Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

At dawn, a powerful bell rang, and the entire state capital gradually came alive. And this bell is like a signal, and other bells are ringing one after another.

"What happened?"

Li Tai was also awakened by the continuous ringing of bells. He sat up on the bed and shook his groggy head and said.

Zhang Shinu, who was guarding the outer room, hurriedly walked into the room after hearing this, and explained: "My lord, it is the morning bell in the nearby temple. I just asked the officials in the mansion, and there are large and small bells near the city alone." There are thirty-two temples, and the morning bells ring one after another every day. It is rare for the ears to be quiet for more than an hour. "

Li Tai couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. When he arrived here yesterday, he saw many temples and other religious buildings along the way. He didn't take it to heart at the time, but he didn't expect that there was such a Buddhist custom that seriously disturbed the people. For him, For people like this who lack religious beliefs and psychological needs, being woken up by the bell every day before dawn is simply a kind of torture.

"Is this a custom in this area, or is it the same in Qinzhou and Longyou?"

He rubbed his forehead, which was dizzy from the noise of the bell, and asked while getting dressed, if this was true in the whole of Longyou, how much noise pollution would it cause?

After hearing this, Zhang Shinu replied: "It's just like this in the vicinity of Shangfeng City. The temples outside the city are ringing bells one after another. The bells will be heard all the way to the Maijiya Ten Thousand Buddhas Hall, seventy miles southeast, and then back the same way. It means sincerity." Pray, Buddha bless the world.”

After hearing this, Li Tai remembered that the Maijishan Grottoes, known as one of the four major grottoes in later generations, happened to be located in Tianshui County.

Although the Maijishan Grottoes are not as famous as the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, their existence is also one of the strong evidences of the prosperity of Buddhism in Longyou. Even the former Queen of the Western Wei Dynasty Yi Fushi was forced to commit suicide due to Rouran invasion many years ago. , their bones were buried in stone niches carved out of Maiji Mountain.

Although Li Tai is not a devout religious believer, but out of curiosity about the original appearance of monuments and art, he also plans to take some time to appreciate what the current Maijishan Grottoes look like. Tickets will be charged in the future.

He was properly dressed here, only to realize that the clothes he was wearing were not the robes brought from Guanzhong, but the new clothes provided by the mansion. They also fit him perfectly, as if they were tailor-made, which shows that the mansion also has skilled weavers.

When he walked out of the room, all kinds of toiletries had been prepared outside. There were more than a dozen categories, some of which Li Tai didn't even recognize.

He cleans himself in daily life, brushing his teeth and washing his face in the morning. In the cold autumn and winter, he can’t use rice bran and soybean powder to remove oil from his hair every day when bathing. It is even easier when he is traveling. There are really not many requirements for this. I didn’t expect to come here. Longyou became more particular.

"Mr. Lang has already gotten up. Come over and wash yourself."

Zhang Shinu, who was following behind, shouted to the shadow behind the curtain in the corner of the room, then turned to Li Tai and said: "Last night, four slaves were sent to the mansion to listen to orders. The servants saw that the king had fallen asleep and did not report. They were only allowed to come close to the bed to measure and prepare clothes for the husband, and then put them in another room."

Li Tai couldn't help but glare when he heard this. He was tired from traveling and drinking last night and went to sleep on the bed. He didn't expect to be attacked at night without realizing it. He glanced at Zhang Shinu who had made his own decision.

At the same time, the candle shadows flickered in the room, and two young maids with graceful figures walked out from behind the curtain. They were each wearing plain white short-sleeved skirts. Their facial features were three-dimensional and exquisite, and their fair and moist skin made people look at them. Once bright, the pupils in the slightly sunken eye sockets are light blue and translucent, and there is an exotic style from the Zhaowu Kingdom in the Western Regions.

When Li Tai saw these two charming maids, he was surprised and secretly wary. Is this arrangement intended to enrich his spare time life or to continue to test the cadres?

These two Orchid maids are really amazing in appearance. No wonder Zhang Shinu stayed without asking for permission. Their charming appearance looks harmless and pleasing to the eye. How can anyone bear to refuse?

It seems that in the future, we will have to arrange a few companions of Zhao Gui and his eldest son. If he is surrounded by all the hot-blooded young men, he will burst into tears if someone uses a honey trap to get him!

The two Hu Ji didn't dare to open their eyes and look closely at Li Tai. They just lowered their heads and peeped secretly. After putting down the candlesticks in their hands, they began to neatly pack and arrange the toiletries. They respectfully invited Li Tai to sit down at the table and let them wash up.

