1. Tears in the hometown

After staying in the capital for a few days, the water route went south to Hankou.

Then go to Chibi Yanglou Town to pick up a batch of tea and escort it to Taikoo and Pingyao in Shanxi.

Liuyun Bridge bid farewell to the dart team and went straight to Yancheng along the waterway.

That evening, Liuyunqiao quietly returned to Chashan Liufu.

The exquisite mansion in the past is now decaying and the sun is slanting, the seal on the door has not been removed, and the weeds in the corner of the wall are as high as the body.

It's been three years, and since I joined the army from Rong to the accident, I haven't been able to set foot in my homeland for three years.

Looking back, the homeland was deserted and relatives were separated.

Liu Yunqiao's mood was numb, his nose was sour, and scenes of the past came to his heart like smoke.

He flew into the wall, and the house in the courtyard was crooked, the fragments of the house were in disarray, the vases and utensils were all over the ground, the thread-bound books were everywhere, the valuables were looted, and the house was raided as if it had been robbed.

There are actually five spirit tablets on the table in the hall:

Therefore, it is necessary to examine the spiritual position of the old man of thousands of miles, and the spiritual position of the old man of the Zhu family.

In the lower position, the tablets of himself and his two younger brothers are placed in turn.

Three plates of fruit offerings were placed on the table of the Eight Immortals, and an incense burner was placed in the middle, and more than half of the ashes were burned, so it was obvious that someone had come to worship.

When he saw the spirit card, he knelt on the ground, crying bitterly, his parents were separated by yin and yang, and not being able to fulfill his filial piety may be the greatest sorrow in the world.

His family was gone, and he was left alone, drifting in troubled times.

He strode into his study with a torch in his hand.

The bookcase was overturned and fell to the ground, the back of the chair was broken, the books on the floor and the fragments of the purple clay pot in his collection, and the sword given by his father in the year of the year were missing, and the mother's hand-copied Xiaokai "Tao Te Ching" was torn, and the drawer of the book table was opened, leaving only sundries and fragments.

He grabbed a corner of the bookcase, struggled to stand up, opened the cabinet door to find it in detail, and the drawer in the middle was opened, fortunately!

The portrait of the book shadow is intact. The four-foot silk frame vertical shaft portrait is delicate and lifelike.

Liu Yunqiao's heart is infinitely sad, seeing things and thinking about people. I have lived in this study for 20 years, and every table and chair record the traces of childhood growth, leaving my own imprint, but I can't protect and retain my memories.

He sorted out his favorite books and his mother's hand-copied scriptures, carefully rolled up the portraits of the shadows, and packed them into a baggage.

He returned to the hall, where there was a four-piece set of a headline case, a table of eight immortals, and a chair of the Taishi, and on the back wall of the tablet were four paintings of Mei Lan and Zhu Ju.

Above the two sides of the hanging scroll are porcelain portraits of grandfathers and grandmothers. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, tears welling up in his eyes, and then climbed to the table and took down the portrait.

After a brief tidying up, he was ready to stay on his bed for the night, probably the last night at home.

Just as he was about to make his bed, there was a knock on the door from the backyard.

He hurriedly hid behind the door, waiting for an opportunity.

A lame old man, with the vicissitudes of life, staggered in. He carried a bamboo basket containing burning paper, candles, and plates of dried fruits, as well as a wine jug.

"Uncle Gen, Uncle Gen! It's me, I'm Hong'er, I'm back!" Seeing the old man, Liu Yunqiao had mixed feelings, and the person who came was Uncle Cao Shuigen, a righteous servant in the family, who had been a handyman and housekeeper in the Liu family all his life.

"Hong'er, is it really you? you, are you still alive?"

With dim torches, the old face looked closer to Liuyun Bridge.

The old man was surprised and unexpected, and the old tears were rampant.

"The sky has eyes!Master, the heavens will not destroy the Liu family, and there is still a root left for the old Liu family!" The old man was sad and poured out in the spiritual position, crying on the table in front of the case.

Obviously, the tablet was set up by the old man at the risk of death, and the old man entered through the back door at night to pay tribute to the soul of the master's family.

"I didn't expect to see you again until I died. It's good to be alive, it's good to be alive, the sky has eyes!"

Liu Yunqiao was also infected by Uncle Gen's emotions, tears welled up, and they hugged each other in pain for a long time.

Liu Yunqiao picked up Uncle Gen and sat on the rickety chair.

"Uncle Gen, what crime did my father commit, did my brother and mother suffer accidents?" This was the sentence that had been held in his heart for the longest time, and it was also the only person he could ask.

