With the ultimatum issued by Woxia Temple, he can travel unimpeded on the border of Nanwu.
Along the way, the young man saw that he was not the only one who had documents issued by Buddhist temples. Many wealthy families like him, who were wearing brocade clothes and had maids and servants, also had documents issued by major Buddhist temples.
The four words "Buddhist Kingdom of Nanwu" are by no means a general statement. Buddhism has penetrated into every corner.
For example, in the bedroom of the Shuanglong Gang leader, there is a statue of Bodhisattva enshrined, and fresh fruits are placed as tributes.
The dividing line between Southern Wu and Northern Sui is a large river, and the other bank can be vaguely seen. The water is as clear as surging pure colored glass.
The Nanwu officers and soldiers guarding the shore checked the ultimatum and explained: "A ship will come from the other side in two hours to take you there. Go there and wait in peace."
Shen Li led the horse into the spacious field. People who were going to Northern Sui Dynasty today were crowded with people, including many lone rangers like him who were leading the horses.
He found a place where there were not many people, untied the water bag fixed on the saddle and took a few sips. The girl not far from him asked shyly with a coaxing face: "Master, can you give me some water? The little girl's water bag." I accidentally broke it and have been thirsty all day.”
Although the river is very close, the shore is guarded by officers and soldiers, and no one is allowed to get close.
Pedestrians on the road said that it was not like this before. In recent days, the ships of the Northern Sui Navy frequently sailed on the river. In order to beware of sneak attacks, the Southern Wu officers and soldiers were on strict alert.
The young man nodded slightly and poured a bowl of water to the girl. The water bag was almost empty. It didn't matter. We could go to the other side to fill up some clean water in two hours.
Her bowl was very clean, as if she had bought it new. She sniffed the water for any peculiar smell, and then drank it slowly in small sips.
The girl was dressed normally, with dyed coarse cloth clothes, as if she came from a commoner. However, her skin was smooth and her fingers were not rough. Even when she drank water, she was quite polite. She should be like Liu Xiangjun, who sneaked out. The eldest lady of the family.
"Thank you, sir. Bodhisattva bless you." Putting down the porcelain bowl, the girl solemnly thanked him softly.
Shen Li smiled and said: "It's a big effort, no need to say thank you."
"Young Master is not very old, can the elders feel free to let him travel alone?" The girl saw that he was also polite in his conversation, and they immediately started talking.
The young man shook his head: "The elders in the family want me to have a career."
"I guess the young master is a martial arts student!" the girl said with a smile.
"How can I see it?"
"If you don't know kung fu, young master, how can the elders in your family dare to let you travel alone?"
Shen Li smiled and said nothing.
Seeing that he didn't want to say more, the girl had no choice but to keep talking.
Two hours passed quickly.
Several officers and soldiers shouted to everyone to get on the boat.
In an instant, the place was crowded and crowded.
Shen Li led his horse and walked silently among them. The girl was next to him. She didn't know if he was a good person or if he was just acquainted. After saying a few words, she developed a liking for him.
The young man glanced at her, and the girl smiled in return.
Two large boats were parked on the shore, and passers-by boarded the boats one after another.
The two of them were almost the last to board the boat. When there was no one on the shore, the Nanwu officers and soldiers removed the wooden planks on the boat and waved to the boatmen.
After a while, the ship sailed to the other side.
Not only were there officers and soldiers from Southern Wu on the boat, Shen Li also saw officers and soldiers from Northern Sui Dynasty also appearing on the boat. The six of them stood on the bow of the boat and stared at the people crossing the river.
"There's a big mess in the Northern Sui Dynasty!" the girl whispered to Shen Li.
"Oh? What's the trouble?"
"The imperial court recruited a group of experts from the world of martial arts to set up a yamen in Tongquetai to investigate corrupt officials. Over this matter, the civil servants quarreled so much that a great scholar in the scholarly community even wrote a petition about it. A thief’s message.”
"Calling a thief? Who are you asking for?" Shen Li laughed.
