"This is Chang'an. The city walls seem to be very short, but that's all."
In front of Tonghua Gate in the northeast corner of Chang'an, Fang Chongyong raised his head and looked at the city wall that was less than six meters high and said disapprovingly.
He did not deny the magnificence of Chang'an City in front of him. In terms of ancient productivity, building such a city was almost the limit of the people's power.
However, Fang Chongyong, who comes from modern times, has seen all kinds of high-rise buildings. Is this place bigger than the Three Gorges Dam?
To be honest, the city wall of Chang'an City has a bit of a "prestigious" feel.
It is much shorter than I imagined, not even much higher than the city wall of Kuizhou City! This is obviously not in line with the strong character that an imperial capital should have.
In addition, Fang Zhongyong could guess with his toes that such a huge city could not be reached at a glance. It also comes with such a "not too high" wall, which cannot defend against any enemy.
To defend Chang'an City, we can only defend the enemy from the outside, and firmly controlling the four fortresses in Guanzhong is the best way. Once the pass in Guanzhong is breached, it means that the battle for Chang'an City will be fought with a bayonet! And the army that can break through Guanzhong is obviously not easy to mess with.
"What are you thinking! Do you know how much manpower and material resources it will cost to raise the height of this outer city that is dozens of miles long? It's not you who pays for it!"
Zheng Shuqing interrupted him dissatisfied.
"Okay, okay, you know, let's go to the city."
After Fang Chongyong finished speaking, he walked towards Tonghua Gate where no one was walking, but Zheng Shuqing held his shoulders tightly.
"Tonghua Gate leads directly to the inner city. Generally, you have to enter the palace to meet the saint. Or it may be something like a minister visiting another country or a prince going on a tour. If there is no document for entering the inner city, you cannot enter this gate.
The inner city is the office of the central government. What are you, a child with a yellow mouth, doing there? "
Zheng Shuqing asked with confusion on his face.
"Can't you leave too?"
Fang Chongyong asked curiously.
Zheng Shuqing looked embarrassed, and then said sarcastically: "It doesn't mean you can't leave..."
Fang Chongyong suddenly realized that he had forgotten this. Zheng Shuqing seemed to have mentioned on the way that there were several gates in Chang'an that ordinary people could not enter, but he did not emphasize that they were specifically referring to Tonghua Gate.
It's true that you don't know how to be a junior official until you come to Chang'an. The provincial governor who is so powerful in the local area has to stay humble and humble when he comes to Chang'an.
Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly: "Under the emperor's feet, the first good thing is to have strict rules. So what should I do? You can't just go into a dog hole, right?"
"Go to Chunming Gate, which is next to Tonghua Gate. It's the one on your left. Otherwise, do you still want a husband to come out of Tonghua Gate to take you into the city?"
Zheng Shuqing was so brave that Fang Zhong laughed.
"Today we know that those who go in and out of Tonghua Gate are true heroes."
Fang Chongyong couldn't help sighing and sighing. He was so angry that Zheng Shuqing couldn't hold back a word for a long time. They were now separated from Li Bai and didn't have to worry about anything.
As soon as Fang Chongyong and his party got off the carriage, Li Bai made an excuse to slip away beforehand and did not want to have a close relationship with them. It can be seen that Li Bai came to Chang'an to find nobles and find a way to become an official. He did not want to have anything to do with strangers who did not know his background.
Fang Chongyong couldn't help but think: In his previous life, people said that Li Bai was unruly and unrestrained. As a result, people now come to Chang'an to seek official positions, and they have probably already found a way. Even Zheng Shuqing invited him to drink in a Chang'an wine shop, but Li Bai declined.
Probably because this time the relationship is very strong and the relationship is very strong. Li Bai is sure of it and doesn't want to create any complications.
The word "wide contacts" is not necessarily a compliment in many cases.
Suppose Li Bai and Zheng Shuqing were close now, eating, drinking and having fun together. And the path he was looking for was from the faction of Zheng Shuqing's political enemies (with Li Linfu's style, this possibility is not small).
Then this chance encounter may bring unnecessary trouble to Li Bai.
Although they were anxious to enter the city, they "blocked people" outside Chunming Gate. Since this is the main entrance and exit where ordinary people and middle- and low-level bureaucrats in Chang'an are welcomed and escorted, there are particularly many people waiting in line here.
The "security check" speed at Chunming Gate was much slower than Fang Zhongyong expected, so there was a queue of several hundred meters long in front of the gate, which made people break into cold sweats.
Liu Yuxi has a poem that says: There is a column of flowers in Pingzhang's house, but they are not home when they bloom. Don't forget that the two capitals are far apart. The end of the world is right outside Chunming Gate.
With nothing to do, Zheng Shuqing began to educate Fang Chongyong on why they could only use Chunming Gate and had to queue up here to enter the city, instead of taking "shortcuts" through other gates.
Chunming Gate is the main entrance and exit to the east of Chang'an, and it is one of the few city gates that ordinary people can even walk through.
