Jiang Youde, who was accompanying him on the official road, looked up at the westward sun and said, "I wonder if we can get to the county town to find a place to live before dark. We can go to Dasheng Village. Renweiguan is our place now."
Zhang Ning asked: "Where is the territory within the sect?"
There was no one on the official road here, so Jiang Youde said loudly and without any concealment: "The altar of Lord Hou is located there. There are many people who donate money to join the religion within the radius. He has great influence within the radius of Dasheng Village.
No one dares to mess with you, it’s safe for us to stay there temporarily.”
"That's very good." Zhang Ning glanced at Chunmei, who was a very important person in their anti-evil sect, and asked her, "Have you seen the Altar Master Hou?"
Chunmei said disapprovingly: "From Sichuan to Guizhou, there are dozens of altar masters scattered among us. Not all of them have been met by me, but the Changde Mansion is close to the main altar, so I have met them all. Master Hou.
His name is Hou Mao, and I am not very familiar with him. He has close contacts with Qiuye’s guardians...Qiuye was originally a person sent from above. I guess Hou Mao’s background is not simple. This is even better.
Well, isn't Mr. Ping'an the prince of Lord Jianwen? If he knew, he wouldn't be able to worship you like a Bodhisattva?"
Zhang Ning felt relieved. The group was near Hupingshan Town. Both Jiang family members knew the road, so they took the winding road ahead and headed northeast. Along the way, Zhang Ning discovered that the hills that were not covered by vegetation were all orange-red.
The land is so beautiful that I can’t help but admire it.
Unexpectedly, after walking for a while, he suddenly saw a group of horse soldiers at the mountain pass in front of him. Most of them were wearing red and black tall hats. Of course, Zhang Ning recognized that this was the uniform commonly worn by government officials. He couldn't help but feel nervous: An official officer had come to this countryside.
What are you doing in the wild forest?
Peach Blossom Fairy and others were helplessly afraid of official duties, because they had always been engaged in illegal activities. Seeing this, they hurriedly said: "The situation ahead is not good, we still have to move forward?"
"Now that we suddenly turn around and leave, we will arouse the suspicion of the officials. We don't know what happened ahead. Don't chase us as suspects. That would be bad. You all should be calmer and walk over slowly and quietly find an excuse to return." Zhang
He would rather have been a civil servant. Civil servants have a transcendent status in the local area. He has never suffered the hardships of the government, so he is not afraid.
Zhang Ning then rode his horse to the front and led the people slowly along the road to the pass. As expected, the officials saw that he had no fear and was wearing long robes. They did not do anything drastic. They just stood there and looked at the group of people here.
Finally, an official with a sword in his arms walked into the middle of the road, waved his hand and said, "The road is closed! What are you doing here?"
Zhang Ning said: "Not long ago, I won the honor of being a student. I traveled with my servants to gain my knowledge. When I came to Changde, I visited famous mountains and waters. I heard that Dashengzhai has beautiful scenery and ancient temples, so I came here because of its reputation. I don't know.
Why not let it pass?"
"I'm full after eating..." A man on the horse behind whispered, full of envy, jealousy and hatred. These gentry never work, but they don't have to worry about food and clothing, and they want to travel around the world to have fun.
, people are obviously very carefree.
The officer blocking the road said: "Then you have come at the wrong time. Dasheng Village has been occupied by the rebels. The government has sent troops to assist the county in clearing it up. There is chaos at the moment. I advise you to go back to the city and stay there to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Something happened!"
"Ah?" Zhang Ning looked surprised, half true and half false, and it was inconvenient to ask the official for too much, so he hurriedly patted his horse and wanted to turn around.
In the eyes of the officers, they thought he was frightened, and several officers couldn't help showing ridicule on their faces. Zhang Ning didn't care much, and turned around and left. The group of people guarding the pass were also very light, and they were able to move easily.
I didn't even bother to look up official documents or anything like that.
The group of people ran out for a mile before Jiang Youde said, "What's going on? Master Hou has been here for at least two years, and nothing has ever happened to him. He seems to have some friends with the local magistrate's ministers, so everyone is fine."
River water, why suddenly..."
The new member Zhao Erhu who was following behind looked confused and couldn't help but whisper something to Lao Xu. Lao Xu ignored him and just continued on his way without saying a word.
Jiang Youde and his nephew Jiang Hai were not part of the decision-making team of the Anti-Here Cult, and many information was unknown. Because during this period, the two of them and Zhang Ning were going through life and death, and Zhang Ning did not want to hide it from them, so he explained: "The people of the Anti-Xie Cult are
The name first attracted the attention of the court. The process was very complicated, and it was probably related to Hu Ying. Later, two of Hu Ying's men came to investigate and died, but they got a secret report to the court. So the court now judged that the anti-evil sect is a rebel party.
, as soon as the official document came out, I guessed that the local officials wanted to take credit and couldn't wait to start taking action... But I didn't expect it to be so fast. After all, the King of Han was still making trouble in the east, and I thought they wouldn't be able to take care of it."
Chunmei said: "This is troublesome. Hou Mao knows too much. If he is caught and tortured, many places around us will be in danger, including the main altar."
Zhang Ning pondered for a moment: "At this time, the traffic is inconvenient and the information is blocked. I don't know if anyone has gone back to report what happened here. If the headquarters still knows nothing about it, wouldn't it be passive? We have to find another contact point nearby and let people know.
