Simultaneous travel: City, infinite evolution

Chapter 230 Going to Xianyang to Slay the Mountain Bandits

A large group of bandits rushed out with knives.

They don't even use the classic platitude, "This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass through, leave some money to pay the toll."

When I encounter someone, it boils down to one word: kill!

"Oh dear, how could we encounter bandits robbing us in broad daylight?" Lu Gong said anxiously. "All our family property is here!"

"If we get robbed, even if we get to Xianyang, how will we survive?"

Lu Su and Lu Zhi, inside the carriage, trembled with fear.

Peeking out cautiously, he looked at the menacing bandits outside and, hearing their shouts of battle, shrank back in fear.

"It's alright, it's alright, little sister. With Young Master Chen here, nothing will happen, nothing will happen."

While holding Lü Su and patting her back, Lü Zhi was also feeling scared herself.

Chen Hong could not tolerate such people's outrageous behavior.

"Be bold!"

Chen Hong rode his white horse and charged out, thrusting out his Dragon Roar Spear, splitting into thousands of spear energies, instantly killing countless mountain bandits.

The bandits were stunned by the attack, holding their knives and staring blankly at Chen Hong.

After a two-second silence.

"Ghost!"

"Monster!"

"There's a monster here!"

"Gods, spare my life!"

There were all sorts of shouts, most of them turned and ran away, some knelt down and begged for mercy, and a very few were instead provoked to charge at Chen Hong.

All living beings are diverse and differentiated in an instant.

Chen Hong paid no attention and thrust out his spear again, killing countless more with the burst of spear energy.

One shot after another, and the bandits fell one by one.

Only a few fast runners managed to escape the range of the gunfire and flee for their lives.

Chen Hong took out the Zhentian Bow hanging on his horse and drew seven arrows from the quiver.

String the bowstring and draw the bow.

With a whoosh, seven arrows were fired simultaneously, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder, disappearing without a trace.

It accurately struck seven bandits, passing through their chests from behind.

"what!"

The last seven bandits fell to the ground.

All the bandits were wiped out.

Everyone looked up at Chen Hong on the white horse with admiration and respect.

With the Heaven-Shaking Bow hanging from his head and a long spear in hand, dressed in flowing white robes, he stood tall on his horse, looking incredibly dashing.

Empress Lü and Empress Lü Su leaned out of the carriage, looking at the dashing Chen Hong with admiration and respect.

"Young Master Chen is amazing!"

"It's like a god descending to earth."

"I never expected that Young Master Chen would be so skilled in martial arts, in addition to his extensive knowledge and ability to heal the sick."

"Truly a man of both literary and martial talents, unparalleled in the world."

Lü Zhi and Lü Su looked at Chen Hong with drooling eyes, their faces flushed as if they were about to burst with desire.

"I wish I could marry Young Master Chen."

"I can die without regrets in this life."

The two sisters' hearts pounded.

With Chen Hong around, they felt incredibly safe.

If it weren't for Chen Hong, they would probably have been defiled this time.

Mountain bandits don't care if you're a noblewoman or not; on the contrary, the more noble the lady, the more excited they become.

If they can't beat them, after robbing money and killing people, what they like to do most is to pin the once high and mighty noble ladies down and have sex with them.

That would get their blood pumping and give them a sense of the carefree joy of being a bandit leader.

Lu Gong sighed repeatedly, "Thanks to Hong'er, not a penny of our property has been lost."

When I invited Hong'er to the Lü family from the city gate back then, it was truly the best decision I ever made in my life.

Hong'er is a man of both literary and martial talents, possessing the makings of a true dragon. He will surely bring glory to our Lü family!

The caravan was organized, its property was inventoried, and the dead bandits were buried in pits to prevent another outbreak of plague.

After everything was completed, the convoy set off again.

On their way to Xianyang, they encountered three more attacks by bandits and wild animals.

With Chen Hong around, they were all easily eliminated, and the crisis was weathered without any real danger.

This made Lü Zhi and Lü Su increasingly admire and fall for Chen Hong.

After entering Guanzhong, the order became much more stable, and there were fewer bandits.

