Didn't Shanshui City build a Shanshui Pass, and all caravans entering and leaving the wilderness had to pass through there. But don't forget that there is only one way to enter and exit Bayuan from Shanshui City, and Gao Cheng can also send people to build a barrier at the other end of the road, and all caravans that come out of the wilderness will also have to pay taxes. Yue Geng was overjoyed, and immediately ordered someone to do so, cut down huge trees to build a fence as quickly as possible, sent a sergeant on duty, and set up a goods tax checkpoint at the entrance of that mountain road.

Ruoshan, who has always been mild-tempered, was also angry, since ancient times, how could there be a reason to block the door of people's houses to collect taxes, this is clearly to provoke and rob. Ruoshan personally led his master down the mountain and attacked this level at night, not only destroying all the wooden gates, but also capturing all the guards of the Yuegeng faction back to Shanshui City.

Before Yue Geng could react when he heard the news, the king's order arrived, asking him to rush to the national capital immediately. When Lord Yue Geng took the order and left, he was still thinking about how to complain to the monarch in person, but Shanshui City actually captured dozens of soldiers under him. Unexpectedly, Yue Geng didn't see the monarch at all, and it was directly taken down by Lord Lizheng. Lord Rissho relayed the king's reprimand, and in a vacant square in the national capital, he stripped him naked and slapped him in public.

It's good that Yue Geng has an identity, the board is loud but not heavy, but this face can't be embarrassed! Lord Li Zheng also announced in public why he punished Yue Geng so much, what did he do wrong, and the monarch ordered him to correct it. In fact, this punishment is relatively light, Yue Geng still went back to be the lord of the city after being hit by the board, but he had to send someone to Shanshui City to apologize, and compensate the Shanshui City caravan for the goods lost in the conflict, and return the overcharged goods tax during this time.

This was supposed to be the end of the matter, but he deserved to be unlucky, and before he could leave the capital, two more chengkuo sent envoys to the national capital to complain, and each of them had a caravan that was inexplicably punished in Gaocheng, and the goods were confiscated and everyone was punished. Then news came that Wakayama had sent someone to complain. This time, it was Gaocheng who blocked the mountain road to build a customs and collect taxes.

The monarch was furious, and called Yue Geng to reprimand him in person: "I am still sitting in the position of the king, do you want to order the cities? You even set up a customs to collect taxes outside Shanshui City, is this your own border? The lords of the court and the central government said that you have no intention of rebellion, but you are only tempted by the desire for profit, but I don't think that's the case!"

The monarch was so angry that he almost beheaded Yue Geng on the spot, but fortunately, there were many people around him to dissuade him, so he was thrown into prison and re-interrogated by Lord Lizheng. Yue Geng was frightened this time, and hurriedly informed the clansmen to quickly bring valuable gifts to the adults in the national capital. And he struggled to explain that he had no different intentions, everything was just a misunderstanding, and he must change his ways!

Yue Geng was imprisoned for more than a month, and the monarch had a son, and he was in a good mood, and finally released him back to Gaocheng. But before Yue Geng returned to Gaocheng, he was interrogated by Lord Li Zheng again, and he was beaten in public again. This time the executioners were instructed to do so, and the boards were beaten hard. Yue Geng was carried out of the national capital.

When Yue Geng was escorted back to Gaocheng by his subordinates, what happened in the capital and the reasons for it were also sent by Lord Caifeng to spread the story among the cities in the country, and the people heard about it.

The lord of Yue Geng City can be regarded as famous throughout the country this time. According to the officials, the reason why the lord of Yuegeng City was pardoned was not only because there were happy things in the country, but also because he knew that he could correct his mistakes. Yue Geng once wept bitterly in front of the monarch and confessed his sins. And vowed to repent and make amends.

Takajo will compensate Shanshui Castle and the caravans of the other castles, refund the excess taxes, send messengers to apologize, and vow never to make such mistakes again.

In those days, there was not even a written word. Therefore, the law is also very simple, and people act according to the rituals that have been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, for people like Yue Geng, if they do not commit the crime of death, they will often still be given a chance to mend their ways.

Lord Lizheng, who interrogated him, including the monarch, actually knew in their hearts that what Yue Geng did was not right, and even lost his mind in anger, but he did not have the heart to rebel. As long as Yue Geng does not commit treason, this kind of person cannot be easily killed, and even let him go back to continue to be the city lord for the time being. Because Yue Geng is also the patriarch of the Gao Cheng clan, and the Gao Cheng clan is the most powerful clan in the highlands.

The king's reprimand and punishment were mainly aimed at Yue Geng himself, and did not involve the Gaocheng clan.

In those days, there was a lot of emphasis on commitment, and vows were a major event in life. This is not only because people believe in ghosts and gods, but also because there are not many ways to bind each other in a simple and difficult life environment, so vows become important. If a person does not keep his oath, then he is taken for granted to be punished by the oath breaker, and people naturally choose not to deal with him again.

If a city does not keep its oath, the people of the kingdom will be far away and alienated from it, and the city will be despised by all, and people will no longer trust it and make any dealings with it. In the age of simplicity, it was as simple as that for people to do things.

Before Yue Geng left the capital, Lord Xiling also went to see him in prison and had a long talk, which was not only a condolence, but also a kind of admonition.

