No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 690: Flood and the Buddha? [Seeking monthly votes! ]

"It's rare for the eldest lady to come to see Xiaodao."

"Why would I look for you if I have nothing to do?"

"That's right. So what did Her Excellency the Grand Lady do today? I thought Her Excellency the Grand Lady would keep Xiao Dao imprisoned."

"Stop talking in circles and come out."

"it is good."

On the border of Yizhou and Jiangzhou, there is an isolated island called Xieshan in Jiangzhou. The island is the mountain, and the mountain is the island. There is an unknown Taoist temple on the top of the mountain.

Xie Mountain is not high, but it stands in the middle of the river, attracting quite an eye-catching sight.

In particular, it has the sunset red maple leaves, which is known as one of the ten scenic spots in the south of the Yangtze River. In the autumn evening, there is an endless stream of tourists stopping to climb up Xieshan Mountain to admire the maple leaves.

However, it was spring and the maple leaves were not yet red.

Yizhou is located in the southeast rear of Jiangzhou, separated from the Hongzhou front by Jiangzhou, but is still affected by the war on the southwest front.

In the past, there might have been a few travelers from far away who would go ashore to see the Shoe Mountain with its maple leaves not yet turning red.

But right now, on the river there are either people from the southwest rushing south to Yangzhou for refuge, or grain ships heading west to transport food and supplies to the rich areas of the southeast. The latter are prepared by the southeastern states to support the southwest, and will be transferred in Jiangzhou before being shipped to the front line.

As a result, Xieshan Mountain, which is located in the middle of the river and is suitable for watching the sunset over the river, has become deserted. However, Xieshan Mountain is not far from Xunyang City in Jiangzhou.

Zhang Shixiu, a direct descendant Taoist priest known as the "Yellow and Purple Nobleman" of Mount Longhu, was not sure how long he had lived in his hut on Mount Xie.

Ever since leaving Xuemu Villa, I haven't seen the approachable Second Lady again. After being taken off the boat by those cold-faced Vietnamese women, she hasn't gone out for a long time.

Only occasionally, when I was on the cliff heading for the river, I would catch a glimpse of a blonde lady walking in the forest below.

However, the eldest female ruler usually didn't pay much attention to him. After moving to Xieshan, she never came again. She only sent a few Yue women to guard his thatched cottage.

Zhang Shixiu was neither annoyed nor lonely.

He just missed the carp pond in the Tianshi Mansion on Mount Longhu, which was surrounded by flowers and inscribed with the words "Lei Chi". In the past, he would pass by the pond twice at dawn and dusk, and the carp in the pond would greet him and see him off. As time went by, he felt that something was missing if he didn't throw some crumbs to feed them...

But today, he was no longer the only figure in the thatched cottage. The elusive female ruler suddenly arrived, left a word, and left indifferently.

Zhang Shixiu dusted off the dust on his body, put a peach wood sword on his back, left the thatched cottage, and followed the figure of the blonde Hu girl on the mountain road ahead.

Before going down the mountain, he turned his head and looked towards the southwest.

The river stretches as far as the eye can see, with only the ships passing by like black dots.

That is the direction of Xunyang City in Jiangzhou.

Zhang Shixiu sighed softly and walked quickly down the mountain.

After a stick of incense.

Zhang Shixiu looked at Xue Zhongzhu who was pacing with his hands behind his back in front of him and asked:
"I heard that the Second Lady is back?"

"Who said it?"

"Yesterday evening, there were some noisy noises coming from the foot of the mountain, and the figures of the two ladies were vaguely seen on the trail."

Xuezhongzhu did not answer. After walking for a while, he asked leisurely:

"Master Zhang is a direct descendant of the Tianshi Mansion, right?"

"It is."

"It is said on the mountain that the thunder magic of Taiqing Longhu Mountain is unparalleled in the world. There is also a treasure called Thunder Talisman, which is both offensive and defensive. Those who are good at it are invincible. I wonder if Taoist Zhang brought it with him. It would be great for me to open my eyes."

Zhang Shixiu suddenly asked:

"Do you need a small path to hinder the Great Buddha's actions, Your Excellency the Great Lady and your clan?"

"Need not."

"Then why does Your Excellency ask this question?"

"Oh, there is something I need your help with. Master Zhang, are you going?"

"What's the matter?" After a pause, Zhang Shixiu, who had received the Yunmeng Order, asked tentatively, "Can you tell me first?"

"Go and kill the governor of Jiangzhou and destroy the Xunyang Palace."

