Chapter 6: The Lofty and Famous City of Luoyang
Liu Yan was chatting away beside him, but in Ji Yu's heart, he was secretly suffering. Others who had also crossed over were either in the prosperous Tang or Song and Ming dynasties; occasionally, some unlucky ones ended up in the Qing dynasty, which was still considered a time of peace and prosperity for the country and its people. But he, on the other hand, had crossed over into the Han dynasty's end, an era that produced heroes by the dozen. If it were the Ming dynasty's end, guns and cannons would have already appeared, and based on war dramas from later eras, he might still be able to muddle through; but the Han dynasty's end was a time when individual bravery and wisdom reigned supreme.
Ji Yu knew that, unless something unexpected happened, he would be the unlucky Liu Zhang who had his foundation taken away by Liu Bei. There were only two paths in front of him: one was to continue being a good person, have his foundation taken away by Liu Bei again, and then be sent to the public security bureau to wait for an inexplicable death; the other choice was to let all the lords die, incidentally get rid of Emperor Xian of Han, anyway he was also a member of the imperial family of Han, even if he usurped the throne and became emperor, it didn't matter.
Who doesn't see that in the peaceful era, there were still vassal kings plotting rebellion? Now that the chaotic times have arrived, people with different surnames can all claim to be king or overlord. As the current emperor's brother and the future emperor's uncle, why should he just sit and wait for death? What about Liu Bei, who was only a mat weaver and shoe seller, how could he become an emperor? Liu Zhang secretly made up his mind that since heaven wanted him to be in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, he would fight for a piece of the world. As for other things, even life and death couldn't be guaranteed, what else was there to think about?
Actually, Ji Yu was a very overbearing master in his past life. No matter where he was, he was always the one who had the final say. His words were unopposable to others unless they could refute him with sound reasoning, which was also the reason why he couldn't find a job. All bosses liked capable subordinates, but if that subordinate was too capable and unruly, the boss wouldn't like them. In ancient times, those feudal lords were even more difficult to get along with. Sun Quan was suspicious, not to mention Cao Cao's dream of killing people, killing Yang Xiu and other things, which really didn't interest Ji Yu in surrendering to him. As for Liu Bei, Ji Yu didn't even think about it. It's worth noting that the historical Liu Zhang was actually played by Liu Bei. Now that he has crossed over as Liu Zhang, does he still want to help the historical Liu Zhang avenge himself?
Liu Yan thought his five-year-old son was stunned because he didn't understand what he was saying. After all, if a child of that age already understood intrigue and court politics, it wouldn't be precocious, but rather monstrous. But Liu Yan had no idea that inside his five-year-old son's body was an old demon from over 1,800 years later! Liu Yan patted his son's head and said, "Zhang'er, don't worry, your father is still in his early forties, I will definitely establish a foundation for you and your brothers!"
Looking at Liu Yan's determined face, Ji Yu was stunned. It turned out that this cheap old man had already seen that the world would be in chaos, and his reason for choosing Yi Province was: the country is dangerous and the people are rich, and the ancestors became emperors because of it! Only now, Liu Yan doesn't have the qualifications to make a choice yet. Ji Yu suddenly felt that becoming Liu Zhang wasn't bad either, at least there would be an old father who loved him and had good eyesight.
Ji Yu, no! It should be called Liu Zhang now. He made a secret decision in his heart that he would not let his father's efforts go to waste!
From Nanyang to Luoyang is not far, because this is Jizhou Nanyang, not Jingzhou Nanyang. There are many repeated names in ancient Chinese place names, and many people have made jokes about it later on. Just like Zhuge Liang wrote in his "Out of the Camp Proclamation" that he personally tilled the land in Nanyang, and some scholars actually said that Zhuge Liang was a Hebei person, which is really laughable! Zhuge Liang was from Yangdu, Langya, and his ancestral home should be in Guangling County or Taishan County of Xuzhou, which is now Jiangsu Province. Later, he moved to Jingzhou. If it's said that he personally tilled the land in Hubei, it can still make sense, but how could he possibly till the land in Hebei? However, since they are scholars and professors, even if they talk nonsense, it's still authoritative!
