Nanzhao Ancestral Hall, before the people from the Central Plains came to Lingnan, was the most respected place for the Lingnan Miao people in Phoenix City to worship heaven and earth. The Miao king and the high priest of the Miao family lived in it. It was the most respected place in the hearts of the Lingnan people. The weight is similar to that of the ancestral temples of the Central Plains people. They are sacred and inviolable. There are many important festivals for the Miao family in Lingnan every year. The Miao family from all over the Miao villages will gather here to celebrate the event. At that time, in the Miao King Under the leadership of the leader, the priests inside were invited to perform divination and pray for God’s blessing.
In front of the Nanzhao Ancestral Hall is a wide square that can accommodate thousands of people. Behind the square is the Miao Palace where the Miao King lives. Behind the magnificent Miao Palace is the Nanzhao Ancestral Hall where the Miao family’s high priest lives. Outsiders It is called Nanzhao Ancestral Hall, but it is composed of two parts, namely the Miao Palace in front of the square and the Nanzhao Ancestral Hall in the back.
The Miao Palace is very large, and a huge cow skull hangs above the words "Miao Palace". This scene can be seen everywhere in the Miao houses in Lingnan. According to Mai's father, it symbolizes the blessing of some mysterious power.
The square is already crowded with people. The men and women of the Miao family gather together, giving men and women from various Miao villages who do not know each other a rare opportunity to meet. Meeting such a grand event as the Autumn Festival is naturally a good opportunity to connect and fall in love with each other. So before the Autumn Festival even started, men and women had already begun to sing simple folk songs, making the Miao Palace a joyful place.
Most of the grand gatherings of the Miao people are just for the purpose of allowing young men and women in the tribe to meet and get married. This is a tradition passed down by the Miao family for thousands of years. Therefore, at every grand gathering, every man and woman of the Miao family will People dressed up beautifully came from all over to celebrate the event.
After Yang Xuangan said, "The Nanzhao Ancestral Hall has arrived," Meng Xinghe suddenly became alert. He raised his eyes and looked ahead. He felt that such a lively scene was really spectacular. The Miao women in front of him all looked like a Like magpies, they gathered in groups of three or five, either laughing and joking, or singing beautiful songs from time to time, just like the Taoyuan people living in Tao Gong's works. He sighed slightly, but saw a pair of Miao family knives hanging in front of him. The guards came.
"General Yang, the Autumn Festival event is about to begin. The Miao King asked me to come and invite you to preside over the event," a black man in the lead said respectfully with more than a dozen black and strong Miao men behind him. Yang Xuangan made way for him.
"Where are you King Miao?" Yang Xuangan said in a loud voice, as if it was King Miao who greeted him instead of these little minions.
The soldier immediately realized that something was wrong and said truthfully: "King Miao was invited by the high priest to the Nanzhao Ancestral Hall."
Hearing this, Yang Xuangan felt a little better, "Since King Miao has something to do, please lead the way."
"Yes," the reply was extremely firm.
Meng Xinghe watched clearly from the side. It seemed that Yang Xuangan's status in Lingnan was really unshakable, and even the Miao King did not give him any face.
Yang Xuangan has been in Lingnan for more than 20 years. He attends many grand gatherings of the Miao family in Lingnan every year. As soon as he walked in from outside the square, the place was much quieter. Many people recognized him as the leader of the Lingnan clan, but they just looked around him. Suddenly there was a little girl wearing low-grade Miao clothes. Duo was curious, wondering who this person was and how he was qualified to be with General Yang.
In front of the Miao Palace, there is a high platform built with wooden piles. On the high platform, there is a wooden pillar about several feet high. From the top of the wooden pillar, colorful strips are pulled down and fly down diagonally, like an open flower umbrella. , these are gathered on the joints of many colorful ribbons on the top of the wooden pillars, and a big colored ball is hung. It is the colored ball that many Miao men are trying to compete for in the Autumn Festival Square today. Who can win this colored ball? He can become the best man among the Miao people in Lingnan. In Lingnan, where wealth and background are not valued and only the fittest survive, the best man will of course win the favor of many women.
