I, the leader of the secret sect, will do great things in the infinite world!

......

Under normal circumstances, it would take about three months for an ordinary family to drive a horse-drawn carriage from Guangdong to Beijing, but it would only take two months to travel by official road, and it would only take about 20 days if it was by water.

It was the first day of August at this time, and Li Lin and Chen Shouting's bikes arrived at Mount Heng in Nanyue.

"I'm going to practice in Hengshan for a while, wait." Li Lin supported the high crown on his head, nodded slightly to Chen Shouting, and got off the frame.

Before Chen Shouting could react, he saw no one in front of him.

The Guangzhou colleague gave a wry smile. On the surface, he seemed to be in charge of everything, but in fact he had already become an involuntary puppet.

"My lord...?" A servant outside the frame asked in a low voice.

"Let's go to the station and wait first." Chen Shouting waved his hand.

......

Nanyue Hengshan is a place of great wealth in Huguang.However, compared with Foshan Town, which started out as a commercial town, Hengyang relies entirely on the pilgrims who come to the mountains every year.

Especially on the day of the enlightenment of the Nanyue Emperor on the first day of August, Hengyang becomes a gathering place for pilgrims from the four provinces of Lake, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Anhui.

This kind of pilgrimage to the mountains is held continuously for three months, and the temple fairs and markets on and off Mount Hengshan are full of people coming and going.There is a saying in Hengyang that "If you don't plow the fields at the foot of Nanyue, you can eat for three years in August", which is a reflection of the prosperity of Nanyue's gods.

There are many ways for pilgrims to go to the mountains, but the most important way to go to the mountains is the mountain road behind the Nanyue Temple. There are Danxia, ​​Tiefo, Shonan, Gaotai, and Shangfeng monasteries, and there are more than [-] monasteries where they preside over Buddhist monasteries and sit and receive the benefits of incense.

Especially with Zhurong Peak as the center, surrounded by nineteen peaks, it is so-called five miles, one view, three miles, one nunnery, and the pilgrims' pilgrimage to the mountain echoes with the sound of knocking bells, knocking bells, and chanting Buddha in the temple, and it is very loud. .

However, Li Lin did not climb up the stairs along the mountain road with the most people. Instead, he took the Yunju Temple along the west side, climbed to Nantai Temple on Ruiying Peak, and then detoured Zhurong Peak from the Buddhist scripture hall.

[Affect: Trembling Heat]

[The influence of the second-order casting phase! 】

[Possibility of bursting sparks.The signs are remarkably unmistakable! 】

There are a lot of secret atmospheres, casting images, and mental images everywhere. Li Lin took some at random and stuffed them into his dark green desktop.

The pilgrims who came to offer incense and worship with gray cloth bags on their backs along the way saw Li Lin, who had first-born pure white antlers, was covered with golden purple clouds, and was wearing a blue Taoist robe. , Tianzun recited one breath, only kowtowed, but when he lifted it up, he couldn't see the trace of Li Lin.

【Belief】

[You passed by a place for a week. 】

【Phase: Lamp, Heart】

[ Sexuality: Opportunity.unrealized potential. 】

[Sex: Weakness.Used properly, anything can be a weapon. 】

Abstract brushstrokes quickly outlined the translucent cards on the dark green tabletop. On the light blue background, between the fingers of a pair of clasped palms, white flames rose.

With the emergence of [Faith], the shackles on Li Lin's body were rapidly breaking, and he walked out a few kilometers away in one step.

Those believers who knelt down and kowtowed, but couldn't see Li Lin when they looked up, immediately chanted the Buddha's name more devoutly.

Under Li Lin, a white deer covered with golden-purple clouds emerged from the wind, lifting his body lightly. One person and one deer gradually climbed up in the wind, flying steadily to the peaks of Nanyue Hengshan Mountain.

The sky above is extremely high, and there is no land below.

Above your head is the mighty wind, at your feet are the roaring sea of ​​clouds, the slowly rising incense, and hundreds of thousands of endless Buddhist and Taoist temples.

Li Lin, who was sitting obliquely on top of the white deer, seemed to be in trouble, his eyes were slightly closed, and one foot was dangling in the air.

However, the moment Li Lin closed his eyes, the turbulent sea of ​​clouds under Bailu's feet was stained with a fiery crimson!

In a blink of an eye, between Zhurong Peak, Jixian Peak, Ruiying Peak, and Throwing Bo Peak, crimson light clouds burned all over the sky like a canopy.

Between the peaks of Hengshan Mountain, a bright fire rose that seemed to burn the sky.

