When Li Xiaozong first arrived at the border city of Fangu, he had more than once considered leading eight hundred border troops in a surprise attack on Nirvana, a stone city beyond the Wolf Milk Mountains. He even wrote a will to realize this ideal, knowing that arbitrarily provoking a war between two powerful empires was a grave crime, one that even his lineage from the Li family of Longyou couldn't bear.
War against the Mongol Empire was different from war against other countries. If he were to provoke the Yan Kingdom south of the Yanshan Mountains in the southern border of the empire, he would be praised for his bravery by the high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War. But if he rashly provoked a conflict with the Mongol Empire, he would be condemned as an idiot by everyone.
Of course, this didn't mean that the high-ranking officials in the Ministry of War didn't want to, were unwilling to, or dared not provoke the Mongol Empire.
Although the Sui Dynasty's power had been undeniably demonstrated over the past century, there was no doubt that the title of the world's strongest nation still belonged to the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. In terms of territory, the Mongol Yuan Empire's vast grasslands were only slightly smaller than the combined territories of the Sui, Southern Yan, Eastern Chu, and Northern Liao.
But this was only the apparent size of its territory. When discussing the Mongol Yuan Empire, one must mention the Great Snow Mountain in its far west. On the Great Snow Mountain stood the Great Wheel Temple, and within the Great Wheel Temple resided the Great Wheel King.
The people of the world were devout Buddhists. Apart from the Sui Dynasty, which promoted Taoism, most other nations adopted Buddhism as their state religion, venerating the Great Wheel King as the Buddha.
The Great Snow Mountain, the Great Wheel Temple, and the Great Wheel King resided within the Mongol Yuan Empire.
This was the true reason why the Sui Dynasty feared the Mongol Yuan, without exception.
Not to mention the Mongol Yuan Empire's million wolf cavalry, even the most powerful soldiers posed no threat to the Sui Dynasty's army. Even towards the legendary three thousand golden-bodied monks of the Great Snow Mountain, the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty did not hold the same reverence as those of other nations. Soldiers, after all, are born to fight; why fear the enemy?
From its inception, the Sui Dynasty vigorously promoted its native Taoism. Although it was not established as the state religion, after more than a century of effort, Taoism had taken deep root in the hearts of the people of the Central Plains. While Buddhist disciples did come from afar to preach, they rarely received the same respectful treatment as in other countries.
It is said that the second disciple of the Great Wheel Bright King, the Wisdom Celestial Venerable, once intended to visit the Sui Dynasty, but the Sui Ministry of Rites completely disregarded him. To come to the Sui Dynasty to pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor, one could… respectfully present a letter of credence, then proceed with the proper etiquette of a subject, staying at a post station according to the Ministry of Rites' regulations, receiving the same treatment as envoys from other countries. Only when the Emperor wished to see you could you enter the palace.
It is said that upon hearing the reply from the Sui Dynasty's Ministry of Rites, the Wise Celestial Venerable sighed slightly and said, "My master said that the east is a land teeming with demons, especially the Central Plains, which is in the most chaos. I originally intended to go and see, to save as many people as I could from this sea of suffering. However, the people of the Central Plains find pleasure in wallowing in suffering; therefore, this sea of suffering is their paradise. I'd rather not go."
This remark reached the Sui Dynasty, where it was ridiculed as shamelessness by the Minister of Rites, Dugu Xiu.
The Sui Emperor himself had privately remarked that those so-called Celestial Venerables and Buddhas of Buddhism were nothing but a group of shameless hypocrites.
However, it must be mentioned that the rise of Taoism in the Sui Dynasty was merely a whim of the Sui emperor. He simply felt that his country should have a sect comparable to Buddhism, thus leading to the promotion of Taoism.
In truth, Taoism's influence on the country was far less than that of Buddhism in other countries.
Even though Master Xiao of the Yiqi Temple on Qingle Mountain had performed miracles.
It is said that in April of that year, ten thousand acres of peach orchards appeared on Qingle Mountain overnight. The next night, the peach blossoms bloomed in full glory, and the next night, the immortal peaches ripened. Master Xiao invited many celestial beings from the Nine Heavens to descend to earth for a drink. Villagers at the foot of the mountain could vaguely see colorful clouds halfway up the mountain and faintly hear celestial music, but could not see their true forms. For a time, Taoism's reputation soared.
