Chapter 2 Chapter 11 Yellow River Dragon King

On that rainy night, I don’t know if it was because the huge monster in the water broke the embankment, the Yellow River broke through and flooded Zhengzhou City.Fortunately, the gap was not big, after a whole day and night of emergency rescue, the breach was at least blocked.There is stagnant water everywhere in the city of Zhengzhou. After the rescue, every household is pouring water out. I also pushed aside a pile of sandbags stacked high on the threshold, and poured water out of the washbasin with my shirt off. It took me three consecutive days to pour out the stagnant water in the house.Even so, a lot of water entered the room, and many books were soaked in the water.When sorting out the old books that were soaked in water, I accidentally found a thread-bound book "Journal of the Imperial Emperor and General" collected by my father.My heart was moved, and I quickly opened the book and carefully identified it. It was indeed the Yellow River Strange Book written by Li Henian, the envoy of the River Governor in the seventh year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty.The book in my hand was reprinted in the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915).Open it and take a closer look, there are really records about the six kings of the Yellow River in the book.After studying for a long time, I came across the records about the six masters of "Huang, Song, Su, Bai, Xie, and Zhu". Their names are:

Xianyou, Tongji, Zhaoling, Xiaoshun, Guangli, Anmin, Huifu, General Transport, Protecting the Country, Fuze, Suijiang, Furenbao, Kang Zanxuan, Xuancheng, Inspiration, Assistance, Xiangtaibo, Jingde, Fuyou, Golden Dragon Four Kings: Xie Xu. Lingyou assists and aids Xianhui, praises Shun, protects the country, Puli Zhaoying, Fuze, appeasement, Bohua, and protection of the people. Sincerity: King Huang. Xin'an Guangji Xianying appeasement Zhaogan Hu Guofu is Huiling shelter Shun Yongning Hou: King Zhu. Chengfu Xianyou Weixian: King Su. Xianying: King Song. The inspiration of Yongji manifests itself in Zhaohan Zhaoxuan: King Bai.

I studied it carefully and found that the origins of these six Yellow River kings are very strange.According to the book, these six kings were originally the heroes who governed the Yellow River. Because of their meritorious service in governing the Yellow River, they were named "Yellow River Kings" by the emperor at that time.But when I looked at them one by one, it wasn't always the case. Many of them didn't even belong to the same dynasty.Among the six kings, King Zhu, King Song, and King Su are river officials with great achievements in history. They have gone through untold hardships to control the Yellow River. Evolved into the King of the Yellow River.

King Zhu, named Zhu Zhixi, courtesy name Meng Jiu, was born in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province. He served as the Governor of Rivers in the eleventh year of Shunzhi. Song Dawang, named Li, with Daben, was born in Yongning, Henan, and was Minister of the Ministry of Industry in the second year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty. King Bai, named Baiying, nicknamed Wenshang Old Man, was born in Wenshang County, Shandong Province, and was born as a river worker. Su Dawang, surnamed Su, surnamed Yumei, surnamed Hanhui, also surnamed Youmei, was born in Hunyuan County, Shanxi Province. Among the other three great kings, King Huang and King Bai are almost in the same category. They are both deified by the people, and they were finally posthumously named Kings of the Yellow River.I know very well about King Bai, he was originally a river worker, and later he made great contributions to water control, and finally became the king of the Yellow River.According to folklore, Baiying "stomped the ground into a spring" and is a legendary figure.

King Huang is the most interesting king. He loves to come to the world, puts on airs, and even jokes with people. He is the most popular King of the Yellow River among the people. There are many anecdotes about King Huang written in this book, which makes people laugh after reading it.This King Huang is just like the Yellow River version of Guanyin Bodhisattva who saves the suffering, and like the monkey grandson, he often jokes with people. Huang Dawang, named Shoucai, styled Yingjie, nicknamed Duiquan, was born in Wangjiazhuang, Jiahe, Nanxiang, Yanshi.Legend has it that he was able to control the river since he was a child, and he was able to hold a big fish in the water and play in the water when he was young.

King Huang is the most friendly of the six Kings of the Yellow River. He often appears in the world. Many old people on the Yellow River have seen the real body of King Huang.He turned into a golden snake in the world, about a foot long, golden all over, with his head always held high, really like the legendary king.Whenever the Yellow River is in danger or blocked, people first go to the Dawang Temple to burn incense and kowtow, praying that the Yellow King will show his true body and save the people from the suffering of floods.If King Huang appeared during the blockade, then the blockage would be successful; if he didn't appear, the blockage would be fatal.

