The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 324

Outside the posthouse of the Guishuang envoy, the posthouse was surrounded by a triple encirclement. The innermost layer was Guishuang's guard group. More than 100 Guishuang warriors surrounded Ma Ming's room in the middle. They held weapons and looked vigilant. Some still had tears in their eyes.Cobrado, the deputy envoy, is also a monk and a direct disciple of Ma Ming. Right now, he is standing in the porch with his hands clasped together, with tears in his eyes, looking at the walking chariot of King Yue who is walking fast.

Outside the Guishuang warriors, there are guards arranged by Aksum King Warag. These guards were originally arranged to be responsible for the peripheral security of the Guishuang envoys. Usually, they are a little lazy because they have nothing to do, but now, they are all in charge of the guards. His eyes were wide open, and he raised his attention to the highest level, for fear of losing his head if he was not careful.

The outermost layer is the Yue Kingdom Guards just arranged by Xia Hourong. There are about 2000 people, surrounding all the Axum guards and Guishuang warriors, and isolating them from all kinds of people who came to inquire about the news.Ding Feng personally led the team and strictly ordered all the soldiers not to enter or leave without the king's permission.In order to prevent misunderstanding, Xia Hourong arranged for interpreters who are proficient in various languages ​​to keep shouting, and at the same time put up slogans on the main street, announcing that because of the death of Venerable Ma Ming, the surrounding area will be under martial law, so as not to be disturbed by people with ulterior motives Order.

Ma Ming suddenly died violently in the posthouse, and this incident spread all over the city of Axum, which is not very big. Although Axum, like Rome, mainly believes in the polytheism of the Romans, there are also many Buddhists. , as soon as they heard the news, they quickly gathered here.When Sun Shao's chariot arrived, dozens of people had already gathered. They didn't know what the reason was. They wanted to inquire, but were blocked by soldiers from the Yue Kingdom. Suddenly, several monks shouted loudly. They waved their arms and shouted loudly at the King Yue's walking chariot that had just stopped.

Sun Shao heard the shouts of the monks, he stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at the agitated monks, and turned his head to give Xia Hourong an order. Xia Hourong immediately walked over with a few guards, facing the leader The two monks clasped their hands and saluted: "Are you here to visit Venerable Ma Ming?"

The interpreter following behind immediately translated his words.The two monks listened and glanced at each other. One of the older monks put his hands together and bowed to salute: "Exactly. We heard that Venerable Ma Ming died suddenly. We were very surprised. We came to inquire, but your country's The soldiers blocked us and refused to let us in. We respect Venerable Ma Ming very much. We are very sad and indignant about his sudden ascension to heaven. We hope to chant scriptures for him to relieve his misfortune. Please allow us to go in.”

Xia Hourong saluted again: "My king is very moved by your respect for Venerable Ma Ming, but Venerable Ma Ming has just passed away, and some of the circumstances are still unknown, and there may be some conspiracy hidden in it. If you make noise here, it may affect the My king judges right from wrong, and there may be villains escaped because of this. Please understand my king's painstaking efforts, and don't worry about it. Venerable Ma Ming was a guest invited by my king. He passed away unexpectedly here. My king has the responsibility to find out In fact, please cooperate."

The monks heard Xia Hourong's words and saw that he bluntly said that Venerable Ma Ming's death was not normal, so they couldn't help but looked at each other and discussed a few words. The head monk shook his head, comforted the people next to him, and then said to Xia Hourong : "Since the general said so, then we have to go in and take a look. It's not that we don't believe the king and the general, but we really want to know how the venerable died." He turned and pointed to more and more monks, He said sincerely: "General, if we can't get the correct news, I'm afraid there will be rumors to confuse people."

Xia Hourong nodded: "It's not that I don't want you to go in, but I just hope that everyone can be quiet. Your Majesty has ordered the relevant people to wait there. Even if you don't come, His Majesty will send someone to invite you. It's just that the space inside is limited. , it is impossible to accommodate all the people, and please recommend a few people to go in and check together."

