Although he didn't like it in his heart, Xu Ping would not affect the government decree because of his own likes and dislikes. Master Zhiyun relented and promised to compensate the shopkeeper for his losses, so Xu Ping pushed the boat to reveal the matter, stood up, and wanted to follow him to the grass house in the Jinguang Cave to see the location of the temple.

Seeing Xu Ping get up, the shopkeeper on the ground hurriedly knelt on the ground and said, "Xie Guanren is upholding justice for Xiaomin!" ”

Xu Ping, who was about to leave, turned around, looked at him and said with a smile: "I helped you because you took a reason today." Remember, when you open a store here, you will inevitably be suspicious of melons and plums, so you should pay attention. In the future, this waterhole will be officially designated as a local release pond, so don't catch the catch in it for cooking, otherwise no one will be able to protect you from opening a shop here. ”

"The little one remembers the teachings of the officials!"

Xu Ping shook his head and led the people to follow Master Zhiyun towards the mountain. As for whether the store took his words to heart, he didn't bother to care. If he commits a crime, he will be punished according to the law, and he will sing which mountain song he will go to wherever he goes.

After the previous incident, Master Zhiyun became more and more cautious, led the way in front, and said to Xu Ping at the foot of the mountain: "Official, although this mountain is not high, the mountain is steep, the road is rugged, it is very difficult to walk, and you should be careful." ”

Xu Ping nodded and did not speak. He is just a young man, his skills are much more flexible than this old monk, and his subordinates are all people who have been in the army for many years, so they will not be stumped by this mountain road.

Not far into the mountain, the hustle and bustle outside the mountain is isolated in another world. The birds chirped in his ears, accompanied by the cheerful chirping of deer, and the river was not visible, but the crisp sound of the water continued.

The unique fresh breath of the mountains and forests came to the face, and the whole body and mind were washed, and people suddenly felt that they had become light and agile, and they felt a little fluttering.

No wonder you have to manage the literati, or the monks, or even the immortal figures, they all like to cultivate in the mountains. Such an environment in the mountains can really wash people's hearts.

The crowd walked slowly, and walked along the path on the hill that was not obvious for half an hour, and finally came to a place not far from the top of the mountain. Walking out of the dense forest, the eyes suddenly became wide, and there was a large meadow mixed with shrubs, and on top of it were scattered large and small stones. There is a large bamboo forest on the edge of the meadow, which gently sways with the breeze like an ocean. On the edge of the grass near the bamboo forest, there are still a few deer grazing, and after eating a few bites, they raise their heads vigilantly, look around, and are ready to escape from the bamboo forest at any time.

Directly in front of the bamboo forest, barren grass and grass, in the middle of which is a huge natural cave, dark and bottomless.

"Official, there is the Golden Light Cave in front of you, and the old man's grass house is in it."

Master Zhiyun said respectfully.

Xu Ping nodded: "Sure enough, it's a quiet place, a good place for the mage to find!" ”

Xu Ping said this sentence from the bottom of his heart, and Master Zhiyun could hear it, and praised it repeatedly.

Sometimes I really have to admire these monks, although they pretend to be ghosts, but these beautiful scenery hidden in the deep mountains are difficult for them to find on their trek through mountains and rivers.

Monk Zhiyun led the way in front, walked through the meadow, and came to the Golden Light Cave.

The entrance of the cave is five or six zhang wide, more than one zhang high, it is cleaned up cleanly, and one or twenty plantains are planted in front, accompanied by the bamboo forest next to it.

In the cave, not far from the entrance of the cave, a grass hut was built, and the thatch was all new, and it looked like it had not been built for a long time.

Everyone entered the cave, and as soon as they arrived at the door of the cottage, a middle-aged man in his forties walked from inside, with a fair complexion, a medium build, and a cyan robe.

