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Chapter 21 Canal Dragon King
A strange team was traveling through the mountains, with more than ten people in total. The Saint Lady was sitting on a sedan chair at the back of the team.

In the middle of the team, there was a muscular young man holding a bamboo pole about three or four meters long on his shoulder. The bottom of the pole was as thick as a bowl and was firmly pressed on his shoulder. The bamboo pole only swayed slightly while he walked. When he got tired, he skillfully shifted it to the other shoulder.

This looked very much like the rural acrobatics "carrying a banner", but the bamboo pole held by this man was bare without a cloth banner. Instead, there was a small wooden bowl on the top of the pole, and there seemed to be something in the bowl.

The Saint Lady sat on the sedan chair, crossing her legs repeatedly in annoyance.

Zhao Yong died; Chang Xunbei disappeared inexplicably; Wu Haishan took people to chase that kid, but he hasn't returned yet.

The Saint Lady suddenly discovered that there was no one around her who could be of use!

If a few people hadn't come to the guild yesterday and brought "bait" to catch June bugs, the only capable person left around the Saint Lady would be her own maid.

Several shop assistants from Zhaoji Fur Shop were forced to go into the mountains and take turns carrying the sedan chair for the Saint Lady.

At the beginning they were trembling with fear, as they knew the horror of Ghost Witch Mountain better than the Saint Lady and the others.

But along the way, the sight of the Saint Lady under her skirt made these guys' mouths dry and their fears were gradually replaced by the desires rising in their minds.

The Saint Lady took a glance and saw that the lustful insects under their skulls were growing fatter and fatter. She was finally relieved. Once she caught the June bugs, she would have a big meal!
The little maid followed beside her, raised her eyebrows and looked at the long and tall bamboo poles in front of her, with a bit of confusion in her eyes.

But she could see that the Saint Lady was very upset and wisely did not disturb her.

The little maidservant had been with the Saint Lady for many years and had learned about 40% to 50% of her skills.

With a somewhat innocent look in her eyes, she chatted with the people sent by the association to escort the "bait" for a few words, and then asked one of the young men to tell her everything.

“Although you suspect that Xu Yuan may have eaten June worms, June worms are very special and different from ordinary medicinal ingredients.

Even if Xu Yuan ate it, he would not be able to completely digest it within three months.

So as long as it smells the scent of the bait, the June bug in his body will instinctively move towards the bait.

Furthermore, during these three months, if we could capture Xu Yuan and then...eat him, it would have the same effect as eating a June bug."

When talking about cannibalism, Wen Xiu and the little maidservant showed no abnormality in their expressions, as if they did this kind of thing often.

The two of them were whispering under the sedan chair and were heard by the Saint Lady.

The Saint interrupted lazily, "If Xu Yuan didn't eat the June bugs, we would have left immediately after catching them.

Come back in three months, and I will cut open that kid's skull with my own hands!"

Xu Yuan blew up her sedan. She had never been so embarrassed since her debut, so she held a grudge against Xu Yuan.

At noon, the sun was shining brightly. The evil spirits in the mountains were tired of the strong yang energy and retreated into the shadows to lie dormant.

The Saint's team stopped to rest in a valley.

Today I can’t help but “go to the river”.

According to the lunar calendar, more than half of the days in each month are forbidden to "go by the river", so there is not much time to rest or camp by the river.

The river is about ten feet wide. In this section of the valley, the water flows slowly and the waves are green.

The golden sand on the river beach is mixed with large and small pebbles, and the area near the river is moist.

The burly young man in the front slammed the bamboo pole into the ground, then stuck it deep into the sand, standing upright there.

As soon as the Saint Lady said something, the guys under Zhao Yong rushed to show themselves.

Those who fetched water fetched water, those who built fires built fires, and those who gathered firewood gathered firewood. The four new cultivators in the guild each stood in a position, with bamboo poles and bait in the middle, ready to hunt and kill Xu Yuan as soon as he appeared.

