The deep winter of the thirteenth year of Yanxing has finally arrived. For days, winter snow has been covering the sky, and the peak of Luliang Mountain, the pine forests and the official residences on the mountain roads are all shrouded in silvery white. Since September, all the armies participating in the war have
They have returned to their respective defense areas one after another, and the bustling trails have returned to their former glory. The heavy snow has broken branches all over the ground. Occasionally, one or two foraging foxes or raccoon dogs pass through, hurriedly walking through the snow.
It gives viewers a sense of silence and emptiness.
Chen Chong and his group were walking slowly in knee-deep snow.
Chen Chong was the last group of troops to leave Pingcheng, because after capturing Danhan Mountain, he discussed with Liu Bei how to deal with it, and finally decided to hand over Danhan Mountain to Tuoba Liwei and named him the Great Chanyu.
He is allowed to return to the country. The only thing is that the name of the country must be changed to Huan, and a Yunbei Changshi Mansion must be set up in Danhan Mountain, with a garrison of 5,000 people under its jurisdiction. Chen Deng will temporarily take charge of it. All matters in the country must be fully prepared.
Passed on to Bafu. As a result, after everything was finished, I realized that it was already November.
Walking on the snowy road, Chen Chong couldn't help but think of the heavy snow scene when he first came to Xihe more than ten years ago. Then he thought about what happened to the victims he rescued in Lishi? Are the folks left behind by Bai Bo having a hard time?
Now that I'm passing by Yangchangcang and there's nothing major going on for the time being, my desire to go back to Xihe and take a look suddenly becomes stronger.
After making up his mind, he sent a letter to Zhong Yao, Liu Bei and his family, and then went to the bend of the river with a few students who had nothing to do.
Having not been here for more than ten years, Chen Chong's memory of Hequ has long been forgotten. Sometimes he even recalls the past and deliberately thinks about the appearance of the ferry, but it seems to be covered with a thin but insurmountable layer of fog, which makes him
It was difficult to get a scale feather. But when I saw the meander of the river again, the mist immediately dissipated. The gentle and smooth hills, the groups of withered yellow reeds standing by the river, and the thin ice with silver light on the river surface soon became different from those of the passing people.
The memory matches.
Although there were many similarities, there were also many differences. After crossing the ferry, Chen Chong saw a wine shop on the side of the road, owned by a Hu man with green eyes and brown hair. Everyone had a meal of mutton here, and then
We drove to Meiji. Along the way, we could see many pagodas and Buddha statues among the rocks along the road. They were all carved and worshiped by the Huns who believed in Buddhism.
When the horse arrived at Meiji, Liu Bao put on a bearskin robe and went out of the city to greet him. Since they were looking for old friends, the group did not enter the city for a banquet, but walked around the city. In the wind and snow, you can see the busy Meiji market back then.
The city has now become dilapidated. Liu Bao said that this was all because of the attack by East bandits two months ago, but Chen Chong could also see that the years of war had indeed devastated the people's livelihood.
So he smiled at Liu Bao and said: "When I first came to Meiji, I exchanged my sword for 10,000 lambs, 10,000 sheep, and 1,000 oxen from your country. Now that I think about it, it's actually not worth it. I'm probably an old man."
Yu gave me some thin noodles. In three years' time, I will return you one hundred thousand sheep and goats. Think of it as repaying the kindness of old Shan Yu!" Liu Bao was naturally very grateful.
The next day, Chen Chong walked south along the west bank of the river until he reached Washi. When they saw the frozen water, they turned westward. The winding mountain road was like the past. Chen Chong himself did not remember how he walked there.
, but it happened to be over again, as if it was just a short moment. And after this short and long moment, he saw the two cities of Yuan Yang and Yuan Yin facing each other across the water, as well as the smoke outside the city.
The countryside is here.
While walking on the road, a voice suddenly asked hesitantly on the side of the road: "Excuse me, is this Chen Shijun?" Chen Chong turned his head after hearing the words and found that it was a one-armed old man sitting in front of the hut.
, is looking at himself with squinted eyes, but his tone is not very sure.
Chen Chong didn't think he was familiar, maybe he was an old fellow? Thinking this, Chen Chong slowly reined in his horse and stepped forward to talk: "I am Chen Chong, what can I do for you, old man?"
When the old man saw him approaching and confirmed his identity, he immediately showed a heartfelt smile. He did not answer first, but turned to the village and shouted: "It's the old envoy! It's the old envoy who's back!"
Like honey, a group of people in the village instantly gathered and surrounded Chen Chong. Some of the guards were quite cautious, but Chen Chong still let them retreat and walked with the villagers. After all, after living in Chang'an for a long time
, he has not experienced this feeling of oneness with the people for a long time.
The people surrounding Chen Chong were men and women, old and young, and they all told Chen Chong their origins. It turned out that this place was filled with disaster victims who were resettled in the first winter after Chen Chong came to Xihe to take office. They were just executing the land grant order.
Later, he was moved to this place. When he said this, everyone thanked Chen Chong profusely, and some even took out the wooden sign that Chen Chong had given him back then and looked proud.
Chen Chong felt happy at first, but he soon discovered that among the more than a hundred people in the house, apart from the old, weak, women and children, there were only about ten middle-aged men, and all of them had injuries. The good ones were missing a few fingers.
The bad ones even lost the entire right leg. When he asked the reason, the local people all said that it was caused by fighting in the army. In the entire Bingzhou, almost 70% of the men had the experience of joining the army, and Xihe County
Especially the people. However, the people inside did not feel sad because of it. Instead, they felt proud when talking about the war. They praised Chen Chong: "The old envoy's military skills are unparalleled, he is the best in the world!"
