Tang riddles

The journey was tough, and it was rare to have such an opportunity to relax. The group did not intend to miss this Huachao Festival.Because they took the waterway, they arrived in Lizhou ahead of schedule, and the official ship they were scheduled to take would take a day to arrive, so this also gave them time.

After Wu Tingfang arrived in Lizhou, he had to take people to discuss business, and then he would soon start organizing the transport of timber, so he didn't have time to accompany everyone around Lizhou City.So the group and Wu Tingfang said goodbye at the gate of Lizhou City, and made an appointment to have a feast and travel together in Chang'an.Then a group of people went to the city.

"Hundred flowers' birthday is a good day, and it is not yet halfway through the flower dynasty. Spring is full of purples and reds, and they are decorated with brocades to celebrate the god of flowers." As soon as I entered the city, I saw women in costumes walking together on the road in the city, singing loudly.

There are colorful flowers everywhere, and all the shop facades along the street are hung with brand-new bouquets. Every few steps along the road, there are performances of singing, dancing and a hundred operas.

Lizhou can be regarded as one of the relatively developed towns in the southwest of Datang.Because it is located in the beautiful land of Bashu, backed by the Jialing River, the products are abundant and the people are rich.Arriving here, we can already see many people from different ethnic groups in Southwest China, such as Qiang, Bai, Zhuang, Miao, people of various ethnic groups dressed in brightly colored special costumes, celebrating this common festival.There are not a few Huihe people who live here, most of them come here to settle down for business or to escape the war.

Shen Sui led Shen Jin, Blue Robin and Hu Tuo to walk on the main street of Lizhou City. Not far in front were Pei Yaoqing, Liu Yucheng, and the accompanying guards. Not far behind were Zhang Ruohan, master and servant. .The bluebird had never been to such a place before, its eyes were all stared, and it looked around.Shen Sui personally pushed Shen Jin's wheelchair, and saw Shen Jin pull out the blackboard and wrote:

[The life of the people in the southwest is completely different from that in the Central Plains, and it is also very colorful. 】

"Yes, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, where is not exciting?"

[It's a pity that most of them are discriminated against by the Central Plains. In the eyes of many northern clans, this place is still a barren and barren land. 】

Having said that, a group of parades came ahead.At the front of the line, there are more than a dozen strong men, shirtless, with animal skins wrapped around their lower bodies, weird totems painted on their strong bodies, and ghost faces painted on their faces, wearing nose rings, earrings, and holding hangers in their hands. The staff covered with long wool was bouncing forward.

In the middle of the team, a chariot was carried, which was covered with flowers, and in the center, a beautiful woman in tulle was dancing.

Behind the chariot, there are also a large number of women in colored skirts of different colors following behind, each holding a bouquet of flowers represented by the color of their clothing, and they come in a mighty manner.

This is the team escorting Flora.The woman dancing on the chariot is playing the flower god.The hundreds of women following behind played the role of Hundred Flowers, and the one who cleared the way ahead was Wu Nu.

A group of people moved to the side of the road and watched the parade pass by.When the team was far away, the group continued to walk forward, and saw Liu Yucheng shaking his head while walking. Shen Sui had excellent hearing, and heard him say:

"Nanman is Nanman, look, what is the proper way?"

Shen Sui sneered, and Hutuo sneered:

"It seems that Liu Yuanwailang, the orthodox thought of the Central Plains Shangbang and Huaxia is still very heavy."

"I can understand if we go further south. But this Lizhou is still the hometown of Emperor Wu, and this Liu Yuanwailang actually looks down on him." Blue Robin seemed a little unconvinced. In her opinion, such a bustling and prosperous place There are also unique places, which are no worse than Chang'an and Luoyang.

"Liu Yucheng came from a wealthy family in Shandong after all, so naturally he has an arrogance in his bones." Shen Sui replied.

[Liu Yucheng is actually from Shandong?Which clan? ] Shen Jin asked.

"The Liu family of Zhongshan, the middle and lower ranks in the family tree, are not as good as each year. He was very honest in front of the former Shangguan, Murong Fu. Now that he has made a fortune, his arrogance has come out. His appearance is similar to that of Murong Fu. It's exactly the same." Shen Sui said.

"Dalang, I've always had some doubts. I heard that the Cuàn clan is the most important in the southwest, and it has been fighting against the imperial court in recent years. Is the Cuàn clan from this area?" Hu Tuo asked.

"It is true that the Cuan family is the largest in the southwest, but the Cuan family is mainly distributed in eastern Yunnan and southern Sichuan. Their influence has not yet extended to Lizhou in northern Sichuan.

