The appointed time is instantaneous.

Everything in the camp has been settled properly, with Hou Dagui and Xu Hui presiding, Zhao Dangshi is very relieved. On Chinese New Year's Eve, there was also a small-scale celebration in Zhao's camp, and he and the elite of the night did not collect a total of six horses out of the night and went southeast. Hurry up, and in the early morning of the third day of the first month, arrive at Juyun Temple.

From Daju to Chungju, passing through many prefectures and counties, one carelessness may attract the attention of officials and soldiers. Zhao Dangshi had been prepared for this for a long time, and only brought the elite five horsemen who did not collect at night, including Zhou Wenhe, and the scale was very small. His face is delicate and handsome, and he wears a straight shirt and a Tang scarf, and with a little decoration, he is as elegant as a Confucian student, and those who do not know it can not imagine that this seemingly well-mannered young man is actually a commander who holds a male army and kills decisively.

The five people in his entourage were all dressed as pale heads and horses, so although the six horsemen were interrogated by the sentry cards along the way, none of the officers and soldiers doubted the identity of the noble son in front of them, and they couldn't imagine that the famous Dakou in the east of Sichuan would calmly pass under his nose.

In the past, there was an endless stream of good men and women who came to pray for incense in Juyun Temple, but today, the mountain gate is closed, clean and quiet. A notice was posted outside, saying that it was the rectification of the temple, but Zhao Dangshi knew that it must have been Qin's greeting to the host of the temple in advance and avoiding outsiders.

Several people dismounted, Zhou Wenhe knocked on the door, and a little novice poked his head out of the crack in the door, with an unhappy expression, it seems that he has been disturbed by others before.

"Master instructed that the temple should be rectified today and no outsiders will be accepted."

Without waiting for him to close the door, Zhao Dangshi greeted him and said gently: "Little Master, we are not outsiders, but guests who have been invited to come. ”

Xiao Shami looks like he is eight or nine years old at most, and he doesn't know the war situation, let alone the identity of Zhao Dangshi and others. Hearing the word "Dazhou", he slapped his head, opened his eyes and said, "Oh! It turns out that you are the 'Dazhou guest' that Master said he was coming...... It's okay to come in, but you'll have to wait for me to show Master. ”

"It's okay, I'm tired." Zhao Dangshi kept smiling.

After the little novice's round eyes looked at Zhao Dangshi and the others again, he bowed and saluted, and then closed the mountain gate again.

Zhao Dangshi heard a subordinate whispering dissatisfiedly: "Huangkou Ruzi, there are many rules." Then Zhengse admonished: "The pure land of Buddhism is not comparable to the secular garden, and after entering, it is not noisy and domineering, and there is a fierce face." ”

Everyone said, "I can save it." ”

Not long after, the mountain gate "squeaked" open, and it was still the little novice who appeared, clasped his hands together and saluted Zhao Dangshi and said, "Donor, please come in." ”

Zhao Dangshi also smiled in return, and everyone pulled their legs to leave, the little novice suddenly panicked, rushed out of the door, and stretched out his arms to block: "Slow!" ”

Everyone was puzzled, and Zhao Dangshi and Yan asked, "Little Master, is there something wrong?" ”

Xiao Shami replied: "Forgive me, what the master said, only let the donor enter alone, and the rest can wait in the pavilion outside the temple." ”

"What?" Zhou Wenhe waited for the night to not accept the elite, and frowned when he heard this. The temple is secluded, I don't know the details, who knows who is waiting inside. Their mission here is to guard, and they refuse to let Zhao Dangshi enter alone.

Seeing that Zhao Dangshi hesitated, Zhou Wenhe leaned into his ear and said, "It's just a child, how can he stop us when we go in together?" ”

Zhao Dangshi didn't answer, looked at the little novice, and saw that he seemed to be aware of the confusion, but he didn't mean to retreat for a minute, he still blocked the crack of the door, secretly surprised, and thought about it: "Yes." If an adult monk is sent to guard the door in this temple, I can break in. Now just send this little novice to face it, no matter how strong I am, I will fall into a bad reputation for bullying the small. "At this time, I can also pretend to be angry and turn my head away, hehe, if so, I am afraid that I will be in the right way." The matter has come to this point, and it doesn't matter if there is a tiger on his mountain or not, he must do it. ”

Si Bi, ignoring Zhou Wenhe's indignation, said to everyone: "In this case, you will rest outside." Outside matters, Lao Zhou, you decide. I went to see the Zen master. ”

His words have two meanings. The first layer, which is easy to understand, is to give an order to let the five people stay outside the temple. This is a military order, and even if Zhou Wenhe and others are not at ease, they can only obey it. The second layer is more obscure. The little novice didn't know that Zhou Wenhe was the head of the five, Zhao Dangshi emphasized at this time, Zhou Wenhe was clever, and immediately understood that this was a reminder that they should also be fully prepared outside the temple, and they should react immediately if there is a change.

