After Chen Chong resigned from his official post, he headed to Quyu first.
In this small city, the Huns rebels were defeated half a year ago. At that time, Chen Chong set up checkpoints everywhere in preparation for the war, set up channels on the city wall to prepare bows and arrows, and also built several bed crossbows, whose bodies were like ink. It was difficult for the Huns to reach the city wall from a distance, so Quyu was also called the "Tricky City".
But times are changing. With the end of the war, this small town has also changed its appearance. Checkpoints and canals have been removed, and fences and watchtowers have been removed. The inside and outside of the city have become simple and refreshing.
The atmosphere within the Xiongnu was becoming increasingly tense, and the caravans coming and going were the most sensitive to this. They could all tell that another disaster would happen in Meiji in the near future, and the market in Meiji was gradually becoming desolate. As a result, Quyu became a substitute for Meijiji. The number of caravans increased day by day, and a market was gradually built from scratch outside the city. When Chen Chong came, there were no less than eighty boats floating on the west beach of Quyu, which was already close to two-thirds of the way across the river.
After Chen Chong came to Quyu, he first paid a private visit to Han Xian. A few days ago, Peng Tuo and others crossed the river through Quyu to Lishi to assassinate him. He had already informed Han Siam, Guo Da and others. When Han Xian learned that Guo Da was also involved, he felt uneasy, but when he saw Chen Chong coming in white, he couldn't help but sigh: "Why did Mr. Chen do this? Nowadays, everything in Xihe County is prosperous, and it's all thanks to Mr. Chen." , if I resign at this time, all my previous achievements will be wasted. If the court blames me, we will bear the responsibility."
Chen Chong laughed at this and said: "I thought Han Shuai would cheer me up and drink for me!" After the joke, he told Han Xian: "Since Mr. Han knows the heavy responsibility on his shoulders, he should always bear it in mind. , don’t relax.”
He stayed at Quyu for two days, waiting for Guan Yu to arrive on horseback to meet him. Then the two set off again, bidding farewell to Han Xian and crossing the river by boat. The Yellow River was turbulent, but only here it was flowing. Chen Chong got on the boat, the boatman shook the oar, and the wood pulp hit white waves in the water. The two of them also felt the swaying and ups and downs of the water on the boat.
The boatman is a middle-aged man in his forties, and his son, who is about ten years old, rows with him, while his wife sits on the bow of the boat, joking with the eldest son while washing the cooked sheepskins. The sheepskin precipitates various colored juices in the river water, showing a colorful luster. Chen Chong was moved by the scene and could not help but chant:
"What evening is it tonight? The river is in the middle of Paizhou. What day is it today? I have to be in the same boat with the prince. I am ashamed to be treated well, and I don't feel ashamed. My heart is troubled and I know that the prince is there. There are trees in the mountains, and there are no trees. Branch. My heart is pleased with you, but you don’t know it.”
When Guan Yu heard the singing, he couldn't help clapping his sword and playing. When Chen Chong finished singing, he smiled and said, "Ting Jian, how do you feel in your heart when you read this ancient "Yueren Song"?"
Pointing to Quyu City, which was far away, Chen Chong said: "When Zixi was boating on Xinbo, the Yue people on the boat sang this song because they recognized the new owner. Zixi heard it but did not know what it meant, but he still blended in with the people, and it became a good talk. . Yun Chang, I am very pleased to see the prosperity of Quyu, but when I think of the hidden diseases all over Bingzhou, I feel that I am still far behind."
Guan Yu was serious when he heard this. He stroked the scabbard and sighed to Chen Chong: "It all depends on people, Ting Jian. When I fled to Youzhou, I never thought that I would be able to live today. This is all due to Ting Jian's planning. I, Yi De, and my brother all know it well. You and I want to bring great order to the world, and all the troubles in Bingzhou will be nothing more than trivial matters."
Chen Chong was very happy. At this time, he suddenly felt nostalgic for the past and asked the boatman: "Brother, I wonder if there are any historical sites on the west bank of the river?"
The boatman was confused for a moment and asked: "An ancient site? May I ask, noble man, what is a historical site?"
Chen Chong smiled when he heard this and said patiently: "This is the battlefield and tomb of ancient nobles."
The boatman thought for a while and then said: "I don't know about the battlefield, but there is an ancient tomb between Zouma River and Yanshui. I am not literate and don't know whose tomb it is, but I think the tomb must be extraordinary. It’s a historic site that noble people are looking for.”
Chen Chong nodded and said with a smile: "Then I will definitely go and see what a historic site it is." Having said this, he stretched out his arms and smiled at the boatman: "Brother, how can I be a noble person! I am just like you. Bai Ding.”
The boatman smiled and shook his head, but remained silent.
After Chen Chong and Guan Yu crossed the river, they took a horse to Huanyang. The journey was not long, but the two of them were not in a hurry. The last time Chen Chong traveled there was only a day, but the two of them walked all the way and chatted about what they had experienced in the past few years. Walked for three days.
Guan Yu actually didn't like to talk, but he became particularly talkative when he met Chen Chong. He talked about when he led his army through Pei State last year. When they heard the news of Chen Shi's death in Taiqiu County, almost everyone wore mourning, prayed for Chen Shi, and paid homage to Guan Yu. When the people in the county heard that he was Chen Chong's sworn brother, they provided buckets of food and kettles of pulp for the army, saving him three days of rations.
"At that time, I thought of what you once said, Tingjian: People are not forgetful. Those who are good and evil will still exist despite thousands of years. I felt the same way at the time, and now that I think about it, I am filled with emotion."
