Chapter 28 Section 1 Clear water, wind, snow, cloud and dream

On a snowy winter day, Lu Zhong connected to Tian Dan's caravan's urgent book: Hanoi has fallen! At this time, Chun Shenjun was having a drink with Lu Zhonglian in the mansion.After reading the letter, Lord Chunshen suddenly changed his face: "Oh, you have committed a crime! Wei's 400,000 troops are asleep? And Lord Xinling, they are all going to Java Kingdom!" Lu Zhonglian panted heavily and remained silent. He said, and suddenly punched the case: "Qin is rampant! Do you bully the six countries?" Then he suddenly got up, "Mr. Chunshen, I am on my way. Come spring and Qingming, you and I will meet in Miluo!" Chun Shen Jun Yi sighed and marveled: "Oh, it is said that spring is on the road! The road is blocked by heavy snow, but how do we go?" Lu Zhonglian said urgently: "I can't wait, don't you see the people of Qin fighting in winter?" After saying that, he turned around and left.When they arrived at the courtyard, a snowstorm suddenly hit their faces.Mr. Chunshen was in a hurry, and hurriedly followed behind, saying, "Oh, slow down! Look at the weather, you have to prepare a car and bring some dried meat and dry food." Lu Zhonglian also said while walking, "No, often. Going on the road, are you still hungry? It’s windy and snowy, how clean it is!” Chun Shenjun then turned his voice and shouted to the servant who followed him: “Oh, don’t follow around, go and lead the horse!” The time for talking has already arrived In the gate, the servant has brought Lu Zhonglian's steed and is waiting in the porch.Chunshen Jun saw the horse with a neat saddle and bridle, suddenly said sharply: "Wait a minute, Zhonglian! Old man, go quickly, my sable fur is here!"

Lu Zhonglian laughed loudly: "I see a warrior in the wind and snow! That laborious upper body is exhausting my body and mind, don't want it!" After laughing, he cupped his hands and said, "Farewell." Then he flew on the horse, knocked his legs on the stirrup, and the iron-gray horse let out a cry. With a short neigh, he suddenly spread his hooves, and rushed into the snowstorm like an arrow.Only Chun Shenjun was left standing there in the wind and snow, sighing to himself. After leaving Chunshen Jun's mansion, the sky was covered in white, and the entire Yingdu city wall was engulfed in a vast snow and mist.But Lu Zhonglian had his own ideas, and came to the south of the city on horseback.Yingdu is near the water and near the river, and most of the small rivers extending from Yunmengze are in the southwest of the city wall. The south gate of the west gate has a water gate directly leading to the outer water.There are often various ships moored under the water gate for travelers and officials to leave the city by water.Ordinary days, as soon as guest officers cross the bridge and enter the pier, the boatmen will greet each other with smiles on their respective bows. No one is vying to call, and you can choose to board the boat.No matter which ship the guest officer stepped on, the rest of the boatmen would wave their hands from afar and shout in a quick or soft water accent: "Guest guest, enjoy the wind—" After leaving, the boatman would also shout to his colleagues with a smile: "Goodbye—" —" Turning around, he said with a smile again: "Guest officer, please sit down." The boat leisurely swung out of the pier, floated out of the water gate, and merged into the vast water and sky.That earnest feeling always gives the traveler a piece of warmth and makes the hiker's heart beat.Lu Zhonglian is familiar with the state of Chu, and he likes the bright and soft girl unique to the water town, but when he comes to Jiangnan, he can take a boat but never a horse.Now that the sky is full of wind and snow, it is difficult to travel by land, but the waterway is not as frozen as in the north, so it will not delay the journey.

