cite Han

Chapter 14 Marketplace

West Market is located in the west of Linxiang City. The ox cart enters Dongguo Gate and walks along the road ditch, crossing half of Linxiang City, and you can see a gate in the distance. There are walls on both sides.

On the left and right sides of the city gate, there is a city guard standing on each side. Both of them are wearing black cowhide headbands, short jackets with right lapels, and holding leather wooden shields and ring-headed iron knives.

At this moment, the flow of people in the city is at its peak, and the ox carts are full of people, and the speed is very slow.

At this moment, there was a commotion from behind, Liu Jing got out of the carriage, looked to the rear, and saw a group of men in black holding halberds guarding a gorgeous carriage, breaking waves in the crowd, forcing a way Some of the pedestrians who couldn't dodge were knocked upside down and muddy, and some children were frightened and cried loudly, which caused the people holding the halberd to laugh.

Someone was upset and asked angrily, "Who is so bold that he dares to make trouble in Linxiang? Does he still have the king's law in his eyes?"

Someone nearby who knew the person reminded him in a low voice, "It's Uncle Qu Yuan..."

When the interrogator heard the name "Ou Yuanbo", he immediately shut his mouth and dared not speak again.

Ou Yuanbo Mingxiong is the leading hero in Changsha. He can be compared with Liu Boxi. He is small in stature, dark-skinned and extremely brave. It is said that they are the descendants of Jing Man.

All in all, the Changsha District Clan did not have a prominent ancestor, and if a family wanted to rise, there were only two ways of civil and military affairs, and the Changsha District Clan started with military exploits.

In the eyes of the Central Plains people, the Jingnan region is already remote enough, and Jiaozhou in the south is regarded as a barren land full of miasma and barbarians. People would rather live in seclusion in the mountains than become officials there.

The Ou family did the opposite, based on Jiaozhou, served as a military officer, and took control of the military power. After a hundred years of painstaking efforts, the family finally rose in Changsha.

Today, the Changsha District Clan has gradually developed into a behemoth, with tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and 2000 maidservants and children. Even Zhang Xian, the prefect of Changsha, dare not take it lightly.

However, although the Au Clan is powerful, it has never been valued by the Changsha gentry because of its lack of culture and its rough behavior.Especially eight years ago, Qu Xingbao started a rebellion and mobilized more than ten thousand people to besiege the city and plunder the village, causing great damage to all parts of Changsha.

It's a pity that the Ou family tree has deep roots and is hard to shake. Since then, it still goes its own way without any restraint. You can know a thing or two from what Ou Xiong is doing today.

Liu Jing shook his head secretly, not to mention anything else, Chinese law: "Privately made a collar, a crossbow with a strength of more than seven stones, and more than ten halberds, all discarded from the market." District Xiong's guards had already held more than ten halberds. People, why did the county government turn a blind eye?

Liu Jing felt something in his heart, and glanced at the gatekeeper not far away. He was about twenty years old, tall, comparable to Liu Jing, with thick hair and messy eyebrows, and sharp eyes. He was staring at Ou Xiongyi at the moment. pedestrian.

Several halberd-bearers who were the pioneers of Ou Xiong also noticed the abnormality of this city guard. One of them passed by, deliberately hit the shield in the opponent's hand with his halberd, and opened his mouth to curse: "Death pawn, dare to stare at Naigong, blind!" Got your dog eyes!"

The city gate guard was caught off guard for a moment, and was knocked back two steps. Hearing the other party's wild words, his face suddenly changed, and he wanted to desperately press the knife.

The older city guard standing at the other end hurried over, hugged his companion tightly, and apologized to him on his behalf: "He is not from the local area, so he doesn't know you, so I apologize to you on his behalf. I also hope that you will forgive me a lot.”

Although the other party was an insignificant pawn, after all he was wearing an official body, and he couldn't really do anything to him. The old city guard pleaded, and the troublemaker took the opportunity to go down the steps and stopped entanglement. He said in his mouth: "Dynasty, today For your sake, that's all."

"Thank you." The city gatekeeper Dynasty nodded gratefully.

Before the man left, he cast a sidelong glance at the young city guard and snorted coldly: "Dead soldier, be careful in the future."

