When the street patrol team came to the west gate, the dojo of Zhai Jiao had already been arranged.

On the altar are placed incense burners, candlesticks, vases and other offerings, incense, flowers, lamps, water, fruits and other five offerings, ruyi, jade books, swords, flags and other ritual instruments, cymbals, bells, bells, cymbals, bells, drums, chimes and other ringing instruments, banners and simple symbols, respect and solemnity.

The number of Taoist priests in this county is limited, and a group of monks come to help, and the disciples of the Buddha sit on both sides of the Jiao altar, all lined up in a neat square, and constantly chant scriptures in their mouths.

The Jiao altar is presided over by several Taoist deacons, who supervise the altar and serve the scriptures, each with its own duties. In front of the altar, a German priest was writing green words, and Xu Bingzhong stood quietly on the side waiting, looking respectful.

Wang Kefan stepped forward and saluted to thank him for the matter of Gongguoyin, but Xu Bingzhong raised his hand and made a silent movement, and pointed to the priest and said softly: "Hua Fangshi is writing green words, and these mundane things will be talked about later." ”

Wang Kefan looked at the priest, couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and secretly laughed: "This girl, there are really two hits!" ”

Hua Fangshi, that is, Hua Xiaoyue, who was dressed as a man, was introduced by Wang Kefan to participate in today's Jiao ceremony, and somehow convinced Xu Bingzhong and other Taoist priests, and became the protagonist of the Jiao ceremony.

He (she) was dressed in a Taoist feather robe with gold and silver threads, and his demeanor was clear and solemn. First picked up a clean towel from the incense case and wiped his hands, then took a piece of wonderful incense and put it in his mouth, held a red pen, dotted cinnabar, brushed a little bit on the green rattan paper, and wrote a green word in one go, and then covered it with a three-inch jade seal, sealed the waist with three inches of yellow paper, and handed it to everyone for circulation......

The whole set of movements is like flowing clouds and water, and the demeanor is myriad, and the audience is all happy, fluttering and slightly drunk.

"Between a hundred battles, seeing danger is fatal, a loyalty is fierce, although death is still alive. However, the warrior does not forget the mourning yuan, so the enemy is every time to seize the qi...... "Hua Xiaoyue ascended the Jiao altar, paraded around the incense burner and candlelight, and chanted the green words just written as she walked, and the melody was ethereal and empty, as if the immortals were coming.

Step silent! This is the famous Taoist step sound, the movement is wonderful, and the artistic conception is far-reaching.

"Rare, rare! It really responds to the famous sentence of the Du Gong Department - this song should only be in the sky, and the world can hear it a few times! The crowd was full of intoxication and joy.

After the recitation, Hua Xiaoyue took the green words and burned them with fire, played the city god, from Xu Bingzhong down, everyone in the field bowed down to the city god statue together, and the pious people kowtowed again and again.

Hua Xiaoyue suddenly shook her hands, and there were two loud bangs behind her, and the Jiao altar was immediately filled with smoke. With a bang, Hua Xiaoyue's back suddenly lit up again, but her figure loomed in the smoke.

"Altar Roller Blinds!" A Taoist priest cried out.

The altar curtain is a part of the Jiao ceremony, the altar, which means to change the Jiao altar into the realm of the gods, and the curtain is like the king of the world listening to the government, representing the immortal is about to come.

However, we have never seen such a real altar roller blind, sound, light, smoke, all kinds of effects together, the Jiao altar at this moment is really like Qiongtai fairyland, trance, ethereal.

Almost everyone knelt down, only Xu Bingzhong, Lu Chuanying and two or three people were still standing, but they were also sincerely afraid, bowing their heads, not daring to look up at Hua Xiaoyue. Wang Kefan pursed his lips, lowered his head and made a respectful appearance, but secretly slandered in his heart.

It's really an uneasy temperament, and as soon as he gets the opportunity, he makes such a big move.

Hua Xiaoyue stood on the Jiao altar, her eyes slightly closed, as a Taoist thought, as if she had entered the realm of communication between man and God, at this moment, she had been possessed by the gods of the city god, and there seemed to be a treasure flowing up and down her body!

