Chapter 9 Chapter 7: The Kid in Red from Mars

Exhale into clouds, sweat into rain. Come and go, lively and noisy crowd. Here is the first city of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the capital of Haojing. At this time, it was the thirty-ninth year of Zhou Xuan Wang Ji Jing's reign. Wu Wang Dan Shu. Chengkang education. Retranslation Xianpheasant. Xuan Wang Zhongxing. However, in this seemingly gorgeous capital city of the last days, few people know that this great Western Zhou Dynasty, this majestic and famous city, will soon have its fate, and it will inevitably collapse after all... When the footsteps of the little boy Yang Tongye walked into the city of Haojing, it was the most beautiful period of youth in the last days of the city.

After the grandfather who told the story was buried in the mountains and forests, Yang Tongye wandered around, living alone in the fields, drinking spring water when thirsty, and picking wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger when hungry. Later, he met a group of hunters hunting wild wolves at a water source. Among the hunters, there was a middle-aged man who was good friends with Yang Tongye's father. After talking with them, Yang Tongye fought with them in the mountains and forests for a few days. Hunting, and also became friends with a few rough men. Later, some hunters planned to come to Haojing City to sell furs. Anyway, there was nothing left and right, so Yang Tongye followed them to Haojing City.

In the city of Haojing, Yang Tongye was like a child entering the treasure house for the first time, looking at the bustling crowd and the array of items on the street from time to time in amazement. As soon as the hunters entered the city, they dispersed one by one. Some went to the market to sell furs, while others said mysteriously that they were going to a place that "children can't know". After living in the mountains for a while, Yang Tongye has become used to walking alone, and doesn't care about wandering around Gaojing by himself. In the city's market, Yang Tongye saw many interesting things.

In the square of the West Market, there are three-headed eccentrics performing fire-eating performances, and there are dragons with scales and horns telling the legend that they communicated with great gods thousands of years ago.An old woman with her head covered took him by the hand and said that she would tell him the good and bad luck of the next sixty years.There was also a little girl performing juggling. With tears in her eyes, her father put her in a cloth bag and chopped off her limbs. Finally, she recovered under the applause of the onlookers, and walked out of the bag to receive everyone's reward.

Walking to Dongshi, there was a square covered with dry blood on the ground. He heard that it was the place where the capital executed criminals. There, he saw a few bright red grasses in the sheep tongue field. He walked over curiously. , wanted to touch the grass, but found that the surrounding grass had begun to shake gently. At this time, he had a preliminary understanding of his instinct to control plants, and he knew that this was a sign that the "Houji" who was beside him began to touch these grasses. All of a sudden, the voices of people around fell silent, and the air, temperature, and light all changed into another tone and feeling.

And from the many red grasses in front of him, an illusory scene began to emerge. In the scene, there are many people with blood on their bodies.Some people looked sad, some looked shocked, some looked indifferent, and some seemed to have soaring anger. If Yang Tongye saw such a ghostly picture not long ago, he would definitely be scared to death, but after experiencing the tragic death of his father, the pursuit of the villagers, and the teaching of the storyteller grandpa, Yang Tongye felt that, There is nothing in the world to be afraid of anymore, so, facing the ghostly scene in front of him, although he was a little surprised, he didn't feel any fear.

At this moment, it seemed that someone was speaking softly in his ear. "These people..." The voice was very soft, as if they were about to be blown into the wind if they were not careful, "They are people who were executed here. These grasses are called decapitated grass, which grow from the blood that absorbs the dead people's heads and necks." The strange grass, so they all have the resentment of the dead..." Yang Tongye listened carefully to the voice. Although this was his first experience, he felt that the voice was very familiar and kind. "Who are you?" He asked curiously: "Are you the ancestor god beside me? Are you 'Hou Ji'?"

The voice smiled softly and stopped answering. After a while, the sound gradually faded away. And the fantasy scene around Yangtongye also gradually faded and disappeared, and finally returned to the original lively Hojingdong City. He looked at the bright red "decapitated grass" a little curiously. He was thinking about the soft voice that flowed into his ears just now. When he was thinking about it, he heard a burst of childish singing. Looking at the sound of the song, it turned out that the group of children singing nursery rhymes were gathering beside the city wall, and a group of young children less than ten years old were happily clapping their hands and singing.

