On the way to Juchao City, Bai Yan and Zhao Gao rode in the same carriage.
Zhaogao was enjoying himself very comfortably. Behind him were two women in their thirties who were waiting on Zhaogao. Along the way, Zhaogao also looked at Bai Yan with his small eyes.
In Zhaogao's eyes, Bai Yan, who was not much older than him, was like a completely different person, silent and quiet, with few words.
'Boring scholar' was Zhaogao's assessment of Bai Yan after the conversation.
Juchao City is located south of Shouchun, and is the closest road to Jiujiang and Baiyue areas. On the map of Chu State, a large area to the south of Juchao City is a fertile land, which is similar to Shouchun City. After crossing the Huai River to the north of Chun, Xiacai is divided into east and west directions. Shouchun, located in the middle, is located in a dangerous mountainous terrain with enough defensive mountains.
In later generations, whether it is Xicai or living in a nest, it will be summarized under one name: the land of Huainan!
No matter in any dynasty, when people talk about fertile land, they will inevitably mention this place with fertile water and soil, mild climate, and abundant rainfall. In every dynasty, this place will be known as a granary. If the country supports this place, the country will be rich and the people will be strong. If you live here, you will have many concubines.
I have been traveling for several days, and there has been rain along the way.
Spring plowing has not yet completely passed. Along the way, you can clearly see people working in the fields. The falling rain is like a thin veil in the sky, floating slowly in the breeze, swaying back and forth.
"It's almost time to reach Juchao. Do you plan to go during the day or at night?"
Zhaogao watched Bai Yan gently open the window, and kept staring at the beautiful scenery outside the window. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he always felt that Tian Fu seemed to envy that kind of life.
Thinking of this, Zhaogao shook his head repeatedly. How could anyone envy such a life? How hard it was! You have to go out to farm when the sun rises, and you can go home to rest only when the sun sets. You don't have much money all year round, and even the wives you marry are poor women with yellow skin. How can you compare to being a stable and worry-free nobleman? My son, enjoy yourself comfortably, have maids and servants, go wherever you want, and never worry about money. Not to mention that as long as you name your name, you will receive hospitality from others. Just go out and the farmers will see you. Everyone must bow their heads and give way.
"Since we are worshiping the people of Chu, it is best to go at night!"
Bai Yan heard Zhao Gao's words, put down the curtain, thought about it, and said to Zhao Gao.
Unlike all the vassal states in the Central Plains, the sacrifices in Chu State are not performed during the day like the sacrifices in the Central Plains. The sacrifices in Chu State are all performed at night. The reason is that it is said that the Chu people finally got the recognition of the Zhou royal family. , had to make Danyang a fiefdom of the Chu people. However, because the country was weak and poor, and had nothing to offer sacrifices to, he went to a neighboring country to steal a cow, and for fear of being discovered, he sacrificed it at night. This custom of offering sacrifices at night began in the Chu State. It has been passed down.
Bai Yan didn't know whether this was true or not. After so long, who could know? After all, unlike other people, Bai Yan knew that the Central Plains countries had always regarded Chu as a barbarian, arrogant and indifferent since the Shang Dynasty. This has always been the attitude of the Central Plains people towards the Chu people.
No one knows whether the Chu State suffered from the lack of scholars at that time, so that the Central Plains scholars spread the word from mouth to mouth and became a fact.
The totem that Chu people believe in is the phoenix, and the tiger-seat phoenix drum is one of the most iconic phoenix drums in the Chu state.
"Okay, then when we wait in Juchao City, I will make arrangements and wait for my news."
Zhaogao looked at Bai Yan and nodded.
Although Li Yuan is originally from Zhao, he has been in Chu for so long and is already half a Chu. As for whether Xiong You is the blood of King Chu, Zhao Gao has always been very clear about this. He really belongs to Chu. Everyone in the palace was blinded. If Xiong still had the slightest blood problem, how could he have so many nobles' support? Even Xiong Fuchu was at a disadvantage in the fight for the throne.
Now that they saw that madman Jing Qi slaughtering so many people, and most of the Xiang family, Huang family, and all the civil and military officials in the court were leaning towards Jing Qi, others were unwilling to stand up to refute Jing Qi's words, and they were already offended. Go up to Zuotu's Jingqi.
But this does not mean that in their eyes, Xiong You is really not of King Chu's blood as Jing Qi said.
"Thank you!"
Bai Yan nodded.
Half an hour later, as the drizzle gradually dissipated, the carriages Bai Yan and Zhao Gao were riding in slowly arrived at Juchao City.
With Zhaogao around, the Chu soldiers guarding the city gate didn't even dare to raise their heads and take a second look, let alone asking, for fear of making Zhaogao dissatisfied. After all, the number of times Zhaogao was in a bad mood before was several times greater than the number of times he was in a good mood. , there were many servants killed by Zhaogao before.
Bai Yan was taken by Zhaogao to a very beautiful mansion with an excellent location. Zhaogao asked Bai Yan to live here and wait for news from him, and then left directly.
