Inside the Shaolin Temple, in the center of the square.
Zhien stood at the very back of the Zhizi class. She couldn't see the front even when she stood on tiptoe. She could only understand the situation through the discussion of the young monks behind her.
This understanding doesn't matter, I feel like the sky of Shaolin Temple is almost falling.
The highly respected master uncle Zhenfa, the former Thirteen-stick monk, died.
Huiyi, the master of profound Buddhist teachings, died.
Veena Huizang, the loudest voice, died.
Even among the various monks, fierce conflicts broke out last night in order to track down the murderer, and two of them suffered tragic deaths.
Five corpses were lined up in a row. Compared to the hundreds of monks in Shaolin Temple, they didn't seem to be too many, but for ordinary monks, it was no less than a bolt from the blue.
The top management is dead, the management is at war, and the trees are falling and the beasts are scattered. Is the Shaolin Temple going to perish?
Fortunately, at this moment, a large number of people appeared in great force.
Zhi En turned around and saw that the leader was the high-ranking official in the DPRK who had a very harmonious attitude. She couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.
Not only him, but many monks who had a hostile attitude yesterday were relieved to see the court officials coming here, and they had a backbone.
But this time, as soon as Li Yan entered the temple, Zhijian came up to him and said awkwardly: "The young monk has seen Li Jiyi!"
Li Yan nodded slightly: "How is it in the temple?"
Zhijian wanted to say it was okay, but his face was covered with bruises. He was almost caught in the fire last night, and he could not completely stay out of it. He could only whisper: "There is a chaos in the temple. I hope Li Jiyi can help me."
Waiting for justice."
An Shengan and Cheng Wuzhong, who were following behind Li Yan, stared at each other with four words in their eyes: Are you cheap or not?
Li Yan looked very calm and asked: "Did you go to Honglu Temple to report the crime?"
Zhijian was stunned: "This... doesn't..."
Li Yandao: "Many matters concerning Buddhism and Taoism are under the management of the Chongxuan Office of Honglu Temple. The superiors, temple owners and Vina of each temple, as monks and officials, are all registered in Honglu Temple. They were killed and died."
, the temple must notify Honglu Temple as soon as possible. This is the law and must be followed."
Zhijian was shocked by his impeccable performance and hurriedly said: "The young monk immediately sent someone down the mountain to report the case to Honglu Temple!"
Li Yan waved his hand: "Go!"
In the early Tang Dynasty, the Chongxuan Office in Honglu Temple was the court agency that managed Buddhist and Taoist affairs. When Wu Zetian ascended the throne in history, the management rights of monks and nuns were transferred to the Ancestral Department of the Ministry of Rites, while Taoism was under the jurisdiction of Zongzheng Temple.
In the Tang Dynasty, the management of monks and monasteries was transferred to merit envoys, while the temple department was responsible for issuing ultimatums.
No matter which department, if all the three cardinal principles of a temple are gone, it is equivalent to a county government, from the county magistrate to the county captain, all being killed by thieves. The impact is so bad that even a temple in a remote place will alarm the central government, and even more
What's more, Shaolin Temple is in Henan Prefecture, very close to Luoyang.
Li Yan asked Zhijian to report to Honglu Temple and ask the other party to send someone to come. It was just in case that the officials of Honglu Temple who were in charge of religion would be present to avoid any troubles and disputes afterwards.
After Zhijian took the order, Li Yancai came to the corpses to check the condition of Zhenfa and Huizang's corpses.
Huizang's body was clearly the same as that of the abbot Huiyi, with a palm in the back and a broken neck.
Zhenfa's body was slightly different. The cause of death was still a broken neck, but there was no palm in the back of the heart.
Li Yan frowned slightly.
This case is very strange.
Even though the murderer knew that he had come to the Shaolin Temple, he still killed all the senior officials in the temple. What was his motive?
Kill and silence?
These three Shaolin Temple leaders all know a certain secret and must be killed?
This can indeed be explained, but the problem is that after Hui Yi died, Huizang and Zhenfa's attitude was obviously to cover up the situation, while he had already gone down the mountain.
Under such circumstances, even if you want to silence yourself, it should not be at this time.
Zhenfa is already eighty years old, and Huizang is also an old man in his fifties. If you want to get rid of these two people, you can wait for the limelight to pass and carry out the murder secretly.
