Jianghua Bay is indeed a place with very complex hydrological conditions, and Huang Fuzhao was right about this.
Historically, the most famous one in this bay was Ganghwa Island.
During the Wang Dynasty's Goryeo and Lee Dynasty's Joseon Dynasties, whenever powerful enemies from the north moved south, Ganghwa Island would become a refuge for the kings of Goryeo and Joseon.
If we want to attack from the sea, Ganghwa Bay looks vast, but the water depth is generally only about 5.5 meters, which is not conducive to the movement of large ships.
At the same time, the coastline is more than 2,000 miles long, with thousands of large and small islands, and the tidal range can reach more than ten meters.
In particular, its main waterway, Ganghwa Strait, is narrow and slender. At low tide, a large number of rocks emerge from the water, making it extremely difficult to sail.
Although the reefs will be submerged when the tide rises, allowing smooth passage, some higher reefs will turn into extremely dangerous reefs that are difficult to guard against.
The terrain is complex and it is difficult to enter the bay. Without the fishermen who have lived there for decades to guide the way, no warship with more than 500 tons of materials and about 150 tons can pass through.
This was Huangfu Zhao's confidence, and even more so, Wang Zhao's confidence to try Wang Jing by the Nanjiang River.
If something goes wrong, they can lead their elite cavalry back to Kaijing before the Dazhou navy disembarks from Ganghwa Bay.
Wang Zhao was even ready to abandon Kaijing and run to the Gongsan Mountains, which was the mountain range north of Daegu in later generations.
. . . .
Master Fayan was wearing brown sea blue and walking slowly in a small fishing village by the sea. Behind him was his junior brother, the Indian eminent monk Varo and a mysterious little novice monk.
Seeing them, even though they were already quite poor, countless fishermen on the seaside still flocked to both sides of the road. They were holding very rough buckwheat cakes mixed with a lot of wild vegetables, and wanted to offer them to Master Fa Yan. This was already their best gift. Gotta get started with the diet.
Master Fayan smiled and refused one by one. He is a devout believer and adheres to the habit of not eating after noon.
However, although there was no need to accept the donations from the believers, Master Fayan still smiled kindly and kept chanting sutras and praying for them.
Buddhism in Goryeo had developed greatly at this time, but the same problems were reflected in Wang Zhao's refusal to allow Sri Vora to build temples.
Goryeo Buddhists can only live in extreme poverty at the bottom, dreaming of enduring hardships in this life to wash away their sins, and being reincarnated in the next life among the poor farmers and fishermen of Master Wuban.
When the fishermen saw Master Fayan's compassionate appearance and his strict adherence to the rules and precepts, they felt more and more that he was not a simple monk.
Listening to the chants of Fa Yan and Varo, the fishermen were full of piety and followed them in groups until they reached a simple small seaside temple.
This small temple is very unique. It is not built with the commonly used local mud walls, but with pieces of rocks of various shapes from the seaside.
Obviously, these are stones that fishermen from various fishing villages spontaneously moved from various places.
When Fayan and Varo walked outside the door, Srivara, with his curly hair and leopard head and eyes, who looked more like a path-cutting thief than a senior monk, was already waiting at the door.
"Uncle Master hasn't lost his vajra appearance yet. It seems he has encountered a bottleneck!" Fa Yan clasped his hands together, but with a full smile on his face.
"Wu Luo, I've met my uncle!" Master Wu Luo also clasped his hands together, but in Tianzhu dialect.
Sri Vulu laughed three times and said, "My nephew has the treasure of compassion. Today, this is the mantra for the young man of the Pu family to be reborn in bliss. You should take the lead in chanting it."
It turned out that a fisherman's child died today, and his parents came to beg Srivastava to arrange for a monk to pray for his death.
Master Fayan did not refuse, and immediately took a bath at the seaside, purified his mouth, put on his cassock, and sat in the lotus position outside the temple, chanting sutras and praying for this little life that died young.
To be honest, if Indian monks like Sri Vuluo are not really capable, their influence among the people will not be as good as that of local monks.
Because in the eyes of East Asians, it is difficult to associate this kind of Buddhist monk with curly hair, aquiline nose, and light blue eyes with words such as kindness and kindness.
But Fa Yan was different. Not only was he a Khitan Han, but he also had a forehead as long as the full moon and a face as square as a field. He was probably similar to Chi Chongrui's innate majestic appearance.
He can become Master Cixian's personal disciple, and his appearance gives him a great advantage.
Park Xiaolang's father is the best fisherman in the Ganghwa Strait, and he is also a capable man who is convinced by the fishermen in several nearby fishing villages.
