Another voice rang out, "That's not necessarily true! Even the mortise and tenon structure cannot be used, and there is no support. There should be no such bridge in the world! Otherwise, the palace can hire craftsmen who can build bridges. !”
As soon as this statement came out, everyone once again fell into a heated discussion.
The village chief raised his hand to indicate that he had something to say, and the whole place immediately fell silent.
"Don't think about asking anyone for advice. We already...can't get out."
can not go out? What does it mean to be unable to get out?
"They said that after the decree arrives, none of us in Muke Village can leave until we send people to the palace to build the bridge. In other words, it is impossible for you to ask anyone for advice."
This time, after the old village chief finished speaking, there was no heated discussion because everyone was dumbfounded. No one is stupid, they all feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.
Xu Yuanliang said at this time: "Village Chief, does the decree mention what the consequences will be if we fail to do it?"
As soon as this question came out, the air in the whole room seemed to freeze. A needle could be heard quietly, and everyone even breathed lightly.
"Alas! I didn't want to say it at first, for fear that it would make everyone sleepless, eat, and panic. That's all, you should know." The old village chief looked at the slightly gloomy sky for a long time before slowly saying: "It can be done. Each household will be rewarded with ten taels of gold, the whole village will be exempted from taxes for ten years, and those who build the palace will receive a job."
Hearing this, everyone present showed a hint of joy. Such a reward is very good for them, it is simply unimaginable!
But the old village chief did not finish his words, "If it cannot be completed, our Muke Village will disappear from this world..."
What!
The old village chief's words were like a bolt from the blue, sending everyone present into a hole in the ice.
"Village Chief..." Some people couldn't believe it and wanted to ask for more information.
The old village chief closed his eyes. There was no need to ask anymore. His expression had already given them the answer.
"Village Chief, why did Your Majesty issue such a decree?" I don't know who asked.
In fact, there may not be an answer to this question, at least those big shots may not tell the civilians in Muke Village. However, the person who came to announce the decree this time was the officer leader who led the troops to guard the intersection outside. This man was also a poor boy, and he was very interested in Muke Village. Feeling sympathy for this disaster, he told the village chief the whole story.
The eldest prince was a sick man and died of illness last year. Among the remaining princes, there were only two, three, and four adult princes, so the old emperor needed to choose one of them to become the crown prince.
As expected, the vulgar drama of fighting for the throne was played out between the three princes. Among them, the third prince was superior in chess and used a custom-made wooden box design in Muke Village to get rid of the second prince. The old emperor lost another son and was filled with grief. However, the third child had done a clean job and left no clues. Even the old emperor could not provide any evidence. Moreover, he did not want to lose another son, so he could only divert his anger. The second prince's death was blamed on the craftsman who made the wooden box. Even if you are the emperor, you cannot massacre a village for no reason. At least there must be a crime, so someone gave the emperor a suggestion and asked Muke Village to build a bridge without nails or mortise and tenon joints. This technology is said to have existed thousands of years ago, but was later lost. Since the technology has been lost, the craftsmen of these Muke Villages will only die. They even took great pains to dig up clues about Chunxiang's dead ghost husband, and learned that he was a craftsman from Muke Village. They then arranged it as this man claiming that Muke Village had this technology, so that Muke Village's charge of deceiving the emperor would be eliminated. It's a matter of course.
In the following days, there was not a sound of laughter in Muke Village, and a gloomy atmosphere enveloped every villager. It's not that they don't want to work hard to fulfill their will, it's that they simply can't do it. If they are experts in building bridges, they can work together to discuss and try more, but if they are separated by rows like mountains, even if they use nails, they may not be able to build a bridge that can be used by pedestrians and vehicles.
Half a month later, the officers and soldiers guarding outside the village brought back the fifth corpse. This was not a villager who fled in fear of death, but a warrior who volunteered to run out to seek bridge-building technology. However, they were just ordinary people, and they had no idea how to build a bridge. It was impossible to break out.
