It was as if I had arrived at the seaside, but it was much gentler than the sea. Under the sunlight, the waves were sparkling, the water and the sky were the same. In the distance, islands could be vaguely distributed in the blue waves, like poetry and picturesque.
Everyone walked along the lake shore. Chen Zining hoped to find a guide who was familiar with Qiandao Lake. The description of Qiandao Lake on the treasure map was very detailed, but Chen Zining did not know Qiandao Lake at all and could not connect with the specific terrain. There was no guide. It's hard to find a place.
After walking for an hour, a village appeared by the lake in the distance. Chen Zining sighed: "Why is it so desolate?"
He had read geography books and knew that Qiandao Lake was rich in water, with many fish, and was surrounded by plains. He drew water from the lake and could plant rice for two seasons. During the Dagan Dynasty, it was very wide. The territory included the entire Qiandao Lake. The entire Qiandao Lake area is known as the "land of fish and rice". Now, it looks like weeds are overgrown on the plains and sparsely populated, which is far from the records in the book.
Miao Shufang said: "I have heard some of the old people say that Qiandao Lake is between the three kingdoms of Shengtang, Xuanwu and Xuanyue. Any country can attack other countries as they wish after controlling Qiandao Lake, so the three kingdoms have reached Tacit understanding, no one interfered here, and adopted a policy of letting go."
"Qiandao Lake is full of water bandits, bandits and smuggling fleets, especially water bandits, are almost everywhere. No one can tell how many water bandits exist in the entire Qiandao Lake. These water bandits are domineering here and even burn and kill them. It would be strange if you loot, do everything evil, and it would be strange if you don’t be desolate."
It seems to be confirming Miao Shufang's words that the village ahead covers an area of about hundreds of acres and is not small in scale. A three-person-high wall was built outside and two lookout platforms were built.
There are some rice planted outside the village near the lake, and some grains are also planted on the other side, with an area of about 800 to 900 acres. Chen Zining couldn't help but sigh when he saw it. There are six thousand acres of fertile land in a Baiyangzhuang outside Tsinghua City. Qiandao Lake, which is known as the "Hometown of Fish and Rice", is a village of such a large size, but only has such a little grain planted.
Seeing that Chen Zining and his party had about thirty people, the people on the watchtower made a little noise and were very alert.
After Chen Zining and others approached, a loud voice came from the lookout: "What are you doing?"
Du Tao replied: "Come here to be a guest."
Perhaps seeing that Chen Zining and his party didn't look like bad guys, the people on the stage waved to the bottom, and the gate of the village opened, and Chen Zining and others entered one after another.
A half-bian ran over from the village and said to Chen Zining and others: "Everyone is a young man from the city, please come in quickly, please go to the shop to rest." After saying that, he led the way in front.
There is a relatively wide road in the middle of the village. Many children on the side of the road looked at Chen Zining and others with curious eyes. Some village women pulled their children to prevent them from getting too close, with a hint of defense in their eyes.
There was an inn in the middle of the village, which looked quite small. Two waiters came up to greet him and led thirty-one horses into the backyard, serving tea and feeding horses, and having a busy time.
Chen Zining and others entered the inn and saw that there were no other guests inside. They asked, "What is the name of the shopkeeper? What is the name of this village?"
The shopkeeper replied: "The young man's surname is Guo, and this is Longkou Town."
Cen Anjun smiled and said, "This is also called a town. How many people are there?"
Manager Guo smiled and said, "There are more than 5,000 people, which is not as good as other places. It is considered large within a radius of 100 miles, so I called a town."
Du Tao said: "Shopkeeper Guo, your inn is not small, is anyone living there?"
Manager Guo said: "There is a small wharf outside our town. Caravans often come here to get on and off goods, open an inn, and have a place to stay."
Chen Zining said: "Can we live there so many of us?"
"There are places, but it rained heavily a few days ago, and there were not many clean quilts."
Meng Xue said: "This is not a worry, we have some of them."
