Perhaps there was some unknown god that reminded Marshal Gu that his son was about to be abducted by a bald donkey. In short, a month after the Black Iron Battalion set out, Gu Yun actually remembered to bring a letter home to Changgeng while he was writing a memorial to the Emperor.
Changgeng wrote several pages of the familiar handwriting that he had copied many times. First, he sincerely admitted his mistake. Then, he explained the reason why he left without saying goodbye. Finally, he straightforwardly expressed his longing and promised that if the northwest was safe and sound, he would definitely rush back to the marquis's estate before the end of the year to celebrate the New Year.
Changgeng finished reading it from the beginning. He lightly spat and put it to the side. Even a fool would know that this thing was not written by the Marquis of Stability.
It was impossible for mushy words like "Parting for a thousand miles, I can't rest at night", "Eat and wear more clothes, don't worry about my heart" to germinate from the soil in Gu Yun's mind. From the long-winded words between the lines, it was obvious that Shen Yi had written it on his behalf.
His scoundrel foster father had at most copied it once.
However, Changgeng sadly discovered that even though he understood it clearly in his heart, when he remembered that these words really came from Gu Yun's pen, he couldn't help but gouge out each word and embed them in his eyes.
Unfortunately, Gu Yun went back on his word.
Gu Yun knew that he was guilty. This time, he made Shen Yi, who casually represented his promise, scram. He personally wrote a long letter to Changgeng. After Changgeng finished reading it, he laughed in anger. Although he felt that this letter was quite sincere, Gu Yun really didn't have the talent to coax people. He was sincerely adding fuel to the fire.
Marshal Gu first talked about a bunch of trivial matters that he thought were interesting. He wrote a thousand words and digressed thousands of miles from the topic. In the end, he stiffly used the four words "military affairs are busy" to summarize the reason why he couldn't return to the capital.
Changgeng didn't care about how delicious the scorpions in the desert were, but he still couldn't find the sentence he was most concerned about. If Gu Yun didn't come back this year, when would she come back?
However, there was nothing after "busy with military affairs". There was only a long list of gifts attached.
Perhaps Gu Yun felt that words of apology were not sincere enough, so he used actions to express it. He brought back all the good things he had obtained this year to the marquis's estate and stuffed them all to Chang Geng. There were jewels and treasures, bits and pieces, and so on.
That day, the fifteen-year-old Changgeng locked himself in his room. Together with the Lou Lan dagger that Gu Yun had given him, he endured a bout of Wu 'er Gu's attack. Afterwards, he made a decision — he didn't want to stay in the Marquis's mansion like a good-for-nothing. He didn't want to follow the Old Master and his trembling master to learn some armchair strategies and martial arts. He wanted to go out on his own and see the outside world.
On the first day of the New Year, Changgeng alone followed Zhu Xiaojiao from the palace into the palace to pay a New Year's visit to the Emperor. As usual, it was just a formality.
Then, he stayed in the Marquis's mansion until the first month of the New Year. He had the kitchen cook a bowl of longevity noodles and brought it back to his room to eat. Then, he calmly announced a decision that caused the entire Marquis's mansion to explode.
Changgeng said, "I plan to live in Huguo Temple for a while."
After saying this, he looked at the old housekeeper's pale face and added, "Uncle Wang, don't worry. I won't become a monk because I want to follow Master Liao Ran and cultivate for a while. At the same time, I want to pray for my adoptive father."
The old housekeeper was speechless.
What else could he say? He could only prepare the incense money, endure the pain in his chest, and send people to send Changgeng, Ge Pangxiao, and Cao Niangzi to Huguo Temple.
This year, the Marquis's mansion's old housekeeper felt that his family's strict and mighty gate might have been cursed by some barbarian witchcraft. Those who entered this gate, regardless of whether they were born in the family or adopted from outside, each one was harder to deal with than the other. The old housekeeper still remembered Gu Yun's cowardly appearance when he was young. He was like an injured wolf cub, indiscriminately hating everyone around him.