"..."

"Why don't you say anything? Aren't you asking me to tell you the truth? Are you going?"

"The Lady King thinks too highly of me. This is not something I can accomplish alone, not to mention..."

Xue Zhongzhu interrupted:

"Besides, the Longhu Mountain where you are has been flirting with the Xunyang Palace for a long time. You can't do it, right?"

Zhang Shixiu: Look at the nose with your eyes, and look at the heart with your nose.

Xue Zhongzhu did not let him go and sneered:
"Last time you came with your Junior Brother Lu, but he left first. Before he left, did you tell him to take back what I said?"

Zhang Shixiu frowned slightly.

The candle in the snow curled its lips:
"Then you know that after you brought the message, the Xunyang Palace still insisted on its own way. Even the Jiangzhou Chief, who is close to it, took the lead in issuing a ban on Vietnamese women. Anyone and anything related to our Yunmeng Jianze must be investigated.

Zhang Shixiu remained silent.

A hint of sarcasm appeared at the corner of Xue Zhongzhu's lips:
"It seems like they don't care about your safety at all."

Zhang Shixiu shook his head:
"The fate of a small path is short and insignificant."

"Then why are you taking the Yunmeng Order?"

"When a young man receives an order, he will do his best."

Xue Zhongzhu chuckled and said nothing.

Zhang Shixiu was silent for a while and followed her down the mountain.

I didn't even ask why he came down the mountain.

After a while, he found that the eldest lady had taken him to a maple forest.

Walking towards the depths of the maple forest.

At this time, Zhang Shixiu suddenly said:
"Your Excellency, have you ever thought about the issue of face and substance?
“We have even used the Yunmeng Order. Even if we win and successfully stop the Great Zhou court from building the Donglin Buddha, will the Queen in Luoyang bow her head?

"Not only does this make the saint lose face, but it also tarnishes the reputation of Yunmeng. After all, they used their trump card.

"If this continues, not only will the Great Zhou court be dissatisfied and retaliate, but the Great Buddha dispute will continue and intensify. We will also continue to stop it and waste time with the court for no reason, round after round.

"My Lady, do you think it is wise to use Tiannan alone to fight against the ten sects of the Great Zhou?
"In the end, one side lost face but gained substance, but if the face is lost, can the substance remain? Since they are in a high position, they should maintain their face. Let's not talk about whether they will lose or not. If they win by a narrow margin, where should Yunmeng's face be placed?

"And the imperial court will not give up until a giant Buddha is built. This is almost a dead end. Neither the winner nor the loser has finished. Even if we stop it this time, what about the next time?"

Zhang Shixiu spoke earnestly. Xue Zhongzhu walked forward quietly and suddenly said:

"Are you finished?"

"Ah."

Xue Zhongzhu seemed to be looking for a way just now, but now he came to his senses and waved his hand:
"Let's go. It's just in front. Didn't you say you would help me if I took over the Yunmeng Order? Then come on."

Zhang Shixiu was stunned.

I couldn't help but look at the candle in the snow twice.

In fact, when he said that, Zhang Shixiu was already prepared to be beaten by the eldest lady.

After all, this lady is famous for her explosive temper.

Xue Zhongzhu walked silently in front.

His face was calm.

I could vaguely hear the words that Second Junior Sister said when she came back yesterday.

Xue Zhongzhu felt that she was right.

Some things don't matter if told, Yunmeng Jianze doesn't care.

Moreover, the Palace of the Female Sovereign allows dissenting voices to exist in the Tiannan Jianghu, such as the Sanqing Taoist sect.

Right now, the most important thing to do is to gather all the strength that can be gathered, rather than focusing on and amplifying internal contradictions.

You know, even a piece of toilet paper has its uses.

The same applies to Zhang Shixiu, who was in Cao's camp but his heart was with Han.

Zhang Shixiu hesitated to speak.

At this moment, the candle in the snow stopped in front of him:
"arrive."

Zhang Shixiu looked up and saw a building in front of him. The houses were classical with carved dragons and painted rafters. They were built in the maple forest deep in the mountains.

Xue Zhongzhu brought Zhang Shixiu to a courtyard.

In the courtyard, there was an old Taoist priest sitting with his eyes closed, with a bowl of noodle soup in front of him. After the noodles were finished, only the soup was left. After Xue Zhongzhu and Zhang Shixiu arrived, the old Taoist priest opened his eyes and asked, "Want a bowl?" Xue Zhongzhu shook his head coldly, and the old Taoist priest nodded slightly to let them pass.