In the face of the depressed and panicked Yue Geng, Xiling not only explained what he was wrong about, but also why he was punished like this? Xiling also told Yue Geng that he was actually making trouble for the monarch. Despite the fact that Shanshui City has just been established for a long time and is located in a remote area, its status in the country is much more important than that of Gaocheng.

Ba Yuan is surrounded by mountains, and the Xiangmuro country is close to the edge of Ba Yuan, but there is more than one wilderness, and there is more than one tribal alliance in the wilderness. The reason why the monarch attaches so much importance to the annexation of the tribal alliance in the wilderness, and Yuegeng and Xiling have made great contributions to this, is because the Xiangmuro country wants to take Shanshui City as a model and call on more barbarian tribal alliances to follow suit.

If Shanshui City had just been annexed, it was treated unfairly and oppressed by other cities in the country, then how could the other barbarian tribes follow suit? Moreover, this time it was Yue Geng who took the initiative to provoke the dispute, and the only one who could be punished was Gao Cheng, and the monarch put Yue Geng back to continue to be the lord of the city, so that he could personally make up for this situation.

As for what Lord Caifeng Xiling said to the Lord of Yuegeng City, outsiders don't know. The local wind collectors have told the people about what happened in Gaocheng and the national capital, and everyone loves to listen to it. A castle lord was stripped of his clothes and beaten in public, which was unheard of in the country of the prime minister, and he could simply take this story to dinner.

While praising the wisdom and benevolence of the lord, the people of the kingdom waited to see what Yue Geng would do, and to compensate Shanshui City and the other two caravans for the losses, and to refund the excess taxes, an amount that was already difficult to calculate, and the only way to pay as much as possible. Gao Cheng also sent an envoy to Shanshui City to apologize and send a lot of goods.

Ruoshan was also generous, and did not care about anything, and ordered people to receive the envoy very warmly, and let go of the previously captured Gao Cheng sergeant, and they followed the envoy back, and also gave Gao Cheng a batch of precious goods, and the matter was over. The dispute between the two cities finally subsided.

Later, Yue Geng resigned as the lord of the city on the grounds of physical discomfort, but he was still the patriarch of the Gaocheng clan. Gao Cheng elected another new city lord, and he still came out of the Gao Cheng clan. The new city lord's name is Ziqian, and he is also a monk of the Five Realms. Yue Geng can also be regarded as an intellectual, he has lost face this time, and has become the laughing stock of the entire Xiangmuro country, maybe he did this because he listened to Xiling's persuasion, or maybe Yue Geng figured it out himself.

After the decree of the monarch to canonize the new lord of the castle was issued, Wakayama also sent a very heavy congratulatory gift when he heard the news, at least in terms of face. After the envoy of Shanshui City returned from the national capital, he brought back the monarch's words of consolation to the Shanshui clan, and there was a special sentence to ask Ruoshan - why was the caravan of Shanshui City dressed up by a soldier with an elite military formation?

This question is very important, and it can be regarded as a euphemistic reminder. Sending elite troops to infiltrate other cities in disguise is a very dangerous and inevitably suspicious signal, and it should not be done under normal circumstances.

Ruoshan sent someone back to the monarch: "The people of the land and the wilderness work hard, and they can't afford to support too many idlers." The caravans in this city also have the responsibility of opening, building, and protecting roads, and they cannot do it unless they are elite samurai. ”

The situation of Shanshui City is special, and you have to walk through a long wilderness to get in and out of Ba Yuan. Moreover, the barbarian tribes are remote and backward, and it is impossible to support too many idlers who are out of labor, so the caravans are composed of elite military soldiers. When they traveled to and from Ba Yuan, they not only ensured the safety of this trade route, but also built this mountain road.

The road is not built in a day, and every time the caravan enters and exits, it encounters some difficult sections, and a short section will be dug and leveled. Moreover, there are often flash floods in the rainy season in the wilderness, and they will also rush down the broken wood and rolling stones to block the road, which needs to be cleaned and repaired regularly, and the caravan of Shanshui City also bears this responsibility at the same time, so Ruoshan did not deliberately let the military formation be disguised as a caravan.

In this way, it can be regarded as a satisfactory explanation to the monarch. And the harmonious relationship between Shanshui City and Gao Cheng has also been restored, even if Yue Geng, the patriarch of the Gao Cheng clan, has a grudge in his heart, it is not good to do anything to retaliate on the surface.

……

During this time, Huwa often went to Taihao Ruins to cultivate, and he didn't continue to take the immortal elixir, and to be honest, he didn't need it anymore. Huwa often sat on the white jade altar, and did not practice any secret methods, and Li Qingshui did not open his mouth to talk to him, but continued to imprint a lot of divine thoughts into his Yuanshen, which contained all kinds of information, and introduced and explained all things in the world to Huwa.

Although these are not secret methods of cultivation, they are also very important teachings or inheritances. Li Qingshui was the last scholar of Ba Yuan, and the last Xue Zheng of Ba Yuan before the civil strife and split. At that time, when there was no written language, of course, there would be no books. So what do people learn in the academy, and how do the teachers in the academy, those who are revered as "doctors," teach their disciples......?