In the early morning of the North Star, there is a surge of people.

People are in a hurry, adults are worried about being late, and students are worried about being late for school.

Outside the east wall of the Forbidden City Gate of the Northern Star, there are two old men strolling along the streets along the South River.

There are a lot of people on this street who bring their own birds early in the morning and wander around for a walk. Almost all of them are old men. It is their habit to walk birds here.

This habit has been around since the Qing Dynasty, and it has been inherited to this day. During the Qing Dynasty, the children of the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were very fond of raising birds

Raising birds was originally a hobby of the children and eunuchs of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, and "cage birds" was a derogatory term for people who were idle and did not produce. Of course, there is no pejorative meaning anymore.

Later, this hobby spread to some hard-working people, so that they could get some rest and comfort.

In addition to the bird itself, what bird keepers value is the bird cage. There are two types of birdcages: round cages and square cages. The general birdcage is worth one or twenty yuan, and some of them are finely carved, close to "ghost work", which is staggeringly expensive. - Some people don't keep birds, but only take pleasure in collecting precious bird cages. In the birdcage, there is a big distinction between high and low, and the bird food cans are high. A pair of Yongzheng blue and white bird food jars have become rare treasures. But now no one who walks the birds along the South River will use the expensive birdcage anymore.

In addition to caged birds, Beijingers also have a bird that is kept on a "rack". The so-called frame is a tree branch. The joy of raising this type of bird is to train it to "shoot bullets", and the bird keeper throws a projectile in the air, and the bird will fly up to catch it. Some can catch two at a time. Rack-raising birds are generally large, hard-billed, such as tin-billed and cross-billed magpies. Therefore, Beijing used to have the saying of "carrying cages and racking birds".

"Sir, you came out for a walk so early, I don't know if you have eaten breakfast, if you haven't eaten yet, I know of a good breakfast shop here. An old man with gray hair stood diagonally behind another old man and said quietly.

The old man who spoke was Liu Jun, and the one who walked slowly in front of him was Ji Tao.

"Yes. But first, I'm going to go around the Forbidden City Gate. Gan Tao replied.

"No hurry, sir. Liu Jun didn't say much. I've known Gantao for a long time and knows Gantao's character very well. He doesn't like to talk too much.

Liu Jun followed the pace of Yun Tao and walked towards the Forbidden City Gate.

Zhen Tao and Liu Jun went all the way south to the end of Nanheyan Street.

"Liu Jun, tell me what this 'Eight Banners Disciple' means. Zhen Tao asked.

It has been almost six years since he came to the mortal world, and he is already familiar with the current government, policies and laws, but he still knows very little about this period of history of the Qing Dynasty.

Liu Jun nodded and began to sort out the language: "The 'children of the Eight Banners' are the descendants of the Eight Banners. ”

Liu Jun made a good speech and began to tell the history of the "Eight Banners".

"The Manchu army organization and household registration system of the Qing Dynasty were divided into eight flags: yellow flag, white flag, red flag, blue flag, yellow flag, white flag, red flag, and blue flag. Among the banners, they are divided into eight banners Manchuria, eight banners Mongolia and eight banners of Han army due to different ethnic origins. ”

"At the end of the Qing Dynasty, many 'subordinates' were very good at pleasure and were very afraid of labor. Men play tea circles, grow thrushes, gamble, fight crickets, fly kites, play musical instruments, and sit in teahouses. There's plenty to do all day long. ”

Yun Tao nodded, agreed, and spoke. "In the past, there was a saying of "entering the customs from the dragon", but in fact, entering the customs from the dragon was talking about eight small dragons. ”

"In the beginning, these eight little dragons were not united, and there were often fights between each other, and they were reckless and competitive. One day, when the Jade Emperor of Heaven learned about them, he summoned an angel, and at that time someone on the earth complained to him that the sun and the moon were always together, and every day was half yin and half yang, and people felt very uncomfortable, and they always couldn't eat, they couldn't sleep well, and their crops didn't grow well. At that time, the people were very anxious and asked the Jade Emperor to separate the sun and the moon. Therefore, the Jade Emperor asked the angel to summon the eight little dragons to complete the matter. ”

In the end, the eight little dragons completed their task, and they were also exhausted, and they fell to the ground one after another, and at this time, a strong wind blew. Coincidentally, I don't know where to scrape eight large cloths of different colors and fall to the ground, and these eight little dragons happened to land on a piece of cloth each, and they not only landed on the cloth but also grew on the cloth. ”

Later, the Later Jin Kingdom used these eight pieces of cloth with dragon patterns as flags, and because the colors of the eight dragons and the eight pieces of cloth were different, they had different flag colors. Gan Tao confided his secrets.

