Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 221 Shooting Nine Thousand Years Old

April 28, the seventh year of the Apocalypse, is the Christmas day of Medicine King Bodhisattva. This day coincides with the first clear weather after the rain. The water on the West Lake is shining and the wind carries the fragrance of lotus flowers. It is a good time to visit the lake in early summer.

Lin Hai was at the foot of Qixia Ridge, north of Gushan. He saw that the entire lake area was deserted and there were not many people in sight. Only a few monks could be seen from a distance in front of Guanghua Temple on Gushan Island.

Guanghua Temple, formerly known as Gushan Temple, was built during the reign of Emperor Chen Wen of the Southern Dynasty. Bai Letian and Su Dongpo, two West Lake meritorious deities, both left famous works here. But now the biggest benefactor of this ancient temple is an eunuch, the Ming Dynasty's ceremonial eunuch Bingbi and the eunuch Suhang Weaving Li Shi.

Eunuchs have been worshiping the Buddha since ancient times, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception. Sun Long, the weaving eunuch of Suzhou and Hangzhou during the Wanli period, spent many times to repair the Jingci Temple on the south bank of the West Lake. The latter is also the location of the Nanping Evening Bell, one of the ten scenic spots in the West Lake.

In addition, Sun Long also spent a lot of money to repair and build other landscapes of West Lake, so that people once called Bai Causeway Sun Causeway. Even Yuan Hongdao said that Bai and Su Ergong were the ancient Buddhas who founded the West Lake, and Sun Long Gongze is Yiri Jialan.

Sun Long later served as a tax envoy, and all his money was collected from the common people. In the end, he could not get the blessing of the Buddha even though he paid homage to the Buddha. In the 29th year of Wanli's reign, a civil uprising broke out in Suzhou with tens of thousands of people participating. Tax collectors were killed and besieged the Suzhou Textile Office. Sun Long jumped over the wall and escaped, narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the mob.

However, the lessons learned from the past could not stop generations of eunuchs from worshiping the Buddha. No, after Li Shi took office, he poured money into Guanghua Temple like water. The reason why there are not many tourists in West Lake today is because the old man was coming to pay homage to the Buddha, so the main tourist passages were closed in advance.

After the Suzhou civil uprising last year, Li Shi was frightened and refused to stay in Suzhou. He spent most of the year in Hangzhou. This is also to learn from his senior Sun Long. After the Suzhou civil uprising during the Wanli period, Sun Long also stayed in Hangzhou for a long time.

In Li Shi's opinion, there were too many unruly people in Suzhou, and civil commotions would break out at every turn. In comparison, Hangzhou is better. Not only the people are simple, but the scenery is beautiful. It is simply a paradise on earth.

"Don't be impatient. Wait until Director Shan arrives." Lin Hai scolded him softly. At this time, he only knew that Li Shi brought only more than thirty people to Gushan Island, including eight bearers. These thirty-odd people There should be a large part of the people without force, but the problem is that it is unclear whether there are other guards on the periphery.

Hangzhou Weaving Bureau is located in the Yongjinmen area in the west of the city, not far from the West Lake. This old eunuch had to bring so many guards just to walk around the door. It seems that he was frightened by the Suzhou Civil War. Fortunately, this guy didn't send a horse to guard Qixia Ridge, otherwise Lin Hai would have been caught blind this time.

Little did the old eunuch know that a group of unscrupulous people were waiting for him to come out of Guanghua Temple on the north bank of the West Lake.

It is much safer to go around the other side of Yuhuang Mountain. Yuhuang Mountain is right on the Qiantang River. After landing, you can directly enter the mountain. There is a Ciyunling Ancient Road on the mountain that connects the West Lake and the Qiantang River.

This ancient road was a stone-step mountain road opened by Qian Liu, King of Wuyue during the Five Dynasties. It was considered a relatively prosperous business road at that time. However, after the Song Dynasty, as water transportation in the south of the Yangtze River became more and more developed, this commercial road that required climbing over the mountains was gradually abandoned. It is now inaccessible, and the stone steps seven hundred years ago are covered with moss.

