Winter days are short, and the sun sets quickly. Soon twilight sets in, and the surrounding light dims.
After descending the Nancheng hills along the broad road and passing through the settlements in the flat Changganli, there is a jade belt wrapped around the road and a clear water railing in front.
Under Li Hui's eyes, as if to welcome Li Hui's arrival, the lights on both sides of the Qinhuai River began to light up one after another, and soon they became as bright as a prosperous galaxy.
The water of the Qinhuai River reflects the lights, just like a flowing star river. Looking from a distance, the north and south banks of the Qinhuai River are full of people and singing. The food stalls on the roadside are steaming up, and the lights of the shops are busy with cars and horses.
Only then did Li Hui understand what Xie Xuan meant by not entering the city yet. Compared with the situation when he came down from Nanli Gate, this place is truly prosperous. Even though it was already dark, there was still no impact at all. These things
People wandered leisurely along the long riverside streets, walking around on both sides of the Qinhuai River, and the shops were not closed. Perhaps their nightlife had just begun.
Li Hui didn't have a deep understanding of Jiankang City. He knew that Jiankang was prosperous, but he didn't know how prosperous Jiankang City was. Using Wu County and other places as a comparison, he underestimated Jiankang City.
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Jiankang City was originally called Jianye, the former capital of the Eastern Wu Dynasty. When Sun Quan became emperor, he established his capital here.
However, during the Soochow period, Jianye was actually not large in scale, with a total population of only 60,000 to 70,000 households and a radius of only more than ten miles.
Today's Jiankang, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, was built on the original site of Jianye, but its scale, population, and prosperity are no longer the same. It is already the largest city in the world.
During the Wu Hu period of chaos in China, the northern gentry and common people migrated to the south in uniform, and in more than ten years the number reached one million. In the following decades, the north was in chaos, and people came to the south one after another. The exact number is unknown now. But roughly
It is estimated that there are 1.5 million people.
Some of the Nandu gentry people were resettled in Qiaojun and Qiaoxian in various places, and some were blocked in the areas north of the Yangtze River. However, many of them arrived in the capital Jiankang and settled down.
Since then, the population of Jiankang City has begun to expand, and its scale has begun to expand. In the past few decades, Jiankang City, which originally had a population of less than 200,000, now has more than 200,000 households and a population of 80,000.
A hundred thousand super city.
The original city with a radius of less than ten miles could not accommodate so many people. So the Jin Dynasty began to expand the capital. Taking the inner city as the starting point, it expanded to the surrounding areas. It gradually formed a city with Xuanwu Lake and Zhongshan in the north, Qinhuai River in the south, and Qinhuai River in the west.
It is connected to the embankment of the Yangtze River and reaches the main city pattern of the Qingxi River in the east.
But this was not enough. As the population increased, the city had to be encircled on the outside and fences and gates built, forming a pattern of an inner city and an outer city.
In fact, strictly speaking, there are only two real city walls in Jiankang City, one is the inner city wall, and the other is the outer city wall. The so-called main city area is bounded by the Qinhuai River and Qingxi River. The inner main city,
Outside is the area where people gather.
In fact, the so-called second city wall can be understood as a river wall. This may be the first serious open city in history. Of course, this was before the fence gates on the outer city walls became the official city walls and gates.
The uniqueness of Jiankang City does not end there. In addition to the inner city of Taicheng, Jiankang City also built a large number of small castles within the city walls and outside the main city.
On the west side of the Yangtze River, there is Stone City outside the Xili Gate, Xizhou City inside the Xili Gate, Dongfucheng on the east, Danyang County and Yecheng on the south, Baixia City, Xuanwu City, and Nanlangya County on the north.
etc.
Most of these small castles are where heavy troops are stationed, and they are stationed with battalions of the Chinese army to defend the capital. They exist as an important force to maintain public order and defend the city. They are like satellites, distributed around the inner city.
Guard the safety and order of the capital.
Of course, there are also some castles that are home to specialized workshops. For example, Smelting City is the gathering place for smelting workshops. The imperial court's metal smelting, weapon casting and other matters were concentrated here.
Jiankang City, after serving as the capital of the Jin Dynasty for decades, is now a super metropolis with a population of more than 800,000, a garrison of 60,000, and more than a dozen large and small castles. The outer city has a radius of more than 40 miles.
