Endless route

Chapter 278 48. Learning part of the truth and the last line of defense

"My lord, these things are a long story. Why don't you take a rest in the mansion for a while. I'll ask someone to prepare some tea and we'll go to the hall and talk in detail." Magistrate Qiao quickly replied.

As soon as he heard these questions, he felt much more at ease. Although he didn't know where Zheng Yun and others came from, they didn't even know Wuhaixianzhou, so they must have come from a far away place.

As a visitor from afar.

It's definitely not for investigating the case.

"Where does this nonsense come from? Just answer it when I ask you to." Jidao shouted coldly. When he came in to arrest people just now, he had already seen the ridiculous behavior, so naturally he couldn't look good on it.

"Sir, it's not that I don't want to answer, but I know very little about these questions, so I have to go to the county government master to answer them."

Magistrate Qiao changed his mind when he saw that this method was unreasonable.

"There's so much nonsense. Go and call someone quickly. If you deliberately delay and delay things like me, you can't afford it."

Ji Dao waved him to call someone.

"Go quickly."

Magistrate Qiao quickly gave orders to his servants.

The servant immediately turned around and left, but as soon as he took one step, a ghost general followed him closely, and the tall shadow wearing a ghost cloak completely covered the servant's body.

The servant was only a little over 1.6 meters tall, and looked like a chicken in front of the ghost general who was nearly 2 meters tall and had broad shoulders and chest.

"Master Immortal, why don't you check this person first? Those young women in the house may have some grievances." Jidao suggested.

"Check it."

Zheng Yun looked around.

Compared with the simple scene in the city, the layout of the backyard of the mansion is very luxurious, and all the furnishings are exquisite, as if this place is not a small county town, but a big city.

There are pavilions and flowing water in the courtyard, and there are beautiful flowers and jade trees. The lampstands everywhere in the house are exquisite, and the maids all have beautiful faces.

The county magistrate's clothes are not bad at all. The fabric is soft and smooth, like silk, and there are many gold and jade ornaments on his body.

Are there gold mines and jade mines in Wuhaixianzhou?

I'm afraid not necessarily. The styles of those accessories are simple, and they might be ancient objects brought from the ancient city of Nanze.

There must be something wrong with this county magistrate.

We don't expect county magistrates in the feudal era to be clean and honest, but this county has a population of only a thousand households. How can we afford to support people like them? The water here may be a little deep.

When Zheng Yun looked around, Jidao was already in the hospital again and went to ask those women about the cause of the matter.

But Ji Dao is still a little younger.

Magistrate Qiao was still kneeling at the entrance of the courtyard, his whole body intact and not suffering any pain. How dare those women talk nonsense.

Sure enough, Zheng Yun heard the conversation in the courtyard. Jidao asked them if they were willing. The women's answers were all voluntary. When asked if they were harshly punished, they all said no.

After a few words of conversation, Ji Dao pursed his lips and walked out of the yard angrily. He glared at Magistrate Qiao angrily, but did not proceed to execute him. Instead, he went to Zheng Yun and whispered:

"Master Immortal, this man must be a thief."

Zheng Yun did not answer, but listened to Ji Dao's slightly aggrieved voice, feeling a little amused in his heart. Ji Dao was an upright character, but he still lacked a bit of experience in human relations and sophistication.

Watching less TV series.

It has nothing to do with the methods of gods and ghosts, but the Tiangong ancient books probably don't remember a few of the mortal cases that are thrown around, but there are so many modern costume dramas that one case can stretch into dozens of episodes.

Let Li Huawan and Jiang Meng come.

The performance may be better than Ji Dao.

"Sir, my waist and legs are weak due to my old age. Since I have nothing to do, can I get up and move around?" Magistrate Qiao felt even more confident when he saw this situation.

What he fears most is that he has no law and will cut off barbarians with blood splattering everywhere with one strike. As long as these outsiders obey the rules, he has nothing to fear, and they can even build relationships with them.

At least he has been a county magistrate for many years.

His level is still better than Ji Dao.

"Shut up. From now on, if I don't ask, you can't speak." Zheng Yun said softly.

"ah?"

Magistrate Qiao was stunned.

As soon as he opened his mouth, the ghost general next to Zheng Yun suddenly drew his sword and stabbed County Magistrate Qiao in the throat. The tip of the sword was placed at the Magistrate's throat, and it could kill him even half an inch forward.

See this scene.

All the servants around him exclaimed.

Ji Dao was also slightly startled.

They haven't found out the county magistrate's guilt yet. No matter what he committed, if he were to be killed like this, it would be against the law, and it seemed that the Supervisor was a little bloodthirsty.

"There are demons and ghosts scattered among the people in Xianzhou. You open your mouth even though you know it is wrong, but you want to use demons to harm others?"

Zheng Yun continued to speak softly.

This style was learned from Zhang Ergou, and also borrowed from the classic image of the villain factory guard in some movies and TV dramas.

Mortal laws can't cure you for the time being, so you can find another way and make a fuss about the laws of gods and ghosts. This is what the Supervisor of Immortals does. It's not easy to cure you.

