Fu Shifeng

Chapter 142
The summer is hot and the heat is steaming.On the official road exposed by the scorching sun, dozens of riders came here amidst the twisting light and shadow.

Cheng Sanwu and his party traveled lightly on horses, left Tongguan in the east, took the Liangjing Avenue to Luoyang, the eastern capital, crossed the Yellow River in the north, and then turned east to Xinxiang, which is considered to have entered the boundary of Hebei Road.Then go all the way to the northeast along the Yongji Canal and arrive in Weizhou.

Everyone reined in their horses and looked around, the official road was full of smoke and dust, and thousands of refugees were walking slowly with their families.

"It seems that the drought in Hebei is more serious than expected." Changqing, who was riding a yellow puma, frowned.

Not long ago, the saint issued an edict to send Xuan Fu envoys to Hebei for disaster relief, and ordered Xuandu Guan and Zongsheng Palace to dispatch people with profound Taoism to pray for rain to relieve drought.

However, Changqing couldn't wait, and before the others were ready, he took the first step in the name of looking for the altar to build a spiritual place, and rushed to Hebei Road together with the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Unexpectedly, not long after arriving at the boundary of Hebei Road, he saw endless refugees on the official road.They were all ragged and emaciated, their cheeks were tanned and reddened by the midsummer sun, walking slowly and numbly with the crowd.

"Are these people fleeing?" Cheng Sanwu asked.

"There is a law in this dynasty. If a disaster occurs in a certain place, either the millet will be relocated to the people, or the emigration will be the millet." Changqing explained: "Weizhou is the Hebei Dao government, and the warehouses are full. Much more convenient."

Afu on the side smiled lightly and said: "In the early years of the dynasty, the capital was Guanzhong. If there was a severe drought, wouldn't it be the same to move the capital to Luoyang and eat? The majestic emperor is not immune to this disaster, let alone ordinary people?"

Changqing glanced at her, really don't know what's so funny about this kind of thing, monsters are just monsters after all, she can't be expected to have compassion for mortals.

Without further delay, a group of people went straight to Guixiang City, the government office of Weizhou, which happened to be adjacent to Yongji Canal, and there was also a warehouse and barn under the name of Wang Yuanbao.

This time when she entered the city, Afu did not beat around the bush, but directly revealed her identity as the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The state government servant immediately went to report when she saw her, and the Governor of Weizhou hurriedly came to greet her outside the state government office.

"Xue Yongnian, my lower official, pay my respects to the envoy."

This Lord Inspector was not wearing a crimson official uniform, but a light green shirt, and the belt around his waist was not tied tightly, as if he was just resting on the couch in the morning.

Entering the government office of the Texas government, Xue Yongnian immediately invited Afu and others to sit down, and ordered the servants to bring ice-cold fragrant drinks. In the exquisite white porcelain bowl of Xing kiln, there was a large group of finely crushed smoothie, poured stone honey, Milk, crispy cheese, and a few lotus seeds dotted, sweet and fragrant.

"Please use it slowly." Xue Yongnian was full of flattery, lest he would dissatisfy the cruel and vicious guys in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

When Cheng Sanwu saw the iced cheese, he moved his index finger. From Chang'an to now, he has been rushing on the road. Although there are official posts, he almost never had a good meal.

When he was about to enjoy it, he found that no one else was moving except himself.Afu always has a smile on her mouth, which makes people feel uneasy; Mr. Qiang Yu shows disdain, and tilts his face to wait for the good show.

As for Changqing, he looked at the iced drink in the bowl, and there was a maid shaking a fan behind him. The heat outside seemed to have nothing to do with this, and the anger gradually appeared on his face, and he asked in a deep voice: "Xue Cishi, the people under your rule are suffering because of You are suffering from extreme drought and heat, but can you enjoy such cold things with peace of mind?"

Xue Yongnian's expression froze, it was true that he was just taking advantage of the cool in the government office, but he took out this cold thing just to please the envoys?

You must know that this crushed ice is not easy to come by. Xue Yongnian asked Taoist priests to use ice mirror and saltpeter to prepare it. Even as the governor of Weizhou, he can only use it to cool off the hottest days, and it will not be easy. Take it out to entertain guests.

"This... the next official saw that the envoy had traveled a long distance, and he was inevitably tired, so he planned to entertain a little before discussing the business." Xue Yongnian reluctantly defended.

Changqing was about to lose his temper, when Afu interjected, "The imperial court's envoy is already on his way and will arrive later. We are not here for disaster relief."

Hearing this, Changqing had no choice but to shut up obediently.Afu looked at Xue Yongnian: "I heard that there is a Jingguang celestial girl in Hebei Road now, with many believers, and there is also a monk group under her command. She also visited Weizhou before?"

"It's true." Xue Yongnian felt a little guilty.

"Even if a group of monks holds a certificate of passing through the prefectures and counties with great fanfare, Governor Xue never asked about their origins?" A faint light flashed in Afu's green pupils.

