He was sweating profusely, his face was sallow, and the corners of his eyes and lips were wrinkled. When Dou Huaizhen, the imperial historian, entered Zhang Qian's bedroom, he saw such a miserable image.

"Young Eunuch Zhang has suffered!" A ray of sympathy quickly welled up on his face, and he stepped forward, ready to touch Zhang Qian's forehead like a kind elder, but a smell of salted fish and carrion mixed with jasmine flowers rushed towards him.

"Vomit-" Dou Huaizhen is a child of an authentic old family, and even when she squats in the toilet, she has to stuff sandalwood in her nostrils, where can she stand this smell? When he landed, the five abdomen and six organs were tumbling.

And Guo Nu, the second junior brother of Zhang Qian, enthusiastically stepped forward from the side of the bed, crossed his hands, and bowed to him for a long time, "Thank you for coming to visit, senior brother is seriously injured and has difficulty moving." Guo thanked the doctor on behalf of his senior brother! ”

"No courtesy, no courtesy, Master Guo is polite." Dou Huaizhen finally realized where the complicated stench came from, turned his body sideways, held his breath in response, and at the same time tried to tighten his throat and eyes, so as not to vomit out the morning food on the spot.

It stinks, it stinks so darkly. It turned out that Dou Huaizhen heard that Guo Nu, the little overlord of Chang'an, could smoke flies alive, and thought that the children of the gentlemen had lost the fight and were deliberately ruining Guo Nu's reputation. Today, I suddenly discovered that the rumors turned out to be true.

Fortunately, Zhang Qian, who was on the bed, woke up in time, and asked weakly from his mouth, "Who is here?" Only then did he save his old Dou's life. However, he completely forgot the idea of going to find out about Zhang Qian's condition, so as not to get too close to Guo Nu and stun himself alive.

And that Guo Nu, although he is known as "not stingy", has great respect for his senior brother. immediately gave up greeting with Dou Huaizhen, ran back to the bed in three steps and two steps, lowered his head, and reported in a low voice: "Senior brother, it's Dou Gong Huaizhen, the imperial historian." My junior brother and I reported to you just now. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, you fell asleep again. ”

"Ah, it's so rude, Zhang, Zhang, originally, originally wanted to wait, wait for Dou Gong to enter the door, and then get out of bed immediately, get out of bed to salute!" Zhang Qian was obviously lacking in qi, and it took a lot of effort to express his meaning completely. "You, why don't you wake me up. Help, help me up. Dou Gong, Dou Gong is an elder and highly respected. You and I can't snub him. ”

"Hey, hey, senior brother be careful, don't worry!" Ren Cong also agreed repeatedly, and rushed over to help Guo Nu. The two brothers sandwiched Zhang Qian on the left and right, and only then did they try to hold the latter steady, so that he would not fall back to the bed halfway and pull the wound.

Even so, Zhang Qian was so tired that he was sweating. With a bloodless face, he gasped and hugged his fist to Dou Huaizhen: "Dou Gong is here, and the cold house is shining." Please forgive the officer for being seriously injured and unable to greet him with full courtesy. ”

As he spoke, his strength became a little unsustainable. The heavy head drooped uncontrollably towards his chest.

"Lie down, lie down!" Dou Huaizhen's scalp was numb, and she hurriedly waved her hand gently, "Lie down quickly, the old man is here to visit the patient, not to toss you, we don't need these false courtesies today." ”

"Much, thank you Gong Dou!" Zhang Qian struggled to raise his head, and tried to give Dou Huaizhen another fist, before slowly lying down with the support of the two junior brothers. Immediately, panting like a cow.

Seeing this, Dou Huaizhen couldn't say all the nonsense and empty words that had been prepared in his stomach all morning. After hesitating again and again, he dared to directly clarify the intention: "Young Eunuch Zhang was injured so badly, the old man was deeply angry when he saw it. ”

"Thank you Dou Gong for speaking up!" Ren Cong was honest, and immediately stepped forward to salute, "Although my senior brother has a low official position, he is a five-grade young eunuch awarded by the imperial court. If life and death are all in the hands of monks, who has become the Tang Dynasty? ”

"That's true, that's true, some crazy monks are really too unreasonable this time!" The second half of Dou Huaizhen's words were blocked in his throat, making him feel uncomfortable. However, he had to follow Ren Cong's words and condemn the monk's behavior. Then, he wasted his old strength and broke the words back.

