When Li An had set off, he had already told the people accompanying him that they were not allowed to disturb the normal lives of the people along the way, nor were they allowed to take advantage of the people. They had to pay for their food and shopping, and they were not allowed to ask for the people's belongings. Otherwise, they would be punished.
The salary of the Dragon Martial Army was not low, and they also had a considerable allowance when they went out. Their necessities along the way were also provided by the imperial court, so they did not need to spend their own money. Therefore, it seemed that there was no need to bully the ordinary people and ask for their money.
Military discipline was very important. It represented the appearance of a troop. The Dragon Martial Army was the representative of the military forces in the capital. It was very necessary to establish a good image.
"Assistant Minister Li is here. Is he the popular Assistant Minister Li by His Majesty's side?"
The supervisor of the wharf asked.
"Yes!"
The platoon leader replied.
Hearing this, the supervisor was surprised for a while. Then, he left with a smile.
Such a high-ranking official suddenly appeared in Yizhou City. He naturally had to report this news to his master as soon as possible.
When his master heard the news, he would naturally reprimand his subordinates for being immature. How could they ignore the troops from the capital? They should quickly send the good meat over. If they did not want it, they should not send it over. They should take the initiative to send the good meat over. At the same time, they should tell more people the news.
This kind of news spread very quickly. Soon, many people in Yizhou City knew that Ang Lee had arrived in Yizhou City, including the officials of the Provincial Governor's Mansion who were having fun in the brothel.
This official was the aide of the Provincial Governor. When he heard this news, he naturally lost the mood to have fun and ran back to the Provincial Governor's Mansion.
When he entered the Provincial Governor's Mansion, he found that Ang Lee was not there at all. This surprised him.
"Provincial Governor, Assistant Minister Li's troops have already set up camp outside the city. Why? You still don't know?"
The aide said.
The Provincial Governor nodded and said, "Is there such a thing? Is the source reliable? I just came back from drinking at the Marshal's Mansion. How could the Marshal not know? How could this be? It has been a few hours. Are they going to enter the city tomorrow? "
"Why don't I go and check again to see if this is true?"
The aide said.
The Yi Provincial Governor nodded and said, "Alright, you should quickly investigate it. If the situation is true, I will have to go to the Jie Shuai Fu again."
The advisor quickly rode out of the city on horseback and confirmed the situation. Then, he rushed back anxiously.
"Provincial Governor, we've already investigated the matter. Assistant Minister Li arrived before evening, but only the Dragon Martial Army was left outside the city. Assistant Minister Li himself should have entered the city long ago, but why didn't anyone come to report it?"
The aide said.
Hearing this, the Yizhou Provincial Governor nodded and said, "Since the matter has been confirmed, I will go to the Marshal's Mansion now. Quickly prepare the carriage."
Ang Lee had indeed entered the city a long time ago. He went to the busiest street and even brushed past the Provincial Governor's aides. However, Ang Lee wasn't wearing his official robe, so no one could recognize Ang Lee.
"Yizhou City is not bad. It's quite lively. There are still so many people on the street at this time."
Ang Lee said as he walked on the busiest street in Yizhou.
Chen Long, who was beside him, said, "It's a small place after all. It's much worse than the capital. It's just passable."
"You! You just like to make sarcastic remarks. It's not easy for Yizhou to develop to such a degree. It's much better than I imagined. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Since ancient times, the center of Shu had always been self-contained. As the capital of Shu, Yizhou City naturally gathered all the high-quality resources in Shu. The population and capital all gathered in Yizhou City. As a result, Yizhou City had a blood-sucking effect, attracting all the wealth and talents in Shu, resulting in the prosperity of Yizhou City. At the same time, it also made the nearby counties relatively weaker. The population of the nearby Yizhou City was at most one-fifth of Yizhou City's population. The size of the county was even less comparable, and the size of the city was also far inferior.
Of course, the capital was the same. The capital absorbed all the resources of the Tang Dynasty, making the capital bigger and bigger, and the population more and more.
A city with a population of more than 100,000 was considered a giant city in ancient times. Generally, only the capitals of many powerful empires could have such a large population. The capital of Jiannan Province of the Tang Dynasty had such a large population, which also reflected the strength of the whole Tang Dynasty.