That person had finally grown up after much difficulty and was able to set up a household.
Now, there came another person who was even more unfathomable.
After Gu Yun left, Changgeng lived a life of running to Huguo Temple all day.
Who couldn't he play with? Every day, he went to the temple. The Fourth Highness Li Min really didn't go out, but when he did, his destination was extraordinary.
Every day, the old housekeeper was worried that Changgeng would have to shave his head.
But he knew that fifteen or sixteen-year-old youths couldn't listen to the advice of the elderly. Moreover, he didn't raise Changgeng, so the old housekeeper didn't dare to interfere too much. He could only run to Cao Niangzi and Ge Pangxiao to beat the gong.
When Cao Niangzi heard this, the powder on her eyelids fell down. She angrily said, "What? That bald donkey wants to seduce my Big Brother Changgeng to become a monk? "
In the world, a man with a decent appearance was as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. The Marshal left as soon as he said he would. Until now, there wasn't even a shadow of him. Only Changgeng was left by his side. Changgeng was already at this age, but he didn't show any signs of growing up. How difficult was that? He was actually in danger of becoming bald. Immediately, Cao Niangzi became the old housekeeper's ally.
The next day, he deliberately changed into men's clothes and shamelessly insisted on going with Changgeng to pay homage to the Holy Land of Buddhism. When he was about to go out, he rolled up his sleeves at a pair of iron puppets at the door and made a determined gesture.
The iron puppets didn't understand human nature. They stared blankly at his strange back that was like a snake spirit.
However, when they returned from Huguo Temple that night, Cao Niangzi didn't mention the matter of "making the evil monk appear" again. From then on, she joined the group that meditated on Buddhism every day without hesitation. There was no other reason. The "evil monk" was too handsome.
Although the Marshal was also handsome, he was too aggressive. He couldn't just sit there quietly and let others admire him. Master Liao Ran was different. Cao Niangzi thought that he was simply like a walking ubara in the human world. If he was placed in a bonsai, he would be immortalized for generations to come. Looking at him would make one feel relaxed and happy for several days.
The old housekeeper didn't know what kind of magic Liao Ran used on these two people, so he could only find Ge Pangxiao.
Ge Pangxiao was duty-bound to accompany him.
A few days later, Ge Pangxiao also changed sides.
This was because Liao Ran not only knew how to chant sutras, but he was also very proficient in many kinds of lighters and puppets. Ge Pangxiao even met people from the Lingshu Temple at his place.
Ge Pangxiao, who dreamed of flying a giant kite, didn't say anything and directly knelt before the monk's lotus platform.
After a year, the old housekeeper was actually used to Changgeng and the others running to the temple every two to three days. At first, he didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince didn't learn from the good, but learned from the bad. On the second day at Huguo Temple, he imitated Gu Yun and left without saying goodbye.
He first told the accompanying Imperial Bodyguards that he was going to follow Master Liao Ran and cultivate in seclusion for a while. He didn't want anyone to disturb them. Of course, the Imperial Bodyguards really didn't dare to disturb them and only stood guard outside the door.
That night, Changgeng took his two traitorous followers and followed Master Liao Ran to travel to Jiangnan.
After a few days, when the Imperial Bodyguards realized that something was wrong and went to find them, there was only a light letter left in the meditation room.
The old housekeeper wanted to cry but had no tears. He could only send someone to report to the Emperor and also send someone to send a letter to Gu Yun.
After the Emperor heard this, he was very relieved. First, he didn't care too much about this cheap younger brother. Second, he was a devout believer in Buddhism and had a kind of blind trust in Liao Ran. When he heard that Changgeng was going to travel with him, he was a bit envious. He only hated that he was burdened by worldly things and couldn't bask in the glory of a senior monk.
Gu Yun's whip was too far away and he couldn't be counted on. He heard that there were as many bandits as the hairs on an ox in the Western Regions. He didn't know where he was chasing after the bandits all day long. Even if the messenger arrived at Xiliang Pass, it would completely rely on luck to immediately find Gu Yun.
