Hongzhu Town is surrounded by a high wall. Chen Pingan and his party needed to enter the town from the north gate, but an accident soon occurred. There were armored and armed garrison soldiers at the wall gate, and they needed to submit a household certificate to enter the town. But Chen Ping'an was stunned when he entered. He didn't even know anything about the household ultimatum.
A Liang, who got a gold ingot early, took out a crumpled official document from his arms with a smile. After passing the inspection, the guy didn't even want the donkey, and swaggered into the city alone. On the other side of the wall door, he did not forget to wave goodbye to the people who were looking at each other, causing Li Huai to curse and threaten to kill the white donkey, and A Liang laughed and left.
Zhu He was also at a loss. Before leaving the town, his ancestors did not specifically explain this matter. In fact, apart from his age, Zhu He knew nothing about the world outside. He was no better than Chen Pingan. As for traveling through mountains and rivers, eating and sleeping in the open air In one thing, he was far inferior to a poor boy who was born as a kiln worker. Zhu He had an idea, thinking that money can make all the difference, and it must be a universal truth, so he secretly stuffed money into a guard soldier, but the young soldier directly put the spearhead to his chest. He scolded sternly, even though Zhu He had a good temper, he was also a little angry. If a martial artist from the Five Realms joined the army, he would not even do it for a middle-level general with thousands of elites. However, when Zhu He was about to argue with the man, Zhu Lu gently Pulling his arm, he reminded softly: "Dad, our Da Li military law has clear rewards and punishments, and it has a characteristic, either very light or very serious, so don't conflict with these soldiers, we ordinary people can't take advantage. "
Zhu He frowned and snorted. After all, he chose the people not to fight against the officials.
Zhu Lu comforted him in a low voice: "Dad, let our ancestors help you find an official status in the future. With the amulet and your skills, I believe you will be able to stand out soon. What else is needed?" I'm so angry."
Zhu He strode away, nodded, glanced back at the gatekeeper, and sneered: "It's true to the old saying, the king of hell is easy to meet, but the kid is difficult to deal with."< /p>
Everyone subconsciously looked at Chen Pingan.
Chen Pingan thought for a while and said slowly: "There is really no other way but to go around Red Candle Town. If we are sleeping outside tonight, we can hire someone to help us buy everything we need. Really? The big trouble is that we can’t get to the water transport terminal in the town, so the planned itinerary will have to be modified. Taking a boat along the Xiuhua River along the 200-mile waterway will be much easier than walking, and we don’t have to make a detour. "
At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a blue official uniform walked out of the city gate quickly, carefully looked at Chen Pingan and his party, and finally looked at Zhu He, cupped his fists and asked: "On the next journey? Sheng, now the postmaster of the Pillow Post in Hongzhu Town, is he Mr. Zhu He from Longquan County?" Zhu He remained silent and looked wary.
The man who called himself Yi Cheng smiled heartily and said: "Your family master once sent a letter directly to our county magistrate. He roughly stated your itinerary and let us county magistrate do your best. friendship, in addition, you each have letters to your family, and you have arrived at our pillow inn. I made a special trip for you ten days ago. I can only say that it is quite clean and tidy. I can’t say how good it is. I hope Dear guests, please forgive me, please don't complain to the county magistrate, otherwise the county magistrate will be unhappy, and I'm afraid I will lose my job tomorrow. "
The top leader of the Pillow Post suddenly remembered something, "If Mr. Zhu doesn't believe it, I can go to the post immediately and call someone. This person is from Fulu Street in Longquan County, saying that he is still The old yamen officer who supervised the construction of the yamen office had a letter from his family in the capital city of Dali. It was he who personally brought it to the superior of the yamen office, saying that he wanted to hand it over to a young master named Lin Shouyi.
Lin Shouyi took a few steps forward, his face filled with the arrogance of a child of aristocratic family, and asked: "I am Lin Shouyi of Longquan County. May I ask Cheng Yicheng, what is that man's name?" ”
The maid Zhu Lu was in a daze. At this time, Lin Shouyi was different from the taciturn and stern young man in his impression.
The eyes of Li Baoping and Li Huai met. After a while, they nodded slightly.
Yi Cheng Cheng Sheng said without any hesitation, "If I remember correctly, his name should be Tang Shutou. He is about forty years old. That's not what our Dali official said." Very smooth, well, this person especially likes drinking, just wine..."
