Chapter 1365 Chang'an is difficult to live in

Chapter 1365 Chang'an is difficult to live in

The first feeling many people have when they come to Chang'an is that the city is too big. It is not only beyond their knowledge, but also beyond their imagination. So many people feel that it is really unnecessary to build such a large city, especially when the city was first put into use. Most of the hundreds of squares in the city were not fully occupied, and many squares were even deserted. The whole city seemed a bit empty and deserted.

However, as time went by, Chang'an became more and more prosperous, and people moved in to various squares one after another. Especially some squares with good locations and environments were soon overcrowded and hard to find a place to stay.

Chang'an City is located on Longshouyuan. The position of Longshou is the location of the Taiji Palace in the inner palace. To the south, a dragon ridge runs through the city. The location of this dragon ridge is Zhuque Street.

The terrain in the city is high in the east and low in the west. Many terraces such as Leyouyuan and Shaolingyuan are located in the east of the city, which also makes the terrain in the east of the city high and comfortable. But the west of the city also has its own advantages, that is, the water resources are relatively abundant. Several canals and ponds are mainly distributed in the west of the city, which is convenient for boats to enter and exit and transport materials.

Because of the different geographical environments, the city has gradually formed the East City as the main residential area, with many mansions and mansions, while the West City is prosperous in commerce. In addition to the large market of the West City, there are also many workshops, warehouses and residences in the streets.

Of course, some special places, such as those streets distributed around the Taiji Palace, do not follow this rule, but because they are close to the power center, the powerful gather there.

Although the streets on the west side of the Taiji Palace are low-lying and humid in summer, they are close to the imperial city and have become a second choice for some court officials when they can't find a better place to live.

After all, they have to go to court and work in the office every day. If they live too far away from the imperial city, they will spend a lot of time on the way every day, which is very inconvenient. In particular, the court stipulated that officials were not allowed to ride carriages or sedan chairs unless they were over 60 years old or had special circumstances such as illness. They could only travel to and from the imperial city on horseback or on foot.

Walking in and out of Chang'an City was extremely inefficient, but if they rode horses, they would have to spend more money on buying and raising horses. For some lower-level officials with relatively poor families, it was also a considerable burden, and living near the imperial city became a relatively cost-effective choice.

High-quality resources are always scarce, and this is particularly evident in Chang'an City. Although the city planning has reached the limit of what can be done in this era, comfortable and livable houses with good locations are still increasingly scarce. Many people can only choose one when choosing a residence in the city, but more people cannot choose any one.

Duke Xiao Zhao of Liang was once a member of the Southern Liang royal family, and now he is the prime minister. His house is naturally located in the best area in the city, and it is quite large, directly occupying half of the land in the square. The house is divided into several cross-courtyards in front and back, and there are more than a hundred houses of various sizes.

Such a large house is more than enough for Xiao Zhao's family to live in. Even if the slaves' dormitory is added, there are still many empty houses. After Jiangdong was pacified, many people from Jiangdong went north to Chang'an either actively or passively. These foreign visitors naturally had no fixed residence in the capital. They either stayed in inns, lived in Buddhist temples and Taoist temples, or went to old friends like Xiao Zhao who were also from Jiangdong but had settled in Chang'an for a long time.

Xiao Zhao was prominent and his house was so magnificent that there was an endless stream of people coming to seek shelter.

Although Xiao Zhao had limited friendship with most of these people, after all, most of them were dependent on his seventh uncle Xiao Yi, and he and Xiao Yi were in a hostile state. However, these old stories have changed with the passage of time, and there is no point in worrying about them. Most of the people from Jiangdong who came to visit him would be treated with some courtesy, so Xiao Zhao's house was crowded for a while.

In the east cross courtyard of Xiao Zhao's house, there lived a family who came from Jiangdong to seek refuge. They were Wang Chong of the Wang family of Langya and his wife, children and family members.

After the war in Jiangdong was settled, although Chen Chang, the Lord of Chen, and his court officials temporarily stayed in Qin County in Jiangbei, the military and political affairs of Jiangdong had been completely taken over by the Tang Dynasty. In addition, the court also issued several conscription orders to summon some famous people from Jiangdong to Chang'an. Wang Chong himself has an outstanding family background, and he is also the nephew of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan. Naturally, he is also on the list of the imperial court's conscription. It is unknown whether he is happy to go north to Chang'an with his family.

Wang Chong held a high position in the Southern Chen Dynasty, but he naturally did not receive such treatment after coming to Chang'an. Especially now that the imperial court is more focused on dealing with the military and political affairs of Jiangdong, they are only given a vanity of a scattered rank for those who came to Chang'an from Jiangdong, and no actual appointment has been made.

Wang Chong's family did not even have a place to live in Chang'an. If Xiao Zhao had not taken him in because of their kinship, the family's life in Chang'an would have been even more miserable. But the days of living under someone else's roof are not very pleasant after all. In addition, the gap in fate makes Wang Chong quite sensitive, so he often feels depressed.

On this day, Wang Chong went out to visit a friend. After returning to the courtyard where Xiao Zhao stayed, he frowned and said as soon as he entered the room, "It's so cold in the house, why don't you light a fire to keep warm!"

