Chapter 197

The Beijing-Tianjin area is wealthy, with merchants coming and going like ants. If there were a practitioner looking down from the sky, they could even see a great dragon of national destiny coiled over the capital, while the vast and misty Jinmen area is like a pearl spat out by the dragon.

In contrast, the Northern Territory, thousands of miles away, is a vast and desolate frontier landscape.

On the Dragon Head Peak in the Northern Territory, Zhu Yong, whose skin was no longer fair and who had a few wisps of stubble, was leaning on his sword, looking out at the vast mountains and rivers before him.

Behind him, Wang Liang, whose body had fully grown, followed for protection, and a plain-looking Wang Fu personal guard stood by with his hand on his sword, on alert.

Zhu Yong, originally named Zhu Huai'an, was originally a stray dog who had been feared by the imperial family and drifted to the Northern Territory.

And the mountains and rivers blocked by thousands of miles of clouds and mist before him were the path he had come from.

In addition to his personal guards, there was also a disgraced official dressed as a herdsman accompanying him.

This person's name was Li Zheng, originally the descendant of a famous minister, but because he spoke out for justice, he was dismissed and exiled by the Longping Emperor, and even his wife and children were implicated.

Zhu Huai'an, in his spare time, happened to meet Li Zheng, who was living in seclusion in a humble room, on his way to climb Dragon Head Peak to look into the distance.

At that time, Li Zheng was singing hermit poems, singing loudly, which happened to startle Zhu Huai'an, who had come to climb the mountain.

You might say it was such a coincidence that Li Zheng didn't sing early or late, but just today, when Prince Zhu arrived at Dragon Head Mountain, he started singing hermit poems.

How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

However, in fact, there really weren't that many coincidences.

Dragon Head Mountain was the place where the Prince of Changting had pointed his sword at the Northern Territory royal court to sacrifice the flag in his early years.

From the moment Li Zheng learned that Prince Zhu was coming to the Northern Territory, he had built a hut under Dragon Head Mountain, freezing like a grandson all day long, waiting for Prince Zhu to come over.

Li Zheng had once been evaluated by the Prince of Changting as a talent for a king in troubled times, but unfortunately, he was born in a prosperous age.

Li Zheng had originally thought so too, until he drifted to the Northern Territory, and then he only had one thought left: to hell with the prosperous age!

The Prince of Changting had achieved great merit that shook the master, but he stubbornly stuck to loyalty and wanted to leave a clean name for all eternity. What was the result? Didn't he still fail to escape death?

Now that Prince Zhu had drifted to the Northern Territory, it was Li Zheng's only chance.

The Northern Territory was divided by feudal lords, and the old troops of the Prince of Changting had the greatest reputation. As long as Prince Zhu had the heart to sweep away the snow of the world, he would be willing to serve him.

Today, Zhu Huai'an and the other two rode over. Li Zheng, who was as thin as a monkey, took one look and saw that this person had the appearance of a dragon and snake rising, hiding the opportunity for slaughter.

We don't know if this person had lived in a humble room for too long, freezing his brain and starving his eyes, so that he could see so many strange phenomena in anyone who came by.

Anyway, Li Zheng saw it.

In his eyes, who would come to a place like Dragon Head Mountain where birds don't lay eggs?

Except for Prince Zhu, who had lost his father and been "exiled" to the Northern Territory, he couldn't think of anyone else.

Zhu Huai'an was also puzzled. He had changed his name and never told anyone about his background. How could someone see through his identity as soon as he arrived here today? Was this person that powerful?

Prince Zhu became vigilant and originally intended to deny it to the death. If that didn't work, in the wilderness, he would just kill this person to silence him.

But when the other party heard him call himself Zhu Yong, not some Prince Zhu, he became even more certain of his identity.

Zhu Huai'an found it strange and patiently asked. He discovered that this person really had quite a bit of talent, but he just liked to flatter a bit, constantly talking about "Heaven's Mandate" and "chick dragon," afraid that others wouldn't know he wanted to rebel.

