Chapter 57: The Old Road and the New Road, Swaggering Through the Market (Asking for a Monthly Pass)
Compared with the pre-Qin era, the cars of the Han Dynasty have undergone tremendous changes. The main purpose has gradually changed from fighting wars to carrying people and cargo.
In addition, the shape of the car is slowly changing. The number of single-wheeled vehicles is decreasing, while double-wheeled vehicles are booming.
Whether it is for ordinary people or wealthy families, cars are just as important assets. A cheap car costs only tens of thousands, while an expensive car is worth millions.
Since the car is very important, the ride is also particular.
Especially on an occasion like today, Liu He can't sneak out of the palace as casually as he usually does.
In the Han Dynasty, when riding the Anche on formal occasions, the left should be respected, so the Venerable is on the left, the escort is on the right, and the driver is in the center.
But if it is a chariot, it is slightly different from the sitting method of ordinary cars, often the commander is in the center, the driver is on the left, and the guard is on the right.
Today, Liu He took the Anche, so after getting in the car, he sat on the left, Xue Ti sat in the middle, and Yu Wuwu, who accompanied him, sat on the right.
When Liu He and the three of them got on the car, the guides, servants and riders got on the horses one after another.
After waiting for about half an hour, Dai Zong also came around the side door with more than 100 townspeople, and followed Liu He's car.
Liu He looked back at the group of ordinary people dressed in various colors, and felt extremely stable and calm in his heart.
With them behind, what else can't you do?
"Xue Ti, let's go."
Xue Ti was a taciturn man, and because he was in charge of "useful and useless" things, he rarely raised opposing opinions.
"Yui."
Xue gave the order to set off, and the riders and guide cars in front of him moved.
Soon, when there was a distance of two or three zhang in front of the car, Xue Ti quickly shook the reins and shouted "Drive".
The four horses raised their hooves at the same time and pulled the cart forward.
Xue Ti drove at a fast speed, everything was just right - neither bumpy because it was slow, nor would it be too fast for the people behind the car to keep up.
This driving skill is far from being comparable to the two amateur drivers of Dai Zong and Yu Wuwu.
Just the right speed makes the oncoming spring breeze as soft as silk.
Liu He raised his head slightly, full of spirit.
At this moment, he finally understood that Shi Daizong's dream was to drive a chariot.
Compared with horseback riding, a chariot has a special heroism.
"Xue Qing drives very well, comparable to the reincarnation of Xiahou Ying!"
"Your Highness's praise is false, and you are familiar with it!"
The route of the whole car to Xiangfu is the same as the route that Liu He secretly went to Xiangfu last time, which is to first go south to the official road near the south wall, then drive east along the official road to the east city wall, and finally turn north at the corner, and go north along the east city wall.
This route was specially chosen by Liu He, although the distance is a bit long, it is not as convenient as passing directly through Dongmen Street, but it also avoids the crowd, and the speed is faster.
There are not many people on the two official roads, one south and one north, but they are not completely devoid of pedestrians.
Because the four-seater car Liu He rode in was the only one in the entire Changyi country, although it had not been running in Changyi City for two years, it was still easy to be recognized by pedestrians.
Whether it is the common people or the officials, when they see this luxurious car and this grand car, their first reaction is to be frightened, and they seem to remember the incident of King Changyi who arbitrarily drove and injured people two years ago.
But soon they relaxed again, because the speed of the car was not fast, and the wind brought up made them feel a little cool.
Especially when they saw the chief of the palace guarding with more than 100 ordinary people following behind the convoy, chasing forward with a "squeak", the last bit of awe was gone.
This team is like a strange bird with a crested head and a pheasant body at the same time, which makes people feel solemn and funny.
On the side of the road, two soldiers who came out of the lieutenant's palace to inspect the city wall watched the car drive away in dust, patted the dust on their bodies, and chatted interestingly.
"Has this highness drunk too much wine again, and is going to do something crazy?" The short man asked.
"Your Highness has changed a lot in the past two years, and it seems that he is no longer as foolish as before." The tall man shook his head, as if he didn't agree.
"I'm afraid Your Highness just put that nonsense mind on all kinds of carving insect skills." The short man laughed.
"I heard that His Royal Highness likes to go to the Gongguan to mess with those craftsmen the most, and he also sent people to recruit craftsmen, I don't know what to do?" The tall and small official is from this county, and his family lives in Beicheng, and he can always see Li Anding, the palace counselor, talking with those craftsmen these days.
"What else can I do, Zuo just wants to make some weird and clever things for his own fun." The short man scoffed.
"This is a mistake, I drank with Tian Caoshi Wang He last time, he said that His Royal Highness can draw a lot of patterns of farm tools, and it is very easy to use, Wang He is so impressed that he throws himself to the ground." The tall and small official may have been influenced by Wang He, and when he mentioned Liu He, his tone was quite respectful.
"That's right, I also heard from the drinking friends in the county prison that His Royal Highness has helped them pry open that Guo Kai's mouth in the past few days." The short officials also had to express their admiration.
When the two of them said this, they invariably remembered the virtuous meeting summoned at the palace of Changyi on the fifteenth day of each month.
"In the past two years, His Royal Highness seems to have done a lot of good things for Changyi Kingdom, but it's a pity that you and I have no chance to meet Your Highness." There was a hint of regret in the words of the short official.
"Hehe, it's best not to see it, Bing Cao is different from Zhu Cao, if His Highness sticks his hand in, it will not be a good thing for Changyi State, but a bad thing."
"There is some truth in your words, Bingcao is indeed not a place where you can meddle at will." The short man nodded in response.
"I think this highness is still greedy for fun, after playing for a few years, I'm afraid it will be changed to another way to play, where is this highness a little bit of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Xiaowu's shadow, and he is just a landlord and a rich man."
"Shut up, be careful that the wall has ears!"
The short man saw that the tall man was a little disobedient when he spoke, and quickly interrupted him. And the tall little official also realized his aphasia, so he immediately shut his mouth.
"The county official's family affairs are not something that you and I can worry about, so it's better for us to do the things in hand."
"That's right, hurry up and finish patrolling this city wall, so that you can go to Beicheng to warm a pot of wine, eat two pieces of meat, and then go to the tea shop to make a pot of tea to sober up, this is your and my business."
"Yes, yes, very good, very good!"
The two servants ended the conversation contentedly, took their eyes back from the distant car, and walked once more along the city wall to the west.