"The Change of Heaven"
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 146: The twelfth month of the first year
Generally speaking, this period of time was the busiest in my family. Yinling would hire a car and drive around for a few days at this time, or even earlier, perhaps not long after the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. Sometimes she would bring a lot of things home, such as rice, flour, meat, vegetables, cloth, oil, salt, sauce, wine and vinegar. I would usually be at the door early, looking forward to my sister coming back, because she would usually bring me some hot food at the last intersection. At other times, Aunt Zhang and Uncle Zhang would go out to buy food, and Yinling and I would stay at home to watch the house and play until they were about to come back, then we would sit at the door and wait like good children. Before that, it was the time when all the examples that Yinling used as teaching words happened, but I can't remember them.
I used to love the Chinese New Year because there were delicious food and fun things to do, and everyone was carefree. But after I turned sixteen, the Chinese New Year has slowly become just a reflection of getting one year older. I no longer have the same feeling as before, even though it has only been three years.
Before the New Year, I stood at the gate of a city I had never known before. I looked east and explained things to the people below me, such as what to eat during the New Year, if there is no meat, go hunting, catch more, and share it with the people, people outside should not get separated, be on guard, and continue to check the surroundings, etc. There are many more people coming in and out of the yamen than in the past few days. They are not for official business, but for everyone to have a good New Year. It is not anyone's fault to take a break these few days. For the people of our Han Dynasty, and for the future generations, this is the most important day of our year. Everyone will smile during these few days. The local people are also sweeping their own courtyards, slightly repairing the dilapidated walls and houses, and every face I see will have a silly smile. I have wondered why these few days are different, and people's temperament is different from usual. In the past, in Xiangyang, I thought that after the New Year, the weather would slowly warm up, but it is different here. It is very warm now, so this should not be the reason. I can’t quite figure out what these days mean.
Suddenly, someone on the north wall waved Nan's flag. Nan was not in the city, so it was obvious that something was happening in the north. He immediately mounted his horse and ran straight to the north wall, and quickly rushed to the top of the city.
The one waving the flag was Deng Mao, who was on patrol duty that day. When he saw movement in the north near the hour of Si, his men wanted to come and report to me immediately, but he was in such a small place. Yue Hou was standing on the road at the moment, so he just shouted and it would be fine. After shouting a few times, he found that I didn't notice him. He didn't want to admit defeat in front of the soldiers, so he pulled up the flag with the word Liu in the south and waved it there. I asked why he didn't use his own. He said that if I hadn't noticed him, he would burn the flag and continue waving it. Since Nan was not there, he would naturally pull up Nan's flag. I asked what if Gao Sheng was not there? He pulled up Huarong's flag. I asked him why, and he looked at Gao Sheng standing next to me, smiling like a flower - of course, it was not a very beautiful flower.
As the stubble flower pointed to the north, a clear gray-black line gradually extended towards us, which was not visible at first. If it was in the north, it might not be noticed at all, but we happened to be in Yue State - based on what I saw, the land was almost all red, and the black was too obvious.
It was a cloudy day, and the people coming were still far away. I couldn't see clearly the flags at the head of the team, but I was sure that it was definitely my team. At least the army that appeared in this area should only be my Vietnamese troops. Of course, this is only a rough "reason". But if they came in such an orderly manner, it must be my army. Or...
"Gao Sheng, take a few people and ride fast to see who it is!" I was shocked, but I tried to remain calm on the surface, and then waved my hand, "If something is wrong, come back quickly!"
Everyone's facial expressions changed, and they should have noticed the change in my facial expression.
"Tell those two families to send someone quickly!" I hurriedly gave the order. I didn't have time to explain why. At this time, no one would have thought about what was going on. "Tell everyone to stand up and take down my flag."
In their eyes, it might just be a black line on the horizon, but in my eyes, this black army was no less than a group of ferocious beasts attacking from the horizon. I can still remember the setting sun in Mingzi, the blood-red setting sun. It was also this dark cloud that swept away everything around me, including Old Man Liu, the big guy, the beacon tower, and thousands of lives in the city.
