As we walked along, the city was filled with a chilling atmosphere.
The soldiers seen on the roadside often come and go in groups. There are often people sharpening swords and guns at the door of the barracks, and there are often people pulling carts full of military supplies through the streets.
It can be seen that the war is just around the corner.
Think about it this way——
Although Saibei is strong, General Chen has never been afraid of them, and Dayan is at the peak of his integrity, and his military and national power are at their peak. Saibei is going south for the second time this time. The reason why General Chen mainly focuses on defense is because of the military strength of Saibei. It's just that there are monsters to help. Now that the monsters are eliminated, Saibei is at a time when people are panicked and the morale of the military is in turmoil. General Chen will not miss such a good opportunity.
"arrive."
Commander Zhang stopped at the door of a courtyard.
The courtyard door was open, and Song You went in with him.
It's not as elegant as an ordinary house in the city, but the conditions are much better than those in a camping tent in the wild. Stepping into the courtyard gate, there is a large open space inside, where pear trees and vegetables are actually planted. The entire courtyard is surrounded by loess tile-roofed houses, one after another. I heard that there is one room for each person, and there are also dedicated There is one room used as a main room, and the living conditions are much better than ordinary soldiers.
There were people coming and going in the courtyard, and there were people hanging clothes to dry.
"Mr. Jiang."
Military Advisor Zhang caught Mr. Jiang, who looked the most leisurely, and said, "I wonder if Mr. Qiao is here?"
"It's in the house."
"Thank you."
Military Advisor Zhang led Song You over.
Knocking lightly on the door, someone soon opened the door.
Mr. Qiao is a tall and thin middle-aged man. According to Commander Zhang, he can draw several kinds of talismans. Some are worn on the body to ward off evil spirits, some are boiled into water to avoid illness, and some are painted on the sword to kill imps. , but he is also a civilian expert that is much needed in the military. Mr. Qiao was originally from Yuezhou. Later he had no choice but to join the army. I heard that he knew a lot about Yuezhou.
But when Mr. Qiao saw Song You, he was stunned for a moment.
"Why are you standing there in a daze? Are you scared by Mr. Song?" Military Master Zhang looked at him with a smile, "Mr. Song went down the mountain to wander around the world. He will go to Yuezhou next time. I want to ask about Yuezhou. I am thinking of you. He is from Yuezhou, and although I, Mr. Zhang, know something about it, I don’t know it as well as you do, so I brought Mr. Song to find you.”
"oh oh……"
Only then did Mr. Qiao react.
Song You glanced at his expression, looked past him, and glanced into the room. Although the room was not big, there were many paintings hanging on the walls. Most of the paintings were scenes of military killings.
The painting can be said to be pretty good.
It's just that although there are often literati joining the army these days, and there are many who like painting, there don't seem to be many military paintings available, and most of them are of generals. Most of the paintings painted by this artist are large scenes, either the two armies are fighting fiercely, or the corpses are like mountains and blood is flowing into the water after the war, or the army is marching like a long queue, or the camps are stretching for dozens of miles, which is a style rarely seen on the market. .
There is a table in front of the bed. On the table are paint brushes and a half-painted painting.
The painting shows exactly what happened yesterday.
Song You retracted his gaze and continued to look at Mr. Qiao.
"Mr. Song is an immortal and an expert. How dare you neglect Mr. Qiao when you are here?" Mr. Qiao reacted and quickly left the room and closed the door. "It's time to make a pot of tea for Mr. Song."
"Want to drink tea? Then you have to call me." Jiang Dadu smiled and walked over after drying his clothes.
The group of people entered the main room.
The strange people's camp is full of strange people from the world and some folk masters. Each has his own abilities, but his abilities are not limited to those weird spells. They often also have other hobbies. Many people even leave the thousand-year-old spirit. He is a wonderful person with all kinds of abilities.
Jiang Dadu is the most laid-back.
First of all, his ability is inherited from his ancestors, and he has it in his mother's womb. It does not require hard training, and it takes no effort to acquire it. The vicissitudes of the world produce wonderful people, and wonderful people come out of leisure and carelessness.
Secondly, although his ability is powerful, it can only be used once every three days. Unlike Xing Wu and Mr. Qiao, if General Chen wants to turn defense into offense, they have to work overtime to prepare alchemy and drawing talismans. Only a few people like Mr. Jiang can continue to stay in the barracks and wash and dry clothes in a leisurely manner.
Mr. Jiang loves to drink tea and has a good tea art.
The conditions in the army were extremely miserable, and both General Chen and Commander Zhang took special care of them, who either volunteered to serve the country or came to follow and help because of their fame. Therefore, in Jiang Dadu's barracks, There is actually a Longtuan tribute tea that many nobles in Changjing find rare.
Jiang Dadu seemed to treat Song You as a god.
I got good tea, carefully crushed it and sifted it, and got good water to fry it. I paid great attention to every step, and did it to the best of what could be done in this military camp. Even Commander Zhang called it a luxury after drinking it.
"I am very lucky to have Mr. Song today. Normally, Jiang Dadu would not entertain us like this easily." Military Master Zhang said.
"What do you want to ask Mr. Song?"
"I just want to ask what famous mountains and rivers there are in Yuezhou, what are the unique customs, what kind of monsters are there, and what are the magical places. I might as well go there and visit them."
"well……"
Mr. Qiao sighed, but put down the teacup in his hand.
"How many more people are left in Yuezhou now..."
"How to say?"
