In the distance, a river rolled down. There were a few small dots on the silvery water. Only by standing by the river could one see them clearly. They were a few small boats that were fishing in the stormy waves.
The fisherman stood on the bow of the boat with his bare feet. His ten toes were spread out habitually and firmly attached to the deck. The boatman at the stern of the boat plunged the bamboo pole that was as thick as a goose egg into the water and firmly held the boat in place. The muscles in his arms bulged like heavy stones because of the strength he exerted.
At this moment, the fisherman at the bow of the boat twisted his waist and raised his arms gracefully. The net in his hands was like a light cloud as it was cast out …
The hillside was covered with paddy fields of irregular shapes, as if a heavenly mirror had been broken and scattered on the ground. Wisps of lush green drilled out of the white water surface, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, interweaving to form a beautiful picture.
The farmers with their trousers rolled up had mud on their stomachs as they trudged through the paddy fields. With every step they took, the soft and smooth mud would squeak out of the gaps between their toes and fingers like a mischievous loach, causing tiny bubbles to ripple on the water surface.
Sweet mountain songs floated above the paddy fields. The farmers who were working in the paddy fields sang one after another. There were men and women, old and young. They sang one after another, enjoying themselves.
In fact, the sun was a little hot, but the people here were used to this kind of weather. A horse turned around halfway up the hill. It was a purplish-red horse. Its tail drooped as it trotted weakly. A man in green sat on the horse. He wore a bamboo bamboo hat on his head and had a saddle on the horse's butt. It was obvious that he was a long-distance runner.
Although the bamboo hat blocked the sun, sweat still flowed down his temples and gathered on his chin, dripping onto the horse's back. He looked into the distance. There was a winding mountain path that led to an unknown place.
On the path, there were four or five girls carrying water on their backs walking towards him. These girls were all wearing white blouses embroidered with red birds. Their right collars were adorned with playful silver ornaments. Their slender waists were tied with an embroidered ribbon. They wore a pair of blue trousers and a pair of embroidered "white knotted shoes" on their feet. They looked elegant, playful, and charming.
The girls were all young, around twelve or thirteen years old. The girls here matured early and got married early. Those who were slightly older were already married. Even at their age, many of them were already married.
The green-clothed man quickly jumped off the horse's back and used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his face. He politely asked the ladies with a smile, "Excuse me, ladies, how far is it from here to Yaozhou City?"
"Ah! He's a Han man. "
As soon as they heard his accent, the girls laughed heartily. One of the girls turned around and raised her hand, pointing enthusiastically, "Here, you go from here. There's a fork in the road ahead. Don't take the left one, or else you'll be taking a long detour. You go straight down to the river and follow the river upstream. About seven or eight miles away, there's a suspension bridge …"
The little girl's Chinese was not very standard, but her voice was sweet and sweet. The summer dress was very thin. She raised her wrist with the silver bracelet on it and pointed into the distance. She twisted her waist and raised her arm. Her chest stretched out into a beautiful curve, making her blushing face look even more beautiful.
The green-clothed man smiled and nodded. He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance."
The other girl saw that this Han man was handsome and spoke in a refined and polite manner. She suddenly smiled and said, "Han man, you must be thirsty. Do you want to drink some water?"
"Sure!" The green-clothed man revealed a mouthful of white teeth and laughed heartily, "But … what do I use to drink?"
He had already seen the water basket on the girl's shoulder, but there was no bowl or ladle. He didn't have a crow's beak, so how could he put his mouth into the water basket to drink?
The girl giggled and said, "You are really stupid. I will pour it for you."
The girl tilted her shoulder and held the bottom of the water basket with one hand. The clear water poured down. Yang Fan squatted down and opened his mouth wide to drink the sweet water. One of the girls mischievously pushed the girl carrying the water. The girl cried out and her body swayed. The water splashed onto Yang Fan's face. The girls all giggled.
The girl glared at her friends. Under her black and bright eyebrows, her eyes curved into a shy crescent moon, "I am sorry, Han man."
"It's nothing. After this, I feel cool."
The green-clothed man wiped the water droplets off his face. His sweaty face was indeed much cooler.
"En!"
The girl bit her lip and smiled foolishly. She waved at him and said, "Let's go!"
The girls stood shoulder to shoulder. No one knew what they were talking about. Sometimes someone giggled, and sometimes someone chased after them. The water splashed on their shoulders and flashed in the air before falling back into the basket. Suddenly, one of the girls turned around and shouted at the green-clothed man, "Han man, welcome to our White River Tribe!"
Yang Fan turned around and waved at them. When he turned back again, a sweet and melodious song sounded behind him, "Sister (Ah Xiaoni), I heard (hey) bells (ring) across the mountain (ni), I don't know where you (ni) are (ni) going?"
Yang Fan smiled and shook the horse's reins.
He liked this place. The scenery was beautiful, and the people were simple. The passionate girls were like Nanyang girls. Once they liked someone, they would not hide it and pursue them openly. They would provoke you, but they would not accommodate you. They were like clear mountain spring water, always running freely on their predetermined path of life.
He had heard that the Imperial Court had once sent five hundred Pass Guards to guard Yaozhou. Because of the dangerous terrain and the heavy miasma, they had all died in the end. This time, Zhang Jianzhi had specially prepared medicine to prevent the miasma. But he saw that the scenery here was beautiful. It was like a paradise. How could it be so dangerous?
