In 1067, Northern Song Dynasty, Bianliang, Main Street

☆☆☆

The sky was bright, and a horse-drawn carriage was driving on the streets of Bianliang. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Although this carriage is much larger than ordinary carriages, from the outside, the materials used and the workmanship are extremely ordinary, and it is inconspicuous on the road. The carriage was divided into two parts, the outer chamber and the inner chamber, the inner chamber was covered with thick cotton pads and soft roe deer skin, which could be used to lie flat, and the outer chamber was reinforced with balsa wood, which was light and soundproof, and the small door between the two chambers was closed, and the inner chamber was not disturbed when talking outside.

Right now, everyone in the car is sitting in the outer room, Chris is sitting on the back side, and Gao Zunhui is sitting outside, sitting close to the window.

Gao Zunhui glanced at the talk of a new face. Although this face is handsome, the dress is extremely strange, and this person is obviously as interested as a trip, and his intention is not to take her out to play.

"Tao, what are you doing?" Gao Zunhui asked.

Chris is dressed in a mixed and matched style, but it took a lot of thought, the Western Poison Ouyang Feng in her impression is the version of Leslie Cheung in "East Evil and West Poison", this style can be said to be the most alternative Western Poison. Although when Mark showed her this Hong Kong film, she couldn't understand what story was told in it, but she was attracted by the fantasy martial arts scenes and unique character shapes, which also made her have a little more longing for Chinese kung fu. On that day, the old man gave her this name at random, and later she remembered how she became the protagonist of this film, "West Poison". But if she knew that when the old man named "Ouyang Feng", she thought of a pair of breast peaks, and she would definitely vomit blood in anger.

Chris looked at the clothes on his body, and thought that there was nothing wrong with this well-dressed shape, so he said: "In the Lower Western Regions White Camel Mountain, Ouyang Feng is also. ”

"White Camel Mountain, haven't you heard of it......" Gao Zunhui shook his head and said, "What kind of Hu man are you pretending to be?"

Chris: "This is my style of rivers and lakes, you must have an identity when you walk the rivers and lakes, little uncle, don't make a mistake!"

Gao Zunhui looked up at the roof of the car, nodded a little resignedly, and then said: "Since you mentioned the rivers and lakes, I have to tell you about 'Listening to the Rain Pavilion'." ”

Chris knows that "Listening to the Rain Pavilion" is an organization that sells intelligence on the rivers and lakes, and he spends a lot of money every year to buy the intelligence of the "Heaven and Earth Pavilion". When she looked at the accounts of the Five Buddha Hall, she was startled, the most eye-catching expenditure on it was also the largest single expenditure, followed by a few words after the sky-high figure - Listening to the Rain Pavilion.

Wei Ziyu, the pavilion owner of "Listening to the Rain Pavilion", has a great reputation in the rivers and lakes, and is known as "Wu Xiaosheng", who all says that he knows everything in the world. I haven't met him, I heard he is middle-aged. Gao Zunhui said, "When Tingyu Pavilion was first established, the business objects were limited to martial arts people who walked the rivers and lakes, and there was no distinction between heavenly pavilions and earth pavilions. The Second Pavilion of Heaven and Earth was specially created for you, the number one buyer of the Five Buddha Hall. The "Heavenly Pavilion" specializes in collecting information on princes, ministers, and powerful envoys, while the "Heavenly Pavilion" collects information on wealthy businessmen and nobles, cloth-clothed commoners, and other rivers and lakes. Listening to Yuge's eyeliner is all over the world, the intelligence has never been wrong, and the price of buying intelligence is also rising, it has become a major force in the rivers and lakes that "can't afford to offend", and it is also contributed by you. ”

Chris just wanted to ask, but when he saw Gao Zunhui, he said again: "You already have the 'Imperial City Division and Jiyi Division' in your hands, and you don't let them play their due role, but you believe in a Jianghu force!"

The Imperial City Division and the Jiyi Division were the two major intelligence systems of the Great Song Kingdom. The Imperial City Division was an institution established to consolidate imperial power, with more emphasis on intelligence related to the internal affairs of the Imperial City, while the Jiyi Division was an external intelligence agency of the Song Dynasty, mainly responsible for military and diplomatic intelligence. The "Imperial City Division", which was originally under the orders of the emperor, is now in the hands of Lan Yuanzhen, and the "Ji Yi Division", which is under the orders of the Privy Council, is controlled by Prime Minister Han Qi.