Master Zhiyun hurriedly introduced to Xu Ping: "This is Huang Jushi from Qinzhou, the great benefactor of Lao Gao, who came here from Qinzhou to help me. ”

Huang Jushi looked at the formation of the people who came, and had already guessed Xu Ping's identity, so he hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "Student Huang Wei, originally from Guangzhou, once participated in the liberation test in Benzhou, but unfortunately fell behind. I heard that the Venerable Master was preaching the Dharma here, and he came to help. I've seen the general verdict. ”

"No need to be polite."

Xu Ping saw that Huang Wei didn't know how to feel familiar, and he couldn't remember where he had seen it, so he couldn't help but look at him twice. He can be regarded as a scholar who has participated in the Liberation Exam, so he calls himself a student in front of Xu Ping.

Seeing that Xu Ping was paying attention to himself, Huang Wei did not have anything abnormal on his face, but just smiled and stayed aside.

Master Zhiyun said: "Officials, please, since you have arrived, you will go to the grass house and sit down." ”

The soldiers with him stood around the cottage, Xu Ping took Gao Daquan and Tan Hu into the house, Xiao Shami came up for tea, and several people chatted while drinking.

Xu Ping said: "It's good to build a temple in this cave, and it doesn't hinder the surrounding people, but the road up the mountain is too rugged and inconvenient for pilgrims." There is no water source on the top of another mountain, so pay attention to fire prevention. ”

Master Zhiyun said: "The water source is not a problem, there is a mountain spring not far from here, and it is convenient to carry water every day." As for fire prevention, as long as you put some water tanks in the hole, it will not be a big problem. ”

"The hardest part is building roads." Huang Wei next to him interjected, "Master is well-known in Qinzhou, and there are many believers, everyone heard that a temple was going to be built here, and they all donated money and materials, and money is not a problem." However, this hill is all stones, and if the road is opened manually, it will take a long time, and I don't know what year or month it will take to complete. ”

Xu Ping remained silent: "Oh, then what do you want?" ”

Huang Wei thought for a while before saying: "The student is presumptuous, I heard that there is a special person in the lifting department who is responsible for repairing the road, and the gunpowder used saves time and effort, I wonder if I can help repair this section of the mountain road?" ”

After speaking, he and Master Zhiyun looked at Xu Ping with a blank eye.

"Kaishan? Difficult! ”

Hearing Xu Ping's answer, Huang Wei hurriedly said: "There is no need to build a flat road, as long as it is a step road, it is convenient for pilgrims to go up and down the mountain." ”

Xu Ping did not speak. There is no saltpeter produced locally, the output of gunpowder is not high, and there are barbarian forces all around, and Jiaozhi is not far away, and the outflow of gunpowder is a hidden danger. Therefore, the gunpowder in the cane sugar lifting department was very strictly controlled, and all kinds of ingredients were hidden separately in different warehouses, and they were temporarily mixed when they were used. Each library has a special person in charge, and they don't know each other, and they can only be used with Xu Ping's documents, and Han Zong must also be held with Xu Ping's seal to receive. In the past few years, except for official road construction, gunpowder has never been used in civil affairs, and even firecrackers Xu Ping has not been brought into Yongzhou. To use gunpowder for the monk to build a temple, Xu Ping was unwilling.

After being silent for a while, Xu Ping asked Huang Wei: "What business are you doing in Qinzhou?" ”

Huang Wei said: "One is to sell salt, buy salt from the salt service and sell it into the mountains. ”

"Oh-" Hearing that he was doing business with barbarians again, Xu Ping's eyes lit up and he didn't say anything.

Huang Wei hurriedly said: "However, the salt business is getting worse and worse, and recently there are too many Jiaozhi salts flowing into the territory of the Great Song Dynasty, and we have worked hard and can't make any money." For the past two years, the students have been selling Tamangar spices, and they will go back to sell local cattle there to earn some money from this business. ”

"Hmm-" Xu Ping nodded.

Guangxi's largest export material is silk cloth and cattle, most of which are sold to the mainland, and many cattle are sold to Qiongya, which is later known as Hainan Island, with thousands of heads every year. Qiongya has the custom of killing cattle and sacrificing ghosts, to dozens of heads and hundreds of heads are killed, and most of the cattle exchanged for special spices by the natives are consumed in this way. So in this era, in the Qiongya area, cattle were consumables rather than production materials. Moreover, at this time, Qiongya and Leizhou both belonged to Guangnan West Road, and it was convenient to trade between the same road.