For Liu Zhang, everything in the Han Dynasty was fresh. Hebei Province was a major grain-producing province of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Although the current government is unstable, except for land annexation, other things have little impact on the people. Who becomes the emperor doesn't matter? Of course, if disaster strikes, it's more troublesome! However, this is not something that Ji Yu considers, after all, he is not in a position to worry about politics.
All the way, Liu Zhang had no chance to play except looking at the scenery around him in the carriage. Liu Yan was appointed by imperial decree, if the journey was too slow and caused dissatisfaction with the emperor, even as a member of the Han royal family, he would be removed from office for not being diligent in his duties. When a dynasty is about to end, there are many things that are scarce, but one thing that is abundant is imperial relatives.
Luoyang City, the national center of politics, economy and culture, is also the largest industrial and commercial city in the country. It is seven miles wide from east to west and nine miles long from south to north. There are 11,219 rooms in the palace, watchtowers, government offices, temples and houses within the city walls. As for the layout of Luoyang City during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ban Gu described it in "Eastern Capital Rhapsody" as follows:
"Renovate the old Zhou, repair the city of Lu. The majestic and magnificent, the wings are spread wide. Shine on the Han capital among the various Xia, summarize the eight directions to make it extreme. At this time, inside the imperial city, the palace is bright and beautiful, the temple is divine and elegant. Extravagance cannot be surpassed, frugality cannot be indulged. Outside, take advantage of the original fields to create a park, fill the flowing springs to form a swamp. Release water lilies to hide fish, enrich the grass to nourish beasts. Govern like Liang and Zhou, harmonize with Ling Yu."
The so-called "augmented old", is not to say that the Eastern Han Luoyang city was built on the site of the Eastern Zhou Luoyang, but rather that the Eastern Han Luoyang largely borrowed from the capital construction system of the Zhou Dynasty for renovation. The so-called "luxury cannot be exceeded, frugality cannot be extravagant", is "luxury and frugality combined with propriety", which means that the palace buildings were constructed according to certain ritual norms, with a scale of "moderation". The so-called "system same" and "meaning combined", refers to planning gardens and ponds according to the ancient system of "the Son of Heaven's fields" and "the king's spiritual park". "Zhou old", "system same", "meaning combined" are all part of the Zhou Dynasty capital city garden architecture system and usage principles. Ban Gu compared Luoyang's capital, palace buildings, and gardens with the Zhou system to illustrate that the construction of Eastern Han Luoyang attached great importance to borrowing from the Zhou Dynasty's capital construction norms.
Starting from Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, Luoyang has been the capital of China. Altogether, twenty-two dynasties have established their capitals here in modern times. Of course, this includes those that made Luoyang a secondary capital. Officially recognized are thirteen ancient capitals, but according to archaeological discoveries, some scholars believe it is seventeen. However, this is not for ordinary people to worry about, let the scholars research it!
Liu Zhang, who had arrived at the foot of Luoyang City, was stunned. Although in later generations he also strolled through the Ming Forbidden City and looked at the city of Yanjing, those old city walls had lost their former glory and majesty, very quiet, simple and dull, even with maintenance, it's not as vivid and lively as when it was in use.
The towering city wall was at least twenty meters high, with rows of soldiers patrolling back and forth on top. The sturdy armor, sharp weapons, and the majestic appearance of the soldiers all made Ji Yu drunk with excitement. It wasn't that Ji Yu wanted to be a soldier, but he loved history and was particularly enthusiastic about ancient cold weapons. However, his reaction was quite normal - even Liu Yan, who was nearly forty years old, had been stunned when he first came to Luoyang, let alone a five-year-old child who had never left home! If Ji Yu had really acted like nothing was wrong, that would have been strange!
"Has Cui'er gone silly?" Liu Yan stroked Ji Yu's head and said, "Luoyang is the capital of our great Han Dynasty. Such grandeur embodies the majesty of our great Han! My child must remember that you are a member of the imperial family of Han, one of the masters of the great Han! No matter where you are, you are the noblest because you have the noblest bloodline!"
Liu Yan's words, although somewhat taboo, are generally not wrong. All the imperial clans of the Han Dynasty regarded the Great Han as Liu's private property; otherwise, there wouldn't be almost every generation having vassal kings rebelling, and there wouldn't be people who were obviously just weaving mats and selling shoes, yet speaking of themselves as if they were very noble. It's like someone once said, the most valuable thing about him is that aristocratic blood, unfortunately it's type O, too cheap to sell!