How did they get here? How did they find their way here again? These were not things I was suited to think about. Seeing their army moving so quickly, my heart was beating faster and faster. I ordered all kinds of defense work. It felt exactly the same as that day, except that there were no old friends around me.
Someone suddenly reported that some brothers were still hunting in the south of the city and asked whether they should be called back.
This made me hesitate. There were thousands of lives lost in the city, and five hundred soldiers. And the series of events that followed made me really go back and forth from death that day.
"You two families... take the common people and retreat south across the river." After thinking it over again and again, the mention of the hunter made me suddenly enlightened. I decided to abandon the city, cross the bridge and burn the floating bridge. This battle came suddenly, and I never expected it. I just felt it was such a coincidence, and it happened to be a marginal city. I led 500 people, there were thousands of people in the city, and there was a black mass attack outside the city. But this time I had an advantage in the terrain. As long as I could escape, I would not be able to get away from these guys.
So, when I finally faced the questioning faces of Hua Rong and Deng Mao, I quietly said, "Do you know how Zhong Chun Mingzi was this year?"
This incident has been widely circulated. Many people even said that I alone defeated thousands of Xiliang people in one night. When reinforcements arrived the next day, I was still fighting. Only I know the real situation. I never want to talk about it, but it is indeed a defeat that I will never forget.
"After the battle, my wife asked me why I didn't retreat. I once told my wife that there are two kinds of good men in the world. One kind will face the strongest enemy head-on and fight to the death, even if it means losing his life and being torn to pieces. The other kind will keep a low profile, accumulate strength, and wait for the right time to rise again. Those who face death head-on are the bones and backbone of our country. Without them, our Han Dynasty cannot stand firm in the world. Those who endure and wait for action are the blood vessels of our country. Without them, our Han Dynasty cannot continue in the world. Those who keep their bones but cut off their blood vessels will not be able to survive even if they die. "If you are unyielding, your soul can be reborn; if you have broken bones but intact blood vessels, you will be able to recover in time, and even if you are defeated, you can still rise again; our Han Dynasty wants to dominate the world for ten thousand years, and both are indispensable. And these two kinds of people are the backbone of our army. But today I cannot be a hero and the backbone, because I am responsible for the land of Yue State and the responsibility of destroying Dong in the future. Moreover, the situation today is different from the past, and we still have room for maneuver. When Gao Sheng comes back, we will all withdraw. Everyone take away all the things that need to be taken away, and escort the people across the river first."
The lake behind me gradually became noisy, and the dark clouds in front of me gradually became thicker.
Suddenly, two riders rushed out from the front, leaving the main army far behind. One of the riders rushed to the front, carrying a large black flag. On the flag was a huge "Guo". The other rider hid behind the flag. There was no doubt in my heart. There was no one named Guo in my army, and the flag looked very familiar. Now that I was sure of it, I was not panicking. I was afraid that it was really as the teacher said, that I was useless in normal times, but I was a genius in the world.
"It's the Guo family again." Seeing the huge gap between the front and rear troops and Gao Sheng not coming back, I shouted, "Deng Mao, bring a dozen cavalrymen with me."
Gao Sheng was probably captured by them, or had to take a detour back. Since there were few people under the banner, I would capture you, which would be a good idea. At least I could destroy your banner and kill your prestige.
Without even having time to put on his armor, he took off his outer clothes, picked up his spear, mounted his horse, and rode out of the city with a dozen men to meet the enemy.
When I was only a hundred steps away from the flag, an arrow suddenly shot towards me. It seemed that it lacked some strength and also deviated from my body. I was delighted, thinking that this man had little martial arts skills and should be able to capture him easily. I caught the arrow and suddenly felt that this arrow was quite familiar. I took a closer look on the horse and saw the word "li" shaking violently on the arrow shaft.
He was startled and looked up, seeing the two men approaching and both dismounted from their horses.
I hurriedly reined in the horse, but the poor beast kept wailing, its front hooves lifted off the ground, pinning me in mid-air, and it spun around twice before coming down. Everyone else hurriedly reined in their horses, and the sound of horses neighing was endless.
