At dusk, with Guyin City in sight, Xin You put his thoughts back.

This morning, he first went to the wild to shoot a hare, then helped the old man fill the earthen jar outside the house, collected several large bundles of firewood, and kept all the remaining biscuits and dried meat for the

Afraid of causing trouble to him, he didn't give the silver cake as a gift. He worked hard until almost noon before saying goodbye and leaving.

The things he did made the old man completely let down his guard. While he was busy working, he told him the reason why he lived alone in the hut with his granddaughter.

The old man's surname is Liu, and he is indeed a refugee. His family is located in Ranxingguo, southeast of Longzhou.

Ranxing belongs to the same clan as the people of the Qin Kingdom in Guanzhong. Ranxing is the ancestral home of their clan, but it is divided into two countries. More than 20 years ago, the new emperor of Qin came to the throne and was ambitious. He attacked Ranxing and fought for more than a year.

However, due to the constraints of the Wei State and the Longxi State, Ran Xing was unable to be destroyed and returned with a large number of captives. Although Ran Xing did not lose the country, the war spread, but it harmed the people within the territory, especially the people of all ethnic groups who were not "nationals".

, were robbed, plundered, killed and slaughtered, and even turned into "two-legged sheep", marching to transport heavy supplies, and the army to collect food for the army.

In order to beg for a living, some people revolted and raised the banner of "begging for a living", while others left their homes and fled to other places.

The old man was one of the people who fled. He fled to Long with his wife and son. There were no less than ten thousand refugees who entered Long with them. The Dingxi court selected the able-bodied among them to work as farm households or military households, and the rest

Then they dispersed to Eryuan City and the dock wall outside the city. He, his wife, and his son settled in a dock not far from the hut here.

As a foreigner, he was honest and willing to work, and had never had any problems. Until a few years ago, the owner of the dock where he stayed fell in love with his daughter. His daughter was born in Longhou, and she was intimidated by the owner.

He had power and had no choice but to sacrifice his daughter. Within two years, his daughter was tortured to death by the dock owner, and his wife passed away in grief. Although he was sad, he had to go through life, but he did not expect that the dock owner would fall in love with his granddaughter again.

, How could the old man’s family be willing? After fruiting, his daughter-in-law was forced to death half a month ago. The old man’s stubborn temper got worse, and he simply ignored the cold winter and took his granddaughter away from the dock wall and lived in a hut in the wild. He would rather die of hunger than

I will never send my granddaughter into a pit of fire again.

"Why are people's livelihood so miserable?"

Xin You deeply sympathizes with the plight of Old Man Liu and his family, and feels sad for them. Hu Yi does not regard them as fellow tribesmen, nor do the rulers and powerful men of the Tang Dynasty regard them as fellow tribesmen. From Ran Xing to Long, the world is big without them.

Instead of living a life of humiliation and poverty, it is better to die in the wild. At least, you can get a little freedom and no longer have to be bullied.

Looking at the approaching Guyin City in front of him, Xin You thought of Linghu Feng, and he thought to himself: "He is a man of great ability, but he only cares about his own rights and interests, and does not care about the suffering of the people. He himself

If there really is a destiny, will the destiny favor people like him?" Xin You doesn't believe it. Even from now on, if everything goes according to Linghu Feng's plan, he may indeed be able to do it.

Xin'er still doesn't believe that the usurpation of the throne is successful. If there is a destiny, Xin'er believes that it will never ignore the billions of Chinese people.

The old city of Guyin is not big, seven miles long and three miles wide. Because it looks like a coiled dragon, it is also called Wolong City.

Nowadays, five cities are entrenched. From a distance, the old city is the head, and the south city is the tail. With wings spread to the east and west, it looks like a phoenix. It actually integrates the old city known as "Wolong" into the body, and it looks like a dragon flying and phoenix dancing.

As the old man said, many high poles with heads hanging on them were erected outside the main city area, and residents who were returning to the city quickly passed under the poles.

