In the lightless mountains, once night fell, everything would be pitch black, making it seem a little creepy. Even with the starlight, it couldn't change the austere atmosphere here. If one heard the howling of wolves, it would be even more terrifying.
Fortunately, Ang Lee and the others were all in the train, so even if they heard the howling of wolves through the window, they didn't have to worry at all. The strength of these small animals was very limited, so they definitely didn't have the strength to rush over and challenge the steel behemoth. They also didn't have the courage to do so. Using their cries to express their protest was the only thing they could do.
However, when they heard this sound, Ang Lee and Li Hanlu weren't afraid at all. Instead, they felt a sense of familiarity. When they lived in the Yingzhou area, they often heard the howling of wolves. At that time, they might not think that this sound was very beautiful, but after coming to the capital, it was very difficult to hear such dense howling of wolves. Therefore, when they heard this sound again, they felt a sense of nostalgia.
To be able to hear such dense howling of wolves, this was enough to show that the ecological environment of Dapan Mountain was not bad, and there shouldn't be many villages and people. If there were too many people here, the environment would have been severely damaged, and all kinds of wild animals would have been sharply reduced. Large animals like wolves would very likely have gone extinct, at least there wouldn't be so many of them.
In addition to the howling of the wolves, they could occasionally see flames in the distance. Needless to say, these flames were definitely from the nearby villages or the bandits entrenched in the mountains. In short, these flames were man-made. The villagers needed fire for illumination and cooking, and bandits had the same instincts. The flames near the railway were definitely from the villages. The bandits would not have the guts to place their strongholds so close to the railway to avoid being attacked.
Along the way, the flames were sparse. From these sparse flames, it could be seen that the distribution of the villages here was very loose, and there shouldn't be many people nearby. After all, there were mountains blocking the way, and it was indeed not very convenient for the gathering and development of the population.
"It's been a long time since I heard the howling of wolves. It's really quite familiar."
Ang Lee looked out of the window and said softly.
Li Hanlu said, "That's right! There are almost no wolves in the mountains near the capital, but there are quite a lot here. "
"There are too many people in the capital. The total number of people inside and outside the city is probably more than four million! Four million people need to eat and drink. How can the surrounding mountains and forests accommodate the survival of wild animals? There aren't enough wild animals to eat. It's different here. There aren't many villages along the way, and there are more wild animals when there are fewer people.
Ang Lee said.
Since ancient times, the phrase used to describe chaotic times was' thousands of miles of barren land, wild beasts running amok '. It meant that because of war, a large amount of land was barren, and without the threat of humans, the number of wild beasts would increase greatly, resulting in a situation where wild beasts were everywhere. This was the so-called wild beasts running amok.
Because there were too many people near the capital, human activities were too dense and frequent. It was very difficult for wild animals to survive in such an environment. On the other hand, in Dapan Mountain, because the population was sparse, the land and forest resources were not destroyed, resulting in a lot of wild animals. Along the way, the howling of wolves could be heard.
As for why wolves liked to howl at night, it was probably because they were unhappy when they saw the train, so they protested. Or maybe they were hunting, so they used their howls to call for their companions to hunt together. In addition, their howls were very loud, and could be heard from far away. It was probably a warning to the surrounding wolves to not try to invade their territory. Otherwise, they would be mercilessly attacked. The louder the howls, the more it proved the strength of a wolf pack.
They traveled for a long time in Dapan Mountain. The howls of wolves were incessant along the way, mixed with the howls of other animals. However, the howls of animals could not be compared to the howls of wolves. They could only admit defeat.
After leaving the range of Dapan Mountain, it did not take long for them to reach the upper reaches of the Luo River. In Luoyang City, there was also a river called Luo River. Even the name of Luoyang City came from the Luo River. However, the Luo River here and the Luo River in Luoyang City were two completely different rivers. Although the two rivers had the same name, they did not have any intersection and their sources were not in the same place.
