There is a huge back garden in the Yamen of Daotai, Zunhua, Hebei Province. The flowers and trees in the garden are sparse, the rocks overlap, and the water gurgles. There is a large pond next to it. In the center of the pond is a pavilion, and the nine-curved bridge twists and turns to reach the pavilion. The courtyard is green with red flowers and grass, the chirping of birds, mice, snakes, pheasants, and many small animals inhabit it. It is said that there is a thousand-year-old fox who lived in the courtyard and was able to transform into a human form. Sometimes it is an old man with white eyebrows, sometimes an old woman, sometimes a beautiful little husband, and sometimes a woman who suddenly appears, such as the Seven Fairies descending into the courtyard. The courtyard is silent during the day, and at night it is the world of the old fox family. No one dares to go to the back garden.
Fox, known as immortals, the fox immortals in the backyard are said to be very polite. During the holidays, there are often small silver filial piety, and there are a few plates of seasonal fresh fruits. The old man with white eyebrows who is used to interacting with people is the old man with bright and elegant speech and demeanor, which is very lovable. Therefore, Zunhua's successive Taoist platforms have made good friends with the fox immortals and lived in harmony. In a flash of decades, Duke Qiu was transferred to Zunhua's Taoist platform. Qiu Gong, a native of Zhucheng in Shandong Province, was appointed to the Taoist platform because of his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion. He brought his family of more than 20 to the Yamen of the Zunhua Taoist Platform. The former Taoist platform had completed the handover procedures. After Duke Qiu took over, before leaving, Duke Qiu saw that he was hesitant to say anything, so he asked his predecessor what he had to trust, even though he said it bluntly.
"There is a huge garden in the yamen, Duke Qiu may have heard of it long ago!" The former Taoist platform said.
"The yamen has a garden, what's so strange about it?" Qiu Gong said.
"There is a fox fairy living in the garden, and he pays the rent. He is polite and reasonable at ordinary times, and I hope that Duke Qiu can treat him kindly." The former Taoist said it sincerely. Don't want Duke Qiu to laugh: "Hearsay, there is something out of nothing, there is really a fox fairy in the world?"
"Yes, yes, Duke Qiu, you will know in the future!"
"Alright! Alright! If there really is a Fox Immortal living here, I will definitely treat him politely." Qiu Gong said so, very disapproving in his heart.
A few days later, in the evening, Duke Qiu was watching a Longquan sword when someone knocked on the door. "Dududududududu" softly said three times, Duke Qiu opened the door casually, and saw an old man with white eyebrows appear at the door. When he saw Duke Qiu, he hurriedly arched his hands and said, "Hello, Master Qiu, little Hu San, I'm here to visit!"
"Hu San, I don't seem to know you!" Duke Qiu glanced at the old man and said indifferently, "Is there anything I need to do?"
I've been renting a yamen's room for several decades. This is the rent for three years! "The old man opened the yellow parcel and placed two huge gold ingots on the table. Seeing the golden gold one hundred taels, Duke Qiu was also surprised, and he asked again," Which rooms do you live in? "
"My family lives behind the garden rockery, and this gold--" Duke Qiu suddenly remembered, "Is it Old Fox?Duke Qiu was also curious, his eyes stared at the old man with bright eyes, and he thought to himself, "Human? Fox?" It was indeed difficult to determine for a while.
Fox Immortal still said politely, "Farewell!" He arched his hands and stepped out of the door with his feet." In a flash, he disappeared, which made Duke Qiu think about it all nightlong.
Early in the morning, Qiu Gong hung his Longquan sword around his waist and came to the back garden to inspect it carefully. He wanted to figure it out. It was the Qingming season, the breeze was slow, the flowers and trees in the garden were full of life, the birds were singing and the flowers were fragrant, the bees were buzzing, the rockeries, the ponds, and the running water were full of vitality. Qiu Gong circled around, walked to the fence, and was about to open the small gate and leave the garden. He saw the old man who visited last night, hurrying towards the small courtyard door, when suddenly the two met face to face.
"Lord Qiu, if you have time, come and live here!" The old man hurriedly said.
"I'm going back and forth, but I can't find your place to live. It's just right, let's go to your house to have a look!" Duke Qiu said deliberately.
