Human dimension reduction

At a quarter of an hour, the Guangming Gate of Fenghuang Terrace opened, and the civil and military divisions lined up, rushing up the steps, and the Jinwu Guards stood upright, holding halberds, not only to protect the palace, but also to monitor whether the officials had behaved in front of the imperial court. In the next great dynasty, from the cabinet minister Zaifu to the seventh-rank officials, they all have to go to the court to listen to affairs. The first day of junior high school will take a bath, and the second junior high school will be the director. Therefore, the days of the great dynasty are put on the third and eighteenth junior high.

When the last official in Tsing Yi walked into the Guangming Gate at the end of the line, the goalkeeper let out a breath of relief. Inside the Guangming Gate was a square paved with white marble, each tens of feet long and wide. When the deep green officials filed in, they would give people a sense of solemn and solemn oppression.

The goalkeeper turned his gaze, and from the corner of his vision, there was a smear of blue, which was a hazy green like absinthe, like a layer of fog cut from the moonlight, or the ends of branches wetted by the morning dew.

Officials of this color must be low-ranking officials who have not even been to the Phoenix Terrace for a few times because their positions are not high. Otherwise, how could they be late at such an important time as the Great Dynasty...

The goalkeeper slandered secretly in his heart, and began to adjust his tone to tell the unlucky man who was late that the waiting time had passed and he could not go in again——but he hesitated when the words came to his lips.

It's not that the gatekeeper is so soft-hearted, extra sympathy is the last thing the guards guarding the palace gate for the emperor need, he just feels that this person who is getting closer...

There was a sense of familiarity that made him shudder.

It seems to be a silhouette walking out from a distant memory. It is covered with fragrant bamboo shadows, surrounded by gold and jade, and walks over with stars holding the moon. Naturally, he will not pay attention to a goalkeeper, but there have been countless goalkeepers. Standing aside time and time again, I have seen his most glorious time, and also seen the moment when he left in despair. This person...

The goalkeeper's eyes widened suddenly, this man!this person!Shouldn't he still be in exile in Mobei——

Thanks Zhuo!

How could he appear here!

But Xie Zhuo did appear here.

Wearing a simple Tsing Yi, with long sleeves hanging down, he has a thin figure. His spine pierces through his body like a cold gun, binding his flesh and flesh straightly. A cloth strip is tied behind his head, tightly covering his eyes. Covering it, with a bamboo stick in his hand, he lighted the open passage in front of the Guangming Gate and walked slowly.

The goalkeeper suspected for several times that there was something wrong with his eyes, or that he was hallucinating, but no matter how hard he blinked, the man was getting closer and closer, and finally stopped not far away.

The two halberd-wielding guards stood up with their long halberds, crossed them to block the approaching people, pretended to be serious on their young faces, and deliberately pressed out a majestic low-pitched voice: "Stop! The forbidden palace is a place where idlers and ordinary people are not allowed to enter! It's up to you You can't see it, it's not intentional, go back quickly."

The goalkeeper let out a breath of cool air through his teeth.

There was nothing wrong with what the halberd guard said, but for some reason, the goalkeeper just felt awkward when he heard it, as if something was wrong.

Mr. Xie Sanlang, who was forcefully stopped, stopped in a good manner, thought for a moment, and asked in a warm tone: "Dengwen Drum in front of Guangming Gate, is it still standing there?"

Dengwen Drum was established by Taizong, the founder of this dynasty. Under the decree, Dengwen Drum is just to the world. Regardless of the common people, people can beat the drum to report any grievances, so that their grievances can be heard by the heavens. It was originally set up for ordinary people who have nowhere to ask for advice. How can aristocratic families use this kind of thing?

Emperor Taizong also made a decree that the drums should not be withdrawn for a hundred generations, and those who would not come out after hearing the sound of the drums would be reprimanded by the elders of the ancestors who opened the ancestral temple.

The halberd guard froze for a moment, then frowned strangely: "Of course it is."

As soon as the words fell, he came to his senses and widened his eyes in astonishment: "Could it be that you want to..."

Xie Zhuo didn't wait for him to finish, and said flatly: "Please Wei Sili, can you lead me to the Dengwen Drum?"

The halberd guard stuttered twice, and his first reaction was to subconsciously refuse: "This is not—"

Xie Zhuo said calmly: "I have a sea of ​​grievances, I have to sue."

