Across the Water Margin: Officials of Ximen

Both Shi Yong and Lu Xiaoyi used to make a living by gambling, and they are very proficient in gambling. This time, Ximen Qing asked them to gamble for a while every day, which was exactly what they wanted, so the two happily settled down. Going to carry out the task arranged by Ximen Qing.

Chapter 2 Missing the Opportunity to Change History

After arriving in Jiangzhou, Shi Yong and Lu Xiaoyi not only went to the gambling room to gamble and hang out every day, but also went to the prison camp to inquire if Song Jiang had arrived.Jiang Zhongze dispersed the disciples he had brought, and let them wander around every day, familiarizing themselves with the streets and alleys of Jiangzhou City.

Because Ximen Qing and others came quickly, it is estimated that Song Jiang will be delayed all the way, and it will take a few days before he arrives in Jiangzhou City, so Ximen Qing, Jiao Ting, Jiang Zhong and others also leisurely visit places of interest in Jiangzhou City every day .

Under the guidance of the locals, Ximenqing and the others first went to Donglin Temple at the foot of Lushan Mountain in the south of Jiangzhou City.

Donglin Temple is located on the south bank of the Xunyang River, at the northwest foot of Lushan Mountain. It faces the incense burner of Lushan Mountain and the peaks of heaven and earth in the south, leans against Donglin Mountain and the upper tower in the north, has Fragrant Valley in the northwest, and Wulong Lake in the southeast. The terrain is magnificent and the transportation is convenient.There is Daxi in the middle, from south to west.Between the post road and the road is the Jianchang tunnel in Jiujiang.In front of the temple is Linxi, and the entrance is Huxi Bridge.

Standing outside Donglin Temple and looking south, you can see Xianglu Peak branching eastward, from north to west, the mountains are undulating, shaped like a dragon, and connected to Tangshan Mountain in the west.Donglin lives in it, and when you climb up high and look far away, it looks like a dragon hanging in the sky, jumping to fly, so it is called "the place where the dragon hangs upside down".

The bright hall in front of the temple is open, the court case is clear, the incense burner peak is in the trend of worship, the thousand-year-old purple smoke continues, the Tiger Creek is full of nostalgia, and the white water flows for thousands of years.

Regarding the scenery of Donglin Temple, Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote the four characters "Liuquanza Temple" to praise this scenery.

In the temple, there is also a stele of "Smart Spring" inscribed by Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty.

The Donglin Temple in Jiangzhou was built in the 11th year of Taiyuan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and soon became the birthplace of the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism, the center of Buddhism in southern China, and one of the Eight Great Daoist Temples of Buddhism in the country after the Sui Dynasty.

Master Huiyuan, the founder of Pure Land Sect, is also revered as the first ancestor of Pure Land Sect and the founder of Lotus Sect by later generations.

This Donglin Temple is also regarded as the ancestral home by the Pure Land Sect and the Pure Land Shinzong in Japan, and this is derived from the master Jianzhen who traveled east to Japan in the Tang Dynasty.

In the 12th year of Tang Tianbao, Zhien, a monk of Donglin Temple, assisted Master Jianzhen to cross to the east.

In the first year of Tianbao, at the request of the Japanese monk Chongrui and Puzhao, Chu Jianzhen went eastward to promote the Dharma. He was blocked by wind and waves five times before and after. When he returned to Yangzhou, he stayed in Donglin Temple and hovered for several days, leaving a profound impact on Donglin Temple.

In the summer of the 12th year of Tianbao, Master Jianzhen traveled to Dongying for the sixth time. He went with Zhien, a monk from Donglin Temple, and finally arrived in Kyushu, Japan.

In the following year, Master Jianzhen built a large temple in Nara, built a precept altar, and more than [-] Japanese emperors, empresses, and ministers all received the Bodhisattva precepts.Jianzhen not only created the Japanese Vinaya Sect, but also carried forward the Pure Land Method. Therefore, the later Japanese Buddhist Pure Land Sect and Pure Land Shinzong honored Donglin Temple as the "ancestral court".

As the No. [-] jungle in southern China, Donglin Temple not only influenced the distant Japan, but also indirectly affected the history of the late Ming Dynasty hundreds of years later.

