Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 368, Paying Homage to Buddha at Longquan

Alas, the autumn air is so mournful; the grass and trees wither and decay.

Chu Renfeng fled all the way to the Longshiling area, where he finally made contact with the Huaiyin Army.

The Huaiyin army, numbering around five hundred men, protected Chu Renfeng.

The pursuers from the Zu family arrived almost simultaneously.

The Zu family's troops shouted:

"Chu Renfeng is a traitor who poisoned his own father! Who are you people to dare to protect this man!"

The seven-day mourning period for Chu Yuqi had already passed, but the Zu family still stubbornly kept the news a secret and dared not reveal it to the outside world.

If Chu Renfeng were dead, it would be fine. The overall situation would be settled, and there would be no way to verify the facts. Even if the news were released to the public, it would not matter.

But now that Chu Renfeng is still alive, once the news of the marshal's death is released, the generals stationed around Liaodong will definitely have to lead their troops back, and then the Zu family will be left with no place to be buried.

The generals of the Huaiyin Army did not identify themselves as the Huaiyin Army, but referred to themselves as the army under Prince Teng.

However, his accent still inevitably carried some Wu and Huai dialect elements.

When two sides can't agree on anything, they have nothing more to say to each other and, after failing to reach an agreement, they go straight into battle.

One was the local garrison in Liaodong, which, influenced by the environment, was naturally fierce and good at fighting.

The other was a battle-hardened elite who had fought in numerous campaigns, including against government troops, Tartars, and even on a distant expedition to Siam.

A body full of scars is the best honor. Although land warfare is not their forte, they are still formidable. They are armed to the teeth with elite equipment, wearing iron armor, carrying steel swords and firearms, making them good at both offense and defense.

Bang bang bang!
A series of gunshots, even crisper than those of a musket, rang out, and the Zu family's soldiers fell in rows.

Before the people behind could rush over, another round of gunfire rang out.

"What kind of musket is this? It reloads so quickly!"

The soldiers of the Zu family were somewhat afraid.

However, the Zu family promised a hefty reward for capturing Chu Renfeng, and tempted by the reward, the soldiers still gritted their teeth and charged forward.

Many soldiers were hit by bullets. Although the hit soldiers were not necessarily killed immediately, they were unlikely to be able to fight again.

The lead bullets wrapped in cardboard are not to be underestimated once fired. They leave a bloody hole as soon as they enter the human body. In reality, there are no heroes who become more courageous after being shot. Normal soldiers, even if the bullet is not in a vital area, will collapse instantly due to the intense pain and lose their ability to fight after being shot.

Unfortunately, the current rate of fire of firearms is still average. The Huaiyin Army fired when the enemy was about 80 meters away. At this distance, it would only take about ten seconds for them to charge over. Therefore, they did not have many opportunities to fire and only killed about a hundred people.

Although the Zu family's soldiers were terrified of this new type of musket, they were not yet at the point of being directly defeated. They eventually charged forward and began hand-to-hand combat.

This situation will improve significantly in a few years.

At that time, a doctor named Gatling will invent a new type of machine gun to save more lives because he cannot bear to see the horrors of war.

In close combat, the Huaiyin army still held the advantage. Whether in terms of combat skills or the defensive capabilities of their armor, the Huaiyin army was superior. However, the Zu family had more pursuers, and there was a continuous stream of pursuers coming from behind.

The Huaiyin army knew they couldn't get entangled with the enemy, so they led Chu Renfeng in a fighting retreat.

The pursuers continued their pursuit, even resorting to setting fire to the forest to block the Huaiyin army's escape route, but the Huaiyin army thwarted these attacks step by step.

They fled all the way from Longshiling to Qianshan.

The pursuers had pulled away somewhat, but the Huaiyin army soldiers had run out of food.

Previously, in order to rescue Chu Renfeng, their troops had marched at a rapid pace, so they did not carry much food. In recent days, they have been exhausted from the pursuit and killing, and their food supplies have been severely depleted.

For now, all we can do is...

Generally speaking, the discipline of the Huaiyin Army did not allow them to plunder wealthy households at will.

Even when raiding a house, there should be a justifiable reason, rather than acting recklessly like bandits.

However, if a real predicament were to occur, a commander would not allow his soldiers to starve to death.

Ma Qi threw the earmuffs around his neck to the ground and said:

"At worst, I'll be stripped of my captaincy later. We can't let the brothers starve to death. Xiao Jiu, take your hundred men and come with me to town to find a rich and heartless family to rob!"

Ma Qi is from Gaoyou and has ten siblings.

Xiao Shi and his two older sisters starved to death when they were young.

In order to survive, the eldest and third brothers joined the imperial army and were killed by the Huaiyin army.

Fifth Brother was a notorious hoodlum in the surrounding villages. He was injured in a fight and died from his injuries. He, Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, and Ninth Brother later enlisted in the Huaiyin Army. Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother died in battle one after another, while he and Ninth Brother were trained and gradually rose through the ranks.

In terms of hatred, the eldest and third brothers were actually killed by the Huaiyin army.

But do I hate it?

To be honest, I don't hate anyone; I'm just trying to survive.

