Chapter 22 Yin and Yang Peach Blossom Forest

The episode on the Yuan River did not have much impact on Jiang Ge's trip to Taohuawu to visit the monuments, and the boat went up the river, and the boat with the pole was not difficult. On the contrary, it was by the Yuan River outside the south gate of Linyuan City before, Jiang Ge punched easily, and the problem was quickly solved with one punch, and Zhouzi wanted to leave quickly when he saw the man's burly and sturdy man. Which Cheng wants to be so useless, and he is blind with good meat.

Fu Bo was still drinking tea lightly, and Jiang Ge was also standing at the head of the boat to concentrate on his energy.

Zhouzi is curious that the future young master has not yet reached the crown, and he does not look like the body of the rough martial artist, but is quiet and gentle, more like a humble gentleman who came out of the scholarly family in Jiangnan.

Zhouzi calculated that there was still a short distance to reach Taohuawu, and the young master had never ordered him to hurry up, so it would take some time, and he would ask the big butler Fu Bo about the young master softly, and it was not a matter of casual anyone to knock down a big man with one punch, although he had heard some things about Fu Bo and the young master's return to the south in the house, most of them were just a few words, and they couldn't be counted at all.

Fu Bo, who drank tea slowly, was also in a very good mood, and returned south smoothly, this old bone was not lost in Jiangbei, and half of the distance was carried by the young man under the green shirt in front of him.

Fighting the desperate fight at the head of Chang'an City, to the pursuit and killing of the Hun rangers all the way, and then to the irregular secret siege and killing of the Qiang scouts, which day is not a crazy temptation on the edge of life and death, the most important thing that Fu Bo of an old bone thinks about along the way is how to die in front of the young master, so that the young master has less baggage, and the chance of successfully crossing the south will be greater.

Who knows, the young master's daily practice of boxing in Chang'an for more than ten years saved the young master and his own life.

Fifty, fifty, sixty, and sixty cheap lives can still survive in this stormy world, or have they been saved countless times by teenage people, can they not be ashamed and grateful?

Therefore, after seeing the arrival of the young master outside Linyuan City, Fu Bo went straight to a coma, this sleep was two days and three nights, and the tight string in his heart was relaxed, and fortunately, the young man had eaten a life-sustaining pill given by the people of Tianmen Mountain, so he barely left a breath, and lay on the bed for more than half a month, so he recovered and was able to accompany the young master out of the city to relax.

This old life has been saved, and he can continue to accompany the young man in front of him through his life, is it enough to be content? Fu Bo drank the green tea in the cup in one go, thinking in his heart, of course he is not satisfied, as the young master said, Fu Bo has to live, live a long life, one day there will be a little guy who will ask Grandpa Fu to ride a horse, and then he can be satisfied, but he still can't die, one day, when he hears the surname Jiang and say 'good', he can really close his eyes and sleep, and only when he sees the ancestors of the Jiang family can he have a face, right? can also stand up and say to the four clan elders: "I'm sorry for the clan elders, the young master is too good, I can't help but watch it for a few more years, and I have become famous, and the world is too peaceful, so I dare to come here to resume my life." ”

Fu Bo, who was still lying on the bed, thought about it, really, what the young master said was right. How can you go to see the elders of the clan, you can't see it, you have to watch it for a few more years, wait for the young master to become famous, and wait for the world to be peaceful.

So Fauber's body recovered quickly, and he had this trip.

Although Fu Bo didn't say too much about the tragic journey of returning to the south, he still listened to the boat and was stunned.

Zhouzi, who is in his forties, is still in the prime of life, looking at the white-haired old man who is more than a round older than himself, he said with admiration that the old brother is a man, and the young master is even more gentle, and he is ten thousand times stronger than the rabbit cubs who only know how to go down to the river to fish, and he is worthy of being the young master, a real young hero.

Fu Bo drank tea in large gulps, as if it was a strong liquor in his throat, refreshing.

Young heroes, when the floating white.

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Taohuawu itself is actually just a wasteland, and then I don't know when it became the current Taohuawu, and the descendants of Emperor Yan who have lived in Wuling for generations can't say it, and there is no record on the genealogy.

From Linyuan City, along the Yuanshui to the west for thirty miles, you can see a semicircular stepped building made of cyan stone slabs on the edge of the Yuanshui. The bluestone slab is the same as the thickness and width of the bluestone slab, and it is extremely regular, and if you look closely, you feel that it is beyond the reach of manpower, and no stonemason dares to say that it can achieve this level. There are nine layers of stairs, and the top is more than a zhang wide flat ground, which is paved with white jade stone, smooth as a mirror. Facing the water, there are two boulders about two feet high, less than three feet apart, and adults need to turn sideways to barely pass through. The boulder penetrates deep into the stone base under the white jade, and is as stable as Mount Tai. The two stones are engraved with ancient characters, the boulder on the left is engraved with 'Phoenix Pan Nine Days Meets the Phoenix and Ming', and the boulder on the right is engraved with 'The Dragon Sleeps the Nine Abysses and Meets the King and Yin'.

