The red miasma in the middle of the col persists all year round, and it is not very noticeable during the day, but when you look up at the sky on a clear night...... The galaxy is stained with blood and the moon is red, adding a touch of anger to the tranquil mountain pass.

Several people gathered in front of Song Yang's bed, Song Yang's eyes opened a line, and he asked softly, "What's the matter?" ”

Everyone was smiling, and in three days, Gu Zhaojun and the others learned too many things. The original news that everyone heard was scattered and complicated, but now that it has been filtered, it already has a general context, Gu Zhaojun spoke: "Most of the legends we guessed and heard before are correct, the earth monkey came out of the mountain to do things for Emperor Hong's ancestors, stealing through the ancient tombs, and stealing gold and silver for military expenses. When the Hong Dynasty ruled the world, the earth monkeys were slaughtered, and the last tribe returned to the mountains to avoid disaster. Cicada Yaksha. ”

"The cicada yaksha is not a nickname, it is the same as the Tiger Foot Battalion and the White Ear Cavalry, it is a military name, and the last unit sent by Hong Taizu to hunt down and kill the earth monkeys seven hundred years ago is called this name." After a little introduction, Gu Zhaojun turned to the topic: "When Hong Taizu ascended the throne for 14 years, he summoned his henchman Zheng Xian to form a new army, and transferred 3,000 of the most elite and loyal soldiers from the 12 guards of the Nine Mansions, and recruited 1,500 craftsmen from all walks of life, 2,500 good women, and merged 7,000 people to form an army. ”

Song Yang was puzzled, frowned and asked, "Good girl?" What do you mean? ”

"In ancient times, it was called a young woman who could give birth and have good health." Gu Zhaojun explained and continued: "Zheng Xian was awarded the title of General of the Second Rank Auxiliary State, and he was also given the power of being a general in charge of dictatorship and sealing the army, and he was in charge of the Cicada Yasha. Two years later, the cicada yasha camped and set off for the mountains. However, the secret decree of Taizu under Zheng Xian is not as simple as chasing and killing the earth monkey, otherwise why would he recruit a good woman to accompany the army. ”

The companion had already learned the truth, Song Yang didn't need to use his brain to guess, he made a gesture with a smile, and motioned for Lao Gu to continue.

"Regarding Hong Taizu's secret decree, the ordinary sergeants and soldiers here don't know about it, but the matter is almost obvious, and there is no need to guess, the order led by Zheng Xian should be twofold: one is to go deep into the nest of the earth monkey and chase down the savages; The other is that after completion, there is no need to come out again, and from then on, they will be stationed down, recuperate and reproduce, and at the same time train hard, waiting for one day, the secret envoy of the Hong Dynasty will enter the mountain and then entrust him with important tasks. Therefore, in the Cicada Yaksha army, there are craftsmen and soldiers' wives, and they also brought a large number of equipment such as various tools, grains, rapeseeds, etc. with them when they set off."

"As for how the Cicada Yaksha identifies the identity of the secret envoy, you have already learned their methods...... That's it, the cicada yaksha was isolated from the world, and they did not come out of the mountain, but they did not die, but remained in the mountain col and passed it down from generation to generation for seven hundred years. That's probably what the clue looks like, and there are some other details, let another person tell you, if you don't speak, he'll die. Speaking of this, Gu Zhaojun smiled and turned his head to glance at Qi Shang, who was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him.

Qi Shang moved a chair for himself and sat in front of Song Yang's bed: "Let's talk about the legend of Shanximan first, the ancestors of Shanximan saw the army, but when the Cicada Yaksha marched, the good women also wore armor, at first glance there is no difference between men and women, not to mention that in the eyes of Shanximan, the Han people all look the same, so they only know that it is the army, but they don't know that there are also female dependents, it is this weight that is not clear, so we are in danger... Master Hou, don't get me wrong, I don't mean to blame Grandma Mu En, that's what I mean to say about this matter. ”

After the Honghuang army entered the ground, it never came out, and the earth monkey was gone, no matter who wanted to come, the two groups would have died a long time ago, Song Yang and his party came to pick up the gold of the dead, there was almost no burden in their hearts, and their attention was all focused on the possible existence of the organ ambush, who would have thought that the Hong army actually became a tribe of its own, and multiplied in the wild man's lair, if he knew this, Song Yang and others would not have come to provoke them at all.

