As a thoroughfare between the two capitals, there are almost densely populated places where chickens and dogs meet each other along the way. Only when you go west to the Hangu Ancient Road, at the junction of Shaanzhou and Guozhou, do you suddenly feel like you are in the wilderness.
feeling in.
On one side are high mountains, deep gorges, and steep cliffs. As far as the eye can see, there are ancient trees and green forests, and apes and birds flying. On the other side, there is a big river with green and yellow colors rushing and rolling; it is constantly washing down from the river beaches, terraces and loess plateaus on the other side.
Large tracts of cracked sand and soil rolled into mud. The boats that occasionally came and went became extremely small.
But at the same time, the crowds of people encountered on the road began to become sparse; especially after passing the Taolinsai ruins during the Warring States Period, you might not be able to meet a single business traveler or pedestrian after walking for two or three hours;
At this time, a heavy rain suddenly came.
Although it was a hot day in early summer, the sudden cold rain caused a lot of damage, and the temperature difference caused by it was still very easy for people and animals to get sick. So, at the intersection ahead of a large wild peach forest, we encountered a wild store
, seems to have become the first choice for Jiang Tian and others to take shelter from the rain.
Since it is a wild store in the wilderness, it is naturally not as formal and complete as an official hotel. From a distance, it looks like a large courtyard in a forest clearing. It is just an outer earth wall used to prevent wild beasts from intruding.
On the top, it has already been mottled and peeled off, leaving pits and gaps.
Inside the wall, a two-story building with civil structure and a number of simple sheds made of bamboo and wood could be vaguely seen. Under the erosion of the rain, the ground paved with pebbles soon became a piece of water.
It was slippery and muddy, and gathered into temporary streams of water.
In the shed, more than a dozen horses of various colors and donkeys and mules had been tied up; there were also two carriages, one large and one small. Seeing the arrival of outsiders, the waiters waiting in the shed hurriedly
He ran across the water holding an umbrella, shouting hello regardless of getting wet.
Therefore, after stopping the carriages and horses, Jiang Tian and his entourage also stepped into the wild shop building. What hit their faces was a burst of smoke, the sound of people and the hot air mixed with the smell of sweat; they saw that there were several tables of various people sitting in the lobby and vestibule.
And in between the constant calls, the table was full of wine and food.
In the second half of the empty lobby, there are many small rooms separated by a row of curtains and straw mats stained with grease and suspicious stains. And these narrow small rooms for pedestrians to rest can only accommodate
There is a bamboo couch for lying down on, and a short case placed on it.
At this moment, most of these small rooms seem to be occupied by people. Some of them have already lowered the curtains and are snoring in the middle of the noise. Others are lying down with their luggage in the single rooms with the curtains raised.
On the bamboo couch, according to the case, he was chewing happily.
There were also some who seemed to be companions on the road, or old and new acquaintances, chatting in low voices in adjacent compartments; but there were also some people dressed as scholars, holding their arms slightly cautiously and vigilantly.
The bookcase is reading a book in the light coming from the back wall.
But among the various people among them, the most eye-catching ones are the few men in black sitting in the corner. Their clothes look similar to those of those who belonged to the Taiwan Prison at the time, but there are subtle differences in the patterns;
There was a man with a black hood looming between them.
This man's hands and feet were obviously shackled, and he was wearing a gray coarse robe that didn't fit very well. His exposed limbs seemed a bit thin and shriveled. Despite this, the sights of these men passing by each other never left this man for a moment. He always maintains a frightening vigilance on his body.
After seeing Murong Wu and others who followed Jiang Tian, they looked slightly surprised and briefly confirmed the information about their suspected companions. Then they turned their attention back to the prisoner they were in custody. .When Jiang Tian sat down, Murong Wu whispered in his ear:
"Recording things, I'm afraid these are not members of the Wufang Tiqi under the Ministry of Punishment, or the (Northern) Xuanwu Team that specializes in escorting felons."
(The earliest theory of Tiqi originated from knights wearing red military uniforms. They are generally called the accompanying guards of noble officials. See "Book of the Later Han·Hundred Officials IV": "One person holding Jinwu can win two thousand stones... One person, the Prime Minister, can compare with one thousand stones." There are two hundred people on horseback.")
According to his brief introduction, this is one of the legacies left behind by the senior time traveler. It is also a supplement to the traditional criminal justice system after the expansion of the Tang Dynasty. The Ministry of Punishment at the end of the Sixth Division has a specific The right of criminals to post bounties.
After all, with a vast land and martial arts among the people, some public security problems and even criminal incidents will inevitably occur. And due to various reasons, effective arrests cannot be made; even in some chaotic and despicable frontier areas that are beyond the power of the government, lawlessness is formed. A place where thieves live.