Now that all three people were killed using exactly the same method, the court will definitely investigate to the end. If the murderer wanted to hide any secrets, can he be sure that these three people did not leave any clues?
Just then Zhijian came back, and Li Yan asked: "Did these three cardinal guides leave any diary of letters on weekdays?"
Zhijian said: "Master-uncle does not have this kind of habit. As for presiding over the Vina, the young monk doesn't know."
Li Yan said: "It seems that you are the closest to Zhenfa. Whatever items he has around him, you can get them later."
Zhijian was extremely positive at this time: "The young monk will go get it right away."
"Don't worry yet..."
After Li Yan initially inspected the bodies of these two men, he then looked at the other two monks.
Then it was discovered that the two deceased people had various injuries, including traces of falling bricks and stones.
The fatal injury was a sharp knife wound, which was full of blood. It should have hit an artery, and he bled to death.
Li Yan pointed to the knife wound and asked, "I saw the monks in your temple yesterday. They all used long sticks. What happened to the knife wounds and bricks?"
Zhijian said awkwardly: "Our Shaolin martial arts are full of virtue, and the weapons we use are a bit complicated, but there are definitely no crossbows. Please rest assured, Li Jiyi..."
Li Yan was noncommittal and turned to look at the monks in the square: "Everyone in your temple is here?"
Zhijian said: "There are still some who were injured last night and are recuperating in their respective hospitals."
Li Yan said: "Call them too. If it doesn't work, just carry them over."
Zhijian was a little reluctant. After all, the images of the injured monks were not very pretty, like a quack fight.
But now they had no courage to disobey. Li Yan glanced at him indifferently, their whole bodies were agitated, and they had no choice but to give the order.
Not long after, dozens more monks came to the square sparsely, most of them with wounds on their bodies, and their ferocious aura was fully exposed.
Anshen saw this and sneered: "What a pure place of Buddhism!"
Li Yan did not hesitate to talk and continued: "Take a closer look and see if there are any missing people in the temple. Are they all gathered?"
Zhijian and other monks stepped forward to carefully check the number of people. Sure enough, they found that more than a dozen people had not arrived, so they went to call for people again.
Li Yan waited patiently until all the more than 600 monks in Shaolin Temple gathered together before he said: "Start now and check the ultimatum of each Shaolin monk!"
As soon as these words came out, there was a commotion among the monks. Zhijian's pupils shrank and he said dryly: "Isn't Li Jiyi going to track down the murderer?"
Li Yan raised his voice and his voice spread clearly throughout the audience: "This is the first step in tracking down the murderer. The certificate is the Buddhist monk's identity certificate and must be checked in detail. The internal guards obeyed the order and carefully searched each monk's certificate and verified it.
The accent in your hometown, your past experiences, the Buddhist scriptures in the temple, and the censor’s verification, there must be no omissions!”
An Shengan led the inner guard to answer the order with a bang: "Yes!"
Seeing these smart and capable internal guards approaching, many monks' faces turned pale.
The Buddha has been exterminated twice. The lessons learned from the past are there. The court also knew that the number of these monks could not be large. In order to control it, the Tang Dynasty's ultimatum system was still very strict based on the rules.
Monks who want to obtain a monk's degree must first become a disciple, study diligently, and then be recommended by the teacher, and then be approved by the government. When they are monks in two capitals, a censor must be present to verify, and finally they can receive the degree and become recognized by the government.
The legal monkhood is legal, and once the monk returns to secular life or dies, the ultimatum must be returned to the government, and transfer is strictly prohibited.
In order to unify the management of monks and Taoists, the Tang Dynasty also established a special household register for monks and Taoists. Like civilian households, it was created every three years. The household registration was made in triplicate and distributed to counties, prefectures and Honglu Temple for inspection from time to time.
Of course, system improvement is perfection, but implementation is another matter.
Almost every Buddhist temple makes a fuss about the ultimatum, especially the royal temples. Selling the ultimatum is a huge income.
When Li Yan was at Famen Temple, he found a monk named Kuanji, and sold the blank certificate. As long as he wrote his name, he would have the household registration of Famen Temple, and all the land involved would become temple property.
This is equivalent to recruiting legal gangsters, and the profits are huge. A mere Zhike monk can sell sixteen copies of the ultimatum in more than a year, at twenty gold each, and earn more than three hundred gold, which is the envy of all officials.
