Great time travel

Chapter 122: Burning Lingyin Temple
Lingyin Temple was built in the first year of Xianhe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 326). It is located in the west of Hangzhou West Lake, backed by the North Peak and facing Feilai Peak. It is known as the first ancient temple in Hangzhou.Its founder is the Indian monk Huili monk.Later, it was granted land by Emperor Liang Wu of the Southern Dynasty and expanded. The scale was rough and the incense gradually flourished.During the Five Dynasties, Qian Hongfang, king of Wuyue, expanded Lingyin Temple into nine floors, eighteen pavilions, and seventy-two halls.At one time, there were as many as 72 monks, and monks from other countries often came to learn scriptures.During the Jiading reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty, Lingyin Temple was known as one of the "Five Mountains" of Zen Buddhism in the south of the Yangtze River. The [-] mu of fertile land in Hangzhou and Jiaxing belonged to its temple.In the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang also summoned the abbot of Lingyin Temple to Nanjing to preach, personally named him one of the "Ten Great Monks", and awarded him a golden robe... It can be seen that this temple has a high status in the southeast. The honor is endless.

As far as the natural environment is concerned, Lingyin Temple is surrounded by continuous mountains and undulating mountains, which is famous for its beautiful scenery.On the way for pilgrims to enter the temple, there are lush fir forests everywhere.Among the verdant ancient trees and gurgling streams, the elegant temples stand on the hillside, blending perfectly and harmoniously with the surrounding environment. Surrounded by towering trees, they welcome the world while exuding an indescribable sense of Zen. worship.

However, all these beautiful scenery that makes people linger and forget to return are all turned into wisps of smoke in the blazing flame at this moment.

When Wang Qiu and others who were staying on Phoenix Mountain realized that the situation was wrong and rushed over with their team, they could only face a ruined wall surrounded by smoke and raging fire, as well as a place that was blackened by thick smoke and cracked by flames. Embossed boards, stone Buddha statues and burning bronze incense burners, the eyes are dull and dazed.

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

Right now, outside Lingyin Temple, there is a dotted campfire camp.Pinches of yellow flames danced between Buddhist scriptures and fragments of Buddha statues, making crisp noises and splashing sparks, complementing the blazing temples, fully showing the cruel scene of this war-torn world.

When Wang Qiu and the others arrived, the entire monastery had already been burned into oversized torches, and those monks who were lucky enough to survive were also skillfully tied into long strings by the slave arresting team, and collapsed on the ground in despondency. roadside.Those bloody white bandits and black slave soldiers, after looting wantonly in the temple all day long, smashed all kinds of incense tables and shrines carved with complicated patterns, together with those unattractive books and scriptures. Throw it into the bonfire, then talk, laugh and sing songs around the fire. By the way, count the harvest of the day's looting, and enjoy the wine, food and women you just robbed.

Just as Wang Qiu walked outside Lingyin Temple, which was filled with smoke, he saw a drunken red-haired one-eyed dragon pirate under a big tree. The rice wine in the altar was poured into his mouth.There was someone turning a small grill next to it, with golden and crispy grilled chicken skewered on it, and the fat oil and water dripped in the air, splashing on the fiery red wood chips, making a sizzling sound.

Another black slave catcher, who was already drunk, hung more than a dozen strings of pearls, crystals, and gold and silver rosary beads around his neck as if showing off, and wore several dazzling silk cassocks, loudly boasting about his harvest .The nearby slave catchers, who were drinking and having fun around the fire, echoed and shouted when they saw this, and then wave after wave spread to farther places, causing a huge chaotic sound wave.

Seeing this scene of demons dancing wildly, Wang Qiu, Sun Yang and owner Zhao Yingong who rushed over could only helplessly shake their heads and sigh.

"...Lingyin Temple is probably completely over now, and Hangzhou has lost a scenic spot since then... What should we do next?" Wang Qiu asked.

"...How else can I deal with it? Naturally, it's as if I didn't see it! Well, there is another way to let them pay the spoils of war and prisoners according to the discipline..."

Major General Sun Yang shrugged helplessly, "...Don't forget, this kind of big monastery occupying tens of thousands of acres of land is our enemy just like the landlords and gentry! It is a social parasite that does not do anything productive, and must The target to be eradicated! I can’t blame or even punish my own people because these miscellaneous troops treat the enemy too cruelly! If it were replaced by those more barbaric Indian warriors, maybe these monks would have to be skinned!
Of course, after the war in Hangzhou is over, I will transfer these foreign mercenaries away as soon as possible, and replace them with Han soldiers to maintain law and order..."

