Sadly, even death is not an option.
Guang Xiu comforted Mo'er and promised: "We will leave Qingzhou safely. When the time comes, if you want to leave, my sister will go to Mother Buddha to intercede."
Mo'er didn't say anything. The Buddha Mother seemed to be an ordinary woman, but her methods were very cruel, and she also had mysterious and powerful swordsmanship. Not many people could escape alive in her hands.
"Only the dark sea of blood can bring Maitreya to the world. Put aside your humble kindness and sacrifice some people for the great cause."
Guangxiu's eyes were determined.
Maitreya Buddha will definitely come!
This world will definitely change!
Guang Xiu and Mo'er summoned the White Lotus followers, and in the name of the Buddha's Mother, they consecrated the Ten Heavenly Kings, the Ten Vajras, and the Ten Dharma Protectors to win over people's hearts and arranged for personnel to guard the four gates in preparation for battle.
The young monk Jingsi handed a bowl of water to the old monk. After the old monk drank it, his stomach growled twice.
"Master, I'm going to find something to eat right now."
I feel ashamed.
The old monk shook his head indifferently and said: "A monk can endure the pain of being a monk, so you'd better not leave. There's chaos in the city right now. If someone has malicious intentions, you won't be able to deal with it."
Jingsi sat cross-legged next to the old monk, looked at the old monk who was withering away, and said with some fear: "Master, they are all so scary."
The old monk looked at the setting sun with firm eyes and said: "Their terror is just empty appearance. What is truly terrifying is people's greed and evil thoughts. This is also the origin of the promotion of Buddhism."
Jingsi asked: "Master is saying that only by chanting sutras and cultivating Buddha can we eliminate greed and evil thoughts and achieve great freedom?"
The corners of the old monk's mouth moved slightly and his eyes sparkled: "Greed and evil thoughts are innate and cannot be eradicated or eliminated forever. Reciting sutras and cultivating Buddhism is just to master the mind and wisdom to suppress, overcome and defeat greed and evil. Only in this way can you feel great freedom. Only then can the door be opened.”
"What will happen if they fall into greed and evil?"
Jingsi looked uneasily at the distant city wall, where there were many people.
The old monk was silent until the sunset completely set, and only the afterglow remained. Then he spoke: "The White Lotus Sect believes that blood when flowing out is red, like the red light of the sun. When blood dries up, it is black, like the burned earth. Maitreya The Buddha will be born in this desolate and dark hell and bless the dead and the living."
Jingsi looked frightened, her body trembled slightly, and she closed her eyes and asked, "If there really is Maitreya, couldn't he have come earlier? Did he have to die so many people to come?"
The old monk raised his hand and stroked Jingsi's head, and said calmly: "This is the difference between Buddhism and White Lotus Sect. We believe that Sakyamuni Buddha is in our hearts, and they believe that Maitreya Buddha is in hell. Open your eyes and see clearly. If hell is not hell, Maitreya will not come. The White Lotus Sect has gone astray, and there is a cliff ahead!"
Jingsi watched the last ray of light disappear, thought of something, and asked: "Master, the Dharma is universal, if we just sit back and do nothing, will the Buddha blame us?"
The old monk sat solemnly, made a seal with his hands under his abdomen, and chanted a Sanskrit sound: "Buddha said, all conditioned dharmas are like bubbles in dreams, like dew, or like lightning, so we should observe them like this..."
Outside the city, Geng Bingwen's military camp.
Song Zhengchen narrowly escaped death and was in pain all over, but he did not dare to slack off at all. After asking to see Geng Bingwen, he said eagerly: "The palace of Prince Qi was captured by the White Lotus Cult. The King of Qi is missing. The White Lotus Cult controls Qingzhou City..."
Geng Bingwen and his generals, as well as Qi Bin and Tang Buhe, all looked solemn.
Tang Buping glanced at Geng Bingwen, feeling a little angry.
If he launches an attack as soon as he comes to Qingzhou City, and Qingzhou City has already been taken, even if Bai Lian rebels, it will be nothing more than a turtle in the urn. Now, Qingzhou City has become a turtle shell, and it will take more time to break it. Great strength.
Geng Bingwen did not expect that his enemy would change. It was no longer the remnants of the King of Qi, but the White Lotus Sect. According to Song Zhengchen, there were at least 50,000 to 60,000 people in the city participating in the White Lotus Sect. This number had exceeded that of the Hongwu period. The scale of the rebellion caused by King Kongnu and others of Shaanxi!
"It seems that our military merits still need to be obtained from the White Lotus Sect."
Geng Bingwen's tone became relaxed, and the generals looked even more happy.
In the past few years, the Tatars have disappeared, and there are only Annan and Japanese pirates to deal with, and it is not the turn of the Shandong Guards to go out.
The rule of the Ming Dynasty is that non-military merit cannot be awarded, and the peace of the country and the people is naturally a good thing, but for soldiers who want to climb up, it seems a bit boring.
Now there is finally a rebellion by King Qi. Before the soldiers have put on their armor and sharpened their swords, King Qi has already fled by boat. It is a bit impossible for Shandong Dusi to take advantage of King Qi to make contributions.
Fortunately, King Qi cannot escape from Qingzhou. There are always some remnants. Cutting off some heads can also make a contribution. Not to mention getting promoted, at least you can make a fortune...
Seeing the soldiers gearing up and wanting to fight, Song Zhengchen became anxious and shouted quickly: "Dusi, sirs, although Qingzhou City is currently in the hands of the White Lotus Cult, its followers are limited and most of them are innocent people. They have been The King of Qi has oppressed and enslaved him for too long, and now he has been bewitched by the White Lotus Sect. Once a war breaks out, innocent people will be affected!"
