Cyber Daming

The core of Chongqing Prefecture is Zhongyu District, and the core of Zhongyu District is Hongya Mountain, which is built along the mountain and along the river, with a height difference of nearly a hundred feet.

This city within a city is made of steel bars as its bones and logs as its skin. Countless huge beams are nailed into the cliff, supporting this magical building complex that looks like a honeycomb from a very far distance.

Under the majestic archway with eaves and corners, is the main road in the mountains with constant flow and busy traffic.

There are numerous sedan ladders and carved corridors woven up and down, and connected horizontally on the left and right, creating lively and prosperous mid-level markets among this dense cliff tower.

Among the narrow alleys, there are many paths paved with bluestones, winding and undulating, leading nowhere.

In the seemingly chaotic environment, there is an iron law hidden that cannot be violated.

Hongyashan has five floors, named after "gold, silver, copper, iron and tiles". You can move freely under the iron building, but unauthorized entry is not allowed above the iron building.

There is only one fate for those who violate the rules, and that is death.

Behind this cold and forbidding rule is the business model set by this ‘city within a city’ when it first opened.

There are no residences built under the iron building, and all shops are open to the public on a lease basis.

People in Chongqing Prefecture can also come and go freely, eat, drink and have fun without any restrictions.

But above the iron tower, it was the exact opposite situation.

There are only private residences in the form of "pavilions". There are no shops and outsiders are not allowed to enter at will.

The only pass is the proof of residence here, commonly known as the 'deed'.

Of course, there are no absolutes.

In addition to the house deed, there are some special things that can allow the holder to travel unhindered in this Hongya Mountain.

The Jinyiwei Baihu Token in Yan Bahuang's hand is one of them.

"drop."

As the door of the sedan chair slowly opened, a pastoral scene that would never have appeared in Hongya Mountain slowly unfolded in front of Yan Bahuang.

In the world, which is only a few acres in circumference, there are many roads crisscrossing the area.

The mature rice fields are like golden casts in the morning light. The rice fields are bent over with their bellies in hand. The breeze blows, and a golden wave surges.

Dozens of specially trained and strong Yan people work in the fields.

These Yanren are both male and female, and they all have smiles on their faces and calm eyes, almost identical to each other.

In the center of Qianmo, there is a thatched house.

There are many beautiful ponds, mulberry trees and bamboos in front of the door, and there is even a yellow dog having fun.

At the four corners of the field, four towering trees were planted, providing shade like a canopy. Under the green leaves lay mechanical cicadas glowing with cold light.

At this moment, if someone looks down from a higher place, he can only see the majestic gray tile palace with carved beasts, but not this world at all.

Although it was not the first time he came here, Yan Bahuang still couldn't help but sigh in his heart at this moment.

Among the tens of millions of people in Chongqing Prefecture, who could have imagined that the rumored ‘Golden Tower’ standing on the top of Hongya Mountain actually conceals such a ‘Peach Blossom Spring’.

"Mr. Yan, you are here."

Among the people who were working with their heads down, a farmer with broad shoulders looked up, with a gentle smile on his face stained with some soil.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Yan people around the farmer all raised their heads and smiled happily.

"Mr. Yan."

The tone of voice was uniform, and even the arc of the smile seemed to be engraved in the same mold.

Although the morning light was warm at this moment, Yan Bahuang suddenly felt a chill running through his head.

"I hold a humble position in Yan Bahuang and have met His Highness the King of Qin."

Yan Bahuang cupped his fists and bowed to the end.

"How many times have I told you, Mr. Yan, just call me by my real name, Zhu Youhong, and there is no need to call me those frivolous titles."

In front of the house, Yan Bahuang and the farmer sat opposite each other, with a shabby and old low table between them.

What was placed on the tables was not any delicacy, just two bowls of bland white porridge.

"You are an imperial vassal recognized by the laws of the Ming Dynasty. It is disrespectful to call you by your first name. You should be executed according to the law."

Zhu Youhong looked at the stubborn old man in front of him and said helplessly: "They are all things that have been thrown into the pile of old papers. You are the only one who is still persisting."

He spread his hands, showed off his mud-stained coarse cloth jacket, and laughed.

"Besides, where in the world is there a vassal king who sells his palace to others as a safe house to support himself?"

"It's the New Donglin Party that deserves to die!"

Yan Bahuang's expression was stern, and his eyes were full of killing intent.

"Don't say that. They can spare my life and just imprison me here. I'm already content."

