country

After breakfast the next day, Xue Poye packed up and left the Concubine's Mansion to go to the busy market.

Of course, Xue Poye hopes to unlock the secret on the second page of "Book of Ecstasy" as soon as possible, and the key to the secret seems to be the five words "Mahayanaro".

The Great Chu State Teacher is a powerful and prosperous country in the world today, congratulations from all directions, courts from all directions, and strangers from other countries appear in Kyoto from time to time.

Ever since Zhangqian of the Han Dynasty went to the Western Regions, made good friends with foreign countries, and walked out of the Silk Road, the Central Plains has never cut off trade with Western Fans, such as Kucha, Gumo, Jingjue, Yuji, Pishan, Dawan, and Anxi. , Shule and other large and small countries will have businessmen traveling on this Silk Road, and even set up business in Kyoto. In addition to Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Households to manage foreign trade business in this area, the imperial court specially set up the "Xifan Department" Prime Minister Foreign goods shopping malls, foreign businessmen and national businessmen are mixed together, forming a unique landscape in Kyoto.

The Great Chu Kingdom obviously attaches great importance to foreign trade transactions and the friendship between states. It provides an excellent trading environment for foreign businessmen. Any foreign businessman who has any suggestions can go to the West Fan Office to appeal. In addition, the purple clothes of Kyoto Prefecture will often hide in this area to maintain order here and protect the due interests of foreign businessmen.

Only when the trade environment is superior, can the country's trade develop healthily and benignly, and only in this way can the Great Chu State maintain its strong national strength and not be thrown off by the world.

However, it is impossible for the Great Chu State to be so stupid as to hold the business lifeline of Great Chu in the hands of foreigners. Therefore, foreigners in Great Chu can promote trade exchanges and cultural exchanges, and even become a large business owner, but it is absolutely impossible to infiltrate the local area. Among the chambers of commerce, the lifeline of commerce is ultimately controlled by the merchants in the country. To put it bluntly, it is still in the hands of the imperial court.

Xue Poye naturally saw foreign firms in Hangzhou, but the quantity was rare, and he bought some very common western goods, which can be said to be everywhere in later generations.

The trade of foreigners in Dachu is mainly concentrated in Kyoto. To put it bluntly, it is concentrated in this area, so this area is also called "foreign area".

Xue Poye walked on the street, heading west, where the most foreigners gathered.

With hands behind their backs, they walked slowly in the crowd. There were many shops on both sides, and there were really many foreign firms. Foreigners with golden eyes, curvy beards and beards in strange clothes and foreign clothes shouted loudly in the half-baked Chu language.

Xue Poye went to a few goods stores, and the foreigners were all very polite, not at all like the arrogance and arrogance of later generations in China, they seemed more humble.

"This is trade." Xue Poye muttered in his heart, but there are few Indians around here, even if these Westerners speak Sanskrit, they may not understand it.

In front is a soy milk shop, which is strange to say. There are many restaurants on this street, but this soy milk shop is the most prosperous. Perhaps soy milk can better reflect the true flavor of Dachu, so whether it is foreign People are still residents of Dachu, and they all like to go into soymilk shops, order a bowl of hot soymilk, and serve a few side dishes, such as peanuts, dried bean curd sticks, and when the steam is steaming, Hala's mouth is sobbing, which is indescribably comfortable and comfortable. It has become a daily rhythm of life for many people.

Many princes, aristocrats and high-ranking officials also dress up and come to this shop to drink a bowl, so the soy milk shop is gradually getting bigger and bigger, and now the three floors are full of people who drink soy milk and eat side dishes, and the name of soy milk It is called "Kyoto Soy Milk".

Xue Poye entered the shop, and finally found an empty seat, but he was at the same table with two guys.

There are only less than ten private rooms in the shop, all of which have been booked long ago, and the deposit has been paid two days in advance. According to the rules, even if the guests do not come, the private rooms will be empty, so the third floor The lobby of the building can only sit in a mixed manner, not as particular as a restaurant, most of them just make do with sitting together and leave after drinking the soy milk.

