Chapter 188 Kansai Dao Sect

Chapter 188 Kansai Dao Sect

The composition of the bandits in Kansai is complex, with rogue soldiers, Hu and Han strongmen mixed in. It would not be surprising even if there are local powerful clans who play a cameo role.

The reason why Li Tai knew the name of the Shannan Flying Kites was not because those county officials mentioned it. This group of bandits was not very powerful and was mainly active in the southwest of North and South Water County. There were not many bandit traces. Bandits were rampant in It is inconspicuous in the general environment.

The reason why Li Tai knew it was because he was snatched away by this flying kite!

At the beginning of the year, his disciple Liu Gong was escorting a batch of materials back to Shangyuanzhuang from Beishui River, but he was kidnapped by the flying kite in the county.

However, because most of the items being transported were ink ingots and other printing materials, which were of little value and had little use, the people and goods were let go, and only the food rations they carried with them were withheld. Liu Gong and others borrowed food from the villagers. Only then was he able to return.

At that time, Li Tai's power was not strong enough to pursue a cross-border pursuit, and the loss of people and goods was not too great, so he did not pursue it.

But when the members greeted him just now, Liu Gong, who was accompanying him, recognized the flying kite at a glance. After all, there were not many bandits in this era who did not seriously hurt people, which impressed Liu Gong deeply.

The elder of the clan was obviously not unaware of what his sons were doing outside. When he heard Li Tai call out the bandits, he quickly knelt on the ground and said tremblingly: "The Han family was also a loyal, diligent and respectful family in the past, clan leader. Duke Songling led all the righteous soldiers from the countryside to follow the king's army and fight, but he was not able to make it back to Guandong, and no one survived. From then on, he lost power in the countryside..."

After Li Tai heard this, he turned to look at Liu Gong aside. Liu Gong was originally from Nanbaishui. After hearing the words, he nodded, indicating that what the elder said was true.

"Shi Nu was originally deeply connected with Taoism. When he was young, he followed Master Lou Guan and left his hometown to practice Taoism. He was shocked to hear about the changes in his family before returning to his hometown. It happened to be the time when the feudal power of the county was in power. He did not care about the heavy casualties of this clan and still sent him to the critically ill. He had no choice but to resort to this plan. Although he was trapped at home and had no choice but to commit himself to being a thief, he never killed indiscriminately..."

Li Tai raised his hand to interrupt the clan elder's words, then looked at the flying kite Zhang Shinu with interest, and couldn't help but laugh and said: "You are still a disciple of the Taoist sect, which wise master do you study under? "

"My master, Bao Chi, is Master Yingchuan Chen."

Zhang Shinu hurriedly bowed to answer. He secretly saw that Li Tai was no longer disgusted, and he quickly bowed and said: "I am a humble citizen. Although I have not been taught by Lu, I have followed the master for several years and learned how to fight." If the governor is willing to tolerate his past mistakes and protect his relatives from being harmed by local hatred, the people will be willing to sacrifice their lives to serve him until death!"

Li Tai couldn't help but his eyes lit up when he heard that the young man claimed to be a master of Chen. He didn't expect that he would dig out a treasure during a casual interrogation.

Buddhism prospered in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the latter three countries all had Buddhist practices. Relatively speaking, Taoism seemed a bit low-key. In the Southern Dynasties, there was still the inheritance of Tianshi Taoism represented by Lu Xiujing, Tao Hongjing, etc., but in the Northern Dynasties, Taoism declined even more.

The representative figure of Taoism in the Northern Dynasties was Kou Qianzhi of Beitian Shidao. It was very popular during the period when Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty exterminated Buddhism and worshiped Taoism. At one time, the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty even had to be publicly entombed to perform some ceremony of divine right to the king.

However, with the death of the leader Kou Qianzhi, Cui Hao, who advocated the extermination of Buddhism, was implicated in the national history case, and the entire Qinghe Cui family was almost exterminated, Beitian Shidao declined even more, and its inheritance was almost cut off.

