Ni Ya!
For many people, this is an unfamiliar term!
Many people have never even heard of it. Is this a place or a person’s name? Or does it mean something else?
In fact, this is the name of a very small town under the jurisdiction of Southern Tang Dynasty!
Although it has not been well-known until now, it is a relatively remote place. In this era of underdeveloped transportation and communication, no major events have happened. Very few people know about it, so it seems normal.
It was not called Ni Ya at first, but was named Xiongshi Town in the early Tang Dynasty. Because of its location and terrain, it attracted the attention of the local government. Because there are exposed mountains everywhere in this place, the rocks are not strong and are known to be easy to shape.
People of this era did not have a fixed name for this strange rock. Of course, later generations called this kind of rock karst landform. Because the stone is not particularly strong, villagers can use it to make various shapes at will, or they can polish or mine it without spending a lot of effort.
Also because of the convenience of this kind of mountain stone, the local government built many military buildings in the mountainous areas. And the famous Xiongshi Village was established, which became a famous local pass at that time.
The name of this place was later changed to Ni Ya, but it was named after Ni Ya, the central minister of the imperial court at the end of the previous dynasty.
At that time, banditry was constant in Guixi County all year round, and the mountains were difficult to eradicate. The imperial court sent Zhongcheng General Ni Ya to garrison in Yingtanfang, appointed Ni Ya as the envoy of the town, and set up military passes to prevent and control local banditry.
What I didn't expect was that General Ni Ya lived up to the high expectations of the court and actually eliminated the banditry near Guixi County in a short period of time.
At that time, because the Tang Dynasty was about to fall and the dynasty was truly in its final years, not only did the emperor no longer have time to take care of the troubles outside the capital, but the military power of the imperial court was also divided. In fact, the actual jurisdiction over the areas far away from the capital was no longer effective.
The warlord of Raozhou, the local feudal town, was unwilling to take care of it because there was no money to be had. Seeing that the bandits formed by the refugees would not cause too much trouble, they felt a little resigned to it. However, in order to appease the local people, Raozhou Fanzhen made an exception and reported the situation to the court.
Originally, the local vassal town in Raozhou no longer obeyed the jurisdiction of the imperial court, so transferring this matter to the imperial court was actually an out-and-out joke, or an excuse to make oneself better and have more, and to recruit troops to expand the power. Of course, firstly, I wanted to see how many pounds the imperial court still had, and secondly, I also wanted to get some additional benefits.
After all, although this place does not seem to have much oil and water, it can actually gather a lot of resources because it is located in the vast mountain and water basins of the two tributaries of Poyang Lake, the Xinjiang River and the Shangqing River. In fact, in an area where mountains and rivers combine, any place can be said to have geographical advantages.
However, the warlords of the vassal town in Raozhou miscalculated. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty actually had a flash of inspiration and saw a trace of the dignity of the court in this matter. Naturally, the officials below also somewhat agreed with the emperor, so the court's decisions and decrees were formulated naturally.
That is, since the local vassal town in Raozhou was unwilling to contribute to suppress the bandits, the emperor Tiangao's distant court could not control it so far, but it just gave the court at that time an excuse. That is, since your vassal town has sent documents to the capital, it would be unreasonable for the emperor not to send people to suppress the bandits.
Considering the actual situation, if people are sent from the surrounding state capitals, Raozhou will definitely find more excuses. It would be a joke to send a large army from the imperial court. Firstly, the imperial court no longer has this strength. Secondly, it is not a major military operation. However, the emperor who thought of ZTE still found an excuse to be mighty, so he dispatched people to suppress the bandits.
For the capital city, which was full of civil and military officials at that time, being able to be sent out to serve in local state capitals was both an opportunity for promotion and the sorrow of being exiled. Maybe the imperial court sent Ni Ya here because of various reasons.
Some people speculated that Ni Ya was a celebrity around the emperor and came out to show off his civility and military skills for the emperor. However, after seeing what Ni Ya did, some people questioned whether it was the result of everyone's guess. On the contrary, some people believe that Ni Ya may have been a close confidant of the emperor, but in order to oust the then emperor, he was squeezed out by a group of people with ulterior motives in the court. Or under the circumstances at that time, some people directly believed that it was Ni Ya himself who had offended a certain big boss in the court.
