Soon after passing through the hall, the temple is gradually passed through the deep seclusion. Separated by a wall, there was a hustle and bustle outside, but the Wei Dao Hall was quiet and quiet. Zhao Dangshi asked Lian Zhi and Zhou Wenhe to stay outside the hall, and he and Puning Tianxi slowly walked into the hall. After walking a few steps, a monk turned out behind the tall statue of Wei Daozun Tian Bodhisattva, with long eyebrows and narrow face, and many folded eyelids as if he was sleeping, Puning Tianxi said first: "Senior brother, Zhao Shizhu is here." ”

The monk saluted and said, "Little monk Yonghui, I have seen Lord Zhao." ”

Zhao Dangshi returned the salute, and together with Puning Tianxi, the three of them stood in front of the Bodhisattva statue and talked.

Yonghui sighed and said: "Lord Zhao Shi is a servant, the little monk shouldn't be bothered, it's just a matter of temple luck, and the little monk has nothing to do." ”

Zhao Dangshi asked: "Lingshan Temple is a treasure temple in the world, and the abbot is also a monk, what difficulties can Zhao do his best?" ”

Yonghui said: "It's not my temple, but the Songshan Shao Room." ”

"Where do you start?"

"I wonder if the donor has ever heard of Li Jiyu?"

Zhao Dangshi condensed and said: "I have heard a little, but I am just a coward." Recalling Guo Ruke's introduction, I couldn't help but be secretly surprised.

Yonghui said gloomily: "This Li Jiyu was just a townsman in Dengfeng, who offended the government, and then lured the murderers to gather in the mountains and forests, and in just a few months, the subordinates have tens of thousands. There are also Yu Dazhong, Shen Jingbang, Zhou Ruli, Ji Zhiying and others who follow their deeds, and each of them confronts the officers and soldiers and brutalizes the people. Li Jiyu met the thieves in Dengfeng Shangzhai and was enshrined as the leader of the alliance, so he was ambitious and wanted to destroy Shaolin. ”

Songshan Shaolin Temple has been famous in the world for a long time. Songshan is divided into Shaomur Mountain and Taimur Mountain, and Shaolin Temple is on Shaomur Mountain.

"I don't know how Shaolin Temple provoked Li Jiyu?"

Yonghui replied: "The pure land of Buddhism, how can it take the initiative to pick quarrels and provoke troubles. It's just that Li Jiyu's command is growing stronger, so he chooses another place in Shaomu Mountain to build a new village, named 'Yuzhai'. This village is adjacent to Shaolin Temple, so as not to have friction with the monks. Shaolin presided over the cold gray Huixi senior brother is also a righteous and awe-inspiring, unyielding figure, unmoved by Li Jiyu's coercion and temptation, then Li Jiyu can't bear it, so he wants to gather bandits from all over the country and besiege Shaolin. ”

When Zhao Dangshi heard this, he asked: "The officers and soldiers of Henan are just suppressing the Kou, how can they sit back and watch Li Jiyu and others run rampant?" ”

The corners of Yonghui's mouth twitched: "Senior Brother Han Hui Xi has also rescued the government more than once, but every letter is nothing but a stone in the sea, and the monks sent to the yamen to ask for help also eat more closed-door soup and return in vain." ”

Puning Tianxi interjected coldly at this time: "The imperial court has made efforts to suppress and reform, although there are many bandits, but the profits are meager, and the officials and masters naturally look down on it." ”

In a word, to the point, Zhao Dangshi nodded secretly, that is, Guo Ruke was not familiar with the place in Henan, and was sent to suppress the local bandits in a daze, but he didn't want to do this thankless thing when he woke up, so he immediately withdrew from the army, not to mention the local officials in Henan.

"Li Jiyu is a madman, and he has sent Xiaoxiao to disturb Shaolin several times before, and he has called back to Senior Brother Han Hui Xi. Recently, I heard that a group of thieves were training in the valley, and they must throw everything away and attack on a large scale. ”