"Your three loyal dogs only care about the things around you, causing the Imperial City Division to keep an eye on the affairs in the palace all day long, and at best, they are only extra attentive to the factional relations between those princes and officials. ”

Three loyal dogs, the little uncle always called Lan Yuanzhen, Zhang Ruoshui and Zhang Maoze next to her.

"Han Qi has always been arbitrary, he let Guo Kui lead the Privy Council, which itself is extremely inconsistent with the ancestral system, and cronyism, the old department of the Ji Yi Division is not used, and the six-wreck gate built by Guo Kui in the northwest is not used. ”

"The Gate of the Six Skeletons?"

"The Six Skeletons Gate, with six people as a group, is all a group of dead soldiers or people with extraordinary abilities under Guo Kui's subordinates, and the meaning of 'Six Skeletons' means that they are a group of people who are out of the six realms of reincarnation and have no bones. ”

"Death squads?"

"Yes, they are not afraid of death!" Gao Zunhui immediately added, "I really don't know why you trust Han Qi so much, even if he made great contributions at the beginning of the establishment of the Five Buddha Hall, but you can't let him dictate the country, so it is not a good thing for the monarch to be weak and the subordinate is not a good thing." ”

Prime Minister Han Qi is the first seat of the Jade Buddha Hall, Chris can know from Lan Yuanzhen and Zhang Ruoshui's words that Han Qi is not only deeply trusted by the deity, but Lan Yuanzhen They also trust him extremely much.

"Today, only the 'pigeon league' is the most powerful in the old department of the company, but it obeys the orders of others. ”

"Who?"

Gao Zunhui did not answer, but opened the curtain and pointed outside.

Chris looked out the window of the carriage, and she looked around for answers, but what she saw was a high wall on the right side of the carriage, and the buildings in the courtyard were quite spectacular.

She turned her head to look at Gao Zunhui for some reason.

Gao Zunhui shook his head briefly again and said, "Your precious second son, Zhao Hao, King of Chang!"

It turned out that within this high wall was the residence of Zhao Hao, the king of Chang.

Because Zhao Hao and Han Qi were busy with Yingzong's funeral together, neither of them could meet Chris. Gao Taotao gave birth to a total of four sons, the eldest son, the second son, the third son, and the fourth son. The three sons died early, and among the remaining three sons, except for Zhao Hao, Chris has seen them.

According to rumors, Gao Taotao loves her second son the most, and the female officials and palace maids all say that among the princes, the second prince is the most handsome and dashing, and the graceful and suave. Of course, in addition to the information in the heavenly pavilion, Chris also heard a lot of rumors about the second prince in the palace, such as: some people say that he is talented, not only knows the scriptures and history, but also is good at riding horses and archery; some people say that he is light and debauched by nature, and there are groups of concubines, and some people say that he actually likes men; some people say that he is high and powerful, and he is domineering, and they say that he knows people and makes good use of them, and he is a generation of virtuous kings, and he has won the support of a group of old ministers; some people say that he forms a party for personal gain and is well versed in power and strategy; some people say that he indulges in mountains and rivers and is indifferent to power. In short, there are many theories, making it impossible to tell what kind of person Zhao Hao is.

In modern times, Chris himself used to be a person who was full of rumors, so she didn't think the rumors were credible. To be honest, she wanted to meet this King Chang.

"He is eight years younger than me, I know that he has been gifted and erudite since he was a child, and every time I entered the palace, he asked me to help him collect unique books. At the beginning, I didn't see that this little bookworm had this ambition, until two years ago, he opened a martial arts field in the northwest, recruited troops, and won over people's hearts, and you didn't control it, and now his power should not be underestimated. Gao Zunhui looked directly at her and said, "You tell the truth, do you want to abolish Chang Liju?"

It's "waste growing up and standing young" again, although Chris didn't know what Gao Tao thought before, but after Yuwen Zhishao gave her a look because of this, she thought about it. Although the current emperor had ordered Tang Ping to assassinate "himself", Chris thought about it again and again, and always felt that the cause of this incident was that he blocked the holy drive that day and annoyed him. In this way, it seems that he is just a bear child with a noble status, but he is narrow-minded, and he can't hide things, and there is nothing to be afraid of, it is better to calculate and calculate, how to use this young emperor, and in the future, he may have to use his name in the Liao Kingdom, the so-called teacher is famous, and his name is justified. As for King Chang's affairs, everything is aimed at stability, and I will find an opportunity to explore his reality first.

