The years of reselling the haunted house

Chapter 475 River Festival ([-])

We have been looking for chickens for a day, but we are actually quite tired, and we wish we could rest for a night.

But after dinner, I felt quite bored, so I went to the third uncle's room and wanted to ask him what he did during the day?

When I entered the room, Third Uncle was leaning against the head of the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

As time passed, I also got used to him.His appearance proved that third uncle had encountered a problem.

I sat down gently, and my third uncle squeezed a smile on his face when he saw me coming.

I asked, "What's wrong, third uncle?"

The third uncle didn't hide anything from me. When he saw me coming, he sat cross-legged on the bed and said, "I'm going to check the history of Liu Yuqiao during the day."

I asked, "Is there something wrong with it?"

The third uncle nodded, and told me what he found during the day.

Regarding the history of Liuyu Bridge, it has been more than 300 years ago, and it is a veritable century-old bridge.The river flowing below is called the Mustard River. Calculated according to the age, the dynasty that built the bridge was the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty.The bridge is a typical stone arch bridge design, with a perfect design, simple structure but extraordinary strength. In the long years, although it has been tested by countless floods, wind and rain and several earthquakes, it is safe and sound, standing majestically beside the Jiehe River. superior.

The name Liu Yu was chosen by Shunzhi himself and inscribed by himself.The implication is: mustard seeds are stored in Xumi, and mustard seeds are stored in Sumi.Xumi flows into mustard seeds, the sun and moon flow into pots, and the great way flows into nature.

Shunzhi used the word "Liu Yu" to incorporate the thoughts of Buddhism and Taoism.In order to persuade the world not to be obsessed with the fame, status, honor, etc. in front of you, things will change, and prosperity and wealth are just a fleeting cloud, just like this mustard water, drifting with the flow, not staying for a moment.

However, after entering the 90s, Liuyu Bridge has experienced 300 years of wind and rain, and some natural and man-made damages have also occurred.In order to protect the cultural relics and the safety of travelers, the government decided to carry out the first large-scale maintenance of the Liuyu Bridge.

Due to the middle deck of the bridge, there are signs of collapse, so this maintenance project is huge.At that time, the mustard river was turbulent and fast.The project requires building a steel frame on the Mustard River to use steel cables, laying foundation pillars in the river, and so on.Uncle San didn't know much about engineering, so his description was as simple as possible.

I knew that his intention was not to describe this, so I listened to him continue, but he stopped the topic and asked me, "Nephew, do you know about the River Festival?"

"River sacrifice? Is it a sacrifice to the river god?"

The third uncle nodded: "That's right. There is also a saying that it is a river demon. Whether it is a river god or a river demon, it is a kind of spiritual creature that breeds in the river. Some businesses that rely on river water for food, such as river workers, fishermen, etc. Before leaving the river and going out to the sea, one must sacrifice to the god of the river or the god of the sea. This is to pray for the protection of the god of the river and to bless both sides of the river with good weather. The river goes out smoothly and returns safely.”

I know a little about what Uncle San said.In some special places and industries in our country, there is indeed a custom unique to them.More, I think they want to pray for a psychological comfort.Whether this kind of sacrifice is useful remains to be verified.

There are also many stories about this kind of sacrifice to the river god in history.Opinions vary.The more famous one is the story of Ximen Bao Zhiye.It is said that the king of Wei sent Ximen Bao to govern Ye.The local witches said that the river god of the Zhang River wanted to marry a young and beautiful girl as his wife every year, and if he didn't give it to her, he would send water and flood the fields.In fact, it is a means for local officials and gentry to make money from witches.Ximen Bao didn't believe in evil, and threw both the witch and the gentry into the river on the spot.And digging canals to divert water, the weather is smooth and the harvest is good every year.

There is also the famous allusion of Zhuge Liang offering sacrifices to the God of the River. According to legend, during the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang led his troops to march south. When they crossed the Lushui River, they encountered miasma and poison.At this time, Meng Huo said that he asked Zhuge Liang to perform a river sacrifice in accordance with local customs, killing 49 prisoners of war, and using their heads as sacrifices, in order to cross the river smoothly.Naturally, Zhuge Liang was unwilling to kill the prisoners of war so easily, so he kneaded a ball with flour and rice wine, stuffed beef and mutton into it, and carved human facial features on the surface, imitating it as a human head, and enshrining it to the river god.This move really worked. After offering sacrifices to the river god, the miasma receded and the army was able to cross the river.This kind of imitation human head is named "Mantou", and it is also the prototype of the original steamed buns and buns.

When my third uncle mentioned the river sacrifice, I asked, "Did they also hold the river sacrifice when the bridge was built?"

The third uncle nodded: "Although this kind of river sacrifice is an ancient custom, those construction units and workers who work on the water all the year round believe in it very much. They have to perform a river sacrifice every time before construction. For This, the officials also turn a blind eye, as long as they don’t make a big noise. Otherwise, if they are labeled as a feudal superstition, they will not be able to explain it to the higher-ups.”

"That must be something wrong during the river festival." I couldn't help asking.

The third uncle's face was very ugly, and when I asked, he just nodded slowly: "At the time of the river festival, there was an accident. Later, in order to carry out the project smoothly, the official blocked the news. So not many people know about it. , It took me a lot of effort to find out."

I asked, "Are you looking for that leader friend of yours again?"

Uncle Ji nodded and admitted: "That's right. It's also a coincidence that the commander-in-chief of the maintenance project at that time is now my leader friend's competitor in the official career. My leader friend also collected some of the old river festival He wants to use this to attack the other party. So he has a fairly clear grasp of the situation, and he told me bluntly."

I thought to myself, the struggle in this official career is really intrigue, fighting openly and secretly, and sometimes it is really more ruthless and poisonous than a face-to-face duel.This kind of method of stabbing the knife behind the back is not insidious and vicious.I also don't have a good impression of this leader friend.It is estimated that the third uncle also disdains this very much, but he still needs to get help from him frequently, so the third uncle also reluctantly associates with him.

I got up and poured a glass of water for my third uncle and handed it to him. The third uncle took it and drank two big gulps, and continued to talk about what happened during the river festival: "During the river festival, they found a feng shui master, and the time was chosen at ten o'clock in the morning. It was past one o'clock. At the beginning, the sky was still clear and clear. No one expected that when the river festival started, it would suddenly become overcast. Large swathes of dark clouds floated in the sky, covering the sky over the river festival scene in an extremely dark place. Onlookers There are also quite a few people, and everyone started talking in low voices, and the voices became louder and louder..."

(End of this chapter)