A magpie's cry of joy broke through the spring scenery all over the mountain. At this time, the warm afternoon sun was wandering in the embrace of the mountains and rivers, and the eyes were filled with green forests and towering ancient trees.
Among the low branches and shrubs, there are green buds and white flowers interspersed at random. Wild trails run through it, and there are also beasts and people walking slowly away. As soon as the sight reaches the mountain col, you can see the rich green color about to emerge, as if At any time, it will slowly extend to the horizon due to the printing and dyeing of clogs and teeth.
In such a place surrounded by green trees, blooming wild flowers, and the interesting landscapes and ancient trails of the mountains complement each other, a quiet wind quietly passed by, and finally blew into a huge tree about four feet high and ten feet wide, which was hollowed out like a miraculous work. The ancient trees in the cave also bring a touch of sunshine and warmth to this quiet and almost cold space.
"Are you awake? Get up and eat something."
Jiang Wen's voice came from outside the tree hole, and his tone was lazy and leisurely. He seemed to be leaning on the tree trunk and basking in the sun, trying his best to enjoy a peaceful life, without any intention of showing up.
There was no sound in the cave, as if there was no one there.
"It's been three days, miss, you should get up and take a few steps."
Jiang Wen's voice continued to sound, and with the warm afternoon breeze blowing everywhere, he could even hear some laziness after waking up from a morning sleep, and he seemed particularly heartless.
But there was still no news from the cave.
"How about I apologize to you? Just say something to me. I'm going to be bored to death staying here."
Realizing that there was still no response in the tree hole, a rustling sound came from outside. Then the cloth shoes suddenly fell to the ground, and the corners of his clothes brushed against the branches and leaves. Only then did Jiang Wen's face suddenly appear and he poked his head into the tree hole.
It is strange to say that in this surprisingly large tree hole, there is actually a bed, a Buddha, and a place for a pot. It is like a Zen room used by monks to retreat from the world and practice.
But when I looked into the tree hole at this time, I saw a charming-looking girl, lying flat on the stone bed, indifferent. She even turned her head to the other side expressionlessly when she saw Jiang Wen walking in. .
"Still angry..."
Jiang Wen scratched his head. Although he wanted to apologize, he didn't know where to start - he just pushed her into the water and almost drowned her, then used the King of Han's green knife to chop wood and cut mountains, and then cooked porridge. After taking in the hallucinogenic mushrooms, I shouldn't be able to stop talking to myself for three days.
Seeing that the charming and naive girl was still turning her head to be angry, Jiang Wen thought for a while, then returned to the tree hole and said slowly: "Miss Shuang'er, Jiang actually heard some news from outside and came to the branch just now..."
As he expected, Jiang Wen keenly noticed that the girl's ears twitched slightly. Although she still pretended to be indifferent, her breathing and heartbeat were beating a beat faster. It was obvious that this boring life was a bit unbearable for her. .
As of today, Jiang Wen and Luo Shuang'er have been living in the mountains for mid-month. Every day, apart from trying to recover their bodies, they are looking for a place to stay. The two did not dare to expose their whereabouts easily. Fortunately, a monk with a Guangxi accent "voluntarily" gave up the tree room where he practiced, and the two finally settled down.
At this time, the question that made them most curious was where they were now and what was happening outside.
"Miss Shuang'er, Mr. Jiang found out that we are currently in the mountains near Binchuan Prefecture. If we walk north for two days, we should be at the headquarters of the Da Luo Wei Commandery Department."
Jiang Wen thought about what he had gathered and continued, "To be precise, we are now on the north side of Erhai Lake in Cangshan Mountain, at the foot of Jizu Mountain. It's no wonder that we always meet monks here..."
The Jizu Mountain in Jiang Wen's mouth was originally called Jiuqu Cliff. It is famous for the fact that the mountain has three peaks in the front and a ridge in the back, shaped like a chicken's foot. In addition to its majestic and green scenery, Jizu Mountain is also a famous Buddhist holy place.
It is said that after the death of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of the past, the Venerable Kassapa, came to Jizu Mountain to hold the ancestral robes given by the Buddha and enter meditation, waiting for Maitreya to be reborn. Jizu Mountain has also become the temple of Kasyapa, and there are many precious monuments on the mountain. At its peak, Jizu Mountain had thirty-six temples, seventy-two nunneries, one hundred and eight temples, and as many as five thousand monks.
