The moonlight is like water, illuminating the courtyards of the White Horse Temple in Weizhou. In the hall of Daxiong Treasure, the green smoke is swirling, and the Buddha statue is majestic and solemn.

The abbot took two little novices and walked slowly in front of the Buddha statue, wiped the dust that fell on the lotus platform with a clean rag, and then brought clean water to wipe the gold bricks on the ground seriously.

He has been doing the same work for more than thirty years, from a small novice to an abbot. During this period, the name of the temple was changed three times, the golden body of the Buddha statue was re-plated five times, and the persimmon tree outside the gate of the treasure hall was also changed from six to two. The only thing that hasn't changed is the bluestone gate of the good library behind the treasure hall, what it was like thirty years ago, and what it is still now. Even if it is turned on and closed more than a dozen times a day, there is no wear and tear.

In the good library, it is the donation deposited in the White Horse Temple in Weizhou by the people who are kind and donors from all over Weizhou. According to the rules of the White Horse Sect, he promised to give the donors a cent of interest every year. If someone has a bad turnover, or if they are in trouble and need to borrow money from the White Horse Temple, the interest paid to the temple ranges from three to five cents.

Because it is close to the Yellow River ferry, there are many merchants coming and going, so the income of Weizhou White Horse Temple can be ranked among the best in the entire White Horse Sect. Far more than the same in Hebei Province Jizhou White Horse Temple and Boling White Horse Temple, vaguely able to catch up with Tiger Prison and Yangzhou.

The income in the temple is high, and the treatment of the monks is naturally good, and even the high incense of worshiping the Buddha is three points thicker than others. In the evening class, the chanting of the monks is neat and mysterious, and can be heard from three miles away. Add a bit of majesty to the courtyard wall and gate of Weizhou White Horse Temple.

However, today it was evening class again, and the chanting was much lower and sounded a little intermittent. The abbot wanted to stop what he was doing several times and went to the room to scold. In the end, they all forcibly endured.

Cultivation is first and foremost to cultivate the mind, and there are many monks in Weizhou White Horse Temple, but not every monk will be like him, and he has long been cultivated without being shocked by honor and disgrace. Many disciples of the generation of enlightened characters and the generation of ordinary characters, who have entered the temple for a short time and have experienced few turmoil, have recently heard some rumors about the sect, and it is inevitable that they will be uncertain.

However, no matter how big the storm is, it will pass sooner or later, but the White Horse Temple will not move the place. When the turmoil passes, these little monks who lack experience and concentration will naturally understand that their current thoughts are unfounded.

As the abbot of the White Horse Temple, he is also one of the oldest monks in the temple. I've seen a lot of storms bigger than what I'm looking for. And even if the storm is so strong that it blows through the sky, the impact on the temple is just a change of name. More than 10 years ago, the White Horse Temple was called Dayun Temple, more than 20 years ago, Dayun Temple was also called Zhishan Temple, no matter how the name and plaque were changed, the Buddha statue was still the original Buddha statue, and the good library was still the original good library. As long as the crossing of the Yellow River does not change the place, this temple is destined to be prosperous.

"Senior Brother Abbot, the White Horse Temple in Zezhou was slaughtered by wicked people." The first Zhu suddenly ran in in a hurry, and whispered with a sweat on his head, "We still have to prepare in advance in case of accidents." ”

"All of you, don't make noise before the Buddha!" The abbot raised his head and glanced at the first seat calmly, his voice sounded as calm as the well water in the backyard, "On the sect's side, there will naturally be a countermeasure, and there is no need for you and me to worry about this." ”

"Sect, what has the sect dealt with?" Zhu Yi changed his usual respect for his senior brother, frowned and stomped his feet repeatedly, "Do you continue to buy bandits to give away heads?" Since you can't fight that devil, you shouldn't provoke others again. Last time, I lost four White Horse Temples, and I handed over several senior brothers who had been in the middle of the word to take the blame. This time I lost even more, leaving more of the devil to handle......"

