In Yan Baihu's village, after excluding the old, young and weak brigades, there are about 4,000 strong men who can be reorganized into the Jinling Army.
In addition to the 1,000 rangers that Li Tong led to serve some time ago, roughly calculated, Jinling City has 5,000 more people to expand its military armament.
However, before carrying out the expansion task, the pottery merchant still has one last thing to do.
Then defeat the rebellious thief Zuo Rong of the Xia Pi Kingdom.
Tao Shang, Xu Chu and others went into the mountains to attack Yan Baihu, while Chen Deng, Zhou Tai, Xu Rong and others stayed in Wu County.
Of course, Chen Deng and the others were not idle. He sent people in Wuxian County to spread rumors everywhere, saying that the pottery merchants had led troops deep into the mountains and forests to attack Yan Baihu. The two sides were in a stalemate, and it would be difficult to win in three to five months.
The remaining generals of the Jinling Army were temporarily stationed in Wu County, ready to respond at any time.
In this way, the smoke bomb is considered to be deployed.
It is obvious that there is no tiger in the husband's market, but when three people say it, it becomes a tiger. This is how rumors are made.
The next step was for the pottery merchants to quickly move their troops northward and directly take Xiapi County, the seat of Pi State, without the knowledge of Zuo Rong of Xiapi State.
However, before heading to Xiapi County, the pottery merchant learned a very interesting piece of information from Yan Baihu.
A message about Zuo Rong.
Zuo Rong believed in Buddhism, built and renovated Buddhist temples, and asked the people of Xiapi County to recite Buddhist scriptures day and night, which caused a large number of monks and nuns from all over the world to move collectively to the jurisdiction of Xiapi County. The pottery merchants were somewhat aware of this.
.
There was just one thing that the pottery merchant didn't know very clearly. In fact, what he knew about advocating Buddhism was just a drop in the bucket for Zuo Rong. Yan Baihu told the pottery merchant that Zuo Rong would do it on the eighth day of April every year, which is the birthday of the Buddha.
On that day, a grand "Buddha Bathing Party" will be held in Xiapi County.
This Buddha Bathing Party is so extravagant that the cost of the roadside banquet alone would be calculated in hundreds of millions.
The so-called Bathing Buddha, also commonly known as Buddha Bathing, originated from the legendary story of Prince Siddhartha being born under the Ashoka Tree in Lumbini Garden.
Zuo Rong was a very devout believer in Buddhism. Ever since he came to Xiapi, he would hold the "Buddha Bathing Party" grandly every year.
Not only did Zhe Rong require all the monks and nuns in Xiapi County to take to the streets to promote Buddhism, he also spent a lot of tax money to arrange alms banquets in the county.
Monks, nuns, and ordinary people can basically eat as much as they want on that day, and the cost is extremely huge.
I heard that the Buddha Temple and the Nine-Mirror Pagoda built by Zuo Rong in Xiapi in recent years cost hundreds of millions. The temple has a pagoda with a gold plate on top and a heavy tower below. It is extremely extravagant and ingenious.
Compared with Zuo Rong's methods, the pottery merchants' mining and salt mining, smelting of refined armor, and heavy armored cavalry in Jinling City in recent years are simply a piece of work.
On the day of the Buddha Bathing Ceremony and a few days before, the entire Xiapi County military and civilians basically did not do anything else. Everyone's attention was focused on how to participate and how to hold this great annual event.
Festival.
On the day of the festival, there is no doubt that all four gates of Xiapi City Hall will be open, welcoming people from all over the world and promoting Buddhism.
As luck would have it, the date of this year's Buddha Bathing Ceremony is obviously approaching.
For potters, this is a godsend opportunity.
By then, Xiapi City will attract monks and nuns from all over, including many ordinary people who want to take advantage of the festival to eat and drink. It can be said that there are many people and many things to do.
In such a chaotic festival, Xiapi City's defensive strength was almost zero, but this gave Tao Shang and others a perfect opportunity to attack Xiapi County.
The pottery merchant really didn't expect that Yan Baihu could actually provide him with such a good idea, and he was overjoyed at the moment.
Who says Baihu is mediocre? Brother Dewang also has his merits.
But after thinking about it, the pottery merchant became very curious about something.
Yan Baihu lives in the deep mountains and old forests of Wu County, living with thick linen cloth all day long. How can he know so thoroughly what happened in Zuorong, Xiapi County? And he also knows such a thing about the Buddha Bathing Association.
learn?
Judging from the description and tone of Yan Baihu's description of the Buddha Bathing Meeting in Xiapi City, it seemed as if the old thief had been there and experienced it personally.
And when he described the grandness of the Buddha Bathing Party, his thin black face was filled with envy and longing, and little stars seemed to flash out of his eyes.
Could it be that this guy is also interested in Buddhism?
