The largest capital city in Xingyang Prefecture has four squares, namely: Dongshi Square, Xishifang, Qingping Square and Qiongtoufang.
The first governor of Xingyang Duwei Mansion was from Liangdu. He spent all his time in Liangdu from birth to becoming an official. Therefore, as soon as the governor took office, he immediately took care of Liangdu.
The most representative Four Squares were built in Shangqiu City. Many people who came and went secretly called Shangqiu City Xiaoliang Capital, and called these Four Squares.
The square is Xiaosi Square.
The streets in Shangqiu City are arranged in an orderly manner with six vertical columns and nine vertical columns. The square city plan also imprints hierarchy and order on the street layout.
The center of Shangqiu City is a bell tower. Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddhist monks worshiped the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty for suppressing the dragon vein. Later, after the war and the new emperor ascended the throne, the big bell in the bell tower that originated from a foreign country disappeared.
What is hanging inside now is a large beam made of sea copper mother ordered by the previous Emperor Liang.
With this road as the core, the entire Shangqiu City is divided. Walking towards the top of the city, there is Dongshifang on the left.
There is a market in Dongshifang, with a dazzling array of goods. All the governors of Xingyang Prefecture have their skills. After almost a thousand years of breeding, you can buy Dihuang's animal skins in Dongshifang in Shangqiu City now.
, furniture from Yinghuang, ores from Ronghuang.
Correspondingly, the housing prices near Dongshifang are also quite high, and most of the wealthy and powerful people in Shangqiu City live nearby.
After leaving Dongshifang, go down to Xishifang.
The main items in Xishifang are groceries, vegetables and fruits, and most of the people who have been rooted in Shangqiu for hundreds of years and petty officials who have been here for generations live here.
Go back to the bell tower, walk north from the new direction, and you will reach Qingpingfang on the right.
Qingpingfang is the biggest place to have fun in Wubei County. There are famous Qingling prostitutes who attract talented people here.
There are delicacies that diners from the north and south are full of praise for.
There is the grandeur of spending money like water.
There is also the sadness of being a showgirl.
Finally, on the right side of Xishifang, which is quiet and full of life, a few streets away is Qingpingfang, which is full of life and wealth, and at the bottom right corner of the city is Qiongtoufang.
It was a shelter for refugees, farmers, prostitutes, flute players, vagabonds... all those with poor and humble professions.
It's the only place in the city that has a curfew every day.
...
The goods on the carriage were carefully inspected, and then the soldiers outside Shangqiu City waved their hands to let the group of four people, who had been traveling for two days, enter the city.
"Don't talk about it! The defense of Shangqiu City is still a bit rough, and everyone is full of fierceness." The scholar carried the oilcloth book box on his back, wore a gray robe, and walked step by step beside Mr. Wei.
Mouths filled with wonder.
Raising his head and looking around as if sighing, Mr. Wei turned his head with a smile and said, "The emperor of our Daliang dynasty is actually wise and virtuous, and he handles all disasters well. This king is like a virtuous man.
The minister is transparent, so naturally the guards of this large and small city are doing their duty faithfully."
The scholar nodded beside him and looked up at the people in Shangqiu City.
He kept praising the local customs and customs, and several people slowly walked towards the inn located in Qingpingfang.
Those who do not have official positions in the city and those who do not have urgent official duties are not allowed to ride horses or ride chariots. This is the rule set by the first Shangqiu City Keeper.
A hundred years have passed since today, and although some aspects have been loosened, the overall restrictions on ordinary people have not changed.
After walking for about half an hour, several people walked along the central axis to the bell tower and stopped.
Four tall trees reaching the sky are sealed with a spire, and a large bell that can cover two or three people hangs in the middle. A long rope is dragged under the bell to the ground. There is a special person who will pull the rope.
, in order to pull the bell core in the big bell to hit the bell wall.
Dang! Dang!
Every hour, the high-hanging beams in the bell tower would ring once. At exactly the hour, as soon as a few people arrived at the bell tower, the sound of bells could be heard from above.
Listening to the sound of the bell, a few people moved to a small archway under the bell tower. It was a stone tablet, which was engraved with the history of the bell tower and the big bell inside. By the way, it also promoted the literary and martial arts of the old Liang Emperor.
There is a square near the bell tower, with several stone benches arranged around it. The four people, like a few travelers, spent an afternoon leisurely looking at the bell tower, looking at the history, sitting on the stone benches.
...