But that's not the point. The key is that Jizu Mountain is located in Yunnan. Jiang Wen didn't know why he, who was still fighting Wuyang outside the South China Sea, woke up thousands of miles away in Yunnan - his last place before. In his memory, he still tried his best to deal with Yi Xi with all his sword moves. Seeing that the dragon ghost wanted to escape, he entered the water with the Zhanlu Sword and threw himself into the vast waves.
At that time, he knew very well that the vitality of the Boiling Sea only existed under the whirlpools on the water surface. The South China Sea was originally a shackles to the dragon ghosts. Countless undercurrents and whirlpools underneath had long been opened and merged with the Guangzhou earth veins extending in all directions. Therefore, it seemed that there was no chance of death. On the contrary, people can escape from the place of death, just like Zhou Chu in the Eastern Jin Dynasty who "went into the water to fight the dragon and traveled for dozens of miles, and after three days and nights, he finally killed the dragon and came out." Because he put life and death aside, he could use the Dongting ground to avert danger.
At that time, Jiang Wen was not completely sure, but he had to make a bet. Fortunately, judging from the result, the bet was right. Since he and Luo Shuang'er, who fell into the whirlpool, could escape and survive, Minmin should It’s not a big deal, but the former ended up in an unexpected place, which is too far away...
As a wave of memories came back, some lingering memories popped up in Jiang Wen's mind. If he had still had a choice at that time, Jiang Wen would never have jumped into the whirlpool and faced those people who were entangled like worms. The "Five Sheep".
When chasing into the whirlpool, in the "narrow" space that could not even be described as dark, Jiang Wen suddenly noticed a huge thing being forced to squeeze and curl up, like a bunch of molluscs entangled together. They were ugly and entangled with each other, and they were constantly dividing and multiplying in the small space. As Jiang Wen rushed in, the whole group stood up and bared their teeth.
Jiang Wen only felt the terror of the dragon ghosts at this time, because in front of them, the earth veins were already like a giant lying corpse. All kinds of tissues and organs were being destroyed, connective tissue began to melt, tendons lost their toughness, and the contents of blood vessels The layers begin to break, and the residue mixes into the blood to form thrombi everywhere. The blood flow is blocked and causes necrosis of various organs.
Not far away, Wuyang, who died from a sword ulcer, was still bleeding with pus and blood, but he was far from getting rid of the mountain of nightmares, because more depleted and decaying things were rushing toward Jiang Wen's collapse. A silent rumble echoed in my ears, and there seemed to be a huge black monument coming towards me from the abyss, and the only thing I could rely on was the long sword in my palm that turned into deep black when it touched the water...
The chirping of orioles and magpies outside the tree brought Jiang Wen back to his consciousness. The chill that penetrated his bones was slowly fading, but it still lingered in his heart, revealing claws and scales from time to time. No matter how much sun he basked in, he couldn't dispel it.
So he continued.
"Miss Luo, with your intelligence, you should have already figured out that this road is your father's way of survival for you. The old hero Luo is so affectionate, why do you bother to be angry here?"
Jiang Wen spoke slowly, and in his heart he couldn't help but sigh at Luo Yuantong's great skill and deep scheming. He even deceived his own daughter without telling others. After all, no one could have imagined that this would be a fatal situation. The door to life is actually opened in the vast South China Sea.
But thinking about it carefully, if Luo Shuang'er stayed in Guangzhou this time, no matter how carefully Luo Yuantong took care of her or even took the trouble to hide her somewhere else, the Luo family would have to face the wrath of Shang Kexi and Qing Ting.
At that time, the fate of a fugitive like Hong Xiguan is destined. The chance of escaping is very slim. Instead, he goes to the ancient temple of Nanhai to suppress the ghosts. With Luo Shuang'er's ability and water quality, there is a great probability Escape from the underwater whirlpool.
This birth gate was everything Luo Yuantong carried alone during the landslide and the ground cracking. Even Luo Shuang'er and Ying Laodao hid it, let alone the vast world. In other words, in the eyes of the world, Luo Shuang'er was already buried in the belly of a fish in the South China Sea. Even if there were suspicions about the dead people, no one would go to Yunnan thousands of miles away to hunt them down.