Chen Zining said: "I want to enter Qiandao Lake. Can you introduce a guide who is familiar with it?"
Manager Guo said, "How many miles do you want to walk?"
Chen Zining was a little confused and said, "I can go anywhere, I need the best guide."
Manager Guo was shocked, looked at Chen Zining suspiciously, and said, "Young Master, it's very dangerous to go through thirty miles. The lake is much more chaotic than land."
"Don't worry about this. I have a way to protect myself. Please trouble the shopkeeper."
"Okay, please wait, I'll ask for you."
At noon, after Chen Zining and others finished their meal in the inn, the waiter brought in a middle-aged man in his fifties and a little lame with his right foot and said to Chen Zining: "Young Master, this is called Yan Liu Master, we are
The people in the town are the most familiar with Qiandao Lake."
Chen Zining saw that this person had gray hair and a little prematurely aging, but his eyes were full of vicissitudes and a calm temperament. He was obviously a person who had seen the world and had a strong body, with the strength of a middle-level samurai.
"Please sit down, how much do you know about Qiandao Lake?"
Master Yan Liu thanked me first, and then said, "Your Excellency, I dare not call me Yan Liu."
It turned out that this Yan Liuye, named Yan Huping, had been with a fleet when he was young and had been on the lake for more than 30 years. Now he has returned to his hometown due to a leg injury, which is only twenty or thirty miles on the shore compared to the others.
The fishermen who fish within can be regarded as the most familiar person here to Qiandao Lake.
"Where is the young master going?"
"Let's go around and see, there is no specific purpose."
Yan Huping said: "Young master may not know much about Qiandao Lake. The situation in this lake is chaotic, there are many water bandits, and there are many reefs, undercurrents and water beasts under the lake, and there are many dangerous forbidden areas. No one dares to say that Qiandao Lake is right.
It understands, and no one dares to say that he can go anywhere."
"Oh, forbidden area? Let's talk about it?" Chen Zining asked after hearing this.
Yan Huping said: "In many places in Qiandao Lake, some often have large whirlpools, which can sweep a large ship into the water; some places are full of reefs and cannot move forward; some places are filled with fog all year round, and after the ship enters it,
, few escapes; there are many powerful water beasts in the lake, each of which divides its territory, and once they encounter it, it will be troublesome."
After saying that, he asked tentatively: "Young Master, don't you want to go to the lake to find treasures, right?"
Chen Zining's heart tightened, but his face was silent and said, "Why do you say that?"
Yan Huping smiled and said, "There are treasures in Qiandao Lake. This legend has been passed down for thousands of years. Many people believe it and go to the lake to search for treasures. However, no one has ever found it, but many people have died for it.
The young master must be cautious.”
Chen Zining couldn't help laughing and felt relieved. Zhu's country was only seven hundred years ago, and Zhu's treasure, according to Zhan Ping's speculation, should be three hundred years ago, when the Great Xia Dynasty was in its prosperous era.
Left by a talented and stubborn emperor at that time, I hope that it would give future generations a chance to rise again, and it would never have been passed down for thousands of years. The so-called legend should have other meanings.
At this moment, a few bells rang from the lakeside lookout, and then a message passed from there: "The water bandits on Huludao are here again!"
Chen Zining asked, "What's going on?"
Yan Huping added a hint of sorrow to his face and said, "Oh, it's just a bunch of vampires who just collected protection fees last month and are here again this month."
"Where is this Huludao? Are you very strong?"
"Huludao is more than forty miles away. There are thousands of famous water bandits on the island, and they are among the best in this area."
"Who are their leader? How is their cultivation?"
Yan Huping was a little surprised why Chen Zining asked so carefully, but he still answered: "Their leader is Bai Mazi. I heard that there is a high-level martial arts master's cultivation level, and no one in our area is his opponent."
Chen Zining stood up and said to the others: "Let's go and see, there are so many bandits and horse thieves, and this water bandit has never seen them before. Uncle An, please stay here first."
Du Tao and others laughed, stood up and walked out of the inn.