Pawn Crossing the River

In the blink of an eye, it’s October 15th, which is the last major festival of the year for Taoism, namely the Xiayuan Festival.

The world often says: "Heavenly officials give blessings."

These four characters are derived from Taoism, followed by eight characters, namely: earth official pardons sins, water official relieves misfortunes. The system of the three deputy heads of Taoism is also imitated by the three officials. The heavenly master corresponds to the heavenly official, and the earthly master corresponds to the three officials. The land officer and the national master correspond to the water officer, or the national master should have been called the water master, but it has the same pronunciation and the same word as the water master of the man in black, which is easy to cause ambiguity, so it was renamed the national master.

Xiayuan Festival is the birthday of Emperor Shuiguan. On this day, Taoists pray for blessings, eliminate disasters, relieve suffering, apologize for sins, seek immortality, extend life, and save the dead, etc.

Taoist disciples and believers must erect sky poles outside their homes and hang yellow flags on them. At night, three sky lanterns are hung on the top of the pole to serve as the three officials of Tuanzi Zhai.

As for why everyone in the world worships the Three Officials Emperor, the influence of Taoism is only one aspect. The key is that the identity of the Three Officials Emperor himself is also very impressive. He is one of the three ancient sage kings. The Heavenly Official is Tang Yao and the Earthly Official is Yu. Shun, the water official was Dayu. Therefore, even during the heyday of Confucianism, the Three Yuan Festival would not be prohibited.

Now that Taoism has replaced Confucianism as the common master of the world, the Three Yuan Festival is naturally more important, almost overwhelming the Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival.

The most intuitive manifestation is that originally only three sky lanterns were hung, but now it has almost developed into a lantern festival. Businessmen compete with each other to see whose sky lanterns are bigger, more exquisite, and more thoughtful. People gather at Taoist temples to pray for blessings and eliminate disasters, and go home to fast. In addition to offering sacrifices to the Three Officials and the Great Emperor, they also go out to enjoy the lanterns after dark. This is also the origin of watching lanterns during the Lantern Festival, because the Lantern Festival is the Lantern Festival.

The Imperial City is no different than other places. It is the most majestic city in the world, with the largest population and the most prosperous city. It is in its prime time, and the scene during the Xiayuan Festival is extraordinary. On this day, the Imperial City was almost a city that never slept, with lanterns scattered all over the city.

The predecessor of the Daxuan Court was Beidaomen. From the emperor to the nobles, although they were not in the Taoist system, they were all followers of the Taoist sect. Therefore, lanterns were hung all over the palace and the imperial city, and His Majesty the Emperor and the people enjoyed themselves together.

Under such circumstances, the Imperial Palace cannot lag behind. It must not only prepare lanterns, but also receive a large number of believers to participate in the celebration. Lanterns are decorated everywhere inside and outside the Jade Palace. Not only are countless sky lanterns flying in the sky, competing with the bright moon and stars, There are also three steps and one light on the ground, turning the entire Jade Palace into a fairy palace on the ground. A huge lantern tower in the shape of Taishang Taozu was even temporarily built outside the main entrance.

Although the emperor did not go to the Jade Palace, but to the Taishang Xuanyuan Palace, which is exclusive to the royal family, for a feast, the flow of people in the Jade Palace was still very exaggerated on this day, and the manpower in the Dao Palace was inevitably tight, so everyone had to The errands on the road are temporarily suspended, and everything is focused on the Lantern Festival celebrations. Qi Xuansu was no exception. As the person in charge, he not only had to follow Shi Bingyun to participate in various ceremonies and celebrations, but he also had to dispatch manpower to maintain order.

It has to be said that Qi Xuansu spent almost half a day in the imperial capital during the first half month. Although his level of cultivation did not improve significantly, his abilities in other aspects were greatly tempered.

After nightfall, the flow of people not only did not decrease, but reached a peak.

After the fasting ceremony, the deputy palace masters also held a grand ceremony for the people to pray for blessings, eliminate disasters, and save the dead. Qi Xuansu hurriedly left the auditorium and led Ke Qingqing to inspect several places that were prone to stampedes and fire accidents. , the key point is the huge Taishang Taoist Lamp Tower. If something goes wrong under the spotlight, the "fun" will be great. It will not only lose the face of the Imperial Palace, but also the face of the Taoist sect, so be careful. The secret society of monsters carries out destruction.

Logically speaking, if Mr. Gao wants to take revenge regardless of the consequences, this is undoubtedly the best opportunity. As long as some trouble is caused, Qi Xuansu's reputation will be ruined. At the very least, Qi Xuansu's future will be greatly affected.

However, Mr. Gao did not dare to do this. If he really wanted to cause trouble, causing a stampede of the people and heavy casualties, Qi Xuansu would certainly have to bear the blame, but the court and the Taoist sect would also have to get to the bottom of it. Faced with the joint efforts of the court and the Taoist sect, no matter how clever the arrangement was, If you are found out, you will be punished, your family will be confiscated and your clan will be exterminated.

Mr. Gao is a man who wears shoes. He has a family and a business, and he does not dare to gamble with his wealth and life.

After an hour like this, Qi Xuansu finally had a moment of leisure and came to a secluded place to sit down. His body was not tired, but he was still tense and tense, but his mind was a bit tired.

Ke Qingqing brought Qi Xuansu a plate of vegetarian food for worship. Qi Xuansu was not hungry, and there was no problem if he didn't eat or drink. However, he kept the habit of eating and did not refuse Ke Qingqing's kindness. He ate it in a hurry. .

Looking from here, it can be seen that the night is reflected red, indicating that the entire Imperial Capital has been plunged into a festive carnival.