Xue Poye was holding the hot soy milk, smelling the very special smell of soy milk, he just felt comfortable all over, and took a sip, it was really fragrant and delicious, with the essence of beans in it.

If it wasn't for the weird conversation between the other two at the table, Xue Poye would have really ignored their existence.

"Did you see clearly?" A strange voice whispered in blunt Chu language: "Don't make a mistake this time."

Hearing this voice, Xue Poye was very uncomfortable, so he couldn't help turning his head to look, but saw that the other party was a foreigner in a toga, with a high nose and green eyes, curly yellow hair like licorice, and a thin face, which looked like Malnutrition.

Different from the high-spirited foreigners in the previous TV movies, this foreigner's body is huddled in the toga, and he looks cold and cowering, without a sense of atmosphere at all.

The foreigner was lying at the table, whispering to another person, and the other person was also dressed in a strange way, with a Taoist bun on his head and a mustache. He looked like a Taoist priest, but his body was in tatters It's rotten, and it's not a Taoist robe, so I don't think it's a real Taoist priest.

The relationship between the Chinese and the foreign seems to be good, and they seem to be "the same people who have fallen in the end of the world".

Bazixu said in a low voice: "Don't worry, I'm sure you read it right this time. It's in the shop in front. There aren't many people in that red-haired ghost's shop. I'll lead him to talk, and you can do it."

The foreigner hastily shook his head and said, "No, no, you misunderstood, I'll go talk to him, you...you do it!"

"****." Ba Zixu scolded in a low voice: "Why are you Romans so useless, you let me do it every time.***, you were very good at stealing cakes last time?"

The foreigner blushed, waved his hands and said, "I...no...!"

Xue Poye squinted his eyes, a little surprised in his heart, could it be that such a person was an ancient Roman, that is, an Italian later?

Was the Roman Empire strong during this period?

"Useless wretch." Ba Zixu muttered in a low voice, Xue Poye was looking at him as if he didn't see anything in the corner of his eyes. The foreigner's sleeves stopped talking, and he just drank soy milk with some trepidation.

Xue Poye was amused in his heart, these two down-and-out people were obviously discussing about stealing something.

In order to survive, everyone has to do something, even some very dark and shameless acts, but Xue Poye can understand this point, for individuals, living is always the biggest thing.

No matter what these two people stole, Xue Poye didn't want to bother, so he continued to drink his soy milk, prepared to take a rest, and continued to go out to try his luck and find people from Tianzhu.

The foreigner and Ba Zixu left the soymilk shop very quickly. Judging from their actions and expressions when they left to pay the bill, they were really struggling, even to the point where they could not finish their meal.

Xue Poye could only sigh, that foreigner seemed to want to retain the last trace of his dignity, but unfortunately in this foreign country, he couldn't even eat, so he couldn't talk about his dignity.

Xue Poye was still a little surprised. It stands to reason that this foreigner came to the Great Chu Kingdom and was so downcast. Even if the West Fan Agency did not provide relief, wouldn't his compatriots in his own country help?Or, are Westerners really selfish to the point where they don't even help their own compatriots?

The taste of this soy milk is really delicious, Xue Poye drank three bowls in a row, his stomach was a little swollen before he stopped, paid the bill, got up and patted his belly, and then Shi Shiran walked out of the shop.

The outside is already bustling with people, very lively, Chu language with foreign language, it is really weird.

Xue Poye straightened his clothes, looked around and listened to all directions, and continued to walk westward.

Since practicing the "Ecstasy Mind Method" in "Ecstasy Book", Xue Poye's sense of five senses has obviously leapt several levels. Xue Poye can easily hear things that are difficult for ordinary people to hear and smell, and His eyes were even sharper, and he could clearly see things nearly a hundred meters away even in the midst of mist.

After walking a short distance, they heard noisy voices in front of them, which seemed to be the sound of fighting.

Xue Poye frowned. I heard that the foreign area has always been in good order and is under the supervision of the West Division. How could there be fights, but the sound was very clear, and it was obviously the scream of being beaten.