Because Guanzhong was the stronghold of the Qin state, which had been operating there for hundreds of years, its control was far greater than that of the six states outside the pass, which had only recently been conquered.

The closer one gets to Xianyang, the more stable the order becomes.

However, Chen Hong discovered that the Qin people didn't seem to be doing very well.

His face was numb, he focused solely on farming, and had no leisure activities whatsoever, just like a robot.

That's not a big deal. The most crucial thing is that Chen Hong discovered that since conquering the six states, the Qin people have had no decent battles to fight.

Earning military merits has become more difficult.

The children of the Qin people who joined the army were also transferred to remote border areas, and they sent messages home less often.

Military merit titles haven't been promoted for a long time.

The people of Qin have lost their fighting spirit, and their lives are becoming increasingly depressing.

After talking with many old Qin people on the road, Chen Hong discovered the deadly crisis hidden beneath the Qin Empire's apparent strength.

The agricultural and military system established by Shang Yang is gradually becoming rigid, and the upward mobility channels for ordinary people at the bottom of society are rapidly shrinking.

However, the harsh laws of the Qin Dynasty remained unchanged, and Qin Shi Huang repeatedly conscripted laborers to undertake those epic-scale projects.

The people's patience has its limits.

If this continues, an outbreak and rebellion are only a matter of time.

Only after personally asking those ordinary people did Chen Hong realize how heavy the burden was on the lower classes.

At this time, ordinary people could not be called commoners.

The term "common people" refers to the direct descendants of nobles, dukes, ministers, and scholar-officials, from whom surnames originated.

This is a lingering effect of the Zhou Dynasty's enfeoffment system.

Although most of the Western Zhou nobles had fallen on hard times by the Qin Dynasty, the newly emerging aristocratic families still held power in the court.

If ordinary people at the bottom of society have surnames, it means their ancestors were once wealthy.

But they've all fallen on hard times, and they can no longer be called ordinary people.

They weren't classified as slaves because their ancestors were wealthy and they had noble blood.

In fact, many slaves still existed in the Qin Dynasty, serving their masters and doing the most tiring and hard work.

Slavery continued until the Qing Dynasty, and only disappeared completely in the new era.

Well, not necessarily.

Soon, the group arrived in Xianyang and looked at the bustling city.

To Chen Hong's surprise, Xianyang City had no city walls.

At least there was no outer city wall.

It is an open city.

"Isn't Xianyang the capital of Qin? Why doesn't it have city walls?" Lü Su asked curiously, peering into Xianyang.

Chen Hong, standing outside the carriage, pondered for a moment and replied, "It must be because the speed of building the city walls could not keep up with the pace of urban expansion."

"In this world, the First Emperor swept across the six kingdoms, wielding his long-term strategies to govern the land, and wielding his whip to chastise the world, his power..."

With its influence reaching all corners of the world, the nation is strong and prosperous.

They probably felt that there was no need for city walls for defense.

In the short term, more resources will be invested in the construction of other large-scale projects such as palaces and mausoleums.

It's not too late to build city walls after Xianyang has finished expanding.

At this point, Chen Hong sighed. It didn't matter if they didn't build city walls now; they were just waiting for that spendthrift son Hu Hai to take the throne, and then the whole country would rebel.

Xianyang at that time was easily breached because it had no city walls, leaving no room for resistance.

Of course, even with city walls, the result would be the same.

The destruction of a nation is due to major policy mistakes, involving numerous issues that cannot be prevented by a single city wall.

Lu Su, Lu Zhi, and the others were somewhat shocked. "No need for city walls for defense, what a bold move!"

"The Qin state, known for its tigers and wolves, truly lives up to its reputation."

The city of Xianyang is protected by natural mountains and rivers (such as Jiuzong Mountain to the north and the Wei River to the south), forming an open layout that "reflects the heavens and the earth".

Its area covers the entire Guanzhong Plain, approximately 250 kilometers from east to west and 100 kilometers from north to south, with a total area of ​​25000 square kilometers, making it arguably the "world's earliest super city".

The Lü family also had industrial bases on the outskirts of Xianyang.

