Book 21 - Chapter 10 – Back in Yangzhou (1/2)

Chapter 10 – Back in Yangzhou

The shi+p arrived at Yangzhou

Froe point at the port side of the shi+p, Xu Ziling surveyed the big co the sea in the mist of the dawn; his heart was filled with al son who left his village, after going through ten thousand crags and torrents, and disaster after disaster, finally returned to his starting point

The strange thing was that when the last tizhou to see the , he did not have the sa-the-soul feeling of sea voyage, when they let Susu made the choice that would affect the rest of her life

Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart

Standing beside hi two Speaking about cozhou has always been at the top of the list, otherwise our Zhuhua Bang would not be the other big gang besides Baling Bang Therefore, after duo [lit helms, ie the headquarter] has always zhou put hi, this will have its own cause and effects”

The world ‘sowing’ [yang] referred to Yangzhou, the word ‘reaping’ [or ‘benefitting’, yi] referred to Yizhou, nadu, and the likes were like the Luoyang of the Central Plains, which was the hub of the water and land transport connecting all parts of the country, especially the ay aspect, since it was at the intersection of the Canal and the Yangtze River, as well as at the coast of Yangtze River leading to the sea, hence it’s geographical superiority could be inferred

As for the land route, fro, to the west Sichuan, to the south extended to Huguang’s [ie Hubei and Hunan provinces] relay stations along the zhou becaic hub of sea, land, and river transports, the center of distribution connecting the water and land routes of the north and the south Since the Sui Dynasty, large number of rice, salt, cloth and silk passed by this area on their way north to supply the Central Plains, as well as Ji Shan regions [Hebei and Shaanxi] Yangzhou was also reckoned to be first or second best metropolitan in the nation The principal commodity were precious stones, salt distribution, wood, brocade, copperware, and so on

When E was murdered by the rebel ar Huai Army was one step too late, so he could only watch when Li Zitong took thiscity in the south It was like one e river like Yangtze River, which was the convergence of the ays in the world, no one had the capability to co period of tizhou was definitely not an easyto cooperate with Shen Faxing was si’s navy fleet with its rich naval battle experience, plus the backbone of Shen Faxing’s navy was Hai Sha Bang’s huge fleet of warshi+ps

Hai Sha Bang’s Gang Leader was originally the ‘Dragon King’ Han Gaitian But when theyBang’s base ca, and his internal injury could not recover coive way to the Beautiful Mermaid You Qiuyan, with the ‘Fat assassin’ You Gui and the ‘Roa Leader, respectively They reorganized the Gang, and recovered the Gang’s power soovern the entire city, linked up by undulating hills

‘Governmental city’ was the seat of the iuan Mansion and other governmental offices, concentrated in one location, , which was located on elevated ground; easily guarded, hard to attack In those days, were it not for Yuwen Huaji revolted froht not necessarily be able to , as under the full protection of the Dugu Clan

Under the ‘governmental city’, the commercial and residential area extended outside the second wall built around the ular city was inhabited by close to two hundred thousand people, with most residents live in the southern crown of the city

The main street was linedtrees every a thousand paces, the red clouds were reflected on the two layers of city wall The inner city spanned eleven li from north to south, and seven li from east to west, the peri’s struggling and challenging, but precious childhood years were spent in the approxi about the past, all kinds of memory flooded back into his mind; how could he not be overco’s eyes were glea on his other side, thought that Xu Ziling felt strange because he did not see the troops and horses besieging the city; thereupon he explained, “This past year or so the war has been stop-and-go; three sides of Jiangdu face river and ocean, the harbor is deep and wide, besieging the city is easier said than done Plus in the other big city Zhongli, Li Zitong has massiveenemy via the ay Therefore, each ti the city, they th; otherwise, how could Li Zitong hold on until today?”

Inwardly Xu Ziling ad: the reason Du and Shen, two arether was because they were suspicious of each other, and Kou Zhong was able to grasp this critical conflict between the two, thereupon he would be able to calezhi who first thought about this crucial point, and not Kou Zhong at all

Although the pier outside the city could not be colory where thousands of shi+ps were docking side by side, their sails andthe sky, but there were at least a hundred shi+ps, big and s the coast It appeared that they were taking advantage of this brief period of peace to do business

Their shi+p slowly docked The welco eants of Li Zitong’s ar at this kind of welcozhou hardly attached any i stepped back so that he would not be too conspicuous

Luo Qifei moved over to his side and said, “Looks like we have a little bit of trouble”

Xu Ziling nodded and said, “We have to change according to the situation”

The shi+p finally cast its anchor, Luo Feng was the first to cohtly helpless intonation he said to Gui Xiliang, “Da wang’s [The King] order, all shi+ps arriving at Jiangdu oods After everything is verified properly, you ed, he said, “Even we, Zhuhua Bang men are not exe hirab his shoulder and said, “Be patient a bit! We all knohat is going on inside”

His gaze fell on Xu Ziling, disguised as the ‘Scarface Hero’, and the others, seventeen people in all; he asked, “Are these honored guests brothers fro cupped his fist and replied in hoarse voice, “Xiaodi is the ‘Feng Dao’ [wind saber] Ling Feng of Shandong I cazhu [hall master/leader], indeed under Shao Shuai’s order to wait on Gui Tangzhu”

Naturally Luo Feng has never heard that in the Wulin world of Shandong there existed such figure; inwardly he was apprehensive, but on the surface he put on a your-na-time appearance, and said, “The inspection process should ne reasonable and fair, it is not to deliberatelywill show understanding, otherwise how could we cooperate with Shao Shuai?”

Turning his head around, he signaled the Li Ar on the shore to cohed inwardly, knowing that the trouble has just begun

※ ※ ※

Returning to Yangzhou was like returning to a far away, yet forever unforgettable dream Whether it was inside or outside the city, everywhere he looked, there were traces of the shocking-the-eye, astonishi+ng-the-heart fire of war, collapsed and dae equipment in all kinds of shape and sizes, sunken warshi+ps, and bloodstain on the streets, which had turned black, the ruins of houses after the fire, cru walls and scattered roof tiles everywhere

But the people were accustorant workers orking onthe walls, for others, life went on as usual

Due to lack of warhorses, everybody entering the city s; they walked slohile carefully observing the desolation of the trau’s headquarters was back on its forht next to the inner city wall, but the building was of new construction, the scale was nificent than the previous one, the complex was composed of seven compounds, each has its own separate wall, connected to each other by gateways and passageways; four of those buildings housed the Wind, Clear, Rain, and Dew, four Halls

Before reaching the headquarters, Luo Feng and Gui Xiliangwith each other in low voices Xu Ziling and Xing Rong brought up the rear When they were passing the zhou, the Willow Lane, Xing Rong whispered in Xu Ziling’s ear, “Madarance, and nowadays it has becozhou’s most famous pleasure house, and the Two Principals of Heavenly Fragrance are the most famous talented ladies of the south; it won’t be easy for anybody to see theht”

West of the Willow Lane was the Jiucheng [lit old city] River that cut across the road going north and south of the city, spanning across the river were two big bridges, Ruyi [as one wishes] and Xiao Hong [little rainbow]; the scenery on both banks was char down, lined with luxuriant fragrant grass

Further aas the other large river, the Wen River, balancing the Jiucheng River Along the Wen River going east was the Great South Gate Street, the busiest and zhou; most shops were concentrated here