This day is the third day of February.
It was gradually dawning, and it was still dark outside. The light black sky was dotted with a few remaining stars. The biting cold wind was blowing, making the air even colder.
Zhu Ping'an packed his bags, said goodbye to Yang Jisheng, and continued to Beijing. Yang Jisheng had to wait for a friend here before going to the capital, so Zhu Pingan left first.
Tianjin Wei was not far from the capital. Zhu Pingan rode without rest and arrived at the capital around two o'clock in the afternoon.
The capital was the heart of the entire Ming Dynasty, bordering Liaojie in the east, Taihang in the west, Shuomo in the north, the military capital at its back, and the Central Plains in the south. The capital city was like a wild beast lying in front of Zhu Ping'an. It was majestic in scale and momentum, and was even more shocking than when he saw the city of Nanjing.
Gates, walls, towers, urns, turrets, and arrow towers, this city is armed to the teeth. The moat outside the capital alone seemed to Zhu Ping'an to be no less than fifty meters wide.
In front of this most fortified city in the world, even heaven and earth are insignificant.
In Ming Dynasty, Zhu Pingan came to Beijing for the first time, but if you count his previous lives, Zhu Pingan had been to Beijing many times. Of course, Beijing then and Beijing now are completely different. At that time, the only remaining gates of Beijing that could be seen were Dongbian Gate and Zhengyang Gate. Most of the other gates, especially the city walls, could not be seen at that time. Unlike now, not only the city gates and walls can be seen clearly, but also the turrets and arrow towers can be seen clearly.
The city gate of Beijing is bustling with activity, and there is an endless stream of pedestrians and vehicles entering and exiting the city gate.
The Emperor's feet are truly extraordinary.
Zhu Pingan followed the flow of people to the city gate for inspection and entered the city. When it was Zhu Pingan's turn, Zhu Pingan took out the certificate he carried with him and showed it to the soldiers guarding the city. Everything is low-grade, except for being well-educated. In this dynasty, being a scholar is a pass that saves money, time and effort, and makes people envious, jealous, and hateful.
Tried and tested in the past.
However, this time it didn't seem to have the same effect as before. The soldiers guarding the city verified Zhu Ping'an's identity, and there were no unnecessary changes on their faces. They had seen many more dignitaries guarding the city gate. They really wouldn't take this little person seriously.
"Five articles." The guarding soldier returned Zhu Pingan's certificate of election to Zhu Pingan, then stretched out his hand and said expressionlessly.
"What?"
Zhu Pingan heard this. It's a bit unbelievable, why are you asking me for fees? Although I don't have any privileged class thoughts, I am used to the convenience brought by my status as a candidate. After showing the certificate of elevating people, the gatekeeper asked him about the fee. This made Zhu Pingan not believe it.
"You don't have to pay, but you have to pay for your horse when entering the city." The city guard looked at Zhu Pingan expressionlessly, not paying attention to Zhu Pingan's identity at all.
Well
What is the logic!
"This is the rule of our capital. You must be from out of town. If you want to enter, you must pay. If you don't pay, don't enter." The soldier guarding the gate looked at Zhu Ping'an sideways and stretched out his hand to urge.
Seeing that there were so many people waiting in line behind him to enter the city, Zhu Ping'an didn't want to waste everyone's time because of his five cents. Since the soldier guarding the gate dared to ask for money from him so openly, he must have something to rely on. . It's my first time here, so it's better not to get into trouble.
So, Zhu Ping'an put his hand into his sleeve and took out five cents. Just as he was about to hand it over to the soldier guarding the door, he heard a flurry of chickens and dogs behind him, accompanied by the cry of a child.
Zhu Ping'an turned around and saw a group of young men riding horses in brocade hats and mink furs. They were laughing and competing with each other in the crowd. Instead of reining in their horses and slowing down, they accelerated their speed and rushed left and right in the crowd. He rode towards the city gate with laughter and laughter.
People waiting in line to enter the city saw this group of young men in brocade hats and mink fur riding horses, and they all dodged. Some of them did not dodge in time, such as the crying child. Because he couldn't dodge, he was knocked to the ground by the horse.
The child's family just held the child and had no intention of pursuing the perpetrator. The child seemed to have been knocked down, but it was only a superficial injury, so the family members wanted to settle the matter. As far as ordinary people like them are concerned, those young men riding horses. It's not something they can afford to offend.
"If you don't want to die, just get out of the way."
The last of this group of young men with brocade hats and mink furs was a fat man who was even fatter than Xue Chi. He was riding a tall black horse. It was much taller and more majestic than the black horse that Zhu Pingan was holding. However, Although this dark horse was much more majestic, it still couldn't bear carrying such a fat man, so it walked last.
The fat man was worried about finishing last. He waved his whip to scare those who were blocking the way, and rode forward in a hurry to catch up, his fat face covered with sweat.
"Hahaha, Fatty Zhou, wait for the treat. Drive..."
"Fat Zhou, today we are going to Lanyue Tower to bleed you."
"Hahaha, you were still bragging about the Persian war horses. Stop bragging now. Don't deal with us like last time. We have to choose the rouge horse tonight."
A group of young men in brocade hats and mink fur riding horses, laughing and joking, arrived at the city gate in a blink of an eye. Along the way, countless people waiting in line to enter the city suffered disaster.
If we put this in modern times, they would be a group of second-generation ancestors who are racing cars. If something goes wrong, it will be because they are under 18 years old, have good academic performance, or have won awards...
"What are you still doing? Get out of the way." Seeing Zhu Pingan still standing at the city gate, the soldiers guarding the city said anxiously and quickly pulled Zhu Pingan down to the wall.
It was not that Zhu Pingan would be hit by these second generation ancestors, but that Zhu Pingan would block the way of these second generation ancestors and make these second generation ancestors unhappy.
The young men in brocade hats and mink furs who came on horseback roared past without any notice of the soldiers guarding the city, as if the city gate was the front door of their home, and the soldiers guarding the city took it as a matter of course.
"Damn it, He Laoliu, it's all your fault for blocking the city gate so tightly that I lost again!"
When the fat man who was left behind passed the city gate, he twisted his fat face and spat at the gate guard, then rode past with a curse.
"You are scolding me for being sorry, Master Zhou."
The guard guard didn't even wipe the saliva from his face. He nodded and bowed and apologized repeatedly to the fat man's back. After the group of second-generation ancestors had gone away, the guard soldier wiped the drool off his face.
"Are you still coming in?" After wiping away his saliva, the guarding soldier turned to look at Zhu Ping'an and asked angrily.
The former is respectful and the latter is arrogant, the contrast is really huge.
"Enter."
Looking at the unwiped saliva on the faces of the defenders, Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, put five cents in the hands of the defenders, and then led the dark horse into the city. (To be continued.)