The halberd guard looked at him in embarrassment, and quietly glanced at the officer not far away. Although he was a little curious why the officer who had been dedicated to his duties in the past did not come over today as if he didn't see the situation here, but this thought was only a flash However, he turned to persuade in a low voice: "It's not that I won't let you sue, but do you know the rules of beating the Dengwen drum?"

"I don't know who taught you this method, but listen to my advice, go back quickly, this is a fatal thing!"

The guard holding the halberd earnestly warned the uninvited guest in a low voice, and the man with his eyes wrapped around the cloth listened quietly, then nodded: "Thank you for letting me know, I know all the rules, and please lead the guard to lead me the way."

"Oh, you, why don't you listen to my advice!" The halberd guard muttered unhappily, with a bit of unbearable expression on his face, but seeing that he was so persistent, he had to turn around slowly, and struck with the halberd in his hand. The water rubbed the blue brick floor, "Since you have not made up your mind, then follow me—do you want me to help you?"

Xie Zhuo politely declined the kindness of this kind-hearted halberd guard, and listened to the footsteps of the other party, and followed him three steps away without haste, thinking about the huge man standing under the hundred steps in the hazy morning light. Deng Wen drums away.

This big drum, made from a thousand catties of whole cow hide and tanned for several months, is nearly two people tall. The vermilion drum body looks like red clouds. It has been exposed to wind and rain for many years, but its momentum has not changed. It stands majestically under the Phoenix Terrace The rich and powerful come and go.

Seeing that he couldn't see, the kind halberd guard took a pair of drumsticks from the drum stand and handed them to him. The pair of drumsticks were made from the leg bones of the cow and were about the size of an adult female. With strong forearms, Xie Zhuo let go of the bamboo sticks, held them in his hands, stroked the cold and smooth surface of the drumstick with his fingertips, and nodded his thanks to the halberd guard.

"You should think about it again. The common people beat the Dengwen drum to sue the boss for disloyalty and disrespect. First of all, you will have to endure several tortures. With your body, I am afraid that you will die before you get off the torture bench. It is still good to go back now. ..." Before he could finish his persuasive advice, the gentle, handsome and elegant man in front of him struck like a thunderbolt, lifting a heavy drumstick and smashing it hard on the drum surface!

Like a sleeping beast roaring lowly, the Dengwen Drum, which had been silent for many years, suddenly woke up from a dream, and sent out a long-lost solemn roar towards the Phoenix Terrace and Kyoto, which were still in their dreams!

This drum sound is completely different from the usual light and lively drum sound. The huge sound belly reverberates dully, and the heavy and heroic drum sound seems to come from the border of the desert. , It is the bloody blood that tears the flesh and blood and screams loudly, like a golden bell, with the ambition to drink blood with a long knife, the capital sleeping peacefully in the rich and gentle township wakes up one morning, and listens to the roar of the beast in amazement. Feelings of panic, panic, and fear of avoidance.

"You, you..." The halberd guard was also shocked by the sound of this Dengwen drum that had never sounded before. The sound was even more frightening, almost like a giant beast roaring against its ears. , For a moment, he actually felt dazzled.

The halberd guard didn't dare to stay any longer, Dengwen drums sounded, this person would definitely become the center of the vortex, whether it was good or bad, he still understood the reason to stay away from the place of right and wrong.

Before leaving, he glanced back one last time in a strange way. The sleeves of the man standing in front of the Dengwen drum swinging his mallet were flying, and the morning breeze and the early sun had covered him with a bewitching halo. Looking at him like this , this sick person seemed to be burned by the sun, and then melted into the morning light.

"Who beat the drums!"

"Who beat the drums!"

"Who beat the drums!"

A row of guards on the palace yelled repeatedly and rushed down the jade steps, but the person being questioned seemed to have never heard of it, and still followed his own rhythm, calmly, slowly, one by one, exhausting all his strength, knocking on this side. The Dengwen Drum, which symbolizes the Lord of the World.

The sound of the Dengwen drum resounded through the Phoenix Terrace. Before the courtiers discussing matters in the palace saluted the emperor, there was this earth-shattering bang in their ears. Even the ground under their feet seemed to be trembling faintly. The emperor straightened his body slightly, his eyes fell outside inexplicably. Xie Shoufu, who was standing in the front row, was in a daze for a moment before realizing what kind of sound it was. Although he didn't know who was beating the drum, he had a mysterious premonition. Has hit him first.

