Chapter 174 "1" Secret Passage, the Empress Wakes Up
Chapter 174: "Eleven" Secret Passage, the Empress Wakes Up
The creepy feeling lasted only a moment and then disappeared.
When Zhao Duan turned his head, he saw that the windows on the second floor of the small building were closed.
"Go check the Yellow Book." Next to him, Mo Zhaorong also felt unwell.
"Okay." Zhao Duan nodded and didn't think any more about it. At this moment, he had never felt that the capital was so safe.
……
The warehouse where the yellow book is stored is not on "Huanzhou Island".
According to the old warehouse manager, because people would make fires to cook on Huanzhou Island, warehouses were set up on the other five islands to avoid fires.
After a while, the three of them arrived at "Sakura Island" by boat.
As soon as you get off the boat, you will see a huge warehouse running east to west.
Outside, there were densely packed bamboo poles like clotheslines, with many huge square volumes of yellow paper hanging on them, and many people coming in and out, seemingly hanging them out to dry.
"Is this the Yellow Book?" Zhao Duan was curious.
The old warehouse manager smiled and nodded:
"The sun is shining brightly during the dog days, and it's the perfect time to dry the large volumes. Unfortunately, there are too many of them piled up, and even if we work from morning till night, it's hard to dry them all."
Zhao Duan said: "It's bigger than I thought, and the paper is better."
Mo Chou sighed:
"The Yellow Book itself is expensive, not to mention the taxes involved. Over the past few hundred years, the Great Yu Dynasty has developed a profit chain that relies on the ten-year book-making process...
Well, you are the one who said this word, it is quite descriptive.
Every year, the island has to dry the books to prevent them from being damaged by insects. The visible insects can be killed by the sun, but the countless invisible insects that lie on the yellow books to make a profit are getting fatter and fatter. "
You still understand this? I thought you were just jealous of me... Zhao Duan looked at her in surprise.
Then he remembered that the woman next to him was, after all, the first female official in charge of the Six Shangs.
The two were led by the old warehouse manager into a warehouse.
What catches the eye are several long rows of wooden shelves, on which countless yellow books are displayed.
Zhao Duan seemed to have come to a distribution warehouse in a trance. The wooden shelves were about ten feet high and had to be climbed with wooden ladders. There were movable wooden boards on top.
If the roof leaks, you can tilt it to pour the rainwater into the ditch on the ground to avoid wetting the yellow book.
Zhao Duan picked up a book at random, dusted it off, and opened it to read.
It was discovered that the number of people who had changed over the generations in a certain village in a county town under the jurisdiction of Jiancheng Dao Cifu was recorded.
How many people are there in this family, what are their names, how old they are, when babies were born, and when the elderly died, all are recorded clearly, stroke by stroke.
One volume is compiled every ten years, and there are millions of volumes here. If all the yellow volumes recording this family were lined up, it would be the family history of this family for the past six hundred years.
Considering that the Dayu Yellow Book Library records the birth, aging, illness and death of all the people in the world.
This magnificent warehouse is like a history museum.
This reminded Zhao Duan of a story he had heard in his previous life that was not very logical but very romantic:
From the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang to the modern times, it has been only about 2,200 years, which sounds like a long time, but if we calculate it based on a person being 70 years old, there are only 30 people between them.
When I think about it this way, as a modern person, the distance between me and the Qin Dynasty is only the lifetime of thirty people.
The thousand-year-old camphor tree at the entrance of my hometown village was planted during the Han and Tang Dynasties.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Mo Zhaorong thought he was thinking, so she asked softly.
Big ice cubes still have their advantages.
Whenever it comes to big and important matters, she can temporarily put aside her prejudices and not be jealous of Zhao Ze.
"Nothing, I was thinking, these papers are really good."
Zhao Duan stroked the thick paper of the yellow book.
"You said this before," Mochou rolled her eyes. She also held up a yellow book and said:
"Why do you care about the paper? The key is the words on it. How to solve it?"
Zhao Duan closed the yellow book, took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust off his hands, and said:
“No solution.”
"Ah?" Mo Chou was stunned. The female official, who was generally well-educated and well-mannered, didn't understand.
