open sea

Chapter 541 City God
It took two days to drive [-] li, the journey was not too far, and people were really tired, but fortunately, they changed horses at the post stations along the way, so that Baimei didn't become paralyzed from exhaustion.

Chen Mu was paralyzed. He would rather swing a thousand miles on a boat than ride a horse for four hundred miles. Since he left Xuanfu, he hadn't ridden so far in two days. It was not a big deal when he was General Zhenshuo, but it has been several years since he didn't ride a horse in the war in Nanyang, and suddenly he felt like he was falling apart.

But even so, he didn't dare to enter Xu Da's house and fall asleep at the door. Apart from the dragon picture on the mural, there are [-] levels of hell, and the ten halls of Hades are enshrined next door.
dare not!

It was almost dark when we arrived at the City God's Temple in Juyongguan, and climbed to the city again, and went into the City God's Temple and asked Juniper to take people to the wing room to decorate the bedroom, walked into the main hall alone, respectfully offered incense to Xu Da, and lit three red candles. Sitting cross-legged, watching the scented candles curling up, he himself took out a pipe from his waist pocket and lit it by his mouth.

Then he bowed his hands to Xu Daxiang and the four judges of black and white impermanence, bull head and horse face, civil and military life and death, and his assistants, and loudly announced his achievements.

"Chen's name is Mu, born in the 24th year of Jiajing. In the autumn of the fifth year of Longqing, the late emperor appointed a Nanyang minister. He brought an imperial edict and a ship's flag to Nanyang. Now that the four-year term has expired, he will return to Beijing to report on his duties."

"People may not know what a certain person did in Nanyang, but the gods must know. Since the general has been enshrined in the gods, food in the world is useless. If the candles are not extinguished, Chen and his relatives will eat at the sacrifice night. I am a bit hungry after traveling two hundred miles. , I hope the City God will not blame the little rudeness."

The City God's Temple looked particularly eerie at night, so Chen Mu had only words to embolden himself.

He paused to see that the candle was still on, put down his pipe and bowed to Xu Da, and then continued: "The Emperor Ming is in this world, taking advantage of Taizu Chengzu Yulie, with the legacy of Emperor Mu Zong, Daming re-acquires Lu In the Song Dynasty, expelled the western barbarians and defeated their army on Linlai Island; united with the countries of Southeast Asia, took Malacca as a revenge for the Manchus, expelled the Portuguese barbarians, and fought for peace in the south and attacked Myanmar. household."

"Chen is not a good official, he has not been able to be a parent in any place, he has no sense of benevolence and righteousness to attack wantonly, and he does not distinguish between public and private in financial management. Not used...”

"These funds were taken from overseas and invested in Ming Dynasty. Up to now, there have been 270 million taels of silver; this year, we plan to build horse farms in Qiongzhou, Luzon, and Military Palace. Chen has never led the infantry, and he trained the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. Jiying and General Qi are the third infantry with half of the firearms behind the Beijing army, and the army guards three thousand can beat the Shenjiying all over the place."

"Although I have never trained cavalry, I will definitely be able to train the best cavalry in Chinese history."

"In addition, Luzon, Burma, and Annan can provide 400 million stones of food for the court every year in the next three years. If the Lord Chen thinks that Chen, the Nanyang minister, is still competent, don't turn off the fire, and the younger one will go to the next door to take care of it. Have you eaten your sacrifice and gone to sleep?"

Chen Mu felt that he didn't need to be polite to Xu Da. Now we are also Taoists of Dragon and Tiger.

He sat cross-legged in the main hall of the Town God's Temple for a while, and when he finished what he wanted to say and kept what he didn't want to say, he felt that the atmosphere in the Town God's Temple was very good.

The debriefings agreed in the world made Chen Mu also feel that he is not alone in this main hall, which is neither big nor small, and there are gods looking down from the position of looking up three feet, giving him a chance to look at himself Actions and opportunities for gains and losses.

