Luoshui North Bank, Chen hour has just passed.
"Hey ho~ Hey ho~"
HeLuo Merchant Guild men shouted the Yellow River chant.
They were wearing black cotton trousers with red belts. On a cold day, they were all bare-chested, showing off their strong muscles, either stretching or lifting a big mallet.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One after another, mud splashed everywhere, and ebony stakes tied with red cloth were hammered into the river beach.
It can be vaguely seen that it is the Bagua orientation arrangement.
Various tributes have also been laid out.
There are many High Person on the river beach, and the piles of firewood are rising, making it very lively.
Li Yan and others stood at a distance to watch the ceremony.
Just when they were about to leave, Madam Pei of Dragon Gate Inn sent an invitation, and everyone knew that it turned out that HeLuo Merchant Guild and several Attendant had already gathered secretly to discuss holding the "Sacrifice to the River Earl" ceremony.
Central Plains region is declining, and it is not just the people who are affected.
HeLuo Merchant Guild has a long history and has always been rooted in the local area.
Unlike those merchants who can go to the coast, HeLuo Merchant Guild is based on the ancient Yellow River Road and the Central Plains trade road.
To go to the coast is to cross the border.
No matter how good the relationship is, it will cause turmoil in the world.
The decline of trade routes, coupled with changes in celestial phenomena, caused the Yellow River ice to dissipate later than in previous years. The elderly in Bangzhong were worried that there would be problems with the Yellow River waterway, or even the embankments would burst and cause a catastrophe, so they planned Sacrifice to the River Earl.
"In previous years, it wouldn't have been so troublesome..."
The boy Dragon Gate Inn sent to greet him curled his lips and said, "The imperial court has just issued a decree that all large-scale sacrifices must be approved by Mystic Sacrificial Official."
"But those people at City God Temple have always been difficult to talk to, and now that Paper Figure Case has appeared, they use this as an excuse to embarrass us."
"The elders secretly discussed with the Attendants and spent money to smoothen the relationship, and then they barely made up the time..."
Between words, I was very dissatisfied with City God Temple.
After complaining for a while, he saw that there were not enough people to carry things in the distance, so he complained again and left. Apparently he was restless.
"Sacrifice to the River Earl, is it useful?"
Sha LiFei muttered, obviously not believing it.
Li Yan shook his head slightly and said, "In ancient times, River Earl was both Ancient Race and a secular god. His status was so high that he has been worshiped since the Yin Shang period."
"Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it has become both good and evil. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty mentioned it in "The Song of Huzi" as both giving disasters and receiving prayers, and Daoism also enshrined it as a god."
"But since the Tang and Song Dynasties, it has gradually declined, and the role of water gods in various places has also become Four Rivers Dragon Kings..."
"Yo?"
Sha LiFei said curiously, "I didn't expect that Yan XiaoGe would also explore ancient times."
Li Yan laughed dumbly, "I just checked it specifically."
In fact, he still had something to say.
After experiencing Erlang Zhenjun, he specifically asked Ling Yunzi to study the matter, and the other party readily agreed.
After all, Erlang Zhenjun reincarnation of secular gods is really rare.
This is impossible to find out. There are many suspects in history.
For example, this "River Earl", Feng Yi, which was once known as Huayin Tongxiang, turned into River Earl after his death, and gave a river map to Xia Yu.
Li Yan smelled an unusual smell.
If a secular god is reincarnated and wants to be as successful as Erlang, he must gather the power of a large amount of incense and become part of the national sacrifice.
Later, the reputation of River Earl became not very good.
In Zhuangzi's "Autumn Waters", he is described as an arrogant person, defeated by Ying Long, and entangled with Luo River Goddess and Hou Yi...
There seem to be two forces entangled.
Now it seems that River Earl should have failed, which may also reflect the feelings of Divine Land people towards the Yellow River over the years.
Sha LiFei is right about one thing.
River Earl's influence continues to decline.
Sacrifice to the River Earl's ritual is probably useless.
