This heavy rain lasted for two days and three nights. The rivers swelled and the water was surging. Although the flood did not cause flood disasters in Yongzhou, the Qianshui, Xieshui, Jingshui, Wentangshui, Dushui, floodwaters, and Fengshui in Guanzhong Rivers such as the , Bashui, Chanshui, Zishui, Jingshui, and Luoshui rivers merge into the Wei River, surging into the Yellow River and rolling toward the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, posing a severe test to the Yellow River embankment.
Guanzhong soon became very hot and muggy after the rain. There were still wet raindrops hanging on the leaves, which were particularly dazzling under the dazzling direct sunlight. The birds and cicadas were moistened by the rain and dew, and they sang louder and more cheerfully. However, the water vapor evaporated by the sun made the Guanzhong Plain look like a steamer placed on a large pot. It was so stuffy that the people living there were unbearable. The waves of heat that hit their faces were almost unbearable. asphyxia.
Regarding this continuous abnormal weather, some old people with conservative ideas and some knowledge of Feng Shui always say that too many people have died in the chaos of hundreds of years, and the resentment of the undead who died innocently in the war is very heavy and will never go away; Some old people compared the weather in the four years of Renshou and whispered that some saints and sages would die this year.
Hu County is located in the southwest of Jingzhao County, and is also the intersection of the Guanzhong Plain and the remaining mountains of the Zhongnan Mountains. The occasional protruding mountains add a bit of scenery to the monotonous plain scenery. On the branch of Zhongnan Mountain to the west of Huxian County, there stands a peak called Cuihua Mountain. Legend has it that a girl named Cuihua fled here to fight for a free marriage and later became an immortal. This unnamed mountain was named Cuihua Mountain. .
Whether the legend is true or not cannot be tested, but the landform formed by the landslide in Cuihua Mountain is very magnificent. It integrates mountains, rocks, caves, water, forests and other landscapes. The dojo where Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty paid homage to Taiyi God is also located on this mountain peak.
In name, the entire Zhongnan Mountain is a famous Taoist resort, but the Buddhists, who are fiercely competitive, always like to occupy the mountain as king. When faced with a famous mountain like Zhongnan Mountain with myths and legends, they will not let it go.
Buddhism is a foreign sect from a foreign land. At the beginning, it could not compete with the local Taoism with a long history. However, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars broke out all over the world, the people were in dire straits, and there were widespread complaints among the people. Therefore, Buddhism catered to the needs of the rulers and created it based on local conditions. The ideas of "past life is caused by the consequences of this life", "this life is caused by the consequences of the next life", "results of reincarnation", etc. have the effect of restraining people's thoughts and behaviors, so they are widely praised and promoted by rulers. As the rulers of various regimes spent money and people to build many temples and dig many grottoes, Buddhist ideas spread even more widely and developed many loyal believers. In the end, Taoism was pushed out of the altar and became the number one in the world. Big sect. Many traditional Taoist mountain resorts such as Zhongnan Mountain, Cuihua Mountain, Taibai Mountain, and Huashan Mountain also have many popular Buddhist temples.
These Buddhist temples in Zhongnan Mountain are different from the old Taoist temples that advocate imitation of nature, the unity of nature and man, and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Each one is bigger and more luxurious than the other. The main halls of some temples are exquisite in craftsmanship and luxurious in decoration. Far more than the main hall of the palace.
At noon that day, a motorcade escorted by thirty guards entered the lush Cuihua Mountain. This motorcade was headed by a handsome and elegant young man, who was none other than Li Jiancheng, the eldest son of the Duke of Tang Dynasty. Under his command, the entire convoy made several turns along the flat and spacious mountain road, and then came to a valley surrounded by mountains and with flat ground. ….
When Li Jiancheng arrived here, he immediately felt that the heat had disappeared and his whole body was refreshed.
Perhaps feeling the temperature drop, a carriage nearby lifted the bamboo curtains from inside. A cute boy stuck out his head with two braids. This was Li Zhiyun, Li Yuan's concubine. He was only five years old this year. He was full of enthusiasm for everything. Out of curiosity, when he saw his eldest brother looking at him by the car, he asked in a childish voice: "Brother, why are we going to worship the Buddha today? Isn't today a festival?"
