At this time, although it was still early in the morning and the white fish belly was just rising in the east, there were already crowds of people outside the city gate.
Here, people crowded together and stared at the heavy city gate, as if waiting for something.
Although they look different, their clothes are surprisingly similar. They are basically all dressed in coarse linen clothes, with broken straw hats on their heads. They are thin, some have stooped backs, and some are tall and strong. They may stand together, chatting and laughing;
Or squatting on the ground, head lowered, silent...
Among the crowd, there were poor people, businessmen, and scholars. The majority were just ordinary farmers, and even some children, women, and children.
People gather here, some want to take the opportunity to sell goods and make a living, and more often, they want to avoid the soldiers and bandits.
“Get ready to open the city gate immediately!”
A sharp shout came from the city wall, breaking the tranquility here:
"Whoever dares to sneak in without permission will be killed without mercy!"
The sound was so intimidating that everyone present shut their mouths and stood obediently.
Because no one would think it was a joke! They knew in their hearts that if they were really messing around in a hurry, they would be arrested as spies today, and the outcome would probably be a dead end!
On the top of the city, a general held a steel gun in his hand, wore heavy armor, and scanned the dense crowd below with stern eyes, not daring to slack off.
"There are really more and more refugees."
The general frowned and murmured.
This is not a good thing, because the increase in refugees means that it is easier for fine workers to penetrate and their work must be more rigorous.
It wasn't until the rooster crowed that he made a big move.
"Open the city gate!"
Rumble——
Following this order, the city gate slowly opened, and a wave of cold air suddenly hit the face, making everyone under the city shiver involuntarily, but the excitement in their eyes could not be suppressed.
After the city gate was fully opened, a large number of soldiers filed out. They were wearing heavy armor and holding swords. Their expressions were solemn and solemn, and they looked around with cold eyes.
"Start registration."
The leading soldier roared, his voice loud and steady, which seemed particularly loud in this quiet morning.
As the voice fell, the crowd waiting outside the door instantly became excited.
"Come on, let's go sell things!"
"Haha, I heard that you can get a lot of money this time. Go quickly!"
"You guys don't want to keep it all to yourself, just give me half the price of a glass of wine..."
As the noise rang out, these old farmers and people poured into the city one after another.
"one by one."
"Hurry up, don't wait!"
The soldiers also responded promptly and began the work of maintaining order and review in an orderly manner.
Not far away, a carriage came slowly. The driver held the reins in his hand and was still pulling the horse forward. Seeing that the city gate was wide open, he said to the carriage behind him:
"Sir, Changsha City is ahead of us."
In the car, a young man heard this, opened the curtain and looked out.
There is indeed a big city in front. The city wall is several feet high. Flags are fluttering on the city tower. The big "Liu" character is extremely eye-catching. There are many arrows. At a glance, there are many tiger-like and wolf-like soldiers standing on the city wall. They all hold long contradictions.
Cards, eyeing them with eagerness, looking ready.
"Finally arrived at Changsha City."
The man murmured to himself, his eyes shining with excitement.
The driver smiled and said: "Sir, is this your first time in Changsha?"
"yes!"
The man nodded and said:
"I came from the north, traveled all the way, and finally arrived here. This time I must make a lot of money."
The conversation between the two was so natural, and the man was Wei Ming. They rented this carriage on the pretext of visiting merchants, and after two days of travel, they finally arrived at Changsha City at dawn on the third day.
Wei Ming has never been here before, but he knows that anyone entering the city needs to pass customs clearance documents. This can also be regarded as one of the means to prevent espionage.
Therefore, he had already made preparations, took out a few documents from his pocket and handed them to the coachman:
"This is my voucher. Take it and give it to the soldiers, and they will let you go."
The coachman took the document, read it carefully, and said with a smile:
"Sir, please wait a moment, I will go through the formalities right away."
After saying that, the coachman jumped out of the carriage and ran towards the soldiers, with a friendly smile on his face, as if he was very familiar with these soldiers.