Louguan Taoism is also a source of Taoism in the Northern Dynasties. Its representative is Chen Baochi. Because of his status as a Taoist master, even Emperor Yuan Baoju of the Western Wei Dynasty welcomed him as an honored guest, and he also has many believers in Kansai.

Later, Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, Yu Wenyong, used the debate between the three religions as a prelude to destroying Buddhism, and he used this lineage of Taoism and Taoism as the opponent of Buddhism. Although Taoism and Buddhism were both banned, in general, he mainly focused on attacking ascetics.

In the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was respected as the state religion and Laozi was regarded as the source of the sect. The theoretical system was formed by combining the scriptures and canons of Louguan Taoism and Nantian Master Taoism.

Li Tai also often thinks about why Taoism during this period was not very successful. Is it because of the lack of upper-level support or lower-level organizations?

Although there were many Hu people in power in the Northern Dynasties, there were emperors who advocated Taoism. Representatives of the sects such as Cui Hao also highly praised Taoism. When it comes to the lower-level organizational structure, Wu Dou Mi Tao, the predecessor of Tianshi Tao, is simply a model for organizing and mobilizing the masses.

But sometimes the advantages are also disadvantages. The Taoist transmission system is too strict and comprehensive. If it is allowed to develop, it will inevitably be jealous of those in power, such as Taiping Taoism, Tianshi Dao uprising, etc. Moreover, Taoism's inheritance of scriptures and meanings and ritual procedures are too complex, which is not conducive to widespread dissemination at the grassroots level, and is a bit highbrow.

This is not the case for ascetics. Their own theory of scriptures and meanings is a mess. They are good at creating a religious atmosphere, and they can stuff whatever private goods those in power have into it. For many believers who just seek psychological comfort, of course, the sooner they get started, the better.

Tang Monk's sutra collection was quite famous, but the Dharma was put on the shelf after being passed down for two generations. It turns out that you have to be smart to believe in this thing, so why don't I just listen to you?

Li Tai didn't think that destroying the Buddha meant he had to uphold Taoism, but Emperor Xuanyuan could be Li Tang's ancestor, or he could do it for him. So psychologically, he is relatively close to Taoism.

When he heard that Zhang Shinu said that he was following Chen Baochi to learn not Taoism but fighting skills, Li Tai's interest became even more intense. He immediately asked him to practice: Do you want me to protect the Qin people and forgive you for your old behavior? Wrong, of course you have to show some skills.

Zhang Shinu looked around the tent, then bowed and said: "The space in the tent is narrow, so I may not be able to fully display what I have learned. I take the liberty of asking the governor to move outside the tent."

Li Tai became even more interested when he heard this. Could it be that you are some kind of swordsman who enters the Tao through martial arts? That really needs to be seen.

So a group of people came outside the tent and cleared an open space several feet in diameter. The stone slave clasped his fists again, and then began to practice using wood as a sword.

Li Tai himself has good martial arts, but he has mostly learned battlefield skills such as swords, chops, thrusts, and thrusts. He is not a martial arts master himself, and there are few such people around him, so he is naturally very curious.

When practicing this stone slave swordsmanship, it is not as exaggerated as flying to the sky and escaping to the earth, but the movements are vigorous and powerful, and it can easily leap several feet. The afterimage of the wooden sword is dazzling, and the moves are exquisite and beautiful. The time was mesmerizing, and cheers erupted continuously.

Li Tai also became excited after seeing this, and waved his hand to signal a strong soldier beside him to come forward with a staff to fight. Although the length of the stone slave weapon was not an advantage, his movement skills were extremely flexible. A wooden sword flew dexterously, and after a few breaths, Nei then stabbed his opponent in the chest repeatedly.

"One more person!"

Li Tai shouted excitedly when he saw this, but Zhang Shinu still managed to keep up with one against two. He waited until there were five more people on the field and there was a clear offensive and defensive cooperation, and then he gradually lost his momentum and was crossed. Confined into a small space, he reluctantly threw down his wooden sword and admitted defeat.

"Wonderful, indeed wonderful! You are worthy of being a disciple in front of Master Lou Guan."

Although Li Tai had never met Chen Baochi and didn't know if he was a skilled martial artist, he always said this in complimentary ways, and the performance of this stone slave really impressed him.

