"Ten thousand houses are surrounded by water and mountains, and Xiangyang has been rich and luxurious since ancient times.
North Pavilion Looking back in February, the city is filled with flowers under the red sun."
This song "Xiangyang" comes from Jia An in the Northern Song Dynasty. It talks about the prosperity of the ancient city of Xiangyang.
Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the world was in chaos, the Jingxiang area has been under the governance of Liu Biao. It has become a pure land with "fertile fields and thousands of miles of fertile land and rich scholars and people", with many famous scholars emerging.
The most famous one is naturally Crouching Dragon and Fledgling Phoenix.
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Yongjia Rebellion traveled south with their clothes and clothes, and the Three Auxiliary Regions wealthy family lived in Fan Mian. They lived on the side of the Han River and brought a lot of wealth and population.
Regardless of the changes in dynasties, this place has always been an important town in Ezhou.
The reason for this is entirely due to Xiangyang's special location.
Xiangyang is connected to Guanzhong and Hanzhong in the west, connected to Nanyang and Luoyang in the north, and connected to the Yangtze River and Wuchang in the south with Three Towns in the middle. It connects east, west, north and south, and is irreplaceable.
Therefore, this place has always been a battleground for military strategists.
Cao Cao was defeated by Chibi. Thanks to Cao Ren who stood firm in Xiangyang, Cao Wei was able to control the Xiangfan area and maintain suppression of Soochow Jingzhou...
Yue WuMu regained the six counties of Xiangyang and rekindled Southern Song Dynasty's fighting spirit against the Jin...
Former Dynasty Da Xing defended Xiangyang for three years before resisting Golden Horde Wolf Country's move south. Great Xuan Dynasty also started from Xiangyang to unify Divine Land...
It can be said that Xiangyang City is made of blood and bones.
Of course, now is the prosperous time, Xiangyang City has already returned to prosperity, Three Religions and Nine Schools gathers, and the city's rich and powerful gather.
It's July, Ghost Festival has just passed.
Xiangyang City On the pier, the incense ashes placed on the flames during the puja have not yet dissipated, but there is already a flow of people and cars and boats coming and going.
But anyone who is familiar with Xiangyang City knows that there may seem to be a lot of these people, but compared to the past, they are very deserted.
What's even weirder is that everyone's face is covered with a layer of cloth, the dignitaries use silk, and the ordinary people use coarse cloth. No matter what the material is, there is a strong smell of vinegar.
Not only that, when people are talking, they try to lower their heads as much as possible, and they stay at a distance. Even strangers passing by avoid each other.
On the river in the distance, a warship was moving quickly.
This warship is small in size, with pointed ends and no head or tail. It is surrounded by bunkers neatly nailed up with bamboos, and there is a row of blunderbuss holes between the bamboos.
Anyone who knows a little bit knows that this is the navy "Falcon Ship".
This kind of small warship is famous for its rapid advance and retreat and strong maneuverability. It is often used for reconnaissance and detection of enemy situations, or to break into enemy positions.
Since the outbreak of Southwest War, this ship can often be seen on the Yangtze River waterway, conveying military orders or transporting important cargo.
It was hoisted with the naval battle flag, and civilian ships along the way were trying to avoid it.
No one can afford to mess with this kind of ship, especially when you see the row of gun barrels sticking out from the eyes of those guns, indicating that they are on a mission.
Once blocked, the opponent can even fire directly.
Without stopping at all, the Falcon Ship continued to move forward after passing Xiangyang and Fancheng Pier on the opposite side, heading upstream on the Han River.
On the deck, Li Yan and others are there.
Also traveling with me are Yunyang Prefecture City God Temple and Gu Hanzi.
He was pale and obviously hurt.
There were several Daoists beside him, all of them looked at the surrounding water with wary faces and pressed the hilt of their swords.
Li Yan kept looking at Xiangyang Wharf. When he couldn't see any trace, he turned back and frowned. "There is something wrong with Xiangyang Wharf."
"A plague broke out in Fancheng."
Gu Hanzi opened his mouth and explained, "A few days ago, a boatload of people died suddenly on the Han River. The death was bizarre, and the internal organs were covered with moss."
