Chapter 373: Mang Mountain, utilization of idle cities
The soldier bent down and clasped his fists and said, "No, I'll do it right now." Then he turned around and headed towards the gate tower.
After a stick of incense, Cao Shuang was still drinking tea with Ma Jun in the west hall. The soldiers who had been out for a while came into the hall and reported: "Prime Minister, the horses and two groups of soldiers are waiting at the gate tower. Do you think it's okay?"
let's go?"
Cao Shuang stood up and said: "Deheng, let's go and see what you have accomplished in the past few months."
Cao Shuang and Ma Jun arrived at the gate tower, got on their horses, and were escorted by personal guards at the front, back, and left, and headed north through the bluestone street in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion. After walking to the end of Guangli, there was no need to go out of Guangmo Gate.
Turn the horse's head to the west,
Then go straight through Daxiamen and you will reach the three small towns in the northwest of Luoyang City. The sound of horse hooves "da-da-da" echoes in a regular rhythm on the bluestone road.
This road is all along the road close to the tall city wall, but you can't see the tall Mang Mountain in the north of Luoyang City, which is green in this season. Along the way, you can only hear the chirping of birds and the chirping of cicadas from Mang Mountain.
The bells of several temples outside the city rang,
The incense in these temples is extremely prosperous. Every day, many Luoyang people and dignitaries go to burn incense and worship Buddha.
It is a temple with a high terrain, close to the city gate, exquisite houses and verandas, and a forest of bamboos and cypresses. It is truly a place where the mind can be pure and restful. Princes, princes, ministers, and nobles have come to visit the temple and have it as a sight. Countless people have visited it.
Cao Shuang looked at the tall city wall and said, "It's a pity that the city wall is too high and Mang Mountain cannot be seen. But if the city wall is too low, it will be harmful rather than beneficial!"
Ma Jun answered: "I have been in Ajiu City for several months. I heard from the local people that it is said that a long time ago, there lived an old Taoist and his two young disciples on Kunlun Mountain. They practiced in a fairy cave all day long.
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One day, the old Taoist said to two disciples: "I am going to visit a friend in the outer world. What is boiling in this big pot is a python caught from the East China Sea. Firewood must be placed under the pot from time to time, and water must be added to the pot from time to time.
, be sure to remember it!" After saying that, he rode on the crane and left.
In this way, the two disciples took out the firewood and added water to the pot every day. Hundreds of years passed, and the master had not returned yet, so the two disciples were a little anxious.
One day, one said to the other: "Master will not come back until hundreds of years later. Why don't we go down the mountain to play?"
The other man had also had this idea for a long time. So, the two of them lit a bright fire, filled the pot with water, and went down the mountain.
They had fun along the way, but they couldn't bear to worry about what the master told them, so they bought some wine and meat in a hotel and hurried back.
However, the fire had been extinguished long ago, and the water had been drank up by the yellow python. The yellow python was seen fleeing towards the East China Sea, leaving a yellow waterway where it passed.
They hurriedly chased along the Yellow Waterway. The yellow python discovered them and hurriedly changed its route and ran north.
They hurriedly took a shortcut to intercept it. When the python saw it, it turned around and ran towards the East China Sea. The waterway left by the python's turn is today's Jiuqu Yellow River.
Besides, when the master returned to the fairy cave, he saw that the fire at the bottom of the pot had been extinguished for a long time, and the yellow python was no longer in the pot. He didn't even respond when he called the disciple, and he understood everything. He shouted: "The two little beasts let the evil python go."
, causing it to cause harm to the world again." He immediately rode on a crane and chased after him.
The two young disciples chased the python until dark, and saw the python escaping into the East China Sea. Just as they were about to rest, their master arrived on a crane.
He shouted loudly: "Beasts! You two caused the yellow python to bring disaster to the world, so you two will guard this waterway forever!" After saying that, the two young disciples turned into two mountains and guarded this waterway forever. On both sides of the waterway, people call the yellow waterway left by the yellow python the Yellow River, and the mountain the two little disciples turned into is called Zhui Python Mountain.
Later, people on the south bank of the Yellow River felt that Zhui Python Mountain was not good-sounding, so they changed its name to Mang Mountain, which is still used today. I don’t know whether this legend is true or not, but I can just listen to it."
Cao Shuang nodded and responded: "There are so many true and false things in the world, how can we tell which one is true and which one is false?"
An hour later, Cao Shuang and his party arrived at the three small cities built by Cao Rui.
There are three small cities in the north of Luoyang, each with walls, connected as a whole group of buildings. They are adjacent to Mang Mountain in the north and the big city in the south. The city walls are wide and solid, and the terrain is dangerous. They are Luoyang's military fortresses and are very suitable for these technologies that require high confidentiality. confidential matters,
After all, if these things are leaked to the enemy country prematurely, the advantage of the Wei Dynasty will no longer exist.
According to "Shui Jing Zhu" records: "Gushui runs east to the north of Jinyong City. Emperor Wei Ming built it northwest of Luoyang City and called it Jinyong City. Gushui runs to the north of Luoyang City. Because of the old city, Jinyong City is built, so it faces the city. . They formed a fortress and named it Luoyang Fortress." Among them, Jinyong City is one of these three small towns.
The late Emperor Cao Rui built these cities in a big way, and now he happens to be using them. If they remain empty without the emperor coming to visit them a few times, then it will be a real waste!
Just like when he was promoted to Prime Minister, he did not build a Prime Minister's Palace that matched his status. After all, the General's Palace built before was very spacious, enough for him to use it all the time, even if he opened the palace and became a king in the future. ,
The soldiers guarding the city gate clasped their fists at him and said, "Prime Minister."
Cao Shuang waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work, soldiers. There is no need to be more polite."
Ma Jun stepped forward and said: "Prime Minister, please." Ma Jun then led Cao Shuang into the old city. As soon as he entered, he saw that there were only a few houses and few trees in the city, and many craftsmen were working there. People are busy inside and outside the house, sawing wood, assembling, and debugging.
Soldiers and civilians also continued to use carts powered by oxen and horses to transport wood from the north gate of Ajiu City at the foot of Mang Mountain to the city.
Several tall repeating catapults stood alone in the open space in the city, like a few mighty soldiers waiting for inspection under the scorching sun.
Cao Shuang looked at the catapult under the scorching sun and the bustling scene in the city and said, "Deheng, I think it's better to let the soldiers push the catapult outside the city and then test-fire it."
Ma Jun nodded and said, "That's what I mean, too. Although this city looks quite spacious, it's not very easy to use. It would be bad if it hurts our own soldiers and civilians."
Ma Jun then said to the soldiers waiting on the side: "You will work harder to push this trebuchet to an open space outside the north gate, and then find some fifty kilograms of stones."
The soldiers standing there clasped their fists and said, "No." Then they began to find places to stand on both sides of the trebuchet, and pushed the trebuchet toward the north gate.
Cao Shuang ordered the guards on his left and right: "Hurry back to the city and withdraw some money from the treasury. Go to the market to buy some pig and dog meat. I will have lunch with them here today."