Nanming Engineer

Chapter 14 The crime of harboring fugitives

The endless team slowly drove out from Liu Liangzuo's camp. After walking for half an hour, the forward had already gone five miles, and the last tail had just left the gate.

The Eight Banners cavalrymen shuttled constantly among the ranks, waving their whips and shouting loudly. When they saw those who were walking slowly, they immediately hit the horsewhips with vicious attacks, regardless of whether the person being beaten was a woman or an old man.

The team is full of family members and children who surrendered in the Ming Dynasty. Almost none of them are young and strong. Most of them are women and children. Walking on two legs, the speed of the team could not be increased at all, and the whips of the cavalry were almost broken. Except for the wailing and crying all over the mountains and plains, it was useless to speed up the marching speed of the team.

Tu Hai rode on a horse and walked in the middle of the team, so he had to march slowly. This kind of march was very boring, and it made the Manchu soldiers who were used to letting their horses rein in very unaccustomed.

"Damn, you're walking so slowly, why do you have a bunch of monks reading scriptures there!" Tu Hai frowned and looked at the ox cart team not far in front of him, and said to Su Le dissatisfied: "Go and see , what are those soldiers doing?"

Su Le followed him and looked up, and sure enough he saw a dozen bald monks sitting on bullock carts in the queue of Li Tingyu's coolies, knocking on wooden fish and chanting scriptures in unison. Although the sound was louder than tens of thousands of people, It's not easy to stand out amidst the noise, but Tuhai, who is following closely behind, can just hear it.

Su Le agreed, shook the reins, and galloped up.

At this time, Wang Huan was sitting by the side of the bullock cart, leaning against the big wooden box behind him, with his feet dangling under him, very leisurely. A short wooden stick was struck, and together with the young monks around him, they recited scriptures that they didn't know what they were, humming and chirping, which was as interesting as singing a big drama.

Anyway, everyone won't listen carefully, so it's okay to just fool around.

The monks recited a passage, sat and rested, bragged and chatted, watched the sky and the scenery, and sat on the bullock cart without feeling tired. Aside from the fact that the cavalry of the Qing army was a little disturbing, Wang Huan felt that it was no different from the group tours of later generations.

Just when Wang Huan wanted to sing a little song to calm his mood, he heard the rapid sound of horse hooves behind him, and a white horse carrying an armored Qing soldier rushed up.

Wang Huan thought this was a cavalryman walking on both sides of the team like other Qing soldiers. He passed by as soon as he passed. He quickly pretended to knock the wooden fish, wanting to wait until he left before singing, but he heard the sound of horse hooves slow down. , the Qing soldier actually slowed down beside him and walked side by side with the bullock cart.

Wang Huan's heart tightened, and he looked up, just in time to see the Qing soldier's eye-to-eye.

Su Le was covered in iron armor, and his face was tightly covered by a leather helmet mask. Only a pair of eyes were exposed outside, looking around like eagle eyes, full of murderous aura, Wang Huan was shocked by the sight, and quickly turned his eyes to look elsewhere.

Su Le stared at the monks sitting in the bullock cart for a while, feeling suspicious of all sentient beings, he whipped the horsewhip in his hand on the car body, and there was a loud "pop!", which shocked all the young monks to shut up. , almost fell off the car.

"Hey! You monks, what are you doing here?" Su Le snapped.

Li Tingyu's troops always shared joys and sorrows with the soldiers under him. At this time, he was walking behind with the soldiers pushing the carts. There was a distance from the cattle caravan, and he couldn't see what was going on here. Li Yan was the only one following Wang Huan.

Li Yan was sitting in an ox cart in front of him. When he heard the sound, he turned his head and looked, his face paled in shock. He couldn't tell why the Qing soldiers suddenly found trouble with the little monk, so he jumped out of the cart and rushed over with a smile on his face. He replied: "My lord, these monks were sent by General Liu."