The Yellow King appeared very mysteriously. Sometimes it suddenly jumped out of the churning flood, and sometimes it got its head out under the closing plug.It even jokes with people.Most of the time, everyone was standing by the river bank, holding their breath and waiting for its holy coming. They waited and waited but couldn't see it. But when they looked around, the little golden snake stood there with its head held high. He Guan's red-tasseled official hat is on! No matter where King Huang came out from, the solemn ceremony of welcoming the river god will officially begin.At the beginning of the ceremony, the local river officials, no matter how big or small, bowed to the side of the road to welcome them.The people below spread red cloth and red paper on a special wooden plate, burned incense and prayed, and knelt down to receive King Huang.

According to the book, although this King Huang is only a small snake about a foot long, in such a big scene, he is not in a hurry, he will put on airs, like a noble person, arrogant, unhurried Slowly climbed up the wooden plate, coiled its head in the center of the plate, and waited for the people to fire cannons to salute and sing praises, and finally let several people carry it into the Huangdawang Temple. Others said that Huang Dawang liked Shanxi Luoluo tune, so he had to perform in the temple for a few days.After enjoying the offering for a few days, King Huang will disappear automatically, and the flood will also recede strangely at this time.

Corresponding to the King of the Yellow River, he is called the General of the Yellow River.The status of the general of the Yellow River is not high, and any king of the Yellow River can make other people and things into generals at will.The incarnation of the general of the Yellow River is a big snake and a giant python, which have always been considered ominous by river officials.If you encounter the Yellow River General when blocking the mouth of the Yellow River, everyone will immediately be downcast, and morale will drop by half.Strange to say, when blocking a hole in the Yellow River, if you meet the General of the Yellow River, the hole will most likely not be blocked.

The last king of the Yellow River is unique and mysterious.He is the head of the Six Great Kings, named the Four Kings of the Golden Dragon. This is the most inexplicable king of the Yellow River. Not only is he not a hero in water control, he is not a legendary figure in the Yellow River, and he has nothing to do with the Yellow River at all.However, this Golden Dragon King not only has the highest status, but is also the king with the most powerful power and the most worshiped by the government and the public. King Jinlong, surnamed Xie Mingxu, was a descendant of Taifu Xie An in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and a nephew of Empress Dowager Xie in the late Southern Song Dynasty.Because the Yuan army captured Lin'an, he committed suicide by throwing himself into Tiaoxi, and later showed many magical powers.Because he was the fourth eldest among his brothers, Zhu Yuanzhang named him the "Four Kings of the Golden Dragon".