And their singing was being taught by someone, Yang Tongye looked over from afar and saw above the children, in a small recess in the city wall, sitting a younger boy in red, about six or seven years old. , the recess doesn't look that big, but the little boy in red is sitting comfortably. Yang Tongye came closer and saw that there were no ladders or ropes to go up near the place where the boy in red was sitting, and he didn't know how he got up. However, these are not important to the child, because the voice of the child in red is extremely pure, and the singing is very pleasant, making people unable to help but want to continue singing.

After all, Yang Tongye was only a ten-year-old child, and he was still very playful. When he saw this group of children, he happily walked over and imitated the simple song sung by the children in red. "The yellow crescent moon is about to rise, The red sun is about to set, Bow of berry wood!A quiver made of shiitake grass, The girl of Shenlong's family, almost almost... The state of Zhou is about to perish..." Yang Tongye happily mingled with the children, and sang happy nursery rhymes with everyone for a long time, but he didn't notice that the red-clothed child sitting on the city wall never left his eyes since he appeared. side.

But for some reason, on his fair, tender and cute little face, there would occasionally flash a cruel expression. While the children were singing happily, the surrounding crowd had gradually disappeared without knowing when, replaced by a row of guards of the capital in bright armor and riding tall horses. The children don't know how powerful they are. Although some people saw this group of guards, they didn't take it seriously. They didn't know what kind of serious consequences would be produced by the deadly heavy horseshoes and shiny swords and halberds of the guards. Everyone's minds were still focused on the game, and the most important thing in their minds was singing the nursery rhymes of the children in red. However, they didn't notice that the kid in red on the city wall had long since disappeared. "...the moon will rise and the sun will end Tired of scorpions, almost perished in the state of Zhou The moon will rise, the sun will disappear Tired of the scorpion, almost perishing the state of Zhou..." The leader of the guards couldn't hold back any longer, and yelled loudly, "Bold boy, get the hell out of here!" With his loud shout, the children realized the seriousness of the situation.The guards on the side also began to shout and curse loudly at this moment, so everyone exclaimed and cried, and there was a commotion for a while, and all the children dispersed in a hurry. Beside the city wall, there were only two children left at this time, one was too young to know what to do, could only sit on the ground, wrinkled his face and cried, the other was about ten years old, but his expression was quite calm, It was Yangtongye who had just entered Beijing from the mountains and forests. At first he also wanted to take advantage of the chaos and escape with the other children, but he couldn't bear to leave this helpless crying child and hurriedly tried to pick him up. Surrounded by guards. The leader of the guards didn't come to make things difficult for them, he just winked and called a tall guard to carry the two children onto the horse. "Son, I won't hurt you," said the guard leader, who had a rough appearance, but spoke very kindly, "My king just wants you to come in and ask questions." This was the first time for Yang Tong Ye Ping to ride a horse. The mounts of the guards of Hao Jing were extremely tall. It was a very interesting experience to ride through the capital and pass over the heads of passers-by on a horse. Yang Tongye was originally a bold and curious child. At this time, he was gently stroking the hair of another child, comforting him not to be alarmed, but his eyes were fixed on the surrounding scenery of the capital, and his big eyes rolled around. non-stop. Not long after, a group of people arrived at the royal city in the capital city. The carved beams and painted buildings, with extraordinary looks, were the huge palace where King Xuan of the Zhou Dynasty lived. Several guards led the two children, passed through the heavy gate walls, and came to a huge hall. "Son, my king wants to ask you something, go in!" The guard leader said in a low voice: "As long as you tell the truth, my king is a wise lord, so I shouldn't make things difficult for you." The younger child's mouth was flattened, and he was about to cry again, but Yang Tongye covered his mouth and comforted him in a low voice, and then suppressed the crying forcefully. With a loud "bang", the gate of the palace opened, and several men with fair faces and beardless came out.One of them said in a low voice: "Go in, and only if you are told to speak, you speak, and if you are not told to speak, then don't say anything." After all, Yang Tongye was just a child, seeing the aura of the King of Zhou today, he couldn't help trembling in his heart, but the matter had come to an end, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk into the hall. In the center of the main hall, there is a huge and long scarlet carpet. The Zhou Dynasty obtained the power of the country as a Western prince, so the country was established with gold and virtue. It is a silver-white and