At dusk, Guan Luoyang and his party came to Zengjiazhuang.
This Zengjiazhuang is just an ordinary village in name, but a canal has been dug around the entire village.
Going to the village from the east, there is only one entrance. You have to use a wooden bridge over the canal to pass. There are people guarding both sides of the wooden bridge. There is a high wall on the inside of the canal. At first glance, it looks like an earth wall. You can only feel it when you get closer. , the wall is thick and heavy, and it must have taken a lot of big stones to be poured inside.
At regular intervals within the wall, there are small wooden buildings higher than the wall, with people on duty upstairs.
With such a posture, let alone blocking some bandits, even if Yizhou City sent some officers and soldiers to fight, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to defeat them easily.
In the past, Mr. Zeng was always proud that his family could manage Zengjiazhuang like this. But today, no arrangement inside or outside Zengjiazhuang can give him any sense of peace of mind.
He only wanted everything to be done to Guan Luoyang's liking, and he must not let Guan Luoyang pick any thorns, so that he might be able to avoid a fatal disaster.
After everyone entered the Zengjiazhuang, Mr. Zeng immediately ordered a banquet to be held. He also consciously ordered every household in the village to cook more meals to entertain the miners.
Guan Luoyang's attitude was easy-going, as if he was really a guest. He followed Mr. Zeng to his home. He ate the same carefully prepared dishes, and he accepted everyone who came for a toast. After eating to his heart's content, he went to bed.
Late at night, Mrs. Zeng specially found a remote room, as far away as possible from where Guan Luoyang lived, and then he dared to cry to his five sons.
Mr. Zeng's five sons were all supported by delicacies from the mountains and seas and precious medicinal materials. Later, when they got older, they invited masters like Shi Wengong to teach them martial arts and magic techniques.
Therefore, when the five of them grew up, they all had handsome features and strong backs. Even if Mr. Zeng could straighten his stooped back, he could only barely put his head on the chests of these five sons. It was simply not his kind. .
Especially the eldest son, Zeng Tu, was the most favored. He was proficient in martial arts. He usually dealt with matters in the village and was even more resourceful and capable in both civil and military affairs.
When Mrs. Zeng told the whole story, the other four sons couldn't help showing resentment on their faces.
This one said: "How dare you, the Taoist thief, bully my old father like this?! Why don't we take advantage of that guy's sleep and use some gunpowder and kerosene to blow up the place where he lives and smash him to pieces to avenge this hatred!"
The one said: "No, he can kill General Shi. He is very powerful. I'm afraid the explosives won't kill him. He also has some strange poisons specially collected from Yanyun at home. Why don't we pretend to give him supper and cook it?" A pot of sobering soup, all these poisons were put into the soup, and the poison caused his intestines to pierce and rot."
Only Zeng Tu remained as calm as before and said: "None of them are right. The reason why my family is so prosperous is precisely because of our good relationship with Shi Wengong. You should also know that no one in the five hundred miles radius can defeat Shi Wengong. If the Zeng family's methods are used, if they kill If not Shi Wengong, how could he kill this Taoist thief?"
Mr. Zeng wiped his tears: "I mean the same thing. My family will definitely not be able to resist him. We can only try our best to satisfy him, send him away, and report to the court later."
The sons of the Zeng family looked at each other and said, "I'm just afraid that he will be greedy."
"Don't be afraid." Zeng Tu said, "The biggest property of our Zeng family is this Zhuangzi. He is looking for a boat to take away the miners. After the boat is full of people, how much wealth can it carry? As long as Zhuangzi It’s still there, and the things that were owed to him can be recovered sooner or later.”
Now that they had made up their mind, the Zeng family didn't mention anything else and stayed busy all night with lights on.
The next morning, when Guan Luoyang opened the door and walked out of the village, he saw a carriage waiting nearby.
The miners actually all put on new clothes, each had a package on their shoulders, carrying cakes made overnight, and were weeping to express their gratitude to the people of Zengjiazhuang.
