Chapter five hundred and forty-eight city without owner
The ghost alchemist looked surprised. It was understandable that one or two people would do it, and one or two waves would not be a big problem, but in groups, seventeen or eighty, it would be no small matter.
"Three guards were seriously injured, and one guard died. This is now a city without an owner!"
Yang Ji said calmly.
Wang Tai had already reminded him before that all this was just for him to witness with his own eyes.
The carriage rolled forward in silence. This time, neither Yang Ji nor Ghost Alchemist spoke. Moving forward along the straight official road, about half an hour later, the carriage finally arrived in front of the city gate.
"who?"
The city gate opened, with the heavy sound of horse hooves, a group of fully armed cavalry, with murderous intent, filed out of the city gate.
This group of cavalry was completely different from the cavalry that Yang Ji had come into contact with before. Their whole bodies were covered, with only a pair of eyes exposed in all parts. They looked like frost and dew, and were extremely cold.
Before this group of cavalry came close, Yang Ji smelled a faint smell of blood. There was no doubt that these cavalrymen had fought against barbarians and had seen blood under their hands.
"call!"
Seeing this group of cavalry, Yang Ji and Ghost Alchemist breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The cavalry in Cangxu City are still there and will conduct routine inspections, which proves that the situation in Cangxu City has not developed as bad as they imagined.
At the very least, this city still maintains a minimum of order.
"We come from Taiyuanzhou in the east."
The identity of the two people was not revealed. The ghost alchemist followed Yang Ji's instructions in advance and handed over the documents to pass the customs. The identity of the merchant was stamped on the documents.
In this industry, Yang Ji and Ghost Alchemist entered this business as medicinal merchants.
"Why are you still here at this time? I advise you to leave as soon as possible!"
The leading cavalryman stared at the two men and said.
"It's not easy to make a living begging for food. There are orders from above. No matter how dangerous it is, you have to go!"
The ghost alchemist cupped his sleeves and said with a smile.
Having lived for a long time and experienced a lot, Ghost Alchemist has learned all about the appearance of these businessmen who are running around in life. People who don't know the details really can't tell them apart.
"In that case, go back as soon as possible. It's not safe here. After you finish your work, go back quickly."
The leader of the army sent a kind gesture before leaving. After saying this, he turned around, got up and left. The ghost alchemist accompanied him carefully, and the two of them walked through the thick and high two-door door more than three feet tall.
The tall black iron city gate entered Cangxu City.
Rumble. When the door opened and the scene in Cangxu City came into view, Yang Ji and the ghost alchemist couldn't help but shine. Before coming to Cangxu City this time, the two of them had already prepared that Cangxu City was in chaos and there was chaos everywhere.
Preparation for fighting.
But the real Cangxu City is completely different from what the two imagined.
Inside the slightly charred high walls, although it is far less prosperous than Taiyuan City, it is still quite lively. To a certain extent, it is even much more lively than a stable county like Pingchuan City.
The two stood under the high city wall and stopped to look around. They saw many tents made of oilcloth standing in the Youda city.
In front of these tents were placed fruits, silk fabrics, ironware, medicinal herbs, cotton embroidery, etc., a dazzling array of goods. There were also many wild fruits that Yang Ji had never seen before, exuding a special fragrance, which made people crawl with hunger and whet their appetites.
.
“The shops here are so strange!”
The ghost alchemist stood on the shaft of the car, smacking his lips. It was very interesting.
"Everything is convenient. It can be disassembled, moved, and moved away at any time. This is a frontier battlefield style."
Yang Jidao.
It's not that there are no regular shops in Cangxu City. Looking at it, there are still many regular butcher shops, wineries, restaurants, and blacksmith shops on both sides of the street... It's just that all these shops look a bit simple and uniform.
No wine flags or colorful flags were erected.
The two of them walked forward as they talked. Yang Ji no longer entered the carriage at this time, but sat beside the carriage shaft like the Ghost Alchemist.
As the two drove forward slowly, they carefully looked at the city where they would live in the future.
Cangxu City is very big. At least, according to Yang Ji's experience, it is not smaller than Pingchuan City, and is even much larger.
However, Yang Jicai gradually frowned after walking a short distance down the street.
"Sir, do you feel it?"
Suddenly the ghost alchemist's voice came to my ears, "There are so many barbarian traders here!"
"Um."
Yang Ji nodded and looked at the tall, strong men on both sides of the street. These people had extremely thick bones, rough manners, disheveled hair, and faint bruises on their bodies, which were the characteristics of barbarian traders.
More than 70% of the large and small mobile tents that Yang Ji saw were built and operated by these barbarian traders.
"I thought it was strange at first. Wang Tai has already told me that Cangxu City is in chaos. But that is not the case here at all. Being able to carry out commercial activities shows that there is still order here. But now, I still think
It’s too simple. Cangxu City is located on the border and deep into the barbarian jungle. In this kind of place, only the barbarian traders can sit back and relax!"