Zhang Shixiu passed by and took a look at the gray Taoist robe on the old Taoist priest. He roughly recognized his identity. He seemed to be a keeper of an unknown Taoist temple on Xie Mountain. He didn't know where he came from or what connection he had with Yunmeng Jianze.

However, before Zhang Shixiu could think more, he saw several figures in the lobby in front of him.

His eyes narrowed slightly, then quickly narrowed.

"Your Excellency, the Great Lady, who is this young Taoist priest?"

In the lobby, Wei Shaoqi and Du Shuqing both sat down. In front of them was a huge sand table with mountains and rivers crisscrossed in a very realistic manner.

Zhang Shixiu had never seen such a detailed sand table map.

At this time, Wei Shaoqi's eyes fell directly on the young Taoist priest brought in by Xue Zhongzhu and asked a question.

Xue Zhongzhu looked indifferent, as if he didn't want to introduce himself too much:
"Zhang Shixiu, Taiqing Longhu Mountain."

Wei Shaoqi nodded thoughtfully.

Ask again:

"Where is the Second Lady? Didn't she come back last night?"

"Left this morning."

Wei Shaoqi asked curiously: "You just came back, why are you leaving again?"

The candle in the snow narrowed its eyes and remained silent.

Du Shuqing stared at the sand table and spoke softly:
"I heard that there was a lot of commotion in Xunyang City. It seems that the Jiangzhou Hall has arrested a lot of your Jianze people."

Xue Zhongzhu frowned slowly.

The second sister was going to look for the younger sister, but halfway through, something happened in Xunyang City, and all the original informants disappeared. For a while, no specific information in the city was known. After a few days, the bad news was learned through the government announcement...

Wei Shaoqi asked seriously:

"Will it not affect our actions?"

Xue Zhongzhu shook his head: "It's okay for important people."

Du Shuqing immediately asked, "Is there an important person in the city? Who?"

Xue Zhongzhu said nothing and looked unhappy.

They still used the method they had used before to confirm the safety of Junior Sister. After confirming this from the Queen's Palace, although something had happened in Xunyang City, Junior Sister's safety should not be a problem. Maybe she was not affected. Otherwise, if the virgin Yue was caught, the Jiangzhou government would not be able to conceal it.

However, despite this, she still lost contact with the younger junior sister. The second junior sister had planned to stay in Xunyang to look for the younger junior sister, but she encountered an extremely urgent matter and returned first.

Before leaving in the morning, Second Junior Sister said that this sudden discovery needed to be verified in detail, so she left in a hurry and went to Xunyang again...

Xue Zhongzhu suddenly asked:
"Okay, let's get down to business. What do you think of the news brought back by Second Junior Sister?"

What's the matter? Zhang Shixiu looked curious, but then he heard Wei Shaoqi stroking his beard and saying:

"The Jiangzhou Hall suddenly issued an announcement, saying that there is a risk of flooding during the rainy season, and the whole city is under martial law for ten days to rescue the flood. The key rescue facility is Shuangfengjian... Interesting."

Du Shuqing suddenly reminded: "Xunyang Grottoes are also at Shuangfengjian."

Zhang Shixiu asked seriously, "I understand. What about the Donglin Buddha?"

"The construction also stopped. The Jiangzhou Hall and the governor Ouyang Lianghan announced that the construction of the Buddha statue would be suspended for ten days, and the workers would first deal with the flood."

"I've seen the Twin Peaks. It's a good waterproofing project. Why is it useless? Is there another flood?"

"I don't know. The announcement said that the construction of the Xunyang Grottoes used too much rock and destroyed the water conservancy, so the floods recurred this year."

Du Shuqing pointed to the Xunyang Grottoes on the map and asked:
"Have our people seen the current scene inside Xunyang Grottoes? Are you sure the construction inside has been stopped? Is it true?"

The candle in the snow nodded:
"Before Second Junior Sister came back, she sent someone to take a look from afar. It seems that the construction of the Buddha had indeed stopped for several days. No one was seen working on it... But recently, there was a heavy fog over the Xunyang River, covering the Twin Peaks. It was a little blurry and difficult to see. However, due to flood control, there were heavy troops guarding the area, so it was difficult to get close to observe."

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at each other.

"Ah."

Wei Shaoqi suddenly chuckled.

Everyone looked over and saw that his face was full of emotion:

"This is an interesting move."

(End of this chapter)