Chapter 11: This Young Lady Has Some Wildness
Chapter 11: This Young Lady Has Some Wildness
The next day.
“Your father is really stingy!”
Yang Xin said while punting the boat, glancing back with dissatisfaction.
He was on the Empress Xiao River at that moment.
This ancient canal still served the capital, although true navigation no longer existed. However, it was no problem at all to punt a small sampan to Shilihe. Whether it could reach Zuoa’nan Gate depended on luck.
But since it was summer, it should be about possible.
After all, their small sampan only carried a few hundred catties of goods, and it could even travel on the moat.
“Shut up!”
Huang Ying glared at him.
They were delivering that batch of sundries to the capital. Clearly, this batch was more valuable, but to save costs, Huang Zhen hired two small boats to transport the goods. The rest were piled onto this small sampan. Since Yang Xin could paddle from Sanjiaodian to Zhangjiawan, he might as well continue. Speaking of which, this cheap laborer was still very satisfactory to Huang Zhen, comparable to a large draft animal. At that moment, the three boats moved steadily in a line along this small river ditch. With each rise and fall of the bamboo pole, they silently advanced toward their destination ahead. Of course, they were not the only boats on this river. In fact, according to the descriptions in scholars’ notes, boats shuttled across the river surface, and pedestrians thronged the riverbanks, resembling the Jiangnan water towns.
Clearly, such descriptions were still accurate.
One after another, similar small boats passed by on the river. Pedestrians were occasionally seen on the embankment, walking leisurely under the shade of trees. Even sedan chairs could be seen…
“Where is Fang Village?”
Yang Xin asked.
“Touching her once wasn’t enough?”
Huang Ying said with a chill in her voice.
“Don’t talk nonsense! I’m just afraid of encountering her again and feeling awkward!”
Yang Xin stated righteously.
He was truly wronged! She was wearing undergarments inside, and there was also a very short petticoat. Speaking of which, the women of this era were already quite modern in terms of inner protection. Not only did they have undergarments that guarded the last line of defense, but they also had petticoats as a second layer of defense, similar to safety shorts.
Even if he really touched…
What could he possibly have touched?
“Fang Village is to the west. The Fang ancestors moved north with Emperor Yongle. They were registered under the Imperial Guard and even produced a former Commander. The ancestral graves are in Fang Village, and Old Master Fang teaches in the countryside while watching over the graves. As for that Miss Fang, she should be his youngest daughter. His two sons and two daughters are already adults. However, it is said that this Miss Fang is still unmarried but is quite adept at business. Many of the Fang family’s businesses are managed by her.”
Huang Ying said meaningfully.
Clearly, she had also conducted some investigation about this in Zhangjiawan.
“I don’t like that kind of strong-woman type. The lively and cute type is more suitable for me!”
Yang Xin declared righteously.
“Like Miss Wang?”
Huang Ying said.
“That’s not lively and cute; that’s willful and spoiled, always threatening to throw people into the river!”
…
As they spoke, they reached Shilihe.
This place looked even more like a water town. Not only were rice paddies everywhere along the banks, but people were also casting nets to catch fish on the river. Geese and ducks gathered in groups on the shore, and naked children played happily in the water. There was no sense of the capital region at all; it more resembled a quiet Jiangnan village.
There was also an official road with few pedestrians.
But going further up, they really couldn’t proceed.
The Empress Xiao River was already far from what it used to be. This grain transport river of the Liao Dynasty declined after the Tonghui River was built, as the latter took away most of its water source. Currently, this river basically served as a drainage ditch for Beijing’s Outer City. However, the south and east of Beijing were full of wetlands and marshes, with numerous springs. So during the rainy summer, small sampans could still pass through. If not loaded with goods, these small sampans could probably be punted all the way into the moat, but with several hundred catties of cargo, they truly couldn’t move any further.
Fortunately, Huang Zhen had originally planned to come only this far.
Shortly after, the small boat docked. He went familiarly to find five handcarts, quickly loaded the goods onto them, entrusted his small sampan to a familiar family for care, paid the wages for the two sampan boats, and led the five carts forward along the official road.
Soon, a city gate tower emerged against the blue sky and white clouds, followed by the continuous city wall…
“Is this the capital?”
Yang Xin looked speechlessly at the low city wall and equally low gate tower.
“This isn’t even as good as the Tianjin Garrison City!”
He added immediately.
“This is the Outer City. It was built only fifty years ago to defend against Tartar raids. The court was short of money, so it was built rather simply. This southern wall is particularly crude. The eastern and western walls get higher the further north you go, but they are still much lower than the Inner City. After all, the capital’s defense relies on the Inner City.”
Huang Zhen said.
Alright, this Outer City actually hadn’t been around for many years.
It wasn’t until the 43rd year of Jiajing, which was the third-to-last year, that the Outer City was truly completed. And this was the 47th Year of Wanli, with the Longqing reign in between. So it really was only about fifty years. However, the low height of Beijing’s Outer City still shattered Yang Xin’s perception of an imperial capital. Pitifully, this city wall was only about six or seven meters high. In these times, even a slightly larger prefectural city would be embarrassed to show itself without a nine-meter-high wall. For the esteemed capital to have such a low wall was truly shameful. Moreover, even the Zuoa’nan Gate tower only had one level, at most a bit more complete, with features like a barbican, bastions, and a moat. But the iconic arrow tower was still missing. With this level of defense, it wasn’t even as good as the Tianjin Garrison City, let alone a top fortress like Shanhai Pass.
He walked on speechlessly, following the cart convoy across the stone bridge over the moat.
