Listening to the familiar local accent and the familiar cries, Master Wuwang showed a smile on his face like an old monk in meditation.
Twenty years away from Beijing, I didn't expect the suburbs of Beijing to become so lively.
"Master, after passing this toll booth, we will reach the foot of the capital after walking a few dozen miles."
The little novice who was taking care of the living all the way opened half of the car window obediently.
Master Wuwang glanced out of the car window, looking at the bustling street scene, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
"I heard that this toll booth closest to the capital is stuck in traffic every day. Settle down today, will His Majesty summon the master tomorrow?"
Master Hopeless was silent.
From Xiliang to the capital of Dazhou, thousands of miles away, he was silent most of the time along the way.
He is old, has been traveling for decades, and has many diseases in his body. Taoist Xuanqing prescribed medicine to him, just to make his aging less obvious.
He knew his own body well, and he was already prepared to die of old age in Xiliang.
Unexpectedly, His Majesty issued an imperial edict calling him back to Beijing.
After leaving Beijing for twenty years, and returning to the place where I have been dreaming, I hopelessly feel very peaceful.
It's just a smile on the corner of his mouth.
Pass the toll booth smoothly and move forward slowly on the spacious official road.
"This section of the official road was expanded last year, and there are four more passages for carriages, plus a passage for pedestrians. This road is really smooth."
"The road has been doubled, but the carriage is still so slow. I can't imagine how crowded it would be before the road was not widened."
"There used to be many shacks and thatched houses on both sides of the road, where many local villagers lived. The road was expanded, and all of them were demolished, and the houses were rebuilt and planned. The inn on the second floor is also equipped with glazed windows, which is really luxurious."
"I heard people say that the firing of colored glaze in the south is getting better and better. The colored glaze fired in the past was opaque and had various impurities. In the past one or two years, there have been few magazines for the fired colored glaze. I heard that the big families in the capital all Glazed windows have been refitted. If a house doesn’t have one or two transparent glazed windows, it’s embarrassing to entertain guests.”
"Because there are more and more glazed windows, the business of the cloth shop is also improving. Many houses have added curtains, and there are various patterns. Master, look at the curtains in the inn, which is the most popular style in the capital this year. Lady Mochizuki."
"It's an inn with glazed windows and a lady watching the moon. It's really rich. The owner behind it must have a lot of background."
Master Wuwang smiled, listening to the little novice talking non-stop.
He didn't need to open his mouth to ask, he had already learned enough information.
The little novice is obviously a talker.
With this temperament, I'm afraid I can't sit still. To be a monk who knows guests is to give full play to one's talents.
If you are not willing to become a monk, it is also possible to return to secular life and marry a wife.
The carriage entered the capital before dark.
In the Jingming Dynasty, commerce and trade were developed, and the trade routes were smooth. With the assistance of Sanhe Express, the circulation of goods was rapid. The closing time of the capital city gate was half an hour later than the time set by the ancestors.
Don't underestimate half an hour.
The closure of the city gate was postponed for half an hour, and the small merchants and hawkers had an extra half an hour of business.
There are also more opportunities for big merchants and merchants, and the night market in the capital takes advantage of the trend.
One more place for people to go at night is equivalent to one more place to spend money.
The stalls in the night market also rose again and again, but they still couldn't stop the enthusiasm of the merchants.
In the past, I could only do business during the day and earn money during the day.
The city gate was closed half an hour late, and even the night's money could be earned.
It's a businessman's carnival.
It is also a source of inspiration for literati. As the saying goes, looking at a beauty under the light, the more beautiful you look, the more beautiful you look.
The atmosphere in the capital is becoming more and more open and inclusive, and there is a vague tendency to catch up with Jiangnan.
The girl's family can also walk out of the house generously, unlike the past.
To talk about the biggest feeling, there are many foreign visitors on the streets of the capital.
Qin Lou Chu Pavilion also launched the Orchid Dancer project to attract merchants.
Visitors from foreign lands are very cautious when doing things in the capital.
Once a crime is caught by the embroidered guards, the light one will be fined with varying amounts of gold and silver, and the serious one will be deported and logged into the blacklist at various checkpoints.
Once on the blacklist, you will never even think about entering the territory of Dazhou again in this life.
Most of the foreign visitors in the past came from the Western Regions.
Now there are more Siamese, poisonous people, and indigenous savages.
These native savages were all slaves.
Although the imperial court did not openly oppose good people selling themselves and selling themselves as slaves.
However, judging from the attitude of the imperial court in the past two or three years, whenever there is a case of forcing a good man into slavery, the court will impose extremely severe sentences.
Even if the local government makes a light sentence, the inspector censor will reject it.
Once the Ministry of Criminal Justice intervenes in such cases, without exception, they will be given heavy sentences.
There is no shortage of smart people in the world.
The Ministry of Punishment, inspecting the censors, and giving heavy sentences, one set of one set, and one set of combined punches, all of which are the imperial court's routines.
The information revealed is intriguing.
Ever since, smart people reacted quickly and started trading people outside the territory early.
The reason why smart people are smart people is often because they are three or five steps faster than others.
Don't underestimate these three or five steps, the accumulated wealth is terrifying.
How many people have become wealthy businessmen by relying on these three or five steps.
The imperial court cracked down on forcing Liang to be slaves, but did not restrict the trading of people outside the territory.
When these people were brought to Dazhou, when they passed the customs, the attitude of the customs was obviously to turn a blind eye and close one eye, just to double the tax.
The attitude of the customs has already explained the attitude of the court.
Overseas, play whatever you want. No one cares about you.