She muttered for a while, and suddenly opened her eyes again: "I am Chongyang City God, and today I pray for the blessing of this county, and relieve grievances and knots......"

The Jiao ceremony continued, Hua Xiaoyue painted talismans, as a god to spread the ghosts who died in vain from far and near, gathered in the Jiao altar to listen to the scriptures and words, ascended to the pure land early, avoided falling into the netherworld, and used real water and real fire to refine the degree to relieve the resentment of ghosts.

At this point, the gentry and the common people were greatly relieved. With the great god of the city god in charge, the hundreds of ghosts who died in the previous vicious battle can ascend to the heavenly realm as soon as possible and get out of the ghost path.

Towards the end of the Jiao ceremony, a Taoist priest sent a book of merits, and the gentry generously donated incense money. Ten taels, twenty taels, fifty taels! I sent it out without blinking, and I had to compare with each other.

The value of this money is also for the sake of Hua Xiaoyue's face, Chongyang is a small place, I have never seen such a professional Jiao ceremony before, let alone such a virtuous scholar with advanced cultivation.

The onlookers also crowded up, vying to throw money into the merit box, most of them were poor, but they were very strong and very pious, and the amount of money donated was not small.

"Feudal superstition is really killing people, and making money faster than me!"

Wang Kefan muttered in his heart, his eyes swept thoughtfully over the gentry.

Compared with the tooth merchant Jia, the gentry class of the Ming Dynasty was the real rich people, as long as they achieved more than one person's fame, they could enjoy various privileges and accumulate a lot of wealth.

If the Gongyi battalion wants to develop and grow, it needs a lot of money, and sooner or later it will have to attack the gentry.

However, this matter is very difficult.

Different from the tooth merchants, the social status of the gentry is much higher, and a person can fight against the magistrate, the same township, the same year, the same case, the same door, the same itch, the same party, the same society, and the ...... have formed a huge network of relationships between the scholars, and they will not be afraid of Wang Kefan, a small six-rank military attaché.

The same trick doesn't work. Wang Kefan had no doubt that if he hung a plaque reading "For the rich and unkind" on a gate that lifted people, he would immediately be transferred to the mountainous areas of Xiangxi to be responsible for the requisition and suppression of those rebellious Miao cottages.

But it's not impossible. The so-called things are man-made, and what is missing now is just a suitable opportunity......

At the end of the Jiao ceremony, the content of zuihou is different from the past, and it is related to the Gongyi camp. I don't know when, Hua Xiaoyue has left, like a divine dragon seeing the head but not the end, Wang Kefan has become the protagonist.

He said hello to Xu Bingzhong, and then ordered to go down, and soon, a group of water bandit captives were escorted up, about a hundred people, all tied up strongly.

In charge of escorting was Wang Sheng from the Gongyi Battalion, who stepped onto the Jiao altar and said aloud to the onlookers:

"Fellow villagers, the day before yesterday, in the fierce battle of Chongyang, a total of more than 300 water bandits were captured, including 30 of the most heinous criminals, all of whom were beheaded today to show the public......

He was explaining the crimes of these thirty people, but the people around him opened the pot with an uproar, it was so enjoyable that he could see the skulls cut off! Those thieves, it's good to die!

The bandit captives were pushed to kneel in front of the Jiao altar, thirty of them were death row prisoners, and the others were tied up.

The steel knife was swung up, the head fell to the ground, and the companion was trembling with fright, but he was pulled up again and untied the rope.

All released on the spot!

Killing a group, releasing a group, and reforming a group is the prisoner policy of the Gongyi battalion.

Killing a group can establish power, and releasing a group can also establish power, and the combination of rigidity and softness is the most powerful means of attack, no one realizes that Wang Kefan has shot at Song Jiang again.

The soldiers of the Gongyi battalion were all ordinary farmers, and they also needed all kinds of craftsmen, and if they were not recruited enough in society, they were replenished from the captives.

