Seeing his hesitant expression, Lin Tiao knew that his mother was seriously ill and felt anxious, so he said: "I am looking for you today to help you. A few days ago, a close friend of many years invited me to attend a secret meeting today. I heard that one of the participants had a disease." A Taoist master who is quite proficient in medical skills, he might be able to cure your mother's illness."
When Zhang Jiayu heard this, he immediately became energetic and told his sister Shi Bao to take good care of his mother. He said goodbye to his father and followed Lin Biao to Huangcun.
After Zhang Mu learned that the meeting place was Li Yunlong's dojo, he didn't think too much and ordered the young man to prepare the saddle. He rode at high speed without encountering any obstacles on the way. He arrived at Huangcun in just one stick of incense. Compared with Buddhist temples such as Nanhua Temple, Huashoutai, and Guangxiao Temple, Yan'an is very small in scale. It is a typical Lingnan building with only two entrances, gray brick walls, and gray plastic ridge tops. Because it is located in a remote place and it is a newly built temple, very few people come here to burn incense.
After fastening the reins of the BMW, Zhang Mu clicked the closed door. After a while, a thin, bald monk walked out from behind the door. That's right, it's Li Yunlong.
Zhang Mu was quite surprised. He didn't expect that Yanke would look so haggard after not seeing him for a long time. He excitedly put his hands on Li Yunlong's shoulders and said, "Yike, you're welcome and well!"
"Amitabha. Mu Zhi, I miss you very much after seeing each other for several years." Li Yunlong replied calmly.
The two walked into the nunnery and talked about some world affairs, but Li Yunlong didn't seem to care much. Zhang Mu was not surprised. He knew that Li Yunlong had been a staff member of Yuan Chonghuan's army. After Yuan Chonghuan's death, Li Yunlong returned home angrily. After seeing through the world of mortals, he decided to become a monk. In the past, when Li Yunlong was staying with him, Yanke said to him: "You are a bloody man who doesn't know what a hero cannot do. When you look back, all the heroes' tricks are crazy."
From then on, there was no more Li Yunlong in the world who "can't say that a scholar can take off his sword, but he can lead a prodigal son to join the army". I recall that there was a gathering of talented people in Governor Yuan’s palace, but now they are all in ruins and I don’t know where they are scattered!
Zhang Mu asked: "Since Yanke doesn't want to get involved in worldly affairs, why do you invite me here today?"
At this time, footsteps came from behind, and the visitor said: "Don't blame Mu, it's me who invites you today."
Zhang Mu took a closer look and saw that the person coming was Su Guansheng. Su Guansheng, courtesy name Yulin, was born in Dongguan City. As far as Zhang Mu knew, the name of this person was unknown. He entered the county at the age of thirty in the seventh year of Tianqi, and was awarded the tribute in the seventh year of Chongzhen. This was the way to enter school for students who failed to pass the imperial examination. Zhang Mu was not interested in Confucianism but liked chivalry. He had no ambition to take the imperial examination, so he had little contact with Su Guansheng.
"May I ask Mr. Su why you are inviting me?" Zhang Mu asked.
"It's natural to turn back Kun and regain his sight." Su Guansheng replied without concealment.
"Sir, aren't you afraid that I will attack the fake people in the city?" Zhang Mu said with a smile.
"The people invited today are all loyal to the emperor and the country, and the news will not be leaked." Su Guansheng replied confidently, "It's just that there are many ears and eyes of the thieves in the city, so I have to use the temple of Master Eryan (Li Yunlong)."
"Hahaha, it seems that Mr. Su has been preparing for a long time." Zhang Mu laughed.
Not long after, more than 20 people came to the nunnery one after another, most of them were members of local wealthy families. Superstition has been prevalent in the Lingnan area since ancient times, and the people are full of various gods and Buddhas. Temples and palaces have many visitors, and as a religious place, people of all kinds may come in and out, so it is best to use it as a cover. After all the attendees had gathered, the door of the nunnery was closed tightly again. For the sake of caution, some people were left at the door to let out the wind.