"All of you!" put down the rag, looked at the eyes of his junior brother, and said word by word, "You, heart, chaos, it's over!" ”

"I'm distraught, we're monks, not robbers. Even if you don't do anything every year, you can make the temple incense flourish. Why do you have to take the initiative to provoke right and wrong?! Zhu Zhu stared at Zhi with round eyes, not giving an inch, "Senior brother, you are old, and your seniority is not low, you should have a place in the sect a long time ago." We can't let Huiming and others ......."

"Shut up!" finally couldn't bear it anymore, raised his eyebrows, and scolded sharply: "Slandering the teacher, committing the following crimes, making noise in front of the Buddha, bewitching the same door, all of you, are you into a demon?" Go back and practice closed-mouth meditation for three days, and the first seat will be handed over to the fate for the time being. ”

"Senior brother?" I didn't expect my senior brother to not enter, and the eyes of the first Zhu were red with anger. However, gritting his teeth for a long time, he finally couldn't stop the many years of accumulation, and finally paused and turned away.

"Amitabha!" He pronounced a Buddha name, turned around and knelt in front of the Buddha statue, bowing his head to repent for his junior brother.

He actually disagrees with many of the sect's recent initiatives. However, several masters and uncles in the sect who are in charge of the power are highly respected, and they choose to "eliminate demons and defend the way", naturally because they stand high and see far. As an abbot of the word "Li", he didn't think he was qualified to question the decisions of his uncles.

What's more, if the uncles got into trouble, they naturally arranged for the uncles to solve it. Hebei and Hedong are separated by a Taihang Mountain. The defeat of the same sect on the east side of the river failed, and it was inevitable that they would be counterattacked. However, in a short period of time, the revenge of the devil could not have spread to the White Horse Temple in Weizhou, Hebei. And with the strength of the White Horse Sect and the courage of the uncles, after a month or two, they will definitely be able to sort out the beginning and the end, and they don't need the White Horse Temple in Weizhou, Hebei Province to Hedong's heart.

I whispered the scriptures several times, until I felt that my heart had become unwavering again. Slowly stood up, and was about to continue cleaning the treasure hall, but suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside the door.

"What do you want?" There is no need to guess, the abbot knew that it was the first one who was taking the lead in messing around, frowned, and asked in a deep voice.

"Senior brother, I was in the yard just now and picked up an object." Holding a long strip of silk-wrapped object in his hand, he walked in quickly. Behind him, there are Zhike, deacons and other high-ranking monks in the temple, and everyone is full of solemnity.

"What?" Instinctively, he reached out to pick up the package.

The silk fell to the ground silently, and a horizontal knife suddenly appeared in front of him. Shouza Zhu suddenly exerted force, pushing the tip of the knife directly into his lower abdomen.

"Senior brother, my Buddha is merciful!" While turning the handle of the knife vigorously, he chanted the Buddha's name. Immediately, he lifted his foot and kicked him on his back to the sky.

"Goo, goo, goo......" Blood gushed out from his mouth and nostrils, and he wanted to ask why, but he couldn't make any sound, and his eyes were wide open, looking at the Buddha he had served for many years.

On the lotus throne, the Buddha statue is still full of compassion, and the eyes brightened by candles reflect the good, evil, sorrow and joy of the world.

"Open the good library, everyone will divide it equally, and then, let's go our separate ways!" The voice of Zhizhu sounded in the ears of Zhizhi. He finally got the answer, but he didn't blink!

No one looked at him again. He hurriedly took the key, opened the stone door of the Shanku, and moved out the gold, silver and copper coins inside as quickly as possible, and divided them all. Then each of them carried a large bag and a small bag, and hurried away under the moonlight.

……

On the south bank of the Yellow River, in Bianzhou, the high-walled compound of the White Horse Temple is particularly majestic by the moonlight.

A large group of people with sharp blades quickly approached the White Horse Temple along the hillside, and their movements were as sharp as the legendary mountain ghosts.

Most of them were not wearing any armor. Occasionally, the armor-piercing body is also a simple half-body leather armor. It's okay to resist stray arrows shot from a long distance, and in the face of sharp arrows fired within fifty paces or stabbing knives and spears head-on, they are almost the same as Gebu clothes!