On such a major festival, the imperial court also took strict precautions and dispatched a large number of manpower to maintain order and prevent stampedes and other accidents. Not only the three squads of government officials from the Wucheng Military and Horse Division and Shuntian Prefecture were dispatched, but also the Superintendent and Qingluan Guards were dispatched. They also took to the streets to maintain order.

Song San and Wu Si were among them. As trial households, they had to patrol the streets. In addition to paying attention to the flow of people to prevent crowding and stampede accidents, they also had to pay close attention to the lanterns everywhere.

Lanterns are different from other things. Once something goes wrong, it will inevitably cause a chain reaction. Although the buildings in the Imperial Capital are mainly made of masonry in recent years, there are still a large number of wooden structures. Once a fire breaks out, other lanterns will not be spared. , just like using an open flame in a gunpowder magazine, the fire will spread to a street in the blink of an eye. In addition, the capital is prosperous and likes to compare. The various lanterns are getting bigger and bigger, with more and more tricks, and the possibility of accidents increases exponentially. . Once something goes wrong, you don't even have the chance to cover the lid. You go directly to Heaven to listen to the Emperor's Majesty.

They couldn't help but be careless.

After Song San and Wu Si met once, they each took a few of their men and separated, one heading east and the other heading south. However, despite all precautions, a stampede still occurred. It is said that someone was throwing lucky money down on the second floor facing the street, causing a commotion.

Wu Si hurriedly led the people towards that direction. At the same time, he couldn't help but cursed in his heart: "On a day like this, with such a large flow of people, you dare to play tricks of throwing money. If you are not careful, dozens of people will die. It's really This murderer should be put in jail and locked with the toilet. "

When Wu Si arrived, he breathed a sigh of relief. The situation was still under control. He immediately asked his men to maintain order, leaving him alone to stand in charge of command. At this moment, another crowd of people came over. Wu Si shouted at the crowd, but it was to no avail. He himself was instantly submerged in the crowd.

At this time, the innate person is too weak to use anything. Unless he goes on a killing spree and cuts a bloody path, he can only go with the flow.

In the midst of the chaos, Wu Si felt someone push him from behind. He staggered and almost fell to the ground. Just as he was about to turn around and scold him, he felt his vision go dark, his chest tightened, and then the world started to spin.

The crowded crowd did not notice this scene, and still pushed each other, with countless feet stepping on Wu Si's body,

Wu Si's subordinates noticed this scene and were a little panicked, but not to the point of despair. After all, their boss was a genuine innate person with a strong body. At most, he would be seriously injured by being stepped on, but he should not be trampled to death alive.

Time slowly came to midnight, October 15th passed like this, and we entered October 16th.

The people gradually returned to their homes, the flow of people gradually decreased, and the lanterns all over the city began to go out one by one, which made Qi Xuansu breath a little relieved.

The errands at the bottom are not easy to do. The tasks are heavy and the responsibilities are great. If you do it well, you should do it. If you do it wrong, it will be a huge sin. But having said that, being able to handle these things well is indeed a training of ability. No wonder it is said: A strong general must be sent to the army, and a prime minister must start from the state department.

At this time, a spiritual official brought Song San to see Qi Xuansu.

At this time, Song San was in a state of embarrassment, his hair was singed, and he was soaked all over. There were also scorch marks from the fire and footprints left by being stepped on.

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but smile and said: "Old Song, it seems that your job is not easy to do either."

Before Qi Xuansu could finish his words, Song San fell to his knees with a thud: "Master, Master, you have to make the decision for us."

The smile on Qi Xuansu's face froze, and he signaled the official to step back, reaching out to help Song San up: "What's going on, tell me slowly."

Song San said in a trembling voice: "Old Wu is dead, let them kill him. Seeing that the situation was not good, I jumped into the river and dived all the way to Penglai Pond. They did not dare to act recklessly in the inner city, so I escaped by chance. For one life, I was almost burned to death by them, and I almost couldn’t see the mage.”

Qi Xuansu's face became solemn and asked: "Who did it?"

Song Sandao: "I don't know, I didn't even see him clearly, but it was probably Mr. Gao who ordered it. Destroying people's wealth is like killing their parents. He hates us because of what happened in the Green Place."

Qi Xuansu asked again: "Where is Lao Wu's body?"

Song Sandao: "The body should be kept in the Army and Horse Department in Beicheng for the time being. It will not be taken away by the Imperial Guard's Mansion until tomorrow morning."

Qi Xuansu ordered: "Deacon Ke, go and call Lao Wang and Zhou Lingguan."

"Yes." Ke Qingqing responded and left quickly.

Not long after, Wang Chongnian and Zhou Lingguan hurried over.

Qi Xuansu did not beat around the bush, and directly took off the token from his waist and handed it to Wang Chongnian, and said: "Deacon Wang, take my token, along with Zhou Lingguan and a hundred Lingguan, go to the Bingma Si Yamen in Beicheng now. , the body of Wu Si from the Qingluan Guards must be brought to the Jade Palace. If anyone dares to stop it, they can use force directly. I will bear all the responsibilities afterwards. "

"Yes." Wang Chongnian took the token handed over by Qi Xuansu with both hands.

This token is proof of Qi Xuansu's responsibility. His subordinates don't have to worry about taking the blame. Even if something goes wrong, it is a public crime to act under orders. If public crimes are not punished, they naturally dare to go ahead and do it.

Qi Xuansu sighed: "Thank you."

Wang Chongnian and Zhou Lingguan did not dare to neglect, so they took the order and left.

Qi Xuansu said again: "Deacon Ke, take Lao Song to Huashengtang and treat his injuries. By the way, invite Chief Xu from the Supervisory Department and tell him that I have something to ask for."

"Yes." Ke Qingqing responded.