James Bond arrives in Chang'an

  When Shang De brought Su You a fine horse and heard that he couldn't ride, he was speechless. 16kbook net update

  If Shangde knew that Su You's "Six Arts of a Gentleman" only mastered the most basic "Book" and "Number", I don't know how many times he would roll his eyes, and spit out blood. Fortunately, Su You had thick flesh and skin, and very consciously continued to huddle in the carriage with Qing Wei and Zi Su, continuing to bump along on the official road leading to Chang'an.

  This section of road is clearly one of the few highways, with a wide bluestone road that can accommodate five or six horse-drawn carriages at the same time. The earliest highway appeared in the Qin Dynasty, while the national highway emerged even earlier. As early as the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, each vassal state built neat roads to communicate with each other. The section in Luoyang is particularly straight, described in the Book of Songs as "the road is like a whetstone, its straightness is like an arrow". On both sides of the national highway, deer roam and wild geese fill the fields.

  Mr. Lu Xun once described Confucius' travels to various states like this: "At that time, wheat flour had not been imported yet, and the domestic milled flour contained a lot of grit and sand, so it was heavier than today's flour; the national roads were not yet completed, and there were many bumpy dirt roads. With each jolt and bump, his stomach would churn up the heavy flour, reducing his digestive power." As a result, Confucius got "gastric dilation".

  There are two points worth discussing in Lu Xun's argument: Firstly, he said that Confucius ate noodles. At that time, the most popular staple food in the north was millet, and the salary of officials and military rations were also millet. It wasn't until after the Han Dynasty that eating noodles became more common. Secondly, he said that there was no "national road" at that time, but in fact, there were many. Between the various vassal states, there were major roads that connected them directly, which had been built and maintained since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. The road surface was compacted by manual labor, and armies on campaign would often march with hundreds of chariots on these roads, showing that the scale and quality of the roads were not inferior. The maintenance and repair of national roads were also a specialized function of the government, and there were even toll booths set up along the way to collect taxes from traveling merchants.

  When the army came, there were post stations and inns every thirty miles along the way, where soldiers could stay and rest. The inns also had special carriages running on the national roads, but they were only for official use by government officials when they traveled. At that time, Confucius was just a commoner, so he couldn't ride in those special carriages. Of course, if Confucius had money and his own private carriage, no one could stop him from riding in it. In short, the road and its supporting facilities were quite complete, enough to be called a national road! Lu Xun doesn't have to worry too much about Confucius' precious stomach being upset!

  The carriages and horses are swift, but it's only half a day's journey. The majestic city walls of Chang'an City are already in sight. Seeing the original appearance of this ancient capital for the first time, Su You couldn't help but be infected by its solemn and stern atmosphere. Although he had been to the Forbidden City before, the world inside the palace walls didn't have such an awe-inspiring and majestic atmosphere.

  Chang'an is located on the south bank of the Wei River in the Guanzhong Plain, which is known as "Eight Hundred Miles of Qin River". The city has been the capital of Zhou, Qin, Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei and Northern Zhou. To the south lies the Zhongnan Mountain, a part of the Qinling Mountains, with steep cliffs and towering peaks, forming a natural barrier to the south, with a majestic momentum of "layered mountains overlooking the Wei River, green peaks piercing the sky". In the north are the Yaoshan, Huanglongshan, Songshan, Liangshan and other mountains that form a continuous mountain range, facing the Qinling Mountains in the distance.

  On the vast fertile plains demarcated by these mountain ranges, Chang'an City is majestically situated in their midst. The Wei, Jing, Chan, Lao, Hei, Zhang, Qujiang and Ba rivers are like a string of glittering pearls that wind around it, forming the "Eight Rivers Surrounding Chang'an" landscape. These rivers are like veins that not only provide Chang'an City with abundant water sources but also fill the city with vitality.

  When Yang Er and his entourage arrived at the Chunming Gate on the east side of Chang'an City, passersby could not tell from their clothes that this group of people were actually members of the royal family, let alone the prince's family. This was because Yang Er had deliberately made sure that everyone, including himself and the soldiers, wore the simplest clothes, even with patches on new clothes. Ah, this was the tradition of simplicity and thriftiness in the Yang family, although it didn't go to the extreme of "one pair of socks, new for three years, old for three years, mended and reused for another three years". Yang Er had a grandfather who loved to wear coarse cloth, a father who was frugal to please his grandfather, and he himself naturally followed tradition by putting silk and satin at the bottom of the box; although this was somewhat regrettable, like "wearing brocade at night", Yang Er knew that this was only temporary.