Lin Shou nodded and asked casually: "Yicheng has been waiting for us at the north gate these days? "
The man smiled and said: "Although I really want to nod, I really don't have the shame. In fact, the Pillow Inn is in the north of Hongzhu Town, not far from here. Secondly, I'll go to the top of the mountain near the town. , built a beacon, and I had a good relationship with the chief of the beacon, so I asked him to help me keep an eye on the post road going down the mountain in the north. As soon as I saw the figure of Master Lin Mr. Zhu, I asked his beacon men to enter the city and notify me. "
Lin Shou suddenly understood and stopped talking. He turned to look at Chen Ping'an, who nodded.
Zhu He smiled and thanked: "Master Cheng, thank you for your trouble. "
The Yi Cheng waved his hands quickly and said: "I can't be called an adult, but I am just a little man who works in front of the donkey and behind the horse. He does the work of serving the nobles all day long. It is really difficult for him to become a gentleman. . Let’s not talk about it for now. I’m going to inform the garrison. I believe we will be able to enter our town soon. ”
Yicheng is affiliated to the Dali imperial court, but he cannot be called an official of the imperial court. Such subordinate officials are not in the mainstream and are not classified as high-quality officials. There is a huge gap between clean and dirty officials.
Soon, the Yi Cheng led them to the doorway of the city wall. Although the guards let them go, their expressions were still not good-looking.
The Yi Cheng took the lead in walking through the particularly shady doorway of the city wall and turned around. He lowered his voice and explained to Zhu He: "They are all veterans who retired from the border battlefield. They are not very capable but have a stubborn temper. Sometimes even our county magistrate can't deal with them. Mr. Zhu doesn't want to be like them." ”
Zhu He no longer had any experience in the world of martial arts, but he still understood the simple and profound truths, so he did not answer.
They passed by a cold shop, and young people kept coming.Strong men came in and out, and from time to time a white light lit up in the shop.
Li Huai couldn't move his feet. Zhu He couldn't help but take a second look, and soon lost interest.
Yicheng said: "That is a sword shop, and other weapons are occasionally sold."
Lin Shouyi asked curiously: "Doesn't the government care? Aren't you afraid of the common people in the market? Fighting with weapons?"
Yicheng said with a smile: "The government doesn't care much about this, but if something happens, it will be very strict. If the county government is short of manpower, the county magistrate can mobilize all the people under his jurisdiction. Jianghu sects help resolve disputes. "
Da Li is a martial artist. There are many knights who travel around with swords and swords. They are both rogues with high ambitions and low abilities, as well as children of aristocratic families with great ambitions. Although the sale of all weapons is prohibited, most people turn a blind eye to ordinary swords with mediocre casting techniques. It mainly depends on the attitude of the local officials. If you are a pure scholar, you will probably be strictly prohibited. If you are a battlefield warrior, ten In the future, the net will be open to one side. Of course, strong bows, crossbows, fine armor and other important weapons of the country are definitely not allowed to be sold anywhere.
Beacons, inns, markets, wine shops, brothels and bars, etc., Hongzhu Town has everything. It is very lively and full of people on the streets. Compared with Chen Pingan and his hometown town, it is much more prosperous and noisy. , all kinds of shops on both sides of the street are dazzling, and shouts come and go.
After chatting all the way and burning incense, we arrived at the Pillow Post. Soon there were the post’s servants taking away the white donkeys and horses. As expected, the post’s chief Cheng Sheng arranged a post for them, with classes A and B. Yes, he didn't make any decisions. Instead, he left the five posthouses to Zhu He and let them make their own arrangements.
Under Chen Pingan's arrangement, Li Baoping and Zhu Lu lived in a first-class post house, Zhu He lived in a first-class post house, and he and Li Huailin Shouyi each lived in a second-class post house. , if A Liang comes back, he can choose a post house to share. Of course, with A Liang's temper, he will definitely ask if he can choose Zhu Lu's room. It is estimated that Zhu Lu will definitely give him a look.
In the dusk, after everyone put away their luggage and packages, they gathered in the spacious first-class post house in Zhuhe. The postmaster Cheng Sheng quickly sent a stack of letters to his family. After sending them, he smiled. He said goodbye and said that if you need anything, just call out. He also said that the night market in Hongzhu Town is quite famous in the south of Dali and you must see it if you have the opportunity.
Lin Shouyi had one letter, Li Baoping had the most with three letters, and even Chen Ping'an had one letter. Li Huai was empty-handed, and finally found Zhu Lu who was in similar condition. The child smiled and said, "It's okay for both of us. "We are in the same boat."
