The fire burned for more than an hour before it gradually went out. Ying Tianshen Dragon Emperor Li Xian's face also changed five or six times in a row in more than an hour before he finally regained his calm.

After restoring calm, the first thing he did was to give an order to the Hundred Cavalry Division, ordering the latter to find out the cause of the fire at the White Horse Seondeok Temple at any cost, and if someone deliberately set the fire, the instigator would be severely punished regardless of his official position.

Immediately, a holy decree was issued, and from now on, five or more people in Gyeonggi will be punished for the crime of treason.

After receiving the order, the Hundred Horsemen Division immediately launched an operation, surrounding the White Horse Shandeok Temple, which had been turned into ruins, and digging three feet into the ground from the outside to the inside.

And the holy decree that was hastily issued was also unimpeded in Zhongshu Province and Menxia Province this time. The successive murders and arson cases made all the bigwigs in the dynasty, regardless of faction, feel the danger of a complete collapse of order. Therefore, not asking who is right and wrong, and forcibly suppressing the intensifying conflict is the top priority for the bigwigs.

After the decree was issued, the effect was almost immediate. The "good men and women" who were originally indignant because of the fire of the White Horse Shande Temple immediately gave up the idea of going to Zhangjiazhuang to ask for the guilt together, and returned to their respective homes with a scolding.

As for whether he went home to tie the villain, or wrote Zhang Qian's name and hung it on the target to shoot arrows, as long as it didn't make the security of the Jingshi worse, of course Yousi couldn't manage it so widely.

Because of Zhang Qian's assassination, some of the children of officials and eunuchs who were extremely hostile to Buddhism, as well as some forces who wanted to secretly add fuel to the fire or even fish in troubled waters, also decisively adjusted their countermeasures and no longer put the plans they had planned into action.

Ying Tianshen Dragon Emperor Li Xian'er is soft-hearted and has no idea about doing things, which is almost known to everyone. Ying Tianshenlong Emperor Li Xian did not have enough control over the court, and the government decree would be discounted by half when it came out of the palace, and all the forces in the capital were also well aware of this. However, as long as Li Xian is not dead, he will always be the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. If any force provokes him to launch a ruthless attack, the end will definitely be ruined.

"Master Guo, I'm offended. Please take out the production records and whereabouts of gunpowder in recent months, so that you can clear the suspicion of the weapons superintendent! "After the conflict is forcibly suppressed, the case still has to be investigated. Therefore, just after noon, Zhou Run, the captain of the Hundred Cavalry Division, took a number of experts from the Criminal Department and Dali Temple to station in the most suspected ordnance prison.

"Thank you, Captain Zhou. Just let it go. Someone came, and the account books, and the records of entering and leaving the warehouse were all moved by Captain Zhou. Then take the brothers under Captain Zhou to see the output of gunpowder at each hour! It is rare that Guo Nu did not deliberately fan his arm to smoke people, but cooperated very obediently.

The experts from all parties who came with Zhou Run, the captain of the Hundred Cavalry Division, looked at each other, and decisively began to act separately, resolutely not letting go of any clues. However, to the great disappointment of some well-intentioned people in the team, the accounts of the Ordnance Supervisor could not be clearer.

From the first day of gunpowder (alcohol) production to the morning of the same day, every catty of finished products is counted, registered, and stored by more than two people. And every three days, he took the initiative to hand over to the military department. So far, the stock of gunpowder (alcohol) in the Ordnance Superintendent's own warehouse has never exceeded 1,000 catties, making it difficult for anyone to take a few hundred catties and set fire to the White Horse Shande Temple without knowing it.

"May I ask Master Guo, what are these zigzag symbols?" Finally, someone found something strange in the attachment of the ledger, and it was like a treasure. quickly held it in front of Guo Nu and asked with a sneer.

