In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, that is, in 878 AD, the Tang Dynasty broke out the "Huangchao Uprising", which was dominated by peasants and spread throughout the country like a storm and clouds, accelerating the pace of the fall of the Tang Empire. As a result, the Tang Dynasty entered a period of great division between warlords, and the Tang Empire did not escape the historical law that it must be divided for a long time, and it must be divided for a long time. Six years after the outbreak of the "Huangchao Uprising", in 884 AD, Huangchao was killed by Li Keyong and others, but Huangchao's death did not end the war, but became the source of more turmoil.

One

After the death of Huang Chao, all kinds of forces attacked and attacked, the army of the imperial court, the army of all princes, the army of local farmers, and the army of foreign vassals, they fought with each other. Today you unite with the imperial court to attack me, and tomorrow I will enlist other vassal kings to attack you, and the whole country will be in a miasma, and the war will continue. At this time, in Pengcheng, Xuzhou, an ordinary family gave birth to a baby boy, the baby boy had a ruddy face and a loud cry. His father's name is Li Rong, he has a gentle personality, he is a person who believes in Buddhism, and is known as "Li Dao". I usually like to go in and out of the temple, but I was born in troubled times, and it is not easy to practice quietly, and the baby boy has not yet opened his mouth to call his father, Li Rong's whereabouts are unknown, and many people say that he died in the war. The mother of the baby boy, Liu, took him to live a difficult life, and in that era of war and disaster, the days of orphans and widows can be imagined. The continuous war has made it impossible for the people of Xuzhou to survive, when the child was two years old, the mother took him to join the fleeing team, born in the era of war and chaos, destined to live a hard life, the baby boy has not eaten a few mouthfuls of Taiping rice since birth, a few years down, the mother is not on the way to flee or ready to flee at any time.

"Slave, run!" Suddenly the mother shouted. I saw a pair of people and horses behind me killing innocents, and from time to time someone fell down, making a scream of "oops", this kind of scene refugees have seen a lot, everyone is running and shouting "run, run"! As long as you can survive, you don't care where you go. In this way, the group of refugees fled to the Huai River area, and finally ended up in Haozhou (present-day Fengyang, Anhui). The long-term displacement and fear brought great mental pressure to the mother, coupled with the poverty of life, finally crushed the lovely mother.

Soon after arriving in Haozhou, the mother's body was already very weak, she knew her situation very well, and she was most concerned about her own children, she wanted to "let the child live no matter what, even if it is to give away or even sell it, as long as there is something to eat, the child has the hope of living, let him continue to flee with everyone, naturally not, the child who has no relatives to take care of must be more than lucky." But the mother really didn't know how to settle the child, she was a little desperate, she stuck her head out and looked around, there were refugees everywhere, and she didn't know what to do. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and suddenly she remembered something. I remember when she first arrived in Haozhou, a group of people fled past a temple, although she did not remember the name of the temple, she clearly remembered the location of the temple. So she dragged her weak body and took the child to find the temple with difficulty, at this time the mother stared at the temple, only to see the temple gate written "Kaiyuan Temple", she thought to herself, "Only by staying here can the child have hope of living." So she knocked on the temple door, and soon the presiding officer of the monastery came out, and she begged the presiding officer to take her child in, and told the presiding officer about the suffering of mother and child. After listening to this, the host was very sympathetic to the plight of the mother and son, and recited "Amitabha" and promised her, and the mother kowtowed with gratitude, and kept chanting "Thank you, Master, thank you, Master". The mother's heart finally calmed down, and no matter what, the child finally had a way to live. Before leaving, the child cried and shouted, "Mother, don't go", and the mother squatted down and said to the child: "Slave, don't cry, remember the mother's words, listen to the master's words, and live well." Her voice was small and weak, but her tone was firm. The child is very sensible, he knows that his mother is for his own good, and his mother is also forced to do so, watching his mother slowly walk out of the temple gate, looking at his mother's blurred back as he gradually fades away, the child keeps wiping his tears, but he doesn't cry anymore.