Most of the other gates in Chang'an City are not suitable for ordinary people to visit for various reasons.
Some are basically closed, such as the Mingde Gate, which has the highest standards, and the three gates in the north near Liyuan Forbidden Garden;
Some are the starting point of the Silk Road. There are many Hu merchants traveling to and from the Western Regions, and the heavy flow of trucks and camel caravans makes it inconvenient for ordinary people to travel, such as Kaiyuanmen in the west;
Some of them lead directly to cemeteries, and nearby shops sell coffins and paper money. It is unlucky for ordinary pedestrians to go there, such as the Yanping Gate in the west.
Some gates are inaccessible in the outskirts, and there are very few normal residents in the inner city. Three religions and nine streams gather together, and basically no one goes there, such as Anhua Gate and Qixia Gate in the south.
As for the Xuanwu Sect, just don’t mention these three words.
There are many rules and restrictions in Chang'an, and Fang Chongyong had an intuitive understanding of them before entering the city.
"Did you see that one? That place is called Wu Houpu. It is guarded by guards and Yiqi. There are a hundred people at the big gate and thirty people at the big house. Twenty people at the small gate and five people at the small house. Their main responsibilities are the city gate, Fang gate security work, responsible for daily opening, closing and inspection.
However, the person who ordered these people to open and close the city gate was the gatekeeper and was not under their control. The person who delivers the key has nothing to do with these two. He is the 800 servants set up in the fifth year of Wude. There is a dedicated person to manage it. Only when one of them is on duty will he be qualified to deliver the key to the city gate to the gatekeeper. Open the door. "
When he was approaching the "security check", Zheng Shuqing pointed to a sentry tower not far from the city gate and explained everything.
"So, in the outer city of Chang'an, one yamen orders the opening and closing of the doors, another yamen is responsible for guarding them, and another yamen delivers the keys. Is that right?"
Fang Chongyong asked doubtfully, this feeling is a bit like when planting trees, one person is responsible for digging the hole, one is responsible for placing the saplings, and the other is responsible for filling the hole.
Isn’t it really tiring to play like this? What if the person placing the saplings takes a break one day?
"Well, it's not bad in general."
Zheng Shuqing shook his head and sighed.
This is obviously a redundant official, but it is also a "redundant official" needed by the emperor. In the past few years, Li Linfu made a drastic move to eliminate low-level officials and subordinate staff with overlapping functions in the court, and replaced the original fixed official positions with so-called "errands".
In other words, in the past, there were some "turbid current" officials who worked at the local level, and the court had to support them with low salaries. Now they are directly "downgraded" to temporary workers.
When you have errands, you are a member of the court. If you don't have errands, you are just a bigger ant.
Even so, Li Linfu did not attack such an obvious redundant official bug in Chang'an's access control, which shows how much the sweet-talking prime minister is afraid of him.
The Xuanwu Gate Incident frightened the emperors of Li and Tang Dynasties, so the management of Chang'an's access control reached the point of frantically trying to contain each other.
If you think you can deceive the gates of Chang'an by bribery with one or two officials, you can only think about it in your mind, but don't reveal your intelligence by speaking out.
After thinking about it for a long time, it was finally Fang Chongyong's turn. Zheng Shuqing took out his "personal report" for returning to Beijing to report on his duties, and showed it to the Jinwu Guard officials guarding the city gate for inspection.
"Verify his identity and bring this Ambassador Zheng to Dali Temple."
The Jinwu guard said to the deputy under his command without any expression.
Eh?
Zheng Shuqing was stunned, and Fang Chongyong was dumbfounded, solemn and solemn as if he were mourning his heir.
Why did Lao Zheng go to jail immediately when he returned to Beijing to report on his work?
Is there any Wangfa? Is there any law?
Fang Chongyong no longer understands how to play the rules of the game.
"This general is just returning to Beijing to report on his duties. He still has the title of Chao Yilang."
Zheng Shuqing asked doubtfully.
"I know, but the envoy is already on the wanted list. The arrest document was just issued yesterday. A supervisory censor in the court reported that the envoy was colluding with Jiangyang thieves in Kuizhou and robbing merchants. It was Shi Chong of the Tang Dynasty. , the crime is extremely evil. The imperial edict issued by the saint has nothing to do with the government and the government."
The Jinwu Guards are doing business and talking serious nonsense.
Although he didn't believe that Zheng Shuqing would collude with bandits to rob local counties and counties, but the word "official" said so, he just followed it. For example, who Shi Chong was and what he had done, he, a rough guy who had never read any books, didn't know and didn't care.
"Well, Shi Chong actually..."
Fang Chongyong wanted to explain to the Jinwu guards that Shi Chong was famous only for his fight for wealth with the emperor's uncle, not for his plundering surrounding counties when he was the governor of Jingxiang. As a result, he had just said half a sentence when the Jinwu Guards looked at Fang Chongyong with confusion and asked:
"Do you want to go to Dali Temple together, or show me the customs clearance documents and go in yourself?"
