After seven consecutive days of walking and stopping, they finally arrived at their destination - Qiu County.
Qiu County is just an inconspicuous county in the hinterland of the Central Plains. It seems that there are no outstanding talents, but the scenery here is somewhat beautiful.
The main reason for the beautiful scenery is that there are mountains and water.
Needless to say about water, the rolling Longdi River flows through here, rushing to the sea and never returning.
The mountain is the famous Golden Dragon Mountain Range in Dragon Soul Continent. Qiu County is located on one side of the Golden Dragon Mountain Range. Eighty percent of the entire county is mountainous.[
Because of the barren land, Qiu County is considered a relatively poor county in the hinterland of the Central Plains. You can tell this from the clothes of the people here.
Poverty leads to change, so Qiu County is also a place where unruly people have appeared in the past dynasties. Records of Qiu County bandits can be found in the shadow of almost every dynasty in Dragon Soul Continent.
It can be said that the bandits here are older than any dynasty in Dragon Soul Continent. Almost every dynasty has encircled and suppressed them, but it won't take long for these bandits to appear again.
They have been entrenched near Yuntianling for a long time. The terrain there is steep and easy to defend and difficult to attack. If you come to encircle and suppress them, they will simply disperse like birds and beasts. When you leave, they will regroup like a mob.
After the founding of the Tianji Dynasty, the bandits here subsided for a time. This was because the Tianji Dynasty issued a decree that exempted this place from taxes.
If the common people have a stutterer, they will not engage in such a high-risk occupation as a bandit. Everyone can live and work in peace and contentment. Isn't everyone happy?
However, the good times did not last long. About fifty years ago, bandits appeared here again.
The previous emperor mobilized a large army to encircle and suppress this place for a year. At that time, the emperor made up his mind. After that year of encirclement and suppression, the population of Qiu County dropped sharply from 300,000 to 60,000.
I thought I could rest easy from now on, but as a result, starting more than ten years ago, bandits here appeared again.
When Liu Xia's motorcade arrived outside the gate of Qiu County, Liu Xia was still shocked by the sight in front of him.
The city wall of the county town of Qiu County is in a state of dilapidation. Not only that, a section of the city wall in the distance seems to have completely collapsed, and even the city gate looks crumbling.
At the city gate, almost no one came in or out. The officers and soldiers who were originally responsible for guarding the city gate could not see a single person at the moment.
Those who knew it was just a county town, but those who didn't knew it thought it was deserted.
The people who occasionally came in and out of the city gate were all ordinary people wearing rags, with sallow faces and thin skin, and frowning faces.
It was like a scene of someone trying to escape.
"Brother, this seems to be a little different from the Qiu County you just mentioned. Didn't you just say that the scenery here is beautiful and unique, and the people live and work in peace and contentment? Why is it like this?"
Dabao asked curiously.
"Yes, that's what I saw in the imperial report."
Liu Xia also said in confusion.[
Obviously, the actual situation here is different from what the court officials and parents officials described.
"Your Majesty, do we want to enter the city?"
At this time, Liu Liansheng asked quietly outside the carriage.
"Come in, you're already here, how can you do it without taking a look?"
Liu Xia said firmly.
Although Liu Xia had already expected this place before coming here, after all, the bandits had been causing trouble for more than ten years and the court had encircled and suppressed them many times, so it was inevitable that there would be some decline here.
But I never imagined that this scene of decay was in front of me.
No one asked at the city gate, and there were no officers or soldiers at all, so entering the city went very smoothly.
When the convoy crossed the darkness and officially entered the city, Liu Xia was shocked again.
Looking out from the carriage, there is not even a single eye-catching building in the huge county seat of Qiu County.
There were not many people to be seen on the streets, and even if there were any, they were like zombies, with their heads lowered and silently passing by.
Originally, all the shops on both sides of the street were closed. Some shops still had spider webs hanging on them, and the door panels were covered with dust. It looked like they hadn't been open for a long time.
Liu Xia traveled from the northwest to Longdu and passed many cities along the way. He also saw poor cities, but this was the first time Liu Xia saw such a depressed city.
In broad daylight, this place was like a ghost town, which made Liu Xia feel that he was not living in the peaceful and prosperous Tianji Dynasty, but in the chaotic years of war.
"Can there be an inn here?"
Dabao asked curiously.
"If that doesn't work, let's stay at the inn. Looking at the situation, I'm afraid we won't be able to find the inn."
Liu Xia looked around and said.
So, the group of people headed towards the inn. Sure enough, there were no inns or restaurants along the way. The only open shop was a grocery store, but it looked like no one was interested.
After everyone arrived at the inn, Liu Xia got out of the car, only to see that the door of the inn was closed with cobwebs hanging on it. It had not been opened for God knows how long.
"Go in and have a look."