The Saint sat on a large rock, gazing at the river, and suddenly thought, "Hegong Lane... When the imperial court dug the canal, countless laborers died and were injured along the way. Their descendants, who stayed behind, must have all lived in this Hegong Lane..."

The maid's expression changed: "That Xu Yuan, is he the descendant of the rioters back then?"

During the days when it was forbidden to approach rivers, the only river that could be approached without danger was the "Grand Canal" that connected all directions within the Ming Dynasty.

More than two hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and on the verge of collapse.

Internally, Gao Chuang proclaimed himself king, leading 130,000 soldiers from the old camp to ravage the seven provinces of the northwest. Externally, the Jiannu rose up, with eight elite troops, unparalleled in cavalry and archery, breaking through Shanhaiguan and heading straight for the northern capital!
Almost everyone thought that the Ming Dynasty had run out of luck and that a new dynasty would be set in within ten days.

However, at the critical moment of life and death, the emperor personally met with the Dragon King of the Grand Canal. Suddenly, a strong current began to flow on the Grand Canal between the two capitals, and hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the south were transported to the northern capital overnight!
The Jiannu were defeated and the Ming Dynasty survived.

It then took another twelve years to quell the Gao Chuang rebellion, wipe out the Jiannu, and take over the Liaodong area.

After that, the Ming Dynasty opened up the canal. Within a hundred years, the canal network spread all over the Ming Dynasty, and even the northwest and Liaodong were reached by canals.

There is no need to even consider the necessary conditions such as geology and hydrology. As long as the river channel is dug, the Dragon King of the Canal can drive the river water into it.

The Dragon Kings of rivers in various places either had their water systems merged into the canal and willingly submitted to the Dragon King of the Canal; or... they were stripped of their divine positions, died, or disappeared.

Weirdness seems to have started to emerge from that era.

But the Ming Dynasty became increasingly "powerful"!
The canal's huge and cheap transportation capacity can transport troops, supplies, etc. In the past hundred years, the territory of the Ming Dynasty has doubled!
The north has been fighting the Xuesha ghosts for twenty-seven years, and has seized 2,700 miles of land from them.

In the southwest, Guiwu Mountain was still the territory of Jiaozhi Kingdom one hundred and twenty years ago.

Now, this is the Jiaozhi Province of the Ming Dynasty.

However, every time a canal was dug, a large amount of corvee labor was imposed, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000, and up to one million!
These river workers were far away from their homeland, and they often died in a foreign land during the process of river construction.

Moreover, the construction period of the river was long, and after completion, a large number of river workers were already old and unable to return to their hometowns.

Therefore, there were so many riots among the river workers that when the little maid heard the name "river workers", she immediately associated it with "mob".

Among the newly developed territories during the Ming Dynasty over the past hundred years, there are many places similar to "Hegong Lane".

The river workers who could not go back had to stay in the local area and live together.

The Saint Lady had read some unofficial historical records and shook her head slightly, saying, "It's not that simple. This Hegong Lane... caused quite a stir back then. It seems some not-to-be-ignored figures live there."

The maid was puzzled, but the Saint Auntie laughed and shook her head, saying, "It's all old news. I'm overthinking it. The imperial court has plenty of ways to deal with people like this. A hundred years have passed, and I'm afraid only the old, weak, sick, and disabled are left in Hegong Lane."

Zhao Yong's men had already dug a few stoves on the riverbank and started a fire to cook lunch.

The scholar came over quietly and reported to the Saint Aunt in a low voice: "There seems to be some movement!"

The Saint Lady remained calm, "Keep your composure." Then she added, "Be careful, this is a barbaric place after all."

Guiwu Mountain has abundant rainfall and a network of rivers crisscrossing the mountain. When the canal was opened here, the "Mountain and River Bureau" fought several battles with the local weirdos, with both sides winning and losing, but they were never able to conquer this place. The canal had to bypass Guiwu Mountain.

This kind of place was called "barbaric land" by the Ming Dynasty.

The mysteries hidden inside are often so powerful that even the mighty Dragon King of the Canal finds it difficult to deal with.

(End of this chapter)