There were two people standing below, both of whom I recognized. The one holding the flag in front was Guo Xu, who was holding his big flag horizontally with both hands, looking at me, as if waiting for my words. The one behind him was a five-foot iron bow with a thirteen-foot fine red silk tied to it. He was nine feet tall, with a strong body and a happy smile. He was my fourth brother who was left behind to defend the country and who made me worried.
“What… is going on?” I stuck my spear into the ground, dismounted and approached in confusion.
"You know him, Guo Xu, he came from the eldest brother and second brother." Si chuckled first, then patted Guo Xu on the shoulder and reminded him to speak.
"I want to come here by myself." said my former "mortal enemy", but I asked him to stop first and quickly turned to face Deng Mao. However, Deng Mao did not let me come and went first, "I know, brothers, come back with me, and tell our brothers and the common people not to retreat." Immediately, everyone ran back.
This time I turned around and it was the two who were confused. I said to Guo Xu that it was not his fault, and rushed to Si and slapped him twice, "Son, you came without even saying hello. With this scene, I thought someone from Yizhou had come again. I almost scared you to death."
"That's right, if we do this, Third Brother will definitely be shocked." This man actually showed off to Guo Xu as if he had figured it out.
I raised my head and glared at Si: "Was this your idea?"
"Well, I wanted to give you a surprise."
"Forget it. You're only scared, not happy. I'll teach you a lesson." When I decided to beat this bastard up, Guo Xu who was behind me saved him.
"Master Xie Zhi, the Marquis of Ping An Fengyun!" I suddenly heard the sound of wind behind my ears, and turned around to see Guo Xu kneeling on the ground, offering the big flag with both hands. This made me give up the idea of cleaning up the family, and I was a little at a loss.
"Guo Xu was wrong!" With a choking voice, the man knelt down and threw the flag to the ground.
This story is a bit long to tell. Even if it is simple, it still has to start from my second brother. These Xiliang people lived under my second brother's nose. Giving them cattle and sheep and not collecting taxes from them, as long as they could support themselves, it would not be difficult. But their Xiliang accent, and the rumor that they were Dong Zhuo's army, made it very difficult to go to the street to exchange cattle and sheep for rice, salt, wine and vinegar. I think it is very likely that my second brother spread this rumor. Not to mention that most shops would refuse to let them in without hesitation, and passers-by would often curse them, and some people would even take out sticks and chase them. Life was difficult, and the rebellious temper of these people was also increasingly depressed. But one day, suddenly an army in black clothes and black armor, without flags, suddenly rushed into the village where they lived, robbed their cattle and sheep, set fire to their houses, and took them all away and took them into a cave.
It is hard for me to imagine how they felt about all this, but someone suddenly asked them how they felt. This person was originally in the cave, and they thought that the man was also abducted, so they told the truth, saying that the thief was lawless and bullied people, and they wanted to kill him as soon as possible. Suddenly, someone clapped his hands, and the lights in the cave were bright. The man only said to Guo Xu: "Do you know Xie Zirui's heart now?"
He was the one who talked the most. He even brought my "imperial sister" and the other two, as well as my eldest brother and a group of his men, to teach this group of people a lesson, saying, "You know how to show off your power, but who knows that it will backfire on you in the end?"
My brothers and sisters-in-law are all good, except for Qin Hou's wife, who is a bit mean. When they describe me, they always put their hands on their knees like a child, saying, "My third brother is kind and honest." "My brother Huang has been kind since childhood." It's as if they raised me. God has mercy on me. One is one year older than me, and the other is ten days older than me. These two really act like elders. But my eldest brother is really a good person. He didn't get involved and had a serious expression from beginning to end.
They brought Guo Xu and his gang here like this, and I always felt that they wanted to get rid of a burden.
Originally, I would never take him in, even though he was a talented general. I sent him to Hanzhong for this reason. But now it is different. Time will dilute everything. Besides, I once hoped that the people of Yizhou would forgive me. How can I not accept others' apologies? He killed thousands of people, and I may have killed more than 100,000. Why should I do this? I am already 19 years old, and I am still a vassal. I can't be so mean. Besides, if he can really be used by me and no longer work for Dong Zhuo, it will at least be a good thing for the people.
