Adventures in Heaven (novel) Zhang Baotong

When we reached the edge of the king's palace, we were led by horses and lowered the drawbridge. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info I followed Uker across the drawbridge and into the palace. Immediately someone reported the king, and a maid welcomed me into the harem at the gate of the harem. I followed the maid into the harem garden, where the clear lake reflected the blue sky and white clouds under the clear sky, making the curved bridge and the ancient palace in the center of the lake seem peaceful and wonderful.

The king invited me to take a seat, asked me where I lived these days, and what impression I had of the kingdom of heaven, and then he asked me to accompany him to the hunting ground of the royal palace. He said there were wild goats, bison and yellow wolves, and he took people there to hunt several times a year. I said that hunting was forbidden in Dahan. He wondered why it was forbidden. I said that these animals are protected, otherwise they will be less and less beaten, and they will become extinct. But the king said that there were so many wild things on the other side of Cuiling that they could not finish fighting.

After the meal, a guard came to report that the chariots, horses, and arrows had been prepared. The king took a long sword off the wall and asked me to take it with him, saying that the wilderness of Cuiling was often infested with fierce beasts, and that I should bring a long sword to defend myself, and then invited me to walk out of the palace with me. The maid graciously escorted us out of the palace gate. At this time, the prime minister and several palace guards happened to greet us from outside the harem gate and sent us to the main road opposite the palace. The two guards had already prepared their carriages and horses, and rode on their horses one after the other, waiting to hit the road. The red horse of the Yilan family was also brought over, and when he saw me, he raised his neck at me very impulsively.

The king got into the car, whispered a few words to the prime minister who saw him off, waved his hand to the prime minister and the guard, and instructed the guard to drive on the road. The carriage was covered with two seats, very light, pulled by a horse, and went very fast. There is a small window on each side of the canopy, so you can watch the scenery along the way. In front of the car, the king's personal bodyguard, Ukkel, led the way. He rode on a horse, carried a long sword, walked under the blue sky and white clouds, and his tall figure was very heroic. I followed the car with the personal guard named Gengaki.

The carriage traveled west along the flat meadow in front of the palace. Gengaki and I followed behind the car, sometimes looking at the distant mountains and close views, sometimes talking and chatting. I asked Gengaki, "Why didn't the king go out of the palace to hunt with the captain?" "I ask this because I don't think the Captain seems to think of the young King, and the King doesn't seem to like the Captain very much. Gengaki made a mysterious look and shook his head, counting it as an answer. I understood what Genyuan meant, but I still didn't understand, "Since the king doesn't like the captain, why don't you transfer him or change him?" Xuanyuan replied in a low voice, "Du Wei is the Queen Mother's person. "Gengaki's words reminded me of what the king had said to me that morning in the harem garden. He had already revealed to me his anguish and helplessness as the king of a country, and I seemed to perceive the unrest in the seemingly peaceful palace.

The car drove unhurriedly and slowly, and it didn't take long for it to come to a bay formed by the flow of glacial and hot rivers. The eaves of tall houses loom in the dense forests of the river bay, and the colorful glazed tiles shine magnificently in the sunlight. From the perspective of the whole layout, it looks like a royal garden. However, Gengaki told me that this is a small town called Motomura, which is a necessary place for the passage of the east-west and north-south passages of the Kingdom of Heaven and a market for farmers and merchants to trade goods. And the place is like spring all year round, and the climate is excellent. In summer, the cool breeze on the glacier slowly blows from here, which is extremely cool; In winter, the wind from the north blows the hot air from the hot river into the bay, filling the area with warm humidity all day long. Even in the hot winter season, it is still full of flowers. Therefore, the people of the royal palace often came here in winter to accompany the king to avoid the winter. Because we were just passing by on the side of the town, we didn't see the kind of scene Gengaki was talking about. However, I think when I come back from the hunt with the king, I must choose a market day to visit here.

Walking through the forest, there is a flat and wide meadow, and you can see the steam rising from the other side of the Rehe River like a dense barrier, covering everything there. On this side of the glacier, you can only see the dense woods, but you can't see the smoke of the farmhouses. And the path beneath our feet stretched straight into the steaming river to the south. I heard Gengaki say that the Cuiling hunting ground is just south of the Rehe River. It's wild and sparsely populated, but it's a great place to be.

Although the harvest season has passed, there are still few people on the road. At the crossroads of the glacier and the bay, I saw a farmer coming from the side of the Rehe River to pick up firewood. When he came to him, when he saw that it was the carriage of the palace, he respectfully flashed to the side of the road to give way, laid down the firewood, and made a respectful gesture. Uker stopped his horse and handed the peasant a copper coin. The peasant hurriedly took it with both hands, and then raised his fist and bowed to the king in the chariot, "Thank you for the gift, and may the king have good luck and a safe journey." The king stuck his head out of the window and waved his hand cordially at the peasants.

When the carriage passed, I asked Gengaki, "Why did the king give money to the peasants?" Genyuan said, "The people make way for the king, and the king can show his kindness by giving money to the people." "I know that in Heaven a copper coin can buy a lunch. So I asked Gengaki, "If the king had to see many people every day, wouldn't he have to empty the treasury?" Xuanyuan said with a smile, "The Han envoy is worried, the king lives in the palace all the year round, and he lives in a simple place, so it is rare to see the people a few times, and it is not too much to give a few copper coins." ”

After passing Taocun, it is not long to walk south before you reach the edge of the Rehe River. Entering the thick hot mist, the steaming heat makes people feel suffocated. At this time, Uker and Gengaki dismounted together and placed the drawbridge. This suspension bridge, made of thick hardwood, was used to allow people to go into the mountains to collect firewood and go to the salt lake to draw salt water. The suspension bridge is three meters wide and ten meters long, with fences on both sides, and is about three to five meters high from the river. There is a rope tied to the piles on each side of the bridge, and as soon as the rope is pulled, the suspension bridge is lowered. The man crossed the drawbridge, and when he pulled the rope on that side, the bridge hung again. This will not only prevent the beasts of Nanshan from invading the heavens, but also prevent the hot air from eroding the bridge.

The drawbridge was lowered, and the king stepped out of the canopy and walked across the drawbridge on foot. To be on the safe side, Uker led the horse in front and Gengaki held the chariot beside him. The car then drove smoothly and slowly through the steaming mist. Later, I led my horse and followed me across the bridge. Walking out of the dense mist, the scenery north of the hot river is truly and clearly revealed.