After seeing this, Li Tai stopped being rigid and sat down to enjoy the washing, cutting and blow-drying process. Less than half an hour passed quickly. The originally dark sky had brightened up, and he became refreshed and refreshed. Radiant, he strode out of the room.

The structure of local government offices generally has the front office and the back office, but the Qinzhou governor's office has too many personnel, so Dugu Xin built a house outside the office for himself and his close associates to live in. Li Tai also stayed here last night.

As soon as he walked out of the room, a servant came to tell Dugu Xin that he was waiting in the front hall. He led the guards to the front hall under the leadership of the servant, and took a brief look at the layout of the mansion on the way.

This mansion occupies a large area. Li Tai stayed in the courtyard on the left last night. It is separated from the main house by a wall. You need to pass through a door to reach the front hall of the main house.

Outside the wall, Li Tai could already hear the constant sounds of people talking and stringed instruments coming from the back garden inside the wall. When he walked into the cross-courtyard, several women in colorful clothes at the other end of the corridor fled in panic. Thinking of the four beautiful Hu Ji who were given to him last night, Li Tai couldn't help but feel that his father-in-law was living a comfortable life in Qinzhou, far from the hard and tiring life of eating wind and sleeping in the dew, sleeping in the snow and drinking ice to defend the border for the country.

In the front hall, Dugu Xin had already started to eat breakfast. Seeing Li Tai walking in, he raised his hand and pointed to the empty seat beside him, indicating that he should sit down and eat quickly.

Li Tai was no longer polite. He sat down and picked up the bowl and chopsticks. The soup noodles mixed with mutton fat were served with fresh coriander and hot water pepper, plus a pinch of pepper and half a spoonful of old vinegar. It was sour, spicy and appetizing.

The two of them didn't talk to each other. They each ate three bowls, grabbed a handful of Hu Bing to wipe the oil from the corners of their mouths, and chewed them carefully. They both felt satisfied. Dugu Xin looked at Li Tai and said with a smile: "Can you adapt to the climate and daily life in Longbian?"

"The warm room, soft quilts, and fragrant company are more comfortable than living in the countryside, but I am afraid that my mind will be worn out."

Li Tai sighed after hearing this, and Dugu Xin laughed and said, "I don't live in this house for a long time. The reason why I want to decorate it carefully is to relax my body and mind and have a moderate degree of tension and relaxation. I concentrate on my work and enjoy myself when I am free. I am obsessed with one side, but I lose my sense of proportion. But for young people like you, it is right to be prepared for danger in times of peace and not to wait for it. If you don't stretch your ambition to the extreme, I don't know what kind of career you can create!"

Li Tai nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and wondered whether Dugu Xin's words in history had been used to educate and inspire his other son-in-law Yang Jian. He only knew it after trying it out. Being an emperor is also a very simple thing.

There is a wall connecting this house and the state government. After breakfast, the group strolled and soon arrived at the Taifu.

At this time, the temple bells that had been noisy for a whole morning finally stopped, making the eardrums that had been accustomed to the sound waves numb and painful. Li Tai couldn't help shaking his head, thinking to himself that one day when he had the final say, he would melt all these temple bells to cast coins!

But then again, there must be a routine for this coin casting. The court planned to cast new five-zhu coins this year. First, the circulation of the new coins cast by the Eastern Wei Dynasty was still good, which was also one of the important reasons why the Jinyang Bafu could gather the material resources of Hebei. Second, the people's livelihood economy in Guanzhong has recovered year by year, and the demand for currency transactions has also increased sharply. Third, the copper and tin metals obtained from the Buddhist temples the year before last must be cashed in.

However, Li Tai was not optimistic about this, because this matter itself lacked a long-term and stable plan, and lacked an administrative basis for supervision and execution.

After the bells stopped, a team of armored soldiers marched some dejected people in the palace, and some of them were even whipped.

"These are the officials in the government who have been absent from work in the morning and evening for several days and have failed the performance evaluation. Different punishments are imposed on them!" Dugu Xin saw that Li Tai was a little confused, so he smiled and explained, and then pointed at Li Tai and praised him: "In previous years, the affairs of the government were complicated and disorganized. It was difficult to examine whether things were successful or not, so the personnel were lax. But after the performance evaluation method you set before was implemented here, the situation has changed a lot, and the masses have become diligent. It is really a good strategy to control people and do things!" Li Tai laughed dryly after hearing this, and even the wailing of the official who was whipped became harsh. It is true that all crows are black, and there is no good person when you are the boss. If he, a labor traitor, can't make a boss, he can't expect to have good popularity wherever he goes!