Historically, four years later, in the first year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty, Wuxi official Li Kui accompanied the famous scholar Yang Shi to visit the Baoan Temple at the Nanmen Gate of Wuxi.

Yang Shi saw that this place is adjacent to Bodu Port and Qingliu in front, and the surrounding ancient trees and forests are quite similar to the lush and lush Lushan Donglin Temple in Jiangzhou. It is an ideal place for research and imparting knowledge, so he intends to give lectures here for a long time.

After Li Kui knew what Yang Shi meant, he fully agreed with it, so he named the society "Donglin Society".

In the 32nd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Gu Xiancheng and others restored the Donglin Academy and gathered people to give lectures here, which influenced many scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.These people later formed the famous Donglin Party in the history of the late Ming Dynasty.

Under the nonsense of these Donglin party members, Emperor Chongzhen was finally forced to death, which led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty and the entry of the Qing Dynasty.

Ximen Qing, who is currently visiting the Donglin Temple, does not know that the Donglin Temple has such a magical connection with the later Donglin Party.If he knew, maybe he would let Jiang Zhong take advantage of the night to burn the Donglin Temple to nothingness.

Without the Donglin Temple, perhaps Yang Shi of Chengmen Lixue would not have given long-term lectures at the Donglin Academy in Wuxi.Without the Donglin Academy established in the Song Dynasty, perhaps Gu Xiancheng and others would no longer gather under the new Donglin Academy to form the Donglin Party in the late Ming Dynasty.Without the Donglin Party, might the history of the late Ming Dynasty be rewritten?

It's a pity that Ximenqing didn't know the inextricable connections, so naturally he didn't think of flapping the wings of a butterfly here to change the course of history.

For Ximen Qing, what he has to face is the rise of the Jurchens at the end of the Song Dynasty, not the wild boar skin hundreds of years later.

After visiting Donglin Temple, Ximenqing, who was still in the lingering spirit, went to Xilin Temple not far from Donglin Temple.

Both Xilin Temple and Donglin Temple stand on Lushan Mountain, but the distance between them is less than a hundred feet, but their landscapes have their own advantages.Donglin Temple is grand in scale and majestic; Xilin Temple is small, compact, beautiful and rigorous.

In Xilin Temple, the most famous landscape is not the ancient wood of the Buddhist hall, but the poems inscribed by literati on the walls of the temple.Among these poems, the most famous one is "Tixi Forest Wall" written by Su Dongpo.Poetry goes:

"Looking horizontally, it becomes a ridge and a side becomes a peak,

The distance is different.

I don’t know the true face of Mount Lu,

Just because I am in this mountain. "

This poem was written by Su Dongpo in the seventh year of Shenzong Yuanfeng more than 30 years ago.At that time, Su Dongpo was demoted from Huangzhou and moved to Ruzhou as the deputy envoy of Tuanlian. When he went to Ruzhou, he passed through Jiangzhou and traveled to Lushan Mountain with his friend Shen Liao.The magnificent landscape triggered Yixing's grandiose thinking, so I wrote this song "Tixi Linbi".

As soon as this poem came out, the reputation of Xilin Temple spread far and wide. Over the past 30 years, many people have come to Xilin Temple to pay their respects and observe Su Dongpo's handwriting.

At this moment in Xilin Temple, Jiao Ting and Jiang Zhong went to burn incense and worship Buddha, but Ximen Qing stood alone in front of the wall full of poems, admiring Su Dongpo's handwriting, and his mind was full of imagination.

good poem!Good calligraphy!Su Dongpo deserves to be a great writer and a great calligrapher. This poem "Ti Xilin Bi" has a profound artistic conception and is well written. No wonder so many literati and poets have traveled thousands of miles to Xilin Temple in Jiangzhou to observe this poem.

Ximenqing knows that this poem has been passed down through the ages, and that in the later generations he traveled through, which one of the students would not recite "I don't know the true face of Lushan Mountain, because I live in this mountain."

