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The main peak of Cangshan Mountain has a relatively flat terrain on the south side of the mountain.

The eight hundred elite soldiers led by Shi Wengong patrolled the Cangshan mines on weekdays. Those who were not on duty rested in the military camp halfway up the mountain in the south.

When the strong wind blows, the flags are flying, and the tents are set up steadily, shaped like a half moon, surrounding the mountainside.

Shi Wengong set up a tent and put cushions in the open space in front of the main tent. While chatting and laughing with the old man of the Zeng family, he watched his elite soldiers shoot arrows for fun.

Whoosh!

Several big birds passed by in the sky, and an elite soldier put five arrow feathers on his string. He suddenly thought of not shooting at the target, but pointed his bow towards the sky.

At the sound of the bow string, all five arrows hit the target, and several birds fell one after another, causing cheers from the surrounding onlookers. Immediately, some people left their seats and went to pick up the birds that had been hit by the arrows.

The scenery of Cangshan Mountain has been messed up by several mines. The animals in the mountains and forests have almost fled, and few birds will bump into this direction without a long-sightedness.

It was quite rare to be able to shoot a big bird. When the person who picked up the prey came back and saw that the five arrows were shot from the mouths of the five big birds without damaging the feathers, the cheers were even louder.

Shi Wengong also smiled and said: "Okay! I will give you thirty taels of silver. I will pick it up later and give you a glass of wine."

He took a cup, tilted the wine flask on his table, and poured a full cup.

When the archer heard that there was money, he thanked him. When he heard that there was such a reward of wine, he was so happy that he couldn't believe it.

This wine was an extraordinary thing. He carefully took the glass with both hands, put it to his lips, sipped the liquid, turned into a thin hot line and drank it into his stomach. Suddenly, all the muscles and bones in his body were buzzing, and there were big puffs of steam in his hair.

of white smoke.

Shi Wengong took a closer look at this man and saw that he had red hair and a yellow beard, and was thin and thick-boned. He looked as rough and evil as a wolf. He couldn't help but smile and said: "What's your name? Are you new to our army?"

"

The man had a glass of wine, his face was glowing purple, and he was closing his mouth tightly, unwilling to open his mouth to reveal the vitality in the wine. However, Shi Wengong asked questions and did not dare not to answer, and there was a look of struggle on his face.

Next to him, Mrs. Zeng had already spoken first: "This man is Duan Jingzhu, who is known as a golden retriever in the world. He used to steal horses for a living in the north. He came to my house to offer horses half a month ago. I mentioned it to you before.

"

Shi Wengong suddenly realized: "It turns out it's him. He is really good at martial arts. Recently, some people have died in the mine, and there are no more laborers in the nearby villages. I think you have some courage. Get a warrant from me and go to Yizhou City."

Go find some people and see if you can get it done?"

Duan Jingzhu swallowed the last ray of hot breath in his throat, and he was overjoyed and said: "I will never let the general down. I don't know how many people there are in total?"

Shi Wengong said: "The more mines there are, the better. However, most of those who can live in the city have some connections and cannot move too much. You can call in 500 people first. How many people do you want to accompany us?"

Duan Jingzhu thought for a moment and said, "Ten people."

Mr. Zeng next to him laughed twice more: "I will test you for the general. You are going to bring 500 people to the mine. How many people should you gather when you are in the city?"

Duan Jingzhu responded fluently: "You need to gather 800 people at least. The mine has a good reputation, and no one is willing to come voluntarily, let alone civilians. Ninety miles away from the city, there are many remote wilderness areas. There must be someone who wants to come."

escape."

"Only some can escape. If the villain kills more to establish his power, if he rushes in a hurry, some will inevitably fall to death or be injured, or some will be disabled after just a few whips without being beaten.

When we go to the mine, we ensure that 500 people can work, and the villain must gather at least 800 people in the city."

Shi Wengong and Mr. Zeng looked at each other and praised: "He is a man who can do things. But you don't have to rush too much. It's getting harder and harder to find miners now. If this continues, the elderly, weak, sick and disabled in the area will really have to be recruited.

It’s not easy to do the work. It’ll be great if we can bring the person within three days.”