"It happened that people from Fan City Yamen were patrolling, so they pulled the body back, conducted an autopsy and investigated the case, and also invited the senior brothers from the Fan City Enforcement Hall."
"I originally thought it was a poison, but the method of expelling the poison had no effect, and there was no Yin Energy on the deceased."
"The next day, several Yamen Runner who were transporting corpses also died of the same symptoms. Finally, a doctor judged that this was a rare plague."
"Xiangyang Prefect invited a Daoist doctor from the Huang Prefecture Li family to come and deal with the matter. He ordered that the mouth and nose be covered with vinegar cloth to stop the plague. It was temporarily controlled in Fancheng and there was no leakage..."
"Now Fancheng has been closed, but rumors are spreading that those people have offended Jiangshang Plague God, causing people to panic."
"Huang Prefecture Li family?"
Wang Dao Xuan became interested, "Medicine Saint Li Shizhen?"
"Hmm."
Gu Hanzi nodded and said, "Medicine Saint Li Family is also a local wealthy family. Although many of his descendants have entered the officialdom, their family education has not been interrupted. One Li FaCheng has become even more famous in these years."
"Facheng... has entered the Dharma religion?"
"That's right, this Li FaCheng has Medicine Saint's ambition to travel all over the Divine Land land and will continue to expand <Compendium of Materia Medica>."
"In terms of ability in this mountain, Meishan Dharma Sect is the strongest, so he found someone to become his disciple and joined Meishan Dharma Sect..."
Listening to the two chatting, Li Yan looked at Lu San.
Lu San understood immediately, looked at the falcon in the sky, and made an "ok" gesture, indicating that everything was normal.
Li Yan was relieved.
After leaving Liangzi Lake, they returned to Wuchang, walked around Yellow Crane Tower and Qingchuan Pavilion, and prepared to leave for Wudang.
Unexpectedly, a Daoist suddenly came to ask for help.
But it was Gu Hanzi who went to the mountains near Huangmei to capture a traitor. They accidentally fell into an ancient tomb and found another Blood Jade Cong, and were ambushed by a monster on the way.
The relationship between Daoism and Buddhism is somewhat subtle.
Although he asked, the local Enforcement Hall would definitely help, but Gu Hanzi and the others were unwilling. He happened to hear that Li Yan was there, so he asked them to escort him along the way.
Li Yan originally wanted to go to Mount Wudang, so he naturally agreed and asked the navy for help, borrowing a Falcon Ship in order to reach Yunyang as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any dangers along the way.
Hearing Wang Dao Xuan ask about this bizarre plague, Li Yan was moved in his heart and asked, "Is this the work of a monster?"
Gu Hanzi shook his head and said, "Friend Daoist Li, I know that you are helping Master Ma to seek the position of the Water God of Han Dynasty. If it can really achieve great achievements, I, the Zhenwu Palace, will also be happy to see it succeed."
"But here in Xiangyang, it is probably difficult for it to gain a foothold, and its news has lagged behind. That Camphorwood Great King has already been executed."
Li Yan was surprised, "Oh, what's going on?"
"This matter started more than ten years ago."
Gu Hanzi shook his head slightly and said, "Former Dynasty Da Xing The capital of the country is in Jinling. Gaozu Xiao ChengYou raised troops to seize the country. Although most of the former troops responded, there are some who would rather die than surrender."
"Many people died at that time, and more than a dozen members of the royal family hanged themselves in the palace, burned the palace, and released blood curses. The noise was so great that it took more than 20 years after the founding of the Xuan Dynasty for the curse to gradually dissipate."
"In addition, the remnants of Golden Horde Wolf Country were still in Mobei at that time, so Gaozu awarded the title <Capital Relocation Edict> and changed Beiping to the capital."
He said, was silent for a moment, and sighed, "Phoebe is valuable and auspicious, and is known as the 'longest tree', but it is also called Bleeding Wood. Does Li Daoyou know this?"
Li Yan nodded, "I heard a little bit."
Sha LiFei next to him became anxious upon hearing this, "Hey, don't play riddles. This is the first time I've heard this statement. What's going on?"