"Hey, what an unjust case! There is nowhere to redress grievances. As the four strategists under the command of the commander, the adults are like gods, and they have no last resort. However, the enemy is strong and we are weak, and the battle is stalemate, and there are more defeats and fewer victories. Even the best strategy is difficult to change the defeat, and it can only minimize the loss of failure. ”

Although Cao Shuigen is a housekeeper servant, he was born as a showman, and he has been studying hard for ten years, and he has always seen the master's predicament and hardships.

"Jiujiang was defeated, and the strategy of the adults was originally a mixture of large and small fleets, and the small fleets were flexible enough to attack on the flanks of the forwards; after the large fleets were broken off for firepower reinforcements, the large and small fleets could not be dispersed, and they were not reliable too close, in order to prevent the small fleets from being broken off and broken down, and the large fleets from being attacked by fire, and the history of the defeat of Cao Wei in Chibi was repeated. "Yunqiao didn't expect Uncle Gen to say the art of war.

"Who knows what to fear, what is biased. The commander in chief on the spot could not carry out the commander's intentions and commanded without authorization. The small flotilla was tempted by the enemy to separate into Dongting Lake, and the flotilla that had been concentrated in fire was broken by each one. The large fleet was inflexible on the river, forty warships were burned and sunk in the river, and the small fleet was sunk by artillery fire, and the baggage was lost, and it was no longer an army. ”

"The gateway to Jiujiang was broken, followed by Hanyang and Wuchang. Lord Liu unfortunately became a scapegoat, and his sin did not lead to death. Who knew that the four major strategists had been in conflict and grudge for a long time, and Mei, who regarded himself as the chief staff, was strategizing and forging letters to accuse Lord Liu of collaborating with the enemy and treason, which is a heinous crime that cannot be forgiven to the nine clans. ”

The righteous servant Cao Shuigen was even more distressed when he said this, and his fist smashed on the Taishi's chair, and there was a bang.

"Poor Liu family, more than 30 members of the family, all escorted to the prison of the Criminal Department in Beijing, and they were beheaded this autumn and died in a foreign country. It's just past the first seven, and I'm here to burn some paper money for the master. The Winter Clothes Festival is here, it's cold, I'll burn some clothes for the master. Fortunately, your mother went to Chashan that day, and I hurriedly sent someone to report the news, and she went to find you. Finally got her life back, ma'am, and you didn't bring her back?"

When the righteous servant Cao Shuigen talked about his mother, he seemed to suddenly remember that if he came back alive, his mother must also be alive in the world.

"Mother and Ah Ming rode horses to the Yueyang camp to look for me, so my mother and I fled to Hankou overnight, and encountered a siege in Hankou.

"Well, poor lady. It is said that it is not just because of your peers, the real reason why the Liu family suffered a catastrophe was because of your mother's "Heluo Divine Codex"!"

Uncle Gen wiped away his tears with his trembling hands, and the old voice echoed in the broken rubble.

"Heluo Shendian? Is it the martial arts secret book of the Fuxi faction? The fifteen swords of Heluo and the sword spectrum of the Yin and Yang Palms of Fuxi are combined into one?"

Lei Darttou once talked about the "Heluo Divine Codex", and today it was mentioned by the old housekeeper of the family, it seems that this is definitely not a legend of the rivers and lakes.

"Exactly! That "Heluo Divine Codex" is not only a martial arts secret book, but also hides a huge treasure secret, and those who get the magic book will win the world!"

It is said that the richest man in Liangguang was a Chinese comprador of the Dutch East India Company, who lost his conscience and smuggled YA films, accumulating huge wealth, claiming that Wu's wealth could reach 50 million taels, and some people said that it was 10,000 vehicles, and the annual income of the imperial court was only 40 million li, which was really rich and rivaled the country. ”

Liu Yunqiao couldn't believe it, Uncle Gen's words sounded as magical to him as listening to a commentary, he didn't know that there was really such a big secret hidden by his mother's side when he was so old.

"If you don't show your wealth when you have nothing to do, it's a curse to show your wealth. The trading of Wu Shanjian's YA tablets was originally limited to South China, but later he actually colluded with the bad merchants in the Central Plains to transfer YA tablets, and a huge amount of silver flowed into Wu's pocket. ”

After the autumn account of that year, the total amount of silver in Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Xi'an, and Wuhan reached 13 million taels of silver, passing through Hankou and Changsha to Guangzhou. Due to the excessive amount of silver, it was inconvenient to transport and store, so he exchanged the gold, and convened the World Dart Bureau to escort it in batches, and the head of the Central Plains Martial Arts, Fuxi, sent the Yunpan Sect Leader, and convened the top ten dart bureaus to intercept one million taels of gold halfway. The Yunpan Sect Master originally wanted to divide this into two, one was to save the world, and the other was to donate it to the Hunan army camp to purchase guns and ships. ”

Speaking of this, Uncle Gen coughed violently, and his body was so thin that he curled up into a ball.

