Records of the King of Xin'an County

The night was as black as ink, and a crescent moon hung alone in the sky, making the surrounding stars even more radiant.

In the dilapidated and silent temple, a young monk raised his head and stared at the changing stars.There were faint cries and screams in the distance, his expression moved slightly, and he recited "Amitabha Buddha" softly, his eyes were full of compassion and intolerance.After a while, he turned around and returned to the hall, silently wiped off the dust on the Buddha statue, and recited the "Heart Sutra" in a low voice.His voice was very clear, and the rhythm implied in the recitation of the scriptures was very pleasant.

"Master Yuanwu!" At this time, a little novice quickly pushed the door open and came in with a look of anxiety on his face. "There is a family who claim to be believers of the temple and want the female relatives to hide quietly in the temple. They are waiting outside now! What do we do?" Should we agree? Those soldiers and bandits who should go to hell are searching from house to house, and it will be our turn soon!"

Yuan Wu thought for a moment, and said decisively: "Let them all come in. I remember that there is a cellar for storing food in the temple. I can only wrong them to live in it for a while." After that, he went out and opened the crooked door in person. The temple door fell down, and a family of young and old standing outside shivering in the cold wind welcomed in.

The leading middle-aged man was stunned, and asked in a low voice: "This bhikkhu looks very strange... I don't know where the abbot and other bhikkhus in the temple have gone?"

Before Yuan Wu could reply, the silver-haired old woman with a cane behind the man immediately tapped on his leg several times: "Little master kindly asked our family to come in for refuge. Why are you asking all kinds of questions? Little master I am really ashamed that I have to take refuge in the temple for a while. We have already prepared some food and saved it together with the two young masters. It can last for three to five months. It is expected that the imperial court will spend three to five months. In the month, it's time to put down these traitors."

The old woman was in high spirits, the middle-aged woman behind her was gentle and gentle, and the young girls and boys had clear eyes, and they seemed to be from low-ranking officials and officials, with a bit of knowledge.Yuan Wu clasped his palms together and recited the Buddha's name. After closing the temple door with the trilogy brought by the middle-aged man, he asked the little novice to lead them into the cellar.There are only seven or eight people who need to hide, and they are crowded together with luggage, grain and grass, so it is not too cramped.

After the family was settled properly, the middle-aged man Fang heaved a sigh of relief, and looked at Yuan Wu with probing eyes.Entrusting his family to strangers - even a monk cannot be completely at ease.However, now he has no other choice—whether life or death should be borne by himself, and he must not implicate his family.

Yuan Wu glanced lightly at the bearded men with ape arms and wasp waists standing behind him: "The little monk came to the temple from Chang'an to place orders. The abbot and other monks were captured by rebels into the palace more than [-] days ago. and have not returned yet. A few other young monks left the temple taking advantage of the chaos. Right now, only young monks and novice Huizhi are left in the entire temple.” Fortunately, the temple is not big, and it only entered the front and rear, and was captured by soldiers and bandits After smashing and looting, no one is willing to step in again, so they can live safely until now.

"Chang'an?" The middle-aged man's eyes lit up slightly, "Since the bhikkhu came from Chang'an, do you know... the Prince of Tianshui County?"

"The King of Tianshui County? The son of the King of Yue, who specializes in martial arts, is well known in Chang'an City." Yuan Wu's expression remained unchanged, "Could it be that the King of Tianshui County led the vanguard to attack Shengzhou this time? Don't worry, this great king has a straightforward temperament, even if he captures Shengzhou, he will not commit mass murder. If he has never been rebellious, he should be safe."

The middle-aged man couldn't help but relax a little, and sighed: "I don't know if I'm a traitor. After the city gate of Shengzhou is closed, it is wishful thinking to send news out. The governor has long been with the traitor. We What about these low-ranking civil servants? As far as I know, even the assistant officials around the governor are unwilling, but the lives of their family members are threatened, so they have to make excuses."

"Since it's falsehood and obedience, all the Tanyues are thinking of ways to get out. Why don't you get together to discuss in secret, maybe you can find a solution." Yuan Wudao nodded slightly at him, "Although a person has little wisdom, he has spirituality. Maybe it can be manifested. Gathering sand can form a tower, and it can also achieve great wisdom."

The middle-aged man was stunned, and said with a wry smile: "That's right, I have already hidden my family, so why worry? If this rebellion cannot be quelled as soon as possible, and these villains are allowed to do whatever they want, the people of Shengzhou will suffer death and injury." How many people!!" After that, he solemnly bowed to Yuan Wu, and then left with the parts.

Yuan Wu stood in the empty courtyard, and after a moment of contemplation, he returned to the Buddha Hall to chant sutras.Not long after, a group of vicious soldiers and bandits rushed in, cursed and searched everywhere, but they couldn't even find a grain of food.They were naturally extremely disappointed, and could only vent their anger by kicking Yuan Wu and the little novice Huizhi, who were in tattered monk clothes, before leaving with their rusty horizontal knives on their shoulders.

"Master." Huizhi rubbed the bruises on his body, his thin face was still full of trust, "What should we do? They come here every now and then, and the food they finally got through alms is all gone." There's nothing left."

"I can only go for alms tomorrow." Yuan Wu rubbed his little head with a thin layer of stubble, and suddenly remembered the old worldly events of the past, and was a little lost in thought.Although the old lady just now had promised that her own food would be provided for the two of them, but there were old and young among them, so he couldn't bear to share their rations.

"However, it's not enough to just beg for alms, and you can only suffer from them day after day. Although we Buddhist disciples should be happy in the face of all suffering, it is only the suffering bestowed by the Buddha, but watching the believers suffer and suffer, But it can’t be rescued, but it’s not what Buddhism did.”