In the blazing light, there is a prancing posture of the green cliff and white deer, but it is fleeting, and it is no longer possible to see the graceful shadow of the golden purple cloud.

The entire Hengshan Mountain was shaking, and on the dark green tabletop that Li Lin could see, the lights transformed from Saturn's power were shining brightly.

At the same time, there is also the light platform on the Jinjian Peak, which is rarely visited by people, and a round golden halo is gradually rising.

【Fate is looking at you. 】

"I beg the Forge of the Day."

Half asleep and half awake, Li Lin put his hands in his sleeves and muttered to himself.

In an instant, the line of words on the dark green desktop was erased again, and the blazing fire blocked the sight from the Forbidden City.

Afterwards, the entire Hengshan Mountain seemed to be turned into a forge, and in the forge, the huge figure of Zhuri Jishen loomed.

As the pillar of fire among the Five Sacred Mountains, which symbolizes the recasting of the raging fire, Li Lin set up the "seat" of the God of Casting Sun Machine here. Opportunity to open the hole in this secret history.

Li Lin opened his eyes.

In the crimson flames that covered the mountains and the sky, every pilgrim and monk was unscathed, only the solemn and solemn temple was burned to gray powder.

Burn Nanyue for eight hundred miles.

434 Tomorrow's class is full

The Forbidden City, the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The emperor of the Qing Dynasty loved the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation very much, but because it was the first place in the palace with glass windows, it was really bright and spacious.

There are small tables on the kang in front of the window of the East Nuan Pavilion, which often replaced the book cases in the main hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and became the place where Qianlong reviewed memorials.

On this day, as usual, there was a pile of governor's memorials several feet high on the small table, one of which was being read in the hands of the owner of the palace.

Today, who has ruled the empire for decades, there is no longer the romantic look with high nose and big eyes in the jokes of later generations, but the beard on the upper lip and the lower cheek is still carefully trimmed, and the skin is not completely slack. As for the eunuch Sura The flattery such as "Long live the master's spring and autumn prosperity" that people praised over and over again still made this Lord of the Eight Banners who is still in power feel quite good.

Of course, this Emperor Qianlong did not look like Zhang Li, nor did he look like Zhang Lin.

This is a book signed by the official seals of the Guangdong General, the Governor of Guangdong, and the Tongzhi of Guangdong. They jointly reported the auspicious "five-color deer".

Qianlong consciously grasped the subtle thoughts of the ministers below.After reading this rare note that three local officials jointly signed a letter to "Xiangrui", it is not like they did more than 40 years ago, simply approved "I see" on the note, or simply wrote " Talking auspiciously, thinking that I am the one who can be deceived." Instead, he picked it up and looked at the book again.

Three feudal officials jointly submitted a letter to report auspiciousness. The book said that having a nose and eyes was a rare thing even in the Yongzheng Dynasty where "auspiciousness" was concentrated, not to mention the Qianlong Dynasty.

Even Qianlong, who usually boasted that he did not like ministers reporting good fortune, felt that this was probably not the nonsense that "ten thousand silkworms weave the same cocoon" and "nine ears of grain have the same branch" made decades ago.

After thinking about it for a while, Qianlong, who was secretly happy, made an exception and did not reply "I know", but wrote Zhu Zhu.

"You have done a very good job in this matter. The auspicious things are also real and not all false. If they are real, you should report them to me. After all, you three are honest slaves."

In the eyes of Qianlong, such Zhu Zhu was already regarded as a great compliment.Fortunately, Qianlong was in a good mood today, so he was willing to write these few more words, otherwise he would just approve the three words "I got it" and it would be over.

After the memorial was approved, Qianlong also felt a little sleepy, stood up and walked around, and then heard the eunuch come to report, saying that He Shen was asking to see him.

At Qianlong's age, courtiers like Heshen and Fukang'an, who were handsome, heroic, and in the prime of life, became the celebrities in front of him.

After hearing He Shen's request to see him, Qianlong smiled and immediately allowed him to come in.

He Shen received the decree here, and walked quickly into the Hall of Mental Cultivation with a happy face. Qianlong also sat on the pan Kang again, and took a memorial at random to read.

As soon as he entered, Qianlong's eyes still fell on He Shen's face unconsciously—that handsome and energetic face, even though he had a beard, was still described as affectionate and smiling. It made Qianlong feel a little better.

Anyway, it doesn't look like Wang ●.

He Shen was well aware of Qianlong's meaningful gaze, so he just rolled his sleeves and kowtowed with a smile.