At the same time, the sacrificial ceremony in the distance was about to begin. I saw HeLuo Merchant Guild people tying oxen and white sheep to the west side of the earth platform, and cut out the internal organs and placed them on the five-color earth. The black pigs were tied with iron chains, with mulberry skin blood charms attached to their backs, and placed on wooden rafts...
"Isn't this the wrong way to sacrifice three animals?"
Li Yan frowned slightly, a little confused.
He just checked some secular gods and powerful men, but he didn't know anything about how to perform sacrifices.
"This is called 'Shen Sacrifice'."
Wang Dao Xuan stroked his beard and said, "In ancient times, there were 'buried sacrifices' and 'sunken sacrifices', which were used to worship the mountains, forests and water gods respectively. In "Zhou Li·Da Zongbo" it is written that 'sinking raccoons to offer sacrifices to mountains, rivers and forests'."
"It seems that this sacrificial technique has been passed down for a long time..."
Boom, boom, boom!
While everyone was discussing, the sacrificial ceremony finally began.
But I saw an old priest HeLuo Merchant Guild dressed in black, standing in front of an altar made of old wood, unfolding mulberry paper, and using a cinnabar pen dipped in the blood of a rooster's comb to write the sacrificial text: With my mane of strong and soft hair, I dare to declare to River Earl Manifested Saint Venerable God...
Behind him, twenty-four HeLuo Merchant Guild disciples clapped their scabbards and struck the joints in unison, their sound like a tracker's chant cutting through the morning mist.
After the sacrificial inscriptions were recited, four shirtless men jumped off the high platform carrying oxen and white sheep, dug a hole three feet long, and buried the three animals according to the number of "three talents".
The black pig was dragged into the torrent by an iron chain.
"Hey!"
Many merchant gang disciples pulled the iron chain together, and the fragile wooden raft immediately decomposed. The black pig didn't even have time to say a word before it sank into the water and disappeared in the whirlpool.
Seeing that the sacrificial ceremony was almost over, Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Let's go, we have other things to do."
After resigning to Madam Pei, everyone led their horses and continued on the road.
When we arrived here, we were not far from Luoyang City. From a distance we could see the tall and dilapidated city walls, bathed in the morning sun.
Not long after they left, the sacrificial ceremony finally ended.
"Fellow fellow Jianghu people."
Madam Pei smiled and cupped his hands and said, "I have sacrificed River Earl, this year I will Good Weather for the Crops. Please move forward, we have prepared a banquet."
She was also doubtful about this Sacrifice to the River Earl ceremony.
What is more important is the people invited to watch the ceremony, not only High Person from the Jianghu Road in Yuzhou, but also nearby chambers of commerce and wealthy gentry, and there are countless people who come to follow the sacrifice.
This is also one of the purposes of the HeLuo Merchant Guild.
Through the sacrificial ceremony, everyone is invited to come, to appease people's hearts, and at the same time to attract people for the HeLuo Merchant Guild's business this year.
"Look, what is that!"
Just then, someone shouted in shock.
Madam Pei raised his feet and took a look, his face immediately turned ugly.
But I saw a few things floating slowly from the nearby tributary river, rising and falling in the turbid water waves.
There were actually several black coffins!
For a moment, everyone by the river was silent.
Sacrifice to the River Earl When this thing appeared, no matter how you looked at it, it looked like an ominous sign.
"Pull up!"
Seeing the gang elder's wink, Madam Pei immediately gave the order.
Don't be careless about this matter.
There are also ancient water burial ceremonies on the Yellow River, but most of them are boat burials, which will be scuttled if they enter the center of the river.
Some people will place coffins. If the ropes used to bind them are not strong, it is not uncommon for them to float out of the water.
But when I catch up with Sacrifice to the River Earl, I have to find out.
Otherwise, rumors will spread tomorrow.
Among the chamber of commerce, there were many young men who were bold and good at swimming. They immediately threw out their iron hooks and pulled the coffin from the river to the riverside.
"It's Locust Wood!"
As soon as he was dragged ashore, someone whispered in surprise.
The people around him were also frightened and backed away.