The weather was a bit stuffy, so many people ran and ran, and large beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads, which were shining by the full moon overhead. Their eyes sparkled just as brightly, like dancing flames.

It is the flame of the thirst for wealth, and according to recent rumors, every White Horse Temple has hidden millions of money. If everyone can successfully smash the White Horse Temple in front of them tonight, even if they don't continue to be robbers for the rest of their lives, they will definitely not have to worry about eating and drinking.

"Brother Hong, it's really fighting. In case the Buddha descends later...... "In the entire team, only the fifth master Zheng Yuan has a slightly dimmer flame in his eyes than others. panting and touching the big boss Zhang Hongsheng in front of him, he reminded in a very low voice.

"Blame the!" The big boss Zhang Hongsheng pursed his mouth, and Fang Fang's face was instantly filled with disdain, "The monk of the White Horse Temple has committed the precept of greed and has long been removed by the Buddha." Otherwise, they would not have lost a lot of defeat when they fought with others years ago. ”

"This, this is also true!" Zheng Yuan, the fifth master, nodded slightly, and then, but asked with a worried face, "The money in the White Horse Temple is all saved by the official master." Let's smash the White Horse Temple, in case the thorn history in Bianzhou City and don't be in a hurry......"

"After this ticket, let's go to Jingchu! It's sparsely populated and easy to settle down in. Let's buy a new identity, wash our hands and be rich! Zhang Hongsheng had already thought of a way out, looked around, and responded in a low voice while waving his hand to beckon the brothers to press forward as soon as possible.

"The big boss is wise!" When the fifth master Zheng Yuan heard this, his eyes quickly lit up, like two beating candles, "It's just that if you are not afraid of 10,000, you are afraid of ......."

"I'm afraid that in case, you won't eat this bowl of rice!" The big boss Zhang Hongsheng was finally annoyed by his chatter, stunned his eyes, and whispered, "This is the Jianghu post conceived by the Zhongzhou hero Luo Zu, taking advantage of the great injury of the White Horse Sect, he overturned it." The floating wealth in the temple, whoever grabs it is counted. After this village, when the government also starts to do something to the White Horse Sect, there will definitely be no scum left for us! ”

As soon as the words fell, a cold arrow, already blowing in the wind, shot in front of him. Zhang Hongsheng did not hesitate to stop communicating with his brothers, quickly erected the axe in his hand, and with a "ding" sound, the cold arrow was knocked out of sight. Immediately, he raised the plate axe above his head and swung it vigorously towards the main gate of the White Horse Temple, "Brothers, it has been discovered. Get up side by side, whoever grabs it counts, the cottage will not pump tonight. ”

"Shoulder to shoulder!" The sound of response instantly resounded through the hillside. More than 400 bandits from different cottages, holding axes, pitchforks, ropes, flying claws, guillotines and other objects, pounced on the White Horse Temple at a faster speed, like a pack of hunting wolves.

Feathered arrows and stones kept flying out of the temple, knocking over some hapless bandit. However, it could not stop the rest of the bandits. Soon, someone came to the temple wall, tied the flying claw in his hand to the rope, and threw it over the top of the wall. Immediately, companions with spears and bows and arrows provided cover for the owner of the talon, while the latter, holding on to the rope with both hands, stepped on the wall, climbed quickly, and in just two or three breaths, jumped into the high wall.

The sound of weapons clashing was heard inside the high walls. This was followed by terrible screams and angry curses. The bandits outside the walls turned a deaf ear to the screams and curses, throwing more claws over the walls, and sending more accomplices into the walls.

In total, it took less than a quarter of an hour for the battle to end. Seven monks in the temple were killed in the battle, five were wounded, and the remaining eighty or so all chose to surrender.

Zhang Hongsheng, the big bandit leader, referred to the experience of smashing the rich man's fortress in the past, and ordered people to put the abbot, the first seat, and the acquaintance in the temple into the wing room alone. Then, in front of the rest of the monks, he personally promised that whoever could bring himself to find the floating wealth in the temple would have the same qualifications as the brothers under his command, and then he would come and go as he pleased.

