Gao Tansheng inserted the burning incense into the incense burner, turned around and walked back to the steps, loudly shouting to thousands of monks and tens of thousands of believers: "Dear masters and benefactors, at present, there are continuous wars and disasters, and all living beings are suffering, just because of the tyranny and cruelty of the government. Killing living beings. The Lord Buddha has issued a decree, ordering us monks and lay people to rise up in arms to resist, overthrow the tyranny, eliminate evildoers, clean up the world, and create a peaceful world!"
As soon as he finished speaking, thousands of monks shouted in unison: "Exterminate evildoers and clean up the world!..." Some believers who didn't know the truth also started shouting. Next, following the order from the confidant, nearly a hundred monks with swords in hand rushed towards the gate of the county government office. When the soldiers standing guard at the gate of the county government office saw that the monk had rebelled, they hurriedly threw away their spears and ran into the county government office to hide. The monks rushed into Liaoyu, but could not find even an official.
In the square, those monks who usually eat fast and chant Buddha's name seemed to have taken off their masks and went completely crazy. Some of them dismantled tables, chairs and benches as weapons, and some used magic weapons in their hands, such as the Vajra with two pointed ends, as weapons. Some monks also rushed into nearby houses and snatched kitchen knives, axes, etc. Bhikkhus holding murderous weapons kill people when others stand in their way, and kill Buddha when they stand in the way of Buddha. The soldiers sent from the barracks to stand guard around the square to maintain order were chased by the monks and ran around. The soldiers who had nowhere to run could only throw away their weapons and kneel down to beg for mercy...
The leader's confidant ran out of the county government office and said to Gao Tansheng: "President, the county magistrate and other officials are not here." Upon hearing this, Gao Tansheng stared and said: "What's going on? Has the news been leaked? The confidant shook his head in confusion: "I don't know." Gao Tansheng has been planning for a long time, how could he give up halfway? He pondered for a moment and pointed to the southwest with his hand: "Ignore him, you lead the people to capture the barracks quickly, and then occupy the entire county!"
"Yes!" His confidants responded loudly, waving and shouting, leading the rebel army along the street towards the barracks, with many believers among them. As a result, a team of more than 10,000 people rushed towards the barracks like a raging tide...
At this moment, Li Zhiyun had led his entourage and county government officials to the south gate tower. From a high position here, you can have a panoramic view of the entire county. The officials saw with their own eyes that this normally peaceful county town had turned into a mess, with monks everywhere murdering and robbing people. The murderous long line of people heading straight for the barracks frightened them even more.
The parents and officials in Xia County were all stunned and couldn't believe their eyes. If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they wouldn't believe it even to death. These monks who usually talk about Amitabha suddenly became so cruel, vicious and heinous...
Li Zhiyun nodded to Yu Wenxin who was standing beside him. Yu Wenxin waved his hand, and several soldiers on the side took out conch shells and blew the conch horn. All the soldiers who had been ambushing the city wall appeared. They held crossbows and surrounded the entire county, and many crossbowmen suddenly appeared on the rooftops on both sides of the street leading to the barracks.
At this time, the rebel army was still one or two miles away from the barracks. The gate of the barracks opened, and thousands of officers and soldiers lined up and ran out. After a while, they collided head-on with the monks' team. At the front of the army's ranks was a row of shield bearers. They held huge shields and blocked the way of the monks like a wall. Both sides stopped at a distance of forty or fifty feet.
A general held a trumpet made of iron sheets, walked to the front of the team, and shouted loudly: "You are all Buddhist disciples, but you dare to plot rebellion and kill innocent people indiscriminately. The King of Chu has ordered that you quickly put down your weapons and kneel down to beg for mercy." You can survive. If not, they will all be wiped out!"
The confidant had already become red-eyed and shouted loudly: "Don't listen to his nonsense! We have the protection of the Buddha and the protection of the Vajra, so the officers and soldiers can't do anything. Come to me quickly!" After saying that, the leader rushed forward...
The general put down his trumpet and waved his hand. The shield bearers retreated to both sides, and the archers stepped forward. They drew their bows and released arrows, and the arrows flew past like locusts. The monks who rushed in front fell to the ground after being struck by arrows. At the same time, the crossbowmen on the roofs on both sides of the street also fired thousands of arrows. Arrows rained down like rain, and the street suddenly became a river of blood...
On the south gate tower, Li Zhiyun greeted everyone to leave. Such scenes are too bloody and should not be shown to these officials more often. He led a group of people back to the messenger hall.
Li Zhiyun stood still at the top, his eyes wandering on the faces of the officials in front of him. Suddenly his face changed drastically, and he shouted: "Arrest Wang Xingben!" As soon as he finished speaking, two guards came up and pulled Wang Xingben's arms. Catch with reverse scissors.
When the officials saw it, their expressions changed in shock. They all looked at each other and whispered. Wang Xingben struggled and shouted: "King Chu, why do you want to arrest me?"
Li Zhiyun sneered and said: "You have three major crimes. First, as a county lieutenant, you should have upheld the law, but you knew the law and broke it. In the case of the disappearance of Mrs. Xu and the scholar's wife, you faked the scene and hired people to testify, and you did not hesitate to do so. Killing witnesses. Secondly, you killed Zhou Shen. Thirdly, you colluded with Gao Tansheng, intending to act as an insider and help him to rebel."