"This old man is quite shrewd. It seems that there should be no problem in entering the city this time."
Wei Ming saw this and nodded with satisfaction.
"No, I spent a lot of money this time!"
Lin Muxue also opened the curtain and poked her head out. Her eyes were extremely lively, as beautiful as a pool of autumn water, and she smiled lightly:
"It takes a lot of effort to clear the customs posts."
Wei Ming took it seriously, smiled lightly and said:
"Indeed."
But then, he stopped smiling, stared at the heavily armed soldiers in front of him, and asked helplessly:
"Miss Mu Xue, was the censorship in Changsha City so strict before?"
The soldiers in front of him were in strict military discipline, and there was no sign of slackness at all. Moreover, they all looked like carefully selected elites, and they definitely didn't look like ordinary soldiers. This made him feel very strange, and he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"This is pretty good!"
Lin Muxue pursed her lips and smiled and said:
"If it were in other state capitals, it would probably be even more stringent. Not only that, but corruption and abuse of power are commonplace."
"What?"
When Wei Ming heard this, he couldn't help frowning and said:
"Is there such a thing?"
Lin Muxue nodded and said:
"This kind of thing is commonplace."
While the two were talking, the coachman returned, holding the document in his hand and saying:
"Sir, the formalities have been completed and you can enter the city now."
"Um!"
Wei Ming nodded slightly and said:
"Okay, let's go into the city!"
"yes!"
The driver respectfully agreed, then turned around and mounted his horse, drove the carriage and drove straight ahead.
After a simple inspection and interrogation, the carriage entered the city smoothly.
Changsha City is the most prosperous place among the four counties occupied by Liu Bei in the south of Jingzhou. Even though the war is rampant, the city is still prosperous.
The city walls are wide, the buildings are tall, and shops of various colors are lined up in rows. The streets are crowded with pedestrians, and the crowds are very lively. On both sides of the street, there is an endless stream of various hawking sounds.
Wei Ming sat in the carriage and looked at the scene outside through the window, feeling a little lost.
This was the first time for him to come to an ancient city of this scale. As a modern person, Wei Ming was quite surprised by the rich history and culture of the ancient city of Changsha.
At this moment, the carriage stopped suddenly, and the strong inertia almost threw Wei Ming, who was admiring the scenery, flying out. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough and grabbed the wall of the carriage in time, and was able to maintain his balance.
"Ouch."
Lin Muxue on the side was not so lucky. She accidentally hit the car wall and let out a scream.
Wei Ming said quickly:
"Miss Mu Xue, are you okay?"
Lin Muxue covered her forehead, shook her head and said:
"It's okay, I'm not hurt."
"It's good that you're not hurt."
When Wei Ming heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Father Lin, who was sleeping soundly in the back compartment, was also awakened. He opened his eyes in confusion, rubbed his eyes, and asked:
"What happened?"
Seeing everyone in such a mess, Wei Ming couldn't help but feel a little angry. How could this driver drive?!
He opened the curtain and was about to scold him when he saw the coachman angrily teaching a young child. The child looked to be about ten years old. His clothes were in tatters and his hair was unkempt. He was kneeling on the ground with his head lowered.
Wei Ming couldn't help frowning and shouted:
"Nonsense! How can you bully a child?!"
"My lord, please forgive me!"
"I don't know which of the kid's tendons were wrong, and he suddenly rushed over. Fortunately, I reacted quickly, otherwise he would have been killed by me."
The coachman smiled apologetically, but felt extremely aggrieved in his heart.
Even the horse snorted, seeming to acknowledge it.
Wei Ming frowned and looked at the child kneeling on the ground.
This child was thin, with dark skin, dirty hair, wearing shabby clothes, and looked malnourished, but his eyes were bright, his fists were clenched into fists, and his body was trembling slightly.
"Why did you stop my carriage?"
Wei Ming frowned, looking confused.
This kid doesn't look like a lunatic.
Then he said:
"You know, if my coachman hadn't stopped in time, I'm afraid you would have become a dead soul under the horse's belly!"