After entering the barbican, Huang Zhen took out a stamped Travel Pass, walked up to the guarding soldier, and handed it over. As the soldier took it, Huang Zhen’s hand flicked, and a piece of broken silver fell into the soldier’s hand. The soldier casually glanced at the Travel Pass and directly waved them through.
Yang Xin and his group quickly passed.
Behind the soldier, an official lazily sat on a chair holding a teacup, with a soldier beside him fanning him, presenting a picture of peaceful times.
“No tax?”
Yang Xin asked puzzled.
“Merchants entering the Outer City pay taxes at Chongwen Gate. Each city gate has fixed duties. Traveling merchants like us can only enter the Inner City through Chongwen Gate. However, we are not entering the Inner City. The shops receiving these goods are in the Outer City, and their taxes are also collected by the Chongwen Gate customs office. That has nothing to do with us.”
Huang Zhen said.
“Where are these soldiers from?”
Yang Xin asked.
“The Southern Metropolitan Police Office. They manage access control at the Outer City gates and maintain order within the city.”
Huang Zhen said.
“Do they call the shots in the Outer City?”
Yang Xin asked.
“They don’t call the shots. They are just dogs. How can dogs call the shots? Above them are the City Patrol Censors, the Imperial Guard, and palace eunuchs. Any of them can manage them. The City Patrol Censors directly oversee them. Among those managing affairs in the capital, only the Patrol Camp has a lower status than them. Everyone else is their master. Even the Temple of Imperial Ancestors’ floor sweepers could order them around.”
They continued speaking in low voices like this as they passed through Zuoa’nan Gate.
The official behind them continued enjoying his peaceful time.
What was inside the city further shattered Yang Xin’s perception…
“Is this the capital or a wilderness?”
Yang Xin wore an expression as if his jaw had hit the ground, looking at the stretches of swampy wetlands before him. Lush reeds swayed among ponds of various sizes. Looking into the distance, there were even patches of farmland, with scattered temples and dwellings among them.
There were even graveyards!
“This is precisely a wilderness. Originally, when building the Outer City wall, a large area of wilderness was enclosed to make the layout square. This place isn’t a major transportation route or a hub for merchants and travelers. Yongding Gate in the exact south of the city is the main road. Youa’nan Gate and Guang’an Gate both lead to the main road to Lugou Bridge. Guangqu Gate is the timber market. Salt transported from Zhangjiawan also arrives at Guangqu Gate. As for Dongbian Gate, needless to say, goods coming via the Tonghui River must enter the city through Dongbian Gate. This Zuoa’nan Gate is just for show. Apart from the occasional peddler passing through, no one would come this way. As for those coming from the south via the main road, after passing Majuqiao Bridge, they would enter the city through Yongding Gate.”
Huang Zhen said.
“This isn’t a city gate; it’s a village gate!”
Yang Xin sighed.
Looking around within Beijing, for at least two kilometers, there was a bucolic scene of pastoral abundance. However, looking west, one could still see the Temple of Heaven, but similarly, there was over a kilometer of pastoral abundance before it.
Thus, they continued forward through the countryside protected by the city walls.
Suddenly, there was a burst of barking.
Immediately after, a hare dashed out from the reed marshes by the roadside, chased by two slender hounds. The hare, panicked and not choosing its path, happened to run into Huang Ying’s feet. The two hounds, baring their fangs, pounced down fiercely. Huang Ying lifted her foot and flipped one over. Yang Xin’s right hand grabbed the back of the other hound’s head, lifted it by the skin of its neck, and casually flung it aside. Almost simultaneously, a horse rushed out. The person on horseback let out a startled cry as the hound crashed right into the horse’s face. The horse, frightened, neighed and reared up…
Yang Xin suddenly lunged forward.
He reached the front of the horse in an instant, grabbed its two front legs, roared, and pulled down hard. Then he forcefully dragged the horse’s hooves back to the ground.
“Good, otherwise another leg would be broken. Horse riders these days are all calcium deficient!”
Yang Xin said with relief.
The person on the horse stared at him in confusion.
Probably still not clear-headed, he had experienced life’s ups and downs in that short moment and felt a bit bewildered for a while. However, four household servants surged out from behind him. One reached out to grab Yang Xin. Yang Xin took a step back…
“Where did this clod come from, startling our young master!”
Another servant shouted.
“Your dogs almost bit me!”
Huang Ying said angrily.
The young man on the horse regained his senses now.
“This young lady, where did they bite you? Quickly lift your clothes and let this young master see?”
He said with a laugh.
Beside him, Yang Xin sighed.
“Quickly let our young master see!”
“Did it bleed?”
…
Several servants immediately jeered and laughed.
Huang Ying bit her lip, stamped her foot, and turned to walk to the side. Her action immediately made the young master’s eyes light up.
“This young lady, she has some wildness!”
He said.
Then, a smiling face appeared between him and Huang Ying…
“Young master, I also have some wildness!”
Yang Xin said sincerely.
Having said that, his hands suddenly shot forward, grabbing one horse ear each. Before the young master could react, he roared again, both arms exerting force simultaneously, pulling down hard. The horse, under his violent pressure, let out a mournful neigh and involuntarily bowed its head and knelt down. The young master on the horse cried out in alarm and fell forward, landing right in front of Yang Xin. Yang Xin’s hands, which had been holding the horse’s ears, immediately moved to the young master’s belt and back. With another roar, he directly dragged him to the side. Amidst the servants’ shouts of alarm and the young master’s screams, Yang Xin lifted him with both hands and flung him backward, then turned around in a 720-degree spin before finally placing him head down horizontally back onto the horse’s back…
“Wild enough?”
Yang Xin brought his face close to the nearly unconscious young master and said ominously.