I studied in modern times

Chapter 606: Xihe Road, where everyone benefits from both top and bottom (2)

Just when the Song army led by Zhong Jianzhong approached Fugong City.

Outside Lanzhou City, sandalwood scented the air, and countless Han and Tibetan soldiers and civilians worshiped on both sides of the road.

Dozens of monks wearing white robes, holding their feet and alms bowls in hand, chanting scriptures, moved forward piously.

Among these monks was an old monk with a white beard and kind eyes.

The old monk wore a purple cassock given by the emperor, held a gold alms bowl in his hand, and walked barefoot.

Next to the old monk is a cart pulled by a pure white yak.

The car is decorated with gold foil, burning sandalwood, sprinkled with red flowers, bright silk wraps the car body, and many treasures decorate the car.

Around this big car, there were several cars and horses accompanying it.

"Namo Amitabha!"

In this way, he, a little-known envoy before Xining, was already under the command of Xihe Road Soldiers and Horses in the tenth year of Xining, and his military minister rank was promoted to the high position of introducing a deputy envoy!

Relying on the bravery of Wang Wenyu and other fierce generals, he was promoted through meritorious service.

So much so that in places where the Vegetarian Demon Cult is so powerful, even local officials have to compromise and cooperate with them.

What's even better is that at this time, a man found him and said to him: Young man, come with me!
This man's name is Zhang Dun.

Believers should ask themselves, are they sincere?
In short, it is a set of rhetoric that blends the concepts of Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Tantric Buddhism.

They also brought the rain and dew that the monks of Zisheng Zen Monastery had collected under the pagoda in the past year.

He was immediately appointed to be in charge of the military affairs of Gou Yan Road, and he rose to great heights in no time.

Fortunately, Wang Anshi's reform brought an unprecedented outlet.

It's a pity that he has always failed in the imperial examination. If it were normal circumstances, if a military minister like him had no background and no support, and he was not promoted by nobles, it would be difficult for him to break through to become an ambassador.

This is determined by the heart.

As long as you worship and respect the Buddha sincerely, the Buddha will bless you.

This is also a characteristic of this era - the concepts and thoughts of Pure Land Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and Tantric Buddhism are now mixed or borrowed from each other.

The Song Dynasty suffered the consequences of religion.

Some even shed tears.

So he knew about Lanzhou's military and state affairs, and concurrently served as deputy envoy of Xihe Lanhui Road Economic Strategy and Appeasement.

At this time, the old monk would always reach out and grab some water from the alms bowl, and then sprinkle it on the surrounding crowd.

Everyone listening left and right laughed.

They all knew the inside story, and were even directly involved in planning the "Buddha's tooth relic tour to Xihe".

Li Hao, among the generals on Xihe Road, has a more complicated experience than Zhao Xi.

If living beings are blessed by this sweet rain, as long as they worship the Buddha devoutly, they will be able to eliminate disasters and diseases, and they can also defeat demons. They can also bless their ancestors and protect their descendants. They may even eliminate their sins and avoid hell after death. The suffering can lead directly to the bliss of the Western Heaven!
In short, it is impossible to do anything!

When the old monk and the treasure chariot passed by, the believers prostrated themselves on the ground and prayed with their hands clasped together.

Li Hao said worriedly: "If this happens, I fear that in the future the monks on Mount Mobang will not abide by the law and even confuse the people..."

As for what it means to worship Buddha sincerely? What standards must be met to receive the relevant blessings?

These rains and dews, nourished by the tooth relics of the Buddha, are extraordinary in nature and have various magical effects and merits.

At this time, the nearby believers, both Han and Tibetan, would become excited.

And I’m still eating it now!

On the top of Lanzhou City, Zhao Xi, who was wearing military uniform, watched all this from a distance and couldn't help but said: "This Zhiyuan monk is really a wonderful person."

He took the opportunity to go to Bianjing. Relying on the foundation of the Western Army and his familiarity with the situation along the border, he presented the "Border Annihilation Policy" to Wang Anshi, and was recommended.

He is from Guanxi, his hometown is Suizhou, and his father is Li Ding, who is a general under Di Qing. He followed Di Qing in conquering Nong Zhigao and served as the prisoner of the Guangxi Military and Horse Command. Therefore, he spent his youth in Guangxi after his father died. After that, he returned to his hometown with his coffin in hand and stayed in Suizhou for three years. Then he traveled around and visited various places.