Chen Hong and the others went to the Lü family's stronghold to settle down for the time being.

The next day, Chen Hong took Lü Zhi, Lü Su, and Lü Gong on a tour of Xianyang City.

The city has clearly defined functional zones, including the Palace District (Xianyang Palace in the north of the Wei River), the Handicraft District (southwest), the Commercial District (33 Li of the Market), the Mausoleum District (eastern suburbs), and the Agricultural Reclamation District (northern Zheng Guo Canal Irrigation District).

The construction of Xianyang City was based on the Wei River as its axis, with the city distributed from north to south.

The north bank of the Wei River is the northern area of ​​Xianyang, the capital of Qin, which mainly consists of palace complexes such as Xianyang Palace, Xingle Palace, and Zhangtai Palace.

These palaces were built on the Xianyang Plain, which is on high ground, giving them a commanding presence and making them easy to defend.

The south bank of the Wei River was a key area for construction during the later period of Qin Shi Huang's reign, with major buildings including the Xin Palace and the Chao Palace—the Epang Palace.

In addition, a large number of detached palaces and villas were built outside the city, such as Lanchi Palace.

"South of the Wei River, from Yongmen eastward to the Jing and Wei Rivers, palaces, covered walkways and pavilions are connected one after another."

These palace buildings are interconnected by covered walkways and corridors, forming a vast architectural complex.

Chen Hong and his group naturally visited the area south of the Wei River.

Looking at the still-under-construction Epang Palace from afar, Empress Lü Zhi, Empress Lü Su, and the others were all awestruck.

"So... so big!"

Lu Su and Lu Zhi opened their mouths wide, covered their mouths with their hands, and stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Hey, another country bumpkin from out of town."

Several locals passing by Xianyang glanced at Chen Hong and his group with disdain.

That look in his eyes was a mixture of disdain and pride.

It's no wonder, the Epang Palace was indeed a miracle.

The total area of ​​the palace complex in Xianyang, north of the Wei River, where Qin Shi Huang lived, was only about 3.72 square kilometers.

The Epang Palace in Weinan, with only one front hall, covers an astonishing 55 square meters.

It was so terrifying.

"so beautiful!"

Empress Lü Zhi and Empress Lü Su clenched their fists, staring in awe at the part of the Epang Palace that had already been completed.

Even the well-informed Master Lü was deeply shocked.

There was no way around it; the Epang Palace was simply too beautiful and too extravagant.

Every five steps there is a building, every ten steps a pavilion; winding corridors, soaring eaves; each embracing its own terrain, interlocking and vying for prominence.

Within a single day, within a single palace, the climate can vary.

This demonstrates the immense size, beauty, and extravagance of the Epang Palace.

The Epang Palace was the new imperial palace that Qin Shi Huang planned to build. The imperial palace and the court palace would be moved there in the future.

Unfortunately, the Qin Dynasty collapsed before the Epang Palace was even fully completed.

After witnessing the magnificence of the Epang Palace, Chen Hong and his group continued their tour.

Arriving at the commercial district of Shijing 33 Li, which spans north and south of the Wei River, you can find almost anything there.

One particularly special military market sells military supplies (such as warhorses, weapons, leather goods, etc.) for soldiers to equip themselves.

Chen Hong bought some Qin Dynasty-style weapons as collectibles and several warhorses as mounts.

They also went to the handicraft workshops in the southwest of the city and found a lot of high-quality iron ore.

They have all sorts of minerals, including black iron, meteorite iron, and rare metal ores.

Several soldiers watched with envy as Chen Hong lavishly bought things.

They are different; they carefully select and budget every single item they buy, otherwise it's a waste of money.

On the battlefield, if your weapons and horses aren't up to par, you're doomed.

Chen Hong and his companions continued their stroll through the streets on horseback.

Upon arriving at the "Salt and Iron Market," which was state-run by the government, the area was directly managed by the government.

However, Chen Hong, who was used to eating the fine salt from later generations, shook his head at these so-called good salts.

They are mostly mixed colors and have a bitter taste.

Chen Hong would rather refine his own salt than eat the salt from here.

(End of this chapter)