Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 86: Mutual recognition of traitors, the White Lotus Sect emerges!
at this time.

There was still chaos on the street outside.

The streets on both sides were filled with people standing under the flags, beside the ditches, and under the shade of the trees, all with terrified looks on their faces.

Previously, everyone just heard a loud noise but didn't know what it meant. Now, the news of the treasure ship being bombed has spread from the North Wharf, causing great waves of shock in the hearts of the people of Tianjin.

Some people even packed up their bags, carried their elderly and children, and fled out of the city to seek refuge.

In front of the pier.

Several distinct groups of people were confronting each other.

The search and rescue operation of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was still going on, but there were not many people in a prefecture and they could not spare any manpower. Wang Min, a captain of a thousand households, led a dozen riders and stood in front of thousands of people.

The team in front was very complicated. Nearly half of the three guards of Jingu had come, and all the commanders of the three guards were present.

Next to the three guards of Jingu, there was another team with a rather mixed composition.

There were soldiers guarding the yamen in helmets and armor, as well as servants in short shirts. Some had bows and arrows on their waists, while others held golden pumpkins in their hands. It was a mess and without any order.

The commanders of the three Jingu guards wanted to enter the dock to participate in the search and rescue of King Jing, the soldiers of the garrison office wanted to collect the body of the garrison eunuch, and the servants of the government wanted to go find their master.

The demands are different.

But after his Ti cavalry had been deceived and attacked, Wang Min dared not trust anyone. Who knew if there were assassins hidden among these soldiers, bodyguards, and servants.

Thanks to the great reputation of the Jinyiwei in the capital area of ​​the two capitals, the commander of the three guards of Jingu did not ignore Wang Min's order and forcibly take over the wharf.

But Wang Min knew that this fear would not last long. The Jinyiwei suspected that the three guards of Jingu were rebelling. In the eyes of the three military commanders, the Jinyiwei's blockade of the explosion dock and not allowing anyone to approach was also very strange.

The Three Guards of Jingu might also be suspecting that the Thousand Households of the Jinyiwei were rebelling. The longer the time goes, the deeper the suspicion between the Jinyiwei and the Three Guards of Jingu will be. Once the conflict breaks out, the Jinyiwei here will most likely be destroyed in an instant.

The Jinyiwei is a special organization that excels in covert operations such as intelligence and assassination. Although their head-on confrontation capabilities are also good, they are limited to one-on-one or one-on-many.

However, facing the regular army like the Three Guards of Jingu, it was impossible to form any real resistance.

at this point.

The Jinyiwei could only delay until orders or manpower arrived from the capital.

"Sir, we have found a thief."

The captain in charge of the search and rescue came forward to report. Wang Min raised his head and looked over, but only saw two imperial guards carrying a person, who did not look like he was alive.

"died?"

"Replying to the commander, he is dead."

The captain patted the Kaiyuan bow on his waist and explained, "When we saw this thief, he was floating up and down on the canal, following the current and swimming hard towards the distance.

But on the canal, besides our people, there were people who fell off King Jing's treasure ship.

There was a huge explosion on King Jing's treasure ship. It must be that a thief ignited gunpowder in the cabin and then found a safer place to hide.

It can be said that the people on the treasure ship were either from Prince Jing's Palace or thieves.

If someone from Prince Jing's Mansion sees us, they won't be able to run away. The only ones who can run away are thieves.

Unfortunately, the thief was very clever, and by the time we figured out the key, it was impossible to swim after him.

I shot two arrows. With the first arrow, I wanted to shoot the thief's shoulder to stop him from running away, but he dodged by tilting his head, and the arrow only grazed his ear.

When I shot the second arrow, I missed the thief and he was about to run away, so I shot him in the back.

"Master Qianhu, please look!"

The captain showed Wang Min the thief's body, and saw that the arrow had pierced through the right side of his chest from the back, killing the thief on the spot.

Among the Jingu Jinyiwei, everyone above the rank of small flag is a good archer, but it is a pity at this time.

You know, this may be the only evidence in this assassination attempt.