Fang Chongyong quickly and obediently took out his Chang'an household registration certificate from his sleeve and handed it to the other party.
As for Fang Laique and others, they are all domestic slaves and are equivalent to goods. It has been detailed in the documents issued by Kuizhou and does not require household registration certificate.
"What are you doing in Chang'an when you go to Lingnan to take up a post? You must have ulterior motives. Come on, send this man to Dali Temple together with Ambassador Zheng!"
The Jinwu Guards were searching Yan Zhuang's body for going to Lingnan.
With solemn and sad eyes, Fang Chongyong watched with a guilty expression as he was taken away by the Jinwu Guard officials. The two adults around him all became "suspects" in the blink of an eye.
"What did I do wrong? I'm still a child!"
After entering the city, Fang Chongyong couldn't help but lamented.
He took Fang Laique, Atuan, and two cormorants through Chunmingmen and arrived at Chunmingmen Street, which was more than a hundred meters wide in the city.
This is also called the East-West Cross Street! It is the most representative and prosperous street in Chang'an!
Fang Chongyong was shocked. In his previous life, Chang'an Street, where military parades could be held in front of Tiananmen Square, was only 120 meters wide.
But this is ancient times! What is the concept of a road more than 100 meters wide in ancient times!
"Mr. Lang, where are you going?"
Aduan was also shocked, a little confused about the direction, and even a little scared.
He has been running in the mountains and forests for more than ten years and is good at fighting tigers. He has never seen such a magnificent city, such wide streets, and such crowded people!
The East Market is on the left side of this street. It is the opening time of the market at this moment, and the drum of the opening of the market has been beating, as if it is beating on people's hearts. There were so many people outside Dongshi that the roads were blocked.
Fang Chongyong and his party listened from beginning to end and knocked three hundred times in total. After that, all the gates of the East Market were opened by the soldiers of the Jinwu Guard. The slaves of the noble family who were going to buy goods rushed into the East Market almost like a sprint of 100 meters.
It's not that they are in a hurry, but the opening time of the East Market is very short. It opens at 12 noon and closes at 5:15 in the afternoon.
Three hundred rounds of drumming, three hundred rounds of gongs, and three hundred rounds of gongs and drums are all included in the opening hours. The Jinwu Guards officer who executed this order had no interest relationship with the merchants in Dongshi, and there was no reason to grant them a few minutes of accommodation.
It’s really not possible to buy things without racing against time. The East Market is so big! It is more than 1,000 meters long from north to south, 924 meters wide from east to west, and covers an area of 0.92 square kilometers. There are two gates on each side of the city, making a total of eight gates.
Fang Chongyong saw someone leading a camel in, someone leading a horse out, and barbarians dressed in various colors coming and going, making a lot of noise.
"Alas, where is my home in Chang'an!"
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh. This time he was really screwed. Should he go directly to his future father-in-law's house to live?
"Mr. Lang, why don't we go home?"
Fang Laique next to him asked Fang Zhongyong with a confused look on his face.
"Go home, come back, show me where home is!"
Fang Chongyong said angrily.
"Isn't it over there?"
Fang Laique pointed to the huge official residence diagonally across from Dongshi City and said.
Following the direction of Fang Laique's finger, Fang Chongyong saw that the mansion he pointed at occupied a huge area and seemed to exceed the space of a square square.
As soon as you enter Chunming Gate, you will find this room. There are three large gilded characters written on the plaque above the vermilion door of the mansion.
Xingqing Palace!
"you sure?"
Fang Zhongyong could see the majestic palace on the roof in the distance, as well as the almost spotless yellow walls and green tiles outside, as well as a group of well-armed and brightly armored Imperial Guards guarding the door. He was somewhat suspicious of whether Fang Laique was drinking. Drunk.
How can that scumbag father of his own be so virtuous as to live in a place like this?
"The Red Lotus Spring we brought was confiscated by those Jinwu Guards as stolen goods. I didn't see you drinking it secretly during the period. Why are you talking nonsense?"
Fang Chongyong sighed helplessly.
He learned from Zheng Shuqing that to other emperors of the Tang Dynasty, Xingqing Palace might not matter, it was nothing important. But when Li Longji was emperor, this was one of the political centers of Chang'an! Li Longji often works here. He feels that the feng shui of this place is very good and full of dragon spirit!
When he was the prince, he lurked in the abyss here.
Could the place where Li Longji lived be Fang Youde's home?
"Uh, no, Lang Jun. Our house is in Yongjiafang, north of Xingqing Palace. Half of that square is occupied by the emperor. Our house is in the southernmost part of Yongjiafang, next to the wall of Xingqing Palace."
Fang Laique said aggrievedly.
Fang Zhongyong was shocked when he heard this!
Li Longji actually arranged Fang Youde's house next to his own palace. How much he trusted that scumbag father!
Fang Chongyong followed Fang Laique with concern, bypassing the westernmost edge of Xingqing Palace and heading to his courtyard in Yongjiafang.