The monk listened, nodded again and again, turned around and discussed with everyone, the monks also agreed very much, they calmed down, and quickly recommended a few people to follow Xia Hourong in, and the others sat down on both sides of the street consciously, cross-legged Sit, close your eyes and chant sutras, the detailed and solemn sound of chanting sutras spreads around the post house, gradually suppressing the noise, and shrouding the whole post house in sadness.

Shapur and Varag, who had just received the news and were invited, looked at each other at the same time when they saw this situation. Varag was nervous and sweating, and Shapur was expressionless, but the corners of his eyes twitched involuntarily.Instinctively, they quickened their pace, passed among the monks, rushed behind Sun Shao, and bowed to salute.

"You two came so fast." Sun Shao smiled lightly, and the smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a heavy and angry face: "King Axum, the Guishuang envoy died violently in the posthouse, we, as the master, There is an unshirkable responsibility. As the king of Axum, you are the one who bears the brunt of the responsibility. I have ordered the post to be surrounded. Now you call all the relevant responsible persons here. Ask them face to face to find out their respective responsibilities.”

Warrag tremblingly wiped the dense beads of sweat from his forehead, responded repeatedly, walked up to an Axum guard, and yelled a few words loudly. The guard kowtowed after hearing this, and then got up and flew. up.

Sun Shao then turned around and bowed to Cobrado to greet him: "I am very sad about the death of the venerable. As soon as I heard the news, I rushed over immediately. Please rest assured, I will definitely give you a Dealing with each other will not let the Venerable die wronged."

Cobrado felt very sad. Ma Ming is a Buddhist with profound knowledge. He is not only profoundly knowledgeable, but also very honest. He is gentle and reasonable, and has never even spoken loudly. After returning from the negotiation today, he meditated in the room and did his homework. It has always been very normal. Who knows that he did not come out when the time came. On the ground, there was no breath, his eyes were wide open, and he was completely different from his usual demeanor, as if he had seen something very terrifying.

When Cobrado saw this scene, he immediately felt suspicious, and he notified the palace immediately.The King of Yue was not in the palace, so Xia Hourong received him. After hearing his report, the first thing Xia Hourong did was to order the imperial guards to surround the post house, no one was allowed to enter, no one was allowed to leave.Cobrado was very angry, feeling that Xia Hourong had handled it improperly, and Sun Shao never showed up, which made him even more unhappy.Originally, he planned to vent his anger as soon as he saw Sun Shao, but now seeing that Sun Shao admitted that he was responsible as soon as he opened his mouth, and promised to give him a satisfactory explanation, he didn't mean to shirk responsibility at all, so he felt a little embarrassed.

"Your Majesty..." Cobrado began to cry, "Your Majesty devoted all his life to the Buddha and never did evil. It is really sad that he passed away in this way."

"The envoy please mourn." Xia Hourong also persuaded: "The most important thing right now is to find out how the venerable died, whether it was caused by a traitor, or other reasons. The envoy must also know that the venerable is not only yours. Master, he is also the emissary of Guishuang. He came to Axum City to bear the high hopes of the King of Guishuang. If his death affects the friendly relationship between Guishuang and our country of Yue, it may be a traitor. a trick of man."

Cobrado nodded. It's not that he didn't understand these things, but he was disturbed by Ma Ming's death. Now that Xia Hourong reminded him, he already understood that Xia Hourong's arrangement for people to surround the post house was not out of malice. The resistance naturally went away, but he was a little grateful for Xia Hourong's arrangement.

Cobrado invited Sun Shao to enter, but Sun Shao shook his head: "I want to invite the emperor of Rome, and then we will go in together. This incident makes me so angry, I want to find out the truth about the emperor in front of the people of the four countries. the real reason for his death."