"No wonder."
Bai Yan was in the mansion, looking at the scene and scale in front of him, thinking of Zhaogao in Yuanyuan Tower, and the extravagance of the Chu people's children, he was full of sighs. Zhaogao was just one of the many descendants of Zhaomin, but just like this, Zhaogao It is difficult to compare with officials who have the title of doctor in Qin State.
How could the nobles of Chu State in such an environment be willing to live like the people of Qin once they lost everything?
After following the servant to a room and settling down, Bai Yan patiently waited for news about Zhaogao.
What Bai Yan didn't know was that someone had been following him since he entered Juchao City, and then saw him enter Zhaogao's mansion with his own eyes.
"Gentleman, we are at Zhaogao's residence!"
Not long after, a man came to a restaurant and said to another man.
And the man who was called a gentleman was surprisingly the Ban Ding whom Bai Yan had met.
"Is there any movement from Master Shenxi?"
Ban Ding played with a wine baron and asked softly.
"The masters of Shenxi are all in Qisi City!"
the man said.
Ban Ding nodded, drank the fine wine in the wine cup, and took a few breaths in thought.
"Let all the six soldiers who sneaked into the city keep an eye on the city guard's mansion. If there is any slight movement, no one will be left alive!"
Ban Ding ordered.
When he learned that Bai Yan was coming to Juchao City, Ban Ding was filled with confusion. However, no matter how puzzled he was, Ban Ding would not let Bai Yan make any mistakes at this moment. He would protect Bai Yan from leaving Chu safely no matter what. country.
"promise!"
Hearing this, the man turned and left.
"Why come to Juchao City?"
Ban Ding frowned slightly, sighed, and walked slowly to the window, frowning slightly as he looked out the window at the scenery of Juchao City.
dusk.
Zhaogao still didn't let Bai Yan wait long. After dinner, Zhaogao's followers came to the mansion and took Bai Yan out of the city again.
By the time Bai Yan brought the sacrifices to the place where King Chu was buried, it was already dark.
The two subordinates sent by Zhaogao held torches and looked at the darkness around them. They came to the tomb again. They said they were not nervous, but they were lying.
Bai Yan asked the two of them to go to the carriage and wait. The two servants nodded repeatedly when they saw this.
"Now that the King of Chu has taken office, all of Xiong You's family, excluding the daughters who were married far away, have been killed. No one in the Li Yuan family has been spared, even his young grandson. They are all like this. I feel so pitiful! There is no heir. , has no descendants, look at Xiong Fuchu's palace again, playing and singing day and night."
Bai Yan held a torch in front of the two tombs and began to burn the sacrifices. He told the situation in Shouchun in detail.
In the night, the firelight slowly swayed with the breeze. Except for the faint firelight from the distant carriage, only Bai Yan had light here.
And just by candlelight.
The roars of unwillingness eventually turned into feeble cries, which the groom and the two followers in the distance could not hear.
However, the corners of Bai Yan's mouth turned up more and more, and then he slowly raised his head and looked at the tomb, a man in his fifties and an old man in his seventies.
"Have you seen the two of us?"
In the dark night, when Xiong You and Li Yuan, who had already been killed, saw Bai Yan's expressions, they both looked in disbelief and asked cautiously.
Bai Yan stood up slowly, showed a smile, and slowly raised his hand.
"I am the envoy sent by Cangtian to avenge the King of Chu!"
Bai Yan raised his hand and saluted the two of them.
This is not the first time that Bai Yan has deceived the souls of the dead who are full of resentment, whether it is the people who were killed in Linzi, or Zou Xing, Baoxiao, Xu Chengling who are still alive.
Bai Yan has long been accustomed to dealing with these dead souls with blood feuds.
They were all human beings when they were alive, and now they only have resentment that slowly dissipates.
"Messenger! Seriously"
Xiong You, who is in his fifties, and Li Yuan, who is in his seventies, were shocked when they saw that Bai Yan could really see them. At first, they just guessed and couldn't believe it. But the words of the man in front of them directly confirmed this. matter.
Looking at each other, they didn't expect that someone would actually see them after they died.
And because they had never experienced these things, neither Xiong You nor Li Yuan actually noticed that their name for Bai Yan had changed.
"The sky can see your grievances, so it has given me the ears and eyes. Whether I can take revenge depends not on the sky, but on your ability. I am no match for your hands!"
Bai Yan cupped his hands and said, his face full of seriousness.
Hearing this, Xiong You and Li Yuan looked at the desolate place around them, thinking of their own death, the death of their clansmen, and the fact that they had no descendants. They also thought that Xiong Fuchu, Jing Qi, and the noble clans were currently in Shouchun City, An Ran. Enjoy themselves, enjoy power and wealth, and their people are safe and sound.
Xiong You and Li Yuan looked at the people in front of them at this moment. The two of them were furious and had only one thought in their minds.