"Li Zheng, you say I bear the mandate of Heaven and want to help me change the world..." Zhu Huai'an's smile faded, and he said word by word: "But my Zhu family has always been loyal to Zhao and has never had a single thought of rebellion. Aren't you afraid that I will hand you over to the imperial court for punishment by saying these things?"

Li Zheng laughed loudly: "Zhu Yong, 'Zhu Yong' (punishing the Yong). The Prince took this name, surely not to add bricks and tiles to the Great Yong Dynasty, right?"

Listening to this, Zhu Huai'an felt that this sarcastic tone was familiar.

Seeing that his thoughts had been seen through, Zhu Huai'an simply stopped acting and asked Li Zheng directly: You say you have ability and talent, then I would like to humbly ask for advice on the method of changing the world.

Seeing that Zhu Huai'an was quite polite, Li Zheng's impression score in his heart rose a lot.

This monarch is worth dealing with!

Immediately, Li Zheng bowed and said with burning eyes:

"I have been observing the stars at night recently. The Ziwei Emperor Star has strange rays, like a lamp wick divided into two stems. One stem is powerful but gradually weakening, and one stem is small but gradually becoming full and prosperous. In my humble opinion, it corresponds to the young master bearing the mandate of Heaven."

Zhu Huai'an frowned, and before he could speak, he heard Li Zheng say again:

"These are not flattering words. If the Prince truly wants to take the world, he should take four strategies as a mirror."

"The first strategy: Heaven's mandate is with me. You can send alchemists, monks, and Daoists to spread prophecies, claiming that black water turning into unicorns and withered wood growing mushrooms are all signs of the dragon's rise. Order scholars to compile books on the harsh and tyrannical policies of the previous dynasty and scatter them among the streets as nursery rhymes, so that all the common people know that the old tripod should be overturned, and the new master is the reincarnation of the Yinghuo star to save the common people."

Besides that, I heard that the Zhao family's imperial mausoleum was pierced by heavenly thunder. This is a clear sign that the heart of Heaven has been lost and the true dragon is in the wild.

Furthermore, there are rumors in the streets that the current fake Son of Heaven killed his brother to seize the throne, which is suspected of being unfilial. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. The young master can make a big deal out of this point and make it his fake Son of Heaven identity. As one grows and the other wanes, the momentum will rise daily."

"The second strategy: Split the enemy in the center. When I was an official, I often heard that Grand Marshal He had old grudges with Cabinet Elder Shi and Prime Minister Yan. The Prince can imitate the strategy of the legacy letter—use gold foil to imitate the Grand Marshal's handwriting to make a secret letter of collusion with the enemy, and send dead soldiers to 'carelessly' lose it. The current fake Son of Heaven is quite wary of the Prince, and Grand Marshal He highly respected the Prince in the past."

At that time, their monarch and minister will inevitably suspect each other. When the time is right, the young master will lure the Grand Marshal's students to rebel, and the enemy will be in chaos."

Zhu Huai'an narrowed his eyes and re-evaluated Li Zheng: "Although the current imperial court is dominated by sycophants, it is not lacking in capable officials. Why did you choose Grand Marshal He?"

Li Zheng laughed: "The Grand Marshal has many students and old officials, and has a great influence on the imperial court. The Grand Marshal is grateful for the Zhao family's kindness and is willing to serve to the death. For such a person, if he cannot be used for oneself, it is better to eliminate him as soon as possible. As for other capable officials..."

Li Zheng joked: "Such as Prime Minister Yan, Shi Jinzhong, Pan Song and their ilk, their selfishness is too heavy, either loyal to internal fighting or loyal to their own families. In my eyes, the role of these people alive might be greater than dead."

"In other words, in today's world, if it weren't for them, it might not have become what it is today."

Zhu Huai'an's eyes lit up, and he bowed deeply: "Please explain the last two strategies in detail, sir."

Li Zheng pondered for a moment and said slowly:

"The third strategy: Win the hearts of the noble families. The Pei family of Hedong wants the benefits of salt and iron. If the Prince wants to do something in the future, he can secretly promise them the salt market in Jianghuai; the Li family of Quyang is trapped by the concubine's son seizing the throne, so he should help the legitimate line inherit the succession. It is even better to choose noble ladies from prominent families to marry the young master, so that the noble families and I are connected."

