In the back house of the state government, the sound of breaking through the air could be heard from time to time. This was Zhu Ming wielding his mace.
The blacksmith is already making a pair of maces, and Deng Chun also wants a pair. This guy doesn't like to use swords and guns, and always fights with a long stick. An iron mace or an iron bone are more suitable for him.
Don't be obsessed with dual-wielding weapons in horse fighting, because the ends of the iron mace or iron bone are tied with ropes. The ropes are put on the wrists, which can prevent the weapons from falling off during the battle, and can free your hands to hold the reins at any time.
An open space in the back house of the state government has been turned into a martial arts arena.
Li Bao trained extremely hard, and he held a gun to a draw with Zhang Bor, which Li Bao regarded as a great shame and humiliation.
"Prefect, Zhang Bor is here!" Yang Pu came running to announce.
"Invite him in." Ju Ming said.
Zhang Bor strode in, bowed and said, "Meet the prefect."
Ju Ming asked: "Have the Zhang family discussed it?"
Zhang Boring said: "It has been agreed that the thieves must be taught a lesson, otherwise they will definitely make further progress in the future."
"That's right, a few thieves mean nothing?" Ju Ming said with satisfaction.
Zhang Boring added: "The officials not only ordered the expansion of Huangting Temple, but also ordered the renovation of other Taoist temples. There are many people who are confused, not only monks, thieves have become Taoist priests, and even demons have also put on Taoist robes."
"Monster?" Zhu Ming was instantly alert.
Zhang Boring said: "There are many demon sects in the east and west of Jingdong, among which Maitreya sect is the most common. There are demon sect believers in every state and county. In Huhe Town in the south, there are people who worship the 'Huo Lun Xiao'er', which used to be called 'Huo Boy'er'.
Temple', now it is a Taoist temple called 'Red Dragon Temple'."
The Fire Wheel Child originated from an official legend of the Song Dynasty.
When Chai Rong was still alive, he found a child of several years old by the Guangji River late at night, his whole body exuding a sparkling light. The witness Wang Pu died without illness a few days later. The witness Chai Rong also died half a year ago.
Later died.
Therefore, the fire wheel child represents the destiny of the Song Dynasty...
The official said so, and the people naturally thought it was awesome. In the early Song Dynasty, there was a demon sect worshiping the Fire Boy.
Ju Ming asked: "Are there many believers?"
Zhang Boring said: "In recent years, more and more people around Huhe Town have Huohaier believers. Even rural scholars have joined the religion one after another."
Huhe Town is located beside the Huhe River, at the junction of Juancheng County and Leize County. Due to convenient water transportation, trade is quite prosperous, and it has become the commercial town with the highest tax rate in Puzhou.
The demon religion rebellion in Shandong began as early as the Five Dynasties period.
In the eighth year of Qingli, there was even a Qizhou Forbidden Army who wanted to massacre the city and rebel, so they coordinated with Wang Ze, the leader of the Maitreya Sect, who was raising troops in Beizhou.
After Wang Anshi’s political reform, Shandong Demon Cult had new developments.
Because the Shandong scholars were not proficient in the Jinshi subjects, they just took all the examinations. Wang Anshi canceled the examinations in various subjects, and it was difficult for the Shandong scholars to adapt. Many scholars who had no hope in the imperial examinations joined the demon sect because of their confusion. Moreover, the scholars also compiled
The demon scriptures and prophecies made the demon religion spread more rapidly.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty stepped up taxation and accelerated the development of demon sects in Shandong.
It would be really fun to wait until the Fang La Uprising failed and Manichaeans from the south poured into Shandong in large numbers and combined with the local demon sect.
Zhang Boring said: "Huangting meditation is related to Huohai'er!"
Ju Ming showed a playful expression. Although the Zhang family was very timid, they actually came up with a poisonous plan after the family meeting. They were afraid of the revenge of Huang Tingguan's thieves, so they simply framed them as demons and wanted to kill those guys completely.
, and can also cope with the emperor's censure.
Ju Ming said: "Tell me how these demons confuse the people."