There are tens of thousands of people in Shengzhou City, and only a few thousand soldiers and bandits left by the rebels.These days, they have endured the torture and looting of the soldiers and bandits, but the prestige of Hejian County King is still there, and they don't know that the imperial army has arrived, so they can only endure it for the time being.However, the people of Northern Xinjiang have always been brave, how could they be willing to be oppressed by rebels?At this moment, they are like dry grasslands, just sparking a spark can turn into a prairie fire.

There are tens of thousands of angry people and low-level officials who are unwilling to rebel. It may only take time to solve the situation in Shengzhou.Although Li Jing, the king of Tianshui County, is using troops for the first time, he must be able to grasp this good opportunity.Otherwise, who would send him to be the vanguard officer?

-

On the same night, before the king of Tianshui County completed the encirclement arrangement, the city gate on the north side of Shengzhou was quietly opened.After resting for a few days, King Hejian, who was far from recovering from his injuries, took more than a thousand soldiers, detoured to the north of the Yellow River, and rushed to Shuozhou, which had been firmly controlled, to continue his recuperation.As for Shengzhou, it was entrusted to his confidantes for the time being, and he was promised a lot of benefits.Now there is neither his family members nor food, grass, gold and silver in this state city, even if it is captured, as far as he is concerned, there is no harm.

Inside the newly built company camp on the southwest side of Shengzhou City, the tent in the center was brightly lit.Li Jing, the king of Tianshui County, frowned, and heard Cheng Wei and Cheng Yushi talk about the news he had found out these days: "So far, I have only received a few news through carrier pigeons. About Hejian County King, Shengzhou The governor, the Turkic tribe, the Tiele tribe, these important things, but you don’t know anything about it?"

"No, the governor of Shengzhou has already left for Shuozhou with the concubine of Hejian County and her children. As for the Turkic and Tiele tribes, they are currently stationed near Taiyuan. It is said that if General Ashina Zhen Chuan hadn't arrived in time, Taiyuan Mansion is very likely to be surrounded by them. As for what happened in Shengzhou City, I am waiting for news." Cheng Wei replied, a little calmer than him.

"When I was governor of Shengzhou, I also made good friends with several low-level officials. They all promised that they would testify against the king of Hejian County for treason. Since they didn't want to join forces at that time, if there is no accident, they are probably the same now. The original intention has not changed. As long as they can support in the city, Shengzhou City will be destroyed in a day."

"You must be able to contact them in time." Li Jing frowned even tighter. "There is no way to contact them right now. How can we be sure that their thoughts are the same? How can we be sure of their safety? How can we make an appointment with them?" Is it a good time to cooperate internally and externally?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, there are a dozen or so of us staying in Shengzhou City. They will definitely try their best to facilitate this." Cheng Wei said, taking a sip of the already cold tea, "Your Majesty, you might as well focus on attacking your heart first, and stimulate them." Arouse some people who are hiding in Shengzhou City and can't hide."

"That's all for now." Li Jing pondered for a moment, then nodded.

It wasn't until this time that Du Chongfeng continued: "I don't think that Prince Hejian will stay in Shengzhou to recuperate. Now that there are three armies approaching Shengzhou, Jing Xing has already set up camp outside the city. If the encirclement When he got up, he was caught in a urn, and there was no way to escape. I think he should have escaped from Shengzhou City early and went to Shuozhou to retreat. After attacking Shengzhou, we have to turn around and rush to Shuozhou."

At this time, a soldier galloped into the camp and galloped to the tent to report: "Report!! The scouts just found out that a group of more than a thousand people had already crossed the Yellow River and left!!"

Li Jing's complexion changed drastically, and he jumped up against the crime: "We must not teach him to escape! He must be chased!! Lead me the horse immediately!!" After finishing speaking, he strode out.

"Your Majesty, you don't have to go in person." Cheng Wei immediately got up and stopped in front of him, dissuading him, "Your Majesty needs to be in command to regain Shengzhou. Moreover, it would be very dangerous to catch up in a hurry without any preparation. After all, there are rebels around Shuozhou. It is under the control of the enemy. Without weapons, without food, how long can we last even if we catch up?"

"Could it be possible to watch him escape like this?!" Li Jing pushed him away with raised eyebrows.He had already breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and he wanted to catch this traitor no matter what, and vent his anger for his family! !

"Jing Xing, leave it to me." Du Chongfeng said with a slight smile, "I came here for this reason, I can't let you take away the job. Otherwise, how can I explain to Prince Xin'an?"

"..." Mentioning his cousin, Li Jing was speechless for a moment, so he could only say in a muffled voice, "You shouldn't be too risky... I'll give you a temporary official position and bring more people..." In fact, he still has many He wanted to exhort, but in front of Cheng Wei, he couldn't express his full of concern.

Du Chongfeng seemed to have noticed what he meant, and nodded lightly: "Don't worry." After speaking, he led a group of energetic trilogy and five hundred soldiers to leave the camp.

Li Jing could only watch his back disappear in the cold wind of northern Xinjiang, and when he turned to look at Shengzhou City, which was close at hand, a fierce light appeared in his eyes: "Within ten days, The city of Shengzhou must be destroyed!!"

-

Five or six days later, the angry people of Shengzhou repelled the soldiers and bandits guarding near the city gate with their shoddy weapons, and opened the city gate.The king of Tianshui County took the opportunity to break into the city, and with the identification and assistance of the common people, he killed thousands of lawless soldiers and bandits.There are also many low-ranking civil servants who identify the rebels, or personally lead the way to catch the rebels.So, within a day, Shengzhou City was recovered.

The news quickly spread to the camps of the West Route Army and the Central Route Army.The two marching chiefs in unanimously issued an order to continue westward to conquer Shuozhou and the nearby rebellious Turkic and Tiele tribes.