Chapter 241: Baoguang Tathagata Deng Yuanjue

Yang Bangyi, courtesy name Xiji, was born in Yangjiazhuang, Jishui County. In the fifth year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was selected as a Jinshi by the imperial examination. Now he is the county lieutenant of Wuyuan County, Shezhou.

This is an official of the ninth rank, whose main responsibility is to be responsible for the public security management of a county, including security patrols, anti-smuggling, and catching thieves.

In some cases, the county lieutenant may also concurrently exercise judicial power and handle minor criminal cases.

His authority was second only to that of the county magistrate, and he governed the local area together with the county magistrate, the chief clerk, and the registrar.

Where is Shezhou?
In fact, it is Huizhou, and it will be renamed after a few years, that is, in the third year of Xuanhe.

At this time, Huizhou was not the Huizhou of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Eight parts mountains, half part water, one part farmland, and half part roads and manors. Traffic is blocked, and the mountains are full of miasma, making them unsuitable for human habitation. The mountains are high and dense, and the population is sparse.

Simply put, Huizhou in the Northern Song Dynasty was a barren place with nothing but poverty.

It is said that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people.

After the Song Dynasty government put down the Fang La uprising, it renamed Shezhou as Huizhou.

What is "Hui"?
It means to bind and restrict. It is to bind and control this "land of repeated rebellion". The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and the people are unruly and rebellious, so you are given "Hui" to let you reflect on your mistakes.

Cao Jie set out for Shezhou, but he did not dare to be careless at all.

This was the hardest hit area by Fang La's rebellion.

In the future battle of Shezhou, although the commander Lu Junyi was ultimately successful, the price he paid was not small.

First, Shi Jin, Shi Xiu, Chen Da, Yang Chun, Li Zhong, and Xue Yong encountered Pang Wanchun when they were on scouts. Pang Wanchun shot Shi Jin down with an arrow, and the five generals rescued him and fled in haste. Not long after they went, ambushes appeared and arrows were fired. Although Shi Xiu and others did not care about Shi Jin and fled in all directions, unfortunately none of them could break through and all died under the arrows.

After taking Yuling Pass, Lu Junyi officially attacked Shezhou. However, the first battle was unfavorable. Ou Peng was shot to death by Pang Wanchun, and Zhang Qing died in the chaos.

Afterwards, the Southern Army took advantage of the victory to raid the camp, but was defeated by Lu Junyi using Zhu Wu's strategy. This was considered a win. The only unlucky one was Ding Desun, who was bitten by a poisonous snake in the bushes during the ambush and died of the poison.

Lu Junyi then launched a general attack on Shezhou. Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo broke into the city first, but they fell into Wang Yin's trap and both fell into a pit and were stabbed to death by arrows.

Afterwards, Wang Yin broke through the encirclement and trampled Li Yun on his horse, stabbed Shi Yong with his spear, and finally took the combined efforts of Lin Chong and five other generals to stab him to death. At this point, Shezhou was completely recovered.

There are many tasks in this journey. Conquering Yang Bangyi is the main task, while collecting geography of mountains, rivers and checkpoints to prepare for future battles is the branch task.

"Zhishen, have you ever heard of Baoguang Tathagata Deng Yuanjue?"

Cao Jie vaguely remembered that one of the four marshals under Fang La's eldest prince Fang Tianding, Baoguang Tathagata Deng Yuanjue, was a monk from Shezhou.

Lu Zhishen, the fake monk, had no idea about Buddhist monks. He shook his head and said, "Brother, you asked the wrong person. I can't even recognize all the eminent monks in Shandong and Shanxi. How can I recognize the monks in Jiangnan?"

"However, since my brother knows his name and nickname, just ask around."

After leaving Jiankang Prefecture and passing Xuanzhou, you will reach Shezhou.

Whenever the fat monk Lu Zhishen passed a market town, he would ask the locals something or other.

He actually found out the origins of Deng Yuanjue.

It turned out that there was a Baoguang Temple outside Shezhou City. There was a monk who loved drinking and eating meat in the temple. He made trouble in the temple several times. In the end, because of his extraordinary strength, the monks in the temple could not defeat him and could only tolerate him to stay in the temple.

