Although the spring in Longyou is still a bit chilly, looking up, the surroundings are already full of life. The warm current melts the ice under the rock formations, and thick crystal water drops trickle down along the cracks in the rocks.
The snow water moistens the land and soaks last year's grass roots. The hibernating grass roots quietly wake up and are struggling to grow outwards.
Through the thick water vapor in the air, I can already smell the scent of warm earth.
A pheasant in heat stood on the top of the treetop and screamed loudly, showing off its gorgeous tail feathers, looking for a mate.
‘Whoosh!’ A crude arrow shot quickly, piercing the body of the pheasant. The pheasant fell from the high branch of the tree.
Guo Song ducked out from behind a big tree and said with a smile: "I was blinded by love. I'm talking about you."
He picked up the pheasant, ran to a gurgling stream, stripped and disemboweled it, washed and skinned the pheasant cleanly, cut off the neck and head, and threw the internal organs together to the men who were watching eagerly.
Guo Song pierced the chicken into a thick branch, put it on the branch and grilled it.
"If you don't like this kind of barbecued pheasant, my uncle will shoot a field mouse for you and let you eat it alone. I promise not to snatch it from you."
Guo Songxu rambled on, and Mengzi became impatient. He fluttered his wings and went to look for food by himself.
For a moment, the aroma of meat hit his nostrils, and Guo Song's eyes shone. He took out a piece of salt the size of his little finger from the cloth bag behind him, crushed it, carefully sprinkled it evenly on the prey, and then tore off a chicken leg.
, and ate it hungrily.
It has been seven days since Guo Song left Kongtong Mountain. He did not take the official road, but took a remote road to go north. Although he believed that Zixiao Temple did not dare to tell the truth to the court, the burning of Zixiao Temple would definitely alarm Long.
In various government offices, the Taoist uniform he wore was too eye-catching.
Of course Guo Song could change his clothes, but he didn't have a penny on him. In the coarse cloth bag behind him, there were only a dozen fern-flour vegetable dumplings, a small bag of salt, and a water hyacinth. This was what Zhang Mingchun ordered his junior brother to give.
He prepared it.
Then there is the thousand-year-old ironwood sword and a pair of homemade earthen bows and arrows left to him by his master. These are all his properties.
After eating and drinking, Guo Song found a cliff cave that was difficult for wild animals to reach. He had a good sleep and woke up refreshed. He stood up and stretched. There was a pass in the distance.
He discovered it yesterday, where exactly is this pass?
Mengzi seemed a little dissatisfied with him eating alone, and he didn't know where he flew to look for food.
Guo Song and Mengzi have been together for more than four years, and they have known each other for a long time. It is normal to not see each other for a day or two. In fact, Guo Song sometimes hopes that Mengzi can leave him and live independently, find his own partner, and have children. In the Hexi Corridor
, several times he thought Mengzi had left him, but just when he was about to sing a song of blessing or friend, the guy appeared again.
So the best way is not to worry about it, not to worry about it, and let everything take its course to avoid wasting feelings.
In fact, he said so much nonsense because Mengzi led him the wrong way, which made him really angry.
Guo Song is a little lost now. He was not familiar with this area in his previous life, not to mention this was the Tang Dynasty 1,300 years ago. He has been walking north for seven days, but he has no idea where he is now.
At this moment, a voice came faintly from a distance. Guo Song was startled. He jumped off the cliff and quickly ran towards the voice.
Pushing aside a pile of wild caltrops, Guo Song was suddenly surprised and delighted. Below the hillside was a wide and flat official road. A group of donkey carts filled with goods were slowly traveling north on the official road. Several handlebars were shouting loudly.
They were arguing about something, but there was no one in front or behind of this caravan.
"Wait a minute!"
Guo Song shouted loudly and ran down the hillside. A steward sitting on the cart saw him and quickly called for the convoy to stop.
The steward jumped off the donkey cart, walked up and asked, "Is the little Taoist calling us?"
Although Guo Song is very tall, with a height of 1.9 meters, his appearance is very young. He bowed roundly and said with a smile on his face: "I am a Taoist priest from Kongtong Mountain. I went out to practice under the orders of my master, but I got a little lost.
Yes, please give me some advice."
The steward laughed. This little Taoist priest was a bit interesting. He actually called himself uncle instead of the donor. Was he going to return to secular life and return to his hometown?
"It turns out that this is the Taoist priest of Kongtong Mountain. This is the boundary of Xiaoguan. Twenty miles further we will reach Xiaoguan. Where is the little Taoist going?"
It turned out that the pass was Xiao Pass. It took him seven days to walk more than 200 miles. Guo Song was a little frustrated. Taking the mountain path was too circuitous, so it was more convenient to take the official road.
"I'm going to Lingzhou!"
"Just go to Lingzhou. After passing Xiaoguan, follow the official road to the north and drive north for two or three days to reach Lingzhou."
"Thanks for the advice, uncle!"
"You're welcome, why don't you come with us! We are going to Xiazhou to deliver goods, and we can still walk together for a while."
The steward was very polite and pointed to the big car, "It's too tiring to walk, so get on the car and sit!"
Guo Song was not polite and jumped directly onto the donkey cart to sit with the steward. He drank a few mouthfuls of spring water, took out a fern and cabbage dumpling and started chewing it. This was the dry food prepared for him by Jingle Palace. It happened to be the right time now.
During the lean years, the conditions in Jingle Palace were also very difficult.
