Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 333 Huangnigang

Zhao Zhen suddenly realized that Gongsun Sheng was so obsessed with the birthday gift because of this reason. It was related to the Dao, no wonder he was so concerned.

Zhao Zhen did not blame him for this. If he were Gongsun Sheng, he would have given it a try. Although Gongsun Sheng had urged Zhao Zhen to rob the birthday gift, he did not have to force it. After all, he still had another choice, Song Gongming, who had become a bandit in Qingzhou.

Zhao Zhen asked, "Except for the spell of cutting paper into soldiers, has Mr. Gongsun not taught you any other spells these days?"

Taoist Dong shook his head and said, "I am only a nominal disciple. The teacher does not teach me other magic. However, the teacher did teach me the method of refining the six ghosts in the peach wood gourd. After offering sacrifices for a period of time and washing away the ghost aura, you can chant the mantra of rebirth to liberate them and reincarnate them. Or you can sacrifice them and refine them into soldiers to protect the way. Master Gongsun suggested liberating them. After all, there have been no ghosts in this world for a long time. Moreover, if you accompany ghosts, you will inevitably be contaminated by yin energy. The accumulation of yin energy will inevitably suppress your own luck."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen said, "You handle it as you see fit." With that, he ignored Taoist Dong and entered the main hall. He lit a stick of incense, then picked up the paper soldiers from the altar, performed some magic exercises on them, and then put them back.

Zhao Zhen asked: "Master, have you been to the papermaking workshop recently?"

"I've been there a few times. Manager Cai Gang and I have also tried to make new paper, but it's not as good as Yuzhu paper. The bookstore has been rushing us these days, and Manager Cai is busy making artificial Yuzhu paper."

Zhao Zhen nodded, and suddenly thought of something, and asked: "Old Taoist, do you know how to confer the title of God?"

"To be a god?" Taoist Dong asked doubtfully.

Seeing Zhao Zhen pointing at the peach wood gourd on the altar, Taoist Dong suddenly understood. He frowned and said, "Although it is said that 'the people are the masters of the gods', these ghosts are not lucky enough to serve as gods."

Zhao Zhen said: "I have also heard that gods listen to the voices of the people and that the emperor can deify people. This has been the case since ancient times. If these ghosts cannot become famous gods, can't they become land gods?"

"Having said that, if we count the gods and immortals that we are familiar with, they fall into the following categories: The first category is people who serve as role models, whether loyal, filial, or of noble character, who are respected by the public and worshipped by the local and national governments, and thus become gods. The second category is the meritorious officials who stabilize the country and govern the country. The third category is those who resist natural disasters and save people from disasters."

"In ancient times, there was Shennong who tasted hundreds of herbs, Dayu who controlled floods, and later generations had Guanhou and Qin Qiong. In addition, the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers and valleys all have gods. City gods and land gods in various places are mostly worshipped by local people, and later they are conferred by the government, and then they become gods passed down from generation to generation. These ghosts have no achievements and have never worked for the local people. I am afraid that the people will not worship them sincerely. If they are forcibly conferred gods, the people will not believe in them, and they will inevitably wither, which is not beautiful."

Zhao Zhen listened and said, "Yes, I thought it was simple. When Mr. Gongsun comes back, you can ask for his advice."

Taoist Dong nodded.

At lunch time, Zhao Zhen and Yu Baosi ate vegetarian pepper noodles in the Lingguan Hall before saying goodbye and leaving.

In the next few days, Lü Fang and Guo Sheng continued to take Liu Guang and his son to visit everywhere. Although Zhao Zhen was concerned about Wu Yong and his party, he did not dare to inquire about them all the time because of the inconvenience of traveling back and forth, fearing that their whereabouts would be revealed. He had to suppress his thoughts, practice martial arts every day, and deal with county affairs. After two days, he could not bear it any longer, so he took Yu Baosi and went to Erlongshan to drink with Lu Zhishen and Guanghui.

Let’s talk about Wu Yong and his group. After they had packed up, they mounted their horses and avoided the official road. Instead, they passed through the fog and quietly approached Huangnigang. They chose a valley to hide in and sent Shi Qian and Duan Jingzhu to gather information.

Wu Yong saw that everyone looked serious, and said, "Brothers, this time when we were investigating the birthday gift, the great master did not order us to rob it, but he just wanted us to prevent this ill-gotten wealth from being sent to the hands of the old villain Cai Jing. If there is a chance, we just want to get a share of it, even if we get nothing, it doesn't matter."

Lin Chong and his companions looked at each other, and Lin Chong stepped forward and asked, "Military Advisor, the great master asked us to follow his orders, and we naturally have no objection. But I don't know who else is plotting against the birthday gift besides us. How far should we go? Do we need to kill them?"