After Song Yang nodded, Qi Shang changed the topic again: "Let's talk about earth monkeys... You have seen this place, it is almost a dead den, with a poisonous miasma on its head, and it is impossible to climb over the mountain; The mountains on three sides are extremely solid, and the earth monkeys can't get through the mountain foundation; The only way out is the swamp pool, but it is not so easy to dig a road under the swamp, and the savage ancestors have only found three roads for thousands of years...... When we came, we guessed correctly, the wild man was blocked in the nest by the cicada Yaksha, and there was no way to enter the heavens and the earth. ”

It is said that in a hurry, the monkeys also tried to dig a new way to escape, but there were only a few places under the swamp that could be dug up, and no other places could be dug, and the monkeys dug three or four times, each time causing mud to pour in, and finally there was no way but to watch the strong enemy kill into the nest. But... The earth monkeys were not exterminated, and in the end there were still three hundred left, which were controlled by the Han army, and their number has been controlled at three hundred for so many years. ”

"Again, it's the Cicada Yaksha, this team is not simple." Qi Shang deliberately lowered his voice, looking mysterious: "From Zheng Xian onwards, the people who were selected to form the Cicada Yasha are all loyal, not the kind of ordinary loyalty, but... I really can't say this, Hou Ye knows those religious ascetics, right? It's not loyalty, it's piety! According to me, when this army was formed, it may have been beheaded by the masters in the Western Wilderness. ”

"The father was pious, but after the baby was born, it was isolated from the world, and the idea of being instilled was to train hard and wait for the messenger to enter the mountain to serve our emperor...... Passed down from generation to generation, although seven hundred years have passed, but in terms of loyalty, not only has it not degraded in the slightest, but it is even more than in the past. ”

"At the beginning, the team of 7,000 people, except for those who died on the way, in engineering, and in battle, and finally stationed here, there were less than 5,000 people left, but their baggage was still there, and it soon developed. However, although the mountain col is large, the place is still limited in the end, and it cannot be raised endlessly, and the limit that can accommodate here is less than 20,000 people, so there is strict control over the 'human life' here, and the first is the male-to-female ratio of newborns, which will be matched every other year, and the excess 'part', regardless of men and women, will be ruthlessly given up. ”

"The second is a juvenile, at the age of eight, twelve, and sixteen, each with a 'physical examination', the weak, the light, the weak... Those who do not meet the standards will definitely be discarded. ”

"If a woman is married at the age of fourteen, and she is not pregnant until seventeen, she shall be given up; The women of the soldiers grew older, and when the menstrual affairs came to a standstill, they gave up. Men also have all kinds of rules; Men and women, there are no people over the age of fifty-five...... In short, whether it is the children of ordinary soldiers or the descendants of General Zheng, no one can be an exception, and those who are not qualified will be removed and give up their places to future newborns. ”

"The key is that such a 'harsh government' is normal in the eyes of Hongmin here. If their children are not qualified, adults will be heartbroken and cry, but they will never shield them, let alone obstruct the 'execution'; in fact, there is no need to obstruct and there is no need to 'carry out the execution' for a long time, and those who fail to pass the qualification will be calmly judged...... Master Hou, you know my background, in the dark, ruthless characters catch a lot of ruthless characters, and everyone dares to be ruthless to others, but not necessarily one out of ten dares to be ruthless to himself; Among the ten who dare to be cruel to themselves, not necessarily one can be ruthless to their relatives...... Even if there are really people who are cruel to others, to themselves, and to their relatives, they will not feel that this is 'justified' like the Cicada Yaksha. You say, what is this not a drop in the head? ”

Falling off the head is nonsense, of course, but there is a word in a past life that may be appropriate: brainwashing.

The first generation of Cicada Yaksha was selected from among the thousands of male soldiers under the command of Emperor Hong, loyal and strong. And the mission of this army is extraordinary, and I am afraid that it has really gone through a similar 'brainwashing' propaganda before going out on the expedition. After they completed the first order and began to wait for new tasks, they were closed in the mountains and had no contact with the outside world, forming a 'perverted' institutional pattern from generation to generation.

This thing seems unbelievable to outsiders, but the people here are born from the moment they are born, the world is what they are looking like, and they don't think there is anything strange about it, in the process of growing up, everything they see, hear, and learn revolves around the word 'mission', and the most basic creed is 'living for the cicada Yaksha to be strong, waiting to come out of the mountain to serve our emperor', they feel that this is the meaning of life, so simple that it can only be described as cruel.