Xin You put away her thoughts, looked around for a few times, avoided it from a distance, and followed the river outside the city to the outside of Dongyuan City.

There is no wooden pole outside Dongyuan City to announce to the public, and there are a few gaps in the simple city wall. It cannot be called a city gate. Most of the people entering and leaving are wearing pleated hakama. The race cannot be distinguished only by the clothes, but by the hairstyle But it can be easily distinguished from their appearance. The people with buns are from the Tang Dynasty, the people with gonial hair are from the Hu people, and the people with hair cut to the neck, deep eyes and high noses are from the Western Regions. Residents of different ethnic groups are mixed together. Often, they have quite different customs from the mainland.

Xin You observed for a moment and saw that although there were garrison soldiers at the city gate, they were holding spears and squatting in the corner to take shelter from the wind. They did not check the various tribes coming and going at all. He thought to himself: "There are many various tribes living in this city. , there are many people who don’t understand the language, so it’s difficult to conduct an interrogation.”

Dongxiyuan City is a gathering place for the "untouchables" of various ethnic groups. In the eyes of the big shots, it doesn't matter whether they live or die, and they don't think anyone would be bored enough to plot here. Therefore, the city walls are low and the city defense is equivalent to nothing. Feeling relieved, knowing that he could easily blend in, he dismounted his horse and led the way, following four or five Tang people who had returned from fishing, and indeed entered the city smoothly.

There are no houses near the city wall, and there are overgrown grass and thorns. Follow the footprints and rutted dirt road for some distance, and residential areas appear one after another on both sides of the road.

As far as I can see, there are many residential areas, which are divided into two categories. A few are surrounded by low walls and have many tents inside, which are the residences of barbarians; most of them are built with high walls, which are the residences of camp households. The city wall is still high. Compared with the lax security outside, the management here is also very strict. There are soldiers and officials standing guard at the entrance. Everyone who comes in and out is interrogated and carefully registered one by one.

Xin You knew that this was because military service was difficult, and camp households sometimes fled at home, so the government could only impose strict controls on them.

Fortunately, the Huozhuo Temple is not located in these camps, but is built in a public area in the city.

After passing two high-walled camps and a barbarian settlement full of tents, a large lake appeared in front of us on the right.

The water surface is clear, with aquatic plants growing on the edges, and dense trees along the shore. Surrounding the lake, more than a dozen buildings stand tall and low.

The tallest and most majestic one is the palace of the Dingxi royal family. King Dingxi would occasionally come to Dongyuan City to inspect the camps, and he would rest here when he was tired. There are several smaller buildings around the palace, which are the military and administrative buildings of Dongyuan City. The office of officials.

There are three temples opposite these public buildings across the lake. One of them is the Zoroastrian temple. Far away from the temple is a Buddhist temple, and further away is a Taoist temple. Compared with the Buddhist temple, which covers a large area, the Taoist temple and the Zoroastrian temple are much smaller.

It's cold by the lake, and most of the residents of Dongyuan City are in need of food and clothing. No one has time to enjoy the scenery. The lake is the private property of King Dingxi. Fishing is prohibited, and no one comes to fish. There are not many people on both sides of the bank. The Buddhist temple in the distance , the door of the Taoist temple has been closed, and the deep ringing of bells can be heard. I don’t know if it is dinner time, or the monks and Taoists are going to have evening classes. But there is a lot of noise outside the Zoroastrian temple, with crowds of people surging, and there are three to four hundred people gathered. people.

Xin You pretended to enjoy the lake scenery, and slowly followed the broken branches and willows on the shore to the outside of the Zoroastrian temple. He tied the reins to the tree, left his mount far away, and walked closer. The temple door faced the sun. In the east, the hundreds of people gathered outside were mostly Tang people, but also Hu from the Western Regions.

Roughly calculated, from the time he arrived outside Guyin City to now, Xin You has seen no fewer than dozens of barbarians from the Western Regions. He couldn't help but said: "It's said that the land is northwest, but that's precisely because it's in the northwest. The northwest, just from the perspective of race, is comparable to Chang'an in its heyday."

