Ping An Biography

Because Yongshunsi is under the jurisdiction of the chieftain, more than ten people including Zhang Ning did not go there directly, so they went to Changde Mansion in Huguang first.The so-called chieftains are called Xuanwei envoys, but they are actually the local emperors in remote areas. The Xuanwei envoys of Yongshunsi are the Peng family. This local emperor has ruled that place since the beginning of the tenth century. It has existed longer than the central yang dynasty... So for the sake of safety, Zhang Ning decided to find a helper who can deal with the chieftain in the government under the Han people.

The Ming court allowed the Peng family to continue to rule Yongshun Division. One reason was that the remote mountainous area was located at the junction of several provinces. The situation was complicated and there were many ethnic groups. The local emperor continued to stabilize the local situation; another reason was that at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Peng family of Yongshun Division surrendered allegiance. The eldest son led more than [-] troops to follow the Ming army to fight in the south; they also obeyed the decrees of the central yang court. The study room is dedicated to learning to read and write.Such a local emperor's regime is so far away from the ruling center, why did the Zhongyang Dynasty overthrow it?

So on the way to the west from Changde Mansion, Zhang Ning's team had a few more people. The leader was Du Fang, the ninth-rank governor of Changde Mansion, who was introduced by the prefect. .Sure enough, along the way, Du Fang talked eloquently no matter how big or small, like a "Yongshun Tong". Zhang Ning thought that this person might be arranged by Huguang Chief Envoy to monitor Yongshun chieftain, lest the government be unprepared when they rebelled.

The road became more and more rugged, and the mountains gradually rose. Fortunately, everyone rode Shu horses.It is said that this kind of horse comes from the chief envoy of Sichuan. It is not good to let it run on the northern plains, and it is short and lacking in momentum; but it is very expert at walking on mountain roads. , good load-bearing, can endure hardships, and can do heavy work for a while without feeding Jing food.

The autumn sun doesn't hurt, it's warm, but this kind of sun is more likely to tan people, and people don't feel the heat so they don't often look for shade.So Xu Wenjun still dressed like an Arab woman. < The Qing Mansion moved over, and the main altar is in Wushan.This group of people did not do anything bad except to confuse the public with rumors, and their activities were secretive, and they often gathered in high mountains and dense forests. It was very difficult for the government to send troops to wipe them out, and maybe they would run away when they heard the news.In addition, there was a plague in the eastern part of Yongshun Division last year, and the people of the evil sect helped the disaster and rescued people, so the government has not paid much attention to them. "

"Disaster relief? What do these people rely on to survive, I mean food and funds." Zhang Ning asked, probably because he had worked as an accountant in his previous life, and he instinctively paid attention to the issue of economic revenue and expenditure.

Du Fang thought for a while: "It should be to confuse the crowd with demonic words! When you go to a place and ask a believer who believes in that thing, you will be able to confirm it."

Zhang Ning said: "You mean cheating?"

Du Fang turned his head and said: "That's right, first to confuse people's hearts, and then to sell talisman water and incense ash. There is a place called Heifengya in the local area, where there are many ancient hanging coffins. Specialize in sucking blood to harm people, and then make people donate their property to join the religion to ward off evil spirits."

At this time, the lame Yan Ruofei interjected calmly: "This method has been used in Wushan County, but it is slightly different. The congregation also spread rumors about the presence of mountain ghosts, and passed on the two abandoned temples as haunted houses. , those who have good things go in during the day to hunt for novelties, and they will die inexplicably, so the rumors become more and more mysterious. At this time, they claim to be the descendants of the "Emperor of Heaven", who can drive away ghosts and evil spirits, and the leader is the reincarnation of the daughter of the Emperor of Heaven, a goddess, deceiving people Lied people to donate money to join the religion. Later, Yan investigated secretly and discovered the poisonous incense ash. They placed the incense ash secretly in the abandoned temples. , I will die in a few days."

"Wushan County, Goddess, sounds quite reasonable." Zhang Ning said with a smile, "Song Yu's "Gao Tang Fu Preface" says: The former king visited Gao Tang, took a nap in the afternoon, dreamed of a woman, Said: "My concubine is the daughter of Wushan. I am a guest of Gaotang. I heard that you traveled to Gaotang. I would like to recommend a pillow mat." Fortunately, the king left and said: "My concubine is in the sun of Wushan, blocked by high hills. Once it is the morning cloud, at dusk For the sake of the rain. Day and night, under the balcony.'... Are they their leader?"

Du Fang said: "It's mostly self-made up to confuse the public with rumors."

Zhang Ning stopped the joke, and asked what he cared about: "The common people can stay at a respectful distance, so what do they do?"

Du Fang replied: "It is true that some situations often occur in the eastern part of Yongshun Division. From time to time, people bleed to death from seven orifices. At first, the government thought it was due to miasma. Later, they ordered Yongshun Division's consolation envoy to investigate and report, and sent medical officers to assist them. In fact, there is a kind of tiny blood-sucking insect in the woods. Once it penetrates the human body from the mouth and nose, it may bleed to death from the seven orifices; The thing wards off evil spirits for the congregation, but unexpectedly it is very effective, and the people believe in it. In addition, Yongshun's administration is not effective, and the people in the mountain village believe in the most mysterious thing, which leads to the spread of the power of the evil cult.

