The city of Peng Province (modern Xichang) was built on the northern shore of the Qiong Sea, on the southern side of the northern mountains. The city was not large and had a square shape, with each city wall around six thousand feet in length. The rammed earth trapezoidal city walls were more than fifteen feet tall. Wild grasses and wild flowers grew out of the walls, swaying in the wind as they told the story of the city's antiquity.
Coincidentally, similar to Luoyang, Peng Province was also divided into two by a river. However, the Luo River flowed through the city, dividing it into the north and south. The Lulin River (modern East River), which originated from Zhaojue, meandered into the city and also divided it in two. However, the river flowed from the north, dividing the city into the east and west.
The Qiong Sea was vast, with lush forests in the distance. The reeds on the banks of the Lulin River were like clouds and mist. The scenery was picturesque, making Peng Province look like a famous pearl embedded in this place. The western part of the city was the most prosperous. The Military Governor's Office, the Provincial Governor's Office, and the county government were all gathered here. There were also countless merchant houses, Buddhist temples, and Daoist temples. There were also mansions built by merchants and tribal leaders.
The eastern side of the river was a completely different scene. The flat fields, the graceful willows, the winding paths, and the simple and elegant alleys were all filled with a rustic charm.
However, the eastern side of the river was not entirely filled with farmers. For example, the Tonghai Alley was an extremely prosperous pier, and one had to pass through this place to get to the Qiong Sea. The Fish Market Street was the most prosperous wholesale market for aquatic products, where all kinds of aquatic products were available. The Spring Welcome Alley was a red-light district. The brothels here housed women from various places and races. They were beautiful and elegant, and it was the favorite place for scholars, officials, and merchants to spend their money.
There were three wooden bridges connecting the eastern and western sides of the river. The middle bridge was the widest, and most of the residents used it to travel between the eastern and western parts of the city. As a result, there were many vendors on both sides of the bridge. All kinds of stalls and sheds squeezed the wide and flat surface of the road into a narrow alley.
There were all kinds of stalls, some selling all kinds of snacks, some selling handicrafts of different tribes, and some selling jewelry, silk and satin from the Central Plains. If you were in a leisurely mood, you might as well wander around the stalls selling small handicrafts. In less than three stalls, you would find a beautiful girl who was as beautiful as a flower and as pure as the reeds and rivers.
Birds are bred deep in the mountains, and beauties are born in the woodshed. In this land of mixed races, there were handsome men and charming women. There were plenty of beauties. Don't be fooled by the fact that she was wearing tattered clothes with patches on them, and her shiny black hair didn't have a single hairpin, but when she looked at you with her big, innocent eyes, you would feel that even the fairies in the heavens were nothing special.
Didn't this place look like heaven on earth? This was heaven, but hell was also here. Hidden under the tranquility and serenity of this small city was violence and sin.
The people here were tough, and it was common for people to pull out their swords and fight each other if they didn't agree with each other. There were no city magistrates with whips, and there were no workers with sticks to maintain order in the market. The order of the small city relied on the customs and habits that had been passed down for thousands of years, and the spontaneous force of the people to maintain its balance.
The sky was high, and the emperor was far away, so this place became a paradise for fugitives. Many wanted criminals in the Central Plains fled to this place and formed gangs, like a pack of wolves looking for food in the wilderness. However, the tough people here suppressed their fierceness. Although they did evil, they didn't dare to be brazen, and their main way of making money was smuggling. They tried their best not to fight for food with the local people or go against them.
When the local officials faced the simple and tough people and the fugitives that were everywhere, the smartest way was to adopt the method of governing from the top and not do anything. They let the local people develop according to the rules and regulations that had been formed for thousands of years. There was no education, and it was difficult for the government's orders to go out.
The officials only needed to make friends with the tribal leaders and maintain good relations with them. This was enough to ensure that the local people were safe and peaceful during their term of office. Even if there were any conflicts between the tribes, or even large-scale fights, and hundreds or thousands of people died, the tribal leaders would use their own rules of survival to solve the problem.
No tribal leader was willing to listen to the officials. They were the local tyrants here, and they would solve the big problems themselves. Relying on the government? It was more than incompetence, it was willingly handing over their power!
Most of the officials sent by the imperial court here didn't want to cause trouble. The most common thing they did was to collude with the tribal leaders, scheme, plunder, form cliques, and promote their children. Who was willing to find trouble for themselves? Because of this, the local people ignored their existence even more.