"What are you going to do?" I smiled at the man kneeling on the ground and reached out to help him up: "Get up, get up. A real man should be able to take things and put them down. In the future, when you do things, it is good to benefit the people. Get up!"
“Along the way, I’ve heard people talking about how Marquis Fengyun broke his flag and burned his banner, humiliating himself and apologizing in front of hundreds of thousands of Yizhou people. Xu thought that he didn’t have the heart to do that, so he asked General Longxing to be a witness and wanted to follow your example.” He stood up immediately and was about to break the flagpole with his leg.
"Hey, hey..." I hurriedly stopped him, holding the flagpole with both hands: "No need, no need. It would take a skilled carpenter more than three days to cut the branches and plane the wood for this flagpole. It would also take three or four weavers and embroiderers five days to make this flag. I appreciate your kindness, I understand. To be honest, I can't bear to part with it. You can use it."
He looked at me, seemingly incredulous, his lips moved but no words came out.
"Let's go, let's go back." I suddenly felt very happy. I don't know why. Was it because I was proud of how I handled the situation? To be honest, I don't know.
After returning, I was busy for an hour, mostly to appease the people. But I still took the time to visit the two families, and by the way, I inspected the things on the dozens of carriages that the two families were preparing to evacuate, admired their carriages, and "praised" them for being rich and beautiful. Not to mention how much money and goods he had, it would be difficult to describe his carriages in a few hundred words. How to describe his carriages? Very gorgeous, extremely beautiful, and spectacular in every aspect. If I had to describe it in just one sentence, it would be: Just looking at the bridle decoration is enough to kill his entire clan. Turning around, looking at Long Xing even with a smile, it seems that his "surprise" is still good for me.
Si brought me a thousand men and two months' worth of food and fodder, and most importantly, he brought himself, which was what I was most satisfied with. As for Guo Xu, I seemed not ready yet.
With so many people here, I'm afraid the two families won't dare to come to me for more than ten days. I was happy to have some peace and quiet, so at lunch that day, I happily asked the four about what was going on in Guangxin recently.
This person was drinking heavily. It was a good place to drink and sweat. I immediately told him mercilessly that he was greedy for wine and didn't need to make excuses. I wouldn't deduct this drink from you. He smiled innocently and said that he was afraid of something going wrong and ordered his subordinates not to drink. He could only hold back and not drink. I patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well done. Drink it and report to me after you finish drinking."
Before he had finished drinking, he said something without thinking: "We are planning to build a mausoleum for you."
"Forest? A place for hunting, right? Guangxin has dense forests nearby, so I'm afraid there won't be a forest for us to hunt. Don't even think about making money, the Kingdom of Yue can't afford this."
"No, Third Brother, I want to build a mausoleum for you."
"Haha." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and suddenly said to him seriously: "Look at my condition. No matter who sees it, I think I can live for at least another three months."
The man spat out the wine with a gulp, and everyone around him fell to the ground laughing.
"Third brother, you are so funny. Actually, I didn't understand it at first. Third brother is less than 20 years old. Why should he build a mausoleum? But I heard from old man Situ Xu that according to etiquette, it should be built in the second year of your reign. I don't know. Sister is right and Uncle Jian is also right. So we started planning. When you go back, they will report to you. I still don't understand the reason of this matter. You, do I have to build it too?"
"Okay, I'll build one for you next to mine, and I'll let you live in it in a few months. Let's see how it goes."
"Hey, brother, please let me go. I don't need to bother you. I live very comfortably in my own home." As he spoke, he even put the jar on the table.
"Hey, you're drinking alone." I interrupted him unhappily: "Pour some for everyone."
"Oh, I remembered something very important."
As he spoke, he put down the jar and took a bundle from his waist: "It was sent to you from above."
Inside is my seal and ribbon. I have been here for several months. It was only before the New Year that my seal and ribbon were sent to me. There are two purple belts, a brocade bag and the gold seal wrapped inside. A thin belt is tied around the waist, which is the group; a thick belt is placed under the right hand of the thin belt, which is the ribbon; it covers my "Seal of Han Yuehou" in the brocade bag hanging behind, which is the so-called seal and ribbon. I had one before, but it was black in color and the seal was made of copper, which is much worse than this one.
