Chapter Nineteenth: Long'an in Dreams

  Chang'an!

  But just two words, yet its position in Chinese history is crucial. Especially during the Tang Dynasty's Chang'an, it was even more so.

  Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty was the first city in world history to reach a population of over one million. Among the city's residents, aside from locals, royalty, officials, soldiers, slaves and servants, Buddhist and Taoist monks and nuns, and ethnic minorities, there were also more than 30,000 foreigners, including merchants, envoys, students, and monks who came to study in China.

  At that time, there were as many as 300 countries and regions that came to Chang'an with the Tang Dynasty's envoys. The science and technology culture, political system, food fashion and other aspects of the Tang Dynasty were all spread from Chang'an to various parts of the world. In addition, Western culture was digested and recreated in Chang'an City and then transmitted to surrounding countries and regions such as Japan, Korea, and Myanmar. At that time, Chang'an was a gathering place for commercial and cultural exchanges between East and West, and it was also the largest international metropolis in the world at that time.

  This is enough to make any Chinese feel proud.

  Today is a rare holiday for Hongwen Hall, and Du He didn't stay in the Cai Guogong Mansion to practice martial arts, but instead planned to take a look at the majesty of the Great Tang Dynasty and the grandeur of Chang'an.

  Du He walked on the bustling streets of Chang'an, taking in the scenery around him.

  This was his first serious appreciation of the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, watching people coming and going on the streets, secretly sighing in admiration. It is indeed the largest city in the world, in scale, in planning, the style of the Celestial Empire is evident, and at the same time, he felt proud to be in China.

  The streets are wide and straight, like a chessboard. The streets in Chang'an City are arranged in a north-south and east-west direction, perpendicular to each other, straight and proper, wide and open. There are 11 major streets running north-south, and 14 major streets running east-west, dividing the outer city into 109 rectangular wards and two markets, with each market occupying two wards.

  The streets on both sides of the city have drainage ditches and planted pagoda trees. The main roads are straight, with green trees shading them, making the city look very majestic. There are also four canals in the city that provide water for living and environmental use. Bai Juyi's poem to Zhang Ji said: "The distant green pagoda tree street, separated by eight or nine alleys", which reflects this situation.

  Enclosed wards and concentrated markets. The structure of the wards was enclosed, each ward had walls around it, and the gates of the houses were all inside the ward. Except for the 36 wards south of the Imperial City, which only had east-west gates, with only one main street running east-west outside, the rest of the wards all had four gates, east, west, south, and north, each with a main street running east-west and another running south-north, forming a cross-shaped street. The two markets on the east and west sides each had two gates on each side, with two streets running east-west and two streets running south-north, forming a "well" shape, dividing the market into nine squares. Each square's four sides all faced the street, and shops were set up around the perimeter of each square, with shops of the same trade concentrated in one area, called a "hang". The East Market had 220 hang, and the West Market was similar to the East Market. The West Market was the center of commerce in Chang'an City, and also the center of economic activity in Chang'an City.

  Du He is currently in Xishi.

  He led a horse on the Zhuque Avenue, which was one hundred and fifty steps wide, strolling along with some cold sweat on his forehead, but his heart was bitter.

  He who was once praising the prosperity of Chang'an is now secretly cursing it.

  Damn it, how big is this Chang'an anyway!

  He wiped the sweat from his forehead, regretting what he had done earlier. When he set out today, his mother, Madame Zhang, repeatedly asked him to bring a few guards. Du He secretly despised the idea, thinking: "Do I, the great thief chief, still need others to protect me?"

  All the way, Du He hadn't encountered any danger, but sadly discovered that he had gotten lost.

  Du He's body is a great thief, absolutely not a road fool, even in the difficult maze, on the difficult-to-remember roads can't stop him.

  Du He always thought that everyone in the world might get lost, except for himself.

  But now he has given in, this Chang'an is really too big.

  He wandered around, but didn't come across a single familiar place.

