There are many temples in Shaoxing, but the Qizhu Temple on Qizhu Street is different from any other temple in the city.
How to be different? What is enshrined in Qizhu Temple is neither Taoist gods, nor Buddhist Bodhisattvas, nor the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty.
It enshrines the military flag, that is, the Great Banner, so it is called the Banner Temple. In ancient times, and indeed in modern times as well, the military flag was the soul of an army. Killing a general and seizing the flag would often lead to the collapse of an army.
Of course, in addition to military flags, the flag temple enshrines the corresponding flag gods, such as "Flaghead General", "Six Flag Generals", "Five Directions Flag God", "Master of the Warships" There are 7 gods in total, including "the god of golden drums and horns, guns and cannons", "the god of bows, crossbows, flying guns and flying stones", "the gods in front of and behind the formations, only Wuchang and others".
The purpose of building flag temples and worshiping flag gods is to hope that the military flags and flag gods will bless the army and win more battles.
As the Romans do in the countryside, the Zhejiang Army flag under Zhu Pingan was placed in this temple for worship as soon as Zhu Pingan took control of Zhejiang.
There is a special temple celebration, and incense will be burned and tributes will be offered to the military flags in the Qizhu Temple and the Qishen Gate on a regular basis.
In the early morning, as the sun rises in the east, there is a sea of people in front of Qizhu Temple. Countless men, women and children come from all directions.
In the open space in front of Qizhu Temple, Zhu Ping'an, dressed in military uniform, led a uniform 800 elite Zhejiang troops to slowly walk towards Qizhu Temple.
“Stop!”
"Turn right!"
The neat pace of the Zhejiang army was an eye-opener for the onlookers. It was as shocking as modern people seeing the military parade in front of Tiananmen for the first time. They couldn't help but open their mouths and let out a "Fuck" Anyone who sees this neat pace and this orderly and forbidden formation can't help but feel the emotion of "mighty army".
The confidence of the people suddenly increased.
"Our eldest governor is the champion. He never fights an unprepared battle. He fights against Japanese pirates and wins every battle, and this time is no exception."
"Look at the Zhejiang Army. How powerful it is. At the beginning, our governor only had 2,000 Zhejiang troops, and he almost wiped out the 40,000 Japanese pirates. Now our governor has more than 10,000 such Zhejiang troops!”
"Yesterday, when I heard that our eldest governor was going to fight against Wang Zhi, I was worried all night. I was afraid that our eldest governor would not be able to defeat Wang Zhi, but would be defeated by Wang Zhi instead. I was furious. Wang Zhi's revenge on our Shaoxing army. Now that we have seen the Zhejiang army, I am not afraid anymore. Such a mighty army, even if we fight But Wang Zhi can also protect us well."
"We have been waiting for many years, but it is rare for officers and soldiers to take the initiative to fight against Japanese pirates. No matter what the result is, it will be a good one."
The common people said this while watching the military parade, feeling a little more confident about the upcoming battle.
After the military parade, Zhu Ping'an walked slowly to the temporary high platform, faced the north to worship Jiajing, and faced the Qizhu Temple to worship the flag god, and then began to read the sacrificial speech:
"Today, The Japanese pirates in southern Zhejiang have committed heinous crimes, including murder, arson, rape, robbery, and all kinds of evil. My father and fellow villagers have suffered greatly from it. As the governor of Zhejiang, I, Zhu Pingan, have the responsibility to protect the land and protect the people."
It is said to be a memorial speech, but it is actually a message to declare the expedition, explaining to the Zhejiang army and the general public the reason for the expedition and why they were fighting.
“If you use justice to defeat unjust, you will win!”
“If you use the right to defeat the unjust, you will win!”
“If you use the imperial court to defeat the Japanese pirates, you will win! ”
“With”
At the end of the memorial speech, Zhu Ping'an said six words about victory, which attracted a crowd of Zhejiang troops and onlookers to shout "win" in unison.
For a time, there were cheers of "certain victory" for miles around Qizhu Temple.
At this moment, among the onlookers, there were several waves of people with ulterior motives, watching the scene in front of Qizhu Temple with cold eyes.
There were three people in the crowd wearing Jiaxing government official costumes, who were also among the onlookers.
One of them is a confidant of Zhao Chong, the prefect of Jiaxing, and the other two are Japanese pirates sent by Xu Hai to accompany Zhao Chong.
"No wonder Zhu Ping'an rushed back from Jiaxing in a hurry. It turned out that he was going to declare war on Wang Zhi!"
One of Xu Hai's Japanese pirates touched his chin and whispered to another accomplice Cricket.
"Is Zhu Pingan crazy? Who does he think he is? He dares to attack Hui Wang Wang Zhi. Why does Hui Wang Wang Zhi need a man? He has a hundred thousand men under his command, and Zhu Pingan has only a few soldiers and horses under his command. It's really The Japanese pirates' accomplices looked down at Zhu Ping'an, who was reading out the memorial text, and complained in confusion.
"This is a good thing! The more Zhu Pingan swells, the better. In this way, when our leaders use troops against Jiaxing and Zhang Jing, we don't have to worry about Zhu Pingan leading the Zhejiang army to cross paths." The Japanese pirate smiled. whispered.
At this moment, he looked relaxed, and finally figured out why Zhu Pingan returned from Jiaxing in a hurry.
It turned out that he came back to fight Wang Zhi.
This is great news for Xu Hai and the Japanese pirates.
"That's true. If Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, we don't have to worry about the Zhejiang Army. Moreover, with Wang Zhi's strength, if Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, he will be seeking death. Well, you are asking for trouble."
The Japanese pirates nodded vigorously.
"That's right. Zhu Ping'an can't defeat Wang Zhi. When the time comes, he will definitely move reinforcements from Zhang Jing. Hehe, he can also reduce the troops around Jiaxing. When the time comes, it will be easier for us to attack Jiaxing and Zhang Jing. ”
The Japanese pirates nodded, convinced.
“We can go and report back to leader Xu Hai.” The Japanese pirates’ fellow pirates said, “The leader is waiting for our news now.”
“Let’s send the news back first. Well, that’s it. Let the confidants sent by Magistrate Zhao take him back. Let’s keep an eye on him for another day tomorrow. Leader Xu Hai has told us many times that Zhu Ping’an is a treacherous little thief. We still watch with our own eyes as they send troops to southern Zhejiang. We will go back to meet with Leader Xu Hai to return his orders.”
< br>The Japanese pirate said a little worriedly.
He was worried that Zhu Pingan was putting on a show, saying that he was going to fight Wang Zhi in southern Zhejiang, but in fact he did not send troops and deliberately deceived them. When they attacked Jiaxing and Zhang Jing, Zhu Pingan led the Zhejiang army to disrupt the situation again.
As long as Zhu Ping'an doesn't send troops for a day, then his promise to fight Wang Zhi cannot be taken seriously. Only when Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang army to send troops with his own eyes could he really be convinced of his going to fight Wang Zhi.
"What you said makes sense. The little thief Zhu Pingan is too cunning. We have suffered losses at his hands more than once. We watched with our own eyes as the little thief Zhu Pingan led the Zhejiang army to send troops to southern Zhejiang. , let’s go back and report to leader Xu Hai, so that we can be safe.”
The Japanese pirates were convinced and agreed with their companion’s suggestion. They have suffered too many losses from Zhu Pingan, and they have already had a psychological shadow on Zhu Pingan. They must see Zhu Pingan send troops to southern Zhejiang before they can feel relieved. (End of this chapter)