"Chief, why don't we retreat first?" Shan Zhaodi said from the side after hearing what her father said. Unlike her aggressive sister, this eldest sister of the Shan family who has been married once has always been very stable.

After seeing Shan Sinan, Lin Hai sat on the bluestone and asked, "How is it? How many people did the old eunuch bring here in total?"

Although Xiling Bridge is very short, on the left is the Yue Wang Temple, and on the right is the Sheng Temple built by Pan Ruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang Province, for Wei Zhongxian. There are also several soldiers guarding the entrance of the Sheng Temple. Lin Hai and others will be discovered as soon as they get off the mountain.

Moreover, there are boats next to Gushan Island. As long as Lin Hai attacks, the old eunuch will escape by boat. Even though he has good water skills, how can he ensure that he catches Li Shi before the peripheral guards come to rescue him?

The reason why it took so much effort was because the more than thirty people participating in the operation were all armed with sharp swords, and several of them also carried strong bows and arrows. Even Lin Hai himself carried a flintlock pistol.

In the past ten days or so, he, Feng Yidao, Viper, and Waizui have been conducting on-the-spot investigations intensively, repeatedly debating detailed action plans, including imagining various possible situations and formulating corresponding plans. But now that the incident was coming, Lin Hai's heart was as calm as the water of the West Lake.

After waiting for another half an hour, Shan Sinan, whom Viper had longed for, finally appeared. He was responsible for scouting the number of people accompanying Li Shi, so he did not take the Ciyun Ridge Ancient Road south of West Lake, but took the mountain road to the north directly to the southern foot of Qixia Ridge.

Although he had an official status, on the day Li Shi went to Guanghua Temple to worship Buddha, he took so many weapons to Qixialing, which is only a bridge away from Gushan Island. If he was discovered before going up the mountain, it would be unreasonable anyway. Can't tell.

At midnight last night, Lin Hai took Feng Yidao and others to abandon the boat and land on the bank of the Qiantang River. They took advantage of the darkness to cross the Yuhuang Mountain along the Ciyunling Ancient Road, and then trekked for more than ten miles in the mountains surrounding the West Lake, finally arriving at dawn. The predetermined ambush location.

On the Qixia Mountain, Lin Hai sat quietly on a bluestone, waiting for his prey like a hunter holding his breath. Beside him, Feng Yidao, a hunter by profession, carried a bow and arrow and held a monocular telescope, watching Guanghua Temple's every move coldly.

"They are all east of Broken Bridge, about two miles away from Gushan Island." Shan Sinan then replied.

Shan Sinan heard the words and replied: "There are about five hundred people in total, half of them are gunmen, and the weapons and armor are bright and clear. I just don't know which officers and soldiers they are, and what their combat strength is?"

There is a Baidi between Broken Bridge and Gushan Island. The old eunuch took the Baidi from the east to Gushan Island. Qixialing, where Lin Hai is located, is on the north side of Gushan Island. To get to the island, you need to pass Xiling Bridge.

"Where are these officers and soldiers now?" Lin Hai had a headache when he heard this.

"Chief, the old eunuch doesn't have many people, why don't we take action?" Viper was a little anxious waiting. He had not eaten meat since he chopped up Chen Zhongji and Yang Tiansheng alive last year.

The Shan family's father and daughter can only come into contact with people on the very periphery of the Weaving Bureau, so the information they can provide is quite limited. No one can predict in advance how many people this damn eunuch will bring as guards.

"Wait a little longer and see if he will come to Xiling Bridge." Lin Hai had some assumptions about the situation in front of him, but he mainly discussed it with Feng Yidao, Shan Sinan, and Waizui, so alone Zhao Di didn't know the relevant plan.