The old man was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Okay, please follow me!" The two of them came to a rockery. The old man lowered his head and got into the rockery cave. He turned around to greet Duke Qiu and said, "Lord Lao Qiu!" Duke Qiu also wanted to see what happened, lowered his head slightly and got into the cave. After turning two corners, suddenly, there was a bright light in front of him, as if he had entered another world. Duke Qiu was stunned and thought: I didn't expect there to be such a place on this side of the rockery! At this time, the old man had opened two doors full of copper nails and said, "Lord Qiu, please come in!"
Entering the door, he saw the high hall building with a stone road with silk grain patterns. The hall was very spacious and furnished with a full set of mahogany furniture, which was antique. There was a small door behind the hall, and the shadows of the backyard were shaking, and the voices of men and women were endless. It was still a big family. The old man immediately ordered to go down, and the distinguished guests came and prepared to entertain. The waiter served fragrant tea, but without a few words, a table of sumptuous wine and dishes was placed on the table. The dishes were all delicacies from the mountains and seas, and it was the first time Qiu Gong tasted several dishes. After the wine was half-finished, the old man's wife came out to meet him. The old man introduced Qiu Gong, "This is my stupid wife!" Qiu Gong smiled, and his children and grandchildren met one after another, calling Qiu Gong "Grandpa Qiu"! In the end, the daughter-in-law and granddaughter met, all of them were beautiful, dignified, and generous. Qiu Gong's eyes were full of flowers. The wine is nectar, sweet and refreshing, and mellow. The wine was drunk straight to Qiu Gong's heart, and finally the old man sent him back to his bed.
When Duke Qiu woke up, the sky was already bright, and his recollection of the evening adventure was like a dream. Duke Qiu finished his business and often went to private banquets with friends. Inadvertently, he talked about the table of wine and food, and the beauty of the fox fairy. Some of his friends and colleagues also wanted to see the fox fairy, and they came to pay homage to Duke Qiu one after another. Every time he came, he asked Duke Qiu to accompany him to the backyard for a walk, but when he saw only flowers and trees, he didn't see the fox fairy. After so many times, the fox fairy was also annoyed. One night, the old man came to leave Duke Qiu and said, "Due to the increase in the number of people in the family and the small residence, I have rented another place today, and I will move out in a few days." Duke Qiu said, "Didn't you pay the rent for three years?" He said, "Is it difficult for me to get along with Qiu?"
"No. In fact, the number of people has increased, and there are mixed men and women. The residence is too small, so it is not good to live anymore. The rent is calculated." The old man explained the reason again.
Qiu Gong pondered and asked, "When will we move out?"
The old man bent down and said, "It will be done in three or five days."
After two days of preparation, Duke Qiu secretly prepared a lot of flammable items such as sulfur, fire chips, and dry firewood. In the middle of the night, he called out more than a dozen yamen servants, and Duke Qiu personally commanded them to pile up all these flammable items around the rockery. Suddenly, he raised a fire and ignited it, and it burned until dawn before it was extinguished. Duke Qiu leisurely came to the backyard and looked around the rockery, the smell of burning came to his nose, and the foxes were killed and injured countless times. He asked the yamen to pick up a pile, with a total of more than ninety heads, some burnt to the point of charring, some were in a bad state, and the seriously injured were all dying. Duke Qiu answered calmly: "You are an alien, and you are not human. You become a monster and confuse people's hearts. How can you cherish death!"
"You, do you still have humanity?The old man continued, "I went to the new house and told you that I would move out in a few days. Why do you still doing this? A person as disgusting as you will never end well!"
Duke Qiu roared after hearing this: "Be bold! Shut up. You old thing, you are also impatient, what are you talking about, if you don't leave, even you will be in trouble!Duke Qiu "brushed" and pulled out the Longquan Sword.
"Okay, I'll go! Just wait!" The old man flashed away.
"Hahaha!" Qiu Gong saw that the old man was afraid and laughed wildly.