Many young Zeng children could not suppress the look of disgust on their faces and refused to approach these miners at all. However, those who were older had many instructions from the old man and other managers, so how could they dare to let these miners go? He knelt down and held on tightly.
Some Zeng children were so frightened when they saw Guan Luoyang coming out that they were accidentally knelt down by the miners next to them. They were so frightened that they knelt down too and kowtowed with the miners face to face. They kowtowed more than the miners.
Guan Luoyang touched his face: "Am I so scary?"
Gongsun Sheng walked up to him unknowingly and said: "The Zeng family's children who were supervising the work in the mine all came back yesterday. They relayed the battle situation, and the news became more and more suspicious."
"When Pindao got up this morning, he heard someone talking about how Shi Wengong had become three-headed and six-armed in the mountains. He was three feet tall and had a waist of ten girth. As a result, you grabbed him and bit off half of his body. While he was chewing , I can still hear Shi Wengong screaming, it hurts so much."
Guan Luoyang laughed, looked around, and said: "That old guy is quite cunning. If the Zeng family pretends to treat those miners like this, it will surely make everyone soften their hearts and think of them better. It's really It makes me uncomfortable to kill in front of everyone."
Gongsun Sheng said: "Are you going to let them go?"
"They can only pretend for a while. They will definitely take action soon."
Guan Luoyang said, "When I go to Liangshan and settle these people first, when I come back, it will be their death."
While they were talking, Mrs. Zeng and the others came over and asked Guan Luoyang to get on the carriage first, and the Zeng family went out together to see him off.
They were sent several miles away to the waterside and asked the miners to get on the boat. Mr. Zeng opened the boxes of goods in front of Guan Luoyang and asked people to transport them onto the boat.
Guan Luoyang said goodbye to them with a smile. Mr. Zeng covered his heart with his voice choked up and wished Guan Luoyang all the best.
It was a favorable wind in the morning. When the boat was far away, Guan Luoyang looked back and saw the group of people still standing on the shore silently saying goodbye.
The waves are rippling, and the sound is clear to the ears. The wind on the water is mixed with mist, which is cool and pleasant. It is a pity that this place is not far from the mine. Due to years of mining, it is smoky. There is often haze nearby. If you smell it carefully, you can still smell a little bit of it. An unpleasant smell.
Guan Luoyang stood on the bow of the boat, watching the water waves parting to both sides. Suddenly he remembered something and asked Gongsun Sheng: "I used to study and saw some records saying that when Zhao Ji was in power, he was stupid and incompetent, favoring traitors and sycophants. There are already complaints among the people."
"Some people go to the mountains and rivers to become bandits and bandits, and some people rise up and declare themselves kings. I wonder if there are a few of them who can really make a big splash?"
Gongsun Sheng pondered for a while and said: "In the years of Emperor Daojun, there was indeed some chaos among the people in the Song Dynasty."
"However, when the Emperor of Destiny first came to the throne, he made every effort to select talents and appoint them. He promoted many depressed masters and generals in various state capitals, allocated resources, and let them fight and kill everywhere. He killed many bandits and bandits, and denounced Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others as the six thieves. They ransacked their homes and imprisoned them one after another. They stopped the Hua Shi Gang, the Birthday Gang, etc. After hearing this, the people all applauded and praised, and the people became much more peaceful."
"As for the people who could make a big splash, there should have been a few. For example, there was a lacquer garden owner Fang La in Qingxi, Muzhou at that time. He was born with great ambitions, learned a lot of magic, and was quite famous in the neighborhood. Even the high officials in the court Some of them became friends with him and often visited his home."
"But in the second year after Emperor Tianming ascended the throne, he suddenly sent a group of Taoist officials and mobilized soldiers and horses to kill Fang La's family. They killed many of his family's guardians and killed hundreds of wealthy slaves. All their businesses were burned to the ground."
