Xu Fengnian and his entourage came to the foot of the mountain, there are 1,000 and 8 steps to climb the mountain, Zhang Longjing dismounted and introduced that this incense burning road has a worry-free road, no matter how tired the pilgrims, there will be no trouble after walking this mountain road. However, Zhang Longjing added with a smile, if you want me to see it, I am tired, even if I have worries, I can't take care of it. Xu Fengnian smiled slightly after hearing this, Zhang Longjing then sighed: "Liyang extinguishes the Buddha, a good thousand-year-old temple with a long history, and now it is occupied by a Taoist priest who is very close to the government, and the monks in the temple have run away at this time, at that time the Taoist priest led the officers and soldiers to seal the temple, and the monks in the temple did not even take away an ancient book, our county guard in the county originally did not advocate Huang Lao, and even the alias in the early years was related to Buddhism, and the poetry of Wenlin everyone sang and signed, and the signature was that' Escape from the old man', this time the court ordered a piece of paper, immediately became a pious and honest person, and the alias was also replaced by 'pure old man', it is said that not long ago he also successfully climbed into a relationship with Wu Lingsu, a real person in the capital, and last year he was evaluated for his political performance on the side of the assassin Shi and won a standout 'on', which is not soon rumored to go to the capital to be a big official. ”

Xu Fengnian, who was leading the horse, frowned and said: "Is there a stone workshop in front of the mountain gate, with the inscription 'Buddha in the present'?"

Zhang Long nodded and smiled: "The prince is really knowledgeable, there was indeed a stone workshop in front of him, and the inscription and couplet were from the hands of the great Fengshu saint of the previous dynasty, which is a first-class good thing, but unfortunately this time the Taoist priest occupied the territory, and I don't know who and why, pushed to the stone workshop, and the prince couldn't see it this time." ”

Xu Fengnian sighed and said helplessly: "Xu Xiao had some stories here back then, this time he passed through Wucai County, and just happened to be on the way, so I wondered if I could try my luck and see the old monk who once asked Xu Xiao to 'put down the butcher's knife'." Forget it, let's go back. ”

Zhang Longjing said with emotion: "It's a pity that there is still such a thing, I knew that my subordinates should have added tens of thousands of taels of sesame oil to Hanshan Temple back then." ”

Xu Fengnian laughed and returned the same way after getting on the horse, just swaying by the rare lights on the side of the road in the distance, which was not a scene when he passed by before, the old spy Song Shanshui was immediately alert out of instinct, but he was quickly relieved, not to mention that the prince is one of the four great masters of martial arts standing on the top of the rivers and lakes, who would dare to provoke Yuan Commander and Xu Yanbing, who would dare to provoke them? Xu Fengnian has always had a talent for unforgettable, and he glanced at the place where the lights were flickering, and there was a dilapidated land temple at the fork in the road, slowing down the horse's hooves, and saw an old man in a hat in shabby clothes standing on the side of the road, holding an oil lamp in his hand, followed by a sleepy-eyed child, who also wore a worthless fur hat. Yuan Zuozong put his mind at ease, he originally thought that he was a hidden master of the world, but now he looks at his gas state carefully, he is an ordinary old man in the twilight, but his physique is slightly stronger than that of his peers.

Xu Fengnian didn't get off the horse, leaned forward, and asked in a gentle tone, "This old man, is there something wrong?"

After all, the old man was old, his eyes were not very good, and it was night, so he lifted the oil lamp high, and then smiled, "Childe's surname is Xu?"

Xu Fengnian was stunned and asked rhetorically, "The old man is an old man from Hanshan Temple?"

The old man smiled and nodded.

