The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 654: Repaying Kindness with Kindness, How to Repay Kindness
The main hall of the Prince's Mansion, also known as the Yin'an Hall in folk legends, is generally only used by the Prince himself.

So Li Xingtai asked Asen to go with him to the main hall, but in fact Li Xingtai couldn't get in at all.

The northwestern tyrant who followed him in was naturally not in the main hall, but in a majestic temple on the side of the main hall.

The name of the temple is Chongqing Temple, which is the name of the temple that was destroyed in the war here. The only difference is that the deity enshrined in the temple has been changed from Sakyamuni Buddha to Vajra King.

This is a typical White Lotus Sect style. Sakyamuni is not worshipped, and the Three Buddhas are replaced by the Great Compassionate Mother Goddess Avici, who represents the past and created all living beings.

The Vidyaraja King represents the present, brings prosperity to all beings, and points out the way forward.

Maitreya Buddha represents the future, realizing universal peace and harmony, where everyone lives a carefree, joyful and peaceful life.

This is a kind of suture forced out in the extreme environment of the northwest. The combat effectiveness of a monotheistic religion like Tianfang Sect is not to be underestimated. They have a large number of people and their doctrines are very strict, forcing the White Lotus Sect to begin to evolve.

After the doctrine reached this point, the White Lotus Sect was actually rapidly becoming a monotheism, a monotheism that integrated Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

It is obvious that the compassionate mother goddess Avici, who created all living beings in the past, and Maitreya Buddha, who represents the future world peace, will not receive much faith for a long time.

Only the Incarnation of the Bright King, who represents the present, holds power and wealth, and guides believers to light, is the greatest, or even the only, belief in the White Lotus Sect.

This is very consistent with the Chinese belief model. The Chinese don't care about the past, the future, the eternally virgin paradise, or the Noah's Ark at the end of the world.

What the Chinese care about is what functions you, as a god, have. Now that I believe in you, what can you give me in return, even if it is just psychological comfort. A god who only accepts incense and does nothing will be whipped in China.

The image of the Incarnation of the Ming King is very clear. Following me can bring wealth and guidance. The image of the Incarnation of the Ming King is obviously the projection of the real emperor in religion, which can enable the Han people to establish such a connection from the spiritual to the real.

Therefore, the various teachings of the White Lotus Sect can also be interpreted using traditional Chinese culture such as loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness, combining belief in God with loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

Therefore, the current White Lotus Sect is very much like an imperial Han organization in religious garb. It does not worship gods strongly, but its theory of being loyal to the emperor and filial to the motherland is very popular.

Asen raised his head and saw the scenes he had seen in towns such as Tianshui, Weiyuan, Didao, and temples such as Fengsheng Temple in Yao Zhifu.

On both sides of the stone steps leading to the temple's mountain gate were large flags with red backgrounds and black tiles depicting dragons. Under each of these flags stood a valiant man, who looked at the approaching crown prince with admiration and fanaticism.

Asen walked through the crowd with a tingling scalp, trying his best to look dignified as he walked up dozens of stone steps.

At the temple gate, seeing Asen coming, about forty or fifty men who looked like leaders bowed down to him like pushing a golden mountain and overturning a jade pillar, and shouted "Long live Asen" in unison.

While Asen accepted their kowtow, he was also attracted by the couplets on both sides of the mountain gate.

Other temples would definitely have things written about religion, but this Chongqing Temple was clearly written with battle slogans.

The left-wing coalition reads "Han and traitors cannot coexist, we must rectify the original source and protect our Chinese ancestral land."

The right couplet reads, "The golden bowl is still broken, the long sword is unsheathed to slay all the barbarians and evil spirits."

To be honest, it's not very antithetical and the writing quality is very average, but a murderous aura is expressed very strongly between the lines.

So when Asen heard the bell ringing in the temple, he felt as if murderous aura was surging.

When everyone stood up and surrounded Arsen as they walked inside, they passed by a very long wall that was covered with paintings of people in various images.

Asen looked around curiously for a few seconds, and immediately a burly man who looked like he shouldn't be a monk, but was indeed a monk from Chongqing Temple, came over and explained to Asen.

“Thousand Years Old, this is the statue of the eight hundred demon-slaying Arhats of our White Lotus Sect.

Among them, the one sitting on the holy white lotus throne is the one who has died in battle and ascended to heaven, and is now under the throne of the Incarnate King, and has achieved the status of Arhat.

Those who are standing on the auspicious clouds are the heroes who are still serving the country.

Those wearing red scarves are those who can and are willing to continue to serve their country, but they are currently in the mortal world, with their wives and children by their side, enjoying the great blessings of the world.

