The early sun shines on the water, and the morning dew is still wet.
The orange-red and finely divided glow breaks into thousands of gold foils on the sparkling water, making people's eyes sore.
The two boatmen were sitting on the bow of the long boat after spending a long night on the boat. They were looking toward the east, breathing in and out to relieve the fatigue of being awake all night.
Seven or eight feet behind the boat, followed a painted boat painted in red and green. The boat was divided into two floors, with neat rows of windows and beams and pillars. The windows on the upper floor were all closed, and a beautiful shadow lingered across the gauze, as if a woman was sleeping in it.
A rope as thick as an arm hangs behind the boat, and the rope is holding a long boat. The boatman on the long boat leans lazily on the bow. From time to time, he taps the bamboo pole in his hand to the left and right to prevent the boat from turning when it turns. His boat was thrown onto the river bank.
The three boats formed a team and headed towards Luoyang along the Luoshui River that meanders eastward.
There are mountains on both sides of the strait, and the foot of the mountain is sometimes far away and sometimes close. In the distance, there is a hazy blue mist, and the villages are smoking. Nearby, the pine trees are falling, and the birds are chirping. It is a scene of vigorous vitality.
The fleet set out from Chang'an, walking along the mountains and the water, neither slow nor fast, neither hurry nor slow. Sometimes we saw fertile fields and flat fields, sometimes we saw mountains covered with trees. It seemed like endless mountains and rivers were coming towards us. , passing by, and then quickly being thrown behind, just like the many people and events that the boatmen have experienced in wasted half their lives.
On the long boat behind the painted boat, the boatman was bored and took out a celadon wine cork from his arms, pulled out the cork, secretly took a sip, and exclaimed "Happy!"
When I was about to take another sip, I heard a "chi" sound coming from the wind!
Before he had time to dodge, the wine grape in his hand was broken into several petals. The golden wine pulp was mixed with celadon pieces and fell all over the ship. An exquisitely carved wooden hairpin fell nearby, and was carefully picked up by the boatman and collected. In his arms, he raised his eyes and looked at the boat.
On the upper floor of the painting boat, a pair of window sash has been opened. The woman in the purple skirt and emerald skirt opened her red lips lightly and smiled with authority: "The protector of the heaven, please enter the boat to speak."
The boatman jumped up in response, and the boat trembled under his feet. He raised his arms like a hawk, and he easily crossed the distance of five to six feet in less than two breaths. When his feet stepped on the boat deck, more Without stopping, follow the wooden ladder beside the tail cabin and go straight to the outside of the upper cabin.
The upper cabin is not big, but it is also divided into two cabins, inside and outside. The outer room is for receiving guests, and the inner room is for sleeping. It can be said that the host and guest are clearly distinguished.
Protector Tianji, who was pretending to be a boatman, did not dare to make any mistakes. He walked around to the outer door and knocked on the door. He saw the woman in the purple skirt just now, leaning lazily on the sofa with a pair of delicate hands, playing with it. There is a tea set on the table in front of me.
Seeing him coming recently, for the first time, he evenly mixed a cup of steaming tea soup, used a whisk to remove the fine tea powder, and then brought it to him: "Have a cup of tea to warm yourself up."
Protector Tianji was so flattered that he quickly picked it up. He was not afraid of the scalding heat and drank it all in one gulp. He smacked his lips and said, "Happy! It's really good tea! I humbly thank Holy Aunt for giving me tea!"
Zoroastrian saint Liu Xiaomu also took a few sips of tea soup, and said with a smile: "My Zoroastrian canon rules are clearly stated in the text. As long as there are urgent missions in the religion, there is no need to drink alcohol. Do you still remember Tianji Dharma Protector?"
Protector Tianji's expression changed drastically, he knelt down on one knee with a bang, and said in fear: "It is a sin of being humbled and will be punished by death! Please punish me by Holy Aunt!"
Liu Xiaomu poured himself tea soup again, and while sipping it, he said slowly: "If it were in the past, I would have just thrown you into Luoshui to feed the fish. The reason why the net is open to one side is to make up for your mistakes and go and bite the fish." Do you understand that the 'tail' at the back of the boat is cut off?"
