That's a wooden drum.

The drum head of the big drum is still very intact, at least on the surface it doesn't seem to have any damage, but I don't know if it can withstand the beating.

Compared with this big drum, the shape of the drum frame supporting the big drum is more gorgeous. From a distance, it should be several dragons entwined together. The shape of the dragon head is somewhat similar to the several water outlets under the stone platform.

"Do you want to remonstrate?"

Based on the "slanderous tree" he had seen before, Wu Liangzhong secretly guessed.

"Yao had the drum of desire to remonstrate, and Shun had the tree of slander."

Anyone who is familiar with history should know this sentence, and emperors in subsequent dynasties have also used the "drum of desire for remonstrance" and the "wood of slander" to whitewash peace and express their willingness to accept remonstrance humbly.

There is no need to repeat "Huabiao" again.

The "Drum of Injustice" that appeared in front of the yamen of all dynasties in later dynasties is the evolution of the "Drum of Desire to Remonstrate".

As the "drum of remonstrance" gradually evolved into the "drum of grievances", its original purpose also gradually changed. It can be seen from the name that the drum was originally used for "remonstrance".

It has become a "cry of injustice", and just by hearing the name, you can tell how helpless the drummer is.

And I don’t know when, the imperial court also promulgated such a ridiculous decree: Anyone who sounds the "drum of injustice" must first be beaten. Only then can he prove that what he said is true and the case will be accepted.

And this law lasted until the late Qing Dynasty...

This shows how hypocritical the ruling class really is. Wu Liang privately believes that setting up such a drum to show that they are willing to redress the grievances of the people, but then requiring those who complain to be grievances to be beaten first to prove their sincerity is simply a double act.

The high-hanging "suggestion box" really has the same purpose and makes people admire the infinite wisdom of the ruling class.

Therefore, Wu Liang felt that this "drum of grievances" might as well be called the "drum of persuasion to quit". Why can't we just be more direct? Why bother guessing and worrying about saving face?

certainly.

Wu Liang would not even equate the "Drum of Injustice" with the "Drum of Desire for Remonstrance", and was not even emotionally willing to admit that the "Drum of Injustice" was an evolution of the "Drum of Desire for Remonstrance" because it

Not worthy at all.

But these are digressions.

Wu Liang speculated that this object is the "Drum of Desire" mainly because of the image of a dragon carved on the drum stand.

It has been mentioned before that the relevant Emperor Yao is the dragon son currently born from the union with Shenlong, so Emperor Yao is the descendant of the dragon. For thousands of years after that, the dragon has always been the totem of China, even in later generations.

It has never changed.

Based on the special significance of the dragon totem and the fact that this secret place could only be built before the Han Dynasty where Wu Liang is now, this big drum can only be the "drum of desire to remonstrate".

"Let's go, move faster!"

Just as Wu Liang was observing the environment here, a soldier came from behind and urged him impatiently.

The bamboo raft had already docked at the shore, and many soldiers had already reached the cobblestone-strewn river bank in advance. Wu Liang was relatively slow and blocked the soldier's path. No wonder the soldier urged him.

"Ha, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Wu Liang laughed and jumped ashore quickly.

At this moment, Dian Wei had already stepped ashore first and was standing by to greet Wu Liang. When he saw him coming up, he immediately stood with him.

And in this process.

Yan Luxu glanced here with eyes closed, but did not order the soldiers to separate the two of them. He didn't know whether he didn't take them seriously or had other ideas in his heart.

Wu Liangze continued to observe the situation here.

This place should be a huge underground cave, roughly the size of a football field and a half, with rock walls above, below, left and right that are not smooth but are extremely difficult to climb.

It is also a wonder that an underground cave of this size, without any supports in the middle, can remain in such a stable state without showing any signs of collapse after many years.

It should be noted that even in later generations, even if mines with sophisticated equipment and mature technology are not of this scale, there is no way to guarantee that collapse will not occur.

The province where Wu Liang's descendants lived is a famous mining province in the country. In the past, urban roads or houses would collapse inexplicably from time to time.

This is caused by the collapse of the mine below.

Later, the country carried out corresponding transformations in many cities, planned the directions of mines, and designated certain places as goaf areas, prohibiting the construction of houses and infrastructure. In addition, mines also adopted the method of digging first and filling later.

The situation improved only after mining technology was developed.

It was also because of this understanding that Wu Liang believed that it was a rare spectacle that an underground cave of this size could be so stable without any supports.

As for the principle.

Wu Liang can't see it yet, but there are many unreasonable wonders in nature, and after careful research and exploration of these wonders, it will eventually be discovered that the formation of these wonders is actually reasonable, but it is just too much of a coincidence.

