Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1143 Chapter 1138 [End]

Xixiang County Magistrate Wu Tingfu arrived in the evening of the same day, bringing with him a group of county officials.

As for the prefect of Hanzhong, he is expected to arrive at noon tomorrow.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Yangzhou was downgraded to Yang County, and the three counties under it were all merged into Hanzhong Prefecture. In recent years, some officials have proposed to restore Yangzhou, on the one hand, because it is the place where the dragon rises and should be established as a prefecture, and on the other hand, to further divide the Hanzhong Basin.

After the division, Yangzhou was set up as a direct prefecture under Shaanxi Province to prevent someone from separatist regime in Hanzhong one day.

The next morning, accompanied by the magistrate of Xixiang County and the supervisor of Daming Town, Zhu Guoxiang went to Heifengzhai with his family, old friends and followers.

There are paddy fields all along the stream, but the rice has been harvested, the water in the fields has been drained, and the winter rapeseed seedlings have grown to knee-deep.

"In the past 20 years, the area along the river from the town to Longji Mountain has seen an increase of more than 40 mu of paddy fields," said Shi Jizhi, the town supervisor. "The gentler slopes at the foot of the mountain have been irrigated by large water trucks, and have been transformed from dry fields into paddy fields."

It can barely be considered a terraced field, but it cannot be compared with the real terraced fields. This kind of sloping paddy field near the river is very common in the south.

Zhu Guoxiang was confused and asked, "What Dragon Ridge Mountain?"

County Magistrate Wu Tingfu explained: "Longji Mountain is the mountain where the Black Wind Village used to be. Feng Shui masters have observed that the mountains here are shaped like a coiled dragon, and the Black Wind Village back then was where the Dragon's Backbone was. The mountains on the Shangbai Village side are shaped like a tiger, and when combined with this side, they look like a tiger crouching and a dragon coiling."

Bai Dalang also said, "In fact, this saying has been around for more than a hundred years. My ancestors chose Shangbai Village for cultivation and reproduction because they thought it had good feng shui. The dragon and tiger energy here was probably created for your Majesties."

Tian Zhifang said, "The sorcerer who passed by this place said that although this place is a place where tigers crouch and dragons coil, the dragons are trapped in shallow water and tigers are in a state of decline. Your Majesty dug weirs, dredged canals, and built water wheels in Longji Mountain in the early years to divert water to the shallow water. He also planted corn halfway up the mountain in Shangbai Village. Corn is taller than wheat and can store wind and gather energy. With the diversion of water and the storage of wind, this place of tigers crouching and dragons coiling has suddenly come alive."

Zhu Guoxiang smiled, did not participate in the discussion, and was too lazy to refute anything.

The people of Daming Town, Xixiang County, and Hanzhong Prefecture probably firmly believe in this statement.

There were even some smart people who were certain that the emperor must be well versed in feng shui.

They made up all kinds of stories in private, saying that the two emperors received advice from overseas immortals and came straight to Hanzhong from the southeast coast. When they passed through Daming Town, they found the pattern of tigers crouching and dragons coiling, so they lived in seclusion here and quietly cleared the stagnant feng shui.

The giant Ganoderma lucidum presented to the tyrant emperor was formed by the combined energy of dragon and tiger.

Even Xue Daoguang was invited to help the two majesties open up the feng shui of Longji Mountain.

There are also villagers who moved from the foot of Black Wind Mountain to Hanzhong who claimed that when they got up to take a shit one night, they saw a group of red lights rushing out from the direction of Black Wind Village. In the middle of the night, the sky was dyed red, gathering into groups of red clouds, and finally dissipated at dawn.

This gossip was quickly cited and was also used in various secondary creations.

Some people said that the red lights and red clouds were the result of the emperor refining elixir at night, and when the elixir was ready, a lot of red elixir gas was emitted.

Some people also said that it was because the feng shui of Longji Mountain was opened up, and the heaven and earth communicated with the immortals who came down to talk to the emperor.

Anyway, it's all weird and there are all kinds of explanations.

Zhu Guoxiang asked, "Last time Bai Sheng came back on orders, he said that the buildings on the mountain had been abandoned and dilapidated?"

Tian Zhifang explained: "It's inconvenient to go up and down the mountain. No one has lived there for more than 20 years. We don't dare to rest our houses randomly, for fear of ruining the feng shui of the mountain."

Bai Dalang said: "The successive governors of the prefecture, county and town have repeatedly petitioned to build a Taoist temple on Longji Mountain. But the court has never approved it, and the officials and civilians here dare not build it at will. During this period, a Taoist priest traveled here and built a hut on Longji Mountain to practice. I led people to beat him away with hoes and carrying poles. The Taoist priest must have bad intentions and wanted to steal the dragon energy on Longji Mountain."

Shi Jizhi said: "The top of the mountain is now designated as a restricted area, and no one is allowed to go up the mountain to collect firewood or hunt..."

"That's unreasonable!"

Zhu Guoxiang finally spoke up and rebuked: "Even if there is dragon energy on the mountain, how much can the common people steal? Immediately lift the ban and do not stop the people from collecting firewood and hunting!"

