The official road outside the Imperial Capital was probably the best-built official road in the entire Han Empire. Even if it rained heavily, there was not much water on the official road outside the Imperial Capital, let alone mud. The rain from the sky washed the road clean, and the rain on the road naturally flowed into the ditches on both sides of the road...
The roads of the imperial capital were paved with bricks not made of stone slabs but large, thick bricks fired in brick kilns. When Yan Liqiang visited the Forbidden City in his previous life, he heard from the tour guide that the ground in many places in the Forbidden City was not paved with stone slabs but bricks fired in brick kilns, commonly known as gold bricks, which were exclusively used in the imperial palace. The bricks paved on the imperial capital's roads were a bit similar to the gold bricks in the Forbidden City.
Washed and scour by the heavy rain, the bricks on the road revealed their original blue-gray color, which has a unique ancient charm.
Yan Liqiang, wearing a raincoat and holding an umbrella, walked on the official road. Only the edges of his boots were slightly wet with rain. Walking on this blue-gray ancient road, Yan Liqiang felt a special kind of ease in the rain. He did not feel nervous at all about what he was about to do, even though what he did would bring him a catastrophe if it was exposed.
Looking at the road under his feet, Yan Liqiang marveled at the skills of the craftsmen of the Han Empire, but the scene of firing such road bricks emerged in his mind. Is it an easy task to fire such road bricks that are more than two feet long and more than one foot wide? I remember the tour guide in the Forbidden City said that in order to burn such large floor tiles, the temperature of the brick kiln must be very high to ensure that the fired floor tiles will not have a black center or be brittle in the middle, but must be of the same color throughout. Every gold brick in the Forbidden City has the name of the brick kiln and the name of the responsible craftsman. If there is a problem with any gold brick, it can be traced back and the person will be beheaded, so no one dares to be careless. At the same temperature, if the floor tiles fired are not like this, put clay and limestone in such a brick kiln and burn it, and what comes out is cement.
This is still modern cement, but the so-called ancient Roman cement is even simpler. It only requires enough volcanic ash, quicklime, water, sand and stone, and the most primitive concrete can be produced continuously.
Ancient China's kiln-firing technology was only a step away from being able to produce cement.
Similarly, the Han Empire did not seem to have convenient and quick-to-use building materials like cement.
Roman cement created the Roman Empire. I wonder what kind of Han Empire can be created by making cement in this era.
Yan Liqiang's thoughts raced, his mind soared into the sky...
"Whoa..." A carriage came from the rain and fog, and stopped suddenly when passing by Yan Liqiang. The driver, wearing a bamboo hat and a straw raincoat, shouted to Yan Liqiang, "Little brother, it's raining heavily on this road. If you don't mind, I'll give you a ride..."
"Thank you, uncle. I like taking a walk. Besides, I'm going to the west gate. It's not far. I'll be there soon!"
"Hahaha, okay, little brother, you can go slowly if you have good leg strength. But there will be heavy thunder these two days, so don't hide under the trees. Last year, several trees beside this official road were struck by lightning!" The driver laughed and reminded Yan Liqiang, then shook the reins and drove the carriage into the rain again.
This was the third kind-hearted person Yan Liqiang met along the way who saw him walking in the rain and offered to give him a ride.
Yan Liqiang did not get on the bus, but his heart had already been warmed by the small kindness of these consecutive strangers.
Watching the carriage disappear in the rain, Yan Liqiang's faith and determination became even stronger at that moment - when the natural disaster comes in a few years, he must make sure that these thousands of people leave the capital and escape. He must also live until that time. All those who stand in his way must be killed without mercy...
…
When Yan Liqiang arrived at the west gate of Imperial Capital City, it was already approaching evening, the sky had become darker, and the rain had surprisingly become much lighter.
Yan Liqiang entered the Imperial Capital City from Xihua Gate as usual, but just after entering the city and walking less than fifty meters away, Yan Liqiang felt that he was being watched.