Anyway, no matter what the situation was at the beginning, it has become history now. But since the imperial court had already sent people, the emperor still equipped General Ni Ya with an army of several thousand people. In order to allow Ni Ya to stay here for the imperial court with peace of mind, Ni Ya was equipped with sophisticated equipment.
Presumably, when Ni Ya led the team all the way here, the feudal town in Raozhou must have been a little jealous when they saw Ni Ya's team. Because at that time, although the sky was high and the emperor was far away from the local vassal towns, it was actually difficult for the court to control them. However, a skinny camel was bigger than a horse. The court had to equip a team of several thousand people, which was still much stronger than the local armed forces.
Afterwards, Ni Ya successfully eliminated the banditry everywhere. The emperor and the court were naturally happy. As a local vassal town, Raozhou naturally felt like a mute eating yellow lotus. The emperor had a premonition that his opportunity was coming, and with a stroke of his pen, he created a special title for Ni Ya as King Ni Ya, allowing him to enjoy the fiefdom of Ni Ya.
In that era when being king was not arbitrary, this title was still extremely lethal to some generals. What's more, the imperial court's intention was very obvious. Since then, it has not recalled General Ni Ya. Its intention was obviously to contain the local vassal towns in Raozhou.
In fact, these are all gone in the past, but because of General Ni Ya's appointment, not only Yingtanfang became famous all over the world, but the place where King Ni Ya lived was also renamed Ni Ya.
Of course, King Ni Ya is no longer here, and the imperial court has been dead for decades. Even the descendants of King Ni Ya have traveled to all directions due to wars and dynasty changes. Even the descendants who remain here in Ni Ya can no longer remember the glory of their ancestors.
Xiongshi Village still exists between Xinjiang River and Shangqingjiang River, and it is also a famous pass in Guixi County. But now, due to the change of dynasties, this place is no longer what it used to be. But because it is now within the territory of the Southern Tang Kingdom, which belongs to the largest separatist power in the south, it has a somewhat leisurely feel.
This place is located in the middle of the territory of the Southern Tang Kingdom. Although the Southern Tang Kingdom has experienced several battles in recent years, the war has not spread here. Even if there is conscription in the imperial court, it is already extremely rare for ordinary people.
There are rarely major wars in peacetime. The military building built in Xiongshi Village has been repaired several times and now stands tall between the two mountains. The large and wide passage under the village gate has now become a place for local people to trade. Even the soldiers guarding the gate of the village have become accustomed to the peace here.
Nowadays, Ni Ya is still quite lively. On the left side less than 300 meters below Xiongshi Village, the quiet Xinjiang River flows slowly through here. There are also five or six small fighting ships on the river. These are also the fighting ships of the Southern Tang Dynasty's navy stationed in Poyang Lake. They are usually stationed here to assist Xiongshi Village.
Xiongshi Village became even more famous in Raozhou because of this garrison and the navy in Xinjiang River. Usually the military camp is built on the flat land to the right of Xiongshi Village. Although it is not too large, it faces the small town of Ni Ya.
The simple people seem to accept the military camps around them. The section of several hundred meters that usually extends from the gate of Xiongshi Village to Ni Ya has gradually become a market section for local people. The most abundant are the river fish caught in the Xinjiang River and the game in the surrounding mountains and fields.
The place that was originally close to the village gate, as the local military, would not allow people to get close to it. But because many of the soldiers in Xiongshi Village are mostly locals. What's more, this place is usually very peaceful and peaceful. Now that Raozhou's commanders know what's going on here, most of them turn a blind eye.
Of course, there is another important reason why the command of the military camp here is so bold, and that is that this place also has an extremely important insurance. It's not because of Ni Ya's original glory, but because this is another famous place.
Heavenly Master Dao!
Ni Ya is only more than ten kilometers away from the world-famous Tianshi Dao. From Xiongshi Village to Longhu Mountain, it can be said that everything is within easy reach.
The famous name of Tianshi Dao must be something that few people in the world can ignore.
Tianshi Tao is what later generations call the Right Way. The reason why it is famous and handed down from generation to generation is not only because of the way of practice it pursues. Another important reason is that the founder of Tianshi Tao was Zhang Daoling, one of the founders of Taoism.
Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master at that time, wrote "Lao Zi Xiang Er Zhu", which laid a solid foundation for the development of Taoism in later generations. His contribution in the history of the development of Taoism was that he was the first person since the Han Dynasty not to think in other ways.
Later, because of his family heritage, his grandson Zhang Lu vigorously reformed the development of the sect. In the early days of the Three Kingdoms, after Cao Cao worshiped Zhang Lu as General Zhennan, Taoism gradually spread to the north. At this time, another descendant of Zhang Daoling, Zhang Sheng, made a move that would affect future generations.
That was to shift the development direction of Taoist missionary work from Qingcheng Mountain in central Sichuan to Longhu Mountain in Raozhou. Zhang Sheng, who made major contributions, has always been respected. Later, some people believed that Zhang Sheng was the ancestor of the Celestial Master's Taoist movement southward and the founder of the Celestial Master's Tao in Longhu Mountain.
At the beginning, Taoists believed that the Tao of Heavenly Masters was established by the three generations of Taoist ancestors Zhang Daoling, Zhang Heng, and Zhang Lu. Because at the beginning, in the Bashu and Shuzhong area, the original sect believed by the Ba barbarians was the well-known witch ghost shamanism. It's just that these people finally gathered together to make money and committed all kinds of evil, and even though the people were vaguely aware of it, there was nothing they could do about it.
But at this time, Zhang Tianshi, who had traveled all over the world, came east with the "Yellow Emperor's Nine Cauldron Alchemy Sutra" and more than a thousand disciples. Seeing what the Wugui Sect was doing at that time, large-scale religious conflicts naturally occurred.
The outcome of the conflict that year is unknown, but Zhang Tianshi gained a firm foothold in Shu. Later, myths circulated in central Sichuan, saying that Master Zhang used the sword seals and talismans taught by Taishang Laojun to defeat the ghost soldiers, and even the mysterious sect Hell Gate in central Sichuan is now popular. Various stories like this are mixed together. It is based on this conflict.
But later why it was said that Tianshi Dao would move south, some people said it was to allow Tianshi Dao to develop better, but some people gave another surprising reason.
The Wugui Sect, which was defeated by Tianshi Dao, was not destroyed because of this series of failures. Instead, because it had been entrenched in Shu for too long, some of its ideas were deeply rooted and recognized by the local people. Seeing that the Celestial Master's Dao was so powerful, they naturally avoided it, but they were naturally not reconciled to their failure.
Among them, the Wugui Sect has been hiding under the eyes of Tianshi Dao after decades of convergence and continuous secret cultivation of talents. Sure enough, the whole teaching was devoted to cultivating talents, and in the end, Wu Gui taught a unique genius.
This person was later called Zhang Xiu, a divine master. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty and the Records of the Ling Emperor", he was called the Bajun Lich. But he also has another identity, that is, he was the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice Road for a while.
He devoted himself to the Wugui Sect when he was young, and accepted all the ideas of the Wugui Sect, even the hatred of the Wugui Sect towards the Celestial Master. Then, under the arrangement of the sect, he sneaked into the hidden Hell Gate in Shu, and in just a few decades, he actually became the successor master of the Hell Gate.
Because of the protection of this coat, Zhang Xiu can naturally implement his plan with confidence. Although Hell Gate was only a small sect at that time, it already had some climate and foundation in Shu. In addition, Hell Gate was also a sect that worshiped ghosts and gods for a long time, so it naturally had its merits.
Under the cover of this other layer of identity, Zhang Xiu used the identity of Hell Gate as a tie-up to use the Witch Ghost Sect to wreak havoc on the teachings of Tianshi Tao. Of course, they did not engage in various personal attacks, and based on the shortcomings of the Wugui Sect, they also created the famous Five Dou Rice Road (different from Zhang Daoling's Five Dou Rice Road). Instead, they used their status as Taoists to cooperate with the Hell Gate to fight against the existence of the Celestial Master Tao. .