After he heard Master Fayan chanting the Mantra of Ultimate Bliss in Rebirth and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra in a Tang tone, he was moved and prostrated on the ground. His mother and wife even burst into tears with excitement, as if the pain of losing their son had been relieved. few.
At this time, most Buddhist scriptures are translated into Chinese and chanted in Tangyin, which is the most authentic and advanced form, even higher than Sanskrit.
In Goryeo, where only the upper class could speak Tangyin and Chinese, this was not something ordinary people could enjoy.
Master Fayan recited the Mantra of Ultimate Bliss Rebirth with the Sanskrit sound once and the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra once with the Tang sound. He recited it twenty-one times each, from Shenzheng to Shenmo, for half an hour.
When Master Fayan opened his eyes again, fishermen were already kneeling on the ground around the stone temple.
They were all pious and awe-inspiring. Pu Xiaolang's father kowtowed to Master Fayan and thanked him for his great kindness.
Although Master Fayan had smoke in his throat, he quickly helped Pu's father up.
"Little Lang has passed away to the bliss, but this place has not yet been bathed in the light of Buddha. There is still a mountain temple missing to pray for all living beings!"
Master Fa Yan seemed to be sighing unintentionally, but the faces of the fishermen around him showed extremely indignant looks.
Why can they only build a stone temple on this beach? It's because the local wealthy families don't allow them to build temples on the mountain.
However, after saying this, Master Fayan kept silent and walked directly into the temple.
He wasn't good at this either, and if he said more, it would seem like he was trying to repay a favor, and it might even cause unnecessary resentment.
In the temple, Sri Vuluo sighed softly, "Senior brother, are you still haunted by inner demons?"
Master Fayan nodded, "Master, after facing the wall for thirty days, not only did the inner demons not subside, but they became more serious and painful.
For the sake of the Supreme Heaven's words, the Master broke many exceptions. I don't know how many believers died in governing Daze in western Liaoning, and how many believers obeyed his call to serve Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and died on the battlefield.
If it weren't for Master, they wouldn't have come out to cooperate, and they would probably still be able to live freely in the mountains and forests.
well! All of this, and every passing soul, is the cause and effect of Master. If he cannot verify the truth and falsehood of what the Supreme Heaven said and see the great road, Master may not be able to get out. "
After listening to this, Sri Vuluo had a complicated expression on his face that was self-deprecating or something else. He looked at Master Fayan and said:
"Senior brother is a true disciple of the Buddha, and so-and-so is just a hypocritical person who can't live without this mortal world but can't join it.
I don't want to verify the authenticity, I just want to find a suitable place for him to settle down before Buddhism destroys Tianzhu. "
Master Varo looked at Sri Vuluo and said, "Uncle Master, isn't the Central Plains the final home of my Buddha?"
Sri Vuluo shook his head, "Their culture is too profound!
People in the Central Plains sing, recite, and believe in Buddha, advocating that it is worse than no Buddha but as if there is a Buddha. It is an excellent place for practice and enlightenment, but it is not what a poor monk wants. "
"So, the Tochara promised by the Supreme God is where we will settle down?" Varro nodded with some empathy.
After listening to this, Sri Vuluo and his direct disciple Mahana chanted the Buddha's name at the same time, and bowed slightly to the little novice monk who had never spoken a word, "I owe you so much, poor monk, to the Supreme God for his great mercy!"
Then Sri Vuluo looked at Fayan and said, "My nephew is majestic in appearance and profound in Buddhism. Are you willing to go to Tochara to see our promised land?"
Fa Yan slowly shook his head, "The master's inner demons have not been eliminated, and karma has arisen again. The young monk has to escort the master to the Japanese country to prove the authenticity of this!"
"Then what can they get?" Sri Vuluo stopped talking and turned to the eight nearby fishing village leaders who were summoned by him and were kneeling on the stone slabs piously and asked the mysterious little novice.
"The king of Liao made an order, and the person who made the most merit will stay in the local area and be given land and ships. The person who made the first contribution will be knighted. The rest of the meritorious people will move to the Japanese country and be knighted." The mysterious little novice replied calmly.
Sri Vuluo nodded, "Since it is the order of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, then one hundred and seventy fishermen households in Shaocheng County are willing to serve the army! The city gates in Shaocheng County will also be opened on time."
. . . .
Liu Yibao took his cousin's hand, and the two of them ran southward, one foot deep and the other shallow. After being moistened by a little light rain, the road under their feet had been turned into mud by countless pairs of feet.
Fright and hunger made these recruited Korean soldiers as anxious as bereaved dogs, and this extreme fear and long-term nervousness caused their physical energy to drain rapidly.
