The Tang Dynasty's Taiyuan City was built on the foundation of Jinyang City. Although it was not as large as Chang 'an City, the structure of the city was much more complicated. There were twenty-seven city gates alone!
According to legend, the ancient city of Jinyang was built by Dong Anyu during the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Records of the Grand Historian, it was said, "Zhi Bo attacked Zhao Xiangzi in Jinyang, and drew the water of Fen to flood the city. Northern Qi's Emperor Wen Xuan built the Daming Palace on the ruins of Jinyang City and expanded it into a city, calling it Daming City. The city was forty feet tall and had a circumference of four li. There was another city north of Daming City. Eastern Wei's Emperor Xiaojing built the Jinyang Palace there.
During Emperor Wen's time, it was renamed New City. During Emperor Yang's time, he expanded the Jinyang Palace of Eastern Wei's Emperor Xiaojing, and the city was also enlarged. The enlarged New City was forty feet tall and had a circumference of seven li. During the sixteenth year of Emperor Wen's reign, Emperor Wen built a Cang City that was connected to the New City on the east side. This city was forty feet tall and had a circumference of eight li, forming three connected cities.
This was the initial appearance of Taiyuan City during the Tang Dynasty. However, during the Tang Dynasty, Taiyuan City underwent two major expansions. The first was during the Zhenguan period, when Emperor Taizong appointed the famous general Li Xingli to guard Taiyuan. During this period, Li Zhili built an East City on the east bank of Fen River in the eleventh year of Zhenguan's reign.
The second was during Wu Zetian's reign, when Cui Shenqing built a Central City on Fen River, connecting the east and west cities. "Every year, there would be thousands of soldiers defending the border." At this point, Taiyuan's West City, East City, and Central City were combined into one, becoming the Great Tang's most important military barrier in the north.
However, at this time, Taiyuan City did not have a West City, East City, or Central City. The main body of Taiyuan City was the West City of Taiyuan City, and the city was split into Taiyuan Prefecture City and Jinyang County. Taiyuan Prefecture City was also known as the Provincial City, and it was the core region of Taiyuan City. The Provincial City contained three other cities: Daming City, New City, and Cang City. Jinyang County was the administrative center of Jinyang County, and it was located two li south of the Prefecture City.
"Oh! Are you Boss Zhu Ya? "
Taiyuan Prefectural City, Great Brightness City, market square, Chu Family Ironware Shop. A slightly plump middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes walked in. The shop's attendant went up to greet him. At first glance, the middle-aged man looked familiar. After carefully sizing him up for a while, he finally recognized the middle-aged man and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Yes! Is your shopkeeper here today? I'm here for him! "
The middle-aged man nodded and asked the servant.
He was speaking in Chinese. Although he was fluent, it sounded a little stiff.
The manservant hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes, yes! The shopkeeper is in the back hall. Boss Zhu Xie, please take a seat. This little one will go and report to him! "
"Yes!"
The middle-aged man nodded, and the servant turned and left.
After waiting for about half a cup of tea's time, the servant walked out from the back hall and warmly said to the middle-aged man, "Boss Zhu Ya, my shopkeeper invites you to the back hall for tea! This way please! "
After saying that, the servant made an inviting gesture.
The middle-aged man nodded and stood up. "That's good! Lead the way! "
"Boss Zhu Ya, please wait a moment!"
The servant suddenly said. Then, he quickly walked to the front of the shop. First, he looked around. Then, he actually hung a 'Closed' sign on the door and closed the shop!
One must know that it was broad daylight now. It was not even noon yet. Most of the shops in the city had just opened for business!
"Boss Zhu Ya, please!"
After doing all that, the servant came in front of the middle-aged man and said.
The middle-aged man looked at the servant approvingly and said, "Good!"
The two of them, one in front and one behind, walked towards the back hall.
Outside the ironware shop.
"General, not long after Zhu Hongsheng went in, the ironware shop closed. It's only half past seven in the morning. Most of the shops in the city have just opened. There must be something fishy going on!"
A man in martial arts clothes cupped his fist and said to Dugu Feiying.
It turned out that the middle-aged man who entered the ironware shop was the merchant Zhu Hongsheng that Dugu Feiying and the rest were chasing. Since the moment Zhu Hongsheng stepped into the ironware shop, he had entered Dugu Feiying and the rest's surveillance.
"Yes! Did you hear what they said in the shop? "
Dugu Feiying's heart skipped a beat as he asked.
The soldier cupped his fist and replied, "General, when we were outside the shop, we vaguely heard the servant call Zhu Hongsheng 'Boss Zhu Ya'. Not long after, the servant came in and closed the door. He must have entered the back hall. Furthermore, this Zhu Hongsheng's real name should be Zhu Ya!"
Hearing this, Dugu Feiying looked around and could not help but frown. He originally wanted to use his qinggong to fly to the roof and eavesdrop on the conversation between Zhu Hongsheng and the person inside. However, it was broad daylight and the city had just opened. There were many people and merchants coming and going. In broad daylight, with so many people watching, how could he fly to someone else's roof to eavesdrop?
