Three days later, Li Li brought people to the altar to ask for rain.

Li Li walked to the square, that is, to show his devotion to God, he did not ride a horse, did not sit in a sedan chair, did not use anything, just walked, came to the altar, that is, a high earthen platform, and then, he prostrated himself on the ground, facing the loess, breathing dust, his face was full of dust, tears and snot flowed, his face immediately changed flowers, he recited words in his mouth, as if he was reciting the sacrificial text, asking for rain and so on.

Li Li's prayer did not move the heavens, but Li Li's purpose was not here, his lead was to let his subordinates follow suit. The subordinates followed suit, and walked up to the high platform one after another, that is, they went to the altar, prostrated themselves on the ground, chanted words in their mouths, and followed Li Li to pray to the heavens, it will rain quickly, and there is no need to donate money.

With such a purpose, all kinds of people give full play to their own characteristics, some exaggerate their performance, some cry bitterly, and most of them are distressed about the silver, do not want to donate, do not want to lose. They know very well that the day does not rain because of the sky, and it has nothing to do with people, besides, this day is everyone's day, why should everyone donate money? If you want to donate, you should have a reason.

Besides, donating money was originally voluntary, you can donate if you want to, you can't force you if you don't want to donate, natural and man-made disasters can't be controlled, this should be solved by the imperial court, not by individuals, besides, the imperial court doesn't give much money, it is not much, and it makes no sense to go back.

Li Li didn't want to do this, but the relief grain from the imperial court hadn't come yet, I didn't know when it would come, the drought area was not small, there were problems in many places, eating was a big problem, if there was no food, people would have to rob it, and they would have to shed blood and sacrifice their lives. In order to survive, people may take extreme paths.

With that said, there is a problem.

Li Li couldn't raise money, so he couldn't do anything, and he made such a big scene, but the result was very little. People don't realize the seriousness of the problem, and they only know that they can't pay for it. It's definitely not okay to pay money, because they are not very rich. If you donate, you may starve.

Everyone was anxiously waiting for the next instruction. Li Li donated money, which everyone knows, and it is a little difficult to let everyone donate next, but Li Li still thinks of a way.

As soon as the rain ceremony was over, Li Li ordered people to lay a large reed mat under the altar.

Everyone is wondering, what are you doing with the reed mats? Do you want to have a table here? Or do you want to camp out here?

With different guesses, Li Li asked everyone to sit down, sit on the reed mat, and everyone did as they were told, as long as they didn't charge money. They are always on the lookout and careful to protect their purses from stealing from invisible hands.

At this time, the sun begins to shine. No matter what you think in your heart, you must hide your malice in your heart. You can't show it, otherwise it will affect the future.

The scorching sun was in the sky, and when he begged for rain just now, the sky fell asleep, but he didn't hear it, and he still couldn't wake him up, and he didn't send the dragon king to rain.

Li Li's subordinates sat on the reed mat like Li Li, some of the subordinates were fat, they couldn't sit down at all, and they had to sit down reluctantly, and the sweat of the fat people soon flowed down, down the back, with a lot of white salt on their bodies, and there were also on their faces, plus the dust just now, they all had big faces.

After an hour, many people can't stand it anymore, they are used to being pampered, where have they suffered like this! All of them were thirsty, dizzy, and their faces were ugly, like dead ashes.

Li Liyan said: "Usually we are used to enjoying happiness, and the life we live is to stretch out our hands and eat to open our mouths, enjoy the wealth of the world, and never know that the crops are difficult and people work hard. Living a life of fine clothes and food every day, how to know the heart of a farmer is like boiling hot soup. Therefore, today, this official will work with you to taste the hardships of the poor peasants and the people, and see what it is like for people to sweat and hoe under the scorching sun. Presumably everyone has experienced, so the official will not say much. Think about it, we don't work, we are already miserable under the scorching sun, not to mention how difficult it is for farmers to not only be scorched by the scorching sun, but also to work! ”

Everyone nodded their heads frequently and said yes, and some were so hot that it was difficult to even speak, but they didn't say "yes", because it would take a lot of effort to say a word.

As long as you don't take the money out and say anything, as long as you persist through this day, in order to save the money, you lose half your life. As long as you don't die, you have a chance to recover and make money again.

After about three incense sticks, Li Li said: "It seems that it is okay for people not to eat, but it is not okay not to drink water." On such a hot day, my throat is about to catch fire, and now my throat is smoking, and if I don't drink water, I can't extinguish the fireworks! People are iron and rice are steel, if you don't eat a meal, you will be hungry and panic, and if you don't drink water, you will die faster. ”

After speaking, he immediately ordered someone to bring herbal tea.

