A noon in the middle of March, the northern part of Wu Qi Men Mountain, the trees have just put on a new green dress, gully side of the wildflowers swaying, a gust of breeze will be the fragrance of flowers and grasses into the people's noses.
A rabbit squatting in the grass on the side of the road gnawing on young grass, suddenly, the rabbit stopped moving, 'suddenly' a leap into the bushes, a moment will be gone, and the rabbit was gnawing on the grass, ran a back dark brown, neck black, limbs fur gray and white big wolf dog.
The big wolf dog sniffed at the grass, lifted its legs and peed, leaving its own scent behind, and then happily ran back to the trail on the side of the grass to wait for its master.
On the trail there is a team of pedestrians on horseback, the number of twelve, three people, all young and strong men, dressed smart, crotch horses look quite good, the end of the team there are three mule carts loaded with goods. The trail at the foot of the mountain is the natural path that the mountain people walk out, not wide, barely able to accommodate two horses walking side by side, but also barely able to pass the mule cart.
"Da Niu, how far is this place from Da Xian's residence?" The young man in the foremost position of the horse team was very handsome, a green shirt set off his skin like jade and porcelain, riding a very athletic white steed, this person was Zheng Yuming who should be staying in the capital city of Wu.
The appearance of their team was dressed up as traders acquiring herbs, Zheng Yuming was the proprietor, Huang Zhong was dressed up as a housekeeper, Da Niu and Ma Ren, the guards were made up as footmen and fellows. As for the big wolf dog Wood, it was Chu Chao Hui who asked Zheng Yuming to bring it with him, Wood had grown into a formidable appearance and could play a role in protecting to the owner.
"It takes about a day to walk, and three or four hours to ride a horse." Da Niu heard Zheng Yuming ask, and hastened to answer on his horse, Da Niu is a resident at the foot of Qimen Mountain, growing up to the age of ten often into the mountains, he is too familiar with this area. Da Niu mouth of an hour refers to two hours.
"In that case, we won't necessarily be able to make it before nightfall?" Zheng Yuming looked up at the sky and his eyebrows couldn't help but furrow.
When we hit the road in the morning, the sky was still cloudless, but by midday the clouds were so thick that they blocked out the sun as well, and the south-easterly winds increased in strength, so that the temperature at midday seemed colder than in the morning.
"The earliest we can get to the Daxian residence is after the eleventh hour." Riding a horse on a mountain trail wasn't much faster than walking on two legs, except that it was much less laborious for a person to walk on a horse.
"As the saying goes, there will be rain when spring is cold." Zheng Yuming took a worried look at the sky. The eleventh hour was seven o'clock in the evening, and he was afraid that before he arrived at Daxian's residence, the people in the horse team would have to be drenched in the rain. Now that the temperature was not high, people and livestock could easily get sick after getting wet, and if a cold turned into pneumonia it could be fatal.
"My lord, shouldn't we find a place to set up camp first and wait until early tomorrow morning before setting off to visit the Great Sage? That way there's no need to walk in a hurry." Huang Zhong suggested behind Zheng Yuming.
If it rained before dark, it would prevent them from traveling; no one dared to travel the mountains at night at this time of year, and they had to find a suitable place to set up camp as soon as possible. The wilderness is full of dangers at night, and the choice of a campsite is very delicate.
"Your Excellency! One hour further on, there is an abandoned logging place with a few dilapidated houses, we can go there and set up camp for the night." Da Niu originally logged in Qimen Mountain and knew the surrounding terrain like the back of his hand.
"That's just right, I guess by the time we settle down, this rain is going to fall." Zheng Yuming looked up at the sky, which was already cloudy.
After making the decision to set up camp for the night, the carriage team stepped up their speed to move forward, hoping to arrive at the camping ground earlier to set up their tents and rest. They had been on the road for three days coming from the royal capital to Qimen Mountain, the first night there was a post station to rest, the second night was a night stay in a small village, and today was the third day, so they could only camp for the night in the wilderness.
Zheng Yuming's concern about the weather was right, in the evening, the sky was drizzling, at first it was still fluttering, gradually it began to intensify. Because the horse team found a campsite in advance, both people and horses avoided the rain.
On the path that Zheng Yuming and his party had passed through more than two hours ago, there came another group of twelve horseback-riding merchants, and although this group of people wore rain raincoats to ward off the drizzle, their clothes were still dampened by the drizzle.
"Lord! This rain is getting heavier and heavier, I don't think it will stop, we have to find a place to take shelter." A strong man in his twenties touched the water droplets on his face and suggested, even if the person was wearing a straw raincoat to carry it, the mount could not bear it, the strong man treated his mount as his second life.