People were talking in low voices, and no one noticed Xin You.

Xin'er listened for a while and thought to himself: "It turns out they are going to hold a sacrifice ceremony." He was slightly happy. He knew a little about the sacrifice rules of Zoroastrianism and thought, "In addition to the daily prayers of believers, Zoroastrianism also has rituals held in the first ten days of every month. A large-scale collective sacrifice. Is today the day of their sacrifice this month? In this case, Guo Mei will definitely participate."

Many Zoroastrian followers wear white clothes, which represent God, or red clothes, which represent fire. Most of the people present are wearing red and white clothes. Xin'er's robe is black, and soon there are a few outside believers. Seeing him, one person asked: "Are you here to watch the ceremony?"

Xin Er responded: "Yes."

Even though he was still wearing a hijab, the person who was talking to him could tell that he didn't recognize him, so he asked again, "Are you from Central City?"

"I came from Tangxing County and came to the capital to buy some goods. I knew that your sect would be offering sacrifices to heaven today, so I came here specially."

"Tangxing County, I have never been there. Who told you that we would worship heaven today? We have already done so. Today is the coming-of-age ceremony."

Zoroastrianism is very famous for its "magic arts". Every time there is an event, there will be such a performance. Many non-believers will come to watch it. This is also a way for them to attract new followers, so these believers are not suspicious.

Xin'er thought: "So it's not a sacrifice to heaven. Also, if it's a sacrifice to heaven, there won't be only a few believers. It's a coming-of-age ceremony. Such a big movement should be the coming of age of the children of important figures in their religion." The guess is that it is not a sacrifice to heaven. God, but Guo Mei will definitely come too.

He guessed well, Guo Mei would indeed participate, because this believer whose son is an adult is not an ordinary believer, and is a big benefactor in his religion.

At sunset, two people came out of the temple. One of them was about forty years old, with a short build, deep eye sockets, and a short beard. He was wearing a red robe, with a long sword with a square handle tied to his waist, and a flower-shaped bag. It was Guo Guo. Sister. The other one is Hu from the Western Regions, tall, with curly hair and beard, wearing a large fur collared shawl, and a white lapel robe with red edges, cut tightly, with richly decorated leather belts, and equipped with a scimitar.

The Zoroastrian believers outside the temple immediately lowered their voices and bowed down one after another. The non-believers also lowered their voices and looked at them one after another.

Guo Mei looked at the sky and said: "The time to salute has come." At this time, the sun has not set and the moon has risen. Zoroastrianism, which worships the sun, moon and stars, believes that "the sun and the moon coexist and shine in the sky", which is the most suitable. A sacred time for performing various sacred rituals.

The temple could not accommodate so many people, so Guo Mei ordered seven or eight prominent people to come in, while the rest stayed outside the temple. The believers who were not called in had no complaints. The other people also smiled and no one left. , Xin You thought to himself: "I am probably waiting to see the illusion that will follow." Knowing that Guo Mei would not leave, he waited patiently.

After waiting for about half an hour, Guo Mei and others came out, and there was a young man from the Western Regions. Guo Mei took the young man's hand, smiled and said to the waiting people: "Under our witness, Shi Ming has become an adult. From now on, I will follow Ahura Mazda’s will and fight bravely against all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds!”

The boy from the Western Region raised his fists and said loudly: "I swear to be a worshiper of Mazda, I swear to believe in Mazda religion, I practice good thoughts, words, and deeds, and I praise the supremely good worship of Mazda.

Teaching, it eliminates disputes and lays down weapons!"

The believers prostrated themselves on the ground and responded to the young man's oath, saying: "I am a worshiper of Mazda, follow Suruchi, oppose the devil, and accept the teachings of Ahura." The voices of hundreds of people combined together, loud and clear like a tide.

, they prayed devoutly, "May the fire make the righteous, bright, and glorious goodness last forever, and I will be a sharer of the world of goodness."

The twilight has receded and night has arrived. Under the light of torches, hundreds of people in white or red clothes fell to the ground and shouted. This scene is very solemn.

