Chapter 69: The Dragon Raises Its Head (Part 3)

Toyotomi Chiyo looked at the palace secretary who was fixed on the pillar with iron ropes: "Is it necessary to ask this question?"

Xu Kou said calmly: "Such a cunning offender doesn't need any means, so I won't attack him."

Toyotomi Chiyo frowned slightly: "I'm afraid this is against the instructions of the master of the army. Before the offensive started in February, the master of the army had made it clear that the main thing was to be gentle and appeasing, and violence should not be used at will, let alone mass killings. . Zhenzhen Zhangjun also quoted a saying from the Confucian sage: If people from afar are unwilling to come, then cultivate virtue and make peace with them."

Xu Kou said expressionlessly: "Of course I obeyed the instructions of the real person in charge of the army, and mainly used gentleness and comfort."

"Is this how you are so gentle and soothing?" Toyotomi Chiyo asked.

"Otherwise?" Xu Kou asked, "If there were no instructions from the real person in charge of the army, then at least half of them would have died, with their heads hanging high on the city gate. Even those who were still alive would not be so well-dressed. And Now, they can still stand here well, but their freedom is restricted. Isn't this a kind of kindness and comfort?

"You!" Toyotomi Chiyo said angrily.

Xu Kou said calmly: "Miss Toyotomi, don't forget, we are fighting now, not children playing house."

Both of them spoke in Mandarin Chinese, and since Toyotomi Chiyo was dressed as a female Taoist priest, everyone in the shrine thought she was from a Taoist sect.

Until Toyotomi Chiyo turned to look at the two ninjas and ordered them to stop in Japanese.

A ninja hesitated and said: "Your Highness Princess..."

The other ninja was unmoved: "Your Highness, we are only loyal to the current Guan Bai. The current Guan Bai is His Highness Hidemao."

Everyone in the shrine was shocked to realize that this female Taoist priest turned out to be the princess of the Prime Minister's Mansion. Although usually the daughter of a daimyo lord would be honored as a princess, the princess in the mouth of Hattori, the royal ninja of the Prime Minister, could only be the princess of Toyotomi Prime Minister.

Xu Kou did not put the two ninjas in trouble: "Okay, since Miss Toyotomi has objections, then you can just stand down. At worst, I will come in person. I once served in the Qingluan Guard and have some experience in this way."

Toyotomi Chiyo took a deep breath: "Master Xu, how can you let them go?"

Xu Kou said: "It's very simple. As long as they tell the hiding place of the Hudao sect in Duoji County, I can let them leave this place safe and sound. Miss Toyotomi, don't forget that the previous generation Guan Bai is your dearest one." My elder brother died in the hands of these traitors. He was the one who raised you and sent you to Fenglinzhou Taoist Mansion. But he died like this, at the hands of these traitors. In your hands, don’t you want to take revenge?”

Toyotomi Chiyo fell silent, his eyes gradually became firm, and he whispered: "I understand."

"What now?" Xu Kou asked.

Toyotomi Chiyo said: "Give me half an hour and I will talk to them. If it doesn't work, it's not too late for you to take action."

"Okay." Xu Kou nodded, "That's it."

After saying that, Xu Kou turned around and walked out, while the others still stood still and stayed at their posts.

Toyotomi Chiyo suddenly said: "Master Xu."

Xu Kou stopped and asked, "Does Miss Toyotomi have anything else to do?"

Toyotomi Chiyo said: "I am from a noble family. I once read a sentence in a book and wanted to give it to you."

"Please tell me." Xu Kou turned around.

Toyotomi Chiyo looked at Xu Kou and said slowly: "The old family in this world for hundreds of years is nothing more than accumulating virtue. The best good thing in the world is studying."

Xu Kou smiled: "Teach me a lesson, but it's a pity that I am no longer an ordinary person after doing this job. If necessary, I must abandon that big and round heart of compassion at any time. There is no way, dirty work has to be done Someone has to do it, and someone has to take the blame.”

"Come here without being disrespectful. I also want to send a few words to Miss Toyotomi. After all, Miss Toyotomi is no longer the princess of the prime minister's house, but a Taoist priest of our Taoist sect. She also wants to move up."

"If you are good at learning, you will become an official. Reading books is for display. But if you want to show off your skills, if you don't have the ability to carry a three-foot sword to achieve immortal achievements, you will have to be worldly and harmonious."

"People like Deputy Hall Master Zhang, Vice Hall Master Qi, Vice Hall Master Li, and Assistant Hall Yao are naturally different. They want to accomplish great achievements, perform extraordinary feats, display their ambitions, and do things that ordinary people cannot do. But we are just ordinary people. We don’t have such capital, nor do we have such ability, so we can’t generalize. So I send a message to Toyotomi: don’t talk about current affairs and try to be a hero, just be gentle and be humble. . All human affairs must be hazy, and there is no need to refute or discuss them.”

Xu Kou stopped staying, turned around and strode away.

Toyotomi Chiyo watched Xu Kou leave here, then turned to look at the people in the shrine, and his eyes happened to meet Asai's head.

"Are you...Princess Chiyo?" Asai asked cautiously.

Toyotomi Chiyo said softly: "As Master Xu said, I am no longer a princess."

Asai bravely asked: "Why does Your Highness want to be a female Taoist priest?"

Toyotomi Chiyo said: "Because only Taoism can help me take revenge."

Asai Dang stopped talking.