…What have you seen and heard outside these years?What should it be, that's why it's here...

Until the guards on the palace rushed to Xie Zhuo's side, the man who turned his back to them and played the drums calmly until the last moment turned to face them: "There is a saying in "Guo Lv · Xing Zang", those who are good at beating the drums on the Phoenix Terrace, do their best!" Fifty sticks, pass the copper cooking path, kneel three times and knock nine times to appeal to the imperial court."

He calmly threw down two drum sticks: "Let's walk the stick."

"Which audacious drum beat?"

In the main hall, the bureaucrats started whispering, playing tricks on each other and trying to find out some information, but everyone looked at each other in a state of ignorance, and a few ulterior motives began to rack their brains to recall those things. Whether the unlucky guy who was bullied by them has the ability to climb up to the Phoenix Terrace to beat the Dengwen Drum, no one can figure it out.

"Which family will suffer?"

"It must be that the people below didn't take it seriously, and told the untouchables to come out, and there was going to be a mess."

In an aristocratic family that has been passed down for thousands of years, which family does not have a few unscrupulous children, relatives who do evil and pull tiger skins as banners?It is inevitable to use power to do some unrighteous things. When the Dengwen drum rang outside the door, everyone shrunk their necks subconsciously, fearing that they would be the "lucky one" who won the first prize.

The voices of the guards outside the hall came indistinctly, and the sound of wooden sticks hitting the human body could be clearly heard. Xie Shoufu's face twitched, his hands were wrapped in his sleeves, his face was almost solidified into a stone sculpture, and he stood side by side with him. Wang Yuanzhi on the other side frowned, the more he thought about it, the more he felt wrong, his heartbeat almost pierced his chest in fear, Chao Mingling sat for a while after kneeling on the table, then suddenly got up, and was about to retreat to the back, go up The emperor who looked like a clay sculpture and wood carving suddenly raised his eyelids: "Where are you going?"

Wang Yuanzhi turned around slowly, with no abnormal expression on his face: "Return to Your Majesty, the noise from the steps disturbs the order in the hall, so I will go and quiet down below."

The emperor looked at him for a long while, and pulled up the corners of his mouth with a half-smile: "It's a trivial matter, He Laozhen's Prince Feng is on the horse, just let the big servant go, Qing—sit down and wait."

The big attendant beside the emperor silently backed out of the hall, and the two guards of the hall quietly stood in Wang Yuanzhi's way, their burly bodies blocked Wang Yuanzhi like two mountains, it was obvious that it was absolutely impossible to let Wang Yuanzhi go out.

The emperor's reaction made Wang Yuanzhi's heart sink. The guess he was least willing to face... probably came true.

The ordinary people need to receive fifty sticks to beat the Dengwen drum, and then they only wear enough clothes to pass through the copper cooking channel. This copper cooking channel is a square copper tube with a hollow inside, one foot long, two feet wide, and more than one foot high. It can be used by a person to walk carefully on it, and there are several openings on the hollow tube that can be opened.

Xie Zhuo was pulled up from the torture bench, and the guard asked him loudly: "Can you stand up? There is also a copper cooker! If you can't stand up, I can only drag you over!"

Xie Zhuo grabbed his arm with all his might, and said in a low voice, "... yes."

The guard glanced at him in surprise, a little admiration rose in his heart, he raised his chin at his subordinate, the brass pipe was picked up and pulled to Xie Zhuo's feet, several servants rushed over, holding huge brass Pot, open the living port on the copper pipe, and pour scalding hot water into it.

After the steaming hot water was injected into the copper pipe, someone dragged firewood and put it on both sides, and quickly ignited the fire. For a while, the temperature of the flame and hot water urged the copper pipe to beep and burn.

The guard supported Xie Zhuo with one hand, and quickly said: "Hurry up, it will get hotter and hotter in a while, and you must scald your feet."

Xie Zhuo nodded inconspicuously, took his hand out of the guard's hand with great effort, touched the corner of the hot copper pipe, and almost immediately, his fingertips turned reddish.

He stopped in place for a moment, and when the guard felt anxious, he finally lifted his foot and stepped on this muscular and bone-crushing road.