Who would have thought that as soon as they crossed the stone bridge, they would see the emptiness under the water gate, and there was no boat of any size. "Is there a boat? Is there a boatman coming out of the water—" Lu Zhonglian was anxious, wiped the snow on his face with his big sleeve, and shouted loudly. He shouted three times, but there was no answer. He couldn't help sighing heavily. He was stunned in the snowstorm. "Guest officer, is there an emergency?" An old voice suddenly came out from under the pier stone behind.Lu Zhonglian turned his head in surprise, only to see a white-haired thin old man emerging from a pile of snow hills, wearing a coarse jacket and a blue cloth cape, with his hands in his sleeves, stomping his feet while looking up and down at himself.Lu Zhonglian quickly said: "Old man, where are those boats?" The old man just smiled: "Guest officer, don't you know that the snow is so fierce this winter, those who have houses have gone ashore, and those who don't have houses have gone to visit relatives and friends, and the boats will be gone." No more." Lu Zhonglian said anxiously: "The waterway is not frozen, so if you don't make a living, how can you go to the shore?" The old man laughed and said, "You know, the waterway is not frozen, but the people are. The government has ordered that winter boats Increase the tax by 30%. Who wants to stay here to eat snow?" Lu Zhonglian laughed angrily, "There are few guests in winter, so why increase the tax?" The old man laughed and said, "That's what you said. But the government said, Winter boat prices are high." Lu Zhonglian couldn't help but angrily said: "Why is this reasonable? You really are a fool!" The old man hurriedly looked around nervously, and then said in a low voice: "Don't raise your voice. If there is an emergency, the old man will send it off. The guest officer has been here, and it’s freezing here and there.” Lu Zhonglian was pleasantly surprised: “The old man has a boat? But where is it?” The old man pouted at the snow mound on the water: “It’s not big, it’s fast It’s gone.” Lu Zhonglian suddenly smiled and said, “Ah, heavy snow has covered the canopy of the boat! Old man, I still have this horse, can it carry it?” The old man looked at the horse and pondered: “Guest officer, where did you go? Lu Zhonglian said: "I come out of Yunmengze in the east, and then go to the land of Wuyue." The old man shook his head and said, "Nong is a long journey, but horses can't. My boat can only pass through Yunmeng, but Jiangdong has nothing. Passed by. Why don't you wait a little longer and see if there is another boat coming?" Lu Zhonglian said decisively: "It's the old man. Ma, I entrusted the guards at the city gate." The old man said in surprise: "It's a good horse, isn't it afraid that the wolf soldiers will kill it and eat the horse meat?" Lu Zhonglian smiled and said, "If he wants to kill the horse, I will kill him. Old man, just wait for a while." With a leather bag, he led the horse.

After a while when Lu Zhonglian came back, the old man had already cleared the snow from the boat, and a light boat with a black awning appeared under the pier.The old man stood at the bow of the boat and smiled: "The bridge on the boat is snowy and slippery, sir, be careful." Lu Zhonglian said that it didn't matter, and he strode across the bridge between the pier and the bow of the boat. It was light and steady to the bow: "Old man, let's go, do you want me to help?" The old man had already started the long oar, shook his head and said with a smile: "I can't sail in heavy snow, slow down, but you can't wait." Don't be in a hurry." Lu Zhonglian smiled and said: "As long as you go, slow is also fast." "The guest officer is a sensible person." The old man laughed, and the boat had leisurely swung out of the pier, looking at the city gate, the old man He took out a large iron coin from his bosom, and with a bang, threw it into an open iron box hanging three feet away from the entrance of the city gate.Lu Zhonglian was surprised and said: "Old man, you are so accurate!" The old man smiled and said: "Three or five feet away, the guest officer laughed. The blind man Peng, if you can hit it with a throw from ten feet away, then it is called accurate head." Lu Zhonglian Daqi: "Blind man? Can a blind man have such kung fu?" The old man still laughed and said, "It's not too much, three dollars a day, thrown down for decades, can you lose your head?" Lu Zhonglian couldn't help sighing, but it was I am speechless.

