Chapter 53: The Eastern Capital Luoyang Opens a Hotel

  The capital of a thousand years, the holy city of Huaxia, the source of civilization, the center of the world.

  Starting point of the Silk Road, central hub of the Grand Canal, Peony Flower City, city of mountains and rivers.

  Three generations of creation, Wei and Jin's elegant style, Han and Tang's majestic manner, Song family's literary spirit.

  Luoyang, this historic city, has had other names: Luoyi, Luoshi, Chengzhou, Wangcheng, Luoyang, Dongdu, Dongjing, Shendu, Luojing, Jingluo, Ludu, Luzhong, Songjing, Zhongjing, Xijing. The city of Luoyang is situated in the north of Mangshan Mountain, facing south to Songshan Mountain, east to Tiger Trap and west to Hangu Pass, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with majestic peaks standing tall, earning it the reputation of "Eight Gates Metropolis" and "Mountain and River Paying Homage, a Land of Supreme Beauty in the World". Moreover, it is strategically located at the center of China, pressing down on Jianghuai to the east, controlling Guanzhong to the west, connecting with Youyan to the north, and linking with Xiangjing to the south, earning it the reputation of "Eight Directions Converging" and "The Thoroughfare of Nine Provinces".

  There is also a legend that Luoyang is the gathering place of the dragon veins of the Chinese mainland, so all dynasties have been vying for the throne in the Central Plains. It has become the most important political, economic and cultural center in history.

  The most famous description of the Eastern Han capital Luoyang is Ban Gu's "Rhapsody on the Capital", which contains a passage that reads: "The light of the Han palace shines upon all Xia, gathering in from all eight directions to form its extremity. Within the imperial city, the palaces and halls shine brightly, the temples and courts are divine and beautiful. Extravagance cannot surpass it, frugality cannot match it. Outside, then, the original fields were used to create parks, filling flowing springs to make ponds. The water plants were released to hide fish, the lush grass was grown to nurture beasts." According to the "Luoyang County Annals", "The large city is seven li east-west and over ten li south-north".

  According to archaeological excavations in later generations, the East Han Dynasty Luoyang Wangcheng was more than 4,200 meters long from north to south and more than 3,800 meters wide from east to west. The city wall was surrounded by a moat called Yangqu. There were twelve gates around the city, following the order of southeast, northwest, southwest, and northeast. The eastern wall had three gates: Shangdongmen, Zhongdongmen, and Haomen. The southern wall had four gates: Kaiyangmen, Pingchengmen, Xiaoyuanmen, and Jinmen. The western wall had three gates: Guangyangmen, Yongmen, and Shangximen. The northern wall had two gates: Xiamen (which led directly to the North Palace and was followed by the Beimang Mountain) and Gumen. Inside the imperial city, the palace was located in the north of the city, with Fanglin Garden to its north, Jinyong City, Luoyang Le, and Jinshi to its west, and government offices to its south. Zhang Jue said: "Pingchengmen is the gate of Zhengyang, connected to the palace, where the emperor's carriage passes through for suburban sacrifices, it is the most respected gate."

  By now, readers may say that Luoyang is not a big city! Comrades, how can we compare the current urban scale with ancient times? Moreover, this Luoyang refers to the imperial city, which is the central area of Luoyang. In fact, there were still poor people living outside the city walls, just like the Forbidden City in Beijing today. How big is the Forbidden City? 961 meters long from north to south and 753 meters wide from east to west. The Luoyang at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was the largest city in the world, with a population of over one million, and it was indeed the center of world politics and culture.

  From a distance, looking at the towering Han-Yong Gate in front of him, there were three roads connected by Yangqu Bridge below, and on both sides were city walls that seemed to stretch on forever. Except for Zhao Xing, who had once lived in a super-metropolis with a population of over 10 million and was not shocked, everyone else's eyes were wide with wonder, fully revealing the shock they felt at this moment.

  "Xing Ge, I think Luoyang City is more than four times larger than JinYang City," Xu Wanlin said with some difficulty after swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

  "Hmm, but that's all for now. In the future, I'll build you an even bigger city!" Zhao Xing said nonchalantly.

  "You won't get mouth ulcers if you don't talk big for a day!" Zhao Yu was clearly annoyed by Zhao Xing's arrogant attitude, which was even more overbearing than his own brother, and scolded him.

  "Little brat, I'm too lazy to bother with you, just wait and see! Zhao Xing directly ignored Zhao Yu's mockery, "Let's go, follow me to Luoyang City to make some money!"