The steward glanced at the bracken and rice dumplings in his hand. He knew this kind of wild vegetable food. During the An-Shi Rebellion, many people relied on it to survive. But it has been ten years since the An-Shi Rebellion ended, and there are still people eating it?
His heart suddenly became full of sympathy, and he took out a thick piece of bread from the dry food bag behind him and handed it to Guo Song. He smiled and said, "My aunt made it. It tastes pretty good. You can try it!"
"Thank you, uncle!"
Guo Song took the flour cake and took a bite. The sweetness of the flour left him with endless aftertaste. It seemed that this was the first time he tasted flour in Datang. The middle-aged manager’s inadvertent move made Guo Song feel a surge of emotion.
Warmth.
"Where is uncle from?"
"I am from Suide County, Yanzhou, but I have been making a living in the capital. This time my boss asked me to go to Xiazhou to deliver a batch of goods."
"It's not safe on the road!"
The steward nodded, "It's indeed unsafe, but if you want to support your family, you have to leave if it's not safe! Fortunately, I was lucky and didn't encounter any robbers along the way."
"Manager Yu, stop talking nonsense!"
The man driving the car in front suddenly turned around and reminded him very seriously.
The steward's expression changed, and he gave himself a slap on the face. As he walked on the road, the most taboo thing was to say that everything was fine and that he didn't encounter any robbers. The robbers would appear soon.
But nothing will happen for the time being. After walking for half an hour, Xiaoguan is in front of us. There are more vehicles and pedestrians on the official road.
When Guo Song looked up, he saw a black dot hovering over Xiaoguan. Don't follow it if you can. Guo Song took a hard bite of the dough cake.
........
The Long River in Xiaoguan entered the army, and the Yellow River in Qinghai was blocked by clouds.
The North Pole is full of worries about dragons and tigers, and Xirong has no time to let dogs and sheep flock.
Xiaoguan is part of the Great Wall of Sui Dynasty and the northern gate of Guanzhong. The terrain is dangerous and the pass is majestic and towering. It is the only way for the northwest nomads to invade Guanzhong. For thousands of years, there have been endless battles inside and outside Xiaoguan.
Under the mountain cliff, rusty swords and piles of bones can be seen everywhere.
After descending the mountain from Xiaoguan, there is a gently undulating hilly area, where many Han villages are scattered. At the foot of the mountain, there is an official road going north along the Weiru River, and you can reach Lingzhou in two days.
There is also an east-west official road that goes northeast along the Liupan Mountains and reaches Xiazhou.
Manager Yu went to complete the formalities. The donkey convoy slowly entered the customs. A burly brigade commander came over to count the number of people. He suddenly pointed at Guo Song and said, "Why is there an extra person? Is this Taoist priest with you?"
Manager Yu quickly said: "This Taoist priest is the Taoist priest from Kongtong Mountain we met on the road. Let's go with him as a companion."
Hearing that he was a Taoist priest from Kongtong Mountain, the brigade commander's expression became gentler, he looked at Guo Song and asked, "Is there any ultimatum?"
Guo Song took out the certificate from his arms and gave it to him. This was his Taoist certificate. It indicated his place of origin and the place where he became a monk. If he wanted to return to secular life, he could hand the certificate to the official of his place of origin to cancel it and register his household registration at the same time.
When Guo Song went to Lingzhou this time, a very important thing was to go to the Lingzhou government to cancel his Taoist registration and restore his legal status.
The brigade commander was actually illiterate. When he saw the red official seal stamped underneath, he returned the ultimatum to him and waved his hand, "Let them pass!"
Guo Song put the certificate back into his arms and looked up, only to find a notice posted on the wall of the pass.
'Recently, Dangxiang's cavalry have been raging outside the customs, causing harm to the people. I hope that merchants coming and going will pay attention to their safety. In addition, this garrison has issued a reward order. Anyone who cuts off the head of a Dangxiang's cavalry will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver, and the Dangxiang's cavalry armor will be purchased at a high price.
The reward is valid for half a year.
Guard Zhang Feng on the fourth day of February in the eighth year of the Dali calendar
There is also a red seal of Xiaoguan Guard stamped on it.
Guo Song touched Manager Yu with his arm and pouted at the notice, "Uncle, look!"
Manager Yu glanced at the notice and suddenly turned pale. There were party members riding outside the customs. Why didn't his boss tell him?
"Uncle, you can go and ask around to see if there is a caravan going to Xiazhou, and you can go with them together."
This sentence reminded Manager Yu, and he nodded quickly, "I'll go find out."
The Guancheng of Xiaoguan looks like a small town. There are many shops built with wood, including wine shops, inns, grocery stores, snack shops, and even a brothel. Two short, fat women with white faces painted listlessly.
Sitting at the door and basking in the sun, I had no intention of inviting guests.
Perhaps because spring has just begun, there are not many customers coming and going, so it seems a bit deserted. Many merchants have gone directly through Guancheng without stopping here.
After a while, Manager Yu ran out of the wine shop panting, got on the cart and ordered: "Hurry and leave!"
More than a dozen donkey carts drove towards the outside of Guancheng.
"No one is willing to go with us?" Guo Song asked.
"No! There is Jima Town thirty miles ahead. Businessmen gather there. Every ten days we all set off to Xiazhou and Lingzhou together, and there are special warrior guards. Tomorrow morning is exactly the time to set off. We
We have to rush there overnight."
Guo Song looked at the sky and saw that it was already dusk. He felt something was wrong, but Manager Yu was eager to go on his way, so he couldn't say anything more.
The donkey convoy passed Xiaoguan and drove along the rugged downhill road to Jima Town, thirty miles away.