"The last time the Saibei people went south, I was still young. The imperial court's defenses were all in Yanzhou and Hezhou. Yuezhou's defenses were sparse. When the Saibei people passed through the border, it might be an exaggeration to say that ten houses and nine empty houses were not far behind. However, when the Saibei soldiers arrived After the defeat, the demons started to cause chaos. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the ten houses and nine empty houses would be empty." Mr. Qiao couldn't help but sigh, "Before, there was a big demon king in the south of Yuezhou, who was called the White Bull King by the locals. It occupies almost half of Yuezhou. Compared with the demon kings in Yecheng and Heyuan, it is more terrifying. It treats the people in the territory as livestock. Who dares to stay there? Even if there are people who have survived the military disaster and the plague, in the demon king They all moved away early due to the torture, which is why I left my hometown and came to follow General Chen."
Song You's expression was very calm after hearing this:
"What now?"
"It seems that not long after the beginning of spring this year, Zhang heard rumors that the White Bull King of Yuezhou was also killed by the gods." Military Advisor Zhang said from the side, but the divine light couldn't help but dim, "But now in the south of Yuezhou There are almost no people there, the previous ones are almost dead, and no one will dare to move there in a short time. I am afraid that they will have to wait for the north to stabilize in a few years and the court will recruit people to fill it. "
"When I left, there were very few people living in the southern part of Yuezhou, in the territory occupied by the White Bull King. I'm afraid there are indeed very few people left now," Mr. Qiao also said.
"On the other hand, there are still some people in the west of Yuezhou, next to Yanzhou. The Changqianmen is over there." Mr. Jiang said, "The Changqianmen are all good guys."
"But apart from the Changqianmen, there are not many people left." Military Advisor Zhang said again.
"..."
Song You couldn't help but feel a little silent.
There are not many people left in a state. It seems that military disasters have this power no matter when. Big monsters and people are also a common thing in troubled times, but it still makes people feel frightened when they hear it.
Fortunately, the gods of the Heavenly Palace are still capable. In the past few years, they have focused on suppressing the northern demons, but they have actually killed several great demon kings who had been accumulating power for an unknown period of time and took advantage of these troubled times to emerge.
"If sir, if you want to go to Changqianmen, Zhang can write a letter and go with General Chen's name, and Changqianmen will not dare to neglect you," said Military Advisor Zhang.
"There are some nice scenery in Yuezhou. I liked painting when I was young and I have been to many places, such as Tianzhu Mountain, the Five Color Pond, and the Yuelong Waterfall. In the past, when Yuezhou was not hit by war, There are also many literati and elegant people who are leisurely visiting. I heard that in the past, at its peak, Tianzhu Mountain could collect one hundred thousand taels of silver from the 'mountain tax' every year."
The so-called mountain tax is equivalent to the entrance fee these days.
But don’t think that because transportation is inconvenient these days, not many people love to travel. In fact, countless literati and elegant people in the past dynasties are keen on landscapes. Due to Dayan’s developed economy, some ordinary people from wealthy families sometimes travel to nearby places. , even though life seems ordinary, as long as there is spare power, there are people who will try their best to make it shine.
So the government surrounded the mountain to collect taxes.
There are some places like Yunding Mountain that do not charge taxes, and there are also places like Tianzhu Mountain that charge taxes.
The situation is different everywhere.
Seeing that Song You was interested, Mr. Qiao told him in detail.
Including where these places are, how to get there, and which ones are close to each other, we all told Song You.
Song You listened carefully and remembered.
Mr. Qiao looked at him quietly from time to time.
After writing it down, Song Youcai asked again: "I heard that there is a green paulownia forest in the north of Yuezhou, where you can see phoenixes. Is it true or not?"
"I was planning to tell Mr. Qingtong about the Qingtong forest." Mr. Qiao then said, "There is indeed such a legend in Yuezhou. In the original Ning County, there was indeed such a Qingtong forest, where all the ancient Qingtong trees grew. Thousands of years old, it is as tall as the clouds. The biggest fear is that dozens of people cannot hug it. It is bigger than this room, and people can walk away just from the branches growing on the tree. But according to legend, the Qingtong tree only has Only a phoenix can climb it, but it is unlucky for ordinary people to climb it, so no one dares to climb it, and no one dares to cut it down."
Take a break:
"I heard that you might see a phoenix there every winter solstice and summer solstice, and some people have seen it. I also heard that someone used to take the bark of the tung tree there to make paper, and the things they drew could even come true. I have been there. , but I have never seen a phoenix, and I don’t know how to make paper from the bark of the qingtong tree. I only know that the scenery there is beautiful, except for the frequent mist and miasma. Even without the phoenix and the gods, the scenery of the qingtong forest is still worth visiting."
"Zhang has also heard about it," said Military Advisor Zhang. "I heard that the people you see during the summer solstice are fire birds, and the people you see during the winter solstice are ice birds. Some say they are phoenixes, and some say they are black birds. In short, they are Divine bird. Even if it is true, it was called by an ordinary person who happened to see it, and no one can tell what the real name of the sacred bird is."
"rational."
Song You nodded and said.
"Zhang has heard a saying." Military Advisor Zhang said, "Some people say that this divine bird will take away the souls of the dead when it flies by. Others say that the divine bird will come only when a great and virtuous person falls on the earth. Otherwise, even if you go there during the winter and summer solstice, you won’t be able to see it.”
"That's it..."
Song You looked thoughtful.
"Sir, are you going?"
"Of course I want to go."
"It's summer now, and the summer solstice is not far away. Sir, if you go by now, you should still be able to catch up..." Commander Zhang paused and looked at Song You quietly, "If sir, you still want to stay in the army for a long time, you should take a closer look at this place." For the different scenery in the military, you can wait until the winter solstice, which is only a few months away."
As he spoke, Military Advisor Zhang immediately added: "Although the demons in the Saibei Army have been eliminated, there are still some hidden ones, or there may be some in other armies. If sir, you are willing to stay in the army longer, we will treat you well." .”
Song You couldn't help but smile when he heard this.
(End of chapter)