Zhu Lu turned a deaf ear and walked to the window. The small pillow-top inn with its deep winding path actually created the feeling of a deep courtyard. From here, it looked like a traditional garden. The small lake, which seems to be no more than the size of a palm, is home to bloated red and yellow koi carp.
Lin Shouyi’s home letter was only a piece of letter paper with only a few words. The young man took a deep breath, put the so-called home letter back into the envelope, and left the post house with a gloomy expression, holding the envelope tightly with his fingers. , except for more than thirty scrawled wordsThere was a perfunctory calligraphy, and inside the envelope was a banknote of 300 taels from the largest bank in Dali.
The young man strode back to the inn, closed the door gently, and put the envelope on the table. His face was ashen and his chest was heaving.
Chen Pingan chose a secluded place to sit down. Li Baoping ran over, hesitating to speak. He smiled and said: "If there is a word I don't know, I will ask you."< /p>
Li Baoping then returned to the table and began to open letters. There were three letters from home, one from his father, the eldest brother and the second brother.
Li Baoping opened a letter, and his father Li Hong said some greetings in the letter. As always, there was no air of a strict father, and he only told some trivial things, such as the cold weather. Wear more clothes, don't be afraid of spending money when you go out, and every time you pass by the inn, you must send a letter home to your parents. After rambling on, five or six pieces of letter paper were turned over. Li Baoping sighed, looked at Zhu He who was sitting across the table drinking tea, and said sadly: "When will my parents stop treating me like a child?"
Zhu He couldn't help but laugh, drinking tea Drink tea.
The second letter Li Baoping browsed was written by her eldest brother, the eldest grandson of their Li family. He is now studying scriptures at home and preparing to take the imperial examination next year. The content of the letter is concise and to the point, with regular regular characters, which seems to be full of the charm of a husband and a wife sitting upright. Every stroke reveals a strong sense of caution. The whole article is full of sages and principles. Zhu He Zhu must not neglect her. Lu, father and daughter, should not be looked down upon by having children at home. She was asked to listen more to Chen Ping'an's words in Mu Ping Xiang, be able to endure hardships and stand hard work, and cause less trouble to others. But at the end of the letter, the eldest brother who has abided by etiquette and rules since childhood, He told her that he had learned a lesson about the crab she caught from the stream when she was a child, and asked her to just rest assured.
Li Baoping raised the letter in his hand and complained to Zhu He: "Brother cares about me the least."
Zhu He suppressed his smile and thought to himself, Miss, just let it go. Who doesn’t know that among the entire Li family, the eldest son is the one who loves you the most. Such a nerd, whose reasoning gave even his ancestors a headache, drank for the first time, and his sister secretly replaced the tea with home-brewed Peach Blossom Spring Roast. This made the eldest son so angry that he almost collapsed, and his parents were stunned after seeing it. He was so frightened that he didn't dare to say anything. He only dared to follow his son who ran to find his sister to challenge him, for fear that this slightly pedantic son would get angry and teach Xiao Baoping a lesson.
Never thought that when he saw that girl, standing outside the courtyard gate, hands on hips, looking forward to death, he scolded her again because of his reluctance, and became so angry that he turned around in anger. I left, feeling sulky for several days. Later, he buried a jar of peach blossoms in his yard that year. When his sister asked about it, he said he wanted to marry her off. The little girl was so scared that she ran away from home secretly and wandered alone by Longxuxi River. Throughout the whole day, she almost hid in the mountains.
When the Li family realized that Li Baoping was missing, the ancestors were furious and sent everyone to look for this silly girl. In the end, the eldest son made up for it and found a small house on the other side of the stream.He went to the temple, found the poor child sleeping on a wooden bench, and carried her back home.
The little girl in the red cotton jacket suddenly smiled and said: "But I still like the eldest brother the most."
The last letter, a thick pile, was sent to my sister by the second son of the Li family. , narrating his experience of going to the capital of Great Li, all anecdotes he had seen with his own eyes or heard from hearsay. The wording was as beautiful as prose, and he was extremely knowledgeable, just like a poet who was gifted with literary talents. This second young master is far more popular than his eldest brother in the Li family on Fulu Street. He is handsome and elegant, but has a witty conversation. He likes to read military books. Since he was a child, he has liked to have the maids and servants of the house serve in formations to "fight". Compared with the old-fashioned and boring The eldest son, the people in the house prefer to deal with the cheerful second son. During festivals, the second son will casually throw out a small embroidered bag of reward money when he sees someone. It’s heavy. If someone’s auspicious words are good, he will I will give you an extra embroidery bag.