But in Dazhou, you have to abide by the rules.
Who dares to harm one's own people, don't blame the government for doing business.
Businessmen are very sensible, and we will never harm our own people. We specialize in harming the barbarians.
You can't force Liang to be a slave, and the scale of Yashi is also shrinking, but there is a shortage of working servants in the mansion.
what to do
What businessmen do is to meet needs.
Wanting a slave is easy!
Barbarian slaves, the price is fair, you can order them at will, you get what you pay for.
As a result, the dental city expanded and the population sources were diversified.
The government, customs, businessmen, and wealthy families are all happy.
…
Master Wuwang settled down in a small temple in the city, waiting for the emperor to summon him.
When Xiangguo Temple learned of his return to the capital, it had cleared out the quiet room in the back mountain and welcomed him to settle in at any time.
The little novice asked: "Master, is he going to Xiangguo Temple? The vegetarian food in Xiangguo Temple is very good."
Wuwang asked with a smile: "Do you like the vegetarian food in Xiangguo Temple?"
"I like it! The food in Xiliang is very different from that in the capital. I haven't eaten well in Xiliang, and I always miss the vegetarian food in Xiangguo Temple along the way."
"Tomorrow, you can go to Xiangguo Temple to eat vegetarian food."
The little novice waved his hands again and again, "No way. The master doesn't go to Xiangguo Temple. I am a little novice, how can I get the vegetarian food in Xiangguo Temple?"
Hopeless smiled and said nothing.
The little novice was a little flustered, worried that he might have said something wrong.
But he is a big-hearted person, and he worried that it would be less than half a stick of incense, and he started talking non-stop again.
Hopeless to listen to the little novice monk, his mind has long drifted to the distant horizon.
Wuwang arrived in Beijing on the third day, Emperor Liu Zhao summoned him.
The content of the conversation revolved around Xiliang.
There is no hope that everything will be reported one by one.
He has been in Xiliang for twenty years, and he is well-deserved in saying that he is familiar with the Western Regions.
After inquiring about the business, Liu Zhao mentioned the reason for calling him back to Beijing, "The queen mother is not in good health, and I heard that the master's Buddhism is profound. I called you back to Beijing to pray for the queen mother."
"I have been running around for a lifetime, and I can return to my hometown when I am old. The poor monk is grateful for your majesty's love."
"It's good that you can think so!"
Liu Zhao sent someone to Weiyang Palace to ask Empress Dowager Pei if she would like to meet Master Wuwang now.
The servant who asked the question returned soon.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the empress dowager said that today is inconvenient. I would like to ask Master Wuwang where to place the order. The empress dowager wants to stay in the temple for a few days and talk about Buddhism with the master."
Empress Dowager Pei wants to leave the palace
Liu Zhao frowned slightly, and relaxed it in a blink of an eye.
If Empress Dowager Pei wants to leave the palace, she can do as she pleases.
When you get old, you can do whatever you want.
Since Empress Dowager Pei lived in the palace, she rarely had the opportunity to leave the palace.
The imperial palace seems very big, but to people who have lived there for ten or twenty years, it is very small.
As small as a cage.
Being able to go out of the palace for a walk and go to the temple to experience the profound Buddhist teachings is considered a relaxation.
"Master, do you have a place to place the order?"
"Amitabha!" Master Wuwang sang the Buddha's name first, and then said: "The poor monk plans to go to Xiangguo Temple to place an order."
"Very good! Lin Shuping, send someone to Xiangguo Temple to make preparations. In a few days, Prince Duan will accompany the Queen Mother to visit Xiangguo Temple."
"The old slave obeys the order!"
…
After leaving Xingqing Palace, Wuwang was led by his servants to Chang'an Palace.
"The Empress ordered, Master, please come to Chang'an Palace to have a cup of tea. The mountain spring water sent from Yuxiu Mountain this morning is the most suitable for making tea."
Wuwang smiled, "I've been away from Beijing for 20 years, and the poor monk also has something to say to your empress."
When he arrived at Chang'an Palace, Wuwang was invited into the tea room.
A low table, a small red clay stove, teapot, teacups, and various tea sets are all available.
"It's been a long time since I drank the tea cooked by the master himself. I wonder if I have this honor today?"
Gu Jiu sat on the ground, and greeted Wuwang to take his seat.
Wuwang stepped forward with a smile, "I still remember the last time I invited my mother to drink tea, it was still in the tea room in the backyard of Idle People's Residence."
"Master remembers what happened many years ago."
Hopeless controlled the fire, and soon the mountain spring was bubbling.
He picked up the kettle and started brewing.
The action is smooth and flowing.
Pour off the first bubble, the second bubble is the essence.
The white porcelain teacup is translucent, and it is priceless at first glance.
With slender fingers on both hands, he held a teacup and placed it in front of Gu Jiu, with graceful and charming movements.
Gu Jiu picked up the teacup, took a light breath, and drank it down in one gulp.
"The same tea leaves, brewed by a master, are really extraordinary."
"Your Majesty praises me! The poor monk's skill in making tea is not as good as it was back then."
"In Xiliang, did Master ever have a shortage of tea?"
"There is no shortage. It's just that I'm too busy, and most of the time I just take a sip casually. Like today, I specially choose a tea room to drink tea and talk. There are not many opportunities."
"Master, you have worked hard all these years! When you return to the capital, you will have a good rest."
"Thank you, Ma'am, for your concern! The poor monk also plans to finish his busy work for a while, and then retreat and meditate."
"Master is going to retreat?"
"Exactly!"
"Before retreating, let me talk to Xiliang first."