In fact, the Cuan clan are all Han people. Their ancestors were the Ban clan at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, who migrated to Cuandi and took this as their surname.The Cuan family was a common surname in Nanzhong during the Shu Han Dynasty, standing in the southwest with Meng and Yong.Later, he "moved to Yongshu and moved to the south", and settled in Yunnan.The Cuan family worked hard in Yunnan, and dominated Ningzhou during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The family branched out and divided Yunnan and Shu.

As the saying goes, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the Cuan family is in the mountains in the southwest, so they become the emperor of the earth, and the family dominates.However, the Cuan family was also unstable internally, and now it is divided into Dong Cuan and Xi Cuan. People in the Central Plains collectively refer to the people of Dong Cuan as Wuman, and the people of Xi Cuan as Baiman.If we talk about the degree of poverty and wealth, Wuman is the bottom and Baiman is the top. "

Bluebird looked at Shen Sui with admiration, and sighed:

"Master, you really know everything, know everything."

Shen Sui laughed, and said:

"I can't afford to say that. This is a major national event, so I have read some local chronicles to understand the situation here. Otherwise, I also have only a half-knowledge."

"A major national event?" Bluebird was puzzled again.

Shen Sui nodded: "Yes, in recent years, the Cuan clan and the Nanzhao Mengshe tribe have been fighting continuously, which is the biggest hidden danger in the southwest of the Tang Dynasty. Isn't this border hidden danger a major national event? Thinking about it, in the near future, Mengshe, Mengshe, The Cuan family will become one of the border troubles after Turks and Tubo."

"What's the matter with Nanzhao Mengshe? It suddenly popped up in recent years." Hu Tuo asked.

"It didn't come out in recent years, it has existed for a long time. It's just that Mengshe in Nanzhao has been doing a lot of things recently, so people are talking about it a lot." Shen Sui explained, "In the Erhai Lake area in the west of Yunnan, there are many tribes. Standing on their own as a country. Among them, there are six small countries with the most powerful forces, collectively known as the Six Edicts. They are: Mengyu Edict, Yuexi Edict, Langqiong Edict, Biji Edict, Shi Lang Edict, and Mengshe Edict. The imperial edict is located in the south of the other imperial edicts, so it is called the Nanzhao Kingdom. The Nanzhao state has not been established for a long time. There were three generations of kings in front of it, all of whom had good relations with the Central Plains Dynasty. He was named the "King of Taideng County" by the sage. The sage has been supporting him. Up to last year, he has fought many wars with neighboring countries and won the championship. Seeing that the Erhai area will be unified by him, he is no longer Satisfied to live in the southwest area. This man is ambitious, so we must guard against him."

"I see." Everyone just felt that their knowledge had increased again.Following Shen Sui, I can always learn some unorthodox, but very practical and interesting knowledge, and I often listen to the two masters chatting about current affairs, which can broaden my horizons.This is also the place where servants such as Hutuo and Bluebird admire their master the most.Follow the Shen sisters and free them from ignorance.

[Sister, look at the customs of those shamans and flower gods who just passed by? ] Shen Jin asked.

Shen Sui thought for a while, and said: "I really don't know about this. It feels a bit like Qiang people, but also a bit like Miao people. Lizhou is originally a place where many ethnic groups live together. After a long time, the customs have assimilated. subdivision."

Shen Jin smiled and wrote: [The ethnicity of the Bo people is mixed, no wonder a knowledgeable person like my sister can't see it. 】

Shen Sui touched her head with a smile, and said: "My qin slave is also very knowledgeable."

Shen Jin rolled her eyes.

The blue robin stretched out her head to look at the blackboard that Shen Jin hadn't wiped off. When she saw the word "僰", she didn't know it, so she couldn't help asking:

"Master, what word is this?"

Shen Sui explained: "This character has the same sound as the word 'Pu' in 'Puyang' [Note], and it is the general name we Central Plains people have for the ethnic groups in the southwest. Therefore, some historical books also record the ethnic groups in the southwest as "Bai Pu". Unlike the Central Plains people, they are indeed very backward, and still retain many old customs of the barbarians, some of which are even very violent and bloody, weird and mysterious. Bluebird, when we go down the Jialing River and enter the Yangtze River, you will be on the way will see."

Bluebird's face turned pale, and he smiled wryly: "Master, don't scare me, bluebird is timid."

"Hahaha..." Shen Sui laughed loudly.

