OBS Chapter 274: When Will It Be Completed?
Chapter 274: When Will It Be Completed?
Chapter 274: When Will the Hundred Refinements Be Completed?
From Wuyi Mountain to Songxi County, the official road of more than 200 miles is all rugged mountain roads. The terrain is deep and the water is dangerous, making it unsuitable for travel. Therefore, the best route is to take a boat south along Chongyang River.
In this way, using boats instead of horses, you can travel a hundred miles a day and night until you reach the confluence of Jianxi at the junction of Chongyangxi and Songxi. Then you can switch to land transportation and go upstream. You will arrive in Songxi County in a few days.
In fact, when Jiang Wen led his disciples to Fuzhou City, he could have relied on this method to arrive safely and quickly. After all, Jianxi River further downstream merges into the Minjiang River, flowing continuously towards the estuary in Mawei, Fuzhou.
It was just that in order to strengthen the disciples' will and let them clearly feel the dangers of the world and their master, it was changed to a forced march through the mountains of Jianyang, and finally it was successfully transformed into the Wuyi Sect.
This time, even though Jiang Wen didn't want to torture himself, he still encountered some force majeure.
Just as they were about to arrive at the water and land wharf in Ouning, they suddenly heard that the general of Jianning Town had requisitioned the wharf and was speeding up the transportation of tung wood, saltpeter and other supplies to the southern Fujian front. In order to prevent their identities from being exposed, they could only temporarily change their destination. At Jiang Wen's suggestion, they continued downstream until they disembarked at the ferry in Yanping Prefecture, rested for a night and made plans.
Yanpingjin is an important hub, with bamboo rafts and boats constantly transporting goods on the stream and the sounds of goods being loaded onto trucks and horses. However, these goods are completely unaware that they are about to be transported over the mountains and across the rivers to an unknown destination.
Jiang Wen and his companions gazed into the distance, ate a dish of bamboo shoots, vermicelli, dried mushrooms, pork belly and other ingredients, which were cut into thin strips and fried. They found it fresh, fragrant and slightly spicy. They also ate a dish of Songxi yellow cake, which had a delicate and elastic texture. Then they returned to their houses to rest, preparing to take a carriage to travel early tomorrow morning.
It was getting dark that night, and the fishing fires were dim. Jiang Wen was staying next to the Yanping city wall. As far as the eye could see was the ancient post road with 3,800 steps on Mangdang Mountain, and two rather majestic tall buildings standing in the distance along the river, like two old soldiers with grey beards leaning on spears, watching the river and the city day and night.
Jiang Wen's whereabouts were strange. After returning to the room and making a feint, he quietly came to the riverside alone. He stood beside Jianxi River, gazing at the river flowing eastward, and remained silent for a long time.
"Master Jiang is in such a refined mood that he is still enjoying the scenery by the river at midnight."
Jiang Wen heard a voice approaching from afar. Without turning around, he could tell that it was the Red Lotus Mother who was speaking. There were six missing auras beside her, and it was obvious that she had chosen to travel alone late at night.
"It's the same with you. Jiang is just revisiting an old place and feeling sentimental. But the Virgin Mary is traveling in the middle of the night. Could it be that she has something on her mind?"
The two of them stood by the river in silence for a while, and finally Jiang Wen chose to speak to break the deadlock.
"Hey, there are no outsiders here today. Holy Mother, can you tell me the truth first? Why do you have to get involved in this mission? Let's make it clear in advance that you are not allowed to use the responsibility of the sect elder to fool me. You must have some ulterior motives."
After hearing what Jiang Wen said, Holy Mother Red Lotus burst out laughing and said, "I never thought that such a small matter could make Sect Leader Jiang, who could stir up trouble even when chatting, so nervous."
Jiang Wen said indignantly, "Don't interrupt me. I have tried my best to appease them in the name of brother and sister. Now that you are here, it seems that I am guilty of something."