Although Liao Ran was a senior monk, he rarely preached scriptures. He also never talked about those obscure Buddhist teachings and gathas. Most of the time, he talked face to face about some common knowledge. As a monk, he appeared to be very unprofessional and even a bit too involved in the secular world. He would even talk about some current affairs in a very rebellious manner. However, he usually wrote and burned it.
Half a month later, in a small teahouse in Jiangnan, three teenagers and a monk were sitting around a table.
Jiangnan's spring ploughing had already begun, but looking around, there were few people working in the fields. Three or two old farmers were wearing bamboo hats, idly looking at the iron puppets that were working in the distance.
Compared to the guards of the Lord Protector's Mansion and the sword servant puppet, this iron puppet that was working in the apricot blossom misty rain was not in human shape. It was like a small car, running back and forth in the field. It had a wooden buffalo head, looking very charmingly naive.
This was the first batch of farming puppets that the imperial court had allocated to the Nanjing area as a trial.
When Ge Pangxiao was in Yanhui Town, he had an unusual interest in the scrap metal under Shen Yi's hands. His eyes were shining.
Liao Ran knocked on the table, attracting the attention of Changgeng and the others. After a year, Changgeng and the others could already understand his sign language, and the monk no longer had to write word by word.
"I have seen the farming puppets that are being promoted in Jiangnan in the West. A puppet can easily take care of an acre of land. Although it still needs to burn a little purple gold, after several improvements, the coal is enough to support most of the power. In this way, the cost is very low. It is said that a puppet saves more money than a lamp."
Ge Pangxiao: "That's good. Doesn't that mean we don't have to get up early and work late to work in the fields in the future?"
The iron puppets that were being promoted were allocated to Nanjing by the imperial court. The country gentry registered and took them away, and they were responsible for the maintenance of the puppets. If the tenants were willing to farm by themselves, they could farm by themselves. If they were unwilling, they could give the land they rented to the puppets. When the harvest came next year, the rent would be increased by 10% to compensate for the coal and a small amount of purple gold burned by the puppets.
In the first year, very few people did it. After all, the rent would be increased by 10%. But in the second year, it was promoted. The people could see that the puppets were indeed more useful than people. With the rent increased, they still had more food in their hands than before. They also didn't have to get up early and work late to work. Who wouldn't agree to such a good thing?
That was why there were no people in the fields of Jiangnan at this time.
Liao Ran smiled but didn't say anything.
Changgeng suddenly said, "I don't think it's a good thing. If the iron puppets can completely replace people, what's the use of people? The land that the tenants rent also belongs to the country gentry. In the first few years, the old master was willing to support these idlers because of old friendship. How many years can he support them? "
Ge Pangxiao was obsessed with all kinds of lighters. What he thought about during the day, he dreamed about at night. He immediately said, "They can stay and be long-armed craftsmen!"
Cao Niangzi said, "I know this. Adding up all the steel armor of the guards in Yanhui City, only two long-armed craftsmen are enough. At that time, they were only occasionally too busy, so they went to General Shen. They didn't need so many long-armed craftsmen."
Ge Pangxiao said, "They can find other things to do, such as …"
For a moment, he couldn't say what. After all, the days of the butcher's family were good. In Ge Pangxiao's eyes, there were so many things to do in the world other than farming.
Cao Niangzi pulled her gaze away from Liao Ran's face with difficulty and asked, "Then if everyone can't find something to do, or if most people can't find something to do, will they rebel?"
Liao Ran looked down at her. Cao Niangzi's face was cooked.
Liao Ran gestured and said, "They won't in the next few years."
The three youths were silent for a while. Changgeng asked, "Is it because of my adoptive father?"
Liao Ran looked at him with a smile.
