"Yes, haven't you ever been to the academy, these history gentlemen should all be able to talk about it, right? To be precise, the Shenlong Empire has existed for one thousand and eighteen years, and after its collapse, it changed to the dawn of the Yuan, which is the calendar we use now. Later, the population of Maqi City became more and more, and the city became more and more prosperous, expanding almost every year. About a dozen years ago, the lord of the castle used the tax money he had accumulated for several generations to completely transform the city into what it is now. You see, this city is square, east and west and north and south are said to be nineteen miles, at that time the city lords were superstitious and liked to take the number 'nine'. Tang Xiaoying introduced.

"What? Nineteen miles, nineteen miles......"

Ji Kai estimated it in his mind, and only felt that it was a long distance, but he couldn't estimate how long it was.

"Well, this Qicheng people know everything. ”

Tang Xiaoying continued: "Qicheng is divided into four parts, and the area we are staying in now is the Southwest Business District, where most of the business is done. It's a huge area, and you can't spend a whole day shopping. A little to the north, there are scattered residential areas, and the people in the city are basically concentrated in the northwest area, where there are some vendors selling daily necessities and meat and vegetables except for private houses, and there is really nothing to play, and my house is there. ”

"Oh, then you still run so far to the business district in the middle of the night to play, it's really bold. Ji Longjun said.

"Qicheng is still quite safe, there are patrolling guards between various areas, although there are a lot of bad people in Qicheng, but as long as you take the main road and don't enter the small alley, it is still very safe normally. ”

Tang Xiaoying said with a smile: "And this distance seems to be quite far, and it won't take long to take a carriage." ”

Tang Xiaoying took a sip of fruit tea and continued to introduce: "This is Xicheng. In the east of the city, to the north is the garrison and martial arts arena in the city, I have been to that place with my father a few times, there are really a lot of samurai! Usually the samurai practice there, and the sound of killing is so imposing. And the palace left by the Shenlong Empire is also over there, but it is surrounded by military camps and various yamen, and it is difficult to approach without a road guide in ordinary times, so you can only look at it from a distance. ”

"The southern half of the East City is probably not a very large area, and it is the old city of the former Qicheng. The four masters of Qicheng, as well as many of their subordinate generals and guards, all live in the old city. The old city needs to have a token or a road guide to enter, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter, because there are no ordinary people living in it, and they are all officials. However, the old city has not developed much in recent decades, it is all dilapidated old houses, and the periphery of the old city is full of all kinds of trees, many, many trees, it doesn't matter if you go or not. The people of Qicheng live in Xicheng, and Xicheng is far more lively than Dongcheng. ”

"Oh, it turns out that Qicheng is divided like this, and it is really extraordinary! No wonder the guard brother who guarded the gate said that Qicheng is the largest city within a radius of thousands of miles!" Ji Longjun sighed.

"After all, Qicheng is so crowded, because the city is so big because of the crowd, so it is so lively. Ji Kai interjected.

"yes, mainly because of the crowd. Now the west city is overcrowded, but the city wall and moat can not be rebuilt, I think the old city will also be developed and utilized in the future, there is too much idle land here. Tang Xiaoying pondered.

"Hey, why did I hear the innkeeper say that we are called the outer city here? Qicheng is also divided into inner city and outer city?" Ji Longjun suddenly remembered and asked casually.

"That's right, the periphery of the west city and the east city is called the outer city, and the old city of the east city and the military camps, yamen, and palace ruins in the north are the inner city. There is an old city wall outside the inner city, which is said to be left over from the era of the Shenlong Empire. By the way, and the woods. ”

"I see, dare to love is that the common people live in the outer city, and the official master lives in the inner city?" Ji Longjun nodded and said.

"Well, you can say that, so to speak!"

"Xiaoying, I heard that the four city lords of Qicheng are very powerful? It's really strange, I've been to many small cities, and they all have only one city lord. I've never heard of a city having four lords. They don't usually come to Xicheng, I really want to see what the city lord looks like......" Ji Longjun said with ulterior motives.

"Hehe, it's hard to see the four city lords!" Tang Xiaoying said with a smile, "Although the four city lords have their own mansions in the inner city, except for the Qiu city lord, who was originally a native of Qicheng, the other three city lords all have their own residences in the southern boundary of Qishan, and most of them don't live in Qicheng, they only come occasionally. If you want to see the four city lords, I'm afraid it's impossible!"

"Huh, each with its own city?"

Ji Longjun was taken aback, this was the first time he had heard of it, and the information he had gotten before was too scarce.

