Along the way, Huwa started from the south of Yunmeng Juze and traveled all over the rivers. He saw many tribes and vassal states in the land of China. He felt that there were obvious differences between the Chinese Empire and the Ba Kingdom in Ba Yuan. First of all, the differences in customs in various places were very obvious.
Secondly, the emperor of China does not directly rule all tribes.
Of course, the customs and customs of various places on Ba Yuan are also different. For example, the Bai'e clan people living on the east coast have many habits that are different from those of the residents around Batu City. You can even often see the Hong Jincheng City at the foot of Wufu Hill on the plateau.
Monsters are out and about, but the locals are accustomed to them.
But overall, the folk customs and customs in various places in Ba Yuan are still quite close, especially when comparing it with the land of China. This is because every city wall in Ba Yuan was built by the Ba Kingdom. Salt Zhao
When entering Ba Yuan, Ba Yuan was still a wild jungle. The process of establishing Ba Yuan also completed the integration of various tribes and brought about a more advanced farming civilization.
Except for the remote wild lands, the country of Ba has achieved unified governance in Ba Yuan. This is related to Ba Yuan's closed environment that is almost isolated from the outside world. Otherwise, with the transportation and communication conditions at the time, within a radius of three thousand miles, Ba Yuan could achieve unified governance.
Direct unified governance is almost unimaginable.
The situation in the Land of China is different. Its territory is far wider than that of Bayuan, and is dotted with large and small tribes. There are great differences between them in terms of production and development levels and folk customs. There has also been a long period of integration of various tribes in history.
, the process of differentiation, reintegration, redifferentiation, and continuous migration to more remote areas.
The nominal scope of the Emperor of China's rule was the scope that Chinese civilization could radiate at that time. For remote tribes, the rule of the Emperor of China only accepted nominal allegiance and surrender through tribute and canonization.
The closer to the Central Plains, the stronger the control of the Emperor of China over the core tribes. Especially the tribes living in the Central Plains are the core subjects of the Emperor of China after the fusion of Yan and Huang.
The Hougang clan is not very big. It currently has a total of more than 8,000 people. The territory it occupies is far less than any of the five major tribes of Jiuli. But the two are incomparable.
, there are useless wilderness in the southern wilderness, and on the banks of the Nianshui River, there are fields cultivated by people since ancient times. The strength of the Hougang family is not small, and its status cannot be ignored.
Hougang was named after the clan name of the tribe. It was not given by himself, but was given to him by Cangjie. This name is also a symbol of certain qualifications. Only the tribal leader can enjoy this title. For example, since ancient times, people have been called
There is far more than one person who works for Zhu Rong, there are also several people called Gong Gong, but they must all be the leaders of the Zhu Rong clan or the Gong Gong clan.
Hougang has been called Hougang since he was a child, and this title also indicates his status. Although the candidate for the king needs to be jointly recommended by the leaders of all branches and factions in the clan, no one can object to the direct recommendation of Hougang based on Cangjie's authority.
Gang did not really exercise the authority of the king because he was still too young at that time, and all the elders of the tribe jointly took care of tribal affairs.
In ancient times, ordinary men were considered adults at the age of sixteen, but as the leader of a large tribe, it was impossible for him to formally assume power at such a young age. The habits of each tribe are different. Some tribes require that after reaching the age of twenty, some
Some tribes are even more demanding and have their own traditions.
Of course, there is a reason for such a tradition. Under the harsh conditions at that time, the leaders of each tribe must first ensure that they are mature and healthy, not only capable of judging and handling various affairs, but also not someone who is prone to die young. Many times this
This definition is relatively vague, and it is not certain how old the person is. The general principle is that the person is strong and has sufficient ability and experience.
But in this way, many people, including the heirs of the original leader and even the designated heirs, would not actually be able to become the next king. Because in that era, the possibility of unexpected death was very high.
Hou Gang was taken away by Cangjie when he was fifteen years old. At that time, it was said that he would return before the age of thirty. If there was no news after the deadline, the Hou Gang family would elect a new monarch. Later there were rumors that
It was said that Cangjie had ascended to heaven and left, but there was no news of Hou Gang.
In ancient times, all tribes attached great importance to the oaths they had made. Although there was no news about Hou Gang, he was still the head of the Hougang tribe until he was thirty years old. Hou Gang left at the age of fifteen and returned at the age of twenty-eight.
, he once served as an official in Ba Yuan, and even served as Ba Guoxuezheng, and now he has achieved a breakthrough in Dacheng cultivation.
Going upstream along the Yianshui River, you will enter the territory of the Hougang family. The style here is completely different from that of Jiuli in the Southern Wilderness. In the valley plains of the river basin, there is a pastoral area that has been cultivated for thousands of years.
Along the way, villages are connected with each other, smoke is floating in the air, and various livestock are raised in the villages, which is a prosperous and peaceful scene. Huwa smiled and said: "When you walk here, you feel as if you are walking outside Batu City."