"As the saying goes, man dies for money. The 100 dart masters of the four dart bureaus saw the wealth and killed each other. What was originally a righteous act of robbing the rich and helping the poor turned into a bloody massacre, and the golden battle lasted all night with hundreds of top martial arts masters in the Central Plains! In the end, only the two Simon brothers and Ling Tang survived. ”

At that time, the Yunpan Sect Master was taking the disciples of the Yunpan Fuxi Sect to respond, and he rushed to the scene to find that the blood was flowing like a river, and he was full of regret! He hurriedly summoned his disciples to transfer this batch of gold, hid it in a famous mountain, and drew a map of the location of the hiding place combined with the sword spectrum palm technique. The Simon brothers wanted to get this treasure and turned against each other for this picture. Seeing that the two brothers were greedy for money, the Cloud Disk Sect Master no longer trusted the two brothers. And your mother asked with all her heart, valuing wealth and righteousness, and won the heart of the sect leader, and handed over the treasure map to Lingtang for safekeeping. Ling Tang was worried that he would not be able to take on this important task, so he returned the treasure map to his master. The Cloud Disk Sect Master ordered someone to build a treasure letter with a lot of money, and put the treasure map into the treasure letter. ”

"Baohan?" Liu Yunqiao asked curiously.

"Yes, the treasure letter contains the secret of the treasure, and for the sake of safety, the treasure letter has been kept by the sect leader himself. But the frenzied second apprentice had bad intentions, killed the sect leader, and took away the treasure letter!" Uncle Gen said here, looking indignant.

"With the treasure letter, doesn't it mean that the treasure can be found? Why hasn't the treasure been dug up for decades?" asked Liu Yunqiao puzzled.

"Yes, everyone in the world is very confused. The secret lies in the treasure letter! The treasure letter is a top-secret chain, and when you open one lock, the other lock locks automatically. Later, according to what your mother said, that treasure letter was not opened with a key at all, but a heavenly secret! The secret of this heavenly secret was the Hetuluo book, the "Heluo Divine Codex" that everyone in the martial arts coveted. Haven't you heard it, there is a nursery rhyme popular all over the world: Luo Shu to the river map, gold and silver ten thousand five, crack the heavenly machine and buy the Forbidden City. ”

A book, a treasure box, a treasure.

But I've never heard the secrets of treasure when I've grown so old.

Mother was secretive about it.

Uncle Gen continued: "There is also a version that says that there are no books at all, and the treasure is more than thirteen million owned by Wu Shanjian alone. There is also the treasure of Nanming. The book is a diagram that is inherently carved into Pegasus' back. Only the reincarnation of Tenma is when the treasure reappears!"

This is a story that has been sealed for a long time, and although Uncle Gen tells it in a calm tone, it is like a deep sea wave, which is heartwarming.

The mystery that has plagued him for several months has finally come to an end, what is the connection between the Simon brothers and their mother? The skinny monkey who robbed and killed himself and his mother in Hankou, the white-clothed water thief who thundered and talked to him every day, and the Luoyang shovel masked master who robbed the law field in Luoyang City, why did the three of them appear at the same time?

"I finally understood why I was hunting after my mother and me. But Uncle Gen, I really don't have any "Heluo Shendian" here, and my mother didn't give me a picture before she died, was that picture lost by my mother?"

Liu Yunqiao's mind reviewed what had happened in the past six months, and there were many questions and puzzles. Then he told Uncle Gen about the experience of the past six months, how it was killed and beaten into the river, how it was rescued by the Oriental Dart Bureau, how to learn to walk darts, and so on.

Yipu Cao Shuigen sighed after hearing this, and he felt extremely sorry for the young master he had brought with him.

He rolled up his long sleeves again and wiped away his tears. Liu Yunqiao escaped death, and he was very happy again.

"I'm afraid it's not over yet, and they won't give up until they achieve their goal. So, you better go, get out of this place, and go as far as possible. Be sure to find the "Heluo Divine Codex", refine the peerless magic skills of the Fuxi faction, the Heluo Fifteen Swords and the Fuxi Yin and Yang Palm, rehabilitate Zhaoxue for the Liu family, and avenge your mother!"

Cao Shuigen has followed his father for many years and has developed rigorous and rational thinking and strong judgment.

