I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 607 Pedestrians
Cheng Yu had not felt it when he arrived at Luoyang from Shangdang, but after he set out westward from Luoyang, Cheng Yu clearly felt the enthusiasm of the Han people towards the Western Regions under the leadership of the royal family.

The number of Han people heading west that he met on the road was beyond his expectations.

In such an environment, Cheng Yu, who led a hundred Xiyuan troops, was still very annoying.

Cheng Yu also understood the emperor's intention of letting him lead the Xiyuan Army - to do whatever he wants!
Although he would have done the same thing without these hundred soldiers, it would undoubtedly be more convenient with them!

Whether it is governing Dunhuang County or... killing people.

"De Zheng, these travelers going west are afraid of the soldiers around me... You should go and find out privately where they come from and where they are going." Cheng Yu said to Gai Shun.

Gai Shun understood that this was the first thing Cheng Yu asked him to do, so he agreed immediately and prepared to go find someone on the roadside to ask.

"Wait... your official uniform is too annoying. Change into casual clothes." Cheng Yu advised.

Along the way, their accommodation was provided by the post stations on the road, so they wore official uniforms that best revealed their status, and wore seals and ribbons around their waists.

Gai Shun felt a little embarrassed after hearing this. He still lacked experience.

He immediately bowed to Cheng Yu again and returned to the carriage to change his clothes.

That day, Guy found a few targets by the way.

Because there were so many pedestrians coming and going, people from nearby villages and even the original pedestrians stayed and built sheds beside the road to provide pedestrians with drinking water, food and a place to rest.

After Gai Shun separated from Cheng Yu and his group, he found such a place.

He followed the local customs and ordered a Hu pancake and a bowl of noodle soup. While eating, he paid attention to what the people at the table were saying.

He was a middle-aged man who looked very capable, and he was accompanied by two young men who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old.

Gai Shun originally thought that they were father and son, but after listening to their conversation, he realized that the three were just villagers from the same village and they were related by blood...

Gai Shun pricked up his ears and listened for a long time. He heard that the place they were going to was the Western Regions, where they were going to seek refuge. Gai Shun was listening attentively when he suddenly heard the man say, "You have been listening here for a long time. Do you have any advice for me?"

For Gai Shun, this kind of work close to the grassroots is still a bit difficult.

Fortunately, he had nothing to hide, and he had prepared a new identity for himself under Cheng Yu's advice. So Gai Shun came to his senses and answered truthfully: "I am from Dunhuang County. I came to Luoyang to study classics, and now I am returning home for some business."

Nothing Gaeshun said was false, so what he said was sincere...even though the combination was deceptive.

Even the knowledgeable Zhang Aruo did not think it was wrong after hearing this. In his opinion, Gai Shun's behavior was indeed very similar to those of scholars who had read a lot of books of sages but lacked experience in traveling outside. His eyes looked very clear.

He also let down his guard against Gaishun.

However, his two nephews, upon hearing Gai Shun's identity and seeing that he was very kind, curiously inquired about Gai Shun's life in Luoyang. All these things made Zhang Aruo feel more at ease, and not only that, he also chatted with Gai Shun about Luoyang affairs.

From Zhang Aruo's name, we can tell that he came from a very ordinary family. Since Wang Mang forced people to change their names to single names on the grounds that Gongyang Zhuan "criticized double names" and changed criminals' names to double names, the people gradually formed the habit of "honoring single names and being ashamed of double names".

Because Wang Mang had not really usurped the throne at that time, after the restoration of Emperor Guangwu, although people were no longer forced to take single names, they did not use administrative means to change this custom. Even now, there are still people with two names, but they are extremely rare. And Aruo is actually not much different from Gousheng. Zhang Aruo is the second son in the family. In these days, when inheriting the family property, the eldest son generally inherits more of the family property and bears more of the responsibility of supporting his parents. Therefore, Zhang Aruo came out to work very early.

His family lived in Xingyang, which was governed by the Yin of Henan. By chance, he followed a fellow villager and became a wanderer who did not engage in any work, and went to Luoyang to live a leisurely life.

Later, the business to and from the Western Regions became increasingly popular, and some merchants wanted to find some brave and combative guards. Therefore, the reputable rangers in Luoyang became the first choice of these people.

Zhang Aruo had traveled to the Western Regions twice with a caravan.

This time, he even planned to live in the Western Regions permanently if possible.

When he was having a great time chatting with Gai Shun, Gai Shun invited him to drink a few bowls of wine. Only then did he reveal to Gai Shun that the two teenagers who followed him, like him, were not the eldest sons in the family. They were destined not to get much property, so they were simply sent out by their parents and asked him to take care of them.

The two young men had never traveled far.

It was also because of these two nephews that Zhang Aruo did not catch up with the main group of westward-bound rangers.

Gai Shun asked, "Logically, they will marry and start their own family in a few years. Will the county and township be willing to let them go?"

"Why can't I bear to give it up?" Zhang Aruo said, "The mental arithmetic in the past is gone. Now we collect household taxes, but how can we have so much land to support them? I heard that someone wants to open a proclamation to the Western Regions. There are also political achievements in the county and township."

"Think about it, one is a real political achievement, and the other is something that will happen several years later, and it's not even certain whether you can get married by then. If someone leaves during this period, the household tax will not be reduced. It's not like before, when one more person in the family had to pay an extra amount of oral tax. It would be difficult to leave the village then."

Drinking the farmer's brewed wine and talking about things that they found new, one of them understood the upper class, the other came from the lower class, and the more Gai Shun and Zhang Aruo talked, the more they enjoyed it.

At some point, Gaishun noticed a tall figure appear in front of him.

Gai Shun hurriedly introduced Zhang Aruo, "This is the elder in the family."

Cheng Yu did not shy away and sat down as well.

Zhang Aruo had always thought that Gai Shun came from a good family, so he did not suspect anything when he saw Cheng Yu like this. He just restrained himself a lot when it came to bragging.

But Cheng Yu listened to what Zhang Aruo said and asked, "I see that you are not very familiar with the merchants who go to the Western Regions. My nephew has some reputation in Dunhuang County. I wonder if you are interested in settling in Dunhuang?"

"It's a long journey, there's no need to rush." ​​Cheng Yu said with a smile.

What? He is stealing people from the Western Regions?

How can it be called stealing if I persuaded someone to come here by my own ability?

Zhang Aruo did not refuse Cheng Yu's words. After all, compared with the Western Regions, Dunhuang County was a prefecture of the Han Dynasty.

Generally speaking, only a few people choose to go to the Western Regions on their own initiative. Now that spring has arrived and flowers are blooming, people who originally did not dare to set out due to the severe winter cold are now traveling. They are gathering on the road leading to the Western Regions, and their numbers are accumulating into a large number.

(End of this chapter)