Li Yuan's grandfather, Li Hu, rose to the rank of Taiwei during the Western Wei Dynasty. He was one of the eight pillar states of the Western Wei Dynasty and was given the surname Daye. Therefore, Li Yuan's previous name was Daye Yuan. After the establishment of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Yuwen clan granted Li Hu the title of Duke of Tang. Li Yuan's father, Li Bing (named Daye Bing at the time), became the general of the Zhu Kingdom and granted the title of Duke of Tang.
At that time, Yang Jian saw the collapse of the ethics of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The behavior and habits of the monarchs, ministers and people were no different from those of the Hu people. No matter what they did, they respected strength and the strong, and no matter what they did, they used force to rule the roost. He believed that if the imperial court could be restored,
Regarding Han Chinese ideas such as loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness, the Northern Zhou Dynasty must have been like other Hu regimes, unable to maintain long-term stability. After he became the Prime Minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he started with the surname and asked the Northern Zhou subjects to abandon the Hu surname and restore the original Han surname. He himself restored the surname "Pu Liuru" given to the family by the Xianbei people to the original Yang The surname of Li Yuan was also restored to the surname "Li" at that time.
When the Li family came to Li Yuan's generation, he was the fourth eldest son in the family. Normally, he would not be given the title of Duke of Tang, but he had extraordinary luck. All three of his brothers died when he was young. When he was seven years old, his father Li Bing also died. He was the only direct male, so Li Yuan, who was still a little boy, inherited the title of Tang Guogong. That is to say, if Yang Jian had not insisted on overcoming all opinions at that time, Yang Guang would still be called Pu Liuruguang, Li Yuan would still be called Dayeyuan, and Yang Ji who came out later would naturally be called Pu Liuruji.
When Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, he asked the older Li Yuan to enter the palace to serve as a guard for Qianniu. Later, he was released as an official by Yang Jian and traveled to various places to learn the experience of being an official. When Li Yuan was serving as an official in various places, only his wife Dou Shi and his second son Li Shimin were always with him, and the others "stayed" in their hometowns; this also made Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji, Li Zhiyun, and Li Xiuning, and other children It is difficult to see their biological father, and they cannot enjoy fatherly love.
As the eldest son in the family, Li Jiancheng has grown up, but he has not been affected much. But for the younger Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji, Li Zhiyun, Li Xiuning and others, there is not much difference between them having a father and not having a father; and Li Jiancheng, who brought them up and performed the duties of a father in his father's stead, has a gentle temperament, treats everyone equally, Being fair in dealing with things caused Li Yuan's "fatherless" children to be very close to Li Jiancheng; emotionally, they regarded Li Jiancheng as their "strict father" and Li Yuan's concubine Wanshi as their loving mother. As for Li Yuan and Dou, they were naturally alienated by their children because they had no choice but to "just care about the children and not discipline them."
As for Li Zhiyun, this cute child, according to the history books of "Another Space", it is said that Li Zhiyun not only completely inherited the essence of the Li family's riding and shooting skills, but also read military books and was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. If he had not been tricked, If Shishi, Wei Xuan and Gu Yi are killed, the Li family will definitely have another commander in chief. ….
Although he is just a child now, he has unimaginable talent in archery. He is also a child prodigy that the Li family has high hopes and great expectations for.
Li Jiancheng was both an elder brother and a father at home. He knew that it was not easy to raise children. He respected his mother-in-law, who was even more difficult, and loved his younger brother Li Zhiyun. At this time, he was facing his pure and flawless child. His eyes were full of curiosity, and he explained with a smile: "Today is not a festival. We came to Kuzhu Temple this time to pray for Aye and save the souls of the dead."
Li Zhiyun nodded in understanding, but after a while, he silently connected the two things together, and then asked, "Is it because Aye killed someone?"
Ignorant and ignorant children have to ask why everything happens, and the questions are connected one after another, making the adults' heads as big as a bucket and unable to answer. And Li Yuan has so many children, if he asks questions one by one, it will really kill people. So the leader Li Jiancheng simply arranged them into a large carriage, and the older ones took care of the younger ones.
The second eldest child, Li Shimin, has been traveling around with his parents all year round. Just like how they treat Li Yuan, he cannot get close to them emotionally. In addition, he is too young and immature to play with these "shallow" brothers and sisters, so he He took the initiative to sit in the same car with Ms. Dou and several older sisters.