After thinking about it, Chris looked at the little uncle seriously and replied affirmatively: "I don't have such thoughts. As long as I go north to the Liao Kingdom, the official family will be obedient and obedient, and he will not push back!"

Gao Zunhui listened to what she said, nodded and said: "I think as long as he gets rid of the current financial predicament, strengthens the army and horses, and raises military funds, he has no reason to oppose sending troops, and I also believe that he will not forget the ambition of Taizu and Taizong." As for King Chang......"

"When the funeral is over, I will see King Chang in person, and I will find a way to deal with his affairs when the time comes. ”

Today, Gao Zunhui specially said the names of Zhao Hao and Han Qi, just to mention Gao Taotao, these two people, although one is his own son Wang Ye, and the other is the most favored minister, but it is time for the power in their hands to be restrained.

Suddenly, the car stopped.

Gao Zunhui cleared his throat and said: "This is our first stop today - Duting Xiyi, this uncle from the Western Regions, let me tell you about it." ”

Chris smiled when he heard him smile again, and looked out of the car.

What catches your eye is an urban scene, with the Big Buddha Temple and Taizu's former residence Fanglin Garden on the right.

"Duting Xiyi is a post station that receives envoys from Western Xia, and of course it has also entertained envoys from small countries in the Western Regions. After saying that, Gao Zunhui knocked on the wall of the carriage with the handle of the fan, and the carriage continued to move forward. Further ahead is the West Market, where because of the large number of foreign merchants, you can often see foreigners with high noses, big eyes, or strange appearances and strange clothes, just like Chris's current dress, Gao Zunhui rolled his eyes and quipped, "The guest officer has taken a closer look, maybe he is someone who can see your hometown!"

In a moment, their carriage stopped again under a willow tree.

Gao Zunhui suddenly pressed lightly on the wall of the car near the west, and with the sound, the "Tong, Tong" cushion automatically opened, and two cylindrical things bounced out of the car wall. Gao Zunhui grabbed one of the cylinders, pulled it back one by one, and then pointed his eyes up.

Chris was taken aback, and she pulled the cylinder that popped up on her side, and immediately understood that the cylinder turned out to be a telescope.

"The tall and thin man in front of the lumber shop, do you see it?"

Chris glanced through the car window, then pointed to the location of the lumber shop. She closed one eye and looked through the single-hole telescope with the other.

In front of a lumber shop, porters unload goods from carts drawn by several camels. When he was done, a slender man with pale skin came out, who at first glance looked like a slender ash rod. After seeing his figure, and saying that he is the owner of a timber shop, you really think it is suitable.

"See. ”

"That person's name is Banliu, a descendant of the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty. On the surface, he was a timber merchant, but in fact he was a spy in Western Xia. ”

"Spies?"

"Yes, but he's the opposite!" Gao Zunhui said, "As far as I know, he is a member of the Rakshasa Regiment under the Six Skeletons, nicknamed Bai Impermanence. ”

"Sharp, still a double agent!"

Gao Zunhui said: "That's true, some small information will be released to the Western Xia Kingdom, and some important matters in the Western Xia will be reported to me by the Great Song Dynasty." ”

After reading it, Gao Zunhui motioned to the coachman to continue.

After passing the West Water Gate and going south, the vicinity of Xinzhengmen Street is all the embassy districts of various countries.

In front of it is the Pig Killing Alley, where in addition to the real place to kill pigs and sell meat, it is also a place where another kind of meat seller gathers. That's the brothel. Because it is close to the embassy district, there are many brothels owned by foreigners.

The carriage stopped in front of a building. The building has two floors and looks more like an elegant teahouse, with two words "Chrysanthemum House" written on the sign on the ground in front of the door, and a handsome and thin boy with a broom in one hand and a bucket in the other hand to clean in front of the door. After sweeping, he scooped some water from the bucket with a wooden spoon and sprinkled it with floating ash.

Chris looked at the boy's dress and said to himself: Japanese?

