At dusk, Guyin City was in sight, and Xin Er took back his thoughts.

This morning, he first went to the field to shoot a hare, and then helped the old man to fill the earthen jar outside the house, and collected several large bundles of firewood, and left all the remaining cakes and dried meat with him.

He did so that the old man let his guard down completely, and while he was busy with his work, he told him why he lived alone with his granddaughter.

The old man's surname is Liu, and he is indeed a homeless, and his family is in Ran Xingguo, southeast of Longzhou.

Ran Xing and the people of the Qin State in Guanzhong belong to the same family, and Ran Xing is the ancestral home of their clan, but it is divided into two countries; More than 20 years ago, the new emperor of Qin ascended the throne, ambitious, attacked Ran Xing, fought for more than a year, but because of the constraints of Wei and Longxi, he failed to destroy Ran Xing and returned from exile. Although Ran Xing did not lose the country, the war spread, but it hurt the people in the territory, especially the people of all ethnic groups who were not "countrymen", who were robbed, plundered, killed and slaughtered, and even reduced to "two-legged sheep".

In order to beg for their lives, some people rebelled and erected the banner of "begging", while others left their homes and fled to other places.

The old man was one of the fugitives, and he fled to Longlong with his wife and son. With them, there were no less than 10,000 displaced people who entered Long, and the court of Dingxi selected the strong ones from them or the tuntian households or the military households, and the rest were scattered to the Eryuan City and the dock wall outside the city. He, his wife and son settled in a dock not too far from the hut.

As a foreigner, he was honest and hardworking, and he had always been fine, until a few years ago, the dock owner he lived in fell in love with his daughter, and his daughter was born in Longhou, and he was afraid of the power of the dock master, so he had to sacrifice his daughter. Within two years, his daughter was tortured to death by the dock owner, and his wife died of grief. Although it was sad and the days had to be endured, I didn't expect that the owner of the dock would fall in love with his granddaughter again, how could the old man's family be willing! As a result, the son and daughter-in-law were forced to die half a month ago, and the old man's stubborn temper came up, so he simply ignored the winter cold, took his granddaughter off the dock wall, and lived in a hut in the wild, preferring to starve rather than send his granddaughter into the fire pit again.

"Why is the people's livelihood so hard!"

Xin Er deeply sympathized with the plight of the old man Liu's family and felt sad for them. Hu Yi does not regard them as the same race, and the rulers and heroes of the Tang people do not regard them as their own kind, from Ran Xing to Long, although the world is big, there is no place for them, rather than humiliating a life of poverty, it is really better to destroy themselves in the wild, at least, they can get a little freedom, and they don't have to be bullied anymore.

Looking at the approaching Guyin City in front of him, Xin Er thought of Linghu Feng, and he said in his heart: "His people are capable, and they can be called heroes, but he only thinks about his own rights and interests, and he doesn't think about the sufferings of the common people, he boasts that the destiny of heaven is in his body, if there is really a mandate of heaven, will the destiny of heaven favor people like him?" Xin Er didn't believe it. Even from the current point of view, if everything goes according to Ling Hufeng's plan, he may indeed be able to usurp the throne successfully, Xin Er still doesn't believe it. If there is really a mandate of heaven, Xin Er believes that it will never ignore the billions of people of Shenzhou.

The old city of Guyin is not big, seven miles long, three miles wide, because it resembles a coiled dragon, it is also called Wolong City.

Now the five cities are entrenched, look at it from a distance, the old city is the head, the south city is the tail, the east and west spread their wings, the shape is like a phoenix, it is actually the old city known as "Wolong" into the body, just like the momentum of the dragon flying and the phoenix dancing.

As the old man said, many high poles with hanging heads were erected outside the main city, and residents returning to the city walked briskly under the poles.