Folks are very particular about making coffins, "One cypress, two pine and three elm, but willow cannot be used."
However, Locust Wood and Chunmu can never make coffins for the deceased.
Sophora japonica, a ghost beside the tree.
If Locust Wood is used as a coffin, it will cause trouble from ghosts.
"Open!"
Madam Pei also looked gloomy and looked around, suspecting that someone was doing something to create trouble for their chamber of commerce.
But after opening it, even the disciples of the Chamber of Commerce turned pale.
Inside the coffin, there were clearly paper figures.
It's done very vividly and is particularly scary.
Madam Pei gritted his teeth and looked above the river.
"Mangshan..."
After getting closer, Li Yan and others saw that Luoyang City looked even more dilapidated.
The peeling bricks on the city wall reveal the rammed earth of the Han and Wei dynasties.
Changxia Gate The collapsed areas were repaired with wooden fences.
After paying the money to enter the city, everyone continued to move forward.
Along the way, many refugees and beggars were seen huddled in the grass huts under the watchtowers of Wengcheng. The ruts of the water transport vehicles dug deep grooves on the bluestone slabs. The accumulated water smelled sour of livestock excrement. After freezing into ice, it was trampled to pieces by the iron palms of the caravans...
This situation caused everyone to fall into silence.
They could not imagine that this was the once-prominent Divine Capital Luoyang.
Li Yan sighed slightly, "Let's find a place to stay first."
After passing through the city gate and entering Bronze Camel Street, the situation was obviously much better.
The sun has climbed over the remaining Tianjin Bridge pillars, dragging out long shadows. The spicy aroma of spicy soup can be heard from the shops on both sides.
The old man carrying a load of noodles selling noodles squatted outside the shop, wiping sweat with a cloth, and said at the top of his voice, "The noodles are thick and the donkey meat sauce is salty. Sir, did you leave the bowl and pot for me?"
"Medium! Use more spoonfuls of apricot syrup."
"New wheat buns! Hot."
"The fried dumplings are crispy, the sugar cakes are sweet, and the three pennies will keep you full until noon!"
A blind old man from a Gua stall at the end of the street strummed his three-stringed string instrument and sang to the tune of Central Plains: "Testing Eight Characters for marriage, breaking up the family - if the bride of the Yun family grinds her teeth in the middle of the night and the child cries in the middle of the night, be careful!"
Bah bah bah!
The people walking around suddenly cursed secretly.
Li Yan and the others hadn't eaten at all, so when they heard the shouting all over the street, their stomachs started pounding, so they found a clean mutton soup shop, each ordered a big bowl, and got another basket Guanxi Guokui.
The mutton soup is fresh and white, and the pot helmet is crispy and fragrant.
The boredom just now was also dispelled by this market atmosphere.
Just then, the sound of conversation nearby attracted their attention.
"Did you hear that Wang Banxian was arrested?"
"Sun Qiu, we should have caught him a long time ago. He is a famous thief and has harmed many good families. If it weren't for the palace..."
"I heard that it was a monk from White Horse Temple who took Commandery Commandant Office's people and went to the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion to arrest them. Also arrested was Prince Young Lord."
"Hey, that scene..."
Li Yan and others heard this and winked at each other.
One of their main goals this time is Commandery Commandant Office.
Di Longzi was assassinated by them. The incident of Zhao the Donkey may be related to some of them.
Now looking at the situation, they are actually involved with White Horse Temple.
The water in Luoyang is very deep...
After eating breakfast, everyone went to East Market.
The Tang Era Divine Capital pattern is bounded by the Luo River and divided into the north and south cities. It is extremely large in scale. However, with the turmoil in the late Tang Dynasty and several wars burning the city, South City has long since disappeared.
When they passed by just now, it had become a large area of farmland, with only the occasional stone-carved corridors appearing in the fields, telling the story of its past glory.
The former Tang Palace has also disappeared.
Today's layout is more like Chang'an, with the new palace built in the north of the city, but it is much smaller than Chang'an.