"By the way, kid, there's another object for you. It was sent by the third lady in person, and when she heard about the incident at the east window of Liu's house, she came to condolence a few days ago and burned paper money. Miss Zeng wept bitterly and looked in a trance. This painting was originally going to be burned with paper money, but Chunxiang was afraid that she would forget it, so she fell here. I think it looks like the third lady's handwriting, and it's also for you. Now that you're back, you don't need that method. ”

Liu Yunqiao exhibition reading hanging scroll, a pair of fine brushwork "garden map", the painting style is fresh, the brushwork is quiet, and the artistic conception is far-reaching.

In the painting, spring and Jingming, flowers are in full bloom, butterflies are flying, a woman of a fragrant age is enjoying flowers and contemplating, and a young man is standing aside.

The girl has a pink face and peach blossoms, charming and shy. Isn't this the first time I met in the garden, but I didn't expect the book to be wonderful. She must think that I also have a hatred for Jiuquan, burning paintings for sacrifice?

Liu Yunqiao reads paintings like a person, he holds the painting with both hands and sticks it to his chest, tears like rain.

"Alas, creation makes people. Fate originates and dies, and life is impermanent. The third lady learned that your whole family had been wronged, and she was in pain. He fell ill several times and was bedridden in March. Hunger strike and poisoning, the heart of martyrdom is decided. Madame was worried, so she sent several groups of people to take turns to guard it, and it was not until a few months ago that it was relieved. ”

"Madame is worried about extraneous branches, just a few days ago, the third lady married away from the prince's mansion. Children, all laws follow fate, and all fates are empty. The third lady has married the king of the county and become a blessing, the marriage has been completed, the memory is dusty, and the jade is buried in incense. ”

Liu Yunqiao couldn't help himself, and cried bitterly. I have always been worried, I have always been full of hope, but what I am waiting for is the result of despair, and the greatest pain in life is not hope to despair.

The east wind is evil, and the joy is thin. A melancholy, a few years away. Peach blossoms fall, idle pond pavilion. Although the mountain league is here, it is difficult to trust the brocade book.

With the help of Cao Shuigen, Liu Yunqiao sorted out the clothes of his parents and younger brother, and dug four graves in Chashan overnight. The head of the mound is facing the homeland at the foot of the mountain, and the horse is in the wind, and the fox is dead.

Liu Yunqiao gave Cao Shuigen ten taels of silver and instructed him to buy a tombstone, sweep the tomb on the Qingming Festival, and burn some paper money.

Before dawn the next day, he said goodbye to Uncle Gen with tears.

2. Yanglou Ancient Town

Chibi, the ancient town of Yangloudong, the hometown of brick tea.

Jin merchant micro-business to the ambition of the world to take the world, the spirit of the pursuit of profit, since the Ming Dynasty KAI has been made in the Yanglou Cave, Zhuang in Kyakhta;

Expand the tea road, distribute Mongolia, Russia and Northern Europe, stretch for more than 200 years, and achieve their own rich Jin merchants in the sea, but also make Yanglou Cave "cave tea" exported overseas, for the "Chinese big tea market", known as "Little Hankou".

Liu Yunqiao and Lei Ming agreed to meet in Yangloudong Ancient Town ten days later.

When Zong Ruopu saw Liu Yunqiao, she couldn't help but be overjoyed, and she had always been introverted and quiet, and she talked more along the way.

"Big brother, everyone has worked hard. Tonight, I invite you to taste the most famous local dish - the steamed chicken.

"Angry chicken, why is this name so fresh, is the chicken inflated?" Zong Ruopu's big eyes flashed, and he asked him curiously, and when his eyes met, his heart throbbed.

"Is it that the chicken is being bullied?

"No, it's said that the spicy chicken pot made by this restaurant is delicious, and you won't live in vain if you don't eat it. The diners in Hankou and Changsha, even the Jin merchants and Hui merchants who came from afar, would line up to eat. However, what about this boss's golden spoon, he is a violent temper, and if the guest does not deal with it slightly, he will scold the guest, and also make three chapters: first, you must order three jars of wine to order food, and second, the chicken is supplied in limited quantities, and only one pot is sold a day, until it is sold out; third, he must make a reservation in advance, and guests who do not make a reservation will not be accepted. You can't stain the floor inside the restaurant yet. Even if the boss asks for a hot temper and many rules, every day is full of customers, and he works tirelessly just for this delicious bite!"

"That's not worth it, just to eat a bite of chicken, we have to suffer this nest?"

Lei Yu thought it was fresh, and at the same time thought that this rule was unreasonable.

"Okay! The more this is quite a rule, the more you want to taste it, what is the great thing. Lei Ming made the final decision.

This angry chicken restaurant is very small, with seven or eight tables, and it is opened in the depths of a remote alley, and the store is overcrowded.

The boss is a middle-aged man in his fifties, he has a very high voice, his temper is really hot, and he blushes at customers and shouts soup with a thick neck.