Zhao Duan seemed to be looking at an idiot and explained helplessly:
"As you said, the numbers in these yellow books have been concealed and tampered with by the subordinates for hundreds of years, and have long been distorted. They are just a bunch of useless words. What use are they?
Or do you think I have any way to restore such a large, polluted archive to its true state?"
Zhao Duan's tone was very calm.
Before seeing the Yellow Book Library, he did wonder whether some mathematical methods could be used to solve the problem of data pollution.
But after seeing the scale of this world's first archive.
He gave up this unrealistic idea.
The six hundred year old Yellow Book had already been polluted beyond belief.
Of course, the most important point is...
no point.
"These yellow books have been discarded and we no longer need them. Remember the core of my three golden books?
In the past, the imperial court collected taxes based on the number of people, so it was necessary to know how many people there were in the dynasty and who they were.
But from now on, we will collect taxes according to the land, but the land has no legs and cannot run away. Isn't there still the "Fish Scale Atlas" that was compiled when the land in the world was measured?
Those are of some use, but the land still needs to be remeasured...
As for these millions, tens of millions of population files..."
Zhao Duan turned around and looked towards the huge warehouse, saying lightly:
“The greatest value left is the paper itself.
I remember that there is a method of making armor, which is to hammer many layers of paper into cardboard. The armor made is light and can withstand ordinary arrows. If these yellow books are used to make armor, a large amount of money can be saved from being allocated to the military equipment foundry in the Ministry of War...
Or, just take it out and sell it. Such good paper will always be bought by someone.
Whether it's pulped or made into something else, it should be able to sell for a lot of money...
Isn’t the treasury very short of money?
Selling the books on these islands should solve our immediate problem."
Beside him, Mo Chou was already dumbfounded:
"You...you said...sell it? Make it into armor? Are you crazy?"
She found it hard to accept:
"This is the household registration of all the people in the world..."
Zhao Duan glanced at her calmly:
"It is a piece of waste paper that has no reference value and is of no practical use."
"But……"
"No buts. Or, tell me, what use will these things be after the land tax is distributed?"
Mo Chou was speechless and a little dazed.
On the one hand, emotionally, I believe that the archives that the Dayu Dynasty worked hard to build and guarded for six hundred years should be extremely precious.
On the other hand, reason told her that Zhao Duan was right.
After six hundred years of accumulation and nearly ten million household registration books, it seems that they have indeed come to the end of their life.
And their ultimate value is to turn waste into treasure.
To implement the new policy, a considerable amount of money may be donated.
"I know it's hard for you to accept, but you can accept it if you bear with it."
Zhao Duan patted her shoulder habitually: "Let's go."
This time, Zhao Duan only flipped through a yellow book and ended the 600-year mission of these five islands.
Mo Chou was still a little dazed when she followed Zhao Duan out of the warehouse.
The old warehouse manager standing guard at the door smiled:
"Miss Mo, Lord Zhao, do you want to check other warehouses? The closest one is Island Nine, or Island Seven is not far away."
This old official, who has been trapped on the island and guarding the archives for nearly twenty years, has no idea what changes will happen next.
"No need, just send us back."
Zhao Duan said calmly.
Although rationally, he believed that the madman on the shore and the "lake god" in the lake would not pose a threat to him.
But the feeling of being watched lingered.
He was reluctant to stay in this place any longer.
"By the way, what did you say about nine islands or seven islands?"
Zhao Duan asked curiously:
"There are five islands here in total? Do they all have names?"
The old warehouse manager explained:
“Your Excellency, you don’t know what is normal. What I said is not the official title, but the old title of us island guards.
Speaking of which, the order of the islands was set during the reign of Emperor Taizu.
Legend has it that when Emperor Taizu invaded Beijing and founded the Dayu Dynasty, he rode around the capital on horseback to survey the topography and put the islands and hills he saw in order.
The five islands in our Houhu Lake are five, six, seven, eight, and nine...also known as the Five Sacred Mountains.
It is called an island, but in the eyes of Emperor Taizu, anything higher than the city wall is considered a mountain.
Haha, but hundreds of years have passed, and many of the islands have disappeared in order to dredge the river, and not many people remember this saying anymore..."
Zhao Duan was suddenly stunned.