Now, it was a little too stiff, which made his face feel hot, and his voice became more and more unconfident, "But, as the saying goes, it is inevitable that a big tree will have dead branches." This is true for large families, and the same is true for Buddhism. ”

I had to stop and breathe a sigh of relief, looking at Zhang Qian, who was "dying", he asked solemnly, "The old man thinks that individual monks are rampant and lawless, and they can't be counted on the entire Buddhist sect." Does the young eunuch think so? ”

"What the doctor said, the lower official deeply agreed." Zhang Qian opened his eyelids in pain, and his response was full of helplessness.

The extremists are always individual, and the rest of the congregation are all peaceful. In the same way, he has long been calloused in the twenty-first century. And now, it's just a different religion to wash white, but the recipe of the "potion" is exactly the same.

Hearing the reluctance in Zhang Qian's words, Dou Huaizhen frowned, and continued to be a peacemaker: "Dade Jueyuan Zen Master, I heard that a crazy monk assassinated Zhang Shaojian, and he rushed to Weinan from Lantian to ask for guilt. When he learned that the old man had come to visit Young Eunuch Zhang, he asked the old man to deliver a message to Young Eunuch Zhang for him first, so as not to be misunderstood by the young eunuch when he came to the door in the future. ”

"Guilty of pleading?" Zhang Qian closed his eyes weakly and muttered for a long time before he responded weakly, "Then there is no need." What does the monk of Xinfeng County have to do with the old Zen master? These are still clear to the lower officials. The lower officials would only plead with Youji to chase down the assassins and arrest the mastermind behind the scenes. Never indiscriminately implicate the innocent. ”

Although he was angry when he spoke, he bit the word "innocent" very clearly. When Dou Huaizhen heard this, he immediately understood that he was unwilling to easily expose the revenge of the assassination, so he quickly smiled and quickly gave the reconciliation conditions advocated by Monk Jueyuan, "The young eunuch is really a reasonable person!" Zen Master Jueyuan said that although the assassination was only the work of a few mad monks, Buddhism felt deeply guilty. Therefore, he was willing to represent Buddhism and donate the 2,000 acres of fertile land in Weinan County to the young eunuch as healing funds. ”

"Can he do it, Lord of the White Horse Temple?" It seems that I don't know how much the permanent right to use 2,000 acres of fertile land is? Zhang Qian gasped for a moment and asked faintly.

"This? Zen Master Jueyuan is highly respected, and he is not so bad that he can't restrain a White Horse Sect! Dou Huaizhen didn't think about it, so he gave a definite answer. Otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to find the old man to explain to the young eunuch for him. ”

"Then, how is the relationship between the doctor and this Zen master Jueyuan?" Zhang Qian's spirit was very weak, and he closed his eyes and gasped for a while before he asked again.

"When the old man was young, he used to travel with him." Dou Huaizhen replied very neatly at first, but soon hesitated, "Friendship, friendship was pretty good at that time." But, there are also some years that I haven't been in touch. Rest assured, the old man will definitely be on the side of the young eunuch. ”

After that, he himself felt tired, sighed, and quietly waited for Zhang Qian's decision.

As an official of the Tang Dynasty, no matter whether he is proud or frustrated, in this matter, he naturally has to stand on Zhang Qian's side. After all, the monks were able to assassinate Zhang Qian, a fifth-grade young eunuch, in a fit of rage today, and maybe they would make a lion's roar to him, a third-grade imperial historian, another day.

However, the debts he owed to Buddhism when he was young and frivolous forced him to find a way to pay them off. So, you can only give an ambiguous answer so as not to sink too deep.

"Thank you, Dr. Dou!" Zhang Qian crossed his hands and lay flat on the bed to salute Dou Huaizhen. Immediately, he closed his eyes and gasped for a moment before slowly giving an answer: "If Doctor Dou has a good relationship with Na Jueyuan, I will persuade him and the Buddhism behind him to make a cut with the White Horse Sect as soon as possible." The doctor also said just now that there are inevitably dead branches when the tree is big. If you have a dead branch, you are not afraid, and you can cut it off in time, otherwise, over time, insects will inevitably gnaw along the dead branch to the main trunk. ”

"You ......" I didn't expect Zhang Qian's counteroffer to be so ruthless, and he actually wanted to destroy the entire White Horse Sect. Suddenly, Dou Huaizhen felt a little unable to get off the stage. was about to rely on the old and sell the old, and forced Zhang Qian to lower the conditions, but suddenly there was a crazy dog barking in his ears, followed by a stumbling housekeeper who was anxious and rushed in.