Duan Jingzhu accepted the order again, thanked him, and retreated.

Mr. Zeng said: "I heard that not far outside Yizhou, there is a Liangshan water park with a radius of 800 miles. It is vast, with waves reaching the sky, and thick reeds. There are some tax evaders in nearby Yizhou, Lingzhou and even Qingzhou.

The unruly people will not hesitate to travel long distances to hide there. If there are really no miners nearby, the general may have to set out for a trip there."

Shi Wengong smiled and said: "Shuibo Liangshan is a beautiful place. Ten years ago, many water thieves and bandits occupied it. Later, Emperor Tianming somehow found out about the reputation of the place and personally issued an imperial edict.

I sent Lu Junyi from Hebei Province and a man named Song Jiang to lead the troops to exterminate all the bandits there. The people hiding there now are just some useless people, I already knew that."

He deliberately kept such a place, and even communicated with the officials of various states, and did not block the main roads around Shui Bo Liang Mountain, just to deliberately give the young men a chance to escape and hide in the eight hundred miles of water.

In Shi Wengong's mind, this is like raising pigs and sheep. Selling them on weekdays is not considered a skill. Waiting until the good season, when the meat on the market is scarce, and then slaughtering them, you can naturally sell them at a high price.

After waiting a few more months, when the mines in various states were really out of manpower and wrote to Bianliang to complain, he would lead his troops to burn and kill them, kidnap all the young men and escort them to various mines.

Work, in this way, when he talked about it in the court, he had made two major contributions to exterminating the water thieves and making up for the manpower in the mine.

With a roll of his eyes, the old man of the Zeng family guessed Shi Wengong's intention. With obvious admiration on his face, he raised his glass to toast him and uttered some complimentary words.

The old man of the Zeng family is named Zeng Nong. When he was young, he was very bold. He traveled to the Yanyun land, went deep into the white mountains and black waters, collected and planted some ginseng, and came to the Central Plains to sell it. Over time, he accumulated tens of thousands of wealth. Because of his age,

As he grew older, he settled in the Central Plains, married a wife, had children, recruited local warriors, and established a large force.

Shi Wengong originally only had some reputation in the martial arts world, but was invited by Zeng Nong to teach martial arts to the five sons of the Zeng family.

Later, Emperor Tianming vigorously promoted magic methods in the army, opened countless mines, and the government posted a recruitment list and invited Shi Wengong to serve as an official in the state capital. Shi Wengong in turn supported the Zeng family.

The government and the squire were colluding. In Zeng Nong's opinion, this mining business was much more grand than when he was buying and selling ginseng, and he could make hundreds of times more money.

You know, since Shi Wengong became a general, his martial arts became more and more refined, and he was highly regarded by the court. Many mines between Yizhou and Lingzhou were actually within his jurisdiction.

However, this Cangshan Mine can produce Purple Qi Divine Sand, so he will be stationed here most of the time.

When the minerals produced in various places were handed over, the amount was falsely reported. The amount was small, and warehouse after warehouse of goods could easily be intercepted and resold by the Zeng family in exchange for large sums of money. Some of them were simply

Keep it for Shi Wengong and the Zeng family to use during their own cultivation.

The pot of fine wine on Shi Wengong's table at this moment, the wine poured out is purple in color, fragrant, viscous, and steaming. It is smelted with purple divine sand. The divine sand contained in it is extremely pure and pure. It is better than being sent directly to Bianliang.

The price of solid holy sand is several times more expensive, and there is no market for it.

If it weren't for colluding with the Zeng family to make money, even Shi Wengong's salary and status would not be enough to enjoy such good things every day.

"General." After having a full drink, Mr. Zeng stopped and said, "Things involving the miners and Liangshan are not urgent at the moment. It's just that there has been some little trouble in the Cangshan Mine recently."

Shi Wengong understood: "It must be Ren Sen."

Mr. Zeng nodded and said: "Yes, he has also noticed our secret business. He came to our door a few days ago. He first put on a selfless look and threatened me severely. After a few words of persuasion from me, he revealed

Really, I just want to get a piece of the pie."