Shen Jin pinched the back of her hand angrily, turned his head and said angrily with his lips:

【Why are you scaring her? This girl has to cry and sleep with me again at night.If she disturbs my lucid dream, I will sleep on sister's bed and disturb your lucid dream too. 】

Shen Sui said intentionally: "Brother, you and I are both dignified men, sleeping together will have a bad influence."

Shen Jin glared at her angrily, and suddenly rolled his eyes, showing a meaningful smile, and said:

[The older brother doesn't want to share the bed with the younger brother, the younger brother can understand.Elder brother, I'm afraid that except for the Yiren in white skirt behind you, no one will be allowed to come to your couch. 】

Shen Sui's face flushed immediately, he poked her forehead with his finger, and said angrily:

"Yellow-haired child, don't speak nonsense."

Shen Jin covered his forehead and pinched her, silently shouting:

[Sister!I'm twenty-five!Who are you talking about? 】

"Ouch, lightly, lightly, my virtuous brother." Shen Sui's facial features clustered together in pain, and Shen Jin's strikes were really ruthless.

Zhang Ruohan walked behind, looking at the two brothers who were laughing in front of them, a smile appeared on the corners of their lips.It is rare to see such a childish appearance as Shen Sui and Shen Jin.This reminded her... of Chishi and Qinnu sisters, and the three of them.

Alas... the smile faded, and her eyes deepened.

***

On the tenth day of the trip, the third day of February, Shen Sui and his party came to the port and boarded a red ship.This red ship is originally an official ship. It had already sailed from Luoyang to Kuizhou for repairs earlier, and happened to pass through the section of waterway from Lizhou to Kuizhou. The sage issued a decree to let the red ship take everyone from the investigation team along the way. .

When boarding the ship from the port, the moment he saw the captain of the red ship——Qu Lin, the general supervisor and the young supervisor of the boat, he brought bad news to everyone.

Three days ago, when Jin Princess Li Jinyue was hunting with the prince, she fell off a horse for unknown reasons, broke her arm bone and scratched her forehead.Fortunately, the injury was not serious, but the saint was shocked, and now he is sending people to investigate the matter.

Qu Lin mentioned this matter in front of everyone at the welcome banquet after boarding the boat.Hearing the news, Pei Yaoqing and Liu Yucheng looked at each other, Shen Sui looked as usual, showing a little surprise.Zhang Ruohan's face was always ruthless, showing no emotion.

After the banquet was over, everyone went back to their rooms.The red ship is magnificent, and the number of guest rooms in it is naturally not comparable to that of Wu Tingfang's merchant ship. Almost everyone has received a room to live in.

Shen Sui did not go back to his room, but went to Shen Jin's room first.As soon as she entered the room, her complexion became gloomy, and she turned to ask Huta:

"Why is there no news from Chang'an? What happened to Xuan Weizi and Huyan Zhuoma? Didn't I tell them to keep an eye on Li Jinyue?"

Hutuo cupped his hands and said, "Dalang calm down, and my subordinates don't know about it. In the regular reports from Chang'an in the past few days, there is no mention of this matter."

Shen Sui paced around the room, frowning.Seeing that her sister, who had always been strategizing, was a little out of order today, Shen Jin couldn't help but rang the bell to attract Shen Sui's attention, and said:

【Sister, don't worry.Now that the princess is fine, we can also take a long-term view. 】

Shen Sui shook his head and said:

"Qinnu, this matter is not simple. First of all, the matter of the princess falling from the horse is strange, and I have expected it for a long time. I will not explore the complicated reasons for this. What worries me the most is that my Qianyumen's intelligence network may be real. Something went wrong."

The author has something to say: [Note] Bo, the modern Chinese pronunciation is bó, and the ancient Chinese pronunciation is pú, which is similar to "Pu".Kui: kuí, the ancient sound is the same as "return".

Six edicts:

Meng Xun (pronounced suǐ, in other words xī) Zhao

Yue Analysis Edict

Langqiong Zhao

邆赕 (téngdǎn) edict

Shi Langzhao

Monchezhao

In "The Legend of Sword and Fairy", the name of Nanzhao country is always heard, and this is the origin of the name of the country.This country is not fictional, it is indeed one of the tribes of the Nanman tribes, and it rose during the prosperous Tang Dynasty.We know what it is, and we also need to know why.

This chapter has spent a lot of space introducing the situation of ethnic minorities in Southwest China. This is not a waste of time to popularize science. This is to pave the way for the following article. I hope everyone can leave an impression. If you are not interested, just skip it, so that I don't understand, I still have to spend time to explain.