Chapter 122, Burning Lingyin

Lingyin Temple was founded in the first year of Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (326 AD), located in the west of the West Lake in Hangzhou, backed by the north peak, facing the Feilai Peak, known as the first ancient temple in Hangzhou. Its founding patriarch was the Indian monk Huili. Later, it was given land by Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty and expanded, the scale was rough, and the incense gradually flourished. During the period of the Five Dynasties, Qian Hongfang, the king of Wuyue, had expanded the Lingyin Temple to the ninth floor, the eighteen pavilions, and the seventy-two halls. At one time, there were as many as 3,000 monks, and monks from other countries often came to learn scriptures. In the Jiading period of Song Ningzong, Lingyin Temple has been known as one of the "five mountains" of Zen Buddhism in the south of the Yangtze River, and 13,000 acres of fertile land in Hangzhou and Jiaxing are its temple properties. In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, also summoned the abbot of Lingyin Temple to Nanjing to say the law, and personally named him one of the "Top Ten High Monks" and awarded him a gold robe...... It can be seen that this temple has a high status and is full of honor in the southeast.

In terms of the natural environment, the surrounding mountains of Lingyin Temple are continuous, and the mountains are undulating, and it is famous for its beautiful scenery. The way pilgrims enter the temple is surrounded by lush cedar forests. Between the verdant ancient trees and the babbling stream, the elegantly shaped temple stands on the mountain, blending in perfectly and harmoniously with the surrounding environment, surrounded by towering trees, exuding an indescribable Zen and welcoming the worship of the world.

However, all these unforgettable and beautiful scenery turned into wisps of green smoke in the blazing flames at this moment.

When Wang Qiu and the others, who were staying on Phoenix Mountain, realized that the situation was wrong and hurriedly led the team to come, they could only look at the remnants of the wall surrounded by smoke and blazing fire, as well as the relief plates, stone Buddha statues and hot bronze incense burners that were blackened by the smoke and flames, and their eyes were glazed and stunned.

-- In front of the notorious slave catchers, the magnificent and luxurious Lingyin Temple is as delicious as a tender lamb.

At this moment, outside the Lingyin Temple, there is a group of bonfire camps. A pinch of yellow flames, beating between Buddhist scriptures and fragments of Buddha statues, emitted bursts of crisp sounds, sparks splashed in all directions, and the flames of the temple reflected each other, fully showing the cruel scene of this chaotic world.

When Wang Qiu and the others arrived, the entire monastery had already been burned to the size of the torches, and the monks who were lucky enough not to die were also very skillfully tied up by the slave team members and collapsed on the side of the road in frustration. After a whole day of wanton looting in the temple, the bloody white robbers and black slave soldiers smashed all kinds of incense shrines carved with intricate patterns, threw them into the bonfire along with the inconspicuous books and scriptures, and then talked and laughed and sang around the fire, counting the harvest of the day's looting, and enjoying the freshly looted wine and women.

Wang Qiu had just walked outside the smoke-filled Lingyin Temple, when he saw a drunken red-haired one-eyed dragon pirate under a big tree, holding a ragged young girl with tears in his left hand, and pouring rice wine from the small wine jar into his mouth with his right hand. Someone was spinning a small grill with golden and crispy roast chicken on it, and the fat oil and water were dripping in the air, splashing on the fiery red wood chips, making a sizzling sound.

Another drunken black slave catcher boasted about his harvest with a dozen strings of pearls, crystals, and gold and silver rosaries around his neck, and several dazzling silk robes. Seeing this, several slave catchers who were drinking and enjoying themselves around the fire cried in unison, and then passed to farther places one after another, stirring up a huge wave of chaos.

Looking at this scene of demons dancing wildly, Wang Qiu, Sun Yang and Zhao Yinggong, who came in a hurry, could only shake their heads helplessly and sigh.

“…… Lingyin Temple is probably completely finished, and Hangzhou has lost a scenic spot since then...... What's next? Wang Qiu asked.

“…… What else can be done? Naturally, I didn't see it! Well, and let them pay the booty and prisoners according to discipline......"

Major General Sun Yang shrugged helplessly, "...... Don't forget, this kind of big monastery that occupies tens of thousands of acres of land is our enemy, just like the landlords and gentry! It is a social parasite that does not produce anything, and an object that must be eradicated! I can't blame or even punish my own people for treating the enemy too cruelly! If it were replaced by those more savage Indian warriors, maybe these monks would have to be skinned!

Of course, after the end of the war in Hangzhou, I will transfer these foreign mercenaries as soon as possible and replace them with Han soldiers to maintain law and order......"