After Su Guansheng looked around for a week, he bowed his hands and bowed to everyone, and said: "You are all here because you are invited by your close relatives and friends, and you are people who know the truth. Nowadays, the mountains and rivers are undergoing drastic changes, and Guangfu is in the hands of thieves. I have been blessed by the country for my whole life, so I should work hard. Fight to repay the Holy Emperor."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately echoed: "Yes, these pirates are not descendants of the Song Dynasty at first glance. Not only did they not recognize the achievements of the previous dynasty, but they also took away our tax-free privileges. They also said that they would re-measure the land and expropriate it." The progressive land tax of up to 50% is simply abominable and we must drive them away.”
"Yes, even if you keep a few slaves, you have to pay taxes. Some people have already called out the Senate's 'Ten Thousand Taxes'."
"The foreign barbarians deserve our taxes! Let them get out of Dongguan!"
For a time, the crowd was furious, and they were ready to break into the county government office and tear the fake people into pieces.
Su Guansheng signaled everyone to be quiet with his hand, and said: "Everyone can share the same hatred against the enemy. If the Holy Emperor knew it, he would be very happy. But it has been two years since the Kun thieves invaded, and their foundation is getting deeper and deeper. They cannot resist the thieves when they enter the city, let alone today? What if? If you want to fight back, you must take a long-term approach and come up with a countermeasure."
"Mr. Su, what good ideas do you have?" asked a young man named Li Zhen. He was friendly with Li Suiqiu. In the early years of Chongzhen, he studied in the Imperial Academy in the capital and also had a good relationship with Chen Zilong.
Su Guansheng said: "As the saying goes, one chopstick is easy to break, but ten chopsticks are held together into a ball. I think we should gather righteous soldiers now, secretly practice the art of war, and raise firearms and weapons. When the imperial conquest army arrives, we will respond immediately, and we should cooperate inside and outside. , expel the thieves!"
"Mr. Su, after the thieves came, they showed kindness to the people. The people were seduced by the thieves. I see that there are twenty people in the gathering today. There are only a few loyal and righteous people. How can we achieve great things?"
"You all don't know, but I got in touch with Mr. Jin Yan, a righteous man from Longshan. Mr. Jin Yan was willing to take risks and go into dangerous situations, and has won thousands of heroes." Su Guansheng then pointed to one of the participants and said: "Rong I would like to introduce Mr. Jin Yan’s student to you—Guan Yuesun.”
Su Guansheng knew in his heart that due to the anti-bandit operations of the Australians, even if Mr. Jin Yan had three heads and six arms, he would not be able to recruit a team of thousands of people, but in order to coerce more people to join, bragging was of no use.
Guan Yuesun stepped forward and bowed to everyone. This man is young, he looks to be in his twenties, his name is Guan Zhongxi, and his given name is Yuesun.
Guan Zhong said happily: "My master went to Ganzhutan and Huashan, and persuaded Ganzhutan Yulong and the Huashan bandits to become his arms. He also secretly set up his disciples among the fake Kun National Army, and he is now familiar with the Kun bandit's tactics. There are also Nanhai, The giant clans of Xinhui and Xiangshan responded, and thousands of local soldiers were recruited. If I can get help from all of you, wouldn't it be like a fish in water, like a tiger with added wings?"
Su Guansheng nodded proudly and said, "If all the families present contribute more, it will not be difficult for us to gather tens of thousands of people."
Zhang Mu has always had the ambition to serve the country, and his emotions could not help but be aroused by the atmosphere at the scene. However, at the age of 30, he was no longer an impulsive young man. After calming down and thinking about it, he realized that the anti-Kunzi incident was a big one. Wang Zunde and Xiong Wencan brought their scriptures with them. The army of Zhi was still invincible, let alone the mob of thousands of people, so he asked: "It seems that the rebellion against the Kun is already in a small state, but the anger of the Kun thieves is sharp, and the thousands of strong men are probably far from being a match for the Kun thieves. Besides, there are no troops and horses." If we want to move, food and grass go first. If we want to raise military pay and firearms under the nose of the thief, we need reinforcements."
