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There are many Dragon Mother temples in Wuzhou. There are Dragon Mother temples on the banks of the Dongxi River in the city, on the banks of the Xun River on Changzhou Island, and on the banks of the Gui River in the north of the city. However, in terms of its long history and grand scale, the Dragon Mother Temple on the bank of the Gui River in the north of the city is undoubtedly the Dragon Mother Temple. It was built during the Xianping period of the Northern Song Dynasty - so He Dongli led him to the north of the city.
Wuzhou's economy relies on water transportation. The markets outside the city have always been prosperous and there are many docks along the river. To the north of the city was what became known as the "Guibei Grand Wharf". Originally, there were many shops and merchants here, as well as many porters, boatmen, and rowers who relied on the water... but now there is only ruins. The fortifications built by the Ming army outside the north gate are being dismantled, and there are also labor teams in twos and threes cleaning up the ruins.
Dragon Mother Temple is located in the east of Guijiang River, opposite the famous Guibei Dock. It's not far from Dayunmen in the north. Opposite is the famous Guibei Pier. The temple building is intact and has not been damaged - the Ming army abandoned this area directly outside the city, so it was not affected by the flames of war.
According to the standards of the old time and space, the Dragon Mother Temple is not very big, but in the 17th century, it was already "magnificent". The temple faces north and south, surrounded by mountains and rivers.
When the priests and Taoists in the temple heard that the "prefect of the Song Dynasty" was coming to offer incense, they hurried to the door to greet him. Because there had long been rumors in the neighborhood that the "Australian prefect" was coming to the Dragon Mother Temple to offer incense, so many casual people gathered at the entrance of the temple to watch the fun. The officials at the Cangwu County government office shouted to maintain order.
Xie Erren walked up the stairs, surrounded by people from the front and back, and entered from the mountain gate until he reached the front hall.
Although the Dragon Mother Temple has not been looted by the war, it has housed many refugees from the disaster outside the city. At this moment, the strong men have already formed teams to go out to work. The old, weak, women and children gathered under the eaves on both sides, and there are yamen guards who are not allowed to light fires. Before Xie Erren arrived, the government officials had informed them. The government officials in the temple rushed the refugees to squat on both sides and were not allowed to whisper to each other. But the ground was not cleaned up, and broken dishes were thrown all over the floor.
When Xie Erren entered the temple and saw the refugees in the corridor, he couldn't help but be startled: I didn't expect there were many here! Judging from their clothes, some of the refugees should be from well-to-do or even wealthy families, but now they are reduced to squatting under the temple corridor and making a living by giving out porridge. There are also children and elderly people who have been frightened by the cold and are now lying on the ground sick. They have neither medicine nor beds. They lie under the eaves and against the wall, groaning and crying. He sighed secretly: No wonder people say they would rather be a peace dog than a man in troubled times. Wuzhou only fought for a few days, but the people were so tortured!
However, he could not find any way to improve the living conditions of the refugees. At the moment, he could only temporarily ensure food supply.
The front hall is small in size, and there are four seal characters inscribed on the plaque. Xie Erren does not recognize it, but He Dongli explains that these are the four characters "Benefit the World".
There is a statue of the Dragon Mother in the main hall, and there are five small dragons coiled under the altar. Temple Zhu had already prepared incense wax, and Xie Erren took it - he originally planned to just show it off, but the tragic situation of people's livelihood along the way made him involuntarily burn incense and pray, praying that this "Xijiang Water God" could protect Wuzhou. Safety.
The belief in the Mother of Dragons is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Wuzhou and other Xijiang River basins. Although scholars like He Dongli mostly have a "ignorance" or "Shinto teachings" attitude toward gods, folk beliefs will also affect them to some extent. Seeing this self-made The "prefect of the Song Dynasty" who came from overseas was so devout to the Dragon Mother that not only He Dongli, but also the people watching inside and outside the temple also had a good impression of him.
After offering incense, Xie Erren walked around the temple again under the leadership of Miao Zhu and He Dongli. The Dragon Mother Temple here is quite large. Starting from the mountain gate, there are front halls, back halls, left and right corridors, corners Pavilion... According to He Dongli, this temple was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the Wanli year. It is the largest and most popular among the local Dragon Mother temples.
"On the first day of May every year, it is the birthday of the Dragon Mother, which is the most lively," He Dongli said. "Ships sailing on the river, when it is the Dragon Mother's birthday, will sail within three miles of the Dragon Mother Temple, regardless of day or night. , they should blow the flute and gong, go to the temple to pay their respects, sail to the river in front of the temple, stop the boat and go ashore to the temple to pay homage, offer incense and candles."
He said that the worship of the Dragon Mother starts from the first day of May and ends on May 15th. It reaches its climax on the seventh and eighth days of May and the day and night of the ninth day of May, with a total of three days and two nights. Not only merchants and vendors gather, but also all kinds of people gather. Entertainment groups from all over the place come here to perform, and people from villages and towns from the local area and neighboring counties also come here to perform performances and competitions, which is very lively.
Xie Erren immediately thought that this was a great opportunity to "set up a stage for sacrifices and perform economic performances". At the very least, it could promote economic exchanges between urban and rural areas. However, thinking about the current riots in Bapaiyao and the uneasy path, merchants and common people probably would not be so Good mood.