"Report to the owner, a monk forcibly broke into the Liushen Flower Dew Workshop and set it on fire!" There was no need for Guo to ask angrily, the family just held on to the door frame and reported breathlessly.

"What?" Guo was so frightened that he rushed out of the house in three steps and two steps, and went straight to the fire.

Dou Huaizhen also shuddered in her heart, didn't care about putting any more pressure on Zhang Qian, followed Guo Nu's back, and rushed to the door. When I looked up, I saw that not far away, there were several houses, and smoke was billowing out.

"Report to the owner, the workshop was ordered not to close the window, and after the monk broke in over the wall, he threw the torch into the house and lit the alcohol inside!"

"Report to the owner, the fire is too big, and the housekeeper Ren has given an order to give up fighting the fire and make every effort to catch the evil monk who set the fire."

Two more housekeepers rushed to the house, panting and reporting to the house. At the same time, dozens of family members rushed over with their weapons, and slashed at the seven or eight bald heads who rushed left and right.

Zhang Qian pretended to be sick and couldn't move on the bed, and Guo Nu and Ren Cong didn't have time to make any arrangements. And the black smoke on the other side of the workshop is getting thicker and thicker. Immediately after, "Boom! With a bang, the flames soared three feet high, and the entire workshop turned into a huge fireball!

"Kill the group of monks who set the fire!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Kill them, kill them!"

……

Some men and women who worked on the Zhuangzi also rushed to the fire with wooden sticks, shovels, pickaxes and other things. The bald head, who was already outnumbered, was completely drowned in the angry crowd.

At this time, Dou Huaizhen couldn't say anything about pulling the shelf. With a long sigh, he turned around and returned to the ward, and saluted Zhang Qian, who was silent with his eyes closed in the quilt, and clasped his fists. "The young eunuch was frightened, Dou didn't expect that the monk of the White Horse Sect would not even listen to the words of Zen Master Jueyuan."

"This matter has nothing to do with Dr. Dou, the doctor is willing to come to see me, Zhang is grateful!" Zhang Qian grinned, reopened his eyes that were red from being stimulated by Jiang Shui, and returned the salute with a fist, "If possible, ask the doctor to bring a message to Zen Master Jueyuan for Zhang." If the White Horse Sect is not removed, Buddhism will be punished by heaven. I also hope that the Zen master will show the courage of a strong man to break his wrist as soon as possible, so as not to regret it in the future! ”

"This ......" Dou Huaizhen began to look forward and backward again, but after hesitating again and again, he still chose to nod lightly. Immediately, he explained to Ren Cong and left.

"Any new news coming in? Did you hurt anyone? How many were hurt? Zhang Qian was anxious, and when he heard Dou Huaizhen's footsteps out of the backyard, he immediately sat up on the bed and tore off the wet towel that had been sticking to his back.

"Thanks to the regulations that Senior Brother made when he first started making alcohol!" Ren Cong didn't dare to slack off, stepped forward quickly, and while wiping off the turmeric on his face with a towel, he responded in a low voice, "When I found that the alcohol caught fire, the two stewards in charge of the workshop immediately brought all the guys out." After the steward arrived, he also decisively chose to give up fighting the fire. Therefore, no one was burned by the fire, but the guy who was responsible for preventing outsiders from approaching was slashed by the monk more than a dozen, and at this moment the second senior brother was going to the rescue with his family. ”

"Damn it!" Zhang Qian cursed, gritting his teeth in anger.

"It's damn it. This time, we will not let the monk compensate us for the entire White Horse Temple, and we will never give up! Ren Cong, who has always been honest and kind, was also so angry that his face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth and shouted fiercely.

The steward who was in charge of the daily operation of the workshop withdrew with his men on his own initiative, which meant that the fire was completely out of control. If the fire is out of control, it means that all the alchemy pots in the workshop have been burned to scrap copper.