The city gate guard Wang Chao is physically strong, he hugged his companion tightly, and did not let him cause trouble until Ou Xiong drove into the city, and then let go of him, and couldn't help sighing: "Ah Zhou, earlier I was not Qian Dingzhu, Wan asked, in Changsha, there are two people who must not be offended, one is Liu Bosi and the other is Qu Yuanbo, why didn't you listen to it at all? Do you know that if there is a slight mistake today, blood will be spattered five steps fate."

The city gatekeeper Zhou brows unruly, with a face of dissatisfaction, and said: "It's not that I don't listen to elder brother, you saw it just now, elder brother, the other party deliberately caused trouble and troubled me, if it wasn't for fear of implicating elder brother, I would have agreed with you a long time ago." They will fight to the death, and at worst, they will die—"

"Shut up!" The city gatekeeper Wang Chao hurriedly stopped.

"The other party seems to be a fugitive..." Liu Jing's heart skipped a beat when he heard that.

It seems unreasonable to change from a fugitive to a city guard, but it is not the case. The city gate guard is a humble official who has no room for advancement, and the monthly salary is only two stones. No, but no man with any ambition would take up such a position, so it is not surprising to use a foreigner.

Meifu of the former Han Dynasty, in order to avoid Wang Mang, abandoned his wife, changed his name, and hid in Jiangdong Wu County as a city guard.

Ma Zhou shook his head in disappointment and said: "When I was in my hometown, I often heard how Liu Bosi and Qu Yuanbo despised wealth and valued righteousness, and how they made friends with each other. Bo is really not worthy of the name. Liu Bosi has not met yet, if he is like Ou Yuanbo, it will be too disappointing, compared with him, Chu Ziping of Ling County can be called a real hero."

Liu Jing couldn't help laughing when he heard it, but he wanted to listen again, but he couldn't help himself, and the bullock cart was dragged into the city by the crowd.

As soon as he entered, Liu Jing felt a wave of air blowing towards his face. There were people everywhere in front of him. Thousands of heads crowded the streets and alleys.

The reason for such an exaggerated scene is that apart from buying and selling goods, the market is also an extremely important, even the only place for social activities for the residents of the city.

The Han court governed the people strictly. The people in Guozhong lived in their own ri on weekdays, and there were walls and fences between the ri to cut off traffic, that is, "the gates were closed". Unless something happened, they would not easily cross the border.Therefore, if the people in the city want to have some leisure activities after working, they can only go to the market.

The market also has walls, but there is basically no restriction on entry and exit. The city is full of goods and people come and go. Even if you don’t buy anything, taking a stroll in the city is a good way to relax.

Moreover, there are not only commodities in the market, but also entertainment activities such as gambling, music and dancing, acrobatics, and abandoning the market.

"Book of Rites" said: "Punish people in the market, and abandon them with everyone." Abandoning the market, that is, executing prisoners, is also regarded as a kind of entertainment.

Chinese people seem to have always had a special liking for beheading. Even in the late Qing Dynasty more than 1000 years later, every execution at Caishikou must attract many people to watch. The scene is as enthusiastic as a temple fair.

"A city must be in all directions. If it is a system of building a well, it is called a market well."

The shape of the market is similar with minor differences, just like the ancient system. A very spacious cross-shaped thoroughfare divides the market into four trade areas. There are three or four corridor-style buildings in each trade area, which are neatly arranged and orderly. It is called "廛".

Shops, that is, market houses, are warehouses where merchants store goods.In front of the house is a row of stalls, that is, booths that are displayed intensively according to the types of commodities.

Along the way, Liu Jing saw so many kinds of goods that it was difficult to count them, such as wine, grain, cooked food, bamboo and wood, lacquerware, cloth, dyes, leather, medicinal materials, ghost vessels, copper and iron utensils, cattle, horses, pigs and sheep, almost everything was sold. , as long as you can afford the price.

Moreover, Changsha is the main waterway from Jiaozhou to the Central Plains. There are many South China Sea treasures such as rhino horns, ivory, wandering, jadeite, 瑇瑜, and pearls.

As it approaches the city center, a three-story city building stands in the middle of the street. This is the office of the city officials, which is convenient for viewing from afar and monitoring all kinds of establishments.

On the top of the building is carved a red bird fluttering its wings, and there is a big drum hanging on the upper floor. The city officials announced the opening and closing of the market by beating the drum.At the gate of the city building stood two guards in black clothes with black hoods and long knives on their waists.

The carriage passed the city building, continued on for a while, and finally arrived at the destination - the bookstore.

(End of this chapter)