"Your seals and ribbons all arrived earlier than mine." I gave them to them, and I wrote the words, so there would be no mistakes. For example, the Longxing seal is a copper seal with the words "Yue Zuo Sima Seal" on it, and it comes with an ink ribbon.
"Now that the seal is here, you have to remember things. You have to carry it with you. Do you have it with you?"
Gao Sheng raised his head, took out a bag, patted his waist, Hua Rong took out a box from his sleeve, and Deng Mao picked up a taro: "I buried it in the backyard of my house. That valuable thing - made of copper, engraved with the seal of the right lieutenant of Yue, an official seal, must have been used in a lifetime. This is the first time I see it, I can't bear to use it."
I lowered my head and shook it, letting out all the anger in my stomach. "Dig it out! It's against the law to carry it with you like I do."
I also arranged for Guo Xu to sit at the table that day, and he must have had a "quite" "bad" impression of our court.
"Why is there an extra red ribbon on your bow?" Si Ziran was beside me, and his weapon was naturally placed conspicuously not far from me. Using it to make trouble was obviously a good starting point for the conversation.
"Don't want this... Isn't it New Year's Day? Wan'er... tie it for me." At this moment, this person was holding a large piece of roasted meat. He took out the knife on his body, cut it into pieces and threw them into his mouth.
"Did your sister send me a letter?" I had a hundred ideas in my mind, whether to take this barbarian out and beat him up, or to be patient, after all, I needed help. I thought he would give it to me, but he kept holding it.
"Oh, you miss your sister!" This man was fearless. He took a big sip of wine, broke the last remaining bones with both hands, and put his mouth directly to look for leftover meat.
"Do you want to be beaten? Hand it over to me!" In normal days, my patience is not very good. Thinking about the days of war and peace, I am actually suitable for living in the chaotic world.
"Okay, okay, one letter for my sister, one for my sister-in-law, and one for my big brother." The man finally wiped his mouth, held up his greasy hands, looked for something to wipe them, and pointed to his arms with his mouth. Then I realized that he was wearing new clothes. I motioned for me to take them, but he immediately retracted his arms to block them. There were also letters from Wan'er to him, and one person to another. Finally, I stretched out my sleeves. Anyway, I hadn't washed them for many days. He didn't hesitate to wipe his hands on my sleeves, and finally took out the letter from his arms and gave it to me.
"You wait and eat first, I'll be back soon." After taking the letter, I immediately left to read it. There was a commotion behind me, and I heard a few words before I left. It seemed that the letter from someone to someone else had aroused their interest, and Gaosheng had directly raised the issue to the level of "Gong's letter to Deng".
I don't intend to describe all the letters from my two wives, I can only mention other things to the outsiders. Originally, I had to send someone to pay tribute to my adoptive parents after the Lantern Festival (the ancient name of the Lantern Festival) this year, but now it seems that I have to go by myself, because I still have things to do, and it's just the right time to visit them on the way - my sister is getting married, but there is also a worry - Brother Meng De had a woman in his hometown a few years ago, and it seems that he has not been promoted to the main wife, nor has he ever been married. This kind of worry is not something I could have imagined before, but it is just a bad habit that is unique to such wealthy families. It was not a big deal, but she also gave Meng De a son, and there was also someone from a wealthy family named Ding who wanted to marry a daughter to Meng De. I don't know what the old man of the Cao family listened to, and he had already set a wedding date with my father, and he actually gave that family a betrothal gift. Combined with my sister's strong temper, this matter was messed up.
This news made me feel sad. And the heavens seemed to be able to sense my mood. There was sunshine in the morning, but just after noon, it suddenly started to rain.
“Yue Hou!” Deng Mao’s call interrupted my thoughts. He covered his head with one hand and tiptoed towards the corridor in my direction. “This rain is… really…”
"What's the matter?" I looked at him.
"People from those two families are coming again." It seems that I underestimated them, and they really dared to come.
Just as I thought of this, the rain seemed to show its character and suddenly stopped: "What a horrible weather!"