Li Baoping flipped through the pages quickly. When he saw the penultimate piece of paper, he looked up at Zhu Lu: "My second brother is talking about you, about the Da Li Fengsui I told you before. Taiping Fire, he once stayed at the top of the mountain and saw with his own eyes this kind of beacon signal that reported peace to the capital. From a distance, it looked like a long flaming dragon, which was very spectacular."
Zhu Lukuai. He walked back to the table and sat down and asked: "Miss, what else did you say?"
Li Baoping simply handed all the pile of letters to Zhu Lu, but the second brother was talking about customs. Favors, mountain ghosts, and monsters, there is nothing ulterior.
Zhu Lu took the letter and asked, "Can you take it back and read it slowly?"
Li Baoping nodded and said, "Just don't lose it."
Zhu Lu’s face was full of joy and he left with a smile.
Yi Cheng Sheng knocked on the door and came in, bringing a basin of fresh fruits.
A man in a bamboo hat followed behind him.
Li Huai was furious and ran over to push this heartless bastard out of the house.
As A Liang competed with Li Huai, he sat down on the stool beside the table and asked with a wicked smile: "What's the matter with Zhu Lu? His face is so charming and charming. He seems to be even cooler than usual." Be more beautiful."
Zhu He said nothing with a dark face.
Lin Shouyi returned and sat near Chen Pingan. A Liang threw the small silver gourd to Lin Shouyi. The young man pulled out the wine cork and took a sip of wine.
A Liang turned to Yi Cheng and asked: "Is there a Shuishui Bay in Hongzhu Town? Is it not too far from the water transport terminal?"
Yi Cheng looked strange. , nodded and said: "Yes."
A Liang clicked his tongue and said: "Pinjin Cave, Pinjin Cave."
There is a crescent-shaped river bend in Hongzhu Town. A kind of exquisite painting boat unique to Hongzhu Town. It is only two or three feet long. It is surrounded by precious purple bamboo or ordinary green bamboo. The degree of luxury decoration inside depends on the financial resources of the owner of the painting boat. There are usually two to three people in each painting boat. Women, most of them beautiful women and young girls, are proficient in at least one or two kinds of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea and wine. In addition to the viewing lounge, there is also a bedroom, whose functions are self-evident.
Those boat girls areGenerations of dali households were said to have been survivors of the former Shenshui Kingdom. Emperor Dali issued an edict that they were never allowed to go ashore, and that their descendants should be like rootless duckweeds for the rest of their lives.
The people of Hongzhu Town passed down from generation to generation that the landowner of Qidun Mountain not far away was extremely loyal and loyal. He secretly protected the ancestors of these surnames on their way to escape, thus provoking Emperor Da Li. Long Yan was furious and was demoted from the mountain god to the earth. He ordered the descendants of those surnames to smash the golden body with their own hands and sink it to the bottom of the river.
Yicheng carefully crafted his words and chose some innocuous small town allusions to tell these distinguished guests.
Red Candle Town cannot be said to be the north-south hub of Dali, but it is also a busy water transport terminal with boats and ships, and products from all over the country are gathered together. It is the place where three rivers converge, namely the Chongdan River, the Xiuhua River and the Yuye River. However, there are only two river gods. There are river god temples and clay statues of the gods built on the riverside. They all died in the water battle. Dali's meritorious service as commander of the navy.
Only in the Danjiang River, there is no river god and no ancestral temple. Later, a prosperous Empress Temple appeared to enshrine a small town martyr who committed suicide by throwing herself into the river to prove her innocence. As a result, it was quickly The Dali imperial court designated it as a temple for obscenity, and now there is only a pile of ruins, broken bricks, and only snakes and rats running around.
When he heard about the deeds of the Land Master of Qidun Mountain, Li Huai sighed softly: "I didn't expect such a big bad guy to have such a good reputation in Hongzhu Town."
Lin Shouyi looked indifferent, "Every family has its own scriptures that are difficult to recite."
Chen Pingan put away the letter sent by Ruan Xiu.
The letter said that the Luolu Mountain he bought had successfully been granted the title of a new mountain god from Da Li, who helped gather spiritual energy on the top of the mountain, second only to Piyun Mountain who was not involved in the sale, and was held by her father. of Lighting Mountain.