Pei Dahu and Lin Yu knew that this mission was of great importance, but they did not know how important the city of Junzhou was to the Supreme Emperor.
Everyone knows that Junzhou, or the Tianxin City that is about to be built, will be the center of the empire. Therefore, Junzhou cannot be in chaos and cannot tolerate any mistakes.
When they arrived at Junzhou City, they were shocked by what they saw.
The grand scene of a forest of masts and masts at Laoying Pier in the east of the city is no longer there. There are only a few sparse old fishing boats left on the pier, and a few fishermen with sallow faces and skinny faces, like ghosts, are drying their fishing nets on the shore.
What about the big ship? What about the big ships that transport wood, stone, and craftsmen?
No one answered Pei Dahu's question because there was really no need to answer.
There were not many people seen at the dock. The big ship might have gone to Jingzhou or Jiangnan. Even the shacks built by the workers were nowhere to be seen, as if they were suddenly blown away by a gust of wind.
You must know that the soldiers and civilians who built Tianxin City here at the time were more than 100,000 people at most, but now they are all gone.
There are only some bare scaffoldings left in the wilderness to the east of the city, and a few ruins of walls. The sides of the walls are in a mess, with rocks and sand scattered around. Everything that can be moved has been moved away.
Several stooped old men were still walking back and forth on the scaffolding, trying to find anything they could take away.
Pei Dahu put down the telescope and said a little lonely: "It's too late. Uncle Guo is not old, but he is quite capable. He has emptied everything and left nothing for Da Qi."
Lin Yu's face was expressionless, as if he was indifferent to Uncle Guo's actions of hollowing out Da Qi.
"Big man Lin, do you think this North Korean stick is still in Junzhou City?"
Lin Yu shook his head and looked at a group of refugees begging at the gate of the city.
Pei Dahu stopped asking him, turned to his two men and said:
"I'm going to meet him and see what he has become now. The four of us walking together are too eye-catching. The horses are tied outside the city. One of us is watching. The other three are going to find some fisherman's gear. Wait. Enter the city."
Half an hour later, two burly fishermen carried their burdens and entered the city along the En Gate of the east city of Junzhou City.
There were not many people on the streets paved with bluestones, and only a few small fishing boats were still docked at the busy dock. The fishermen were standing or sitting, looking numbly at the shore.
Pei Dahu searched for a long time but did not meet a single pilgrim. In the past, Junzhou was crowded with people. Every day, countless pilgrims came from neighboring provinces and counties to pay homage to the True Martial God.
"A good place like a cash cow was left to my uncle, and it has become like this in just a few years. It is really a crime!"
The city wall that was originally repaired has now become tattered, as if it had just experienced a fierce battle.
The soldiers guarding the city gate huddled in the city gate to enjoy the cool air. When they saw someone entering the city from a distance, they just glanced at Lin Yu lazily and remained motionless.
Lin Yu walked in front with a subordinate, and Pei Dahu followed behind. They pretended to be fishermen selling fish - Junzhou is next to the Han River, and many people make a living by fishing.
"Perhaps Uncle Guo escaped and fled to Nanming."
Pei Dahu comforted himself in this way. Of course, he hoped that Qin Jianxun could send someone to help in time. He didn't want his men to die here.
The four of them walked through the city gate and walked west for a while. Everything they saw was decayed and dilapidated. There were only a few shops around, and there were no opera singers or storytellers in front of the City God's Temple. Junzhou's past bustle was gone, and there were no traces of beggars or homeless people. In a large area, there are rows and rows of people squatting in the streets and alleys.
Pei Dahu gritted his teeth and walked westward with the beast-like Lin Yu, and soon reached Chaowu Street.
Pei Dahu asked Lin Yu to take out the long knife from the package, put it on his shoulder, and swagger through the market, shocking the people around him.
Chaowu Street, a street named after pilgrims, has now become a world of refugees and beggars, with not a single pilgrim in sight.
The refugees were lying or sitting, looking at a few people from time to time. They stared at the burden on Pei Dahu, showing strange expressions.
Frightened by the behemoth Lin Yu and the big knife weighing dozens of kilograms, no one dared to come forward and grab it.