As for salt, this business has become more and more difficult to do due to the impact of Cochin in recent years. Since Li Foma ascended to the throne, the country of Cochin has stabilized and intensified its expansion to the north.

Now in Yongzhou, the Great Song Dynasty relies on sugar, Jiaozhi relies on salt, and Guangyuan Prefecture relies on gold placers, and their forces are developing rapidly, and they are accelerating their penetration into the traditional barbarian areas. Xu Ping knew that the traditional barbarian area now crowded between the three forces had become a powder keg, and only one fuse would cause a three-way firefight. However, the tenure of the officials of the Great Song Dynasty was not long, and Xu Pingman only had two or three years left in Yongzhou, and his energy was spent on the expansion of the sugar cane business, and he was always indecisive about the management of the barbarian area.

Xu Ping still didn't answer Huang Wei, and looked up at the furnishings in the cottage. It is nothing more than a wooden fish bell chime, some common Buddhist instruments, and Buddhist scriptures are placed on the shelves next to them, and it seems that many of them are printed by Xu Ping.

There was a kerosene lamp on the table not far from the table, which was turned on. Xu Ping stared at the lamp for a long time, and both Master Zhiyun and Huang Wei were full of embarrassment.

Kerosene is a material distributed in Taipingzhai, such as inns and restaurants, the number of lamps used in these places is registered, and the monthly kerosene is distributed according to the number of lamps. But how much time is it in January, what is the brightness, and where can it be managed? There is a lot of smuggled kerosene that flows out of this channel alone, and the people in the sugar cane business secretly sell it, and the amount is quite large, and people who are a little decent in the vicinity will light a kerosene lamp.

Of course Xu Ping knew about this situation, but he just turned a blind eye. When the water is clear, there are no fish, and sometimes it remains a gray area in an inconsequential place, which is also a lubrication for the local economy.

Looking at the kerosene lamp for a while, Xu Ping finally didn't say anything.

Turning around, he said to Huang Wei and Master Zhiyun: "It's not impossible to let the people in the Lifting Division help you build the road, this dynasty has always been respectful to the Buddhist family, and this official is not an unkind person." However, the promotion department is a court institution, even if it is a copper coin in and out, it is registered in the account, and the three divisions must be compared, and the official does not dare to be sloppy. Then let me make a list of them, and you will have to pay the bill according to the amount of money. ”

After speaking, Xu Ping looked at Huang Wei.

Master Huang Wei and Master Zhiyun glanced at each other, and couldn't help but say happily: "Thank you Shangguan for your accommodation, you don't need to worry about the money, the students will call on the believers in Qinzhou to contribute to the master!" ”

Master Zhiyun hesitated a little: "Official, Huang Jushi, I'm afraid that the money for road construction is not a small amount, anyway, it's better to think in the long run." ”

"Master don't worry, even if our disciples are bankrupt, we must help Master build this temple and promote Buddhism! Reciting the Buddha all day long, when it comes to reading the real chapter here, who will care about some money! ”

Venerable Zhiyun recited the Buddha's name: "The layman has a heart!" ”

Xu Ping looked at it coldly and didn't speak. He didn't think much about it, just to go through the motions. As the first serious religious place in the region, he could not help but come forward as a local governor, and he had no special intentions. But since seeing this Huang Wei, Xu Ping has always felt that something is wrong, and he can't say it, so he simply followed his mind and saw what tricks there were.

Here in Taipingzhai, Xu Ping has been in business for two or three years, and he is not afraid of anyone making trouble.

It's this Master Zhiyun who came strangely, and the laymen and others who followed him also came from Qinzhou, although everything makes sense, it's always a little weird. Xu Ping decided to go back and ask Feng Shenji to help him go to Qinzhou to send a letter to check the background of these people.