Di Ming

Chapter 59 Flower Buddha
"Japanese pirates!" the young girl from the Zhuang family shouted angrily, her almond-shaped eyes wide. "My father is General Cen Dashou, a military strategist!"

"Release me immediately! Otherwise, my father will definitely report to the imperial court and have you all wiped out!"

Her Mandarin was a little broken, but still fluent, and Matsuura Tadanobu understood her.

This beautiful young woman from the Ming Dynasty, who had just been sold to him by a trafficker from Guangdong, possessed a wild and athletic beauty that other girls lacked, and Matsuura Tadanobu intended to enjoy her to his heart's content.

But suddenly he hesitated.

Such a wild and bold beauty is rare in the divine realm.

Since I like her so much, I'm sure Lord Kanpaku will like her too. If I could take her back and present her to Hideyoshi myself…

Thinking about this, Matsuura Tadanobu was in a dilemma. He wanted to use her to please Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but he also couldn't wait to enjoy her for himself.

"Your father is Cen Dashou?" Matsuura Tadanobu felt that the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it mentioned by a Ming Dynasty merchant.

The young girl from the servant family wanted nothing more than to devour Matsuura Tadanobu. She knew that she must not be weak at this moment; only by being as tough as possible could she have a chance of survival.

"My great-grandmother, Lady Wa, killed many Japanese pirates! My father has tens of thousands of elite soldiers! Let me go back!"

Matsuura Tadanobu's expression changed slightly. "Your great-grandmother was Lady Wa? A chieftain of the Cen clan of Tianzhou?"

He never expected that he would buy a woman from the Cen clan, the most powerful chieftain in Guangxi.

That was a true local tyrant.

Matsuura Tadanobu, while occupying Zhoushan, also had an important task: to collect intelligence on southern Ming China and send it to Osaka Prefecture regularly.

In fact, Japan had been systematically gathering intelligence on the Ming Dynasty, and even understanding the power distribution of the southwestern chieftains, the Mongol tribes, and the Jurchen tribes.

Extremely cunning.

The Japanese high-ranking officials had a far greater understanding of the Ming Dynasty than the Ming Dynasty high-ranking officials had of Japan.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi wanted to annex the Ming Dynasty, move the emperor to Beijing, and establish himself in Ningbo. Although this was extremely arrogant, it was because he had seen the Ming Dynasty's corruption and weakness that his ambition swelled to an extreme.

Matsuura Tadanobu has been collecting intelligence on various aspects of the Ming Dynasty for the past few years, so how could he not know about the Cen clan, the most powerful chieftain in Guangxi?

Moreover, the Cen family had a feud with the Japanese pirates.

Back then, Lady Cen, also known as Lady Wa, led 10,000 wolf soldiers and served as a general in the fight against Japanese pirates. She made outstanding military achievements and was rewarded by imperial decree from the Jiajing Emperor.

Before Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou trained troops to resist Japanese pirates, the main force of the Ming army in resisting Japanese pirates was the Guangxi Wolf Army, and the commander-in-chief was Lady Wa.

Two female generals in the Ming Dynasty were wives of chieftains: Qin Liangyu and Lady Wa.

Upon learning of the relationship between the young girl and Madam Wa, Matsuura Tadanobu's face turned cold, and he wished he could immediately draw his sword, disembowel the girl, and skin her alive.

Many samurai of the Matsuura family and the Hirado Domain died at the hands of Lady Wa.

This included his elder brother and uncle.

The more this was the case, the more Matsuura Tadanobu wanted to offer her to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

Because her value has increased.

“Very well, the Regent Prince will be even more interested in you.” Matsuura Tadanobu sneered. “I will offer you to the Regent Prince, and you can just wait for his favor.”

Although he had never met Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he had long heard that the regent was a womanizer.

But Guan Bai was a man of the world, a great hero. No matter how much he liked this woman from the Cen family, he only treated her as a toy.

When the young woman from the Cen family heard Matsuura Tadanobu's words and saw that he did not intend to violate her immediately, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She silently prayed to the god Buluotu, hoping that he would protect her.