—— According to later generations, Qianlong fell in love with Yongzheng's concubine Ma Jiashi when he was young, but Niu Hulu, the Empress Dowager of Chongqing, poisoned Ma Jiashi, and the distraught Qianlong put cinnabar on Ma Jiashi's neck On the previous point, it was agreed to meet again in 20 years, and the reincarnation of the Ma Jia family was undoubtedly He Shen.

Qianlong here is neither like Zhang Lin nor Zhang Li; nor is He Shen like Wang.

The theory of reincarnation is of course nonsense, but the Qianlong Dynasty was originally an era when masculinity prevailed. As for what would happen to the Manchu Qing clan who claimed to be "dirty Tang, smelly Han, clear nose"...Naturally, there is no need to say much.

Qianlong snorted, shook his head, and casually spread out the memorial in his hand, only glanced at it twice, but raised his eyebrows, and then handed the memorial to Heshen:

"Xiangrui, it's Xiangrui again! This slave, Funing, is also an unconscious one. I made him the governor of Huguang because of his honesty and duty. But unexpectedly, he was so stupid that he dared to act like a fire in Hengshan." Report the auspiciousness!"

As a military minister who stepped up step by step from the guard at the sticky pole, He Shen has always grasped the psychology of his master quite accurately.

Although the Five Sacred Mountains have always been called together, only Taishan and Hengshan have received great attention from the royal family.

Dongyue Taishan is the place where Zen is enshrined. Needless to say, Nanyue Hengshan is also known as "Shouyue" and has always been the place where the royal family prays.

After glancing at the memorial, He Shen, who had a quick mind, typed out the manuscript, kowtowed and said.

"The slave has no friendship with Funing, but Funing has always been a cautious person, and he would not talk nonsense.

This memorial says that the people of Hengyang saw Emperor Nanyue appearing as a saint. Perhaps they were foolish men and ignorant women who followed this.As for the "red clouds covering the mountain" and "not dispersing for several days", in my humble opinion, it's just the Hengshan fire that burned down the temples in the mountain. The ignorant people mistook the fire all over the mountain as the auspicious red clouds. . "

These words made Qianlong's jaw slightly lowered, and he felt that it made sense.

Speaking of this, He Shen laughed again: "However, according to Funing's memorial, no one was injured in this fire, but this must be the master's Sheng Deze being destroyed by the world, even the God of Hengshan can't bear the master's great prosperity Something like this happened.”

Hearing Heshen's flattering analysis, Qianlong also felt happy, and couldn't help but clapped his hands and smiled: "What a Heshen, your knowledge and insight have improved a lot! But in my opinion, apart from gods and spirits, It is also because now, when the climate in the south is humid, even if there is a fire, it will not lead to a catastrophe."

Here Qianlong's golden words made a conclusion, and He Shen naturally smiled all over his face, and echoed repeatedly: "After all, what the master said is right."

......

In this kind of uplifting and harmonious atmosphere, Li Lin and his party arrived in Beijing.

In the "Taiping Years" of the Qianlong Dynasty, although from north to south, there was almost no prefecture or county that had not suffered from natural and man-made disasters. Floods, droughts and locust plagues came in different patterns.

But there are always a few cities that enjoy immunity and look extra cute.

Needless to say, Yangzhou was ripened by the extravagant spending of salt merchants: the most prosperous canal city on the land of China in the eighteenth century raised the largest population of citizens and produced the largest number of musicians and dramatists in the Qing Dynasty. Home, gourmet, garden architect and literati calligrapher and painter.

As for the capital, it is true that it is a metropolis that has been supported by the royal family, clan, nobles, and officials for hundreds of years, but the enjoyment of the people is not bad.

As I walked past the melon stall, I heard the man selling melons shouting: "The pieces are big and the flesh is tall. Come with fillings for moon cakes and a big coin. A broken watermelon can beat the small Liangzhou boats in Tongzhou." Come!"

Naturally, the peach sellers are not willing to lag behind. Although they are not as crisp and vigorous as the melon sellers, they yell like the best actors singing: "Hey who is thirsty for water, come and feed the peaches. Wangshui's big peaches are sour and sweet, and the agate red peaches are big and juicy, and the misidentified bees are here to build their nests!"

The sour plum soup sellers and the iced cheese shops that take care of the banner people are naturally not far behind, but most of them have their own facades, so they should be more cautious when shouting.

"It's thirst-quenching and cooling. It also adds roses and sugar. If you don't believe me, just make a bowl and taste it. The sour plum soup has another taste."

"Iced ling, snowflake butter, and red plum, please come and taste."