Cobrado listened, but he didn't try to persuade him. Fortunately, Alexander arrived soon. He looked at Sun Shao in surprise, and asked what was going on with his eyes.Sun Shao shook his head slowly, expressing that he didn't know.Alexander glanced at Shapur and Varag next to him again. Shapur looked sad, but Varag couldn't hide his nervousness. He couldn't help snorting, and entered the inner courtyard side by side with Sun Shao.

Venerable Ma Ming had been laid flat on a silk rug, his eyes were still wide open, looking straight at the blue-black roof, his mouth was slightly opened, as if he was talking about something.Sun Shao looked at it and bowed slightly to salute. Alexander and the others also expressed their condolences. The representatives of the monks stepped forward and walked around the body of Venerable Ma Ming twice. The older monk inspected the body of Venerable Ma Ming. Behind the dead body, he looked dazed. He had a soft conversation with the monks, then walked straight to Cobrado and said something softly.Cobrado nodded repeatedly, seeming to agree with him very much.The monk went back again, sat cross-legged next to Ma Ming's body with several companions, made handprints, and began to chant softly, corresponding to the Sanskrit sound outside.

"Your envoy, have you checked the body of the venerable, and do you know how he died?" Xia Hourong stepped forward and asked in a harmonious voice.

Cobrado frowned, hesitated for a moment, and shook his head slowly: "I don't know."

Sun Shao was a little surprised. Since it was said that Ma Ming died abnormally, why didn't he know the cause of death?He glanced at Cobrado and felt that his expression was a little weird, as if he knew something but refused to say yes.He thought for a while, then turned to Alexander and the others and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Highness the Prince, please go forward and check together to see if there are any suspicious marks on Venerable Ma Ming's body."

Alexander nodded, walked forward without thinking, bent down, and examined it carefully.Shapur hesitated for a moment, and then walked up to have a look. Walag was about to go up, but Sun Shao stopped him and said seriously: "My king of Axum, you should know, this is my The land of Yue is also the capital of your King Axum. The respected Venerable Ma Ming died here suddenly. If there is indeed any conspiracy, you have the responsibility to expose the conspiracy and prove to me that you have the ability to manage this land. , and the ability to keep our guests safe, you know?"

Warrag raised his arms involuntarily, wiped off the sweat that had never stopped since he came here, nodded anxiously, then walked forward, looked carefully, then closed his eyes, and called Ma Ming Bye bye, muttered a few words, then reached out and turned him over.Cobrado frowned, and was about to step forward to stop him, but Xia Hourong stopped him with his hand: "Your envoy, please believe that King Axum did not mean to offend, he did it to find out the truth."

Cobrado nodded helplessly, turned his head away, and couldn't bear to look any further.

Valage looked carefully for a long time, and then came back, looking at Sun Shao's eyes a little wandering, obviously both puzzled and nervous.

"How is it?" Sun Shao looked at him, then at Alexander and Shapur: "Can you see what's wrong?"

Several people didn't speak, Shapur pulled his beard and kept silent, looking at the corpse on the ground, not knowing what he was thinking.Alexander thought for a moment, and then said directly: "My lord, I find it very strange that there is no scar on the body of the venerable, and there is no sign of being killed, but his expression is horrifying. The thing he is very afraid of, could it be... Could it be that he was scared to death?"

Before he finished speaking, Cobrado snorted and interrupted him: "The Venerable has a high level of cultivation, how could he be frightened to death? Please be careful, His Majesty the Emperor, don't insult the Venerable's reputation."

"What does your envoy think is the cause of His Holiness' death?" Xia Hourong asked immediately.

Cobrado was speechless, moved his lips a few times, and shook his head helplessly: "I really don't know."

"No scar, doesn't mean no injury." Shapur said suddenly.

Everyone cast their eyes on him at the same time, and Shapur bowed to Cobrado and said respectfully: "Please forgive me for offending, I just guessed that there is a possibility, and I don't want to belittle the cultivation of the venerable."