Li Li took the gourd scoop and scooped it first, on the edge of the gourd scoop, lowered his head, and began to drink, "coo dong coo dong" made a sound, the people who watched were stunned, and the people who watched were greedy, and secretly swallowed saliva. Li Li drank a full drink, and finally tilted his neck, and drank the water in the scoop cleanly.

He finished drinking, and it was the next turn.

Everyone didn't doubt it, thinking that this herbal tea should be fine, if there was a problem, how could they do it to Li Li? Seeing that Li Li was fine after drinking, they also drank in turn.

After a while, just like the phenomenon of thermal expansion and contraction, first the scorching sun was scorching, and the body was as hot as a burning fire, as soon as he drank herbal tea, alternating between cold and hot, Li Li felt that his stomach was overturned, and there was a burst of extraordinary power surging in his stomach, and then, a burst of overwhelming power came up from his stomach, and he began to vomit, and then, the people who drank the herbal tea vomited one after another.

After everyone vomited, Li Li laughed.

Everyone was puzzled and looked at him blankly.

Everyone is tortured, just now exposed to the sun, and then the herbal tea is excited, even a piece of glass, it will be broken, not to mention flesh and blood? Everyone is dying, how Li Li arranges it, he is already numb.

Li Li finished laughing and said, "Very good, everyone vomited, proving that they are all human." Now, if you are a human being, you will have a human heart, and if you have a human heart, you will have a benevolent heart, and you will lie, but your stomach is very honest, and you will be able to say it again, so it is better to have your stomach faithfully reflect the situation. This official, I have to record the good and bad of your heart and the financial situation of your family one by one. No need to speak, just record, no explanation, just reflect the facts. ”

Li Li personally led someone to check everyone's vomit. It looks disgusting, but the truth is, the stomach doesn't lie.

Then it is recorded, not a single one, all in detail.

Li Li's own vomit, everyone can see, is all rough grains and wild vegetables, proving that in the past three days, Li Li has completely eaten and bathed to maintain the holiness inside and outside, and those subordinates vomit out either delicacies from the mountains and seas or fish and meat. There are no grains and vegetables, all of them are fine rice and noodles.

Li Li looked serious and stared at his subordinates.

As soon as the subordinates saw Li Li like this, they knew that they were going to get angry, and they all lowered their heads, ready to meet the storm.

"Today, the official sincerely and sincerely begged the heavens for rain, in order to help the people relieve the drought, eliminate the drought, and let the people live, but you obviously received a notice three days ago to bathe and change clothes, abstain from meat and fish, and vegetarian clothes, in order to show your piety, but you turned a deaf ear, and none of you did it obediently, which shows that you do not respect heaven and earth, there is no god in your heart, only money, you are not honest enough, so it is natural that the sky does not rain, and since you come to ask for rain, you must take it seriously. You people came, but your heart didn't come, and you always wondered how to protect your money bags, didn't you? Since you are not sincere, it is understandable that it will not rain in the sky. The sky values people's hearts more than the external form, but you claim to be so poor that you can't open the pot at home, you see the benefits, you run faster than anyone else, and when you encounter disasters, you hide far away, you all see, what are you eating? Are you used to lying and deceiving people? You are duplicitous, you are not in the same heart, you deceive your own officials, you deceive the people, and more importantly, you deceive the heavens. The official believes that the reason why the heavens are so angry and allow the calamity to spread and become more and more serious is because you are not sincere in your hearts, you love deception, and you are sorry for the heavens, the earth, and the people. You people don't have compassion for the common people, so you can't even look at the sky. You deserve to be punished. Li Li said.

When everyone heard this, their heads drooped, like frosted eggplants, wilted.

They knew that they were wrong, they knew that they were lying, they were ashamed, and they were afraid that Li Li would punish them, so they consciously and voluntarily made donations, which really broke their teeth and swallowed them in their stomachs. Li Li successfully completed the fundraising work and was very happy, temporarily alleviating the disaster situation of the victims, so that the victims who lacked food and clothing could be relieved and tide over the difficulties.

Li Li did not punish them, and after thirty days, the relief food of the imperial court was in place, alleviating the disaster. The imperial court heard that Li Li took the lead in donating money to fight the disaster, and the dragon heart was happy, and rewarded Li Li with a lot of silver, and the official was promoted to one level, but Li Li was reluctant to leave Xiangyang, and asked the emperor for instructions, and the emperor allowed him to continue to stay in Xiangyang County.