"Find a place to rest, ask Uncle Guo how he is doing now, and then go to the house to meet him. This thief has caused great harm to Junzhou! Don't let him be spared lightly!"
Five or six years ago, when the Supreme Emperor selected the capital city, Pei Dahu came to Junzhou City once.
At that time, Junzhou was still very prosperous. The ancient city was next to the Han River and was an important shipping node. The water surface above the county seat was narrow and the water surface below was wider. It served as a distribution center for upstream and downstream goods and was also a stopping point for worshiping Wudang Mountain. The riverside The pier is very busy with people coming and going all day long.
Mountain goods from Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi to the south, and goods from the South from Hunan and Jiangxi to the north are all unloaded and transferred here.
Pilgrims who worship Wudang Mountain often rest here. Incense, paper, firecrackers, and silk medicinal materials are placed all over the street, which stretches from the pier to the foot of Wudang Mountain, which is called Chaowu Street.
But everything in front of us was barren and dilapidated. From time to time, we could see a few bodies dying of hunger and women selling themselves with straw tags on the roadside.
No prostitutes are allowed in Daqi, no beggars and thieves are allowed! Human trafficking is also not allowed!
Emperor Wu Ding once boasted about such a Haikou.
Unexpectedly, one day, the capital (or quasi-capital) of the empire would be starved to death, and poor people would rush to sell themselves.
Pei Dahu walked for a while and found that several state-owned silk shops had been robbed. The store shelves had been set on fire and black smoke was rising. Only the bare flagpole of the black dragon flag symbolizing the state-owned business was left in front of the store.
Pei Dahu clenched his fists and kicked open the ajar door. He found that it was empty, with only half a counter and shelves left.
"Let's go, let's eat first."
The four of them stood in front of a food shop. Two waiters stood guard at the door with sticks. When homeless people approached, they would beat them with sticks. The homeless and beggars around them could not stop drooling when they smelled the aroma of meat cakes in the food shop. .
Lin Yu walked at the front. With a wave of his big hand, several refugees who were standing in front of him trying to beg for food dispersed.
Seeing this, the man holding a big stick quickly stopped Lin Yu, who was dressed as a fisherman, and raised his neck and said impatiently:
"The shopkeeper only accepts cash, not your smelly dried fish, go! Go! Go!"
As he spoke, he waved the wooden stick to drive Lin Yu away.
Lin Yu gently picked up the boy who was shorter than him, and let the boy hit him with the stick without any reaction. When the boy got tired, he gently pinched the big stick and applied a little force. There was a click sound, and the stick was broken. Cut it into two pieces, throw it with your hand, and the guy will fly out like a sandbag.
The surrounding refugees looked at it and all shouted "Hello". Some people didn't mind the excitement and started making noises.
The man turned pale with fright and lay on the ground for a long time unable to get up.
Pei Dahu chuckled, showing a kind smile, and stepped forward to help the boy up. The boy was so frightened that he backed away.
"Brother, I have money. I have money. I just want to eat a few pancakes here. When I have the strength, I can go on my way."
Pei Dahu looked back at Lin Yu and explained to the waiter: "My brother has a bad temper. He offended many people just now."
The big stick guy can't even say it.
Pei Dahu waved his hand, called the waiter to come forward, and said to him:
"Here you go, my brother is hungry. Go and serve some food and ask your shopkeeper to come out and talk."
The waiter wanted to refuse, but he gritted his teeth when he saw the heavy long knife hanging on Lin Yu's waist. After a while, the shopkeeper came out to greet him diligently. While staring at the giant bear-like Lin Yu, he carefully asked Pei Dahu what he was eating.
Pei Dahu took out half a tael of broken silver from his pocket and stuffed it into the shopkeeper's hand.
"Five pounds of beef, two pounds of pork liver, twenty iron roasts, twenty steamed cakes, more..."
Lin Yu, who was sitting next to him, had a growling stomach and water overflowed from the corner of his mouth when he heard the beef.
"Is this enough money?" Pei Dahu often travels on business and has some knowledge of prices in various places in Daqi. Half a tael of silver is enough for ordinary people to live for a month.
The shopkeeper took the money and said with a wry smile: "Guests, there is no pork liver or beef."
Pei Dahu said in surprise: "Then what do you have?"
"There are dried fish, dried shrimps, rice..."
