In the end, Luochuan did not see the real Lijun elites mentioned by Jiang Bokou who were going north from Taiming City before arriving at Ganyuan, but he was not in a hurry, because according to Li Mu, the team going north would eventually go to
If you are pale, you will see it sooner or later.
Ganyuan City is located in the center of the Ganyuan Basin. It is the largest city in the Ganyuan area. It is also an important transportation location connecting the hinterland of the Lijun Basin to the south, Cangyan to the west, and the official road of Yongchang County to the east.
But when he saw Ganyuan City for the first time, Luo Chuan was still a little unbelievable, because the scale of this city was much smaller than he imagined. Needless to say, it was different from Huai City in Hanoi County and Jin City in Guang County.
Compared with the city and the capital of a county like Licheng, it is far inferior to the Xiucheng of Guangjun that Luochuan once passed by. Such an important city in Lijun has to compete with the one in Sanfu County in terms of scale.
Compared with some small towns, they actually seem a bit shabby.
"Uncle Jiang, why does Ganyuan City look so...?" Luo Chuan sat next to Uncle Jiang, looking at the dilapidated Ganyuan City Wall in the distance, and for a moment he didn't know how to express it.
The old coachman glanced at the city wall in the distance and then waved his riding whip to make the horse speed up. "The area of Ganyuan Basin is actually much smaller than that of Lijun Basin. At the same time, probably because this is Lijun Basin."
The only place that is not connected to the foreign barbarians on the border can give the people a greater sense of security. Therefore, this place has always been the most densely populated place in Li County. Relatively speaking, the land is small and there are many people, so the people's lives are more tense.
.”
Luochuan nodded. He went all the way north from Licheng. When he arrived in the Ganyuan area, he felt that there were a lot more farmers in the fields. He thought it was just a different regional climate. It was the busy farming season here. Unexpectedly, it was here.
The population density itself is large.
"Originally, ordinary people's lives were relatively tense, but after all, they were able to live with it. With such a large population, it would be no problem to support a big city with the human and financial resources of an entire region, but this is not the case in Ganyuan, because..." The old coachman raised his head.
He glanced at Luo Chuan and asked a seemingly unrelated question, "Do you remember the few forts you passed along the way?"
Luochuan nodded and immediately understood.
After traveling all the way north and entering the Ganyuan Basin, besides the Guandao Inn, there was a better choice for a resting place for the group - a cottage castle.
It is said to be a castle, but in fact it is already like a small town. Each small town has complete commercial streets and urban supporting facilities, restaurants, teahouses, hotels, hospitals, and some even have private schools for children. People can go inside and outside the city gate.
There were many pedestrians, carriages and horses, and the prosperity of the larger town was not much better than that of Ganyuan City in front of me.
But the reason why those small towns are still called "castles" is because they are not the "public cities" of the Lijun prefect's family, but the "private castles" of many powerful families in Lijun.
"If the entire Cangyan Basin looks like this, it makes sense that Ganyuan City is rarely prosperous, but thousands of people within hundreds of miles have become the back gardens of those powerful people.
Damn it, that prefect can actually sleep soundly in Licheng?" Luo Chuan asked a little strangely.
The old coachman laughed and asked, "How many years have we been in Li County?"
"Of course it is as old as a big cauldron for nine hundred years," Luo Chuan replied.
"The scene like this in Ganyuan must have been around for seven or eight hundred years," the old coachman smiled and glanced at Luochuan, "This Lijun is the Lijun of the Luo family. It is true, but it cannot be relied on solely by the Luo family.
A family can control it for hundreds of years. Let alone the distance, isn't the Lord Jun Cheng who had a conversation with you the owner of a large castle in Ganyuan?" He patted Luochuan's face.
Shoulder said, "The so-called dignitaries of Li County, if they are just one or two generations who have won the favor of the eunuch and become officials, how can they be called dignitaries? Only those who have permanent property in Ganyuan and pass it on to their descendants for a long time can be called dignitaries."
"If you have a permanent property, you have perseverance, you have the capital to educate the family's children, you have the ability to support your own family members, and the population is prosperous and talented people come out in large numbers. Now, generation after generation, the interests involved have become deeper. Naturally, the prefect also wants more
Give me some face, not to mention that managing a county always requires talents, but..." The old coachman suddenly lowered his voice and said, "This Li County has been developing for hundreds of years, and generations of outstanding people have continued to emerge. This Ganyuan
...Have you ever gotten a little bigger?”
Luo Chuan was startled, then smiled and said, "This is probably the rule of Li County. It has been able to inherit so many talents for a hundred years. This step up the ladder can be considered to withstand the test."
The old coachman looked at Luo Chuan with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Of course."
Luochuan looked at the city in the distance again, "In any case, this city is still a little dilapidated. Even if Ganyuan carries so many private castles, as the capital of Ganyuan region, it shouldn't be like this.
At least it has lost the face of the prefect’s family, especially since there are tens of thousands of Gan Yuan troops stationed here, even just relying on the consumption of the military town should be able to support a big city."
The old coachman sneered, "The Zhong family's fort is not far from Ganyuan City. It's on the official road to Yongchang County." He pointed to the northeast and whispered, "The Zhong family's gate
After surviving in Gan Yuan's army for a long time, there were four generals alone, especially Old Man Zhong of this generation, who had stayed in this position for more than fifty years. God knows how much money and water flowed into their family's fort.
.”
Luo Chuan shook his head and sighed, "This Ganyuan is not only an important transportation area for military towns, but also a gathering place for powerful families. The performance of this Ganyuan army is indeed a bit worse. Even if the second young master takes the throne, in a short time
I'm afraid they won't be allowed to come back. This old general Zhong may end up in the southern battlefield. I just don't know if the newly transferred foreign army from the western battlefield can suppress the powerful families in these private fortresses.
.”
"Humph," the old coachman snorted disdainfully from his nose, "They dare to rebel. Although there have been few wars in the western battlefield in recent years, I still know that Zhao Wuji will not bring out the soldiers who are cowards.
He raised his finger and pointed at the guards at the south gate of Ganyuan City, "These are probably the ones who were rotated here earlier. Do you think they are on the same schedule as those who went south?"
Luochuan looked in the direction pointed by the old coachman and saw that the defenders at the city gate were fully armored. Compared with the Gan Yuan troops they encountered along the way north, their equipment was much better.
The team in the city is not long, but the city gate defenders are still orderly and solemn, with clear division of labor and high efficiency. This shows that the quality of the sergeants is not low, "really good."
"This is still a little less bloody and murderous. After all, it is worse than the fierce soldiers on the southern battlefield. It is more than enough to guard Ganyuan, but it is almost useless to resist the foreign barbarians." The old coachman shook his head and said, "This time the
The governor's army rotation, combined with the information on the piece of paper, his logic behind it is still very clear," he looked at Luochuan and said slowly, "He is still worried about instability on all sides...
"
"Of course," Luochuan sighed and leaned against the wall of the carriage and murmured, "If it is really your last wish to let me guard the west for you... then... I should let