Horses are running late on the ancient road in Chang'an, and cicadas are neighing in the tall willows. The birds are outside at sunset, and the autumn wind is on the plains. My eyes are broken and hanging for four days.
When Guiyun disappears without a trace, where is the early stage? He is unfamiliar with life, drunk and desolate, unlike when he was young.
——"Youth Travel" Liu Yong (Northern Song Dynasty)
…
Gao Shang said calmly: "In today's battle, the Anxi Army's reputation has become more prominent, but it has also made Gao Xianzhi stand out, and he has regrets. As the saying goes, if a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it. In the past two years, Gao Xianzhi has been favored by Gao Xianzhi.
As the day progresses, I have already made my husband, Meng Lingcha and others look down upon me, envy and hate me.
This time Gao Xianzhi entered the court and offered captives to the Tuqi Shi Khan, the Tubo chief, King Shi, and King Shishi. The Shi country was as rich as the West, and King Najuche Bishi had always been obedient and loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Gao Xianzhi coveted the wealth of the Shi country.
, wanted to plunder it for himself, so he found an excuse to kill and plunder, even the old, weak, sick and disabled. More than ten diamonds and five or six camels of gold from Shiguo were all taken into his home. Gao Xianzhi came from Shiguo
On the way back to the country, he slandered Tuqishi for rebellion, attacked Tuqishi, and captured the transfer Khan. The Anxi army's despicable and disgraceful behavior in this western expedition, once word spread, Gao Xianzhi's reputation was discredited, and the Anxi four
It’s hard to say whether the Zhen Jiedushi can be retained, let alone serve as other Jiedushi.”
The noble words made An Lushan's eyes light up. He thought to himself: "Li Xiang mentioned the prophecy that day, and the major concern that worried the Holy Emperor was the 'seven kills, the broken army, and the greedy wolf' three stars'. It is better to take the opportunity to draw fire to
Gao Xianzhi makes him a person that the Holy Emperor is jealous of."
Thinking of this, An Lushan turned from anger to joy and shouted to Cui Qianyu: "You still haven't thanked Mr. Gao. If he hadn't interceded for you, you would not be spared today."
Yan Zhuang, who was standing by, was quite jealous when he saw An Lushan obeying Gao Shang's advice. However, this man was quite deep in the city and his expression was not revealing at all.
An Lushan invited Gao Shang to board the car with him and led the generals to leave. In the car, Gao Shang offered another plan.
…
On the way home, Yang Yichan was very excited and chatted non-stop. She replied: "Brother, we will also have polo training in the next ten days. If you have nothing to do today, you can accompany me to buy a set of polo equipment.
"Bai Fu nodded in agreement.
Yang Yichan had already asked where to buy polo equipment.
The best shopping places in Chang'an City are the East Market and the West Market. The West Market is lively and prosperous, connecting the world, with many shops, merchants from all over the world come to visit, and goods from all over the world are gathered. The East Market is relatively deserted, but the desertedness is not because of the lack of goods.
Good. On the contrary, the goods in the East Market are of better quality, more expensive, and the customers are more noble. Because most of the dignitaries in Chang'an City live in Wannian County, Dongcheng, there are not as many ordinary people who care about it as there are in the West City.
The "Bashu Guild Hall" where Bai Fu lived was in Chongrenfang. To the east of Chongrenfang was Shengyefang. The East Market was just to the south of Shengyefang. There was an imperial road between the two squares that connected to Chunming Gate in the east and Jinguang Gate in the west.
City Street.
The Imperial City Street is a hundred paces wide and can accommodate dozens of horse-drawn carriages. The street stretches straight for more than ten miles and is endless. The tall locust trees lined up along the street, with majestic trunks and new buds on their branches, are like rows of armored men holding halberds.
, which further highlights the majestic atmosphere at the emperor’s feet.
There are tall and thick walls on both sides of the big tree. There are 110 squares in the outer city of Chang'an. Each square is a rectangle with an east-west width wider than the north-south, vertical and horizontal like a chessboard, arranged like fish scales, neat and orderly, without any disorder. Each square is like a chessboard and arranged like fish scales.
There are two doors on each side of a square, which are opened in the morning and closed at night. Every night, the square gate is closed, and between the squares, there are Jingzhaofu and Zhijinwu patrolling all night to protect the capital.
When you enter the East Market, you realize how rich and prosperous Chang'an is. There are many shops here, with various categories. There are countless teahouses and restaurants. You can find everything you want in terms of clothing, food, utensils and toys. There are a dazzling array of antique jades and silks and satins, which are fashionable and luxurious.
The two young men were very excited. They looked around at the host house and walked around at the west house. After a while, they came to a quite decent polo shop.