The results of this promise were immediate. A few novices who didn't even have a degree and usually did rough work in the temple immediately "defected". first took Zhang Hongsheng from the abbot's underwear to find the key to Shanku, and then, with the "heroes" went straight to Shanku.

Half an hour later, smoke rose from the White Horse Temple in Bianzhou. The novices, carrying large bags and small wraps, disappeared silently into the moonlight along with the bandits and grass bandits who came to attack the temple. Since then, no one has seen them on the ground in Henan Province.

…………

The moonlight is like water, illuminating the bronze instruments on the Yangcheng stargazing platform.

Today's moon rises due east, far opposite the sun's setting position. The sunset and the moonrise are also almost at the same time. This phenomenon once again shows that Dingshuo half a month ago was completely accurate, and after the Hun Tianjian became independent from the secretary prison, the first battle renamed Si Tianjian was about to end in a complete victory with the efforts of everyone on the stargazing platform.

The only thing that is bad is the lunar eclipse. If the lunar eclipse also occurs as scheduled tonight, the revision of the "Lin De Calendar" and the verification of the "Zijin Calendar" can be temporarily declared an end. The revised "Lin De Calendar", as originally expected by the imperial court, will have no problem persisting in another five or six years. And there are five or six years, enough for everyone to thoroughly understand the "Purple Gold Calendar" and explain it clearly according to the "Book of Changes".

As for the previously highly demanded "Nine Execution Calendars", go where it should be cool! Even the most basic Wangri and Shuo Sun are not marked correctly, and the so-called accuracy before is completely Tianzhu people bragging! (Note: Officially in history, the "Nine Execution Calendar" is inaccurate, and it has been compared and verified during the Xuanzong period.) ）

"It's coming, it's coming!" In front of the glass mirror erected high in front of the moon, an official suddenly shouted excitedly. "At the beginning of the penumbral eclipse, the moonlight turns from bright as the sun to obscurity."

On the stargazing platform, there was a sudden rush of people. All the technical officials of the Heavenly Prison observed the changes of the full moon through the reflection in the mirror or with the naked eye, and everyone's faces were inexplicably excited.

"The first loss, the first loss! Tell the time, every hour and three minutes! Compared with the armillary sphere, the difference, the difference is only five points! Sky! It's really only five points! The shouts continued to ring, with a false excitement. (Note: This is not a minute, but a tenth of a quarter)

Someone took out a brush and quickly wrote it down on a blank piece of paper. Others turn different mirrors to keep the mirror in line with the movement of the moon. Others, on the other hand, raised their necks high, stared at the moon with a missing corner without blinking, and waved their fists and burst into tears.

The failure to predict solar eclipses and lunar eclipses many times in a row made Si Tianjian's top and bottom officials, in front of colleagues in other departments, more and more unconfident in speaking. And their ordinary and arduous observation and calculation work was also ridiculed as "pretense" by some vicious-mouthed imperial historians.

Everyone has been holding their breath in their hearts for a long time and wants to turn over. However, he couldn't find a way to turn over, and he couldn't seize the opportunity to turn over. This time, the new day was recalibrated, and the sun was completely verified, and the lunar eclipse, calculated by a new method, actually changed the accuracy from the sky to the moment and the minute! (Note: At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the specific time of the lunar eclipse could already be accurate within a quarter of an hour)

"It's coming!" Shuo Fang's military brigade led Zhou to walk up the steps quickly, avoiding the excited crowd around him, and whispered in Zhang Qian's ear. "The scout was three miles away and spotted a suspicious figure. The total number was less than five hundred, and the armament consisted mainly of spears and horizontal knives, and carried some angular bows. ”

"You dispose of it yourself, and the family is all at your disposal, according to what we agreed in advance. Leave it alone on my side! Zhang Qian put down the extra-large monocular primitive telescope and nodded lightly at Zhou Quji.