She said longingly: "Of course it is the queen who ascends the throne and takes the throne."
"Didn't the Queen kill this great scholar?"
"No, after reading the essay "Peeling the Thieves", the Queen admired the scholar's literary talents very much and sent the Prime Minister of the Northern Sui Dynasty to invite him to join the court as an official."
"What kind of trouble is this? Couldn't it be passed down to future generations and become a good story?"
"It's really as simple as you said. Tongquetai's massive search for corrupt officials has caused turmoil in the court, and the rivers and lakes are also uneasy. Many masters have begun to hunt down Tongquetai personnel, and now they are particularly tit-for-tat. The Queen issued a decree According to the imperial decree, the Tongque Tower is ordered to monitor the rivers and lakes. If anyone dares to offend, the imperial army will be mobilized to march on the rivers and lakes."
"A horse riding across the rivers and lakes? The Queen is really courageous." The young man's attention was attracted by the officers and soldiers of the Northern Sui Dynasty.
He saw several people walking toward the officers and soldiers of the Southern Wu Dynasty. The two parties talked quietly, and the officers and soldiers of the Northern Sui Dynasty made gestures one after another.
The girl thought to herself and said: "Anyway, the world of the Northern Sui Dynasty is in a mess now. Some old people in the world who are not interested in worldly affairs have come out one after another to fight against Tongquetai after learning that Tongquetai is bullying people like this."
After a pause, she looked at the young man and said, "You are from Southern Wu, and you have to be even more careful in the Northern Sui Dynasty. Nearly a hundred masters of Jianghu in Southern Wu were captured by Tongquetai."
Looking away, Shen Li said: "Are you from the Northern Sui Dynasty?"
"yes."
"Going to Nanwu for sightseeing?"
"No, I'm visiting an old man who lives in seclusion in the mountains and forests."
Shen Li nodded and didn't reply. The girl never took her eyes away from his face.
After the officers and soldiers of the Northern Sui Dynasty finished talking to the officers and soldiers of the Southern Wu Dynasty, they walked through the crowd and returned to their original positions. He felt that something must have happened.
The river at the junction of the two countries, viewed from the Southern Wu side, was already in turmoil, and the defenders were all wearing armor. Despite this, people were allowed to cross the river back and forth. Perhaps the Northern Sui Dynasty did not take the initiative to attack, and each retained their dignity.
From time to time, groups of swimming fish jumped out of the water. Passengers on the boat lamented that they needed a fishing net. Otherwise, if they put the net down, they would not be able to harvest a huge harvest? !
It took nearly three hours to reach the ferry on the other side of the river. At first glance, there were all soldiers in armor. No wonder the Southern Wu people were cautious. The Northern Sui soldiers looked like they were not allowed to cross the river and go south to attack.
"I know there is a very good shop nearby. How about treating you to a meal?"
"A bowl of water in return?" Shen Li asked with a smile.
The girl said calmly and generously: "I haven't introduced myself yet, my name is Zhu Hongni."
"Shen Li."
"How could there be such an elegant name in the world!" Zhu Hongni covered her mouth and chuckled. The young man was suave and his appearance and temperament were superior to others. He really needed a name that sounded refreshing to him.
"Let's go, of course I will repay you with a meal."
"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders."
He has been hungry for a long time. Since someone is willing to treat him to dinner, why not?
The young man led the horse and left the ferry with Zhu Hongni. The ferry in the Northern Sui Dynasty was different from that in the Southern Wu Dynasty. Everything here was well organized, unlike the other side, where there were hawkers, shops, prostitutes, etc., everything was available.
"The Queen has great ambitions. Not only does she want to unify the Three Kingdoms, but she also wants to conquer the barbarians in the northern steppes." Zhu Hongni was at a loss for words. She originally wanted to say some interesting things about the world, but she suddenly thought about how a weak woman like herself could show that she was so familiar with things in the world. When Shen Li asked, wouldn't he expose himself?
"Is the Prairie King's Tent very strong?"