The mud on the ground is getting deeper and deeper, and the roads are getting slippery. Many people have fallen to the ground and cannot get up again. Zombies covered in mud can be seen everywhere, with strange shapes lying like logs everywhere.
On this kind of road, Liu Yibao and his cousin would naturally not be able to go any faster. This was bad news, but there was also good news.
That is, locals like them cannot come quickly, and the pursuing troops from the Central Plains behind cannot increase their speed.
In particular, the soldiers in the Central Plains also had many mules and horses. Under such road conditions, the cavalry could not move as fast as the infantry.
Climbing one mountain ridge after another, crossing one stream after another, there were more and more people on the way to escape.
A large number of Goryeo soldiers formed small groups one after another using dialects, and competition would break out among these groups.
The cause may be a precious rice ball, or it may be a dried vegetable pancake. On this road where the dead body is sleeping, every bite of food that can restore energy is extremely precious.
Liu Yibao and his cousin have now joined a small group. It is said that the person who takes the lead is a big shot with great background. If they follow him, they will definitely be able to evacuate to Kaijing and then return to their hometown.
However, the further he walked, the more desperate Liu Yibao became, because although he relied on this small group to save his life, most of the food snatched and obtained on the way was occupied by the big shots and his guards. Liu Yibao only ate in two days Half a dried vegetable cake and caught a few small fish in the stream.
Moreover, his cousin told him an extremely terrifying situation. He saw with his own eyes the big shot and his guards secretly cut off the flesh from the thigh of a man who had not yet died.
Ever since Liu Yibao heard about it, he has been afraid to close his eyes. He couldn't imagine whether the big shot would come to cut his flesh if he couldn't get fresh meat.
In a daze, the Korean farmer who dreamed of returning to his hometown alive heard the sound of a fight, and he quickly stood up to take a look.
The big man and his guards were fighting in a ball on the ground, and on the other side there were two guards who had fallen into a pool of blood.
Liu Yibao didn't know why they were fighting, and was stunned for a moment.
The big shot hasn't been short of food these days. Although walking consumes a lot of energy, at least it's not like Liu Yibao who almost has no energy to walk.
The two kept rolling on the muddy ground. The big man was stronger after all. He pinned the guard under him and firmly controlled the guard's hands with both hands.
However, the guard has been exercising all year round and is far stronger than the pampered big shot. Although he was a little weak after killing two people in a surprise attack, he still grabbed the big man's wrist with his backhand, wrapped his legs around the big man's waist, and restrained him tightly. Living.
For a time, the original master and servant were unable to do anything to each other.
At this time, Liu Yibao's cousin also stood up, and the two of them stood aside and stared blankly, at a loss.
"The front has been blocked by the Central Plains cavalry. They have occupied the Anxi Protectorate. We can't go back to Beijing!"
The guard who was pressed to the ground said a few words through his teeth, "You two, come here and hold him down. He is Hong Shun, the Minister of War. Only by catching him and offering him up can we achieve meritorious service and have a chance to survive."
The Anxi Protectorate's Mansion is naturally not the Anxi Protectorate's Mansion of the Tang Dynasty, but the Anxi Protectorate's Mansion of Wang's Korea. It is located around Beibanghaeju in later generations and is a key node from Pyongyang to the opening of Beijing.
"Don't listen to him, he is just talking nonsense. The king's army is in Haizhou. As long as you help me capture this traitor, I will guarantee you two to join the martial arts class!" The big shot also made his conditions.
Liu Yibao and his cousin looked at each other. They were usually honest farmers, and going up the mountain to shoot a wild boar was the biggest thing they had done in their lives.
Now you want them to choose between the Heavenly Soldiers of the Central Plains, the Minister of War, etc. They don't know what to do at all.
"Don't believe him. The Central Plains soldiers have really occupied Haizhou. You are right to listen to me!"
Seeing that the two of them were still hesitating stupidly, he was about to lose his strength. The guard who was suppressed on the ground shouted anxiously.
“The people from the Central Plains came here to steal your land and kill your wives, children, and mothers!
We Koreans should unite as one, and we, the Central Plains people, will not let you go even if we kill you. Oh! "
With a fierce scream, Hong Shun's shouts came to an abrupt end. He was spinning and turned around in disbelief, and found that the two stupid farmers he was greeting were looking at him with extreme hatred.
Liu Yibao said fiercely: "We serfs don't have our own land, the land belongs to you."
Thinking of the misfortune that his blind uncle was likely to encounter, the suffering farmer became even more furious.
"The people who will kill us untouchables are not only the Central Plains people, but also noble people like you!"