According to the Zhuang people, if the ancestral god Buluotu (Fuxi) wanted to help someone in distress, he would send the war god Bubo to the mortal realm to become their savior.

If her harsh words had any effect, it was that they dispelled Matsuura Tadanobu's intention to humiliate her and bought him a delaying tactic.

At this moment, the young woman from the Cen family could only place her hopes on the mysterious Buluotu, praying that the ancestral god would send the war god Bubo to rescue her from the clutches of the Thunder God.

She suddenly remembered that today was the 14th of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival for the Zhuang people. Tomorrow was the Ghost Festival for the Han people. What would happen in the next two days?

……

Yangshan Island is located north of the Zhoushan Archipelago.

Yangshan Island is only five miles in circumference. It is a small island in the archipelago, but it is very rich in fish and shrimp. It was a village during the Song Dynasty.

Since the Ming Dynasty abandoned the island, coupled with the invasion of Japanese pirates, only a dozen or so fishermen remained on the island, and they even became slaves to the pirates, working like cattle and horses for them.

Today, Yangshan Island is inhabited by a gang of pirates, a little over a hundred outlaws, almost all of whom are monks.

The leader of this pirate gang, whose Buddhist name was Shi Yongzhen, was originally the abbot of a large temple in Haiyan County. He owned fields so vast that crows could not fly over them, and gold and silver so abundant that thieves could not move them.

That large temple not only owned properties spanning multiple prefectures and counties, but also had a large number of tenants and servants, making it one of the wealthiest families in Haiyan County.

Abbot Shi Yongzhen, who constantly chants Amitabha Buddha and speaks of compassion, has no bodhisattva heart whatsoever. He is nothing but a demon king in a monk's robe.

He had a wide circle of friends, including high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, gentry, military generals, leaders of various underworld organizations, and even pirates and Japanese pirates.

In order to amass wealth, he also used ships for smuggling, mostly dealing in prohibited goods.

This monk secretly kept a group of beautiful wives and concubines, fathered a bunch of "Buddha children," and indulged in a life of extravagance and debauchery, earning him the nickname "Flowery Buddha" from the common people.

He was not ashamed; on the contrary, he gladly accepted it, considering it an elegant title. He said that to transcend worldly tribulations, one must overcome the great obstacles of wealth and lust.

To overcome the obstacles of wealth and lust, one must taint oneself with wealth and lust, so that one's heart may grow like a lotus, emerging from the mud unsullied, and thus achieving a state of purity.

Logically speaking, he was powerful and influential, a ninth-rank official in charge of Buddhist affairs, a genuine official appointed by the imperial court. Who could touch him? However, many years ago, his collusion with Japanese pirates was exposed. His concubines reported that he was harboring Japanese pirates in the temple. Qi Jiguang sent troops to surround and suppress him, and he had no choice but to flee to sea in a hurry, thus escaping with his life.

A vast fortune vanished into thin air.

So he simply led a group of wicked disciples and became pirates.

After occupying Yangshan Island, he simply built a temple, named Huafo Temple.

His gang was known as the Flower Buddha Thieves.

Inside the "Flower Buddha Temple" at this moment, the sixty-year-old Flower Buddha is cutting off the head of a sea turtle, stuffing the headless neck into his mouth, and greedily sucking the turtle's blood.

Turtle blood is a great tonic, and he can't live without it. Especially since he hasn't yet broken free from lust and needs to perform rituals for women every day, he naturally needs to constantly kill turtles and drink their blood.

As for killing... how could that be? He was performing a ritual to help the deceased pass on.

Amitabha.

After the master finished drinking the turtle blood in one gulp, a bald disciple with a face full of scars stepped forward, put his hands together, and reported:
"Your Majesty, your disciples are ready. The daggers used to subdue demons are all sharpened. We beseech Your Majesty's decree."

Shi Yongzhen wiped the turtle blood from his mouth, and his seemingly kind and gentle old face was now contorted with murderous intent.

