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"Have you heard? On the day the statue was erected in the General Temple, God appeared!"
"Wait, what General Temple?"
"It's the Zhenhai Temple! General Qiu's temple, the one from the Red Flag Gang, the one that can calm storms..."
"Oh, I've heard of it! The leader of the Red Flag Gang can even subdue a hurricane. Could it be General Qiu's blessing?"
"That's right. General Qiu is the General Zhenhai, in charge of the South China Sea. This time, when the statue was erected in the General's Temple, the sky was ablaze with radiance, and I heard that many fish jumped out of the sea. Isn't this a miracle?"
"Then we have to find a day to go and worship..."
News of the Zhenhai General Temple's completion rejoiced not only the Red Flag Gang but also the nearby fishermen and civilians. They told stories of how the temple was impervious to wind and rain, unperturbed by strong winds, and how the statue filled the sky with rosy clouds and fish leaped in the sea. The story of the Red Flag Gang's hundred or so boats escaping a hurricane unscathed was retold over and over again.
More than half of them were contributed by Taoist Le, and the remaining small half were created by the people. After all, everyone loves to listen to mythological stories, and the more they are passed on, the more magical they become, and the more fanatical they are among people.
Although no one has called Cheng Xi a "goddess" yet, it is a foregone conclusion that she is blessed by General Zhenhai.
That was General Qiu, a renowned general who had slain countless bandits. How could such a man not be enshrined in the ranks of immortals after his death? Furthermore, he had died unjustly. It was only natural that the Heavenly Emperor, with pity, bestowed upon him the rank of General to Suppress the South Sea.
Coincidentally, this general temple was not built within the city wall of Dongning Camp, but on a gently sloping hill outside the city and at the foot of the hill.
In this way, it will be convenient for the people nearby to burn incense. As the windy season is over, it is time to go out to sea to fish. In order to ensure safety, who would not pray to the gods and Buddha?
Originally, we just burned some incense in the village and offered sacrifices to the Dragon King and various gods. Now that we have the General Zhenhai, this gift must also be given.
Unexpectedly, this extremely pious offering was stopped by the old abbot of the temple.
Dressed in a neat Taoist robe and sporting three strands of graying beard, Taoist Le looked like an immortal. The kind-hearted people said, "If you believers come to seek General Zhenhai's blessing, all you need to do is kowtow and pay your respects. No expense is required. General Zhenhai takes the people's suffering seriously. As long as your heart is sincere, he will bless you with a safe voyage. When you return with a full load, come and burn some incense and candles and offer some seafood."
They were all poor fishermen, so how could they have ever seen such a generous temple? They didn't even accept offerings or donations. How could they expect the gods and Buddhas to bless them? However, under the earnest guidance of the old immortal, this group of people finally understood the compassionate heart of the newly enthroned General Zhenhai. His murderous methods were aimed at the evildoers. As long as they were kind and pious, they would be protected.
As for the incense, candles and some seafood you offered when fulfilling your vow, they have all worked, but you haven't shown any appreciation at all. Isn't that disrespectful to the gods?
Now the people think that General Zhenhai is a good god. They heard that the leader of the Red Flag Gang is General Zhenhai’s daughter, so it must be a good gang.
No wonder the Red Flag Gang charges such fair prices for seafood and such low prices for groceries. They must have learned this from General Zhenhai himself!
For a time, the people along the coast began to praise the Red Flag Gang more. Compared with the pirates who burned, killed and looted, and the officers and servants who were even more ferocious than the pirates, General Zhenhai and his daughter were more approachable!
This reaction did not surprise Taoist Le. When the temple was first built, Gang Leader Cheng said that the temple should reduce the exploitation of the people, not require incense and offerings, and only care about the customs and folkways of the people.
Taoist Le was a very smart person. He immediately understood what the other party meant and even added a statement to fulfill his wish.
This is also an old trick used in temples. After all, if someone pays first and their wish is not fulfilled, there will definitely be people complaining that the gods and Buddhas are not effective. However, if someone only kowtows without paying and their wish is not fulfilled, it is definitely not sincere! If someone’s wish is fulfilled and then comes back to fulfill it, then won’t it all be effective?
Of course, with fewer offerings, his earnings as a temple priest would certainly be less. However, Gang Leader Cheng was generous, not only offering him a high salary, but also promising that the greater the fame of the General Temple, the higher the bonus. Nowadays, Taoist Le no longer cares about the offerings in the temple. Instead, he regularly gives some of the melons and fruits to poor children in the neighborhood, winning their hearts and doing good deeds.
When conditions permit, I can recruit some disciples and send them out to open new temples. Wouldn't this Zhenhai General Temple also become one of the foundations of the Red Flag Gang? Taoist Le is no fool. Such a good opportunity will probably only come once in a lifetime, so I have to seize it firmly.
Of course, the General Temple was built not only to win over the people's hearts, but also to meet the religious needs within the Red Flag Gang.
They all drifted on the sea, whether they were sailors, pirates, boatmen, or fishermen, they were all quite superstitious. A stable new god, separated from the official deity system of the imperial court, and possessing both high prestige and "mana", naturally held a different significance, not to mention his relationship with the gang leader.
Shortly after the temple was built, a fleet was dispatched to Southeast Asia. Lu Jian sent Lu Nan, the manager who was familiar with the South China Sea route, while Cheng Xi chose Li Lai as the commander of the fleet to take on the important task of opening up the sea route.
A group of people slaughtered pigs and sheep in the General Temple and held a proper sacrifice. With the blessing of General Qiu, even the long voyage seemed not so scary.
However, this news did not spread. After all, the threat posed by the Changjing Gang was real, and it had to be avoided if possible.
It’s just that some things need to be concealed, while others need to be spread more widely.