The clerk in the store saw that Bai Yang and his wife were dressed in ordinary clothes. Although they were not rude, they were not particularly attentive. The several clubs they took out were all ordinary goods, with wood, bamboo, and rattan as the core and painted on the surface.
The best ones are just wrapped in cowhide to enhance toughness and carved with patterns for beauty.
After Yichan read it, he wondered: "Given the size of your family, there should be a better Ju stick, right? Why didn't I see the tiger skin stick or the leopard skin stick with bright patterns?"
The clerk in the store smiled politely and said: "Of course I have this kind of stick in my store, but it's expensive. I think it's your first time contacting polo, so I suggest you buy some basic ones first, and then buy this kind after you become proficient in playing.
It’s never too late for a classic.”
Bai Fu said to Yichan: "Mei Yang, what they said makes sense. We can buy some basic models first and start practicing slowly."
Yang Yichan ignored Bai Fu and turned to the store clerk, eyebrows raised, and said, "You want to say we can't afford it, right?"
The waiter in the store smiled slightly and was noncommittal.
Yang Yichan took out a brocade bag, slapped it on the table, and snorted coldly. There was clear gold and a token in the bag. Yang Yichan threw the token to the clerk and said: "If you don't want to cause trouble, just throw it
Give this token to your shopkeeper."
The clerk was also a well-informed person. When he saw that the token was made of fine copper, with a complicated shape and embedded with dragon patterns, he knew that the token had a great background. He hurriedly took the token to find the shopkeeper.
Not long after, a chubby shopkeeper came out and greeted with a smile on his face: "I don't know if you are here, but I would like to invite you to have tea upstairs." After that, he personally led the way.
Bai Fu was curious and asked: "What is this that is so useful?"
Yang Yichan was very proud and whispered: "This is the token of the imperial guard. I will borrow it from the instructor who trained us for one day."
Bai Fu was even more surprised and said: "How can they lend you such a valuable thing?"
Yang Yichan smiled mysteriously and refused to answer the question.
The elegant seats on the second floor are luxurious and private, specially designed to receive distinguished guests.
The shopkeeper asked the waiter to bring out ten sticks and said with a smile: "Sir, these are the ten most expensive sticks in my store. Take a look and see if any of them are satisfactory. The price is negotiable."
The handles of these bow sticks are carved from ivory into the shapes of lions playing with balls or unicorns offering treasures. They are gorgeous and elegant. The sticks are inlaid with gold wire, silver thread, and wrapped with tiger skin. The colors are bright and the tigers are powerful. The stick heads are bent with special techniques.
They are in the shape of a crescent, with natural curvature and even thickness. When you try them with your hands, some are as light as bamboo shoots, and some are as heavy as an iron mace. They are all extraordinary.
When Yichan saw it, he was overjoyed and praised: "This is the bow stick I want."
The shopkeeper was quite proud and said: "There is a scholar from the Su School in Hongwen Hall who is good at poetry and wine. He makes a good golf stick and is specially used by the royal family. But he is too greedy for drinking. Every time he doesn't have enough money for drinks, he secretly fills the shop for me.
I made two sticks, and all the remuneration I received was used to exchange for wine. The Holy Spirit thought that he was straightforward, so he turned a blind eye to his secret work. This is why these good sticks were lost among the people."
Yichan picked out the most luxurious bow stick, couldn't put it down, and continued: "Brother, you can also pick one, I will give it to you."
Bai Fu smiled and said: "Okay."
Among the ten bright bow sticks, there is a dark black bow stick. It has no carvings and is not wrapped in animal skin. It is inconspicuous. Even if it is placed together with the bow sticks downstairs, it does not feel out of place.
Bai Fu thought: "This Ju stick looks ordinary, but it is placed here. There must be a mystery inside it." He held the Ju stick with his hand and almost didn't lift it up. It felt like seventy or eighty kilograms, heavier than an iron whip and an iron mace.
Three points. If you look closely, there are two ancient seal characters "moon hook" engraved on the handle of the club.
Bai Fu's heart moved. This bow stick was not an ordinary one, it should have its origin. So he said to the shopkeeper: "Let it be."
The shopkeeper was stunned and thought: "This ju stick is extremely heavy and cannot be used to play polo at all. I thought Su Xiaoshu was deliberately defrauding me of drinking money that day. Thinking of how much money he has made from Su Xiaoshu's ju stick sales over the years.
I spent a lot of money to buy this juju stick. I didn’t expect that one day it would actually be sold. Su Xiaoxu once said that only true heroes know this thing. If this statement is true, this young man should have great achievements.
backing."
Thinking of this, the shopkeeper laughed loudly and said: "This young hero really knows the goods! For the young hero's sake, the bow stick is sold at half price, and this bow stick is given to the young hero for free."