Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 116

Chapter 116 Tongzhou Relay Station
After crossing the five mountains, he entered Hebei, which was the border of the Northern Zhili Province.

Although Shanxi is only a mountain away, but the degree of prosperity between the two places is different. Although this place was still several hundred miles away from the capital and was separated by an important pass, the number of pedestrians traveling to and from Bauhinia Pass had increased abruptly. The villages along the road had also become denser. There was no need to worry about a group of people sleeping in the wilderness at night.

Not only was there no need to worry about Su Tou, but the accommodation was free all the way. It wasn’t that the quality of the people in the Northern Zhili Province was already so high, but it was because there were quite a few official relay stations along the way. There was usually one within twenty to thirty kilometers. As long as the Imperial Court’s transfer order was revealed, Lu Zhen and his party would be properly received free of charge.

It was only at this time that Fang Yuan could see some of the current glorious times. The commoners all had cheerful and excited expressions on their faces, and their footsteps were exceptionally firm and powerful. Everyone was vigorous and upward, just like the Great Ming Dynasty, which had not even reached the hundred-year mark and was constantly developing.

Even if Lu Zhen and the others didn’t pay, they all welcomed each other with smiles and thoughtful service. The food and vegetables were also the freshest to be served to them, giving Lu Zhen a feeling of being at home.

“The capital is different from other places. Even this small relay station is far more expensive than any of our most expensive inns in Shanxi.” After witnessing all of this, Li Xianwu Kui and the other martial artists couldn’t help but sigh in admiration, saying that they were right to come here with County Magistrate Lu.

Lu Zhen laughed silently at this. Perhaps they didn’t know the reason, but he could think of it. It was only because the Imperial Court valued the capital’s transportation that it expended a lot of effort and invested a lot of money to set up these relay stations.

All of this was for the sake of sending news from all over the country to Emperor as soon as possible, and also for the sake of making it easier for those officials who entered and left the capital to walk more comfortably. Actually, the Imperial Court’s original intention was to spread this kind of relay station system throughout the country, but its national strength was limited, so it could only invest the limited resources in a corner of the Northern Zhili Province in the end.

Naturally, the officials concerned had their own thoughts in mind. Because elsewhere, the Son of Heaven and the officials in the court could not see it. However, under the feet of the Son of Heaven, Beizhi Li could not conceal anything, so it was naturally a credit to them to do it well. That was why they did their best. This kind of concealment had always been the most common tactic in the official circles of the Chinese people.

However, there was no need for such a thing to be broken. With such national strength, this was already the limit of what the Imperial Court could do. I only hope that when Great Ming takes a step further in the future, he will be able to re-spread all of this, so that all the people in the world can live the same convenient life.

After crossing the Bauhinia Pass and heading east, more and more towns began to appear.

The towns here were much more prosperous than those in Shanxi. Although there weren’t as many tall buildings and dense crowds as in later generations, there were still endless people flowing about. From time to time, one could even see a few large carts carrying various kinds of goods being driven straight towards the capital.

Although the Great Ming Dynasty since the Hong Wu Dynasty set the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce, but with the continuous progress of the times, merchants are still active. As the capital of the world, the capital naturally became the place where merchants from all over the country flocked to. As long as local specialty goods could be sold at a good price here, they would send them over thousands of miles away, just to earn enough remuneration.

Seeing everything in front of him, Lu Zhen’s face unconsciously revealed a happy expression. This was the scene he hoped to see in a prosperous era. Only the flow of wealth and goods could make the entire world radiate a vigorous and powerful vitality and make everything better.

Sitting in front of him, Chu Yunrong, who had always been paying attention to his expression, saw this and unconsciously pursed her lips and smiled, “Why are you laughing so happily all the way here? But because you know that you are about to enter the capital and that you will have a good future, is that why you are so happy that you can’t restrain yourself?”

“Who do you think I am? How could you lose your composure because of this?” Lu Zhen immediately pretended to be serious when he heard the teasing from the other party. “What I’m happy about is that Da Ming finally looks a little prosperous. He didn’t disappoint me at all.”

Chu Yunrong was stunned for a moment, then remembered Lu Zhen’s identity. As far as she knew, this was the first time this person had come to the capital since she had been staying in the north. Therefore, she would naturally be happy to see such a prosperous scene. This made her heart tremble, and she laughed, “It was the little girl who said the wrong thing. I hope that county magistrate Lu will be generous. Don’t blame her.”

Seeing her acting like this, Lu Zhen’s eyes were full of smiles. He followed her words and waved his hand, “Forget it, you are a first offender. I will spare you this time. Don’t say such nonsense in the future. Otherwise, this official will definitely not spare you.”

Seeing him put on an official appearance and talk about teaching, Chu Yunrong felt a burst of amusement and couldn’t help but giggle. This smile of hers was like an orchid flaw, indescribably charming and moving, causing Lu Zhen to be dumbfounded. In the blink of an eye, the appearance of the official just now had changed.