In the following five Lanzhou battles, he won big and special.

In a few years, he made many military exploits and became Zhang Dun's top general in conquering the two lakes. After Zhang Dun's success, he listed his name first among the generals with meritorious service.

Now he is one of the highest-ranking military ministers among the generals in Xihe. After going to Beijing to report his duties to the sage last year, he was promoted to Zhongzhou Defense Envoy based on his military exploits. He is now a full-time military minister! In all dynasties of the country, there were no more than ten official military ministers!

Because this time Master Puji Huaien not only brought the tooth relics of the Buddha enshrined in Zisheng Zen Temple on Mobang Mountain.

Then the wind blew, and the five-pronged expedition to Xia followed Li Xian. He fought fiercely to regain Lanzhou and went down to Tiandu Mountain, so he knew Lanzhou as a military official.

In the Jiangnan area, the Vegetable-Eating Demon Cult grows like vines at the bottom of villages and cities.

"Mr. Jinglue..." Li Hao, the deputy envoy of Xihe Road Jinglue Comfort and an acquaintance of Lanzhou, who had been standing silently beside him, suddenly asked: "After today, the influence of the Zisheng Zen Temple in Xihe will not change." Will it be too overwhelming?”

"It's not like the official family is in vain, canonize him as Master Puji Huai'en!"

Otherwise, nothing can be done!
"Moreover, I also heard that Master Puji Huai'en will be reincarnated in Huangzhou in the heart of Wenxi in the future..."

The effect is really good!

So, Li Hao followed Zhang Dun to Lianghu, starting with Chenzhou.

So it is clear that everything you see now has been carefully planned and designed.

As a military minister, the next step is to return to the capital to pay homage to the military commander, then the horse infantry army, bodyguards, and the second officer of the palace department.

For a military minister, if he can do this, he can marry into the royal family like those honorary ministers, and he can learn from generals like Zhongjia, Yao family, and Zhejia to become a famous general family in the Western Army.

And the warriors who have reached this point are actually full of ownership spirit!
why?
Because the wealth of them and their descendants has been completely bound to the Zhao Guan family.

Theoretically speaking, if the Song Dynasty is not destroyed, their descendants will not have to worry about their wealth!
And Li Hao has seen the horror of religion.

When he was young, he traveled to Yangzhou to study and saw with his own eyes how the local temples in Yangzhou took advantage of their believers and ran rampant.

When he followed Zhang Dun to the two lakes, he even saw the power of religion.

With just a few words from a few monks, the natives on the mountain can come down from the mountain and accept household registration.

The monks only promised that the government would build a temple there.

Naturally, he could see how terrifying the Zisheng Zen Monastery on Mount Mobang was.

Before Zhao Xi could speak, Xiang Zonghui laughed and said, "Zhifu (Li Hao's pseudonym) doesn't have to worry about this!"

"The official family has given the golden bottle and the jade lot. In the future, the successors of Zisheng Zen Temple in Mobang Mountain can only be selected from the golden bottle given by the imperial family."

"In addition, the reincarnated Master Puji Huaien needs to go to Bianjing to practice in Daxiangguo Temple or Huguo Temple before he reaches adulthood."

These are two insurances to ensure that Master Puji Huai'en of Mobang Mountain will always follow the official family.

The former ensures that every generation of Master Puji Huaien must come from a family closely related to the Song Dynasty.

The latter ensured that every generation of Master Puji Huai'en would be close to the imperial court.

Li Hao listened and finally understood, what was the imperial gift of the golden bottle used for?
Immediately convinced, he handed over to Xiang Zonghui: "I see, thank you for clearing up the confusion on official business."

Then he faced the direction of Bianjing and bowed his hands, saying, "The true sage is the Son of Heaven."

Xiang Zonghui smiled and remembered a piece of news from Bianjing City - Di Qing's son Di Yong has been appointed to be in charge of the army, and his daughter has been adopted by his sister as an adopted daughter and named the county queen.

And Li Hao's father was Di Qing's old subordinate.

With this relationship, I can get close to Li Haoduo in the future.

Not sure, it may come in handy in the future!
……

Monk Zhiyuan held a Dharma conference in Lanzhou City that day under the arrangement of the Lanzhou government.