Putting Xiao Dunzi in his arms on the bed, covering him with a quilt, Xu Yuanliang walked out of the house gently.
Chunxiang just stood at the courtyard gate staring into the distance without saying a word. She is perhaps the most miserable person in the whole village. According to the village chief, not even the children would survive the disaster that was to come soon. When she was about to usher in a new life, she suddenly fell into the abyss of eternal destruction. At the same time, she even had to bear the burden of her late husband bringing disaster to the village. This was not a burden that a woman could bear. Although everyone knew that the matter had nothing to do with her late husband, it was still involved, and one can imagine Chunxiang's feeling.
"I'm going out for a walk..." Xu Yuanliang said softly as he walked out of the door.
Chunxiang looked at the man's retreating figure, tears appearing in her eyes again.
Xu Yuanliang came to the back mountain alone. Behind the mountain was a cliff, so there were no officers and soldiers guarding him. He comes here often these days, just to think of a more pure solution. There are people like him who are still struggling. This can be known from the occasional sounds of carpentry work in the village.
These days, Xu Yuanliang has tried countless times with dozens of wooden strips as long and thick as brushes, but he has found nothing. The bridge described in the imperial edict is like a fairy bridge to him, and it is impossible for him, a mortal, to touch it. get.
"Do you think this is a bridge?" A voice interrupted his deep thoughts. Xu Yuanliang raised his head and saw a tall, thin old man in ragged clothes and holding a wine bottle in his hand. The most conspicuous feature of this old man is the red hair on his head, which is unforgettable.
Xu Yuanliang was astonished. This old man was obviously not from Muke Village. Now that the village had been sealed off, it was impossible for anyone to come in. So where did this stranger come from?
"Old man, may I ask..."
Before Xu Yuanliang could finish his words, the old man threw the wine bottle in his hand over, "Take a sip!"
"Ah?" Xu Yuanliang instinctively caught the wine bottle and looked at the old man in confusion.
"I told you to take a sip, didn't you hear me?" The old man's tone was quite stern, with a sense of calmness and authority.
Xu Yuanliang was an honest young carpenter. Under the majestic shout of the old man, he immediately took a sip without saying anything.
After taking this sip of wine, he immediately felt hot all over his body, and then there was a tearing pain all over his body. This unprecedented pain made Xu Yuanliang roll on the ground. He didn't understand why the old man would murder him with poisoned wine.
I don’t know how long it took, but Xu Yuanliang, who thought he was going to die, felt the pain gradually disappear. He slowly stood up, looked at his body, and then glared at the old man with glaring eyes: "What did you give me to drink!"
If the opponent was a young man, Xu Yuanliang would have already rushed up and punched him.
Unexpectedly, the old man took a sip of wine and confused Xu Yuanliang.
"What I drank was wine!"
"You... are talking nonsense... you must have changed it!" If there was something wrong with that pot of wine, why would the old man be fine after drinking it? Xu Yuanliang couldn't figure it out, so he didn't have the confidence to speak anymore.
"It's impossible for you to build the Flying Rainbow Bridge now, so let me help you!"
The four words "Flying Rainbow Bridge" shocked Xu Yuanliang. He instantly realized that what the old man in front of him was talking about was the bridge that could only be built by gods as required by the imperial edict.
A ray of light flashed from the old man's eyebrows and disappeared into Xu Yuanliang's eyebrows in an instant. Xu Yuanliang didn't even have time to react, so his mind went blank.
"I didn't expect that the college could recruit students with such good qualifications. Alas! That's all I, a sinner, can do..." The old man raised his head and took another sip of wine, then disappeared out of thin air.
I don't know how long it took, but Xu Yuanliang slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on his bed.
"I...I...what happened?"
"Yuanliang...you're awake!" Chunxiang suddenly threw herself on Xu Yuanliang's body and burst into tears.
"Chunxiang, why are you crying?" Xu Yuanliang sat up and looked at Chunxiang with a confused expression.
"I thought... thought you... would never wake up again..." Chunxiang was so excited that she spoke intermittently.
