Chapter 137 Paradise
The magic of nature is incredible, and the miracle created by manpower is also amazing.
After leaving Yuheng Palace, Chu Tianya and Xiao Linglong walked into a man-made mountain path. The path is very wide, with many stalactites and dark springs, and a few transparent caves are chiseled above the head, so it is not dark in the path. When the sun shines, the stalactites and streams reflect a beautiful light.
It can be seen that there were many caves here. After the artificial processing was developed and penetrated, such a deep and wonderful cave world was formed.
"It's so beautiful, it's a paradise!" Chu Tianya couldn't help exclaiming, and his voice spread far away in Sui Dao.
Xiao Linglong walked a few steps in front of him with her hands behind her back, looked back and said with a smile, "This corridor, which is only more than 100 steps long, took several generations of people for hundreds of years to be uncut. After passing through here, it is the real Qixingzhai. The three palaces of Yaoguang, Kaiyang and Yuheng in front are only foreign villages.
Chu Tianya couldn't help laughing. Looking at Xiao Linglong's style, it really smells like a beautiful guide. It would be perfect if this place was used as a place for sweet dates. In this way, the beautiful scenery is close to each other... Unfortunately, there are a little more light bulbs.
Along the way, there were a lot of heavily armed soldiers guarding the guard, and the defense was quite tight. Now two people who look like leaders come forward to salute them. Chu Tianya recognized that these two were the two brothers Yelu Chongwen and Chongwu who had followed the monk's one-eyed.
It turned out that after Zhang Duan was killed, the two brothers defected to Xiao Linglong with the Khitan people who were exiled to Xishan. At that time, they went to Qixing Mountain with Jiao Wentong. Now they belong to the Yuheng Palace but do not dare to step into this "daughter country". Usually, they are only responsible for guarding the outer palace passage of the Yuheng Palace and guarding this road. At the same time, they are also the main labor force to deliver supplies to all parts of the cottage.
"The reason why the Yuheng Palace where I live is used to store grain, grass and materials is that it is located in the middle section to facilitate the transportation of materials inside and outside." Xiao Linglong said, "But I, the so-called 'Master of Yuheng Palace' and 'Lianzhen Xingjun', have not usually seriously managed such affairs. In fact, I have no merit or labor experience. My eldest brother and second brother asked me to take the position of a big leader, mostly out of taking care of me. Under me, there are also four sister-in-law in Yuheng Palace, who are usually in charge of these affairs. There are two of them, the wife of the eldest brother and the second brother. If it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't have been able to take care of these tedious logistics affairs even if I had three heads and six arms.
Chu Tianya looked at her and nodded to show her understanding. The two of them were tacit.
Xiao Linglong's voice means that she is just an "honorary leader" and doesn't have much real power. If it hadn't been for her noble background, with her more than two years of experience in the mountain, this position of "Lord of Yuheng Palace" would certainly not have matched her.
Now Chu Tianya also understands why Xiao Linglong petitioned to "execute the task" with Taiyuan independently. At that time, she said that she was too idle to do anything in the cottage, so she bravely took the task. Of course, there are some reasons for the actual situation. I'm afraid that Xiao Linglong knows that her position as the palace lord is not true, so she also wants to make some achievements and make some contributions, so as to convince the public.
Thinking about this, Chu Tianya smiled and whispered, "With the Yelu brothers, plus the hundreds of Yecha Women's Army you brought from Taiyuan, no one will question your qualifications and prestige now, right?"
Xiao Linglong was slightly stunned with surprise. She glanced at Chu Tianya and said, "It seems that nothing can be hidden from your eyes?"
Chu Tianya smiled and said, "It seems that Princess Xiao is more scheming than I thought, and has been trying to attract people to expand her strength. Well, I was dragged into the camp by you as soon as I entered the cottage.
"What are you talking about? I don't bother to pull you!" Xiao Linglong curled her lips and said angrily, "You are alone. You can't settle the country. There is only one mouth that can eat and talk nonsense. What do I want you to do?"