Hurry back and report the news first."
Wang Xiangu (Peach Blossom Fairy) said: "There is our contact point not far outside the city of Changde Mansion. I have lived there and know the people there... The road in the direction of Changde Mansion is flat. If you drive all night, you can get there before dawn."
If you want to bring people back to the main forum safely, I will go over quickly and get things done."
"Let's go together, just in time to understand the situation." Zhang Ning said.
Wang Xiangu looked around, her eyes specifically stayed on Zhao Erhu, and said softly: "That contact point is directly under the superiors. Except for key figures in the anti-evil sect, it cannot be leaked to other people. In our group, except for me, maybe only Chun
Teacher Mei can go."
Chunmei suddenly said: "I know which place you are talking about."
Zhang Ning had no choice but to say: "Then you'd better go and we'll talk about it later along the way back to the main forum."
Wang Xiangu then separated from everyone and went on her way alone. Zhang Ning and others could not find a town on this official road with no villages or shops, so they had to go to a village to stay overnight, gave them some silver coins, showed forged official documents, and made it up casually.
The story was a lie. The villagers got the money and didn't cause any trouble.
They continued their journey the next day, and in the afternoon, Wang Xiangu and another person caught up with them. The person riding with her was a middle-aged scribe, who looked familiar to Zhang Ning.
Just as he was reminiscing, the scribe got off his horse, bowed deeply and said, "Mr. Ping'an, are you okay?"
Zhang Ning didn't remember who he was. When he saw him dismounting, he bowed and saluted very respectfully. He didn't want to offend him, so he had to waste time and jumped down to return the salute. Seeing that Zhang Ning couldn't name him, Wang Xiangu smiled and said, "Ping'an is a noble person.
What a forgetful thing. This is Uncle Zheng. He sounds like an old friend. Didn't Ping'an capture Uncle Zheng in Yangzhou, and asked for a poem in exchange for it?"
It turned out to be Zheng Qia, one of the legendary twenty-two ministers of Jianwen. As soon as he was reminded, Zhang Ning immediately remembered it and hurriedly bowed and said: "I was rude that time. I hope Mr. Zheng will forgive me."
"I can't help you." Zheng Qia said hurriedly, "You are a noble person. It is my duty to apologize. At the beginning, I was blind to Mount Tai."
Although Zhang Ning is also a scholar, he is not very authentic. Now he has seen the hard work of these real scholars. They bow and bow and talk endless nonsense in official circles. But Zheng Qia should be the more important person around Jianwen.
Zhang Ning didn't want to cause any conflicts for no reason, so he could only talk to Zheng Qia calmly.
At this moment, Zheng Qia didn't seem to be in a hurry. He was looking Zhang Ning up and down and nodded slightly. Zhang Ning said, "It's all in the past. We don't need to take it to heart." Then he couldn't help but look at Wang Xiangu.
: "Has the letter been returned?"
Wang Xiangu said: "The people in the main altar have known about it for a long time. The leader has left the main altar, and the remaining people are also evacuating one after another."
"Then where did they go?" Zhang Ning asked.
Wang Xiangu said: "You have been to your uncle's place."
It turned out to be Fengxia Mountain, and that road was really difficult to walk, so it was quite a struggle.
"We can't stay here for a long time, let's talk as we walk," Zhang Ning said. The group of people mounted their horses. Zheng Qia and Zhang Ning walked side by side, but deliberately fell half a horse's position.
Zhang Ning turned to him and asked: "What are the plans from above? Can Mr. Zheng inform you?"
Zheng Qia said: "I am just here to be a messenger. I am afraid that the anti-evil sect must be disbanded. I got some news from the Changde Mansion. There is a eunuch named Ma Baoer in the mansion, as well as several imperial guards and some military followers.
The people coming from the capital may be to monitor the local government's dealings with the anti-evil sect. It is inferred from above that the local government will first use the information they have and follow the clues to arrest important people one by one; if a major target is discovered, troops may be mobilized from the guard station to round them up. Therefore
We have orders from above to move some of the most important people to other places in the near future..."
He paused and said, "I must first tell the leader where I want to go. Mr. Ping An will know from her."
Zhang Ning turned around and asked, "Where will the leader go from now on?"
"There are two guardians of the main altar, who were originally from the palace. They were asked to escort the leader back. Mr. Ping An has greatly offended Xuande. It is very dangerous outside, so he has to go back so that his family can be reunited." Zheng Qia said.
Zhang Ning thought about the words that greatly offended Xuande, and couldn't help but said: "Has the news about me in Shandong already reached here?"
"I have also read that epistle, and it is indeed of great literary talent." Zheng Qia said calmly.
Zhang Ning asked again: "I heard that the anti-evil sect has tens of thousands of members, and those who have moved away should be a small number. What will happen to the remaining people? The imperial court believes that the anti-evil sect is a rebellious party, and it will definitely not let them go easily."
Zheng Qia sighed softly and said: "Now that our power is weak and limited, we have no choice but to tell some leaders in advance and let them find another way out. And those ordinary believers who have been persuaded or donated money to join the religion will not even think about it.
If lives are in danger, the imperial government cannot go on a killing spree... Since the Yongle Dynasty, the imperial court has carried out overt and covert investigations and arrests. We can still maintain some contact. This time, I am afraid we will have to completely break up. Everyone will hide their names and find a place to live. The past is just a matter of time.