"Sent by Mr. Liu?" Suler was even more surprised. "What are you sent here for?"

Li Yan explained: "Because there are many soldiers who died in battle in our army, they died in other places, and the bones cannot be brought back. Master Liu is kind, and in order to prevent the dead soldiers from becoming lonely ghosts, he specially recruited this group of monks to follow the army to do things for them. It is also a kindness for them to summon their souls and enter reincarnation early."

Su Le nodded slightly when he heard this. The Manchus also believed in Buddhism and knew something about the cycle of cause and effect. Even in the army, they would sometimes ask monks to divination to see if the battle was good or bad. Some Manchu nobles also had Buddhist halls in their homes. It is worshipped every morning and evening, just like Han Buddhist believers.

He rolled his eyes again, but his brows did not relax, and asked again: "Why are they all children?"

Cold sweat broke out on Li Yan's forehead, and he quickly explained: "My lord, in these years, the older monks have already run away, and these young monks were found by Mr. Liu with great difficulty."

"Really a young monk?" Suler's eyes wandered around the young monks, obviously still confused.

The little monks lowered their heads, not daring to look at them, their hearts were extremely nervous, and some of them were timid, even their bodies began to tremble.

When Su Le saw it, he became more suspicious, and said with a sneer, "I think the monk is fake, but it's true that you are harboring escaped people!"

Wang Huan's heart skipped a beat, and he screamed inwardly, this is troublesome.He knew that in the early Qing Dynasty, all captured prisoners of war or looted civilians in the war would be assigned to various banners and households by the Manchu nobles, and they would be slaves to the Manchus, and they would never be able to stand up again. Such slaves are miserable, really What's worse is that pigs and dogs are not as good, life and death are completely controlled by the master, and there is no dignity at all, so many slaves will sneak away while the master is not prepared.The Qing government enacted very heavy laws on fugitives. If they were caught, they would be executed. Even protecting those who hid was the same crime. This crime was the crime of harboring fugitives.

The crime of harboring and fleeing persons was a high-tension line in the early Qing Dynasty. No matter who violated this rule, they would inevitably be punished with death. Even the well-known King of Jingnan, Geng Jingzhong, and King of Pingnan, Shang Kexi, learned that they had been convicted of such a crime. They were all scared to death, and Geng Jingzhong even committed suicide directly under the fear.

So when Su Le said such a sentence coldly, all the people present broke into a cold sweat and immediately knelt down.

Li Yan argued in a hoarse voice: "Sir, these monks were indeed found from the temple. They were not escapees. It is a capital offense to harbor escapees. We have already joined the Qing Dynasty, how could we do such a mistake?" thing!"

Su Le snorted coldly, and swung the whip. The long tip of the whip coiled like a spirit snake, and a whip exploded in the air. Wang Huan only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes, and his hand hurt. The indecently carved wooden fish came to Su Le.

Su Le picked up the wooden fish, looked at it, sneered and threw it in front of Li Yan, and said solemnly: "Is there a wooden fish like this? Would a real monk use this kind of fake?"

Li Yan lowered his head and knelt on the ground. When he saw the wooden fish, he couldn't laugh or cry in his heart. The sweat on his forehead flowed all over his head, and he cried secretly: "It's over, it's over, how can I explain this?"

Su Le ignored Li Yan, hung the whip on the saddle, and uttered a long "Zheng!", unsheathing the sharp knife at his waist, and shouted sharply: "Stop pretending to be a ghost here, tell me! Who are you? Where are you from? escaped?"

Under the sunlight, the white long knife is extremely dazzling. It is imprinted in people's eyes, as terrifying as the god of death. Li Yan's heart is broken. He was told by Li Tingyu that he must ensure Wang Huan's safety. At this time, he can only do everything he can up.Li Yan gathered strength secretly with both arms, thinking in his heart that if he pounced forward with all his strength, would he be sure to hit him, and throw the armored cavalry off the horse.