Xu Fengnian quickly dismounted in the surprise of Zhang Longjing and Song Shanshui, came to the old man and child, took out a Buddhist scripture carefully wrapped in silk cloth from his arms, and said: "The master lent this Buddhist scripture to my father, and now it has been borrowed for nearly 20 years, and it should be returned to the original owner." ”

The old man was not polite, took the Buddhist scriptures, and then said a common saying that disappointed Zhang Longjing, only to see the old man holding a lamp in one hand and touching the hat of the child next to him with the other, and asked with a smile: "Can Lord Xu Shi give a few taels of silver to the poor monks? ”

Xu Fengnian was suddenly a little embarrassed, Beiliang Tie rode all the way south, lacking nothing, except for the lack of this inconsequential yellow and white thing, Zhang Longjing, the god of wealth of Wucai County, was even more dumbfounded, he was not the kind of nouveau riche who was eager to go out and was full of gold, he was playing with jade, not worth a thousand taels of silver, that could not be seen, of course, this brocade night walk would not carry gold and silver, fortunately, the old spy took out a few taels of silver from his body, Xu Fengnian took it and handed it over to the old monk of Hanshan Temple who was more covered by a fur hat for heating, to be precise, it was the old host of the famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River。 The old monk does not have the kind of general monk hands do not touch the silver money, grandly in the sleeve, some undisguised smile, the old man next to the little monk is even more eyebrows smile, with silver firewood, rice, oil and salt, can not starve, how can not be happy?

After the old monk put away the silver, he sighed and said: "The imperial court has a decree, the Central Plains does not allow temple monks, Hanshan Temple is no exception, some people are still vulgar and some people travel far away, the poor monk also wanted to go to the northwest to turn into a margin, but he is too old, and there is this newly accepted disciple around him is really young, and the poor monk is generally weak in foot strength, which is delayed, and then I thought about it, it doesn't matter if I go to Beiliang or not, to Beiliang, it is just an old monk who has a place to live, not to Beiliang, I can't say that the poor monk can also let a few more people who are destined, and get a place of peace of mind. ”

Xu Fengnian said sincerely: "Master, I can send someone to send your master and apprentice to Beiliang, and when the world is more peaceful, as long as the master still wants to return to the Central Plains at that time, Beiliang will definitely escort the master to travel." ”

The old monk shook his head with a smile and said: "Master Xu doesn't need to go to such great lengths, where the Buddha is located, don't force it." ”

Xu Fengnian didn't force it, and he knew that he couldn't force it, so he had to smile and say: "My father often mentions the master, saying that the master is a monk who really has great Buddhism, and he admires it very much." ”

The old monk laughed, "Xu Xiaoshi is talking, although there is only one side, but how can the poor monk not know the temper of the old benefactor Xu? It would be good not to scold the poor monk for being an ignorant old bald donkey." ”

Xu Fengnian was speechless, not to say what he thought in his heart, Xu Xiao did mention this old monk of Hanshan Temple every time, he was an old bald donkey, and privately gave the old host the nickname of a butcher's knife monk. The general process of that incident, Xu Feng heard his mother talk about it when he was young, Faxian monk was born in a wealthy family, in the West Chu had been an official to the official department of the Ministry of Foreign Lang, after resigning from the official seal first entered the Daomen, but not in the big mountain name to practice, but picked a remote hill to live in seclusion for many years, and then for some reason converted to Buddhism, it is said that there was a debate with the Hanshan Temple on the previous host, in the eyes of the world inexplicably one step to the sky to become the host, when the Xu family iron horse galloped the Central Plains, the horse's hooves passed everywhere, the war continued, not to mention that the people were afraid of the Liaodong Tiger from the northeast, that is, the main generals of the Central Plains countries have to talk about the tiger color change, Only the monk Fa Xian ran to the Xu family barracks alone with a Buddhist scripture, and asked the person who was in the middle of the day to slaughter Xu Xiao and put down the butcher's knife, if it wasn't for Wu Su to stop him, this monk didn't say anything about the head to the ground, I am afraid that a stick is indispensable, there is a daughter-in-law staring at it, Xu Xiao had to pinch his nose and take the Buddhist scripture, absentmindedly chatted with the monk chicken and duck, and then let people hurry out of the camp.