"I remember that on New Year's Eve two years ago, the tiger brought by the foreigners ran away. The streets were in a mess. It was only when they saw my adoptive father that they calmed down." Changgeng paused and said, "Later, I heard people say that there was a sea of people near Yuanlou. If it wasn't for my adoptive father stabilizing the flow of people, many people would have been trampled to death."
Liao Ran gestured and said, "I secretly took Your Highness out and offended the Marquis of Stability. In the future, when the matter is exposed, I hope Your Highness can save this monk's life from Marquis."
Ge Pangxiao and Cao Niangzi laughed, thinking that the monk Liao Ran was joking. After all, in their impression, Gu Yun had always been amiable.
Liao Ran smiled bitterly and skipped the topic. He gestured and said, "To this day, there is a legend among the people that The Old Marquis used 30 Xuan Tie men to make the Northern Wolves bow their heads. It is said that the Black Iron Battalion is a divine army that can go anywhere and is invulnerable. With the Daliang of the Black Iron Battalion, although there are rebellious thugs among the people, it is difficult for them to reach a large scale."
Changgeng sat up straighter and said, "But I heard that if you want to tear down a house, the first thing you do is to smash Daliang."
Liao Ran looked at the young man in front of him. If Gu Yun were to come back, she probably wouldn't recognize Changgeng. In just a short year, he had grown a few inches taller. The childish aura that originally flowed between his eyebrows had disappeared.
The young man who would feel his scalp go numb when he went out on New Year's Eve was now sitting in a tea house in Jiangnan, chatting with a monk about the people of the world.
Liao Ran said, "Your Highness doesn't need to worry. Marquis has long been aware of these matters."
Changgeng thought of the scene in Gu Yun's room that said 'the world cannot be avoided' and was slightly stunned. Suddenly, his heart was filled with longing. He sat quietly for a moment and let the longing surge for a moment. He smiled bitterly, picked up the teacup on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.
At this time, Gu Yun, who Changgeng was thinking about, was still in the vast desert of the Western Regions. She had already been in a standoff with the largest group of local bandits for more than a month.
At this time, Xiliang Pass was no longer as desolate as before. Ever since Daliang and the Pope signed the treaty of Xiliang Pass, the entire front line of Xiliang Pass had become a treasured land for accumulating wealth. Merchants and tourists quickly gathered. The population of a few towns had skyrocketed. Westerners, people from the Central Plains, and people from the small countries in the Western Regions lived together.
Loulan, which was located at the entrance of the Ancient Silk Road, had become an important place for trade. It quickly changed from an unknown small country to a land of flowing gold.
The people of Loulan were warm and happy. They lived and worked in peace and contentment. They didn't like to cause trouble. During the Western Regions rebellion, they didn't have much to do with it. Their relationship with Daliang had always been very friendly. Thus, the Emperor deliberately placed the entrance of the Ancient Silk Road here.
"Marshal, Xiao Jia has already taken down the bandits' lair. Should we make a move?"
Gu Yun said, "Then what are we waiting for? Once we catch the bandit leader, we'll go to Prince Loulan's place for dinner tonight! "
As he spoke, he gently pressed his eyelids.
Shen Yi said, "Are your eyes …"
"No," Gu Yun muttered. "My eyelids keep twitching. Maybe …"
Before he could finish speaking, a personal guard suddenly stepped forward and took out a letter from his bosom. "Grand Marshal!"
Gu Yun asked, "Oh, where did you get this?"
The personal guard replied, "It's a letter from the marquis's residence. It was sent to Xiliang Pass. Your family couldn't find you, so they asked Loulan to send it over."
Perhaps it was Changgeng's reply.
As Gu Yun thought about it, he opened the letter and looked at it expectantly.
Then, Shen Yi saw Gu Yun's expression change.
Shen Yi asked, "What's wrong?"
"Liao Ran, that bald donkey, better not fall into my hands." Gu Yun said sinisterly. He walked around the commander's tent like a headless fly with his hands behind his back. He kicked over a small table. "Get me a few Black Eagle. Jiping, take over the matters here for me temporarily."
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