In the book "Records of the Great King and General", it is described as follows: General Fu Youde of the Ming army fought a decisive battle with the Yuan army led by the barbarians in Hague at the Lvlianghong section of the Yellow River in Xuzhou. At that time, the Yuan army was upstream and the Ming army was downstream.The torrential rain poured down, and the Yuan army went down the river, defeating the Ming army.At this time, a god-man in golden armor appeared, and with a big wave of his hand, the water of the Yellow River immediately poured back, flooding the Yuan army, and finally achieved Zhu Yuanzhang's ambition to dominate.After Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor, he was canonized as the Golden Dragon King. This is hard to understand. It's like a myth. How can he become the famous King of the Yellow River? At that time, I couldn't understand why these ghosts and legends were also recorded in the book with great fanfare.This is clearly a strange novel, yet it has been regarded as a book of governance by the river officials of all dynasties, it is really unbelievable! After I joined the Yellow River Committee, I often went down to the grassroots level, went to the Yellow River to visit old river workers, and asked them for some information about the Yellow River;But many old river workers who have lived on the Yellow River for generations ignored us at all, and many people ridiculed us and looked at us like fools. These people have lived by the Yellow River for generations, which family has few people who died in the water?But they just believed in and worshiped the Yellow River. Not only did they not want to cure the Yellow River, they didn't even have the heart to cure the Yellow River.No matter how we present the facts and talk about science, they all believe that the King of the Yellow River lives in the Yellow River, so they build a temple for the King and use five animals to worship them, thinking that as long as they please the King of the Yellow River, the country will be prosperous and the people will be safe. If you ask them why the King of the Yellow River still sends floods after accepting the offering, they will swear to you, saying that it is all because of the government bastard, fighting this year and fighting next year will make the Dragon King of the Yellow River unhappy, and of course they will bring disaster.However, the King of the Yellow River accepts people who are not sincere, and those who are truly sincere are fine even if they stay under the water for a long time. Speaking of these things now, you may think it is a bit ridiculous, but it was true at the time.Later, I also asked Tiezui Zhang of the Yellow Committee his opinion on the King of the Yellow River and the taboos of the Yellow River.He took a few puffs of cigarettes, squinted his eyes at the turbulent Yellow River, and said, "Stone, how are you compared to Qin Shihuang and Li Shimin in history?" I said, "Of course you can't compare." He asked me again: "Then how are you compared to Sima Guang and Wang Anshi in ancient times?" I curled my lips and said, "That's definitely not comparable!" He let out a puff of smoke leisurely and said, "They all treat Without the Yellow River, do you think you can control the Yellow River?" I was stunned. I haven't really thought about it.The ancients were overwhelmed and omnipotent.The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang was built by digging mountains, and the atmosphere is extraordinary.But why can't they control the Yellow River alone? I looked at Tiezuizhang, hoping he could give me an answer. But he sighed with emotion and said: "The Yellow River has been plagued by floods since ancient times, and it floods nine out of ten years. If you look at the people along the Yellow River, many of them have escaped. From Henan to Shaanxi, and then to Xuzhou, the Yellow River flooded. Wherever they went, people fled there. But have you ever thought about why they didn't move far away from the Yellow River, so they don't have to suffer any more disasters?" I shook my head, really don't know. Tiezui sighed with emotion: "They don't leave because they can't, because the roots of China lie in the Yellow River!" I can't understand this. Many years later, after experiencing many strange stories on the Yellow River, I finally understood what Tiezui Zhang said, and why all generations have regarded that book as a treasure book for treating the Yellow River.This old Yellow River is not as calm as we imagined, nor as simple as we imagined.Under the water, there are actually countless secrets hidden, which we can't even imagine. Indeed, although the Yellow River flooded almost every year at that time, and people along the Yellow River died one after another, these people still wanted to live next to the Yellow River, drink the turbid Yellow River water, eat Yellow River carp, and raise fish. From generation to generation.This is also the spirit of the Yellow River, the spirit of the Chinese people. Of course, when talking about these things on the old Yellow River, everyone may sound like a fairy tale.However, I can tell you responsibly that these things really happened.Even today, in many backward villages along the Yellow River, this kind of invitation to the King of the Yellow River still happens from time to time.After liberation, the Yellow River Committee specially invited so-called experts from Beijing to explain to the river workers about the King of the Yellow River from a scientific point of view, explaining with spiritual effects and the quality of the river bed soil, why it is easy to block the mouth when encountering the King of the Yellow River, and when encountering the King of the Yellow River. Generals of the Yellow River are often about to break their dikes.But as soon as they said a few words, they were left speechless by the river workers below, and they explained a few words indiscriminately, and the donkey's lip was wrong, and finally they had to leave the stage in a hurry and were kicked off the stage by everyone. When I was a craftsman on the Yellow River, I personally witnessed the official welcoming and seeing off of the King of the Yellow River. I also witnessed such a mysterious and solemn ceremony, and I also saw the little golden snake——Huang Dawang. Later, I accidentally saw that kind of golden snake from a distance during a folk sacrifice to the river god, and I have never seen it anywhere else.Including later I traveled to Southeast Asia. It is said that snakes from all over the world were collected in the snake house there, but I searched carefully, but I did not find that kind of golden snake. I miss the days when I was wandering on the Yellow River, and I miss the little golden snake, the joke-loving Yellow King of the Yellow River.It’s still the same old saying, about the things about the Yellow River, whether it’s true or not, or whether it’s true or not, you can’t help but believe it, and you can’t believe it all. In short, it can’t be explained clearly in one or two sentences! Pulling away again, let’s talk about what happened back then. At that time, I had nothing to do every day, and I spent more time thinking about the weird meeting with my father that night, and whether the things my father told me were true or