Shi Jizhi was so frightened that he quickly said yes.

Wu Tingfu quickly flattered him: "Your Majesty is benevolent and loves the people, just like Yao and Shun in our time. This is a blessing for the world."

There is another large waterwheel here. Zhu Guoxiang came to the waterwheel he built.

All the parts of the wooden waterwheel have been replaced.

Even the wood of the main structure has been replaced. Because of the rush to complete the project, the wood used was not of high quality and it began to decay more than ten years ago.

Zhu Guoxiang walked over and touched it, the scene of that year came to his mind vividly.

As the saying goes, things change, and people change. This waterwheel, with its parts replaced, has become more durable and is no longer the one built by Zhu Guoxiang himself.

Zhu Guoxiang left the waterwheel and turned to walk towards Black Wind Mountain.

No, it is now Longji Mountain, even the name of the mountain has been changed.

On the hillside, there are lush tung oil trees, which were planted by Zhu Guoxiang himself and the villagers. The refined tung oil can be sold for money, and was also used to make rattan armor at the beginning of the uprising!

When you reach a dangerous place, only one or two people can pass through at the same time.

The entourage was afraid of accidents, so they asked the guards to support the retired emperor, the retired empress, and the retired imperial concubines as they walked slowly.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. When the emperor led his men to attack the mountain to suppress the bandits, they were blocked by the bandits here. It was not until Zhang Guangdao rushed to the back mountain that he captured the Black Wind Village in one fell swoop."

Upon hearing this, the accompanying officials and civilians all praised the bravery of Emperor Zhu and Prince Zhang.

Walking and stopping on the mountain road, Zhu Guoxiang stopped from time to time to rest for a while.

After the tung oil forest area, the government designated it as a restricted area. Without people cutting firewood for a long time, the vegetation became more dense, and even the mountain roads were covered with thorns and weeds.

The guards were well prepared. They cleared the way in front with axes in hand and beat the grass with sticks to drive away snakes and insects.

Finally, we arrived at the Black Wind Village on the top of the mountain.

All I could see was a field of thorns and weeds. Every house was covered with vines, and even the roofs were covered with grass. There was also a collapsed house, with the beams missing, probably stolen by the people living down the mountain.

The officials looked unhappy. Someone actually stole the beams of the emperor's house?

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "If the people want to take away any useful things here, they can take them away."

Shen Yourong also lived here for a few years and was also filled with emotion. She walked to the side of the collapsed house and said, "Shi Biao and his mother used to live here. The drainage ditch on the side of the house was blocked by weeds and debris, and the water flowing down from the eaves could not drain smoothly. It overflowed and soaked the corners of the wall, causing it to collapse."

Zhu Guoxiang sighed and said, "Shi Biao also died two years ago."

Before his death, Shi Biao was the commander-in-chief of the Kaifeng Imperial Guards, equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the Tokyo Military Region, and an absolute confidant of Emperor Zhu.

Now that position is taken over by Gu San.

"This area used to be a dam, right? It's been compacted and not much grass grows there." said a young guard officer.

Zhu Guoxiang laughed and said, "Your father trained in this dam. He couldn't even tell his left foot from his right foot, and he always forgot the flag. I don't know how many times he got beaten by the army."

The young guard officer chuckled when he heard this, and then felt a little sad.

His father was an ordinary soldier from Daming Village. After the conquest of Hanzhong, he became a captain. Because of his poor qualifications, he has always been a captain, but he was transferred from an ordinary army captain to Zhu Ming's personal army captain.

He was finally sent out as a general of a hundred men, but was killed in the Battle of Mingjin Hebei.

The young guard officer walked to the center of the dam, kicking the sparsely growing plantain, as if imagining how his deceased father had trained in the past.

Shen Yourong walked to a large house, but was stopped by the guards for fear that the house would collapse suddenly. She looked through the half-open door at the empty main hall and said to Li Qingzhao and other concubines, "On the winter solstice that year, we gathered in this room to eat hot pot. The husband and the emperor personally sliced ​​the mutton, and we women picked and washed the vegetables together. It snowed heavily, and it was colder than the winter now..."

Over the past decade, the climate has been warming.

"Let's go."

After Shen Yourong took the concubines and children for a walk, Zhu Guoxiang turned around and prepared to go down the mountain. He said to the town supervisor Shi Jizhi: "Tear down all the useful wood and move it down the mountain. Let the people nearby take it. Most of the beams and pillars are good materials, left behind by the bandits back then."

Shi Jizhi quickly agreed.

It was past noon when we went down the mountain. Halfway up the mountain, we ran into the prefect of Hanzhong who had hurried over. Even the magistrates of Yang County and Zhenfu County had come, as well as some gentry and celebrities from various counties.

Many of them were old acquaintances of Zhu Guoxiang. Before Zhu started his rebellion, they had invited Dean Zhu to teach them about farming.

There was an old country gentleman who was eighty years old. He still came tremblingly in person. After getting off the boat, he asked his grandson to carry him up the mountain on his back.

Reminiscing about the past, Zhu Guoxiang became happier and happier as the conversation went on.