Time passed like a white horse, and a few years passed in a flash. Duke Qiu had been promoted to the patrol and transferred to the ground as an official in his hometown in Shandong. That was during the Chongzhen period of the late Ming Dynasty, when there was a great famine in the world, and the peasant army was everywhere, and the heroes were divided. Duke Qiu complied with the wishes of the imperial court and concurrently held the position of general army. More than 100,000 troops under his command went around several places, suppressing and caressing the rebellion and rebellion in various places. Because of the chaos in the world, the east and the west were rebelled again. Duke Qiu was tired and was scolded by his superiors, saying that he was ineffective in suppressing the rebellion. Duke Qiu was very upset, and many of his confidants called Duke Qiu independent as king, so as not to be criticized by others. Duke Qiu did not dare to rebel rashly. One day, Duke Qiu had nothing to do and was strolling through the streets. A fortune teller held up a white cloth cover and called himself "Tiekou". He came towards Duke Qiu and looked straight at him for a while.
"There are too many people to read about, and I just saw the True Destiny today. Your hands are long, your ears drooping on your shoulders, and your face has a dragon mouth and a star nose. Your eyes are shining with inspiration, and you are mighty and handsome. Long live it!" After the fortune teller finished speaking, he knelt down and bowed again. Duke Qiu's heart moved, and he said, "Don't say too much, go back to the camp and talk to me in detail." Because his confidant generals all wanted to be honored as kings and ministers, they had long held the title of King's Heart, and today I heard the fortune teller say the same, which was exactly what he wanted, so he made a decision and pulled up the banner, and Duke Qiu also reversed it. The fortune teller was not confused when he was young, and just in his prime, Duke Qiu worshipped him as a "military advisor" and made suggestions for Duke Qiu. " The first policy of the military advisor was this: "To the imperial court, rebellion is rebellion. In order to prevent the imperial court from killing family members, quickly move the whole family, young and old, together with close relatives, to the military camp to prevent accidents!"
Qiu Gong nodded frequently, deeply agreed, and immediately complied.
The second strategy of the "military advisor" said: "If you want to seize the world, it is nothing more than the right time, the right place, and the right place. Once the imperial court comes to suppress it, we will have no danger to defend here, go to Jiugong Mountain, and then slowly develop and grow." Qiu Gong nodded, thinking it was good, and gave an order to open up Jiugong Mountain. The third strategy of the "military advisor" said: "Sweep the nearby beacon smoke, for my use, and also clean up the periphery, which is conducive to attack and defense!"
Duke Qiu obeyed his words and immediately sent out generals, and some of the big and small separatists in the vicinity were leveled one by one and merged into his own team. Seeing the expansion of the territory, the increase of the team, and the strength of the army, Duke Qiu was drunk and beaming every day. "The military advisor" offered another strategy: "It's time to become the emperor, the minister will seal the queen, and the unity of the people will be united, so that we can win!" Therefore, Duke Qiu ascended the throne of the emperor, sealed the queen's concubine, prime minister, and general, and held a big banquet, and the army was in a state of joy and prosperity. The imperial court also came to suppress it several times, but due to the lack of troops and horses, they were all defeated. The imperial court made up its mind and sent half a million troops and horses to to the Jiugong Mountain. Qiu Gong hurriedly asked the military advisor for advice on countermeasures, but the military advisor took it calmly and said, "The emperor must not worry, sit back and relax, I have decided, we are waiting for work, and let him come and go!" Qiu Gong was relieved and went to dream with the queen's beautiful concubine in his arms. In the middle of the night, the 500,000 army drove to the bottom of Jiugong Mountain, surrounded by groups, and cut off the water source. Military rations on the mountain could only last a few days, and the military's heart was shaken. Qiu Gong was looking for the military advisor urgently, but there was no trace everywhere, and the imperial court soldiers and horses had already attacked the mountain. In a fierce battle, the generals were defeated. In order to save their lives, they defected and surrendered one after another. Qiu Gong's family was captured and boarded the prison cart. Dozens of the whole family were beheaded.
When he was about to be executed, Duke Qiu was ashamed and said, "I really regret listening to the words of the counselor!" At this time, a faint word came from the sky: "Retribution, this is retribution!" Duke Qiu raised his head and looked up, only to see a fox fairy old man in the white clouds in the sky with white eyebrows, faintly in the clouds, his face indignant. Duke Qiu then realized his mistake and said, "I was wrong, I shouldn't have killed your old family for no reason!"
Yes, but it's already too late.