Because the Tang Dynasty was too vast, there were many rivers with the same name, especially for smaller tributaries. There were many situations where the names of mountains and rivers were the same. As for villages, there were too many people with the same name. This was especially true for villages with the same surname. They were the villages with the same surname. There were even two or three villages with the same name in the same county. This was really not rare at all, especially for villages with the same surname. The possibility of having the same name was the highest. In the future, there were many Zhang Villages and Li Villages in a county. If there was not a town in front, no one would be able to tell where it was.
The Luo River in front of them was longer than the Luo River near Luoyang City. It was not a small river, and along this river, there were many cities. Across this river was Jincheng County in Yanzhou. Downstream, there were Fulu County and Luojiao County in Fengzhou, Zhou City in Fangzhou, Baishui County, Chengcheng County, Fengyu County, Chaoyi County in Tongzhou, and finally merged into the Wei River.
There were no more counties upstream of the Luo River. After all, the width of the river upstream was too narrow, and the water flow was not large enough. The terrain was also not very good, which was not conducive to the development of large-scale agriculture. Therefore, it was impossible to form a county. At most, it could only form a small village. The location of Jincheng County was not bad, and the population was not small. It could be formed into a county.
Due to the limitations of the conditions, the area of Jincheng County was not large. It was only about three miles wide and seven miles wide. It was considered a very small county. However, this county still had some potential in the future. After all, the railway had already passed through the west side of the county. It was only five or six miles away from the west side of the city wall. The transportation was very convenient, and the transportation would inevitably bring about economic prosperity. It was just that the local people were not enlightened yet, and there were not many businessmen from the capital this time. Therefore, it had not developed yet.
But in the future, this city could definitely develop. As long as the local people took advantage of the convenient transportation of the railway, they could plant more cash crops and breed some poultry that were popular in the capital. They would definitely be able to sell them for a good price. After making money, the local people would not easily leave. The people in the nearby villages would gather in the county, and eventually form a larger county, showing the prosperity of Jincheng County.
Although Chang 'an City and many other big cities in the Tang dynasty had canceled the night curfew, not all cities were like this. In some remote and small cities, the night curfew system was not canceled. The reason was very simple. It was not necessary, and unpredictable dangers could easily occur.
For example, the night curfew in Jincheng County was not canceled. When Ang Lee's train passed by Jincheng County, there was barely any light. If the night curfew was canceled, it would be impossible for there to be so little light. Moreover, the population of Jincheng County was small. Even if the night curfew was canceled, it would not be good for business. It could be said that it was a waste of resources. In addition, the population of Jincheng County was small, so the number of soldiers and government runners in the city was naturally small. They were competent in managing the people, but if a large number of bandits attacked, they would not be able to resist. During the day, when they found that something was wrong, they could urgently close the city gate and quickly mobilize all the soldiers in the city. But at night, it was different. The bandits could take advantage of the cover of the night to sneak into the city, and most of the guards and government runners must be resting. They would not be able to prepare in a short period of time, and the county could be easily looted. Therefore, no matter from which point of view, small cities with small populations should continue to implement the night curfew policy. Only big cities like Chang 'an City could really cancel the night curfew. After all, big cities had a large population, and the number of soldiers and government runners was huge. No bandit force could raid a big city, unless they wanted to die. The huge population of big cities could also provide a steady stream of passengers. Doing business at night could also bring in a good income. It was even not difficult to have a full house every night.
Looking at the dark Jincheng County, Ang Lee sighed and shook his head. He lamented the huge gap between a small county and Chang 'an.
"Darling, why are you sighing?"
Li Hanlu saw Ang Lee sighing and asked gently.
Ang Lee pointed at the Jincheng County, which was getting farther and farther away, and said, "Madam, please look. There is almost no light in the Jincheng County, but at this time, the suburbs of Chang 'an are all brightly lit! This gap isn't just huge! "
"It's just a small county. How can it be compared with Chang 'an?"
Li Hanlu said.