Zhang Longjing can be regarded as Zhang Shoufu of Wucai County, and he is one of the richest people in a state, how slippery, he said: "Master, there are many people in my family who eat fasting and chant Buddha, and they need to do a few Buddhist things recently......

Patiently waited until Zhang Longjing finished speaking the set of wording, and then the old monk slowly spoke: "The donor's kindness is understood by the poor monk, but it's a pity that what you do in the donor's house is not a Buddhist thing." ”

Just when Zhang Longjing thought that this matter was completely yellow, he never thought that the old monk would change his words, and said with a smile: "If you don't go over, you still have to go, what if you meet someone who is destined?"

Yuan Zuozong and Xu Yanbing looked at each other.

Xu Fengnian didn't look surprised by this, and said with sincere regret: "This time the imperial court destroyed the Buddha, the reasons are complicated, I won't talk about such a bad thing, but I really hope that the master can teach Buddhism to more people." ”

The old monk, who was struggling to carry the lantern, changed his hand to carry the oil lamp, and said calmly: "It is one thing for the poor monk not to talk about the Dharma, it is another matter to tell how many people to listen to it, and it is another matter for a few people to listen to the Dharma. Whether there are Buddhist temples, Buddha statues, Buddhist scriptures, monks, or even Buddhas, or even the West Heaven is not the most important thing. ”

The old monk paused for a moment and looked at the young man in front of him, "Just look at the hearts of all living beings, whether there is that square inch to set aside the Dharma, the Dharma is there, the temple is there, the monk is there, and the Buddha is there." Without the Dharma, even if all beings in the world are monks, what good is it?"

Xu Fengnian nodded.

The old monk said that this truth is a bit big, but as long as there is a place for people to settle down, it is the true truth. The old monk's mouth is the habitat between the very big and the very small. In the past, Xu Fengnian hated the rhetorical readers, and was tired of those fortune tellers who measured words and divination, but now in retrospect, it was probably because he couldn't stand that kind of words that were not implemented, especially the former, he didn't know why, it seemed that I had already told you anyway, and what to do next was your business. When he was still His Royal Highness, Xu Fengnian had a lot of opinions on the so-called literati and ministers, but before and after the hereditary replacement, even if he had two unhappy experiences in Beijing, his impression of Liyang scholars has changed more and more, including Wang Saijiu, Huang Shang, Han Guzi, Qi Yanglong, etc., these are big people who are not blindly hostile to Beiliang, and of course Zhang Julu Huanwen, the temple pillars who have always had a heart for Beiliang, and then Xu Fengnian began to think about a question, whether to wait until young scholars are older and more experienced, they can grow into pillars of the court worthy of anyone's admiration, and the backbone of a country？

Monk Fa Xian glanced at the people around Xu Fengnian a few times, restrained his warm smile, and asked indifferently: "Master Xu, Beiliang has risen up, is he determined to rebel?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head and said, "Don't rebel." ”

The old monk, who wore a fur hat and did not wear a robe, but did not show his identity as a monk, sighed in surprise and continued to ask: "Lord Wang, is this a decree to quell the chaos?"

Xu Fengnian still shook his head and said: "There is a holy decree in Tai'an City, but I definitely can't see it, probably Cai Nan, the envoy of the two Huai Dao festivals who are sick in bed now, and Han Lin, the envoy of Jingluo, have already received the holy decree." ”

The old monk frowned and asked, "Then Guangling Dao needs the Northern Liang cavalry to help the imperial army quell the rebellion?"

Xu Fengnian continued to shake his head and said, "No need. If necessary, there will be no 10,000 Beiliang cavalry behind me, at least 20,000 Youzhou infantry troops. ”

At this point in the conversation, Yuan Zuozong's eyes narrowed, and he was deeply murderous.