Yang Fan led his horse and walked slowly through the bustling crowd.
He had stayed in the Western Regions for more than half a year, and even went to the Tubo Kingdom and the Turkic Xueyantuo City. These experiences had enriched his experience. Although there were many strange costumes and people here, they were not as strange as what he had seen in the Southern Seas. Therefore, he wasn't too surprised and quickly adapted to the atmosphere here.
The ethnic composition of the people here was extremely complicated. For the sake of communication, most of them spoke the Mandarin of the Tang dynasty. Although it was inevitable that they would have a strong local accent, Yang Fan could still understand them. He followed Huang Jingrong all the way here. When he arrived at Jiannan, he heard that Censor Huang Jing was sent to Sichuan to investigate the outlaws. Therefore, Yang Fan followed Huang Jingrong's footsteps all the way here.
Yang Fan had just arrived at the city. Earlier, he had heard from a few officers and soldiers who had come to the market to enjoy wine and fish that Imperial Envoy Huang Jingrong had already arrived. The local officials and tribal leaders were holding a banquet to welcome him. Yang Fan was relieved and wanted to find a place to stay in the western part of the city.
He didn't bring anyone with him. Three to five ordinary soldiers wouldn't be of any use and would only add to his troubles. He promised Princess Taiping in person because he didn't want her to worry. After making some arrangements for Sun Yuxuan and Maqiao, he took the imperial edict appointing him as the Inspector-General of the Provinces and came alone.
As long as Huang Jingrong hadn't revealed his bloody mouth to devour the lives of the innocent outlaws and use their blood to stain his bright future, there was no need for Yang Fan to expose his identity. After all, he should have just arrived at Chang 'an. Without his Imperial Envoy Guard of Honor and his two Deputies, his sudden appearance here could very well expose the fact that he was defying the imperial edict.
A beautiful young lady walked out from the crowd and looked at the dazzling array of goods on the stall with great interest. When those pretty village girls who were naturally beautiful but didn't know about it saw her, they would also feel a sense of jealousy. Perhaps each of them had their own merits in terms of beauty, but in terms of temperament, they were superior.
If those beautiful village girls were like the clear stream under the bridge, then this young lady was like the bright white cloud in the sky. If those beautiful village girls were the daughters of the fairies in heaven, then this beautiful young lady was the Chang 'e of the Moon Palace.
The young lady was about fifteen or sixteen years old. She had a fair complexion and wore a snow-white beard and skirt. An emerald green belt was tied around her waist and she wore a pair of black satin short-waist leather boots. She looked very cute.
Around her neck hung three or four silver rings of various sizes. The silver rings were adorned with bells of various sizes. Her hair ornaments were also adorned with all kinds of silver ornaments. When she walked, there would always be a pleasant tinkling sound.
Especially her pair of long legs, which left a deep impression on people at first sight. Her legs were slender and long, occupying more than half the length of her body. They were as slender and graceful as the legendary mermaids. When she swung them, there was a natural sense of a very seductive rhythm.
When Yang Fan saw her beautiful and cute appearance, his eyes immediately lit up. Beautiful women would always attract men's gazes. This beautiful young lady naturally attracted more than one gaze. There were also a few men in the crowd who stared at her at the same time.
Yang Fan's gaze was filled with admiration for her beauty, but those few gazes were filled with greed and lust. A few fugitives with unkind eyes were already quietly staring at this young lady. These people indeed didn't dare to cause trouble in public. Although the government here was just for show, there were tough people here who couldn't follow their rules.
However, this didn't mean that these fugitives would never violate the law. If it was a place with few people, they wouldn't mind kidnapping this beautiful young lady. If this kind of exotic beauty was transported to Yangzhou and sold to those salt merchants, the money would be enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
They only followed her for a while before giving up on the idea of kidnapping her. This young lady mischievously looked around. She seemed to be alone, but about ten steps behind her, there were always four unsmiling, serious-looking white-robed men, all of them carrying a gloomy blade.
Seeing their gloomy sabers, the fugitives who were blinded by lust noticed that the young lady's enchanting waist had a short sword with a curved handle. The short sword was as delicate and graceful as the young lady's body. It was clearly a scabbard.
As a result, the evil thoughts of these fugitives were like snow lions meeting fire, immediately disappearing without a trace.