When Chen Chong heard about this, he was also quite moved and recalled: "Thinking about it this way, it is a great pity that I passed by Taiqiu four years ago and did not enter." Speaking of this, Chen Chong remembered something and asked Guan Yu: "Then Yunchang, you have come to Xihe and have left your hometown to live next to your neighbors. Are you ready to return to your hometown to pay homage to your father?"
Guan Yu looked reminiscing and said: "I went to Jie County last month. Although I have been away from home for nearly ten years, many old friends there have taken care of my family, but I can hardly recognize them." But when talking about that time, He slapped the horse's back angrily and said, "It's just God's fault. The Hu family and the Lun family in Yurou Township are still the same as before, but they have become more prosperous in the past ten years."
The two of them rode to Huanyang. Guo Da had been waiting here for a long time, and naturally he was accompanied by several other handsome men. When Guo Da met Chen Chong, Chen Chong handed the ashes of Peng Tuo and others to Guo Da. Guo Da was speechless. The old man in yellow scarf felt that even reminiscing was a luxury.
Guo Da asked Chen Chong, "I wonder what Longshou has planned for me?"
After Guo Da finished speaking, he felt that his sincerity was not enough, so he continued: "Whatever the dragon head needs, it is our duty to speak."
Chen Chong did not expect that such an action would have such an effect. He only said: "Guo Shuai does not have to be like this. Chen Chong was originally just a master of Yingchuan. Now he comes here just because he is afraid of being deeply blamed by the court and causing trouble to Bai Bo Paoze. Now he is in trouble." After all, Chen Chong just wants to stay in the mountains and teach to everyone, then he will be satisfied."
Guo Da had a look of disappointment on his face. When Chen Chong saw this, he could only say seriously: "If you want to achieve great things, you must first know the changes in Liuhe, the essence of the universe. You can know the changes in the nine heavens, the movements in the nine earths, and observe the subtleties of the human heart." , Only then can we defeat the enemy and win. The Yellow Turban can’t accomplish anything because it’s the people who know people’s hearts and minds, and the people who know the world. Guo Shuaiqie can’t take this matter as a small matter.”
Speaking of this, Guo Dafang changed his attitude and said sincerely: "If this is possible, I hope Longshou will do his best."
As for the location of the lodge, Chen Chong hadn't decided yet. He remembered the ancient tomb that the boatman told him, so he asked Guan Yu to go there with him. Guo Da also sent some soldiers as guards.
We went all the way south again, along the Yellow River to the other side of Yonghe County, and westward along Yanshui. The foothills gradually got lower, the mountains and forests became denser, and human traces became increasingly rare. Occasionally, we could hear the howling of wolves in the distance, and the road was covered with dense trees. It was covered by withered grass, so that several people walked through the grass reaching the horse's belly for an hour, wondering whether they were walking on the right path.
But finally I saw a tributary branching from Yanshui and flowing to the southwest. The mountains on both sides suddenly opened up and went lower as the river went. The intersection of the two rivers formed a valley basin. Chen Chong also saw a group of elk lowering their heads to lick the water not far away. He was not afraid when he saw Chen Chong and the others. He only raised his head and barked loudly at them a few times, and then he came back to himself. He went to drink water.
One of the soldiers smiled and asked Chen Chong if he wanted to eat venison, but Chen Chong declined politely. He only said that he would pay homage to the ancients and it would be unlucky to see blood. After that, he went around the valley to look for the ancient tomb. The location of the ancient tomb was very conspicuous. There was an unexpected earth bag not far from the intersection of the two rivers. Chen Chong saw it at a glance. However, there were grassy clouds on it and there were no stone tablets. He didn't know. Whose tombstone is it?
But when Chen Chong got closer, he realized that it was not the case. It was just that no one had visited the tomb for too long, and the tombstone collapsed to the ground for some reason and was covered by grass. Chen Chong stepped forward and pushed aside the blades of grass, but the broken stele weighed several hundred kilograms and he could not flip it. Guan Yu stepped forward and said with a smile: "Let me do it." Then he lifted the broken stele away from the mud, turned it over and threw it down.
A small seal script was exposed on the broken stele. Chen Chong wiped off the gray soil on it and saw clearly that it read "Tomb of Qin General Meng Tian".
Chen Chong couldn't help but sigh to Guan Yu: "Unexpectedly, it turned out to be the tomb of Meng Tian. He was originally the pillar of the northern frontier of the Qin Dynasty. He resisted the Xiongnu for more than ten years and died for Hu Hai's order. Now he is buried here without anyone to worship him. The dream of life is in vain. , it can be seen that it is normal.”
So a few people pulled away the weeds from Mengtian's tomb and prepared to tidy it up. Unexpectedly, after a moment of tidying up, they discovered that the muddy soil of the mound was full of pieces of armor and iron. At the bottom of the mound, there were also the remains of sword handles. From time to time, swords could be pulled out. There are rust flakes and a little bit of fighting.
It turned out that this ancient tomb was actually made of armor and swords. This scene made Chen Chong speechless for a while, but he was obviously very satisfied with this place. He said to Guan Yu: "We will stay here to teach. .”
That night, he lit a bonfire beside the tomb and established a memorial tablet for Chen Shi. He looked at the two rivers under the starry sky and felt something in his heart. Then he suddenly remembered that Meng Tian was the "ancestor of pen" in China. I couldn't stop complaining, so I couldn't help but find words and sentences, and reluctantly wrote a poem, which was filled in front of Mengtian's tomb:
"The autumn grasses are scattered, and the turbid currents invade the tomb passage. It is difficult to write a single piece of my heart even if I fill it with every pen."