"...but... the fire burning Lingyin Temple..." Wang Qiu looked at the flames that dyed the forest red with complicated eyes, "...it feels really awkward!"

"... Comrade Xiao Wang, you don't need to be too sorry. Although Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou is known as a thousand-year-old temple, the current Lingyin Temple has not been built for many years, and it is not even as old as the Great Hall of the People. What! If it is burned, it will be burned!"

Zhao Yingong, who has been stationed in Hangzhou for many years and has studied the local culture and customs, echoed his persuasion to Wang Qiu.

According to him, the Lingyin Temple that is being burned now is no longer the same as when the temple was established.As early as the late Tang Dynasty, Lingyin Temple was once ordered to be abolished by the imperial court because of the "difficulty of Huichang law" that Tang Wuzong abolished Buddha.Later, during the Five Dynasties, Lingyin Temple was restored by Wuyue Kingdom.Then, during the Peasant War at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the entire Lingyin Temple fell into war again and was burned to the ground.It was not until the Hongwu period ruled by Zhu Yuanzhang that Lingyin Temple was rebuilt again.However, in the third year of Longqing (1569) in the last century, the entire Lingyin Temple was completely destroyed by a fire caused by lightning for the third time, and all the monks fled.Afterwards, the temple existed in a state of ruins for 20 years. It was not until the Wanli period that believers raised funds and the reconstruction was successful.Therefore, even the oldest temple in the temple has only been completed for about 40 years so far, so it is not very old.

More importantly - "...Even without the military disaster we brought, according to the original history, in the 13th year of Chongzhen (1640), Lingyin Temple would suffer another fire, the fourth largest in the whole temple It was burned down for the first time, and it was not rebuilt until the Qing Dynasty. The Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou we see in the modern world is actually an ancient building in the Qing Dynasty-as the saying goes, if the old does not go, the new does not come. The Yin Temple was destined to be burned at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and we burned it up a few years in advance, which is also in line with the trend of history..."

After listening to Zhao Yingong's persuasion, Wang Qiu became calm-in fact, he didn't have the slightest affection for those bald donkeys, but was resentful that the scenic spots he liked in the original time and space were brutally destroyed, and he spoke unscrupulously. Just said some angry words.

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 led by the captain to welcome them winkingly, and at the same time presented a list of spoils.Wang Qiu took the list and flipped through it hastily. In addition to some copper coins and silver taels, as well as magical artifacts such as golden Buddha and jade Buddha copper incense burner, there were more than 50 women, and he couldn't help being surprised.

"... So many women were found from the temple? In this time of chaos, there are still female benefactors who dare to offer incense?"

"...Where are the female benefactors? Most of them are the private fans of those bald donkeys in Lingyin Temple!"

As a half-landlord, Zhao Yingong curled his lips and said, "...or the tenant's wife who was tied up to pay the rent..."

Before Master Zhao's words fell, he heard a commotion not far away, and then a rough man with a sallow complexion and ragged clothes was turned around.After interrogation, this guy claimed to be a farmer in a nearby village. Due to his poor age, he owed rent to the monks of Lingyin Temple.Now he has no relatives and no reason, and his family has no penny or grain of rice, so he wants to seek refuge with the "short-haired kings" for a living, and at the same time begs all the "short-haired kings" who broke the Lingyin Temple to reunite his husband and wife...

——So, seeing two black, ugly, and messy people, weeping and hugging each other in the burning fire of Lingyin Temple, Wang Qiu didn't know what it was like for a moment... Then, he suddenly Felt something settling on clothes and hat.

At first Wang Qiu thought it was ashes blowing in the wind, but the fly ash coming from the fire would definitely not be so cold.

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

Snow, it is snow that floats down from the sky.

The snowflakes fluttered quietly, and some of them melted on his face, allowing Wang Qiu to see the white air he exhaled turned into frost.

The snow came very suddenly, and it fell heavily. Almost in the blink of an eye, the wilderness by the West Lake was covered with a thin layer of white carpet, and it was getting thicker and thicker.The fire that burned the ancient temple beside him was also quickly extinguished in the heavy snow.

——Because of a sudden heavy snowfall, the "Kun Thieves" were forced to temporarily suspend their military operations, which also gave Hangzhou a chance to breathe...