Zhang Boring replied: "They falsely claim that a heavenly calamity will come to the world, luring them to heaven and frightening them to hell. They gather at night to preach and lecture, and then disperse during the day. The demon leaders lavish fish and meat, but let the believers eat vegetables and say
What is it about cultivating good deeds and accumulating virtue? It is nothing more than allowing believers to save money and use it all to worship the leader. In recent years, it has become more and more arrogant. During the day, it actually promotes evil methods and even builds temples and temples in a grand manner."
Ju Ming ordered: "Go back and recruit strong men to protect the armor. First defeat the Red Dragon Temple, and then destroy the Huangting Temple!"
After Zhang Boring left, Ju Ming thought about it carefully and sent an official document to the county magistrate Yao Guangshu.
The county government office is not far next door.
After receiving the order, Yao Guangshu took the official document and read it for a long time, then asked the superintendent: "The governor asked me to dispatch eighty archers to go with him to Leize County to wipe out the thieves. What do you think?"
Yasi said: "There are indeed thieves in Leize County. I heard that a while ago, the horse thief Xu Er also attacked Zhizhou's followers. Perhaps because he couldn't use his tricks in Juancheng, Zhizhou wanted to take people to Leize to suppress the bandits.
I came here to vent my resentment, and secondly I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to establish my authority."
Yao Guangshu smiled: "If you continue to establish your authority, can you still scare me?"
Ju Ming's reason for asking for archers was very good, and Yao Guangshu could not refuse, so he could only send eighty people over.
At the same time, Ju Ming sent a message to the Deputy Envoy of Tuanlian, ordering him to summon Xiang troops for training. He would personally select nine to suppress the bandits.
There are no military symbols and there are no bandits attacking the city, so Zhizhou cannot dispatch more than ten Xiang troops. Then he can recruit nine, as long as he does not violate the rules.
Zhu Ming went to inspect the armor storehouse of the state government. All the weapons and armors of the Xiang army were in it.
Initially, the Shandong Xiang army was not allowed to carry weapons with them. Since there were too many thieves, they were allowed to carry weapons. However, as the number of deserters increased, the Xiang army always ran away with weapons as thieves, so the Shandong Xiang army was not allowed to carry weapons.
Ju Ming went into the Jiazhang library and inspected it carefully, and found that some of the items placed outside were still in good condition due to frequent use.
Everything inside was ruined, the bows and crossbows were eaten by insects, the swords and guns were rusted, and the armor was all moldy.
Ju Ming scolded the officials responsible for maintaining the armor and asked them to choose the ones that were still usable. He took them out, wiped them clean, and simply repaired them. The moldy ones were left to dry in the sun.
The next day, Zhu Ming went to review the Xiang army again.
The deputy regiment training envoy was named Xie Yong, and he was a Beijing official who offended Cai Dang and was demoted. This situation is very common. Su Shi served as the deputy regiment training envoy twice, and his actual power was not as good as that of a judicial officer.
"That's all?" Zhu Ming looked at the more than two hundred old, weak, sick and disabled people in the school grounds.
Xie Yong replied: "The rest are serving."
The Xiang army is also called the service army, and most of them serve in various positions. For example, in the post shops in various places, Xiang army soldiers serve as postmen, and they cannot be recruited by Zhu Ming to suppress bandits.
The main force of the Xiang Army is cavalry, also called the Horse Army.
Ju Ming asked: "Where is Ma Jun?"
Xie Yong said: "During the Xining period, all the Puzhou cavalry troops who could fight were promoted to the imperial army. Those who could not fight were all abolished. In the nearby state capitals, only Xingren Prefecture, Guangji Army, and Yunzhou Army were left.
The horse army is retained."
Looking at the old, weak, sick and disabled again, Ju Ming sighed sincerely: "Your Excellency, this deputy training envoy is really... It's hard to describe in words."
Xie Yong smiled bitterly, he was a Beijing official, but he could only care about these crappy things in front of him.
Ju Ming was quite sympathetic and said, "Come to Zhouya for a drink when you have time."
