But this time there is no need to walk through all of Hezhou. There is no need to pass through Hezhou. We just take a shortcut through a small corner of Hezhou and enter Angzhou.
Then follow the original road to Changjing.
On the last day of autumn, the group walked to the Yuqu River and the Linjiang Plank Road.
The last time I walked here was in the early spring of the fifth year of Mingde.
It was already the late autumn of the seventh year of Mingde.
One season short of three years.
When I came back, the river was full of spring water, and the spring rain was like silk, making the water surface full of fine ripples. This time, the autumn water is quiet, as dark green as jade, with similar water levels, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. Facing the autumn water of the river is a stone wall that is almost vertical to the water surface, and a plank road has been carved out of the stone wall.
The Taoist walked in front with a stick, followed by a maroon horse, a calico cat ran back and forth at will, and a swallow flew across the river, its wingtips skimming the water and opening a slit in the green silk.
Suddenly there was a tinkling sound.
The Taoist looked forward while listening.
The sound was obviously not the sound of a horse bell, but like the sound of a chisel hitting a stone wall. It was clear and sweet, echoing on the river between the two mountains.
The swallow flew to see it, but did not say anything when he came back.
The sound soon became clear.
When the Taoist walked over, he discovered that someone was carving cave carvings on the stone wall on the inside of the plank road.
Ding, clang, clang, all the time.
The whole river was filled with this sound.
There are countless craftsmen working on this plank road, including those who carve the stone walls, those who clean the stones, those who bury pots for cooking, and those who are responsible for supervision. When they saw a man, a horse and a calico cat walking along the plank road, they couldn't help but look at him strangely.
Faces were standing on the plank road, standing on wooden shelves, carrying stones and throwing them into the river, or carving with chisels and chisels. They all turned to look at him.
The Taoist's steps did not change, he still walked forward with his stick, and he turned to look at them one by one.
At the same time, he looked at the extra grotto statues along the way.
The stone statues are as low as a human being and are several feet tall. The craftsman who carved them had to stand on a wooden frame.
The small grotto is about the size of a washbasin, while the larger one is one or two feet high and seven or eight feet deep, like a room.
The grottoes are of Buddhist culture and are mainly carved with Buddha statues.
Various Buddha statues, including Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Arhats, and Dharma Protectors, sitting or standing, large or small, are vividly displayed on the stone wall plank road facing the river.
The statues of the gods of this era are neither deliberately majestic nor feminine, nor do they strive to create a sense of holiness or promote the boundless power of the gods. They are just imitating the people of the world and the dress of the gods in the minds of the world. A very realistic depiction of a god that is close to a human being. This shows that the people of Dayan have a very peaceful and stable mentality, and their aesthetics are also normal. They feel that the way they are now is the best in the world, and there can be no other better. Naturally, there is no need to look for anything from the statues. It requires a rare and extremely high level of cultural confidence as support.
Thousands of years later, this is the stone carving culture that represents Dayan and reflects the aesthetics and mentality of Dayan society.
There are also some human figures that are not Buddha statues.
It is the image of the person who ordered the funding to build these cave statues.
The Taoist walked slowly through and met him.
In fact, he had seen similar grotto statues a long time ago, but at that time he saw it from the perspective of a later generation.
At that time, the stone statues in the grottoes were already covered with traces of the passage of time. Only the grottoes and stone statues were left in the grottoes. At most, there were some large and small square holes around the stone statues. Tourists who walked under them at that time were not interested. What are these holes used for? Now it’s clear—
At this time, both grottoes and stone statues had doors, beams and roofs.
The holes that were seen by later generations were the places where beams and pillars were inserted to support the roofs of temples of all sizes. They were all extremely exquisite, with carved beams and painted buildings. They did not look like grottoes, but like temples embedded in the mountain. They were clearly the same as those seen by later generations. Two looks.
There are craftsmen installing doors for the grotto.
There are craftsmen laying tiles for the roof.
The Taoist would slow down from time to time and look inside.
"Hey..."
Finally, a man in official uniform stopped him: "Sir, why did you come here?"
"Um?"
Song You turned to look at him: "Isn't this the plank road leading to Changjing?"
"This plank road has long been sealed. The new official road is on the opposite side of the river. Now, under the orders of the imperial court, they are digging grottoes and carving stone statues. Logically speaking, someone should block the road. How did you get here?"
"I see, that's why I didn't meet anyone along the way." Song You smiled and saluted the official, "I didn't mean to intrude. In fact, I walked along the same route when I left Changjing. Those who went out on this plank road are now returning the same way, but no one encountered anyone on the way."
"These government officials must be lazy again!"
The official couldn't help but curse, then looked at Song You and frowned.
"That's all. Since you have come here without intending to walk in, I would like to ask you to go back the same way. There will be a long detour, so I won't embarrass you." The official waved his hand, and the people of Dayan said to the monks and Taoists He has always been respectful, and looking at this man, he seems to be really unusual, "Sir, please don't wander around, so as not to break things, just leave along here."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"What kind of food do you want? Do you want to bring two of the freshly steamed vegetable dumplings?"
"Thank you very much."
Song You was not too polite.
The official laughed and went to get it for him.
Song You followed him and asked a few more questions.