Yang Ji sighed.
In the eastern border and inland towns like Taiyuan City, it is very difficult to see barbarians doing business. These people are like rare goods.
But in Cangxu City, there are a lot of barbarian traders here. There are more barbarians here than in any inland or coastal city. There are even more Han people.
This is also a major feature of the northwest frontier city.
"But with so many barbarians doing business, aren't they afraid of leaking military information?"
The ghost alchemist frowned and said with twitching lips. Based on his experience, he almost instinctively felt that something was wrong with this situation. There are inextricably linked relationships between the barbarian merchants and the barbarian tribes in the frontier.
As long as these barbarians are doing business, the barbarians can learn more about the military layout, military distribution, and actual situation in Cangxu City.
From a military point of view, this is extremely unwise. At least even an ordinary person like the ghost alchemist can feel that something is wrong.
"This is not just a problem of Cangxu City. It is a major feature of all cities in the entire northwest border."
Yang Ji smiled bitterly. Before he came, he had checked the information in detail and knew that the entire border was like this:
"The imperial court wanted to maintain peace and stability on the border, and these barbarian traders were an important factor. The barbarian tribes did not trade with the Han people. They only traded with the barbarian traders."
"This is a necessary way to communicate with the barbarians, and it is also the prerequisite for the development and operation of border cities. There are many natural materials and treasures in the barbarian jungle, but it is too dangerous. No one can get it except the barbarian traders. The big man
Most of the barbaric treasures that the dynasty sells to the world were obtained through these barbarian traders."
"It's not that the imperial court was unaware of this danger. However, after hundreds of years of development in the border cities, these barbarian merchants have integrated into one body, and their tails will not be lost. Once these barbarian merchants are removed, the imperial court will not only lose more than half of the tax revenue, but also the border cities.
It will also fall back into chaos.”
If Wang Tai hadn't collected the information for him, Yang Ji wouldn't have known that barbarian merchants had fallen to this level in border cities.
To a certain extent, these barbarian traders have in turn threatened the imperial court.
They were indispensable for the management, development and stability of border cities, but in turn, these barbarian traders also began to threaten the security of the imperial court.
The imperial court's delay in advancing its front in the northwest frontier may have something to do with these people.
"But the power of these people should at least be limited, right?"
Ghost Alchemist said.
"Haha, I think so too. However, all this must wait until we are familiar with this city and master it."
Yang Ji said calmly.
Apart from the strong style of border warfare and the large number of barbarian traders, Cangxu City is actually not much different from other inland cities.
Yang Ji did not go to the governor's mansion to hand over the matter first, but temporarily found a hotel to stay in. Yang Ji left all this to the ghost alchemist to handle.
After everything was done, Yang Ji walked out of the hotel alone.
There is a kind of coldness in the border city that Yang Ji has never experienced. It is not that it is so solemn. On the contrary, as far as Yang Ji can see, small-scale commercial activities are quite frequent, but this does not change Yang Ji's attitude at all.
impression.
"I see. It's color!"
Yang Ji's heart moved and he suddenly realized. As far as he could see, the entire Cangxu City was either gray or black. There was not even a little bit of color.
Compared with inland and coastal cities, this place is filled with a thick, depressing and heavy atmosphere, lacking the activity and vitality of other cities.
Thinking of this, Yang Ji's eyes flashed with light, and some thoughts flashed faintly, and he understood what he should do in the future.
It was still early, so Yang Ji blended into the streets with the attire of an ordinary merchant and traveler, and walked around Cangxu City aimlessly with the flow of people.
Observing the city with Yang Ji was another soul deep in Yang Ji's mind.
"This Cangxu City doesn't look so hopeless!"
The sound of the clattering hoofs of the cavalry quickly faded away from my ears, and the Great Asura suddenly spoke.
In Cangxu City, there is a post every five steps and a sentry every seven steps. Yang Ji came all the way. All the important roads were guarded by soldiers stationed by the imperial court.
It's just a guard. Cangxu City is heavily guarded and must be controlled according to standard city defenses. No matter how dangerous the news Yang Ji got in Taiyuan City is, at least the army here is not in chaos yet.
This is Yang Ji's greatest hope for taking control of this city.
"The soldiers on the border have all been on the battlefield, have had cuts on their blades, and have seen blood. Although Cangxu City is leaderless, this leaderless situation should not affect the grassroots officers and soldiers below."
Yang Ji thought.
"But don't you find it strange? The report Wang Tai gave you said that this place is in chaos. But you have also seen that Cangxu City may be more orderly, but it cannot be called chaos at all."
(To be continued.) Mobile phone users please visit http://m.piaotian.net