Xue Yongnian's body trembled, except for Afu, everything around him seemed to disappear gradually, but whenever she wanted to ask anything, he wished to confide it all.

"The monks came from Yique, the eastern capital. In addition to passing the pass, they also had a letter of recommendation from Mr. Wang, who stayed behind in the eastern capital. They hoped to promote Buddhism through this trip." Xue Yongnian's eyes were a little blurred: "I saw them all the way. Begging for alms bowls and practicing asceticism, and did not ask for offerings, presumably he must be an eminent monk who strictly abides by Buddhist rules and precepts, so he didn't ask too much."

Afu was silent for a while, and then asked: "Have you ever seen the goddess of Jingguang herself? How would you describe it?"

"I have seen her, she is about twenty years old, she is quite beautiful, she wears white clothes and walks barefoot." Xue Yongnian said: "But she never speaks, and all the common affairs are taken care of by the accompanying monks."

"Did Jingguang Tiannv cast spells on the border of Weizhou to rain and eliminate drought?" Afu asked.

"It never happened." Xue Yongnian replied, "When the Jingguang Goddess left Weizhou, the drought was not serious yet."

"Where did they go after they left Weizhou?"

"Follow the Yongji Canal and go north to Qinghe, Beizhou." Xue Yongnian didn't hide anything.

Afu looked at several people in the same group, motioning for them to ask questions and add something.Mr. Qiang Yu was the first to speak: "How many members are there in that monk group? Are there any masters among them?"

"There are about five or sixty members in the Sangha. As for the masters... please forgive me for being blind, I couldn't tell the difference for a while." Xue Yongnian's eyes showed a bit of bewilderment.

Qiang Yujun clicked his tongue lightly, quite dissatisfied with Xue Yongnian's incompetence, waved his hand and stopped talking.

Cheng Sanwu, as always, quietly picked up the porcelain bowl and scooped two mouthfuls of iced honey milk for himself, while Changqing thought for a while, and asked: "Since the goddess of Jingguang is casting spells and raining elsewhere, why are there still so many refugees fleeing to Wei? State boundaries? Even going south?"

Xue Yongnian had a strange expression, and replied, "Even if she really has magical powers, which of the hardest-hit places, Jizhou and Shenzhou, are not densely populated and have vast acres? How can a few rains alleviate the disaster?"

Changqing was taken aback when he heard the words, this situation surprised him a little.But after thinking about it, it doesn't make sense.

Although there are magic spells in Buddhism and Taoism, if you want to manipulate the nature of the world and order the wind, cloud, rain and snow, even if the world's masters go up to the altar to cast spells, at best they will interfere with a few miles around, and even a county cannot completely cover them. cover.

That's why even though the emperor sent Taoists to Hebei to pray for rain, Xiang Lu still asked Wang Yuanbao to bring out food, because he didn't expect the rain to reverse the drought at all, it was just a little peace of mind.

Seeing that everyone had no doubts, Afu snapped his fingers, Xue Yongnian trembled again, his eyes gradually recovered, he lowered his head and raised his forehead in a daze, but he didn't dare to ask more questions.

"In the next few days, we may visit Governor Xue again." Afu got up and left the table with a cold smile on her face: "Also, I don't want to be passed on to the outside world about what was discussed in this meeting. Farewell."

After saying this, Afu turned and left. Seeing this, Cheng Sanwu hurriedly took the iced cheese in the bowl into his mouth, wiped his mouth indiscriminately and got up together.

Xue Yongnian didn't dare to be careless, and hurriedly sent them out, and said along the way: "If the envoy has any orders, just send someone to pass on the message directly, and the subordinate must do his best!"

After the Minister of Internal Affairs left the state government office, they came to stay at the post house. After a little tidying up, before they had time to eat, several people came to see them on their own initiative.

"Liu Changxu, chief inspector of Hebei Province, pays homage to Mr. Shangzhang." The leader was dressed in commoner clothes and was smart and capable.

"The action is quite fast." Afu boasted: "Your people were watching from outside the government office just now, right?"

"Don't dare to hide from Zhang Jun, yes." Liu Changxu replied with crossed hands.

"Mr. Qiangyu, you must have met." Afu introduced the people around him: "This is the new Lord Zhaoyang, as for this one... He is Mr. Changqing, who came to Hebei to pray for rain, and we Colleagues are coming."

Liu Changxu saluted one by one, while changing color slightly.In fact, he is one of the few envoys with purple ribbons in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He also serves as the chief inspector stationed in Hebei Road. He is in charge of a group of spies, and his status is quite high.He knew better than ordinary people that Gongchenwei sent three of the ten Taisui at the same time, which shows how much Chang'an attaches importance to the situation in Hebei.

"Just now we went to the Weizhou government office first, not because we didn't trust you." Afu comforted me, and then said: "It's just that there are some things that we can't wait for Xue Yongnian to understand."

