No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 698: The Buddha's head is combined, and the Buddha is completed! ! ! [Please give me a monthly ticket! ]

"What happened to Ming Mansion?"

"fine."

The rain fell on the bluestone steps.

After pausing for a moment, Ouyang Rong held up an oil-paper umbrella and continued walking forward under Wang Caozhi's puzzled gaze.

Since coming to Xunyang Grottoes, it has rained intermittently, and Ouyang Rong always carries an oil-paper umbrella with him.

He had only some guesses about the rain and white fog before, but this afternoon, after learning about the mysteries of the Xuanwu Guard and the White Tiger Guard from Ms. Rong, Ouyang Rong now understood everything.

"Do you remember the man's appearance clearly?"

Ouyang Rong and Wang Caozhi continued to move forward.

He walked forward with an umbrella, looking into the distance and spoke softly.

Just now, after Wang Caozhi pointed out the thin-faced man, Ouyang Rong did not stare at him for too long.

"Remember it clearly, brother-in-law. I'm not bragging, I'm the best at remembering people's faces. I can even remember them once I see them."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "Okay."

Wang Caozhi glanced at his calm back and asked in a low voice:

"Brother-in-law, is there something fishy about this person?"

Ouyang Rong didn't answer.

……

There is actually more than one big Buddha in Xunyang Grottoes. There are also many other Buddha statues on the blueprint, which are still under planning.

The Donglin Buddha is the most important and the first one.

The entire Xunyang Grottoes were built around it.

Therefore, the main cave where the Donglin Buddha is located is the largest semi-open-air cave on the north bank. The other secondary caves are all centered on the main cave and are arranged on the left and right sides in sequence, along the river bank on the north bank of Shuangfengjian.

The main grotto is a semi-open-air cave recessed into the cliff, where ordinary wind and rain cannot penetrate.

Even if Rong Zhen had not reminded him about waterproofing a few days ago, Ouyang Rong had already made corresponding waterproofing and moisture-proof measures in advance when planning and constructing.

Now that it has been completed, even if the water level at Shuangfengjian suddenly rises and the flood submerges Xingzifang, it will be difficult to submerge the Donglin Buddha.

In the afternoon.

On the north bank of Shuangfengjian, at the main grotto construction site
The atmosphere was solemn.

The people who arrived one after another stood quietly in their respective seats.

Maybe everyone realized something, and no one was making any noise in the field that could easily evoke an echo.

The sky outside was foggy and the rain was getting heavier, making it even noisier.

White mist enveloped the outside of the main cave, and the scene here was still the same as what Ouyang Rong had observed a few days ago:
Inside the main cave, the white mist was thin, almost non-existent.

There seemed to be a layer of membrane separating the main cave from the open air outside, keeping the white fog out.

Ouyang Rong, who was standing in the front row of the crowd, withdrew his gaze from the white mist outside.

Looked around.

Today, the main cave construction site is missing the densely packed figures of workers.

The completed headless Buddha body sits quietly on the stone wall in the center, as if waiting for something.

The female officials of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the soldiers of the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard almost filled the main cave.

However, they all had their backs to the Buddha and were facing the river outside.

Female officials from the Imperial Observatory, including Nanny Song and Miao Zhen, were standardly equipped with plain white palace skirts.

Yi Qianqiu, Li Congshan, and Duan Quanwu also followed the clothing colors of their respective guards.

The White Tiger Guards wear white robes and white armor, while the Black Tortoise Guards wear black robes and black armor.

Looking at the entire venue, there are almost only two colors, white and black, standing in neat rows.

Ouyang Rong was also wearing a moon-white uniform, blending in with the crowd.

He finally understood why Ms. Rong asked him to be more low-key and not wear the crimson official uniform.

A conspicuous treasure and a target for beatings.

It's like you as the commander in chief on the battlefield are dressed in fancy clothes to remind the enemy to rush over and draw their heads at all times.

Only Rong Zhen.

A gorgeous purple palace dress.

Standing alone at the front of the team, in front of the headless Buddha.

She seemed to be looking up, gazing at the headless Buddha.

The originally short and petite figure lost its sense of scale in front of the giant Buddha that was hundreds of feet tall, and looked like a mayfly in the ocean. Only the purple color, which symbolized nobility and mystery, firmly attracted the attention of everyone in the audience.

Including Ouyang Rong.

For no reason, he thought of Ms. Rong's purple bellyband that had been washed so much that it looked pale.

I don't know if I wore it today.

Ouyang Rong shook his head to get rid of this somewhat unreasonable thought.

It's okay for your thoughts to be divergent, but how can you think about such frivolous things in a serious situation?

Ouyang Rong said secretly.

If Ms. Rong knew about this, the coldness on her face would probably freeze all the audience to death.

Someone quietly increased the speed of the Buddhist beads he was playing with.

Ouyang Rong looked around and made many unexpected discoveries.

In addition to the main defense members who had just had lunch together at noon, there were also many unexpected people in the main cave:
Old Yang whom I haven’t seen for many days.