Xin'er turned around and looked at the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in the distance, thinking: "Compared with the Buddhist theory of reincarnation, the teachings of Zoroastrianism are quite positive."

Unlike Buddhist fatalism, orthodox Zoroastrian teachings are very positive. They believe that the entire history of time and space, the present and the future, is a struggle between good and evil. Ahura Mazda is their supreme god, a good god who represents light.

, at the same time, they believe that there is an evil god who represents darkness, and evil and good are twin brothers. How a person chooses between good and evil depends entirely on the struggle of his own soul. When it comes to belief, it is what kind of religious belief he should choose.

from.

Guo Mei took out a mixture of spices, ointment and ashes of the holy fire from the flame-shaped copper basin carried by her entourage, and first applied it on the faces, ears, noses and beards of the young man and those around him, and then slowly walked in front of the believers.

He touched them one by one and said, "May the fire give you purity, wealth and longevity."

After the plastering is completed, the entire ceremony is over.

The believers stood up one after another, carefully protecting the holy ashes on their faces that had brought blessings from the Supreme God. They were all satisfied and happy. At this time, the other people gathered around mentioned God, and Xin You knew that the "magic magic" was about to begin.

The performance was about to begin. Guo Mei returned to the temple and changed her clothes. Based on Xin You's information, it must have been not only a change of clothes, but also an opportunity to pick up the props.

Guo Mei stood at the temple gate, holding a handleless chisel blade. The blade was sharp and the color was like frost and snow. He took a thread and dropped it on the blade. The thread broke in response. He raised the knife to everyone.

After signaling for a while, he suddenly turned the blade and stabbed it into his abdomen. He piled his hands on the blade at the other end and pushed inward. Xin You saw that the blade immediately pierced both of his palms and the blade came out.

Back of hand.

Many of the onlookers screamed.

Some people who had already seen Guo Mi's "magic skills" said to the people who screamed: "This is nothing. Sabao is protected by the gods and his magic is superb. You can wait and see."

Guo Mei ignored that the back of her hand was pierced, she pinched the blade of the knife with her fingers, and stirred it inside her abdomen. Her intestines fell out, blood flowed all over her lapel, and flowed down her legs to the ground, soaking a large area red. It took a meal, during which time

Guo Mei also straightened out the intestines. Finally, he took out the bloody knife, sprayed the water on the "injured area", wiped it with his hand, and showed everyone that the shocking wound had healed as before.

The audience, who had been holding their breath for a long time, immediately became excited. Many people shouted: "The God has appeared! The God has appeared!" The believers in red and white clothes fell down and worshiped on the ground again, shouting enthusiastically: "The Supreme God!"

Although Xin'er, like Linghu Feng, didn't believe in any "magic technique" at all, he didn't know the secret of Guo Mi's technique. Under the impact of the visual effects, he couldn't help but praise it.

Many people didn't see enough and clamored for Guo Mei to come up with another set of "magic skills".

Guo Mei knew well the principle of playing hard to get and refused to let them watch to their full content in one sitting. She reasoned that the night was getting late and soldiers on patrol would come later and ask if everyone should go home. The audience dispersed unsatisfied.

The believers and the father and son from the Western Region also said goodbye respectively.

There were only four or five people left around Guo Mei. When he was about to leave, he heard someone say: "Sa Bao, please stay." He turned around and saw a young man in a long robe wearing a turban. He didn't recognize him and asked, "Who is your Excellency?"

?”

…

I don’t know how to make a map. There will be six countries in the early stage of this book. From west to east they are Dingxi (Long) in the north, Qin and Ranxing, Wei, and Shu and Tang in the south. You can understand the general directions of the countries like this

: Long is in the Gansu region to the west of the Yellow River, and to the east is the Qin in Shaanxi and other places; Long borders the northern border of Qin, and Ranxing is sandwiched between the southern borders of Long and Qin; to the east of Qin is the Wei in Hebei and other places
Chapter completed!