Tens of thousands of Lanzhou soldiers and civilians participated in the ceremony. During this process, Zhiyuan ordered people to carry the Buddha's tooth relics and bring Buddha water nourished by the Buddha's tooth relics brought from Zisheng Zen Temple to bless the soldiers and civilians present.

Lanzhou City suddenly seemed to be buffed.

The morale of the military and civilians has been greatly boosted!

The next day, under the escort of Lanzhou officers and soldiers, he went to the cotton fields where cotton was being picked among the forts on the outskirts of Lanzhou to bless the people of all ethnic groups who were 'working' in these places.

I have to say that this old monk's body is really strong.

For two consecutive days, he walked around barefoot and blessed people of all ethnic groups, but his expression remained unchanged.

Not to mention he is an old man, even a young man may not have such a physique.

After Zhiyuan's trip like this, the morale of the Han and Tibetan soldiers and civilians in the entire Lanzhou fortification area was high!
Even the workers in the cotton fields feel that they have endless strength when picking cotton.

Of course, not everyone thinks so.

Wei's name is Ami, so he is very anxious.

He was lying in the wooden house of Mianzhuang, watching the fierce dogs kept outside the house, lying on the ground, gnawing on bones.

He wanted to escape.

Escape from this terrible place!

However, the muscles all over his body were already extremely sore.

The highland barley rice eaten at night has long been digested, and my stomach is growling.

The next meal will have to wait until tomorrow morning.

At that time, the Bao family from Mianzhuang would bring enough meals.

There are cakes, soup, and even some slices of dried meat!

This is the only time of the day that the employees of the cotton farm can have enough to eat. Because, for the next whole day, they need to mechanically repeat the work of picking cotton bolls in the cotton field.

And the meal given in the evening is just to keep people from starving to death.

Thinking of this, Weiming Ami felt extremely depressed, and life here was like purgatory for him.

He, the next generation leader of a distinguished family and a famous warrior, is now tied up in a cotton farm. Not only does he have to do the same thing over and over again every day, he also has to endure hunger.

If possible, he is willing to pay any price to escape from this hell!

Unfortunately, there was no possibility for him to escape.

It's not just that he doesn't have the strength, even if he does, he also knows that he can't run away.

Because someone tried it!
It was Dubuke who followed him to Xizhou to inquire about information about the Southern Barbarians.

The next generation of the Murla family was overtaken by vicious dogs raised by the Southern Barbarians because of their escape. They were bitten and bruised all over their bodies, and were then put in shackles and shackles.

From then on, Dubuke did the heaviest and most tiring work in Mianzhuang.

Moreover, he couldn't even get paid.

Thinking of wages, Weiming Ami took out the wages paid by Mianzhuang two days ago from the cloth pocket under him.

Five hundred cold black iron coins were shaking in the palm of his hand.

It can be seen that these iron coins are all good iron!

There are no impurities, and as long as it is melted, it can be used to make weapons and farm tools.

He looked at his fellow workers who lived in the same shed as him.

Most people are already asleep.

but……

There is another person, like him, with his eyes open, not knowing what he is looking at?
Weiming Ami looked at the man and his heart moved.

He knew that that person was also a Party member - he could tell from his accent and hairstyle.

Weiming Ami has also been observing this person for several days.

He always behaves differently from others and is always very anxious.

"Could it be that he is also a spy sent by the Prime Minister?"

With this thought in mind, Weina Ami quietly approached.

The wooden shed where he lived was Datongpu.

Seven or eight people slept in a bunkhouse.

Therefore, he arrived in front of the man without much effort.

"Duke, what are you thinking about?" Weina Ami asked tentatively.

When the man saw Weiming Ami, he sat up and said, "I was thinking about how the Master sprinkled Buddha water on my head during the day when he was blessing me."

He grabbed Weiming Ami's hand and asked excitedly: "Ami, do you think this means I am blessed?"

Weiming Ami followed the other party's words and nodded: "This is natural."

"Duke is a blessed man."

Duke immediately grinned: "So, Buddha will definitely bless me, right?"

"definitely."

"real?!"

"Really!" Weina Ami encouraged the other party softly, hoping to trick him out, so he asked: "Duke, what kind of blessing do you want?"

Duke's young and rough face turned red all of a sudden, and the words he spoke made Weiming Amiruo fall into the ice cave: "It would be great if the Buddha bless me and a Western thief falls into my hands. "

"Dead or alive!"

"I'm satisfied."

