The west side of Tongguan is similar to the east side, and there is also a market built by the pass, but the law is half smaller.

Tongguan is not easy to pass, many merchants who get up late, often do not enter the customs until Shen Shi, at this time the time is too late, it is inconvenient to hurry, so it is on the side of the city wall to rest for a night. Thus, over time, a bazaar was formed. However, the merchants who lived here wanted to hurry into Beijing as soon as possible, and did not want to stay longer, so the size of the town could not be compared with the one on the east side.

When Qiu Yizhi and the others entered the customs, it was not yet noon, so they only took a short rest in this town, had a lunch, and just avoided the scorching midday sun, and continued to the west.

Passing through the town, there is an endless green wheat field, and an official road twice as wide as the Youyan official road stretches straight through the wheat field, leading to the distant sky. Looking at this magnificent scene, which was completely different from Youyan, Qiu Yizhi realized that he had finally set foot on the 800-mile Qinchuan River, which was known as "the golden city for thousands of miles and the lifeblood of China".

Since ancient times, there has been a proverb in China that "those who win the Central Plains will win the world, and those who can get the Central Plains will get the Central Plains".

When the Taizu of this dynasty created the foundation of the Han Dynasty for two hundred years, he saw the gap between the previous dynasty's army to fight against the southern rebellion, and attacked the Dasan Pass with the determination to break the cauldron and break through it in one fell swoop, and with the assistance of countless ministers and good generals, he rushed to break through the capital Luoyang before the army of the previous dynasty returned to help. When the city of Luoyang was broken, the emperor of the previous dynasty burned the palace city cleanly, and he himself disappeared in this fire. Since then, the military and political groups of the former dynasty have no leader, and warlords from all over the country have risen up one after another to attack each other. Taizu took advantage of this opportunity to cultivate politics internally, persuade farmers to encourage mulberry, hoard grain and grass, and train the army, and externally adopted the strategy of distant friendship and close to eliminate other forces one by one, and it took 12 years to finally unify China.

Emperor Taizu knew how to rest with the people and cherish the people's power, although Luoyang was the former capital of the previous dynasty, but the pattern was still in existence and had been in operation for a long time, so he did not build another capital, so he expanded it on the basis of the previous foundation, which is now the Beijing Luoyang.

Therefore, the region where Luoyang is located is the foundation of the Han court, and all military and political affairs are directly under the jurisdiction of the six ministries, such as the promotion and transfer of officials is directly ordered by the Ministry of Officials, the local tax burden is collected by the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Rites is responsible for presiding over the township examination. As for the garrison army, it is all the forbidden army, nominally under the command of the emperor himself, but now the saint Zheng Yong is tired of government affairs, and it is the second son Zheng Yao who actually controls the power of the forbidden army.

is so tightly managed that the ground is naturally very peaceful, and there are not even half of the bandits ringing horses, and even this official road, which is directly under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, is very open and smooth.

This road is easy to walk, and there is no need to climb mountains and wade through water, Qiuyi one of the pedestrians traveled a lot faster than before, only rested on the way for two nights, and then rushed to Luoyang City early the next morning.

Luoyang is the capital of the Han Dynasty, nine miles long from north to south, and five miles long from east to west. The city is surrounded by a seven-zhang high city wall, and the four city walls open a total of 12 gates, they are - the east wall from north to south is Jianchun, Dongyang, Qingyang three gates; The south wall from west to east is Jinyang, Xuanyang, Pyeongchang, Kaiyang four gates; The west wall from north to south is the three gates of Lu, Xiyang and Ximing; The north wall from west to east is the two gates of Daxia and Guangmo.

For example, the Pyeongchang Gate in the south was used to enter the city to offer prisoners when the army was triumphant, while the two gates of Dongyang and Xiyang could only be opened when the vassal king was ordered to enter Beijing, and the two gates of Jianchun and Helu were usually not opened when they were directly connected to the imperial city.

Qiu Yizhi does not have the status of a vassal king like Zheng Rong, of course, he can't enter Luoyang from Dongyang Gate in a beautiful way like his father-in-law when he entered Beijing many years ago, surrounded by honor guards, but bypassed a quarter of the city and entered the city through the south wall of Luoyang according to the rules.