An hour after leaving the water gate, the boat floated into Yunmeng Lake together with the snowflakes all over the sky.Looking far away, the sky is boundless gray, and the water is intermittent blue.Fat snowflakes gushed out from the depths of the sky, rushing towards the boundless water surface.Yunmengze released hot and humid water mist, which tightly hugged the cold snowflakes, and boundless white gauze rose silently.The sky and the earth are hazy, and the boat is leisurely, floating in the empty sky. "Snow embraces clouds, dreams, water and sky are pale, and a lonely boat leaves me, my heart is boundless—" Lu Zhonglian stood at the bow of the boat, and couldn't help chanting loudly, and finally he circled his palms and let out a long cry, "Clouds Meng Daze——, here I come—!”

"The guest officer is so knowledgeable!" The old boatman still laughed, "It's the first time for me to walk in the clouds in a snowy day." "Old man, big snow, clear water, cloud and dream lake, isn't it beautiful?" But the old man just laughed and swayed the oar, but for the first time, he didn't speak.A gust of wind and snow whizzed by, blowing up the old man's shabby underwear with five-color patches under his thin cloth robe.Lu Zhonglian's heart trembled, he suddenly felt uncomfortable, squatted down into the cabin, came out and put a short suede fur robe on the old man.When the old man turned around, his face was flushed: "Guest officer, this is not worth it. The boat family is not happy to receive foreign money, and this old man will be scolded." Lu Zhonglian said loudly: "It's freezing cold, old man I’m sick, and I can’t go far!” The old man was stunned, and then smiled awkwardly: “Haha, yes, that’s the cost of the boat, but the old man will suffer.” After saying that, he stopped the oar in his hand and put the leather robe on his back. After putting it on, I found a thin hemp rope and tied it around my waist. I immediately rubbed my hands and smiled: "Cotton is not as warm as skin, but the old saying is true. Don't you know how comfortable it is." Lu Zhonglian beat his chest with his fist He said loudly: "Old man, I am a young man with a lot of strength. You can teach me to row the oar!" The old man smiled and waved his hands again and again: "If you don't want to let you make you don't want to let it go, this wind and snow has no direction. If you want to get started, you can do it tomorrow." Floating to the country of Java." Lu Zhonglian laughed: "Then say yes, teach me when the weather is fine!" The old man was already standing in front of the oar and started to steer the oar: "I don't know, this oar has a rudder. I haven’t been running the boat for three years, and I won’t let you get started.” Lu Zhonglian said in a heartbeat: “Old man, is this boat your own?” The old man resumed his kind laughter: “Yes, yes. Ten years ago, I only got this boat. A boat is a home, and a boat is a home." Lu Zhonglian was silent for a long time, but he let out a long sigh.

The old man suddenly said loudly: "Guest officer enters the cabin! The wind is going to blow!" "The wind is the wind, don't be afraid! I just haven't seen the wind in Yunmengze Wangyang!" It was too late and then soon, a white and chaotic snow fog like a city wall had already pushed towards him, and the rumbling sound was interspersed with a sharp roar, which was as powerful as a thousand troops.The old man yelled: "Guest officer, climb down! Head to the bow!" Lu Zhong didn't even have time to think, and slipped on the side of the boat and grabbed a hemp rope to fix the sail.The old man stood up straight, nailed to the front of the scull and firmly grasped the big scull, motionless, but turned the bow of the boat squarely to the towering white snow-capped mountain Fenglei.At this moment, Lu Zhonglian's eyes suddenly went dark, and a huge thrust was about to throw him out.Lu Zhonglian was stuck under the ship's side, his feet were firmly on a board edge, and his hands were firmly grasping the hemp rope. He felt a sharp whistling passing by, and his scalp, eyes and ears seemed to be scraped by a sharp knife. The pain was actually dizzy.

When he opened his eyes, the scene had changed drastically.The sky is so blue that it is fascinating, and the red sun rests on the distant waterline. The clear water and the long sky are so bright that it pierces the eyes.Lu Zhonglian struggled to hold on to the side of the boat and stood up, staggered and then shouted: "Oh ho—the sun came out—" Why didn't anyone speak?Lu Zhonglian turned his head suddenly, but was stunned! In front of the stern scull, the old man no longer has a suede gown or half-length cloth gown, and a short jacket with five-color patches is only hanging on the thin bones, with one leg tightly hooked to the scull. One leg was bent on the plank of the ship, the big oar was in his arms, his waist was arched, his head was pointed at the bow, his eyes were wide open, his face was covered with blood, his white hair was scattered on his shoulders, and he stuck there motionless. Like a white stone statue!