Lin Hai even imagined the extreme situation in which the dead eunuch would be accompanied by hundreds of guards throughout the entire journey, so that he would not have to wait and retreat directly.

Fortunately, this situation did not happen. The old eunuch was selected to study in the library since he was a child. He can be regarded as an elegant person, so he does not want those stinky soldiers to disturb this pure place of Buddhism, let alone this lake breeze. Being humiliated by Qiu Bawei, isn't that burning the harp and boiling the crane?
In the Ming Dynasty, many eunuchs who were born in scribes had scholarly habits. Feng Bao in the early years of Wanli was a typical example. There is also Li Shi's predecessor Sun Long, who was a famous ink maker in the Ming Dynasty. The Qingjintang ink created by this eunuch was very popular with Emperor Wanli, and it can be regarded as a unique ink.

"Chief, what if the eunuch returns directly from Baidi?" Shan Laidi asked after hearing what Lin Hai said.

"Then let's go back the way we came." Lin Hai replied in a deep voice. This was indeed his plan for this situation.

Regarding this operation, Lin Hai's principle is that he must be more than 80% sure before he really attacks. After all, Emperor Tianqi still has four months to live. If one action fails, he will have another chance. If Li Shi really didn't have a chance, he could also resort to the next best thing and kidnap Pan Ruzhen, the governor of Zhejiang. This guy often attended literati gatherings and occasionally visited brothels. He couldn't always carry hundreds of guards with him, right?

However, Pan Ruzhen's weight is far less than that of Li Shi. The latter was the framer of the Seven Gentlemen case, which directly led to last year's Suzhou civil uprising. This shows how much the Donglin Party members hate him. According to Xu Xinlan, Pan Ruzhen was not considered a core figure in the eunuch party at all.

"Chief, the old eunuch has come out!" At this moment, Feng Yidao, who had been holding a telescope, said next to Lin Hai.

Lin Hai stood up from the bluestone after hearing this. From a distance, he saw a figure stepping on the back of someone else to get on the sedan. Then the sedan began to move towards the Xiling Bridge.

"Everyone, please keep quiet and don't expose yourself. As soon as the sedan crosses Xiling Bridge, we will fight out of the mountain!" Lin Hai deliberately lowered his voice with a hint of excitement. He had not done such an exciting thing in person for a long time. , this moment is like dreaming back to the future life.

Before each mission he carried out in later generations, he would formulate a careful action plan and try his best to imagine possible situations that he might encounter. Facts have proved that only detailed plans can support reasonable decisions. It is often difficult to make correct judgments with a flash of inspiration on the spot.

The same thing happened today. Li Shi came to Xilingqiao as he expected. Since the old eunuch chose to lick Wei Zhongxian's skin, it was unreasonable not to pay homage to his birthplace when he got here. Although this principle is simple, it is not easy to think clearly quickly under the tense environment of actual action.

Everyone immediately spread the word to the people on the left and right. Lin Hai then looked around at the Shan family, his father and daughter, Feng Yidao, Ruan Jin and others: "You guys, catch the old eunuch alive as soon as possible. Just pinch the old eunuch." In your hands, this operation is basically a success!"

These people were the most capable individual soldiers under him, and they all nodded in agreement upon hearing this. Shan Sinan took the bow and arrow from the eldest daughter's hand. He came here with Li Shi and his party from afar, so he didn't bring any weapons with him.

After about a cup of tea, Li Shi and his party finally walked onto Xiling Bridge. Lin Hai was only a stone's throw away from the north of Xiling Bridge. When the large eight-carriage sedan passed the bridge, he waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Do it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there were only a few whizzing sounds, and three feather arrows shot out from the dense forest, killing the two people leading the way on the spot.

"There is an assassin!" Li Shi, who was chatting with his nephew in the sedan chair, only heard two screams from outside, followed by deafening shouts of killing and ubiquitous crying.

Before the old eunuch could react, the sedan suddenly slammed to the ground under his buttocks, almost breaking his old bones. I don't know whether his bearers were beaten to death by the thieves, or whether they abandoned him and fled for their lives.

