The building in front of him was majestic, reaching into the sky, with many cornices and brackets, and the palaces were awe-inspiring. At first glance, Guo Ning thought he had arrived at the entrance of a palace somewhere.
He couldn't help but reach out and touch the leather pouch at his waist. In the leather pouch was his usual Iron Bone Duo. Holding the cold hammer handle of the Iron Bone Duo, a sentence came to his mind: "Punch it in and seize it."
Bird bit!”
Take a closer look and you will see that there are three or five Taoist boys sweeping the open courtyard in front of the door.
It turns out that this place is a Taoist temple.
Although Guo Ning is bold, it is not a trivial matter to meet with the prime minister of a country. He looks calm and unhurried on the outside, but on the inside he inevitably wants to encourage himself and cheer up.
As a result, instead of arriving at Tu Danyi's house, he came to the gate of a Taoist temple? The tension in Guo Ning's chest went nowhere for a while, as if he was trying his best to swing the iron bone flower on the battlefield, but it hit cotton.
He frowned and was about to ask. Wang Chang got off his horse, dusted himself off, and called a Taoist boy: "Please inform Taoist Master Chongxuanzi that my old friend Du from Bazhou is visiting."
The Taoist boy returned to the palace.
Guo Ning, whose thoughts were a little scattered, dismounted and joked casually: "It turns out Mr. Wang's surname is Du."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, his mind turned quickly and he remembered a name he had heard before.
Guo Ning's army is stationed in the Xijun River camp, and its subordinate farms and Baojia are scattered in various states. Among them, most of the farms in the direction of Xiongzhou are located between Nanyishui and Juma River. Those guarding the eastbound routes of the two rivers are
Yijin Pass in Bazhou.
Because Yang An'er once collected water transport ships here when he went south, Guo Ning also paid great attention to this direction and sent capable people to detect the intelligence of this place every day. In many intelligences, Du Shisheng, a strange man from Bazhou, was mentioned.
So Guo Ning asked: "There is a famous person named Du in Bazhou. His taboo rises and falls, and his words are believed to be true. I wonder if you, Mr. Du..."
Wang Chang sighed with emotion: "Where is this famous person? It's ridiculous! He's just a fugitive. Guo Langjun, I am Du Shisheng."
Such a famous person may be a bit over-the-top, but Du Shisheng is indeed a strange person.
This man was known as a man of erudition, proficient in astronomy and calculation. During the Cheng'an period, Prime Minister Xu Chi made recommendations to the court several times, claiming that those who were promoted would be of great use. However, he refused to become an official and only planned in Xu Chi's mansion.
As an aide, he assisted Xu Zhiguo in governing the country. It is said that he participated in many secret battles in the court; even the confrontation between the emperor and the clan kings was also planned by Du Shisheng.
At that time, there were still a group of officials who did not deal with classics but focused on practical matters. They gathered under Xu Zhiguo's sect. In a few years, they made great achievements in flood control, stabilization, finance and other aspects.
But not long after, the political forces headed by Xu Chiguo were jointly attacked by the clan and Confucian officials. Xu Chiguo himself was forced to take up an official position, and soon died of illness. And his officials were accused of being treacherous, corrupt, and immoral.
Named one by one, they were banished from the country and dispersed.
After all, Du Shisheng was just a staff member, and he had an old relationship with Zhang Wangong, the prime minister after Xu Zhiguo, so there was no problem at all. But in his anger, he actually spread the word in Zhongdu that the sky had changed at night, and the red energy in the north was as red as blood.
The east and west are in the sky, and the world will be in chaos. In chaos, the north and the south will become one.
This is a bad thing that brings trouble to the court in public. How to do it? If you mislead the public with evil words, you will be beheaded!
The imperial court immediately convicted Du Shisheng and sent the armed guards to arrest Du Shisheng. Fortunately, Du Shisheng was a confidant of Xu Zhiguo and always had some hidden connections. He changed his appearance and fled. After more than ten years, he was never seen again.
It turns out that this gentleman actually used the pseudonym Wang Chang and hid in the lakes and rivers of Hebei Province, taking shelter from the bandit Xu Qi. He was really able to endure poverty and loneliness!
No wonder this gentleman's poems and scriptures are only mediocre in meaning, but he is very interested in arithmetic and other miscellaneous subjects. He also knows the figures, situations and even some secrets in the court. This was how he made a living back then!
Guo Ning grew up in the military and had seen many generals and others, but he had never come into contact with such senior figures who had experienced the training of the court. He looked at Du Shisheng up and down, a little awe-struck, and then
Somewhat wary.
"But I don't know why Mr. Du condescended to come to my Junhe camp?"