The entire nine-step staircase is about two feet above the ground, and passing through the Yuanshui, you can clearly see the huge stone base layer formed by countless stone blocks piled up. In the center, there is a rectangular white jade slab, engraved with four ancient texts of 'Peach Blossom Dream'.

When Jiang Ge's boat passed by the boulder platform, it was also amazing, and it was not an exaggeration. Zhouzi, who was already very familiar with Fu Bo, was not so restrained, and along the way, he became a guide and introduced the legends and rumors of Linyuan City and Yuanshui one by one.

After passing through the peach blossom dream, Zhouzi raised his voice and said: "I don't know which dynasty it is in, such a stone platform suddenly appeared here, and what is even more strange is that after this stone platform appeared, it was full of peach trees more than one person high overnight on the shore next to it, and the radius of two miles was densely packed with peach trees, and the gorgeous one that bloomed, I have never seen where the peach blossoms are as good as the peach blossoms here, but it is a pity that these peach trees only bloom and do not bear fruit, if they can bear fruit, they must be a hundred times better than other mountain and wild peaches." Later, Uncle Liu Huang occupied Jingzhou and Mr. Wolong came here, Yuanshui to the southwest is very convenient, Mr. Wolong was ordered to exterminate the Nanban, lived here during the initial preparations, so also built a wharf next to it, full-time transportation of military funds, after the pacification of the Nanban, the military and civilians mixed use this wharf, that is, now we say Taohuawu, not far in front, half a pillar of incense arrived. ”

After listening to Zhouzi's introduction, Jiang Ge looked forward to going ashore to see where Mr. Wolong once lived, Jiang Wei, the most brilliant ancestor of the Jiang family in a hundred years, took over the military and political affairs of a country in the hands of Mr. Wolong, and because of Mr. Wolong's preaching and teaching to Jiang Wei, it was only in the Later Three Kingdoms period that Shu was still stable, and there was still room for foreign attacks, which slowed down the unification time of the Sima clan.

Jiang Ge has heard his father tell the story of the ancestor Jiang Wei and Mr. Wolong since he was a child, and he has read all the historical records, and he has great respect for the ancestor Jiang Wei, and there is a trace of inexplicable closeness to the unpredictable Mr. Wolong in addition to admiration.

Soon Zhouzi sent the wooden boat that Jiang Ge Fubo was riding to the shore of Taohuawu to moor properly, and after going ashore, Jiang Ge looked at the dock for a while, and the boat that was a little rising saw that the young master was interested and said: "Although it is a small river and a small river, it can't be a big cargo ship, but the government dredges the silt every year to consolidate the river bank, so that the smaller cargo ships can travel without worry, and the distance to the south of Wuling County is much easier. Therefore, the cargo ships are not allowed to enter the port of Linyuan City, the goods from the north and south are in this peach blossom dock as a transit, and the peach blossom forest next to it is particularly beautiful every year, the warehouse house on the shore of this port is built by the government and the government has a fixed number, which is worth a lot of money, and it is said that the Linyuan City house is not as good as the peach blossom dock warehouse half a room, and the goods that come and go day and night are all silver money. ”

Listening to Zhouzi's chattering introduction, Jiang Ge knew in his heart that everything in this Taohuawu was under the jurisdiction of the government in the eyes of the people, and only some families with enough power knew that where the government in Wuling County came from was the Jiang family. The reason why the Jiang family is rich and wealthy is that they can build a deep mansion compound in Luoyang, and the money they get is supported by such a business. Just this crowded wharf, a boatload of goods, even if it is one out of fifty, the silver money earned in a day is estimated to be piled up into a small mountain.

