Nightfall

Arrived in Qinghe County

Going out of Qing Gorge, Ning Que finally reached the real south of the Tang Empire. On the plain there were paths crisscrossing the fields, trees with flowers in full blossom, and waters flowing south to the Great Lake.

Because of the mountains in the north and Qing Gorge, the Tang Empire did not put massive forces on the south plain, even though the military power of South Jin Kingdom was very strong, with its world renowned navy forces.

Thus, this abundant plain was less magnificent but more elegant when compared to the north, so were the houses on both sides of the road. These high and low houses mostly decorated with white walls and black eaves were partly hidden between trees and waterwheels, looking quite beautiful.

The black horse carriage kept going southward. The scenery along the way was getting quieter, and more and more rivers, clear pools, and stone bridges could been seen. While the farmlands became less, the secluded manors became much more present.

Gradually they arrived in Qinghe County.

There was a big city in Qinghe County called Yangguan, famous as the first city of the Tang Empire on the south plain. This city was not geographically dangerous, but was located in a very important line of communications. Although it was not strongly guarded by the court, its defense was under the direct administration of a certain department led by the Defender-general of the State Xu Shi.

Currently, the governor of Yangguan City was surnamed Zhong, and the largest surname in the city was also Zhong. The Zhongs basically controlled all walks of life in the city, but they were the least noticeable among all the Dominant Families in Qinghe County.

Those Dominant Families in the south of the Tang Empire were extremely rich, owning thousands of fertile farmlands. However, what made them lasting was that they attached great importance to education.

As they put much emphasis on the inheritance of education, they had fostered countless scholars within the last thousand years. Apart from officials of the Tang Dynasty, previous Empresses, and many Great Divine Priests of West Hill, there were many descendants from Qinghe County serving as Divine Priests in West Hill or cordially recruited as instructors by the Revelation Institute.

Official positions in Qinghe County at all levels were basically occupied by people from Dominant Families. As the law of the Tang Empire was very strict and the imperial court secretly suppressed those families for hundreds of years, they were relatively low-key now. Besides, since they wanted to gain respect from those families in Chang’an, the whole county was ruled with orderliness, so it was very prosperous and lively. With its unique literary as well as religious atmospheres that could be accepted by the Tang people, it had always been one of the top three places to visit for the Tang people.

There were numerous shops in Yangguan City, attracting thousands of visitors. As there were a total of 132 big and small lakes in Yangguan, it was also called the City of a Hundred Lakes. Among all, Thin Lake in the south of the city was the most famous one; although very small, it was close to the government. More importantly, the best whorehouse and inn of the south stood by the lake bank, and the most gorgeous flower boat was also on the lake.

The delegation heading to Lanke Temple rested in Yangguan for a few days and they lived in a relatively quiet mansion by the east of Thin Lake. That mansion belonged to the Songs, one of the seven Dominant Families in Qinghe County. They made room for the delegation without any hesitation when they heard that they would come a month ago, showing absolute respect for them.

About four blocks away from Thin Lake, there was a post office of the Tang Empire with a black horse carriage parked outside.

Ning Que appreciated the scenery through the window. When noticing those scholars bowing to one another, he could not help smiling, thinking of his previous classmate in the Academy, Zhong Dajun from Yangguan.