Along with the heart-wrenching sound of the chain being pulled up, a small and swaying bell also came from the depths of the waterway extending ahead. Obviously, the alarm mechanism inside has been triggered or something. However, when the leading sergeant saw this scene, he was greatly encouraged and started to move faster.
Because this also means that there are indeed some ulterior things at the end of this spacious waterway; and the goal of this manhunt is one step closer. Therefore, when the river boat where Jiang Tian was sitting went deep into it, the sound of rushing water and the obvious moisture of water vapor hit his face.
But it has arrived at a deep and wide water space. On this circular water surface like a patio, on one side are several water inlets where large turbid floating objects flow, and on the other side are two dark rivers that branch off and continue to extend forward.
Only the lighting fixtures on the four walls that had obviously just been extinguished, and some wet utensils that had been knocked over and overturned; as well as the fresh traces of being trampled and scratched on the slippery moss on the edge of the waterway, showed that someone had just escaped. Come. But this also exposed their whereabouts.
Therefore, under the sign language and light signals, part of the meandering fleet immediately separated and entered the smaller river channel on the side to explore. The rest of the people continued to row along the main river channel where the water flow was rapid. ; And the further we go, the more turbid the river water becomes.
With the continuous confluence of multiple drains, the water surface began to be filled with all kinds of foam and all kinds of garbage, and the air changed from the initial smell of damp water and grass to an indescribable smell of sediment. The sergeants who were punting the boats to clear the way ahead also needed to constantly clear obstacles.
But what is unexpected is that as the obvious layers of beams, columns and piles on the ceiling disappeared, they turned into a masonry ceiling and four walls. Following the faintly diagonal river, the river boat suddenly accelerated on its own, as if it had suddenly entered a new, more open space.
The ubiquitous rotten smell was suddenly dispersed by the sudden appearance of the horizontal corridor and the convective air brought by the shaft above where the skylight was faintly visible. At this moment, Jiang Tian seemed to have returned to the spiderweb-like underground tunnels of Chang'an Ghost City.
However, the pedestrian corridors here that can carry cars and horses have turned into waterways of various sizes that can be used by boats; and there are many tightly connected brick walls and thick pillars, submerged in the water. Under the light of the lights, one after another distinct patterns rippled out.
It also showed the inscriptions of "Wule Work Name" that appeared from time to time on the wall, as well as signs used to guide the direction and indicate the purpose. At this moment, Cheng Shilian and Xin Gongping, who were beside Jiang Tian, both exclaimed in unison: "Isn't this the legendary Taixing Water City?"
"Taixing Water City?" Upon hearing this name, Jiang Tian couldn't help but recall some memories and allusions from his predecessor. Taixing Water City, as its name suggests, is the Luodu underground sewer project built during the reign of Emperor Taixing. Because of its vast construction, it is also known as the Water City.
However, Emperor Taixing's original intention of building this underground sewer project had a different story. The earliest history can be traced back to the third year of Qianyuan Dynasty, when Tianbao was at its peak of prosperity. Finally, the dream was shattered by the sound of Yuyang drums and the late Anshi Rebellion. Soldiers and horses from all over the world surrounded Luoyang.
As the first city to fall, it was also the place where An Lushan and An Qingxu, the leaders of the rebellion, proclaimed themselves emperors. It was also the largest stronghold of the rebels in the hinterland of the Central Plains. At that time, there were almost tens of thousands of rebels and hundreds of thousands of rebel family members and tribesmen who had migrated from the four counties of Fanyang gathered in Luoyang City.
Therefore, as the commander-in-chief of the seven armies that besieged Luodu at that time, it was Emperor Taixing who was still the heir to the emperor/King Guangping, but was worshiped as the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses, and the vanguard of the Marshal of Soldiers and Horses. However, just when Emperor Taixing was full of ambition and prepared to successfully take over the palace and return the capital, a huge change broke out.
At that time, because King Guangping/Emperor Taixing, as the commander-in-chief, tried his best to restrain and suppress the impulse of the army officers and officers to seize the opportunity to plunder the place; he severely punished all kinds of illegal acts that harmed the people; therefore, there was a lot of dissatisfaction that had accumulated. , and finally broke out after conquering Luoyang City.
At that time, soldiers and horses from all walks of life from Shannan, Hedong, Huainan, Hexi, and Longyou almost rushed into Luodu City, burning, killing, and looting wantonly for vent and reward; later, they simply became red-eyed and treated everyone All living creatures that could be seen raised their butcher knives involuntarily.
Therefore, there is a widely circulated poem by Du Gongbu: "Although the soldiers and horses in front of the palace are heroic, their violence is the same as that of the Qiang Hun. I heard that there are murderers on the water, and most of the women are among the officers and soldiers." This is what is described. , the court lacked sufficient rewards, and the generals sent troops to wreak havoc in order to reward themselves.
For half a month, all that was left in the closed Luoyang city was red blood, and corpses floating on the Luo River, Jing River, Gu River, Tongji Canal, and Yun Canal that passed through the city even blocked the rivers. stand up. As the commander-in-chief, King Guangping could not even restrain an army.
Even his East Palace Guards did not dare to obey his order to enter the city to stop him; instead, they spontaneously escorted him back to the three passes of Heyang Bridge. Finally, Liang Gong, who was stabilizing the situation in Chang'an at the rear and preparing to lead the two palaces back to the capital, arrived in time with the Longwu and Jinwu armies.