"It was later discovered that Fang La had secretly mobilized tens of thousands of troops and was revered as a holy prince. If those Taoist officials had left a few months later, perhaps Fang La would have become the rebel king of the separatist party. "
After hearing this, Guan Luoyang shook his head and said with a smile: "This emperor is really a prophet, but he was able to rely on these actions in the past to depose the six thieves, comply with the people's sentiments, and suppress the turbulent situation. Now he himself is acting in the opposite direction. Is it possible that he is doing the opposite? Aren’t you afraid that there are tens of thousands of people in the world who are not expected to rise up in rebellion?”
Guan Luoyang's words actually refer not only to himself, but to the aborigines of this world.
According to Lin Lingsu, when Emperor Daojun was in power, he once checked the total number of copper, iron, tin, and cinnabar mineral deposits in the Song Dynasty through court files, and it was only a little over three hundred.
According to Gongsun Sheng, in the past ten years, Emperor Tianming sent people to explore more than 600 mineral veins in various state capitals using secret methods.
Originally, some mines were privately owned, and most of the government was only responsible for collecting taxes. However, for all the newly opened mines in the past ten years, the government had to intervene, urging excavation and transportation day and night. The miners' toil was much higher than before.
People in the countryside live far less quickly than they die, and there are fewer and fewer people working in the mines.
Take the Cangshan Mine as an example. When the number of people was at its largest, it was said that there could be nearly 5,000 young men, but now there are only more than 2,000 miners brought out by Guan Luoyang.
The Cangshan Mine is particularly important because it can produce red crystals and synthetic purple energy sand. In fact, in terms of the number of people, the scale here is far from the largest, but it can be seen from the inside.
In the past ten years, in the new mines in the Song Dynasty, the total number of miners who died due to work, illness, and accidents has probably reached an appalling level.
What’s even more frightening is that ten years is a very long time for ordinary people. In this era, transportation is inconvenient and information is limited. It is difficult for ordinary people to find out what is happening in the distance. When they are in it, it is difficult to realize that there is something happening in the distance. How many lives were lost.
When ten years pass, or even in a few years, the drought in the countryside becomes more and more serious, and the dull pain accumulated year after year will suddenly wake up and turn into a war that makes people unable to escape, enough to crush them to death. The despair of ordinary people, cutting off their heirs and destroying their families.
Even if Luoyang is not closed, people in the world will still rebel after all, and there will still be those heroes who are willing to join the people who cannot survive and have to rebel.
Gongsun Sheng said: "Perhaps Emperor Tianming feels that the current Song Dynasty official army has swept away the wind of weakness, has strong soldiers and horses, and a cloud of powerful generals, which is enough to suppress any unrest in the countryside."
Guan Luoyang said: "Have you met this emperor? What kind of person is he?"
"Back then, Pindao had just left the army and was traveling. The imperial edict to recruit talents came unexpectedly, so he was invited to Bianliang and became a Taoist official. Along with other Taoist officials, he had met the emperor many times."
Gongsun Sheng fell into memories, "The emperor at that time was still a young man, but he was wise and wise, and his city was already very profound. Except when he followed the Taoist officials to discuss the method of cultivation, he would occasionally show some emotions. No matter what decision he made, he was confident. , Pindao really can’t tell what he is like deep down in his heart.”
"It's just that by chance, Pindao later saved some innocent souls in the ditch leading from the imperial kitchen to the outside of the palace, and heard about some secrets that are no longer known to anyone."
"It is said that when I was still a prince, I was already worried about the country and the people at a young age. I worked hard for national affairs. I had nightmares for several months. I don't know what I was dreaming about. I almost went crazy. I screamed and ran around the palace. . When the palace doors were closed, someone could still hear him sobbing in the palace. He even wrote a letter to Emperor Daojun, asking himself to depose the crown prince. He cried and said that he had no talent for governing the country, so it was better to stay away from Bianliang and go to the mountains to learn Taoism. "
At this point, Gongsun Sheng let out a long sigh and shook the whisk, "Later, Emperor Daojun encouraged him and invited some Taoist officials to diagnose and treat him, and he was able to recover. He calmed down, burned ointment, followed the sundial, and studied Tao Lue day and night. . I really can’t understand how such a kind-hearted prince could become like this."