  Liu Jili, following behind Zhao Xing, watched the several half-grown children in front of him arguing and couldn't help but feel a bitter smile. "I, Liu Jili, have also been considered a worldly person who has traveled far and wide, yet now I'm reduced to relying on a youth who's not even twenty years old for a living - I don't know if it's good fortune or madness."

  In the following days, Liu Jili, who had entered Luoyang City, thought he was indeed crazy. Watching truckload after truckload of top-grade Longhe liquor being sent into the mansions of various big shots in the court, such as Zhang Rang, He Jin, Fan Ling and Cui Lie, without Zhao Xing batting an eyelid, Liu Jili felt his heart bleeding.

  This is the first time Liu Jili has given such a generous gift, but the key is that the Drunken Immortal Pavilion is nowhere to be found now, and Zhao Xing immediately gave away half of the wine he brought with him. Isn't this a typical case of digging one's own corner? Liu Jili, who couldn't hold back, finally entered Zhao Xing's room on the fourth day after entering the city, and poured out all his confusion in his heart like "dumping beans from a bamboo tube".

  "Guo Chang, since this trip is to open a wine house, shouldn't we prioritize and settle the wine house business first before going around?" Liu Jili said with some reserve and politeness, still unsure of Zhao Xing's temperament.

  "Go on, Brother Ji, don't hesitate to speak your mind, Guo Chang can take it." Zhao Xing said with a smile, "Are you worried about the future of Drunken Immortal Pavilion?"

  "Exactly! We've been in Luoyang for three days, staying at this excellent inn (historically verified as the birthplace of the world's first inn, and there will be more 'Luoyang Firsts' related to the plot later, readers take note). With over a hundred people, our daily expenses for food and horse feed are enormous. Yet you haven't found us a place to settle down, and instead, you're sending out fine wine everywhere. What will we sell to customers when the wine shop opens?" Liu Jili asked Zhao Xing sternly, without being polite.

  "Don't worry, Brother Ji, Guo Chang has a wonderful plan. I guarantee that the wine shop will be open for business within ten days, and when it does, it'll be packed with customers! The whole city of Luoyang will be shaken!" Zhao Xing patted his chest to emphasize his promise. Liu Jili wanted to continue asking questions, but Zhao Xing just gave him a mysterious look and refused to say another word.

  In the following days, Zhao Xing not only took a tour of Luoyang City but also brought several girls to visit the White Horse Temple, completely unaware of the flames that flashed in Liu Jili's eyes.

  It wasn't until ten whole days had passed that Zhao Xing finally, panting with excitement, called Liu Ji-li into the room and handed him a piece of paper with several wine houses in the prosperous areas of "Bu Guangli", "Jin Shi" and "Ming Tang" in Luoyang City written on it.

  The Bōguāng precinct is located in the northeast of Luoyang City, between the Upper East Gate and the Middle East Gate, adjacent to the North Palace and the South Palace. The Jinshi market is located in the northwest of Luoyang City, between the Upper West Gate and the Yongmen Gate. The Mingtang is located outside the palace city, with the Lingtai and Biyong nearby, and most importantly, there is the Taixue! The Luoyang Imperial Academy, from the Western Han to the Northern Dynasties, has a history of several hundred years, it is the first national central university standing in the eastern world, and has had a profound impact on later generations. In the history of Chinese education, it can be called a rare treasure. During the Eastern Han dynasty, the Luoyang Imperial Academy was grand in scale, with the largest number of people reaching 30,000. The places chosen by Zhao Xing are all golden areas of Luoyang.

  "Brother Jili, please trouble yourself to negotiate with the wine merchants tomorrow, as written on the paper, and see if any of them are willing to transfer their shops. The price is not a problem, you can take charge of everything!" Zhao Xing said with a smile to Liu Jili.

  "If there are more than two stores to be transferred, how do you choose?" Liu Jili saw that Zhao Xing had finally taken a proper shape and didn't bother to argue with him anymore, directly entering the state.

  "The more, the better!"

  "We only opened one restaurant, why did you buy so many shops?" Liu Jili asked in puzzlement.

  "Luoyang is the greatest city in the world, with a population of one million. How can one Drunken Immortal Pavilion satisfy the needs of officials, nobles, scholars and merchants?! We need to open a chain store! Recently, I have been visiting all four cities of Luoyang and found business opportunities everywhere. As long as we operate properly and segment our customer groups, Brother Liu, you will be making a fortune!" Zhao Xing's words sent Liu Jili's heart racing with excitement, and he was thrilled beyond measure!

