After bidding farewell to Ambassador Liang's residence, Jiang Tian was not able to embark on the return journey to his former residence; instead, he continued riding a carriage on another road.
And this route seems to be extremely long. Starting from Chonghuafang on the edge of the West Market, we walked southward along the towering city wall; the sound of kicking continued for more than an hour before it stopped.
The bustling scene of the markets along the way has also changed from bustling people rubbing shoulders, to an endless stream of people; to rows of three to five, gradually sparse, and finally, with the increasingly rare private houses and shops. , and seemed withered and quiet.
"Jiang Sheng, You Tufang has arrived."
Then, Fan Shishi’s familiar voice rang in front of the car:
And as Jiang Tian, whose legs and feet were numb from sitting, slowly got off the carriage, he saw a tall, simple and mottled three-story archway standing in front of him. There is also the word "Zhao Xing" as big as a bucket on the archway.
Under the archway, several guards wearing arrow jackets and black soft trousers suddenly appeared, looking at the generals with eager eyes. It was not until Fan Shizi took out a body plate that he seemed to be fine again. Retreat into the shadows.
After passing through the heavy archway, there was another square wall with a height of two feet and a small gatehouse with blue and gray tones, lying in front of Jiang Tian and his party. The sign on the gate tower became "You Tu Fang".
While calling the door and waiting for the inside to open, Fan Shizi once again explained apologetically to Jiang Tian:
"Although the pardon has been issued, as usual, Jiang Sheng still needs to stay in Zuotufang for some time."
"It doesn't matter."
Jiang Tian smiled slightly:
"I'd rather trouble you to spend some time here with me."
"No trouble, no trouble."
However, Fan Shishi quickly waved his hand and said:
"We are getting a little tired of being in the prison. We just want to take advantage of Jiang Sheng and find another place to play."
"Then please, I hope your family won't blame me for this."
Jiang Tian said without being pretentious or polite: After all, although this person's strength is unknown, he is officially a guard and protector.
"She dares?"
Fan Shishi couldn't help but stared, then smiled and said:
"What's more, thanks to Jiang Sheng, I cover all expenses here, but she doesn't have to worry about it when I have business trips."
After these few words of conversation, the heavy iron-gray door finally opened; it was immediately revealed that after walking outside for a long time, there were only walls or walls, and no one could see the loneliness and desolation of other people; the completely different noises and fireworks. Breath comes.
The officers behind him who were responsible for escorting him also seemed to be relieved, and hurriedly backed away, as if they were afraid of causing any bad luck or taboos; before Jiang Tian could fully enter, they couldn't wait to surround him. The carriage left.
Before arriving, Jiang Tian had already understood the origin of Zuofang. Its predecessor can be traced back to a sudden whim of Emperor Taizong, the ancestor of the Tang Dynasty. This is the so-called allusion of "return to prison after righteous release".
("At the end of the Xin Dynasty, the emperor personally took the prisoners and saw the deceased. Min Zhi sent him home, expecting to die in the coming autumn. He still ordered all the prisoners on death row in the world to be sent to the capital in due course." "Last year. There are 390 people on death row in the world. There is no one to supervise them. They all surrendered to the court as scheduled. If no one dies and hides, they will all be pardoned.")
However, since he was a death row prisoner who was pardoned by the emperor Jinkou Yuyan, he could not be returned to his hometown casually; if there were any mistakes, it would be a slap in the face of the local magistrate, or a slap in the face of the eternal sage. So someone came up with a workaround.
Also on the grounds of the emperor's great favor, these released prisoners were gathered together and set up in a remote place in the south of Chang'an City, and their families were brought in as a safe place. Anyway, once the gate of a small town is closed, it becomes a disguised form of confinement and residential surveillance.
This also became the origin of the first batch of residents of Zuotufang in Chang'an City. Later, those who were pardoned for serious crimes followed this story, and many misdemeanors who were not old enough to be imprisoned were successively sent to serve in it, and the current situation came into being.
It even became the only place for some prisoners in Chang'an prisons where they could come out regularly to get some fresh air, and even find ways to live a family life. Later, with the increasing demand for overcrowding, a new area was built on the edge and expanded into Left and Right Square.
Later, during the Anshi Rebellion, as the army counterattacked Chang'an, Cui Guangyuan, the former Jingzhao Shaoyin who pretended to surrender to the rebels, took the opportunity to open the door to welcome him. As a result, he was caught off guard and An Lushan's adopted sons Sun Xiaozhe and An Shenwei, who were rebel generals, Retreat to this point.
Then it was burned and defeated by the firearms unit affiliated with Longwu Army in King Qin's army. Therefore, in fact, the current left and right disciples were rebuilt on the ruins of several nearby cities, and it was only a hundred and eighty years ago.
The rebuilt Left and Right Disciples' Workshop is no longer a place for misdemeanors to serve their sentences; and every few years, regularly or irregularly, people who have been amnesty to the world will also stay here for a period of time. Let’s wait and see the effects in the future. As time went by, more people gathered.
Therefore, the current Tufang is just like other districts in Chang'an City; there are self-sufficient rice noodle shops, cloth and clothing stores, restaurants and teahouses, workshops and footwear, and even morning markets on the streets. , night market included; all internal functions and most facilities.
