At dawn, Jiankang City is at the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Ever since Liu Yi was defeated in Sangluozhou, many dignitaries from aristocratic families have been coming in and out here every day. Everyone has a sad look on their face when they enter the temple, and their faces are full of tears when they come out. It is said that this is the The heads of the big families or their nephews went to the temple to pray, hoping that the ancestors of the Sima family, as well as the queens and concubines of their own families, could show their power and help the Jin Dynasty survive this disaster.
Two soldiers standing guard at the gate of the temple were holding spears in their arms, yawning and talking to each other. Even though it was May, they had to get up at Yin hour before dawn to be on duty. The two soldiers were still full of complaints, and they were venting their anger even when there was no one around.
A thin dark-faced man on the left, about eighteen or nine years old, yawned, looked at the wide open temple door and the bright lights inside, and said, "This Ancestral Temple does not open at night on weekdays. The enemy is in front of us, and all twelve o'clock has been turned on. How can this not allow the late emperors to rest?"
The white-faced middle-aged man on the right has a slight resemblance to the dark-faced thin man. After hearing this, his face sank and he said: "You two dogs, you are chewing your tongue, don't you want your head?" ?」
The black-faced young man named Er Gouzi said unconvinced: "Humph, others have gone to bed long ago. You see, we can only stand here at the side door and show off. The people guarding the door are from the Chu family. As for the private soldiers, they have to prepare to protect the head of their family and have no time to take care of us. Uncle Shugen, don’t care too much about this. No one cares about us little soldiers."
Uncle Shugen sighed: "That's because the Imperial Army has retreated to the palace city. Not only the Imperial Army, but also many households in the Ancestral Temple area have been evacuated. Two of my relatives originally lived in this area, and they have already I have been persuaded to leave. It seems that defending the city this time is no small matter. The Ancestral Temple is open and the dignitaries come to worship every day. This is a rare thing in the Jin Dynasty in ten years."
A trace of excitement flashed in Ergouzi's eyes: "I heard that the last time the Ancestral Temple was opened like this was when Liu Yu founded the righteousness. The pseudo-emperor Huanxuan gathered all the Taoist monks in the city and cursed Liu Yu in the Ancestral Temple. Where are they? Huh, what's the use? It's not just that the army will be defeated and the country will be destroyed, and in the end they will even lose their lives."
Uncle Shugen laughed: "You kid actually knows this. Who told you?"
Ergouzi said proudly: "You remember that rogue Zhu Sanheizi across from my house? At that time, he temporarily shaved his head, pretended to be a monk, and followed him in to chant sutras. It was originally agreed that he would have one hundred yuan of incense money. As a result, Huanxuan was defeated in one day, and all the monks and Taoists inside were scattered. He didn't get a single fortune. He had been talking about this for several years. I said, Uncle Shugen, this kind of thing doesn't even bother me. We all know it’s useless, so why do these dignitaries from aristocratic families still believe it?”
Uncle Shugen shook his head: "You only know one thing, but you don't know the other. A few years ago, during the Sun En Rebellion, the most dangerous one was the landing at Jingkou. As a result, Marshal Liu drove him down the river, but the fleet Still, those demon thieves can still attack Jiankang directly from the waterway. Although Marshal Liu won the land battle, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't get out of the boat. He could only watch the demon thieves' fleet heading towards Jiankang. Come and be healthy."
Ergouzi became a little nervous: "What, what should I do? I heard that the demon thieves kill without blinking an eye, and they can also eat people. If they are allowed to enter the capital, wouldn't it be a disaster?"
Uncle Shugen laughed: "If they were really allowed to enter the city, would you still be standing guard here today? Let me tell you, Sima Daozi, the king of Kuaiji at that time, burned incense and prayed in the temple all day long, begging for the blessings of his ancestors. Not only did he It was him, and all the leaders of the aristocratic families in the city at that time, including the Xie family, the Wang family, and the Yu family, all took turns going in to accompany him."
Ergouzi laughed: "Isn't this Sima Daozi the one who always likes to pretend to be gods and ghosts? During the Battle of Feishui, I heard that this guy was also planting straw people everywhere on Bagong Mountain and using some kind of talisman and seal skills to curse. The Qin army, but the Qin leader Fu Jian saw it and thought that these idiots were our Jin soldiers. As a result, he was so frightened that he retreated before the formation, giving us a huge defeat. We also left an eternal famous story about the army being surrounded by grass and trees. "
Uncle Shugen nodded: "You know a lot, kid. But no matter what, after Sima Daozi entered the Ancestral Temple, something magical happened.
, there has been no wind for three consecutive days on the river, which is really weird. On weekdays, at that time of year, there will be a strong east wind on the river. Boats coming from the estuary of the river on the other side of Hudu, by Depending on the wind, we can reach Jiankang City in two days. "
Ergouzi agreed: "Yes, my family has been fishing on the river. At that time of year, you can go out in the morning, and you can reach Caishi and Xinting in an hour with a favorable wind. It's so fast. No wind for three days? I was born I have never seen anything like this before. Could it be that God really helped me?"
Uncle Shugen smiled and said, "I don't know if God can help me. Anyway, it's the monster thief's big ship. Because there was no wind, it couldn't advance quickly. It only advanced less than fifty miles in two days. In this little time, Liu Laozhi's Beifu The army finally returned from Wu, and the demon thieves no longer had the possibility of attacking Jiankang. Therefore, from this time onwards, going to the Ancestral Temple to pray became a common practice when Jiankang City was in danger. The defenders of the city all looked forward to coming again. It’s a miracle like this.”
Ergouzi said disdainfully: "Of course, if it is useful to enter this temple, why didn't it work so well when Huanxuan summoned monks and Taoists to do the magic last time?"
Uncle Shugen waved his hand: "That's because Huan Xuan usurped. He threw out all the tablets of Sima's ancestors in the Ancestral Temple and replaced them with those of his Huan family. He probably angered Sima. The ancestors of the clan, that’s why Liu Yu was summoned to destroy him. Besides, Huanxuan’s ancestral temple was only built for three generations, unlike the Emperor’s temple, which worshiped ancestors of seven generations. I’m afraid that’s why it was His ancestors of the Huan family were angry and no longer protected him. Moreover, during that battle, Huan Xuan himself did not come to the Ancestral Temple, and only allowed monks and Taoists to perform rituals inside. If I were his ancestor, I would not bless him. "
Ergouzi blinked: "I heard that Huan Xuan originally wanted to come to the Ancestral Temple, and the righteous men of Jianyi, such as Wang Yuande, Xin Huxing and others set up an ambush here to assassinate Huan Xuan. In the end, the killing was not successful. Huan Xuan did not enter the temple. Instead, he ordered the whole city to search. In the end, almost all the righteous men in the city were dead. However, Liu Yu and others started an uprising at dawn and succeeded in building righteousness. It seems that this Ancestral Temple is really a We still have to respect the power of some ghosts and gods."