There was cold sweat on Tianji Protector's forehead, but he didn't dare to wipe it off. He quickly made a flame with his hands and performed the Holy Fire Ceremony: "The Holy Aunt has something to say, and you must obey it! I humbly go and behead my tail to get rid of my worries!"
Having said that, he didn't dare to stay any longer. He bowed and turned around, left the cabin, and went to look for the heroic troops who had been pursuing him all the way when they set off from Chang'an.
Liu Xiaomu seemed to have nothing to do, and was still sipping the fragrant tea by herself. The Zoroastrian who was in charge of waiting on the boat had already drawn Luo water at the stern of the boat, cooked breakfast, and stood outside the door to invite people in.
Liu Xiaomu coughed lightly: "Come in! Just give it to the saint. Auntie doesn't need this."
The believer was also a woman. She wore embroidered shoes respectfully, walked silently, and carried a wooden box into the inner room. After the veiled saint finished eating, she quickly put away the bowls, chopsticks, cups, and plates, and left with a sigh of relief.
There is no chaos at all, and he is also a man of extraordinary skill.
After the meal, there was silence for a long time.
After a long time, the saint who was sitting in the inner room finally couldn't bear her curiosity and asked softly: "Auntie, since this trip is so dangerous, why do you have to mobilize so many people to enter the city? Wouldn't it be better to go quietly? Let's go on the water by boat.
, has become the target of public criticism.”
The saint's voice is clear and gentle, like the song of an oriole and the song of a swallow, which is truly touching.
As the tea fell into his throat, Liu Xiaomu savored the cool and slightly astringent feeling between his teeth and cheeks, and mused: "All religions in China have always attached great importance to religious rituals, regardless of Confucianism, Taoism, or Dharma. I, the Zoroastrian, used to act very cautiously, looking forward and backward, for fear of
I was criticized by others. What was the result? Instead, I was criticized and criticized by many people who claimed to be famous and orthodox. I was also misunderstood by many ignorant people, and I was already unable to argue.
Instead of doing this, it is better to broadcast the teachings with great fanfare! Just like that gate, the Buddhist gate, we carry out the Zoroastrian teachings of "good thoughts, good words, and good deeds", the essence of "follow good like flow, hate evil like hatred", "eliminate evil and spread good,"
The holy law of "showing benevolence and virtue" teaches all people and regulates words and deeds. It makes the world a good place and the world a happy land! This is the original intention of the creation of the world by the god Ahura!"
After hearing this, the saintly girl said for a long time: "Holy aunt is so wise! Without a big attack, it is not enough to boost morale; without a big crisis, it is not enough to gather people's hearts. Once this trip is completed, the flag will be brightened in the court.
, use your sword to establish your power in the world. It is really a way to kill two birds with one stone!"
Liu Xiaomu nodded slightly and said with approval: "If you can understand, my training will not be in vain. In the future, you may be the one who will decide everything in the religion, so you must remember what I said today."
The words were divided into two parts. But he said that Protector Tianji jumped off the boat, returned to the long boat, threw up the long bamboo pole, and threw it into Luoshui: "Brothers in the tent, follow me!"
After saying that, he jumped out first, stepped lightly on the bamboo pole with his feet, and jumped onto the river bank.
Only about twenty believers were seen, suddenly filing out of the awning of the long boat, lightly stepping on the bamboo poles, and jumping onto the shore. They followed Tianji Protector and ran towards the upper reaches of Luoshui River.
After walking for more than two miles, the mountains on both sides tightened again. The elms and willows became increasingly dense along the road, and the tree crowns blocked a lot of sunlight. The dark green shadows of the trees cast a large ink color on the official road.
Tianji Protector's ears moved slightly, stopped suddenly, and stopped all the believers: "Go up the tree, ambush!"
The believers responded in unison and scattered like a flock of birds. They each found trees and hid in the canopy. Within ten breaths, the usual tranquility returned to the official road.
After about half a cup of tea, a horse team came running from far to near along the winding official road.
The horses were all merchants dressed in linen and brown clothes, and they seemed to be going to Luoyang to do a business. However, looking at the robes, rattan boxes and other items carried on the horses, they were no different from ordinary merchants.
The leader waved his horsewhip from time to time, whistling repeatedly: "Follow the rear! Duke Yuan has an order. If these 'treasures' are allowed into Luoyang City, we will raise our heads to see him!"