Over time, he was given the nickname "Baoguang Tathagata".

Outsiders did not know the reason and just thought that his status in Baoguang Temple was the same as that of Buddha.

When everyone heard this, they all looked at Lu Zhishen, feeling that the story was somewhat familiar.

Master Lu scratched his bald head and said in a muffled voice, "When I was in Wenshu Monastery in Wutai Mountain, I also caused two disturbances, smashed the statue of the Heavenly King in front of the mountain gate, and injured some fellow disciples, but I was never so presumptuous as to call myself Tathagata. Elder Zhizhen also taught me the method of conceiving a god, so at most I could only call myself Vajra..."

"I have a connection with Buddhism, so I'll go to Baoguang Temple to stay for a while." Cao Jie practiced the inheritance of Baoyueguang King, which is the orthodox Buddhism. Although he is not from the same lineage as Namo Baoguang Buddha, he is also a brother of the side lineage.

Cao Jie still has some confidence in conquering Deng Yuanjue.

The mountains in Shezhou are famous for their grandeur. Huge stone pieces that look like they were chopped by knives and axes are piled up like building blocks, forming broken peaks. They seem to be crumbling, but in fact they are towering.

The vast sea of ​​clouds between the green mountains and green waters floats around the mountain village with pink walls and black tiles, making the village seem like it is lying on the white clouds.

Suddenly, a corner of a bright yellow wall appeared in front of us, and the sound of a melodious bell could be faintly heard among the misty clouds.

Baoguang Temple, here we are!

"Bah!"

With a loud shout, a fat and drunk monk walked out of the forest. He walked unsteadily, but the staff he held was as steady as a rock.

"That monk, why are you pretending to be me?" the drunken monk pointed at Lu Zhishen and shouted.

Lu Zhishen's eyes widened and he angrily said, "I still have to ask you a question! Why are you pretending to be me?"

The fat monk wore a dark blue robe, a string of rosary beads the size of a baby's fist, a pair of straw sandals, and held a shiny iron Zen staff.

With his sturdy build, he looks more like Lu Zhishen than brothers when standing next to him.

"Is the person who came here Deng Yuanjue, the Precious Light Tathagata?"

Cao Jie asked, cupping his hands.

"What about me?"

Deng Yuanjue glanced at Cao Jie, then glared at Lu Zhishen and shouted, "Come on, let's fight for 300 rounds. Let me see how capable this foreign monk is... hiccup!"

When Lu Zhishen saw that he ignored Cao Jie, he immediately became angry.

In the winter mist, amidst the melodious bell sounds, two silver pythons soared and a pair of jade dragons leaped.

Lu Zhishen was angry, without any pure heart. Deng Yuanjue was angry, without any compassion.

This one has never respected Buddhism, but only killed people at night. That one has never read the scriptures, but only wanted to set fires when the wind was high. This one went to the Lingshan Conference and annoyed the Tathagata for being lazy to sit on the lotus platform. That one went to the Shanfa Hall and ordered Jie Di to return the golden pestle. One never practiced Liang Wu Chan in his life, and the other never knew the Zen of the ancestors.

The two monks fought a fierce battle, but after more than fifty rounds, there was still no winner.

All the heroes watching the fight were surprised.

Lu Zhishen's strength is obvious to all.

Among those present, only "Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King" Chao Gai could fight him on foot, but now "Baoguang Tathagata" Deng Yuanjue from Shezhou was not at a disadvantage.

This kind of combat power is terrifying.

This battle lasted for another thirty rounds, and the two strong men who "hated the sky without a ring" were both exhausted.

Deng Yuanjue was sweating all over and was almost sober.

"No more fighting, no more fighting! Neither you nor I can do anything to the other!"

"Humph! I have the ability to conceive a god. If we really fight for our lives, I would have taken you down long ago, this thief monk."

"Humph! Do you think I don't have the magical power of the God of Pregnancy?"

Deng Yuanjue picked up the Zen stick again.

It seems that these two monks who look similar don't like each other!
(End of this chapter)