As early as the Northern Wei Dynasty, Shaolin Temple purchased bows, knives, guns, shields, etc., to form monks and soldiers to protect themselves. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Shaolin Temple sent monks and soldiers to help Li Shimin fight, and he was honored and became famous since then. Therefore, for hundreds of years, there is a tradition of accumulating soldiers, and the scale is not small, numbering one or two thousand. During the Chenghua period of this dynasty, there were Liu Tong, Shi Monk and so on to make a mess in Fang County, for the trouble of northern Chu, the monks and soldiers of Shaolin Temple were recruited to suppress thieves, and there were many achievements. Later, when he was in Zhengde, he went north with the army to the imperial captives, went south to pacify the barbarians, and participated in the pacification of Liu Liu and Liu Qi's uprisings, which was more valued. In the Jiajing Dynasty, the Japanese were rampant, and the Shaolin monks rushed to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other places. Now the Shaolin Temple has been peaceful for a long time, the scale of the monks and soldiers has decreased, but there are still nearly 1,000 people, skilled in martial arts, well-armed and multi-horse army, although Li Jiyu has many troops, but in the face of the Shaolin Temple of the sharp and dangerous soldiers, it is also difficult to win. However, two fists are difficult to defeat four hands, and now Li Jiyu is really desperate to attack Shaolin Temple with hundreds of dozens of times the force, and Shaolin Temple will finally be at peace.

"Although I am not from the same sect as Senior Brother Han Hui Xi, we also have a friendship with the same religion, so we can't ignore it. And the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, the principle since ancient times. Li Jiyu crisscrossed Henan Province, today can commit Shaolin, tomorrow maybe he will come to provoke my Lingshan Temple. The little monk shoulders the burden of the rise and fall of a temple, and he cannot but prepare early. Yonghui lowered his head and said, his eyelids collapsed, and he looked at it almost as if he was settled, "It's a pity that my Lingshan Temple has no tradition of accumulating soldiers, scraping the ground three feet, and I can only make up dozens of capable fighters." Forgive this person, how can I stop tens of thousands of bandits, I am afraid that I will lose my life in vain. ”

Zhao Dangshi said angrily: "Abbot, Zhao is a general of the Ming Dynasty, protecting the monarch and protecting the country." Guisi and Shaolin are both treasures of the country, and Zhao has the responsibility to protect them. Zhao Ying lacks everything, but the most lacking thing at the moment is reputation, Zhao Dangshi listened to Yonghui's narration, while thinking that if he could save the two "national temples" of Lingshan Temple and Shaolin Temple with his own strength, whether it was the court or the rivers and lakes, it was enough to become famous.

Yonghui raised his eyebrows: "So Zhao Zongbing agreed?" I couldn't help but say to Pu Ning Tianxi, "Fortunately, my sister reminded me, otherwise I would really miss the opportunity!" ”

Zhao Dangshi looked at Pu Ning Tianxi and said a little strangely: "Mrs. Shi, I have never known you all my life, how did you know that Zhao was coming?" Then he patted his head, "Oh yes, it's the head-wrapper in your nunnery." ”

"Headwrapper?" Pu Ning Tianxi was stunned, "Who is that?" ”

"Why, Mrs. Shi doesn't know that head-wrapper?"

Puning Tianxi replied: "It was a friend of the poor nun who lived in the nunnery, and the poor nun also heard the news of Zhao Shi's main visit from that friend, so he naturally thought of the difficulties of the Shaolin Temple, so he made a match." ”

"Dare to ask the teacher to ask his friend to have a big name?"

Puning Tianxi shook his head and said, "Donor, forgive me, my friend didn't let the poor nun reveal the slightest bit of information." ”

Zhao Dangshi said dumbly: "It's so mysterious." ”

A rare smile appeared on Puning Tianxi's cold face: "The donor will know at that time." ”

Zhao Dangshi said "good", and continued to say to Yonghui: "Abbot, I want to help, I need to raise troops into Yu." Come and go and add some soldiers and horses to Dengfeng and then rush to Dengfeng, it will take about 15 days. ”

Yonghui's long eyebrows trembled slightly, and he hesitated: "Fifteenth? This ......"