crescent-white attire. At the end of the giant carpet is the throne of King Xuan today.Sitting on the throne at the moment is a handsome and tall old man, that is the current King of Zhou, Ji Jing. Sitting high on the throne, King Xuan of Zhou frowned when he saw the two children coming in. "Is this the little boy who sings nursery rhymes on the street to confuse people's hearts?" His voice was heavy, but quite loud, and the echoes faintly echoed in the hall when he spoke, "Bold boy, why do you want to go to high school in my capital?" Sing outrageous nursery rhymes?" How often has that young boy seen such a mighty battle?Facing the lord of a country, even an ordinary adult would be terrified, but now that he was shocked by this, he couldn't hold back any longer, and began to cry mournfully, unable to utter a single word. King Xuan of Zhou glared at the child impatiently, then turned his eyes to Yang Tong Ye beside him. "You! Tell me, why are you singing rebellious nursery rhymes on the street?" Yang Tongye thought for a moment, then said dully, "We don't know how to sing this song, but a kid in red taught us how to sing it." "The child in red?" Zhou Xuanwang wondered, "What child in red?" "I heard from my playmates that the kid in red had appeared in the city three days ago. Sometimes he was in the east of the city, sometimes in the west of the city. We taught everyone how to sing it. We don't know why. This nursery rhyme I feel very happy as soon as I sing it, and I can learn it all at once.” In the group of ministers, a well-known thin old minister also came out to report at this time: "This child's words should be true. I have heard this nursery rhyme recently, and I sent people out to search for it. It is also said that there is a child in red." Children teach children, preach it everywhere." King Xuan of Zhou raised his eyebrows, and asked solemnly: "Then, where is that kid in red now? And where is he sacred?" The old courtier was very knowledgeable, so he immediately replied: "The child in red is said to be the illusion of Yinghuoxing. Generally, the unfounded words in the market are called rumors. In order to warn the king, the gods in the sky will make Yinghuoxing turn into a ghost. Children, teach children in the market to sing songs, they are called nursery rhymes. Yinghuo belongs to fire, also known as Mars, so the image that appears is the child in red." "What about the nursery rhyme? Is this rebellious nursery rhyme also the will of God?" "The content of the nursery rhyme, ranging from the success or failure of the country's soldiers and horses, to the fortune-telling of a single person, is likely to be fulfilled. The veteran believes that the purpose of this nursery rhyme is to warn the king from heaven to govern the country carefully." King Xuan of Zhou snorted coldly, and patted the seat hard. "Although it is the will of the heavens, it cannot be allowed to spread rumors in our country and pass on my orders!" He shouted loudly to the courtiers beside him: "I didn't come to argue with them in the past, but from now on in the capital Don't sing this song again, if any child sings this nursery rhyme, their father and elder brother will be punished!" He turned around and saw Yang Tongye standing in front of the hall, and another child was still crying, so King Xuan said impatiently: "Let these two children go out, and you are not allowed to sing that nursery rhyme again!" The eunuch at the side hurriedly led Yang Tongye and the other two out, seeing the two small figures, King Xuan's heart suddenly became restless. "Great Historian!" From the group of ministers, at this time, Bo Yangfu, the grand historian in charge of historical records, walked out. "What do you think of this nursery rhyme?" King Xuan of Zhou asked, "'The moon will rise, the sun will disappear, I hate the arc, and the state of Zhou will almost perish', what is your explanation?" Father Taishi Boyang said: "The sun is the ruler of the people, and the moon is the image of femininity. This nursery rhyme says that the sun will set and the moon will rise, which is a sign of troubles in the dynasty." "A sign of trouble?" King Xuan of Zhou asked nervously, "If we want to prevent it, is there any way? If something goes wrong, where will it come from?" "Yue Zhe is mainly feminine, but also women's affairs. If there is a problem, it may be caused by the woman. Therefore, if you want to improve it, you have to work hard on the virtue of the man." Such a statement did not arouse King Xuan of Zhou's interest. He pondered for a while, and suddenly seemed to think of something, and asked excitedly: "Also, there is that phrase 'disgusting the arc', dissatisfied arc, Bows made of mulberry wood, quiver made of shiitakes, and quiver made of skip grass.” His eyes shone brightly, “so, if I drive away all the sellers of mulberry bows and straw bags in the country, and burn these bows and arrows, Wouldn't it be fulfilled?" The Tai Shiguan was stunned, but seeing King Xuan excited, it was hard to interrupt his interest. "This..." He nodded reluctantly: "Maybe it will be beneficial..." "It's not unknown, but it will definitely be useful, pass on my order!" Xuan Wang laughed loudly, and issued an order: "The sale of mountain mulberry bows and straw bags is prohibited in the country within three days. Anyone who violates the law will be punished severely!"