Therefore, as Jiang Dan gradually penetrated into it, in addition to the guards wearing armor and holding bows on the square walls and watchtowers, and the occasional jailers and Wuhou who patrolled by, the bustling and lively streets during the various criss-crossing periods were... It seems to be not much different from the outside world.
As for the relatively neat and level streets, deep in the alleyways densely covered with cobwebs, there are jagged outcroppings of buildings, haphazard piles of illegal structures, and the remnants of sewage flowing across the ground, floating in the ditches. The suspicious existence inside...
It also made Jiang Tian involuntarily feel a certain sense of familiarity and intimacy again. Just like his predecessor in this era, he once liked to hang out and deal with those low-class places in the market on the pretext of collecting stories and visiting.
On this small gatehouse, the prison warden Murong Wu, who had changed his outfit, was also staring at the retreating figure on Jiangfang Street; then, looking at the man on duty next to him, there was a certain carelessness in his eyebrows. The angry general said:
"That's him. I hope your sons and gentlemen can put a little more thought into it."
"I'm guarding this place. There are so many people coming to give explanations, and half of my cabinet is filled with all kinds of notes."
This ruffian general laughed nonchalantly:
"But I don't know how virtuous and capable this guy is. He actually worked for you, old goose, to come and explain the relationship in person? Are you all so free over there?"
"I don't know if the Censor's Palace and the Palace Province are enough for what you, Chen Guanshui, say?"
Murong Wu was unmoved and said:
"That's alright, then give me some answers."
When the ruffian general heard this, he couldn't help but straighten his face and said with determination:
"To what extent my son can achieve, what results must the adults achieve."
"Of course I can't tell you any more inside information, and I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it."
Murong Wu remained unmoved and said:
"As long as people are kept alive, the other relationships and intersections that arise are what some people want to see."
While walking on the long street among the disciples, Jiang Tian also had two temporary followers beside him. One is Fan Shizi, who has a tall chest and a concave belly, but looking at his smiling face, it seems that he doesn't have any big objections to the change of status from guard to follower.
The other one is an authentic member of the apprenticeship and a local guide named Xiao Ao. It is said that he was an outcast who was born in the apprenticeship. Therefore, he has been used to and familiar with living in the apprenticeship since he was a child and has no desire to do so. Went back to the outside room again.
And he also has another part-time identity, that is, he is an informant in the government, but he doesn't know how many are online. According to Xiao Ao's own statement, he was assigned here this time not only as a guide, but also to avoid unexpected accidents.
Therefore, after Jiang Tian stuffed him with a handful of copper coins, he became more and more knowledgeable and talkative:
"Mr. Sir, please note that on the surface, there are 28 miles and 41 markets in this apprenticeship. However, over the years, I don't know how many more have been built privately."
"In these markets, household items such as rice and oilcloth are not much more expensive than those outside. There are even cheaper ones, but the quality is..."
"Mr. Lang should understand that those Wuhou's uncles and their helpers also have to support their families."
"If you want to have a good source of utilization, there are some, mainly on the streets, but there is something involved behind the scenes."
"If you want to save yourself some trouble, there are also music courts, teahouses, wine shops, guesthouses and other places on the streets in the north and south;"
"As long as you still have some money in your pocket and enter one of these places, you can naturally ask people to run errands to take care of the rest."
"Of course, everything depends on that Duwu to talk to him, and I have also listened to it."
Hearing this, Jiang Tian couldn't help but said: "But I don't know that there may be some kind of township party gang or the like inside."
"What, how could Lang Jun think so?"
However, when Xiao Ao heard this, he was surprised and said:
"How could something like this happen under the eyes of all the Lord Wu and Lord Chatou?"
"I thought wrong."
However, he pretended to be dumbfounded on the other side, and Jiang Tian just smiled slightly; in his heart, it was precisely because of this that there was a relevant existence, as the gray offline and tentacles of those public servants to save management costs. But he still opened his mouth to explain:
"It's just that I naturally don't want to cause trouble. It's just that I'm inevitably involved in it, and I also want to avoid some right and wrong by seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages, or I accidentally committed a taboo."
"Mr. Lang is right to think so. I don't know much about it; but I have also heard about some locations that are inconvenient to go to."
Although Xiao Ao did not answer directly, he also indirectly gave the answer and direction:
So, after Jiang Tian stuffed a handful of copper coins, Xiao Ao changed his words again:
"I still know a little bit about the places where rough guys and servants gather in the square..."
Of course, most of the time Jiang Tian still smiled and remained a silent listener. Of course he believed that most of what Xiao Ao, who was sent as a guide, could say was true, but he couldn't believe it all.
Because informants are like this. After eating, who knows that Wan, who is telling you here, might have sold what you heard here? What's more, a complete stranger?
At least along the way, there were more than a dozen people who greeted him openly, and countless casual eye contact and face-to-face encounters.
Finally, after walking through several streets, Jiang Tian and his party arrived at the depths of Tufang, which became increasingly lively, and the buildings on the streets became more orderly and clean; from low-rise one- or two-story houses or The shacks have also turned into small buildings with three or five floors.
Jiang Tian's place to stay in the next few months will be on this street called Happy Street, in one of the buildings that looks very old and in disrepair.
