The water route from Qinghe County to Pingxi City is much farther than the water route to Huanglong County. Yan Liqiang boarded the boat in the morning and stayed there until the afternoon, when the boat arrived at the Xijiang Wharf outside Pingxi City near dusk.
At this time, the wind and rain still did not stop, but became stronger, and the entire Xijiang Wharf was shrouded in water mist.
The passenger ship shook slightly and approached the dock. Yan Liqiang saw from the window that several boatmen on the ship jumped onto the shore nimbly and tied several anchor ropes at the bow and stern to the iron pillars on the dock. The still shaking hull gradually stabilized.
"Everyone, get off the boat, get off the boat, check to see if you have brought all your luggage, don't leave any on the boat..." the boatman outside shouted, and the passengers in the cabin stood up one by one, packed their luggage, walked out of the cabin one by one, and after going up to the deck outside, they quickly went ashore through several wooden boards on the dock.
Yan Liqiang also picked up his bag and slowly walked out with everyone else.
"Little brother, you haven't eaten yet, how about we have a meal together after we get off the boat? My home is not far from Xijiang Wharf..." The woman to whom Yan Liqiang had given up his seat on the boat before also carried her child's swaddling clothes on her back, holding a bundle in her hands, and stood in front of Yan Liqiang, and warmly invited Yan Liqiang to her home for dinner.
"Sister-in-law, it's just a small favor, no need to be so polite..."
"Little brother, you are such a good person..."
The two men walked out of the cabin while talking. It was still raining outside and the deck was slippery due to the rain. The boatman put a few torn straw mats on the deck and wooden boards and asked everyone to go ashore.
A sturdy man in his thirties was waiting on the dock with two umbrellas. After seeing the woman coming ashore, the man hurried over, held up an umbrella, asked the woman how she was doing, and hurriedly checked on the child she was carrying. The woman pointed at Yan Liqiang behind her and whispered a few words to the man, who immediately ran to Yan Liqiang and said gratefully, "Little brother, thank you so much. The mother and daughter are going back to their parents' home in Qinghe County this time, and I was busy and couldn't accompany them back. Thank you for taking care of them on the way!"
"Brother, you're welcome, you're welcome, it's just a small matter!"
"Little brother, it's raining outside now, take this umbrella and use it, don't let it get wet and catch a cold..."
"No, no, I really don't need it. This little bit of rain is nothing. Besides, if I take your umbrella, what will you do, brother..."
"If you don't accept it, it means you despise me. My home is nearby, just a few steps away, you don't need to worry about me..." the man said, and directly stuffed the umbrella in his hand into Yan Liqiang's hand, then ran to the mother and son, took the umbrella from the woman's hand to protect the mother and son, and then took the mother and son away from the dock.
Looking at the man with most of his body soaked in the rain, and then looking at the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, Yan Liqiang felt inexplicably warm in his heart and a little moved.
In the past few months since his rebirth, many memories and feelings about his past life are gradually fading away. He is also becoming more and more accustomed to everything in this world, gradually integrating into his current identity, becoming an ordinary Chinese boy in Pingxi County, Ganzhou, the Han Empire. The people living in this world are just like many ordinary people he met in his previous life, simple, kind, and hardworking. Often, a warm smile and a simple greeting like "Have you eaten?" can be better than any language.
Looking at the oil-paper umbrella in his hand again, Yan Liqiang smiled, opened the umbrella, held it up, and walked towards the Pingxi city in the distance.
Xijiang Wharf is not far from the north gate of Pingxi City, more than a thousand meters away. Standing on the wharf and looking from afar, you can see the tall city tower of the north gate of Pingxi City squatting in the misty rain like a giant beast.
There is a market town on this side of the dock. The town is full of signs of various businesses and warehouses. It looks very prosperous. Perhaps because of the rain, there are very few pedestrians on the dock and in the town. Occasionally there are a few, they are all in a hurry.
There were several horse-drawn carriages on the roadside that could carry people to Pingxi City. The drivers wore straw raincoats and took shelter from the rain with the carriages under the eaves of a roadside shop. Yan Liqiang walked over and asked the price. It cost one copper coin to get from here to the north gate of Pingxi County. The price was not expensive, just the price of a steamed bun. However, Yan Liqiang needed to wait here for six people to get on the carriage before they could leave together.
Looking at the rainy weather, it was unknown how long he would have to wait for five more people. Six copper coins for such a short distance was a bit expensive. Yan Liqiang was not a weak person, so he simply did not take the carriage. Holding an umbrella, after determining the direction, he walked towards the north gate of Pingxi City.
Sure enough, the road outside Pingxi City was well built and was a standard official road. Even on rainy days, the road was not too muddy except that it was a little wet. Yan Liqiang walked from the dock to the north gate without his boots getting any mud on them.
There are soldiers guarding the gate of Pingxi County, and there is a money box at the gate. If an individual wants to enter the city, he or she must pay an entrance fee of two copper coins.
