After the carriage that came to pick him up slowly drove out of this large villa, Jiang Tian turned back and glanced at the door. There were no floral decorations or patterns on it, only the words "Qingqiguan" in a rather simple font. Writing. Is this where I have been staying during this time?
And when the carriage drove out of the winding streets lined with high walls and green screens, the pedestrians and vendors gradually became denser from sparse, and the atmosphere of home life in various markets suddenly appeared on the river. In front of my eyes. Although it has long been accustomed to the predecessor.
But for Jiang Tian, who has been through too many things at the moment and has almost never stopped fighting and killing, it is a rare scene of peace of mind and relaxation. In the distance where a large river meanders, you can even see something like a palace wall. Words such as "Qujiang Palace" and "Furong Garden" suddenly came to his mind.
And the "Qingqi Pavilion" where he is located is also quite famous, and it can actually occupy a large space near the Qujiang Palace. But, how much darkness and filth is hidden behind this glorious and prosperous scene? Thinking of this, Jiang Tian said to Mencong Guo Feng who was driving:
"Do you mind if you delay a moment while I'm on the way?"
"But please do it yourself."
However, after being slightly surprised, Guo Feng showed an understanding expression and said: At the same time, he took out a money bag from his sleeve very considerately. Only then did Jiang Tian realize that he did not need to spend money on food, clothing, housing and transportation in the other garden, so he no longer had the habit of bringing money when he went out.
Therefore, when Jiang Tian's carriage finally arrived at the newly established place where Xiuzhengfang is located in the southeast corner of Chang'an; he could see the landmark building in the distance - the Daci'en Temple located in Changguofang, even in the The location of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which will become famous in later generations:
Daci'en Temple was specially built by Emperor Taizong in memory of his biological mother, Mrs. Dou (some say it was his aunt Mrs. Xiao Dou who raised his brothers). The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is where Master Xuanzang, who wrote "Records of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty" and became the guide for the development of the Anxi Protectorate, once translated scriptures and taught Dharma.
It's just that the Big Wild Goose Pagoda of this era is completely different from the tourist attraction that was rebuilt many times in later generations. Because, after the earthquake more than a hundred years ago, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was renovated. Therefore, today's Big Wild Goose Pagoda has not only been reinforced inside, but also plastered with gypsum (cement) outside.
On the four-sided tower surface, waterproof and wear-resistant paint is used to depict the colorful images of the four guardian kings; therefore, no matter which direction you are in the southeast city square, as long as you can see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, you will You can determine your general location based on the portrait of the King of Heaven facing you.
At the top of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a rotating timing mechanism similar to an armillary sphere. Therefore, at midnight and halfway through noon, the bells in the tower will naturally start ringing to tell the time at a fixed point. As a result, it has become one of the "New Thirty-six Scenic Spots" under the jurisdiction of Wannian County in Chang'an City.
The new place led by Guo Chongtao is located in the South Street part of Simen Cross Street in Xiuzhengfang, close to Zuo Street near Nanfang Gate. Diagonally opposite is the former residence of Zhang Jiuling, the famous Kaiyuan prime minister. Now inside are the Shangshu Provincial Pavilion and the Zongzhengsi Pavilion; "Jiuxia Shishiji" records that the peony banquet of new Jinshi may be held here.
Of course Guo Chongtao's face is not that great. Therefore, what he occupied at this time was only a wealthy businessman's mansion that had been confiscated by the government and transformed into a middle-level courtyard with three spans and two entrances. Therefore, as long as you stand on the pavilion in the inner courtyard, you can see the sparkling Qujiang Lake behind the southeast wall.
In front of the Wutou Gate, which represents the identity, Shuangma Stone, Hengju and Barriers were also re-erected; wooden signs and lanterns with the words Jinwu Street Ambassador were hung. Although it is low-key and inconspicuous, there is a hint of officialdom. After Jiang Tian got out of the car again, there were already a lot of leftover sticks, cattail leaves, and wrapping paper piled up around him.
In a sense, it is undoubtedly the simplest and most effective way to understand the current basic situation related to people's livelihood in a short period of time; starting with those mobile traders who have a wide range of activities and are most sensitive to price changes. Just the prices of daily staple foods such as cakes, soup and rice can project a lot of information.
For example, in Chang'an today, the most expensive staple foods are chestnut (millet) and rice (big yellow rice), which cost 45 yuan per dou (ten liters/about 12 kilograms); followed by (wheat) wheat, which costs 30 yuan per dou. Seven qian, after being ground into flour, is 63 qian per dou; the cheapest is rice, which is only 30 qian per dou.