  The gatekeeper was surprisingly an old acquaintance of Yang Er, and the two exchanged greetings with a bow and a fist bump. Su You didn't need to think much to know that this person was a member of the aristocracy; Yang Er chatted with him for a while and learned that Daxing City had already implemented martial law. Even though Yang Er didn't need to be inspected to enter the city gate, he still lined up in an orderly fashion. As they waited in line, Yang Zhao's carriage arrived, and just as the two carriages were about to enter Chang'an City, a decree of general amnesty was announced.

  Obviously, in this Jiazi year, the last year of Emperor Wen Yang Jian, on the fourth day of June, it was not a calm day. On that day, Su You truly arrived in this world which seemed new yet old, and he was just a familiar stranger.

  The main axis of Chang'an City is a north-south Zhujak Street, the south gate of the Imperial City is Zhujak Gate, and Zhujak Street is between Zhujak Gate and Mingde Gate in the south city wall of Chang'an City. However, Su You's first entry into Chang'an City was like Lin Daiyu's entry into Beijing, all from east to west, reaching the city center, then turning north along the eastern foot of the Imperial City, and after entering through the main east gate Xuanxi Gate, you can reach Donggong.

  Su You came from the east, passing through Daoyi Street, and then arrived at Dongshi, but he didn't notice the large temple of Daxingshan, which occupied almost a square mile. During the Sui dynasty, there was no "hooked tile house" like in the Song dynasty, so there was no true urban citizen class in the city, therefore, both Dongshi and Xishi belonged to the urban commercial center under official supervision, belonging to the CBD of Chang'an City.

  The market is fixed-point and fixed-time, starting only after noon and closing before sunset; whether it's the start or end, someone will crack a whip as a signal, just like officials going to and from court. In the market, there are administrators coming and going, all with whips hanging from their waists, just like the city managers in that world of Su You. This style of street market originated in the Zhou Dynasty, and for over a thousand years, it has remained unchanged despite many changes.

  When the states were at peace, Confucius once said: "Wealth and honor can be sought after; even if it's a low-ranking official like a whip-wielding officer, I would do it too. Wealth and honor cannot be sought after, follow my wishes." This "whip-wielding officer" refers to the earliest city management officers. At that time, Confucius already knew about the benefits of being a city management officer and was prepared to join their ranks.

  As I walked, in the sweltering heat of summer, the guards at Daxing City were languid, but the pedestrians on the street were still bustling about, for both gain and profit. Merchants and traders, as well as wealthy businessmen, couldn't escape this busyness. In terms of speed, these people seemed to be strolling compared to the hurried crowds in Beijing's Xidan or Chengdu's Chunxi Road in later times. However, under the scorching sun, this leisureliness gave Su You, a person from another world, a comical impression.

  The tone of the street is naturally dominated by yellow, with patrolling soldiers and officials wearing yellow after dawn, while ordinary people are mostly gray. In Su You's eyes, it was as if he had seen a black-and-white movie, or returned to the first thirty years after liberation. According to the Five Elements, the Sui Dynasty responded to fire, and at court meetings, except for the emperor wearing a yellow robe, officials were mainly dressed in red; but their daily attire was mostly yellow, with the emperor distinguished from others only by an additional thirteen-ring gold buckle. —— Of course, this is what the ritual system stipulates, but in fact, whether it was Yang Jian or Yang Guang, they all wore iron buckles.

  Looking at the horse carriage turning north, Su You thought that this Chang'an city was not big after all. Suddenly he thought of "Yang Gong's treasure house" in "The Legend of the Double Dragons of Tang Dynasty", and asked Qing Wei beside him, "Was that bridge just now Jiamabridge?"

  "No, that bridge is on the west side of Chang'an City, not far from Xishi. Because both sides of the bridge are inhabited by wealthy merchants and nobles, it is also called the Rich and Noble Bridge. The Yong'an Canal connects to the Wei River in the north of the city, supplying half of the water used in Chang'an City, and is an important water transportation route. This Jumping Horse Bridge is also the most magnificent stone bridge in Chang'an. So if you don't get to Jumping Horse Bridge, it's like not having been to Chang'an City at all!"

  "Haha, it seems that I'll have to make a special trip here tomorrow?" Su You said as he jumped down from the carriage. However, in this bustling city, the speed of the carriages was neither fast nor slow; galloping horses were not allowed in Chang'an City unless there was an urgent military matter. Therefore, although Chang'an was not large, "seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in one day" was purely nonsense.

  It is said that the Jumping Horse Bridge is a stone arch bridge, unfortunately, the official thinking cannot let people know from the inscription or official statement even if it's just a word or phrase that the designer is Li Chun who left behind the Zhaozhou Bridge.

  Obviously, the Yema Bridge is larger than the Zhaozhou Bridge in both scale and function. Su You had not yet arrived at the Yema Bridge, but he first thought of Yang Gong's treasure trove and Yang Su.

  What kind of person is he?