A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 220 Beneath the Hunhun Song Lies a Dragon

As dusk fell, Guan Luoyang and his party arrived at Zengjiazhuang.

Zengjiazhuang, nominally just an ordinary village, has surprisingly been given a water channel that encircles the entire village.

There is only one entrance to the village from the east, which can only be passed through by a wooden bridge spanning the irrigation canal. There are guards on both sides of the wooden bridge, and there is a high wall inside the irrigation canal. At first glance, it looks like an earthen wall, but you can feel it when you get closer. The wall is thick and heavy, and it must have been built with many large stones.

Inside the wall, at intervals, there are small wooden buildings that rise above the wall, with people on duty upstairs.

With such a posture, let alone blocking some mountain bandits and brigands, even if some government troops were sent from Yizhou City to fight, they probably wouldn't be able to take it down easily.

In the past, Grandpa Zeng was always proud of how well his family had managed Zengjiazhuang, but today, no matter how the village was arranged, it did not bring him any sense of peace.

He only hoped to do everything to Guan Luoyang's satisfaction, and absolutely not let Guan Luoyang find any fault with him, so that he might be able to avoid a fatal disaster.

After everyone entered Zengjia Village, Old Master Zeng immediately ordered a banquet to be held to entertain them, and also personally instructed every household in the village to prepare more food to treat the miners.

Guan Luoyang was very easygoing, as if he were a true guest. He followed Old Master Zeng to his home, and he ate one dish after another of the carefully prepared dishes. He also accepted every toast offered to him. He ate to his heart's content and then went to sleep.

Late at night, Old Master Zeng deliberately found a secluded room, as far away from Guan Luoyang's residence as possible, before daring to cry to his five sons.

Old Master Zeng's five sons were all pampered with delicacies and precious medicinal herbs from a young age. Later, when they got a little older, they invited a master like Shi Wengong to teach them martial arts and demonic techniques.

Therefore, when the five sons grew up, they were all handsome and strong. Even if Old Master Zeng could straighten his hunched back, he could only barely put his head to the chests of his five sons. They were hardly like his own offspring.

The eldest son, Zeng Tu, was especially favored. He was highly skilled in martial arts and was resourceful and intelligent in handling affairs within the manor. He was both literate and skilled in martial arts.

When Grandpa Zeng explained the whole story, his other four sons couldn't help but show resentment on their faces.

One of them said, "How dare that scoundrel bully my father like this?! We should take advantage of his sleep and blow up his place with gunpowder and oil, shattering him to pieces and avenging this humiliation!"

The man said, "That's not a good idea. He was able to kill General Shi, so he's highly skilled. Explosives probably won't kill him. He also has several rare poisons that he specially collected from the Yan-Yun region. Why don't we pretend to bring him a midnight snack, cook a pot of hangover soup, and put all the poisons in the soup so that his intestines will rupture?"

Only Zeng Tu remained calm, saying, "None of these are appropriate. The reason my family has prospered so much is precisely because of our good relationship with Shi Wengong. We should also know that within a radius of five hundred miles, no one can defeat Shi Wengong. If our Zeng family's methods cannot kill Shi Wengong, do you think they can kill this thieving Taoist?"

Old Master Zeng wiped away his tears: "That's what I think too. My family can't resist him. We can only try our best to satisfy him and send him away, and then report him to the court later."

The Zeng family sons looked at each other and said, "I'm afraid he'll be insatiable."

"Don't worry," Zeng Tu said. "Our Zeng family's biggest asset is this manor. He wants to find a ship to take those miners away. Once the ship is full of people, how much wealth can it carry? As long as the manor is still there, we can get back what he lost sooner or later."

Having made up their minds, the Zeng family said no more and spent the whole night busy with lanterns.

The next morning, when Guan Luoyang opened the door and walked into the manor, he saw a carriage already waiting beside him.

The miners had even changed into new clothes, each carrying a bundle on their shoulder, along with steamed buns they had made overnight. They were all shedding tears of gratitude to the people of Zengjiazhuang.