false.Originally, I thought that after meeting my father, everything would come to light, but I didn't expect things to be more complicated.However, from my father's mouth, I confirmed what Huang Qiye told me about the Six Families of the Yellow River, and also understood some things in the abyss of the Sanmenxia ghost cave.But the abyss cauldron that my father said later was too bizarre, especially when he said that the cauldron was opened, and a dead face jumped out of it, like a grandson monkey jumping out of a crack in a rock, it became a myth. I really can't believe it. I also suspect that when I asked him why the Fenshui faction was able to use the fish-controlling technique of exploring the abyss, he deliberately ran away while the Yellow River was in a mess.He may be afraid that I will know the truth, or he may have really thought of something - this can only be known when I see him again. My father disappeared mysteriously again, which made me fall into confusion once again. I also have some doubts whether the person who talked to me that night was actually my father.In my impression, my father is a submissive man who does things carefully every day, and dares not offend anyone. He is an honest man with his tail between his legs, and he does not look like a craftsman with unique skills to cross the Yellow River. . Later, I really couldn't figure it out, so I asked my mother on the sidelines, if my father said something in the open, but in the dark.But the mother said that ever since she married into the Bai family, her father was a wimpy man who patrolled the Yellow River with a torch all day long. Craftsmen! It was getting hotter. I slept at home with my head covered for a few days, and I came to a complete rest. The tiredness after exhaustion was swept away, and I felt bored.People are like this, with a cheap bone, after a long rest, they start to miss the feeling of adventure, and deep down in their hearts, they wish that something will happen quickly, so that they can go to work hard again. Every day I go to the old cemetery circle, go fishing on the beach of the Yellow River, and dig crickets in the old cemetery.I hoped to meet my father again, but it never happened.Sometimes, I also go to Houzi’s house to see, and wander around the gate of the Yellow Commission. Although I know it’s unlikely, I subconsciously hope to meet Houzi or Huang Xiaoli. What I didn't expect was that I didn't find the monkey, but the monkey suddenly came to me. That day when I was reading at home, a person broke in through the door, staggered and fell to the ground, and called out weakly: "Old Bai..." I was startled, and when I took a closer look, the person turned out to be a monkey .His body was covered in blood, most of his clothes were stained red, and his face was as pale as a dead man.He grabbed my hand and said weakly: "Old Bai...don't go, don't..." I quickly hugged him and shouted: "Monkey! Monkey! Damn, what's wrong with you kid?" The monkey weakly Looking at me, he even smiled sadly at me, not to mention how ugly that smile was.His lips were trembling, looking at the shape of his mouth, he was still saying: "...don't...don't go..." At this point, his body went limp and he fainted on the ground. I saw the monkey fainted on the ground covered in blood, he was so panicked that he even forgot his last name and didn't care what he said.I gathered my energy, picked up the monkey and walked away. After a few steps, the two of them fell to the ground together.I quickly got up, looked around, and saw a flatbed truck outside, no matter who it was, I quickly pushed it over, put the monkey on the truck, and rushed to the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, I saw the man in a white coat, so I shouted desperately: "Doctor, help! Help!" When the people in the hospital saw that the monkey was covered in blood, they were also shocked, and hurriedly pushed him into the emergency room. I was so anxious that I didn't know what happened to the monkey and whether there was any danger.At that time, after the monkey dived underwater along the iron chain, something was wrong.Later I asked him what he saw in the Yellow River, and he was too excited again, not knowing what he saw. I paced anxiously, but it didn't take long before the door opened and the monkey was pushed out intact.I hurried over and asked the doctor: "Doctor, he won't die, right?" The doctor stared and said, "Dead? He won't die even if you die!" Damn, is this doctor sick? !I was a little annoyed, the monkey was obviously covered in blood and passed out, how could it be all right?The doctor said impatiently: "The blood on this kid's body is not his! He's fine, he's just a little malnourished, and he'll be fine with a bottle of glucose!" Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief, I had long forgotten the doctor's attitude, and I nodded and bowed my thanks like a grandson, just like a second dog following the little Japanese's ass, and then went to do the procedures for the monkey.After half a bottle of glucose went down, the monkey moved its eyelids and grabbed my hand tightly. Then it suddenly opened its eyes and looked around vigilantly. When it saw it was me, it finally breathed a sigh of relief and let go of its hand slowly. My hand hurt so badly from his grasp, and while rubbing it, I asked him where he had been the past few days, why there was no sign of him. The monkey closed his eyes weakly, and no matter what I asked, he didn't say a word. Now, this brat still dares to play dead with me.I got angry and cursed: "Don't you fucking say it? Okay, fuck you, I won't serve you anymore! From now on, you kid can pee and play with mud by yourself!" The monkey grabbed me and said, "Old Bai, listen to me, I'll tell you everything, everything." I stopped and said, "Okay, then tell me first what is going on." The monkey pondered, "Old Bai, I will tell you everything, but now is really not the time." I looked at him coldly: "Are you talking, or not?" The monkey bit his lip and said, "Old Bai, you trust me one more time. I promise, this must be the last time. I really didn't..." When I got angry, I turned around and left.The monkey jumped off the bed all at once, took all the water bottles with him, and fell to the ground, shattering all over the floor.He rushed over, hugged my leg tightly, and shouted: "Old Bai, I beg you, is it okay if I beg you? As long as this thing is done, I will tell you everything." I looked at the debris all over the floor, blood was gushing from his arm, and he finally stopped moving. I called the nurse, asked her to reinsert the bottle into the monkey, found a pack of cigarettes my father had left at home, and opened it.The smoke was so overwhelming that it was finally lit, and I took a few deep breaths.After a long time, I turned around and asked him, "What do you want to do?" The monkey looked at me resolutely and said, "Old Bai, I'm going to Ruoergai Grassland soon. If you come with me, I will tell you everything on the train." I stared at him, and the monkey looked at me without fear.I finally sighed and said, "Monkey, I'll trust you one more time. But this is really the last time." I shook my head and left.After walking a long way, I turned my head and saw the monkey standing there looking at me absent-mindedly.