Combining Yan Baihu's expression and demeanor, the pottery merchant thought about it for a long time before he suddenly realized it.
The Buddha Bathing Ceremony is an important Buddhist festival, especially in Xiapi City. During this festival, not only do local eminent monks build high platforms to preach Buddhism in important places in the city, but they also have to give alms to the monks and people.
As a means of propaganda to promote Buddhism.
When I heard about the Buddha Bathing Ceremony, Zuo Rong set up banquets beside various major roads. The banquets could even reach outside the city, stretching for dozens of miles, to provide food and drink for the people worshiping the Buddha, and to consume food and labor costs in the county.
It can be said that they are countless, the layout is luxurious, the scene is grand, and the momentum is rare in the world.
As for why Yan Baihu is so familiar with the specific situation of the Buddha Bathing Association.
It’s so simple!
During the Buddha Bathing Ceremony in previous years, this King of Soochow must have led the whole country in his village, including Princess Xiangde of the Crown Prince, and they all dressed up together and went to the Buddha Bathing Ceremony.
Went to eat and drink!
Thinking about the roughly 200 kilograms of Yan Baihu's princess, it is estimated that at least 150 kilograms of it is the fat that Ze Rong raised for him!
…
…
Before the sneak attack on Xiapi, the pottery merchant sent someone to contact Zhao Yu, the prefect of Guangling.
As one of the four major gentry families in Xuzhou, Zhao Yu took office at the same time as the pottery merchant took office in Danyang County. Unfortunately, they had different fates. The pottery merchant had a smooth life in Danyang County, but Zhao Yu had a hard time in Guangling.
of life.
Because before he took office, many counties and counties in Guangling had already been effectively controlled by Zuo Rong.
Zhao Yu currently does not control much real power in Guangling County. The short time he has been the county governor is only one of the reasons. The main reason is that since he was appointed to Ren Guangling, Zuo Rong has been trying to limit Zhao Yu's rights.
At present, Zhao Yu is in the eleven counties of Guangling, and the decrees issued by him are actually implemented in less than half of the counties.
Poor Zhao Yu, if one were to evaluate the most unlucky county governor in the Chuping period, he would probably top the list.
Zhao Yu didn't want this either. He also wanted to show off his skills and help Tao Qian lay a foundation in Guangling to prove his worth.
Although Zuo Rong admires Buddhism and hangs out with monks and nuns, he is definitely not the type to leave the mortal world. The essence of Zuo Rong is that he is ambitious, cruel and murderous.
Historically, Zuo Rong spent almost all his life in Buddhism, betrayal, and trapping and killing his partners.
Zhao Yu can survive until now without being killed by Zuo Rong. In all honesty, it is already a great blessing.
Under such circumstances, why did he talk about conquering Guangling County for Tao Qian?
However, Prince Taiping is here, which is a great opportunity for Zhao Yu.
The pottery merchant sent Chen Deng to communicate with Zhao Yu, asking him to summon all the county magistrates, county magistrates, and important cadres from the counties under Guangling County to Guangling County a few days before the Buddha Bathing Festival.
The administrative seat is Guangling County.
He asked Zhao Yu to hold a Buddha bathing party in Guangling, and key officials in the county must attend.
Although most of the high-ranking county officials under Guangling County are Zuo Rong's direct relatives and do not obey Zhao Yu's instructions on weekdays, the nature of the Buddha Bathing Festival is different.
Everyone knows that this festival is the National Day designated by their boss Zuo Rong personally, and the people of the entire Xiapi County are crazy about it. This festival is so popular in Xiapi that it is only a seven-day holiday.
The New Year may not pass, but the Buddha Bathing Festival must be celebrated!
Zhao Yu also held a grand Buddha Bathing Festival in Guangling. Those who were direct descendants of Zuo Rong naturally knew that Zhao Yu was doing this to flatter Zuo Rong, and they also knew that with Zuo Rong's character, they would not know this news.
You will definitely be very happy in the end.
As direct descendants, they cannot and cannot refuse.
On the eve of the festival, Tao Shang ordered Xu Rong, Zhou Tai and others to secretly lead an elite Jinling army into the government office of Guangling City to assist Zhao Yu as his team of killers.
After Zuo Rong's cronies from various counties in Guangling County arrived at the government office...
These people want to be killed or beheaded, beheaded or buried, whether they want to have a Hongmen banquet or a glass of wine to release their military power. It depends on Zhao Yu's mood and how he wants to play.
After all the arrangements for Guangling County were completed, the pottery merchant immediately led the soldiers and horses in the mountains, divided into two groups, and took advantage of the commotion before the Buddha Bathing Festival to rush into Xiapi County with lightning speed.
…
…
On the day of the Buddha Bathing Festival, the entire Xiapi County was bustling with people.