The Red Lotus Mother possesses the miraculous power of Holy Fire, and there is an innate Qi between her five internal organs that can be born from nothingness. She is no longer afraid of the biting night wind, but Jiang Wen chose to disperse the protective Qi and use his body to withstand the low temperature by the river.
"Master Jiang, I just couldn't bear to see the young ladies in our sect waste their youth like I did, so I wanted to take this opportunity to get close to them and give them some advice, but they were all wary."
Jiang Wen touched his chin and wanted to ask this older saint who gave her the courage to come out and teach others to see through the world. Besides, if we talk about the number of years of being single, it seems that Yan Yuan and his master have more say.
"Alright, alright, I knew that you, Holy Mother, wanted to find young unmarried women again. But let's be fair, there is an unmarried man who is no longer young, and he is still waiting for you to return to Fuzhou City. Bodhisattva, you are so compassionate, why don't you go back and rescue that man first?"
Seeing Jiang Wen mention Ding Dian, the Red Lotus Saint fell silent. Jiang Wen could see that the relationship between the two was now quite awkward.
Publicly, one of them is the Holy Mother of Mingzun Sect, and the other is the Dharma Protector of Mingzun Sect. They should help each other and share the same blood. Privately, they have known each other for more than ten years, and they are in love and only need to get married.
But this kind of relationship, which should have been close, has now become awkward when they meet. Ding Dian lives alone in Fuzhou City and only obeys orders but not announcements, while Ling Shuanghua hides in Wuyi Mountain under the pretext of rebuilding the headquarters. Even a blind man can see that the other is trying to escape.
After a long silence, the Red Lotus Mother finally looked into the distance with her hands behind her back and sighed softly, "It's too late, it's all too late... If he was still a rich young man and I was still an official lady, there would naturally be a result, but now..."
There was no need to say everything. The Red Lotus Mother did not explain what was behind the turning point, but Jiang Wen already understood what she meant.
What the Red Lotus Mother feared was not that Ding Dian would change his mind, but that she had lost confidence in herself. She was not sure if the Red Lotus Mother, who was now in charge of the Mingzun Sect, was still the elegant girl in Ding Dian's heart, and she was even more unsure if there was still room for Ding Dian in her heart after more than ten years of vicissitudes of life.
"Does the Holy Mother know why I came here?"
Jiang Wen blinked and chose not to continue talking about this topic. Instead, he talked about current political events.
"This place is Yanpingjin, and it has an indissoluble bond with the Prince of Yanping. The southeastern sea is now shrouded in dark clouds. I wonder what the Holy Mother thinks of the Prince of Yanping's current misfortune and safety?"
When the Red Lotus Mother heard this, she instantly came out of her melancholy mood and turned back into the Bodhisattva who seemed out of touch with the world. She uttered four words without thinking.
"It's more bad than good."
Just as she said, apart from the old branch in Fuzhou City, the most important part of the Mingzun Sect is the branch in Quan County. Anhai City in Quan County was once the base camp of the Zheng family. The Mingzun Sect has always had many connections with it, so naturally it has a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Zheng army.
Last year, Zheng Chenggong launched the Yangtze River Campaign. At first, he was unstoppable and the whole world was shocked. However, he was defeated at the gates of Nanjing and had to retreat to Xiamen. Now that the situation in the north has eased and Shunzhi has more resources, he naturally does not intend to take it easy. This time he is determined to press on with the victory and take advantage of the recent defeat of Zheng's army to finish off his enemy in one battle.
And the specific actions never slowed down.
As early as when Jiang Wen caused a big fuss in Fuzhou City, Dasu, a veteran general of the Bordered Yellow Banner, had been appointed General of Annan and Governor-General of the wars in Fujian and Zhejiang. He had requisitioned countless ships, horses, food, fodder and money, and the naval forces of the coastal provinces were all under the management of Dasu.