In addition to Yizhou City, Luoyang City and Laizhou City had already exceeded 100,000 people. Ezhou City, Guangzhou City, Yangzhou City, and other provincial cities were also about to break through the 100,000 population mark. These cities were very important core cities, which had a radiating effect on the surrounding areas. Naturally, it was easier for them to attract talents and capital. It was impossible for them not to expand.
With the rapid growth of the population, many cities were facing a more tangled problem, which was that the space inside the city was getting less and less. If they continued to increase the population, they could only expand outside the city walls. As a result, whether the city walls needed to be rebuilt or not was obvious.
When the capital encountered this problem, some people had proposed to expand the city walls, but Ang Lee firmly opposed it. He felt that it was completely unnecessary to do so. The capital had a large population and a large number of soldiers, so it would not face the invasion of a strong enemy. Instead of wasting money to build the city walls, it was better to spend the money elsewhere. Not only did he not expand the city walls, but Ang Lee also planned to open a few more city gates on the city walls of the capital to facilitate the entry and exit of merchants and to facilitate the development of a prosperous economy.
Fortunately, the cities in Central Sichuan and other provinces were not facing too much pressure at the moment. When the city was first built, there was already a lot of vacant land in the city. Now, they were just developing the vacant land. As long as the vacant land was developed, it could temporarily meet the needs of the population. For the time being, there was no need to open residential areas outside the city. With the increase of the population of each provincial city, there would inevitably be many residential areas outside the city in the future. This was the general trend, a historical trend that no one could change.
Ang Lee stepped towards a restaurant, ready to go in and eat something delicious. After a round of sightseeing, Ang Lee had not eaten yet. His stomach was indeed a little hungry. It would be good to taste the delicacies of Central Sichuan. This was where Ang Lee's interest lay.
This tavern had three floors. It was one of the taller taverns in Yizhou City. Generally, most of the ancient houses had two floors. A three-floor house was already considered very tall. There were very few houses that had more than three floors, unless it was a pagoda in a temple.
Under normal circumstances, like this kind of tall building, the higher the floor, the higher the grade. Ang Lee naturally wanted to go to the third floor, which was the highest grade. Only by standing high could he see further and enjoy more beautiful scenery.
There were many people in the hall on the first floor. It was very lively. The people on the second floor could easily see the situation on the first floor. The same was true for the third floor. After all, the space between the second and third floor was empty. This was conducive to ventilation and was conducive to improving the air quality.
"Have you heard? The capital's Assistant Minister Li has arrived in Yizhou City. I heard that he entered the city in the evening."
"I also heard about it. But there is no movement from the Marshal's Office and the Provincial Governor's Office! Where did this Assistant Minister Li go? "
"Maybe he came to the city to observe the situation of the people. He doesn't want to meet too many people. This is not strange."
"Such a high-ranking official has come. This may not be a good thing."
"Why is it not a good thing? What does this have to do with us ordinary people? The ones who are nervous are the officials!"
"That is not necessarily true. Assistant Minister Li has come. The local officials will naturally welcome him. Maybe they will hold a welcome party or something. At that time, it will certainly cost a lot of money. Will they let us share the cost?"
"It is possible. But you don't have to be so stingy. We have so many businessmen in Yizhou City. It is enough for each of us to pay a little. It is not a lot."
"It is my own hard-earned money. Even if I have to pay a penny, I will not be willing."
A group of businessmen gathered together to eat and talk about Ang Lee's arrival in the city. This was heard by Ang Lee who was passing by.
However, Ang Lee did not feel anything. These things were expected. In the eyes of these small businessmen, there was only profit. As long as they were asked to pay, they would not be willing. The pursuit of a businessman's life was to earn more money. The pursuit of money was their biggest motivation. If they were asked to take out their money, they would naturally be very reluctant. This was more painful than killing them.
Since ancient times, businessmen were the easiest group to exploit. Because since ancient times, businessmen were the richest. At the same time, they were also the lowest in status. A rich person with a low status may face the fate of being bullied.