They couldn't afford to provoke this young lady. Whether she was beautiful or rich, it was better than being alive. They had fled from the Central Plains to this place in order to survive. There was no reason for them to run into the gates of hell.
This young lady wearing white clothes was nothing, but not far behind her were obviously her entourage of four strong men wearing white robes. This was not a coincidence. They must be the White Barbarians.
The White Barbarians and the Black Barbarians were the two largest ethnic groups in the southwest region. The Black Barbarians wore black clothes that reached their knees. They lived by herding livestock and didn't know how to farm. The White Barbarians liked to wear white clothes that reached their knees. They farmed and weaved, similar to the Han people.
Since the time of the Shu Han, the White Barbarians had often received official positions in the Central Plains. Their writing and language were similar to that of the Han people. Most of their tribes were Han people who had been transformed into barbarians. Therefore, they were richer and more powerful than the Black Barbarians, but they still maintained the bravery of the barbarians.
Do not offend the locals, especially the large local tribes. This was the first rule of survival for the fugitives of the Central Plains. Moreover, from the ornament-like weapon that the young lady wore, it was obvious that she was not an ordinary White Barbarian. This made her even less of a person that they could provoke.
This was because the short sword she wore was a "scabbard". This was a sword that only the kings of the barbarians could use!
The scabbard was ranked first among the three most famous weapons in the southwest region. The scabbard was shaped like the blade of a halberd. Its hilt was decorated with gold and its blade was incomparably sharp. Although it was small and slender like a toy, it could cut through iron like mud. It could cut through hair and pierce through anything. It was a precious weapon that only the kings of the tribes of the southwest would wear.
On the waists of the four white-clothed people were the Yu Dao. Its value was second only to the scabbard. Just like the scabbard, the forging method of the Yu Dao was also a secret. Only the high-ranking craftsmen of the barbarians knew how to forge it. The blade of the Yu Dao was dipped in a strange poison that could kill upon contact with blood.
These two weapons were not something that an ordinary barbarian could wear. An ordinary barbarian would at most wear a "Ronin Sword". Therefore, just from the weapons that these people were wearing, the experienced fugitives of the Central Plains could guess that this young lady's identity was extremely noble. She was not someone that they could afford to provoke.
The fugitives quietly retreated. From the beginning to the end, the white-clothed girl didn't know that a moment ago, there were a few ignorant fellows who planned to kidnap her and sell her to those fat and big-eared salt merchants in Yangzhou to be their concubines.
She looked around and found everything interesting. She hopped and hopped like a little sparrow looking for food. Not long after, she bought a bunch of random trinkets and happily held them in her bosom.
As she walked, she saw a stall that sold all kinds of accessories made from cow horns. It seemed that she was tempted again. She stopped and held a bunch of useless trinkets that she wouldn't even look at after buying them. She tilted her head and her beautiful big eyes flashed. No one knew what she was thinking. At this time, a joyful voice suddenly called out, "Big Sister Xun Er! Big Sister Xun Er! "
On the road ahead, a little girl caught sight of her, and ran towards her with a cry of joy, leaving the old woman who was following her far behind.
"Ha! Little Xuelian, I was just about to go find you! "
When the girl in white saw the little girl running towards her, she immediately beamed with joy. She quickly walked up to her and handed all the things in her arms to the little girl. The little girl was so flustered that she hurriedly covered her dress. The girl in white, who had an empty hand, intimately pinched the little girl's pink cheeks and said with a smile, "Oh! You've grown taller again. It looks like you'll soon be my sister-in-law! "
When the little girl heard her teasing, her face immediately turned into a cute red apple. The little girl's eyebrows were like a painting, she was happy and angry at the same time. Although she was only twelve or thirteen years old, she was already a beauty. It seemed that if she grew a few years older, she would really grow into a beautiful young lady.
Yang Fan was leading his horse and was about to walk past them, but when he heard them talking and laughing, he curiously looked at them. He immediately stopped and his eyes opened wide in amazement.
If it wasn't for the young lady in white calling him 'Xuelian', even if he walked face to face with this little girl, he wouldn't necessarily be able to recognize her. However, he had already heard the name 'Xuelian' and looked at her appearance. Although a girl would change eighteen times between childhood and womanhood, this little girl Xuelian still hadn't grown up yet, so he could vaguely see some familiar charm.
Yang Fan was extremely surprised, "Why would Yang Langzhong's family appear here?"
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