Chapter 379 Ancient Capital
As the mother river of the Chinese nation, the Yellow River flows continuously, sometimes gently and sometimes violently over the thousands of years. The Yellow River, which has burst its banks several times and changed its course, has brought countless disasters, but the water flow has washed away sediments. After each change of course, the flooded area has left extremely fertile soil. As a result, human beings have been able to breed, relying on the violent flow of water or... Quietness has multiplied from generation to generation and built a prosperous civilization.
The Chinese nation eventually radiated out from this center. Around the Yellow River, settlements everywhere eventually developed into cities. Some of them lasted for thousands of years, while others were gradually submerged in the long river of time. Only names and memories have been left behind. Among them, Bianliang City, Kaifeng Prefecture, is one of the most dazzling names.
Located at the tip of the huge alluvial plain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, Kaifeng Prefecture has been prosperous since ancient times. It has fertile soil, suitable climate, key geographical location and convenient water and land transportation connecting the north and south. Since the Xia Dynasty in 2000 BC, the capital of a dynasty was built here for the first time, and then for more than 4000 years, a total of ten dynasties established their capitals here. The Yellow River gave birth to this city and constantly destroyed it. Every time it changed its course, the old city was submerged. After the water flowed through, the new city was picked up again. Kaifeng Mansion in 2000 AD was still an extremely prosperous city, but the cities and memories of the past were buried layer by layer under the mud of the Yellow River, never to be seen again.
In the Wu Dynasty, Kaifeng Prefecture Bianliang City was the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. This is a city that Ning Yi has no memory of. Kaifeng a thousand years later will be much taller than the city it is today. This city, which will theoretically be buried underground in many years, now looks both ancient and young. Under the lead-green rain curtain, the city's ancient and novel buildings are mixed together, just like every rapidly developing city. With its rushed, uncoordinated old and new memories and contradictions, and its aura that can both make people nostalgic and disgusting, it leaves traces of people's lives in the river of time.
Under this city, there are many ancient traces of the Xia Dynasty, the city wall of Daliang in the Warring States Period, and the ruins of Bianzhou in the Tang Dynasty. Thinking about it this way, I unconsciously felt a strange feeling in my heart. When getting off the boat, Ning Yi stamped his feet on the ground.
The pier in the rain is chaotic and noisy.
We came from Jiangning and walked together all the way. At this point, it was finally time to go our separate ways. Someone from the royal family came to hand over the birth date, and the royal family and dignitaries who came all the way north also had their own relationships to find and relatives to meet. The flow of information at this time was not very flexible. As everyone went north, there were various delays. It was difficult for people in the capital to estimate the exact time of arrival. Some people with higher status and more self-restraint of status and face had already asked their servants to rush to the capital to report the news as early as last night. At this time, some people who seemed to have high status were greeted at the pier. There are also people - like the little princess - whose status is not low, such as Kang Xian and others who are worried about her safety. They have already sent people to report to the capital and have people waiting at the dock every day. This kind of treatment is the best. Earnest, and the best way to prove your identity.
Everything in the Secret Investigation Department is not as rigorous as it was when it was fully functioning. Wenren Buer and others went to Beijing mainly to visit Qin Siyuan. He had originally paid homage to Qin Siyuan, but he had already arrived at the shore and was going to visit the Prime Minister's Mansion in the afternoon. As for Ning Yi, he should have gone to the Prime Minister's Mansion. However, there were Xiaochan, Su Wenyu, Su Yanping, Yunzhu, Jin'er, and four or five more trustworthy servants and nurses from the Su Mansion who came along the way. There were a lot of things, so it was impossible to bring all the people there, so we had to find an inn to stay in the afternoon. As for the three brothers of the Qi family, Lu Junyi and others, they are already very familiar with each other anyway, so they might as well stay in the inn together.
When I first came to Bianliang, I was actually unfamiliar with the place. Fortunately, there was an experienced person from the Su family accompanying me, the shopkeeper Liao who came to Bianliang to make things worse during the Huangshang incident. This person's name is Liao Sanhua, who is very trustworthy among the shopkeepers of the Su family. He also has experience in doing business in the capital, so this time he was asked to follow him to serve as the front line.
When everyone was discussing where to stay in the hall at the pier, which was used to welcome distinguished guests, Zhou Pei led a few people over to say hello. They were from the Chongwang Palace in the capital. In the next few days, she would probably stay in Chongqing. He stayed in the palace until after the Queen Mother's birthday party, so he came over to ask where Ning Yi lived.
After what happened along the way, she already admired Ning Yi quite a lot. In the past few days, she spent a lot of time pestering Ning Yi to ask this and that. As usual, she would insist on one or two unconvincing comments. The number of sentences was greatly reduced. Even when Ning Yi compiled a list of the top 100 masters in the world, which was obviously playful, she had to copy a copy and think about the mystery. If possible, I'm afraid she would prefer to learn from such a "teacher", but of course, most of the time, she has a general understanding and knows that this is impossible.
At this time, Ning Yi and others were planning to stay at the Fuxiang Inn, which is said to be the largest and most expensive in Bianliang, as recommended by Shopkeeper Liao. When the name was mentioned, a palace steward who followed Zhou Pei also said: " Fuxiang Tower is quite big there. I'm just worried that there won't be any vacancies. If you can't stay at that time, you might as well go to the Wenhui Building on Taimiao Street. That inn has some connections with the palace." The steward seemed to be a eunuch, but his attitude was gentle and respectful. Hand over a name card. It seems that Prince Chong's Mansion and Prince Kang's Mansion have a good relationship. If the other party does this, the little princess will feel proud.