More importantly, Luo Yuantong had previously deliberately held a massive "Golden Basin Washing Hands Conference" and summoned the martial arts heroes to participate in the grand event. As a result, Luo Shuang'er at this time was basically equivalent to "going to sea and dying" in front of everyone in the martial arts world. That is to say, now In this world, as long as Luo Shuang'er doesn't take the initiative to reveal her identity, no one in the world will be able to find her!
Whenever Jiang Wen thought of what Luo Yuantong said to him in the stormy atrium, he would realize that the feeling of licking the calf was extremely heavy.
In the face of this scheming, Jiang Wen could only lament that Luo Yuantong was indeed the only remaining rhino wielder in the world. Once he turned his thoughts on dealing with Yixi things elsewhere, he could set off such a monstrous wave in an instant - -If it was not him who entered the sea at that time, but Wu Liuqi as planned, there would be no way to survive at this time!
It's a pity that his daughter doesn't seem to appreciate this painstaking effort.
From Luo Shuang'er's point of view, what she felt was that her father was deceiving and plotting against her. He seemed to have entrusted him with important responsibilities, but he used other tricks to exclude her. This made her think about everything and then recall her three years of hard training by the Dongting Lake. , and even almost broke his heart with anger.
"Miss Luo, there are some things Jiang doesn't know whether to say or not. In addition to these inquiries, I also found out some news about Guangzhou and your father..."
Jiang Wen knew a truth well, that is, when a girl loses her temper, she must not dwell on the matter for too long. Sometimes it is more important to divert her attention, so she deliberately hesitated, looked embarrassed, and protracted. The accent is even more thoughtful.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wen found that Luo Shuang'er, who was lying on the stone bed with her head turned and silent, was slowly raising her arms and sitting up. For a moment, her innocent and ignorant face and her cold expression collided, staring straight at Jiang Wen.
At this time, silence was better than sound. Jiang Wen immediately understood what the other party meant, and also understood that the other party understood what he meant.
This sounds a bit convoluted, but you must know that Yunnan and Guangdong are thousands of miles apart. It is difficult to complete the journey in ten days and a half, and it is even more difficult to communicate news from the two places—— Unless the news is shocking enough to spread like wildfire.
And if Luo Yuantong's whereabouts appeared in such earth-shattering news, then Luo Shuang'er's understanding would naturally detect something bad.
"Miss Luo, I heard that the city of Guangzhou has been turned upside down. Probably around the time we fought to suppress the dragon, anti-king forces from all walks of life gathered in Guangzhou. Among them, Li Dingguo, the general under Emperor Yongli, didn't know what happened. Suddenly We fought from Yunnan to outside Guangzhou, and almost killed Shang Kexi on the spot, achieving the feat of 'three defeats to become the king'."
Although it is difficult to understand, Li Dingguo of Yunnan was able to miraculously pass through the heavy blockade of Wu Sangui, the king of Pingxi, and Li Qifeng, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, but he inexplicably ran from the ancient temple in Nanhai to the foot of Jizu Mountain. If there is no connection between the two, it would be unreasonable.
Jiang Wen, who had guessed the clues, was still speaking with an attitude of indifference and aloofness. This mirror mentality was something that he could not get rid of since he was above the boiling sea, even if he said news that shocked the world. , there was still no unnecessary change in the expression on his face, and he continued to speak calmly.
"Now people from all walks of life are fighting around the city of Guangzhou, and the Qing army is busy encircling and suppressing the Zheng family in Xiamen and is unable to support them. The world, which has been silent for a long time, feels like it is going against the tide."
The waves against the sky are the most appropriate feeling during these ten months. It is as if throwing a stone from the other side of the bank has broken up a pond of water. When the fragrant bait enters the water, countless dragons are accidentally startled. The dragon and snake will also metamorphose, and use the cloud mane and mist to reach the sky, so that the dust and dust caused by Zheng and Zhang's attack on the south of the Yangtze River last year will roar up again!
Luo Shuang'er's eyes flickered a little, and Jiang Wen knew that she was worried about something happening to her father, so she said in a relieved tone.
