From Songzhou City to Suining City, a three-day journey, there were a staggering nine highway robberies, big and small.
Song Qiming's expression went from heavy to blank. It wasn't until he caught sight of the city wall's silhouette that he finally regained a bit of spirit.
He made a solemn vow, as if to encourage himself.
"Sister, I must govern Suining Prefecture well as soon as possible, so the commoners can live a good life."
Song Jinzhao glanced at him. The youth's eyes were firm and his face serious, bearing a bit of Ye Liangyu's shadow.
"I believe you can do it." Although she had been highly involved in his life, it was a fact that he had placed third in the imperial examination at the mere age of fourteen. Song Jinzhao believed in his abilities.
Hearing this, Song Qiming clenched his fists, silently cheering himself on.
The plans he had envisioned before coming to Suining needed to be revised; he would start tonight.
As they gradually approached the city wall and got a clear look, they realized it was merely a crude barrier built of yellow earth, visually estimated to be only about ten feet high.
One must know that a prefectural city wall should be at least twenty-five feet high and built with brick and stone. This was completely against regulations.
Being so low and made entirely of dirt, it could easily be breached by enemy forces. It served no defensive purpose at all.
The archway was very small, about the width of a regular household's main gate, looking like it could only accommodate a single horse carriage passing through.
Song Qiming blinked, feeling a lump in his throat.
Song Jinzhao looked at the guards checking travel passes at the gate.
The entry and exit inspections were actually stricter than in Songzhou City, but why were these men all wearing commoners' clothes instead of official yamen uniforms?
They even had red cloth strips tied around their cuffs, looking somewhat like Young Pioneers checking for red scarves at an elementary school gate.
They reached out to block people using wooden sticks rather than swords.
A man stretched his neck to look behind Song Jinzhao and her group.
There were at least a hundred people. What were they here for?
He asked sternly, "Where are you from? What is your business in Suining City? Take out your travel passes."
Song Qiming dismounted his horse. He looked up at the three characters for "Suining City" carved roughly into the wall, feeling even more stifled.
"Are you yamen runners of Suining City? Why doesn't this city wall even have a proper plaque?"
Were they already poor to this extent?
The man looked Song Qiming up and down. His luxurious silk clothes and the jade pendant tied at his waist looked very expensive. This was a wealthy person.
"You must be outsiders. Here, only the inner city wall has a plaque. The outer city wall was built by the commoners themselves, so there is no plaque."
"Although we are not yamen runners, we are militiamen officially recognized by the government. We are completely legitimate. Hurry up and take out your travel passes."
This single sentence left Song Qiming dumbfounded.
What did he mean by built by themselves? Suining City had an inner and outer wall?
"The prefectural office didn't provide the funds?" he pressed in disbelief.
The man complained, "The prefectural office's money was all used to build the inner city. Our Suining City is too big, you will understand once you go inside."
After their travel passes were checked and they entered the city, not only did Song Qiming's footsteps halt, but even Song Jinzhao froze in place.
As far as the eye could see, there were only farm fields. Behind the fields were a couple of houses. It looked neat, but it was just too bizarre.
It was possible to have fields inside a city wall, but usually not this many, and they were always located in unpopulated areas. Where else would you find farmlands right upon entering the city gates?
Song Jinzhao took out her binoculars and looked around.
"Every household is exactly the same. Is Suining City really this big?"
Song Qiming shook his head. "I've seen the Ministry of Revenue's records. Suining City covers an area of three thousand two hundred mu. It's considered relatively small for a prefectural city."
Turning her head to look at the crude city wall, Song Jinzhao squeezed her horse's belly and moved forward.
"What you're talking about must be the inner city. We probably haven't even entered the actual city yet."
Song Qiming was extremely puzzled.
"The Ministry of Revenue's records don't mention an outer city. Does the imperial court not know about this?"
Song Jinzhao replied, "Let's find the inner city first. We'll know once we get to the prefectural office."
The fact that Feng Yi hadn't specifically mentioned it meant it wasn't important.
Suining City had probably always been like this.