"Hahaha, Mu is worthy of being a chivalrous man who aspires to the frontier and is thoughtful." Su Guansheng laughed, "Yes, please let me introduce you to an expert - Taoist Master Mu Shi."
"Taoist Master Mu Shi? Who is it?" Everyone had never heard of this person's name before, and they started talking among themselves.
At this time, a person walked out from behind the Buddha statue, looking like a fairy.
"The Taoist master is good at strategy, proficient in the art of war, and is quite accomplished in the art of Qi and Huang. He is a rare figure." Su Guansheng praised.
"Mr. Su is ridiculously complimentary. I heard that Dongguan is the hometown of Confucius and Mencius in the south of the Five Ridges, and the hometown of the holy religion. When I saw it today, I was not disappointed." Taoist Mu Shi held a fly whisk in one hand and stroked his beard with the other hand, "Poor Taoist. Taoist Dao Mushi, entrusted by Shi Weng, came to deal with these overseas barbarians, and is willing to work with you to drive out the bandits!"
"Who is Shi Weng?" someone asked.
Taoist Mu Shi replied: "Shi Weng is the name of my master, but because there are traitors and thieves in the court, it is inconvenient to reveal his true identity."
Everyone started talking again. Unexpectedly, there were people in the court who were connected with the Kun thieves. No wonder these thieves were able to operate in Qiongzhou so smoothly for several years. When they became full-fledged, they turned out to be a serious nuisance to the court. It was really a legacy of raising tigers. The thief is really hateful! But the traitorous officials in the court should be killed even more!
Su Guansheng said: "I have a plan. Since Mr. Jin Yan can trick the rebels into joining the Kuomintang National Army, why can't I, the strong man from Dongguan?"
Someone sighed: "Yulin, don't you know that the cadres of the thief are all fake kuns brought from Qiongzhou. They don't care about scholars like us. They don't take the Four Books and Five Classics when setting up civil service examinations. All the people hired are scoundrels from the market. What if? I have been reading Kun Thief’s books since I was a child, and I heard that some families arranged for their young concubines to attend Australian schools, and their thoughts were the same as those of Kun Thief, and they were all taught to bewitch them.”
Since the informants previously placed among the Australians had been eliminated in the witchcraft case, Taoist Mu Shi urgently needed to know the inside information of the Kun thief. At this time, he also spoke: "If anyone can sneak into the Kun thief's pseudo-dynasty, he will rebel against us and others." The great cause is really important. Are there any strong men willing to go deep into the tiger's den for the Holy Emperor?"
After hearing what Taoist Mu Shi said, Lin Yan quickly touched Zhang Jiayu with his hand and whispered: "Jiayu, this is a good opportunity. I was just thinking about how to ask this Taoist for medicine. You might as well give it a try. .”
Zhang Jiayu originally came here to seek medicine, but he did not expect to participate in the "Anti-Kun Conference". He didn't have much contact with these wealthy families, and he was attracted by the masters mentioned by his teacher Lin Hao. Hearing these people's plans to rebel against Kun, he felt like he couldn't get a word in. After the teacher reminded me, I couldn't help but hesitate.
From the bottom of his heart, he doesn't have much dislike for Australians. On the contrary, he admires Australians' kindness to poor people. When he was in Guangzhou, he also studied Australian culture with fellow members of the Shen'ao Society and talked freely about the general trend of the world, which reflected the great changes that had not happened in a thousand years. Elder Du was also very concerned about him. He could feel that both Elder Du and Taoist Cui wanted to take him under their command. It's just that he has studied the Four Books and Five Classics since he was a child, he read the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and he gained the fame of the Ming Dynasty. Now that the Holy Emperor is still here, how can he change his family? How can he face his teachers and parents?