Another thing is that the plague broke out in Yongshun Division last summer. The local officials also failed to treat it effectively. , so the evil cult became famous for a while and was protected by the local people.Rumor has it that someone in Peng's family also joined the religion. "

Wu Yong behind Zhang Ning said, "Whether it's miasma or blood-sucking insects, shall we also ask for some incense ash..."

Yan Ruofei immediately said coldly: "It's poisonous, do you believe in that stuff?"

Wu Yong understood, so he kept silent.Fortunately, Du Fang said at this time: "I was prepared. I brought medicinal materials. It's not just some incense ash that can cure that thing."

Zhang Ning pondered for a moment and said, "Governor Du said that there are officials in the Department of Consolation who have joined the church? Then we go to investigate the evil church and won't be disrupted by people? I think so, first try to find a civilian who has joined the church to understand the situation, and then spread the rumors Take a look at Heifengya, see if there are any clues."

Zhang Ning's errand this time is mainly to find out what the "incense ash" Huying mentioned is, and whether it is poisonous. A deeper level is whether there is any relationship between the evil cult and Jianwen's survivors...and then to prove the doubts about Taizong's death.As for other things, such as destroying cults, correcting rumors and maintaining the rule, etc., it is none of his business, and he can't control that much.

I walked on the road for a few days and only walked one or two hundred miles. The road is really not easy to walk. Although it is a post road, it is mostly a rugged path between high mountains and a plank road.But finally arrived at the boundary of Yongshun Division, there was no trouble from the Dalu checkpoint, the government's seal was very useful, but for the sake of confidentiality, only Du Fang's seal was used.

After walking for another day, one of his followers happened to be unaccustomed to vomiting and diarrhea. Zhang Ning asked someone to visit the followers of the evil sect, claiming that someone had been cursed by the "ghost king" and wanted to donate money to save people.

Sure enough, after being recommended by religious Miao people, Zhang Ning and others found a house made of wood and bamboo on a nearby mountain.A man wearing long clothes made of Tujia cloth came out to meet him.The kind-hearted Miao people who had benefited came forward and said: "These people are going to Yongshun to do business. On the way, they were attacked by the king of ghosts. I will let them come to pray for incense."

The believer sized up Zhang Ning and the others. They should be travelers with luggage. It was meaningless to persuade them to join the religion, so they said: "You go to the temple to worship the Emperor of Heaven, and offer some sincerity to the Emperor of Heaven. We will teach you The congregation will consecrate and bestow divine incense to save the suffering."

"Go in and pay your respects." Yan Ruofei said confidently, probably because she has confidence in her own skills and is not afraid of these people at all.

Zhang Ning nodded: "When you are away from home, you must pay homage to the temple when you see it."

The capped believer's shoulders twitched. Although he didn't make a sound, he could see that he was amused by Zhang Ning's words.

A group of people walked into the stockade, and saw a tall statue standing in the middle, wearing a hat like the Hades in the picture of a dead man doing things on his head, very domineering.The so-called temple doesn't even have a single tile covering its head.

At this time, a man and a woman came out again. They were generally dressed but their gender could be distinguished only by their figure and walking posture. Each of them held a small waist vial in their hands and knelt down before the statue just behind the cultist.The believer in front sang chantingly: "Emperor Empress Dowager, with a rope in his hand, he controls all directions..."

Zhang Ning came back to his senses after listening to his libretto. It turned out that the Emperor of Heaven was referring to the Yellow Emperor. He knelt down and kowtowed to the statue without any pressure.Although the clay statue is not very good, since it represents the Yellow Emperor, everyone is descendant of Yan and Huang, so there is nothing wrong with kowtowing to the ancestors.

After the simple etiquette, the believer came over with two vials. Zhang Ning hurriedly took out an ingot of silver from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "May the gods of the Yellow Emperor bless all the people in the world."

The believer nodded and gave the vial to Zhang Ning: "Often open the cork and sniff the evil spirits inside, one bottle every day, if you leave it open for too long, you will lose your spirit. Holding a heavy silver ingot, he couldn't help but said, "Let me see the bewitched person, and it will be better to drink a bottle of divine water."

It seems that this believer is not bad-hearted, and he is still very enthusiastic after taking the money.

Zhang Ning asked someone to bring the ill-acclimatized man out of his horse, and the believer opened his eyelids to look at him, and then touched his forehead and wrist.After turning around and entering the room, he brought out a bottle of "Shenshui".

After finishing the work and going down the mountain, no one cared about the incense ash at first, so Fang Zhi took a handkerchief and poured some "sacred water" out to soak it, only to find that the black liquid smelled like medicine.Governor Fang looked at it for a while, then smelled it, turned his head and said with a smile, "This is the boiled medicine, maybe it can really cure the inhospitable environment."