"Shopkeeper Qin! This 'business' is too difficult to do. General... I've been holding it in all this time, and my bladder is about to explode. Can you let me take a breather and let the water out again?" The person on the right was full of complaints and complained endlessly.
, but it expressed the thoughts of everyone accompanying him.
"The lazy donkey is grinding and peeing a lot! Bear with it any longer! When we see the fleet, we will stop and have a rest. The mountains here are steep and easy to be ambushed, so it is better to cross quickly." The leader "Qin"
"The shopkeeper" spurred his horse forward and was actually a few minutes faster than before. Everyone behind him was wailing, but they could only try their best to keep up.
"Shopkeeper Qin" has superb driving skills. His body is close to the horse's back, rising and falling with the bumpy horse's body, which makes everyone behind him admire his skill.
"Shopkeeper Qin" couldn't help but feel smug when he heard the praise from everyone. Just when he was about to say a few words of humility, he suddenly felt his horse sank under him, as if it had been caught in a pothole, and rolled into a ball on the spot.
Like an arrow leaving the string, it breaks away from the horse's back and flies further forward.
The trees and grass on both sides were quickly thrown away from the field of vision, and the fine stones and dust on the official road quickly came closer!
"Boom!" There was a loud noise, but his head fell to the ground first. The unlucky "Shopkeeper Qin" only had time to hear it, and someone shouted "Stumble the horse's leg, stay alive", then his vision went dark and he fainted.
.
The people behind followed a little further away, but when they saw "Shopkeeper Qin" rolling down after being hit by the attack, and wanted to stop the galloping horse, they were too late!
However, on the wide official road, there were suddenly a few more tripping ropes. The official horses were sluggish and fell down one after another. The rattan boxes and sacks and other items carried on their backs were immediately scattered all over the floor. The rattan box was empty, and there was no one there.
What goods are stored in it.
Fortunately, everyone has been through battles for a long time and their reactions are sharp.
Seeing that the army and horses were unable to retreat, they decisively abandoned their horses and jumped up, rolling on the spot to eliminate their forward momentum. However, they had a horizontal knife in their hands, slashing at the figure who sneaked up on them.
"Dang! Dang, Dang..." There was a hand-to-hand exchange, and sparks burst out. Only then did everyone see clearly that the person they were fighting against was a Zoroastrian demon.
The demons were only more than twenty, which was much smaller than their number. They were just caught off guard, and several of them fell from their horses. They fell to the ground and wailed.
"Shopkeeper Qin" fell off his horse, and his life or death is unknown.
The man who had just complained took the initiative to stand up and called on everyone to gather in formation and confront the Zoroastrian believers: "We are all honest traders and want to go to Luoyang to sell spices. I don't know what your lords are saying?"
If you don’t ask for money, if you don’t collect goods, you will end up killing us?!"
Protector Tianji sneered, walked out slowly, clasped his fists casually and said: "Guo Xianying, the heroic military commander, has been admired for a long time! But I don't know when he gave up the military and engaged in business, and started the business in Luoyang?" After saying that, he kicked over a rattan basket and continued,
"Then I dare to ask 'Shopkeeper Guo', where are your spices? And this official horse... Tsk tsk! What a generous act! When did the laws of the Sheng Dynasty allow low-level merchants to use official horses to carry their goods?"
Seeing that his identity had been revealed, Guo Xianying simply revealed his identity: "Yes! Our Yingwu army is going to Luoyang for important military affairs! Pretending to be a businessman is just a cover-up. You monsters intercepted the imperial army, you know what the crime is!"
As soon as these questions came out, they were righteous and powerful. If an ordinary bandit and road bully heard this, he would flee with his tail between his legs and not dare to disobey in the slightest.
However, to the ears of Tianji Protector and the Zoroastrian believers, it was a huge joke.
Protector Tianji's face grew colder: "People of the Ming Dynasty do not do secret things! Brigadier Guo, we, the Zoroastrian Cult, bought our own ships and escorted the saint to Luoyang without disturbing the officials and people along the way. Whose secret order did your Yingwu army have to wait for me?
Are you pursuing me so hard? What’s your intention?”