Huo Qubing came out of the front hall of Wuyang Palace and went to a side hall not far away to check Liu Che's recent daily life records. This was his job as a servant.
About an hour later, he left the palace and came to the long street filled with people.
Chang'an has a total of twelve city gates and eight main streets that are wide and wide enough to accommodate carriages and horses.
The longest street is nearly two thousand feet long.
Most of the palaces, noble residences, official offices, ancestral temples and other buildings in the city are concentrated in the central and southern parts of the city.
The residents in the city are mostly located in the north of the city, divided into 160 "villages".
There is also the "Chang'an Nine Markets" in the northwest corner of the city, which is very lively.
At this time, it had been three years since Zhang Qian returned from his first mission to the Western Regions.
Emperor Liu Che ascended the throne seventeen years ago, and the following year he sent Zhang Qian on his first mission to the Western Regions. It took a total of thirteen years. After many hardships, Zhang Qian returned from the Western Regions three years ago.
His mission made the Han Dynasty know that there were other great powers besides China.
For example, there is Shendu in the southwest of China, and there are many small countries in northwest China.
Zhang Qian's mission accelerated the integration of Western Region and Han culture.
Three years after he returned from his mission, the Han Dynasty had established preliminary contacts with some countries in the Western Regions, and economic and information exchanges increased.
The Han Dynasty and various countries in the Western Regions sent envoys to each other, ranging from hundreds to dozens of envoys. The scene recorded in the history books of "merchants and merchants, Japanese money was collected under the fortress" initially appeared.
Huo Qubing walked along the street and occasionally saw goods and spices from the Western Regions.
The merchant group is a group of people with the sharpest sense of smell after the exchange between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. They started border trade early on, selling scarce and complementary products from both sides, and making profits from it.
The status of merchants was very low in the early Han Dynasty, but improved during the reign of Emperor Wu.
However, at this time, the countries in the Western Regions, especially Loulan in the east, Gu Shi (later called Che Shi) were still closely controlled by the Huns. Under the instigation of the Huns, they often sent troops to attack Han Dynasty envoys and rob merchants and travelers.
There were still serious obstacles in the way of the Han Dynasty to the Western Regions.
"His Majesty and his uncle have been constantly adjusting the strategy of attacking the Xiongnu in recent years. The situation between the Han people, the Xiongnu, and the countries in the Western Regions is becoming more and more delicate. No wonder the Xiongnu has frequently tested it, and recently brought up the peace proposal again. It is obvious that he has other plans."
Huo Qubing was thinking as he walked.
As he was walking, he suddenly turned around and saw a pretty face looking at him on the second floor of a shop facing the street.
It was the same girl who peeked at him when he was walking along the long street last time.
Seeing him turn around, the girl was a little bolder than last time, but she still couldn't resist Huo Qubing's piercing gaze. She only persisted for a moment and then retracted her head in shame.
This time I could see quite clearly that the girl had an appearance that closely matched that of Liu Qing.
When she retracted behind the window, she moved too quickly and 'accidentally' knocked off the support rod of the window lattice.
Snap!
The pole fell to the ground, not far from Huo Qubing.
Huo Qubing was stunned for a moment. This scene seemed familiar?
The same situation happened to others in Water Margin.
Huo Qubing had no intention of striking up a conversation. He looked at the pole and walked away.
The girl behind the window had been paying attention to what was going on outside, and couldn't help but be startled. It was a little different from what she had imagined...
The other party obviously didn't take the exchange of glances through the window seriously, nor did he pick up the pole and bring it back to take the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
Seeing that Huo Qubing was far away, the girl's fair face showed a little embarrassment.
Did he see through my plan and know that I did it deliberately... It's all my father's fault...
As soon as the girl thought about her father, a wealthy middle-aged man walked in outside the room.
This man has a fair complexion and rather handsome features, but is slightly fat. He is the girl's father, Zhuo Huai, a famous businessman in Chang'an.
The Zhuo family has been doing business for generations and accumulated a huge sum of money during the pre-Qin Dynasty. Later, when the world was in turmoil, the Zhuo family could not escape from the world. When the world stabilized, they came back to the world. Even the court had to rely on the Zhuo family's experience of digging iron mines for generations to let them share
The huge profits contained in some iron ores have been reduced.
"Son, what do you think about it? Huo Shizhong told you before he became his father.
His aunt is a queen, his uncle is a general, and more importantly, he has won the trust of His Majesty.
It is the right time for my son to be close to him now."
The girl's delicate face looked downcast.
Zhuo Huai looked at his daughter and said seductively: "I spent a lot of money on my father's behalf, so I passed the guard at the palace gate and learned the approximate time when Huo Shizhong came in and out of the palace. I asked you to wait here for days.
With my son's appearance and talent, as long as he takes the initiative, which man can resist him?"
The girl licked her lips as moist as fresh fruit in grievance: "My daughter has thrown the window wood at his feet, and he left without paying any attention to her."
"I will never be so shameless as to take the initiative to get to know him..."