Two

At that time, in the Jianghuai area, Yang Xingmi and Zhu Wenzheng were in full swing. One day, an army entered Haozhou and happened to pass by Kaiyuan Temple, walking in front of a small group of vanguard troops, a young leader in Confucian general costume suddenly shouted "stop", and said to the people around him: "Take a rest here first." Then he got off his horse and looked around the temple carefully. At this time, a large group of people arrived, only to see the military flag flying high, the military flag embroidered with a big "Yang" word, a majestic and majestic general riding in front of the military flag, this person is Yang Xingmi. On both sides of him in front of him were soldiers who were full of spirit but very vigilant, and it was clear that this was an army with strict military discipline and strong combat effectiveness.

At this time, Yang Xingmi was already the envoy of Huainan Jiedu, his real name was Yang Xingshu, originally from the Jianghuai group of thieves, because of his open-mindedness and generosity, he was very righteous and righteous, and soon had a small prestige in the army after participating in the peasant uprising. Later, he defected to Huainan Jiedu to make Gao Biao, Gao Biao admired him very much, so he changed his name "Xingshu" to "Xingmi", which is strange to say, since he changed his name, Yang Xingmi's luck was very good, all the way up, after Gao Biao was killed, Yang Xingmi did Huainan Jiedu envoy.

"My lord, this is Kaiyuan Temple, we might as well rest here for a while before leaving." The young leader said to Yang Xingmi that this leader was Yang Xingmi's staff - Xu Wen. He was one of the thirty-six heroes who first raised troops with Yang Xingmi, and he was very trusted by Yang Xingmi.

"Well, well, let's take a break here." Yang Xingmi said.

Xu Wen took Yang Xingmi and his group into the temple, the temple was very depressed, the houses were very dilapidated, this was the result of a long period of war, and the abbot had long been waiting to greet him.

"Master, I'm bothering a lot, and I ask the master to forgive me." Yang Xingmi clasped his fists at the abbot and saluted.

"The general is too worried, the general came to the temple, it is related to the Buddha, the general please." The abbot invited Yang Xingmi to the hall to sit down and drink tea.

"I heard that after the general entered Haozhou City, he strictly ordered his subordinates not to rob their homes and houses, and not to rob the people's property at will.

"The master has won the award, and we are all from poor backgrounds, and we are forced to be helpless when we start the army."

"Now that the war is connected, and the people are in dire straits, it is a heroic act for the general to raise up righteous teachers and do righteous deeds!" The abbot sighed.

"Master, you have a good reputation, so that the people can have something to eat, avoid being ruined, and keep one side safe, it is within my responsibility."

The two talked very happily, at this time a little monk came over with tea, he first served tea to the guests, and finally served tea to his master, his movements were unhurried, very measured, and not timid at all.

"Master, do you have any other instructions?" The little monk asked.

"You go down first, I will find you if there is something to do."

Yang Xingmi looked at the little monk, I saw that his eyes were bright, although he looked thinner, but he spoke loudly, his body was full of energy, and he was not timid at all, Yang Xingmi kept staring at him and walked out of the door.

"Master, who is this little master?"

"Oh, his name is Peng Nu, a native of Pengcheng, he lost his father when he was very young, and he fled here with his mother last year, and his mother entrusted him to Lao Wei when she was seriously ill, and died soon after. Don't look at him as only 7 years old, he is smart, diligent in his hands and feet, and he is in good order. As soon as this little apprentice was mentioned, the master spoke eloquently, and seemed very happy.

Yang Xingmi pondered and did not answer, everyone was puzzled, and then the abbot asked:

"Does the general have anything on his mind?"

"Master," Yang Xing said with a smile, "I have a reluctant request. ”

"I wonder what's the trouble with the general?"

"Don't hide it from the master, I like your apprentice when I look at it, maybe this is the fate that Buddhism says, I want to accept him as a righteous son, I don't know if the master can cut his love." Hearing Yang Xingmi's sudden request, the master did not immediately express his position.

"It's because I'm too presumptuous, and I invite Master Haihan, if the master is not willing, I will never force it."

"Hey, now the soldiers are in chaos, the people are not living, they don't hide from the generals, there are no pilgrims in Kaiyuan Temple now, and they are barely maintained by the squires of Haozhou City. Since you are destined, and the general's reputation has long been all over Huainan, it is also a good place for him to be taken in by the general, so Lao Wei will naturally not object. ”

"Thank you, Master, for your success." Yang Xingmi said happily.