Many of the younger members of the Zeng family couldn't hide the disgust on their faces and refused to approach the miners. But the older ones, having received countless instructions from the old master and the managers, dared not let the miners kneel down and desperately helped them up.

Some of the Zeng family members were so frightened when they saw Guan Luoyang come out that they panicked and accidentally knelt down when the miners next to them knelt down. They were so frightened that they knelt down as well and kowtowed to the miners face to face, kowtowing more than the miners.

Guan Luoyang touched his face: "Am I that scary?"

Gongsun Sheng walked up to him without him noticing and said, "The Zeng family members who were supervising the work at the mine all came back yesterday. With them relaying the battle situation, the rumors are getting more and more exaggerated."

"When I got up this morning, I heard people talking about how Shi Wengong had become a three-headed, six-armed, three-zhang-tall man with a waist ten spans in the mountains. You grabbed him and bit off half of his body. While you were chewing, I could hear Shi Wengong screaming in pain."

Guan Luoyang chuckled, looked around, and said, "That old man is quite cunning. The Zeng family is putting on this act to treat those miners, which will surely soften everyone's hearts and make them think of them a little better. It really makes it difficult for me to start killing in front of everyone."

Gongsun Sheng said, "Are you planning to let them go?"

"They can only pretend for a short time; they will definitely take action soon."

Guan Luoyang said, "Once I've settled these people at Liangshan, their next trip will be their death day."

As they were talking, Old Master Zeng and the others came over and invited Guan Luoyang to get into the carriage first. The Zeng family members then went out to see him off.

They were taken several miles to the water's edge, where the miners were put on the boat. Old Master Zeng then opened all the boxes of valuables in front of Guan Luoyang and had them loaded onto the boat.

Guan Luoyang smiled and said goodbye to them. Old Master Zeng clutched his chest, his voice choked with emotion, and wished Guan Luoyang a smooth journey.

The wind was favorable in the morning. When the boat had sailed quite a distance, Guan Luoyang looked back and saw that the group of people were still standing on the shore, silently seeing him off.

The waves rippled, the clear sounds filled the ears, and the wind on the water, mixed with mist, blew in, cool and pleasant. It was just a pity that this place was not far from the mine. Years of mining had left it smoky and polluted, and there was often smog in the vicinity. If you smelled closely, you could also detect a slightly unpleasant odor.

Guan Luoyang stood at the bow of the boat, watching the waves part to both sides. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked Gongsun Sheng, "When I was studying, I read some records that said that when Zhao Ji was on the throne, he was incompetent and foolish, and favored treacherous officials. The people were already full of complaints."

"Some people go up the mountains and down the rivers to become bandits and outlaws, while others rise up in rebellion and declare themselves kings. I wonder if any of them are truly capable of making a big splash?"

Gongsun Sheng pondered for a moment and then said, "During the reign of Emperor Daojun, there were indeed some chaotic situations among the people of the Song Dynasty."

"However, when Emperor Tianming first ascended the throne, he selected virtuous and capable officials with perfect planning. He promoted many talented but frustrated generals and generals from various prefectures and allocated resources to them to fight in various places. They killed many bandits and mountain thieves. He also denounced Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Gao Qiu and others as the Six Traitors, and successively confiscated their property and imprisoned them. He also stopped the Flower Stone Tribute and Birthday Tribute. The people applauded and praised him, and the people became much more peaceful."

"As for those who could make a big splash, there should have been a few. For example, there was a lacquer garden owner named Fang La in Qingxi, Muzhou. He was born with great ambition and learned a lot of magic. He was quite famous in the area, and even some high-ranking officials in the court were on good terms with him and often visited his home."

"But in the second year of Emperor Tianming's reign, he suddenly sent a group of Taoist officials, mobilized troops, and attacked Fang La's home. They wiped out many of his guards and killed hundreds of his servants, reducing his family's wealth to ashes."