The foundation for a good economy is to have a peaceful environment. Xie Erren suddenly had a profound understanding of this sentence.
While sighing, the guard leading the escort said in a low voice: "Chief, there are many people gathered outside, and there are only a few government officials to suppress them. It is difficult to ensure safety - let's go out through the small door next to it."
Xie Erren disagreed, "We have no grievances with the people of Wuzhou, so what security issues can there be? This is also an opportunity to connect with the masses. Don't be wary of everything."
After coming out of Longmu Temple, I saw a lot of people gathered outside to watch the excitement. Xie Erren smiled and waved to the crowd on the stone steps to show that he was "close to the people." Seeing that he had no official airs, the common people wanted to take a good look at what this "Australian prefect" looked like, so they rushed forward one after another. The government officials who were maintaining order were caught off guard, and they suddenly became unable to restrain themselves. The guard guard urged Xie Erren to leave quickly.
Xie Erren was not in a hurry. He enjoyed the feeling of "having fun with the people". He walked slowly down the stairs with square steps, waving greetings all the way. As they were walking to the last level, a woman suddenly squeezed out of the crowd and shouted:
"Kun thief! Die!"
While shouting, there was already a bright knife in his hand, and it was heading straight towards Xie Erren.
This sudden drink made Xie Erren stunned. The guard, with quick eyes and quick hands, pushed him hard and knocked him to the ground. He spread his limbs and covered him with his body.
With this push and push, Xie Erren's eyes were filled with stars and he almost couldn't breathe.
The guarding soldiers were carrying rifles and were too hasty to react. The yamen servant on the side was still agile. He swung the long whip in his hand and hit the woman's calf, then rolled her down to the ground.
The government officials on the side swarmed up and held the woman down. Someone grabbed her wrist and took the sharp knife out of her hand.
The soldiers quickly formed a circle and surrounded Xie Erren. Xie Erren got up from the ground and broke out in a cold sweat. He was speechless for a while. Seeing that the place where the woman fell was less than two or three meters away from him, if it weren't for the quick response of the guards and the quick actions of the government officials, he would have been doomed at this moment: even if he didn't die on the spot, he would have been killed far away from the Senate and in a place where there were no senators. If the stomach is punctured, the chance of survival is slim.
This was the first time that his life had been threatened at such a close range. While extremely frightened, he immediately burst into great anger. He was so angry that he wanted to explode on the spot. He "hanged the assassin from the street lamp" to show the "dictatorship of the Senate and the people." "The power of. However, it was inconvenient to get angry in public at this moment. Being pushed to the ground by the guards just now was already a "disgrace", and to be furious now would make it even more obvious that he had no "city". So he just coughed and pretended to be calm:
"First... take... down, and slowly... interrogate..."
"yes!"
The government officials all carried ropes with them and tied up the woman in a few strokes. Only then did everyone see clearly that the assassin was a young woman, wearing a short blue cloth coat, a moon-white jacket, a child's skirt, and a white velvet flower on her temples - she was a widow in mourning.
"What a handsome woman!"
"Why did this little widow want to assassinate Australians?"
"Could she be the wife of the soldier who died in the battle?"
"What a pity for a good woman! This is asking for death!"
"Looking at her strong deeds, she is truly a strange woman."
...The surrounding onlookers were whispering. Xie Erren originally wanted to say a few words, but the security guard urged him to leave quickly - there might be a second or third assassin hiding.
Xie Erren was frustrated at this time. He originally felt that "the world is in his hands", but now he feels that "all the countries are enemies". He had no intention of expressing himself anymore, so he nodded and said: "Let's go back!"
The woman who was being escorted suddenly stopped, lowered her head and bit the yamen servant next to her. When the yamen servant let go in pain, she struggled to break away from the yamen servant beside her. She turned around and shouted: "Kill or behead, it's up to you!" I am born as a man of the Ming Dynasty, and die as a ghost of the Ming Dynasty. I will never bend my knees to serve the thieves!"
The yamen officer was shocked and turned pale. He rushed over and pushed her to the ground again. The woman continued to curse herself:
"We are descendants of the Chinese people and have been educated for a long time. You thieves have no king and no father. They are ruined lives. They are all thieves and armies. Why don't you bow down when you see me!
"Although you, the soldiers and horses in front of the Kun bandit palace are brave and brave, your violence is the same as that of Donglu! Xiangshu still has skin, but the Kun people have no manners. If a man has no manners, what will happen if he does not die!
"Kun's mother is a maidservant; Kun's father is a slave! The bones of you thieves will fall into the hands of officers and soldiers in the future, and your bones will be shattered."
The sharp sound echoed on the stone steps in front of the Dragon Mother Temple. An old government servant hurried over and removed her chin, and the series of curses turned into inarticulate sounds.
Xie Erren was extremely annoyed. What was originally a good "people-friendly embroidery" was ruined by this woman. He could tell from the expressions of the people around him that they somewhat sympathized with this woman - since ancient times, the people had always involuntarily admired those who resisted power - and they couldn't help but secretly sigh in their hearts: What a shame!
He calmed down and pretended to be understated and said to the people around him: "Take her back and keep an eye on her. Don't let her die."
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 343