Staring at him was a man in gray clothes, about thirty years old, with an ordinary face, whom he had never seen before.
The man was hiding from the rain on the street outside Xihua Gate, his eyes scanning the faces of people entering the city. As soon as Yan Liqiang entered the city, the man's eyes moved around Yan Liqiang's face twice, then he mixed in with several carriages entering the city and followed Yan Liqiang silently.
The first time Yan Liqiang was targeted at Xihuamen was because of Fang Beidou, but the person who was targeting him this time obviously had nothing to do with Fang Beidou.
However, Yan Liqiang was not surprised, because he had expected this, and it even confirmed his guess. The news that he was in Luyuan was not a secret, and anyone who was interested would know it by just checking. And if one came to Dijing City from Luyuan, Xihuamen was the nearest. So, as long as one person was placed at Xihuamen to wait, if he came out of Luyuan to Dijing City, he would be spotted as soon as he entered the city gate.
The purpose of keeping an eye on someone is to get a hold of that person's whereabouts and information. This is the prelude to dealing with someone. As for who is going to deal with him, Yan Liqiang knows it with just a thought. In the entire Imperial Capital, the only people who can have a grudge against an insignificant "little person" like him, and who like to use despicable means, are Xu Lang and his people...
It seems that my decision to strike first was the right one.
Yan Liqiang did not look back, still walking with the umbrella, nor did he deliberately try to get rid of the person who was following him, but the smile on his face inexplicably had a hint of coldness.
…
When we arrived at Tianwaitian, the rain had stopped. A long string of lanterns had been hung outside the Tianwaitian Restaurant. Many magnificent carriages were parked outside the restaurant. From time to time, people who looked either rich or noble got off the carriages and entered Tianwaitian.
Yan Liqiang arrived half an hour earlier than the scheduled time, as a courtesy, while Lu Pein, who arranged the dinner, arrived even earlier. A manager beside Lu Pein was already waiting at the door of the restaurant.
As soon as Yan Liqiang walked over, the Lu family's steward's eyes lit up immediately and he hurriedly came forward to greet him, "Master Yan..."
"Well, is Brother Lu here?" Yan Liqiang said as he handed the umbrella and raincoat in his hands to two waitresses from the restaurant.
"Sixth Master is already in the room. He told me to take Master Yan upstairs if he comes..."
"Okay, let's go..."
When entering the restaurant, Yan Liqiang saw the man in blue clothes staring at him from the corner of his eye. He was standing on the street more than 30 meters outside the restaurant, staring at him as he entered the restaurant...
After Yan Liqiang completely entered Tianwaitian, the man in green walked towards Tianwaitian Restaurant, but just as he was about to go in, he was stopped by several receptionists standing at the door of the restaurant.
"Excuse me, sir, which room did you book in our Tianwaitian?" The receptionist at Tianwaitian had a professional and polite smile on his face, but his picky and sharp eyes looked at the man in green from head to toe in an instant, and his eyes unconsciously revealed a hint of disdain.
"A friend of mine just went in, I went in to look for him..." said the man in green.
"I'm sorry, we only receive distinguished guests who have booked rooms in advance. If you have friends inside, please tell me the room your friend is in and I will take you in. If you don't know where your friend is, please wait outside the door..."
"I have something urgent to do, could you please make some compromise..." The man in green smiled and nodded.
"Then please tell me your friend's name, his approximate appearance and age, and what he is wearing, and I will go in and ask for you!"
The man in green was speechless for a moment, "This... this..."
The man in green wanted to say something, but the receptionist gave a look and two strong and sturdy restaurant guards who looked not to be trifled with came over and stared at him with scorching eyes, one of them clenching his fists so hard that they made a crackling sound.
The man in green could only leave helplessly, but he did not go far. Instead, he waited on the roadside a few dozen meters away from the entrance of Tianwaitian...
…
(End of this chapter)