"It was only afterward that we discovered that Fang La had secretly amassed an army of tens of thousands of men and was revered as a Holy Duke. If those Taoist officials had arrived a few months later, Fang La might already be a rebellious king who controlled a region."

Guan Luoyang shook his head and laughed after hearing this, "This emperor is truly prescient. In the past, he was able to suppress the turbulent situation by taking these actions, by dismissing the Six Traitors, and by conforming to the will of the people. Now, however, he himself is acting perversely. Isn't he afraid that there are countless unforeseen people in the world who might also rise up in rebellion?"

Guan Luoyang's words were not only referring to himself, but also to the native inhabitants of this world.

According to Lin Lingsu, when Emperor Daojun was in power, he checked the total number of copper, iron, tin, and cinnabar deposits in the entire Song Dynasty through the court's records, and found that there were only a little over three hundred.

According to Gongsun Sheng, in the past ten years, the Emperor of Heaven has sent people to explore more than 600 mineral deposits and veins in various prefectures using secret methods.

Originally, some mines were privately owned, and the government mostly just collected taxes. However, in the last ten years, all the newly opened mines have been subject to government intervention, with the government urging the mining and transportation day and night. The miners' labor is now much more arduous than before.

In the countryside, people die far faster than they are born, so fewer and fewer people work in the mines.

Take the Cangshan Mine as an example. At its peak, it was said to have nearly five thousand able-bodied men, but now Guan Luoyang has brought out only about two thousand miners.

The Cangshan mine is particularly important because it can produce red crystal and synthesize purple aura sand. In fact, in terms of the number of people, it is not the largest in scale, but it is a glimpse into its significance.

In the last decade, the total number of miners who have died in the newly established mines within the Song Dynasty due to labor, disease, and accidents has probably reached an alarming level.

What's even more terrifying is that ten years is a very long time for ordinary people. In this era, transportation was inconvenient and news was scarce, making it difficult for ordinary people to learn about things happening far away. When they were in the midst of it all, they had little idea of ​​how many people had lost their lives.

Ten years later, or even a few more, the shortage of food in the countryside will become more and more serious. The dull pain that has accumulated year after year will suddenly awaken and turn into a despair that leaves no place to escape, enough to crush ordinary people, cut off their offspring, and destroy their families.

Even without the closure of Luoyang, the people of the world would still eventually rebel, and there would still be heroes willing to join the side of the people who could not survive and had no choice but to rebel.

Gongsun Sheng said, "Perhaps the Emperor of Heaven's Mandate believes that the Song Dynasty's army has swept away its weakness and is now strong and powerful, with many fierce generals, enough to suppress any unrest in the countryside."

Guan Luoyang asked, "Have you met this emperor? What kind of person is he?"

"Back then, when I had just completed my apprenticeship and was traveling around, the imperial edict to recruit talented people arrived unexpectedly, and I was invited to Bianliang to become a Taoist official. Along with other Taoist officials and colleagues, I also met the emperor many times."

Gongsun Sheng was lost in his memories. "The emperor at that time was still a boy, but he was wise and intelligent, and his shrewdness was already very deep. Except when he was discussing cultivation methods with the Taoist officials, he would occasionally show some emotion. No matter what decision he made, he was always confident. I really couldn't see what kind of person he was in the heart."

"However, by chance, I was performing a ritual for some wronged souls in the ditch leading from the imperial kitchen to the outside of the palace, and I heard some secrets that were no longer known."

"It is said that when the current emperor was still the crown prince, he was young but already worried about the country and its people. He devoted himself to the affairs of the state and had nightmares for several months in a row. He didn't know what he was dreaming about and almost went crazy. He would scream and run wildly in the palace. Even when the palace gates were closed, people could hear him weeping in the hall. He even wrote to the Daoist emperor, asking to be deposed as crown prince, crying that he had no ability to govern the country and that it would be better to leave Bianliang and go to the deep mountains to study Taoism."