"Strong!" The civil and military officials in the court gradually unified their opinions. If they want to go south to conquer Wu, they must eradicate the hidden dangers of the grassland. Otherwise, when the grassland king learned that the hinterland of the Northern Sui Dynasty was empty, he would definitely go south with all his strength. At that time, the six border towns alone could not withstand the grassland army. .”
The Northern Sui Dynasty inherited the layout of the previous dynasty, with twelve towns on the frontier, and six towns on the grassland king's tent.
.
The soldiers of the Six Towns were strong and powerful, and they fought many battles with the King of the Grassland, with victories and defeats for each other.
"The soldiers and horses on the ferry are there to spread suspicion?" Shen Li asked. Zhu Hongni's words showed that her family background must be unusual in the Northern Sui Dynasty. She could express the opinions in the court, which is really unusual. .
"It's not necessarily true. Rumors have spread in Kaixi City that Southern Wu wants to form an alliance with Western Shu. Maybe these soldiers are telling the Lord Wu and several officials not to act rashly!" she analyzed.
"That makes sense."
"It's right ahead!"
The inn is small and has few guests.
After throwing the maroon horse outside the door, the two of them went in. Zhu Hongnila pulled him to sit by the window and shouted: "Xiao Er! Xiao Er!!"
"I'm coming!"
The boy ran over from the backyard, covered in dust and dust: "Oh! Isn't this Miss Zhu? Are you back from visiting your seniors in Nanwu?"
"I'm back! I also made a friend. The two of us are starving to death. Let's serve up all the specialties from your shop!"
"Auntie, please order a few less dishes, you can't eat them all! The portions of the food in our shop are very generous!"
"Hey, you little boy, learn to save money for me and put your heart back into your stomach. We have a lot of food to eat, so I'll make sure to eat it for you!"
"okay!"
"That's right, waiter."
"What other orders do you have?"
"Wine, wine! I'm so thirsty!"
"Okay! Our specialty wine is scented with honey and flowers..."
Zhu Hongni whispered to Shen Li: "The honey and flower scent brewed by the store is particularly delicious. If you don't believe me, try it!"
After the waiter informed the cook to cook, he brought a jar.
"It's not enough, let's have another three altars!"
"Auntie, do you really want to come to Santan again?"
Zhu Hongni opened her purse, pinched a piece of silver and threw it to the waiter, "Is it enough?"
"My mother, that's enough! That's enough! That's enough!"
"I'll give you the extra money."
"Thank you, my dear aunt!"
This piece of silver is smaller than a copper coin, but it can be spent in a small shop for more than a month.
Silver is extremely valuable, not to mention gold.
Previously, Zhu Hongni coyly begged him for water, but when she came to the Northern Sui Dynasty, she transformed into a girl who spent money freely and was generous. If it weren't for the coarse clothes on her body, she would look like a young lady from a rich family.
Facing Shen Li's smile, Zhu Hongni instantly blushed like a swan's neck, and whispered: "When we were on the other side, I saw that you didn't look like an ordinary young man, so I didn't mention the money..."
"If the girl says the word "money", the water...will never be drunk."
"Haha..." Zhu Hongni smiled happily, "You don't look like the young master of Nan Wu."
"Where does the young master look like?"
"Of course he is the young master of our Sui Dynasty!"
Shen Li thought to himself, "Don't underestimate me. The money Sister Qin promised me, including the money I received from the Bei Sui branch to kill the two bloody children, I will be extremely rich!" You common dandies from the Northern Sui Dynasty are not as rich as the young master! That kind of top-notch young man is a different matter.
Thinking of this, the young man suddenly regretted that he should ask Sister Qin directly for the silver. If Sister Xie knew about this, she wouldn't be able to get even a single copper!
In an instant, he despaired, because Xie Lingjiang would definitely know about this.
Zhu Hongni looked at the young man whose face turned red and white, and asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, the money is lost."
"Huh? How much was lost?"
"It's only a thousand taels."
"???"
