Lost Xiaonanzhou Group

Chapter 5 Song of the Boatman in Xianning
At the time of Chen, the boat sailed to Giant Spirit City at the junction of Huainan Road and Shannan Road. Mo Hu ordered two warships to berth to the pier one after another for supplies.

The canal wharf in Giant Spirit City was built with great momentum, and there were row upon row of buildings on the shore, and there were five professional shops and markets built next to the wharf alone.In Han Yuan's opinion, it was at least three times the size of Qingliu City's canal wharf, but when he got off the boat, his first impression was: "It's really deserted, except for the soldiers stationed there, there is almost no one there. "

Someone in the same industry sighed: "Since the 21st year of the Youchao War in Xianning, people here have started to move their families to the south one after another. 23 years have passed, and I did not expect that the Giant Spirit City, which used to be said to be inhabited by 30 people, has now become a city. It’s really desolate to have an empty city with almost no people.”

"Old Wei, don't worry about spring and autumn. If you go north, there will be fewer and fewer people, and the town will only become more and more desolate. What's more, the battle back then didn't end here at all. Oh, by the way , the ruins of the giant spirit array are not far from here, just as Mo Hu said, we have three hours to move freely. Last time, I found that practicing the three-fire kung fu in the ruins of the giant spirit array seems to be particularly effective. Old Wei, your three-fire kung fu practice You are better than me, help me see if it was a coincidence last time!"

"The giant spirit formation is said to be an ancient five-element formation. What you said is not impossible. Let's go and have a look."

Hearing what the two said, Han Yuan couldn't help but feel a little moved.At this moment, Fang Kuohai approached him and said in a low voice, "Xiao... Han Yuan, I have something to do with you. There is someone... Oh! No, it's Mr. Cao who wants to see you."

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In such a deserted scene, it is rare that there is still a restaurant in operation on the wharf. The name of the restaurant is "Heart and Lung Cooking in One Pot".

Lifting the curtain and entering the store, there is actually only one table in the store, but a strange fragrance wafts out from the back hall and goes straight into the nostrils.

Han Yuan secretly said: "That must be the aroma of heart and lung cooking together."

"You two, sit down!" Cao Zheng, the swordsman, raised his hand to signal.

Cao Zheng, the swordsman, gave Han Yuan a good first impression. From the appearance, Cao Zheng was thin and pale, but he had a kind face and kind eyes, and he spoke slowly.

"Old Cao, look, why don't Kuo Hai talk to Han Yuan about the situation first?" Fang Kuohai said hastily as soon as he sat down.

"No hurry, let's eat first!" When he said that, Cao Zheng directed towards the back hall: "Xiao Er, all my guests are here, and now we can serve food!"

"Okay!" The curtain of the back hall was opened, and a boy in sackcloth pushed a wooden food cart over.

The young man's hands were light and his movements were quick. The first thing he brought to the table was a bowl-shaped copper pot set on a base equipped with a charcoal fire.He also neatly arranged the bowls, plates, eating utensils, knives and other utensils in front of everyone present, and then lifted the lid of the pot.

"Guest officer, please use it slowly!"

The copper pot is divided into two compartments, the large one is stewed and the small one is charcoal grilled.Cooked in the large grid are large chunks of heart and lungs that have been stewed red, as well as green lettuce, white sliced ​​lotus root and black mushroom.The bubbling soup is bubbling and bubbling, exuding a strong aroma.

Han Yuan moved his index finger when he heard this, and was about to move his chopsticks, but Cao Zheng said, "Xiao Er, why did you forget to introduce the dishes to the guests, they are the first to come back."

The boy said, "Oh! How did you forget the rules?" He quickly said seriously: "Guest officer, the owner cooks his heart and lungs in a pot, and the heart and lungs are taken from the yellow-maned horses of the Northland. Yellow-maned horses used to be the standard equipment of the cavalry battalion of the Liao Kingdom. Whether it is a surprise sprint or a long-distance run that tests endurance, it is in good condition, and this is the value of its heart and lungs as high-quality ingredients. Therefore, our signature heart and lungs are cooked in a pot, so we dare not delay, kill alive and cook alive." Hearing this, Fang Kuohai immediately frowned and let out a "Huh" in disgust.

"Guest officer, don't believe me. It seems that Xiao Er was negligent! In the past, yellow-maned horses were more expensive, and its heart and lungs were difficult to buy in the market. The reason was that yellow-maned horses were used as war horses. Liao warriors usually Call them comrades-in-arms. Now, guest officer, you must know that the Nether Tide is coming. The cavalry is useless against the Youkai. The horses are a drag during the Nether Tide battle. They are used as escape vehicles in the event of defeat, which is more likely to confuse the army. Therefore, cavalry, an offensive unit, is completely abolished now. The yellow-maned horse that is no longer useful, its heart and lungs are much easier to handle now. Guest officer, it is useful only if it is useful, and it is useless if it is useless. Kill it alive What's the problem with a useless thing?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Er took a step back and said respectfully: "Guest officers, my introduction is over, you can take it easy now!"

The stewed heart and lung tasted surprisingly good, but Han Yuan found it difficult to eat to his heart's content.

One is that the portions are too small, and the other is that Cao Zheng's way of eating in front of him has completely attracted his attention.

I saw Cao Zheng sitting upright, holding a food knife, cutting a piece of stewed lung on the plate.

He lowered the knife lightly, slowly and silently. From Han Yuan's point of view, the angle he lowered the knife was even more strange, as if cutting into a gap in the void, so every time he cut a piece from the halogen lung, it disappeared in an instant until it was dry on the plate. Clean, just like the original disc.

