The story of flooding Caozhou is legendary, and Yanqing Prefecture was called Caozhou in ancient times. In ancient times, Caozhou was a very prosperous state city, and most of the people living in the city were eunuchs and rich merchants, and they were very mean to the people. especially

The story of the flooded Cao State

According to legend, Yanqing Prefecture was called Cao Prefecture in ancient times. In ancient times, Caozhou was a very prosperous state city, and most of the people living in the city were eunuchs and rich merchants, and they were very mean to the people. In particular, the state capital is even more violent, vicious and cruel. The people of Caozhou complained bitterly, hating these corrupt officials, local tycoons, and profiteers. The resentment of the common people alarmed the Jade Emperor in heaven. The Jade Emperor sent Guanyin from the South China Sea to visit Caozhou. Guan Shiyin turned into a ragged beggar woman and came to Caozhou City and begged door to door. Walking into a house, she was chased out, and some not only did not give a little food, but also let the vicious dog pounce on her.... Finally, Guanyin Bodhisattva went into a thatched hut near the city gate. A poor old lady let her into the house. She was also allowed to eat porridge with thin vegetables. It turned out that the old lady's family was very poor, with only three people, her husband guarded the city gate, and there was a teenage son named Hu'er. Not long ago, her husband was beaten to death by the state capital because he had closed the city gate earlier. The old lady went to the market every day to sweep some grain, and the son went outside the city to pluck some wild vegetables to stay up for a few days. Guanyin Bodhisattva felt that the family was very kind, and before leaving, he made a small boat for the old lady with a sorghum pole, and told the old lady that after three days, let her son Hu'er go to see the stone lion in front of the palace gate every morning, and if the lion's eyes were red, he would hurry home and wait for the flood to come and escape by boat. He also instructed that he should not tell anyone about this matter, and at that time, except for the forty-nine people with red cloth around their necks, none of the rest would be allowed to board the ship. Three days later, Tiger Er went to the mansion every morning to see the eyes of the stone lion. Next to the mansion is a private school, where Tiger Er goes to see the stone lion every day and is discovered by the children who are studying. Some asked, "What do you come to see the lions for every day?" The tiger said, "I don't see that the lion has red eyes, but the lion has red eyes, and it is going to make a big splash." One day, a mischievous student used red clay to wipe both eyes of the stone lion red. When Tiger Er saw that the lion's eyes were red, he hurried home and told his mother, "The lion has red eyes, Mom, get on the boat!" As soon as the words fell silent, a raging water poured in from the city gate. At this time, the small boat made of sorghum poles suddenly became larger, and the two women quickly got on the boat. In the blink of an eye, the entire city of Caozhou became a vast ocean, and the ship drifted eastward. Along the way, he saved forty-nine ordinary people with red cloth around their necks, and also saved a number of small animals, such as kittens, puppies, bees, ants, etc. The boat they were riding in drifted down the water, and later, they came to live in a village with a mountain.

A year has passed. One day, the mother-in-law who begged for food came to Tiger Er's house again, and Tiger Er's mother thanked her mother-in-law for saving her life, and naturally welcomed her warmly and gave her steamed buns to eat. The mother-in-law saw that their lives were still very bitter, so she said to The Tiger Lady: "There is a white mugwort tree growing under the old mulberry trees at both ends of the village." From Lingtian onwards, a hundred days later, pull it out and twist it into mugwort rope and dry it in the sun. At night, let the tiger light it, and take it to find the flooded Caozhou City. Go into the city and go to the South Street Jewelry Store to get some jewelry and jade, come back and sell it, and buy one or two acres of land to maintain your life. After saying that, the mother-in-law disappeared in a flash. The next day, the tigers and children went to the bottom of the old mulberry tree in the west of the village to take a look, and sure enough, there was a white mugwort tree that was more than half a person tall. From this day on, the tiger guarded the mugwort every day except for pulling wild vegetables. Tiger Er looks at Mugwort every day, and later is noticed by a rich man in the village, who asks Tiger Er why he wants to see it every day? Tiger Er told the truth, and after this rich man who was greedy for money listened, Coke was broken. I thought, I'm going to pull it back, go into Caozhou City and get the jewelry and jade, and I immediately have a million family property... So, on this night, he secretly pulled this white mugwort back home and twisted it into a large mugwort rope overnight. After two days, the rich man prepared a mule and took three large pockets. On the third day, he lit the mugwort rope and quietly left the village. The mugwort rope emitted a strange fire, and looked into the distance through the fire, Ho! Sure enough, I saw Caozhou City, and it was still the same as in the past. The old rich man rode a mule, kept smoking his whip, and urged the mule to run towards Caozhou. The old rich man entered Caozhou City, only to see thousands of households illuminated, pedestrians bustling on the streets, and the doors of the two sides of the business were open, and the call for buying and selling was very lively. The greedy old man could not look at these things, and rushed straight to the door of the jewelry store on South Street. When I got to the door of the jewelry store, I tied up the mule, held the mugwort rope in my hand, and carried three pockets on my shoulders, and hurried into the jewelry store. At this time, three young men in the jewelry store were sitting and napping. Lao Cai took the opportunity to quietly cross the counter and picked up three large pockets of jewelry. First carry out a large pocket and put it on the back of the mule, and then carry out a large pocket and put it on the back of the mule. I had to carry the third pocket again, and when I saw that the mugwort rope was already two feet long, I had to catch the mule and leave. Helplessly, the mules drove too much and could not go fast. The old man whipped tightly, but he still couldn't go fast. The mugwort rope was getting shorter and shorter, and the old man was impatient and sweaty. Walking slowly, there are still more than ten meters away from the gate of the East City, the mugwort rope has been exhausted, and it is dark in front of you. This greedy old man finally did not go out of the city gate and was locked up in the city of Caozhou, which was flooded with yellow sand. The next year, the fields and hillsides of the village where the tigers and their wives lived were full of mugwort. The roses under the old mulberry tree were even more dense as a forest. Later, the village got its name, "Mugwort Beach", which has been called until now. For hundreds of years, how many people have lit mugwort ropes at night to find caozhou city submerged in the deserted sand, but it is a wonderful fantasy. Only in the evening of March and April, I occasionally saw the beautiful scenery of Caozhou City in the smoke clouds.