It was already late autumn, and the climate in Guanzhong was beginning to get colder. This was naturally a bit unbearable for Wang Chong, who had lived in Jiangdong for a long time, so whenever he stayed at home, he would ask his family to light a fire to keep warm.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, the family next to him said with an embarrassed look: "My Lord, today the steward of Duke Liang's Mansion came to complain that the firewood expenditure was too much. Heating will only be given an hour every ten days after the frost. "

Wang Chong's expression suddenly changed slightly after hearing this. He sat in the room for a long time before getting up and sighing: "I have been harassing you for a long time, and my old relatives have become evil guests. If you continue to stay, I am afraid that you will become enemies, so you can leave." !" He didn't mean to complain about Xiao Qing, but he felt a little sorry for himself. It should be noted that he had more than thirty sons alone, plus his slaves, wives, concubines, children, and their families. That was a large family of several hundred people. They lived in Xiao Jin's home for several months and occupied a house that was even larger than the owner's house. However, Xiao Jin never made a sound to drive him away, which can be regarded as the most benevolent and righteous thing to do.

Although he felt that he should have wised up and left, Wang Chong did not dare to return home directly. Today he went out to inquire about the news and learned that the cultural relics, gifts, ceremonial books and other items from the Nanchen court had been sent to Chang'an. It was said that Chen Chang, the Lord of Chen, would also formally surrender to the court at the end of the year, announcing the official end of Nanchen Guozuo. By then they These Jiangdong people will also enter the DPRK to receive resettlement.

At such an opportunity, Wang Chong naturally did not dare to leave Chang'an easily, not to mention whether he would miss the imperial court's appointment arrangements. He was called here by name, but ended up leaving Chang'an privately. If he was impeached and reported by the censor, he might be It is inevitable to judge someone as a crime of disobedience, and then it will be more than just a frustration of self-esteem.

In fact, Wang Chong was not completely ignorant. His family was from a well-known family and had been officials for generations, so he naturally had a lot of savings. This time his family went north to Chang'an, which also brought a lot of family assets with them, and they settled in Chang'an. plan, so I have been visiting homes since I came to Chang'an.

It's just that he has too many family members, and he has many requirements for the living environment, so there are too few choices, and he has not found the house he likes for a long time.

This time, Xiao Qing's slave had lost his face. Not to mention whether it was his master's instruction, Wang Chong also realized that if he continued to rely on him, his relatives might become enemies.

So while he picked out some precious items from the supplies he brought, he found a reason and sent them to the front hall of Xiao Qing's house. Then he summoned his son and said with a serious face: "You must try your best to select If the house is moved out within the month, if there is really no good choice, the second option is okay. Chang'an is not in Jiankang, and there is no Wuyi Lane for families to live together, but it can be accommodated here. "

"If you don't want to be close to the imperial city, there are several livable places in the south of the city. In the places along the Qujiang River in the southeast, many Wu people from the south settled, and they were even called Wu'erfang by Kinei Shiliu. Erri went to Wannian. When the county government inquired, I saw several houses for sale, some with more than enough area, but the price..."

When Wang Chong's son heard what his father said, he quickly replied respectfully.

There are many regulations for the sale of houses in Chang'an City. First of all, only those who are registered in Chang'an can start a business in Chang'an. The government will give each adult male one acre of house land after he is naturalized and pays three years of rent adjustment in advance. However, the location of the house is determined by The decision is made by the government and cannot be freely chosen. If the location is not to your liking, then the only option is to purchase.

Whenever a villager in the city wants to sell their house, they must first inform Fangzheng, who will announce it to the village. If no one in the village objects, the information about the house sale will be collected by the two county offices and publicized in the county office. Therefore, if you want to buy or sell a house in Chang'an, you can go directly to the county office. Once the private transaction is confirmed, both the buyer and the seller will be fined and sentenced to imprisonment.

“Price is not an issue, as long as it’s done as soon as possible!”

Wang Chong just wanted to move out of Liang Guogong's mansion quickly and didn't care about other issues.

After hearing the words, his son nodded in agreement, and then hurried to the Wannian County Government Office to complete the formalities. However, he soon returned with a dejected look, lowered his head to avoid his father's inquiring eyes, and just said in a solemn voice: "Son, go." It’s too late, all the houses in the south of the city have been bought..."

After Wang Chong heard this, his face suddenly fell. He didn't bother to scold his son, but quickly asked: "Who is the buyer of the house? Can you visit and discuss it?"

"I heard it's Jingzhao Weishi Weiding."

Hearing his son's answer, Wang Chong frowned slightly: "Wei Ding? He used to be an official under Prince Shaoling of the Qianliang Dynasty. After the death of Prince Shaoling, there was no news, and he didn't hear of anyone serving in the Chen Dynasty. Why did he come here?" "Chang'an?"

The situation in the Southern Dynasties came and went only with those people. Although Wang Chong had little friendship with Wei Ding, he did know a little bit about him. When he heard that the buyer was Wei Ding, he wanted to rely on his identity as a fellow student in Jiangdong. He went to visit and ask for help, and immediately asked his son to arrange carriages, horses and gifts.

He was still thinking in his mind that Wei Ding's family had been in decline for a long time, unlike the Wang family of Langya who had been at the center of Jiangdong's political situation for a long time. This visit might be used to persuade Wei Ding to introduce old friends to Jiangdong, and everyone could stay together for warmth. Sell ​​the mansion to him. However, he never expected that this visit to Wei Ding would give him a huge shock.