Although the area of the Cangyan Basin is much smaller than that of the Ganyuan Basin, this big city located in the center of the basin is much larger than the Ganyuan City. It is said that it is the only core of the Cangyan region without any water.
The city has only two east and west gates. The gates are not facing each other, and the roads are not direct. The city's military and civilian residences are mixed with public and private buildings. The layout may seem messy, but in fact it is designed according to the principle of military priority, so that each city wall can receive maximum support in the shortest time when attacked.
However, this large city, which has maintained a militarized defense posture for hundreds of years, has never been breached in history.
It is precisely because of hundreds of years of peace that even though Cangyan is located on the border and is faintly surrounded by Western barbarian forces across the mountains, this large city in the middle still breeds extreme prosperity, with a huge population and frequent trade exchanges.
On this day, firecrackers were fired everywhere in Cangyan City, and the people in the city were running around in suppressed joy. After telling each other, more firecrackers sounded, creating a festive atmosphere.
A resting place near the East City Gate welcomed two guests, an old man and a young man. The old man had white hair and white beard, was dressed simply, wore gray cloth straw sandals, and held a wooden stick, but he looked in good spirits and was not rickety.
Everyone smiled at everyone he met.
The child following him is a boy who looks to be four or five years old. He is dressed quite simply, but is pink and fair, especially with a pair of big black eyes. He seems to be full of curiosity about everything in the world, but his thick eyebrows are always
The slight wrinkles not only did not add any maturity, but instead gave off a sense of cuteness and pity, attracting women on the roadside to look at her frequently.
The old man chose an empty table at the far end of the wine shop, sat the boy down, and sat opposite him. Then he smiled gently at the cardamom girl who was walking towards them in the wine shop and said, "Child, come to me, old man."
A pot of the cheapest rice wine and a small bowl of clear soup noodles for him."
The girl sighed and turned back to the shop.
The boy didn't even look at the girl. He just looked at the happy passers-by on the street corner. After those people left, he turned back and asked the old man, "Old Ancestor, today is neither a New Year nor a holiday, but everyone is happy along the way.
Very, why?”
The old man also looked at the people whispering in the surrounding alleys and said with a smile, "If a dirty official dies, the people will naturally be happy."
The boy was even more surprised, "If you are happy, why hide it?"
The old man sighed and said, "One official died, but the other officials are still alive, so naturally we can't celebrate openly."
The boy seemed to understand, but his frown deepened, "When I grow up, I will kill all the corrupt officials in the world, and the people of Zhongzhou will be like today!"
The old man smiled and shook his head, then glanced at the middle-aged man in rich clothes who was walking straight towards him. Before the man could speak, he put his voice into his ears, "How is your teacher doing lately?"
The middle-aged man had a square face, lively brows, wide lips and beard, and an extraordinary and noble demeanor. At this moment, seeing the old man in the wine shop asking questions first, he was not too surprised. He just walked to the old man silently, looking away and speaking softly.
He said, "My master is well. Before I went out, Yiming specifically asked me to say hello to my husband when I see him again."
The old man smiled and nodded, "How many states and counties have you traveled to now?"
The middle-aged man knelt down, not caring that his luxurious robes were stained with dust on the ground by this movement, "When I leave Cangyan and then go to Licheng, I will have visited the eighteen counties of the three states."
"Where are we going next?" the old man asked again.
"Take a boat from Guangjun and go straight down the Ya River to Jiangzhou," the middle-aged man said frankly.
"Okay, okay," the old man smiled and raised his hand to stroke his beard, "Today's Jingzhou has become a land of four difficulties, so you really don't have to look at it."
"In the end, I still want to go back and have a look, but Yiming also understands that if the conditions no longer allow it by then, then I won't go back," the middle-aged man replied.
The old man turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man again, and said, "Great kindness."
At this time, the cardamom girl who had run back to the wine shop was walking out with noodles and drinks. The middle-aged man slowly stood up and looked at the city gate, murmuring in a very low voice, "How are you, sir?"
, a farewell call."
After saying that, without waiting for the old man to reply, he waved his sleeves and turned around. To outsiders, it looked like a wealthy family had some conflict with ordinary people and walked away.
The girl obviously saw this scene, and couldn't help but froze for a moment, then walked a few steps forward to put down the noodles and rice wine, and then lowered her voice and said to the old man, "Grandpa, I think that man is quite rich, you can
My grandson and I should finish eating early and leave the city quickly."
The old man raised his head and took a serious look at the girl. He saw that she was pretty and beautiful. Although she was not wearing any makeup or fancy clothes, she still looked clean and dusty. He smiled slightly and nodded.
Seeing that he didn't show any eagerness, the girl was a little anxious. She brought the noodle bowl to the boy, took out the chopsticks and handed them to him. She smiled and said softly, "Little brother, it's getting late. Hurry up and finish the noodles."
Go home with grandpa."
Unexpectedly, the boy glanced at her, then looked down at the noodles with watery clear soup, and hesitated to move his chopsticks.
The girl trotted back to the shop. When she ran out soon, she took a few slices of bacon and secretly put them into the boy's bowl. She raised a finger to her mouth and pinched the boy's cheek.
He turned back to the old man who was still smiling and said, "Grandpa, I see that the man in fine clothes has not left the city. You can avoid some trouble by leaving the city earlier, right?"
The old man still nodded.
After the boy finally finished eating the bowl of noodles with a frown, the old man put down the wine bowl in his hand, then called the girl who was busy back in the shop, and took out a piece of noodles in the girl's doubtful eyes.
A small bronze mirror as big as a palm.
The old man looked at himself in the mirror, then stretched out his hand to touch the mirror. The blue light flashed in a direction that the girl could not see and then disappeared. When he looked at the mirror again, it was countless times clearer than before. He was satisfied.
He nodded and handed the mirror to the girl's hand and said, "You can keep this mirror for yourself, or you can give it to the young man in a convoy escorted by red-armored cavalry when it enters the city.
.”
After saying that, regardless of the girl's waved refusal, she put the mirror and the meal money on the table, took the still frowning boy and walked out of the city, murmuring to herself as she walked, "It should be seen."
After that, after listening to the festive firecrackers all over the city, it’s time to go home..."
The boy on the side jumped up when he heard this, "Really? That's great...!"
The old man walked very steadily, but the boy jumped happily and gradually merged into the crowd and disappeared.
Only the girl who was still standing at the door of the wine shop was left, holding the bronze mirror with exquisite carvings that was obviously precious at a glance. She didn't know what to do. When the mother in the wine shop was too busy, she called for the third time,
She just said "Hey", stuffed the bronze mirror into her arms, turned around and entered the wine shop...