Two days later, Xia Fan could already faintly see the continuous gray walls of Jinxia City.

Unlike the makeshift "city wall" in Qingshan Town, it was a solid wall that was really used for defense against foreign invasion, with a height of more than 10 meters and a dense jagged bunker, or horse face, at the top. Near the corners of the city walls, he even found several city defense equipment that resembled stone throwers.

In terms of area alone, most ancient capitals could never be compared with modern cities, but when all the buildings are surrounded by huge stone walls, the visual impact of ancient capitals is even better.

And he actually captured a trace of discordant "modernity" in the distant view of this city.

It didn't take long for Xia Fan to realize where this feeling came from—compared to the endless woods and fields along the way, the vicinity of Jinxia City was bare. Not only that, but wisps of black smoke filled the back of the city, making the sky a little gray. Coupled with the yellow-brown earth and stone walls, it has a bit of foggy flavor.

If it weren't for the carriage running on the official road, he almost thought that Jin Xiacheng had entered the pre-industrial era.

"Brother Wei, what's the matter with that black smoke?" Xia Fan raised his voice and shouted.

Wei Wushuang, who was running in front, lifted the curtain and replied, "That's burning salt!"

"Burn salt?" he said, surprised.

"Hehe, it's the first time for Childe to go to Jinxia, right?" the coachman took over with a smile, "This is one of the symbols of Shenzhou." This city is among the local population, but there are not many people called Jin Xia. Everyone calls it "Yancheng" or "Yancheng". After all, with the East China Sea at its back and a large river passing by, it is most suitable to tinker with this line. I am said that this smoke has lasted for more than 100 years since it was raised. ”

Over a hundred years...... Does it mean that it started from the time of the Eternal Kingdom?

"Xia Fan, what is the relationship between smoke and salt?" asked Li in the carriage in a low voice.

"He should be using seawater to make salt," after listening to the coachman's words, Xia Fan already had a guess in his heart, "There is a lot of salt in the sea, and if the excess water can be boiled dry, it will not be difficult to extract salt from it." The smoke must have been caused by a large amount of firewood. ”

"Childe is very knowledgeable. The coachman nodded, "This industry is also the reason why Yancheng can become the capital of Shenzhou. Otherwise, if you are poor and white, how can you overshadow the other three cities and six towns. ”

"Is the price of this white land outside the city?" Li muttered.

"What's the way, people have to live. Once the salt is burned, it is impossible to stop. ”

Indeed, Xia Fan nodded secretly, the salt industry was an official camp in ancient times, and it belonged to the state-controlled materials. Since it has become a salt-producing area, it is no longer a matter for the locals to decide how many days or how much to produce. The person in charge of this business can naturally make a lot of money, but if he fails to meet the above requirements, it will only be a matter of a blink of an eye.

The last few miles were quickly completed, and after checking the customs documents, the carriage slowly passed through the city and drove along the main road into the city.

At this time, the gray feeling is more obvious, and even the air is filled with a faint smell of firewood.

Xia Fan noticed that perhaps in order to reduce the annoying dust, most of the pedestrians on the street wore hats, and better yet, they wore shawls and soft hats, and it was common to cover their hair, and this unexpected discovery made him feel a little more confident that the fox demon was hidden in the city.

It's just that one thing is not quite in line with his expectations: it is obviously sitting on the river and the sea, and commerce should be very prosperous, but the streets do not show the vitality they should have. It's not that there are no shops, there are also street sellers, but it always makes him feel that something is missing.

Xia Fan asked the coachman about the doubts in his heart.

The latter's answer was a little helpless, "Because there are often evil spirits on the seaside......"

Even under the noses of the Privy Council?

Xia Fan felt a little strange in his heart, but seeing that the other party didn't seem to want to elaborate, he didn't continue to ask.

Two quarters of an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of a ring of towering walls.

"Childe, your destination has arrived. ”

"You wait here. Xia Fan winked at Li in the carriage, then picked up his bags and got off the car.

Over there, Wei Wushuang also walked over, "Although I have been to Jinxia City several times, this is the first time I have entered the Privy Council. Frankly...... I was a little nervous. ”

"You and I are already Fang Shi, what's there to be nervous about, shouldn't this be considered our own territory?" Xia Fan smiled.

"Brother Xia, what I admire most is you. Wei Wushuang sighed with emotion, "No matter where you are, you seem to be confident." ”

"There's no need to shoot the sycophants, let's go in. ”

Xia Fan took Wei Wushuang to the main entrance from the side, handed over the documents and put them in the courtyard, and was told that the report was in the "Zhiwei Palace" on the west side.

"This Privy Council...... It's too big, isn't it? Wei Wubian exclaimed as he walked.