Xin Er put away his thoughts, looked at it 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 the city of Dongyuan to announce the public, and there are a few gaps in the simple city wall, which can not be called a city gate. The vast majority of people who come in and out wear pleated hakama, and they can't distinguish the ethnic group only from the clothes, but they can easily distinguish from the hairstyle and appearance, the Tang people with the buns, the Hu people with the hair, and the Hu people with the hair cut and the deep eyes and high noses, are the Hu people of the Western Regions, and the residents of different ethnic groups are mixed together, coming and going, quite different from the customs of the mainland.

Xin Er observed for a while, and saw that although there were soldiers at the city gate, they were all holding spears, squatting in the corner of the wall to avoid the wind, and did not check the various color tribes who came and went. He said to himself: "There are many different ethnic groups living in this city, and many of them do not understand the language, so it is difficult to do an inventory. ”

Dongxiyuan City is a gathering place for the "untouchables" of all races, and in the eyes of the big people, it doesn't matter whether they live or die, and they don't think that anyone will be bored enough to plot here. Xin Er was relieved, knowing that he could easily blend in, so he dismounted and led, following behind the four or five Tang people who had returned from fishing, and indeed entered the city smoothly.

There were no houses near the city wall, and the grass was overgrown, and the dirt road pressed by footprints and ruts was followed for some distance, and residential areas appeared on both sides of the road.

As far as the eye can see, there are many places in the residential area, which are divided into two categories, a few low walls are surrounded by each other, and there are many tents inside, which is the residence of Hu Yi; Most of the rammed walls are high walls, which are the quarters of the camps, and the walls are higher than the city walls, and compared with the lax precautions outside, the management here is also very strict, and there are guards and officials at the gates, and those who enter and exit are interrogated and carefully registered.

Xin Er knew that this was because the soldiers were difficult to endure and some camps fled at home, and the government could only strictly control them.

Fortunately, the temple was not built in these camps, but in the public areas of the city.

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

The water surface is clear, the edges are overgrown with aquatic plants, and the trees along the shore are dense. Surrounded by the lake, more than a dozen buildings stand tall and low.

The tallest and most magnificent one, is the palace of the Dingxi royal family, the king of Dingxi will occasionally come to Dongyuan City to inspect the camps, and rest here when he is tired; There are several smaller buildings around the palace, which were the offices of the military and political officials of Dongyuan Castle.

There are three temples across the lake from these public buildings, one of which is the Zoroastrian Temple, the temple is a Buddhist temple in the distance, and then a Taoist temple in the distance, compared with the Buddhist temple that covers a wide area, the Taoist temple and the Zoroastrian temple are much smaller.

The wind is cold by the lake, most of the residents of Dongyuan City have no food and clothing, no one has leisure to play the scene, the lake is the private property of the king of Dingxi, fishing is prohibited, no one comes to fish, there are not many people on both sides of the river. The doors of the Buddhist temples and Taoist temples in the distance have been closed, and there is a dull sound of bells, and I don't know if it is dinner time, or the monks and Taoists are going to have evening classes. Outside the Zoroastrian temple, there was a lot of noise, and there were three or four hundred people gathered.

Xin Er pretended to enjoy the lake view, followed the stump branches and willows on the shore, and slowly reached the Zoroastrian temple, tied the reins to the tree, left the mount farther away, and paced forward. The temple gate faces east, and the hundreds of people gathered outside are mostly Tang people, and there are also Hu from the Western Regions.