It was only when she discovered that the man in front of her was staring at her without blinking that Chu Yunrong suddenly thought of something. A shy expression appeared on her face as she looked at another moving appearance.

An inexplicable feeling spread out between the two of them. Lu Zhen impolitely swept across the woman’s face, while Chu Yunrong’s gaze constantly dodged, not daring to interact with his gaze. Her heart was beating extremely fast as well. A strange feeling surged into her heart. It was both shy and filled with a trace of expectation. She only wanted to stay for a bit longer at this moment.

Unfortunately, someone quickly came to ruin the atmosphere. The carriage suddenly stopped. Lin Lie’s voice sounded from outside, “Sir, we’ve arrived at the relay station in Beitong Prefecture. It’s already late today, and there’s another curfew in the capital. It seems that we can’t enter the city anymore. Let’s rest here for the night.”

Lu Zhen was bold enough to use his hand to catch the woman’s hand in front of him, but he was shocked by this shout, so the movement of his hand naturally stopped. Meanwhile, Chu Yunrong had already retracted her little hand, which was slightly forward, as if it was just a misunderstanding.

Although the two of them appeared to be husband and wife, they had nothing to do with each other. Especially for Chu Yunrong. Not long after her husband’s new death, she actually had a different feeling towards another man. This made her a little timid, and she was even more afraid of being seen by others. Therefore, she often took three steps back.

Seeing her worries, Lu Zhen could only sigh. The fire hadn’t arrived yet. In the end, he wasn’t an expert in flower bushes. He could do such an ambiguous thing, but he couldn’t do anything further. He could only put it aside.

However, Lu Zhen was still somewhat dissatisfied with Lin Lie, who had ruined his good fortune. So when he got out of the car, he snorted at the other party with a heavy face.

Seeing this, Lin Lie was somewhat confused. He didn’t know where he had offended Lord Lu. Why was he looking at him so unhappily?

This Tongzhou is a transit station on the main traffic road into Beijing, so I took the word Tongzhou. Moreover, in order to facilitate the people from the northern and southern provinces, or the Chief Secretary, the Imperial Court had specially set up two southern and northern provinces. Lu Zhen and the others came from Shanxi, and they were now in Beitong Prefecture.

When people have made a couplet, south Tongzhou north Tongzhou, north and south Tongzhou north and south; East pawnshop, west pawnshop, things pawnshop. It was obvious how close the relationship between Tongzhou and the people of Beijing was. Anyone who wanted to enter the capital would have to pass through these two places.

As a result, the markets of the two places became completely prosperous. Although they were not comparable to the capital, they were also superior to other prefectures and counties. Especially the relay station that was set up here, it was even more luxurious and imposing. To make an analogy, it was the five-star hotel in Daming.

At the relay station set up at Emperor’s feet, all the officials and dignitaries of the capital and his province were sending them off. The shopkeeper here naturally had a high vision. Therefore, when they saw Lu Zhen and the others travel here and only took out the lowest county magistrate’s certificate, the clerk didn’t even look at them. He just casually took it and sent it to the counter.

In response, the soldiers were angry. After all, they had never suffered such anger along the way. However, under Lu Zhen’s gazes, they still restrained themselves. After the incident in Guojiazhuang, they truly felt awe towards Lu Zhen from the bottom of their hearts.

Lu Zhen was mentally prepared. He knew that a small county magistrate like him was nothing in the capital, so he naturally wouldn’t be surprised or angry by the cold attitude of the other party. As long as he could casually gather together for a night, he would enter the capital tomorrow. There was no point in having any disputes with others.

Just when he thought that this was the case, the shopkeeper who hadn’t taken a proper look at them was stunned when he saw the certificate. Immediately after, a fawning smile appeared on his face. Subversely, he personally rushed over and repeatedly cupped his hands towards Lu Zhen. “So it was County Magistrate Lu who came to our relay station. Quickly, quickly prepare a heavenly courtyard for County Magistrate Lu to settle in. Also, prepare some fine meals and fodder …”

The few clerks were stunned. They didn’t know why their shopkeeper, who was so indifferent to the Governor-General of the capital, had suddenly changed his face. However, they didn’t dare to ask any further. They hurriedly smiled and agreed, hurrying to do as they pleased.

Lu Zhen was also surprised. Why was the other party so disdainful and respectful? How could a rank seven county magistrate like him be accustomed to seeing such a big scene and curry favor with the other party?

However, seeing the shopkeeper’s unintentional explanation, he did not ask further. He cupped his hands and thanked the shopkeeper. Only then did another clerk bring him to the back to settle down.

Only after seeing them off did the shopkeeper call a waiter and whisper something in his ear. After the other party nodded, he hurriedly left the house …