Although after the scrap copper is re-smelted and returned to the furnace, it can also be used to make a demon refining pot. The three brothers have money in hand, and now no one is short of this money. However, the flower dew workshop stopped production for one day, and the loss of the Liushen firm was hundreds of hangs, which would definitely make all shareholders of all sizes sweat in distress.

Thinking that the Chinese New Year was coming soon, it was the time when the Liushen Flower Dew, Wind Oil Essence, Wanjin Oil and other things could be sold on sale, and he couldn't care about being distressed. He pulled the sleeve of his tent with his hand and prayed in a low voice, "Senior brother, senior brother, the flower dew workshop can't be stopped." It's a big deal, while rebuilding the alchemy pot, we will buy some alcohol from the armory shop and come over for emergency. It's the end of the year soon, and the solid people in Chang'an City ......"

Halfway through his words, he suddenly noticed that Zhang Qian's face was wrong, and he quickly took the initiative to stop his mouth. Then, he looked at his senior brother and waited for the latter to make a decision.

"The alchemy pot is not busy rebuilding, if we want to build it, we will make a bigger and better one." didn't let Ren Cong wait too long, and soon, Zhang Qian made arrangements in a low voice, "First choose a sunny hillside that is inconvenient for watering in the fields under my name, and set up a big yard." Then, the brick and stone Lei house was used as a workshop. As for the parts of the new alchemy pot, I redrew it for you, and you go to the ordnance supervision to ask the craftsmen to help you make it, and the materials and wages will be paid from the firm according to the rules. ”

The factory should have been built a long time ago, but the products are not necessarily limited to the four things of alcohol, toilet water, wind oil essence and gold balm. Workers can no longer be limited to the slaves of Ren, Guo, and Zhang! As early as when the financial resources at hand allowed, Zhang Qian wanted to discuss these expansions with the major shareholders of Liushen Commercial Bank, but he was too busy to spare time. And today, the workshop was destroyed by fire, but it saved him all the trouble, just enough to make him make a new fuss on a blank piece of paper!

"Yes!" Ren Cong has always been obedient to Zhang Qian. Immediately took a pen and paper and wrote down his explanations one by one. Zhang Qian, on the other hand, got up and moved his muscles and bones on crutches, while slowly replenishing, "Alcohol for emergency use cannot be transferred from military supervision." In the past few days, I will teach you a simple method, you find an absolutely reliable person, find a house to secretly refine. It's a bit of a hassle, but it's definitely enough to make the flower dew. In addition, in the Ordnance Supervision and Armor Bureau, help me cast two bronze bells as soon as possible. I'll draw you the specifications when I go back and draw them to you. You also write down the materials, eight into eight copper, one into tin, and the rest is white lead. (Note: White lead, zinc was called white lead in ancient China)

"Yes!" Ren Cong didn't know why the senior brother wanted to cast the bell, and the material requirements were so strange. But he didn't ask much, just took a note seriously.

"Then help me order 300 catties of sulfur, 2,000 catties of saltpeter, and 300 catties of fine bamboo charcoal, and put them in the cellar together. I'm of great use! Nodding at Ren Cong, Zhang Qian continued to command in a low voice, and the cold light flashed in his red eyes.

Luo Huaizu is right, you can't just count on the court, you may not be able to count on it. And Zhang Qian can't sit still. Then, after the illness is finished and the paralyzing enemy trick has been used, his killing move should be prepared earlier.

"Smack!" I was taken aback by the murderous aura that suddenly emanated from my senior brother. Ren Cong's hand trembled, and the brush that was taking notes fell on the paper, instantly splashing a huge ink ball.

………………

"Bang!" Zhang Ruoxu put a pot of warm chrysanthemum white on the table, and his face was full of anger, "Zhang Yongzhao's house was set on fire by the monk, and the two of you are still in the mood to play chess here?" ”

"We're both civil servants, how can we help? What's more, Dou Huaizhen is still in his house and hasn't come out, we have to wait for this person to leave before we go to see him! Bi Gou rolled his eyelids and slowly placed a white character on the chessboard, "It's your turn, Ji Weng." ”

"Wait for me to take a sip of wine and warm my chest." He Zhizhang grabbed the wine jug, poured one for himself, responded with a smile, and deliberately didn't look at Zhang Ruoxu's anxious face, "Don't worry, chess has just begun, if you want to win or lose, it's still early!" ”