Roughly calculated, from the time he arrived outside Guyin City to the present, there are no less than dozens of Hu people in the Western Regions that Xin Er has seen. He couldn't help but say: "Speaking of the northwest, but it is precisely because the land is in the northwest, only from the perspective of race, it can be compared to Chang'an in the prosperous era." ”

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

Xin Er listened for a while, and said in his heart: "It turns out that they are going to hold a sacrifice." Slightly happy, he knew a little about the sacrificial rules of Zoroastrianism, and thought, "In addition to the daily prayers of the believers, the Zoroastrian religion has a large-scale collective sacrifice at the beginning of each month, is today their worship day this month?" In this case, Guo Yi will definitely participate. ”

Many of the Zoroastrian were dressed in white, representing God, or red, representing fire, and half of the people present were dressed in red and white. Xin Er's robe was black, and soon several peripheral disciples saw him, and one of them asked, "Are you here to watch the ceremony?" ”

Xin Er responded: "Yes." ”

Even though he was still wearing a veil, the man who was talking to him could see that he did not know him, and asked, "From Central Town?" ”

"I came from Tangxing County, and I came to the king to buy some goods, because I knew that your sect was worshipping heaven today, so I came here."

"Tangxing County, I haven't been there. Who told you that we worship the heavens today? It has already been worshipped, and today is the rite of passage. ”

Zoroastrianism is very famous for its "divine arts", and every time there is an event, there must be such performances, and many non-believers will come to see it, which is also a way for them to attract new disciples, so this believer is not suspicious.

Xin Er thought: "It turns out that it is not a worship of heaven. Also, if it is a worship to the heavens, there will not be only such a few disciples. It's a rite of passage. Such a big movement should be the coming of age of the children of important people in their teaching. "Although it is not a celestial worship, Guo Yi will definitely come.

He guessed correctly, Guo Yi would indeed participate, because this son's adult disciple is not an ordinary believer, but a big benefactor in his sect.

When the sun was about to set, two people came out of the temple, one of them was forty, five short figures, deep eye sockets, short beards, wearing red robes, with a square-handled long sword tied around his waist, and a flower-shaped brocade bag, which was Guo Yi. The other is the Western Regions Hu, a tall mantle, with curly hair and cheeks, a large shawl with a fur collar, and a white robe with red trim, cut and tight, ornately decorated with leather belts, and equipped with a scimitar.

The Zoroastrians outside the temple immediately stopped their voices and bowed down one after another. The unbelievers lowered their voices and turned their eyes to them.

Guo Yi looked at the sky and said, "The time has come to salute." At this time, the sun has not yet set, and the beginning of the month rises, which is the sacred time when the Zoroastrian religion believes that "the sun and the moon coexist and shine in the sky", and it is the most suitable time for holding various sacred rituals.

There was no room for so many people in the temple, so Guo Yi ordered seven or eight people with status and told them to come in, and the rest stayed outside the temple. Believers who were not called in had no complaints. The other people also smiled, no one left, and Xin Er said in his heart: "This should be waiting to watch the subsequent illusion." Knowing that Guo Yi would not leave, he waited patiently.

After waiting for about half an hour, Guo Yi and others transferred out, and there was one more boy from the Western Regions. Guo Yi took the young man's hand and said with a smile to the people waiting: "Under our witness, Shi Ming is already an adult, and from now on he will follow the will of Ahuramazda and fight heroically against all evil thoughts, evil words, and evil deeds!" ”

The young man from the Western Regions raised his fists and said loudly: "I swear to be a Mazda worshipper, I swear to believe in Mazda, I practice good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, and I praise the Mazda religion of the highest good worship, which eliminates disputes and lays down weapons!" ”

The believers prostrated themselves on the ground and responded to the boy's oath by saying, "I am a Mazda worshipper, following Suluch, opposing demons, and accepting the teachings of Ahura. The voices of hundreds of people joined together and were loud as a tide, and they prayed fervently, "May the fire perpetuate the righteous, the bright, and glorious good, and I will be a sharer of the best world." ”

The twilight had receded, the night had come, and under the light of the torches, hundreds of people dressed in white or red fell to the ground and shouted, this scene was very solemn.