Gao Zunhui said: "On the surface, the chrysanthemum house is a brothel opened by the people of the family, but in fact, from the proprietress to the younger brother of the sweeper, they are all well trained to provide shelter and supplies for their fine work in Beijing. And my Great Song Dynasty has no war with them, and Ji Yisi often exchanges some information with them. ”

Yes, the chrysanthemum house is actually a "safe house".

Stop and go to a few places, there are private houses, there are stalls, and when the sun rises, the carriage swayed and came to the most lively city. On the west street of Zhouqiao, there is the magnificent Duting Station, which is a post station dedicated to the people of Liao.

Gao Zunhui smiled and said: "Guest officer, the entrance of the Liaoguo Post Station is wonderful, you can look here!"

Opposite the post station is the Liangjia bead shop.

Although the surname Liang is from the Song Dynasty, the son-in-law is an official in Western Xia, and this shop is the gathering point for Western Xia to inquire about the news of Liao. With that, he switched from one side of the car to the other, pulled the curtains, and pointed in one direction, "Look over there!"

There are some flowers and fruits near the post station. There is a small shop on the corner of the street, and under the bamboo hut there are rows of benches covered with red cloth, and people hold small plates in their hands and eat things like small cubes. The benches were all full, and several maids were very busy delivering fruits and tea during the banquet, and some people were simply squatting or standing, and even the door was surrounded by people on the inner and outer three floors. Finally, I saw from the cracks in the people that the signboard of the light box of the small shop: "Granny Meng's mixed lamb soup." ”

"Granny Meng's mixed lamb soup is delicious, and the most enjoyable thing is that you can eat it while listening to ghost stories, so it has gathered such a high popularity, and the yokan is not worried about selling at all. She tells ghost stories that are famous in the capital, and even big officials and talented people are rushing to listen to them, and I love to listen to them!" Gao Zunhui laughed out loud and said: "Meng Po's real name is Xiao Can, she has Liao ancestry, but she is a spy of the Six-Skeleton Gate Rakshasa Regiment. ”

"Why, the Liao people have become spies for our country?"

"The villagers of the enemy country have given us secret agents, and they are called 'Inma'. Why she did it, I don't know why. But she is poisonous, and if she is not careful, please drink a bowl of Meng Po soup, and you will cross the Nai He Bridge to Huangquan. ”

Chris nodded, and said in his heart It seems that the international relations of the Song Dynasty are very complicated, no wonder the little uncle took the trouble to bring her out today, just to let himself see the doorway of intelligence gathering.

Along the Bianhe River, I really arrived at Panlou again.

Gao Zunhui pointed to Pan Lou and said: "Pan Lou is an important intelligence station of Tingyu Pavilion, taking this as the central point, scattering to the whole city, selling pawns, leading cars and selling pulp, and there are their eyeliners everywhere, but these people mainly collect information in the Pavilion. ”

Chris suddenly saw four oval lanterns in front of the door of Pan Tower, and she had also seen it in front of Yuxian Tower that day, and she asked, "Why are you lighting the lights in broad daylight?"

Gao Zunhui laughed when he heard this, and explained: "That's a gardenia lamp, when Zhou Taizu Guo Wei came to Xingpan Building, the gardenia lamp was a pomp and circumstance put up by the store in order to receive him, who knew that it later became a rule, as long as there were prostitutes in the restaurant to attract customers, they would light this lamp." ”

Chris was interested in the old red light district, but thinking about it all meant the same thing. She was reminded of New York's Eighth Avenue (1) and the ridiculous night Mark and what she called "China Night", where Mark liked to order Chinese food at the "Joy Restaurant" and Chinese dolls from "Dragon Soup", and occasionally party with a few friends for a night. No matter what city in the United States, no one dares to approach Chinatown at night, where drug dealers and gangsters gather, of course, with my uncle with him, these are not a problem.

Now that there is a little uncle leading the way, I don't know if he dares to take himself.

"I said, you take me to the Qinglou to have a look!"

Gao Zunhui narrowed his eyes and asked, "You really want to go?"

"Naturally, I'm going!"

Gao Zunhui couldn't help laughing: "Actually, I wanted to take you there." ”

"Well, when it comes to the land of wind and moon, who knows better than Uncle Shangxiao?"

Gao Zunhui showed a smug expression, shook his head and said, "Beauty, what I like!"