"The total population here is 17,000 people, which has not changed for hundreds of years, not to mention women, children, and craftsmen, but the number of strong soldiers has always remained at 8,000. What kind of combat power will the 8,000 people who have grown up and trained from this environment and who don't care whether they live or die be......" Qi Shang shook his head as he spoke.

After sighing, he pulled back to the topic: "The military name of this team was given by Hong Taizu, the cicada, which hid underground for more than ten years, and finally sang for a season; Yaksha, a notoriously fierce and vicious ghost, does not belong to the human world in the first place... As the name suggests, they are the yaksha with the surname of the forbearance cicada, the evil spirits who lie dormant in the world, waiting for a summon to rush back to the world. ”

"Whether it is the name of the army or the mission, Hong Taizu's intention is not difficult to understand, he just wants to hide an elite army." Gu Zhaojun picked up the topic: "Seven hundred years ago, Hong Taizu unified the Middle Earth and created a peerless hegemony, but most of this emperor's heart is not steady, the general trend of the world will be divided for a long time, and the world of Dahong will fall apart sooner or later, so he wants to leave a chance for future generations to turn the book...... It's the 'Cicada Yaksha'. ”

"About the elite soldiers here, it must be a secret among secrets, but for more than 300 years in the Great Hong Dynasty, dozens of generations before and after, almost thirty emperors, countless palace infighting, radical changes, between the ups and downs, the secret of the 'Cicada Yaksha' has not been passed on, and in the end, those unscrupulous descendants have failed to live up to Hong Taizu's wishes. And the cicada yaksha is isolated from the world, and he doesn't know that the dynasty has long been changed outside, and he is still waiting for the day when he can return to the world to serve the country. ”

Gu Zhaojun finished talking about things in one breath, and finally said in an aggravated tone: "What I said just now... It's all guessing. According to the news that came out of Hong Min's mouth, and together with the situation outside, the speculation may not be accurate, but it will not be too far behind. ”

Cicada Yaksha waited for the secret envoy to come, in their hearts, the weight of the secret envoy of the Hong Dynasty, I am afraid that it is not inferior to the Bodhisattva in front of the guide boy, and finally in this life, waiting for the secret envoy Song Yang who can pass the 'blood test', the ecstasy can be imagined, love the house and Wuxia, to Lao Gu, Qi Shang, these secret envoys are also very friendly.

The origin, past, and mission of the Cicada Yaksha seem to be a great secret to the outside world, but for them, the 'parties', it is nothing at all, not to mention that the secret envoy's entourage is his own person, so it is almost effortless for Gu Zhaojun and the others to find out the news.

However, about the inheritance of the secret of the 'Cicada Yaksha' by the royal family of the Hong Dynasty, the Hong people naturally do not know, and Gu Zhaojun can only speculate.

Song Yang thought for a moment: "If you say this... The secret technique of blood refining originated from the Dahong royal family, and the master of Imperial Physician You should also be somewhat involved with the Dahong royal family. ”

Gu Zhaojun nodded: "This is a bit complicated, it's not easy to make conclusions, but the method of blood refining that Imperial Doctor You gave you must be the method of blood refining of the Dahong Imperial Family, this will never be wrong, otherwise you won't be able to pass the blood test of the Cicada Yasha." In addition, as far as I know, Hong Taizu, from his ancestors to his descendants, is obsessed with the Danshu, and it is not surprising that he has mastered this secret method of refining blood. ”

Xiao Zhu, who was always looking at Song Yang with a smile on the side, seemed to suddenly think of something, and interjected and asked, "Blood alchemy should only be effective for the right heart, right?" According to your statement, the Dahong royal family has had right-hearted people for generations? This one... Is it hereditary? ”

Her Royal Highness the princess thought directly of herself, the future son is like his father, and he is also a 'right-hearted person', which is not bad, but it is different from others, and it still feels a little weird, which is why I asked.