Those wearing cassocks are those who have entered the sect like me, but the White Lotus Sect does not advocate detachment from the mundane world, so as long as Your Majesty summons us, we will immediately return to serve you."

Only then did Asen realize that although the characters in the portraits had different mentalities, their characteristics were indeed divided into these four categories. Moreover, there were not only portraits, but also lines of small characters below as annotations.

Asen looked at the first person in the line who was stepping on the auspicious cloud, and it was his acquaintance, General Dong Jinfeng of the Imperial Han Dynasty.

Then the second one, also standing on auspicious clouds, was wearing the Zhenjun's foam-nailed armor, a kind of cloth-covered iron armor that reduced the large number of embedded iron plates, making it lighter in weight.

This thing can keep you warm and is very suitable for the northwest climate. It also provides some protection against stray arrows and lead bullets that occasionally fly over from a few hundred meters away.

Therefore, it is very popular among the military forces in the northwest, northeast, and even the entire north, and is a type of standard military uniform.

The man wearing foam-studded armor is tall and slender, with his eyes slightly narrowed. He is holding a new-style 1788-style rifle and is kneeling on one knee, aiming into the distance.

Beneath his auspicious clouds, countless human heads, symbolizing trophies of war, were piled up to form a small Jingguan.

Mao Gongxiangxin was a native of Gutang Village, Hefeng Township, Xiangyin County, Hunan Province, Huguang Province. He was good at archery and was called Little Li Guang in the army. In the fourth year of Guangzhong, he volunteered and fought in more than 20 battles, big and small, and always won the first merit in every battle.

In the seventh year of Guangzhong, war broke out in Xining. Mao Gong made many outstanding achievements. In three years, he shot and killed more than 170 people including the Ma brothers, the brave generals of the rebel army.

Among them, the leader of the Ma family was famous for his good archery and he stirred up the rebellious army. After only one fight, Mao Gong killed him, which shows how good he was at archery.

Praise: Those who are good at fighting may not have great achievements, but those who are good at shooting will definitely have great achievements.

Mao Gong slew more than a thousand demons and monsters, relying on the power of the Ming Wang for support and the help of his fellow souls. He is truly a great hero, with immeasurable merits. He will enjoy a hundred years of wealth and honor in the human world, and will be ranked under the Ming Wang throne among the immortals.

"So this is Mao Xiangsheng, the Little Li Guang. I've heard of him even in the capital. I heard he brought back the thirty-six Mao clansmen and has been stationed in Manas, Urumqi Prefecture, for four years. He's lifted the siege of Kara Usu three times, killing countless enemies. He's truly a brave general of the Han Dynasty!"

Asen said with emotion that after the battle of Xining, Mao Xiangsheng rejected the request of Pudu Cihang Zunfo to let him stay in Xining, and recruited more than 3,000 people from the Huiliang Ma brothers, whose original name was Ma Zongshan, and changed their surname to Mao. Four years ago, he went to Manas of the Junggar and served as the garrison commander of Manas.

This man was extremely famous in the Northwest Army. Asen often heard his father and various dignitaries mention him. The Buddha Cihang Pudu also often sighed because he could not recruit him.

"Your Highness, as you know, Mao Zhenshou has a brother, Mao Xiangxin. During the Aceh Rebellion in 12 AD, he followed the army south and made many contributions. He later volunteered to explore Zhanzhou, but he did not return for two years and his whereabouts are unknown."

Mao Xiangsheng and Mao Xiangxin are actually not brothers, and they are even almost five generations apart. Although they are from the same village, they are only brothers in their great-grandfather's generation.

However, after they became famous, everyone was willing to believe that these two outstanding brothers were real brothers.

"He is truly a loyal, righteous man!" Asen was filled with awe. Mao Xiangsheng gave up the conditions for living a good life in Xining and resolutely went west to recover the Western Regions for the country.

Mao Xiangxin was already a colonel, but he still volunteered to explore Zhanzhou. Even the word "loyal" is not enough to describe him.

"Such loyal ministers and righteous men are blessed by heaven. They will surely turn misfortune into fortune and make further achievements. Who knows, they may have already returned to Southeast Asia by now."

Asen said a few blessings, then walked forward a few steps and stopped in front of a portrait.

The portrait shows a giant with standing hair and beard, like an angry lion. He is already sitting on the holy white lotus throne, but still maintains a fighting posture.

Ugly demons were climbing up in front, behind, and on both sides of the throne. The angry lion-like strong man was holding a sword and was fighting against a large number of enemies. He was already covered in blood and seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Asen looked up and saw, at the highest level of the mural, the Avalokitesvara King was urging the Vajra Pestle to fly towards the lion-like man. The holy white light emitted by the Pestle seemed to be healing the man's wounds. The man's outstretched hand was almost grasping the Pestle. It seemed that as long as the Avalokitesvara King had the divine weapon in hand, the evil demon would be easily destroyed.