"This, we call a simplified number, my senior brother found it convenient to use, so he used it for bookkeeping. At present, not only the Gunpowder Administration, but the entire Ordnance Superintendent is using it. Specifically, there is a mark next to the number. If you don't believe me, you can also ask the king's signature, or the commissions and records of the various offices. Guo Nu glanced at the other party like a fool and explained with a smile.

Wang Jun, the director of the Gunpowder Administration, used to be a doctor of arithmetic, and not long after he was transferred to the Ordnance Prison, he was far from being Zhang Qian's hardcore descendant. And the ordnance prison is so big, it is impossible for Zhang Qian to cover the sky with one hand. Therefore, there were immediately experts in handling the case, who copied the "simplified" figures, and went to the various offices to find the records for verification.

As a result, they were increasingly disappointed. The zigzag symbol, as Guo Nu said, is a simplistic number. And with this simplistic numerical bookkeeping, it's clearer than any previous text. Almost all of the ordnance supervisors took the initiative to ask the young eunuch Zhang Qian to teach him, and the latter "reluctantly" passed on this mastery to everyone. There was no suspicion of any secret bookkeeping at all.

"The gunpowder burned, and the smell of alcohol was very strong. Even if it's two streets away, you can smell it! "Seeing that everyone had inspected the weapons and dropped the bottom, they found nothing. In Guo Nu's words, he immediately began to hold a gun with a stick, "It's impossible that no one put out the fire last night, just watch the White Horse Shande Temple burn there, right?" How many immoral things did the monk have to do to make his neighbors want to burn the temple to ruins? If someone is fighting a fire, you may wish to ask them if they smell alcohol in the middle of the night. If you don't smell it, the fire will be strange. ”

"Master Guo's statement makes sense, it makes sense!" Zhou Run and the others couldn't catch the handle of the ordnance supervisor, and they didn't have the confidence to quarrel with Guo Nu, so they agreed with a red face.

That Guo was angry, but he refused to accept it when he saw it, smiled, and pouted and ridiculed: "As the saying goes, catch the wind and catch the shadow, catch the wind and catch the shadow." You have to catch the wind before you can catch the shadows! If you don't even smell the smell of alcohol, is it too hasty to suspect that the people of the Ordnance Supervisor set the fire with alcohol? ”

"This ......" everyone was speechless when asked, and closed the team with a red face. Guo Nu still felt unhappy, and under the pretext of sending people out, he caught up with the knife again, "Don't burn it in the morning, don't burn it in the evening, my senior brother's Zhuangzi was just set on fire by the monks the day before, and the fire burned to the monks' own territory the next night!" Isn't that a bit of a coincidence? Don't be a bitter ploy, right? If I were you, I would first check if there was any possibility that the monk would set fire to himself? ”

"Master Guo rest assured, rest assured! We will definitely not miss the places that should be checked. Ashamed and annoyed, the crowd coped with it, jumped on their mounts, and hurried away. lest he walk slowly, Guo Nu will come out of his mouth again and say something that will embarrass everyone even more.

There was also nothing to gain, and there was also a team that went to Zhangjiazhuang to investigate the case. This team is of a higher level, led by Zheng Kejun, deputy director of the Hundred Cavalry Division, followed by Wu Jing, Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Huang Jian, a waiter of the Criminal Department, Yin Xinti, Shaoyin of Jingzhao, and several investigation masters from various departments.

However, after seeing Zhang Qian's miserable appearance of the blood-soaked bandage because of the cracking of the wound, and then seeing the ruins of the Six Gods Workshop, most of the officials in the team were unwilling to involve Zhang Qian in the fire of the White Horse Shande Temple.

Unless Zhang Qian really knows the legendary miraculous feats, it is impossible for him to drag an injured leg, climb over the wall of Chang'an City in the middle of the night, and splash at least hundreds of catties of fire-causing things on the main hall of the White Horse Shande Temple.

And more than seventy percent of the Zhang family's family members are now borrowed from the Guo family, and it is impossible for a large group of people to enter and exit in the middle of the night, but none of those borrowed family members have heard the slightest movement.