"Let them wait while we eat."
During the dinner, I announced that I would go to Luoyang after the Lantern Festival, and that things here had to be settled during the New Year holidays. Please come with me to meet the two families immediately, and don't talk during the dinner.
As expected, the two families came for that matter again, and they were quite anxious. They rushed to say that the New Year was coming, and if they didn't do this business, they were afraid that the New Year would be unstable. Don't worry, I agreed, you can go and prepare, but I also want to go.
This time, the two families were not in a hurry. But the Tuannan people were difficult to tame, and they were afraid that something might happen. One family would rather lose their business than let me take the risk, and the other family quickly complied.
I don't know if they can understand what I want to do, but if they are smart, they should be able to find out that I have "bad intentions", and in fact I do have "bad intentions". I just want to see what the southerners are like. So I will never give in. Either I go, or no one else can go. Of course, I never said it verbally: "I am a lord of this place, and there are places in my jurisdiction that I cannot go to, and people that I cannot comfort?"
"It's settled!" Suddenly remembering that I was in charge here, I smiled and stood up to settle the matter: "Gao Sheng, arrange a time for us to leave with them."
I turned around and left, but later I did not forget to look back and praise the two families, although they might not be willing to accept my "praise": "I appreciate your loyalty."
This is the first time I use "孤", and I feel it's pretty good. (It can be used for princes in the Han Dynasty, author's note)
That night I called everyone to discuss this matter. I mentioned some scattered information I got from the people and discussed the situation of our trip. The key is that we don't know the situation of these southerners now. Most of the people don't show anything. I patrolled the area for dozens of miles and didn't see any people. In the end, I decided to go by myself. I checked the classics when I came. Although these people are barbarians, they have acknowledged that they are governed by the Han Dynasty since the pacification of Nanyue (in the early Western Han Dynasty). They may not take any action against me, at least they dare not. Although there is the "bad example" of my predecessor, I think I am different. I should be still relatively crazy, but at least I am not crazy.
Suddenly there was a loud noise outside. Before I could send a message to investigate, County Lieutenant Leng rushed in and said, "There's a fire!"
There are not many wells in the city. It is said that you can find water if you dig three feet deep in the city, but there are still few wells. Although the well water here has a salty and alkaline taste, it is mainly because there is a clear and clean water outside the city. We also carry water from outside the city. Moreover, it is obviously not appropriate to dig a well at this time. Before thinking about how the fire started, I immediately ordered to open the city gate to get water to put out the fire. Suddenly, an idea flashed in my mind, and I stopped and asked the county lieutenant where the house on fire was. The answer was southwest.
Then he asked if the two families had come out to put out the fire. Deng Mao sneered, wondering why these people would come out. But then he heard that the county lieutenant Leng had come.
"Open the city gate first."
Everyone was about to go out to see what was going on, but I stopped them and said it was nothing. Just like that, everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Then they all came out.
The fire was not big and was put out in less than half an hour. However, these houses were all thatched houses, and the fire affected more than a dozen families. The soldiers were asked to vacate more than a dozen tents for the victims and let them live in the county government office until the next day.
I couldn't sleep that night, so I walked in the yard and saw Guo Xu standing there. I went over to ask him, but he asked me a very strange question in return. He asked me why I didn't go to those people's homes myself and ask, "know yourself and know your enemy." How can I make a clear judgment just by relying on the few words of replies from the people below
This hurt me a little, so I pulled him to sit under the eaves.
I am a person with a quick temper when it comes to these things. I often get angry after hearing only three sentences, especially now that I have the final say and no one will disobey me. Sometimes what you think is good may not necessarily be good for others, and sometimes what you think is right may not make things better. I have suffered losses many times because of this courage and loyalty. Therefore, it may be better to ask someone, calm down, and think slowly with patience. Moreover, in the end, I smiled happily: I completely trust my brothers, as long as I believe they are my brothers.