He was still the same as before, moving a bench and sitting next to a tent behind the crowd, looking down at a large book. He did not attract much attention, as if he had just changed his position to browse the book... He had heard Rong Zhen say before that Old Yang had gone to the New State Prison some time ago, so he didn't know why he was here today too.

There was also a familiar female figure.

Princess Anhui.

But today, like him, she was dressed in a low-key manner, a solemn black dress similar to mourning clothes, and was inconspicuous in the crowd.

Ouyang Rong's eyes moved slightly and fell on a man accompanying Wei Anhui.

The man was unfamiliar, with a rough northern look, a square face, and was dressed in black. He wore a short coat similar to a Ma褂, which was convenient for riding. He also wore a turban on his head for working in the sun. His outfit was similar to Ali's, and he was dressed as a horse driver, but he had a white cloth strip on his head, which did not match his black coachman's outfit.

He should be Wei Anhui's groom or bodyguard.

Ouyang Rong looked away.

He looked around but couldn't find the thin-faced man.

As for Miaozhen in the team, she still had an indifferent and dignified attitude, and there was no sign of anything unusual.

At this time, Ouyang Rong noticed movement coming from the rear of the team, and turned to look along with the people around him.

I saw the old musician walking slowly towards me, holding a guitar, and he was a little late.

But at this moment, no one scolded him, they all looked at him quietly.

Rong Zhen left the Buddha statue and walked forward in person.

I saw an old man and a young man meeting each other, and Rong Zhen whispered something to the female official next to her. Several female officials immediately stepped forward and took the old musician away.

The old musician disappeared and no one knew where he went.

At this moment, Ouyang Rong saw from the corner of his eye that Rong Zhen was holding something in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, it was a string of white jade Buddhist beads, round and shiny.

He had never seen Rong Zhen wearing it before.

She didn't look like a Buddhist, and she didn't know if it was a gift from the empress of Luoyang, just like the sandalwood Buddhist beads in his hand that promised "one chance of death". However, Rong Zhen's beads looked more advanced than his.

At this moment, the movement on the field brought Ouyang Rong back to his senses.

Rong Zhen returned to the foot of the big Buddha, where there was a high platform. Rong Zhen stood on it and turned around, overlooking the entire scene.

She looked around the room and said calmly:
"let's start."

Ouyang Rong heard a sound similar to "crackling".

Turning around, he saw those familiar pulleys and winches being dragged out by a group of White Tiger Guards.

It was the lifting tool that Lin Cheng used to prepare the Buddha's body at the Xingzi Lake construction site. He never expected that it would finally come in handy this time.

It does not require manpower, only dozens of cattle, sheep and other animals to pull it.

Behind this group of White Tiger Guards who were escorting the props, there was a team of female officials from the Imperial Observatory.

The female officials escorted the head of the Donglin Buddha into the main cave. The tarpaulin covering the head had been untied and was loosely draped over it, blocking the thousands of eyes around it.

The Buddha head was transported to the foot of the Buddha.

The pulleys, winches and animal power are ready.

The atmosphere became quiet.

When the tarpaulin slid off the Buddha's head, Ouyang Rong's eyes were slightly stung by the golden light of the Buddha's head.

Rong Zhen said that it was some kind of brass material painted with gold.

The head of the Buddha has kind eyes.

According to what Li Xian said during a meal, the appearance of the Buddha head of the Donglin Buddha was modeled after the saint of the time.

Ouyang Rong raised his head slightly, watched for a while, and found that it was indeed the case, vaguely the appearance of that saint.

The golden Buddha head slowly rose.

But before that, Ouyang Rong saw a team of female officials take the initiative to come forward and conduct a detailed inspection of the Buddha head, as if they would not miss any part and check it thoroughly.

One can't help but wonder if the last time the owner of Butterfly Love Flower hid the sword in the Buddha's head and suddenly killed people had aroused vigilance.

At this moment, the female officials of the Imperial Observatory had finished carefully inspecting the golden Buddha head inside and out. Then the Buddha head was hung up and put back in its place.

Ouyang Rong saw many White Tiger Guards soldiers and female officials lurking and watching on the cliffs around the caves.

Many of them were looking up at the sky, not knowing what they were looking for or what they were preventing.

It was obvious at first glance that he had a stress reaction to a certain Ding sword.

Ouyang Rong suppressed his smile and looked at the crowd quietly.

The golden Buddha's head was hoisted up step by step, and for the sake of safety, it was raised little by little.

From the time it took off into the air to the time it reached the broken neck of the headless Buddha's body, it took a full half hour.

But everyone at the main cave construction site stared at it intently, and no one deliberately made a sound, as if they were afraid of interrupting it.

During the journey, female officials from outside the main cave walked in quickly from time to time and reported some situations to Rong Zhen in his ear. It was unknown which location outside was being deployed for defense.

She responded calmly and gave instructions.

The rest of the time, this cold girl in palace clothes would place her hands behind her back, tilt her head back, and keep her eyes closed.

Waiting for something quietly.

The broken neck of the headless Buddha has been specially treated to facilitate the reunion of the head and body like today, with a mechanism to make them fit together perfectly.