He glanced at Mochou, who was staring blankly at the warehouse behind him, and asked casually:
"Oh? There is such a theory? I have never heard of it before. What are the other islands you are talking about?"
The old warehouse manager had no doubts and started introducing them one by one with a smile.
When he mentioned the island ranked "eleventh", it was in the capital city.
Several hundred years ago, it was leveled to facilitate navigation.
Zhao Duan's heart beat faster, and a thought suddenly popped up in his mind:
"Yuanzu Temple, secret passage, eleven!"
This was the key word that Old Xu, the founder of Dayu, had told him that day.
Zhao Duan has been paying attention to many things these days, but he still has no clue.
"Is it possible that the 'eleven' that Old Xu mentioned is the eleventh mountain he named when he surveyed the terrain?"
Zhao Duan suppressed his excitement, pretended to be calm and said goodbye to Mochou, then took a boat back to Houhu Pier.
It was not until the two of them reached the shore that the vague sense of surveillance on their bodies suddenly disappeared.
……
A man and a woman, each with their own concerns, had no intention of arguing with each other, so they rode back to the city immediately.
Mo Chou went to Xiuwenguan and prepared to discuss with Grand Tutor Dong and others about selling the Yellow Book Treasury and raising money.
Zhao Duan said it was almost noon and he had to go out to eat, and then he parted ways with her.
When there was only one person left, Zhao Duan went to the river section where the "Eleven" Island was located six hundred years ago under the pretext of having a meal.
I found a famous restaurant and had a big meal.
After confirming that no one was following him, Zhao Duan quietly came to a secluded place by the river and hid under a bridge.
First take off your clothes, shoes and socks, and stuff them all into the space magic weapon.
Then, Zhao Duan held the storage scroll in his mouth, quietly dived into the lake, and moved towards the site of the "Eleven" Island.
In midsummer, the sun is scorching.
It allows him to see the scenery under the lake with the help of sunlight.
After swimming for a while, we finally found traces left by the excavation of the island.
After hundreds of years of erosion, it has almost become a flat land.
The deeper you dive, the dimmer the light becomes.
Fortunately, the Hun River was not very deep, and after being promoted to a high-level mortal, his enhanced eyesight and powerful ability to hold his breath underwater allowed him to conduct a long search.
However, Zhao Duan circled the bottom of the lake twice but found nothing.
"No, the area is too large..."
Zhao Duan thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea.
He silently practiced the martial arts of the Dayu royal family, and his body was covered with a rosy glow.
Then, the faintly golden palm suddenly pushed towards the bottom of the river.
The galaxy is upside down!
The silt at the bottom of the lake was pushed away by a powerful force containing energy, and circles of water waves slowly spread out at the bottom of the lake.
Zhao Duan concentrated and sensed.
Just when he was about to give up, he suddenly sensed that the energy he had emitted seemed to cause a slight disturbance when passing through a certain place.
He became more alert and continued to narrow the scope, eventually determining that there was a faint fluctuation near a stone on the bottom of the lake.
"Gululu."
Zhao Duan spit out a string of bubbles, swam over happily, and used his hands to push away the mud at the bottom of the lake.
Gradually, a strange "formation" pattern about ten feet in diameter, engraved on the stone, appeared before him after hundreds of years.
"There is indeed something!"
Zhao Duan was delighted and tried various methods, but to no avail.
Only when he placed his hand on the formation and infused it with the Qi in his body, he could vaguely feel a faint light coming from the circular formation at the bottom of the lake, which then quickly dimmed.
And just as Zhao Duan tried to "knock on the door" again and again.
royal palace.
Deep inside the Ouchi armory.
The abandoned fifth floor of the old building with the stone wall of Emperor Taizu.
In the room, Xu Zhenguan, the Queen of Dayu, sat cross-legged on a cushion, practicing in seclusion.
Suddenly, the empress, who was immersed in her meditation, suddenly opened her beautiful eyes, and her stunning face changed slightly:
"Dragon Soul?"
Once again, she felt the breath of the dragon soul.
Extremely strong.
Thanks to Lengvsluo for the 100 points reward
Dayu Huangce Library, which was a reference to the Ming Dynasty Archives, was ultimately useless and was sold. It is said that at that time, household registrations were sold at stalls in the capital, which was quite lamentable.
(End of this chapter)