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Handicrafts and commerce are developed here, with waterways extending in all directions and transportation being smooth. It is not only the political center of the Jin Dynasty, but also the economic center. Not only that, after the integration of the north and the south, powerful families from the Central Plains, wealthy gentry families from the south of the Yangtze River, and famous scholars from all over the world gathered here.
It is at the center of ideological and cultural gathering. This is the place that people all over the world yearn for. It is a dream-like city.
For Li Hui and others, they looked at everything in front of them like country people entering the city. They felt very surprised and novel about everything. Even Li Hui, who had seen the prosperous metropolis of later generations, had seen
The scene was more prosperous than this one, but I had to be shocked by the situation in front of me.
You know, this is the Jin Dynasty that was six hundred years away from later generations. It was still in an extremely underdeveloped technological period, so how could it not be astonishing to see such a scale and prosperity.
In a state of excitement, everyone arrived at the ferry on the south bank of the Qinhuai River. A huge pontoon bridge connected the north and south banks of the Qinhuai River. Soldiers and horses were stationed here. This is the Suzaku Flight leading to the so-called main city. That is
Commonly referred to as the Suzaku Bridge.
It's just that this is not a real bridge, but a pontoon bridge.
It may be that due to limited construction level, it is still very difficult to build a bridge across the Qinhuai River with a width of 70 to 80 meters. Therefore, a floating bridge was used instead. Of course, it may also be for safety reasons. After building a fixed bridge,
It will have an impact on the security of the main city. It will easily allow outsiders to enter the water city wall.
There was no obstruction from the soldiers guarding the bridge, and everyone arrived at the North Bank from the pontoon unimpeded. At this point, Li Hui and others witnessed the prosperity of the North Bank night market up close. Although it was just the tip of the iceberg, it was already jaw-dropping.
Follower Xie Xuan walked westward along the Qinhuai River, passing one brightly lit intersection after another, and walked at least four or five miles. Finally, at a quiet alley, Xie Xuan stopped his horse.
"Brother Li, this is Tianshui Lane, and the house I arranged for you is here. It's not far from my Xie family home, and it's less than a mile west along the river. The environment is also very quiet. It's getting late now, so you can also go there by boat
I'm tired, so I'll take a rest for the night. I'll see you again tomorrow morning, how about we talk about the aftermath?" Xie Xuan said with a smile.
Li Hui said hurriedly: "I'm so grateful, Brother Xie. I don't know how to express my gratitude."
Xie Xuan smiled and said: "If you can't say it, don't say it. Come, I will show you the house."
Xie Xuan turned over and dismounted, and Li Hui and others hurriedly dismounted and followed. Xie Xuanyou walked leisurely along the bluestone alley, introducing Li Hui as he walked.
"Although this Tianshui Lane is called an inner lane, you see, it is also very spacious. It must be six or seven feet wide. The houses on both sides are the residences of Beijing officials. It is also suitable for you to live here. No need.
If you’re worried about other issues, there are soldiers and horses patrolling the city along the river, so it’s very safe.”
Li Hui listened to his introduction and looked at the houses on both sides of the alley. They were all mansions of wealthy families, with lanterns hanging at the door, which looked very grand. The snow in the alley was clean, and it was obvious that someone had done it specially.
This is obviously a high-end residential area.
"There is an anecdote here. It is said that the residence of Zhou Gongjin, the governor of Soochow, was nearby. All these residences were originally Zhou Yu's properties." Xie Xuan continued.
Li Hui snorted and nodded slightly. But he felt a little uneasy. Thanks to Xie Xuan's enthusiasm, he helped him find a place to live. But he couldn't afford a house in such a place. He only brought more than 200,000 yuan with him.
At first I thought it was manageable, but once I saw the size and prosperity of the capital, I knew that the money was probably not enough.
But Li Hui couldn't say this, otherwise he would be too petty. He could only act with his camera. If it was too expensive, he would probably have to move elsewhere and find a cheaper place to live.
After passing the gates of two houses, everyone came to the gate of a courtyard. The gate was tall and magnificent. There were lanterns hanging under the porch. The lanterns were lit, so it was obvious that someone was already living inside. But Xie Xuan walked up the steps.
Reach out and knock on the door knocker.
"Old Chang, Old Chang. Are you asleep?" Xie Xuan shouted.
Soon the door was opened, and an old man stood at the door holding a lantern. When he saw Xie Xuan, he hurriedly said: "My lord, why are you here?"
Xie Xuan smiled and said: "Your master has arrived in the capital, and you haven't come to greet him? This young man from the Li family will live here from now on, and he will be your master."