Chapter 174 "Eleven" Secret Passage, the Empress Wakes Up
The creepy feeling only lasted for a moment before disappearing.
When Zhao Duan turned his head, he saw that the windows on the second floor of the small building were closed.
"Let's check the Yellow Book." Mo Zhaorong, standing next to him, also felt unwell.
"Okay." Zhao Duan nodded and stopped thinking about it. At this moment, he had never felt so safe in the capital.
…
The warehouse where the yellow book is stored is not on "Huanzhou Island".
According to the old warehouse manager, people would make fires to cook on Huanzhou Island, so to avoid fires, warehouses were set up on the other five islands.
After a while, the three of them arrived at "Sakura Island" by boat.
As soon as we got off the boat, we saw a huge warehouse running east to west.
Outside, there were densely packed bamboo poles like clotheslines, with many huge yellow paper volumes hanging on them, and many people coming in and out, as if they were drying them.
"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 of summer, making it 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 difficult 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. For hundreds of years, the Dayu Dynasty has developed a profit chain that relies on the ten-year compilation process...
Well, you were the one who said this word, it’s quite vivid.
Every year, the island hangs the books out to dry to prevent them from being damaged by insects. While the visible insects die in the sun, the countless invisible insects that profit from the yellow books grow ever fatter.
You still understand all this? I thought you were just jealous of me... Zhao Duan glanced 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 was in a trance, as if he had come to a distribution warehouse. The wooden shelves were about ten feet high and needed 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 lived in a household in a village in a county town under the jurisdiction of Jiancheng Daoci Prefecture had increased and decreased over the generations.
How many people are there in this family, what are their names, how old they are, when the baby was 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 past life that was not very logical but very romantic:
From the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang to the modern times, it is 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 just after the Han and Tang Dynasties.
"What are you thinking about?"
Seeing that he was silent for a long time, Mo Zhaorong thought he was thinking and asked softly.
Big ice cubes still have their advantages.
Whenever it comes to important matters or serious 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," Mo Chou rolled her eyes. She also held up a yellow book and said:
"Why do you care about the paper? The key is how to solve the problem of the words on 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 as well-educated as a lady, 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 constantly 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, contaminated 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 has been polluted beyond belief.
Of course, the most crucial point is...
It's meaningless.
"These yellow volumes have been discarded and we no longer need them. Remember the core of my three golden volumes?
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 based on 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 re-measured...
As for these millions, tens of millions of population files..."
Zhao Duan turned around and looked at the huge warehouse, his tone was understated:
“The greatest value left is the paper itself.
I remember there was a method of making armor, where layers of paper were hammered together into cardboard. The resulting armor was lightweight and could withstand ordinary arrows. If these yellow books were used to make armor, it would save a considerable amount of money that would have been allocated to the Ministry of War's Armament Foundry...
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 brochures on these islands should solve our immediate problem."
Beside her, Mo Chou was already stunned:
"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's a piece of waste paper that has lost its reference value and has no practical use."
"But……"
"No buts. Or, tell me, once the land tax is paid, what use will these things be?"
Mo Chou was speechless and a little dazed.
On the one hand, emotionally, I believe that the archives that the Dayu Dynasty painstakingly built and guarded for six hundred years must 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 by the door smiled:
"Miss Mo, Lord Zhao, do you want to check other warehouses? The closest one is Island Nine, or Island Seven isn't 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 take us back."
Zhao Duan said lightly.
Although rationally, he believed that the madman on the shore and the "lake god" in the lake would not threaten him.
But the feeling of being watched lingered.
It made him 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, each with a name?"
The old warehouse manager explained:
"Your Excellency, you don't know what is normal. What I am saying 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 compiled a list of the islands and hills he saw.
The five islands in our Houhu Lake are called Five, Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine... They are also called 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 obscurely at Mo Chou, who was dazed and absent-mindedly staring at the warehouse behind her, and asked casually:
"Oh? That's the theory? I've never heard of it before. What are the other islands you're talking about?"
The old warehouse manager had no doubts and introduced them one by one with a smile.
When he mentioned the island ranked "eleventh", it was in the capital.
Hundreds of 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' 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, and 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 thoughts, 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 eat, and then he parted ways with her.
When there was only one person left, Zhao Duan first came 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 former site of "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 the 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 Hunhe 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 rosy light.
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 was invigorated and continued to narrow the scope, and finally determined that there was a faint fluctuation near a stone at the bottom of the lake.
"Gulululu."
Zhao Duan exhaled 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 really is something!”
Zhao Duan was delighted and tried various methods immediately, but none of them worked.
Only when he placed his hand on the formation and poured the Qi into it, he could vaguely feel the circular formation at the bottom of the lake light up slightly, and then quickly dim.
And just as Zhao Duan tried to "knock on the door" again and again.
Imperial Palace.
Deep inside the Imperial Palace Arsenal.
The abandoned fifth floor of the old building with the stone wall of Emperor Taizu.
In the room, the Queen of Dayu, Xu Zhenguan, 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-point reward
The Da Yu Huang Ce Library, a reference to the Ming Dynasty Archives, ultimately became useless and was sold off. It's said that at the time, stalls were set up in the capital to sell household registrations, which is quite lamentable.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