Weiming Ami swallowed her saliva and looked at the standard hair style on the opponent's head.

You are a party member!

The warriors of Dabai Gao Kingdom, the humble subjects!

How could, how could you have such rebellious thoughts? !
But Duke didn't see Weiming Ami's expression. He started to get excited and started talking nonstop: "If the Buddha really bless me, I can catch a Western thief."

"Then I can leave this cotton farm, hire a few hired hands, and open up cotton fields."

"With cotton fields, I can get a wife here..."

As Duke continued to talk, other workers were woken up.

These people originally wanted to get angry, but after hearing Duke's words, they all became excited.

"I also want to catch a Western thief..." A Qiang hired worker said to himself, his eyes shining.

"Me too!" A Tibetan hired worker sighed: "If the Buddha bless me and my wish comes true, I will definitely take my family and make a pilgrimage to Mount Mobang on foot to fulfill my wish."

"I wish so too!"

Weiming Ami's hands and feet suddenly became cold.

Even the hired workers in the southern barbarian cotton farms, even the people living at the lowest level, are dreaming of catching or killing a warrior from the Great White Kingdom in exchange for a change in their destiny.

Moreover, these people are not even Han Chinese!
They are Tubo people, Dangxiang people, and Qiang people!
But they still dreamed of being able to capture or kill a warrior from the Great White Kingdom alive on the battlefield.

This fact made Weiming Ami extremely frightened.

It reminded him of the Battle of Dingxi City in the first month of last year. In that battle, tens of thousands of troops from the Dabai Gao Kingdom besieged Dingxi City on the outskirts of Lanzhou, a southern barbarian.

A fort with only 500 defenders.

However, tens of thousands of elites laid siege for more than a month, but they were unable to shake the small Dingxi City.

Instead, you lose your troops and your generals!
why?
Because there are not only Han people in Dingxi City, but also Tubo and Qiang people.

Not only are there men, there are also women!
Even the elderly and children are helping to carry water, cook, deliver arrows, and care for the wounded!
A Dingxi city is like this.

Now, the entire Xihe Road in Nanman has turned into the appearance of Dingxi City.

How can we fight this battle?
He took a deep breath and looked at Duke, who was still talking endlessly.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Where is Duke from?"

"I'm from Liangzhou."

"From that tribe?"

"From the Wuniu family." Weiming Ami blinked and had never heard of it. He was probably from a small and unknown tribe.

"Then why did you come here?" Weina Ami asked.

Du Ke said: "I can't survive there!"

"The thieves killed the Wuniu family and took away all the food from my family. My father and sister both starved to death. Before my mother died, she told me to run quickly and run wherever I wanted!"

"I just kept running and running, and finally followed some people and got through."

Weiming Ami was silent.

Because he knew that this was the order of Xingqing Mansion.

In order to raise food and grass, the tribes began to exploit all the marshes. These tribes had no choice but to double down and squeeze their tribesmen.

He couldn't blame the other party harshly, so he could only ask: "Does Duke want to go back?"

"Go back? Are you going to continue making cows and horses for the Wuniu family?" This is ridiculous.

"I live a good life here. I have food every day and I won't be hungry anymore..."

"I can still get paid!"

He touched the iron money under his body. He had been a tenant farmer for the Wuniu family in Liangzhou for several years, and he had never even seen what money looked like!

But here, under the rule of Zhao Guan's family, he got his wages.

And there are 700 of them every month!

This is because the foreman saw that he worked diligently and asked the owner of the Bao family to add it to him!
"Of course, if I have the chance, I will go back!" Duke said suddenly, "But, I have to wait until I become an official Baoding or even a sergeant!"

"If such a day comes, I will definitely go to Wuniu's family with a knife to settle the score!"

Weiming Ami trembled all over as he listened.

I was screaming crazily in my heart: "Prime Minister! Prime Minister! Don't come to Lanzhou! Never come to Lanzhou!"

"This is purgatory!"

"It is the flesh and blood cemetery of the Great White Kingdom!"

Even the hired workers in the cotton farm and even the members of the Dangxiang tribe were thinking about how to kill and capture a warrior from the Dabai Gao Kingdom!

Even if Dabai Gaoguo has thousands of troops, it will inevitably fail.

The blood of the warriors will overflow the valley, and the corpses will fill the ditch!

What you can’t win, you absolutely can’t win!
No matter what, you can't win!
(End of this chapter)