"Don't worry, Miss Luo, your father is fine now. Shang Kexi must know that he is one of the masterminds behind this time. If he is caught by Shang Kexi, he will definitely be divided into pieces and his body will be spread everywhere. It will never be possible for him to be so silent. Rest!"
Jiang Wen was so convincing, but Luo Shuang'er frowned slightly. If the King of Han's green knife hadn't been inserted into Jiang Wen's waist, he might have sealed his throat with a knife.
Jiang Wen sensed a hint of murderous intent and quickly added, "Miss Luo, don't get me wrong. I didn't mean to curse you, it's just that you don't know what happened to Li Xinghe."
Jiang Wen looked thoughtful, "It is said that Li Xinghe, the prince's buttocks, was dragged to the Chinese army's tent by Shang Kexi half a month ago and chopped into pieces with thousands of swords. The knife was used to avoid the vital parts. It lasted three days and three months. Ye, finally beheaded him with a single blow and brought his head to the flag as a sacrifice."
Jiang Wen still hasn't figured out why Li Xinghe, a charlatan, suffered such a fate from Shang Ke. Even if he failed to use his plan and fell into a trap, it seemed that he shouldn't have ended up like this, unless he was also involved in this matter, which caused Shang Kexi to fall into the current situation step by step.
The news about Li Xinghe among the people is now very popular, and there are even various versions circulated. It is said that Li Xinghe colluded with the rebels and the thieves cooperated internally and externally. There are various theories, but none of them seem to be able to explain the reason why Li Xinghe was sentenced to death, so they will not speak out to pollute their ears.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wen thought of another folk rumor and quickly said to Luo Shuang'er as if offering a treasure.
"Miss Shuang'er, apart from the anti-king forces gathered in Guangzhou this time, the one who shocked the world the most was Princess Changping of the Ming Dynasty. She also appeared with the imperial edict of Emperor Chongzhen. And this Princess Changping is actually you, Ziyi My sister’s master is Wu Mei Shitai!”
Luo Shuang'er, whose attention was invisibly diverted by Jiang Wen, finally said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Five masters? How could such a thing happen?"
Jiang Wen nodded slowly, touched his chin and said: "It's absolutely true. Now even the words of Chongzhen's edict have been copied and transcribed. They have spread throughout the prefectures and counties, and the uproar cannot be cut off. I think more people will take advantage of the situation and let the Qing Dynasty Ting has been anxious for a while."
Luo Shuang'er's face showed a hint of joy, but after a while, her charming face took on a look of annoyance again.
"So what? Emperor Chongzhen was unable to calm down the chaos during his lifetime. How could he be able to bring peace to the world after his death? Now that dad is involved in it, his life will only become even more difficult..."
Jiang Wen smiled happily, showing a hint of cunning.
"Miss Shuang'er, you are wrong. If we say that Emperor Chongzhen's true edict was of no use, it will definitely be of no use, but the fake edicts circulating in half of the country today can turn decay into magic."
"Fake edict?"
Luo Shuang'er's almond-shaped eyes opened slightly, as if she didn't understand the meaning of Jiang Wen's words, and asked in a low voice, "You haven't seen it with your own eyes, how do you know that the edict is fake?"
Jiang Wen smiled slightly and did not answer. The details here are indeed difficult to explain. Moreover, there are many theories about Chongzhen's edict in history. They are all indescribable and have different contents. For example, the "History of Ming Dynasty: Emperor Zhuang Lie" compiled by the Qing Dynasty "It is recorded as follows: [Yu Shu Yijin said: "I am cold and virtuous, and I bow to God, but all the ministers have misunderstood me. I died without a face to see my ancestors, I took off my crown, and covered my face with my hair. Let the thieves divide me, and there will be no one. Injuring one of the common people."] This statement is probably quoted from "Jiashen Jiwen".