When we come to East Market, the streets here are much narrower than those in Bronze Camel Street. Although there are many businesses along the street, most of the buildings are repaired with old walls.
The cold wind blew, and the yellow wine flag fluttered.
In the streets and alleys, local people set up stalls with frames, selling everything from game hunted in the mountains to homemade wooden farm tools and hemp rope iron pots.
There are even people selling Tang Sancai and pottery on the street.
Most of them were damaged, and it looked like they had just been dug out of the soil.
Although it was bustling with people, there was an inexplicable air of desolation.
Li Yan and others were not easy to mess with at first glance, so the urban foxes, community rats, and street beggars stayed away and did not come forward to entangle them.
They came to the end of the street, where there was also a Dragon Gate Inn, which was exactly where Madam Pei helped them find a place to stay.
"But Young Hero Li."
The boss here had already received the news and had been waiting outside early. When he saw the crowd, he quickly stepped forward to greet them.
The Dragon Gate Inn in Luoyang City is not as large and graded as the Yi River Pier, but it is built more elegantly and cleanly.
After leading everyone to arrange the rooms, the innkeeper immediately took out the prepared envelope from his arms and said respectfully, "Everyone, this is what Captain Pei ordered me to check. The current situation in Luoyang City is not right, and we don't dare to mess around. If there are any omissions, please forgive me."
Li Yan asked, "What happened again?"
The shopkeeper did not hide anything and explained directly:
"This matter is related to the Buddhism and Taoism family. In the past two years, Shangqing Palace and White Horse Temple fought fiercely over the competition for land."
"Later, a senior member of the imperial court inspected Luoyang and saw this situation. He wrote a poem sarcastically, 'The Buddha's bones have turned into dust, only the will to save the world is left. The Daoist priests are full of food, so there is no need to refine the elixir.' The two families gave up temporarily..."
"As soon as Paper Figure Case came out, they started fighting with each other again. They made a big fuss out of this incident. They knew it wasn't going to work, so they just watched those who had a good relationship with each other fight fiercely."
"White Horse Temple There are some Fuso monks. Shangqing Palace said that these people were related to the Maitreya Sect remnants, so they were all arrested."
"There is a man named Wang Banxian in Luoyang City. He is proficient in Fangzhongshu. He has deep relationships with many dignitaries. He is also on close terms with several Daoist priests Shangqing Palace. He was also arrested last night..."
"In short, it's very chaotic. You must be careful when doing things."
After saying that, he folded his hands and left.
After he left, Sha LiFei shook his head and said, "I wonder if the imperial court will regret what it did when it sees Luoyang like this."
What he said was referring to the old case King of Luoyang.
At Dragon Gate Inn, they had collected some information about Luoyang.
The king of Luoyang at that time was also considered wise and promising. He managed Luoyang in an orderly manner and gradually gained momentum.
Unfortunately, we were on the wrong team. Now that the emperor has ascended the throne, even though the other party has been begging for mercy one after another, he is still being punished.
The current king of Luoyang is actually a straw bag who got the job at a low price. He is both greedy and stupid, and cannot control the situation.
Although Luoyang's current decline is due to the general trend, it is also inseparable from the actions of this idiot Prince.
"How can a superior person care about this?"
Li Yan shook his head and checked the information in his hand.
Madam Pei mentioned two people in the previous information.
One is called "Earth Dragon Zhang", who is apparently a wealthy man in Luoyang, but is actually the leader of Mystery Exploration Branch in Yuzhou. He later disappeared mysteriously, and the old house at the foot of Mang Mountain became empty. I heard that strange things often happen...
The other one, named "Golden Eye Feng", is a famous master in Luoyang Ghost City. He is knowledgeable about the past and the present, and knows how to appreciate all kinds of rare treasures.
Zhao the Donkey looked for this person before he disappeared.
However, after reading the information, Li Yan was a little surprised.
"What's wrong?"
Wang Dao Xuan asked quickly.
Li Yan shook his head and said, "This 'Golden Eye Feng', because Paper Figure Case, has been arrested in the Yamen Prison..."