Of course, when this tale of miracles reached the Great Snow Mountain, the Wise Celestial Venerable merely smiled and offered a four-word comment:
"A trivial skill."
Of course, when this four-word comment returned to Qingle Mountain, Master Xiao also smiled calmly and offered a four-word comment:
"A bald monk farting."
The Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty said nothing about the overnight blooming of peach blossoms and ripening of immortal peaches on Qingle Mountain. Instead, he clapped his hands and laughed heartily at the four words "a bald monk farting," and on a whim, appointed Master Xiao as the Imperial Preceptor.
These things were all too distant, too distant for Fang Jie in the border town of Fanggu.
After inexplicably arriving in this world, his greatest concern was how to survive. After surviving, his greatest concern was how to live well. And after living well, his greatest concern was how to maintain that life.
Fifteen years ago, he first arrived in this world.
Born in a renowned place, he narrowly escaped being thrown into a fire pit at birth. Then, inexplicably caught in a pursuit, he was taken far away. He still couldn't understand why he had experienced all that.
Three years ago, he first arrived in the border town of Fanggu.
Then, he spent three days meticulously planning to approach Emperor Li Xiaozong, seven days persuading him to accept his advice, and fifteen days, in Emperor Li Xiaozong's name, rallying eight hundred border soldiers to raise three thousand taels of silver. He spent two months building a three-story wooden building, and another six months making it a landmark of Fanggu.
Jin Yuan Fang.
At the beginning of the following year, he rallied the city's residents to raise funds to expand Jin Yuan Fang and built Hong Xiu Lou, attracting the golden phoenix, Hong Xiu Zhao. The following Spring Festival, all the city's residents received dividends, and quite substantial ones at that.
Thus, Fang Jie became the most unique person in Fang Gu City.
The head manager of Jin Yuan Fang.
...
...
Because of these businesses in Fang Gu City, and because the money from those barbarians on the grasslands was so easy to make, Li Xiaozong, the Fang Gu City general, decisively abandoned his plan to risk his life attacking Nirvana City. He changed his goal to making money, striving to make the grassland people beyond the Wolf Milk Mountains impoverished in the shortest possible time.
It must be said, this ideal was equally lofty...
The forty-eight gambling methods in Jin Yuan Fang were all devised by Fang Jie.
For a guy who grew up watching gambling movies, coming up with these schemes was truly not difficult.
The market days each month were happy days for the city's residents. This meant the nomadic barbarians were foolishly handing over money again, and ever since those three towers appeared in Fangu City, the number of these foolish barbarians coming to give money had increased dramatically. The amount of silver distributed among the city's residents was also increasing, and naturally, the people's affection for Fang Jie was growing accordingly.
Fang Jie was not only the head manager of Jin Yuan Fang, but he also had another identity:
A scout in the border army's scout team.
Many people didn't understand why someone like him would specifically ask Emperor Li Xiaozong for a military position. But everyone firmly believed one thing: Fang Jie would never do anything that would put him at a disadvantage. Only Fang Jie himself knew that if there was any truly safe place in the world, or rather, a place that his pursuers dared not enter, it was Chang'an, the capital of the Sui Dynasty.
And to enter Chang'an, one needed money and status.
He needed to obtain both of these necessities for entering Chang'an in Fangu City.
From the very beginning, his goal was Chang'an.
From his birth until now, in the fifteen years since, only two people had protected him. Three years ago, in Dali, the capital of the Southern Yan Kingdom, to create a diversion and lure away his pursuers, the last seven guards decided that five would take a kidnapped child and flee northeast. The remaining two would escort him stealthily northwest, against the direction of the pursuers, into the Sui Dynasty, and eventually to Fangu.
Fang Jie knew that the five men had successfully lured away the pursuers. That's why he had enjoyed three peaceful years in Fangu. But he also knew that the five men and the stranger he had met were likely all dead. Given the powerful forces of his pursuers, they would discover the deception and slowly start investigating again… Three years was long enough; Fang Jie didn't believe Fangu was still a safe place.