As for the influence of the Five Pecks of Rice Road and what Zhang Xiu did later, history will have its own conclusions and criticisms. But it also completely destroyed the influence of the Five Pecks of Rice Road founded by Zhang Daoling. The so-called Five Dou Rice Road during the Three Kingdoms and even the Jin Dynasty had little to do with the original Five Dou Rice Road founded by Zhang Daoling's ancestors, which led to the eventual move of Tianshi Road southward to Longhu Mountain, which became an indisputable fact.
However, there are two points in this that few people may pay attention to. That is because the Taoist sect has the establishment of Zhengyiyi. Since then, the Taoist sect has truly existed as a sect, which is completely different from the previous wizards. Secondly, because of the establishment of Tianshi Tao, the highest worship and belief in respecting Tao as a Taoist sect emerged.
Therefore, according to the development of Taoism, the Tianshi Tao founded by Zhang Daoling for several generations has completely laid the foundation for the development of Taoism for thousands of years before and even in the future. This kind of significance and influence can be said to be unparalleled in the history of Taoism. Nowadays, although Taoist sects all over the world are still recommended by Taoists, Taoist disciples have always regarded Longhu Mountain as the real place of Taoism.
Heming Mountain in the middle of Sichuan is regarded as the ancestral court of Tianshi Taoism, just like Nanhua Temple, the ancestral home of Zen Buddhism, has an influence among Zen disciples. Because it was here that Taoist Master Zhang Daoling used to summon gods and ghosts, use talismans and forbidden incantations to teach Taoism.
In fact, Zhang Daoling himself was well versed in the Five Classics, and was also familiar with Huang Lao's studies and magical alchemy. In addition, he directly inherited many alchemy techniques from the Han Dynasty alchemists and accommodated part of the religious beliefs of the barbarians in the central Sichuan area. Accordingly, he claimed that Taishang Laojun taught the techniques and truly founded the Zhengyi Alliance's power in Heming Mountain.
The painstaking efforts of three generations of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, the heir master Zhang Heng, and the line master Zhang Lu gradually formed a system of Zhengdao. The doctrines, rituals, alchemy, and even organizational systems of this system made the later Taoism possible. Part of the practice also makes Zhengdao known as the Celestial Master's Way.
Why did they move south to Longhu Mountain later? Because it involves too many secrets and history, many people don’t know the reason. But some people say that Longhu Mountain is a Taoist cave, one of the blessed places found by Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling when he first traveled around the world.
Some people say that it is because after the master Zhang Lu killed the divine master Zhang Xiu, he took charge of a large number of ghost soldiers under Zhang Xiu. He happened to see the chaos in the Han Dynasty and had the ambition to compete in the world, so he united and led the people to conquer the world. Helplessly, he was finally tamed by Cao Cao's generation of heroes. Since then, the Tianshi Tao forces have been dispersed and brought to the north.
Among them, some of the children of the Zhang family fled to the south and established the foundation for the continuation of Tianshi Tao in Longhu Mountain.
The Celestial Master currently in Longhu Mountain is Zhang Bingyi, who was later revered as the True Lord of Zhaohua. This True Lord can usually be said to be like a dragon that never sees its tail, and often only appears in Longhu Mountain once or twice a year. . He is known as one of the two great sword immortals in the world, and the other one is naturally the sword immortal Lu Dongbin.
However, Zhang Tianshi's reputation is well known all over the world. This era is full of wars. Although he has not yet become a Taoist legal system respected by the world like Zhang Tianshi in later generations, he is already a major figure who is not weaker than the Taoist Taoists.
Therefore, when officials from the state capital usually arrive here, they have to dismount their horses and sedan chairs to show respect. Of course, the biggest benefit is that the people here are less likely to be harassed because of Zhang Tianshi's existence.
boom!
A burst of muffled thunder came, and Ni Ya was reflected in the dark sky, which was depressing in the drizzle. Here was a stone path extending from Ni Ya town to the riverside.
Two young men wearing raincoats and bamboo hats were standing by the river, looking intently at the corner of the already gray river in the distance, as if they were waiting for someone. It can be seen from their lower bodies that they should be soldiers in this military camp.
Under the bamboo hats, their young faces were still full of vitality. A thin young man walked up and down the stone path by the river from time to time. A small pier more than three feet wide and with about ten stone steps was built here towards the river.