After the little novice let Zhao Dangshi in, he closed the door and closed the latch. Zhao Dangshi didn't care, and looked forward, only to see pine and cypress standing, grass and snow mixed, and a path winding in the middle, leading to a secluded place. On the other side, there was another bell, which was thick and long, giving people a sense of solemnity.

"Please lead the way, the little master."

There didn't seem to be many monks in the temple, and Zhao Dangshi followed Xiao Shami all the way, only to see a middle-aged monk picking grass in the vegetable furrow. He thought to himself: "Unlike other monasteries, there are no monks as many as cows, nor are there thousands of acres of anointed fields. It's just self-sufficiency in purity and studying the Dharma. Qing Xiu is like this, no wonder there will be a famous great Zen master. ”

This idea is not unfounded. Zhao Dangshi grew up in northern Shaanxi, and returned to Sichuan, Shaanxi, Jin, Henan and other places for many years, and he is well aware of the disadvantages of Tesada in various places. Although the Ming Dynasty was not as revered as Buddha as in the Mengyuan and Yuan dynasties, Buddhism was still very prosperous. In the early days, the Ming court was quite strict about the issuance of degrees, and usually conducted Buddhist examinations similar to the imperial examinations to verify qualifications. However, in the middle and late periods, firstly, the management was lax and the entries were deserted, secondly, the magistrates had many believers and advocated Buddhism, and thirdly, every time there was a great famine, plague and other natural disasters, the imperial court often used to sell the degree to collect wealth and relief, so the Buddhist temples continued to take root and sprout in all parts of the country, attracting disciples, and the weather has not been inferior to the previous dynasty.

Monastic monks generally rely on donations from good men and women or on small farms to support themselves, but with the increase in the number of people, the usual means can no longer meet the cost of the monastery. Therefore, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the means of "giving monks to the field" for the big temple gradually spread to various monasteries. The temple continues to expand its name by various means, with more than 10,000 acres and tens of acres of small ones, and most of them are fertile land. These fields were completely beyond the needs of the monastery, and even so much that the monks in the monastery could not cultivate them all, resulting in many tenants who depended on the monastery. The elder of the temple actually became the landlord. Some of them even colluded with officials, did not think about studying Buddhism, eliminating evil and promoting good, opposed the fish and flesh, and did their best to extort their abilities, and the monasteries have also become places to hide filth and dirt.

In the Ming Dynasty, the central government's annual income was pitiful, and there were inherent local gentry and officials who exploited it layer by layer, and the feudal kings and local teradas who did not pay taxes were really appendaged. It's a pity that the authorities don't want to get to the root of the problem, but instead step up the apportionment of a large number of taxes and salaries to the people, putting the cart before the horse, but drinking to quench their thirst and gradually enter the abyss.

In contrast, although this Juyun Temple was also funded by the government, its presiding master, Guangzhen Zen Master, seems to be a person who is clean and self-conscious, and does not forget his original intention. The world is declining, it is rare that this place can still maintain a halal, Qin's choice of the meeting venue here, so that Zhao Dangshi's impression of it can't help but be a little better.

The temple is built on a hill and the main hall is located on a hill. Looking up, not far away, a courtyard is covered with snow, simple and clumsy, a large incense burner stands firmly in front of the door, and it is the Daxiong Treasure Palace.

After turning a corner, two masson pines stand upright on the left and right, and climb up the bluestone steps in between, and you can reach the main hall. Zhao Dangshi was about to get up when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a giant man standing on the stone steps. In the blink of an eye, I went to look for the little novice, but he did not know when he had quietly disappeared.

The giant man had short hair and monk's robes, and he was a person in the temple by sight, staring straight down with a pair of eyes, and his face was hateful. Zhao Dangshi didn't say anything, but when he didn't see it, he lowered his head and continued to walk, only two steps up, and the giant man suddenly spoke: "Who is coming, sign up and listen to the family!" When the sound started, it was like a spring thunder exploding in mid-air.

Zhao Dangshi was shocked: "Don't guard against this small temple, there is also a Lu Zhishen!" Although he was surprised, he pretended to be indifferent: "Master, in the disciple of Zhao in Dazhou, he boasted the name of the old man in the Mu Temple, and made an appointment with him, and he came to pay his respects this time." "Blowing ten thousand old people, Guangzhen Zen Master self-proclaimed.

Unexpectedly, the giant man snorted and said: "The host of my family is young and virtuous, and he is highly educated, and there are many people who want to come and see it from near and far, and it is the Ming Mansion and Tangzun in the state and county, and it is not that you can see it when you see it." What are you going to do, you're going to get in? ”

Zhao Dangshi's face did not change: "In the next non-official eunuch, a cloth cloth." ”

When the giant man heard this, he laughed twice and said, "Then you can't enter." ”

"I was invited by the Zen master to come, why can't I enter?"

"Invitation, you say? Let's take the Zen master's codex. ”

"The Codex was left at home and never brought."

"Then you can't go in."

"If I insist on going in, what should you do?" Zhao Dangshi was a little annoyed when he saw that the giant man was unrelenting.