Toyotomi Chiyo suddenly stretched out her hands and pressed Asai Tsang's shoulders, still looking straight into her eyes: "My brother, my only relative, died in Ise, died in the hands of the Ronin of the Ronin. I am not ordering you as a princess, nor am I threatening you as a Taoist priest. I am just asking you as a sister who has lost her brother, please tell me the hiding place of those murderers. I want to avenge my dead brother and let his soul rest in peace. In return, I can guarantee your safety."

…

Ise is adjacent to Omi. Although Ise is the main battlefield of the February offensive, Omi was also occupied by the Taoist sect. After all, there is a swordsman affiliated with the Toyotomi Prime Minister's Mansion who personally sits in Hikone Castle. The forces of Asahi Shrine, Ninshoji Temple, and Koga Ninja were severely damaged in the previous battle. As one side gains and the other loses, the Sonnō Faction can no longer control Omi.

The two sides confronted each other from a distance with Lake Biwa as the boundary.

Ninshoji Temple has been abandoned and became the stationing place of the Taoist army.

In fact, Ninjeongji is called a temple, but it is actually like a city, and can also be called "Ninjeongji Domain".

Therefore, Ninjeongji covers a very large area. In addition to the common treasure hall, pagoda, and stele forest, there is also a man-made lake, which is said to be connected to Lake Biwa through a ditch.

After the Taoist sect occupied this place, the monks who did not choose to escape were only uniformly guarded and restricted in their freedom, but there was no mention of shackles or mass killings.

A "purple dragon" flying boat slowly landed, stirring up a light rain with the breath of spring on the lake, and the water vapor was filled.

On the lake embankment, there was a row of tall black-armored spiritual officials.

Next to the gangway, in addition to a second-rank spiritual official, there was a Fenglinzhou warrior wearing a boat-shaped black hat and a plain jacket.

A Taoist who looked about 30 years old walked down the gangway.

All the spiritual officials and Taoists saluted, and the warriors also leaned forward to show respect.

The Taoist wore a black crane cloak, a wisdom sword, and a white jade lotus crown.

He clearly didn't smile, but he always gave people the illusion that he was smiling. After he motioned for everyone to excuse themselves, he fixed his eyes on the warrior and walked over: "I've heard of Ishishusai for a long time."

Yagyu Munemasa saluted and said: "Munemasa greets Master Li."

In the Taoist sect, there are quite a few masters with the surname Li. It is precisely because there are so many Master Lis that it is not easy to address them by their surnames. In many cases, they have to be distinguished by their names, or simply by their positions. If someone respectfully addresses Master Li without any distinction, it generally refers to one person, that is, Li Wugui, the second-in-command of the Li family.

As for the national teacher, it is Master Li Da.

Qingwei Zhenren said: "This time, the Taoist sect was able to successfully take over most of Omi, and Shizhouzhai played a great role. I'll get straight to the point. How credible do you think the monk's words are?"

Yagyu Munemasa pondered for a moment and said: "About 70%. He dare not deceive Li Zhenren with nonsense, but he may be reserved, or nine true and one false."

Qi Qingwei Zhenren smiled faintly and said: "It's already very high."

Then he ordered the second-grade spiritual officer: "Take us to see the monk."

Under the guidance of the second-grade spiritual officer, they came to a monk's room.

There was a tall monk of nothingness here, wearing a larger canopy and exposing a pair of flat feet.

This monk exuded a dangerous smell from the inside out.

However, after seeing Qingwei Zhenren, the monk immediately became humble and docile, and took the initiative to take off the canopy on his head to reveal his true appearance.

Not only did he have only one eye, but his skin was blue all over, which was very scary. It was better to say that he was a monster than a human.

The second-rank spiritual officer said, "He was recruited by Deputy Hall Master Zhang and is called 'Qingfangzhu'. Considering that he is a monk, we arranged him in Renzheng Temple."

Qingwei Zhenren nodded slightly and signaled the second-rank spiritual officer to withdraw.

"I heard from Qingxiao that you wanted to talk to me and said that you knew the secret of Fenglinzhou." Qingwei Zhenren looked at Qingfangzhu.

Qingfangzhu answered the question irrelevantly: "Before I became a monster, I was a monk, wandering around and making the world my home. I would preach to people and persuade them to go to paradise early. If they didn't want to go to paradise early, I would send them there early. I would also debate Buddhism with people. If someone could answer my questions, I would reward them. Many people think that I am a monk who has broken the precepts, and even call me a Buddhist monster. I don't object to this statement. People in the world say to me, how can you be alone in turmoil? How can you have paradise when you are suffering? Ghosts are rampant, bones are everywhere, and the purity of Buddhism is nothing but nonsense. I thought about it for a long time and finally got the answer. The cassock is stained with blood, the Zen stick subdues the demon, and the time is coming to return to the mortal world. Enlightened by the Dharma, carrying the green lamp, breaking Abstinence and help the common people to prove the Zen mind. "

Qingwei Zhenren said without comment: "We in Taoism have no distinction in teaching, and we are inclusive. In Taoism, there are disciples of the Central Plains Buddhism who surrender, and there are demons who surrender. We have always treated everyone equally, so I don’t care whether you are a Buddhist demon or a monk. "

Qingfangzhu put his hands together and said: "I don’t want to prove my identity, because I am indeed a demon. After I turned into a demon, I had a murderous heart and a demon heart, but I lost my original heart. Only by suppressing it with Buddhism can I get a moment of clarity. According to the standards of Taoism, I am only at the stage of infinite cultivation now, but if there is no Buddhist suppression, I can have the cultivation of the stage of creation. This is the change brought to me by turning into a demon. "