"May! Find out if there are any mountain dwellings nearby." The center of the cavalcade was a man of great dignity, also twenty-five or twenty-six years old, clad in a rain raincoat, this man, even though his forehead hair was drenched by the fine rain in a slight mess, still did not hide his innate aristocratic aura. He rode a black horse with oily hair, without a trace of hair, better than Zheng Yuming's ride to a grade. This man was no other than Zhao Xuan, the crown prince of Zhao, and that young strong man was Zhao Wu Zai Bo Yao.
"There are cart prints here turning back toward the woods, there must be a village there." The merchant caravan's leading guard suddenly jumped off his horse and turned over the thatch on the fork in the road, where there were a few staggered wheel prints.
"Thou shalt follow the wheel tracks forward, find the dweller, reward him with a few more gold, and tell the mountain folk to give up their rooms for the Lord to rest." Bo Yao immediately ordered.
"Nuo!" The guards led the order to turn on their horses and follow the traces on the grass in pursuit.
Bo Yao sent the guards far away, before he turned his horse to the front of the black horse and said in a low voice: "Lord, could it be that Yushizhuang exaggerated, I see that the mountains here are general, the roads are inconvenient, the people are poor, how could the great sage be willing to live here for nearly ten years?"
"Zhuang has real talent, real talent and real learning people still praise the great sage, how can they exaggerate?" Zhao Xuan shook his head, he personally examined that called Zhuang's traveler talent, is full of books and ink generation, talk not bad, Zhao Xuan very appreciate.
"In fact, the Lord just need to instruct the micro minister to come and invite Daxian is enough to express his sincerity, it is too dangerous for the Lord to personally sneak into Qimen Mountain to invite him." Bo Yao thought that no matter how big Daxian's face was, it wouldn't be bigger than the face of the Crown Prince of Zhao, and having him, an important minister of Zhao, come to the door with Zhao Xuan's handwritten letter and thick gifts to invite him was already enough to give Daxian face.
"Wizards are rare! For talent this little adventure is not enough." Zhao Xuan sighed, from You Shizhuang's mouth, he could tell that this Great Sage of Qimen Mountain was a supreme wizard, proficient in astronomy and meteorology and the art of organisms, the person was very capable of real skill, and the character was the same, quite arrogant.
"My Lord is thirsty for talent and treats them with courtesy, my Zhao Kingdom's domination of the Central Plains is just around the corner!" Bo Yao looked at the future king he served with admiration.
Zhao Xuan smiled slightly, Zhao's ambition to dominate Great Qin was instilled by King Zhao to Zhao Xuan since childhood, and now, under the governance of their father and son, Zhao was marching step by step towards this path.
Governance of the country needs the assistance of virtuous ministers, Zhao Xuan in the crown prince's residence in the king's capital, every day there are to go to join the scholar, as long as the scholar door, Zhao Xuan have let his men to hospitality, but unfortunately, the mediocrity in the scholar accounted for the majority of those who can assist him, Zhao Xuan feel quite a lack of.
When Zhao Xuan heard that You Shizhuang praised the talent of the great sage that he met in Qimen Mountain last year, he couldn't help but think of inviting the great sage to come to the mountain. However, at that time, there was a civil unrest in the court of the King of Wu, and Zhao Xuan wanted to take the opportunity to expand his territory and had to lead his troops into battle, so he had no time to spare, and thus the matter of seeking a great sage was delayed. When Zhao and Wu signed a peace agreement, Zhao retreated back to the capital, and Zhao Xuan arranged the land he had fought over so that he could spare some time, it was already March.
The larger the country became, the more Zhao Xuan felt that there were too few people who could be of use, and the stronger the thought of inviting the great sages of Qimen Mountain to come out and assist him became. In March, when he was free, Zhao Xuan took Wu Zai and ten guards, dressed up as merchants selling goods, and passed through the city at the mouth of the throat, diverted to Qu City, and entered the Qimen Mountain area through the main road of Qu City.
Zhao Xuan and his party had walked along the wheel tracks for a quarter of an hour when the guards who had scouted out the road returned.
"My Lord! There are no mountain dwellers' houses ahead."
"Huh? What's with that wheel mark?" Bo Yao was depressed, the fact that there were no mountain people living in front of them meant that they would have to continue to get wet until they found shelter from the rain.
"It was an abandoned lumberyard, with five ramshackle houses, already occupied by dozens of travelers, and a vicious dog placed at the intersection for defense." The guard rode his horse to the entrance of the lumberyard, and found ten or so horses and three mule carts parked in front of the lumberyard, the guard wanted to approach and ask questions, but he was stopped by a big dog that looked like a wolf, the wolf dog was so ferocious that the horses were frightened, and it was with great difficulty that the guard was able to control the startled horses to rush back to report the news.
"Huben guys, go and call the merchants to avoid the place." Bo Yao's big hand waved towards the back, the ten guards that followed Zhao Xuan out were all one in a thousand, and under force of arms, there was no merchant who wouldn't compromise.
"Don't be reckless!" Zhao Xuan voiced to stop. "Thou lead the way in front, lone and their merchant team proprietor negotiation, everyone squeeze common shelter under the rain on it, must not start any strife."