Yang Fan had forgotten that he grew up in Nanyang. He could adapt well to the weather here. In that era, there was not much population movement. Soldiers who were thousands of miles away from their homeland were indeed not acclimatized. A place that was like heaven to him could be hell to others.
The sky was blue and the river was like a beautiful ribbon. The wind blew gently on the hillside, and the paddy fields on the hillside sparkled. Yang Fan's figure gradually disappeared at the end of the hillside amidst the passionate and sweet mountain songs of the girls …
… …
In the Governor's Office of Yaozhou, Governor Wen Hao was holding a banquet to welcome the imperial envoy.
The officials who had come to see the imperial envoy were in a mess. There was no order at all. Compared to the officialdom of Yaozhou, it was a completely different situation.
Yaozhou had submitted to the imperial court relatively late, so the military governor and provincial governor here were also hereditary officials, selected from the leaders of the local tribes. Because it had not been long since Yaozhou submitted to the imperial court, logically speaking, the military governor and provincial governor should be the leader of the tribe with the greatest power here, unlike Luo Shudao in Yaozhou, who had declined after a few generations and became an out-and-out bureaucrat.
However, the actual situation was not like this. The commander-in-chief of Yao Province and the provincial governor of Yao Province were indeed the leaders of the larger tribes in the area, but in terms of strength, they were at most ranked third and fourth. There were two even larger tribes above them, but they did not hold any official positions.
Why did this situation occur? Because the two tribes were of equal strength, and it was difficult to tell who was superior. The two large tribes were the White Man and the Crow Man. The two tribes were of equal strength, so who would be the governor and who would be the governor? No one was willing to lower their head to someone else. In the end, they could only compromise and choose the third and fourth strongest tribe. These two equally powerful tribes became existences that surpassed the local government.
This was also the reason why when the imperial court wanted to strengthen its control over Yaozhou, the governor and provincial governor would be removed from their positions due to the strong resistance of the local tribes. This was because behind them were the leaders of two even more powerful tribes. They were the White Man's Xunqi and the Crow Man's Meng Zhe Zhu.
These two families were the great clans that had existed in the southwest for thousands of years. For example, the Crow Man's Meng Zhe Zhu was from Jianning. His ancestor was Meng Huo, who had been captured by Zhuge Liang seven times.
After Xunqi angrily returned to Yaozhou from Yaozhou, he had not even sat down when he heard that Huang Jingrong had chased after him from Yaozhou. Xunqi had been humiliated by Huang Jingrong in Yaozhou, and now that he had returned to his territory, the person hosting the banquet was weaker than him. How could he personally attend the banquet? Thus, he only sent his son.
Zhe Zhu had always liked to compete with Xunqi. He was not willing to be inferior to Xunqi in any matter. When he heard that Xunqi was not going, he did not go either. Following his example, he sent his son to attend the banquet.
In the governor's office, other than Governor Wen Hao and Provincial Governor Yun Xuan who wore official robes, even the officials under them wore the clothes of their own tribes. Regardless of whether they held official positions or not, they would all be addressed by their position and status in the clan. For example, Chieftain, Chieftain, Big Head, Small Head, Big Head, Small Head, Big Head, Little Head, Small Head, Small Head, Small Head, etc.
It was only when Huang Jingrong arrived in the southwest that he realized that the difference between chieftain and chieftain was not just a difference in terms of address. In reality, there was a huge difference between the two. A chieftain was the ruler of a territory and the owner of the land. When the commoners cultivated their land, they had to pay the chieftain their grain. The chieftain controlled the political, economic, and military power of the territory. In reality, he was equivalent to the ruler of a country.
The Chieftain was a direct relative of the chieftain. He had the same authority as the Big Chieftain, but his status was even higher, equivalent to a prince of a country. Below Chieftain were the Big Chieftain, Small Chieftain, Head Steward, Second Steward, Head Steward, and Head Steward.
Huang Jingrong could not tell the difference between them. In any case, in his eyes, these people were all country bumpkins. He was the imperial envoy and could decide anyone's life and death. Thus, he was too lazy to remember these people's official positions and names, too lazy to distinguish their status, and too lazy to be courteous with them.
Because of his disdain, the two most powerful chieftains in the area did not appear. They only sent a son to half-heartedly attend the banquet, so he did not discover them.
Huang Jingrong's half-heartedness and disdain naturally made these chieftains and chieftains secretly unhappy. However, he was, after all, an imperial envoy sent by the court. It was not worthwhile to fall out with him over such a small matter. However, there were even fewer people who were willing to enthusiastically go up to chat. Everyone just half-heartedly greeted him and then slipped to the side to chat with acquaintances. Seeing this, Huang Jingrong was even more displeased.
The banquet began. It was as chaotic as a mountain king holding a meeting in a hall. The chieftains and chieftains stood and sat without proper etiquette. They drank from large bowls and ate large mouthfuls of meat. Huang Jingrong saw that they had no respect for him and felt even more displeased. As soon as Governor Wen invited him to lecture everyone, Huang Jingrong stood up with a straight face, determined to give everyone a 'show of strength'!
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