Moreover, Zheng Yun's words came from the bottom of his heart. He had been wary of these people from beginning to end. Maybe there were no magic tricks here, but the county magistrate might have some heresy in his hands.

Zheng Yun is always cautious.

We have to be on guard here too.

Therefore, he was both pretending to be real and pretending to be real. This move was also to prevent the county magistrate from causing trouble.

"That's right, why do you have to open your mouth? I didn't see clearly just now, but the back of this gentleman's waistband has the words "Ghost Suppression Division" written on it?" Ji Dao suddenly realized and immediately followed suit.

When County Magistrate Qiao heard this, he was speechless for a moment. He didn't know how to respond. He held it in for a long time before explaining: "My lord, I never meant this. The county does not..."

"You still open your mouth!"

Ji Dao glared and shouted angrily.

"Take him aside. This person may be possessed by a demon. You need to search him carefully." Zheng Yun said again.

"..."

Magistrate Qiao immediately shut up and broke into a cold sweat all over his body, because he couldn't argue with this matter at all. If he was labeled as possessed by a demon, how could he prove it to himself?

Regardless of whether you are a private person or a court, once you have even the slightest connection with gods, ghosts, demons and immortals, you will definitely lose your skin. Either the demons and ghosts will strip you of your skin, or the factory guards will strip you of your skin.

There are many similar situations.

Who in the entire Ming Dynasty is not afraid of those factory guards.

Jidao immediately took action and dragged Magistrate Qiao aside to search him. The latter tightened his lips and did not dare to speak a word.

From the beginning to the end, Zheng Yun did not harm this person in the slightest, or even touched him. He just kept him docile with just a few words, without even daring to express his anger.

Wait there for a moment.

The servant led a tall old man back, and the ghost general followed closely behind them. They were all shocked when they saw that they had drawn their swords and were searching Magistrate Qiao's body.

"answer the questions."

Zheng Yun asked the question again.

The old man Gao San thought carefully about Zheng Yun's question, then looked around the situation. His eyelids twitched slightly. Without waiting for Ji Dao's urging, he lifted the tail of his robe and knelt down neatly on the ground:

"Several adults, the legend of Wuhaixianzhou was changed by the master of Haiwei. It is not commonly used in the world. Most of it appears in official and ancient books. The time of change was more than three hundred years ago."

"The surrounding wreckage of the boat master has existed since ancient times. It sank at the bottom of the river long ago and no one knew about it. It was not until the mountains and rivers were completely cut off and the river bed was exposed that the wreckage reappeared in the world.

"It has been more than 340 years since the people here moved here from Nanze City. I know very little about this matter. I only heard rumors that when Nanze City was in disaster, the commander could not bear the suffering of the people, so he went to heaven. Please come out of the immortal gate."

"At that time, there were more than hundreds of thousands of people who migrated here across the Immortal Gate. They were scattered throughout Wuhaixianzhou. Most of them were women, children and the elderly. They were the family members of Nanze generals. Almost everyone was in a military household. But in later generations, There is little conscription."

"The ancestors of County Magistrate Qiao are the family members of Nanze City's military deputy general. The Qiao family is rich and has thousands of fortunes. They moved here and spent money to buy the position of County Magistrate here and it has been passed down to this day."

"His name is Qiao Chang. He has been the county magistrate for fifteen years. He oppressed and kidnapped forty-three women, suppressed and unjustly killed a total of ninety-three people. All the charges are clear."

"Wuhaixianzhou has a capital commander's office. It is in Wangjing City on the west bank of Wangjingxian Lake. Qiao Chang goes to the city once a year to exchange food for treasures and present them to the commander."

"I once heard someone say in Wangjing City that Wangjing City has been isolated from the world for many years. The last time a high-ranking official from the court entered Wuhaixianzhou was a hundred years ago. They said that the Ming Dynasty's life was hanging by a thread, and they came to Wangjing to recruit 200,000 soldiers. Haven't heard from him since."

"There are rumors circulating that something may have happened in the Ming Dynasty. The outside world may have changed its dynasty long ago. The commander of the Watching Mirror is still watching, but he is suspected of having second thoughts after being isolated for a long time."

"Several adults have appeared here. I guessed that the adults did not come from Wangjing Fairy Lake, but from the Wubian Cliff Stone Tablet Pavilion. They must be high-ranking officials in the court. I already know everything. Please tell me. Sir Haihan."

"..."

Zheng Yun was silent for a moment.

This tall old man really has some eyesight. From various details, he has already seen that he and others have extraordinary origins. Moreover, he does know a lot and has basically answered all the questions.

This remark contains quite a bit of information.

Get a rough idea of ​​the timeline.

Three hundred and forty years ago it was 1683.

It was at this time that the accident in the ancient city of Nanze occurred. At that time, the commander opened the Immortal Gate and moved the women, children, old and weak to Wuhai Xianzhou, which was not yet called Wuhai at that time.

At roughly the same time, the river in Wuhaixianzhou had not been completely cut off, but there should not be much water left. It was not until some time later that the river bed was completely cut off and exposed.