Puning Tianxi said: "Listen to the rumors, Li Jiyu and other thieves may act within ten days, and I am afraid that it will be too delayed on the fifteenth." ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "Only these fifteen days are still smooth everywhere." Zhao was guarding Xiangyang, and there was no official document from the Yamen of the Governor, and the troops of more than 300 people could not move an inch. If the approval of official documents is slow or cannot be approved, I am afraid that this matter will be yellow. ”

Yonghui frowned and said: "The little monk thinks that even if the time is good, I am afraid that Li Jiyu will attack in advance when he learns about the radical change, and it will still be the same result." ”

Zhao Dangshi groaned: "So, it's too late for Zhao to go back and raise troops." ”

Puning Tianxi said with a slight annoyance: "The officers and soldiers of Xuzhou are majestic, but they only know how to stand by and watch, Senior Brother Yonghui went to move the rescue troops a few days ago, but those military leaders cleverly set up a name, saying that they need to suppress the Kou fee, and if there is no Kou fee, everything will be suspended." The senior brother swallowed his anger and asked about the price of the extermination, and those military leaders actually sat on the ground and asked for 1,000 taels of silver. ”

"A thousand taels?" Zhao Dangshi secretly smiled bitterly. Xuzhou is Zuo Liangyu's lair, and the generals stationed there are all under Zuo Liangyu's command, which can be called the biggest ruffian in Chu and Yu, and it is impossible for Lingshan Temple to push them without shedding their skin. But this mouth costs a thousand taels of silver, which is indeed frivolous and arrogant, and disrespectful.

"The temple usually gives to the poor people, and there is no surplus wealth, and the monks are cultivating a few acres of thin fields to talk about living, where do they get a thousand taels of silver." The more Puning Tianxi spoke, the more angry he became, and his breath became short, "Even if there is, I won't vote for those insatiable hungry wolves!" ”

Yonghui saw that Zhao Dangshi was silent, and said that he had a retreat, and became anxious, and thousands of people held his hand and said: "Zhao Zongbing's name of benevolence and righteousness has heard a lot, and the fate of my two temples today has no other support than you." ”

Zhao Dangshi held Yonghui's hand and said, "Abbot, don't worry, Zhao took over this matter, but he is thinking about a proper solution." ”

The corners of Yonghui's eyes were slightly wet, and he said astringently: "Lord Zhao Shi's ancient road is hot, and the little monk is grateful." As long as he can help Shaolin Temple survive this catastrophe, the little monk is willing to recite scriptures and pray for blessings for the donor in front of the Buddha every day in this life. He continued, "If you need help from the temple, but it doesn't hurt to speak, the little monk will definitely give full support." ”

Zhao Dangshi resolutely said: "The abbot doesn't have to be like this. He added, "Zhao already has a rough idea in his heart, and he will leave tomorrow." ”

Yonghui was shocked and said, "Where is the donor going?" ”

"Dengfeng Shaolin Temple."

Yonghui grabbed his cuffs and shook his head repeatedly: "Don't benefactor, Shaolin Temple is in danger of overturning the nest, how can you take the danger yourself!" ”

Zhao Dangshi said with a smile: "The abbot is relieved, if Zhao is not sure, he will not ask for hardship." This matter is not about Zhao, but about the safety of the two temples, and Zhao will think twice about doing things. ”

Yonghui and Puning Tianxi saw that he swore an oath, and had no choice but to say: "Amitabha, the donor please take care." ”

Outside the hall, Zhao Dangshi whispered a few words to Deng Longye, and Deng Longye left immediately with a solemn face. Lian Zhi looked at Deng Longye, and felt that Yonghui and Puning Tianxi's faces were not good-looking, and she was worried, so she was bold, stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Dangshi's hand and asked, "Daddy, is there trouble?" ”

Zhao Dangshi deliberately said: "If the Buddha Gate is pure, can you do frivolous acts?" As he spoke, he looked at the two hands he was holding.

Lian Zhi hurriedly put aside her hand, and glanced at Yonghui and Puning Tianxi who came out later, and made sure that they didn't see it, so she breathed a sigh of relief: "I almost made a mistake, it's a slave who shouldn't be, it's a slave who shouldn't be!" ”

Zhao Dangshi laughed lightly: "What if it's enough?" After that, he went directly to take Lian Zhi's hand again.

This time, Lian Zhi wanted to break free again, but Zhao Dangshi's generous big hand was tightly clenched, and he tried several times to no avail. Zhao Dangshi was afraid that she would cry, so he smiled and let go of his hand.

Yonghui had his own temple fair to preside, and he couldn't move away, so he told Zhao Dangshi to spare himself and went first. Puning Tianxi approached Zhao Dangshi and said, "Master Zhao, there are still people waiting in the nunnery, please appreciate the light." ”

Zhao Dangshi said with a smile: "This is the main purpose of this trip, although there are extraneous branches, how can you not get by?" Shitai led the way. ”

Puning Tianxi smiled slightly, turned around and took a step.