The core of Chongqing Prefecture is the Zhongyu District, and the core of the Zhongyu District is this Hongya Mountain, which is built along the river and has a height difference of nearly 100 zhang between the top and bottom.

This city within a city is made of steel as the bone and the wood as the skin, and countless huge beams and pillars are nailed into the cliff wall, supporting this magical complex that looks like a beehive from a distance.

Under the archway of the eaves corner, there is the main road in the mountains where the river flows endlessly and the traffic is busy.

There are dense sedan ladders and carved corridors around it, intertwined up and down, left and right, and a lively and prosperous mid-mountain street market is separated from this dense cliff building.

Among the cramped alleys, there are many bluestone-paved paths, winding and undulating, and I don't know where to lead.

In the seemingly chaotic environment, there is an iron law that cannot be violated.

The five-storey building of Hongya Mountain, named after 'gold, silver, copper, iron, and tile', can flow freely under the iron building, but the iron building is never allowed to cross and enter without authorization.

There is only one fate for trespassers, and that is death.

Behind this cold and rigid rule is the business model of this 'city within a city' that was set at the beginning of its opening.

Under the iron building, no residential buildings were built, and all the shops were open to the public on a leasing basis.

The people of Chongqing can also come and go freely, eat, drink and have fun, and there are no taboos.

But above the iron tower, it is the opposite situation.

There are only private residences in the form of 'pavilions', without any shops, and outsiders are not allowed to enter at will.

The only pass is the proof of residence here, commonly known as the 'deed'.

Of course, there are no absolutes.

In addition to the title deed, there are some special things that allow the holder to move around this Hongya Mountain unimpeded.

The Jinyi Wei Baihu token in Yan Bahuang's hand is one of them.

"Drip."

As the door of the sedan ladder slowly opened, a pastoral scene that would never appear in Hongya Mountain slowly unfolded in front of Yan Bahuang's eyes.

In the heaven and earth with a radius of only a few acres, Qianmo is criss-crossed.

The ripe rice fields are like gold in the morning light, the rice crops bend down, and the breeze blows, which is a golden wave.

Dozens of specially deployed, sturdy Yanren work in the fields.

There were men and women of these men, all with smiles on their faces and peaceful eyes, almost identical.

In the center of Qianmo, there is a thatched house.

In front of the door, there is no shortage of beautiful pond mulberry bamboo, and there is even a yellow dog enjoying themselves.

And at the four corners of the edge of the field, there are four towering trees, the shade of which is like a canopy, and under the green leaves lie a cicada with a cold glow.

At this moment, if someone looks down from a higher place, they can only see a magnificent carved beast gray tile palace, and they can't see this world at all.

Although it was not the first time he had come here, Yan Bahuang couldn't help but sigh in his heart at this moment.

Who would have thought that the rumored 'Golden Building' standing on the top of Hongya Mountain would be such a 'Peach Blossom Spring'.

"Old Yan, you're here."

In the crowd of cultivators, a farmer with a broad shoulder looked up, a gentle smile on his dirt-stained face.

As soon as he finished speaking, the people around the farmer raised their heads and laughed one after another.

"Old Yan."

The language is uniform, and even the arc of the smile is engraved in a mold.

Although it was a warm morning light at this moment, Yan Bahuang suddenly felt a chill rushing to the top of his head.

"Humble Yan Bahuang, I have seen His Royal Highness the King of Qin."

Yan Bahuang clenched his fists and bowed to the end.

"How many times have you said it, Old Yan, you just call me by my real name Zhu Youhong, and you don't need to call those vain titles."

In front of the house, Yan Bahuang and the farmer sat opposite each other, and between the two was a tattered and old low table.

There are not any delicacies from the mountains and seas on the top of the table, just two bowls of bland white porridge.

"You are the imperial vassal king recognized by the Ming Law, and it is disrespectful to call you by name, and you should be beheaded according to the law."

Zhu Youhong looked at the stubborn old man in front of him, and said helplessly: "It's all things that have been thrown into the pile of old papers, and only you are still insisting." ”

He spread his hands and showed off his mud-stained coarse cloth coat and laughed.

"Besides, where in the world is there a vassal king who sells his palace to others as a safe house in order to support himself?"

"It's the New Donglin Party, damn it!"

Yan Bahuang's expression was cold, and the killing intent in the tiger's eyes was awe-inspiring.

"Don't say that, they can spare my life, but I'm content to imprison me here."