Of course Xue Poye had no interest in these fights, and wanted to turn away, but heard a person next to him shout: "The foreigner beat the foreigner, and it was the crowing chicken who got beaten again."

"Stuffed chicken?" Xue Poye laughed dumbly, how could there be such a weird name.

I saw a lot of people on both sides leaning towards the west. This really aroused Xue Poye's curiosity, wanting to see what kind of character this "Snap Chicken Crowing" is, and in the land of Da Chu, foreigners It is rare to beat foreigners, so I can't help but follow the crowd and lean over there.

The screams were also very clear, mixed with foreign accents and cursing.

Xue Poye took a closer look, and saw on the wide street ahead, two or three tall foreigners with thick hands and feet, trampling fiercely on the two people on the ground. The guys are exactly the two guys, one Chinese and one foreign, that I saw in the soymilk store earlier.

The two guys screamed miserably, huddled together on the ground, their bodies were covered with blood, it seemed that the beating was not serious.

At this moment, two officials dressed in dark black came out and shouted loudly: "Stop, it's a big crowd, gathering people to fight, what's the proper way, do you understand the official law of the foreign region?"

These two are both officials of the Xifan Department. As soon as they showed their heads, the foreigners stopped their hands. Immediately, one of them went up to perform the formal Dachu etiquette, and said respectfully: "My lord, there is a thief who stole things and was caught by us." I stopped, so I got a beating." It may be that he has lived in Dachu for a long time, so although his speech is still a bit stiff, it is extremely smooth.

The officer was obviously very familiar with this street, and he even knew the foreigner. He frowned and said, "Nicholas, this is a place for business after all. Even if someone steals something, it should be turned over to the Western Bureau. How can you just do it on the street?" When we started fighting, you have also been doing business here for many years, so you should understand this rule?"

Nicholas said a little resentfully: "My lord, you know, if something happens to me, I will go to the West African Agency, but today I am so angry, look who they are? It's that little Su stick and Sergio Gattuso, it's these two bastards, I'm so angry, they are idle, they stole from me, my lord, you should arrest them and keep them locked up."

The officer looked at the two poor fellows on the ground, frowned even tighter, and shouted: "It's you again? Get up and go back to the Yamen with me."

Xue Poye also frowned slightly. Hearing what Nicholas said, it seemed that one of the two underground people was called Xiao Su Gun and the other was called Sergio Gattuso. Obviously the poor guy who was beaten was Sergio. , I just heard the "crowding of a chicken", and it was obviously "Sergio".

These two people seemed to be the ones that everyone shouted and beat, there were already people pointing and discussing, Xue Poye heard it, and it turned out that these two people were like two street rats in the foreign area.

For a foreigner to be like this now, this Gattuso is quite useless. Today, when he was beaten by his compatriots in public, Gattuso's face was even more embarrassing. If there was a hole next to him, he would definitely get into it.

Little Su Gun with the eight-character beard got up as if nothing had happened, as if being beaten had become an indispensable part of his life, he patted the dust off his body in a chic way, looked at Nicholas with disdain, and cursed in a low voice: "Young man, wait for me!" Cai, I don't see how your asshole will explode."

"Stop talking nonsense." The officer stepped forward and kicked Xiao Su with a stick, and said in a low voice, "Hurry up, useless things are shameful."

Xue Poye looked at Nicholas' shop, but it was a small foreign company selling sulfur, and he was a little puzzled, what's the use of these two guys stealing sulfur?These two guys even ate a lot of food. Could it be that they want to steal sulfur and go home to eat?

There were actually two Taoist priests among the onlookers, and they joked to Xiao Su stick with a playful smile: "Su Daochang, why are you in this state today? Could it be that you can't live without the Temple of Ten Thousand Immortals?"

Xiao Su glared at the two of them, but now it is the world of Taoist priests, so naturally he dare not scold them back.

When Xue Poye heard this, his heart was shocked. Hearing this, Xiao Su Gun was really a Taoist priest before, and he seemed to come from the Taoist Temple of Ten Thousand Immortals, but he didn't know how he left the Temple of Ten Thousand Immortals.