No matter what the cost, let those people die together. They will have no descendants, and those people will never have any! ! !
Think of this.
Xiong You and Li Yuan raised their hands and returned the greeting to Bai Yan.
The next day.
After worshiping, Bai Yan was ready to return to Shouchun again.
This move, not to mention the confusion of Ban Ding, who had been hiding in the dark, even Zhaogao, a member of the noble family, felt that it was particularly unreal. How could these three hundred gold be earned so easily?
This is too simple!
Living under the gate of Chao City.
Zhaogao sent Bai Yan all the way out of the city. After learning that Bai Yan was really going to offer sacrifices, Zhaogao felt a little guilty. He insisted on giving the two concubines to Bai Yan no matter what, and Bai Yan was not allowed to refuse no matter what.
"Gentleman!"
Bai Yan was saying goodbye to Zhaogao when he suddenly saw Mang, who had been waiting outside the city gate as agreed, hurriedly came over and handed a roll of bamboo slips to Bai Yan.
Seeing this, Bai Yan reached out to take the bamboo slip and opened it to read. When he saw the contents, Bai Yan's eyes gradually turned red.
Thinking of the old man who protected him time and time again in the court.
After Bai Yan read the bamboo slips, he raised his head and tried hard to suppress his tears, but a line of clear tears still flowed down his cheeks.
Bai Yan calmed down for a long time before he relaxed his mood, and then turned to look at Zhaogao.
"Gao Jun, I want to leave the Chu Kingdom immediately, and say goodbye now!"
Bai Yan raised his hands to Zhao Gao and said.
Zhaogao looked at Bai Yan's appearance and roughly guessed that Mr. Tian in front of him must have learned something bad. Thinking about this trip was not very pleasant, so Zhaogao thought about it and took it from his mind. , took out a token and handed it to Bai Yan.
"If you have this thing, you will definitely be able to leave Chu as soon as possible!"
After Zhao Gao handed it over to Bai Yan, when he saw Bai Yan taking it, he raised his hand and said seriously.
After guessing that Tian Fu in front of him was anxious to leave the Chu Kingdom because of important matters, Zhao Gao's original intention was to help Tian Fu as much as he could. After all, Zhao Gao could easily take three hundred gold from others, no matter how thick-skinned Zhao Gao was. Excuse me.
"Thank you!"
Bai Yan thought for a while, but did not refuse. After giving Zhao Gao a grateful greeting, he did not ride in the carriage again, but mounted the horse with Mang and rushed towards Shouchun.
This time, there happened to be Zhaogao's token, so when Bai Yan passed through Shouchun City, he did not enter Shouchun City again to avoid his uncle from finding excuses to arrange for him to leave.
Bai Yan didn't have time to tell his uncle what he had learned from his trip to Juchao City, but Bai Yan believed that he would surprise his uncle the next time he came to Chu State.
A few days later.
Juyang City.
One of the cities on the border between Qin and Chu, in the Chu State, together with Chengfu and Xiangcheng, it formed a defensive situation facing the north. Since ancient times, it has been heavily guarded by the Chu State.
Under the crowded city gate, among the people going in and out, the uncle was carrying a cloth package on his back. His face was weak, his lips were white and slightly peeling, and he stood on tiptoe from time to time as he looked ahead.
"Why are there so many people?"
"I haven't heard that the King of Chu has sent envoys to Qin. I think it won't be long before Qin will retreat. Many people want to return to their homeland to farm. After all, they can't live without farming!"
"That's it! No wonder so many people want to enter the city. It turns out they are going back from Yangcheng!"
There was noisy discussion all around.
The uncle looked around, feeling a little dizzy under the scorching sun. However, thinking of the inactivity he had been doing in Chu State, he finally decided that if he wanted to find a way to go to Qin State, he must go to Xianyang no matter what, to see Li Si. Ask Li Si to intercede and cancel the wanted order against him.
During this period, the money provided by the daughter-in-law was too little, and the uncle had not enough to buy anything after just a few meals. This also meant that the uncle had not had a bite of food for two days, and there was no food in his belly. The uncle was already extremely weak.
"Give in, give in quickly!"
The voice of the gatekeepers came from behind. The uncle was already used to it, so he moved a few steps aside honestly, not daring to offend these gatekeepers, for fear that he would not be able to enter the city gate later, and would eventually starve to death in the wild.
As long as you can enter the city, you won't starve to death even if you beg!
Suddenly, the uncle didn't know whether it was because he hadn't eaten for too long, or whether he was dizzy because of the sun, which caused his eyes to hallucinate. Why did he see Yan'er's figure, and Yan'er was actually holding a horse.
"Yan'er?"
The uncle was full of doubts. He didn't understand, why was Yan'er here?
"Yan'er!"
After a long time, when the uncle looked at it for a long time and made sure that he was not dazzled, he quickly opened his eyes wide, looked around, swallowed hard, the pained expression disappeared in an instant, and then hurriedly stepped forward excitedly.