Xin Er turned his head to look at the Buddhist temple and Taoist temple in the distance, and said in his heart: "Compared with the Buddhist theory of reincarnation, the teachings of Zoroastrianism are quite positive. ”

Unlike the fatalism of Buddhism, orthodox Zoroastrian teachings are very positive. They believe that the entire history, present, and future of the entire time and space is a struggle between good and evil, and that Ahuramazda is their supreme god, the good god who represents light, and at the same time they believe that there is also an evil god that represents darkness, and that evil and good are twin brothers. When people are in the midst of good and evil, how they should choose depends entirely on the struggle of their souls, and when it comes to faith, it is what kind of religion they should choose.

Guo Yi took out a mixture of spices, ointment, and ashes of the sacred flame from the flame-shaped copper basin carried by his attendants, and first smeared them on the face, ears, nose, and beard of the young man and the people around him, and then slowly walked to the devotees, and touched them one by one, while saying, "May the fire give you purity, abundance, and longevity. ”

Once the plastering is done, the whole ceremony is over.

The believers rose up one after another, carefully protecting the ashes on their faces that had brought them the blessings of the Most High God, and they were all satisfied and happy. At this time, the other people gathered mentioned the gods, and Xin Er knew that the "divine magic" performance was about to begin. Guo Yi returned to the temple to change his clothes, and with the material, he must not only change clothes, but also take the opportunity to get props.

Guo Yi stood at the temple gate, holding a handleless horizontal blade, the blade of the view was sharp, the color was the same as frost and snow, he held a thread, threw it on the blade, and the thread was broken by the blade. Holding the knife to signal to everyone for a while, he turned the blade sharply, stabbed it into the abdomen, stacked his hands on the blade at the other end, and pushed it inward, Xin Er saw that the blade immediately pierced his two palms, and the blade was out of the back of the hand.

Many of the onlookers screamed.

Some people who have already seen Guo Yi's "magic technique" said to the people who screamed: "This is nothing, Sa Bao is blessed by the gods, and the spell is superb, you can watch it again." ”

Guo Yi ignored the fact that the back of his hand was pierced, his fingers pinched the blade, stirred in his abdomen, his intestines fell out, blood flowed all over his body, and he ran down his leg to the ground, soaking a large area of red. stirred up a meal, during which Guo Yi also took the intestines and sorted them out, and finally he pulled out the bloody knife, sprayed the water on the "wound", wiped it with his hand, and showed it to everyone, and the terrifying wound was calmed down.

The audience, who had been holding their breath for a long time, immediately boiled, and many people shouted: "O god of heaven! O manifestation of the gods! The believers, dressed in red and white, bowed down to the ground again and chanted fervently: "Most High God! ”

Although Xin Er, like Ling Hufeng, didn't believe in what kind of "magic technique" this was, he didn't know the trick of Guo Yi's technique, and under the impact of visual effects, he couldn't help but praise it.

Many people didn't see enough, and shouted for Guo Yi to have another set of "magic techniques".

Guo Yi knew the truth of wanting to capture the old and indulged, and refused to let them see it at one time, deducing that the night was getting deeper, and there would be soldiers patrolling the night to ask if it was too late, so please go home. The audience dispersed unsatisfied, and the believers and the father and son of the Western Regions also said goodbye.

There were only four or five people left around Guo Yi, and when he was about to leave, he heard someone say, "Sabao, please stay." Turning his head to look, he saw that it was a young man in a long robe with a face scarf, who he did not know, and asked, "Your Excellency?" ”

……

I can't do it with a map. Six states appear in the early stages of the book, with Dingxi (Long), Qin, Ranxing, and Wei in the north from west to east, and Shu and Tang in the south. The general location of the countries can be understood as follows: Long is in the Gansu region west of the Yellow River, and Qin in Shaanxi and other places is east of it; Long was bordered by the northern border of Qin, and Ran Xing was sandwiched between the southern border of Long and Qin; To the east of Qin was Wei in Hebei and other places. South of Jianghuai is Tang; Sichuan is the state of Shu. To the north of all these countries are the Mobei grasslands of present-day Inner Mongolia and other places.