After a while Chen Mu raised his head, the candle did not go out without wind, but he realized that if he did not leave, the sacrificial meat made by Juniper next door would have to be reheated for the third time, so he was quite reluctant to part with it. Standing up, he bowed to the statue of Xu Da again, and said: "Thank you, Lord City God, if you don't leave the candle, it will be extinguished. After today's farewell, Chen will rest in Beijing for a while, and he will go overseas again. See you in four years. When the time comes, I will be fully prepared, and I will bring you some unused gifts for the old man, and I will bid farewell."

After leaving the main hall, passing around the horses and sedan chairs of the emperor of the city, they saw the juniper pine and the night merge into one from a long distance away, standing outside the wing room and looking through the autumn water, they were all hungry.

"Let's get together. I told City God that Chen has made great contributions to Nanyang. He treats us to a meal." Chen Mu took off his official robe and breastplate while walking, and handed it to his entourage. The Chenghuang Lord brings a plate and wine, let Master Xu have a taste."

There are two rooms inside and outside the wing, and the three guards have already set up in the outer room. Chen Mu and Juniper went into the inner room to eat and chat. , everyone was trembling, and they bowed three times and kowtowed nine times when they came out, I have never heard of anyone who is as comfortable as entering his own home like the commander-in-chief."

"That's because they can't do their duties well. What did the couplet say?" Chen Mu picked up a small jug and poured a glass for Juniper and himself, took a sip and said, "Be a good person, keep your body upright, your heart at peace, your soul and your dreams; do some good deeds , God knows the earth and learns from ghosts and gods... There are countless living people like Chen, so there is no need to guard against gods, it is enough to prevent people from framing."

He was talking about the couplets in the Town God's Temple in Juyongguan. Every Town God's Temple has couplets. Although they are different, they have the same purpose, which is to punish evil and promote good.

Chen Mu was eating a big meal, Juniper ate two mouthfuls but hesitated to speak, and with Chen Mu's permission, he asked in a low voice: "Does the commander think about where to go in the future?"

Chen Mu, who was buried in the food, raised his eyes for a moment, then put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth, waited for the food in his mouth to swallow, and then said: "There are not many places where the imperial court can let me go, staying in Beijing or going abroad is not bad. "

"I'm just traveling for the imperial court. It is estimated that Nanyang will not be under my control in the future. I think it may be to go to America. Anyway, wherever I want to go, it is a good place to show my skills. Our national strength is great. It's a pity not to show your teeth and show your claws in the world."

Juniper drank a cup of wine, stared around his eyes and said, "Nanyang has so much power, and the commander-in-chief just surrenders it to others?"

"What do you want to seize power? Take ten thousand steps back, and the court will dismiss me and let me go home to rest. I am also very happy." Chen Mu patted his chest and smiled: "It's good to take risks outside and fight for the country. ; But let me see the prosperity of the world in the capital, and let me go to the south of the Yangtze River to be drunk, wouldn't it be good? It's also very good."

"In Beijing, Nanjing, in the south of the Yangtze River, in Guangzhou, wherever you go, you will see the scenery of the prosperous age. As long as I close my eyes, all the beauty in this world can be grasped. It is nothing more than your handsome man living in the bustling, always thinking about Open your eyes and see that people in the poorest places still starve to death, and some people are sick and can’t even pay for soup and medicine, so I have to go out and earn some money for them to come back.”

"Didn't you find that there were fewer rebels in the past two years? The northern court provided disaster relief, and Chen also prepared money and food; the southern land was annexed, but the refugees left for Guangdong before they gathered. There was a shortage of manpower there, and skilled workers The moon is about to catch up with your salary, what the elder Ge does in the court is to fulfill the mission of the officials, and I am in the folk to feed and clothe the people."

"Sometimes domestic problems are difficult to solve, so we solve them while finding a way from the outside. Stones from other mountains can attack jade."

(End of this chapter)