At this time, the people showed a simple and honest side, and did not embarrass these released bandits. Wang Sheng made it clear just now that they were all law-abiding and good citizens in Linxiang and other places, and they were forced to join the bandits, but they had never done anything that hurt nature and reason, and they were different from the thirty death row prisoners.

The feelings of the officials and gentry are much more complicated, and this killing seems to imply something.

When is it not possible to kill someone, but on this occasion, Wang Kefan obviously did it intentionally. These water bandits will be killed when they say they will be killed, and they will be released when they say they are released, and they have not informed Wuchang Mansion, he is really bold.

Some people have a chill down their spines, some people are secretly angry, some people stay away, and some people have a little appreciation and admiration, but no one regards him as a vulgar martial artist and a reckless descendant.

After the worship ceremony, the street patrol team beat gongs and drums again to send the old man and grandmother Chenghuang back to the temple, and Xu Bingzhong and Lu Chuanying and other officials also prepared to return to the yamen. Before getting on the sedan car, Lu Chuanying was still emotional.

"This is killing and releasing again, it is really a combination of grace and power, I can't imagine that Wang Kefan is young, but his means are not inferior to the old horse." He paused for a moment, and then said to Xu Bingzhong: "I can still understand these, but there is one thing I don't understand, I heard that his Gongyi battalion even treated the injured water bandits, I don't know what the intention is." ”

Xu Bingzhong frowned and was silent for a while before he said: "The Gongyi battalion swept away the bandits, using thunderbolt methods, saving the dead and helping the wounded, and carrying the heart of a bodhisattva, this is the way to govern the world with both rigidity and softness......"

……

After Wang Kefan returned to the Gongyi camp, Hua Xiaoyue took the initiative to find him.

She still dressed as a woman, but she changed back to a square scarf and a long robe, dressed as a scribe, and judged the same as the monk in the feather coat and crown on the Jiao altar.

"Today, Zhai Jiao got some money, please General Wang check it." There was an open box at Hua Xiaoyue's feet, in which the white flowers were silver, and the yellow cancan was copper coins, and when she took the list, she looked at it, totaling more than 1,500 taels of silver.

In the end, it is a professional who has worked as the leader of the Sihe Sect, and he cheated a huge amount of money as soon as he made a move.

"Okay, I'll take it first." Wang Kefan hesitated slightly, and then said: "Well, you can keep some for personal use, it doesn't matter how much, you can watch and take it yourself." ”

Although this money was obtained by Hua Xiaoyue's "labor", the amount was too large for her to hold, but she could be rewarded.

Hua Xiaoyue shook her head: "My sister and brother are not short of food and clothing, and there is no place to use money, General Wang's kindness is understood." If there is still effective work in the future, please let the general just command. ”

"There shouldn't be too many occasions like this, and I'll talk about it later. Still, you did a good job today. This is also a kind of talent, except for Wang Kefan who knows her details, everyone else is bluffed, and they are willing to pay a lot of money.

"Really?" Hua Xiaoyue's eyes lit up.

"Well, I don't understand it, but I think it's amazing......"

"The little woman walked on the left side of the door, and in the eyes of the Fang family, she was naturally full of flaws." Hua Xiaoyue showed an embarrassed expression, and took Wang Kefan's praise as irony: "My father died unexpectedly, and I only learned three spells from him, and the opening of the altar was all pretending to be a ghost, which made General Wang laugh." ”

In Hua Xiaoyue's heart, Wang Kefan is the real master, he said that he couldn't understand it, of course he was sarcastic about his mess and bullshit.

"This, you and I have learned differently, you don't have to be presumptuous...... Wang Kefan was secretly ashamed, pretending to be a god stick is not so simple, he was not careful, and he almost said that he was exposed.

"Oh, I don't know what kind of spell General Wang has learned?" Hua Xiaoyue was a little puzzled.

"This ......"

Wang Kefan hesitated for a moment, a cold light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and the surroundings immediately became murderous: "I can't chant and ask God, I can only kill people thousands of miles away." ”