"Master Zenru." Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't know what the visitor's attitude was, so he narrated the incident frankly: "A group of us passed by a nearby village, and the horses were robbed by bandits. They also killed a family. So.
We changed our horses and followed them all the way, and found that they had escaped into your temple, so we wanted to ask your temple for help."
"Is this possible?" Shanru frowned again, and then turned to the monk soldiers at the door with dignity.
The monk soldiers were stunned for a moment, then shook their heads and replied: "I have never seen it before."
However, this moment of stunnedness made Imagawa Yoshimoto notice something strange - why were they stunned? They had just insisted that no one had been here, so why were they stunned now? Could it be because they knew that Abbot Shanru was
Those who knew about this, at this moment Jian Shanru, the abbot asked questions knowingly, so he was stunned?
The current abbot is not here to help Imagawa Yoshimoto solve the problem, but is here to make a fool of himself and send Imagawa Yoshimoto away.
"Did the donor make a mistake?" Sure enough, Shanru turned to Imagawa Yoshimoto again, with a kind smile on his face, "The temple gate is always guarded, and the surrounding fields cannot hide people. Since the guard did not see it here, I must have
Isn’t it gone?”
"The robbers are cunning, and the night is dark. They may have sneaked in when the masters were not paying attention. We are chasing after each other, and there is no possibility of finding fault." Imagawa Yoshimoto repeated it again with great certainty, and then bowed forward: "
Please ask the master to let the temple search for it, otherwise if these murderous bandits are allowed to act recklessly in the temple, it will not only disturb the Buddha's purity, but also pose a safety hazard."
"Then please wait a moment, donor. The poor monk will ask the temple to search on its own. If there is any situation, contact the donor again. The donor can come back tomorrow." Zenru then gave another Buddhist gift to Imagawa Yoshimoto, and then signaled to send him off.
Guest.
"How's it going?" After seeing Imagawa Yoshimoto coming back with his horse, Ginkgo and others came up to him and asked.
"Looking at the performance, maybe the abbot and monk soldiers in the temple deliberately protected and hid the bandits." Imagawa Yoshimoto deduced based on the reaction just now: "He has promised me to search the temple now. He is probably prevaricating me.
I want to wait until dark to release the people, but tell me tomorrow that they haven’t been found.”
"In that case, arrange ninjas around the temple to monitor all routes to prevent anyone from leaving secretly." Nagoya Furuno glanced coldly in the direction of Kamigong Temple, "Get the people and then confront them.
"
At the same time, in the Shanggong Temple, Shanru was walking back to the main hall with a group of monks and soldiers guarding the door. A group of bandits that Shanru had hidden here were also waiting here. Seeing Shanru coming, everyone knelt down and saluted.
"Sir, why did you just agree to that man to help him search the temple?" The guard who had argued with Imagawa Yoshimoto before asked with some confusion, "He speaks with a Kyoto accent, and at first glance he looks like a passing samurai who is unfamiliar with the place. I am afraid of him.
What to do?"
"Didn't you listen carefully to what he said? His horse was stolen, but he was still chasing him on horseback. This means that he either bought the horse immediately, or the servant brought enough horses for him to transfer, which means there must be more than a dozen
A horse... This kind of financial resources cannot be bullied at will." Shanru is good at observing words and expressions, and he can see that Imagawa Yoshimoto's identity is probably not simple: "Don't be tough with him, lest he cause any trouble.
.He couldn’t enter the temple anyway, so we dragged him and kept saying that we couldn’t find anyone. We dragged him until he was in a hurry to leave.”
"Master, why don't you let us out quietly tonight?" The bandit leader raised his head, realizing that he might have offended someone this time, and suggested with some frustration.
"How could a warrior of this status go out without a ninja? He might be hiding on the road waiting to catch you." Shanru shook his head and flipped the rosary in his hand casually, "To be on the safe side, I'll leave you with me.
You stay in the temple for ten days and a half. Since they are passing by, they must be in a hurry to leave for something, and they will be delayed for a long time. When they come to ask, we say that we have not found anything. Shanggong Temple has been guarding the temple since ancient times.
Even if they enter, it is impossible for them warriors to force their way into the temple, so they will naturally leave when they can't wait any longer."
"Thank you, Master, for taking care of me!" The bandits shed tears of gratitude upon hearing this, and kept leaning over to express their thanks.
"How can I say that all the donors have given a lot of donations to Han Temple for more than ten years, and have also helped Han Temple solve many problems that are inconvenient for the underworld. We who chant sutras and practice Buddhism pay attention to the kindness of drops of water. The springs have repaid us, and the springs have repaid us.
How can you cross a river and burn a bridge? When the donor is in danger, the poor monk will naturally help." Shanru smiled and recited a few words of Buddha's name: "Amitabha, good, good, good."
On August 14, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), Imagawa Yoshimoto and others came to visit Mikawa Kingdom Shangguji Temple again. After hearing that Imagawa Yoshimoto knocked on the door, Zenru quickly hurried to the door in person.
"This benefactor, the poor monk has mobilized countless monks in the temple this day to conduct investigations back and forth, but he has never seen the bandits the benefactor mentioned." Shanru complained to Imagawa Yoshimoto with an innocent face: "Donor again
Think carefully, is it because the night is dark and the wind is high, and you are pursuing the wrong place?"
"It's not wrong, please ask Master to look for it again." Imagawa Yoshimoto had long expected that Zenru would continue to prevaricate, but he didn't expect that Sangong Temple did not let the bandits escape secretly last night, leaving Imagawa Yoshimoto and others in ambush.