Zhou Qu bowed quickly, and then walked away quickly, from beginning to end, without alarming any officials of Si Tianjian.

As one of the few people on the stargazing platform who had nothing to do with Si Tianjian, Luo Huaizu relied on his intuition to find that the situation was different. Quickly leaned towards Zhang Qian's side, put his hand on the mechanism of the armor on his body, and asked in a low voice: "Is it really here?" They are so bold that they even dare to attack the stargazing platform, and they really don't want to leave any face for the court! ”

"There is no fear, this is the case!" Zhang Qian smiled and exhaled lightly at the first loss of the moon.

More than 20 days have passed since the first interception. So far, the imperial court has not done anything to the White Horse Sect. And who is secretly colluding with the White Horse Sect to create conditions for the bandits, and the imperial court has not given any answer. It was as if the entire interception operation, from beginning to end, was planned and carried out by the bitter monk alone, and had nothing to do with anyone else.

This made Zhang Qian's heart feel very cold, although he had already seen that Li Xian was not very competent as an emperor. As a traverser, he still hoped that Ying Tianshen Dragon Li Xian would be able to stand up in time and give him an explanation. Even if this statement is not completely fair.

And now, what he can see and do is to use his own means with the enemy to attack each other. Although with the help of Zhou Quji, Luo Huaizu and others, he almost won every fight. However, he felt very uncomfortable in his heart, and even felt more and more regretful.

This is not the Tang Dynasty he once longed for in another time and space. Datang definitely shouldn't be like this! For example, if there is a conflict between [567 Chinese] officials, they each take their families to raise knives and cut each other, and what is the meaning of whether the imperial court exists or not? If even the most basic order cannot be guaranteed, how can the prosperous era of Kaiyuan appear as scheduled? What does Datang take to make Siyi Binfu?!

"Do you want to put on armor!" Luo Huaizu's voice sounded in his ears again, vaguely, with a hint of excitement. "I'll give you back the armor, with my skills, it's not easy for others to hurt me."

The last few days are the days he really wants. And going to the academy to teach hairy children to practice martial arts is completely torture for him. He is a child of the Mo family, and the child of the Mo family is cut with a knife, and he will only cut it back with a knife. so that they will not cry and cry to find someone else to call the shots.

"No, the thieves can't be killed!" Zhang Qian's mind was finally pulled back to the world in front of him by Luo Huaizu's questioning. After thinking about it, he stopped the other party's armor removal with a smile, "You wear it, I am afraid of iron armor." If you really have an emergency, you just seal the entrance steps to the stargazing platform, and don't worry about me! ”

"Hmm!" Luo Huaizu thought about it and nodded solemnly.

The observatory only has a passage paved with steps to go up and down, and the width of the passage is only six feet, just enough to be sealed by him with one person and one knife.

If there are really thieves who break through the blockade of the Shuofang Army's brigade and rush to rush forward after a while, he Luo Huaizu will become the protector of all the nerds on the stargazing platform. Of course, this protector can't be in vain, if Zhang Qian wants him to do his best, he has to pay the price of one hundred and eighty catties of black powder, or directly tell him the formula of black powder! (Note: Brigade, one brigade in the Tang Dynasty with 100 people.) ）

"Woo, woo, woo......" Under the stargazing platform, a few horns were faintly heard. It's so slight that it's hard to tell which side it's coming from. The technical officials of the Si Tianjian who were observing and recording the changes in the phases of the moon looked down in surprise, but they could see nothing but dense branches and leaves.

quickly retracted their gaze, and everyone looked at Zhang Qian. Immediately, they all put their hearts back in their stomachs. Young Eunuch Zhang, whose official position is far higher than them, didn't even wear armor! He continued to carry his telescope that could see very far away, but everything was distorted. This shows that everything is under control, and there is no need to be nervous!

"You continue to observe the lunar eclipse, and I have the rest!" Zhang Qian was also keenly aware of the uneasiness of the officials, smiled and waved to everyone, and then raised the primordial telescope again, aimed at the source of the sound, and tried to adjust the distance between the two lenses.

