(1)
They walked from the city wall to the city gate and followed several teams in front of them into the city. Just here, they spent a whole morning.
The outer city is composed of several ancient villages, distributed in the shape of fish scales. There is no traffic, and chickens and dogs hear each other. Their history of existence is older than the city wall of Jinyang City.
A river passes through the city and flows south along the culvert under the city wall, dividing the entire Jinyang into two. On both sides of the river, tens of millions of Jinyang people live and rest here.
It is said that Jinyang City was the place where Emperor Shenwu Gaohuan made his fortune and the place where Longxing flourished. With the Yellow River outside and Taihang within, and thousands of miles of fertile fields, it had always been an important military location in the north, especially during the period of Emperor Shenwu.
If Jiangzhou is a famous city in the Southern Dynasties, then Jinyang is a well-deserved metropolis in the Northern Dynasties.
When you walk into Jinyang, you will see hundreds of dazzling alleys one after another. People gather everywhere, and shops are lined up in rows. There are many tea sellers, entertainers, and brokers with hanging lanterns, looking for customers and people everywhere. .
A platform was protruded from the inn along the river. A girl in a light gauze gown with a hairpin on her head and a coy posture danced to a troupe of fine music. The talented and beautiful people sat behind the roller curtains and drank tea. There is a river in the city that stretches for twenty miles from north to south. Spring has just begun and the water level is very shallow, so there are no boats floating on the river.
In one long street alone, there are more than 20 city gates between the inner city and the outer city. There are at least hundreds of colorful lanterns hanging on the restaurants along the street. Boys who go to the kitchen to pick up food and deliver food often come and go. If you pay attention, you will bump into passers-by and argue together, which is very lively. There are soldiers on guard around every gate. Ordinary people will be searched at any time if they pass by the old meeting. However, Bai Feng and the others were stopped in front of the first checkpoint and were unable to enter the city for a long time.
"Where are you from?"
"We are from Lingcheng." A philistine-looking girl handed over a few taels of silver and whispered to the soldiers guarding the city: "Sir, please be kind and let us in?"
The guy looked around, quietly accepted the gift, and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Take refuge with relatives." The eldest girl said with certainty, "We are really desperate."
"To seek refuge with relatives?" The man saluted the visitor and asked seriously: "What relatives are you seeking refuge with? With so much iron ore, swords and sharp weapons, you must be smuggling arms, right?"
"How could it be!" said the eldest girl, "My family has been in the blacksmith business for generations, and these are the only things I have left."
No matter how he argued, the city guard continued to ask in an official tone: "Tell me your name, come one by one."
"Just call me Ayu."
"Rune Tao."
"Yu Ke."
Seeing that there was still one person at the end who didn't respond, the guy went over and pushed him and asked sternly: "Boy, what are you looking around for?"
"My lord, Bai Feng, do you have any advice?"
"Bai Feng?" The boy guarding the city suddenly became energetic and urged his colleagues holding pens and ink on the side: "Write it down quickly and go in quickly to report... You guys, just wait here for a while!"
Ayu spoke quickly and cursed: "What did you say? I just gave you money!"
"What's the money? Who saw it?" The guy said: "Either you keep all your luggage and go find your relatives first; or you just wait here honestly and don't take up a seat. Next one!"
Fu Wentao was afraid that Ayu would accidentally get into trouble, so he quickly pulled her to the side. Bai Feng and Yu Ke also waited nearby, and they waited for most of the day.
Suddenly, the messenger boy came with a handwritten letter to report. After hearing this, the soldiers who stopped Bai Feng and the others lowered their faces and heads, and hurriedly ran to Bai Feng, nodded and bowed, and only said: "The adults don't remember the villains." Come on, please go in quickly!"
"What's going on with you?" Ayu couldn't help but ask, "The changes have been huge!"
"Mr. Bai, please take this handwritten letter first. There is an adult who wants to see you." The man waved his hand, and several people packed Bai Feng's luggage, which was completely different from the attitude just now.
Bai Feng took the handwritten letter and asked his companions to take the horses into the city, while he roughly read the contents of the letter and replied: "I'm busy with chores now, let's discuss it later."
"Oh, there's no rush. It won't be too late to finish this matter after Mr. Bai has taken care of the chores." The man made way for Bai Feng to enter the city, his tone was particularly humble.
In the past, Jinyang was a place that only existed in dreams for Ayu and Yu Ke. In imagination, there are countless people and opportunities in Jinyang, and you can make a lot of money; there are many noble ladies here, and the mother who has been sending money to yourself may also be one of the many noble ladies.
There are gorgeous and prosperous streets here, filled with magnificent buildings, marble-carved floor tiles, and magnificent palaces.
But before they witnessed all this, they were severely punished by the soldiers guarding the city at the door.
"Mr. Bai, why did they suddenly become like this?" Ayu asked curiously: "If you weren't here, we wouldn't even be able to get in."
"An old acquaintance wants to see me." Bai Feng handed over the handwritten letter.
"Mei Xinghe?" Ayu asked, "Who is this?"
Bai Feng said: "The confidant of the great eunuch of the dynasty."
"Brother-in-law, do you want to go see her first?" After Yu Ke said, Fu Wentao also echoed: "Is it because of Miss Murong's matter? In the past, people from Taiping Road and the imperial court wanted to compete for the saint, but now The Saint has been captured by Taiping Dao, and the people in the court will definitely not give up."
Bai Feng suddenly stopped behind everyone and said, "Don't worry, look at how big Jinyang City is. The outer city alone is twice the size of Yuyi Town. Why don't we get familiar with the situation in the city first and act accordingly? "
"I don't know." Fu Wentao shook his head: "I don't really understand this kind of thing, let it be up to you."
Looking at the bustling scene in the city, everyone was stunned for a moment. They walked a few streets in tacit understanding and chose an inn where there were not so many people to stay.
We had a great time eating, drinking and having fun along the way. Grilled, baked, fried; tea, braised meat, flatbreads, everything is available. The smoke from each house has its own aroma, so you will never feel lonely wherever you go.
After eating everything on this street, I went to another street to watch other people's tricks. Several rows of gambling houses were overcrowded. There were countless bullfighters and cockfighters. Everyone was vying to place bets to win a fortune, no matter what. You are a noble, an official, a merchant, a porter, or a farmer. Here, everyone can express their desire to win or lose.
It is said that Gao Yang, the second son of Emperor Shenwu of the current dynasty, would often come here to play.
Tired of walking, a few people went to the inn to stay, asked the waiter for a cup of snacks and some hot tea, rested and chatted, and it fell into the night before they knew it.
They just muddle along like this, slowly inquiring about the gossip in Jinyang City. After several days of this, one day, the eunuch Mei Lin finally sent someone to invite them to gather at the most famous brothel in Jinyang City, "Guangzhou". "Han Pavilion" held a meeting, and the master of the pavilion, Mei Xinghe, happened to be the most famous oiran in Jinyang City.