"Don't worry, Sir. It's because of the unrest in the world and the poverty and inability to support oneself that I asked Duke Xu to recommend him. I want to make a living under Lang Jun."
"Mr. Du taught me and followed me, traveled with me, and also came forward to make connections in Zhongdu to solve my dilemma... Could it be that all this hard work is just for a mouthful of food? This... makes me feel flattered."
Du Shisheng pondered for a while: "Besides, there is another reason."
"Speaking."
"I have already seen the virtuous and talented people in the Great Jin Dynasty, so I concluded that the world will be in chaos. And who caused the chaos, and who should be responsible for the chaos between the north and the south after the chaos, I have worked hard for ten years to calculate,
The cycle of days is really unpredictable and unpredictable... Therefore, I took the liberty to follow Guo Langjun, hoping to see the dragons and snakes in the grass and find the key to the changes in the days."
The old scholar in the countryside suddenly transformed into a mysterious stickman.
Who caused the great chaos? Who should be responsible for the chaos between the north and the south after the great chaos?
Guo Ning had repeatedly confirmed these two questions in his dreams; Guo Ning couldn't be more clear about the results that Du Shisheng had to painstakingly calculate.
But behind the number of days, it is all people who are driving it. Maybe everything is really cyclical and changing.
But the key point... Guo Ning wanted to say "Who else would you rather me?" but was afraid of being abrupt.
He smoothed his short mustache under his chin: "Mr. Du, let's get down to business first. Is there really anyone in the Tai Chi Palace who can introduce me to Disciple Dan Youcheng?"
At this time, Guo Ning and Du Shisheng stood in the open courtyard in front of the palace and talked.
There was a lot of incense in the palace, incense was being offered, and there was an endless stream of worshipers, making the crowd loud and clear. However, when people saw Guo Ning and his entourage, including knights armed with weapons, all of them looked fierce, they did not dare to approach.
But outside the side door of the palace, a Taoist with long eyebrows and thin eyes, wearing a moon-white robe, was walking out.
This man is indeed very sharp, and he heard these words from a long distance away.
His expression changed, and he hurriedly took a few steps to salute Du Shisheng and Guo Ning respectively: "Mr. Xinzhi, it's been a long time. Please come in and see the donors."
Guo Ning looked at Du Shisheng.
Du Shisheng raised his hand to signal.
After a while, in a remote and quiet room in the palace, Guo Ning, Du Shisheng and the Taoist were sitting on futons opposite each other. Zhao Jue and Ni Yi stood behind Guo Ning.
Du Shisheng said to Guo Ning: "Guo Langjun, this Taoist priest Zhongxuanzi is the abbot of Taiji Palace, and he is also the person who can introduce us to Tu Shan Youcheng."
Guo Ning nodded to Zhao Jue.
Zhao Jue took a few steps forward, took out the wooden box and books from the package behind his back, and pushed them in front of Chong Xuanzi.
Chong Xuanzi flipped through the book, sighed, and opened the wooden box again.
The head in the wooden box has facial features facing outward, is pale in color, and has a somewhat ferocious expression. Although the blood has been drained and salted with lime, the weather is getting warmer, so there is inevitably a smell.
Chong Xuanzi didn't care, he held the wooden box and looked at it again and again.
"Is this... supposed to be Wanyan Gang's subordinate, Chizhan Sakai?"
Guo Ning said with a smile: "Exactly."
Chong Xuanzi closed the lid of the wooden box, put it back in its original place, picked up the whisk and waved it: "Everyone, please wait a moment."
After saying that, he left along the corridor outside the door, passed through a moon cave door, and disappeared in a flash.
"...Is it okay?" Guo Ning asked.
Du Shisheng bowed and said: "This Taiji Palace was originally called Shifang Datian Changguan. During the Mingchang period, the Empress Dowager Tu Shan was seriously ill, so she held a universal Jiao here for seven days and nights. After seven days and nights, she suddenly recovered. Emperor Zhangzong then went to Guan
The Dingmaorui Temple was built in the middle of the temple to worship the natal god of the Queen Mother Shan. Later, Changchun Master started Taoism here, and Datian Changguan was renamed Taiji Palace."
"...In other words, this palace has a close relationship with the Tushan clan?"
"Not only that."
"how to say?"
"This Taoist Master Chongxuanzi is one of the eighteen close disciples of the Changchun Master. He represents the Changchun Master in the Taiji Palace and interacts among the people in the city. He is quite popular. Outsiders know that his lay name is
Meng Zhiyuan. However, he is actually a Jurchen, and his great-grandfather was Shan Kening, a wealthy and important official who served as an official for four dynasties and was worthy of being worshiped in the Zhangzong temple."