"Besides that, this passage in Qianxi is also very important to the young master. If he can get the help of the Qianxi merchants, it will at least reduce the young master's ten years of hard work."

Li Zheng paused and suddenly bowed and smiled: "As for the last strategy, the young master has already grasped its essence, so I don't need to say more."

Hearing this, Zhu Huai'an became curious instead.

"Please, sir, say a few more words."

Li Zheng shook his head and laughed.

"The fourth strategy is called: Hide the sharp edge. To put it plainly, it is to sharpen weapons and horses, hide the sharp edge, and accumulate food and grain."

"This strategy is the most important of all. It should have been listed as the first strategy, but I didn't expect the young master to be more far-sighted than I am, even not hesitating to change his name and surname, and not even revealing his identity as a Prince..."

Zhu Huai'an was stunned for a moment, and his hand subconsciously touched the brocade bag at his waist.

Li Zheng was a capable official praised by his father, the Prince of Changting, but in the other party's words, it seemed that the person who gave him the brocade bag had a more precise and far-reaching vision than Li Zheng.

"If I had known this, I should have brought Brother Xu to the Northern Territory no matter what, even if I had to tie him up..."

Zhu Huai'an regretted it.

Jinmen Prefecture, Linjiang County.

Two things have happened in Linjiang County recently.

One is that the wife of the new County Magistrate, Chen Guangrui, has added a son.

During this period, many people came to visit. After Xu Qing heard about this, he didn't take it to heart.

No matter whose happy event it was, it wasn't his place to take the initiative to go and congratulate them.

As a zombie who does business with the dead, he had some self-awareness.

Even when Wu Zhiyuan got married, Xu Qing didn't intend to go.

However, Wu Zhiyuan didn't dislike him. At that time, he sent invitations to both him and Hu Baosong, and even said that if they didn't go, it would be looking down on him and not treating him as a neighbor and friend.

It was also that time that Hu Baosong sent Wu Zhiyuan some peace-keeping talismans as a congratulatory gift.

Besides the County Magistrate's happy event, many strange faces had come to Linjiang County these past few days.

I heard it was the newly established Mirror Reflection Division from the capital coming to handle some case.

Xu Qing didn't care about this either. He was just a law-abiding businessman who usually did some small business, didn't cause trouble, didn't make trouble, and only collected some corpses to send people to sleep.

Customers had never given bad reviews.

In the eyes of neighbors, Little Shopkeeper Xu was also a charitable scholar who not only sent eggs to the shop every few days but also often visited those old people who had no one to support them.

Even if some people didn't have membership iron coupons, and even if they were driven out with brooms by old men and women when he visited or posted small advertisements for filial sons to bury the dead, Little Shopkeeper Xu had no complaints.

Besides that, Little Shopkeeper Xu had also provided food worth no less than a thousand taels to the refugees living in the New Yao Ward.

At that time, everyone praised Little Shopkeeper Xu's goodness, but Little Shopkeeper Xu didn't take the credit, but frankly said that the relief food was sponsored by a Shang Shaoyang, Young Master Shang, who didn't want to reveal his name.

When saying Shang Shaoyang's name, Shopkeeper Xu specifically raised his voice. How could someone who didn't seek fame or profit be the target of the Mirror Reflection Division's investigation?

At least when the Mirror Reflection Division was stirring up trouble and searching the whole city, Xu Qing's shop was never affected from beginning to end.

The reason was none other than that his mortuary shop had already become a conscientious enterprise in Linjiang County, and even the County Magistrate had once praised it, saying that his Xu family shop had a human touch and was doing a good job.

At that time, when Constable Zhao Zhonghe patted Xu Qing on the shoulder and talked about this, Xu Qing couldn't have been happier.

This County Magistrate is not bad. If there is a chance to patronize his shop in the future, he can give a 20% discount.

In the mortuary shop, Xu Qing lit a stick of incense for his master Liu Youdao and his master's master Yang Qiying respectively.

Today is the Ghost Festival. Besides lighting incense for his sect, Xu Qing also prepared many paper offerings.