What's more, the Baiqi Division and Jingzhao Mansion are also around Zhangjiazhuang, and they have arranged their own hidden piles. According to the reports of those secret piles, last night, at Zhang Qian's home, Sensei said that a large team of people was dispatched, and not even a single mouse showed its head. If you want to burn down the White Horse Shande Temple, unless Zhang Qian can pinch the trick and recite a mantra.

"The old man and the others came here today to prove the innocence of Young Eunuch Zhang!" Since Zhang Qian's evidence of the case could not be found, he had to give Zhang Qian an explanation. In the team, the oldest and highest-ranking civil official, Wu Jing, the young secretary of Dali Temple, let out his old face, smiled and said in front of the sickbed, "Although Young Eunuch Zhang is recuperating from his injuries with peace of mind, the two cases of assassination and arson on Zhuangzi will definitely be investigated by Dali Temple to the end." ”

"Thank you!" Zhang Qian knew the news of the arson of the White Horse Shande Temple in Chang'an City, which is close to the Yamen of Jingzhao Mansion, early this morning, so it is not surprising that Zhuangzi from the house will investigate the case, smiled, and gave up his hand with difficulty on the bed.

"You're welcome, Young Eunuch Zhang doesn't have to be polite! This is within the responsibility of the old man and others! Wu Jing, the young secretary of Dali Temple, saw that Zhang Qian's appearance was really pitiful, and hurriedly waved his hand vigorously, "After the old man goes back, he will report the results of today's verification to the saint to know." Rest assured, as long as you keep your body right, no one can splash dirty water on you! ”

This is easy to be ambiguous when understood. It may be said that Zhang Qian is innocent. At the same time, it may also be saying that if Zhang Qian's body is not correct, sooner or later he will show his feet. However, Zhang Qian took it all as the first one, and just thanked him again. Then ask for leave to help him greet the guests at home, and send off all the officials for himself.

Zheng Kejun has long known that the White Horse Temple is not burned by Zhang Qian, so he came to Zhangjiazhuang purely to go through the motions. Wu Jing is a square person, and he doesn't want to pick a bone in the egg. Only Jingzhao Mansion Shaoqing Xin Ti, Wu Zi was unwilling to leave like this, thought about it for a while, and stepped forward to ask: "Young Eunuch Zhang seems to have sent someone to buy a lot of sulfur and saltpeter yesterday, I don't know why?" Even if ordinary people use these two things in medicine, a few taels of money is enough, so why buy hundreds of catties? ”

"Make a Divine Weapon!" Zhang Qian didn't even think about it, so he told him the truth, "Before Zhang was injured, he was thinking about a weapon that could greatly enhance the field strength of my Tang Dynasty soldiers. Unexpectedly, he was assassinated by the evil monk, and he could not continue to work in the ordnance prison for the time being. So I ordered someone to buy some materials and ponder them at home first. This kind of thing has always depended on luck, and it would be good to succeed once in a hundred times. So the materials were wasted, but it made Xin Shaoyin smile. ”

"Oh, I see!" Xin Ti was skeptical when he heard it, but he could only pretend to be suddenly aware and nodded. I was about to find some other excuses, knocking on the side, but suddenly, I saw Ren Quan, the housekeeper of the Zhang Mansion, breaking in desperately. "The owner, the owner, there is a monk named Huiming outside, and he said that he would do seven days and seven nights of rituals and eliminate demons!!"

"Just do it, what's wrong with us!" didn't understand why Ren Quan behaved so gaffe, Zhang Qian glanced at him and responded casually.

As a graduate student from the 21st century, he doesn't believe in this kind of trick of sticking to a villain and drawing a grass target. So, don't bother to be distracted by this at all.