At this time, it is the turn of those dynamic civil groups and people in the world who are officially registered or tacitly allowed to exist, to start to exert their subjective initiative and really come in handy. Because in addition to the amount of the reward posted, the other party is responsible for life and death. It also does not occupy institutional resources.
Later on, it simply turned into various rankings published regularly, and began to absorb a large number of private resources and local government forces to participate. Originally, the Ministry of Punishment could only interrogate those below the seventh rank, but also officially had supervision and guidance. The functions and powers of public officials in Daozhou prefectures and counties.
The establishment of the Wufang Tiqi directly under the Ministry of Justice was born out of this growing need. The Wufang Tiqi each has different responsibilities and priorities according to their positions. For example, the Xuanwu team who holds a black identity card and a pass (pass) , specifically responsible for the escort and delivery of various felons.
When Murong Wu had finished talking, a waiter wearing a washed white towel came up to him with a wink. While saying hello, he wiped the table with force and said: "How are you, guest?" , Do you want to buy some rice soup? There are ready-made steamed buns (baozi) in the humble place, with black noodles, brown noodles, yellow noodles and white noodles, as well as cabbage, dried mushrooms, wax dices, and mutton fillings..."
“If guests want to eat, there are also steamed rice with carved hummus, shredded yam, chicken head rice, and thickly boiled wheat porridge and chestnut rice porridge... If the guest has a dry mouth, he can have a cup of our local oily soup first. Japanese spicy soup, one mouthful of it will make your lips and teeth salivate, and two mouthfuls will warm up your body; if the customer wants to change the taste, our store also has leek leaf shuiyin cake (noodles) and Tang Zhongluo Wan (dumplings)..."
"If guests want to try something fresh, we also have live fish raised in tanks, ready-made lambs, live geese, chickens, home-grown cabbage, cress, and freshly picked dogwood and beans. Big pot The prepared fish head with sansho pepper, live mutton, and roasted goose with beans are also quite appetizing and refreshing... By the way, we also have the newly brewed jicama wine and three-grain fermented wine, would you like a piece of it?"
Of course, being able to make a living on such a thoroughfare, even a wild shop, requires some means and skills; therefore, except that the price may be a bit higher, there is no fear of some illegal shops popping up. Otherwise,
He had already alerted the imperial officers and soldiers and killed him several times.
Therefore, Jiang Tian then ordered a dish of chicken soup (chicken mince stewed with eggs), a large portion of thinly sliced braised lamb, a pot of twenty palm-sized cabbage sums and steamed cakes filled with dried mushrooms; although he did not drink any alcohol, he
Using the boiling hot water provided by the store and the ground tea bags that I brought, I brewed a large pot of amber-colored strong tea soup.
Then, pour the boiled chicken soup with the fish sauce and sweet sauce that comes with it, and mix it evenly. Then break the filling of the hot steamed pancake in half, fill it with the mixed chicken soup, and then add the braised mutton.
; When you eat it, you will be filled with the wonderful alternating flavors of the tender, sweet chicken soup and the mellow braised gravy.
As long as you eat a few big mouthfuls, and then drink the strong tea soup that is full of bitterness and sweetness, you will feel extremely refreshing and warm, and you will feel energetic and refreshed. Therefore, in order to plan for the next journey, Jiang Tian asked
Ten pounds of braised mutton were weighed, and twenty long oven cakes were baked on the stove.
Then, Li Huan asked the store owner to boil bamboo pipes and introduce mountain spring water into the room; refill everyone's water bladders and bottles on the car; while Zhang Wusheng went out to feed the horses fresh beans and turf.
At this time, I called the waiter with the tray over and finally paid a small amount (340 Wen) of food money.
Although this is enough to cover a courtyard and a whole day's food and lodging in the hostels and private hotels in the cities along the way. But it is really nothing on this journey with no villages or hotels.
In fact, there are many barefooted men in short clothes who are trembling all over from eating in a corner of the lobby of this wild shop. They bring their own dry biscuits and get free hot water.
If you have a few dollars in your pocket, you can buy a five-cent bowl of miso soup, sprinkle some free chopped green onions and cress, and dip it in the cheapest large black-faced steamed buns. You don’t even need to use your hands or grasp it with chopsticks.
Drinking is just a lunch. If the conditions are slightly better, you can order a bowl of Shuiyin Pancake (wide noodles) or soup balls (dumplings), and eat them with a sound.