When the officials ran out of money, the first thing they would think of would be the businessmen. Then, they would think of the farmers. After all, the businessmen had money in their hands, but the farmers' money was too limited. It was much easier to get money from the businessmen than from the farmers.
If the farmers were forced into a corner, it was possible that a peasant uprising would shake the foundation of the whole empire. If the businessmen were forced into a corner, they could only stomp their feet. In any case, in the ancient Hua Xia, the businessmen did not have any protection of their rights and interests. They were always the target of bullying. It was not until the later generations that they finally became the masters.
The situation of the later generations was completely different from the ancient times. In the ancient times, the farmers had the ability to raise a big uprising to overthrow the imperial court. In the later generations, the farmers only cared about eating and drinking. They did not care about who was the leader at all. On the other hand, the businessmen could use the money in their hands to control the whole empire and even the direction of other empires. Many superpowers were even ruled by the businessmen.
The ancient empires were the world of the family. It was the world of the emperor alone. It was also the world of the aristocrats. It represented the interests of the aristocrats. In the later generations, the countries were the world of the businessmen and capital. It represented the interests of the businessmen and capitalists. For the interests of the businessmen and capitalists, many small countries could be merged. Many large countries would also choose to disintegrate because of the unfair distribution of the interests of the businessmen.
Dismemberment for the interests of the businessmen and the common people was unimaginable in the ancient times. In the ancient times, the lowest were the businessmen and the common people. Only the aristocrats could decide everything. The businessmen and the common people were at the bottom. They just had to be obedient and work hard.
After walking to the third floor, he could still hear the guests talking about him. The voices were so loud that it was impossible not to hear.
Li An chose a private room with many windows, which was also the largest room in the restaurant. This way, it would be comfortable enough to eat without feeling uncomfortable.
"Assistant Minister Li, the whole restaurant is talking about you. The news spread fast!"
Chen Long said after entering the private room.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Yes! The whole restaurant is talking about me. It's not a good feeling. "
Although being noticed should be something to be happy about, Ang Lee did not like this feeling. Everyone talking about him made him feel like he was being watched. It was a little uncomfortable.
In fact, the common people could not be blamed for paying attention to Ang Lee. It was because there was nothing more interesting than this matter.
"Dear guests, what would you like to eat?"
The waiter asked.
Ang Lee still followed the old rules and said, "Don't ask. Just serve me all the good food and drink. Give me as much as you can."
Since they were not short of money, of course, they had to eat the best delicacies. The more delicious the food was, the more comfortable it would be to eat it. A display of generosity could make people feel very good.
"Wait a moment. It will be ready soon."
Hearing this, the waiter left and left a booklet behind.
The booklet was full of the restaurant's recipes. Ang Lee could flip through it. If there was something he liked, he could order a few more.
"Gingko Chicken Stew. Isn't this one of the four best in Qingcheng? It's also sold in Yizhou. "
Ang Lee smiled faintly and said.
It seemed that the Gingko Chicken Stew was no longer one of the four best in Qingcheng. It was the best in the whole Central Sichuan. This was quite good. There was nothing bad about a kind of food being promoted.
The guests next door were still talking about Li An, and Li An was also listening quietly. There were all kinds of things being said, and no matter what these guys said, Li An wouldn't blame them.
The signature dishes of the hotel were quickly served one by one. The combination of meat and vegetables was very reasonable. They were all the best and most expensive dishes. The restaurant was also a smart person. Since the other party was a master who was not short of money, naturally, he would serve the best and most expensive dishes. Otherwise, not only would he not make more money, but he would also incur the dissatisfaction of the guests.
"Dear guest, your dishes are here. Is there anything else you want?"
The waiter quickly brought the signature dishes of the restaurant with two companions. However, there were not many, only a dozen dishes. Under normal circumstances, the rich guests would order dozens of dishes. He just left the booklet for Ang Lee to see if there was anything else he wanted. Although Ang Lee had already said that he could serve the best wine and dishes, the restaurant could only serve the best signature dishes. If they served all hundreds of dishes, it would not be enough. Everyone had different tastes. Besides the signature dishes, which dishes were good, everyone had different opinions.
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