"Amitabha Buddha, I hereby convey my decree: Do not fear the Fire Monk, but bravely charge forward to subdue the demons and eliminate evil."

The disciple replied, "I humbly obey your decree!"

It turned out that he had already received a letter from his old friend, Matsuura Tadanobu, to take down Ding Huogen on Daishan Island together.

The date for action is set for... the night of July 15th!
Today is the Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell are wide open. It's a good time to perform a ritual to send Ding Huogen and all of them to the gates of hell.

Soon, a hundred bald pirates with formidable fighting skills donned cotton armor, carried daggers and muskets, and set sail on a two-masted ship, carrying several barrels of gunpowder.

On the large ship, there were also two cannons, their prized possessions.

Accompanying them were dozens of slaves who served as sailors.

The plan was to meet up with Matsuura Tadanobu on Qushan Island, near Daishan Island, after dark, and then launch a surprise attack on Daishan Island under the moonlight!

If successful, it will be a windfall.

After the hundred bandits left by boat, only a few dozen sons remained at the Flower Buddha Temple to guard the place, and more importantly, to protect their "Buddha Father".

Unbeknownst to Hua Fo Shi Yongzhen, just as his main force embarked on their journey, a medium-sized sand barge appeared on the sea several miles away.

A majestic, silver-haired old man stood on the deck, observing his lair.

It was Qi Shaobao who had caused him to flee to sea back then.

"This is Yangshan Island," Qi Jiguang said calmly to Zhu Yin beside him. "I once stayed on this island when I was fighting against the Japanese pirates."

Qi Jiguang fought against Japanese pirates in Zhejiang for many years and had a thorough understanding of the geography and island distribution along the southeast coast.

He was particularly familiar with the Zhoushan Islands.

Zhu Yin, who was well-versed in history, also knew that his adoptive father had fought against Japanese pirates in the Zhoushan area for many years.

During the most severe period, tens of thousands of Japanese pirates occupied the Zhoushan Islands alone, with fleets as numerous as clouds and warships as high as mountains.

However, the godfather's expression seemed very calm, without any emotion of "recalling the glorious past".

Zhu Yin said, "Father, the human traffickers said that Yangshan Island has been occupied by Hua Fo, and there are more than a hundred bald pirates."

Qi Jiguang nodded. "Speaking of this Flower Buddha, I am his enemy. If it weren't for me, he would still be a wealthy man in Haiyan County, enjoying a life of luxury."

"This person's crimes are heinous and deserve to be punished even by death a hundred times, and even being slowly sliced ​​to death would not be enough to atone for them."

"Hmph, he used to own tens of thousands of acres of temple property, dozens of salt wells, more than a thousand salt workers, and several thousand tenant farmers in Haiyan County."

"He was a monk, yet he had a large number of concubines and fathered dozens of sons."

“One of his concubines accused him of colluding with the Japanese pirates and that the temple was harboring a group of Japanese pirates. I sent troops to wipe them out, but he simply fled to the sea.”

Zhu Yin asked, puzzled, "Why dozens of sons, and not dozens of children?"

Qi Jiguang chuckled, "Because he said that if a woman is born, she will be raped, so he doesn't have any daughters. If a concubine gives birth to a daughter, she will drown her immediately."

"Therefore, he had dozens of sons but no daughters. All his sons shaved their heads and were called Buddhist disciples."

"The reason his concubines reported him for colluding with the Japanese was to avenge the murder of his daughter."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin's small face was filled with murderous intent.

This flower Buddha is truly poisonous.

"Huh?" Qi Jiguang's expression suddenly changed. "There aren't any large ships near this island. What does that mean?"

His tone carried a hint of scrutiny.

Zhu Yin immediately understood: "The absence of large ships near the island means that most of Hua Fo's men have left by boat and have not yet returned."

Qi Jiguang smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, that's exactly the point."

"Since most of Hua Fo's men aren't on the island, let's just go ashore and wipe them out!"

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Father is truly a peerless hero, with boundless heroic spirit!"

"go!"

(End of this chapter)