"No! His name is not Zhu Ya. His surname is Zhu Ya! "
Dugu Feiying sighed helplessly and said, "The Western Turkic Khaganate has a separate tribe called the Shatuo Tribe. The Shatuo Tribe is divided into the Zhu Ya Tribe and the Qi Branch. The leader of the Zhu Ya Tribe is called Zhu Ya Que Qilin. Everyone in the tribe has the surname Zhu Ya. It seems like this Zhu Hongsheng is from the Shatuo Tribe of the Western Turkic Khaganate! However, why would someone from the Shatuo Tribe suddenly appear in Taiyuan? And why would he disguise himself and act so sneakily? "
At this time, the Shatuo Tribe was not very famous. Many people in the Central Plains had not heard of them. Only Dugu Feiying, who came from a family of generals, knew about them! The Shatuo Tribe was a mixture of many ethnic groups. Its ethnic origins included the Turkic, Huihe, and Sute (the Nine Families of Zhaowu) ethnic groups. Within each ethnic group, there were also several tribes. It could be considered a minority tribe with a complicated mix of members.
In the early Tang Dynasty, the Shatuo Tribe was an unremarkable tribe. There were very few records of them in the literature of the Tang Dynasty. The Shatuo Tribe only rose to prominence at the end of the Tang Dynasty. After the Daibei Dynasty, the Shatuo Tribe became an all-powerful tribe in China's history. They suppressed the Huangchao Uprising, fought for hegemony in the Central Plains, controlled the House of Tang, and eventually established the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han Dynasties in the Central Plains.
"In that case, this Zhu Hongsheng must be from the Turkic Khaganate. General, do you want me to arrest him? "
The soldier cupped his fist and suggested to Dugu Feiying.
"If we arrest him based on this, I'm afraid it will bring us trouble! Before we arrest him, we must investigate his background and his purpose in coming to Taiyuan City! "
Dugu Feiying shook his head and said in a deep voice,
"Go and investigate this ironware shop. Find out what this shop mainly sells. Who is the shopkeeper? Once you find out, report to me immediately! Also, keep a close eye on this Zhu Hongsheng. I want to know where he goes and who he meets! "
"Yes! General! "
The soldier cupped his fist and accepted the order.
Dugu Feiying saw that there was nothing to be gained here, so he turned around and returned to the inn.
After returning to the inn, Zhang Dafu walked in and cupped his fist to Dugu Feiying. "General, this subordinate had the inn's waiter lure Zhu Hongsheng's accomplice out of the room. Then, I took the opportunity to sneak into the Heavenly Room and rummage through Zhu Hongsheng's luggage. Other than some clothes and money, I did not find anything unusual!"
Dugu Feiying was dumbfounded. He asked in disbelief, "You didn't see any account books?"
Zhang Dafu scratched his head and mumbled, "Uh, well, we did see a few booklets, but this subordinate and the others aren't literate and couldn't understand what was written in them! This subordinate wanted to bring a booklet out, but I was worried that Zhu Hongsheng would find something strange when he returned, so I didn't … "
"… You!"
Dugu Feiying put his hand to his forehead and almost cursed out loud. This was truly a case of not being afraid of a god-like opponent, but being afraid of a pig-like teammate!
Zhang Dafu couldn't help but shrink his neck. He probed, "Should this subordinate make another trip?"
"What for? Zhu Hongsheng will be back soon. If you steal the account books now, you'll definitely be caught! "
Dugu Feiying waved his hand in annoyance.
Dugu Xin had given him the task of eliminating the hidden dangers in Sourcepeak City, and he had achieved nothing until now. It was inevitable that he would feel irritated.
Zhang Dafu thought for a moment, then cupped his fists and suggested, "General, why don't I capture Zhu Hongsheng and interrogate him? Compared to the safety of Prince Wei and the others, even if we capture the wrong person, it won't matter, right?"
"No!"
Dugu Feiying frowned and thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Compared to the safety of King Wei and the others, a mere Zhu Hongsheng is naturally insignificant. However, if he really is an ordinary merchant, then our actions might alert the enemy and alert the Turkic spies with ill intentions. When that happens, it will be even harder to capture them!"
Zhang Dafu clasped his fist and said, "General, you're right. What should we do now? His Highness and the others should be in the city by dusk today! "
Dugu Feiying stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He paced around the room, thinking of a countermeasure. Using his brain was not his forte. He was only good at fighting and doing funny things. The current situation was so complicated. Trying to find a way to break out of this situation was simply too much of a "brain-burner" for him!
"We can't relax our surveillance on Zhu Hongsheng. Today, he went to the Chu Ironware Shop in Great Ming City. You have to find out why he went there as soon as possible. In addition, I had you send people to investigate which new faces have arrived in Sourcepeak City in recent days. Have you made any progress? "
After some thought, Dugu Feiying turned to Zhang Dafu and asked.
Zhang Dafu shook his head and said, "My brothers have already been sent out. I'm afraid we won't have any news until noon!"
Dugu Feiying said, "Then wait! According to these two directions, if they couldn't find any useful clues before three quarters to five in the afternoon, then they would find an opportunity to secretly capture Zhu Hongsheng and his group! At present, this Zhu Hongsheng's behavior is indeed suspicious! "
This was a helpless move. According to Dugu Feiying's original plan, he would capture Zhu Hongsheng after gathering enough evidence. However, time waits for no one. Li Tai and the others would arrive in Sourcepeak City before dark and stay at Tongfu Inn. Dugu Feiying couldn't let Zhu Hongsheng, this uncertain factor, stay by Li Tai's side.
In any case, from the clues they had so far, Zhu Hongsheng was indeed very suspicious!
"This general obeys!"
Zhang Dafu's expression shook. He quickly cupped his hands and accepted the order.
Seeing that Dugu Feiying had no other orders, Zhang Dafu cupped his hands and turned to leave.
In the room, Dugu Feiying rubbed his eyebrows and muttered to himself, "I hope this decision is right. Otherwise, it will be troublesome …"
…
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