The children in the car were chattering non-stop along the way, which was extremely lively. When they heard Li Zhiyun's words, they all laughed. Sister Li Xiuning next to her said with a smile: "These are two things that cannot be confused. As for Aye, he did not kill anyone. The reason why we pray for him is because we hope that the Buddha will bless Aye and make him safe and everything goes smoothly." Later Or, my grandmother said that the reason why the celestial phenomena in Guanzhong is so abnormal is because the resentment of the deceased has not dissipated for a long time, and our Li family is a family of generals. There are many enemies and soldiers of our army who have died directly or indirectly at the hands of our Li family, so we must To save the souls of the ancestors of the Li family, I hope they will return to the bridge and return to the road again, and don't cause trouble for us."
"So that's it!" Li Zhiyun nodded, thoughtfully
He asked Li Xiuning: "Sister, Aye is obviously in Daxing City, why doesn't he come by himself? Isn't this more pious? Moreover, Aye is the head of the Li family, and it is not up to him to save the souls of the dead. Are you presiding over it on behalf of our Li family? What if the Buddha doesn't recognize us?"
"Ask brother, he knows everything." Li Xiuning himself knew only a little bit, so how could he answer Li Zhiyun's questions one after another? She stuck her head out and saw her eldest brother looking at her with a half-smile, then she blinked at Li Jiancheng with a pair of beautiful big eyes and asked, "Brother, why is this?"
Li Jiancheng laughed when he heard this. He looked at the few little heads climbing on the car window and faced the innocent eyes of the pairs asking for answers. He pondered for a moment and then deliberately said: "As an official of the imperial court, Aye has a heavy responsibility. He left immediately." They didn’t want to open it, but they believed we had the ability to complete this arduous task, so they left everything to us.”
With that said, Li Jiancheng passed by the grown-up Li Xiuning and asked Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji and Li Zhiyun: "Third brother, fourth brother, and fifth brother, are you confident to complete this task?"...
"Yes, we can." Upon hearing what his brother said, Li Xuanba, Li Yuanji, and Li Zhiyun felt a strong sense of participation and mission in their hearts, and they all shouted in unison.
After Li Xuanba finished speaking, he coughed violently. He was eight years old this year, but he was sallow and very thin.
Seeing this, Li Jiancheng showed pity and love in his eyes, and he endured the words of concern that came to his mouth: Li Xuanba is his half-brother. The reason why he looks like this is because his mother just gave birth to Li Shimin. Soon she became pregnant with Li Xuanba, and he was a premature baby, so he was born with defects, making him look even thinner than Li Yuanji and Li Zhiyun.
However, although Li Xuanba was in poor health and unable to walk, he was smart and capable since he was a child. After he realized that he was different from others, he not only envied his brothers and sisters who could play freely, but also felt sorry for himself. I felt secretly sad; over time, my low self-esteem and self-esteem became intertwined into my current taciturn and extremely sensitive temperament.
Li Jiancheng single-handedly brought up Li Xuanba, so he naturally knew his younger brother's temper. Therefore, even if he was wrong, Li Jiancheng did not say harsh words to deny him, but carefully explained the truth; and in "public", even Li Jiancheng No matter how bad Xuan Ba's cough is, no matter how concerned and worried Li Jiancheng is, he will not say words of care or concern, so as not to hurt his self-esteem and cause him to feel inferior and self-pity. The only thing he can do is to provide practical care in action .
Li Jiancheng signaled Li Xiuning to take care of Li Xuanba nearby, then turned to an attendant and said, "It's getting late, so let's rest and have lunch here to prevent the smell of meat from disturbing the gods and Buddhas."
In fact, there are many temples in Daxing City, but the powerful families, including the Li family, know that the real eminent monks are concentrated in two royal temples. One is the Zen Temple built by the late emperor to pray for his beloved wife, Queen Wenwen, and the other. The second is the large Zen temple built by the emperor to pray to the god of Hades.
Except for these two royal temples, which are exactly the same in size and structure, the "virtuous monks" in other temples seem to be familiar with scriptures and eloquent, but no one is a real virtuous monk at all. All the monks inside are flattering and fawning. A fake monk who is jealous of money. Therefore, if the powerful people do not just go through the motions, but sincerely worship Buddha, they will usually choose temples outside the city instead of temples in the city to defraud money.
The Kuzhu Temple worshiped by the Li family is very famous in Guanzhong. Every time there is a festival, someone's birthday, or someone joins an official, goes on an expedition, or is promoted... The Li family will send people to the Kuzhu Temple to burn incense and give alms.