The retired emperor personally hosted a banquet and set up a buffet in Daming Town. The tables were even set up on the town streets and docks.

The next day, we went to Shangxiabaicun.

When Shen Yourong saw her old house from afar, tears immediately flowed out.

Grandmother Yan had passed away long ago, dying in the prince's mansion in Hunan. Bai Qi observed mourning for three months at that time.

The old house and land here were divided into several parts and given to the villagers who had good relations with them. The house was occupied by the son of a village neighbor who moved out after getting married. At this time, it had been cleaned up and the family had moved out temporarily, waiting for Zhu Guoxiang and Shen Yourong to come back and live there.

Zhu Guoxiang said with a smile: "When we got married, there was not enough space, so we also held the banquet in each family's courtyard. Today, we will hold a three-day banquet and invite the people from the nearby villages to come and have a drink!"

"Very good." Shen Yourong also smiled.

The other concubines were somewhat envious when they saw this, as they did not have such a deep relationship with the retired emperor.

Shen Yourong suddenly missed his son very much and planned to call Bai Qi and his wife and children back to see them after returning to Beijing.

Zhu Guoxiang asked Bai Dalang: "Where is your father buried?"

Bai Dalang said: "He was buried next to my grandmother's grave, and my mother's remains were also picked up and buried with my father."

Zhu Guoxiang said: "I want to go and pay respect to your grandmother, and the emperor asked me to do so on my behalf."

"Thank you both for your concern." Bai Dalang was quite moved and couldn't help squeezing out a few tears.

Zhu Guoxiang took Shen Yourong and wandered around the village, stopping to talk to everyone they met, just like a wanderer returning home.

From time to time, he would tease the children and ask them who the elders in their family are.

Actually, these were all arranged by the government and Bai Dalang. They pretended that the whole village was living a normal life, and those who had a good relationship with Zhu Guoxiang were arranged to live by the road, and those whose elders had died were arranged to have their children and grandchildren come forward.

Try to create a comfortable atmosphere for the emperor.

The entire village had long been sealed off by the guards. Even at the following buffet, when villagers from the nearby Xiabai Village came to drink, they would be carefully searched one by one to see if they had any weapons.

One day, Zhu Guoxiang suddenly had an idea and asked when the market would be held in Baishi Town.

Bai Dalang couldn't say that Baishi Town had declined, and it was squeezed out by Daming Town. Most of the merchants and travelers stopped in Daming Town, and the people from the surrounding areas also went to Daming Town for the market. There were no people in Baishi Town between Shangxiabai Village for a long time.

However, the town streets, shops and docks are still there, only the scale of business and population have declined sharply.

Bai Dalang announced the market date and turned to discuss it with the eunuchs, guards and officials.

That afternoon, Baishi Town and Xiabai Village were in chaos, and the shops in the town were renovated overnight.

On the market day, the retired emperor and the retired empress went there excitedly, and everything seemed to have returned to the way it was in the past.

At that time, Zhu Guoxiang and his son sold their brushes and finally had some money, so Shen Yourong accompanied them to Baishi Town to purchase daily necessities.

"How much do you sell these chickens for?" Zhu Guoxiang asked.

The old woman selling chickens was a little flustered. She opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. After a long while, she finally managed to say, "No money, this is for the emperor."

Zhu Guoxiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He sighed secretly in his heart and pretended nothing had happened and continued to go to the market.

He personally bought some paper money, incense and candles, intending to take them to the graves of Bai Dalang's grandmother and parents to pay homage.

When leaving Baishi Town, Zhu Guoxiang whispered to the eunuch, "Xiao Zhong, you stay here and ask about it. Tell the officials not to embarrass the old woman, and all the shopkeepers and people at the market today should compensate her."

"Your Majesty, please be merciful. I will do it right away." The eunuch retreated silently.

That evening, a speedboat arrived and the official hurried to see the prefect with a telegram.

The prefect went to see the eunuch again with the telegram.

The three-day banquet was over, and Zhu Guoxiang and a few of his close old wives squeezed into their old house. The rest of them lived in the Bai family and other villagers' homes, and they only gathered together for meals.

We were having dinner at this time.

The eunuch quietly handed the telegram to Zhu Guoxiang.

When Zhu Guoxiang opened it, the telegram only contained five words: Cornucopia is dead.

The lifespan of a horse is generally between 30 and 35 years old, and the known world record is 62 years.

Cornucopia lived to be 41 years old.

"Oh." Zhu Guoxiang put down the telegram and silently picked up some food for Shen Yourong.

……

East of Luoyang, a remote horse farm.

Zhu Ming looked at the remains of the cornucopia in silence.

He dismissed all his entourage and sat cross-legged beside the dead horse, holding the sword he had brought with him from the time travel.

Zhang Guangdao, Li Bao, Zhang Tong, Bai Sheng and others stood far away at the other end of the horse field. Bai Sheng was especially aware of the emperor's feelings for the horse.

The distant mountains are dark blue, and the setting sun looks like blood.

Winter is coming soon, and spring will come again next year.

Everything seems to be over.

But a new era has just begun.

(Full text ends.)
(There are also a few chapters of epilogue.)
(End of this chapter)