Other evidence may have been blown to pieces by the explosion. The dead thief was a man of about 20 years old, with a small bun on his head, covered with a wide-brimmed deep net, wearing a blue cloth shirt and trousers, and slippers on his feet, no different from an ordinary boatman.

The captain searched the thief's body and found nothing except a set of flint and steel.

It can be seen that the thief disguised himself as a boatman and hid on King Jing's treasure ship. At the last moment before the treasure ship was about to enter Tianjin, he ignited the gunpowder in the cabin.

This coincided with Bai Hu's previous guess, but it was still a long way from finding the murderer behind the scenes. Wang Min stared at the thief carefully for a long time, "Strip the thief's clothes!"

An abrupt command.

The centurion and the two imperial guards were stunned, but in the Jinyiwei, the orders from their superiors were equivalent to military orders and could not be questioned or disobeyed, so the thieves were quickly stripped clean.

The centurion and the imperial guard looked at each other and commented, "It's quite white!"

With such skin, it is not appropriate for him to have a wind-bathed and sun-bathed boatman's face. Thinking of this, without waiting for Wang Min's order, the captain removed a human skin mask from the thief's face.

His originally pretty face was revealed, but it would be difficult to find out the thief's true identity just by looking at this, as there are many pretty people in the world.

"what is that?"

Wang Min noticed that there was a mark on the thief's left armpit that was obviously different from the skin color. When he lifted his arm, he saw a white lotus.

The lotus is divided into three petals, shaped like a gathering flame.

"White Lotus Sect!" Wang Min's eyes widened in horror.

These three words are the court’s lingering nightmare.

The origin of the White Lotus Sect can be traced back to the White Lotus Society founded by Huiyuan in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it has roots in the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism.

It flourished in the Song Dynasty. Its doctrine is that Maitreya came to the world and transformed the white lotus into karmic fire to purify the world.

From the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty and then to the Ming Dynasty, every dynasty tried their best to suppress and ban it, but the White Lotus Sect was so popular among the people that it could not be stopped despite repeated bans.

During the Hongwu and Yongle periods, White Lotus sect members rebelled many times in Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shandong and other places. Some even proclaimed themselves emperors, but they were all suppressed.

During the reign of Emperor Renzong and later, the White Lotus Sect had many names, including Jinchan, Wuwei, Longhua, Wukong, Huanyuan, Yuandun, Hongyang, Maitreya, Jingkong, Dacheng, Sanyang, Hunyuan, Wenxiang, Luodao, and dozens of others, some of which had several names.

They are independent of each other, have many different doctrines, and their organizations, rituals and activities are also different, but they all bear the imprint of the White Lotus Sect to a greater or lesser extent.

The imperial court classified all of these as the White Lotus Sect, and the people also generally classified them as the White Lotus Sect.

Especially since the Zhengde period, there has been a worship of the Mother of No Birth, and the so-called eight-character mantra "True Emptiness Hometown, Mother of No Birth".

It is said that the Mother of No Birth is an ancient Buddha in heaven who has no birth and no death. She wants to save her children in this world and return them to heaven to avoid disasters. This heaven is the home of true emptiness.

The Mother of No Birth therefore attracted a large number of fanatical believers.

The hatred between the White Lotus Sect and the imperial court can be said to be as deep as the sea. If the White Lotus Sect planned this shocking explosion, it could be barely explained.

It is impossible to reason with a group of crazy people, and normal people cannot understand their thoughts.

but.

The problem is even more serious.

Even if he didn't want to think about it, Wang Min had to make the association that the White Lotus Sect colluded with the Three Guards of Tianjin and used the death of King Jing to launch a new uprising.

If this is true, after the "Tang Sai'er Uprising" in the 18th year of Yongle, another even more massive White Lotus Rebellion was imminent.

Wang Min's heart tightened.

"Captain Wang, the commander of the three Jingu guards is giving the final warning to the Jinyiwei. Please hand over the control of the North Pier!"

The three guards of Jingu sent soldiers to issue an ultimatum to the Jinyiwei.

Wang Min held the Xiuchun Knife tighter in his hand and said resolutely: "Prepare for battle!"

(End of this chapter)