Chapter 20 Praying Mantis Catches Cicadas

In the second year of Xiaochang of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, in 526 AD.

The second uprising broke out in the six towns of Huaishuo.

This time, the participants were not only poor peasants, but also border soldiers who had been oppressed.

The central army, which had been sent to suppress it, was hit head-on and defeated.

The resistance is huge, and it almost wants to overthrow the world!

The Northern Wei regime was crumbling.

Emperor Wu Xiao Yan, who was far away in Southern Liang, after learning the news, happily danced in the hall and ordered an amnesty for the world.

——

Many northerners who were captured by the Liang State were able to return to their homeland.

Luoyang City was also lively all of a sudden.

The Fuyuan Inn at the east entrance is newly opened, and the lion dance team of lanterns is invited to come to help the fun, and it is open in the first month, regardless of whether you live in the store, you can enjoy a 20% discount.

For a while, there was an endless stream of merchants from the south to the north, and people of different colors and dresses, speaking with all kinds of strange accents, talked to each other in between:

"Hey, hey, have you heard? The defenders of Anju have all rebelled! Holding weapons and food, they all went to Du Luo Zhou! ”

"Ge Rong is the true son of heaven, only he can bring down the Empress Dowager Hu."

"A woman, standing behind the court, pointing fingers and blindly commanding, can she not have an accident?"

"Er Zhurong is amazing! It is estimated that the power will get bigger and bigger......"

In the midst of the chaos and chaos, a group of masked men burst in without warning.

There were six of them in the front and back, and they all wrapped themselves tightly with black cloths, revealing only a pair of black eyes.

There was no sound in the lobby for a moment, and all eyes were focused, and the sound of chopsticks falling could echo for a long time.

The shopkeeper was also stunned by this situation, and timidly poked Xiao Er with his elbow.

A group of people is not unusual, they may have seen this kind of reaction too much, and they have long been surprised, and the boss led the team to an empty table in the corner after looking around the lobby.

After the six black-clothed people found their own places and all the staff sat down, the trembling shopkeeper was bold and came up with a tea set with three trembling steps:

"Calvary ...... Everyone, grandpa want to eat something......"

If he had been wearing a mirror at the time, he would have been able to see how ugly his smile was.

These big men in black, each of them, carried a package, about the size of which could fit an underage child.

After putting the luggage parcel code neatly and settling down, the boss who was still the leader replied angrily:

"Don't you see busy? I don't know how to lift! Give us less nonsense and pick up delicious food! There is money! ”

The shopkeeper hurriedly fled for his life and left.

"Big brother, there's no need to take this risk, right? The deposit is enough for our brother to spend in the next life. ”

When it was time to clean up, a skinny little one interjected.

"That's a good word, but it's not right!" Listening to the tone, I feel that the leader is actually quite helpless. "I picked it halfway, and I won't be able to mix it up in the future."

"But that's not what we do! Who knows if it's taking us as a top cylinder. A dwarf man spoke.

"I know, I know, you've thought of it, can I think of it?" The boss put on a bitter gourd face. "But you have all seen that skill, more than 60 lives, like chopping melons and vegetables, will be reimbursed in the blink of an eye. It's you, it's you, and you, it's enough for people to slaughter twice. The boss pointed to a few of his subordinates.

"Big brother, I can't figure this out: since they are all ruthless people who kill people and set fires, why should these two meat tickets be transported by us, won't they transport them themselves?" The skinny monkey asked, squinting his eyes. "Male babies are more expensive than female babies, but they're not worth so much gold, right?"

"I don't know! All I want to do now is get the job done and take the rest of the work and leave. "Boss, really.

In the middle of their conversation, in a corner that was difficult for anyone to notice, sat a young man, dressed in a gossip robe.

The young man secretly took out a crow from under the ink feather fan and released it through the window.

Then he pretended to be okay and continued to eat the remaining noodles in the bowl.

With a towel on his shoulders and a sweaty head holding a board, the shopkeeper walked past the young man and came to the table of the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the signature of the shop: crispy roe deer legs, salted goose, roasted whole chicken, and leek stuffed fruit......"

"Okay, okay, got it, get on!" The boss snatched the board and kicked the second child away. "Don't ask here if there is any."

After a full meal and wine, the six people took out a gold ingot, and before the boss had time to settle the account, he threw down a sentence "No need to look for it." He redistributed his luggage and hurried away.

The little Taoist priest also quickly settled the account and followed.

The group was not in a hurry to get out of the city, but in the street market near the east gate of Luoyang, they went around in circles.

The little Taoist priest had to follow all the way and leave marks along the way.

Turning around, walking through the streets and alleys, a group of people finally stopped in front of a low courtyard.

Ordinary and simple, a ruyi door is the lowest portal in the house, and it is generally used by small families and small people.

The courtyard gate is no different from the general market, if you insist on saying that there is a difference, it is a left and a right in front of the door, and there are two lions squatting, which is very eye-catching.

Ordinary people will choose to use Ruyi Gate to build a house to ask for good luck. In terms of level, it is also lower than the Wangfu Gate, Guangliang Gate, Jinzhu Gate and Barbarian Gate.

The owner will generally take care of the convenience of the guests to get on and off the horse, set up a pair of stone drums on both sides of the door, and there are also those who are more rich or have a small status, choose turtles.

The lion is not an animal of the Central Plains, so most of the people do not know it.

But the little Taoist priest glanced at the stone lion and nodded, "It should be here......"

I took the opportunity to take a closer look, the male lion on the left, playing with hydrangea, and the lioness on the right, pressing a naughty lion cub under her paws.

The little Taoist priest smiled.

The black-clothed boss knocked on the door secretly, and an old slave opened the door, and when they met, they seemed to know each other, and let the six people in.

The little Taoist priest didn't dare to startle the snake, so he had to observe from a distance.

After a few people entered the door, there was no movement.

It seems that this is what Master is looking for, the junction of the secret society.

So the little Taoist priest released a second crow.

——

The small courtyard is clean and tidy, with shadow walls and water tanks, small trees and flowers planted, and along the laid bluestone bricks, the old slave leads six black-clothed people, carrying packages to the back of the house.

In the middle of the grass and vines behind the house, there is only a dilapidated dry well, which is deserted and scattered.

I saw the old slave kneeling down in front of the well, knocking east and west on the edge of the brickwork, and a sound sounded, and a secret door popped open on the wall behind the house.

The old slave got up and made a gesture of please.

The boss hesitated for a moment, glanced at the brothers, and then dared to raise his feet and enter.

The rest followed.

It is a long, deep staircase leading to the ground, and every dozen steps on the wall, a candlestick hangs.

Still twisting and turning, I don't know where to go.

It was eeriely quiet, and all that could be heard was footsteps.

Everyone did not speak, and their faces were solemn.

After walking underground for a while, I felt like a new year to everyone, and finally came to a spacious hall.

Two pure bronze cast gates depict the death of Cao Zhi and Yang Xiu.

On the dome of the hall, in the center is a huge five-pointed star carved from natural obsidian, surrounded by pearls, agate, crystal, jade, etc., embellished with 28 constellations throughout the day, showing the trend of ring arch; In addition to the one in which you entered, there are seven other doors around the circular wall, a total of eight faces, arranged in the order of Tai Chi Bagua; Torches illuminate the interior as if it were day, and a pair of lions are depicted on the floor. The seven curtains are arranged in a Beidou position.

There was only one voice in the darkness, and the breath was loud, and it was impossible to distinguish between men and women:

"Welcome, Polestar!"