"Then everyone come up and go quickly!"
Pei Dahu saw that the shopkeeper looked troubled and remained motionless, and said in surprise: "What? I gave you all the money and you don't want to do business anymore?"
This is not like Liaodong, where people are not allowed to do business.
"Sir, I'm afraid this half a tael of silver is not enough..."
Pei Dahu was a little angry and said angrily: "Why is it so expensive? Wuchang City is not so expensive! You are running a black shop!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I heard from the villain that there have been a lot of refugees outside the city these days. They have robbed everything they can in the countryside of Junzhou. They have set fires everywhere. Even the Taoist temples outside the city where Taoist priests have been robbed by the refugees." , ships have also been transferred to the south of the Yangtze River to transport flowers and stones. Nowadays, pigs are not easy to find. If you buy one penny of silver per catty today, I am afraid it will cost one penny and five cents tomorrow..."
"What about the food distributed by the imperial court? It's tens of thousands of dan, and it's free of charge. I heard that everyone in Junzhou has a share!"
After hearing this, the shopkeeper just smiled bitterly: "Grain, haha, who knows which bastard ate it."
Pei Dahu gave him another tael of silver, and the shopkeeper was overjoyed and went to cook.
Soon a stack of steamed cakes was brought out. Pei Dahu looked at a family of refugees squatting at the door. Two skinny children were huddled next to their parents. He took a few cakes and gave them to the parents. The refugees next to him came up to grab them, but Lin Yu scolded them away. .
Pei Dahu held a pancake and began to chew it. The shopkeeper came out with a large stack of steamed pancakes. Pei Dahu asked:
"Shopkeeper, the last time I came to Junzhou, it was like this. What's going on? There are beggars everywhere."
The shopkeeper shook his head and smiled bitterly, and said casually: "What a sin, who knows what kind of world this is. After fighting, we build the city, and after building the city, we fight again..."
Pei Dahu smiled and said: "I am a devout pilgrim from Henan. I made a wish at Wudang Mountain a few years ago. Now I have made a fortune, so I came to fulfill my wish to the ancestor. I am new here and I don't know about Junzhou affairs. Can the shopkeeper tell me something?"
The shopkeeper asked the waiter to continue serving food, and he pulled up a bench and sat down under Pei Dahu. Lin Yu was still handing out cakes to the refugees at the door.
"I don't know objectively. Junzhou has been destroyed. The Taoist priests on the mountain have escaped, and the Taoist temples have been robbed and burned. As you can see, many people's homes have been burned and looted, and they have nowhere to live. Thousands of men are waiting to eat, and they can’t kill anything, and they can’t be driven away.”
"The strong men? Those who built the capital? Where is the food for the court?"
The shopkeeper stood up and said: "My guest came all the way from Henan and is also a devout pilgrim. On the way, he must have met an official who caught a young man. Don't you know?"
Pei Dahu smiled and said, "If you knew, why would you ask the shopkeeper?"
"It is indeed true that the imperial court sent grain, grass, cloth and silk to the conscripts. The year before last, I saw with my own eyes carts of grain passing through Chaowu Street. However, the number of strong men reported by Junzhou was false. It was said that there were 100,000 soldiers and civilians building the building. Tianxin City, it would be good if 50,000 people come to our Junzhou, but the imperial court distributes food according to the population of 100,000. As for where the food goes, it is said that the people above are transported to the south. There is a famine in the south this year, and the food is The price is several times ours..."
"Where was Heart City that day? Has it been repaired?"
"Grandma Xiu, you go and take a look later. She dug a foundation and laid a few bricks. The bricks were also dug away."
The shopkeeper said a few words, then suddenly thought of something, he quickly stopped, got up, and excused himself to go to the back to look at the food.
Pei Dahu was speechless for a long time.
~~~~~~
Emperor Wu Ding's previous life, that miserable programmer named Qi Meng, spent most of his time before the age of twenty near Junzhou.
At that time, the ancient city had sunk into the vast Han River, and only the city walls remained standing in the water. Junzhou was no longer called Junzhou, but was named after the large river that submerged it - Danjiangkou.
A city, a group of people, born and raised here, a dam spanning the east and west, a vast world of life and death.
The fate of the people of Junzhou is like the travelers themselves, ups and downs, speechless.