"You're talking nonsense! What proof is there for such nonsense?" Wang Xingben shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Yes, King Chu." Xu Tiecheng said, "What you said is a serious crime, but is there any conclusive evidence? You must not unjustly accuse a good person!"
Li Zhiyun smiled and said: "Mr. Xu, please listen to me slowly. Later you will understand that the evidence of Wang Xingben's crime is conclusive." After a pause, he faced the crowd and said, "Then Let me start from the beginning. A few days ago, General Yuwen and I came to Xia County to inspect military affairs. When we walked to the foot of a hillside two miles away from the city, several villagers discovered a body. Later, it was identified by Magistrate Xu. The deceased was Ku Cao Zhou Shen, who was hit on the back of the head with a blunt instrument. At that time, I found this in Zhou Shen's pocket," Li Zhiyun said, picking up the wooden sculpture from the table next to him and showing it to everyone Look, "This is a souvenir provided by Lotus Zen Temple to donors. Apparently, Zhou Shen had visited Yinhua Mountain before he was killed."
Li Zhiyun put down the wood carving and continued: "The next day, accompanied by Magistrate Xu, Prime Minister Ding and others, I went to Zhou Shen's home and found a poem he left on the table in Zhou Shen's study." As he spoke, he picked up the piece of paper from the table, unfolded it and said, "Let me read to everyone: Hou Yi's divine bow has no heavy arrows, there is a cave in the blessed land of Lingshan; in the heart, the mountains and seas are quiet and boundless, and the mysteries are forgotten. Wonderful method; there are many coincidences, and the sky is unpredictable." After reciting, he put the paper back to its original place and continued, "According to Zhou Shen's family, Zhou Shen left home at the first watch on the fourth night of the Lunar New Year. , and never went back. When I saw this poem, the ink on the paper was still fresh, and it was most likely left by Zhou Shen before he left home. So, why did he write this poem before leaving home? ?Did it come out of random inspiration, or did you want to leave some clues to others? This question has always troubled me. "
"After leaving Zhou Shen's house, Magistrate Xu invited me to his home. At Magistrate Xu's house, I learned that Mrs. Xu and her maid disappeared on the 18th day of the twelfth lunar month last year while going up to Huashan Mountain in Yin to perform incense. It is said that they went down the mountain. Later, we were playing in the water by the Lingzhang River and fell into the river. Later, we met a crazy scholar on the street. The scholar's wife also disappeared half a year ago when she went to Yinhua Mountain to perform incense. In just six months, Xia County There were just two cases of missing women, isn’t it strange?”
"I sent Cai Hu, a member of the army, to the lower reaches of the Lingzhang River. According to Cai Hu's investigation, no female body was found on the Lingzhang River until the 18th of the twelfth lunar month last year. Moreover, there is a flood dam a hundred miles downstream from Xia County. According to local officials, due to lack of rain last winter and this spring, the floodgates of the dam were not opened. The river water flows away through the guide canals, and the guide canals are equipped with iron gratings. Therefore, if Mrs. Xu and the maid He died of drowning, and his body could not have flowed into the Fen River downstream. Everyone knows that after a person drowns, his body will inevitably float due to the bulging belly. No floating body was found, indicating that Mrs. Xu and the maid fell into the Zhang River and drowned. If you talk about death, it is simply a lie."
"I checked the files of the two missing cases and found that the witnesses of the two cases were actually the same person, a man named Niu Da from Daqi Village outside the city. I asked Wang Xingben to accompany me to Daqi Village to look for Niu Da. Da, I didn’t know until I got there that Niu Da had fallen into the pond and drowned half a month ago.”
When Li Zhiyun said this, he paused. Seeing everyone's eyes looking at him eagerly, he said: "The matter is now very clear. Mrs. Xu and the maid did not go down the mountain at all, but Wang Xingben placed the maid's silk shoes on the A fake scene was created by the river. He bribed Niu Da to give false evidence. Later, fearing that his crime would be exposed, he killed Niu Da."
"You're talking nonsense! What proof do you have for saying I killed Niu Da?" Wang Xingben roared.
Li Zhiyun said loudly: "Bring witnesses." After a while, two soldiers brought in a man. The man was in his thirties, with dark, rough skin and a thin build. He was dressed as a farmer, wearing a mandarin jacket, gray linen trousers with a lot of mud on them, and a pair of straw sandals tied with linen. The officials stepped aside and the man was brought over. Li Zhiyun looked at him and said, "Who is your surname? Where do you live?" The man nodded and bowed: "Sir, my name is Niu Decao, and he lives in Dali Village outside the city."
"What is your relationship with Niu Da?"
"Sir, the villain is his cousin."
"Both Niu Da's parents are dead, and he has no wife or children. Since you are his only relative, and Niu Da fell into the pond and died, why didn't you report it to the official?"
"this……"
"Speak quickly!" Li Zhiyun shouted sharply.
Niu Decao glanced at Wang Xingben, who was being held aside, and said: "The villain originally wanted to report it to the official, but Wang County Lieutenant came to the villain's house that night and said that the cause of Niu Da's death was strange. He was unable to find out the truth and was afraid that his boss would pursue him. , told the villain not to report to the official. In order not to cause trouble to the government, the villain did not report to the official."
Li Zhiyun sneered and said, "Are you afraid that the sight of money deceives your heart?" Niu Decao said quickly: "Yes, yes, the villain admits that Wang Xianwei gave the villain a sum of money."