It is said that His Majesty's dragon body has been ill since the previous assassination incident. The people below do not know the specific situation, but there are often vague rumors in Changjing that His Majesty is getting worse day by day. Although the current Dayan Dynasty is more abiding by Taoism, Buddhism is rising very quickly. The empress believes in Buddhism very much. In order to pray for her majesty, the Yuqu Grottoes were built.
The Taoist thanked him again and then continued forward.
Still watching while walking.
Looking at these newly created stone statues and grottoes, I also passed by the craftsmen who built them at this time. Some craftsmen saluted him, and the Taoist immediately returned the salute.
The grotto had just begun to be excavated. It didn't take long before it reached the end, and the craftsmen and the clanking sounds were left behind.
The calico cat, which had been holding back for a long time, then took small steps and ran to his feet. As it walked forward, it turned back, raised its head to look at him, and said to him:
"Miss Sanhua remembers walking here before."
"Miss Sanhua has a photographic memory."
"It was different here than it is now."
"There will be greater changes in the future."
"Why did they build the temple here?"
"You have to ask them."
The Taoist seemed to be afraid that she would say "You're not smart" again, so he lowered his head to look at her. Seeing her tilting her head and raising her head very high, he felt tired for her: "Miss Sanhua, please stay away from me. This way you don't have to." It will be easier if you raise your head too high.”
"But Sanhua Empress is small and her voice is small. People's ears are not good, so you can't hear her clearly if you are far away."
"Wouldn't this be tiring?"
"A cat can't."
"But I'm afraid of stepping on Sanhua Empress."
"Miss Sanhua is very powerful."
"That's up to you."
The Taoist smiled and shook his head helplessly.
This plank road is not short, and the Taoist has not walked out of here, especially when he walked to the place where he spent the night almost three years ago, he saw faint traces of flames burning on the ground, so he stopped here again, unloaded his bags and prepared to have a good rest. Today, I will walk back to Changjing in one breath tomorrow.
I met Xing Wu here by chance before.
At that time, Daxia Shu was also with him.
It's just that among the old friends who spent the night here together, one should still be in the Northern Army, serving as a guest minister of strange people, and the other should be in Wushan, Guangzhou, and is already a famous master who founded the sect.
Today there is another swallow.
Sanhua Empress had a good memory and still remembered the fish soup that night, so the Taoist asked her to catch fish in the river again and asked the swallow to collect firewood. At night, he lit a fire in the original place and cooked it for a whole day. A pot of fish soup, plus vegetable dumplings presented by the officials, is tonight's dinner.
There is no one at night, the river is cool and the sound of splashing water can be heard from time to time.
The Taoist went down to the river to take a bath.
The cat was similar. Although it was sitting on the bank with its back to the Taoist, it raised its paws and licked it carefully, and then rubbed its face with its paws.
After washing myself thoroughly, I will return to Changjing tomorrow.
…
Winter has just begun in Changjing.
If you want to ask who is the most famous person in Changjing and even Dayan recently, it is undoubtedly General Chen Ziyi and Chen who just returned from a great victory in the north.
This is a great victory that has never been achieved in any dynasty, and it is also a place that has never been reached by the army of any dynasty.
It can be called a marvelous achievement through the ages.
At the beginning of spring this year, Chen Ziyi was recalled to the court and granted the title of Marquis of Wu'an.
This is the top honor for military commanders in the past dynasties. Over the past thousands of years, only a few people have been awarded the title of Marquis of Wu'an.
At this time, Chen Ziyi was naturally enjoying the attention of countless eyes in Changjing. No matter whether those who really held power in the court consciously kept a distance from him, or whether those brave Qingliu admired his style and reputation and came to get close to him. , overt and covert attention is indispensable. I am afraid that the big and small dignitaries in Changjing will know through various channels who enters the Hou Mansion every day, and what ingredients, medicines and fabrics the housekeeper purchases.
However, Chen Ziyi's whereabouts have been very strange in recent days.
For some reason, he would go out early every morning, not taking many people with him, just a few personal guards, and leave the city. He would stay outside the city for a day, return after dark, and go again the next day.
As if waiting for someone.
But in the current Dayan, apart from the emperor whose health was deteriorating in the palace, how many people in the palace were worthy of the Marquis of Wu'an going out of the city to wait in person every day?
Most of the dignitaries in Changjing were puzzled.
It's just that Marquis Wu'an has a good reputation and is full of murderous intent. The officials in the capital, no matter whether they are civil or military, only snoop secretly, or even gather a group of people after dinner to talk about the news about the Marquis' mansion that came from an unknown mansion. It's really It's hard to tell the truth. Most people don't dare to ask Wu'an Hou outside the city, or go to the city gate to wait with Wu'an Hou.
He only dared to tell his cronies to stay in the city and pay attention to the whereabouts of Marquis Wu'an, or he could pretend to go out of the city to enjoy the autumn scenery and swim on the river. When he came back, he would pretend to be unintentional and meet General Chen by chance.
Until the dusk of the beginning of winter——
A Taoist appeared on the hillside outside Changjing City with a calico cat and a bay horse. He faced the cold wind and looked at the huge city below, and then stepped down.
PY's new book: "Everyone is fleeing from famine, and my items can be upgraded"
(End of chapter)