Many years later, when he tried hard to search for official accounts of that huge project in the vast sea of big data, all he got was fragmented dreams:
"The waves of the Han River are surging to the sky,
Nine out of ten years are flooded.
Sell your son for a handful of rice,
Sell Nizi to donate.
Beat the ox to death and starve the dog to death.
Pick up the baggage and walk to the end of the world. "
Flooding occurs nine times in ten years, which is the most terrible thing for farmers who rely on the sky and the soil for food.
Junxian County was once the birthplace of Taoism in the Celestial Dynasty and the place where Prince Xuanwu of Jingle King, the founder of Taoism, became a monk and practiced asceticism.
In the early Ming Dynasty, in order to worship Emperor Zhenwu (i.e. Xuanwu), Emperor Yongle overhauled Wudang Mountain, built a royal Taoist temple, and built the Jingle Palace in Junxian County for the emperor to purify himself before going up the mountain and transfer supplies. It was the first of the eight palaces in Wudang Mountain.
When I was a child, my grandfather often visited Jingle Palace and climbed on the turtle carved from a huge stone. The stone tablet next to the turtle was engraved with the imperial edict issued by the emperor when Jingle Palace was built.
In my grandfather's memory, the ancient city wall of Junzhou is particularly magnificent, surpassing the existing ancient city wall of Xiangyang.
There is a folk saying that "Junzhou Prefecture is made of iron", and its city wall is 3.5 kilometers long.
Construction of the Danjiangkou Dam began. In order to avoid inconvenient transportation after the dam was closed, the county seat began to be relocated. At that time, there were approximately 20,000 residents in the county. The residents moved away bricks, wood, furniture, etc. with their bare hands, and half of the city wall was demolished.
Only a pair of stone turtles and an archway were moved from the Jingle Palace to the present Danjiangkou urban area and placed in the rebuilt Jingle Palace. The remaining buildings that were more than 500 years old were destroyed and abandoned.
Xiaochuan District outside the city (later renamed Xiaochuan Township) was later moved to the location of the old town of Junxian Town. To commemorate the eternally lost ancient city under the water, Xiaochuan Township was renamed Junxian Town. Unexpectedly, 20 years later, Junxian Town would be relocated as a whole again.
A lifetime of endless relocation and immigration.
~~~~~
Thirteen years ago, Jin Dajiu, uncle of Daqi and Duke of Chengguo, was still an ordinary court angel. Apart from his handsome appearance and his father who was born in the second class, he actually had no bright spots. When Liu Zhaosun traveled to this time and space, Jin Dajiu was on a mission to the Ming Dynasty. He was thin and bullied by the officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Until the bloody battle of Hunhe River ended, in Shenyang, Chao Tiantian met Yuan Chonghuan, who was as thin as him. The two had a good conversation and made suggestions for the alliance between Kaiyuan and North Korea.
Today, Yuan Chonghuan died in Kyushu, and Jin Dajiu was so fat that he was no longer human-like, and he was no longer as handsome as before. As the saying goes, time is like a butcher's knife, making grapes green and bananas red.
When Jin Dajiu traveled to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, he saw too many Ming Dynasty officials who were obese due to excessive indulgence. These people spoke rudely to the Koreans just to ask for a stack of Korean paper. There was no sign of the heavenly state in them. demeanor.
Jin Dajiu was very disgusted with this kind of behavior - Uncle Guo back then had a majestic aura, but compared to now, he was a completely different existence.
More than ten years ago, Pei Dahu and Yuan Chonghuan negotiated with Jin Dajiu. Until now, he still remembers Jin Dajiu's appearance.
"I haven't seen you for more than five years, and my uncle has become fat again. He is even fatter than the fat and corrupt officials in the capital. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager Cisheng trust you so much that they entrusted Junzhou and Tianxin City to you, but you are like this Do you still have a conscience towards the people of Daqi?"
"General Pei, the same goes for you. You are old, your temples are covered with white hair, and you don't care about your conscience. If you come to Junzhou and kill my slaves, what's going on?"
In the capital city of Junzhou, the main hall of Jingle Palace.
The obese Jin Dajiu looked at Pei Dahu, who was tied up by his highness, and showed a satisfied smile.
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