Chapter 516: The Beggars' Sect's Departure
The old beggar said: What else? That kid Zhao Yulin is eyeing the Beggars' Sect and wants to eat up my Beggars' Sect.
Then he fell flat on the chair like a dead fish.
The Old East Evil continued: Gangs have never been allowed to grow powerful in all dynasties, let alone the unprecedented New Song Kingdom. It was the first time he had seen a true republic, a country that was so close to the people and loved the people.
He believed that the Beggars' Sect had 300,000 members only because the Jin people and the grassland Tartars ravaged the Central Plains and the people were displaced. In the future, when the country is peaceful and the people live and work in peace, who would be willing to wear rags and follow the old beggar to beg for food?
The old beggar just listened without saying a word. He crossed his legs, closed his eyes and pretended to be dead.
Zhao Yulin has no time to think about gang management right now. He is currently inspecting the border defenses in Kaifeng.
Li Dagui was very happy to tell him that there were three columns of 60,000 soldiers here, and they would ensure that the northern barbarians would not be allowed to cross the river. He pointed to the soldiers who were training and asked Zhao Yulin to have a look. They were all strong men, and they had practiced the moves of the Wind-Breaking Eight Swords very well. The blades of the swords danced in the sun, emitting a cold gleam.
Zhao Yulin was very satisfied, and asked Da Kui to raise more flags and display the momentum of 100,000 soldiers to train him well.
Da Kui understood immediately and said proudly that he had done so some time ago. His column would occasionally conduct drills and attack eastward, which scared Li Quan so much that he dared not act rashly.
Zhao Yulin told him to be cautious. Hubili is not someone who can be frightened. This guy is very cunning and can strike us unexpectedly.
After inspecting Kaifeng, he continued west to Zhengzhou.
Wu Yuqi asked him: Brother, are you patrolling the border so openly to intimidate Hubili?
Zhao Yulin nodded, looked to the north and said: Even though Hubili was injured repeatedly in fighting with us, he was always thinking about going south to grab territory.
As soon as the couple arrived at the city gate, Lai Chuanfang met them from afar.
Chuanfang said like a young wife that this year she was working for her brothers, so she stayed in Zhengzhou and kept an eye on the north.
Zhao Yulin laughed and said: He is helping with all his might, and he is making contributions to the New Song Dynasty. Lai Chuanfang now only has 20,000 Shenwei troops, and the rest have been secretly transferred to Guanzhong for preparation. Once the war breaks out here, the garrison troops will be the substitutes.
Chuanfang told Zhao Yulin not to worry, he could defend himself in the mountains to the west, and the garrison could also withstand a wave of attacks from the northern barbarians. If they got mad, he could still attack Hezhong Prefecture.
Of course Zhao Yulin knew that if he angered our General Lai, he would not only dare to attack Hezhong Prefecture, but also dare to rob Datong Prefecture.
Zhao Yulin said: Right now we just need to hold our ground and let the brothers in the northwest feel free to knock down the brothers Kuangduan to the ground. Everything else is empty talk.
The next day, Lai Chuanfang accompanied the couple to Duolin Temple in Shaoshi Mountain to pay a visit to Master Jueming.
Chuanfang told him: In recent years, Duolin Temple has sent many disciples to join our Shenwei Army, and there are 500 disciples serving in the Da Kui Army alone.
Zhao Yulin was very happy. He met many noble people along the way, and Master Jueming gave him the most care.
The winding mountain road has been paved with stone steps. Chuanfang said that Master Jueming was the master of the Shenwei Army. He raised money for repairs year after year, and the road leading to the mountain from Duolin Temple has been greatly changed.
Zhao Yulin knew something about this situation. The Duolin Temple was located in Zhengzhou, where the Mongolian army had killed many people. People's livelihood was impoverished, and naturally the incense offerings were far less than those of the Quanzhen Sect and the Qingcheng Sect. Most of the silver and money cleaned out of the merit box were small bills of one hundred and five hundred coins, and iron coins discarded by the common people. It was difficult to raise funds to repair the mountain.
Master Jueming was devoted to his practice and never asked for help from him.
In front of the mountain gate, the martial monks of Duolin Temple had already lined up to welcome them. After paying their respects to the abbot and several officials, Zhao Yulin called Zhenxie up, took the box handed over by him and gave it to the abbot, saying: Duolin Temple has made great contributions in the fight against the Mongols. In order to commend Duolin Temple for its merits in supporting the fight against the Mongols, the court will transfer one million strings of cash to repair the temple. The masters inside the mountain gate are free to decide how to start the construction, and the mountain road will be left to our Shenwei Army to rebuild.
The abbot was delighted. He hurriedly accepted the reward and led the way inside.
Lai Chuanfang said with a smile: The Shenwei Army will allocate another 10,000 kilograms of earth and cement and 10,000 pieces of Jiajiang colored glaze, which will be delivered to the foot of the mountain soon.
The abbot was so excited that he kept saying with trembling lips: "Amitabha, thank you Commander Zhao for your great kindness."
Zhao Yulin, however, clasped his hands together, smiled, and shook his head, not daring to accept it. He asked the abbot to lead the way to meet Master Jueming.
Everyone walked towards the Sutra Library at the back and saw from afar a thin monk sweeping the floor with a bare broom. Leaves fluttered down from the tall ginkgo trees, flying over his head and landing on his shoulders, but he remained unaware and continued to mechanically repeat the sweeping motion.
Only when Zhao Yulin got closer did he see clearly that it was his master Jueming. He immediately knelt down and shouted: Master, please forgive me, I am late.