It looks like a place where locals use it to wash clothes, wash vegetables, or dock small boats and bamboo rafts. Because the stone steps are not neat, the pier is not formal, and there is an old bamboo raft hanging next to it, but it has a bit of a rustic atmosphere.
This thin young man seemed impatient. He looked at the river from time to time, and then looked at the young man next to him who was slightly shorter than him but looked much stronger. Seeing the calm expression on this sturdy young man's face, he couldn't help but said in his heart: "Jiulang, look at the heavy rain coming soon. Will Uncle Ten be able to come back? If his old man can't come back, we must not be stoned." The general must be scolded to death!"
The young man known as Jiulang had a calm face and looked quietly at the misty rain on the river. Xinjiang was very calm. Although there was rain and thunder, there was only a faint mist rising on the river. Because the weather is hot this season, light rain or even heavy rain will not have much impact on them.
Seeing that his companion was a little impatient, he couldn't help but smile and said: "Three monkeys, you are a little too impatient! You don't look like a disciple who came out of the palace at all. It's still nearly two quarters of an hour before noon. !" He looked at this partner with a hint of teasing.
"You also know General Shi's temper. Without fresh fish from the river to drink with, he will feel uncomfortable. But think about it! If there is really no fish, what can he do? Why don't he just complain and curse? Just a few words. Uncle Ten has always been reliable, so don't be impatient and wait a little longer!" Seeing his companion's somewhat sarcastic tone, the young man named Jiulang even cracked his lips and smiled.
It turned out that this young man named Sanhou was a local. Knowing that his companion was deliberately making fun of him, he couldn't help but said bitterly: "Aren't you afraid? You were picked up by General Shi from the Xinjiang River. He saved face for you." , a certain family is not so lucky!"
Jiulang hugged Sanhou's shoulders and said with a smile in his eyes: "Yes! Yes! A certain family is a homeless wanderer! You are a descendant of Ni Ya's famous Wang family. I dare you not to go to that Long family?" Hushan seeks immortality, why do you come to the military camp with a certain person and suffer from the wrath of Om!"
The three monkeys gave Jiuro a hard elbow blow, and when he kicked Jiuro back with his left foot, Jiuro had already jumped away with a smile. The two of them seemed to be used to fighting and fighting, and they wouldn't get angry just because of the banter. Because the two people are not only similar in age, but also have very similar temperaments.
The raincoat was already wet, and the rain was flying on their faces, but the two teenagers didn't seem to care.
Because Shi Gandang, the school captain of Xiongshi Village, loved eating fish most in his life. It could be said that he would never be happy without fish every day. Fortunately, there is no shortage of fish and shrimps in the Xinjiang River. It is not wartime, nor is the river closed to allow fishing, so Shi Gandang's requirements can be met every day.
These two young men were both tooth soldiers in front of Shi Gandang. Today, because his balls ached, Shi Gandang ate two fish in the military camp. It still felt a little unsatisfactory, so he urged the two of them to come to the river to look for fish. go back.
Although Ni Ya Town is close to Xinjiang River, there are few people who can really fish now. Because with the turbulent situation, it turns out that there are not many people in Ni Ya. They are all people who moved from surrounding areas or elsewhere. The tenth uncle that the two young men were waiting for was actually an aborigine of Ni Ya. It was said that he was a descendant of the original General Ni Ya.
No one will verify this, but at least the tenth uncle's surname is Ni, and he has lived in Ni Ya town since he was a child. Sanhou's home is at the foot of Longhu Mountain, and the elders in the family were once disciples of Longhu Mountain, but I don't know why Sanhou didn't go to practice, but someone in Sanhou's family knew Uncle Ten.
Not only did they know that Uncle Shi was good at swimming, but he was also a good fisherman on the Xinjiang River. He knows where the fish are most abundant and fattest, where fishing is suitable, and where there are sharp rocks on the reef. So coming to Uncle Ten to buy fish is the best choice. Usually these three monkeys understand this. They and Jiulang are the most tooth soldiers sent by Shi Gandang.
However, this three monkeys are impatient and can't bear to wait for too long. On the contrary, they are far inferior to the Jiulang next to them. Not only are they calm and patient, but they are also quite patient. Nearly another quarter of an hour passed, and the thin young boy Three Monkeys, who had been walking up and down the shore, almost looked like he was about to go berserk.