"Where the teacher lives, I will ask Grandpa Qin tomorrow. If anything happens, the teacher will come to Prince Chong's Mansion to find me." After Zhou Pei finished speaking, he put his hands on his chest and bowed slightly. The fifteen-year-old girl who had just left looked noble and generous.
After Zhou Pei left, Chen Jingui also came over to say a few words to Ning Yi. He thanked him for his help along the way and said that he also knew some people in the capital. If he needed anything, he would be there. Say so. After Chen Jingui, it was Li Shishi who came to find Ning Yi.
At this time, everyone went back to their homes to find their mothers. After saying goodbye to everyone, Master Li was going back to Fanlou, so he came over to ask about Ning Yi's residence. In fact, maybe Ning Yi will stay in an inn for the first day or two, and then he will buy a few yards in the capital.
"If you have time, Brother Ning might as well come to Fanlou. There are many talented people in the capital. Brother Ning still remembers Zhou Bangyan and Zhou Meicheng. He has always been obsessed with your lyrics. Of course, in the end, The main thing is still The younger sister hopes to get together with Brother Ning, Brother Yu, and Brother Chen.”
Her attitude was so sincere that Ning Yi felt it was hard to refuse. Of course, there was no need for him to refuse such a thing. , nodded in agreement. Master Li was also slightly blessed and left with a smile. Although the figure is not as noble as Zhou Pei's, she is graceful and decent, as if the innocence of a girl is combined with the charm of a woman, without losing the sense of purity. If Yunzhu is like an elegant and pure lily, she is probably like a pure but slightly natural narcissus. Perhaps because of this, Yunzhu couldn't fit into an environment like a brothel, but she was able to do it with ease and feel content.
"This Miss Li is so amazing..." At this time, Yunzhu, who was dressed plainly in plain clothes and jingchai, looked at the background of Master Li leaving after bidding farewell to everyone, and couldn't help but tilted his head and sighed, this is probably It was pure admiration. She had a charming temperament when she tilted her head. Ning Yi looked at it and smiled. Yuan Jin'er was currently dressing up in men's clothing, sitting on the luggage and eating, humming disapprovingly.
The rain was still falling, and the group rented a carriage and left. After passing two streets, the unique mess at the pier gradually subsided, but when I opened the curtain and looked outside, the street scene still looked crowded, with high and low buildings crowded together, crooked wide and narrow lanes, and under the rain curtain. , the scene in front of you Sometimes old and sometimes new, there are new taverns and old teahouses, with high and low eaves overlapping each other. Sometimes you pass by an old courtyard with moss-covered walls, and sometimes you pass by a newly built small building with red paint washed away in the rain. Be bright. There is a big stone lion in front of the majestic mansion, a tall flagpole in the courtyard of the escort agency, warriors carrying weapons on their backs, sheltering from the rain under the eaves, beautiful lanterns on the brothels, and clothes and colorful silks hanging on some of the upper floors, with eyes filled with emotion. The longing woman looked absentmindedly at the passers-by upstairs. Singing, laughter, laughter and curses came from some windows, and the sounds were drowned in the rain. Ancient trees grow in corners of courtyards, bridgeheads, or street corners, supporting lush leaves in this ancient city. In the distance, there are towering palace walls.
We walked all the way from the pier to the Fuxiang Inn. When we wanted to stay, we found that the Fuxiang Inn was full. Then Ning Yi and his party turned to the Wenhui Building that the steward of Prince Chong's Mansion had mentioned. It was indeed a grand and luxurious inn. . It was almost evening after Ning Yi and others took out their name cards and rented two courtyards to live in. The rain has not stopped yet, lamps are lit and lanterns are hung in the inn. It is bright and many people are talking loudly in the hall. They are talking about something that was only reported yesterday: Guo Yaoshi, the commander-in-chief of the Liao Kingdom's Ever-Victorious Army. Thanks to the hard work here, the two states of Zhuo and Yi were surrendered to the Wu Dynasty.
As in later generations, in the capital, everyone likes to talk about politics. Ning Yi only knew about this matter two days ago, but it is good news after all, and there is no cover-up from above. At this time, the Jin army had achieved successive victories against the Liao Dynasty, but the Wu Dynasty had been experiencing heavy thunder and little rain. Previously, one hundred thousand people could not defeat ten thousand people, which already made people very unconfident, even though Tong Guan had now led his army to the north. , but before the victory, it was difficult for the Wu Dynasty army to give people confidence. On the contrary, the Ever-Victorious Army was originally composed of people from Liaodong. It was originally designed to fight against the Jurchens and was called the Resentment Army. Although it may not be able to win against the Jurchens, its combat power is still extremely strong. This is obviously how the imperial court promoted it. .
Wu Chao has been fighting for Guo Yaoshi's resentful army from the beginning, especially Qin Siyuan. He knows that Wu Chao's army is not strong enough in the front, so the Secret Reconnaissance Department has spent a lot of effort behind the scenes. All the methods that can make one trade off and the other trade off are being used. This time it will be a big victory for the Secret Detective Division...
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The feeling of Bianliang is hard to find... (End of chapter)