Yang Xuangan came to the middle of the high platform. There were crowds of people below. There were no less than a few thousand people. The scene was indeed quite spectacular. King Miao went to the priest. He didn’t know what to talk about. He waited for a long time and didn’t come out. King Miao didn’t come, and Yang Xuangan couldn’t. Shan Zhi started the activity of grabbing colorful balls and could only stand quietly. Facing the Lingnan Miao people under the high platform, he chuckled. Meng Xinghe happened to be standing next to him. Yang Xuan sighed and said: "You said , reigning over the world, is this the feeling, looking down on the common people, and just being a stupid dog, no wonder everyone wants to sit on the dragon's throne, this feeling is really more open-minded than standing on the wall of Chang'an City, looking at the beautiful mountains and rivers outside the city, "
Meng Xinghe did not feel the slightest sense of achievement in looking down on the common people. From the eyes of the Miao family members under the high platform, he saw the simple eyes of the world. These people were originally the indigenous residents of Lingnan. In addition to the attacks of wild beasts and conflicts between tribes, they were not interested in war. My imagination is probably not as shocking as a flood.
"The rolling water of the Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away all the heroes. Many things in ancient and modern times are all laughed at." Meng Xinghe suddenly thought of this poem in his heart. He didn't understand Yang Xuangan's ambition. Maybe from today on, this group of Miao people from Lingnan, Is it worth it to be doomed to suffer the pain of twenty years of stability?
Just when Meng Xinghe's thoughts were wandering, the Miao King slowly walked out from the Miao King's Palace behind him. He was a thin and old man, wearing a black Miao family costume. Black is particularly high in the Miao family's status. The flowers are usually cyan, only black is the orthodox color. Just like the Miao family is divided into black seedlings, red seedlings, and white seedlings. Black seedlings have the highest status. Most of the elders and priests of the Miao family are from black seedlings, and very few are from black seedlings. There are relatively prestigious figures born from the collateral Miao ethnic group.
"General Yang, we are rushing to the Autumn Festival, and the general is presiding over it," King Miao came to Yang Xuangan. Although he is the King of Miao, Yang Xuangan is the one who really tells the truth in Lingnan. Especially in recent months, General Yang has been telling the truth to everyone. When the Tang Dynasty launched its army, many of the elders of the Miao village had opposed it. He also negotiated with General Yang many times, but to no avail, but he could not afford to speak out and felt that the Miao king was actually an empty official with no real power.
Yang Xuangan smiled politely. He was not afraid of the Miao King. He was just afraid of the priest who lived in the innermost Nanzhao Temple. The priest had a much higher status than the Miao King. He could even make the entire Miao family defend their homeland with just one sentence. As for picking up weapons, it's a pity that Yang Xuangan is not from the Miao family and cannot enter the Nanzhao Ancestral Hall. He has been in Lingnan for 20 years and only knows about such a place, but has never entered it, let alone seen what the priests inside look like. But He heard that it was a woman named Lan Fenghuang, and he would always open his mouth in a non-sarcastic manner.
Women can achieve great things, they will only make heroes sad about beauty. Back then, Yang Xuangan could even give away his wife and daughter, and he had long dismissed the dangers of beauty. He just felt that for this woman he had never met before, he must be rational and careful. He was treated poorly and fell short of success, which is not usually used to describe him, otherwise Yang Xuangan would not be alive and safe today.
King Miao, who came to Yang Xuangan, took a look at Meng Xinghe. When he came out just now, he saw Mi Duo wearing low-grade Miao clothes. When he walked in, he found that Mi Duo did not look like the Miao family. Finally, after taking a few glances, he asked, "Are you from the Han family?"
Meng Xinghe nodded, looked at the Miao King whose face was as dry as a persimmon squeezed out of water, and said: "I am from the Han family,"
King Miao got his answer and said: "According to the custom of our Miao family, except for the most distinguished guest, General Yang, the Han family is not qualified to stand on this high platform. Do you want us to invite you down, or do you want us to invite you down?" Go down by yourself,"
He had never heard of such an excuse for discrimination. Meng Xinghe smiled and said: "I'll go down by myself, no one needs to invite me." Meng Xinghe stood up and left. He really didn't want to stay up there.
But before he took two steps, Yang Xuangan, who was silent, did not let him go and said: "Mr. Meng, since you are here, how can you leave? We still have a good show to watch. Wouldn't it be a pity to leave first? "As if he knew something, Yang Xuangan smiled faintly. There was an elusive taste in his bones, like an undercurrent that could swallow people up at any time.