"Old man!" Lu Zhonglian screamed, and rushed up to hug the old man in one step. The old man was already stiff.No matter how hard Lu Zhonglian tried to hold the old man in his arms, the old man was holding the handle of the oar with both hands like iron hooks, stooping forward and throwing his stiff and cold body.Lu Zhonglian was in a hurry, so he took off his silk robe and wrapped it around the old man, quickly got into the cabin and found the first-aid pill from the leather bag, and when he got out of the cabin, he pried open the old man's teeth , took a sip of water and poured it mouth to mouth for the old man.After a while, seeing the old man slowly loosen his hands and stretch his legs, his eyes rolled slightly.

"Old man! Are you awake?" Lu Zhonglian shouted in surprise. "Good young man, good life..." The old man broke into a smile with difficulty, "It cleared up, set up the mast, set up the sail, only held the scull, and did not move east, and entered Jiangdong. Old man, I'm ashamed that I didn't send the guest officer..." Suddenly, there was a heavy and short gasp, the old man's snow-white head tilted, and there was no sound. "Old man! Lu Zhonglian killed you too!" A warrior like Lu Zhonglian cried loudly for the first time in his life. The bleak sunset disappeared, the sky was full of stars twinkling in the boundless night sky, a crescent moon hung slantingly, and the sound of turbulent waves shook the boat endlessly to drift with the current.Lu Zhonglian sat quietly at the stern of the boat, looking at the old man in a long robe beside him, holding only the handle of the oar with both hands, letting the boat drift towards the east.He didn't want to spread the sails, but just wanted to guard the old man who died because of him.Suddenly, Lu Zhonglian's eyes flashed, what is that?brand!

