Firmament

There is only one person out of 10,000 who takes the lead.

- Turkish proverb

The Gong family lived a frightened life in Bamboo Lane in Jinling. Small families like them don't want to be rich and rich, but they want peace and security. Even so, life is still not going well.

The Gong family has a son named Gong Bingliang. He likes to be different, jumping out of the traditional life circle of his family, opening a daily grocery shop at the entrance of the alley, making a living from a small business, and living a so-so life.

Gong Bingliang got acquainted with some people of the three sects and nine streams, including the backbone of the White Lotus Sect who secretly spread their teachings among the people. He believed that the White Lotus advocated fairness and was an organization that spoke for the common people, so he accepted the teachings of the White Lotus Sect and sometimes secretly participated in their activities.

Viewing the moon on the day of the full moon is a folk custom with a long history. In the evenings of late summer and early autumn, people look up at the bright moon on cool nights and enjoy the peace after the hustle and bustle.

On the 14th day of the eighth lunar month in 1356, a small round cake was suddenly put up for sale in many shops in Jinling. There is a set of procedures for making this kind of small round cake: first use flour and noodles, wrap bean paste, peanuts, red dates, egg yolks and other fillings into a dough like making steamed buns, and then put the dough into a mold with carved patterns, and pour it out after compacting to get a palm-sized round cake, and then put the round cake in the pot and bake it before eating. The small round cake is neither like the baked cake of the Oriental people, nor like the naan cake of the Hu people of the Western Regions.

It was very interesting to see the small round cakes with their delicate shapes for the first time.

Gong Bingliang's shop is also selling round cakes. He took the initiative to greet customers and peddled small round cakes. If he saw poor people who could not afford to watch me, he changed his old stingy little utensils, wrapped a few small round cakes in a piece of oiled paper, and generously gave them them.

In the afternoon, a patrol of the government came towards Bamboo Alley.

The patrol captain was very curious when he saw the small round cakes sold by Gong Bingliang, and couldn't help but step forward and ask, "What kind of good thing is this?"

Gong Bingliang replied: "Report to the chief, this is a moon cake." On the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15, the moon is round and bright, and we worship the moon with mooncakes to pray for family reunion and all the best. Would you like to taste it too?".

The patrol leader scoffed, "You have too many rules. There are rules for eating, there is etiquette for speaking, and now there are moon cakes for worshipping the moon. It's so idle that I have nothing to do!".

The patrol captain also dispelled his vigilance and continued to patrol with his soldiers.

At night, when the lights are held, a bright moon rises in the sky.

Every

household in Jinling has set up a table of eight immortals in the courtyard and brought out tea, rice wine, moon cakes, melons and fruits. The family bowed respectfully to the moon. Then, everyone sat around the table of the Eight Immortals, drinking tea and drinking while listening to the elders talk about folklore such as Chang'e running to the moon.

The

soldiers who were stationed at each house on guard felt that the citizens' practices were very amusing, and they could not help but come over and drink a glass of wine when they smelled the fragrant and refreshing smell of wine. Soldiers patrolling the streets also came to citizens' homes to watch the excitement. They are not interested in mooncakes and just want to have a glass of wine. The soldiers did not find it enjoyable to drink one drink, and after the enthusiastic persuasion of the citizens, they drank a second one. In this way, the soldiers drank cup after cup, and gradually they could not stop the car, leaving the task of patrolling and guarding behind.

Gong Bingliang picked up a piece of moon cake, gently broke it from the middle, and prepared to share it for everyone to taste. Unexpectedly, a cotton paper slip fell out of the filling. He was quick and quick-eyed, and quickly caught a glimpse of the inscription: "Please kill the 'rat' who lives in your house tonight." "

The soldiers were drunk and hazy, and felt very strange when they saw the cotton paper in the moon cakes, but they didn't recognize the words on it, and asked suspiciously: "Is this ...... What is the East ...... West?".

Gong Bingliang tried his best to hide the panic in his heart. A smile erupted from the muscular stiff face. He replied, "It's mooncake filling." It is said that the people who ate it ...... In the coming year, he will be healthy and prosperous, and the Moon Lady will bless him with no illness and no disaster. "

The soldiers believed it and grinned and sneered, "You people are so funny that you guys will pretend to be ghosts all day long!".

When the time came, the soldiers were sleepy. Some are already drunk and unconscious, some are snoring and falling asleep, and a few who are still drinking and frolicking.

Ordinary people all over the city found cotton paper strips in mooncakes. When they saw that the time had come, they looked at each other, touched each other's elbows, and immediately understood. Taking advantage of the hazy night, they took out the wooden sticks hidden in the quilt, beat them violently according to the sleeping soldiers, and sent them to the palace of Hades.

After dealing with the soldiers at home, the citizens excitedly walked out of the courtyard gate and asked each other: "Did your 'mouse' kill

?"

"Killed! What about your 'mouse'?"

"Killed too!".

At this time, the sound of gongs and drums and crackling firecrackers sounded in the city.

The leader of the uprising, who was hiding outside Jinling, heard the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers in the city, and knew that he could take action, so he immediately led a large group of men and horses into the city gate with shouts and shouts, and joined the citizens inside and outside, and in less than an hour they wiped out all the government soldiers.

Gong Bingliang was fed up with the oppression of the government soldiers in the past, and now he saw that the rebel team not only drove away the government army, but also wanted to go north to the Central Plains and recover his homeland, so he was excited for a while and joined the army as a follower of the White Lotus Sect. He followed the main force of the Northern Expedition of 250,000 and came to the north with great courage and high spirits.

Everywhere the Northern Expeditionary Army went, they were welcomed by the local people. Rich and poor, men, women, young and old, with tears in their eyes, they ate pot pulp and greeted their army with enthusiasm.

Gong Bingliang and his comrades-in-arms spent more than four months repelling the government army and reversing the unfavorable situation.

The leader of the uprising proclaimed the establishment of the Southern Kingdom in Jinling and assumed himself king.

The Northern Expeditionary Army marched across the northern land, rejoicing at the news of the establishment of the Southern State, and cheered in unison. From then on, they were no longer traitors and traitors in the eyes of the northern kingdom, but the rightful army of the southern kingdom.

In the past, Gong Bingliang, as an Oriental, could only be an inferior person with low eyebrows and pleasing eyes in front of the governor of the government. Today, he is extremely proud and proud to be an Oriental. He has read through a large number of historical classics, and has also listened to the stories of his elders several times, knowing that his roots are in the land of the quilt, and his ancestors came from Tokyo, the old capital of the Eastern Kingdom.

"I'm finally back to my homeland!".

Gong Bingliang looked at the faint northern town in front of him, and his heart couldn't help but beat wildly ......