This was from Ouyang Rong's hand, he was very familiar with it, and Wang Caozhi next to him was also familiar with it.

So, when the golden Buddha head touched the broken neck of the Buddha's body, several craftsmen climbed up and knocked it, then put down their tools and made a few gestures to Rong Zhen below.

Ouyang Rong was almost the first person on the field to realize that the Donglin Buddha had completely merged.

Rong Zhen seemed not to notice the warning gestures from the craftsmen above.

She put her hands behind her back, raised her head, closed her eyes and said nothing.

Still maintaining this posture.

As a result, the craftsmen, pulleys, winches and dozens of cattle and sheep that were clinging to the neck of the Buddha all remained where they were and no one was the first to leave.

This caused many non-professional female officials and soldiers on the scene to think that the reunion of the Donglin Buddha's body and head had not yet been completed, and they all stared straight ahead.

Wang Caozhi, who was standing behind Ouyang Rong, looked around and pulled Ouyang Rong's sleeve with some confusion.

He lowered his voice and said:

"Brother-in-law, isn't it healed? Did we make a mistake? The Buddha's head has been installed, why is it not talking..."

Ouyang Rong didn't turn his head and said "hush" softly.

Wang Caozhi lowered his head to look at the Buddhist beads that were slowly turning in Ouyang Rong's hands at his hanging sleeves.

He looked at his nose and his heart, and then he kept silent.

The same was true for the entire venue.

If Rong Zhen doesn't move, they won't move either.

Time passed by minute by minute.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and then getting lighter and lighter.

By the time the rain stopped, the sun had set and the moon had risen, and it was already deep night.

Of course, there were some chaotic and confused noises along the way, but the well-trained female officials and royal guards calmed down when they saw that their superiors did not move... Such qualities, in this era, could probably only be achieved on a large scale by these professional soldiers and the people in the Luoyang Palace.

By midnight, many people's stomachs were rumbling, including Wang Caozhi, and there were bloodshot eyes.

Gradually, dawn is approaching.

At some point, Rong Zhen finally opened his eyes.

She looked back at the calm river outside the cave.

She exchanged a glance with Ouyang Rong again, and the latter understood her look.

not coming.

The Yunmeng Yue girls did not come.

The rebels from Tiannan Jianghu did not come.

The attack...didn't come!
Rong Zhen suddenly spoke:
"eat first."

The whole place was silent for a moment, and then everyone who reacted gradually breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a collective exhalation on the field.

Even the drowsy craftsmen who were afraid to come down from the hanging frame woke up and climbed down to eat.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire main cave suddenly relaxed.

The soldiers of the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard set up their own camps and cooked food.

I'm used to military life, so staying up late is nothing compared to the forced march of thousands of miles, sleeping in the open air and marching thousands of miles.

Wang Caozhi's feet were numb from standing so he immediately ran away:
"Brother-in-law, take a rest. I'll go get you some food! I have to cook for you..."

Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze from his back and looked at the graceful figure in purple with her back still straight on the high platform at the feet of the giant Buddha in front of him.

He walked over, climbed the stairs, came to the platform, and stood side by side with Rong Zhen.

The two of them were in tacit understanding and didn't speak.

At this moment, the sky and the earth suddenly became bright.

It was the first ray of light at dawn, coming from the horizon at the end of the distant river... The red sun raised its head, and this ray of light pierced through the night sky, and also pierced through the thick white fog that had been shrouding the outside of the Xunyang Grottoes.

Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen looked up together, and saw a beam of golden sunlight shining on the kind-hearted face of the Donglin Giant Buddha. Combined with the reflective gold paint, it was so golden and dazzling.

Ouyang Rong's eyes were slightly dazed.

It's been built.

The long-awaited Donglin Buddha has finally been built and located in Xunyang!

This is the new ballast stone of the southwest front; it is his greatest reliance for returning to the capital with the Xunyang Palace; it is also the political achievement of Rong Zhen, Yi Qianqiu, Nanny Song and countless other people in the court.

So far, there has been no sudden attack that caused the failure of Lin Cheng’s Xingzi Lake Buddha...etc.

Think about it carefully, if it weren't for him, the new door god of the people of Xunyang, and if it weren't for [Craftsman] who was so angry, Lin Cheng would have succeeded, and the Xingzi Lake Buddha would have been built long ago, because the rebels in the Tiannan Jianghu would have been unable to stop him.

Thinking of this, I feel much more at ease.

Although it always feels a little wrong, it is quite reasonable.

Ouyang Rong rubbed his bearded face vigorously.

Rong Zhen looked up at the golden Buddha, her small hands tightly grasping the string of white jade Buddhist beads that all glowed with golden luster.

Ouyang Rong heard a slight murmur coming from her somewhat dry and dehydrated pink lips:
"It worked... It really worked... Didn't you come... It was just a trick, and you got scared... Now I have the Big Buddha, what can you use to fight? It will be even more impossible to turn the tables... Hmm... Is it that our formation is too scary, or have I always overestimated you..."

Ouyang Rong turned around and took a look.

The Sun Also Rises.

(End of this chapter)