Just as he was getting ready to go, he heard a calm voice beside him: "The general made a mistake. We are really the monks of Tiangong Temple in Yangzhou City, not fugitives."

Li Yan raised his head in astonishment and saw a tall and thin monk standing in front of the Sule horse, standing upright naturally, with the long knife fixed on the tip of his nose, but he seemed not to feel it. His eyes looked at the fierce look on the horse, His eyes were calm and calm, showing no fear.

"Wang Huan!" Li Yan shouted in a low voice.

When Su Le heard this, he suddenly turned around and said, "What do you mean by joy?"

Li Yan was dumb, bowed his head and dared not speak.

Wang Huan clasped his hands together and said respectfully, "That general is calling the little monk's Dharma name, Wu Huan."

"Wuhuan? Is there such a dharma name?" Su Le asked, frowning.

"The Buddha said, there are four immeasurable minds. When the young monk entered the temple, he belonged to the generation without characters, so the Dharma name is Wuhuan." Wang Huan replied plainly while looking at Su Le.

Su Le looked at Wang Huan up and down, focused his eyes on his face, his eyes gleamed fiercely, as if he was going to cut the little monk alive with his sight, but Wang Huan was not afraid, just stood still like that In the same place, raised his head and put his palms together, waiting calmly.

If the young monks behind Wang Huan looked up, they would find that the monk's robe behind him was soaked with sweat and clinging to his body, and Wang Huan's heart was even more nervous. A little bit ahead, my time travel career will come to an end, and my life will always stay at the age of 17.

But if he doesn't stand up, his life may end earlier. This Qing soldier is already suspecting that he is not a serious monk. If he doesn't dispel his doubts, this matter will not end well.To convince him that he is a real monk, there is no other way but to stand up and prove himself.

Facts have proved that in the face of life and death, some people can suddenly become bolder.Wang Huan's heart was also swayed, and he was quick to think, so he stood up with such a step, and made Li Yan's slip of the tongue wrong.

Su Le's eyes flickered, obviously hesitating in his heart, he didn't know whether to believe it or not, the two just stood up and got off, and looked at each other for a long time.

"If you don't believe me, general, please listen to the little monk recite a scripture." Wang Huan said suddenly.

As soon as these words came out, Li Yan and the other monks were shocked. Others didn't know it, but they knew very well that none of the people present had stayed in the temple for more than a month. Most of them were still illiterate. How could Wang Huan memorize the scriptures in such a short time because they were complicated and complicated? Wang Huan had even less time to enter the temple, and there were no scriptures here. How could he read them?
After hearing this, Suler felt that it made sense. After all, this was also a way of proof, so he nodded: "Okay, if you read it, if you can't pronounce it, or if you pronounce it wrongly, I will chop off your head!"

Wang Huan smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, general, just listen to my recitation."

He turned around, waved his sleeves, and said loudly: "Brothers, please ring the magic weapon!"

The monks looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Chen Ergou and Xu Goudan gritted their teeth and took the lead in beating the wooden fish. The other young monks seemed to have just woken up from a dream and hurriedly picked up the round or square shapes in their hands. The wooden fish rosary beads were beaten together.

Wang Huan closed his eyes slightly, lowered his head slightly, heard the sound of the wooden fish, opened his mouth, and blurted out a string of Sanskrit sounds.

The Sanskrit sounds are full of rhythm and cadence. Although the sound is not loud, it seems like a big sound without sound, and an elephant has no shape.

Su Le listened in a daze. Although there were monks in Jianzhou, he came from a low-born family and didn't know much about Buddhist scriptures. There was no Buddhist hall in his home, and he had never heard monks chant scriptures a few times when he grew up, let alone Sanskrit. up.At this moment, it was like falling into five layers of fog, and I was stunned when I heard it.

Wang Huan recited a cup of tea kung fu before he stopped. After such a period of time, his nerves became more calm and calm. He opened his eyes and his face was peaceful. .

(End of this chapter)