Lu Zhonglian approached quietly, and saw that under the white and disheveled temples of the old man were two ancient characters with flesh red in the scorched black—Xiaochen!Under the faint moonlight, the flesh was faintly red, which was shocking.Lu Zhonglian couldn't help being startled—is the old man a runaway slave?That's right, in today's world, only the aristocratic fiefdoms of Chu State retain the ancient prisoner-of-war slavery system. "Xiaochen" is the most humble slave in hard labor, and the name "Xiaochen" is the name given to lowly slaves by the ancient tribes of the Yin and Shang Dynasties.Sure enough, this old man must have experienced unimaginable sufferings, concealed the bitterness that ordinary people could not appreciate, and finally became a boatman, but he always showed a friendly smile to the guests.Looking at the old man's peaceful and stretched face, Lu Zhonglian couldn't help muttering: "Old man, why don't you escape to the north? Wei Qi, Han Zhao Qin, there is no such brand of ancient slaves. Yes, yes, I guess the old man is from If you can’t open the water town, you can’t do without this Yunmengze.” It was dawn at last.Although the sun was bright and red, the wind was as cold as a knife.After Lu Zhonglian moved his hands and feet, he began to tidy up Zhang Fan.Although the old man's boat was not big, it was built exquisitely and strong. At the bottom of the mast was a pair of "herringbone"-shaped wooden frames firmly fixed on the hull, only about three or four feet high.The state of Qi was close to the sea, and Lu Zhonglian generally knew some things about boats. After some searching, he found a mast more than ten feet high lying in the ditch on the ship's side.Fortunately, it was Dongxue who rested the boat and the old man dismantled the mast, otherwise the mast must have been smashed and the sailcloth shattered and the boat capsized yesterday!Lu Zhong didn't even have time to feel emotional, he picked up the mast and tossed about, and finally stretched the sail.Looking at the wind direction, it is the northwest wind blowing strongly, and the southeast is the tailwind.Lu Zhonglian was relieved for a while, and the old man bowed deeply: "Old man, I entrust you to protect me, let's go with the wind!" Just as the old man said, he just stood in front of the pole and firmly pointed the handle of the oar to the southeast, The boat went leisurely. After drifting like this for a day, when the red sun sank to the west, the boat drifted smoothly to a small island. Lu Zhonglian was extremely exhausted, he surveyed the terrain, anchored the boat under a very sheltered rock, and carried the old man on his back to the island with his leather bag.This is an isolated island with jagged mountains and dense vegetation, and the pale yellow and green are still exposed in the snow.Lu Zhonglian stood on the highest rock and looked at the island. He decided that there would be no hiding the beasts that forage in winter, so he put down the old man, picked up a lot of dead branches and broken trees, and lit them up in a place sheltered from the wind. A bonfire.Enduring hunger and thirst, Lu Zhonglian used a dagger to dig a three to four feet square earth pit on the hillside, and then covered the bottom of the pit with soft thatch, then gently carried the old man in and covered the old man. He put on his long silk robe, thought carefully, and found another stone slab, which barely covered the pit.Lu Zhonglian murmured to himself: "Old man, you should rest here for a while. In the future, Lu Zhonglian will definitely move you back to Yingdu for burial, ask your name and surname, and set up a tall seat for your old man." Tombstone." As he spoke, he piled the newly dug up soil on the stone slab, but it happened to be a tomb.When everything was in order, Lu Zhonglian opened the skin bag and took out the dried meat wine bag, and placed a piece of dried meat squarely in front of the old man's grave: "Old man, there is no thick wine for the journey, come! You drink first." After pouring sake around the tomb with a wine bag, he sat down in front of the bonfire and gasped for breath.He was obviously hungry, but Lu Zhonglian couldn't swallow the dried meat, he fell down against the rocks in a daze, and then he snored loudly. When I woke up, the mountains and rivers were bright again.Lu Zhonglian consciously cheered up, so he ate and drank a lot. After eating and drinking, he planted three tall green bamboos in front of the old man's tomb, and drew three big "ten" characters with his sword, and then got off the island and went to the boat. up. As the proverb goes: The winter is cold after the snow.It was still a dry and cold northwest wind, but Lu Zhonglian felt that it was just what God wanted, and although he was dressed in a jacket and cold all over, he was extremely energetic.Lifting the anchor and pulling the sails, he entered the vast Yunmeng in a short while, and drifted with the wind for another day. At dusk, the vast and vast Yunmengze gradually narrowed, and the water flow also turned gray in the blue. Standing still, Cang Cang Yunmeng turned into Changchuan and went east.Lu Zhonglian was very pleasantly surprised, and he shouted loudly: "Oh! Dajiang Taotao, Zhonglian is here!" Out of Yunmengze, it is three thousand miles east of the river, that is, the two extinct kingdoms of Wuyue and Yue, but it is called Eastern Chu at this time.As soon as you enter the east of the river, you will feel full of spring. The green mountains and villages on both sides of the river, the white sails on the river are faint, and you can always meet fish boats and merchant ships, but it is more lively than the vast and cold Yunmengze.Lu Zhonglian has never been to Jiangdong, but he has a "Jiangdong Landscape Map" drawn by the Mohists. If there is any doubt, he will ask the boatman when he meets the boatman, and he will go smoothly. After a day and a night, the boat went out of the river and entered the Zhenze Great Lake. Once out of Zhenze, it was Gusu, the capital of the old Wu Kingdom.Thinking that he didn't understand the Wuyue dialect, and was able to live both in water and land, Lu Zhonglian stopped for half a day in Dantu City at the north entrance of Zhenze, and used the token of Lord Chunshen to ask the government to send an experienced old translator, and then hired him himself. A young and strong sailor entered Zhenze at night and went straight down to the vast mountains of Laoyue Kingdom. What Lu Zhonglian urgently wanted to find was a mysterious figure who lived in seclusion in Kuaiji Mountain.