Xie Yong chatted with Zhu Ming for a while, and then said: "The Yellow River used to flood frequently, and there were many Xiang troops in Puzhou. The Yellow River has not flooded for decades, and the number of Xiang troops in Puzhou has dropped sharply, and it has long been unusable."
The Yellow River passes through Puzhou, and Puzhou has always been part of the Yellow Flood Area.
But in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, Puzhou suddenly stopped, and the Yellow River flooded in Hebei instead (the Yellow River bifurcated when it reached Puyang, and divided into three, and the water volume in Puzhou dropped sharply and became an old channel).
Zhu Ming became annoyed when he saw these Xiang troops and waved his hand to Xie Yong to disperse quickly.
Two days later, Zhang Bor brought more than 20 armor soldiers, four of whom had inferior horses. Eighty archers also came and were brought to the school field for reorganization.
Deng Chun, Bai Sheng, Li Bao, and Zhang Bor were all temporarily selected as guards (i.e., regimental leaders, 25 archers per regiment).
It only took one day of training to let them know how to give orders.
Immediately, Zhu Ming personally led an army of hundreds of people to kill Leize County in a mighty and swaggering manner.
Officials at the state and county levels all came to watch the excitement, really thinking that Ju Ming was going to suppress the bandits.
Li Xiaozhong got the exact news and summoned his trusted servants and said: "Immediately ride to Leize and tell the horse bandit Xu Er that Zhizhou is going to suppress him. It is best to choose a place to set up an ambush and kill Zhizhou at night!"
So, the Li family's servant, riding a fast horse, rushed to report the news before Ju Ming.
Zhu Ming still marched slowly, put his baggage on the boat, and walked along the Hu River.
Arriving outside Huhe Town, Ju Ming said: "It will get dark in two hours. Let's set up camp and rest for now. It won't be too late to leave tomorrow."
There are only a hundred people in total, how can we set up a camp?
The archers marked out an area by the river, pitched tents on the spot, and assigned some men to guard the area.
Zhang Boring pointed to the west: "Two or three miles outside the town, the Red Dragon Temple is over there. The temples are all filled with evil spirits. Most of the big families around Huhe Town are bewitched by the evil spirits, and some even donate all their property to join the religion.
"
Going to Leize County to suppress bandits is all a pretense. Ju Ming is here to eradicate the demon sect.
Before the camp was over, some wealthy families from the town came to work for the army.
"My dear fellow Zhu Liang, please pay homage to the prefect!" This man was dressed in silk and satin, with a swollen belly.
Zhang Bor said in a low voice: "Zhu Liang is a local rich man and a member of the demon sect, and he has been the leader for a long time. He does not hide the matter, but often shows off openly, claiming to be the reincarnation of Huo Boyer's protector."
Zhu Ming laughed loudly when he heard this: "It turns out that this is my family. I have heard about Zhu Yuanwai's name in the city. I heard that the Taoist teachings of the abbot of Chilong Temple are profound and unfathomable, and the Red Dragon True Monarch there is extremely efficacious. I will definitely do it today."
Go and worship!"
Zhu Liang came here to inquire about the news. Seeing that Zhizhou was interested in Huo Boy, he actually wanted to recruit Zhizhou into the religion.
A very strange idea.
But it seems normal in Shandong, because even scholars have joined the religion one after another, and the court's crackdown on demon religions has been very weak in the past few decades. It was not until the Fangla Uprising that the court ordered a ban on demon religions.
Zhu Liang said: "The Red Dragon True Monarch had a dream yesterday, saying that a noble person would pass by today, but unexpectedly it came true to Zhizhou."
"How could it be so miraculous? Did True Lord Red Dragon ever say when I would be promoted to be a transporter?" Zhu Ming looked superstitious.
Zhu Liang said: "I don't know, but I have to ask the Great Protector to communicate with True Lord Red Dragon."
Ju Ming asked: "Where is the Great Protector?"
Zhu Liang said: "It's at Chilong Temple."
Zhu Ming said anxiously: "I can't wait any longer. I will go today. I will order the officers and soldiers not to camp any more and to follow me to pay homage to True Lord Red Dragon!"