Zhuo Huai said: "You should know the current situation. If you want to refuse the other party's request to take a concubine, the only way is to get Huo Shizhong's approval.
You might as well learn from your aunt in this family, who left home for her lover. If you have such courage, your father can do the same as your aunt's family, and give you a large dowry, a hundred servants,
One million taels will be a good story when the time comes."
The aunt he was talking about was Zhuo Wenjun, whose name was recorded in history. The story of her and Sima Xiangru has been passed down through the ages.
Zhuo Qingke's face was rosy, and he stretched out his hand to pat the sizable bulge: "My daughter has tried her best to knock out the window wood, how can she use her strength..."
"The noble family member has sent a message asking you to come and be my concubine." Zhuo Huai sighed.
The family's little daughter is famous for her beauty, and the number of people seeking marriage has crossed the threshold.
Unfortunately, the status of businessmen is still low nowadays. Zhuo Huai, who came from a lower background, looked down upon him and wanted to work hard to move up.
If Huo Qubing can be promised, with the support of the general and the queen, let’s not talk about the benefits that the family can gain.
From the perspective of loving her daughter, everyone in Chang'an knew that Zhuo Qingke was famous for her beauty, and some members of the clan had been coveting her for a long time. Although Zhuo Huai had some connections, he couldn't afford to offend her.
He had no choice but to come up with a plan to find a powerful family to marry his daughter to.
Huo Qubing's age, status, and family support naturally made him the first choice.
Zhuo Qingke also didn't want to marry a disgraced clan member who was about the same age as his father as a concubine, so he implicitly threw it out of the window. Unexpectedly, he was rejected.
Tuk Tuk!
The father and daughter were worried when there was a knock on the door outside the house, and a soft voice asked: "Is Qing Ke in the room?"
"Yes." Zhuo Qingke agreed in a low voice.
The door of the room was pushed open from the outside, and a graceful woman with a graceful figure, a sky-green dress, and bright eyes like spring water walked in.
This woman is slightly older than Zhuo Qingke, and she seems to be born with a charming and charming charm.
"Sister-in-law."
Zhuo Qingke stood up and faced the woman. The two had a very good relationship. After approaching, they stood arm in arm.
That woman was Zhuo Qingke's sister-in-law. She had known Zhuo Qingke's eldest son since they were young. Her real name was Bai Nanyu.
She didn't expect that Zhuo Huai was also in the room, saying hello to her father-in-law in a soft voice. Her figure under the skirt rose and fell, falling heavily with the movements, making the clothes tight.
Lian Zhuohuai, a businessman who was accustomed to seeing the wind and the moon, glanced at him subconsciously, and then quickly looked away.
"Qingke has been worried about being accepted into the clan recently. Has it been resolved?" Bai Nanyu's voice was soft and sweet.
She has a natural temperament and a charming flavor of her own.
"Please advise her. If this doesn't work out, I won't be able to protect her."
Zhuo Huai left the room as soon as he finished speaking.
These two scourges in our family have targeted too many people.
That clan nobleman openly wanted to marry Qing Ke, but secretly he wanted to bring Qing Ke into the family first, and then he would have the opportunity to enter and leave the Zhuo family in a legitimate manner.
Zhuo Huai could see clearly that he wanted to take over Bai Nanyu too, but unfortunately there was nothing he could do.
If he had no other choice, he would not take the initiative to approach Huo Qubing.
————
Huo Qubing returned to Huo Mansion, entered the study, and took out a bronze jar as big as a fist. It was one piece with no lid, and it looked a bit like an urn.
This was found from Xia Jie's body, and it was cold and bone-chilling in my hand.
There are five holes on the top of the copper urn, from which wisps of cold air escape.
"The five holes are connected to the yin. This thing is an instrument used to assist spiritual practice."
Huo Qubing listened carefully, and there was a faint sound like a ghost crying.
Suddenly, the jar began to vibrate on its own.
Huo Qubing raised his hand to promote the cultivation of Zhenyi Dharma Teng She, and he saw the Yuan Shen manifesting and breath flowing out from his mouth and nose.
The interior of the copper urn was dark and lightless, and the inner wall was engraved with countless symbols.
There is a deep, cold energy inside the urn, which sometimes turns into snakes and insects, and sometimes moves in human form, like a fierce ghost.
This is what Xia Jie said before, and it is one of the sources of her power. She collects Yin Qi and living souls and refines them with secret techniques.
At this time, Teng She differentiated from Huo Qubing's body and approached the urn.
The ghost in the urn seemed to have encountered a natural enemy and immediately lay dormant, motionless.
The snake spread its wings and flapped the jar.
The Yin Qi accumulated in the urn, together with the demon, jumped out of the urn on its own, and voluntarily died, being swallowed by the snake.
Huo Qubing's own soul or soul felt like he had received a powerful tonic, feeling indescribably happy.
Immediately, the manifested Soaring Snake returned to the sea of consciousness and sank into the Book of War.
Huo Qubing's qi and vitality interacted with each other, and he opened his mouth to receive the qi to strengthen himself, but his practice of the true intention of Fa Teng Snake increased a little.