It can basically be deduced that the end of the Eastern Route of the Endless Sea Route was also around the mid-to-late seventeenth century.

It's quite right.

Western navigators discovered the ancient city of Nanze at the end of the seventeenth century, and discovered that the eastern route was cut off at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Here is a detail.

If the information heard by old man Gao San is all true, then the time of the accident in the ancient city of Nanze was roughly the same as the time when Wuhai Xianzhou "cut off the shipping route".

Even if there is a difference, it is not different by many years.

Can it be understood that the disaster in Nanze Ancient City is not only related to Nanze Ancient City, but has the same cause and the same source as the Wuhaixianzhou incident?

Nanze is in E-07, this place may be E-10. What kind of terrible disaster will affect three or four planets?

The Eastern Route of the Endless Passage may have experienced a catastrophe before it was discovered by Westerners at the end of the seventeenth century.

The ancient city of Nanze was probably founded around 1572, while the ancient city of Hongwu was built in 1578. There is also a deep-sea floating city, and the carbon 14 identification results are from the same period.

These ancient cities were all built more than a hundred years before this catastrophe. Among them, Hongwu Ancient City and Nanze Ancient City are both on the Eastern Route. I don’t know if they have anything to do with this incident.

Then it was a hundred years ago.

Two hundred years after Triton cut off shipping routes.

The Ming Dynasty perished less than a hundred years ago and was encroached on its territory by Western powers. According to the old man Gao San, the Ming Dynasty sent people to Wuhaixianzhou to recruit a total of 200,000 troops.

Where did these 200,000 troops go?

It didn't seem to appear on the battlefield in the human world. Zheng Yun had never heard of it. The Ming Dynasty prepared 200,000 people to fight against the West. Even the Ming Dynasty didn't even resist.

I'm afraid that these 200,000 troops were transferred to the Forsaken Land and transferred to another strange and terrifying battlefield.

This matter really does not bear careful consideration.

A full 200,000 troops did not seem to be able to reverse the overall situation. The outcome of the Ming Dynasty's demise was already doomed and no one could change it. How could future generations have the confidence to make changes?

Just don’t think about that for the time being.

Returning to what the old man added, he said that Wuhai Xianzhou had a Observatory Dusi. After learning about the crisis of the Ming Dynasty, he could not get in touch with the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years, so he showed signs of proclaiming himself king and wanted to change the dynasty in the forgotten land.

It is not difficult to see from this information.

The area of ​​​​Wangjing City should not be large, and there should be no immortal gates in the Dusi Mansion. They don't even know about the outside world, and no one came to inform them. The importance is vague.

But this is inconsistent with the status quo.

Logically speaking, Wangjing Fairy Lake is where the Sea of ​​Mist is located, and even if this Sea of ​​Mist has been closed by the Triton, it is also the most crucial last line of defense.

It looks like E-10 here.

Once this foggy sea is opened, it will instantly connect E-11 and E-09. The eastern route will no longer be cut off, and the entire endless route will be connected again and directly connected to the human world.

The distance from E-11 to the Earth is only over 20,000 kilometers. This distance is not as good as half a circle around the Earth. Once the foggy sea of ​​telescopes is reopened, the enemy can reach the Earth in a short time.

Such an important place.

It was handled so casually.

Even completely isolated from the outside world...

Zheng Yun didn't know who the enemy was, but since he could defeat the Ming Dynasty, he must be extremely powerful.

Since Triton can fill in the sea and lakes to block shipping routes, the other side should be able to clean up the silt and let the Sea of ​​Mist reappear.

Although it is very difficult.

The enemy must first come to Wuhaixianzhou before clearing the silt from inside Wangjingxian Lake to open a navigation route.

But we still have to guard against it.

If the enemy finds a forgotten black jade fairy gate and sneaks into Wuhaixianzhou from the fairy gate, it will be the same as crossing the starry sky from the ancient city of Nanze and drilling into this place.

In this case, every ancient city adjacent to the Sea of ​​Mist is a line of defense to ensure that shipping routes are cut off, to prevent enemies from coming from the Immortal Sect, and to prevent internal troubles.

A city guards a sea of ​​mist.

Tiangong seems to be in a similar situation. The Sea of ​​Mist is in Xianhai Lake, which is also a smaller lake.

And Tiangong and Thirty-Six Immortal Islands guard Xianhai Lake. As long as something happens to Xianhai Lake, Ji Dao will know instantly and cross the Tiangong Immortal Gate to the secret realm to report to him...

Think of it this way.

The secret realm may also have this function.

In short, there are still problems here. Haiwei probably has other means to ensure that there are no problems in Wuhaixianzhou. Otherwise, it would be impossible to leave this place and ignore it for many years.

I guess there is still a way to do it later.

Perhaps Tiangong, Hongwu and other places are the real front lines of Triton against the enemy, and they are the battlefields of Triton.

But Wuhai Xianzhou must be the last line of defense.

Since Ming Dynasty and Haiwei can't take care of this place, then leave it to the contemporary Supervisor and Immortal Division, and they will start to develop from here.