The giant man glanced at Zhao Dangshi, yawned and said, "You look like a weak willow in the wind, and you still want to go wild in front of the Sprinkle family?" I advise you to retreat in the face of difficulties, and not to do it in vain. ”

Zhao Dangshi is five feet three inches tall, one meter eight in later generations, plus years of military hardship, broad shoulders and thin waist, thick chest and back, and he is definitely outstanding among ordinary people. In the Zhao camp, Hao Shaoqi was born as a standard-bearer. The person who holds the flag is mostly a tall and strong person, so he is five feet five inches tall and has been regarded as an "iron tower" in the army. But this reckless monk on the stairs, growing up, is estimated to be nearly six feet, and has both horizontal flesh and a big waist and a round waist, which can almost be described as a "small mountain". He doesn't look down on Zhao Dangshi's size, but it's not crazy.

If you want to be strong and bare-handed, I am afraid that you will have to recruit Zhou Wenhe and others to subdue this giant. Zhao Dangshi is annoyed, and he will never be stupid enough to really put it right. He calmed down, thought carefully, glanced at the giant man, and then glanced at the eaves of the main hall that were faintly visible behind him, and thought: "This giant man obstructed the road for no reason, it must not be a spur of the moment, and nine times out of ten it was also a trick carried out by the Guangzhen Zen master." Breaking through is definitely not the best strategy, and it is possible to take advantage of the fact that this giant man is ordered to do it, and wants to capture it. ”

In a matter of moments, the plan was set. I saw that he suddenly turned his face, and the halberd pointed at the giant man and scolded: "Pickled ugly man, finally ask you, do you want to let go?" ”

When the giant man saw that he was angry, he laughed instead, and said with a mocking face: "Yo, why, don't you dare to come up and start scolding the street like that woman?" ”

Zhao Dangshi was furious, jumped up the stone steps quickly, bullied the giant man, and stretched out his fist to fight. The giant man didn't care, so he took a good time to block it, and shook Zhao Dangshi out two steps. This block is not very powerful, full of dark energy, Zhao Dangshi tried his best to stabilize his figure, while secretly sighing the other party's divine power.

"Do you know how powerful the Sprinkle family is?" The giant man defended, seeing Zhao Dangshi's anxious white face, as if he was going to work hard, and he didn't take it big, he squatted with his feet, and he was about to counterattack with a starting hand.

Of course, Zhao Dangshi would not accept the move, so he jumped back down the stone steps, and shouted: "What an ugly man, good strength, this time the enemy is just you, and I will let you taste my means in the future!" While shouting and scolding, he fled to the bottom, turned the corner and disappeared.

Seeing this, the giant man looked up to the sky and laughed for a while, and shouted: "No coward, you can't stand a palm, and you can say anything about the future." No matter how many people you come, the Sprinkle family is waiting for you here! ”

After laughing and scolding, he was refreshed, scratched his head, and thought that after the matter was done, he should return to the master. He walked up to the main hall without looking back.

When he arrived at the front of the hall, he found that Zen Master Guangzhen was by the incense burner, so he approached happily, and said after bowing respectfully: "Master, obey your orders, the disciple has blocked the people back." ”

Unexpectedly, Zen Master Guangzhen shook his head slowly, pointed behind him with a light smile, and said, "Who do you see?" ”

The giant man turned his head and was immediately stunned, the "Zhao disciple" who had just been driven away was looking at him with a smile not far away.

"Master, this ......" The giant man was ashamed and annoyed, and turned around and was about to rush towards Zhao Dangshi. But he was stopped by Zen Master Guangzhen.

"No rain and flowers still fall, no wind and floc flying. What should come will come eventually. You've already lost, so don't be brave. ”

"Yes." The giant man obviously admired Zen Master Guangzhen very much, and for a moment he stopped his steps, and no longer looked at Zhao Dangshi, and lowered his head and retreated to the side.

Zhao Dangshi saw that he cleaned up this powerful giant man in a few words, and thought: "This Guangzhen Zen Master looks kind, short and dry, but I don't know how to use to collect such a majestic apprentice. Is it really the light of the Buddha that shines and influences sentient beings? ”

Wondering in his heart, he didn't slack off at all on his face, stepped forward, saluted him and said, "The disciple has seen the master. ”

Zen Master Guangzhen said kindly: "Zhao Tanyue doesn't need to make this big gift. The poor monk has been waiting here for a long time. ”

Zhao Dangshi muttered to himself: "If you don't set these traps, you don't have to wait for a long time." He said: "The master's masterpiece in Sichuan Province has been admired by the disciple for a long time, but he has always been flattered. I can see it today, and it is a huge release style and a name worthy of it! ”

Zen Master Guangzhen was calm, neither shirking nor thanking, but only listening to him: "The poor monk is here, and there is really good news and bad news with him." I don't know which one Tan Yue wants to listen to first? ”

Zhao Dangshi frowned, thinking about what kind of routine there was now, and said, "Bad news." A loss may turn out to be a gain. ”

Zen Master Guangzhen said according to his words: "I can't hide it, Qin Gong is not here." ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Dangshi became angry.