The man's attack was in vain, and he could only continue to wait at the gate of the temple: "I would like to swear to the Buddha that we will never admit our mistakes."
"Then that's weird, Han Si really didn't find it." Shanru made up his mind and used the word "drag", "But since the donor is so pious and determined, the poor monk has no choice but to help the donor search carefully.
Ask the donor to wait three days, and the poor monk will definitely search the entire temple."
"That's it, thank you so much, Master." Imagawa Yoshimoto understood that Zenru was planning to spend all his time, but he didn't care anyway, so he agreed.
"How about this time?" Ginkgo, who was waiting in the distance, saw Imagawa Yoshimoto coming back alone soon, and knew the result, "Those bald donkeys still refuse to hand over people?"
"Let's wait for another three days. We plan to wait until we can't wait any longer and leave by ourselves." Imagawa Yoshimoto snorted twice, shook his head and said, "It's okay, we have plenty of time and we don't want to wait any longer. We blocked the surrounding roads.
, to prevent someone from escaping."
"It's enough to give them face. If we don't let him go after three days, that would be too much." Furunoji Yutaka smiled cruelly at the side and shook his head vigorously, "Don't give me a toast or drink as a penalty."
At this time, inside Shanggong Temple.
"Master Shanru, what did they say?" the bandit leader asked tremblingly to Shanru who was walking back.
"I still want to beg you. He seems to be very persistent, but if the poor monk delays him for another three days, he probably won't be able to wait any longer." Shanru felt confident and stroked his beard, "Three days later.
, if they still refuse to give up, the poor monk will not give them a good look. Isn’t our Jodo Shinshu temple serving him? "
Three days later, on August 17, the twelfth year of Tianwen (1543), Imagawa Yoshimoto came to Sanggong Temple again as promised.
But this time, Zenru did not rush to the door like he did three days ago. Instead, he waited for Imagawa Yoshimoto for a whole hour, and then arrived late. Imagawa Yoshimoto was a little numb when he stood at the door, and
Shanru, on the other hand, took a leisurely step. But when he opened his mouth, he still had the same aggrieved tone:
"Donor, benefactor, there is really nothing the Han Temple can do. Just because of your words, the whole temple has searched all over the place, but there is still not even a single person to be seen. The believers are all complaining. Forget it, Donor.
, I must have read it wrong."
"You're absolutely right, how could you not find it? We just followed their horse hoof prints all the way into Sanggong Temple." Imagawa Yoshimoto still retained the last bit of dignity, "Master Zenru, did you miss something?
Search? Are there any abandoned and desolate places in the temple?"
"No, no, no. The poor monk has lived in this temple all his life. He knows this temple better than his own body. How can there be any mistakes? If there is nothing, there is nothing." Shanru shook his head like a rattle.
"Master..." Imagawa Yoshimoto saw that Zenru had said this, and he didn't know how to continue to be tactful. "The person must be in the temple. Please search carefully again..."
"What do you mean by 'people must be in the temple'? Huh? What does the donor mean by this?" Zenru seemed to have finally caught Imagawa Yoshimoto's flaw, and said in a moment of feigned anger: "Shanggong Temple is the pure land of Buddhism.
We monks are dedicated to good deeds. Could it be that the donor thinks that we are harboring bandits?"
"Master's words are serious, but if Master cannot search, can we be allowed to enter the temple and search on your behalf?" Imagawa Yoshimoto also frowned, then raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the temple door, "We are happy to serve your temple."
"The donor is wearing a sword, so he must be a samurai, but even if he is a samurai, this temple is not something you can enter just because you want. Since ancient times, Buddhism and the martial arts have always kept in touch with each other. Isn't the donor trying to break the rules?" Shanru said directly.
He lowered his face, spread his legs slightly and stood in front of Imagawa Yoshimoto. The monks and soldiers behind him all picked up swords and sticks and pointed them at Imagawa Yoshimoto, "No one can do anything without a poor monk nodding."
I want to enter the Shanggong Temple."
"But this group of bandits has committed murder and swindled goods, and has violated the three major criminal regulations. As an agent of the guardian, I am qualified to request a search." Imagawa Yoshimoto quoted the regulations set by the Kamakura shogunate, still trying to convince people with reason.
"Are you the guardian's agent? Where's the evidence?" a monk soldier behind Shanru shouted, waving his fist.
"Yes." Imagawa Yoshimoto then took out a Matsudaira family token from his waist and handed it to Zenru. Zenru looked at it twice and confirmed that it was indeed a samurai of the Matsudaira family. He was secretly surprised - why is this?
He doesn't have the accent of Sanhe dialect, but has a fluent Gongqing accent?
"Even if the noble envoy is a member of the Matsudaira family." Shanru paused for a moment, then spoke loudly again: "The noble envoy's conversation does not look like that of an ordinary little person. He must know that 'the guardian envoy is not allowed to enter'
This is a rule set by the shogunate (Muromachi shogunate). The right of non-entry to the guardian of Kamigyuji Temple was given by the shogun himself. Even if it is to track down those who violate the three major crimes, the temple community also has the right
In the name of General Ashikaga, he is refused entry."
"But the requirement of this article is that the temple must extradite the suspect to the guardian at the border." Imagawa Yoshimoto then spread his empty hands, "Then, where are the people?"
"There is no such bandit at all. What do you mean by your envoy? He fabricated it out of thin air? And then used this reason to break into our Shanggong Temple?" Shanru refused directly and neatly.