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This sentence made Chen Changchong hurt. He picked up a three-year-old child and looked at the admiration for him in these people's eyes. He suddenly thought to himself: "Even if I unify China, it will not really matter."
Is it worthy of all the people in the world?" He couldn't answer this question himself, because it is meaningful only when the people in front of him recognize it.
He decided to spend the night here, eating porridge and vegetables with the villagers. Looking around, Chen Chong was slightly comforted to see that although the people there had few cattle and sheep in their pens, they had many chickens and ducks.
Xihe’s predicament of begging without clothes has become much better.
During the meal, Chen Chong asked again whether the administration of township and county officials was clean and orderly. The villagers replied that the virtuous people should be punished by prisons, and the collection of taxes would be punished by violence. Chen Chong was thinking about the gains and losses, but unexpectedly the villagers asked Chen Chong if he heard that Xijing was prosperous.
As a disciple, the children went to Chang'an to broaden their horizons. Chen Chong wanted to decline, but when he saw the earnest eyes of the villagers, he couldn't say no. There were not many children in the house, and even fewer were literate. Finally, Chen Chong chose one.
A nine-year-old child named Zhao Qiu was a student. Because he could memorize "Xiaoya" in "Poetry", he was first given to Deng Zhi, who was good at "Poem", to teach him.
After accepting his disciples in public, Chen Chong felt depressed and could not express it to the villagers, so he asked what the scenery was like here. He wanted to explore the wilderness and express his feelings. The villagers said that just three miles south of the Shenmu Peak, there was a place where five years ago
I built a Buddhist temple, which is quite effective. Villagers around me often go to the temple to pray. The old envoy may wish to take a look.
In the past few years, due to Liu Bei's support, there have actually been many more Buddhist temples in Guanzhong and Taiyuan. However, most of the organizational layout is Baima Temple, which is not new, but mountain temples are very rare. After hearing this, Chen Chongde became interested and turned to the students.
Said: "Building a temple and cultivating in a busy city is not a skill. Only if you can endure loneliness in the mountains can you understand some of the true principles."
So early the next morning, before dawn, Chen Chong and his party said goodbye to the villagers, and were led by Zhao Qiu to walk south. Although the villagers said that the mountain road was steep and difficult to walk, it was only when they reached the foot of Shenmu Peak that Chen Chong knew
The danger is indescribable. Standing at the foot of the mountain and looking up at the mountain wall, you can see that the mountain to the west is rising vertically. Not even the snow can hold it. There are white ink splashes on the gray stone cliffs one after another.
Looking up, you can only see billowing white clouds washing up on the mountainside, and you can't tell where the clouds are and where the snow is.
The way up the mountain was on another small peak next to Shenmu Peak, but the horses couldn't go up. Lu Yi didn't want to be tired, so he volunteered to take care of the horses at the foot of the mountain. The others laughed and went up the mountain separately. It was about climbing and climbing.
After an hour, everyone passed through layers of white clouds, covered in fog, and finally saw a suspension bridge composed of dozens of ropes, extending from the end of the small peak to a bluestone pillar on the Shenmu Peak.
And you can vaguely see the outline of the mountain temple.
At this time, the rising sun emerged from the sea of clouds, illuminating the mountains with brilliance, and everyone suddenly felt a sense of openness. They rested for a while by the bridge, looked at the red sun, and then walked along the rope bridge one by one.
In the past, this was considered entering the mountain temple.
Next to the stone pillar, there is a stone tablet with the word "Baiyun" written on it, which should be the name of the temple. And behind the stone tablet, there is a hall for worshiping Buddha statues, three thatched houses for living, and a small vegetable patch, with plants planted between the cliffs.
Several plum blossoms had bloomed at this time. Zhao Qiu told Chen Chong that there was only one monk in the temple, and he built the rope bridge, Buddha statue, lobby, and thatched house all by himself. After hearing this, Chen Chong couldn't help but become more curious about this man.
, I thought: Even among the monks I know, there are probably no more than five who are so pious. How could there be such a strange person here?
With this mentality, he walked to the lobby and knocked on the door to greet him. The door creaked open, and Chen Chong saw a face emerging from the clear light. The two of them looked at each other, both of them were shocked, and they couldn't help but look up to him.
Take two steps back.
When the students saw Chen Chong looking over with blank eyes, his eyes slowly condensed, and then looked back at the monk with an indifferent expression, and then heard him slowly say: "Go to Baiyun Temple on Shenmu Peak to seek for the suffering of Bodhi Nirvana. Unexpectedly,
There is such a person as a master in this world."
The monk was skinny and dressed in linen clothes, but he still had a very strong figure. He walked out of the hall, and no one of the students around him could compare with him. But seeing an embarrassed dejection on his face, he said to Chen Chongtan:
"The fallen leaves are just returning to their roots. I don't care what the dragon head says about Nirvana or not."
When Chen Chong heard this, he did not reply, but turned and left. He also did not expect that he would see an old friend of Bai Bo here today. Should he send someone to kill him? This thought only lingered in his mind.
After a moment, it quickly dissipated. As time passed, Chen Chong couldn't help but sadly discovered that the hatred in the past was like ice and snow, it would turn into running water as long as he looked at it for a moment.
On the way down the mountain, the students followed Chen Chong without knowing why. Looking around, the scenery had not changed. The morning light was still shining and everything was covered with clouds. When he saw this scene, his heart was filled with melancholy. He thought silently: When a person is born
In this world, there may not be an inch of pure land, but because of this, we have to force it.