Text: Chapter 84: Medicinal Introduction
When Hu Kehao entered the city, he found that it was not large, and he did not know whether he should be defined as a kingdom or a tribe, so in order to improve his administrative status, he called it a kingdom. There are many shops in the city, and the common people do all kinds of business. There are sergeants patrolling the streets, and the law and order environment is good. Hu Kehao was walking on the street, and people found out that he was a foreigner, and they all cast strange glances at him. Hu Kehao touched his purse, and there was money given to him by Elder Sandra, which could be used on this island. Hu Kehao bought some local clothing to make himself look less offbeat. He hadn't shaved for more than twenty days, and he didn't have the conditions to shave, and his face was covered with a thick beard, and he looked a bit like a local.
The name of this kingdom is the kingdom of Bina. Elder Sandra handed Hu Kehao a letter and asked him to hand it over to the king. Hu Kehao is a cloth cloth, and it is not so easy to meet the king. He first found a bank, exchanged dollars for local money, and found a hotel to stay in. The room was messy and he had to clean it himself.
After settling down, Hu Kehao wandered outside the king's palace, looking for an opportunity to meet the king. The palace is luxurious and magnificent, and the guards standing guard are majestic. Hu Kehao plucked up his courage and wanted to go straight to the palace gate, but he was afraid of being kicked out. He wandered around the palace and noticed a row of goose cages hanging from the outside of a palace wall. Hu Kehao felt very strange, who hung the goose cage on the city wall? Although this palace wall is on the side, it is too unsightly. The palace walls on the sides have no entrances and exits, and are not guarded by guards. Hu Kehao was curious, and walked into the goose cage to take a look, which was covered with five-colored forging. Suddenly, a baby's cry came from the cage. Hu Kehao looked through the gap in the bamboo basket, and it turned out that it was filled with children, about six or seven years old. Some are playing in cages, some are sleeping, some are eating fruit, some are crying.
Hu Kehao was looking at his gaze when an old man passed by him and said to him, "Young man, what are you looking at there?" Hurry up and beware of the guards arresting you! ”
Hu Kehao followed the old man and came to a place far away from the palace, Hu Kehao asked, "Uncle, what's the matter with the child in the cage outside the palace wall?" Who in the world does not love their children, and why do they hang them on the palace wall? ”
The old man said, "You don't have to worry about these things, not to mention that you are still a foreigner." Do whatever you want, and get out of here as soon as you're done with your own business. ”
Hu Kehao grabbed the old man and was sure to ask for an understanding. The old man took Hu Kehao to a secret place and told him: "We were originally a tribe here, but now it has been upgraded to a small country, and the original tribal chief has become a king. The king's wives and concubines were in groups, and they were lascivious, but now they were riddled with diseases, their bodies were thin, their spirits were in a trance, their diet was scarce, and their lives were on the verge of death. Recently, a warlock came from a cannibal tribe from another place and offered an elixir, saying that the king could cure his illness and prolong his life if he took his medicine. The medicine is already available, but the medicine is powerful, and it requires the heart and liver of seven children, and the decoction is taken to take the medicine, and it has the effect of immortality for thousands of years after taking it. The king was overjoyed and made him a national teacher. In the goose cage outside the palace wall is the baby of the selected people's family, raised in it, first to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon, and when the time comes, it will be medicine. The people of the island, afraid of the royal law, did not dare to object, but only watched the children suffer. ”
"In today's civilized society, there is such a ridiculous thing, how can it be justified!" Hu Kehao's heart was full of anger towards the king and the warlock.
"The king has been deceived too much by the warlock! The ministers tried to persuade each other, but the king would not listen. The old man said.
"If I have the opportunity to see the king, I will persuade him to come to his senses quickly. This warlock comes from a cannibal tribe, and he must have wanted to eat people under the guise of looking for medicine. Hu Kehao said.
"What right do you, a little stranger, have to meet the king? The king has been neglecting government affairs lately, and it is difficult for the ministers to see him! The old man said.
"Uncle, why are you so clear about the things in the palace?" Hu Kehao asked.