Geng Bingwen looked at Song Zhengchen coldly and said disdainfully: "If you are an enemy of the imperial court, you are an enemy. If you are an enemy, you should be killed!"
Song Zhengchen shouted unwillingly: "As long as your Excellency orders the sergeants to tell the people in the city that anyone who is willing to sever ties with the White Lotus Sect can give up resistance and surrender without killing, I believe that Qingzhou City can be taken without a fight!"
Geng Bingwen shook his head slightly and said dissatisfied: "You are just a scholar. You don't know anything about military and national affairs. Go down and cultivate yourself!"
Song Zhengchen took a step forward and shouted: "Although I am a seventh-rank official, I also know that the emperor puts the people first! If Master Dusi doesn't even try and wants to use the people in Qingzhou City as enemies and kill for military glory, then I Even if it means death, I will impeach you to the end!"
Geng Bingwen's face was gloomy. He didn't expect that this guy with half his life left had the backbone, and even a seventh-grade censor would dare to threaten him! But Song Zhengchen's words cannot be ignored by himself. Are the people in the city the common people or the White Lotus cultists? This is a thorny issue.
As White Lotus cultists, they would naturally be killed without any discussion.
But if they just vented their anger and followed the White Lotus Sect in a confused way, without any intention of resisting the imperial court, then killing them all would not make sense either emotionally or rationally. Once they were exposed to the emperor, their Marquis meal tickets would probably be replaced by Prison ticket from the Ministry of Punishment.
Qi Bin saw Geng Bingwen's hesitation and immediately suggested: "The White Lotus Sect controls Qingzhou City and attacks by force will only increase losses. It is better to stay outside and besiege the city. We will make a decision after consulting the imperial court."
Geng Bingwen wanted to say, "The general's military orders abroad will not be respected," but he took a look at Tang Buping, the security bureau's commander, and held back his words. Since the city was prepared, it was indeed inappropriate to launch an attack directly. In the end, The main thing is that Geng Bingwen only brought more than 10,000 people, but there were as many as 50,000 or 60,000 in the city. It is difficult to surround a large number with a small number, so how can we attack the city?
"Send an urgent report to the imperial court and ask for instructions on how to deal with it. In addition, the defenders are ordered to be on guard and set up antlers and chariot formations to prevent people in Qingzhou City from sneak attacks. If anyone goes out to fight in the city, kill them with bows, crossbows and fire cannons!"
Geng Bingwen made the final decision.
At the third watch of the night, the White Lotus Sect members in the city went out to attack the Ming army. These people carried door panels as shields and simple tools as weapons. They shouted "kill to the sky" and rushed towards Geng Bingwen's military formation.
The war fell into a tragic situation in an instant.
The damage done by the crossbows and fire guns was limited, and they did not achieve the purpose of weakening the White Lotus cultists. The battle formation was adjusted to the cavalry in the front, the spearmen in the middle, and the swordsmen in the back. The two sides fought in an area 300 steps outside Qingzhou City.
Qi Bin was ordered to help defend the South City Gate. Faced with the crazy attack of thousands of White Lotus cultists, he did not show any signs of timidity. Instead, he ordered the Dengzhou Guard sergeants to press at the front, all with shields and spear soldiers.
These were elites trained by Qi Bin in battles with Japanese pirates. They used shields to block enemy attacks and thrust out spears, which were enough to restrain the ferocious and warlike Japanese pirates.
Although the people in front of us are not Japanese pirates, since they have launched an attack, they are enemies.
There is no such thing as mercy on the battlefield. Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to one's own people. Qi Bin knew this very well, so he issued a death order from the beginning: "Kill without retreating and be loyal to the country!"
The battle was more difficult than imagined. The people in the White Lotus Congregation were full of anger towards the imperial court, especially the inhumane bullying, beating, torture and enslavement of King Qi, which put them in a state of extremely hating the government and the imperial court. In his emotions, when fighting, he forgets about life and death and fights desperately.
Although the Ming army was tyrannical, they did not have many manpower after all. In addition, they were scattered into three areas, which made their strength even thinner. If they were not equipped with armor, swords, and elite troops, they would have been overwhelmed long ago.
Guangxiu stood on the city wall, watching the war outside the city through the cold moonlight.
The mountains of corpses and seas of blood are just means. The ultimate goal is to bring Maitreya to the world. For this ultimate, any means can be used.
Because this world is dark, lightless, and sinful.
Kill it.
Die.
Bleed.
The more tragic and the suffering, the sooner Maitreya can come to the world to save this ruined world and establish a pure land of bliss, so that there will be no more suffering in the world.
For the sake of the Pure Land and for future generations, sacrifice your lives!
Broken limbs and arms, the raging death, the wails of life, the sounds of pain, screams, and the sounds of weapons chopping off bones were all mixed together in the night.
The battle lasted until dawn, and the gates of Qingzhou City were closed again.
Qi Bin's left hand was bleeding profusely, and a kitchen knife almost cut off his palm. There were more than 1,200 Dengzhou guards, and less than 700 could stand at this time. The rest were either seriously injured and lost their combat effectiveness, or were killed in battle. Here it is!
The guards in the north were not easy either. They were directly overwhelmed by the White Lotus Cult and retreated three miles. If Geng Bingwen hadn't sent someone to respond, they might have been damaged there.
And Geng Bingwen's Chinese army was not feeling well either. Facing the huge number of White Lotus followers who were fighting desperately, with the five thousand men in their hands, they came and went and fought fiercely all night, with as many as 800 injured!
As a last resort, Geng Bingwen ordered to retreat three miles to camp, and ordered the guards from all over Shandong to deploy troops to help Qingzhou.
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