There are also people who are reluctant to buy more expensive food, but buy a pot of relatively cheap muddy wine; then they take out a handful of roasted beans from their sleeve pockets, eat them with wine and make a crunching sound. There are also people
The store manager bought a large plate of cooked groundnuts, paired with better jicama wine, and drank it with a grin on his face, which was very delicious.
There are also merchants or scholars who seem to have plenty of money. They order a bucket of wheat rice brought out of the steamer, and then buy a bowl of oily soup (lard stew) or spicy soup (cornus, pickled cabbage, bacon and minced meat soup).
), pour it directly into the yellow-brown wheat germ, and stir it into a rich-flavored staple food; then buy a pot of filtered light wine to eat.
Customers with better conditions will also order two bowls of yellow and easy-to-digest chestnut rice porridge, paired with a piece of bacon or mutton steamed cake, and something like a quarter piece of white-cut and hand-shred boiled goose.
, or a piece of fried blood sausage with meat and vegetables; your mouth will be full of oil after eating, but it only costs one hundred and eighty yuan.
Therefore, Jiang Tian and others, who spent more than three hundred dollars, were actually the biggest spenders at this time. At this time, the rain outside was still dripping, with no sign of stopping. Through the bamboo window
Ge. The mountains and trees in the distance are still blurry in the rain.
Therefore, Jiang Tian and others continued to sit in a well-ventilated seat with open windows and doors. They drank the remaining tea soup, along with the salt melon, vinegar ginger and wine-soaked dried radish provided by the store, and waited slowly.
While eating, he listened to the noise of various people in the lobby while chatting quietly.
"Actually, there are about four people waiting in this hall that are worthy of attention." Murong Wu, who was full of food and wine, also let go of his reserve a little, looked around and whispered: "First of all, there are the people at the back of the hall from the left.
The man in the fifth tent, although he was wearing ordinary traveling clothes, but judging from the quiver around his waist and the pouch, he was probably not an official on the way to his appointment; he was just of low moral character, so he didn't even have a retinue.
"
"Secondly, there is the guest who is leaning against the railing upstairs at the back of the hall. His walking pace and posture indicate that he is probably from the military. But judging from his arms and gripping habits, I am afraid he is not a good shooter.
; It’s just that she is leaning on the railing to occupy a high place, but she is vaguely waiting and wary of something?"
"Then, there is the businessman sitting at the sixth table in front of the left wing after entering the door. You can see that although he is dressed in business attire, his hands are thick and knuckled, more like a person who often uses strength. His companions at the same table are also intentionally or unintentionally,
He touched the air below his waist several times, and it looks more like a guy who has good use and control."
"Finally, there is the one who looks like a traveling scholar..." Murong Wu said this, and suddenly there was an obvious neighing of a horse outside, as well as the sound of heavy kicking and running that penetrated the rain curtain.
Everyone's attention, which was relatively quiet inside, was immediately attracted.
Then, there was a roar of wind, and a fiery figure suddenly broke into the lobby; the person came again with unabated force, overturning the desk bench blocking the way and knocking it down. Finally, he crashed into the waiters dully.
, there was a loud banging sound in front of the gathered counter.
Then Jiang Tian, who was near the door, also smelled a very obvious smell of blood at his seat. He couldn't help but frown and secretly warned. Then he saw the man who rushed straight to the counter. He was wearing a military bean hat.
A general wearing two armors on his upper body and a thick horizontal sword across his waist.
It's just that his iron-leaf-skinned upper body armor has been torn to pieces by something, and the bleeding wounds inside are faintly exposed. In his hand, he is also half-supporting, half-holding a man who looks like he is bleeding profusely.
companion; on the way he broke through, the rain mixed with blood dragged a long path.
"Save people, save people quickly." He was seen shouting hoarsely to the inside and outside of the counter: "If you have any means, just come up with it, otherwise it will be too late." As he shouted, there was a rush of people outside.
Several sergeants came, all with injuries and their armors in messy and broken condition.
They were seen hurriedly clearing away all obstacles, and after lifting the seriously injured comrade who had passed out and placed him flat on a relatively open counter, he saw blood still dripping down.
; But the owner of the wild shop who was found by the general had a sad face and said sadly:
"General, please forgive me, general. The shop only sells food, so it doesn't have any means of first aid to the injured!"
At this time, among the guests in the cubicles at the back of the hall who were alarmed one after another but who were silent and did not dare to come out, someone suddenly came out and said, "Don't be anxious, Captain Xin. I'm Gong Xin, Chief Xin."
Born in Bang, he was on his way to Gao'an, Hongzhou (today's Yichun, Jiangxi Province) to be appointed as a lieutenant. He happened to have brought some medicine with him, which might be of some help."