According to the secret report received by the Red Lotus Mother, the Qing court's Gushan Ezhen Suohun and Bayalahu Zhangjing Lai Ta have now arrived in Fujian. Dasu is trying to control the two states of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, extremely compressing the space for Zheng's army to move. When the time is right, he will be stationed in Quanzhou to dispatch and command the nearly one thousand sea vessels gathered in eastern Fujian to completely annihilate Zheng's army in one go.
Jiang Wen asked in a low voice: "How many people are left in the Zheng family?"
The Red Lotus Mother lowered her eyes, as if she was sorting out the information she had collected.
"Judging from the port's entry and exit and the depth of the water, even if the Zheng family has disguised various ships to frequently enter and exit in order to stabilize the people's hearts, the remaining large and small warships will not exceed 600, and the combined number of naval and land forces will only be less than 70,000."
Jiang Wen understood in his heart, no wonder the Mingzun Sect was so pessimistic about the Zheng family.
According to the news secretly transmitted by Geng Jingzhong, the Qing government had raised a total of 200,000 troops, claiming to have 500,000 troops. The Zheng army had just suffered a major defeat a few months ago. Generals Gan Hui, Wan Li, Lin Sheng, Chen Kui, and Zhang Ying were all killed in the battle, and countless soldiers and generals were lost. With the increase in strength of the two sides, they might not even have enough morale, let alone a desperate counterattack.
Jiang Wen secretly calculated how many people the Geng family had.
At the beginning, Geng Jimao led an army of 100,000 to conquer Guangdong. However, a large part of them were the direct line of the Qing court. In addition to fighting, they were also monitoring the Geng family's rebellious intentions. Later, some stayed in Guangdong, and only more than 10,000 troops followed the Geng family to Fujian. Even though Geng Jingzhong had expanded his army rapidly in the past year and was willing to follow Jiang Wen's plan to rebel, he could only take more than 30,000 people with him at most. The Zheng family still faced the challenge of an enemy that was twice as large as itself.
"enough."
Jiang Wen said confidently, as if the fog of the battlefield had been blown away by the wind, and his eyes had keenly traveled through time, seeing the passion and heroism surging on that sea, which would still be sung by the locals hundreds of years later.
His confidence came from his previous life, and right now he needed such a resounding victory.
With Jiang Wen's interference, Guangdong, which had been a solid block, became a quagmire. Daily battle reports from the Battle of Guangzhou continued to pour in, constantly stirring the nerves of people all over the world. If we follow the historical trajectory and come to May of the 17th year of Shunzhi, Prince of Yanping Zheng Chenggong will usher in a peak in his military career on the sea of Xiamen.
"Master Jiang, I know more than that.
However, the Red Lotus Mother said worriedly, "It is said that King Yeonpyeong has been missing for several months since the battle of Jiangning. Although some people wearing his armor showed up during several inspections, people in the church found out that it was not him, but his cousin Zheng Taiqiao in disguise."
There are many core figures in the Zheng family, such as the second-in-command and chief steward Zheng Tai, the naval governor Hong Xu, the land governor Gan Hui, and even his younger brothers Tagawa Shizaemon and Zheng Xi, his son Zheng Jing, etc., all of whom are indispensable parts of the Zheng family.
However, there was only one key figure, and that was Zheng Chenggong, the Prince of Yanping. Only he could lead the army to fight against the current, and only he could suddenly attack Nanjing along the Yangtze River. Once he really encountered an accident, it would be the real end of Zheng's army...
"That's enough, because I'm still here."
But Jiang Wen was still smiling.
"This is really good news. As long as he hasn't changed his ways and deliberately doesn't come to Guangzhou City, it will be fine. As for the remaining minor matters, Jiang has his own way to turn the tide."
The Red Lotus Mother looked at Jiang Wen's confidence, as if she was also infected by his emotions, and smiled: "I really hope I can be as lawless as you."
"Hahahaha, Jiang's mood when he stood here seven years ago was much more confused than you are now, not to mention how shocking what he saw and heard back then was."