Hougang also smiled and said: "It seems that these years when I have been away, the people of the tribe are still living and working in peace and contentment. The scene in front of me becomes more and more friendly as I look at it. It is no different from when I left." His expression suddenly changed as he spoke, "At this time,
Although it is the dry season, in my childhood memory, the water has never stopped flowing, right?"
When they walked along the bank of Nishui River, the water in the river was very small. It was the dry season. Huwa was not familiar with this area, so he didn't pay attention. However, after walking across a bridge, they found that almost all the water in the river came from
It joins a tributary under the bridge. Going further, the main channel of Nishui River is close to drying up.
There is still water flowing under the pebbles scattered on the river bed, but in Hou Gang's memory, the flow of the river in his hometown has never been so small.
Taiyi asked: "Is it freezing here in winter?"
Hou Gang replied: "The climate here is colder than that of Bahara, and the shade will freeze in the harsh winter, but I have never seen the water stop flowing." They walked all the way from the coast. By now, the harsh winter had passed, and spring was about to begin.
season.
Several people were walking on the road, and they spoke with extraordinary demeanor. They were obviously of extraordinary status. Many people in the villages along the way nodded to them as a salute, but no one recognized Hou Gang. After all, he had left his hometown for more than ten years. They left
I went to a market and asked someone about it. It turned out that the Nishui River suddenly stopped flowing this winter.
There is still water in several nearby tributaries, and the drinking water in each village can also be obtained by drilling wells, so there is no serious impact for the time being. However, the water level in the wells is also slowly declining. By the time of spring, the water level in the upper reaches of the Mishui River
The water level in the main river has still not recovered, and many people have begun to worry.
No matter how prosperous a tribe is, there must be sufficient water sources in its territory. The cultivation of large tracts of farmland at that time mainly relied on rain from God, supplemented by water diversion for irrigation. However, there was no rain or snow in the upper reaches of the Shuishui River for a whole winter.
, if it affects spring plowing, it may cause disaster.
After leaving the market, Hougang said: "I originally wanted to go back to the ancestral land of the tribe directly, but now it seems that it is better to go to Yicheng first, ask the city owner about the interruption of the Yishui River, and remind him to be prepared for drought.
.Lechang, the lord of the city, is my distant cousin. He has been the lord of the city for twenty years."
Lechang was twenty years older than Hou Gang, but Hou Gang called him his clan brother, not referring to the age between cousins. As Cang Jie's designated heir, Hou Gang's status in the clan
It is the direct descendant of the main branch, the most noble, somewhat similar to the meaning of "eldest grandson of the eldest son" in later generations.
According to the tradition of the Hougang family, no matter how old the Lechang city lord among his peers is, Hougang is still regarded as the elder in the clan. In terms of kinship, Lechang is Hougang's distant cousin; but in terms of status in the tribe
, Hougang can still call him clan brother.
Jigu suddenly said: "We seem to be being watched. Someone has been following us since we left the market."
Hougang said: "Now that I have lost all my magical powers, I have never noticed it. But there are many pedestrians on the road. It is normal for someone to walk in the same direction with us. How do you know that he is following us?"
Looking back from the main road, I didn't see the person Jigu was talking about. The person was far away from the visual distance. This was a main road that could allow carriages and horses to go wrong. It was normal for people to travel along the direction of the city. And it was normal.
Hou Gang just said that he had lost all his magical powers now because his cultivation level had already advanced half a step when he reached the shore of Nishui River.
After completing the nine turns of the six realms, but before breaking through the first turn of the seven realms, if you want to advance further in cultivation, you must break through the realm of the real person's return to nature. Later generations of monks will also call it the vacuum tribulation. At this time, the body's cultivation level is still there, but the magical power is
All is lost. Of course, if the monk can foresee it in advance, he may not touch this realm, but with this thought, it may be more difficult to break through the realm in the future.
It was such a coincidence that Hougang had the opportunity to break through the practice. Just when he returned to his hometown, he entered the state of returning to his original nature. I think that when he left his hometown, he was an ordinary person with no cultivation; but now when he returns, he looks like a real person.
He is still an ordinary person without magical powers, so of course he cannot detect anyone following him within visual distance.
Jigu had just broken through the five realms in the land of Jiuli. Huwa taught him that walking, sitting and lying were all practices, and he should also unfold his soul and merge with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth when he was on the road, so he was keenly aware of the abnormalities around him.
Taiyi said: "There are indeed people walking behind us, but there are many people walking in the same direction as us on this road. Some people are resting halfway, some people have already passed by in their cars, and there are still people walking together further away. Why do you say that?"
Are people just following me?"
Huwa also asked: "What's so unusual about his behavior?"
Jigu scratched the back of his head and said: "How can I put it, there is nothing obviously abnormal about his behavior, and he looks no different from other pedestrians. But his position from us is really weird. He is never far or close, just within a certain distance."
Three miles away. If you were not deliberately following us, it would not be such a coincidence that you are still traveling at the same speed as me at such a distance." (To be continued.)