However, the housekeeper Ren Quan was angry, and he didn't care who the guests around him were, the size of the official position, his eyes were red, and he added in a loud voice, "The owner of the village thinks it's none of our business, but the monk doesn't think so." Their altar was built on the slope of a hill diagonally opposite our Zhuangzi. The prayer flags have been erected, and hundreds of monks are sitting under the prayer flags, reciting crooked scriptures in front of our house! ”

"Huh?" Now, whether it is Zheng Kejun, Wu Jing, Huang Jian or Xin Ti, they all have no intention of continuing to stay in Zhang's house. Tie Qing said goodbye to Zhang Qian with a blue face, and then led his men and horses to go straight to the small hill opposite Zhangjiazhuang.

This hillside originally belonged to another squire surnamed Liu, and it was only 1,200 or 300 steps away from Zhang Qian's courtyard, and it was even closer to the boundary of Zhangjiazhuang, only 3120 steps at most. There is a nameless river between the two families, because Zhang Qian has just paid out of his own pocket to renovate the wooden bridge over the river, and the two sides are extremely convenient to travel between the two sides.

However, after the carriage and horses crossed the bridge, the road immediately became much narrower and more rugged, and some mud pits and big stones that could not be seen at all on the side of Zhangjiazhuang also appeared frequently, making Zheng Kejun, Wu Jing and Xin Ti all embarrassed.

In a blink of an eye, I came to the vicinity of the altar, but found that it was already crowded with people. But it was the tenants of Zhangjiazhuang and some people whose families were helping in Zhang's house, carrying hoes and forks, and the like, who were reasoning with a group of good men holding prayer beads. Because no one has stepped forward to take the lead, the conflict between the two sides is still limited to the stage of questioning and insulting each other, and it is far from fighting.

Although Zhangjiazhuang is in Weinan County, it is only more than ten miles away from Chang'an City. If there is a fight here, although the first responsibility has to be borne by the Weinan County Ling Fang Gong, Jingzhao Mansion is also indispensable to eat. Therefore, Yin Xinti, the young man of Jingzhao Mansion, did not dare to slack off, and immediately ordered his subordinates to separate the two sides of the conflict with sticks, followed closely, turned over and dismounted, and ran under the prayer flags step by step.

"Amitabha!" Before he could open his mouth to scold, a loud Buddha horn suddenly sounded in mid-air, followed by a monk in his fifties with kind eyebrows, who quickly approached, "The family teacher is doing something, please stop it." So as not to collide with the Buddha and provoke the punishment of the upper body. ”

"Who are you? Who told you to do things in this place? Disperse quickly, otherwise, Hugh blames the official for ordering you to be forcibly dispersed! "Xin Tiping has always dealt with monks, how can he stand the other party being so arrogant? With his eyes up, the majesty of his whole body shot out.

"Amitabha!" The senior monk was intimidated by the official threat and took half a step back, regained his stable figure, and reported to his home, "Dare to teach Shangguan to know that the poor monk Dingtai is the abbot of Weinan Baimashan Temple." The family teacher is the founder of Dunhuang County Prince, the first doctor of Luoyang Ximing Temple, and the law name Huiming. ”

"This ......" Xin Tilen sighed, and cold sweat was dripping down his back.

Dealing with Buddhism all the year round, how could he not know the meaning of the three titles of "Dunhuang Founding County Prince, Zhengyi Doctor, and the First Seat of Luoyang Ximing Temple"?

The first title is the current Yingtian Shenlong Tianzi, in February of the second year of Shenlong, in order to thank him for the support and protection of the Buddhist monks, he specially gave the title to the benevolent princes. There are a total of nine in the whole Tang Dynasty, and the lowest ones are all founding county dukes. (Note: The matter of the monk sealing the state is seen in the Zizhi Tongjian.) ）

The second title represents the order of rank among the nine. The first merit of Huifan is a doctor from the third grade of silver Qingguanglu. Doctor Zhengyi is the fourth product, followed by Doctor Yinqing Guanglu.

