Chương 552: Visiting Los Angeles

The carriage slowly entered Mingde Gate, and everyone fell silent instantly, their mouths agape, forgetting even to breathe.

Before me stretched an absurdly wide street that led straight to the imperial city in the north, seemingly endless, like a road to heaven.

The road surface is paved entirely with bluestone slabs, as smooth as a mirror, without a single pothole.

The central street was the imperial road, reserved for the emperor and officials. Sidewalks lined both sides, with neat rows of locust and sycamore trees. Underneath the trees were special drainage ditches covered with bluestone slabs, which were completely odorless and exuded the fresh scent of wood.

The trees were just planted, and although they are not very big yet, you can already imagine what they will look like in a few years.

"My goodness! This street is so wide!" Cheng Yaojin exclaimed, his voice so loud it could shake the city walls.

"In the past, in Luoyang, two carriages would argue for ages just to pass each other on the streets. Now, ten carriages can walk side by side! You can even ride horses and play ball in the middle! You can even fight on horseback on these streets in the future!"

Song Yingxing stepped forward with a smile and explained to the crowd, "Your Majesty, everyone, this is Zhuque Avenue, the central axis of the entire city. To the east is Luodong County, and to the west is Luoxi County, each governing fifty-four wards, totaling one hundred and eight wards, corresponding to the one hundred and eight constellations in the sky. In feng shui, this is called 'harmony between heaven and man,' which is auspicious!"

He pointed to the drainage ditch by the roadside and said, "Look at this drainage ditch. It's divided into two sections: one for rainwater and one for sewage. Rainwater flows directly into the Luo River, while sewage is discharged into a sewage treatment pond outside the city. After fermentation, it's used as fertilizer for irrigation. So, there will never be sewage flowing everywhere or a foul stench in Luoyang. Now, walking in, there's not a smell at all. It's a hundred times cleaner than Luoyang."

Xun Yu squatted down, lifted a bluestone slab to take a look, and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"This is so thoughtful! Before, Luoyang would turn into a river whenever it rained, and sewage would flood the streets. Your shoes would get dirty after just one walk, and you'd have to spend ages washing them when you got home. Now, even if it rains heavily, the streets won't flood. This design is amazing."

The carriage slowly traveled along Zhuque Avenue. The neighborhoods on both sides were neat and orderly. Each neighborhood had a wall two zhang high and four gates. The gates were guarded by special personnel and closed at 7 pm and opened at 5 am.

The streets inside the neighborhood were also paved with bluestone slabs and were very clean.

The neighborhood is paved with blue bricks, and the houses are arranged in a neat and orderly manner. Each household has a courtyard with flowers, trees and shrubs.

Some courtyards have grape trellises, some have jujube trees, and some have chickens and ducks.

"Look at that!" Cai Yong exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a sign at the entrance of a neighborhood, his voice trembling.

"Every neighborhood has a school! Children, regardless of gender, can start school at the age of seven! This is an unprecedentedly benevolent policy!"

Zhang Zhongjing also pointed to a building not far away and said:

"And there are clinics! Each neighborhood has a clinic, staffed with two doctors and five apprentices. For common ailments like headaches and fevers, they only charge the cost price for medicine, and the poor can even get treatment on credit. In this way, people will no longer be unable to afford medical care."

Liu Ce looked at the scene before him and nodded in satisfaction.

He specifically asked Song Yingxing to add public toilets and garbage stations, with two public toilets in each neighborhood, which were cleaned by dedicated personnel every day; the garbage stations collected garbage at regular intervals every day and transported it to the outskirts of the city for landfill.

Therefore, the city of Luojing was so clean that you could lie down and roll around on the ground; you couldn't even see a piece of waste paper.

Cheng Yaojin actually rolled on the ground, stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Hey, it's not dirty at all!"

...

After exploring the neighborhoods, the group arrived at the East Market.

The East Market occupied the area of two neighborhoods, more than ten times larger than the West Market of Luoyang.

The shophouses were packed with signs that blocked out the sky. They sold silk, grain, ironware, porcelain, teahouses, restaurants, cosmetics, and jewelry—you name it, they had it all, making it a dazzling sight.

Goods from all over the country can be bought here.

The streets were bustling with people, shoulder to shoulder, yet not chaotic at all.

The vendors set up their stalls in designated areas, without obstructing traffic or engaging in forced buying or selling.

Patrolling soldiers moved back and forth, maintaining order, their eyes sharp.

Shen Wansan pointed proudly to the largest five-story restaurant across the street and said:

"Look everyone, that 'Wanxianlou' is mine! It's the largest restaurant in all of Luoyang, capable of accommodating a thousand people at the same time! It has chefs from all over the country, and it serves all kinds of regional cuisines!"

From now on, if any of you gentlemen are treating, feel free to go to my place; you'll get a 50% discount! Just mention my name, Shen Wansan, and the waiter will know!

"And that silk shop!" Shen Wansan pointed to the silk shop next door, becoming more and more excited as he spoke.

"They have brocade from Jiangnan, brocade from Sichuan, brocade from the Western Regions... Ladies, if you buy any silk, just mention my name, and I'll give you a bolt for free! I, Shen Wansan, keep my word!"

Everyone laughed and teased him, "Lord Shen, you really know how to do business! You never forget to use your 'GG' (a Chinese internet slang term for a... Shen Wansan chuckled: "Doing business is nothing to be ashamed of! His Majesty taught me that merchants are the lifeblood of the nation; without merchants, goods cannot circulate. I am simply responding to His Majesty's call!" Song Yingxing added: "The East Market mainly sells luxury goods and daily necessities, while the West Market mainly sells grain, livestock and handicrafts. There are also special markets for horses, cattle and ironware." In the future, the canal wharves in Jiangnan will be built next to the West Market, allowing grain and goods to be transported directly to the West Market at prices 30% lower than in Luoyang. People will no longer have to worry about not being able to afford grain; with more grain available, prices will naturally come down. Xun Yu did the math and nodded, saying, "In this way, each household can save a lot of money every year, enough to make two more sets of new clothes and buy ten more catties of meat. The people's lives will get better and better." After touring the outer city, the group arrived at the imperial city. The Imperial City is located at the northernmost part of Luoyang. Its red palace walls and golden glazed tiles gleamed brightly in the sunlight, making it look like a palace in the sky when viewed from afar. Chengtian Gate, located to the due south, has five gate openings and a wide square in front of it, capable of accommodating 100, 000 people at the same time. The stone slabs in the square were all carefully selected; each one is the same size and the same flat. Entering Chengtian Gate, you will find yourself at Taiji Hall Square. The square was paved with white marble, and was so wide that it could accommodate 50, 000 people at the same time to pay homage. It was so shiny that it could reflect people's images. The square is surrounded by evergreen pines and cypresses, as well as a tall bronze cauldron with sandalwood incense burning inside. At the end of the square is the main hall of Luojing—the Taiji Hall. The Taiji Hall is ten zhang high and is supported by seventy-two nanmu wood pillars that require two people to encircle. These nanmu woods were transported from the deep mountains of Sichuan and Chongqing, and each one was worth a thousand gold pieces. It took a lot of effort to transport them. The roof is covered with golden glazed tiles, and the ridge is carved with dragons, phoenixes and auspicious beasts, so lifelike that they seem to be about to take flight. Upon entering the Taiji Hall, everyone gasped in astonishment, feeling as if their eyes couldn't take it all in.