Jiang Wen answered with sparkling words, his eyes fixed on the moonlight and stars, as if he had finally waited for some important opportunity. He immediately stretched out his hand towards the tall building by the river and suddenly asked.
"Holy Mother, do you know the name of this building by the river?"
After he finished speaking, without waiting for the other party to reply, he had already drawn out the ancient sword Zhanlu and started singing.
He pointed the extremely profound sword blade at the bright moonlight, and the sword force moved the void, and it seemed that he had borrowed some clear and cold soul from the moon in the sky. He suddenly swung the sword and pointed it straight at the sky. A sharp sword energy mixed with moonlight was like a rainbow bridge flying across the shadow, and the river was rushing endlessly, almost pointing directly to the blue sky!
"Look up to the northwest and the clouds will float; to rely on the sky for thousands of miles, a long sword is needed!"
After saying that, he swung his sword again, slashing straight at the dim surface of the river. In an instant, sword energy was everywhere, phantom light was rising and falling, and the fish and dragons in the river were startled. The sharp sword energy was more bone-chilling than frost and snow, and just one glance was enough to freeze one's heart and lungs.
"Speaking of this place, I can see the flames of the Bullfight at night. I feel the mountains are high, the pool is empty and the water is cold, and the moon and stars are dim!"
After the song, Jiang Wen's figure suddenly rose from the ground and walked on the water, as if the ancient sword in his hand was like a flying dragon, and was about to take Jiang Wen to the upper realm, ascend to the sky from Dinghu Lake, until his feet stepped on the shallow river bank where the three rivers met. The last sword was so fast and fierce that it almost trampled on the trick of sword use, and it slashed fiercely on the water!
"When I look down from the burning rhinoceros, I am afraid to lean on the railing, the wind and thunder are angry, the fish and dragons are miserable!"
The water flow was cut off in just a moment. At this moment, a subtle and unpredictable light suddenly flashed across the empty river surface and pierced the eyes of the Red Lotus Mother. The source was exactly the unremarkable bead in Jiang Wen's hand.
Jiang Wen's eyes revealed an expression of "as expected" and he looked towards the river with sharp eyes.
As the light penetrated through, the bottom of the river suddenly lit up with a colorful strange color. Rays of light appeared in winding lines, like pieces of dragon scales that had fallen off and shone on the bottom of the water, or like clusters of strange flames that were not afraid of deep water and were burning fiercely underwater.
A low humming sound was heard slowly, as if something dormant was wriggling and waking up from hibernation. Even from a distance across the pitch-black river surface, one could see the traces of the gracefully moving streamlines, rolling and tearing at the silt of the three rivers.
The confusion lasted only a moment, and the things at the bottom of the river were endowed with some kind of evil vitality. The Red Lotus Mother clearly saw that the shadow was lingering at the bottom of the river like a black dragon, twisting in the abyss in all kinds of strange postures, and peeking at the waves on the river surface with a hideous face.
The Red Lotus Mother suddenly came to her senses and stared at Jiang Wen blankly, saying only one sentence: "Shuangxi Tower... No wonder you came to Yanpingjin..."
The next moment, Jiang Wen had already thrust the ancient sword upside down into the water, like a blind and ignorant fisherman, about to fight a desperate battle with the evil things under the water. However, those dragons at the bottom of the river turned into thousands of phosphorescent points in an instant and stopped shining.
They turned into more restrained and intense colors, sublimating from colorful to the ultimate form of countless strange colors. In an instant, the river waves surged, and an invisible torrent broke through the water surface, like gushing out from a wellhead, melting into indescribable chaotic colors all over the sky, and flowing straight back into the depths of the dark night sky.
In a trance, Jiang Wen recalled the scene he saw when he first came here seven years ago and stood by the boat. He figured out some things in his mind, and the Red Lotus Mother also vaguely realized that the direction was exactly where the Niudou and Dou were in the dark sea of stars...
Ke Dun·Dragon Light Shooting Fight!
(End of this chapter)