"Oh, that's what you said; if you have something to do in the future, don't ask me for help." Chu Tianya laughed.
"If you don't look for it, don't look for it!" Being broken by Chu Tianya's words, Xiao Linglong was a little annoyed and embarrassed, and hurriedly walked forward in a few steps.
Chu Tianya laughed and strode to keep up.
Soon the two of them walked out of the cave, and their eyes were cheerful!
At the foot is an artificial staircase with a width of more than ten feet and one or two hundred steps. At the end of the ladder, there is a wide open floor that is enough to lay a large number of people. There is a simple incense burner in the middle, and the smoke is burning at this moment. There is a bell and drum tower on each side of the open floor, and the flag is flying.
In front of you is an ancient mansion with blue bricks and gray tiles with bucket arches and flying eaves, which is up to three floors. In terms of architectural style, the big house here is different from the gentle and simple style of the current Song Dynasty, with the magnificent and dazzling posture of the former Tang Dynasty. On the eaves of the second floor, there is a vertical plaque with a height of ten feet and a width of more than three feet, with four big characters on it - "Heavenly Power Military Machine"!
"Tianquan Palace, Military Office? It must be the territory of the fourth brother Bai? Chu Tianya asked.
"That's right." Xiao Linglong nodded, "It's the real Qixing Village here. Bai Wei is in charge of the copycat machine to plan the strategy, but all the generals who want to send troops will be sacrificed to the gods and swear to the division here. If they implement the military law and punish the criminals, they will also declare the rules of the village and read the military discipline here, and then declare the punishment.
As they spoke, the two of them walked to the mansion. The huge door of the red-painted copper riveting house was tightly closed. At the door stood twelve men with red scarves wrapped in red heads and carrying knives on their shoulders. His face was ferocious and strong. At a glance, he knew that he was an executioner specializing in execution.
On the walls on both sides of the twelve big men, there is a tall white jade wall, each of which is full of eye-catching gold lacquer and red lacquer carvings, which is the fortress rules and military law of Qixingzhai!
Chu Tianya watched it carefully for a long time. He saw that most of the 32 village rules are the requirements and controls for the insiders of the cottage. It is a metaphor for strictly prohibiting brothers from killing each other in harmony, insulting women and disrespecting their sister-in-law. Those who make such mistakes will be severely punished, that is, beheading and abandoning corpses.
There are other punishments for theft, brawl, embezzlement and other acts, which are written very clearly, or censure, or expulsion, but there is no "economic punishment".
Chu Tianya was a little curious, so he said, "If there are no rules, you can't make a circle. Show these village rules and regulations here, and let everyone have a law to follow. This is really good - but why is there no such punishment as a fine?
Xiao Linglong couldn't help laughing, "After all, this is a cottage, not a government state or county. Some things are changed here according to local conditions. In fact, the punishment of "penalty money" is inherently unfair. It is clearly the cover-up of the rich and the harshness of the poor. The eldest brother, the second brother and the third brother have all been officials in the Song Dynasty, and they hate some practices in the officialdom of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, the rules in Qixingzhai have always been very strict. They have truly achieved that the owner of the village violates the law and commits the same crime as Luo. It will never be tolerated! - I have heard them say that officials who commit crimes against the Song Dynasty should be punished according to the 'eight proposals'. You should know better than me what it means?"
Chu Tianya nodded. At least he has been in Taiyuan for so long. He still understands this basic common sense, so he said, "The so-called eight discussions are the discussion of relatives, the discussion of the past, the virtuous, the discussion of the discussion of the ability, the merit, the discussion of the noble, the discussion of the discussion of the diligence, and the guests. In short, it is a lighter punishment for those who make mistakes in the royal family, nobles, meritorious officials, celebrities, etc. This is a typical justice of human intervention in the rule of law. This kind of tolerance and shelter for a few people is actually a kind of cruelty and harm to the society of the whole country.