But a book with a very similar title, "Jiashen Chronicles", says: [On the 22nd, thieves found the late emperor's bow and placed it under a pine tree in Meishan. He hanged himself opposite the eunuch Wang Cheng'en, with the words "Emperor" written in his left hand. "Two characters, wearing a blue-sleeved Taoist robe, red trousers, boots on one foot, boots off the other, hair all messed up, seeing what's going on inside, this is what I said. 】
You must know that Zhao Shijin, the author of "Jiashen Chronicles", was a Jinshi in the tenth year of Chongzhen, had been an official in the capital for a long time, and was also in Beijing when the city was destroyed. This statement is obviously more reasonable. After all, Chongzhen was driven to a desperate situation by a critical situation, so don't act like you can carry it with you He was carrying an edict in pen and ink, and it was even more impossible to bite his fingers and write so many words. It was only reasonable to leave two words to indicate his identity in such a hurry.
More importantly, the author of "Jiashen Jiwen" is Feng Menglong, the author of "San Yan Liang Pai". He compiled many unofficial historical records that recorded the historical events of Jiashen years and edited it slightly. creation.
But Jia's pen is extraordinary after all. This most widely circulated saying has entered the folk and even evolved into "kill all the civil and military officials with swords and swords, don't hurt the people in my city", which is becoming less and less like an emperor. said.
Taking a closer look, Emperor Chongzhen in the previous statement clearly meant to shirk the blame. One by one, I blame God and the ministers for misunderstanding me. At the end of the sentence, I seem to be saying harsh words, which solidifies the image of a mean, ungrateful, and desperate king. So why did the Qing Dynasty adopt this statement when compiling history?
All this is nothing more than superficial praise and criticism, in order to add a sentence at the end of this paragraph: "The great destiny has come to an end, the evil atmosphere is gone, and the emperor has to give a posthumous title and build a mausoleum, the ceremony is grand." This is a holy dynasty with great virtues that will last through the ages], he shamelessly praised himself.
Faced with Emperor Chongzhen who had lost everything, since he knew that the situation was irreversible, he could not be so tough as to say the wise sayings spread among the people, let alone someone who could say soft words such as "Don't hurt the people."
As an emperor, the first thing he should be thinking about is the posthumous affairs, and the second thing should be the inheritance issue. If you don't enter the mausoleum after you die, it's like issuing a sinner's edict. You don't have to collect my body for me. It's a first-class matter for the ministers to assist the prince. This is an issue related to orthodoxy. There is no way to blame the ministers. It should be written in the edict.
Therefore, in Jiang Wen’s view, if there really is a Chongzhen edict in this world, then the third statement that is closest to the truth should be what Yang Shicong said in "Jiashen Hezhenlue": [A line of ink on the sleeve says: "Because He has lost his country, has no face to see his ancestors, and dares not to finally go to bed." Another line says: "All the officials went to the East Palace." After hearing about this, the official of Zhou Zhong came out to see it in person. 】
But in today's rumors, the content of the imperial edict held by Princess Changping is obviously a mixture of the skin of "Jiashen Jiwen" and the bones of "Jiashen Hezhenlue". There are many exquisite words and sentences that are used for reference, which together ensure the authenticity. At the same time, it avoids orthodox issues and adopts the most popular saying among the people to add fuel to the flames. How can there be such a coincidence in the world!
In other words, if Chongzhen had this ability, just by relying on his exquisite skills of building walls and digging holes, he would not have become the king of subjugation who worked hard and died alone on the old crooked neck tree!
"Miss Luo, there is something I don't know whether to say or not. Whether this imperial edict is true or false, do you think anyone really cares?"
Seeing that Luo Shuang'er didn't believe it, Jiang Wen smiled and wanted to raise his hand, only to remember that his broken right hand was tied stiffly, with branches and Zhanlu swords tied together into a splint, and it was still waiting to heal.
"The "Zuo Zhuan" makes it very clear, 'Only weapons and names cannot be faked.' The fake imperial edict swore that [corrupt officials, rebellious ministers and traitors can be killed by everyone in the world]," Is there any more famous instrument in the world than this?"
Jiang Wen laughed loudly in the tree hole and shook all the dead branches to the ground. "Now the sky is boiling outside. This imperial edict is just adding fuel to the fire. The ambition of the person who wrote this imperial edict seems to be more than just lifting the fire." He wants to overthrow the glorious throne of Guangzhou, but he also plans to bring chaos to the world! Jiang saw four words between the words of this fake edict, which made me a little moved!"
