The Dharma Sea of ​​the Green Snake

Chapter 91

"Qianzhong Road" is one of the fifteen official roads of the Tang Empire.

At the same time, it is also the only large official road in Tanzhou that directly leads to Gyeonggi and Tanzhou.

In addition to the official road being carried out by professionals all the year round, there are also some large post stations on this official road that the central government forcibly set up, which are responsible for delivering documents and valuables for the imperial court.

Theoretically speaking, on these official roads, there is a small official station every twenty or thirty miles.

These post stations generally do not accept outsiders. They are specially used to receive messengers and visiting officials who deliver official documents, so that they can have a place to rest and change horses on the way.

In addition to the officials, some famous scholars can also spend the night in these post stations.

In addition, in some slightly larger areas, there will even be some inns and restaurants near the station for passers-by and businessmen to rest.

These inns and restaurants complement each other with official inns, forming a small settlement independent of the township.

However, in Pei Wende's impression, the most famous one about Tang officialdom is Du Mu's sentence "When a concubine rides the red dust and smiles, no one knows it's litchi."

It is said that Tang Xuanzong before the Anshi Rebellion wanted to let Yang Guifei eat fresh lychees.

He once specially ordered someone to cover the lychees picked in the morning with ice cubes, and then sent them to the palace at high speed.

In this way, when the lychees were delivered to Concubine Yang Guifei, the fresh lychees seemed to have just been picked from the tree, which naturally greatly won the beauty's heart.

Is Du Mu's poem exaggerated, or how many people and horses were exhausted and killed by Tang Xuanzong's practice of laughing for the sake of Bomei people.

Pei Wende didn't know, and didn't intend to comment.

The only thing he knows is that it is precisely because of the existence of these official ways that Datang can be called a unified empire, not some bulk states.

Take the "Tianbao Rebellion (Anshi Rebellion)" a hundred years ago as an example. An Lushan raised troops from Fanyang, the two places were three thousand miles apart, but the news reached the capital in just six days, which shows the rapid efficiency.

It is no exaggeration to say that these official ways that have been unified and regulated since the Qin Dynasty are the cornerstone of the unification of the entire Chinese civilization.

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"'Anxiang Station' is one of the stations connected to the nearby 'Jiuxiang Eighteen Stations'..."

"According to the old monk, this inn can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty, and it was specially built by the First Emperor for the expedition to Baiyue."

"It is said that in addition to the post station along the road, the first emperor also ordered a large number of migrant workers to dig the Lingqu to connect the water systems of the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang River, ensuring the transportation of grain and grass for the Qin army."

While introducing Qin Shihuang's great achievements to the little green snake in a low voice, he slowly approached this huge inn...

During this process, Pei Wende discovered that this inn was the same as what Li Yanran said before, most of the people who came in and out were officials and scholars.

Therefore, when they saw Pei Wende who was carrying a longbow and a short knife, they all cast surprised eyes on him.

Several post officials in charge of protecting the post drew out their weapons one after another, and looked at the young man dressed as an Orion with vigilance.

Since the Anshi Rebellion, the prestige of the central court has been greatly weakened, and bandits and chaotic parties in various places have become one of the most troublesome disasters for local governments.

Especially in states and towns far away from the center like Tanzhou, almost every post station will have a dedicated combat post officer, just to ensure the safety of the post station.

Fortunately, Pei Wende was young enough and didn't look too threatening.

Therefore, the post officials who were waiting in full battle did not start fighting directly, but surrounded Pei Wende.

"I'm here to find someone!"

Seeing this situation, Pei Wende decisively raised his hands, using this international gesture that has been used throughout the ages to show that he is harmless.

"Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you approaching here?"

A series of three questions were asked by the leading post officer, and the post officer behind him took the opportunity to run into the post station and called out the official who was actually in charge of managing the post station.

"My name is Pei Wende. I'm from Tongqing Temple in Weishan. I'm here looking for someone!"

After honestly answering the post officer's three questions, Pei Wende immediately turned his attention to the old man who was slowly walking out.

Pei Wende's intuition told him that as an old man, he should be the real manager of this inn, and also the "Old Man Cao" he was looking for.

"Wei Mountain? Tongqing Temple?"

A flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, and the old man who walked up slowly first stretched out his hand to signal the nearby post officers not to be nervous, and then turned his head to look at the calm Pei Wende.

"You said you came from Tongqing Temple in Weishan, do you have a guide issued by the government? Or other certificates?"

He didn't easily believe Pei Wende's words. Although the old man's actions were a little slow, the sophistication revealed in his speech was far beyond the comparison of those brats.

"Credentials? You mean this?"

Pei Wende, who had been prepared for a long time, nodded, and then took out a gold-encrusted jade pendant from his bosom.

This was specially given to Pei Wende by Li Yanran before he left.

He said that he took out this jade pendant when he found old man Cao, so he naturally knew what to do.

"Well, this young gentleman is a junior of my relatives, so don't be nervous."

Hearing what old man Cao said, the post officials around him completely relaxed.

It's just that from the eyes of these post officials looking at Pei Wende from time to time, we can still see the curiosity in their hearts.

In their impression, except for one adopted child, old man Cao seems to have always been a loner?

And even though Pei Wende is not very old, judging from his performance of walking like flying with a sword and a bow, he is obviously not a junior of an ordinary family.

Fortunately, curiosity is nothing but curiosity. These post officials still have the qualities they should have. They didn't ask too much, but returned to their posts.

"Come with me!"

After beckoning Pei Wende to follow him, old man Cao turned around and walked towards the station.

He didn't communicate too much with Pei Wende during the whole process, and he didn't even ask him where he got the gold-encrusted jade pendant.

【What a strange old man...】

Following closely the old man Cao's footsteps, Pei Wende couldn't help but feel a strange feeling in his heart when he looked at the old man leading the way in front of him.

He just glanced at the jade pendant inlaid with gold, and stopped asking about his origin and purpose.

As an old man, his trust in Li Yanran is too high, right?

Isn't he afraid that he is a criminal of the imperial court, a rebellious army bandit and the like?

"hiss!"

Just at this time, the little green snake that had been hiding in the collar raised its head in good time, looking at everything around it curiously and cautiously.

—Recommendation ticket—/—Monthly ticket—

(End of this chapter)