"Then I'll have a bite too!" Bi Gou also poured himself a glass, took a sip, and shook his head gently, "Zhang Xiaoyou is a cautious person, the old man doesn't believe it, he was just assassinated yesterday, and today Zhuangzi has not strengthened his precautions at all." ”

"Humph!" Zhang Ruoxu said that the two of them were not enough, so angry that he stomped his feet and turned to leave. However, before the two of them finished a game of chess, they rushed back angrily, "The fire has been extinguished!" You two old things have no conscience, but the people around you do. Helped Zhang Yongzhao together, caught the arson monk, and didn't let any of them slip through the net! ”

"It should be so, in the past few months, he has been building roads, draining silt, building bridges, and paying wages to the tenants of Zhuangzi." As if he had expected this a long time ago, He Zhizhang raised his eyelids and clipped Zhang Ruoxu, and the old god added on the ground, "Such a good owner, where can I find a second one?" If the dealers don't help him, will they still help those monks who curse people to hell?! ”

"But his liquor workshop and flower dew workshop are also burned down!" Zhang Ruoxu grabbed the wine jug and refused to share it with two old friends who "have no conscience", "I don't have much to hide, so I have to save some to drink." The Zhao family suffered a catastrophe, and at this moment, I don't have the face to go to the door to beg for wine again. ”

"It's like you've been there less before!" Bi Gou snatched a handful of wine jugs and didn't snatch them back, rolling his eyelids and sneering.

"I just asked him for a few barrels of wine, but you asked for his windmill and machine well, and it was all thanks to his merits that he was able to be recruited back from the degrading road and return to Chang'an!" Zhang Ruoxuan was concerned about it, and he choked back angrily.

Therefore, when he encountered something, the old man took Ji Weng and came to visit him together. It's just that I saw Dou Huaizhen's car from a distance, and I didn't want to go with this person, so I went to your house to take shelter for a while! Bi Gou was not angry, and responded with a smile while continuing to fall.

"What's the use of just visiting? At this moment, he needs someone to stand up and support him! Zhang Ruoxu held the wine jug and threatened for a long time, but he didn't see anyone relent, so he had to take the initiative to put the wine jug down again, "Long Weng, I arrived early, I can't help." But you, after all, have been a member of the middle school, stand up and ......"

"Don't worry, don't worry, the main owner behind me hasn't shown up yet, I stand up now, and I'm going to lose!" Bi Gou glanced at him and continued to shake his head slightly, "You can also relax, although Yongzhao is young, he is not so easy to be defeated." What's more, he has a soft temperament, and it will be very good for him to withstand pressure a few more times. ”

"You ......" Zhang Ruoxu said that he was not enough, and he was so angry that he was panting.

Afraid that he would hurt his body if he was too anxious, He Zhizhang knocked the chessboard with a chess piece, and helped explain with a smile: "Shi Weng, you really care about it." How could Ryuong sit idly by? If it weren't for Long Weng secretly making a move, with Zhang Shilang's current ability, how could it be so easy to lead Yongzhao out of the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion?! ”

"You mean, it was Long Weng and Zhang Shilang who teamed up to rescue Yongzhao?" Zhang Ruoxu was slightly stunned when he heard this, and his eyes instantly widened.

"Tomorrow morning, there will be a royal history to persuade His Majesty to reduce the number of monks and nuns in the world, and reduce the scale of land occupied by Buddhist temples. The Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs all have Shangshu and Shilang seconding. Finally teasing Zhang Ruoxu enough, Bi Gou glared at him and slowly added. As for whether the saint is willing to accept this advice, the old man can only resign himself to fate. In short, the old man didn't just watch the excitement from the side as you said! ”

"Ahh

Afraid that his guilt was not enough, Bi Gou smiled and continued to add: "The old man estimates that it will not work." Although the Holy One has the intention to suppress the Buddha, the Holy Queen's heart to worship the Buddha is very sincere. At present, Zong Chuke and Ji Chu Ne, as well as many other officials, also have a large amount of money to be handed over to the Buddhist temple to help lend money for profit. If the dispute between the two sides is fruitless, Yongzhao will become a support point for both sides. Alas——, old man doesn't know, can he bear it?! ”