"On the autumnal equinox, let's fly up to the beam and look at the patterns on the clock wall!"
Seeing Mr. Wei leaning on the carriage while drinking water and chatting happily with Wang Huo Chong, who was smoking a pipe, the scholar scratched his ears, came to Qiu Equinox with a thief smile, and whispered
.
"Huh?" Han Qiubin, who was holding his hands and watching the bell ringer ring the bell continuously, couldn't help but frowned and asked questions after hearing the scholar's words.
After turning Han Qiufen beside him with his arm, the scholar raised his hand to cover his mouth, "It doesn't matter. One of us can pull a piece of cloth. Let's jump on it, look at the pattern, and then come down."
Looking at Han Qiu Equinox's slightly twitching ears but the expressionless look on his face, the scholar knew that this man's heart was moved, so he quickly struck while the iron was hot, "That pattern was engraved by our master craftsman himself, you can't say there is something magical about it."
?Even the materials are made of sea copper!”
Han Qiufen turned his head and looked at the scholar seriously.
He raised his thick eyebrows, and the joy in the scholar's eyes was so strong that he almost leaked out. He nodded softly, tilted his mouth, and made an effort towards the bell tower.
...
A man wearing cattail shoes was sitting on a stone chair beside the clock tower square.
There is a pile of yellow vegetables beside his feet, and there is a small sickle beside the basket of vegetables. His feet are densely covered with calluses, and there is mud between his fingers. He is wearing a straw hat.
, staring blankly at the bell tower in front of him, looking at the big clock that looked simple and solemn after being bathed in sunlight, he began to be in a daze without moving.
His name is He Yi, a vegetable farmer. No one cares what his name is. Most people call him Lao He.
This year there was a plague first and then floods. The harvests of crops, vegetables and fruits in the fields were not good. Even if they were harvested, they were not as good as in previous years.
Lao He brought
I went to Xishifang full of baskets of vegetables. In the afternoon, there was still half of the basket.
He stared blankly at the big clock in front of him that was constantly shaking and vibrating. He felt that he was slowly swinging along with the ever-expanding bell.
You don’t have to face the mouths eating at home, you don’t have to face the withered vegetables on the ground, you don’t have to worry about the basket under you...
It's so floating... floating...
"Hey! Hey! I bet with you! I bet with you!" A strange man in colorful clothes and a mask appeared at Lao He's seat at some point, speaking excitedly and quickly.
Everyone has a strange sense of madness.
"What...what bet?"
Lao He was suddenly brought back to his senses, and he was still in a daze, so he asked in confusion.
"Bet! Bet! Will that big bell fall down?"
The masked man's eyes were bloodshot, he muttered several words quickly and awkwardly, and his whole body shrouded in robes was constantly trembling.
"Then I bet it won't fall." Lao He was bored. He felt that he had met a madman. Looking at the clock that had been hanging for thousands of years, he put his hands back and said in a relaxed tone.
"No! You can't bet! You can't bet! It won't fall! You! You have to bet that it will fall!" Turning his head and staring at Lao He with his bloodshot eyes, the masked man spoke in a hysterical tone.
shouted.
"Why!" Lao He didn't know why, but he shuddered and shrank his neck when he saw this stranger.
"If! If! You win! I'll give you this!" The masked man flipped his palm and took out a small silver ingot weighing about twenty taels. His bloodshot eyes narrowed slightly, as if they were under the mask.
The mouth also smiled.
"Then what if I lost?" Looking at the money in the masked man's hand, Lao He couldn't help but feel a little hot in his heart. These twenty taels were enough for his family to eat and drink for three years.
"I! Me! I'm going to take away your food!"
The red bloodshot eyes had filled up all the whites of the eyes, and the masked man's voice became more and more excited. His whole body was hunched, his head stretched forward, and his legs began to tremble along with his body.
"Okay!" Lao He agreed readily without hesitation. The vegetables would rot anyway if they couldn't be sold, so why not play with this lunatic?
The bells don't ring very frequently, but they are coming to an end.
The gambling game has begun, and it’s time to end...
"Damn it, Autumn Equinox! Look at the carvings of these birds and beasts!" After seeing the clock face at a close distance, the scholar's eyes instantly lit up and he wanted to take off one piece.
"Tsk, tsk!" The autumnal equinox changed his steps and followed the scholar, praising the beam editor who was constantly shaking in front of him.
"look......"
At the beginning of this unknown gambling game,
No one knew that there were two people on the beam of the bell tower, pointing at the big clock and screaming again and again.