Cobrado snorted unhappily.Shapur knew what he wanted to say without opening his mouth.When he saw Ma Ming's face, he felt strange.Ma Ming died, but without any external injuries. In his knowledge, there are two other ways to cause such a death. One is poisoning. There are many jungles in northern Tianzhu, and poisonous snakes are infested. Poisons are not rare, but He can confirm that Ma Ming did not die of poison, because people who died of poison can be seen from their appearance.Then there is only one kind left, and that is the forbidden curse.

Buddhism does not believe in forbidden spells. When the Buddha was alive, he said many times not to believe in spells such as forbidden spells. He also used his own experience to explain that forbidden spells are invalid, because there are not a few people who founded Buddhism and wanted him to die. Among them, there are many Brahmins who are famous for their proficiency in forbidden spells, but he is safe and sound.However, with the increase of Buddhist sects and the increasing complexity of the teachings, some Buddhists also began to believe in forbidden curses. They also explained that the Buddha was not afraid of forbidden curses because of his profound Dharma, so he could resist the harm of forbidden curses. It is also one of the reasons why Buddhist practice is profound.

Guishuang is a multi-religious country. In addition to Buddhism, there are many sects such as Christianity and Brahmanism, including the witchcraft that the Da Yuezhi people originally trusted. No stranger, judging from Ma Ming's situation, the biggest possibility is that he died of the forbidden spell.

But Cobrado cannot admit that Ma Ming died of a forbidden curse. Ma Ming is a famous venerable. His cultivation is profound and his status is respected in Guishuang Kingdom. , How could such a person be hurt by the forbidden curse?If it is true, doesn't it mean that Buddhism is inferior to other religions, and at least it will affect Ma Ming's reputation.As Ma Ming's direct disciple, he absolutely does not allow such a thing to happen.

Although Shapur saw that Cobrado's complexion was not good, he continued: "For example, in my Zoroastrian religion, there is a magic that can burn the heart with holy fire without hurting the flesh. The strange expression caused by the pain." He bowed to Cobrado again, shook his head and said, "But Venerable Ma Ming has a high level of cultivation, if you want to hurt him, it is only possible for the high priest of my temple to come .And people who were injured by the sacred fire, although they will not be able to get trauma, but their complexion is blood red, as if they have been roasted and moxibusted, and Venerable Ma Ming's complexion is pale, which is obviously not the case."

Cobrado's eyes flickered. He was most suspicious of Shapur, because Guishuang currently has two major enemies, one is Yue, and the other is Sassan. The strength of Yue is not as good as Sasan. Now in order to contain Sassan, who is wooing Guishuang again, should say that he will not attack Ma Ming at this time.However, if the Sasanians kill Ma Ming here, it may cause Guishuang and the Yue Kingdom to turn against each other. Not only will they not be able to cooperate with the Yue Kingdom to contain Sasan, but they may also become Sasan's allies.In general, Shapur's suspicion is the greatest, but Shapur took the initiative to reveal the secrets of Zoroastrianism's sacred fire-burning curse, which made his suspicion shaken.He has never heard of such a thing as the burning of the heart by the holy fire. It seems to be a high-level secret of Zoroastrianism. Very magnanimous.

Shapur saw the change in Cobrado's face, smiled slightly, turned his head and said to Sun Shao: "The distant Eastern Han Dynasty has more profound knowledge, so it must have this kind of secret method, right?"

The corner of Sun Shao's mouth twitched, and he guessed Shapur's psychology clearly. He deliberately told the secret of the holy fire burning his heart, and then denied it himself, first put himself aside, and then pointed the finger at him. The trick seems to be very clever, but for the reincarnation of him who has never been afraid to treat others with conspiracy, such a trick has no technical content at all.If Shapur didn't act like this, he might just be suspicious of Shapur and not be convinced. But now, he has to say that Uncle Sun is very angry and the consequences will be serious.

"Yes." Sun Shao said bluntly: "And, I know one kind."

Everyone was stunned, and Cobrado stared at Sun Shao in surprise.

(End of this chapter)