Wu Yong said, "This matter is shameful after all, and only a few of us know about it. The Qingzhou bandits led by Song Gongming set up a trap a month ago, waiting for the team escorting the birthday gift to jump in. We have also made arrangements. In addition to my brothers and others, we have also arranged a few taverns, waiting for these people to fall in. Whether it will succeed or not is another matter. There is only one thing, we can't let this group of people point their spearheads at Liangshan County." Lin Chong asked, "Why is that?"

Wu Yong said, "I discussed with the senior official that Song Gongming's gang only has 3,000 to 5,000 people now, and this batch of money is just enough to recruit soldiers. He is weak now, and Liangshan County is close to here. I am afraid he will deliberately go to Liangshan to cause misunderstanding. These taverns are to confuse people, so that they will think that someone is eyeing this batch of money and dare not stay. It would be better if we can take advantage of the opportunity to rob a few loads of money."

After hearing this, everyone nodded and lay in ambush here with peace of mind.

Speaking of this secret route, [Green-faced Beast] Yang Zhi and an old steward and two guards from Liang Zhongshu's mansion, escorted 21 loads of gold and pearls and treasures all the way to Tokyo.

Knowing that the journey ahead would involve seventy or eighty soldiers, and the weather was extremely hot, Yang Zhi could not help but slack off. He had already agreed with Ming on this journey, to get up at five in the morning, travel when it was cool in the morning, and rest when it was hot in the middle of the day, and only travel forty or fifty miles a day, so that he could arrive before June 15. The commander of Ming's troops was none other than Zhou Jin, who had lost the duel with Yang Zhi.

This man lost the spear contest with Yang Zhi, and injured his shoulder in the arrow contest. He took three months to recover. Because his master [The Vanguard] Suo Chao and Yang Zhi were both deputy commanders, they admired each other's martial arts and gradually became friends. Zhou Jin was like Suo Chao, impatient, but respectful of good men. Seeing his master and Yang Zhi were friends, he became friends with Yang Zhi. This time, when he heard about the birthday gift, he volunteered to be the commander of the troops.

In addition, the two plots in previous years have ruined the lives of countless outlaws, and there are probably not many heroes who dare to steal the birthday gift now. Because of this, Yang Zhi thought that this trip to steal the birthday gift would be foolproof.

On the way, Yang Zhi was full of energy. Yang Zhi thought to himself that although he was exiled, he was fortunate to be valued by Liang Zhongshu and given the post of military commander, and entrusted with important tasks. After returning this time, he would surely be able to make further progress. Seeing that the weather was hot and the soldiers were tired of carrying the loads, Yang Zhi bought wine and meat along the way to rest the soldiers, and everyone praised Yang Zhi. The two accompanying guards saw that Yang Zhi was loved by the soldiers, and they worked hard every day. If they walked slowly, they would have to endure Yang Zhi's anger. On the way, they could not help but say some slanderous words to Xie Duguan's ear.

After walking for more than ten days, there were fewer and fewer people, and every stop was a mountain road. The daily lodgings were no longer regular, but fortunately Zhou Jin had gone ahead and left lodging signs along the way.

On this day, they traveled a long way, but by noon, they still had no sign of the camp. All the soldiers were exhausted, and the two guards accompanying Xie Duguan were even further behind. Listening to the soldiers' complaints, Yang Zhi couldn't help but get anxious and angry. He looked up and saw Huangnigang in front of him. He couldn't help but be surprised. In previous years, many people were ambushed and killed here.

The mountain was covered with green shade and yellow sand all around. Yang Zhi urged everyone to hurry up and rest after passing Huangnigang. The soldiers had no choice but to endure the hardship and walk up the mountain. The soldiers unloaded their loads and rested under the shade of the pines. Yang Zhi urged them, and a brave soldier said, "Captain, it's not that you are complaining, but we are carrying such a heavy load, and the two guards are lagging behind. We are really thirsty and hot, let us rest for a while, and wait for the three behind us."

Yang Zhi had no choice but to let everyone rest for a while. When the three people behind caught up, Yang Zhi scolded them, saying, "Captain, it's too hot to walk."

Yang Zhi said, "Captain, this place is called Huangnigang. In previous years, you have killed many bandits here. We don't know what the situation will be like this year, so how dare we stop here? Let's get down the hill quickly. There are people about seven or eight miles away. It won't be too late to rest then."

The two guards heard this and said, "Yang Tixia, didn't people in the two villages ahead say that there is an inn at the foot of this hill? Why don't you stop here before moving on?"

Yang Zhi scolded, "You two are so ignorant. Didn't I tell you that this place is frequented by strong men? Why don't you go there early? Why are you lingering here?"

After saying this, he ignored the two men and urged the soldiers to set off.

The soldiers could not delay any longer and had to get up and walk down the hill.

When I came down the hill, I saw a wine flag sticking out high in the woods. When I looked, it was the wine house that the farmers called Jianmi Wine House.

(End of this chapter)