If Ximenqing traveled back to 40 years ago and was standing in Xilin Temple at this moment, he would definitely be a copywriter, write this poem first, and take away Su Dongpo's luck, hehehe~

Ximen Qing, who thinks that his calligraphy is not inferior to the four masters of "Su Huang Mi Cai", is gradually fascinated, and he is already thinking about how to write the charm of this "Ti Xi Lin Bi":

"Which part of Li Jiaojiao's chest and abdomen is the most beautiful is written in the sentence "Looking horizontally as a mountain and as a side as a peak, with different heights from near and far"?There is also the latter sentence of "I don't know the true face of Lushan Mountain, but because I am in this mountain", where should I extend my pen?

Chapter 2 Nineteen: Shenxing Taibao and Black Whirlwind

"Looking horizontally, it becomes a mountain and its side becomes a peak..." Maybe if Li Jiaojiao is replaced by Pan Jinlian, this poem is more appropriate?

Ximen Qing wrote in the air with his imaginary finger in front of him, and fell into deep thought.In this realm of enlightenment, the senior official Ximen Qing felt that his calligraphy skills had made considerable progress.

"Brother is so boring, what kind of bird characters are you writing on this white wall? Brothers have finished burning incense, why don't we go back to Jiangzhou to find a good place to have a drink?" Ximen Qing's anxious voice sounded in Ximen Qing's ears Shengdi pulled him from the beds of some girls in Yanggu County to Xilin Temple in Jiangzhou City.

Ximen Qing saw that these rough men were ignorant and didn't know Su Dongpo's masterpiece, so he shook his head helplessly, left Xilin Temple with Jiao Ting, Jiang Zhong and others, and rode back to Jiangzhou City.

Another day passed, and Song Jiang didn't know whether he was drinking Mongolian sweat medicine in Jieyangling, or eating Bandao noodles on the Xunyang River, but he hadn't arrived at the prison camp in Jiangzhou yet.Ximen Qing and others rested overnight in the hotel in the city.

After everyone woke up the next day, Ximen Qing and the others had nothing to do, went out after breakfast, and went to visit the Town God's Temple in Jiangzhou City.

The term "City God" originated from the ancient city walls and moats. In the minds of the ancients, it was the god who protected the safety of the people and bless the safety of one side.Therefore, where there is a city, there is a Chenghuang Temple.Moreover, in the eyes of the common people, this Town God's Temple is different from other high-ranking temples and Taoist temples, and has a taste of being close to the people.Therefore, the vicinity of the Town God's Temple is usually a prosperous place where small businessmen gather.

Lu Xiaoyi and Shi Yong were already very familiar with Jiangzhou City. Under the guidance of the two of them, Ximen Qing and others turned around in Jiangzhou City. After passing through several streets, they came to the outside of the Temple of the City God.

Everyone looked around, and saw an open space outside the Town God's Temple, where all kinds of businesses were sold; from silk and satin, to vegetables, fruits and snacks, there was a wide variety of things to see, and the sound of hawking kept coming and going.

With great interest, everyone walked through the crowd rushing to buy and sell at the temple fair, and walked towards the Temple of the City God.Just when Ximen Qing and the others were about to walk in front of the Town God's Temple, they heard a commotion in the crowd in front of them, and the buyers and sellers all dodged.

Ximen Qing could only hear someone running past him yelling, "Hurry up, hurry up, the Taibao is here, don't let him get into trouble."

Ximen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he poked his head forward to look forward.After the crowd got out of the way, two people came from a distance.

Among the two, the one who walked in front had a broad face, protruding eyes, was slender and handsome, wore a soap scarf and a green robe.

Behind the man was a thick, dark man with an ugly face, thick brows and big eyes, a pair of violent eyes looking around with a red light, his beard and beard were like steel needles, he looked like a man who wanted to eat people Demons come down to earth.

The two startled the crowd away, and strode towards the Temple of the City God.When they came to the gate of the temple, the two of them did not enter the Chenghuang Temple, but walked west along the wall outside the temple, and entered a small gate on the partition wall.

"Bah! Shameless!" Seeing that the two had gone to the door, one of the few people around Ximen Qing who had just dodged just now spit on the ground.

At this time, Lu Xiaoyi quietly said to Ximen Qing: "Brother, those two people who walked in front just now, and the black man behind is the 'Black Whirlwind' Li Kui you asked me to investigate. Brother, I have met him a few times. I will admit my mistake."