The three gates of Jinyang, Xuanyang and Kaiyang in the south are specially set up for business travelers who come to Luoyang for business, and they also set up checkpoints to check the identities and accompanying items of people who pass through the customs. Because there are three routes into Beijing, there are not as many merchants waiting as there are at Tongguan, so although Qiu Yi and his party did not make some tricks to cut in line, they only waited for an hour to enter Luoyang through the Kaiyang Gate.

It's just that the inspection of the capital is extremely serious, and there is no way to buy the officer in charge, so Qiu Yizhi had to tie the pocket knife to the bottom of the carriage, and then he trembled.

This Luoyang City is worthy of the atmosphere of a great country in the Celestial Empire, several straight bluestone roads divide the market into a horizontal and vertical, neat area, and there are groups of soldiers patrolling back and forth on the road from time to time.

Each area has its own fixed function regulation, which is nothing more than the government yamen, residential buildings, and wine market markets. These regulations have never been changed since the beginning of the reign of Taizu, and must be strictly observed, if any merchant builds a restaurant in the residential area, it is a serious crime of disrespect, and the heavy punishment can be greatly punished.

Qiu Yizhi and Zhou Cijing and others were not residents of Luoyang, so there was no fixed mansion in the residential area, so He Jiugong gently dismounted the reins of the horse, and led the team into the commercial area near Kaiyangmen.

The founding of the Han Dynasty has been more than 200 years old, and the number of people who have bred people has been five or six times that of the early years of the founding of the founding of the country, and the number of people who came to Beijing to eat more than ten times the population when the city was founded. However, due to the ancestral system, Luoyang City and its various areas could not expand by half an inch. Therefore, both sides of this commercial street are already densely packed with houses, and all kinds of shops have opened along the street, and people are waiting for each other.

In the crowded crowd, Qiu Yizhi could no longer ride a horse, so he had to dismount and lead and slowly move forward. However, in such a bustling street market, there is not a single sound of shouting and selling, and even if someone buys goods and bargains, they also keep their voices to a minimum, as if they are whispering something important. Most of the people walking on the street were silent, walking silently with the flow of people, occasionally looking up at the dazzling array of goods displayed in the shops on both sides, even if they met with acquaintances on the road, they just nodded their heads.

This situation is very different from the bustling horse market in Guangyang City, where Qiu Yizhi is as if he has been pressed against his chest by a few boulders, and he is indescribably depressed. So the corners of his mouth barely squeezed out a little smile, and asked He Jiugong: "Don't people in this capital like to talk?" ”

He Jiugong also looked puzzled, and said: "How many times have I been to Luoyang, although the government is tightly controlled, it doesn't seem to be so cold...... I advise my son to follow the local customs, others don't speak, and we should talk less. ”

Qiu Yizhi listened, swallowed his saliva, and stopped talking, only a pair of eyes swirling, constantly watching the scenery of the capital.

The group had not gone far before they stopped in front of a three-story building.

Qiu Yizhi looked up at the plaque, and the four regular scripts with extremely thick and upright ink were written on it, which he was very familiar with, and it was the four big characters of "Guangyang Chamber of Commerce" written by Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan.

Seeing this, Qiu Yi was suddenly startled, handed the reins in his hand to Zhao Chengxiao on the side, hurriedly got into the carriage where Zhou Cijing was riding, and asked, "Why is my uncle staying here?" Why don't you go to the restaurant and inn first? ”

Zhou Cijing replied: "Every inch of land in Luoyang City is expensive, I have long wanted to buy a piece of land in Luoyang's market and business district and build a restaurant." Regardless of profit or loss, it is better to say: 'My Zhou family also has an industry in Luoyang'. But all the shops opened in Luoyang are century-old stores, and none of them are willing to transfer. Just this house, I don't know how many favors it took to buy it! Zhou didn't dare to be beautiful, so he donated it and used it as the office of the Chamber of Commerce in the capital. Therefore, it is not a grievance to ask the virtuous nephew to rest here today. ”