"Yes! They are both cities, but because Chang 'an is the capital, it is very prosperous. Jincheng County is a county, so there are very few people. There are almost no houses outside the city, and the night curfew hasn't been lifted yet. "
Ang Lee sighed.
"Darling, why are you sighing? It's getting late. Should we go to bed early?"
Li Hanlu lay gently in Ang Lee's arms and said softly.
Ang Lee smiled and looked at the bathroom next to them. He said softly, "Let's take a bath first, then rest. How about that?"
"It's up to you."
Li Hanlu answered very well.
The bathroom was not very big, about six square meters. Among them, the big bathtub was two or three square meters. It was more than knee-deep, so it required a lot of water. If there was not enough water, the bathtub could not be used. However, since such a big bathtub was set up here, the hot water was naturally very sufficient. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to design such a big bathtub.
The hot water was at the top of the bathtub. The capacity was enough to fill the bathtub three to five times. It could be said that the amount of water was sufficient. In order to keep the water warm, the water tank was two layers. There was also a high-grade insulation material in the middle to ensure that the hot water would not cool down easily.
However, even the best material had limited insulation properties. It was impossible to keep the hot water at a suitable temperature. However, there was no need to worry about this. There was a boiler in the corner of the carriage, which was connected to the water tank above. As long as the boiler was heated, the water tank above could be turned into hot water. The water temperature could also be monitored at any time. There was no difficulty.
In other words, as long as Ang Lee asked to take a bath, the servant in the second carriage would immediately come over to prepare the hot water. Of course, even if Ang Lee did not ask for it, they would go to the corner to boil water regularly to ensure that the water in the water tank was about warm. In this way, a lot of time could be saved when it needed to be heated.
Soon, the hot water was ready. Ang Lee had not taken a bath for several days. His body was already smelly. It was time to take a good bath.
Bathing in the pool with his wife was Ang Lee's bathing habit over the years. It had never been easily changed because it was more comfortable. It was meaningless to bathe alone, and there was no one to rub his back. If two people were to bathe together, they could rub each other's back and do some embarrassing things. How happy would that be!
The bigger the bath, the more water there was in it, the more comfortable it would be to bathe. This was an unchanging truth. Ang Lee and Li Hanlu walked into the bath hand in hand. They sat opposite each other and soaked quietly. Only when they had soaked enough, could they rub off the mud on their bodies.
"After so many years, my wife is still strong. Amazing."
Ang Lee gave a thumbs up and praised Li Hanlu.
Li Hanlu smiled and looked at Ang Lee. She smiled and said, "Yes! After so many years, my husband has so many beautiful wives and concubines by his side, but you are still strong. Isn't this even more amazing? "
Ang Lee frowned and pretended to be puzzled. "How did my wife know? Your husband is sore and weak at the moment. I am not strong!"
"Is that true?"
Li Hanlu looked down, but the ripples on the water surface were too big and the bathroom light was dim. She couldn't see anything. She didn't know if Ang Lee was telling the truth.
Ang Lee sighed and said helplessly, "How can your husband deceive my wife? I am old, and my waist and knees are weak. I am always a little weak."
After saying that, he closed his eyes, looking quite distressed.
However, Li Hanlu didn't believe Ang Lee. She smiled slightly and took advantage of the moment when Ang Lee closed his eyes to suddenly pounce on Ang Lee. Her right hand reached down and grabbed something big.
"Oh! My wife, be gentle. It hurts. "
Ang Lee was suddenly attacked and quickly begged for mercy.
"My husband lied to me today. How should I punish him? Tell me!"
Li Hanlu put her arms around Ang Lee's neck and asked threateningly.
"Sigh, my life is in your hands. How should I deal with it? It is up to you."
Ang Lee said pitifully.
Li Hanlu smiled complacently. She glared at Li An and ordered in a soft voice, "Husband, this concubine really wants to cry. Is that alright?"
Ang Lee replied, "I promise you that I will let you cry until tomorrow morning."
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