Jiang Wen had never seen the fake edict and didn't know why the five masters were willing to cooperate in this scene. But he knew that it would be enough if everyone in the world was willing to believe it was true.
For example, in Shang Kexi's eyes, Chongzhen, who has been dead for a long time, will be transformed into the most terrifying ghost through the posthumous edict, which will bring him oppression that can never be erased.
The spear of Longinus pierced Christ, and the blood flowed to the ground, which was the original sin that could not be undone. In the ethical concepts at this time, regicide was also an unforgivable act. History has proven that even if you kill the "false emperor" or "prince" with an unjustified name, you will have to pay a heavy price, forcing Chongzhen to death. Li Zicheng was like this, Li Chengdong who was chasing Shaowu and Longwu was like this, Wu Sangui was about to kill Hongguang, and even the regent Dorgon who killed the prince Zhu Cixiang on a false pretense seemed to be unable to escape this fate.
Suddenly, now, the former Princess Changping appears with a posthumous edict, which means the "bones" and "blood" of the imperial power. He is still happy. If he does not kill her, the Qing court will never forgive her lightly. But if she kills her, the world will not tolerate her. This "blood"-stained butcher will give countless people an excuse to fight against him. Therefore, no matter what the outcome is, Shang Kexi will be further and further away from his dream of "Eternal Town Tiannan".
To the people who were fighting a bloody battle in Guangzhou, this was not so much a legacy of Chongzhen as a long-standing political program. Today, Hongguang, Longwu, Shaowu, Yongli and other forces have finally joined forces, and they have also proved their determination to rebel to King Chuang's relics.
——You see, we are sincerely rebelling this time and leaving no escape route. If you don’t want to be surrounded and killed, this is your last chance.
All in all, in the 17th year of Shunzhi, when the Qing Dynasty swept the world like an overwhelming force, the rebels who had been suffering for a long time finally united and issued their cry.
The only thing Jiang Wen didn't expect was that this incredible thing actually started from a disastrous defeat of the Qing soldiers in Wuyi Mountain.
In the tree hole, Luo Shuang'er remained silent, and her quiet face seemed to reflect Jiang Wen's complicated thoughts. Luo Shuang'er caught a glimpse of Jiang Wen's clothes that were still wet with dew, and guessed that he must be guarding the ancient tree during the day and only looking around at night. He was not as heartless as he showed.
After a long time, neither of them spoke again, until a quiet inquiry came.
"Then, will my father be safe this time?"
Jiang Wen was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Luo Shuang'er's sincere face, he simply raised his injured arm a little and revealed the secret.
"Miss, stop thinking so wildly. My injury is not healed yet. Don't think that I don't know that you have lost all your martial arts skills. Even if you go back, it will only cause more trouble. It is true that you should seize the time to recover from your injuries."
Jiang Wen stopped paying attention to her, leaving the King of Han's green sword at his waist. He turned around and walked out of the tree hole, rolled over and jumped up. In an instant, he was leaning on the tree trunk again, leaning on the branches.
Facing the increasingly complex situation, although Jiang Wen was not optimistic about their prospects and could guess that this time would be difficult, among these people, he knew that he could trust Li Dingguo's anti-Qing campaign without reservation. ambition.
A year ago, Li Dingguo planned the bloody battle at Mopan Mountain and devoted all his troops to annihilate thousands of Qing troops. In exchange for the last great victory on the anti-Qing battlefield, he could no longer recover and could only lead his troops to attack Yunnan and Myanmar in roundabout ways. In the middle of the jungle, his destined ending was to die in the wilderness in despair.
But now with the emergence of Wuyang Secret Road, Li Dingguo suddenly has the possibility to fight back and avenge his shame. Since he dares to rush to Guangzhou with the troops that Yongli squeezed out from his teeth, he will never live in an ignoble way. idea.
Jiang Wen smiled imperceptibly. With his current mind as a mirror, he could slowly consider many things.
He was very happy that a man with lofty ideals still had such courage and was so generous. It was really unreasonable not to give him a push. Since ancient times, people who want to die are the least likely to die, but two people like him and Luo Shuang'er who want to survive may have to go through a lot of troubles if they want to spend their time safely.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
The fifth volume, Tangtang serialization!