After all, fighting skills are different from battlefield skills. On the battlefield, the situation changes rapidly and there is life and death at every turn. What matters is momentum and coordination.

Just like Li Tai himself, he traveled to northern Shaanxi. Although he didn't brag about it often, he was still an enemy of ten thousand people who could make tens of thousands of people wander around. But if he had to fight with this stone slave, he might not be able to hold on for too long. Long.

In the same way, although this stone slave has excellent fighting skills, his hand and eye reactions are too quick. When he senses danger, he will subconsciously evade and respond. If he really wants to join the army, he is an expert at betraying his teammates. Who wants to fight alongside him? It's really a blessing to be able to come back alive.

"Does Shi Nu have a cousin?"

After pondering for a moment, Li Tai raised his hand to bring him in front of him and asked with a smile. He recognized the other party in his heart and planned to use it for his own use.

Zhang Shinu was overjoyed after hearing this. He didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead before he knelt down on the ground and said, "The master once taught me the words of Tao as if they were obscure. If my lord takes care of me, I will do my best to repay him!"

All the relatives present immediately burst into smiles after seeing this. A local tycoon who has lost power is worse than a chicken. The best outcome is to seek protection from the powerful. With Li Tai's protection, even if there is still no way to establish a foothold in the village, the whole family can move elsewhere.

"Write down the stories of your family's hard work and lack of time. If it is found to be true, after I return to my office, I will report it to Daxingtai to ask for mercy for all the townspeople."

Li Tai spoke again and said that the wars between the two Wei dynasties often resulted in tens of thousands of casualties. If there was no way to express his feelings, even if he died in battle, he might not be able to receive timely pension benefits.

When the members of the Zhang clan heard this, they were even more excited for a moment. The elder of the clan took out a book of events from his arms tremblingly, walked forward on his knees, held it in both hands and presented it: "It has been a long time since I recorded the stories of the clan members, but the title of the book is not included in the battle." The eyes are also among them, but there is nowhere to offer them... If the governor expresses his gratitude to me and rebuilds his family, he will be worshiped by his whole family and loyal by his descendants! "

Li Tai took the document and looked through it briefly. He found that the paper had turned yellow and the ink had turned pale. It had obviously been stored for a long time, so he put it away properly and prepared to submit it to the Taifu government upon his return.

The group stayed here for another day to rest, and then continued on the road. After returning to the office, Li Tai first asked people to take inventory of the harvest and put it into the warehouse, and then sent the bandit suppression report and Zhang's documents to Bafu in Huazhou.

The troops rested for a few days, and Li Tai was also thinking about who to choose as his next target, trying to accumulate enough savings before next spring, so that he could continue to expand the army next year and fight a few big battles.

Before he had chosen his target here, a visitor came to see him. He was Liu Min, who had previously been a diligent foreign envoy to inspect the destruction of Buddhas.

When Liu Min arrived this time, he was not as calm and calm as usual. His face was dusty. When he saw Li Tai, he grabbed him and said quickly: "Something happened in the envoy. Bo Shan, you can't do anything this time." You must save me!"

Li Tai saw the hurried and nervous look on his face, and even his own mood was slightly affected. He quickly invited him to sit down in the hall, and then asked: "Liu Langzhong, please be patient and don't be impatient. Could it be that you are correcting the Buddha and destroying the Dharma?" Something unexpected happened? Were the monks and believers obstructing law enforcement, or was it something else?”

"The picketing went smoothly, and the monks from all over the country obeyed and cooperated. However, when a batch of materials was returning to Xingtai via Weibei, they encountered strong bandits on the way and robbed the materials..."

Liu Min said with a bitter look on his face, and then looked at Li Tai with an expectant look on his face: "I heard that Bo Shan, your new song, has achieved outstanding results in suppressing bandits in various realms. I beg you to help me this time! If you can make up for it, Zhou Quan, all the weapons and equipment I have given you are gifts to help strengthen the army, and I also express my deep gratitude. Even if I can't... Well, in short, as long as you are willing to help me, Boshan, I will definitely remember this kindness in my heart. Report!”