Master Jueming immediately helped him up with one hand and said: "A monk is free from worries and cares, so there is no need to worry about coming early or late. You have come at the right time." Then he took Zhao Yulin's hand and walked towards the attic, still shouting: "Kongchen, make some tea."
Zhao Yulin walked to the attic and sat down. A young monk brought him tea and said softly: "Please have some tea, benefactor."
He took the tea bowl and looked at the nine spots on the little monk's head. How come he looked like his own son, Zhao Guangchen?
Zhao Yulin stared at the child and was stunned.
Yuqi immediately whispered: Guangchen is quite intelligent, so the master accepted him as his last disciple.
Grass, what is this called?
Zhao Yulin is Jueming's nominal disciple, and his son Zhao Guangchen has become his last disciple. What is this? Isn't this a mess?
His mind was confused and he had no interest in drinking tea.
Jueming looked at him carefully, saying, "Not bad, not bad, your martial arts have improved again." Kongchen has also mastered Tai Chi. Come on, come on, show it to all the donors and brothers.
Then he asked everyone to stand outside the attic. Little Kongchen had already arrived at the dam in front of the attic. After looking up and saluting them, he quickly performed the Tai Chi created by Zhao Yulin. The little guy performed each move freely and skillfully, like flowing clouds and water.
Zhao Yulin was stunned. This guy was not only stupid but also not good at kung fu. How come he learned so well under Master Jueming?
While he was still trying to find the reason, Kong Chen had already stopped his fists and feet and was shouting that he was making a fool of himself.
Everyone was full of admiration and kept praising him, but Zhao Yulin felt extremely uncomfortable, as if he had been confused.
When he came down the mountain, he asked Yuqi: Who sent Guangchen to Duolin Temple?
Wu Yuqi heard his cold words and knew that he was unhappy, so she simply said: Of course it’s Guangchen’s mother.
Zhao Yulin was speechless and rode his horse quickly to Zhengzhou.
In Zhending Prefecture, Hebei, the news that Zhao Yulin visited Duolin Temple and planned to renovate Shaoshi Mountain reached Hubili the next day.
At this moment, he was drinking tea with Tachaer and reading the military newspaper with great interest.
Ta Chaer said angrily: Zhao Qi'er has a lot of money. He took out one million incense money at one time to renovate the temple. Isn't he afraid that we will go up the mountain to kill his master and burn down Duolin Temple?
Hubili smiled and said: Of course he is not afraid. Lai Chuanfang is stationed with an army of more than 100,000, and there are 50,000 soldiers stationed in the fields. They have no worries about food and clothing, and guarding Luoyang and Zhengzhou is naturally a piece of cake.
We'll be thankful if the Shenwei Army doesn't attack us.
Taccar suddenly put down the tea bowl and said: If he dares to cross the river, I will fight him.
Hubili certainly knew that Tacaer dared to fight to the death, but would it be useful to fight to the death?
It was useless. His soldiers were getting fewer and fewer, and his territory was shrinking continuously.
And Zhao Yulin gained another 100,000 soldiers in Shandong.
Recently, the 10,000 newly recruited soldiers learned that after the change in Shandong, every household was allocated land. The Shenwei Army directly confiscated the grain from the landlords and distributed it to the poor, and also transferred grain from Jiangnan to Shandong.
The people are no longer afraid of going hungry.
The government of the new Song Dynasty also did not collect taxes from the people for three years, and also spent a lot of money to build new roads and ditches so that farmers could earn money to spend. These soldiers immediately dispersed as if they were homesick, and many of them quietly slipped out of the barracks and fled to Henan.
Not only were soldiers running away, but even farmers and people making a living were sneaking across the river. Many people even found sheepskin rafts to cross the river from the small ferry. The guards at the dock were unable to stop them because some of them were also deceived by the Henan Shenwei Army and wanted to cross the river to join the army.
Tachaer asked him: Why don't you send a detachment south to give Zhao Qier a blow and support your friend?
Hubili asked him with a smile: Who should be sent?
Where to hit?
Is it useful?
Tachaer was confused by his three consecutive questions.
Yes, everyone knows that the Shenwei Army is as fierce as a tiger. Who would be willing to cross the river and fight alone?
Aren't you going to die?
However, just as he raised the question, Hu Bili came up with an idea. He immediately ordered the garrison of Daming Prefecture to prepare for war and sent them to the ferry every day to practice crossing the Yellow River.
Zhao Yulin was in a bad mood and was worried about the military reorganization in Shandong, so he returned to Kaifeng without stopping.
Li Dagui immediately brought new news that the Northern Barbarians had also started training on the other side of the river. A large number of ships gathered at the dock, and it looked like they were about to cross the river and head south.
Zhao Yulin smiled and asked him if he was scared.
Da Kui said: Come if you want, I am not afraid of him. But those bastards are making trouble at the ferry all day long, which is annoying.
Zhao Yulin said that they were all using their wits, so it was okay. He told Da Kui to keep calm, fight back, keep a close eye on them, and continue practicing.
Zhao Yulin returned to the temporary residence, and Wu Yuqi asked him with a smile, guess who has come?
He said there were so many people he knew, how could he guess?
Yuqi smiled and shouted, Daddy is thinking about his son.
A handsome young man in Shenwei Army uniform quickly walked out of the room. Zhao Yulin took a closer look and found that it was Ma Yuan.
He took two quick steps forward, pulled his son into his arms and hugged him tightly. After a long time, he let go and told him to take a good look at him. While looking at him carefully, he kept asking him why he came to Kaifeng.
How is his Phoenix mother ?
The young man was bewildered by his rapid-fire questions.
