This day is the third day of February.
Dawn gradually broke, but it was still dark outside. The pale black sky was dotted with a few remaining stars. The biting cold wind was blowing, and the air became even colder.
Zhu Pingan packed his bag, said goodbye to Yang Jisheng, and continued to head to Beijing. Yang Jisheng had to wait for a friend here before going to the capital, so Zhu Pingan left first.
Tianjin was not far from the capital, and Zhu Ping'an rode without rest all the way and arrived at the capital around two o'clock in the afternoon.
The capital is the heart of the entire Ming Dynasty, bordering Liaojie in the east, Taihang in the west, the desert in the north, the military capital in the back, and the Central Plains in the south. The capital is like a wild beast lying in front of Zhu Ping'an, with a magnificent scale and momentum, which is more shocking than when he saw Nanjing City.
The city gates, walls, towers, barbicans, corner towers, and arrow towers, this city was armed to the teeth. Zhu Ping'an saw that the moat outside the capital alone was no less than 50 meters wide.
In front of this most fortified city in the world, even the heaven and earth seem insignificant.
In the Ming Dynasty, this was Zhu Ping'an's first visit to the capital, but if you count his previous life, Zhu Ping'an had been to Beijing many times. Of course, Beijing at that time was completely different from Beijing now. At that time, the only gates of Beijing that could be seen were Dongbianmen, Zhengyangmen and a few other preserved gates. Most of the other gates, especially the city walls, were not visible at that time. Unlike now, not only can the city gates and city walls be seen, but even the corner towers and arrow towers can be seen clearly.
The gates of Beijing are always bustling with people and vehicles entering and leaving the city gates in an endless stream.
The emperor's demeanor is indeed extraordinary.
Zhu Ping'an followed the crowd to the city gate for inspection and entered the city. When it was Zhu Ping'an's turn, he took out the certificate of Juren he carried with him and showed it to the soldiers guarding the city. All things are inferior, only reading is superior. The status of Juren in this dynasty is a pass that saves money, time and effort, and is envied and hated by others.
It has worked every time in the past.
However, this time it didn't seem to have the same effect as before. The soldiers guarding the city verified Zhu Ping'an's status as a juren, and there was no extra change on their faces. They had seen many dignitaries while guarding the city gates. This little juren was really not taken seriously by them.
"Five cents." The soldier guarding the city returned Zhu Ping'an's certificate of admission to Zhu Ping'an, then stretched out his hand and said expressionlessly.
"What?"
Zhu Pingan was a little surprised when he heard this. Why did he ask me to pay? Although he did not have any privileged ideas, he was used to the convenience brought by the status of a juren. After showing his juren certificate, the gatekeeper still asked him to pay. This made Zhu Pingan a little unconvinced.
"You don't have to pay, but you have to pay for your horse to enter the city." The soldier guarding the city looked at Zhu Ping'an expressionlessly, not taking Zhu Ping'an's status as a juren seriously at all.
Well
What kind of logic is this!
"This is the rule of our capital. I can see that you are from another place. You have to pay if you want to enter. If you don't pay, you are not allowed to enter." The soldier guarding the gate looked at Zhu Ping'an with sidelong eyes and stretched out his hand to urge him.
Seeing so many people waiting to enter the city behind him, Zhu Ping'an didn't want to delay everyone's time because of his five cents. Since the gatekeeper dared to ask him for money so openly, he must have something to rely on. He had just arrived, so he should not cause trouble.
So Zhu Ping'an reached into his sleeve and took out five cents. Just as he was about to hand it to the soldier guarding the gate, he heard a commotion behind him, accompanied by the crying of a child.
Zhu Pingan turned his head and saw a group of young men wearing brocade hats and sable furs riding horses, laughing and jokingly riding their horses in the crowd, competing with each other in speed. Instead of reining in their horses to slow down, they sped up and rushed left and right in the crowd. They rode their horses towards the city gate while laughing and joking.
The people waiting in line to enter the city saw the group of young men wearing brocade hats and sable furs on horseback and dodged. Some of them failed to dodge in time, such as the crying child, who was knocked to the ground by the horses because of their inability to dodge.
The child's family just held the child and had no intention of pursuing the perpetrator. The child looked knocked down, but it was only a superficial injury, so the family also wanted to keep the peace. As far as the common people like them were concerned, those young men riding horses were not people they could afford to offend.
"If you don't want to die, get out of the way."
The last of the group of young men in brocade hats and sable furs was a fat man who was even fatter than Xue Chi. He was riding a tall, jet-black horse. The horse was much taller and more majestic than the black horse led by Zhu Ping'an. However, although this black horse was much more majestic, it could not bear the weight of carrying such a fat man, so it walked at the end.
The fat man was very upset about being at the end of the race. He waved his whip to scare the people blocking his way and rode his horse hurriedly to catch up. His fat face was covered with sweat.
"Hahaha, Fatty Zhou, just wait for your treat. Go..."
"Fatty Zhou, today we are going to Lanyue Tower to let your blood flow."
"Haha, you were still bragging about your Persian warhorse. Don't brag about it now. Don't treat us like you did last time. We have to choose the rouge horse tonight."
A group of young men in brocade hats and sable furs rode their horses, laughing and joking, and in the blink of an eye they arrived at the city gate. Along the way, countless people who were waiting in line to enter the city suffered.
If this happened in modern times, it would be a group of second-generation rich people who race cars. If something happens, they will say that they are under 18 years old, have good academic performance, have won awards, etc...
"What are you still standing there for? Get out of the way." The soldier guarding the city saw Zhu Ping'an still standing at the city gate and said anxiously, and quickly pulled Zhu Ping'an to the foot of the wall.
It’s not that they are afraid that Zhu Ping’an will be hit by these second-generation rich kids, but they are afraid that Zhu Ping’an will block the way of these second-generation rich kids and make them unhappy.
The young men in brocade hats and sable coats rode on horses and ignored the soldiers guarding the city. They just rode past them as if the city gate was the front door of their home. The soldiers guarding the city took it for granted.
"Damn it He Laoliu, it's all your fault for blocking the city gate so tightly that I lost again!"
When the fat man, who was the last one to come along, passed by the city gate, he twisted his fat face, spat at the soldier guarding the gate, and rode past while cursing.
"You are right. I am sorry, Master Zhou."
The gatekeeper didn't even wipe the saliva off his face. He nodded and bowed and apologized repeatedly towards the fat man's back. Only after this group of second-generation rich people walked away did the gatekeeper wipe the saliva off his face.
"Are you still coming in?" After wiping his saliva, the soldier guarding the city turned his head and looked at Zhu Ping'an and asked angrily.
He was respectful at first and arrogant later. The contrast is really great.
"Enter."
Seeing the saliva on the soldier's face, Zhu Pingan smiled slightly, put five coins in his hand, and then led the Shamatte black horse into the city. (To be continued.)