There are also people who are quiet, so they go to Tanzhe Temple and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, chat with the old monk in charge of Zen affairs, and then enjoy a table of exquisite and simple vegetarian dishes.

When the favorite milk grapes of the people of the capital began to appear in the private room of the restaurant, and in the fruit plate of the study, a Beijing official who had lived in the capital for a long time began to express his thoughts about his hometown, and wrote a few bamboo stick poems for this rare fruit in the south.

With the emergence of milk grapes, people also understood that summer was over and autumn had arrived, and it was time to take out the jackets stored under the box and dry them in the sun.

And in the daylight on the fourth day of September, Li Lin and his party stopped outside Chongwen Gate.

435 I, I, Dogfoot!

Chongwenmen, Jingshi South Road, is named after the place, and it can be regarded as a yamen, which is called Chongwenmen tax office.

This yamen was first created during the Shunzhi period, and it was subordinate to Manque under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, time passed to the Qianlong period, and only the Chongwenmen tax office was responsible for the income of tens of thousands of taels of snow-patterned silver every year.

Naturally, this vacancy can only fall into the hands of the first-class and loyal Aixinjueluo family slaves like our Manchu University Scholars, or the Eight Banners. After his death, this position fell into the hands of his son Fucha Fuchang'an, and has been controlled by He Shen until now.

Chongwenmen Tax Customs is different from other yamen.

The river yamen and the salt affairs yamen are also first-class vacancies, not to mention the heads of the river course governor and the salt affairs supervisor, even the officials below, they all earn a lot of money and eat their brains full of fat—but those The river patrol soldiers and Yanding government servants who really put in the hard work probably don't have these benefits, and it's not as good as these janitors, commonly known as the second masters, who receive more red envelopes from the concierge!

However, Chongwenmen Tax Customs is quite different. Not to mention the big man in charge of this yamen, even the yamen servants who guard the gate below are the children of the Eight Banners with good roots. Fu Guogong is not even qualified to be a yamen servant.Of course, the daily toll fee should be filial to the big heads like Heshen and Fu Chang'an, but the children of the clan below are also indispensable.

Banner man has a lot of etiquette and expensive expenses, not to mention boiling eagles, walking dogs, and oriole, even such trivial things as chewing betel nuts and snuffing have to support ostentation-you can use four sides of sugar skin and fields If it is a jade snuff bottle, then the one painted inside the crystal will never be used. If it is replaced by a beautiful agate or filigree cloisonné, then he will definitely be impatient.

Let such a group of uncles who can't even see or touch the gate be guarded, the Chongwenmen toll tax will be as high as the sky, which is outrageous.

As long as you walk in front of Chongwenmen, not to mention the living, even the skin of the coffin of the dead can scrape three catties of nails for you. Reporting work in Beijing has to be scraped off a layer of skin-the opera sings that poor states and counties are blocked at the gate of the capital and cannot enter, but it comes from life.

"Of course, from the perspective of these Eight Banners men, it's not difficult to understand." Li Lin looked at the soldiers shouting outside the curtain, "After all, this is the Jin'ou country that our ancestors brought down with their braids, men. Taking a few tax dollars here is really not even an interest. Who in this world does not know that the Qing Dynasty will last forever, and that Lord Qianlong has flourished for thousands of years, and even after more than 200 years, Yan Chongnian and his ilk will still support it. Smelly feet."

Chen Shouting was dripping with cold sweat, his lips trembling, and he didn't say a word.

"But now that the heat is still on, I'm afraid these guards aren't those idle banner men. These people should be hired by the banner men."

Li Lin patted Chen Shouting on the shoulder: "If you think about it, these people have to spend enough money for the customs, feed the bannermen and grandpas, and benefit themselves. It will be several times worse. I hope you There is enough money."

The cold sweat dripped down Chen Shouting's face again.

At this moment, there were already many mules and horse-drawn carts lined up in front of Chongwen Gate, and small ingots of silver were inserted into the brims of the hats on the handlebars of the heads, which was convenient for the tax collectors to collect taxes based on the head.

The silver on this hat is also very particular. It is always made of square ingots made with Shanxi money, instead of the small round silver ingots from the south. I am afraid that the hands of the banner men will be slippery. If the silver falls to the ground, it will be regarded as free, and a new one will have to be prepared. .

And these tax collectors who were hired by the bannermen to take over their duties were all wearing either Gesha or feather satin gowns, and their shoes and socks were also made of green satin, which was many times more expensive than the Liuyang linen used by ordinary people.

In contrast to such a stylish outfit, those annoying handlebar styles can only be more cautious, just lower their heads and let the tax collectors pick the money one by one.