Two days later we set out. I took Si, Huarong and dozens of strong men - there are always such people in the north. Guo Xu took his brothers to support me. Deng Mao and Gao Sheng were very nervous and thought my arrangement was a bit too "bold". I trusted Guo Xu, and I whispered to Si: Is it okay? I don't think there should be any big problems, right? It was not like this when you came. You patted my chest at that time and he was sure that there would be no problem. But you trust him too much, aren't you
This time I started to get a little nervous, but there was nothing I could do to change it; I didn't have this habit.
So I went to him very sincerely and told him to be patient in everything, refrain from acting rashly, and not to disturb others.
Tanzhong is a very beautiful place. I was busy with various things in the past few days. This time I finally got to enjoy it. Huarong was nervous and asked me how I could be so calm. I asked how the fourth brother could be so calm. He looked relaxed and said that since the third brother was so calm, why should he be anxious? I whispered to Huarong that I was relieved when I saw Beihai was so leisurely. Huarong wiped his sweat, sighed deeply, and asked me how I survived to this day.
To be honest, I don’t know either.
Their stuff was on carts, each pulled by two bullocks. I didn't know it at first, but Bō had taught us the difference between the calls of the two types of bullocks. So when we heard the carts leaving the city gate, everyone except Guo Xu said, "They are castrated." Guo Xu was very surprised and asked us what the sound of "not castrated" was and how we knew it was when we were not castrated. Deng Mao, who was laughing so hard, said, "Brother Bō... is... not castrated."
Everyone looked at Deng Mao. Deng Mao seemed to realize the mistake he made and quickly explained: "Brother Bō's voice didn't go away."
This explanation may not make up for it. The strange "ow" sounds made by several people intentionally did not mean that they understood. "Brother Mao... We have to report this matter to the Grand Marshal."
Of course Deng Mao quickly said it was just a slip of the tongue, but no one bought it, and soon the matter came to a final conclusion: they would report Deng Mao's words to Big Brother Bō, unless... Of course the key was this unless... Deng Mao needed to make public the letter from Gong to Deng.
In fact, I also wanted to listen, but for the sake of our Yue King's face, I shook my head and slowly left - of course I had to slowly - if I accidentally heard it, I would be "helpless". But I took Guo Xu away, after all, family disgrace should not be made public, Guo Xu has not yet been granted an official position, and is considered a half-outsider - if he is sincere in serving me - if not, then he is a complete outsider - then my situation will be even worse, so it is better to give him a few more instructions, hoping that it will be of some use.
Finally got on the road, but unfortunately, I didn’t hear anything interesting by accident.
The oxcarts were large and heavy, and although the floating bridge was sturdy, for safety reasons only one oxcart could pass through at a time. So we could walk slowly around the bridge, waiting for the twenty or so oxcarts to pass one by one.
After crossing the pond, I suddenly heard the sound of gurgling water, like the sound of water hitting rocks, clear and long. I had never heard it in the pond because of the gurgling water. Everyone seemed to know where the sound came from, so they led me to watch. Where the pond turned northeast, there was a spring emitting mist. Water kept gurgling under the rocks, and bubbles appeared. In the pond, a handful of spring water with a radius of nine pools accumulated, and slowly overflowed into the pond. I tried it with my hand, and the water was warm and soft. The locals called it Xiangshui Spring. (Zhaojiajing, Liuzhou, author's note)
I asked the locals, and they called it the Xiangshui Spring. I noticed someone whispering to Huarong in the back, and after a while, Huarong came over and told me that the spring water was now being watched by the two families, and only for the two families to enjoy. Others were not allowed to take water without permission, and the two families themselves had to fight for the ownership of the water. I curled my lips, thinking that the water was not enough. I could feel the meaning behind it, but it was boring and disgusting.
We rumbled forward in the ox cart and rode on horseback, guided by our soldiers. Although I almost never went to Tanzhong again afterwards, I can still remember its charm. I spent the New Year's Eve of that year in the mountains of Tanzhong, and that experience is something I will never forget.
In the twelfth month of the first year of the reign of Xie Yuehou, the Yuehou went hunting in the pond. This is how the history of the Yue Kingdom recorded that period.
That year, I was nineteen years old, Han Lieya was eighteen years old, Hua Rong was eighteen years old, and Guo Xu was twenty years old.