Sergio Gattuso kept his head down, red to the ears, and looked very thin-skinned.

These two guys were weird everywhere, Xue Poye's curiosity was aroused.

Amid the yelling, Gattuso and Xiao Su were taken out of the crowd by two officials. Because they were beaten so badly that their bodies were torn apart, they limped when they left, looking very miserable. Xiao Su When Chou left, he shouted at Nicholas: "I said foreign hairy boy, you remember it for me, I turn over, you will suffer."

Nicholas raised his fist, but Xiao Su Gun just pouted, showing disdain.

After going around for a few days, the two officials stopped until there were few people. They looked back at Xiao Su and Gattuso who were following behind them. The two officials looked at each other, shook their heads helplessly, and waved their hands. Said: "Go away."

Xiao Su stick happily said: "Let... let us go?"

The official said indifferently: "You two wretches, you can't squeeze a drop of oil from your body, and it's nothing more than a beating if you catch it back. I have accumulated good virtue, get out of here."

Xiao Su stick was ecstatic, pulled the dejected Gattuso, like a hunting dog, and ran away like a hound, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"Who is that stuffed chicken?" A police officer wondered, "I've caught him several times."

Another officer laughed and said, "That kid is from Rome. I heard that his uncle is an administrative officer in Rome. He is very powerful in Rome. This kid brought a large amount of goods to Dachu for business. , but was robbed in the middle of the road, and all the servants and guards were killed, only him was left, and he finally waited for a caravan to come to Dachu, so he came along with him."

"Oh!" The interrogating officer frowned, "Then why is he in such a state? I see that his fellow countrymen also look down on him and hate him like a street rat."

Another officer sighed, shook his head and said, "Speaking of which, this cockcrow is also an unlucky man. When he first came to Dachu, the Roman merchants thought that he was a compatriot of his own country, and his uncle was also an administrator, so they came together. I bought him some goods and helped him open a shop in Kyoto. At the beginning, Saijiming was also down-to-earth. He did some business and made a lot of money. down."

"That's strange, why did you lose when you met Xiao Su stick?"

"You don't know, that little Su stick has been expelled from Wanxian Temple since he blew up the alchemy furnace when he was refining alchemy in Wanxian Temple. After leaving Guanzi, he was given some money. This kid is good. I have been tinkering with those strange things all day long, and I don’t know what to get, and all the money on my body is used to buy saltpeter, sulfur, lime, copper furnaces, etc., and they are shipped home in batches. Lost all the money and lived on the streets since then. That's all, who knows that his bad nature will not change. He often steals the things mentioned earlier in the shop, steals this house and that house, and everyone knows about it later. , prevent him like a maggot, and don't let him in at all," the official sent, apparently very clear about Xiao Su's history: "At this moment, that stuffed chicken crowed but somehow got mixed up with him, In the past, it was only done by one person, but after that, two people actually worked on the thing together. The materials needed were supplied by the stuffed chicken. Yue also became penniless, so he had to look for his compatriots to borrow money. At first, the Romans were generous to lend money, but the crowing and little Su stick made those things useless, and they were money-losers. If there is something to borrow but not to repay, there are fewer borrowers. The cock crowed and ran out of money, and the compatriots could not borrow it from there, so they could only hang out with Xiao Su sticks, wandering around the foreign area all day long, always Thinking about stealing something to go back. I was caught several times, but I didn't do anything at first. After a long time, people in the foreign area felt like feces to the two of them. The two could only wander around in disguise. I was beaten again today."

"Poor thing." The officer sighed, "What kind of stuff are they playing with?"

"Who knows?" Another officer said with a chuckle: "It's always something that is out of order, something that can't make money, otherwise how could it be so desolate as it is today."

"No wonder you want to let them go. This kind of person really has nothing to do with him. When he is brought back to the Yamen, his hands are sore from beating him." The interrogating officer laughed.

The two laughed and chatted, and gradually left.