Besides, Tang Lu knows a little about antiques, and one day, someone came to visit. At first glance, it was a monk.

The monk said: "The little monk's name is Huitong, and he was ordered by the abbot to invite Master Tang to Cheng'en Temple for a while. ”

"Good!" Tang Lu said.

Then they went to Cheng'en Temple.

The abbot greeted Master Tang and said: "I heard that Master knows antiques, there is a Tang Dynasty vase in this temple, which is a rare treasure, a priceless treasure, recently stolen, this matter does not want to alarm the government, I am worried that the thief dog jumped over the wall and destroyed the vase, so I invited Master to come first to solve the case." If the case is solved, there is no need to let the county government know, after all, it is a public court, and the theft of the temple has been spread, which has an impact on the temple. Based on this, the master was invited to help the temple recover the stolen Guanyin. I don't know what the master thinks? ”

"What Guanyin?" Tang Lu asked.

"It's Tang Sancai, porcelain Guanyin, the glaze is crystal clear, and it looks beautiful. I heard that Master Tang is very interested in antiques, and I hope that Master Tang will recover this antique vase. The abbot said.

"I'll try as much as I can."

"Master boldly do it, this temple will send Monk Huitong to go with you." The abbot said.

"It's not hard. Huitong went with him and was responsible for retrieving Guanyin. Tang Lu said.

"So, the master is very sure?"

"Yes."

"Then how was Guanyin stolen?" Master Tang asked.

"It's ashamed to say it, and it's all to blame for the carelessness of the old man. Negligence! One day, a donor came, it seems, it was a foreigner, his eyes were blue, his hair was yellow, he didn't know which country he was, he could barely understand a little bit of speech, Lao Wei spoke Xiangyang dialect, and he even understood. It is estimated that he is a foreigner who has lived in Xiangyang for a long time. The abbot said.

"What's this man's name?"

"His name is Baston."

"It's like it's from the Western Regions."

"No, he said his house was surrounded by the sea on three sides." The abbot said.

"That must be a foreigner. Baston, well, it's a foreigner, not an outsider, it's a foreigner. A name like Baston, like Blake, is a foreigner's name. What did he come to Cheng'en Temple for? Master Tang asked.

"He came to worship the Buddha."

"They don't believe in Buddhism there, they don't believe in Buddhism there, they don't believe in Buddhism like we do here." Master Tang said.

"What's the difference?"

"They don't believe in Buddha, they believe in God. It is false that he came to worship the Buddha, but it is true that he came to hunt for treasure. The master said.

"Yes, when I saw him coming, he didn't bow down very reverently, but looked east and west, as if he was looking for something." The abbot said.

"Yes, he's here to hunt for treasures, have you shown him the treasures in your temple?"

"Yes, I saw it, he saw Guanyin, and he was full of praise, saying that they couldn't produce it there, and Lao Wei said, this is Tang Sancai, only Datang has it, and there is no other place."

"Does he like it?"

"I like it very much, I just can't put it down, I always look at it, and mutter, saying, this treasure is hundreds of years old, beautifully made, and hard to find in the world." The abbot said.

"And then?"

Then he left in a hurry, saying that he had forgotten to come from afar and needed to pick up his friend, so he left. When the old man relieved himself, he found that the person was long gone, and Guanyin was gone. Later, when he thought about it, it was definitely that Baston who stole it. He took advantage of Huitong's absence, and the old man's eyes were not good, so he took the opportunity to leave. It's just such a thing, let's see if the master can recover it? The abbot said.

"I can recover it. Where does Baseton live? Tang Lu asked.

"I don't know, if I knew, Huitong would have gone looking for it a long time ago." The abbot said.

"Very good, I can inquire, it must not have gone far, the foothold must be in Xiangyang County, I'll look for it." The master said.

Tang Lu said goodbye to the abbot, left Cheng'en Temple, and took the monk Huitong to Xiangyang County.

He found out that there was a clan hall where foreigners happened to live.

When I went in, I saw a lot of blonde and blue-eyed people coming in and out, and it seemed that most of them were doing business.

According to the description of the abbot, he found a place dedicated to the study of Buddhism, looked inside, and sure enough, he saw a person, Tang Lu looked at it, and asked Huitong with his eyes, Huitong nodded, Tang Lu asked Huitong to leave, and then he went alone, and Huitong went to the eaves opposite the hall to watch the movement here. People who came and went thought he was making a fortune, and they threw copper coins at him, but Huitong couldn't refuse, so he could only accept it.