Xia Fan also felt the same way, there were not only one or two buildings within the wall, but more than a dozen, they were arranged around the stone square in the middle, which looked orderly, and the main building facing the gate was close to the fourth floor, and the color scheme of the red brick and gold roof was solemn.

He estimated that the entire Privy Council was larger than the athletic field, covering an area of more than twenty acres.

With such abundant financial resources, it is no wonder that they have been able to maintain an examination room like Qingshan Town for a long time.

......

The process of reporting was very smooth, and after the official in charge of the reception inspected the appointment and dismissal order, he helped the two of them register in a friendly manner, and issued a set of square uniforms and an eight-grade bronze medal. In this way, Xia Fan and Wei Wushuang can be regarded as official Privy Council officials.

"The appointment this time is really fast, and it will arrive before August is over. The receptionist smiled and said, "With the four people who came before, the Zhiwei Hall can also teach the first class." ”

"What does the first lesson mean?"

"Do alchemists need classes too?"

The two asked almost at the same time.

"Let me answer them one by one," the receptionist waved his hand, "there is more than one taxi examination room, you should know this, right? This Privy Council is in charge of a state, and each session of the Priest's Counsel has to accept twenty or thirty new monks, and it is normal for the time to drag on for several months. However, this will not quell the evil spirit, so it will be too late to wait for everyone to arrive before the class starts. ”

"In order to let you perform your duties as soon as possible, the Zhiwei Hall will open once there are six people, even if there are newcomers arriving in the future, you can stagger the teaching time, and the two are not wrong. The same group of Monks will also form a team of their own in the subsequent actions, and if nothing else, you will all be in the Privy Council together before further ascension...... No, work for my Great Apocalypse. ”

After answering Xia Fan's question, he looked at Wei Wushuang, "Of course the Fang Shi needs to take a class—don't you think you're already proficient in all the techniques and know the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao?"

"Well, of course not, I was reckless. ”

"Huh...... It doesn't matter," the receptionist laughed, "in fact, the alchemist must not only learn the arts, but also be well aware of the evils, such as their characteristics, and the best way to deal with them. You will practice this in your actions, and only those who perform well will be able to go further, and if you are not so good, you should be able to guess what the consequences will be......"

Wei Wushuang shrunk his neck.

Sounds pretty decent, Xia Fan thought to himself. At least the Privy Council seems to be summarizing evil information, and emphasizing the combination of practice and cognition, which alone is much higher than the Master's stream of experience. The ability to properly deal with things that transcend common sense, rather than to relegate them to myths and legends, has touched the threshold of science, at least in this respect.

True, science, as a methodology, is not so tall and mysterious. If there are gods in the world, then science will not make people worship, but only make people study. It doesn't matter whether the answer is found or not, the important thing is that people never forget to seek the truth.

"By the way," added the receptionist, "the Privy Council has a lot of land in the eastern part of the city, and the houses there can be rented to the priests at a low price. Of course, you can also solve the problem of residence by yourself, and the government will not interfere with it in any way, as long as it does not affect official business. ”

"Evil events can't happen every day, so the alchemists are relatively free most of the time, but the two of them are new, and they will be a little busier in the future, and it will be much easier in the coming year. ”

"Tomorrow the first class starts at four o'clock, and the location is here, so remember not to be late. The instructor is Lord Liupin Daozhang, and if he is upset, he will definitely have to suffer. ”

"Thank you, sir, for the reminder. ”

"Hey, sir, I'm just looking at the door. The other party laughed.

After the two of them walked out of the Zhiwei Palace, Wei Wushuang let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew...... is worthy of being an official of the Privy Council, and he is so enthusiastic and kind. You don't know that I used to deal with the yamen in business, and even a small official could make it difficult for half a day. ”

Xia Fan noticed that the clothes that the person was wearing were not Fang Shi clothes, which meant that although they were both "national civil servants", he and himself were obviously not in the same system, which may be the reason why the other party was extremely cordial.

Could it be that there is also a talk of establishment and temporary workers in this era?

It's just that Xia Fan didn't say what he guessed, "You are also an eight-rank official now, how can anyone dare to make things difficult at will." ”

"Ah...... I almost forgot if you didn't say it!" Wei Wushuang said excitedly, "What should an official look like, walking with his legs open? No longer have to kneel down when he enters the yamen? There are more than ten Jiaojiao in the family? There is no money for eating in restaurants?"

The more he said, the more outrageous it became, Xia Fan gave him a blank look, "You ask me, who should I ask?"

"Why don't we put on new clothes and go around the city later?"

"I'm not free, I'm going to go by myself. ”

"Brother Xia!"

"It's useless to call anything, don't talk about it!"

Looking at his fellow villagers who were eager to try, Xia Fan shook his head helplessly.

However, this does not mean that his mood is not fluctuating - in fact, Xia Fan is full of expectations for the future.

For those who "want to know more about the world", he has now taken the first step and officially entered the threshold.