Fu Bo, who was standing beside Jiang Ge, had been to Taohuawu several times with the head of the family, Jiang Shanyi, when he was young, so he felt very cordial about everything here, and couldn't help but praise softly: "It's getting more and more prosperous, this is the Jiang family's hometown." Childe can pay careful attention, and it will be handed over to Childe in the future. ”

Jiang Ge nodded, and then said to Zhouzi not far away: "Uncle Zhou is resting in the port, Fu Bo and I will go to the peach blossom forest to have a walk, and then come to the port later to take a boat back to Linyuan City." ”

As soon as Jiang Ge finished speaking, Fu Bo took out a silver ingot from his cuff and stuffed it into Zhouzi's hand and said, "What the young master ordered, eat and drink well, find a teahouse to listen to books, rest assured, the young master is generous." ”

Zhouzi grabbed the silver and immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed excitedly: "The young master is merciful, but this silver is worth a year's salary in my house, too much, it is a matter of course for the young master to use the boat, and it is also our responsibility and duty as a domestic servant. ”

Seeing this, Jiang Ge quickly picked up the boat and said: "Uncle Zhou doesn't need to worry too much, I will have to take your boat up and down in the future, steadily, and I can hear a lot of legends and stories, the salary is what the government should give, this is a reward, go back and let a few sons go to school to recognize a few more words, and you can sell the fish at a good price." ”

Jiang Ge said that, he and Fu Bo quickly left the dock one after the other and walked in the direction of the peach blossom forest, Zhouzi put away the money and looked for a roadside teahouse to ask for a bowl of herbal tea, still a little excited in his heart, and silently recited the young master's health in his mouth.

Taohuawu port includes warehouses, streets, houses, houses built very neatly, a ten-zhang wide stone road straight from the port to three miles away, in the middle of a side street of the same width left and right three miles connected with the official road, the whole Taohuawu Chengtian character layout, both sides of the street are the design of the front store and the back library, there are restaurants and teahouses at the intersection for the vendors to discuss and rest.

Although the north has fallen, the war continues, the business here is better, the Han merchants who originally did the business of skin and herbal medicine are still in a constant supply, and the price is more cost-effective, Wuling is rich in grain and medicinal materials, fish, shrimp and crabs are countless, there are more than mulberry cotton and linen, tea is the main trading product, the Hu people robbed huge wealth after the southern invasion, the demand for luxury goods and agricultural products continued to increase, many northern merchants who did not have time to flee south or had a relationship with the Hu people continued to do the business of trading materials between the north and the south, It's just that now it's just helping their Hu master do business. The family is all buckled, and the guys are all on the waistband of the pants to beg for a living, if the business is to be poor, the family may disappear one day. I can only work hard and find a way to trade the freight across the river here. Jingzhou and Yangzhou other boundaries do not say that they are doing business, and they will be deducted as soon as they enter the country, and they will have to affect the whole family if they have no return.

There is an ancient tea horse road in the endless mountains of Jianping County and Badong County of Liangzhou, and the Tu people in the mountainous area have exchanged mountain goods for daily necessities through this ancient tea horse road and the merchants who traveled north and south for generations, and this ancient tea horse road has to climb over the lofty mountains, and must rely on the strong endurance of Yunnan horses and mules to walk smoothly. Therefore, after the war in the north, the troops in the south of the Yangtze River were deployed on the south bank of the river, and this ancient tea horse road was an important path for north-south merchants. Of course, there are also northern goods and southern crossings in Yangzhou, which are mostly private businesses of dignitaries and nobles, but those people in Yangzhou are too black, and they are basically traded between the northern and southern clans, and ordinary families can't afford it, so this ancient tea horse road that runs through 100,000 mountains has become the only choice, and Wuling County has fifteen out of one, which is just like nothing, even if it takes an extra month of effort, it is quite worthwhile.

Jiang Ge and Fu Bo walked around in Taohuawu casually, and then walked towards the peach blossom forest not far from the side, Fu Bo said the basic situation of Taohuawu along the way, although Jiang Ge had already seen the annual account books of the past years, and had a clear impression in his heart, but he personally read and walked through it, and listened to Fu Bo in detail, the original account book that was just numbers gradually formed a vivid picture in Jiang Ge's mind, with the previous account book data, Jiang Ge has a clear understanding of the overall operation of Taohuawu.

During this period, Jiang Ge also asked many questions, and Fu Bo explained them one by one, especially why the tax rate was so low, Jiang Ge felt that it could be raised. Fu Bo explained: "First, the clan is sympathetic to the Han people in the north who are still struggling to survive, and the business here is easy to do, and the north can use more Han people, and the second is that these people can survive, and a small number of them are willing to provide the Jiang family with news from the north, which is not something that can be exchanged for money." The third is also what the imperial court is doing behind its back, and the northern Hu merchants don't have much to afford the tax rate in Yangzhou, so small and medium-sized merchants can either do business with Yangzhou in groups, or they can only do business with Wuling. Only when the water flows for a long time can the financial resources roll in. ”

Jiang Ge pondered Fu Bo's words as he walked, and after a while, he figured out the joints, thinking that his father's previous busyness was really busy, and the affairs of a port were inextricably linked, not to mention the various businesses of the entire Jiang family in the south and north of the Yangtze River in the past. Don't be too complicated, both openly and secretly. It seems that he is still not very suitable for these business things, and he can't do everything by himself.