Only then escorted King Guangping's banner, rushed into Luodu City from Xuanwu Gate, began to enforce the law on the street, and killed at least thousands of soldiers who refused to stop in a series of conflicts; only then did the follow-up actions in Luodu City The massacre was subsided; but only a few of them remained.
But when the bloody letter of accusation written by King Guangping was sent to Emperor Qianyuan who was on his way back from Pingliang City, it was ignored and ignored. Even the superficial punishments and instructions were dismissed by Empress Zhang in two words. The palace's return to Beijing was a serious matter and it was not suitable to cause further trouble, so he was discouraged.
This also became the beginning of the rift and resentment between King Guangping, who was in the East Palace, and Queen Zhang, who was in charge of the Middle Palace. In the end, more than half a year after the Luodu tragedy, the belated punishment came with loud thunder but little rain, leaving King Guangping disappointed once again.
In the end, only one person was sentenced to death because of this, the already out-of-power Linhuai Jiedu envoy Helan Jinming. As well as the Jiedu envoy of Shannan East Road who was born in the clan, the successor Wu King Li Ju was dismissed from his post at home. Several other Jiedu envoys and Jinglue envoys who bore the brunt were transferred to other places without changing their official titles.
After this incident, King Guangping couldn't help but feel discouraged. He fell seriously ill in Luodu City, where the smell of blood lingered for several months, leaving a root cause for his future health. After he recovered from his illness, he gradually lost trust and hope in these old troops.
As the governor of Dongdu, he began to win over and get close to Zhang Xun, who had not participated in the massacre in Luodu, Zhang Xun, who had made great achievements in fighting the rebels going south, and Yan Zhenqing, who continued to carry out righteousness in Henan and Hebei, and with the support from Liang Gong. Next, he began to prepare his own new army team.
On the other hand, they are dealing with the aftermath of the Luodu Massacre. Because too many people died at that time, and a large number of them were thrown into the river to clear away evidence of crimes. As a result, many years later, some people still found skeletons in the siltation of some abandoned wells, rivers, and ditches.
Therefore, in order to appease these resentful souls, Master Fu Kong, who was already one of the three great masters of Tantric Buddhism at that time, convened various esoteric and exoteric sects of Buddhism in the Eastern Capital and held a massive Dharma conference for a month. On the other hand, it is to renovate and rebuild the burned-out urban areas.
In the process, suffering from insufficient financial resources, he accepted a creative suggestion from Liang Gong. It was through the official government that the wealthy businessmen from all over the world, especially the southeastern region, which was the main source of wealth for the imperial court, pre-sold and solicited funds for the rebuilt Luodu real estate in advance.
As a result, he gained a lot, which was more than enough to rebuild Luodu City on the ground. So Taixing Water City was a large-scale underground water network project carried out during this period. However, this project continued until the fifth year of Taixing after King Guangping succeeded to the throne in a palace coup.
However, it came to an abrupt end because of a sudden rebellion. At that time, Emperor Taixing, who moved to the palace in Luodu because of his health condition, was jointly counterattacked by the Guandong clan, whose family interests were seriously damaged during the Taixing reform, and the old vassal army, which was suppressed and liquidated.
At that time, under the arrangement and cover of the internal forces, the rebels sneaked into the city in batches through the underground city under construction. Therefore, when a sudden attack broke out, Emperor Taixing, who was in the imperial city, and the Suwei soldiers and horses in the capital road were temporarily separated.
Even many of the noble disciples who were the ceremonial guards in front of the palace either voluntarily abandoned their guards and fled, or they turned against the enemy and opened the door to serve as internal collaborators; directly allowing the rebels to kill near the Renshou Palace where Emperor Taixing was recuperating. Only then was he stopped by the newly formed Yulin Orphans around Emperor Taixing.
It was the desperate and bloody battle of these loyal young palace guards that allowed Emperor Taixing to escape from the inner courtyard; he moved to Yuanbi City to the north and continued to hold on. Until Liang Gongzuo's wife and the eldest princess of Yong State came from Zuoji Road, Duji Road, they summoned King Qin's troops and horses.
Tian Chengsi, Li Baochen, and Li Huaixian, three former members of the An family rebels who were originally surrendered by Liang Gong, also jumped up and became the heroes of the new dynasty in quelling the troubles and quelling the rebellion. From then on, they may be far away in Yanbian. Or they were divided into vassals and protected in the outside world, each with its own fate and future, which continues to this day.
But because of this rebellion, as a continuation of Emperor Taixing's reconstruction of his old capital, the originally prosperous underground city project came to a hasty end. Except for the parts that have been built and used, other spaces that have been opened up have been filled back and blocked.
At this moment, what Jiang Tian was entering was obviously buried, but was dug up again at an unknown time, and was used secretly for an unknown period of time as a semi-finished product; therefore, you can see some bricks that have not yet been laid. crumbling walls and pillars that could not be polished.
The next moment, a clear sound was heard on a river boat ahead, but it was a sergeant whose armor was shot by an arrow from the darkness. Then, just like the prelude to a counterattack and battle, the ship's crossbow machine instantly projected dots of rockets to both sides, ready to go.
The arrows that flew around and whizzed, were nailed into the gaps between the earth walls or bricks, and at the same time, they also revealed several figures behind the pillars, like a group of startled rats, scurrying to escape.