Among rice, except for some special varieties such as fragrant rice, long eye rice, chicken blood rice, Binuo stem, red lotus rice, etc. that are exclusively for the upper class, the most valuable ones are Zhejiang rice and Jiannan rice from Jiangdong Province. Xichuan rice from Lingnan Road, Zhumi from Lingnan East Road, Xiangshu rice from Andong Duhufu, and Songjian rice from Jinghu South Road.
The cheapest and cheapest ones are cicada rice and rat tooth rice from Annan, Yizhou, Linyi, Shuilu Zhenla and other places. Because it is an early-maturing, fast-growing variety with a very poor taste, it was used as ballast for seagoing ships carrying tribute northward. Therefore, at the lowest price, a dou of rice only costs fifteen yen, and if it is rice released by the government to help the poor, it only costs 9 yen.
However, the most common ones on the market in Chang'an are Changgu rice, Yiluomi, etc., which are widely planted on Guannai Road and adjacent Shannan East Road and Henan Road. Therefore, under the low-cost food security provided by these parties to Beijing, even if they are mere traffickers and lackeys, it is not a big problem to simply fill their stomachs.
But if you want to further improve the quality of life, you can only use the names of the Bai Juyi brothers to describe it. Back then, their father, Bai Jigeng, was a strange person in his generation. He named the brothers Lotte/Juyi and Xingjian/Zhitui. This shows that life in the capital was particularly difficult.
Especially since the great opening up of the sea and land more than a hundred years ago, many domestic and overseas princes have divided themselves into vassals, with vassal kings attached to them; there are also thirty-two state capitals in the world, and more than a dozen of the six major protective palaces. Large and small governor's mansions; various imperial palaces, vassal residences, and noble families purchased properties in Beijing one after another. The result was that the land price in Chang'an became even higher.
Just like Jiang Tian's predecessor, he was able to rent a residence in Wenxin Lane, Guangdeli, Wannian County at a relatively cheap price of 450 yuan per six months due to the relationship guaranteed by Donghaishe. However, more scholars and common people who gathered in Beijing to seek life could not afford to live in the city at all and could only settle down in many city buildings.
Therefore, the current Chang'an City has natural differences from south to north; the farther north the city is, the more sparse the household registrations are, the area is vast, and the more low, flat and deep houses are; and the farther south it is, the more densely populated it is. The floors are getting higher and higher, and the distance between the buildings in the square is becoming more chaotic and dense.
Among the east-west city squares, the west side is where many businessmen from all over the world gather; and the east side is where noble families gather, and various mansions, villas, gardens and mansions abound, so it is called the West Rich and the East Noble. pattern. Of course, each specific city has different characteristics.
And a large number of civilians and poor scholars live in snail houses among the old, dilapidated and chaotic, but often six or seven-story tube towers and stacked houses. Among the houses at the south end of the city, one is called "Ant House" Quite a unique landscape. It was also the place where Jiang Tian’s predecessor liked to hang out when he was collecting materials.
Because, compared to those over-familiar stories about emperors, generals, princes and ladies, which are almost all routines, the joys and sorrows and human joys and sorrows that happened here are undoubtedly more real and down-to-earth. Therefore, even if the final content written is not satisfactory, corresponding benefits can still be obtained.
There was even a period of time in which he lived in one of the tube towers in order to observe a certain subject up close; he often interacted with all kinds of people in the noisy city and his neighbors. The so-called Tonglou Tower is one of the products of the capital reconstruction project that Liang Gong presided over as a stayer after regaining Chang'an more than a hundred years ago.
Therefore, when it comes to each tube tower, care is taken in the materials and planning. Even after more than a hundred years of use, it can still be used as a home for hundreds of families or hundreds of people; and even though the exterior is mottled and cracked, it maintains the basic living function inside. But stacking houses doesn’t work.
The stacked house is a product of folk self-construction by imitating the shape of the tube tower. However, because the foundation is often not laid well, the result of blindly adding several floors is that the foundation continues to settle, so that one day, it collapses without warning. However, the rent of unsustainable duplex houses is even lower than that of tube buildings, so there are always people flocking to them.
Therefore, in the absence of Guo Chongtao, this unknown courtyard was actually quite deserted; only a few left-behind officials were seen. So, after the uneventful process of registering his identity card and leaving his handwriting, Jiang Tian took advantage of the situation and took the initiative to make a request to go to the scene and take a look.