"Why don't you eat it? But the stewed food is not good enough?"

Cao Zheng put down the knife, took a napkin, wiped his hands, the backs of his hands were covered with age spots.

"Louzhu is quite good, but your knife skills are even better!" Han Yuan praised.

"It's just a small way, how can it compare with the movement and stillness of the long sword skills held by Great Sword Master Liang."

"It turns out that Mr. Cao also knows my teacher." Han Yuan was delighted.

"I've seen it before, but I'm not familiar with it. I saw that my little friend was practicing diligently on the deck yesterday, and he was practicing Shen Hu Jiu in the long sword skill. I knew you were the disciple of the Fourth Monk Liang."

"Huh? Elder Cao actually knows how to use hands and feet to participate in each other. I just watched Elder Cao's saber skills..."

"Little friend, don't be anxious. It depends on the old man's sword skills. There will be a chance soon. Don't worry about this moment. This time, I would like to ask my little friend to help me."

"What's the matter?" Han Yuan asked suspiciously.

Cao Zheng replied: "Tomorrow the boat will sail to the boatman's song ferry, and the boat will stop for two days. I would like to invite Xiaoyou and Kuohai to accompany me to pick up something."

"Tomorrow?" Han Yuan immediately calculated the time and distance of his trial.

"What's the matter? Little friend."

Han Yuan took a deep breath: "Old Cao, I must arrive at Yanshan Mountain before August [-]th, and tomorrow will be the seventh last day."

Cao Zheng nodded: "There is no delay in time. Kuo Hai knows that the place I went to is not too far away. If everything goes well, I can get the thing back in a day or two at most."

When he was speaking, Cao Zheng turned his head to Fang Kuohai, and Fang Kuohai hurriedly said: "It's not far, it's not far away. It takes half a day at most to walk back and forth from that place."

Han Yuan bowed his head and pondered for a while, then raised his head and said, "Why do you have to choose me?"

Cao Zheng smiled and said: "Because you and Kuo Hai both have extraordinary talents, and Kuo Hai is a blessing, but you are innately able to perceive the maliciousness around you, and the object I want to retrieve is located in a very special place, and I still have to rely on it." You one or two."

Han Yuan still didn't relax, and continued to ask: "Then how risky is our trip?"

Hearing this, Cao Zheng's benevolent eyebrows twitched, and then he said coldly: "It's almost nothing!"

"Why?" Han Yuan and Fang Kuohai asked almost in unison.

"Because the old man's life is also life!"

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On the morning of the last seven days before Hanyuan's trial day, the boat sailed to Song of the Boatman.

The canal diverges here, one goes to the northeast, and Haohaotangtang finally reaches Yunzhou.The other is to the northwest, winding and winding, leading to Shanbei Road.

The general terrain leading to Shanbei Road is: the west is higher than the east, and a gentle slope of hundreds of miles is formed from south to north.When the canal reaches here, for those who come by boat from the south, it is actually upstream, so this section of the journey is particularly difficult.

This section of the canal was originally named the Yuchenguan Canal section, but after 21 years in Xianning, this section of the canal, which was hundreds of miles away, was renamed Song of the Boatman.

The name of the boatman's song comes from: in the past, whenever the large official and commercial ships from the south sailed to this river section, they recruited trackers from the surrounding villages and towns, especially after the [-]th of August, the canals of Shannan Road In the first month of the dry season, the trackers here start to gather in the early morning every day, and from day to night, the sound of various trackers' chant resounds all over the country.There is a small market every three to five miles along the coast, which mainly sells various snacks, tea, etc. for the trackers to rest temporarily.In the past, the trackers ate big cakes, chatted and laughed in the tea pavilion on the bank, and counted their hard wages for the day. It was very lively.

In the 21st year of Xianning, the Youchao War began. Shanbei Road was the front line against the invasion of Youchao. The canal section of Shannan Road was almost crowded with cargo ships and military ships transporting various military supplies from the south.At the beginning of the war, although the battle situation in the north was in jeopardy, the chant of the trackers was still resounding, adding to the tragedy of being gone forever.Later, the capitals of Shanbei Province and Liao Kingdom were wiped out one after another by the quiet tide, and the chant of the trackers here became more and more rare. dull sound.

In the second year of Jiayou's reign, the secluded tide rose again. Shannan Road, as the forefront of Song Dynasty's defense on the eastern front, mobilized millions of armored soldiers throughout the territory. From north to south, a total of eleven lines of defense were set up. Boat song.

Today, in the section of the canal where boats sail, the market towns, wharves, and villages along the way are only ruined bricks and ruins, and there are no people. With one, the former Xianning Road has already been torn apart!
From time to time, there were people on the deck facing the direction of the lonely grave on the shore, or bowing, offering incense, or simply kowtowing and kneeling, but Mo Hu didn't stop him.At this time, I heard someone singing a cappella on the deck, singing and singing, the world seemed to be silent, only the singing voice remained:

My brother marched to the north of the mountain and died at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.Now I pull the boat and block the Xianning Road.

The world is difficult today, and the road grain is not small.Go three thousand miles, this body is safe!

The cold bone rests on the barren sand, and the ghost weeps the tobacco.I mourn the loss of my wife in the door, and I look forward to the old man in my family.

An Deyi man, burn this ownerless corpse.Bring back his lonely soul, and return his bones

① Adapted from "Song of the Boatman in the Sui Yang Dynasty".

(End of this chapter)