Gu Zhaojun shook his head: "There is a key place here, the princess has not figured it out yet: blood identification is a method for the cicada Yaksha to identify the identity of the secret envoy, but this 'blood' does not necessarily have to be the secret envoy... To put it bluntly, this special blood is a token, and the person who comes with the 'precious blood' is a secret envoy. ”

Saying that, Gu Zhaojun smiled: "Actually, we didn't figure this out at the beginning, but it's okay." The secret envoy does not necessarily have 'precious blood', but the precious blood can also be the secret envoy, which Hong Taizu did not specify. For the Cicada Yaksha, as long as you pass the blood test, we have the final say. ”

Xiao Yu listened to it with a big head, but he probably understood it anyway, so he quickly nodded and turned the page, and asked another question: "Why do you have to use the blood as a token... A copper coin is all in half, half of the emperor, half of Zheng Xian, passed down from generation to generation, one day everyone met, a pair of copper coins, round on. ”

Lao Gu laughed: "This ghost soldier is a double-edged sword, if it is used, wouldn't Hong Taizu move a stone to hit his own feet?" So Grandpa Tai is very cautious... Blood alchemy is a unique secret of the royal family, Cicada Yaksha is passed on by word of mouth among the emperors, he kneaded the two secrets together, it is more safe, it is useless to crack one alone, unless the emperor is intended, no one will want to mobilize this army. ”

In fact, Hong Taizu also has strict orders for future generations regarding the matter of 'refining blood'.

The secret method of blood refining, each stage has a different formula, the previous formula does not need to be too careful, the henchmen and eunuchs can learn it, but the formula of the last stage of the medicinal wine is the same as the secret of the 'Cicada Yaksha', only the prince is qualified to learn from his father.

Dahong sits on the world, and it is easy for them to find the newborn right-hearted baby with their power.

Since the cicada Yaksha has hidden in the mountains, every year the palace will 'collect' one or two right-hearted babies for blood refining, and when the doll reaches the age of seventeen, it will be mercilessly executed... Therefore, when the era of peace and prosperity, there will never be a 'blood token'; and once it encounters troubled times, the emperor will personally take action, and at most two years, he can concoct a token and activate the last capital of the Dahong Dynasty in the deep mountains.

Song Yang was distracted...... After all, this secret was lost in the inheritance of the Hong Dynasty, and Song Yang didn't care about the oversight, background, he was just thinking, if Imperial Doctor You was really refining his blood for this 'Cicada Yaksha', then where was his plan? Rely on these 8,000 people to fight Yan Kingdom?

Gu Zhaojun saw that he was distracted, coughed lightly, and woke him up: "What I want to say again, it's bad news." ”

Qi Shang's face was full of chagrin, and he said: "The fault lies in our own lives." ”

Song Yang was stunned by him: "What? ”

Qi Shangying said: "If I help Hong Taizu dig a grave, and he wants to kill me later, I will definitely escape with the gold and silver treasures... But the earth monkeys are not me, they plan to flee into the mountains to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors, where gold and silver are not only burdensome, what use is there? ”

Song Yang was stunned: "The earth monkey has no money? ”

"It's not that the jumpers don't have it, they brought some jewelry and jade that they think are good-looking, there are not many of them, and many of them are fakes at all, according to Hong Min, the treasures of the earth monkeys are just like that." Qi Shang nodded, and then smiled: "Master Hou, you also treat the earth monkey with yourself, right?" ”

Almost everyone thinks wrong beforehand. If there is a chance to run away with money, of course you have to bring money ... How much can you bring, this is the idea of the Han people, deep-rooted, how to stop Song Yang, if you are shrewd Gu Zhaojun and Mrs. Bao, they all think that the earth monkey will be very rich.

Song Yang smiled bitterly, and Xiao Yu was the first to come out to comfort him: "The Cicada Yasha soldiers are strong and strong, your identity as a secret envoy is completely recognized by them, and this team of male soldiers can't run." ”

Qi Shang: "Even they are quite poor, the swords, guns and armor left seven hundred years ago have long been rusted and rotten, and there is no iron mine nearby, they usually use stone axes and wooden bows for practice, similar to savages, if Hou Ye really wants them to go into battle, it is best to equip them with weapons." ”

Song Yang's mouth was about to be sour, and he came here with great difficulty, but he survived with the blessing of his uncle, but he didn't find a piece of gold, but he found a way for Cheng He to spend money...... Obviously, Xiao Yu also thought of Cheng He, and asked Song Yang in a low voice: "Do you think that after we go back, will my sister praise or scold?" ”

(To be continued)