Qiu Yizhi finally listened to Zhou Cijing's boastful words, and said, "How dare you." It's just that the little nephew is afraid that there are a lot of people in the Guangyang Chamber of Commerce, if he recognizes me, he will inevitably be entangled in the entertainment, and when the time comes, this donation official shortage will come out, although it will not be a bad thing, but it will always be disgraceful. ”

Zhou Cijing lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and said, "The virtuous nephew is reasonable. If it is according to the opinion of the virtuous nephew, what should it be? ”

The way of autumn clothes: "The little nephew sees that it is still early, why don't my uncle go with me to visit a few adults in the court first, and then the little nephew will find an inn to live in, I don't know what my uncle thinks?" ”

Although Zhou Cijing heard Qiu Yizhi call "uncle" repeatedly, he knew that there was a huge disparity between the identities of the two, and the success or failure of his official donation was all on the face of his stepfather, King Youyan, so he had to nod and agree. So he called a few of his servants on the spot, among the belongings carried in the car, specially selected small and surprising, noble ones and put them in his car, so that they could not move around, let alone talk nonsense, and waited in front of the Guangyang Chamber of Commerce, and he went to visit the court officials with Qiu Yizhi, Zhao Chengxiao, and He Jiugong.

Everything was ready, but He Jiugong poked his head into the carport and asked, "I wonder which lord the owner is going to visit first?" ”

Zhou Cijing listened, closed his eyes slightly and said, "Before this departure, I have already written with several adults in the court. We first went to visit the director of the Ministry of Officials, and then he recommended him to meet Liu Langzhong of the Literature and Anthology Division. As long as Lord Liu nods, I will wait to go to the Ministry of Rites to get through the joints, then this matter will be almost done. As he spoke, he took out a note from his sleeve and handed it to He Jiugong, "This is the address of Lord Wang's mansion." ”

Qiu Yizhi, who was on the side, also took out a note from his sleeve and said, "The virtuous nephew has another way, can you ask your uncle to visit this lord first?" ”

Only then did Zhou Cijing remember that Qiu Yizhi had also come to buy officials, and with the hands of the dignified Youyan King, how could he be compared to a small businessman? Maybe you can skip the head of the ministry, and you can directly meet with the Wenxuan Shilang Zhongliu who was hired and promoted by the officials in charge, or you may be able to meet the officials or even the Shangshu Lord. When the time comes, he can also get the light of Youyan Wangfu, and he should get an official position, which is worth the trip.

Zhou Cijing thought of this, his eyes had narrowed into a line, and he said, "He Jiu, what are you still doing in a daze?" Still haven't picked up the slip and set off? He asked Qiu Yi again, "I don't know which adult I want to visit first, so Zhou should prepare early." ”

Qiu Yizhi smiled slightly: "Uncle, don't be anxious, you will know naturally." ”

He Jiugong drove Zhou Cijing in a carriage, while Qiu Yizhi and Zhao Chengxiao led the horses behind the side, turned out of the business district in a twist and turn, and walked north along the street opposite Kaiyangmen.

After walking for a short time, the four of them have arrived at the Huangdao Avenue that runs through Dongyang Gate and Xiyang Gate, and on the left is the red wall and golden tile of the imperial city. Walking here, there were obviously more soldiers patrolling around, and the group did not dare to stop and admire the grandeur of the imperial city, so they could only keep their heads and continue to walk forward.

Beyond the Huangdao Street, it is the area where the yamen of the official mansion and the official mansion in Luoyang City are located. Zhou Cijing looked out from the small windows on both sides of the carport - he saw that the two sides of the street were obviously much cleaner than before, and there were no more idlers and other people rushing around, except for the patrolling soldiers, there was only a large or small sedan chair, which was staggering and running around under the support of servants and attendants.

Zhou Cijing has been here a few times, and when he saw this scene, he regretted how he forgot to change to a sedan chair and come again, and it was too ostentatious to sit in a carriage in this place where high-ranking officials gathered, and he only hoped that he would not lose a big deal because of a small loss, and spoil the big thing of donating officials to fill the vacancy.