Zhu Youhong sighed, "Actually, I would rather they strip me of my vassal title and demote me to a commoner. At least then I can leave here and see what the empire is like now."

Yan Bahuang lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice, "You are incompetent because of your humble position. You cannot help the prince escape from the cage. Please punish me!"

"There is no need to punish. Under the general trend, it is very valuable to be able to follow the trend. No one can stop it."

"Okay, let's not talk about this." Zhu Youhong smiled and waved his hand, pointing to the porridge bowl on the table, "It's so early, Mr. Yan, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? This porridge is the newly harvested rice this year. The taste is Not bad, try it quickly.”

Yan Bahuang remained silent, holding the porridge bowl in both hands, and ate it in a few mouthfuls.

Compared with his vigorous and vigorous manner, Zhu Youhong seemed slow and leisurely, taking small sips of the porridge bowl.

After a while, Zhu Youhong drank the last mouthful of rice soup and then put the bowl down with a satisfied expression.

"I remember that before I came to Chongqing to become a vassal, I had seen some records about the pre-Ming Dynasty in the Huangliang History Library."

"The empire at that time was in the midst of internal and external troubles, and was in turmoil. Many people could not even drink this kind of white porridge, and could only eat bark and soil. There were even tragic cases of starving to death for thousands of miles, and people changing their sons to eat."

"At that time, it was difficult for people to get a meter of rice. Who would have thought that today, thousands of years later, such native rice cultivated by human labor would still not be affordable to everyone."

Yan Bahuang frowned angrily and spoke sonorously, "All the troubles started from the New Donglin Party. As long as they are eradicated, the empire will definitely be able to regain the glory of Emperor Longwu's period!"

"Mountains and rivers can be changed easily, but it takes thousands of years. The decline of an empire does not happen overnight! Haste makes waste, you should understand this truth."

Yan Bahuang frowned and replied in a deep voice: "Ten thousand years is too long, I only seize the day!"

Zhu Youhong's expression became solemn, "Everything must be done one by one, and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time! Today's reality is that the enemy is strong and we are weak. We are walking on thin ice and we can only work step by step. Otherwise, if we make a wrong step, we will lose everything!"

"Qi Huai dared to provide help to the people in Honghu. It is reasonable for Mr. Yan that you ransacked his entire house. But after all, he still has the status of a 'general', and behind him is a lot of court officials who have made investments and bets."

"Now I have very little love left in the court. Being able to protect the Chongqing Imperial Guards this time does not mean that I can protect them the next time. You must be more careful when you get older."

Yan Bahuang's face was tense and he hesitated to speak, but in the end he just sighed secretly in his heart, stood up and cupped his hands and said: "What the prince is teaching you is that you are reckless because of your humble position."

Zhu Youhong spoke earnestly and thoughtfully, "Honghu is just a scabies disease, and the New Donglin Party is the focus of the disease. I hope you will consider it more carefully."

Yan Bahuang lowered his eyes and said, "I understand."

At this point, the atmosphere was already a bit dull.

Zhu Youhong smiled nonchalantly. He couldn't understand Yan Baihu's character very well.

Once the words are not congenial, the other party will not be willing to say more.

Just as he was thinking about how to change the topic and ease the atmosphere, in the distant fields, a Yan man suddenly dropped his hoe and ran over in a hurry.

"Your Majesty, the inspection communication from the Zongren Mansion has arrived."

Zhu Youhong was stunned when he heard this, looked at Yan Bahuang and smiled helplessly, "I really can't keep you here for a long time now."

"Your Highness, please take care of yourself."

Yan Bahuang obviously also knew the weight of the three words 'Zongren Mansion', so he immediately cupped his hands and turned around and strode away.

After the door of the sedan chair carrying Yan Bahuang slowly closed, Zhu Youhong raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, cicadas chirped from the big trees planted at the four corners of the field.

Just like the sound of the wings of the strong wind, the fields turned into floor tiles, the giant trees turned into beams, and the Yan people who cultivated showed their true colors as slaves and knelt on the ground.

The beautiful countryside just now has been transformed into a gloomy palace in an instant.

"Dian Mao in the clan's mansion, is the King of Qin here?"

A cold and hollow voice echoed in the empty hall.

Zhu Youhong raised his eyes and looked at the dome. The coarse cloth shirt on his body had been replaced by a blue crown embroidered with a gold-woven dragon.

"Qin King Zhu Youhong is here."