'Boom! 'My cousin hit Hong Shun on the head again, knocking Hong Shun to the ground.
"I'm a pariah, but I'm not a fool. Why didn't the people of Zhou let me go if I captured such a big official like you? Do you understand this is called meritorious service?"
. . . .
Haeju, where the Anxi Protectorate of Goryeo is located, has not yet been captured, but it is not far away.
A few days ago, after Huangfu Zhao escorted Wang Zhao to escape south, Jiang Gongzhen immediately organized a defense at the foot of Mercy Ridge, and also covered up the news that Wang Zhao had escaped.
But everything he did soon proved to be in vain, because the gap between the two armies was too great.
The combat effectiveness of this Zhou army was on par with the Tang Dynasty's army that conquered Goguryeo.
The combat effectiveness of Wang's Goryeo army may not be a fraction of that of Goguryeo in the past, and it is even far inferior to Silla and Baekje in the past.
As soon as the two sides engaged in battle, the Goryeo army was beaten back continuously. Even if Jiang Gongzhen had the army set up along the Mercy Ridge with its back against the mountains and forests, using trees to block the Zhou army's crossbows, the battle was still going on after the Zhou army entered the woods. It quickly began to be one-sided.
Often if a Goryeo soldier stabs a Zhou soldier five times, the opponent will still be full of vigor and vitality, but if the Zhou army hits a Goryeo soldier once, at least it will lose its combat effectiveness.
Jiang Gongzhen, with tens of thousands of troops and corresponding civilian men, carried them at the foot of Mercy Ridge for a day and a night until the army was completely defeated, and then he took the lead in fleeing south with the Imperial Guards from Beijing.
Jiang Gongzhen even wanted to organize a defense midway, but was defeated by the vanguard army led by Xiang Xun. By the time they arrived in Haizhou, Jiang Gongzhen only had more than 3,000 people left behind him.
Xiang Xun received Wang Jing's reminder and quickly divided his troops into Riruge, asking him to lead two thousand cavalry to pursue Wang Zhao. He himself began to surround Haizhou City, waiting for the army to arrive and attack the city.
Jiang Gongzhen looked south at the top of the city, praying that Wang Zhao had returned to Kaijing.
But Jiang Gongzhen never imagined that Wang Zhao, who he had tried so hard to cover and evacuate, was already surrounded less than thirty miles away from him.
Although Huangfu Zhao was a rising star in the Goryeo Army, he still made a huge mistake, that is, he should not show up in person to stop the attack.
Thanks to his performance at Mercy Ridge, Huangfu Zhao had already registered with the Zhou army. Wang Tingyi and Zhang Jianxiong, who were pursuing, saw Huangfu Zhao appearing and immediately realized that they had caught a big fish.
Who could be the person who could allow a general of this caliber to stand behind him and stop the attack? Of course, only King Wang Zhao of Goryeo had this qualification.
So Zhang Jianxiong took the initiative to bring only 50 cavalry to entangle Huangfu Zhao, and let Wang Tingyi take the remaining 150 cavalry to pursue him.
This time, Huangfu Zhao truly realized the power of Zhou Jun's cavalry. White-robed and silver-saddled Akihiro was the top elite that Murong Nobunaga fed with huge amounts of money.
Although there were only fifty horsemen, they were able to perform a set of combos on horseback within a distance of 150 steps, including first shooting with horned crossbows, then quickly covering with horse bows, and finally fiercely attacking.
As for Goryeo's cavalry, most of their horses resemble Yunnan horses because of the mountainous terrain, while the war horses on Jeju Island are extremely rare because the Wang family of Goryeo has not yet completely controlled the Tamna Kingdom.
It is precisely because of this exaggerated equipment gap that when the two armies attacked, Zhang Jianxiong used fifty cavalry to defeat Huangfu Zhao's four hundred cavalry. Huangfu Zhao was almost knocked off his horse by Zhang Jianxiong's bow.
After realizing how powerful Huangfu Zhao was, he felt like he was dead. He thought that more than a hundred cavalry broke through his blockade and chased Wang Zhao. He couldn't sit still anymore and ran away with the remaining two to three hundred cavalry, hoping to continue to protect Wang Zhao. Zhao.
So, there was such a strange scene, Wang Zhao ran in front, Wang Tingyi chased behind, and behind Wang Tingyi was Huangfu Zhao, and Zhang Jianxiong chased Huangfu Zhao like a lost dog.
After two or three days of intense tug-of-war, Wang Tingyi finally captured Wang Zhao in a small town thirty miles south of Haizhou.
(End of chapter)
