Chapter 45: Life and Death Bet Better Under Horse Hoof (4)

Zheng Yunming smiled happily. He liked this kind and funny old man very much. At least he did not look humble at the officials like the abbot of other temples. He said, "I am wrong. What Buddhas and Taoist saints are the last refuge for the people when they are in chaos. They are not only physical but also in their hearts."

"Look at it." Zen Master Huitong also laughed: "The official is indeed a person with wisdom. After he defeated the Mongolians and became famous, why not consider entering the Taoist temple at Baishui Temple."

Zheng Yunming smiled and turned the topic away: "Now there are many refugees crowded in Baishui Temple. If there is any shortage of food and application materials, please send someone to the Deputy Chief Office to inform us. If you can help, we will definitely help."

Huitong sang the Buddha's name again and said with a bitter face: "Let Commander Yang return the bronze bell from this temple first."

Zheng Yunming laughed and said, "I said why did the bronze bell on the bell tower come so fast? It looks familiar. It turns out that it is really the bell in Baishui Temple?"

Huitong said, "It's that one bite. Commander Yang said that the generals and commanders from all over the country are rushing to buy cooked iron and fine copper recently, saying that it is to build new weapons according to your pattern. The copper he collected on the market cannot build a big bell at all. He brought a team of soldiers to pack the big bells in our temple and ran away. He was just for me to go out at that time, otherwise I would have stopped him from doing such a funny thing. Alas, now the temple can only ring the chung notification when it is open to class. Although it is not a big deal, I always feel awkward."

Zheng Yunming smiled and said, "The war is imminent. The bell tower needs to be used to issue orders to order the people in the city. At that time, the monks in the temple will also act according to the bell's orders. Let's lend the big bell to the government for a while. When the Mongolians are defeated, I will come to Baishui Temple to fulfill my wishes in person and offer a new big bell to the temple."

After saying goodbye to Huitong, Zheng Yunming continued to move forward. The road was blocked by a team of vehicles escorting weapons to the city wall. The escorted officer saw that the deputy commander-in-chief of Jing and E arrived and greeted him.

Zheng Yunming turned over and got off the horse, reached out to remove a corner of the felt covered on the cart, revealing the shiny dark yellow body of the copper general, and carved with beautiful flying cloud patterns on it.

The officer reported to Zheng Yunming: "We are all subordinates of the Zhongyi Army. We transported these four bronze generals to the Ximen City Tower. The Commander Office also allocated 100 muskets for us to use for single people. Thank you for your contributions to this."

Zheng Yunming looked at these young soldiers with his hands behind his back. They were all recruits recruited from the local area when Zhao Kui established the Zhongyi Army. Standing in front of the famous heroes of Xiangyang City, he seemed a little helpless.

"The war is about to begin," Zheng Yunming said in a relaxed tone: "This time the Hu people are attacking with all their strength! I heard that there are 700,000 people coming to Xiangyang this time. Are you afraid?"

A young soldier straightened his chest. The 45th chapter of the life and death bet won under the horse's hooves (4)

Lian said: "We are not afraid of having Marshal Zhao and General Zheng in Xiangyang City!"

Zheng Yunming was amused and said, "I am not much older than you in terms of age. Why do I not fear the Mongols if I have it? If I ask me, it is inevitable that everyone is afraid of it. The Hu people are so fierce and brave. Killing people is like eating. Whoever is not afraid of seeing them? To be honest, I am also afraid."

He smiled and said, "But although I am afraid, I understand the weaknesses of the Hu people. It took many years for them to attack Zhongdu and Fengxiang Mansion. I dare to assure you that today's Xiangyang City is stronger than Zhongdu of the Jin people. It is a fool to think that the Mongols want to seize Xiangyang easily. In addition, the Jin people can only use iron shells cast by copper and iron to explode and shake the sky thunder. It is a great achievement to be able to penetrate cowhide leather and armor. What do you have?"

He patted the bronze general's cannon: "The firearms we have are ten times more than the Jin people. If the Mongols dare to invade Xiangyang City, let them know what the anger of the Song Dynasty means!"

He paused and said, "Of course, this premise is that you can overcome your timidity and use the firearm in your hands to teach those arrogant barbarians a lesson. Can you do it?"

Everyone shouted: "Please rest assured, General, we will definitely fight to the death with the Hulu!"

Zheng Yunming shouted loudly: "Always remember, Commander Zhao and I are behind you and watch you!" He patted the officers of the custodian on the shoulders and signaled him to continue moving forward.

Along the way, the Wushen Temple was approaching. The messengers had already informed the generals of all sizes and sizes in the camp in advance and brought them to the Wushen Temple in advance to gather, lined up to welcome the arrival of the generals.

Zheng Yunming turned over and dismounted the horse, asked Han Feng to take away the horse trotter and looked up at this very large temple. This Wushen Temple was rebuilt after Yue Fei recovered it and demolished the already dilapidated Wushen Temple in Xiangyang. Yue Fei attached great importance to the education and influence of his subordinates and soldiers. He was very attentive when building this Wushen Temple, hoping that the soldiers would learn from the wisdom of their predecessors and sages and become elite soldiers with both wisdom and courage.

But more than 150 years later, the temple is a little old and dilapidated. Even the threshold in front of the gate is stripped of patent skin, revealing the true color of elm wood in the mottled spots.