However, the Shaolin Temple has no advantage in this regard. It is not a royal temple, and it is located in the two capitals areas where management is relatively strict. It is very difficult to legally handle the ultimatum.
Unexpectedly, Li Yan saw a fight inside the Buddhist temple, with stab wounds, and then put on a meticulous search attitude, which indeed triggered a backlash.
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, the two monks standing at the back looked at each other and suddenly ran away in both directions.
The inner guard's expression changed, and just as he was about to stop him, Cheng Wuzhong had already pounced out, and took out the Shence crossbow from his waist in one smooth motion.
Aim, shoot...
Whoosh!!
With a shrill scream, the fleeing monk fell directly, and then with a swish, a dozen crossbow arrows were fired at him. Blood spurted out from all over his body. Cheng Wuzhong stepped forward, took out his sword and chopped it into pieces.
Go down.
The monk on the other side who was targeted by the elite Baiqi received the same treatment. He was decapitated by Xu Sanlang and returned.
However, this scene did not control the situation. On the contrary, it aroused the ferocity of some of the monks. They shouted: "The dog officer has killed someone!" "Brothers, shout!" "Scatter away, there are few of them!"
"
After hearing these shouts, the faces of the group of monks suddenly became livid. Li Yan held his hand on the handle of the chain knife and commented: "It seems that there are many bandits and thieves in your temple. That's right. They practice martial arts every day in the temple. Instead of
Hidden in the place where the ancient Buddha with green lanterns is located, the attraction here is much greater..."
Zhijian closed his eyes and swallowed the sigh in his throat.
The thing I was most worried about happened.
The situation in the Shaolin Temple, monks like them, is naturally well aware of it, and there are indeed many Jianghuzi who have taken refuge in the temple and become monks.
Ordinary monks have never seen blood and have little practical experience. However, these Jianghuzi, who have lives in their hands, can also improve the strength of the monk soldiers when training with them, so that they will not become mere showpieces after a few generations.
Therefore, the senior officials in the temple have always turned a blind eye to such matters.
But there is a difficulty that is difficult to overcome, and you must find a way to deal with it.
With the ultimatum, even if it is confirmed that he is a wanted gangster, the county government has no right to arrest him.
Put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha immediately. The butcher's knife in this sentence does not refer to the killing knife, but to the obsession with delusion. However, due to the convenience brought by the ultimatum, after entering Buddhism, you can really put down the butcher's knife and forget about it.
But if there is no ultimatum, then he is still a wanted criminal with a butcher knife in his hand...
Li Yan's voice spread throughout the audience: "The monks who have given the ultimatum should get down quickly. Those who haven't given the ultimatum and still try to escape will be shot without mercy!"
As soon as this statement came out, hundreds of people fell down in the arena, including the dumbfounded Zhi En. He had grown up in the temple since he was a child, so he naturally had a strict ultimatum.
But not all those who had not paid the ultimatum fled and fell to the ground with a sense of luck. Only a dozen or so fierce-looking monks roared and fled in all directions.
Cheng Wuzhong no longer had the slightest concern. With a ferocious smile, he led a hundred elite cavalrymen and rushed forward.
Blood splattered and bodies were thrown away.
The elite of the Tang army, selected from a thousand miles away, faced off against the unorganized gangsters and bandits. Naturally, it was a one-sided massacre.
Zhijian is relatively sober. Yesterday, he led the monks and soldiers to form a formation. Today, he can only clasp his hands and recite the Buddha's name silently: "Amitabha!"
Some monks couldn't bear it anymore and shouted: "Aren't we going to invite officials from Honglu Temple to come here? How could you be so cruel?"
He calmed down and said with a sneer: "The people from Honglu Temple are here to witness. My internal guards are responsible for investigating the case. Those who have not given ultimatums are not considered monks at all, and they are not under the management of Honglu Temple. Their identities are ours
I will investigate carefully and never wrongly accuse a good person!"
Some monks hissed: "These people are still clues!"
An Shen said with emotion: "Those who killed Sangang cannot be these thieves. I heard that yesterday Wei Na and Shangzhan were protective. They wished that the two monks would live a long life. Okay, just shut up!"
The monks had no choice but to shut their mouths.
An Shengan looked around the group of monks and spat on the ground with disdain: "How cheap!"