Not long after, a young monk with red lips and white teeth was brought to the abbot's Zen room.
"In the middle of the camp, my subordinates asked a lot of people. In the end, only this young monk said he knew where the secret passage leads to." The soldier who brought the young monk over said to Liu Qingzhou.
Liu Qingzhou looked at the little monk and asked, "Little monk, do you know this secret passage?"
"I, no, the little monk knows." The little monk said nervously, his body looking very stiff.
Liu Qingzhou pointed to the secret passage and said, "Tell me, where exactly does this secret passage lead to? Does it lead directly to the outside of the city through the secret passage?"
"You can't get out." The young monk shook his head first and then said, "The exit of the secret passage is an alley not far from Wuning Gate."
After saying that, he hurriedly lowered his head.
Liu Qingzhou turned his head and said to a subordinate beside him: "Lead a team of people and rush to Wuning Gate immediately."
"Yes." The other party agreed, turned around and walked away.
Liu Qingzhou looked at the young monk again and asked: "How do you know such a secret thing as a secret passage? Don't say that you are just an ordinary monk in the temple, I don't believe it."
There is such a secret as the entrance to the secret passage hidden in the abbot's Zen room. It is obviously not something that a casual little monk can know.
"The young monk is a knowledgeable monk in Ciyun Temple, so he knows more things than the ordinary monks in the temple." The young monk nervously explained to himself.
"I don't believe it." Liu Qingzhou shook his head.
Two soldiers came up from the side, held down the young monk's shoulders, and kicked him to the ground.
The young monk kneeling on the ground raised his head as hard as he could and said, "The young monk dare not hide it. The young monk is really the guest monk in the temple, but the abbot is the young monk's biological uncle."
As he spoke, he lowered his head.
"Yingzheng, this guy has a rosy complexion and oily lips. He drinks alcohol and eats meat all the time. He is definitely not a good monk." said a soldier holding the young monk's shoulder.
When the young monk heard this, his head drooped even lower.
And his behavior made everyone present understand that this young monk was really a meat-and-potatoes monk as the soldier said.
However, no one was too surprised.
The temple owned land and did not need to pay taxes. Like the gentry's family, they hired tenant farmers to farm the land, and most of the income belonged to the temple.
On the surface, it is a temple, but in reality it is no different from those gentry homes. They rely on exploiting tenant farmers to support the monks in the temple.
As for the compassion of our Buddha, you can't see it in most temples. Most of them are monk temples that bully the people and plunder people's fields. Ciyun Temple is such a temple.
"Block the entrance to the secret passage." Liu Qingzhou confessed, then looked at the young monk and said, "Take him with you and find the land deeds and account books in the temple."
The young monk was escorted out by two soldiers.
"Yingzheng, just block the secret passage and we won't chase him anymore?" One of the soldiers asked doubtfully.
Liu Qingzhou said: "None of us know what is going on in the secret passage. There is no need to take this risk. Just block the entrance. And our army is inside and outside the city, so they can't escape."
Upon hearing this, several soldiers in the meditation room began to work hard to block the entrance to the secret passage.
Liu Qingzhou saw that the entrance to the secret passage was blocked, so he led the people out of the Zen room and returned to the main hall of the temple.
However, when he was halfway there, soldiers hurried over.
Coming closer, he said: "Yingzheng, some monks in Ciyun Temple want to join us. Our captain dare not make the decision. So we sent our subordinates to ask for your opinion, Yingzheng?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a person standing next to Liu Qingzhou said: "The monks in the temple are all raised on wine and meat. They are just like thugs from rich families. They usually do some dirty things that ordinary monks are not allowed to do, and their hands are covered with dirt. There are even some wanted criminals from the imperial court who are hiding in the temple under different names. Although such people are bloody and brave, they are difficult to control."
Liu Qingzhou nodded.
Ordinary people who want to practice martial arts must eat food with plenty of oil and water. If they just eat vegetables, they may not even be able to wield a knife.
"Yingzheng, you don't really want to recruit these monks, do you?" The man who spoke frowned.
Liu Qingzhou smiled and said: "Take it, why not, I don't care if they are wanted criminals by the court, as long as they are willing to join the Tiger Flag, I will."
"But these people are difficult to control. If they join in, they may lead other soldiers to harm. More importantly, they may be good at smashing, smashing, and robbing. But if they face the imperial soldiers, they may be the first to escape. They may not fight to the death like our own soldiers." The man next to him said worriedly.
Obviously, he did not want these monks from Ciyun Temple to join his team.
"Who said we want them to join our team directly?" Liu Qingzhou said, "Since these monks are not short of courage, then send them all to the grassland and let them fight with the Beili. Those who are disobedient will be thrown directly into mining. , when we get to the grassland, no one can escape."
The man who had previously persuaded Liu Qingzhou not to accept these monks, upon hearing that he sent them to the grassland, immediately shook his head and said, "Then I have no objection."
The Tumut Grassland is already the territory of their Tiger Flag. When these monks arrive on the grassland, they have to be obedient. It is impossible to escape.
The grasslands are sparsely populated, and it takes a long walk before you encounter a gathering place where herders live. If you don't know the way, your chances of encountering wolves are greater than your chances of encountering herdsmen.
Liu Qingzhou said to the soldier who ran over to get his opinion: "Go back and tell your captain that we want all the monks who want to join the Tiger Flag, but don't tell them about sending them to the grassland for the time being, and you can't keep the weapons. He was imprisoned as a prisoner with the border troops."
"Yes." The other party agreed, turned around and ran away.
As soon as they left, Liu Qingzhou said to the people around him: "The assistant master is about to enter the city. I will go to greet him. The affairs here in Ciyun Temple will be left to you for the time being."
Tiancheng Wei had just been captured, and there were still many things going on. It was impossible for him to stay here at Ciyun Temple all the time.
Moreover, as soon as Wang Bao escaped, Ciyun Temple fell completely into the hands of Hu Ziqi. The only remaining things left to do were to keep the temple's account books and land deeds. Ordinary staff can do everything well.
Liu Qingzhou led a team to leave Ciyun Temple.
When he was passing by the Zhenwu Temple, he saw groups of troops carrying the flags of the First Battle Barracks, rushing towards the Ying'en Gate.
As more and more tiger-character flag soldiers entered the city, the shouts of killing in the city became quieter. Some of the fires began to be extinguished, and the city slowly returned to stability.
Those who took the opportunity to cause trouble fled to death, and the officers and soldiers in the city also surrendered one after another.