"Quick, quick... go out and take a look. How many thieves are there?" Li Shi immediately panicked and hurriedly urged his nephew to go out and see what was going on.

"Uncle...uncle, this must be the person behind that gang of rioters in Suzhou..." Li Shi's nephew Li Yong was also slumped in the sedan chair. He was originally a scoundrel in Xiong County, and usually followed his eggless uncle to bully men. The domineering girl, at this moment, didn't even have the courage to lift the curtain of the sedan chair and take a look.

"This... this, this group of rioters actually chased us all the way to Hangzhou, what should I do?" Li Shi huddled in a corner, trembling. The scene of the Suzhou riot a year ago flashed through his mind again...

No, if those gangs of thugs were capable of this, why didn’t they see them robbing anyone? People like Zhou Shunchang and Huang Zunsu all traveled thousands of miles from the south of the Yangtze River to escort the capital. There were many opportunities to rob prisoners on the way...

After all, Li Shi had lived for sixty years and had seen many things in the palace. He soon felt something was wrong and quickly kicked his nephew: "Our family asked you to go out and have a look, did you hear it?"

"Uncle, uncle... I'm really out of energy..." Li Yong could hear the sound of fighting outside the sedan chair at this time, and the thieves must have been nearby.

Li Shi kicked Li Yong a few more times, but his incompetent nephew just kept crying for his father and mother, refusing to go out to take a look.

The old eunuch had no choice but to struggle to get up. As soon as he opened the curtain of the sedan, he smelled a strong smell of blood. He saw several corpses lying in front of the sedan. There were about ten people fighting in front of the sedan. Among them, there were actually Two women.

At this moment, a strong man rushed towards him and carried him out like a chicken: "Is this Li Shi?"

"Okay... please spare your life, hero!" Li Shi's mind went blank at this moment, and he screamed subconsciously.

"Eh? There's another person here?" The strong man turned a deaf ear and then took his nephew out.

This strong man was naturally Ruan Jin. By this time, the battle outside the sedan chair had ended. The thirty or so people close to Li Shi either escaped, were killed, or were captured alive.

However, at this time, the officers and soldiers on the east side of the broken bridge had also been dispatched. From a distance from the head of Xiling Bridge, a beating cold light could be seen, which was the sunlight reflected by armor and weapons.

As for the guards of Suhang Weaving, no matter which general is courting this damn eunuch, they must at least come up with some decent men.

Of course, it's possible that these soldiers are just fake, just like the emperor's ceremonial guard that looks majestic, but in fact they are all silver-like wax spear heads. After all, no one would have expected that these soldiers would actually come in handy. The damn eunuch didn't know his stuff anyway, so the majestic look was enough.

"Everyone, escort these living people into the living temple. With one knife, you watch at the door." Lin Hai ordered loudly. The 9,000-year-old living temple is the closest bunker. Since there are firearms on the opposite side, then Just go in first and talk about it.

The crowd then escorted the prisoners to Wei Zhongxian's Shrine. Lin Hai said to Li Shi as he walked: "Send a person in charge over there and ask those officers and soldiers to retreat, otherwise I will send you to see the King of Hell now."

"How dare you! How dare you talk to our family like this? Do you know who our family is?" Li Shi took the courage to scold Lin Hai angrily.

At the critical moment, the old eunuch suddenly came to his senses. He was sure that Lin Haifei, who was such a big deal, would not kill him easily, and planned to mess around until the officers and soldiers arrived.

Everyone was only a few steps away from Wei Zhongxian's Shrine of Life. As they spoke, they had already entered the temple and saw a lifelike wooden sculpture being enshrined in the hall.

Lin Hai raised his flintlock pistol and smashed the head of Wei Zhongxian's statue with a bang: "Aren't you just a dog raised by the emperor? I even shot your nine-thousand-year-old grandfather!"

(End of this chapter)