Liu Xia couldn't help but frowned.[
The inn is run by the imperial court, so it should be taken care of by the government officials. There are no people in the inn here, so what is the situation with the county government?
Dabao used force and immediately broke the door bolt. Everyone entered the courtyard of the inn and found that the place was in a mess. No one lived there at all, let alone being managed.
Seeing all this, Liu Xia frowned.
It seems that the banditry here is far more serious than he imagined, and the functional agencies of the imperial court are basically paralyzed here.
If it were a border town, this would be understandable, but in the hinterland of the Central Plains and in this era of prosperity, it is simply unimaginable.
Under the heavy management and supervision of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Royal Road Platform, and the Chief Envoy, such a scene unexpectedly appeared here, but Longdu had no idea at all.
There are many articles in it.
"Liansheng, you take the people to tidy up first. We'll make do here and go to Yunling tomorrow to see the situation."
Liu Xia ordered.
"As commanded."
At that moment, Liu Liansheng took the Royal Forest Army Gate and began to clean up.
Although this inn is abandoned, the building is well preserved and if it is tidied up, it will not be a big problem for people to live there.
The group of people ran all the way, and after cleaning up, they kept watch and rested.
In the afternoon, Liu Xia originally wanted to go out for a walk. As soon as he walked out of the door, he heard someone shouting outside the door: "Who is inside? Let me in."
"Your Majesty, there is a guy outside who claims to be the county magistrate, and he insists on coming in."
At this time, Tong Dawei hurriedly came over and said.
"County magistrate? Let him in."
Liu Xia also knew the truth about what the county magistrate here did to manage this place like this, and really wanted to meet him.
At that moment, a man who looked about forty years old, thin, pale, and unshaven entered the inn angrily.
This man's clothes were full of patches and there was mud on his feet. If he didn't say that he was the county magistrate, he wouldn't be able to tell.
"I am the magistrate of Qiu County. Who are you? You entered the inn with such arrogance. Are you going to die?"
At that moment, the county magistrate shouted to Liu Xia.
"Haha, we are doing business. We passed by here and wanted to rest here for a day. Can't we stay in this inn?"
Liu Xia asked curiously.
In addition to some functions granted by the court, such as feeding the stage horses and transmitting information, the post station is actually the same as the inn. Except that the inn is run by the government, it is safer and more expensive than the inn. Many people are away from home.
They all prefer to live in inns.
"You don't want your life! Do you know where this place is? If you want to live, leave quickly. If you wait a little longer, you won't be able to leave even if you want to."
The county magistrate saw that Liu Xia had a beautiful face and a plump face, and looked like an aristocratic young master, so he said angrily.
"Why?"
Dabao, who was standing behind Liu Xia, asked.
"Oh, why? Do you know that banditry is very serious here. Not only do they rob merchants, but ordinary people also come to harm them from time to time. You people, all of you are dressed like rich people, in all likelihood*
* has set its sights on you, and if you don’t leave, there will be a bloody disaster.”
The county magistrate shouted angrily.
"My lord, may I ask your name."
When Liu Xia heard this, he became even more curious.
If he were an idiot, he wouldn't be urging them to leave at this moment. Even if he was an idiot, he would still be a kind idiot.
"I am Wu Jiajun, the magistrate of Qiu County, and this is my official seal. You leave now, otherwise we will attract bandits, and the only ones who will be unlucky are the people in the city. They have already come once this month."
Wu Jiajun immediately showed his official seal and drank like a god.
When Liu Xia saw that his official seal was undeniable, he was indeed a suspect of the county magistrate. However, Liu Xia thought that the bandits here were just rampaging in the mountains, but he did not expect that they would dare to blatantly enter the county to cause trouble.
He couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Wu, what did you just say? Do they often come to the county? Where are the local garrison?"
"Garrison? I haven't seen you for seven or eight years. Let's go quickly."
Wu Jiajun said impatiently.
When Liu Xia heard this, he felt even more incredible.
The Tianji Dynasty has a garrison recruitment system. Except for the special situation of the border guards, almost every small town in the Central Plains has garrison troops.
A county like Qiu County should have at least three to four troops, which is about more than 300 people.
Although more than three hundred people are not many, the strong city is enough to cope with ordinary emergencies.
Moreover, there are garrisons in towns, counties, and prefectures. If something goes wrong in one place, a beacon fire will be lit, and hundreds of people will respond. What they say to Wu Jiajun is simply unimaginable.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Wu, even if there are no troops stationed in the city, when bandits come, if you light the beacon, won't other guards come to rescue you?"
Liu Xia asked again.
"Rescue? Humph, they all have too much time to worry about themselves, and they're trying to save someone. It's good to be able to protect themselves. I'm too lazy to talk nonsense with you, just go away, just think of it as a good thing. What's the point of staying here in such a poor place?"
Wu Jiajun was completely impatient at this moment and asked them to leave again.