Zhu Youhong sighed, "Actually, I would prefer that they cut my title of vassal king and demote me to a commoner." At the very least, I can get out of here and see what the empire is like right now. ”

Yan Bahuang lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice, "It's a lowly and incompetent, I can't help the prince get out of the cage, please punish the prince!" ”

"What punishment is not punished, under the general trend, it is already commendable to be able to go with the flow, and no one can stop it."

"Okay, let's not talk about that." Zhu Youhong smiled and waved his hand, pointing to the porridge bowl on the table, "It's so early, Yan Lao shouldn't have had breakfast yet, right?" This porridge is a new rice harvest this year, and it tastes good, so try it. ”

Yan Bahuang was silent, holding the porridge bowl with both hands, and ate it in three or two bites.

Compared with his vigorous and resolute behavior, Zhu Youhong seemed slow and methodical, taking small sips of porridge bowls.

After a while, Zhu Youhong drank the last mouthful of rice soup into his stomach, and then put down the bowl with a satisfied face.

"I remember that before I came to Chongqing Mansion to become a vassal, I had seen some records about the pre-Ming period in the Huangliang Historical Library."

"At that time, the empire was in a state of internal and external troubles, stormy times. Many people can't even drink this kind of white porridge, so they can only eat tree bark and mud to wrap their stomachs. There was even a hellish situation of starving for thousands of miles and changing children to eat. ”

"At that time, it was difficult for the people to find a meter, who would have thought that today, thousands of years later, such native rice cultivated by manpower is still not affordable for everyone."

Yan Bahuang raised his eyebrows and spitted out sonorous words, "All disasters began with the New Donglin Party." As long as they are eradicated, the empire will surely be able to regain the glory of the Longwu Emperor's period! ”

"Mountains and rivers are easy to change, it is the work of ten thousand years. The decline of the empire is not caused by the day! If you want to hurry, you can't get there, you should always understand this truth. ”

Yan Bahuang's eyebrows furrowed, and he replied in a deep voice: "Ten thousand years is too long, I only seize the day!" ”

Zhu Youhong's expression became solemn, "Things have to be done one by one, and the rice has to be eaten in one bite!" Today's reality is that the enemy is strong and I am weak, and we can only take one step at a time if we walk on thin ice, otherwise one wrong step will be the end of losing all the games! ”

"Qi Huai dares to help the people of Honghu, and it is reasonable for you to raid his house, Old Yan. But after all, he still has the identity of a 'regular general', and there are many court officials who invest in bets behind him. ”

"Now that I have little incense left in the court, being able to shelter Chongqing Mansion Jinyiwei this time does not mean that I can shelter next time. When you are old, you must be more careful. ”

Yan Bahuang's face was tense, and he wanted to speak and stopped, but in the end, he just sighed secretly in his heart, got up and arched his hand: "What the prince taught me is that he is reckless. ”

Zhu Youhong said earnestly, "Honghu is just a disease of scabies, and the New Donglin Party is the focus." I hope you will always consider which is more important. ”

Yan Bahuang lowered his eyes, "I understand." ”

At this point, the atmosphere was already a little dreary.

Zhu Youhong smiled disappreciatively, he couldn't understand the character of this Yan Baihu anymore.

Once the words are not speculative, the other party will not be willing to say more than half a sentence.

Just as he was thinking about how to change the topic and ease the atmosphere, in the middle of the ridges in the distance, a man suddenly dropped his hoe and ran over with a anxious look.

"Lord Wang, the patrol communication from the Zongren Mansion is here."

Zhu Youhong was stunned when he heard this, looked at Yan Bahuang and smiled helplessly, "I really can't keep you staying for a long time now." ”

"Your Highness, take care."

Yan Bahuang obviously also knew the weight of the three words 'Zongren Mansion', so he immediately clasped his fists, turned around and strode away.

When the door of the sedan ladder carrying Yan Bahuang slowly closed, Zhu Youhong raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, among the big trees planted in the four corners of the field, there were bursts of cicadas.

Like the sound of the wings of the wind, the fields changed into tiles, the giant trees turned into beams, and the cultivators showed their slave natures and fell to their knees.

The beautiful countryside has changed into a gloomy palace in an instant.

"Zongren's Mansion is here, can King Qin be there?"

A cold, hollow voice echoed through the empty hall.

Zhu Youhong raised his eyes to look at the dome, and the coarse cloth shirt on his body had been replaced by a blue crown robe embroidered with a gold-woven dragon.

"Zhu Youhong, King of Qin, is here."

(End of chapter)