“…… But...... This burned Lingyin Temple...... "Wang Qiu's eyes looked at the fire that stained the mountains and forests red, "...... It feels awkward! ”

“…… Comrade Xiao Wang, you don't have to be too sorry, although Hangzhou Lingyin Temple is known as a thousand-year-old temple, but the current Lingyin Temple, in fact, has not been built for many years, and it is not even as long as the Great Hall of the People! If you burn it, burn it! ”

Zhao Yinggong, who has been based in Hangzhou for many years and has studied the local humanities and customs, also echoed Wang Qiu's persuasion.

According to him, the Lingyin Temple, which is being burned down now, is no longer the same thing as when the temple was first established. As early as the late Tang Dynasty, Lingyin Temple was ordered to abolish the temple once by the imperial court because of the "Huichang Law Difficulty" of Tang Wuzong's abolition of the Buddha. Later, during the Five Dynasties period, Lingyin Temple was restored by Wu Yueguo. Next, during the peasant war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the entire Lingyin Temple fell into the army again and was burned to the ground. It was not until the Hongwu period of Zhu Yuanzhang's reign that Lingyin Temple was rebuilt again. However, in the third year of Longqing (1569) of the last century, the whole temple of Lingyin Temple was completely destroyed by a fire caused by lightning strikes for the third time, and the monks fled. After that, the temple remained in ruins for 20 years, and it was not until the Wanli period that the believers raised funds and successfully rebuilt it. Therefore, even the oldest temple in the temple has only been completed for about 40 years, so it is not that old.

And more importantly - "...... Even if there is no military disaster brought by us, according to the original history, in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), Lingyin Temple will also suffer another fire, and the whole temple will be burned down for the fourth time, and it will not be rebuilt until the Qing Dynasty. The Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou that we see in the modern world is actually an ancient building of the Qing Dynasty - as the saying goes, the old does not go, and the new does not come. Anyway, this Lingyin Temple was destined to be burned down at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and we burned it down a few years in advance, which is also in line with the trend of history......"

After listening to Zhao Yinggong's persuasion, Wang Qiu also became calm - in fact, he didn't have the slightest affection for those bald donkeys, but he was just angry that the scenic spots he liked in the original time and space were rudely destroyed, and he just said some angry words without hesitation.

On the other side, after learning that several "big bosses" had arrived, the African slave hunting team that had just destroyed the Lingyin Temple was also greeted by the captain with the captain, and at the same time presented a list of loot. Wang Qiu took the list and flipped through it hastily, in addition to registering some copper coins and silver taels, as well as magic utensils such as the Golden Buddha and Jade Buddha copper incense burner, there were actually more than fifty women, and he couldn't help but be surprised.

“…… So many women were actually searched from the temple? Now in this kind of chaos, there are still female donors who dare to come to incense? ”

“…… Where are the female benefactors, most of them are the fans raised privately by those bald donkeys in the Lingyin Temple! ”

Zhao Yingong, who was half a landlord, pursed his lips and said, "...... Or the wife of a tenant who has been tied up to pay the rent......"

Before Lord Zhao's words fell, he heard a noise not far away, and then a rough man with a yellow face and thin muscles and ragged clothes was twisted over. After interrogation, this guy claimed to be a farmer from a nearby village, and because of his bad years, he owed the rent of the monk of Lingyin Temple, and his wife was forcibly kidnapped, and his newborn son starved to death because there was no one to feed him. He now has no relatives and no reason, and his family does not have a penny or a grain of rice, so he wants to go to the "short-haired kings" to ask for a way to live, and at the same time beg the "short-haired kings" who broke the Lingyin Temple to reunite him and his wife......

- So, looking at the two black, ugly, dirty people, crying and hugging each other in the burning fire of the Lingyin Temple, Wang Qiu didn't know what it was like for a while...... Then, suddenly, he felt something fall on his clothes and hat.

At first, Wang Qiu thought it was ashes floating in the wind, but the flying ash that drifted from the fire would definitely not be so cold.

The next moment, when Wang Qiu looked up at the sky, he understood everything.

Snow, snow is falling from the sky.

The snowflakes fluttered silently, some of them drifting to his face and melting, allowing Wang Qiu to see the white breath he exhaled being frosted.

The snow came so suddenly and so hard that in the blink of an eye, a thin white carpet was already covering the wilderness by the West Lake, and it was getting thicker and thicker. The fire that burned the ancient temple beside him was also quickly extinguished in this goose feather snow. i640