Shi Wengong said: "I asked you why you left in person today and came to me for a drink. It turned out to be for this matter. I had known for a long time that he would get involved sooner or later. He has an old acquaintance with Chen Xizhen in Bianliang City. In the official family

I can speak well in front of everyone, so having him join in is actually a good thing."

Mr. Zeng said with a frown on his face: "I'm afraid he'll open his mouth like a lion. I've seen many of these Taoists. On the surface, they appear to be clean and clear, but in fact they are more greedy for pleasure than anyone else. I heard that the cultivation of immortality is the most important thing."

Pure, the need for minerals is actually far less than that of the martial art, but Rensen, in addition to enjoying wine and sex, is also a ruthless character when it comes to gathering minerals."

Shi Wengong sneered and said: "You don't know something. The most important thing in the immortal way is purity. But once you enter the court and serve as an official, you will be contaminated with the luck of the dynasty. It is the most complicated thing in the world. If a person in the immortal way is stained with this kind of thing, he or she will lose it."

Treat it as a fate, train yourself hard, and turn it into an opportunity for advancement. Or you can only let it go, turn your cultivation into miscellaneous energy, and fall into the path of military training."

"Many Taoists have a very high self-esteem. When they originally became Taoist officials, they probably had the former idea. However, Lin Lingsu, who proposed the Taoist official system in front of the Dao Lord Emperor, could not hold on for a few years and was dismissed.

The foundation has been polluted, so I have to cut off part of my cultivation and withdraw from the court."

"People like Ren Sen have no chance of quitting. Even if they are willing, the officials won't allow it. Then the only option is to take the latter path."

Mr. Zeng sighed and said worriedly: "So that's the case, then he must be taking more."

Shi Wengong said: "Don't worry, let me talk to him about this matter. He thinks he is very powerful in magic. When I take the Fangtian Painted Halberd in my hand and weigh his ability, he will naturally know how to advance or retreat."

Mr. Zeng smiled broadly and finally let go of his worries and said, "Okay, let's wait until we hold another banquet in the evening and invite him over."

Shi Wengong was about to nod when his expression suddenly changed, and he left the tent in a flash and looked at a valley in the distance.

The soldiers around him didn't know what was going on. They gathered around him and looked around, but they couldn't see clearly.

Only Shi Wengong could see clearly that the valley was originally the place where the Purple Qi God Sand Furnace was placed.

The furnace was three feet high, with blazing fire under it and black smoke in the sky. Eight Taoist priests sat cross-legged around it, constantly cultivating the cinnabar and red crystals in the furnace and watching over the heat.

Sixteen more people were sitting cross-legged outside, waiting for rotation.

Every thirty-six hours, when the firepower weakens, they will open the furnace cover, take out the sacred sand, and then transport new cinnabar and red crystal and pour it into the furnace.

It was clear that it was not time to turn on the furnace yet, but the furnace lid was opened once, and twenty-four Taoist priests worked together with their magic power, seeming to have put something powerful and evil into the furnace.

Shi Wengong could see the expressions of shock still remaining on the faces of those Taoist priests.

Ren Sen, the leader, also looked solemn.

They no longer relied on ordinary firewood under the stove to light the flame, but took off the gourds from their waists and spread them out evenly according to the directions of the Qimen formation.

Clothes were flying, and the Taoist priests were lying down on the slopes on all sides of the valley, their necks slightly raised. Their slender necks and faces had the whiteness of a pampered person.

They lay on their stomachs, with their faces towards the stove in the middle of the valley, and blew out a long stream of vitality like a wadding at the open mouth of the gourd.

The purple-red fire spread down the slope, covering the entire valley surface in flames.

The raging sea of ​​fire is just for the sacred sand furnace in the center of the refining valley, just to trap and kill the thing in the furnace.

The three-foot-tall sacred sand furnace seemed unable to withstand such firepower and began to melt.

Shi Wengong's ears and eyes were so sharp that he could even hear the sound of the semi-finished cinnabar and red crystals in the furnace completely melting into liquid and boiling.

But the rippling high temperature still cannot shake the thing in the center of the furnace. What's even more frightening is that the thing trapped inside the furnace seems to be still emitting a higher temperature than outside the furnace.

That thing...is a humanoid form!!
To be continued...