God and mystery

Chapter 9 Have you heard of the bell?
Jixiang in the Longde Hall must die, and this hall must be left unattended for the plan to be implemented smoothly.

After all, the main hall was originally set up to worship Emperor Zhenwu, and its real name was Xuanji Treasure Hall.

Although the statue of Zhenwu God is not in the hall now, it has been replaced by the wooden body clay sculpture of Sanqing, but the hall still has the ability to suppress the chaos of gods and ghosts.

After all, this hall is the only place for worship in the Forbidden City, and it was an important facility built by Emperor Jiajing. Of course, the later Emperor Longqing didn’t seem to think that this hall had any function, so he put it on hold. .

Zhu Paoren said that it is inconvenient for many people to take action during the day, and there is a curfew at night, and the idle people are isolated outside the Forbidden City.

And tonight, Zhu Paoren and the others, the Lord of Fire, who first saw Zhu Changluo, will appear in the Fire Temple in the inner city.

Zhu Changluo was a little surprised: "Will she come?"

Zhu Pao Ren nodded: "For your great cause, how could our Honorable Master not come?"

Zhu Changluo looked at Zhu Paoren and frowned:

"The Fire Temple is in the inner city. Although the emperor repaired it, the fire god worshipped in it is not your lord, right?"

"You little fire gods, fire spirits, fire monsters. When you relied on the emperor to repair the fire temple, people made sacrifices to the fire gods of all sizes and ten directions, so you took this opportunity to occupy the magpie's nest to get the national prestige recognition, Only then can we move freely in this Forbidden City."

"But in the Shicha Sea Fire Temple, the main deity worshipped is the True Monarch Huo De. You are allowed to steal the incense from the little fire gods and get the sacrifices. Can you still allow your venerable lord to snatch the incense and do bad things?"

Zhu Changluo let out a weird laugh: "Although the gods are all made of wood and clay, there is also spirituality under the incense sacrifice. These merits and achievements are not recognized by the main god of the temple, or if they have matching strength. Those who cannot replace these great gods can only be blocked."

"And if she can replace her, unless she has already obtained the position of True Monarch Huo De, it is justifiable."

"The incense of all the people, can your lord afford it? Even if she appears in the inner city, how can she enter the imperial city, and how can she enter the Forbidden City?"

Zhu Paoren shook his head: "You should still remember the first time the Honored Lord met you. At that time, how did the Honored Lord come in? Haven't you thought about it?"

Zhu Changluo's eyes were fixed, staring at the tea cup in front of him, his eyes fixed: "I thought at the time that I was praying sincerely and recruited her. I thought she was a righteous god, but I didn't expect that she was not."

Zhu Pao Ren smiled: "Actually, at that time, she was indeed a righteous god, and it was precisely because she was a righteous god, and a righteous god among righteous gods, that she was able to appear in front of you in the Forbidden City."

"Wanmin incense, of course she can afford it."

"It's just that there was no temple dedicated to the God of Fire at that time, and the fact that Lord Huo came here, just like rootless duckweed, can't be manifested here for a long time. She was called by your sacrifice. This incident is also purely coincidental. ."

"But maybe it's also destiny that has already been destined?"

"In this imperial city, there are many gods and karma, but as you said, no one is going to become a god. These karma, these gods' achievements, placed here, are also wood and clay sculptures, or have spirituality. , but not really God after all.”

"Dead things act, rigid and rigid."

Zhu Pao Ren looked sideways at the window. He and Zhu Changluo had a lot of conversations. At this time, the sun was gradually setting, and it was almost time to start.

"The sun shines, and the holy fire shines."

On June 25th, the [-]th year of Wanli, at the moment of Xu, the first watch
There are five shifts in one night, and each shift has five points, and one point is equivalent to 24 minutes.

In the four cities of Shuntian Prefecture, countless "beaters" appeared.

At this time, when the watch was set down ([-]:[-] p.m.), and when the watch was called, the watchman in the city struck the gong and raised the lantern, and the sound of the gong slowed and fast, three times in a row.

"Boom!—Boom!"

Repeating this three times, Shuntian Mansion under this night is no longer a place where ordinary people can walk.

In the outer city, there are 72 red shops, and each shop has ten officers and soldiers. During the night patrol, there are 76 copper bells in total.

From the inner city to the imperial city, there are 28 red shops, and each shop is guarded by ten banner soldiers day and night, with a total of [-] copper bells.

Every day, there will be a captain to lead the post. Among them, there will be one thousand or one hundred households of Jinyiwei with a knife, who will receive the No. 17 token of Shenzi, stay on duty in the imperial city, and count the guards and soldiers.

It was dark.

There was a drum sound that was more grand than the sound of gongs and drums.

All the four cities of Shuntian could hear clearly.

This is the twilight drum.

gongs, drums.

Then, there was a crisp and eerie ringtone.

"Jingle Bell"

The strange and clear sound of the copper bell shaking violently caused the surrounding people to close the doors and windows and lock the door.

At this moment, no matter whether it is an old man, a gentleman, a woman, a man, a prostitute, a good family, a beggar, a merchant, or a native, an actor, a doctor, an elder, a scholar, and a warrior.

If you can avoid it, you can avoid it, if you can walk, you can go, and if you can hide it, you can hide. Even if the doors of the dusty places that open their doors to do business are closed, the lights are still bright in the house.

Outside Zhengyangmen, Zhengxifang.

"The bell has started, hurry up, come in, the door is closed."

From this moment on, the huge four-layered city of Shuntian Mansion seemed to have turned into an ancient beast with its teeth and claws. The stars suddenly flickered in the sky, and thousands of starlights hung down above the Forbidden City.

"What's the hurry for?"

The owner of the inn hurriedly let the foreign guests into the inn, and then closed the door.

Some of these guests come from remote areas to do business, and some are from small places. They have never seen a curfew. After all, curfew is not implemented in all places. Military town.

Many of the systems in the Ming Dynasty have now been defunct.

The owner of the inn smiled and said to the outside guests: "The night is banned, the evening drum is sounded at the first watch, and travel is prohibited; the morning bell is sounded at the fifth watch before the ban is lifted!"

"Those who walk on the streets during the second, third and fourth watch will be given fifty slaps; those who commit the night after the first watch and shortly before the fifth watch is lifted will be given forty whips!"

"Except for seriously ill dying people, pregnant women in childbirth, and real dead people in mourning, no one can go out during the night rhythm!"

Those guests suddenly smacked their tongues: "Wow, is Shuntian so strict?"

Someone took over the conversation: "This person who goes out after the watch is either looking for fun or stealing."

"What is the bell?"

Someone asked.

But the person who answered, Daming's Mandarin accent was not quite standard. Looking at the clothes, he was actually a North Korean.

"In the outer city, at the beginning of every update, I see the right gate of Chang'an at the junction of the inner city and the outer city. The bell is rang for the first shop, and the sergeant rang a bell to the second shop and went out of Zhengyang Gate, and it was passed on in succession. , to the first shop of Chang'an Left Gate, from northwest to southeast, around the inner city and outer circle."

"Korean?"

"What about the North Koreans?"

This Korean red uniform, pheasant feather brimmed hat, beautiful beard.

The innkeeper's laughter interrupted the guests' conversation, and said to the North Korean: "North Korean officials, why do you come out in military uniforms and don't rest at the Ministry of Rites at night?"

The North Korean man smiled, his moustache shaking: "I came to the inn just to wait for the bell to be passed. I slept in the Rites of the Imperial City, but I couldn't see the scene of the pass."

(End of this chapter)