Dong Gong Shiquan was from Ershiligou, Huan County, Qingyang Prefecture, Gansu Province. His family had practiced martial arts for generations and was skilled in archery and horsemanship. He had some assets and was respected by the people, so he established a militia to protect his hometown.

In the seventh year, the bandit Ma Hualong started an uprising in Wuzhong, Ningxia Prefecture. Many people responded to it, and the government was caught off guard. By March, the uprising had spread like wildfire. At the end of the seventh year, a bandit army of 100,000 men approached Guyuan.

At that time, Mr. Dong was ordered to defend the city. Unfortunately, there were only 700 militiamen in the city. Although they repelled the enemy army several times and killed and wounded more than a thousand people, they were ultimately unable to defend the city.

Dong Gong knew that this was not possible, so he surrendered to paralyze the bandit leader and waited for him to relax a little. Then he ordered his younger brother Shiyou to escort his old mother, fellow villagers and the people in the city to break out of the siege and enter Zhenyuan from Yangjin River. As a result, thousands of people survived.

The bandits were unable to catch up with him and took their anger out on the defenders in the city. They attacked fiercely for ten days until the city was broken and all the soldiers were killed. Mr. Dong was also captured by the bandits.

The bandits tempted the Duke with high positions and generous salaries, but he remained unmoved. They then threatened him with death, but he laughed and said: I am a man of the Han family. How can I surrender to you shameless people who do not know their ancestors and regard the barbarians of the Arab world as their fathers!
The bandit leader Ma Hualong was furious and killed Dong Gong in the north of Guyuan City.

Alas, the land of the northwest was raging with evil flames, the ground was filled with foul smells, and wherever beasts' hooves passed, villages turned into seas of fire, and the people were slaughtered. Fortunately, thanks to Mr. Dong, the people of Guyuan were able to escape. He is truly a ray of light in the hell of fire, and will be remembered by future generations!

Asen slowly closed his eyes, and in his mind he seemed to feel the scenes outside Guyuan City. The disciples organized themselves into a sect and suddenly launched an attack. The army of Dayu was blocked outside Tongguan and could not be rescued.

I wonder how desperate the victims must have felt at that time.

In the sad atmosphere, Asen took off the water bag he was carrying and poured a pot of clear water in front of the mural.

"Come and drink, brave man! You are indeed a worthy Han man. Go with peace of mind. I will report this to the emperor and have a temple built in your memory. Your wife and children will be raised by the Great Yu Dynasty."

After saying that, Asen stood up and looked at Li Xingtai behind him with red eyes, "Where is that traitor Ma Hualong?"

Li Xingtai frowned and suddenly took off his sword from his waist, which scared the group of Jinyiwei masters so much that they broke out in sweat.

"Your Highness, this is my sword. In the ninth year of Guangzhong (1784), I participated in the Battle of Jinjibao, where the traitor's entire family was captured.

I personally smashed the traitor Ma Hualong's ten fingers and ten toes with an iron hammer, and then used this sword to cut off the limbs of his old mother, wives, concubines, three sons, three daughters, and six grandchildren, a total of seventeen people, in front of the traitor, and left them to die wailing.

The rebels were tortured to death with more than 200 cuts by a famous executioner from Lanzhou City. The eight branches and 49 households of the Ma family in Jinjibao, totaling 324 people, were all buried alive.

This sword drank the blood of the traitor's entire family and has never been used since then. Today, Your Highness is here, and I would like to present this sword to Your Highness."

"Good, that's great, it's really great. Repay evil with kindness, how can you repay kindness? That's the way it should be!"

Although Asen knew that relying solely on killing to solve the problem was not the best way, he still felt very comfortable.

After shouting, Asen took the sword and said to the people watching him, "I will take this sword back to Nanjing and place it in the Taimiao!"

When Li Xingtai and the others heard this, they cheered like thunder and waves.

What are those things placed in the Taimiao? They are used to store the heads of powerful enemies, golden seals and other items captured after the victory of a war of annihilation. They are to be offered as blood sacrifices to the ancestors of the Mo family of the Dayu Dynasty.

Then Asen said to the guards of the Jinyiwei Palace Front Division beside him, "Send the imperial court's calligraphy and painting officials here and have them copy the heroes depicted on the wall. The scroll will be treasured in the inner court."

After gaining another wave of goodwill, Asen walked towards the main hall of the temple. He first offered incense to the Vajra King who was sculpted exactly in the image of his father, Emperor Mozibu, and then went to the side hall.

At this time, Li Xingtai introduced these heroes from the Northwest to Asen. The most eye-catching one among them was a brave general who was about 25 or 26 years old.