Gu Hanzi said in a deep voice, "Phoebe has a fine texture and has been the best choice for beams and columns in palaces and temples since ancient times."
"There are three types of nanmu, one is Kaiyang Phoebe; one is Silk Phoebe, which is yellow in color and as bright as gold wire; the other is Water Phoebe, which is slightly green in color and softer in nature. When the palace was built after the capital was moved, golden nanmu was naturally used."
"The best golden nan is produced in Yuzhang and Huguang Yunnan and Guizhou counties. Not only is it old, but it also needs to be Heavenly Spiritual Treasure. It is used in the capital's feng shui array and is hidden deep in the mountains and old forests."
"Treasure Hunter, who was raised by the imperial court, went into the mountains specifically to look for this kind of large nanmu. He was often guarded by ferocious beasts and poisonous animals, resulting in many casualties."
"But finding the wood is only the first step. To pick a nanmu tree, which is seven feet long and has a circumference of one foot, two or three feet, five hundred men will be required to carry it to the pond along the road, one pond for ten miles, and one pond for each pond..."
"To put it bluntly, sometimes a good nanmu tree has to be dug out of a small canal in order to transport it out smoothly. Then it goes out of the Three Gorges, along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River, and crosses the Huai and Si Rivers. It takes nearly a year, and there are countless casualties."
"There is a popular proverb in the Shu region, which is 'a thousand people enter the mountain, and five hundred come out'. People in Chu and Shu all choke up when talking about gathering wood..."
Sha LiFei frowned and said, "Do you have to use golden nan?"
Li Yan shook his head, "Other things can be substituted, but golden nan is the most precious. How can you look noble without using this wood?"
Sha LiFei spat and said nothing.
Gu Hanzi continued, "The Golden Phoebe Wood that was transported out of the mountain is originally a spiritual tree. It absorbs blood and resentment along the way, so something will inevitably happen. It must be sealed with a secret method before it can be transported to the capital smoothly."
"At that time, Raft Sect and Cao Gang rapidly expanded their power precisely because of this, but even so, many things happened."
"Some nanmu trees are psychic and become charming in the middle of the night, causing ships to crash and people to die, sinking into the Yangtze River, absorbing dragon veins Earth Yin Energy, and turning into evil spirits."
"At the Three Gorges, during heavy rains, many nanmu trees would float to the surface, crashing around like Alligator Dragon, until the ship was destroyed and people died. They were known as Phoebe Wood Left General, Right General and Great General."
"Master and I worked together with Qingcheng Mountain and performed rituals in the Three Gorges for several months before we suppressed these things."
"The Xiangyang side is older. Tang Era has an old nanmu tree, about a hundred feet long. It was originally going to be transported to Chang'an for use in the construction of the Daming Palace."
"But halfway through, the cable broke inexplicably. Everyone on the boat died suddenly. Then the old nanmu fell into the river, hid at the bottom of the river, and turned into an old spirit."
"During the turmoil in the late Tang Dynasty, this thing came out to cause trouble and stirred up trouble and waves. Passing ships could only pass by chanting 'Camphorwood Great King Bless'. At that time, people along the coast built more than a hundred 'Lord Nan Temple' seats, and Attendant was able to calm down day and night."
"After the Great Xuan Dynasty founded the country, Orthodox Xuan Gate attacked Excessive Sacrifice. This 'Lord Nan' was naturally our first target. All the temples were demolished and arrested at the Xiangyang Dharma Altar."
"After doing this, an old nanmu tree did float up from the river. Spiritual Charm was completely lost. It was bought by a wealthy businessman in Xiangyang and used to build a memorial ceremony for Crown Prince Zhaoming."
"But for many years after that, the Camphorwood Great King remained Yin Soul. They often caused trouble and could not find the source."
"It wasn't until more than ten years ago that a Scholar Lu was sailing to Xiangyang by boat. Suddenly a strange wind blew up on the river. The bow of the boat was so frightened that he quickly kowtowed and chanted 'Camphorwood Great King Bless', and the strange wind and huge waves stopped."
"After the scholar inquired, he flew into a rage. After landing on the shore, he wrote a message and reported it to the Shui Mansion. Three days later, a huge tree floated from the river. Only then did the Camphorwood Great King chaos end."