At this point, Gongsun Sheng let out a long sigh, flicked his whisk, and said, "Later, the Daoist Emperor encouraged him and invited some Daoist officials to treat him, which allowed him to recover. He calmed down and devoted himself to studying military strategy day and night. I truly cannot understand how such a kind and benevolent prince could have become like this."

Guan Luoyang frowned slightly as he pondered, his speculations about this Emperor of Destiny deepening.

However, there's no need to rush to get a definitive answer right now.

In any case, Guan Luoyang had made up his mind that sooner or later he would personally go and meet this emperor.

After the ship had been sailing for most of the day under the scorching sun, the miners were starting to feel the strain and flocked around the deck to get some fresh air. Guan Luoyang then ordered the ship to slow down.

Lin Lingsu also came out of the cabin, holding a bamboo tube, savoring the taste of the mercury slowly while admiring the scenery on both banks.

The riverbank is covered with vegetation, and it is currently in bloom. Countless flowers, whose names Guan Luoyang does not know, are in full bloom along the riverbank.

These flowers grow here, and they are by no means anything precious, but when there are many flowers and plants, it is always a pleasant sight, and the people on the other boats can't help but smile.

They had followed Guan Luoyang all the way here, feeling somewhat uneasy, but they dared not ask. However, the sun was shining brightly, the scenery was beautiful, and even the feeling of stuffiness and dizziness was blown away by the wind on the river, which seemed to allow them to temporarily forget their worries.

Someone started singing, with a rough voice and a high, straight tune, but after two or three lines, they couldn't continue.

But the other passengers on the ship, who were also from the same hometown, knew how to sing the rest of the song, so they took over his voice and continued singing.

Boatloads of people echoed the song, their voices rising and falling, spreading gently across the vast water.

Guan Luoyang listened to them sing about the mountains and the water. The lyrics were not elegant or magnificent, and there were even many repetitions, but they were perfectly in tune with the mountains and waters here.

Suddenly, a group of people galloped along the shore. None of them wore armor, but they all carried weapons.

Hearing the singing on the river, they all turned to look. One of them, a man with a long, black beard and a steel spear in hand, carefully examined the people singing on the boat and also began to sing a ballad.

"Before dawn, their clothes were disheveled. They were disheveled and turned upside down, for the Duke had summoned them."

His lyrics were simple and archaic, which should have been out of place with the songs of the miners on the river. However, the man's voice was deep and desolate, and his melody blended with the miners', as if it had gathered together all the uneven singing.

Their singing made even the river stop to listen.

"Before the sun rises in the east, the clothes are upside down. Upside down, upside down, it is the order of the Duke."

"Breaking willow branches in the garden, the madman is frantic. He cannot be both day and night, he must either rise early or fall late."

"The East is not yet bright..."

The boat moves on the river, and the horse walks on the bank.

Lin Lingsu said in a low voice, "This is the 'Dongfang Weiming' in the Book of Songs, which speaks of the cruelty of the kings and nobles and the suffering of the laborers in the land of Qi and Lu. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the demonic path flourished, and there were also some states like the Great Song Dynasty of today. Ah, the past thousand years are like the present."

Upon hearing this, Guan Luoyang called out, "Brother on the shore, would you be willing to come aboard for a while?"

The man with the gun stopped singing and laughed loudly, "Master, your kindness is appreciated, how could we refuse? However, there is a long snake in the water. We brothers will catch it first and then come to the boat to ask for your guidance."

As they spoke, the people on the shore raised their guns and knives and spurred their horses into the water.

A strange shadow, which had been drifting with the current and well hidden, was disturbed by the swords and spears, and stirred up raging waves.

Amidst the turbulent white waves, one can see a dragon with two horns on its head and scales covering its body.

I recommend a book called "Covering the Sky: Emperor Jia". It's a bit serious and depressing in the beginning, but if it continues, it should become a story of heroes.

The author of this book is also a very talented person.

(End of this chapter)