"It's simple, because I'm one of the ministers in the palace." The old man's name was Hemanta and he was the Minister of State of Bina. Hemanta repeatedly admonished the king, asking him to drive out the cannibal warlocks, let go of the children, and concentrate on state affairs. The king first ignored him, then became impatient, and then in a fit of rage, he nearly killed Hermantha. He came out of the palace and met Hu Kehao, saw that he was a kind-hearted person, and was afraid that he would cause trouble, so he pulled him away.
"I don't know you're Master Hermanta! We apologize for your understanding. "This old man is the minister of Bina Country, Hu Kehao didn't know what to call him, so he had to call him an adult according to the title of the big official in the costume film and television drama.
"I'm old! You should call me an old man, why do you call me an adult? You're an adult, too! Hermantha said.
"That's the case, in our country, especially in ancient times, the big officials were called 'adults'!" Hu Kehao said.
"I don't want to be an adult, you better call me uncle, it sounds more comfortable."
"Yes, uncle! Can you find a way to take me to the king? Hu Kehao took the letter written by Elder Sandra and gave it to Hermanta. He read the letter and knew what was going on.
"This matter has to be considered in the long run." Hermantha invited Hu Kehao to his home. Although Hermanta was the Minister of State, he was honest and never corrupt or bribe, which was very rare in their island nation, and even the king admired him. His family's house is not luxurious, it looks like an ordinary house.
Hermanta's grandson, who was sleeping peacefully at home, was enjoying his family when he thought of the children outside the palace walls and was saddened by the actions of the king and the national teacher. Hermanta pondered for a while, and then came up with an idea, wanting Hu Kehao to disguise himself as a foreign envoy to meet the king, first, to deal with the national teacher, and second, to ask the king to help him go to Aina Island.
The next day, Hu Kehao dressed up and entered the palace with Hermanta. Walking into the first palace gate, the guards were guarding with guns, and the momentum was majestic. Walking into the second palace gate, it was as if entering a chaotic time and space, the guards were holding shiny broadswords, but they looked more terrifying and terrifying than modern firearms, and Hu Kehao couldn't help but weaken his legs. Entering the palace, the minister of civil and military affairs, lined up in two shifts, met the king, and the herald said loudly: "If there is something to do, go out of class and play early, and if there is nothing to do, the curtain will be withdrawn." ”
Hermanta played: "Your Majesty, there is a foreign season to meet you today and present your credentials. "The guards handed the king the letter of state, which was not written in Chinese or English, and was a strange character that the king did not recognize.
"Which country are you an envoy?" The king asked Hu Kehao.
"My lord, I am the envoy who has come to pride the country, and my country wants to establish diplomatic relations with your country." Hu Kehao said.
"How big is your country? What about the population? What is the level of the economy? The king asked again.
Hu Kehao answered one by one according to Hermanta's instructions. When the king saw that the country was so powerful, he did not dare to despise it, and said, "You should go back first, and we will study and study it, and then reply to the national letter." Hu Kehao bid farewell to the king and returned to the hotel.
"What kind of text is this? Who can know? "The king sent the letter of state to his ministers, but no one recognized the Chinese characters. The cannibal national teacher was sitting next to the throne, and he boasted that he knew astronomy and geography, and that he knew the languages of more than a dozen countries. The king gave him the letter of state and asked him to read it.
"King, this book is full of traces of birds and beasts, and the ministers are shallow and don't know a word." The national teacher said.
The king was displeased and said: "In the Manchu Dynasty, there is no well-educated person who shares the worries of the widows, and he does not even know a letter of state, and he is ridiculed by foreigners, what use do you want?" The Manchu officials were silent, so frightened that they didn't dare to come out, and the king was very troubled.
It turned out that this letter was written by Hermanta in a rare language, and the national teacher did not know this text, and he made a fool of himself in front of the king and lost face, and the king's trust in him was reduced by a few points, and Hermanta's purpose was achieved. The king was seriously ill, and he summoned foreign envoys with great spirits, and his illness became even more serious because he was troubled by the matter of the state letter. The national teacher wanted to use medicine to treat the king's illness, but the king said that he was killing children now, and he was afraid that he would be accused and criticized by foreign countries and cause a bad influence in the international community, so he would talk about it later after sending away the foreign envoy.