What's more, Zhen Mi had warned before that it was very likely that someone had set up a huge formation here, so there might not be situations that science could not reasonably explain.

So I put this issue aside for now.

Wu Liang continued to observe this huge underground cave, and soon he discovered four stone platforms built on the rock walls at the four corners of the underground cave.

Wu Liang could not tell the direction for the time being.

But according to the tradition and culture of the Celestial Dynasty, these four stone platforms should occupy the four directions of east, south, west and north respectively, and they will certainly not be built randomly.

And on these four stone platforms.

Wu Liang seemed to see four figures kneeling on the ground.

The distance was a little far, and Wu Liang couldn't see it very carefully, and he didn't know whether these four figures were stone statues, wood carvings, or something else.

And in the middle of this underground cave.

After the "Drum of Desire" placed above the water outlet that he first saw, Wu Liang saw a flat square.

Directly north of the square is a lonely stone house.

The stone house is not small but not big either. It should be about fifty square meters by visual inspection. It looks extremely disharmonious in this large square.

Apart from that, there is nothing...

"This is it..."

Yan Lu, however, seemed extremely excited, staring at the stone house with great energy.

At some point, a piece of tortoise shell that looked to be many years old appeared in his hand, and he seemed to be holding that piece of tortoise shell to compare it with the situation here.

Wu Liang noticed this situation and could vaguely see that the tortoise shell in Yan Lu's hand had some patterns carved on it.

It’s just hard to say exactly what was engraved.

And he couldn't take the initiative to ask Yan Lu for the tortoise shell to check. After all, he and Dian Wei were now prisoners of Yan Lu. If he saw something that Yan Lu didn't want others to see, he would most likely do it for him in advance.

Get into trouble with Dian Wei.

Just when he was curious.

But he saw that Zuo Ci had already taken the initiative to walk to Yan Lu, but he did not glance at the tortoise shell with his eyes, but said seriously: "Mr. Yan, I'm afraid it's not suitable to stay here for a long time."

"Why did Master Zuo say this?"

Yan Lu immediately took the piece of tortoise shell into his arms with extreme caution, then raised his eyes and looked at Zuo Ci and asked.

"There are altars in the southeast, northwest and northwest of this place, and there is a person kneeling on each platform... Although I am not very knowledgeable and can't see the way, it is not difficult to guess that there should be a formation here."

Zuo Ci continued to say carefully, "Mr. Yan, please think back again. Previously, this underground secret place was filled with a severe cold that ordinary people could not resist. But after entering here, the coldness has weakened a lot. Now we have landed ashore again.

, this cold and cold air has become even more imperceptible, and the situation itself is a bit weird, which is probably evidence that this formation is still working."

"Haha, this is not something you should worry about."

After listening to Zuo Ci's words, Yan Lu smiled indifferently, "I'm not afraid to tell you that the four altars you mentioned are not actually altars, and the person kneeling on those altars is not a wizard.

They are the 'Four Mountains' who assisted Emperor Yao in governing the world in ancient times, so your speculation may not be valid."

Zuo Ci did not suppress his voice when talking to Yan Lu.

When Yan Lu said these words to Zuo Ci now, he did not deliberately restrain himself, and seemed not to care about the people present listening. Therefore, Wu Liang and many soldiers around him also heard clearly.

"..."

After hearing these words, most of the soldiers showed curious but confused looks. No wonder Yan Lu didn't care. In the eyes of the gentry's cultural monopoly these days, soldiers are basically not gentry, so naturally they don't care.

Without knowledge, I simply cannot understand what Yan Lu is talking about.

But Wu Liang is no ordinary soldier.

The knowledge points in Yan Lu's words were not a problem for him at all, especially the two words "Four Mountains", which struck him as thunder.

The so-called "Four Mountains" refer to four people.

They are called Xizhong, Xishu, Hezhong, and Heshu respectively. They are the feudal officials in charge of one side in the ancient Tang Dynasty. They are also powerful ministers who can influence the world's major events. Even the question of whose hands the world will be handed over, Yao

The emperor will listen to their opinions.

This incident is recorded in history books.

When Emperor Yao was old, he consulted the "Four Mountains" about his successor, "The Four Mountains recommended Yu Shun."

So Emperor Shun received the abdication of Emperor Yao and established the ancient Yu Dynasty.

Later, when Emperor Shun was old, he asked "the four mountains" for advice. "The four mountains are all called Boyu."

So Dayu successfully obtained Emperor Shun's abdication and established the Kexia Dynasty.
To be continued...