"It should be so." Liu Changxu dared not ignore it.

"The situation in Hebei Road, and the movement of the Goddess of Dayun Jingguang, please come and tell us." Afu motioned for the other party to sit down.

Liu Changxu said yes, and he could tell that among the three masters in front of him, Zhang Jun was the one who presided over the overall situation.

"To the north of Beizhou, the five prefectures of Ji, Zhao, Shen, Ding, and Heng are the most affected by the drought, and most of the seedlings in the fields are withered. The rest of Hebei prefectures also have no rain for more than a month, and the Zhangshui and Hutuo Rivers are almost dry." Liu Changxu unfolded a map of Hebei. The lines are simple and not very detailed. It can barely be used to distinguish the direction. Look at his fingers:
"The Goddess of Purity and her sangha are currently traveling back and forth among the five states, occasionally casting spells to make it rain, and the people wherever they go are grateful, and some even shave themselves and follow the Celestial Goddess of Purity."

When Afu and the others heard this, they all frowned: "How many people are following Jingguang Tiannv now?"

"There are more than 200 people who shave themselves, and more than 3000 people who have been following behind to make a big splash." Liu Changxu replied in a deep voice.

"3000 people? They just follow along?" Cheng Sanwu was puzzled, "Then what do they eat on the way?"

"Whenever Jingguang went to a place, she led people to the prefectural and county government offices, begging the government to open a warehouse to release grain, or ask the big family to give porridge." Liu Changxu replied.

Hearing this, Mr. Qiang Yu sneered: "Wow! Gathering refugees to force the government, this alone is enough to mobilize the army to kill them all."

Changqing was puzzled and said: "Jingguang Tiannv and the others can pass the pass with their hands, but why didn't the county and county governments in Hebei restrict the refugees? Thousands of people walked in groups, and a little incitement would cause chaos!"

Afu heard a clue from it, and asked again: "These refugees have been following Jingguang Tiannv? Didn't they stop in places with plenty of granaries to eat?"

"Yes, and wherever Jingguang Tiannv goes, more and more refugees will follow her." Liu Changxu replied: "We also send people to follow secretly, and report the approximate location of the refugees by letter every few days."

"Can your hands reach the goddess of light?" Afu asked.

"I'm afraid it's not easy." Liu Changxu shook his head slightly: "There seems to be a guardian spirit beside the Jingguang Tiannv. Once the evil spirits and thieves get close to offend, they will be taken down by the guardian spirits immediately. I dare not let the spies under me easily reveal my identity, so I didn't try it out. "

"What do you think?" Afu looked at Changqing. Regarding the way of magic, I still want to ask someone who is proficient in this way.

Changqing pondered and said: "Those who practice the Dharma deeply will indeed be accompanied by Dharma Guardians and Garan warriors. Anyone who offends them should not get close. Ordinary swordsmen may not be able to hurt the Pure Light Goddess, even if they are hostile and show it too much. They will also be noticed by these invisible guardian spirits, so they will report to their masters and take precautions."

"Are these Dharma protectors so powerful?" Cheng Sanwu asked curiously, "I thought they would hit people with their fists indiscriminately."

Both Afu and Changqing had heard him talk about Pang Yanjin's ability, so they knew why he mentioned it.Changqing explained: "The origins of Dharma guardian ghosts and gods are different. After subduing demons, they used secret spells to convert them and guarded the mountain gate dojo in the past; Hearing the merits of the Buddha Dharma and being attached to him by induction; or the gods, generals and officials who settled down in the blessed land of the cave, the mortal mages have the true form of the Taoist officials, and the flying talisman summons... Jingguang Tiannv has Dharma guardian ghosts and gods by her side, even if she sleeps deeply. Wake up, foreign demons still cannot offend."

Mr. Qiangyu asked curiously: "How far can the guardian ghosts and gods who don't know the goddess of Jingguang protect her?"

Changqing didn't quite understand: "Of course it can only be near and not far away."

"Then if I set up a bow and shoot arrows four or five miles away, can her guardian spirits sense it in advance?" Qiang Yujun asked again.

Changqing understood now, but he was particularly shocked. Shooting arrows with a bow four or five miles away is beyond imagination. Even the winch heavy crossbow used to attack and defend the city has a range of about a thousand steps, which is more than three miles in conversion. .However, when it comes to the battlefield, it doesn't matter whether you hit or miss a thousand steps away, and the occasion where you really use the heavy crossbow is only three to five hundred steps away.

At this moment, Mr. Qiangyu claimed to be shooting arrows four or five miles away. It can be seen that this person's archery skills are already superb, and it cannot be deduced by common sense.

"If you can really shoot arrows at this distance, you should be able to do it..." Chang Qing was secretly startled, the expert of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is really not to be underestimated, the power of an arrow that can fly four or five miles can be imagined.If it were me, facing such cold arrows without any precautions, I am afraid that I would be pierced by an arrow.

(End of this chapter)