Peach Blossom Dock and Peach Blossom Forest are separated by less than one mile, overlooking from the air, Peach Blossom Dock is in the west, there is a distance of about one mile in the middle, the right is the peach blossom forest of about two miles long and wide, there is a courtyard in the middle of the forest, there is a nine-story tower in the courtyard called the White Tower, the whole peach forest leads out a wide stream from the mountain stream in the north, from north to south into a curve through, through the north building of the courtyard in the center of the courtyard flows through the white tower through the south building to connect the Yuanshui, it seems that the whole peach forest is divided into two by this stream.

The other peach groves are paved with stone slabs to facilitate pedestrian viewing paths, the only feature is that the source extends from the circular open space around the middle courtyard, and the whole peach grove is circular, and from the air it looks like the light of a small sun.

It was already the beginning of June, and the peach blossoms withered at the end of April, so Jiang Ge did not feel the spectacular beauty of countless peach blossoms blooming together when he entered the peach blossom forest, and Fu Bo was fortunate to see it once, people in the forest seem to have pink peach blossoms in the world, even a rough man will be attracted by the current scenery.

There are 30 family soldiers and ten servants stationed in the courtyard in the peach blossom forest, and ordinary visitors can only look at the nine-story white tower outside the wall of the tall courtyard, and the guards of the courtyard will be twice as many when it is in bloom. In fact, most of the time this courtyard is used for internal and external discussions, because except for March and April, when the flowers are blooming, there are basically few people here.

Jiang Ge came to the west gate of the courtyard under the guidance of Fu Bo, the gray and white high-walled courtyard, the vermilion gate, there are three white jade steps in front of the door, there is a white jade stone carving on the left and right, the left is the Qi, the right is the Lin, it looks mighty and extraordinary, the forms are different, the Qi is angry and round, the Lin waves its claws and shows its teeth, and it can suppress the ghosts and evil spirits. Jiang Ge looked at the stone carvings of the two unicorn beasts, carved from the boulders of the two heights, and their craftsman skills were comparable to those of ghosts and gods.

Fu Bo said: "The west is the unicorn, the east is two white tigers, the north is two Xuanwu, the south is two white jade dragons, the demeanor is different, the technique is superb, it can be called a miracle, this is also one of the three scenes of the peach blossom forest." In fact, the world doesn't know that there are nine white jade stone carvings in the nine-story white tower, which are extraordinary, but only one-third of the size of the stone carvings outside, and the young master can go and see it in person. ”

"Nine more in the tower? Where did these stone carvings come from? Jiang Ge asked in surprise with his mouth wide open.

"The first floor to the ninth floor of the white tower is Kui, 梼杌, 獬豸, 犼, Chongming Bird, Bi Fang, gluttony, Bai Ze, Phoenix and Huang, the phoenix is on the left and the phoenix is on the right, there are two jade beads hanging in the air between the phoenix, Jing Wei is distinct, the left is the candle and the right is the gloom. The candle is white, and the glow is ink. It's a peculiar sight. The clan has never figured out why. There is no record of when the whole tower appeared or when the stone carvings appeared. The oral tradition in the clan can be traced back to ancient times, and it is not known whether it is true or false. It is said that a few people in the clan know about the situation in the tower. I never wrote it down on paper. The old slave still said this when he came back with the head of the house more than ten years ago, but the old slave was not qualified to enter the tower, and only the head of the Jiang family, Kuikui, Lianshan, and Lieshan could enter. Legend has it that other people from the clan will die of blood shortly after entering, and the head of the family said that he didn't know whether it was true or not, probably so that fewer people would know about making it up. ”

"Hmm. No wonder my father said let me take a look, I thought it was for me to see the business of Taohuawu, it seems that the nine-story white tower, the peach blossom forest, and the stone platform by the river may be hiding some secrets. It's just that neither my father nor my ancestors have found the answer. Let's stay here all these days. Jiang Ge touched his chin and said thoughtfully to Fu Bo.

"Okay young master, let's go into the courtyard, I'll arrange it, and send someone to the dock so that the boat doesn't have to wait."

After Fu Bo finished speaking, he followed Jiang Ge into the gate, and there was a housekeeper in the door to escort the reception.

It's just that when Jiang Ge stepped up the three steps, he just missed the two unicorns at the door, and the unicorn eyes that were originally carved in white jade suddenly emitted a turquoise light and disappeared in a flash.