"Yes, the current Qicheng was built after the four city lords joined forces, and the scale has expanded several times, in fact, the original Qicheng is just the old city, and at that time it was only the city lord of Qiu. ”

"That's the case...... Ji Longjun nodded, "Xiaoying, I heard that the city lord of Qicheng has been fighting everywhere over the years, but he has grabbed a lot of territory, and even the small city where we used to live is under the rule of Qicheng. ”

"Yes, my father is also a guard leader in Qicheng. I often heard my father say that the outside world is very chaotic, and I have lived in Qicheng since I was a child, and it has always been very safe here. Several city lords, especially Qiu City Lord, were very good to the people of Qi City. They may have invaded a lot of other walled cities, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. ”

"What?" Ji Longjun suddenly had a plummeting impression of Tang Xiaoying, "There's nothing wrong with that?" Ji Longjun controlled his emotions and didn't make waves, still smiling, pretending to be relaxed.

"The people of Qicheng are quite happy, but the people of the surrounding small cities are also alive and well, why should they be ruled by Qicheng, I don't think it makes sense......"

Ji Longjun deliberately glanced at Tang Xiaoying, and asked rhetorically with the method of agitation.

"Isn't this simple?" Tang Xiaoying didn't care, she was happy to introduce her hometown and her strange city to Ji Longjun.

"You think, even if Qicheng doesn't rule the small cities outside, there will be disputes between the small cities, and then there will be fights. The strong oppress the weak, and if the weak one day cultivates a master, they will take revenge on the walled city that has bullied them, this is normal in the southern boundary of Qishan, right?" Tang Xiaoying asked.

"Yes...... It's normal. Ji Longjun couldn't refute this.

"Not only is it normal in the southern boundary of Qishan, I believe that looking at the whole world, the law of the jungle is a basic law of operation in this world. Tang Xiaoying's tone was very affirmative, "If it's not to protect something, why should the weak become stronger?"

"The gentleman of the academy once said that since the fall of the Shenlong Empire, it seems that the southern boundary of Qishan has not really been peaceful for more than two hundred years. The northern border is gradually unified, the southern border is also gradually unified, and in the unified place, peace has come. And in other places, there are fights and killings everywhere, why, it is because there are many people who covet greater power and interests. ”

"And the one who is violated must become stronger, and he must resist the encroachment of others on his rights and interests. ”

"It's Qicheng, before the union was not united, the forces of the four city lords also fought with each other, and many people died. But the four city lords finally chose to join forces, so that at least the people of these four cities could live in peace for decades, and no longer have to worry about war befalling them. Qicheng is now so strong, all the small cities within hundreds of miles around him have surrendered, and they are all subordinate cities of Qicheng, everyone has the same status, naturally there is no need to guard against each other, and there is no need to compete with each other, if there is anything to report directly to Master Qiu for mediation, so that not only will the suffering of war be spared, but the people can also enjoy the prosperity brought by exchanges and trades. ”

"Uh......"

Ji Longjun only listened the whole time, and opened his mouth several times but couldn't refute it.

"Whew, I'm tired of saying so much in one breath. Ji Longjun, then you say that living in such a world of the jungle is good or bad to have a power to maintain balance and rule over everyone?" Tang Xiaoying smiled slyly, looked at Ji Longjun and asked.

"You...... You drink some water first, I can't keep up with your train of thought, ha, haha......"

Ji Longjun was a little embarrassed, he wanted to find out some information, but he didn't expect to be almost brainwashed today.

"I admit that what you say makes sense. However, many cities did not voluntarily join the forces of Qicheng at all. If it is ruled by foreign forces, if it is for the people to enjoy peace, shouldn't the people choose for themselves......

Ji Longjun felt that his values were a little shaken, and he was a little weak to argue.

"Are you willing to say a word from the city lords? If the strong men who are distributed in various walled cities are attached to absolute power and are reluctant to lose the supreme position they already have in their respective territories, they are naturally unwilling to submit to other strong people. But which is more important than the power of one person or the lives and happiness of tens of thousands of people?"

"Life, happiness?" these two words deeply stung Ji Longjun.

A second ago, Ji Longjun was really a little shaken, he thought of what the Lord of Shitian City said in the Mining City, and he had been the only one in the Mining City for decades. But so many people died under the butcher's knife of Qicheng, his father, his second uncle, second aunt, third uncle, third aunt, little rabbit, Xiaofan, so many people's lives!

He and his two younger brothers originally lived well in the small town, but after the old man Qiu who Tang Xiaoying said was "very good" came to the mining city, they became orphans and became lonely ghosts like savages.

So, where are the lives and happiness of the so-called tens of thousands of people? What are these things that have happened to them?

Or can we wantonly trample on the lives and happiness of dozens or hundreds of people under the guise of saving the lives and happiness of tens of millions of people?

Ji Longjun smiled and shook his head slightly.

Ji Longjun was not good at verbal disputes, he didn't want to argue too much with people on these big truths, there was no need.

Go your own way, so why force your own values to persuade others?

It's not necessary, and it's not interesting.

Ji Longjun smiled and said: "Xiaoying, I feel that your eloquence and consciousness can go to the city lord to be a military advisor, what's the matter, your father can't be the city lord himself......, right? It's very high. ”