When Yan Liqiang was queuing, a chaotic sound suddenly came from behind. Yan Liqiang turned around and saw a team consisting of dozens of camels and more than ten rhinoceros horses just arrived at the door.
The camels were loaded with boxes and goods, and the rhinoceros horses were ridden by riders dressed strangely, with faces very different from the Chinese. Their hair and eyes were reddish, their eye sockets were sunken, and their hair and beards were thick. They were obviously foreign riders. Each of the riders had a scimitar hanging on his waist, and some of them had bows and arrows hanging on their saddles. They rushed towards the city gate with a haughty look.
Even though they were close to the city gate, several foreign riders on rhinoceros horses did not slow down. Several pedestrians walking in the middle of the road were unable to avoid them and were thrown into the mud on the side of the road by the horses. They looked very embarrassed. Several foreign riders were still sitting high on their rhinoceros horses, without even looking at the people they had knocked down. Two riders looked coldly at the people lying on the ground, and there was even a hint of disdainful smile on their lips.
The team of foreign riders rushed directly through the city gate without going through the inspection of the soldiers at the gate, nor paying the entrance fee. They just rode through the city gate in a swaggering manner, looking at the people standing on both sides of the city gate with disdainful eyes.
A young soldier was about to step forward with his fist clenched, but was stopped by another soldier, who whispered, "Have you forgotten what happened to Lieutenant Gao? If these Shatu people start making trouble at the city gate, and the Shatu people in the city follow suit, the higher-ups will only hold us accountable and will not dare to touch these Shatu people..."
“Captain, but this… this…” The young soldier’s face flushed red.
“Stop talking, let’s just do our own thing. You’ve only been here for a few days, so you may not know that these Shatu people have been arrogant for more than one or two years. Alas…” The captain who was holding the young soldier also sighed, patted the young soldier on the shoulder, and shook his head.
Many people around were sighing...
Yan Liqiang stood at the city gate, watching the Shatu caravans rush into the city without even paying the one copper coin entrance fee. He could hardly believe his eyes. Even in a small place like Qinghe County, the only people who could ride horses into the city were the cavalry and soldiers of the Han Empire on missions, or messengers from the government. Ordinary people had to dismount when entering and leaving the city gates, and sometimes they had to be inspected if they carried a lot of things on them. Why were these Shatu people so arrogant in Pingxi County
What's even more outrageous is that he and the Chinese around him have to pay an entrance fee to enter the city, but these Shatu people don't even have to pay the entrance fee to enter the city, and they are still given preferential treatment
At this moment, looking at the foreigners riding their horses into the city in a show of force, Yan Liqiang even had an illusion that he was not coming to Pingxi City in Pingxi County, but was an outsider entering the city of the Shatu people. As a member of the Chinese ethnic group, he had become a third-class citizen in front of the foreigners in the Chinese territory and city
What's the reason for this
"The treacherous party has ruined the country, the treacherous party has ruined the country..." An old man standing in front of Yan Liqiang looked at the Shatu people who were able to enter the city on rhinoceros horses and camels without paying any fees, and shook his head and sighed.
Just four or five meters in front of Yan Liqiang, a young man in his twenties who was about to enter the city looked at the Shatu people riding on camels and rhinoceros horses, and spat on the ground angrily, "Pah..."
A bearded Shatu man riding on a rhinoceros horse happened to pass by the young man. When he saw this scene, he raised the whip in his hand without thinking and whipped the young man.
With a "pa..." sound, the young man screamed and a deep whip mark was instantly left on his face. He was whipped to the ground by the Shatu man.
Just when the Shatu man riding on the rhinoceros horse was about to raise his whip to lash out again, Yan Liqiang took a step forward and rushed to the side of the Shatu man's rhinoceros horse. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the whip in the Shatu man's hand.
The Shatu man pulled hard, but found that the whip didn't move in Yan Liqiang's hand. He was furious. He pointed at Yan Liqiang with one hand, and started to yell on the horse. Then he reached out to the scimitar hanging on his body.
Seeing that the Shatu man was about to draw his sword, Yan Liqiang didn't think twice and pulled hard with his hand. The Shatu man was pulled off his horse and fell to the ground. The hand holding the whip also loosened at once.
The Shatu man who fell to the ground was also very agile. As soon as he fell, he drew out his knife, then rolled over and stood up, screaming and rushing towards Yan Liqiang.
Yan Liqiang's eyes turned cold, and he waved his hand, and a whip shadow passed through the air.
"Bang..." There was a loud explosion in the air.
"Ah..." The Shatu man screamed, covered his face, and fell to the ground. Blood oozes out from his fingertips. He tried to get up, but Yan Liqiang's second whip hit him hard. The Shatu man's clothes tore from the shoulder to the chest, revealing a clear bloody whip mark, his skin torn...
…
ps: There was something going on at Tiger's home these past two days, so the update has been a little slow. Please forgive me. Tiger will try his best to make up for the two chapters that were missed in the past two days!
(End of this chapter)