"It seems that you and Fourth Brother Bai will have a lot in common." Xiao Linglong smiled and said, "Did he tell you that although he is a Confucian, the only sage he worships in his life is Shang Jun, the legalist of the pre-Qin Dynasty?"
Chu Tianya nodded, "I have talked to him about some topics in this regard, but I didn't talk deeply. In fact, I can see that Bai Xiu is different from many scholars in the current Song Dynasty. I rarely see him dictating scriptures and excerpts, or chanting poems to dance. He has always given me the impression that he is restrained and talented and practical, and is very pragmatic, never exaggerating.
"When the white-haired fox hears you praise him like this, he will definitely put on an ugly look of 'sympatheting for each other', calling him 'a bosom friend, a thousand cups of wine'." Xiao Linglong smiled and said, "You two often praise each other behind your back. It's really doubtful whether you..."
Chu Tianya couldn't help but be stunned, "What?"
Xiao Linglong coughed gently and covered her mouth and smiled, "Nothing, as long as you understand - let's go to Qixingtang!"
Chu Tianya was stunned for a long time and said to himself, Xiao Linglong, how can you be so impure? You think I don't know. Do you want to say 'Longyang'? ... Bah, that's disgusting!
The two did not enter the door of the Cardinal. This is the military location of the cottage. Usually, except for Bai Shu and several entourage around him, others can't enter at all without invitation or summons. Otherwise, the twelve red King Kongs at the door are not vegetarians, and it is their privilege to chop first and play later.
The two bypassed the main hall of the military aircraft and passed through the Tianshu Palace Taoist temple from the side corridor. From the apse of the Taoist temple, the terrain extended down, and a long ladder of one or two miles stretched down.
In fact, when you walk to Chu Tianya in the apse, you can see it. Together with the peak of Tianshu Palace, there are four tall peaks, which are connected by layers of steep mountains and suspended ladders, forming a closed mountain belly like a quadrangle courtyard.
Above each peak, there is a Taoist temple like Tianshu Palace located halfway up the mountain. The distance between the four peaks is not much different, about three or four miles, forming a nearly square prism. Connecting the three outer peaks in front of you is indeed shaped like the Big Dipper. The military office of Tianshu Palace is the core of the whole cottage and the watershed between the inner village and the outer village.
The mountain belly surrounded by four peaks in the middle is very huge, in which there are orchard waterfalls, streams and rivers. A standard Song-style tile house is built in the center. There is a huge flag floating in front of the house, and the book - "Seven Star Hall"!
A lot of wooden houses have been built around the Qixing Hall. The pattern is quite strict like a chessboard, and it is difficult not to remind people of the idiom "Guangsha Wanjian".
"I saw it. That's the Qixing Hall, the real main village of our Qixing Village." Xiao Linglong pointed to the front and said, "Although each of our seven leaders has a mountain residence and division of responsibilities, most of the time, we actually gather in the Seven Star Hall. There are many people living in the Taoist temple of the seven peaks. Many houses built next to the Seven Star Hall are also the residences in the cottages, and some guest rooms are reserved to entertain guests like you. To put it bluntly, this place is like a village.
"Although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs." Chu Tianya smiled and said, "This is a veritable paradise."
At this time, the courtyard in front of the Qixing Hall was already full of tables and chairs, and people were crowded and happy. There were more than a dozen large stoves set up beside the grass shed, and the smell of cooking smoke rolled and permeated. On the stone platform of Huanyixi not far away, the butchers were busy killing pigs and sheep.
Obviously, this is going to be a celebration banquet for the Huanglong Valley victory.
Chu Tianya, who had not known the taste of meat for a long time and was so hungry that his belly was about to stick to the spine. When he smelled the fragrance, he couldn't help swallowing a few mouthfuls of water and rushed directly to the big stove without image.
"Don't say anything. I'm going to have a hard meal first!!"