The eldest and third brothers served as soldiers for the imperial court, while the fifth brother became a gangster, all in an effort to save money so that his younger brothers could survive.

They later joined the Huaiyin Army because they could receive a salary for joining the army.

If I had to express any hatred, it would only be hatred for this world.

Fortunately, there's the Huaiyin Army and the Prince!
Some of his men were from his hometown, while others were newly recruited soldiers from other places. In the many life-and-death battles, Ma Qi had long regarded these comrades as his own brothers.

Picking up the earmuffs he had just dropped, Ma Qi felt the sharp autumn wind in Liaodong, a climate completely different from that of the Central Plains. He imitated the local merchants' custom and made these earmuffs out of cotton cloth, which could cover his ears and half of his face. This was a personal privilege enjoyed by him as a captain.

Just as he was about to lead his troops out, he saw several other reconnaissance soldiers running excitedly towards him.

"Captain, good news! There's a temple on the mountain ahead, the boss's!"

Boom!
The distant sound of bells echoed through the mountains, signaling that the monks were about to have their vegetarian meal. Ma Qi smiled.

He hurriedly led his men to search in that direction.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, a magnificent and imposing ancient temple stood before Ma Qi.

The gilded plaque, with its flowing, vigorous calligraphy, bears three large characters: "Longquan Temple".

It is said that more than a thousand years ago, when Cao Cao suppressed Buddhism, monks fled to this place. With the wisdom of Buddha, they drove away the tigers and leopards in the mountains and established a Buddhist temple to settle down.

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism flourished, and Longquan Temple also prospered as a result. It has been passed down to this day and is a large-scale temple with countless devout men and women who have donated tens of thousands of acres of land. Five Buddhist temples have been built along the surrounding mountains, with as many as two or three thousand monks and believers. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the area.

Longquan Temple was a large temple with many martial monks. Ma Qi did not want to start a fight, so he kindly persuaded him, saying that he only wanted to ask Buddha for some grain.

The abbot of the temple looked down on Ma Qi and the others because of their tattered clothes and disheveled appearance.

He asked, "Which general commands your troops?"

Ma Qi didn't mention the Huaiyin Army, only saying that he was a subordinate of Wang Ziteng, escorting supplies and provisions to Fengtian, and that he encountered bandits on the way, who stole the supplies and provisions.

Outsiders were unaware of the relationship between Wang Ziteng and Fang Yong. After Wang Ziteng's defeat, he fled to Liaodong and was sent by Chu Yuqi to garrison the desolate Jiuliancheng. He had almost no power. When the monk heard that Ma Qi was Wang Ziteng's subordinate, his attitude became even more arrogant.

Ha, these soldiers can't even beat the mountain bandits, yet they dare to come here to beg for their money?
Their abbot is someone even the prefect has to respect!
The abbot sneered disdainfully and ordered the servants to bring out the vegetable soup and some leftover rice from the dining hall, mix them all in two large buckets, and give them to Ma Qi. As for grain, there wasn't a single grain, and he didn't even let Ma Qi and the others into the door.

Ma Qi's expression turned ugly at a visible speed.

Several soldiers from Huaiyin, exhausted from their long march and battle, were starving. Seeing that this was also food, they couldn't resist going over...

“Don’t eat it!”

Ma Qi called his men to stop.

The subordinate looked at Ma Qi.

Ma Qi said, "I have a way."

Before long, Ma Qi summoned the abbot over again.

The abbot was very impatient.

However, when Ma Qi took out a piece of emerald green and transparent jade pendant, the abbot's stern face immediately broke into a smile.

Ma Qi clasped his hands together and said:
“Master, my brothers are cold and hungry. Please have mercy and let us into this precious temple. We dare not defile the Buddhist meditation rooms, but only ask for a few thatched huts to shelter us for the night and some hot food to fill our stomachs. This jade pendant was once a gift from His Majesty to the Duke of Zhongguo. It is worth ten thousand gold pieces. I originally intended to present it to the General, but today, to express my gratitude for your shelter, I wish to give it to you!”

The abbot stared wide-eyed at the flawless jade pendant, reaching out to grab it, but Ma Qi held on tightly. Seeing this, the abbot had no choice but to open the temple gate and let everyone in.

Because he wanted to keep the jade pendant for himself, he didn't dare to report it to the abbot. He only secretly set aside an area for everyone to rest and gave them hot food and steamed buns. Only then did Ma Qi give the jade pendant to the other party.

The abbot happily took the jade pendant and left.

Actually, it wasn't some imperial treasure, just a jade pendant on Chu Renfeng's body. But it was definitely worth a lot of money. The abbot wasn't a high-ranking official, and his knowledge was limited, so he naturally couldn't tell the difference.

Ma Qi led his soldiers to eat and rest in the area designated by the other side. The place given by the abbot was very small, and the Huaiyin soldiers could only sit on the ground. However, with hot food and steamed buns, it was enough to restore their strength.

As night fell, most of the monks were asleep, but Ma Qi opened his eyes.

The gunpowder was packed down, and the steel blade gleamed in the night...

(End of this chapter)