This man has a slender jaw and a tiger beard, and his body is full of muscles. He walks like a tiger and is as still as a pine tree. He is very elegant.

Li Xingtai saw Asen looking around frequently and laughed loudly, saying, "Your Highness is indeed a noble and has a very good eye. This man is Luo Siju, the commander of the Left Guard of the Prince of Ningxia, and a native of Puguang Temple in Dongxiang, Sichuan."

Asen stood up in surprise. "So you are Luo Siju. I heard that when you pacified Lingzhou, your 5,500 men faced over 50,000 bandits. You fought ten to one, and won three battles in a row. You killed so many that the bandits dared not even look at you. You are truly a brave general!"

Luo Siju was a very famous person, not only at that time, but also in history.

He was a great contributor to the suppression of the White Lotus Rebellion in Sichuan and Hubei, and a rare and chivalrous general in late Qing Dynasty China.

In history, Luo Siju was framed by his uncle and lost his family property. At the age of fourteen, he wandered around, robbing the rich and giving to the poor.

Wherever he went, he would find out who the worst local tyrant and bully was in the city. After finding out, he would kill him that night and distribute his property to the surrounding people.

On the way, Luo Siju married a wife named Huang, but she soon fell seriously ill and urgently needed money for treatment. His wife then took the initiative to sell herself to a local wealthy family as a concubine and used the money to pay for Luo Siju's treatment.

A few years later, Luo Siju became successful and famous. After making inquiries from many sources, he redeemed his wife from the rich family and treated her as always. The two were as loving as before.

Therefore, in history, Luo Siju had a very good reputation in eastern Sichuan, and Mo Zibu even listened to stories about Luo Siju from his parents and grandparents when he was a child.

Asen took Luo Siju's hand and asked him to sit on his left. He even thought about recruiting him, but gave up after thinking about it.

The reason why Luo Siju came to the northwest was because he was a fellow villager of Ningxia Prince Li Xianwen. Li Xianwen had set out from Dongxiang Puguang Temple (Xuanhan County, Dazhou, Sichuan) to Southeast Asia.

His powerful generals, including Huang Zhongtong, the governor of the two southern regions (Guangnan and Rinnan) of the Dayu Dynasty, and Liang Wenying, the governor of Jiaqing, were both from Dongxiang County.

"Your Highness, I would like to introduce you to a hero." Li Xingtai said as he pulled over a tall and strong man who gave off a very calm feeling.

"This is Qi Lin, the general of Suzhou, and the abbot of the Shengguang Temple of the White Lotus Sect of Suzhou. The unrest in the northwest was quelled thanks to General Qi's hard work and contributions. He is willing to accompany his entire clan on this western expedition."

Asen immediately knew who this person was. He was the former core leader of the Hunyuan Sect in Xiangyang and the head of the largest branch of the White Lotus Sect. He was brave and resourceful and could truly be called a hero.

Moreover, he is willing to take his entire clan to the Western Regions or even to Hezhong, which makes him even more likable.

Asen laughed loudly and took Qi Lin's hand, letting him sit on his right.

"General Qi is loyal to his country. I will report this to my father, the emperor, for his commendation. I think if he were to reach Hezhong, he could become not only a prefect but also a duke."

"I thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the praise. I will do my utmost to serve the king and avenge the victims of the Northwest."

In fact, at this point, Qi Linlai's purpose had been achieved. With his status, the emperor allowed him to be the local emperor in Suzhou for six years, which was already a great favor.

If you still think it is not enough, I am afraid the future will be worrying. Now it seems that it is indeed the case.

However, it was not without gain. At least one thing was made clear, that is, the imperial court would fully support him, because they had prepared the title of a vassal prince for him.

Only with the emperor's support would the White Lotus Sect dare to rush westward.

Because nowadays wars are fought with gunpowder, lead bullets and artillery shells. Without these, how can these 300,000 people go to a place with 5 or 6 million people in Hezhong and dominate the world?

Sure enough, after everyone was seated, Asen announced the three-stage battle plan formulated by the court, giving great confidence to everyone willing to march west.

Li Xingtai's face was filled with excitement. On behalf of the others, he said to Asen, "If the imperial court can allocate a large amount of supplies such as gunpowder and lead bullets, we, the three hundred thousand men, are willing to sacrifice our lives to return our tribe and restore order to Hezhong."

Asen stood up and said, "The Hezhong Sect has harmed our Han family for hundreds of years. This hatred is as deep as the sky and the sea. Your Majesty and the Prime Minister of the court will definitely avenge this.

Not only will the imperial court do its utmost to provide for the baggage, but His Majesty has also ordered the Fuxing Company to form a special support bank to provide you with interest-free loans for future suppression efforts. So go for it!

(End of this chapter)