Li Yan was surprised, "Confucianism's method?"
Gu Hanzi nodded and said, "Yes, there is such an expert hiding in Ezhou. Enforcement Hall naturally wants to investigate. According to the intelligence at the time, the other party is from Deer Mountain."
"Back then, one of my uncles went to visit him in person, but he couldn't find him several times. Even when several great scholars from the Wenjin Academy went there, he was scoffed at and then disappeared mysteriously."
Wang Dao Xuan laughed dumbly and said, "Deer Mountain Hermit, proud emperor, I didn't expect it to be like this now."
Li Yan is aware of this matter.
Outside Xiangyang City is Lu Men Mountain, which has always been a secluded place for celebrities.
Pang Degong, a famous scholar in the late Han Dynasty, was invited to several banquets by the governor Liu Biao and brought his family to Lu Men Mountain to collect medicine...
In the Tang Dynasty, Meng Haoran was frustrated in his official career and lived in Lumen Mountain in seclusion, enjoying himself by chanting the mountains and rivers. In the late Tang Dynasty, Pi Rixiu also lived in Lumen Temple in seclusion...
Xuanmen Confucianism, there are also some people living in seclusion there.
Gu Hanzi shook his head and said, "Lumen has changed a lot now. Some of them are really reclusive, but most of them use their seclusion to become famous. They recite poems and paint all day long, and often hold poetry meetings, making it a mess."
"That Scholar Lu has disappeared since then, and Camphorwood Great King has stopped causing trouble, so we have not continued to pursue it."
Lu San on the side said in a deep voice, "Giant Turtle Master practices secretly and rarely causes trouble. I just learned about this, but why do you say it is difficult to gain a foothold in Xiangyang?"
Gu Hanzi laughed dumbly and said, "Don't you know Xiangyang's 'Piercing Heaven Festival'?"
"Zheng JiaoFu often traveled to the Han River during the Zhou Dynasty, and saw two Goddess making beads in Han Gao Melody. It is recorded in <Biographies of Immortals> that his name is Two Jiang Consort Goddesses."
"Since then, on the twenty-first day of the first lunar month, the people of Xiangyang will go to the bank of Han River to play. The women look for white stones with holes, thread them with colored silk, and hang them on their heads to pray for the good fortune of their children. This is the unique 'Piercing Heaven Festival' in Xiangyang."
"In addition to Xiangyang City, there are also Goddess Shrine, Attendant Two Jiang Consort Goddesses built on top of Peach Blossom Island, listed as Orthodox God. Even when Camphorwood Great King was raging, the people of Xiangyang always believed that Two Jiang Consort Goddesses was the water god here."
"This is an ancient custom, and the imperial court has included it in the official list of sacrifices. If Giant Turtle Master wants to build a temple in the future, it must be avoided..."
Everyone talked all the way, but it didn't feel boring.
Falcon Ship was very fast, and it didn't take long to pass through Laohekou and then Danjiangkou. At dusk, we reached a river bend and landed ashore.
On the shore, there were already more than a dozen disciples of the True Martial Palace waiting to be picked up. When they arrived here, it was already within Mount Wudang's sphere of influence. No matter how powerful the monster was, they would not dare to come and cause trouble. It was considered completely safe.
When they arrived at the foot of Mount Wudang, they saw that it was already dark, so Gu Hanzi said, "Due to the war in the southwest, most of the mountain masters went to the front line to support them. The mountain is closed every night and it is forbidden to go up the mountain."
"Let's stay temporarily in the village at the foot of the mountain and go up the mountain tomorrow morning."
Li Yan nodded and said, "It all depends on the arrangements of fellow Daoists."
While talking, everyone came to a village.
This village is located under Mount Wudang, and there is obviously a close relationship. The villagers along the way greeted the True Martial Palace Daoists warmly.
Li Yan flashed a strange color in his eyes.
The people in these villages, men, women, old and young, all practiced martial arts.
"Hahaha... finally your kid is here."
Halfway through, an old man came striding over. It was Zhang XiaoShan, a big shot in the Ezhou world...
Second update: two points