Only two people remained to protect him; from now on, he needed to learn to protect himself.
Only the capital, Chang'an, was a place where those people dared not act with impunity.
After treating Fu Baobao and Qiu Xiaoshu to dog meat hotpot at Yunji Dog Meat Shop and drinking a whole leather bag of wine, Fang Jie was somewhat drunk and oblivious. He grabbed the hands of the dog meat shop owner, a woman who looked to be in her late thirties, and declared with deep affection that he would marry no one but her. The owner, whose name Fang Jie still didn't know, gazed at him tenderly before giving him a sharp rap on the head, sobering him up considerably.
"You used this trick to cheat me out of my money last time, and now you're doing it again?"
The owner, hands on her hips, her face flushed, said, "Because of what you said last time, I almost divorced that lazybones. Luckily, I didn't believe your nonsense, otherwise where would I find another husband I could manipulate without daring to fight back? Right, husband..."
The dog meat shop owner, with a thick beard but not a rugged look, instead possessing a scholarly air, shuddered and immediately nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, where in this world is there anyone more pleasing to your heart than me?"
The owner, known as Su the Dog Butcher, wasn't originally from Fan Gu; he was said to have settled here ten years ago. No one knew his hometown, nor even his age. He looked to be no more than forty years old. Slightly older than the proprietress, he was extremely timid and cowardly, a classic example of someone who feared his wife like a tiger.
Fang Jie rubbed his head, which had been bumped from being hit, and couldn't help but chuckle, "How could I possibly cheat you out of your money for the drinks? I was genuinely drunk last time."
The proprietress roared, "You come to my place, and nine out of ten times you're drunk!"
"It's just that your pear blossom wine was a bit too strong..."
Fang Jie paid the bill, then took the proprietress's hand again and said softly, "When you divorce him, come find me. I'm completely captivated by you. Your charm is unmatched in the entire city of Fangu. You exist deep in my mind, in my dreams, in my heart, in my songs..."
After saying this, Fang Jie turned and left, his face resolute.
The proprietress blushed again, muttering, "After all these years, I've finally found someone who appreciates me again... Butcher, isn't my charm as strong as ever?"
"Yes..."
Butcher Su sighed, "I only saw that kid steal another jug of wine..."
"Ah?"
The proprietress was startled, then turned and slapped Butcher Su across the head: "You saw him and didn't stop him!"
...
...
Back at Jin Yuan Fang, Fang Jie went into his study, closed the door and windows, and casually tossed the stolen apricot blossom wine behind him. A dark figure appeared out of nowhere, nimbly catching the jug of wine. The figure turned and vanished without a trace.
Fang Jie placed the food box on the table, pointed, and said, "It's been like this for so many years, one only eats meat and doesn't drink wine, the other only drinks wine and doesn't eat meat... Aren't you two tired of it?"
When he sat down, the food box on the table had disappeared. "Can't you just sit down and eat properly?"
He said, pursing his lips.
There was still no response; those drinking continued drinking, those eating continued eating.
On the roof beam lay a woman in a bright red dress, her face obscured, but her figure extremely graceful and s*xy. She leaned against the beam, drinking heavily, silent. A full sack of pear blossom wine, weighing five pounds, was enough to incapacitate three fierce border soldiers, yet she gulped it down without a change in expression.
Behind the bookshelf squatted an old man in a fur coat, his face wretched and his body gaunt. He squatted on the ground, devouring meat; a whole food box of dog meat, weighing at least seven or eight pounds, was completely empty in moments. Having finished the dog meat, the emaciated old man wiped the grease from his mouth and patted his stomach contentedly.
"Delicious!"
He said.
With a thud, a wine sack struck him on the forehead.
"Fun my foot!"
The woman in the red dress sat up straight on the roof beam, looking at Fang Jie with utmost seriousness, and said, "I'm not full!"
She treated wine like food.
Fang Jie didn't answer her question, but instead asked in the same earnest tone, "So many years have passed, and I've grown up... Now, can you tell me who I really am? I'm about to leave Fangu for Chang'an City, and I can't possibly enter the capital still not knowing who I am."
"What if one day I meet the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, and he asks me where I came from? I can't possibly tell him... I don't know either, can I?"