…
There are several places near Leizhou where pearl shells are abundant. In order to obtain South Pearls, the imperial court raised "pearl people" and let them make a living by collecting pearls for generations.
This is not an easy job. Often a family shares a small boat and goes to the deep sea. Those who are good at diving go down to explore, and they have to go back and forth dozens of times until they find the pearls and can go ashore.
You can imagine how terrifying it would be to jump into the deep sea with only a rope tied around your body.
There are undercurrents in the sea, vicious sharks, giant clams that can pinch off your hands and feet, and deadly poisonous sea snakes.
If one dives too deep and emerges too quickly, blood can be squeezed out of one's internal organs, killing them instantly. As for those who have drowned, countless have done so.
However, the pearl farmers could only grit their teeth and persevere. There were too many guards and the taxes were too heavy. What else could they do besides pearl diving?
With a "splash" sound, a woman with her top taken off jumped into the sea. A familiar buzzing sound came from her ears, and then her body became lighter and lighter. She could only rely on the big rock in her hand to avoid being pulled up.
The pearl shells nearby have been almost harvested, and only by diving deeper and walking further can we get a harvest.
But the woman was not afraid of the deep sea, and she just let herself fall into the dark seabed little by little.
There was little light, and no other support. She could only rely on her own hands and feet, and a short dagger she used to collect pearls. She groped her way forward cautiously, until after dozens of breaths, when she felt she was almost out of breath, she threw away the stone and floated upward.
She came up to breathe and dived down to touch shells, repeating this for more than ten times. Finally, the woman could not hold on any longer and climbed onto the boat.
There was no one else on the boat except her. Her parents, brothers and sisters-in-law encountered a storm when they went out to sea last month and never returned.
If you want to keep your little house now, you have to pay taxes yourself. How can you survive without pearls?
Emptying the shells from the net onto the boat, the woman sat in the cabin, catching her breath for a long while. Finally resting, she immediately rowed back. The pearl oysters hadn't opened yet, so who knew how many pearls she had gotten.
By the time the boat reached the shore, it was already dark. She wrapped herself in tattered clothes and, carrying the bamboo basket, headed back. Tonight, she had to open all the shells, not only to get the pearls but also to save the meat for eating. She hadn't been able to afford rice for a long time, and if she wanted to go out to sea as usual tomorrow, she would have to find a way to fill her stomach.
Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, a suppressed roar suddenly came from a distance.
"We're all going to die. Rather than drowning in the sea, we might as well rebel! Who can fish out so many pearls now? We can't survive!"
"Some people rebelled back then, but they were surrounded and killed by government troops. We only know how to fish for pearls..."
"We can row a boat! Every family has one! As long as we set fire to the houses and hold off the soldiers, our wives and children will have a chance to escape!"
"We are all Pearl people. Where can we escape to?"
"Let's go to Panyu! I heard there's a Red Flag Gang there that can gather refugees..."
“Too far!”
"The boat can't get through."
"Maybe it's the same as the Long Whale Gang?"
Countless people spoke at once, but the man's voice drowned them out. "How far could it be farther than diving to the bottom of the ocean? How hard could it be harder than pearl hunting? The Red Flag Gang never kills, and with the protection of General Zhenhai, they defeated the imperial army! I heard the leader of the Red Flag Gang is a woman, so she must be kind!"
These words seemed to have magical power, causing the woman to stop and walk towards the crowd involuntarily.
"Hearing is believing, you haven't seen it with your own eyes..."
"How can I survive if I don't escape?!" That voice overwhelmed everything. "How many bushels of pearls are we going to get this year? And so many people are cutting corners. If I don't escape now, I'm going to starve to death..."
The bamboo basket fell to the ground with a clang, causing a group of men to turn their heads in panic.
The woman's eyes widened as she stared at them: "I'll go! I want to join the Red Flag Gang!"
"What nonsense!" an old man couldn't help but scold.
The woman shook her head vigorously. "I've heard of General Zhenhai. He said that as long as you trust him, you can avoid the storm. And the leader of the Red Flag Gang isn't even afraid of hurricanes!"
After her parents died, a woman once comforted her by asking her to trust General Zhenhai so that she would always have someone to rely on when she went out to sea in the future.
She believed it. Her boat had never encountered huge waves, and she could survive safely while collecting pearls alone. Now they were going to the Red Flag Gang, how could she be left behind?
This statement actually made many people fall silent. They had more or less heard of General Zhenhai's magical powers and the reputation of the Red Flag Gang.
However, how many people dare to risk their lives to believe it?
The loudest man suddenly became excited: "You are Shi Dani from the east end of the village, right? I've heard of you. You can go out to sea alone without any problems. Could it be that you believe in General Zhenhai?"
Shi Dani nodded vigorously immediately, not forgetting to push the bamboo basket forward: "I picked twenty pearl shells today!"
That's a lot! Even if not every one of them contains a pearl, it's still pretty good luck.
A girl without father or mother could have such a harvest by going to sea alone. Who would believe it if she said that it was not because of the blessing of gods and Buddhas?
Is General Zhenhai really that effective? And the leader of the Red Flag Gang isn't even afraid of hurricanes?
More and more people's eyes were shining with light, like a burning wildfire that could not be suppressed.
They all have boats, they all know how to sail, they know Dongning, they know Luoling Island, and they know where Panyu is.
All that remains are high winds and waves, and a long sea journey. Could it be more dangerous than diving into the seabed?
Run away! Escape from the government, escape to the Red Flag Gang's jurisdiction.
They can also weave nets and fish, so there is always a way for them to survive!
That night, a huge fire broke out on the shore. Amidst the noisy shouts, countless small boats took advantage of the night to row into the sea and desperately escape into the distance.
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