Zheng Yunming frowned: "The war is about to start, why is it still so deserted here? Haven't the soldiers come to worship God and ask for peace?"

Yang Xuan shook his head and smiled: "What you are talking about is the old Huangsheng. Who is still keen to worship this old man Jiang now? It is popular to worship Guan Sheng Emperor. You go to Guandi Temple in Dongcheng to see the incense there. Now, the incense is very popular. Now the officials are squeezing in the worship, and even the soldiers are still unable to squeeze in."

Since the middle of the Song Dynasty, the worship of Guan Yu gradually deviated from the simple commendation of Guan and Zhang's force, and became a symbol of people's praise of loyalty and righteousness. This is probably because the folk economy began to become very active in the Song Dynasty, the influence of civil society increased, and the pandemic of novels with the Three Kingdoms as the theme was very popular. The 45th chapter of the gamble of life and death was better than the horse's hoof (4)

A big relationship. Guan Yu, one of the seventy-two sons of the Wu Temple, gradually surpassed the ten famous military strategists above him, and finally surpassed Zhang Liang and Jiang Taigong, becoming the main idol of the people of the Song Dynasty's belief in force.

Zheng Yunming looked at the dusty plaque hanging high on the gate and said, "Since that's the case, let's pay a good worship to Mr. Jiang Ziya and let him see that not everyone in Xiangyang City advocates martial arts, but also people who advocate military tactics."

As he said that, he led everyone into the Wu Temple. When the temple learned that the deputy governor of Jing and E was coming to visit, he cleaned the hall early. Zheng Yunming led the generals to burn incense and pray, and looked at the tablets of Jiang Ziya and Zhang Liang in the hall, and suddenly felt something in his heart.

He turned around and said to everyone: "Lu Shang assisted King Wu to attack Zhou of Shang and founded the foundation of the Zhou Dynasty for 800 years. Zhang Liang carefully planned for Emperor Gaozu and flourished the Liu family for four hundred years. Therefore, later generations admired him, but he was able to enter the Wu Temple to become a military saint. Lu Shang has the "Six Strategies" and Zhang Liang has the "Three Strategies", which is the most important thing."

Later generations praised Sun Tzu's Art of War, but at this time people even used "Three Strategies of Huangshi Gong" and "Six Strategies of Taigong" as basic textbooks for military strategy. Wang Deng said: "It is true, just like Sun Tzu wrote the thirteen chapters of the art of war, Sima Zi had Sima Dharma passed down from generation to generation, and Zhuge Wuhou had twenty-four chapters of the art of war. Although these people's achievements were extraordinary, their works were circulated in later generations, so they were worthy of the rightful reputation of the Wu Temple."

Zheng Yunming said: "But have you ever thought about it? All these works are written for those who want to serve as generals. For example, Professor Li Weigong Hou Junji's military strategy was also after Hou Junji led tens of thousands of people. No one has ever written a book to the soldiers and schoolmen at the bottom to tell them how to fight."

Ge Huai shouted loudly: "The soldiers who are in the army cannot recognize the words they have to fight. Even if you write a book to teach them how to fight, they will not understand it. Besides, the soldiers who are in the army rely on their strength to have the ability to shoot arrows and get a bowl of rice. What's the matter if you have to bury them in the pile of books every day like all scholars?"

Zheng Yunming said: "Boss Ge doesn't have to regard books as something that is so far away from them. Books are just tools to carry the truth. Since they can record the words of saints and promote literary principles, they can naturally record military principles and spread martial arts. Now not only soldiers, but also generals at the unified level are always proud of being illiterate. This is not something worth boasting about. Whether it is by example or by superiors, a farmer who has no knowledge of military affairs will experience many twists and turns to grow into a veteran who can move forward and retreat freely on the battlefield. Everyone has had such an experience, and I don't need to explain in detail. If they join the army, they can get regular and systematic soldiers education, such as a book that teaches them how to become qualified soldiers...."

Wang Deng reminded: "They are illiterate and it will be in vain to get the book."

Zheng Yunming said, "They can't read, you all know how to read." He pointed to the generals of his subordinates, "We are different from the previous army. If the bet on life and death in the 45th chapter is better than the horse's hoof (4)

If you don’t take advantage of the fact that generals and officials are scholars, wouldn’t you reveal your own shortcomings? Books, I, Wang Jingsong and Yang Chunfu will be responsible for writing. After writing, they will be distributed to the various battalions. You, as well as the marching professors and scholars in the barracks, are responsible for reading to the soldiers.”

He turned to Yang Xuan and Wang Deng: "You two are fine, right?"

Yang Xuan turned his head and looked at Wang Deng: "Of course it's okay, but when the two of us have different opinions, who has the final say?"

Zheng Yunming said, "There is no need to argue, I have the final say." He paused and said, "I will combine the opinions of the old soldiers and generals with the military officers to make a comprehensive judgment on the differences."

Wang Deng finally couldn't hold back the problem at this time. He asked: "Mr. Bai has disappeared since the morning. Where did he go to such an important moment?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Zheng Yunming said: "In the morning, he took a team of Beiwei Army and a team of civilians out of the city, saying that he wanted to do a secret matter related to the fate of Xiangyang. I don't even know what the matter was."
Chapter completed!