The third title represents who is the backer behind this person. Na Ximing Temple is one of the three Buddhist temples that the queen paid to rebuild in Luoyang. With the two temples of Shengshan and Zhongtian, it is called the three holy places of Buddhism. Just last month, the golden body of the Buddha statue in Shengshan Temple was inaugurated, and Empress Wei's brother was personally present to congratulate him. The impeachment of Shengshan Temple cost 400,000 yuan, and the source of the money is unknown. But the seal was left in the middle and not issued. Immediately, Wei Chuangong himself overturned the carriage on the way to the court, and he is still sick at home.

When he was stunned and at a loss, there was a crisp bell in his ears. "When, dang, dang, when ......", followed by hundreds of monks turning the rosary at the same time, chanting the scriptures aloud, "four baskets of pears, clamping the, and the mud ...... of the basket", one by one, how solemn and solemn the treasure elephant is.

"If you want to recite the scriptures, where you can't recite them, how can you face other people's homes?" Xin Ti was so noisy that his head was like a fight, but he was also present with Wu Jing, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Huang Jian, the servant of the Criminal Department, and Zheng Kejun, the deputy head of the Baiqi Division, who didn't want to embarrass Jingzhao Mansion too much, and discussed with the other party in a low voice with beads of sweat on his head.

Before the words fell, the surrounding bells and chimes suddenly rang in unison, and immediately, more than a dozen "Demon King Kongs" with sallow faces lifted wooden pillars more than three feet thick, one after another, into the deep pits dug in advance around the prayer flags. Immediately, hundreds of male believers lined up from the other side of the hillside carrying logs, and stacked the good timbers neatly around the pillars.

Looking at those "Demon Vajra", one by one, they neither chanted nor spoke, like soulless clay puppets, and the wood sent to the believers was staggered and hooked up with the pillars that had just been erected. I don't know what kind of magic method was used, but without relying on any nails and tenons, the horizontal and vertical timbers were firmly combined in one place.

In just a few dozen breaths, a lotus-shaped altar base made of pure wood appeared in the outline. The young Yin Xin of Jingzhao Mansion was dumbfounded, and he couldn't say anything deterrent.

And the high monk Dingtai, with a one-handed Buddhist stunt, shocked Xin Tihou. Immediately, he became kind again, respectfully saluted the latter, and explained seriously: "Shangguan, please allow the poor monk to argue." It's not that poor monks and tutors have to chant sutras in front of other people's homes, but that the landscape here is extremely sinister, and if there is no Buddhism to suppress it, evil spirits will be born in the future. Therefore, at the invitation of the local good men and women in Weinan, the family teacher came thousands of miles away to hold a festival to subdue demons and eliminate demons! ”

Lest Xin Ti not believe it, he paused, and added aloud. "As for the hillside where the altar is located, it was originally owned by a layman surnamed Liu. He is well aware of the righteousness, and he has approached the 300 acres of hillside, all of which have been donated to the White Horse Temple. Before the poor monk came, he had already reported for the delivery of the title deed at the county office. ”

"The host is calculating!" For the first time in his life, he felt that the people in Buddhism were so hateful, and Yin Xinti, the young man of Jingzhao Mansion, was so angry that he gritted his teeth.

What is the deep righteousness and donated 300 acres of hillside to Buddhism? This kind of talk will also coax the foolish men and women around him! With Xin Ti's years of experience in handling cases, it can be seen at a glance that it is a monk from the White Horse Temple in Weinan who took advantage of the contradiction between the owner surnamed Liu and Zhang Qian to deceive the hillside.

And the reason why the owner surnamed Liu had a conflict with Zhang Qian is probably because Zhang Qian spent money to help the people and tenants near his home, and the owner surnamed Liu had no money to follow up, or was reluctant to spend that money!

"Amitabha!" Monk Nadingtai didn't care about the anger of Jingzhao Shaoyin Xinti, and chanted the Buddha name again. Behind him, the bell chimes chirped in unison, and the sound of chanting was like the sound of a frog before a thunderstorm night, "Four baskets of pears, clamping the, and the mud ...... the basket."