So the abbot called Peng Nu to his side and said a conversation, as if he was telling something, and then Peng Nu knelt in front of Yang Xingmi and called "Father-in-law", Yang Xingmi happily helped him up. After chatting for a while, Peng Nu kowtowed to the master with tears in his eyes, and left Kaiyuan Temple with Yang Xingmi, and started a turbulent and legendary life.

Three

After Yang Xingmi led Peng Nu out of Kaiyuan Temple, the army immediately set out to attack Shouzhou. At this time, Yang Xingmi's military strength was in a weak position, and he wanted to seize Shouzhou before Zhu Wen's army arrived, seize the opportunity, and use the favorable terrain to build a defensive circle. Due to the loss of Haozhou, the defenders of Shouzhou were prepared, and they relied on the strong city defenses to put up stubborn resistance, trying to delay the time and wait for Zhu Wen reinforcements. Yang Xingmi's many attempts to attack were ineffective, but they consumed valuable military strength in vain, and both sides were exhausted. Yang Xingmi said to his subordinates:

"We must withdraw our troops, and if we drag it out, as soon as Zhu Wen's reinforcements arrive, we can't withdraw if we want to." General Zhu Yanshou was reluctant to withdraw, he said:

"Now the withdrawal of troops is a failure, the previous efforts will be in vain, although we are tired, but the Shouzhou defenders are also very tired, it is better to let me fight one last time!" Yang Xingmi agreed with him. Zhu Yanshou fought bravely and dared to kill, and the military law on the battlefield was harsh and ruthless, and he shouted to the soldiers besieging the city:

"This is the last siege, we have no way out, we can only succeed, otherwise I will die here with all of you." Zhu Yanshou's tone was excited, his eyes were bloodshot, and when the soldiers saw that he was supervising the battle, their heads swelled. As soon as the drums of siege war sounded, none of the soldiers dared to slack off, so they could only rush up. The defenders made the last desperate resistance, and the attack was greatly hindered, and Zhu Yanshou kept shouting "rush", moving forward bravely like a beast. Seeing this, none of the soldiers flinched, and they were all afraid that they would be hacked to death by Zhu Yanshou if they rushed slowly. Both sides fought with their backs, and the offense and defense entered the day, so the casualties on both sides were very large, and after a fierce battle drum and fighting, Shouzhou was finally overcome. At this point, Yang Xingmi stabilized and expanded his territory in Huainan, the Huainan army was greatly enhanced, and Yang Xingmi held a simple and grand celebration banquet.

"This time we sent troops, although we experienced setbacks and losses, but in the end we still won Haozhou and Shouzhou, and we have completely gained a firm foothold in Huainan, and you have made a lot of contributions." Yang Xingmi said excitedly.

"I'll follow you to the death." Everyone said in unison.

"Especially the Battle of Shouzhou, it was the most important victory achieved at the most critical juncture, which ruthlessly extinguished Zhu Wen's prestige and boosted the morale of our army, General Zhu should be the first merit!"

"It's all the wise decisions of adults, and the last general won't dare to take the lead." Zhu Yanshou said.

"My lord also received a righteous son, and I have another handsome man in Huainan! In the future, he must be the right hand of adults, what a good thing! Xu Wen said.

Yang Xingmi glanced at Peng Nu who was sitting beside him, "I don't know why, I look at it here, I hope it will be as General Xu said, do it." Yang Xingmi raised his glass and drank a glass with the generals.

"My lord, Zhu Wen didn't take advantage of it this time, he must not give up, we still need to make plans early!" Xu Wen said.

"Well, with Zhu Wen's character, he will inevitably fight back against us, and tomorrow we will take a good plan!" Yang Xingmi said solemnly.

Afterwards, a group of people continued to mingle and staggered, and the atmosphere was very lively, which was the venting of emotions and emotions after the victory. Peng Nu watched and listened from the sidelines, and from time to time there were calls of adults and generals in the crowd, Peng Nu paid careful attention to their words and deeds, he was so big, it was the first time he had met so many big people. Although he couldn't name these people, he knew that it was a group of people who were fighting, and they were fighting with a man named Zhu Wen. The next day, Yang Xingmi ordered the general Zhou Ben to guard Haozhou, Zhu Yanshou to guard Shouzhou, in order to more effectively resist Zhu Wen, Yang Xingmi handed over an elite army under his command "Heiyundu" to him, and then the army returned to Guangling (now Yangzhou).