Han official!

Chapter 12 Liushi
There were 160 lili in Chang'an, each with hundreds of people living in it. They were divided into large and small squares by checkerboard-like streets. There were walls around the lili, with a cross street in the middle. Each lili had a gate at the beginning and end of the street, and the gates were closed on time at night.

The 160 neighborhoods in Chang'an City were called Nine Streets and Eight Lanes.

The neighborhoods and cities are separated.

There are nine markets in Chang'an, which are called the Nine Markets and Sixteen Bridges.

The nine markets are East Market, West Market, Zhi Market and Jiaomen Market. Liu Market is one of the nine markets in Chang'an. Not all of the nine markets and sixteen bridges are located in Chang'an City. East Market, West Market, South Market and North Market are located in Chang'an City and are collectively called the Four Markets.

The other five cities were located in the suburbs of the city, and Liushi was located in the western suburbs of Chang'an City.

"Chang'an is indeed a county in the capital, it is truly prosperous and thriving."

Walking through the Willow Market, a market filled with tall buildings, Guo Jie sighed, "Chang'an is indeed a place where all the wealth and power in the world converge. Its prosperity has completely exceeded my expectations."

Chang'an is close to the Wei River, with convenient water and land transportation. Ivory, gold, pearls and jade from the south are transported to Chang'an through Jiangling in the north, and silk, lacquerware and ironware from the Central Plains can also be transported and sold.

At noon (18:), it was dark, the gates were closed, and a curfew was imposed. No one was allowed to go out on the streets outside the walls, but the lights were still on inside the Liushi walls.

There are many merchants and pedestrians on the streets.

From time to time, a few young men from Wuling in bright clothes and handsome horses would gallop past on horseback.

Guo Jiefang slowed down his pace and was not in a hurry to go to the house of his good friend Ji Shaogong. He looked around and was quite curious about everything around him. He visited Liushi, one of the nine markets of the Western Han Dynasty that only existed in history books.

The situation in the city was completely different from his impression of being filled with all kinds of hawking sounds. The Liushi City, which had already closed its gates, was very lively, with mostly men and women walking together and laughing.

And the chaos caused by the young men from Wuling riding their horses in the street.

There are no merchants setting up stalls in Liushi. All merchants who do business have a shop, which is lined up on both sides of the street, and customers come in and out from time to time.

Nowadays, most merchants who can afford to do business are members of powerful families. Ordinary people are lucky enough to have enough food and clothing, so how can they have spare money to sell goods or do business?

"A bowl of soup, sir?"

An innkeeper stood at the door and greeted him warmly, "You look dusty and tired. I'm sure you've just arrived in Chang'an. It's a cold night. Have some soup to warm yourself up. I won't charge you three zhu coins, a gentleman. If you don't have a place to stay, you can rest here. The price is fair."

The guesthouse is an inn, and the host is the innkeeper.

Guo Jie understood the intention of soliciting customers and took a few steps forward. He saw hot water boiling in the steaming pot. It was the free soup that the host had mentioned.

Soup is not something that is cooked by adding various ingredients. Boiled hot water is soup without adding anything else. Many shops along the way are selling hot water.

Seeing him approach, the host became even more enthusiastic: "If you don't like soup, we have soup in the guesthouse. It's all made with the best rice juice. No soup on this street can compare to my soup. As long as you stay at the guesthouse tonight, I can give you a bowl of soup for both meals every day."

He saw that Guo Jie had only been in Chang'an for a short time, and guessed that Guo Jie would not be able to resist the temptation of a bowl of soup with every meal.

The paste is a kind of sour paste made from rice juice.

The market price is not high, but it is not often available.

People like to pursue profits.

The host used the method of giving away food to attract many people from counties to stay in the guesthouse.

Guo Jie remained unmoved. "Have you ever heard of a man named Ji Shaogong? Does he live nearby? If you can tell me where Ji Shaogong lives, I'll give you this coin. I'll ask Ji Shaogong to give you a few three-zhu coins later."

He was just about to say that he would give you a few half-liang coins, but for the sake of caution, he did not use the half-liang coins in his hand and returned them to Ji Shaogong to melt them into copper ingots and exchange them for money.

The half-liang coin has been abolished.

From now on, all newly minted three-zhu coins will be used.

The host shuddered all over, as if frightened, but soon changed his face to flattery: "The gentleman is a friend of the young official. Please come this way. I will take the gentleman to see the young official."

He walked in front with a hunched back and a fawning look, leading the way.

The direction the host walked was behind the place where Guo Jie had already walked, and he went all the way to the gate of the neighborhood. The appearance of the two people immediately aroused the vigilance of the local officials.

There was a curfew in Chang'an. Once the gates were closed, no one could go out.

Guo Jie was quite nervous. He had fled to the capital to seek refuge with his friends. A countryman who went to the city to seek refuge with relatives and friends would often be looked down upon.

What's more, he was a countryman who sought refuge with people from the capital.

"Mr. Guo?!"

Ji Shaogong looked surprised and actually came out to greet Guo Jie.

To walk is to walk quickly.

Entering the court without having to walk, and wearing sword and shoes, is the greatest gift for a minister.

Ji Shaogong came over, grasped Guo Jie's hand, and walked toward the room where the horseshoe-shaped stove burned. "Everyone, come quickly and meet Mr. Guo. He is the heroic hero Guo Jie I have often told you about."

Several clerks were kneeling on the table in the room. When the clerks in black robes heard the name of Guo Jie, they stood up excitedly and bowed deeply to Guo Jie.

"Meet Mr. Guo."

"Gentleman, please take your seat and have a drink to warm yourself up."

"Haha, the village official always talks about how loyal Mr. Guo is. I am so lucky to meet him today."

When the host saw the village official Ji Shaogong coming to greet him, he secretly felt lucky that he had not behaved disrespectfully towards Guo Jie. He carefully closed the door and went back to his business at the inn.

As for the reward, I would never take it even if I were beaten to death.

"Village official?"

Guo Jie suddenly realized, "No wonder the host of the inn acted so flattering when he heard I was looking for Ji Shaogong. It turns out you are the most senior official in the neighborhood. From now on, I will have to rely on the care of the junior officials."

There are a total of 160 li in Chang'an City. Li is an administrative unit surrounded by high walls. There is a gate in front and behind the high wall respectively, called lu. The li of the city is also called luli.

The chief official of each li was called a li li, who was in charge of several minor clerks who provided food for the residents, as well as the closing and opening of the li gate.

At night, the gates of the neighborhood were sealed, and the local officials became the local tyrants. The owners of the guesthouses had to flatter Guo Jie.

"Haha, Mr. Guo is joking."

Ji Shaogong chuckled twice and said, "There are many merchants coming and going in Liushi, and they are much more informed than the residents. The news that Guo Jun used his sword to kill a tiger with his bare hands has spread to Liushi a long time ago. It is really like thunder in the ears. The five young men in Lingyi are already vying to invite you as their guest. Why do you need my care?"

Several minor officials were shocked and their faces instantly became serious.

"The tiger-slaying hero that Guo Jie used to kill the tiger turned out to be Mr. Guo."

"I must not go home until I'm drunk tonight!"

"No wonder the young official is obsessed with Mr. Guo. He's actually a heroic hero who killed a tiger with his bare hands. What a hero!"

(End of this chapter)