotic people began to burn the corpses again, and suddenly the smoke was steaming, and a burst of stench permeated the air, which made people smell sick.

The ruffians and hooligans in Yangzhou City also took advantage of the fire to rob, and made a lot of illegal things, raping women in broad daylight, and robbing homes and houses.

At this time, Lin Guang'an, the leader of the Ming Sect, was convening a meeting of the hall masters in a secret place at this time, he was furious, and everyone below was silent.

Kneeling in the hall was a shirtless middle-aged man, who had been tied up with flowers, as if he had been tortured, and his body was covered in whips and blood.

I saw Lin Guangan say to the middle-aged man: "Hall Master Luo, who gave you the courage to do something rebellious and provoke this disaster, do you know how many people will die because of this disaster." ”

He also said: "Mingjiao's original name was Manichaeism, and when Tang Wuzong destroyed Buddhism in the fifth year of Huichang (845), Manichaeism was also severely attacked, and turned into a secret religion, and absorbed Taoism and folk beliefs, thus changing its name to "Mingjiao", so it became increasingly difficult to preach. ”

He said: "Master Luo, your original intention was to magnify the sect, but you have already fallen into the devil, what is the difference between using this method to absorb the sect members and want to prosper the sect. ”

He said majestically to the people: "The doctrine of Mingjiao is simply 'Good is light, evil is darkness, and light will overcome darkness.'" In the same way, the mind of compassion and compassion is light, and the mind of greed and killing is darkness. Therefore, people must first be righteous before they can save others. It is also in line with the Confucian saying, "His body is upright and does not obey orders, and his body is not right even if he does not obey orders." "Take Lord Luo as a warning."

Everyone in the hall worshiped and praised the goodness, and recited the Mingjiao classic "Lower Praise" "Sigh Ming Realm Wen" and said: "The light is generally pure, and the joy is extinguished without moving the curse." He has no trouble with joy, but there is no use in suffering. Always be happy and bright, if you say that you are sick, it is useless. If there are those who can live in other countries, they will be worry-free. The solemnity of the place is pure, and all the evil is not pure; Happiness is full of Chang Kuantai, and there is no point in saying that there is Xiangling. ”

He finally said: "Master Luo, you have evil thoughts in your heart, your body has fallen into darkness, and you have let the living soul miser, and the innocent people have died in vain, and according to the will of the Great Ming God, you will be punished by burning your body. ”

I saw a fire rise in the hall, and several sect members came to put the hall master on a wooden shelf, which was full of firewood, and then ignited it, and the firewood was poured with lamp oil, and it burned violently at once.

The flames engulfed the Luo Hall Master at once, and I saw him sitting calmly cross-legged, his hands and ten fingers outstretched, raised in front of his chest, in the shape of flames, and recited the scriptures of Mingjiao: "Burn my remnants, blazing holy fire." What is the joy of life, and why is it so painful to die? For the good to eliminate the evil, but the light is the same. Joy and sorrow are dust. Have mercy on me, there are many sorrows! Have mercy on me, there are many sorrows! ”

After a while, Hall Master Luo's clothes, hair and beard all burned all over his body, he didn't even struggle, and everyone in the hall closed their eyes, not daring to look at the miserable situation.

At this time, Lin Guangan suddenly said: "Okay, save Hall Master Luo from the sea of fire, the Great Ming God has already given a clear indication that the darkness in Hall Master Luo's heart has been burned away, return to his embrace, and forgive him." ”

A group of people in the hall hurriedly extinguished the fire and saved people, and at this time, the hall master Luo was already burned. But although his expression was in a trance at this time, he was still conscious.

I saw Lin Guangan carefully rip off his clothes to prevent the burned skin from sticking down, then wiped his body with a wet towel, and then applied a layer of ointment to the burned area, and finally asked people to carry him down and place him.

He ascended to the high platform, then turned around and ordered: "Listen to the orders, hall masters! Everyone in the audience applauded.

He said: "Ladies and gentlemen, lead your people to save the innocent people who have been affected by the disaster, and if you see the perpetrators, you will repel them, and those who are recalcitrant and murderous can be killed on the spot." ”

The people took the order, and then went to their respective halls, and led their people to the place of riot to stop all kinds of violent acts.

At this time, Yangzhou City remembered the rumbling sound of horses' hooves, as well as the sound of roaring neat footsteps, which seemed to be the sound of the army entering the city.

There is a demon in everyone's heart, and it is not terrible for a person to release it; When a few thousand people are released, it is terrible, they will kill and injure those they see indiscriminately, and they will become beasts completely, and they can no longer be called people.

The forbidden army rushed over, slashing and killing the rebels, and immediately killed the rebels on their backs, and went straight out of a bloody way, and the entire rebel army was penetrated and crushed.

Some of the clever people of the rebels took advantage of the chaos to escape, but they could not escape the eyes of the forbidden soldiers.

Many of the fleeing rioters were shot to the ground, and some were directly nailed to the ground by arrows and died on the spot; Some of them were hit by arrows, and their hands and feet were still crawling forward as best they could; Most are incapacitated.

These people were all cut off by the soldiers who rushed over, and suddenly the blood in the neck of the headless corpse suddenly gushed out, and the blood spilled on the spot;

These heads were collected by them as tokens of military exploitation, and used as evidence for promotions and rewards.

The riot was suppressed on the same day, and the Forbidden Army was searching the city for the remnants of the rebels, and killed many ruffians who took advantage of the fire to rob them.

Yangzhou's Xiang Army, Township Army, and government officials all took to the streets to participate in emergency rescue and disaster relief, treat the wounded, and finally the people of Yangzhou City also participated.

As the riots subsided, calm quickly returned to the city, but the ruins, ashes, and uncleaned bloodstains on the streets seemed to tell the story of a tragic incident that had happened here.

Meng Ming experienced this turmoil and saw chaos and tragic scenes, that is, there were bandits strewn on the streets, and innocent people who died in vain.

He not only lamented: "Heaven and earth are unkind, and all things are dogs." ”