After the old monk sighed, he asked three questions one after another with an expressionless face: "Is Beiliang in the territory of Liyang? Are the people of Beiliang the people of Liyang? Is the border army of Beiliang the army of Liyang?"

Xu Fengnian also nodded expressionlessly and said, "All of them." ”

The old monk with the oil lamp stood in the night, was silent for a long time, and asked, "Dare to ask the king of Beiliang, the three emperors of Liyang, is there a faint king?"

Xu Fengnian smiled, "Not only no, but regardless of the personal grievances of the Xu and Zhao families, to be fair, speaking from the heart, the three emperors of the Liyang Zhao family are all one of the few in the history books with Daoming Jun, Zhao Lixiong is talented and strategic, and he is better than the founding emperor of Liyang. ”

The old monk chuckled, then suddenly his smile dissipated, and he said heavily: "Strange thing!"

Xu Fengnian put his hands in his sleeves and said slowly: "Master, why do you, as a remnant of Western Chu, as a monk who had to live in the land temple at the foot of the mountain after the mountain was closed and destroyed, can still look at the current world with a calm mind, why do I, Xu Fengnian, the dignified king of the Northwest Domain, lead troops south for my own personal interests?"

The old monk stared at the young man, looking at his eyes instead of his face, "Is there something unspeakable about the prince?"

Xu Fengnian laughed at himself: "Yes, but for everyone, it's not worth mentioning." ”

The old monk gently lifted the oil lamp in his hand, "Is it really not worth mentioning? The poor monk is old and faint, and if he doesn't mention the oil lamp, he can't see the road, he can't see people, and he can't see you, isn't it also worth mentioning? Maybe everyone in the world is, but the poor monk is not at this moment." ”

Xu Fengnian wanted to speak and stopped.

The old monk seemed to say to himself: " This world is very strange, the barren land of Beiliang, it was necessary for the tiger and wolf division under the command of the Xu family to guard, and it must be Xu Xiao who was in charge to deter Beimang, otherwise not to mention others, even Gu Jiantang could not hold it, and at the same time cutting the domain is the trend of the times, if the Xu family is lucky to win Beimang, it will be difficult to cut the domain as if it is like ascending to the sky, no matter what you think about the two Beiliang kings themselves, it is difficult to ensure that those henchmen will add fuel to the fire, and they want to be the ministers of the dragon to do the work of supporting the dragon, so the emperor of the Liyang Zhao family is very embarrassed for the Xu family of Beiliang, and he is the son of heaven, but he can only let the civil and military officials and scholars scold people, but the Beiliang iron rider can only be surnamed Xu, and the thunder can't move。 Later, a scholar surnamed Zhang became a big official, so he came up with a way to let Bei Liang and Bei Mang consume each other, and it was best to break the net. ”

Xu Fengnian said with a smile: "Yes, in the eyes of the imperial court, it is a dog eating a dog." ”

The old monk glanced at the young vassal king.

Xu Fengnian said calmly: "If it is said that my Xu family is so tired that the imperial court does not regard the people of Beiliang as the people of Liyang, I admit it, and Xu Xiao also recognizes it." ”

The old monk fell silent.

Xu Fengnian stood there, a little distracted, "Take a step back and say, it was my Xu family who caused the Beiliang Border Army to die generously, but I couldn't show its bravery, I also admit it." ”

A young vassal king and an elderly monk, the two sides talked about this step, and the old spy subconsciously reached out and pressed the cool knife on his waist, but Yuan Zuozong gently pressed the old spy's arm and shook his head at the indignant old man.

Xu Fengnian's sleeves were horizontal in front of him, those young men who looked like a country farmer were chatting with an elder about the crop harvest, there was no resentment in his words, and there would be no ambition at all, just pulling the family routine, just saying that the weather was raining and quickly harvested the grain in the grain drying field, this spring is rainy, and this year should have a few more loads of rice than last year.