The Book of Heaven

Chapter 140
Although the Han Empire has an extremely vast land, due to various reasons, the gap between poverty and prosperity is as obvious as dust and pearls in this vast land.

There is no doubt that the village where Ma Zheng and Zhao Shuying are located at this time is basically a dusty existence in the empire. Even if it is the best house in the village, there is not a half of blue tiles to be seen. There is no need to compare it with Chang'an, the capital of the empire. Even the houses in the Jiazibao of Majia will be paved with a few transparent glazed tiles at the highest position, so as to increase the light penetrating into the room during the day.

Humans are a species that cannot be separated from the sun. No matter how gorgeous the lights are, they cannot be compared with the natural sunlight.

Even with some conditions, Zhao Shuying tried his best to wash away the dust accumulated on his body over the past month, and even relaxed his mental state.

It's not that she didn't notice Ma Zheng's small movements outside, but she didn't know what kind of psychology it was. She just used the angle cleverly, leaving only a curved back for those thief-like eyes.

But for Ma Zheng, this is enough.The skin that was as smooth as jade and the lines without a trace of fat made Ma Zheng's almost dry desire become turbulent again.

At this time, he even thought that he could forget the unhappiness with Zhao Shuying, and as long as Zhao Shuying didn't object, he could also stay and fly with Zhao Shuying reluctantly.

There is no doubt that this is Ma Zheng's wishful thinking, because no matter from which point of view, Ma Zheng has not yet reached the level where Zhao Shuying is willing. As for the use of coercion, it is simply a fantasy.

"looks good?"

Zhao Shuying, who was still covered in water vapor, almost frightened the pretending Ma Zheng to death with just one word!

Ma Zheng could control his body not to tremble because of these words, but his expression betrayed him unreservedly.

"Forget it this time. For the sake of your hard work, I will leave your thieves' tricks behind, but if there is another time."

"How is it possible, please believe me, there will be no next peep!"

Ma Zheng admitted his wretchedness very calmly, and then patted Zhao Shuying's flattery in a very upright manner:
"I have never seen such a perfect figure, as holy as the moon in the sky, if there are really fairies in this world, then I believe, there is one standing in front of me!"

One thing is certain, that is, Ma Zheng's face is definitely thicker than the thickest man in the world, but after he was exposed, he didn't blush at all, and he could speak such shameless words boast.

Even though Zhao Shuying admitted in her heart that these flattering words made her feel comfortable, she would not show it like this on her face. The frown and condensed eyes were warning Ma Zheng that enough was enough.

There are still five days away from Yizhou, if the two can take a carriage.

Zhao Shuying's horse has been raised very well during this time, and there has been no loss of fat. However, Ma Zheng is relatively troublesome. The old scalper obviously can't even keep up with the speed of the carriage, so he must get a horse. A beast that stands in for a foot.

The climate in Bashu is very different from the outside world. Surrounded by mountains, it is difficult for people to get in and out, and even the moisture is difficult to dissipate. Therefore, in winter, the temperature in Bashu is definitely not low, but it gives people an unbearable dampness. In summer, it is also It's a painfully humid heat.

Not only are northerners unbearable, but even northern livestock are prone to illness in the Bashu Basin.

Therefore, there are almost no tall grassland horses in Bashu. There is only a short-footed horse that is short, sprinting fast, but superior in endurance.

It took a lot of effort for Ma Zheng to get a pony so that he could keep up with Zhao Shuying's speed. After four days, the two finally saw the gate of Chengdu Mansion.

Chengdu Mansion is the Chengdu of later generations. Of course, in Ma Zheng’s impression, he has never seen Chengdu with city gates. In fact, Chengdu of later generations also retains some ancient city walls as historical records, but unless you are a native of Chengdu, Otherwise, it is difficult to know the exact location of these city walls.

The Chengdu Mansion of the Great Han Empire is different from the Chengdu Mansion of Ma Zheng's previous life in the same period of history.

Because of the characteristics of this world of warriors, the city walls of Chengdu Mansion are not only made of specially fired blue bricks, but also have a height of more than six feet, close to 20 meters, which is as high as a seven-story building.

On the almost straight outer wall, there is a five-foot-wide walkway. Of course, there are wall stacks on both sides of the walkway, which makes the city wall function as a barrier both to the outside and the inside. The slope of the inner wall is slightly more obvious. But it's also very limited, at least ordinary people don't want to go directly along the almost smooth inner wall all the way to the top of the wall.

Ma Zheng definitely couldn't do it, but to Zhao Shuying, even the outer wall was of little use.

What surprised Ma Zheng was that there were no guards guarding the gates of Chengdu Mansion. Not only the gates, but even the top of the city, it was difficult to see sentry posts, let alone the dense patrols like Tianshui City.

"This is the rear of the empire. There has been no war for hundreds of years. I suspect that the guards stationed here have completely rotted."

Zhao Shuying happily told Ma Zheng the answer.

She spent six years traveling all over the territory of Dahan, and she knew a lot.

Chengdu is not the only one that seems to be slack. In fact, most of the towns deep in the interior of the empire have long forgotten the war. Local guards lack training, lax discipline, and even lie about the number to cheat military pay.

If it weren't for the imperial court sending imperial envoys to randomly select states to inspect every year, the degree of rot would be even more shocking.

Contrasting the cotton thread with the slack of defense is the prosperity of commerce.

As the largest prefecture in the entire Jiannan Road, and even in the southwest of the entire empire, Chengdu not only has a permanent population of over 30, but also has a floating population of nearly 20. They come and go from the city every day, bringing fresh blood to Chengdu and at the same time A large amount of materials in Chengdu Mansion were consumed.

This entry and exit brings about high taxes.

The taxation of the empire is not high, so as long as people who do business well can often become rich quickly, and the high consumption of these rich people has once again stimulated the local economic development. Generally speaking, as long as Chengdu Prefecture does not fall into If there is no war, then in the foreseeable future, Chengdu Mansion will continue to expand.

"The consumption is really high."

Zhao Shuying is not the kind of person who is eager to endure hardships. When she has no conditions, she can keep silent, but when allowed, she will let herself live a luxurious life.

"Try how?" A very famous restaurant in Chengdu Fuzhong, so famous that if you don't make a reservation, you can't go up to the second floor, let alone the third floor.

Of course, there are no exceptions. If you are willing to pay five taels of silver for "buying a table", the shopkeeper can also arrange a table for you on the second floor. If you still want to face the street by the window, you can enjoy the scenery outside the window while eating. Sorry, five taels of silver is not enough, at least 20 taels.

20 taels of silver, even in Chengdu, a high-consumption city, is enough for an ordinary family of five to live comfortably for a month.

Seeing Zhao Shuying take out the money without hesitation, Ma Zheng always felt that this violated the first iron law of walking in the rivers and lakes: money should not be revealed.

(End of this chapter)