Disturbed by the layers of branches and leaves, he could see nothing. The moonlight was too dim to illuminate the shadows in the woods. Near the stargazing platform, however, the sound of horns became clearer and clearer, faintly, mixed with the impact of weapons and the neighing of people and horses.

"Over there, there's a fire over there! It's a rocket, someone is shooting rockets for lighting! Luo Huaizu's heart was itchy and scratched, and he pushed Zhang Qian's shoulder hard beside him.

Zhang Qian opened his left eye, which was not obscured by the telescope, quickly swept him, and then turned the telescope to his finger. In an instant, a few pulsing fires and dozens of twisted figures, through the lenses, quickly entered his right eye!

It's bandits! Or a government soldier dressed as a bandit! There are more than dozens of them, and where they are not illuminated by the firelight, there are still many figures shaking. However, their numerical superiority did not have any effect on the outcome of the battle.

Neither the 100 brothers of the Shuo Fang Army, nor the family members of the Guo and Ren families, under the command of Zhou Quji, had direct contact with the bandits. Instead, he hid in the dark and kept firing arrows at the bandits' heads.

Most of the arrows came silently, quietly taking lives one by one. Only a few of the arrows were wrapped around the arrows with lit oilcloth balls. After being shot, it dragged a beautiful trail of tail trails in mid-air, poking at tree trunks or grass like candles, illuminating the bandits' surroundings.

The bandits rushed forward desperately with weapons and shields, and then were shot by a dozen arrows and had to stagger back. Immediately, he was covered by feathered arrows again, and he had to dodge left and right. However, whether they chose to charge or dodge, there were always feathered arrows waiting for them, causing them to attrition at a slow but constant pace, becoming more and more chaotic and clumsy.

There was a "bandit leader" wearing mountain armor, and suddenly brandished a spear and rushed forward. On both sides of his body, several of his followers used shields to form two barriers for him. However, before he could break away from Zhang Qian's telescope, seven or eight burning fire pots smashed heavily on the front and back of the man.

The fire jar fell to the ground, shattered, and alcohol with starch and vegetable oil splashed everywhere. The leader of the bandits in the mountain armor, whose entire thigh was set on fire, decisively dropped his spear and fell to the ground, trying to extinguish the flames with a tumbling motion. His entourage also threw down their burning shields and extinguished the fire in various ways, but they couldn't weaken the flames on their bodies in the slightest.

Dozens of feather arrows fell from mid-air, knocking down most of the people in the mountain armor. Luckily, the relatives who were not injured dragged the burning body backwards, and along the way, the bandits dodged one after another, and no one dared to let them approach.

The "bandit leader" wearing mountain armor suddenly stopped struggling, and his body curled up into a ball. The wildfire continued to burn fiercely around his body, soon igniting the trees, turning the surrounding ten paces into a huge furnace.

The bandits who were close to the furnace broke up one after another, and their embarrassed figures were illuminated very clearly. More feathered arrows came from the darkness and killed them one after the other in the rout.

Zhou Quji's figure suddenly appeared in the telescope. Wielding a horizontal knife, invincible. The soldiers of Shuofang in iron vests followed him closely behind, and the spears pointed at them, and the bandits fell like wheat.

"How's it going, what's going on, show me, show me!" Luo Huaizu's voice once again reached Zhang Qian's ears, which was incompatible with the picture in the telescope.

"Here you go, be careful not to fall!" Zhang Qian glared at him and handed the primordial telescope to the person along with the rope that tied the telescope.

He didn't need to look any further, he knew the outcome of this battle. The enemy army was completely defeated, and from the beginning to the end, there was no chance to get close to the stargazing platform. All the tactical actions of the enemy army, in front of the Shuofang army, look clumsy and amateurish! Sensei said that there were only four or five hundred people, and even if the number was doubled, the result of this battle would be exactly the same!

"Eat! The time is seven and two minutes. "On the observatory, someone dutifully reported the results of the observation loudly.

The bright moon in the sky disappeared completely, and all the bright stars appeared, each of which seemed to be close at hand!