Burning some at the crossroads, burning some on Wujiu Slope, and then taking the immortals from the Cat Immortal Hall to the Water Gate Bridge courtyard to celebrate with Xiuniang.

Ghost Festival, after all, only happens once a year. Xiuniang was obviously very happy, inhaling a lot of wine vapor in the middle, and while slightly tipsy, she even performed a head-flying trick for everyone.

Xuanyu had never seen this spell. Seeing it for the first time, all the cat hair on its body exploded like dark clouds and rain in the sky.

During the banquet, Xuanyu finally couldn't help but ask Xiuniang what it felt like when her head flew up.

Xiuniang blinked and recalled: "Like swinging on a swing, it seems to have feet, and it seems not to have feet. This spell is not difficult to learn. If Xuanyu wants to learn, I can teach you."

Xuanyu widened its eyes. Thinking of its own cat head flying around, it shook its head decisively: "Not learning! If the head is snatched away by a dog or snatched away by a bird, it won't be fun!"

Xiuniang felt the same lingering fear when she heard this.

"Xiuniang knows how to weave cloth. If it really doesn't work, I can weave a rope to tie it to my body in the future, so I won't be afraid of losing my head when it flies."

"."

On the side, Xu Qing's brain throbbed. He thought to himself that this wasn't flying a kite, and she wanted to tie a rope!

After celebrating the festival for Xiuniang, Xu Qing and Xuanyu just returned to the mortuary shop and showed expressions of confusion at the same time.

"Immortal Xu, the incense fire in the Dharma realm seems to be a bit wrong."

Xu Qing also sensed a wisp of incense fire that was completely different from before mixed into the incense fire Dharma realm.

Closing the shop door, Xu Qing reached back and plucked a strange incense fire that was as red as blood from a golden incense fire Dharma realm.

Although the incense fire was deep red like blood, it was filled with an indescribable vitality.

Xu Qing closed his eyes and carefully sensed the source of the incense fire. Not long after, he opened his eyes and said in surprise: "Someone has built a temple for me and sculpted a statue of me."

Xuanyu, who was also sensing the source of the incense fire, also opened its eyes: "And there is also Immortal Xu's longevity tablet. What exactly did Immortal Xu do?"

Xu Qing was also puzzled.

As a zombie who keeps to his own business, even if he occasionally does some good deeds, he wouldn't reach the level of being worshipped with a longevity tablet.

"This matter must be investigated clearly!"

Building a temple for oneself and the public spontaneously building a temple are two completely different things.

For an immortal, the latter is undoubtedly a supreme honor.

But for Xu Qing, it was full of uncertain factors.

Today is the Ghost Festival, and few people go out at night. Xu Qing followed the guidance of that wisp of strange incense fire, tracked it with Xuanyu, and finally arrived in front of a newly built small temple outside the city.

Outside the temple gate, the moonlight fell, and one could vaguely see the words "Bao Sheng" written on the plaque.

Approaching the temple, Xu Qing felt an indescribable feeling growing in his heart. Besides this strange feeling, there was also the sound of a baby laughing faintly in his ears. The laughter was not loud, but it seemed to be able to pierce directly into a person's soul.

Xu Qing felt more and more strange. Walking into the temple, the incense hall where the statue was placed had the three big characters "Ruyi Hall" written on it.

In the hall, there was a statue of a female immortal. The female immortal held a Ruyi magic tool in her left hand and carried a blood-red bottle in her right hand, with small characters engraved on it.

Xu Qing walked closer to observe and found that the words "Blood Lake Du'e" were written on it.

At this time, Xuanyu, who had been wandering in the temple, suddenly shouted: "Immortal Xu, there is your tablet here!"

Xu Qing looked sideways and saw from afar that the words "Divine Tablet of Bao Sheng Niangniang" were written on the tablet.

On the left and right of the tablet, there were also prayer red couplets posted.

Left: "Protect descendants in peace"

Right: "Pray for many children and many blessings"

Xu Qing stared straight. Who set up this tablet?

And it's a temple for sending children?!

(End of chapter)