  On the second day, Liu Jili took Li Jin thought to conduct "acquisition business negotiations" with great enthusiasm, while Zhao Xing changed into ordinary clothes and only brought Xu Wenyin and Li Tiezhu, who were disguised as book boys, to stroll around Luoyang City, entering wine shops for a short rest and gathering public opinions.

  In a famous wine house in Luoyang City, a finely dressed martial artist was ranting and raving. "You wine shop, how dare you serve us such inferior wine! A few days ago, we had the good fortune to attend a banquet at the Taishi Mansion, where the wine was like clouds compared to the mud of your store's offerings! Quickly bring out the best vintage, or else you'll be sorry!"

  The tavern owner, with a sorrowful face, accompanied the guest and said, "Sir, please calm down. The best wine in my store is already like this, but I don't know what kind of wine you are drinking. I'll call someone to go buy some more..."

  Taiwei mentioned that this wine is called Changhe Daqu, and quickly poured a drink for us to taste. This wine is so good that it can make one's mouth water... Seeing this scene, Zhao Xing smiled and left with his fan.

  Another tavern, a similar scene unfolded, the person who lost his temper changed to a literary attire, the words were more elegant, but it was still the same meaning - the wine tasted too light, drinking like water, couldn't be compared with the Longhe Daqu he had at the Situ Mansion a few days ago. Aunt could bear it, Uncle I couldn't bear it! (What can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated!) Hurry up and bring Longhe Daqu, otherwise I'll tell everyone that your tavern is bad! The tavern owner's heart was bleeding after hearing this, but Zhao Xing heard it with great joy.

  As it was getting late, Zhao Xing lost interest and dragged Xu Wanlin and Li Tiezhu, who still looked incredulous, back to their lodging hotel.

  "Xing Ge, is the wine we brewed really that good? I thought you were so dedicated to improving the brewing method just to marry my sister." Xu Wanlin said carelessly.

  "Hmm, I'm not really here to marry your sister..." Zhao Xing covered his nose and muttered, "Wanlin, you've been touring Luoyang for over ten days now, you've played all the places worth playing, shouldn't you be heading back to keep your sister company?"

  "What's going on?!" Xu Wanlin immediately raised her guard, with a look of vigilance all over her face. "Are you trying to drive me back to the Party?" Xu Wanlin's face had already turned from sunny to cloudy, and who knows when it would start pouring rain.

  "No... no, I'm not worried about leaving Yu Ting alone at home, it's just that she'll be too lonely by herself. You two sisters can keep each other company and it will be better for both of you. And I still have a long time before I can return to the Party." Zhao Xing quickly took measures to rescue her.

  "Hmph, don't think I don't know what you're plotting in your heart! Once I leave, you'll make a move on Zhao Yu! You say, you say, that I'm not as good as Zhao Yu? You reject the one who's delivered to your doorstep, but instead want to provoke that little tigress!" Xu Wanlin's sharp words began to spill out again.

  "Ah, I'm going to take action against Zhao Yu?" Zhao Xing was directly stunned by Xu Wenlin's words, what a joke, with Zhao Yu being such a fierce dragon, I'd rather keep a safe distance from him, it's better for me to mind my own business.

  Sister-in-law and brother-in-law were being ambiguous and bored in the house when they heard Liu Jili's knocking on the door. "Is Guo Chang here?"

  "Come on in, Brother Ji!" Zhao Xing loudly shouted towards the outside of the door, finally able to get rid of his sister-in-law's resentful gaze.

  As soon as he entered the house, Liu Jili discovered that Zhao Xing and Xu Wanlin seemed to have just experienced a little story that couldn't be said, and for a moment, they didn't know how to speak.

  "Brother Ji, how's the progress on acquiring the winery?" Zhao Xing asked straightforwardly.

  "Oh, Guo Chang taught me a good trick. We'll use the land deed to exchange for a wine house. At first, those wine houses were hesitant, but as soon as they heard it was land near the Tiger's Lair in Zhangzi County, they immediately agreed!" Liu Jili exclaimed excitedly.

  "Now you've acquired several wine houses?" Zhao Xing asked

  "Bei Guangli received one place, Jinshi received two places, and Tai Xue nearby received two places!"

  "It's almost enough, you will gather the bosses of several wine houses here tomorrow, and we'll discuss the opening together first!" Zhao Xing instructed.

  "I understand!"