  Looked at the sun that had already reached its peak, rubbed the protesting belly, Du He sighed in compromise, and walked for a whole one and a half hours in Xishi, but still hadn't left Xishi. The prosperity of Datang can be seen from this.

  Right next to it was a large wine house, where the aroma of wine and meat wafted out, accompanied by the sound of chefs chopping and waiters shouting.

  The signboard of the wine house hung a golden and resplendent sign, but on the sign was engraved the old-fashioned name "Yingbin Building". The store is an old one, but the sign is newly hung. The three words "Yingbin Building" were actually in Du's script, which made Du He feel unexpectedly proud.

  As he arrived at the entrance of the shop, the young shopkeeper came up enthusiastically, took over his reins and led the horse to a nearby stable.

  Upon entering the store, the business inside is booming, divided into four floors. The first floor is where peddlers and traveling merchants gather, the second floor is where martial artists and small school owners meet friends, the third floor is where scholars and writers gather, and the fourth floor has private rooms, with the entire building neatly organized.

  When Du He saw him dressed up, the shopkeeper planned to take him upstairs.

  Du He shook his head and refused, found an empty seat on the first floor and sat down.

  The second and third floors were quiet, but they didn't suit his taste.

  The first floor can hear all sorts of big things and strange events from people's mouths, which has a special flavor for Du He.

  Du He ordered a pot of wine and asked the shopkeeper to prepare four-color dishes, listening to the interesting conversations from the mouths of the soldiers from all directions, pouring and drinking by himself.

  Merchants from all over praise the prosperity of the Great Tang.

  But there is one exception.

  A merchant dressed man said: "My great Tang is rich and powerful, not fake, politics is clear and also not fake, but the collusion between the aristocracy and the government is also true. I encountered a thing that made me angry in Lichuan. Wu Shi Yun was one of the founding fathers of my great Tang, ranked second in the 'Taiyuan Yuanmou Gongxian' , was one of the most trusted ministers of Emperor Wude, had a wife and a concubine, five children. His wife gave birth to two sons, his concubine gave birth to three daughters. A year ago, Wu Shi Yun died, all his property was inherited by his eldest son Wu Yuanqing and second son Wu Yuanshuang. These two scoundrels, disregarding kinship, colluded with the local government, and cruelly treated Wu Shi Yun's wife and daughter, really hateful."

  The politics of the Tang Dynasty were clear and just, and the common people discussed state affairs without fear of punishment. Therefore, the merchants did not dare to speak out, but they spoke with righteous indignation, and the people in the shop also sympathized with the four men.

  Indeed, the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, but any dynasty cannot avoid the existence of corrupt and greedy officials. Some things are beyond the reach of even the emperor, and it's not that easy to control everything just because one wants to.

  Du He was also somewhat indignant, but after thinking about it, he couldn't help but laugh. The second daughter of the warrior family, wasn't she Wu Zetian, China's first female emperor? Those who mistreated Wu Zetian would have their own bitter fruit to eat in the future, namely Wu Yuanqing and Wu Yuanshuang.

  Du He was eating and listening when suddenly someone came to his table, slightly bent over, saying: "Young Master Du, my master invites you to the elegant room for a chat."

  Du He looked up at the approaching person, his expression slightly changed, and secretly sighed that it was a great Han!

  The man was over fifty years old, wearing a worn-out grey robe, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, high nose and wide mouth, a square-shaped face with a strong sense of weathering.

  Du He noticed his two hands, his bones were thick and rough, his palms were full of calluses, and he had a large knife at his waist. Not the kind used for decoration, but the kind specifically designed to kill enemies, a thick-backed chopping knife.

  He stood there with his body straight, like a towering pine tree. This man's martial arts skills are feared to be unfathomably deep!

  One guard is like this, so the figure behind him can be seen as ordinary.

  "Alright, I'll go with you!"

  Du He smiled calmly and picked up his wine cup, with the wine jug following closely behind him.

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