"When the white dragon falls on the yellow cloth, it becomes the yellow flag, when the blue dragon falls on the white cloth, it becomes the white flag, when the yellow dragon falls on the red cloth, it becomes the red flag, and when the bark-colored dragon falls on the blue cloth, it becomes the blue flag. ”

"A small dragon, although it falls on the yellow cloth, because the yellow cloth is inlaid with a red edge, so it is called the inlaid yellow flag; a small dragon, although it also falls on the white cloth, but the white cloth is inlaid with a red edge, so it is called the inlaid white flag; a small dragon falls on the red cloth, because the red cloth is inlaid with a white edge, so it is called the inlaid red flag. ”

Speaking of this, there was a pause in Yun Tao's words.

However, Yun Tao continued to speak.

"The little dragon in the end failed to transform into a blue flag. He didn't resist the temptation and was devoured by another dragon that had been sealed for a long time!"

Zhen Tao didn't want to talk about this, but he still said it. Because the dragon that had been sealed for a long time was his former friend. Of course. Only before he was sealed.

Unconsciously, Zhen Tao and Liu Jun had already walked near the Forbidden City Gate, and there were soldiers guarding them further on, so they couldn't get close.

"Liu Jun, you wait for me. Yun Tao said.

Just when Liu Jun was very puzzled, Zhen Tao had already walked to a relatively hidden place near the city wall and stood motionless.

Seeing Zhen Tao standing motionless, Liu Jun was taken aback!

"Out of body!" Liu Jun was shocked.

Out-of-body soul, this is a spell that can only be mastered when you reach the realm of great immortals. This also proves that the predecessors of Gan Tao have the cultivation of the Great Immortal Realm!

This made Liu Jun feel how not to be surprised. There are a total of two cultivators of the Immortal Realm registered in Huaxia, but they have only just entered the Immortal Realm, or the Upper Immortal Realm. And Gan Tao is already in the realm of the Great Immortal!

Just when Liu Jun was shocked, Yun Tao's soul had already flown towards a white pillar.

Huabiao is a traditional building of the Chinese nation with a long history.

According to legend, Huabiao has the function of both road signs and passers-by to leave messages, which appeared in the Yao Shun era of primitive society.

However, there is a squatting beast on the pair of Huabiao in front of Tiananmen Square, with its head facing the outside of the palace; the pair of Huabiao behind Tiananmen Square, the head of the squatting beast is facing the palace, legend has it, this squatting beast is called Qian, the sex is hopeful, the head is inward is to hope that the emperor will not stay in the palace all day to eat, drink and have fun, and hope that he will often go out to visit his subjects, its name is "Wangdi Out", the head is outward, it is hoped that the emperor will not be obsessed with playing in the mountains and rivers, and return to the palace to deal with the government quickly, its name is "Wangdi Gui".

Zhen Tao's soul approached the Huabiao on the east side, and said lightly, "It's time to wake up, I'm coming to see you, Lu Boyu!"

Lu Boyu is the mortal name of the true dragon sealed in Huabiao.

The name Gantao is also a mortal name, but all the transformed divine beasts have mortal names.

Lu Boyu, originally a member of the Red Dragon Clan, was a member of the Beihai Dragon Palace, but he committed a heinous crime back then, and was sealed in the Dragon Pillar of the Chinese Dial by many immortals to suppress Huaxia's luck.

"It's you!" Some vicissitudes of life sounded from the dragon pillar on the Hua dial, but this was the voice of the soul, and mortals and cultivators who had not reached the realm of Great Immortals could not hear it.

"It's me!" replied to Zangtao.

"What's the matter with you?" the voice sounded from inside the watch again, "If it's nothing serious, I won't speak." Huaxia's luck is getting better and better, and the power of the sky-gazing roar at the top of the pillar is also getting stronger and stronger, and it is difficult for me to speak. ”

"Well, it's nothing, it's just to catch up with you. That year, you devoured the little dragon of the West Sea, and spent two hundred years to dissolve the power of the little dragon, trying to break through the seal, causing Huaxia's luck to plummet, and the war continued for more than ten years! Mortals suffered greatly! You also lost the true body of the red dragon and incarnated into the 'Black Flame Demon Dragon'. It's a pity. As your friend, I ......" Before Zhen Tao's words were finished, the voice of vicissitudes came out of Huabiao again.

"You go, I can't get out. Huaxia's luck is getting stronger and stronger, you ......" Before the words of the Black Flame Demon Dragon were finished, the true qi (Wangtian roar) on the top of Huabiao interrupted his words and suppressed him.

"Senior Gantao, please go back!" Wangtian roared.

Gan Tao sighed and didn't say anything more, and his soul flew back into his body.

Yun Tao turned around and slowly left. But this time, he turned his head and looked at the Huabiao pillar with regret.

Liu Jun saw the actions of his predecessors, and although he was puzzled, he didn't ask. He is also very measured in his work. Don't ask what you shouldn't know.

"Let's go, go to the shop you said, and try this Northern Star breakfast. Yun Tao said.

Then, Liu Jun took Zhen Tao to an old North Star restaurant near Donghuamen Station. Zhen Tao and Liu Jun both ordered a noodle tea and asked for four burnt circles.

Zhen Tao didn't speak again, as if he was recalling something......