To the sound of frogs, groups of good men continued to carry the timber up the hill to add height to the altar. A group of letter girls carried loaches, crucian carp, tortoises, hibernating toads and other things in wooden barrels, walked to the river, and released them casually.

"Wait for yourself, the Holy God has just issued an order, and more than five people fighting each other with weapons is equivalent to rebellion!" I really didn't have the strength to look at it anymore, so I dropped a cruel sentence, and the young Yin Xin of Jingzhao Mansion turned around and left.

"Shangguan, don't worry, my Buddha is merciful, quit killing and killing people, and only punish demons!" The monk Dingtai sent a few steps, bowed down, and his face was full of compassion.

Around it, all the good men and women carried the wood, and those who went to release the animals went to release them, and none of them held weapons. And near the altar behind him, all the monks only held prayer beads, and did not carry an inch of iron on their bodies.

"Chief Zheng, is it just that the monks are so unscrupulously tossing?" Wu Jing, the young secretary of Dali Temple, saw all the experiences of Xin Ti's defeat and retreat, and his beard jumped in anger. However, he was suffering from the fact that Dali Temple had no right to deal with local affairs, so he had to blush and ask Zheng Kejun, the deputy head of the Hundred Cavalry Division, for help.

"Mr. Zheng, the monks are too much!" Huang Jian, the servant of the Criminal Department, has less power, and he can only help out angrily beside him.

However, Zheng Kejun, the deputy head of the Hundred Cavalry Division, knew the depth of the water behind this matter and resolutely refused to come forward. While turning his mount, he said indifferently: "Dozens of archers are sent out at random in the local area, the bridge head is controlled, and the things that can be solved by prohibiting the two sides to go back and forth are not slaughtered?" Gone, gone, go back and continue to track down the assassination, it's not worth wasting effort here. ”

"Humph!" Wu Jing and Huang Jian were so angry that they were smoking, but they were helpless to take Zheng Kejun.

And that Jingzhao Mansion Shao Yin Xinti instantly felt that his eyes lit up. Immediately called two cronies and subordinates, and asked them to take twenty bad people each to seal the wooden bridge.

The people who came to Zhangjiazhuang to theorize found that the back road was cut off, and they were worried that they would be outnumbered in the conflict, so they had to collect shovels and wooden forks and return to the other side of the river. And the good men, believers, and monks near the altar do not chase and kill, but only chant the sutras, carry the wood, and release the living, but they are also in order.

"Alas-" Standing on the riverbank and looking at it stunned for a while, Wu Jing, the young secretary of Dali Temple, had to admit that Zheng Kejun's idea had a certain amount of truth. He sighed and staggered to his carriage.

As a veteran who has been up and down in the sea for many years, how could he not guess that Zheng Kejun refused his request for help because he didn't want to get involved in the whirlpool of right and wrong? However, he can guess and guess, and even understands Zheng Kejun's choice, but he always feels that he has been stuffed into a mess of mud, so blocked that he can't even breathe.

The Wupin officials were cursed by a group of monks blocking the door, but Jingzhao Mansion and the Hundred Cavalry Division were afraid of the forces behind the monks and did not dare to stand up for the officials. Whose Datang is this Datang? The majesty of the imperial court has been trampled on in such a way, what benefits can the civil and military officials get from it?!

Just when Venus was so angry that the Venus in front of him was rising, suddenly, on the road on the other side of the river, there was another burst of people shouting and neighing. Looking at it intently, Wu Jing, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, saw Princess Anle's full set of honor guards and stopped at the gate of Zhang Qian's house. In the center, a silver-clad car slowly stopped, and a woman with a whole body like coals jumped down from the car.

"Princess? How did she get here? Not only Wu Jing, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, but also Zheng Kejun and Xin Ti, who were riding horses and preparing to return to Chang'an, were also stunned. looked at the figure of Princess Anle blankly, and under the guidance of Shaoguo Gong Duan Huaijian, she stepped straight into the gate of the Zhang family!