If it is a method of doing something, Pandu should be done for three days and three nights. Of course, this is a matter for the monks in the temple. Before opening the altar, the Li family only needs to show up, take the lead in making a wish in front of the Buddha, and then give enough money for the sesame oil. They will do the rest. I won't ask any more questions.
This time it was also a ritual ceremony, but the Li family notified Kuzhu Temple two days ago, so Li Jiancheng was not in a hurry.
At this time, he saw his younger brother coughing non-stop, and his face turned red from coughing. The environment here is beautiful, quiet and pleasant, with hundreds of birds in the forest, and a clear stream on one side with gurgling water. It is a good place to rest, so he He found an excuse to stop the team so that his brother could stop and slow down. ….
. . . . . . . .
Just when the Li family's motorcade was ordered to rest and the Li family members were getting off the car one after another, in the jungle not far away, there were several men wearing green coats and green hoods, crawling in the grass and watching silently. One of them saw the motorcade stop. , whispered a few words to his friends, then bent down and slowly went deeper into the forest.
It wasn't until he was out of the defense range of his companions and the Li family's entourage that he walked quickly, two miles away, to a towering ancient tree, and whispered to a man wearing the same clothes and a green hood under the tree. Asked: "Where is sir?"
The man replied: "I'm waiting for you at Stronghold No. 1."
"Hmm!" The man who asked the question didn't waste any time. He walked around a clean underground ancient forest and came to a high ground. He took out a token to signal to the deserted place. In an instant, two people wearing tree trunks appeared. The man in the same color clothes jumped down from the tree. After verifying the authenticity of the token, he took out the other token and gave it to him.
With this token, the man walked more than two hundred steps, and saw a man wearing a black hood and black clothes sitting on a piece of bluestone, followed by more than a dozen people wrapped in green robes and watching. A person whose face is unclear.
The man in green immediately cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, sir."
"No need to be polite, have you checked out the Li family's motorcade?" The man in black robe's voice was hoarse, apparently changing his voice on purpose. However, the man who came to deliver the letter didn't ask any more questions and replied: "Sir, we have checked it out. The Li family has a total of eight carriages, with twenty dead soldiers and sixteen carriage drivers all armed with horizontal swords, and the leader is Li Jiancheng, the eldest son of Tang Gong."
"What else?" The man in black robe knew that if it was just like this, the dead soldier would not come all the way to report.
"Sir, Li Jiancheng has ordered a rest, and now they are preparing to have lunch two miles away. The Li family members have got off the bus one after another, and I have seen Li Shimin. He is still with the Dou family and several Li family members just like when he left the house. My wife is sitting in the third carriage." Glancing at the calm-looking man in black, the man in green continued: "Brothers, we have been watching him closely."
The black-robed man's eyes lit up when he heard this: "I was worried that the crossbow arrows would not be able to break through the carriage compartment and the arrows would miss the target. Since they got off the carriage to rest, it is really a God-given opportunity. This opportunity cannot be missed, so we can take action."
"Here!"
The man in black robe looked at the man in green and said in a cold voice: "Shangfeng gave a death order this time. Li Shimin must die. No matter how high the price is, it doesn't matter."
"I understand!" The man in green said solemnly, "I will go and make arrangements now."
"No need!" The man in black robe said: "'Big boss, in order to ensure that this mission is foolproof, I have brought heaven-level swordsmen, and your people can assist you."
"Here!" The man in green shrank his eyes, and his horrified expression disappeared. He was at a very high level in Tianmen. Not only did he know who the big leader was, he also knew that the heaven-level swordsmen were among the elite. Elite, there seemed to be only a hundred or so people in Tianmen, and this time against a child, the big leader actually dispatched swordsmen of this level?
He thought for a while and then whispered: "Sir, I have something to say, should I say it or not?"
The man in black robe waved his hand and said, "Speak!"
The man in green said slowly: "Sir, an assassination in broad daylight has the effect of catching someone unawares, but it is more difficult to get close to the target. As far as my subordinates know, the dead men of the Li family are also proficient in assassination techniques, one-in-a-hundred, and experienced. A warrior who has fought hundreds of battles. If we attack during the day, I'm afraid they will easily detect our intentions."
The man in black robe smiled coldly: "Our success lies in Li Jiancheng's character. What is the most praiseworthy thing about Li Jiancheng?"
The man in green thought for a long time, and suddenly realized: "I understand, sir, you are referring to Li Jiancheng's benevolence, righteousness, and love, and this is what we use. I wonder if what I said is accurate?"
"Very accurate."
Bihai Siyun