Guan Luoyang frowned slightly and thought, and his speculations about the destined emperor took a step further.
But if you want to really get the exact answer, there is no need to rush now.
Anyway, Guan Luoyang has made up his mind to leave in person sooner or later to meet the emperor.
The ship had been traveling for most of the day, and with the scorching sun in the sky, the miners couldn't bear it. They crowded around the deck to get some air, and Guan Luoyang ordered the ship to slow down.
Lin Lingsu also came out of the cabin, holding a bamboo tube in his hand, tasting the mercury carefully and admiring the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
There are many plants and trees on the shore, and it is in the flowering season. Countless flowers that cannot be named in Luoyang are blooming on the shore.
These flowers growing here are by no means expensive things, but when there are more flowers and plants, it is always a bit joyful, and the people on the other boats can't help but smile.
They followed Guan Luoyang all the way here, feeling somewhat uneasy, but they just didn't dare to ask, but the sun was so bright and the scenery was just right. Even the feeling of sweltering and dizziness was blown away by the wind on the river, and it seemed that they could temporarily forget all the worries in their hearts. .
Someone sang a song, with a rough voice and a high and straight tune. After two or three lines, he could no longer sing.
But other people on the same boat were from the same hometown as him. They knew the singing method behind it, so they took over his voice and sang on.
People from boat to boat responded, and the songs fell together, spreading continuously on the vast water.
Guan Luoyang listened to them singing about this mountain and this water. The lyrics were not elegant and magnificent, and they were even repetitive, but they fit perfectly with the mountains and rivers here.
Suddenly there was a group of people galloping on the shore. None of them wore armor, but they all carried weapons.
When they heard the singing on the river, they all turned their heads to look. One of them, a man with a steel gun and a long beard, carefully looked at the people singing on the boat and started singing a song.
"The east is not yet clear, and the clothes are turned upside down. If you turn them upside down, you will be summoned by the public."
His simple words and phrases should have been incompatible with the singing of the miners on the river, but this man's voice was rich and desolate, and the tune matched that of the miners, and it actually seemed to unite the uneven singing voices.
They sang so loudly that the river stopped and listened.
"Dongfang Weixi turned his clothes upside down. He turned them upside down and ordered them to do so."
"The willow tree and the fan garden are broken, and the crazy man Qu Qu. If you can't do it at night, you can do it if you don't do it early."
"The East is not yet clear..."
The boat goes on the river and the horse walks on the bank.
Lin Lingsu said in a low voice: "This is Dongfang Weiming in the Book of Songs. It talks about the cruelty of the princes in Qilu and the suffering of workers. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the devil was prosperous, and there were also some countries such as the Song Dynasty today. Oh, thousands of years ago , such as today’s court.”
After hearing this, Guan Luoyang raised his voice and said, "Brother on the shore, would you like to come to the boat for a while?"
The singing of the man holding the gun stopped and he laughed and said: "How dare you disobey the Taoist priest's good intentions, but there is a long snake in the water. Let us brothers catch it and ask for advice on the boat."
While he was talking, everyone on the shore raised their guns and knives and jumped into the water.
There was a roaring cow under the water, and a strange shadow hovered. It was originally drifting with the current and hiding very well, but now it was disturbed by swords and guns, and turned up violent waves.
Among the turbulent white waves, one can see that the head has two horns and the body is covered with scales. It turns out to be a dragon.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I recommend a book, "Diga of the Covering the Sky". It is a bit serious and depressing in the early stage, but if you continue writing, it should be a heroic story.
The author of this book is also a very talented person.