Whether it is on both sides of the main street or around the temples and pagodas, there are banquets and high platforms. Everywhere you look, there are monks preaching and teaching Buddhist scriptures surrounded by people. Everyone is devoutly worshiping the Buddha.
, with a face full of kindness, it is truly a scene of bliss illuminated by the Buddha's light.
This place is simply like Xiaoxi.
The streets are full of slogans of "The Buddha Immeasurable Life is good, he is good, he is good". If anyone does not include one or two sentences of this in his words, it will be as if he is treasonous and immoral.
The passers-by, both monks and pedestrians, had their hands clasped together and expressions of compassion and solemnity on their faces. Except for those who were sitting at the table to eat vegetarian food, most of them were gathered around the hundreds of high platforms built in the city, listening to the above.
The senior, cultivated and knowledgeable monks told profound Buddhist stories to the common people and ordinary monks below.
As for Zuo Rong, he was wearing a soap robe and holding a rosary in his hand. He stood on the altar outside the pagoda temple, the most luxurious one in Xiapi City, and explained the bathing rituals to the monks and common people who were surrounded by the three floors below.
The origin and inheritance of the Buddhist Festival.
There is an ancient saying: The hair and skin of the body are controlled by parents and do not dare to damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety.
People in this era generally do not damage their hair easily. Of course, it does not mean that they do not take care of their hair, but under normal circumstances, they certainly cannot cut their hair too much.
But the behavior of weird people like Zuo Rong, who worship Buddhism to the extreme, is naturally different from the behavior of ordinary people.
Buddhism emphasizes cutting off all worries. Cutting off your hair means cutting off all worries and bad habits. The so-called cutting off three thousand threads of worries is derived from this.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, Buddhist customs and rituals such as abstaining from alcohol, meat, and sex had not yet officially developed. Therefore, if you wanted to become a monk at that time, the best way to show your determination was to follow the rules of "Body hair and skin, receive it from your parents."
Go against the theory and cut off all these filial ties... just shave your head!
As long as you shave your head and put on coarse clothes, you can be called a monk in this era without any verification!
As the first pioneer in promoting Buddhist theory throughout the Han Dynasty, Zuo Rong had no choice but to shave his head.
Moreover, this old guy is very thorough in his work, not only himself, but also his subordinates, officers, six Cao, school lieutenants, officers, and entourage, and even the soldiers on the staff...all have to be dealt with one by one.
Shave your head bald!
Living in Xiapi State, when you walk on the street, if you see a large group of bald old men riding tall horses and shiny heads coming towards you...
Don't be afraid, it's just a private visit by members of Xiapi State's top leadership to inspect the public sentiment.
Zuo Rong talked about Buddhism on the stage for a long time, and after speaking until his mouth was dry, he stepped down and left, and other eminent monks with profound Buddhist knowledge took his place and continued to speak.
When Zuo Rong got off the stage, a young monk brought the golden jue and the copper basin Sukou for Zuo Rong.
Zuo Rong raised his head and took a gulp of water, then spit it into the basin.
"Buddha Infinite Life, this time's Buddha bathing party seems to have a lot more people than in previous years." Zuo Rong turned his head and looked down, and spoke to his subordinates with emotion, his tone full of joy.
The young monks nodded hurriedly and flattered: "Master's Dharma is profound and can save all sentient beings. It has attracted devout people from all over the world to come here to receive the enlightenment of Buddhism. It is indeed an immeasurable merit."
Zuo Rong liked to hear people say this about him, and he nodded with satisfaction.
At this moment, a bald captain of the Xiapi Kingdom was seen running toward Zuo Rong in a panic.
When I ran up to him, I saw that the captain's knees softened, and with a "pop", he knelt down directly in front of Zuo Rong.
Seeing the captain's performance, Zuo Rong couldn't help but frown, feeling very unhappy.
What does the big festival mean? Ask Buddha for a red envelope!
Zuo Rong recited a Zen saying: "Infinite Life Buddha, you idiot, what are you doing? Even if you yearn to worship the Buddha, there is no need to perform such a kneeling ceremony. The Buddhist Dharma Hall is no better than the county government office.
If you don't like this, get up quickly and see what you look like!"
After saying that, he stretched out his hands and put on a compassionate look, reaching for the captain's arms, trying to help him up.
The captain didn't have time to understand Zuo Rong's message. He shouted in panic: "Master, something bad has happened! The scouts reported that thousands of people appeared out of nowhere ten miles outside the south city.
They are rushing towards Xiapi City to attack! The momentum is not small, and they have obviously been prepared for it! Today is a grand festival, all the four gates are open, and there are altars inside and outside the city. At this moment, he closed the city gates to make up for it.
Ah! Master, what should we do like this?"
Zuo Rong's expression of compassion immediately froze.