This is, after all, the land of Wu, and besides, the Great Sage is not far away in the vicinity, and it is still necessary to be cautious in making moves that may affect the Great Sage, who is said to hate bullying and bullying people with power.
"Promise!" Bo Yao and the Huben all bowed to receive the order.
"In front of the merchants, everyone must not refer to the orphan as the prince, but change it to the proprietor!" Zhao Xuan pretended to be a merchant selling furs, and when there were outsiders around, Zhao Xuan was the merchant master.
Zhao Guo's twelve men arrived at the lumberyard as darkness was approaching, and Zheng Yuming and his party were just settling in.
The five houses in the lumberyard are dilapidated, but four-fifths of them are sheltered from the rain, and they are solidly framed so that there is no need to worry about collapsing, and the rock-hewn walls keep out wild animals from the lower mountains.
Ma Ren commanded his men to clean up the five houses, set up the field tent inside the broken house, cut down some small wrist-thick trees outside the broken house, and built a rain shelter frame for the horses, which was covered with twigs and weeds to shield the horses from the rain. While there was not much rain outside, many dead branches and leaves were gathered to use as fuel, and a fire was built to boil hot water and cook dinner.
Hearing the sound of wood barking furiously towards Zhao's scouting guards, Ma Ren immediately mounted his horse to check out the situation at the road entrance.
It took a lot of labor to organize a place that had been abandoned for two or three years so that it could be stayed in for a night, and the task of keeping watch was given to Woody so that two extra sentries could be put up in the stables.
"My lord, just now there is a horseback riding people spying on our premises, and now has returned to report companions, they have a total of twelve people, horses loaded with goods, looking like a large merchant." Ma Ren walked into the broken room to report, Zheng Yuming is sitting on a simple bench to change shoes cloth shoes, riding a horse he wears boots, wearing boots is not as comfortable as wearing cloth shoes.
"Ma Ren, look at how nervous you are, this is the Kingdom of Wu, the people who come here should be our own people, our own people, why do you also use the word peeping?" Zheng Yuming laughed. "I guess it's also pedestrians who want to come to take shelter from the rain, this spring cold rain drenched too much is very hurtful to the body."
"Belong to go ask." Maren scratched his head, his hair still board-short.
It turns out that the soldiers in the valley are accustomed to short hair, think short hair comfortable guards, coupled with the Chu Chao Hui has not been long hair, the slave soldiers have followed suit, long and long with the scissors produced in Nanbu cut off. This kind of scissors shape is different from the big Qin like tweezers shape of the scissors, is the two edges of the staggered, can be opened and closed, cut things very handy.
"We don't need so many houses for thirteen of us plus a dog; one or two may be let out to shelter them from the storm."
Zheng Yuming changed his shoes and moved the simple stool in front of the fire. After the rain, the temperature was a few degrees colder, and leaning against the fire was more comfortable for people.
"Naw!"
For insurance purposes, Ma Ren put on his bow and crossbow, with his belt knife hanging from his waist, before he put on his straw raincoat and called two of his men to go to the intersection to look around.
Zhao Xuan and his party still had the wood blocked in front of the main entrance to the lumberyard. The wood saw scared away one, but attracted a large number, fighting spirit can not help but more inspired, it arched its back, dog mouth issued "whine" threatening sound.
"This is a wolf?"
Zhao Xuan couldn't help but be shocked at the sight of Woody, but in a moment, he was relieved because he heard Woody's dog barking, and at the same time, Ma Ren, who was clad in a straw raincoat, flashed out from the entrance of the road.
Bo Yao got down from his horse and walked up to Ma Ren and clasped his fists, "This strong man! We are the people of Chen, come to Qimen Mountain to buy fur things, rain can not find the tip of the place. The front is your house? Can you allow us to avoid the wind and rain for a night? If you are willing to accommodate, we will pay a lot of money."
Seeing that the men spoke politely and acted without hostility, Maren loosened the bow and belt knife hanging from his waist and returned the salute with both hands.
"We are also passers-by, just first find the front abandoned room to shelter from the rain, my proprietor said, everyone out of the house are inconvenient, there are difficulties hand in hand to help each other is a reasonable thing, abandoned room a total of five, we can let out two to you, but the horse corridors need to be built by yourselves."
Zhao Xuan listened to Ma Ren's words and felt good about Ma Ren's proprietor, he laughed and got down from his horse and walked over to Ma Ren.
"Ru Dongjia is truly a kind person, Mister Liang would like to pay his respects to Ru Dongjia first." Zhao Xuan's mother's surname was Liang, and when Zhao Xuan went out, he always took his mother's surname.
Zhao Xuan throws the reins of his horse to the guards, and himself leads Bo Yao to follow Ma Ren to the log house at the lumberyard to pay his respects to Zheng Yuming.