My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 53 A Young Man Emerges from Huai Shuo

This was the first time Gao Huan and Gao Yu had left the northern frontier.

For those registered in the Six Towns, unless they really get the chance to become messengers like the two brothers, they will never be able to leave the area under the jurisdiction of the Six Towns for their entire lives.

However, for ordinary people in ancient times, traveling far away was not a good thing.

The arduous journey and the dangers of bandits, venomous snakes, and wild beasts along the way could be fatal for the elderly or those with weak constitutions.

The Northern Wei court established post roads, and one could simply follow these roads to advance.

After leaving Huai Shuo, follow the Yellow River tributary next to Huai Shuo southward to the "几" (ji) bend of the Yellow River, which is the Hetao Plain area. From here, continue eastward along the Yellow River to Yunzhong, where many Yellow River tributaries converge. After reaching Yunzhong, you can head south.

Then, the journey passed through Sizhou, Bingzhou, and Fenzhou before finally arriving at Sizhou, where Luoyang is located.

The main territory of the three prefectures of Sizhou, Bingzhou, and Fenzhou was Shanxi.

Although the messenger could leave the Six Towns, the journey was still quite arduous, especially in the sweltering heat of July. The further south they went, the hotter the temperature became.

"My lord, have some water."

Liu Taozhi and the others brought water. After a long journey, the group was resting at the post station and changing their horses before continuing their journey.

The post station was also called a post station, but the term "post station" did not exist during the Northern Wei Dynasty. The term "post station" originated from the Mongolian word "station chi".

After taking a sip of water, Gao Yu stood up and looked ahead. His experiences over the past few days had given him a completely new understanding of ancient times.

Basically, there's only one cluster of villages every few dozen or even hundreds of miles; the rest are all desolate and uninhabited places.

In this situation, it's actually the most normal thing not to see anyone, since the thing you fear most in a no-man's-land is seeing people.

Oh, and there are also caravans coming and going. Who in their right mind would go to that godforsaken place, Liuzhen, for no reason?
The six towns were essentially a one-sided siege; those outside didn't want to get in at all, while those inside fought desperately but couldn't escape.

Gao Huan also got up and came to Gao Yu's side, looking into the distance.

"We still need to speed up the trip."

They weren't on a sightseeing trip; they had official business to attend to and needed to get to Luoyang as soon as possible.

After a short rest.

The group left the post station, and not far from the post station was the inn.

The official post stations of the imperial court were only responsible for providing food, lodging and horse changing services for passing officials. Ordinary merchants could not use them, but there were special inns for traveling merchants to stay at.

Liu Gui came out from inside.

Liu Gui was originally going to Huai Shuo with his family's caravan as usual, but when he learned that the Gao brothers were going to Luoyang, he entrusted the caravan to someone else and immediately set off with the two brothers, saying that he would introduce them to a noble person after arriving at Xiu Rong Chuan in Sizhou.

His name was Erzhu Rong, and his courtesy name was Tianbao.

Erzhu Rong was an outstanding member of the younger generation of the Erzhu clan. His ancestors were chieftains of the Qihu tribe who surrendered to the Northern Wei. They were relatively lucky because the tribe was not very large at first. When Tuoba Gui unified the north, he implemented the policy of "dispersing the tribes" on the original grassland tribes. However, the Erzhu clan was lucky and was not "dispersed".

They then settled in Buksu Yeongcheon for generations and enjoyed a very high reputation in the area!

It wasn't until Erzhu Rong's grandfather, Erzhu Daiqin, that the family truly prospered!
His niece was Empress Helan, the wife of Emperor Tuoba Huang. Empress Helan was an orphan, and Erzhu Daiqin was her maternal uncle. Erzhu Daiqin rose to become a powerful maternal relative.

After Tuoba Huang's son ascended to the throne, he lavished benefits on his maternal uncle's family, granting the Erzhu clan a tax exemption for a century!
Erzhu Daiqin was appointed as the first chieftain of the people, and later rose to the position of governor of Sizhou, and was eventually granted the title of Duke of Liang!

A century of tax exemption!
In ancient times, even if someone suffered a severe natural disaster, the most they could get was a three-year tax exemption.

Riding on the coattails of Emperor Wencheng Tuoba Jun, son of Tuoba Huang, the Erzhu clan rose to prominence overnight, becoming the most prominent and powerful clan in Sizhou.

Why are you two brothers in such a hurry?

Liu Gui was puzzled, "Even if we arrive in Luoyang early, there will be no reward."

"It's better to arrive early than late, after all, this is official business for my brother and me."

"Yes... I was being presumptuous."

Liu Gui chuckled and said, “Then we shall continue on our journey. I have roughly calculated that we will reach Xiurongchuan in a few days. At that time, I will take you two brothers to meet Tianbao. He loves to befriend outstanding people and heroes like you two brothers!”

"Then let's get going."

The group immediately mounted their horses and continued south along the post road. After traveling for seven days, they finally arrived at Xiurongchuan. Gao Huan and Gao Yu rested briefly at the post station and washed away the dust of their journey. They then decided to stop for the time being and go with Liu Gui to visit Erzhu Rong!

During their journey over the past few days, Liu Gui also explained the general situation of Erzhu's family to the two brothers in great detail.

Upon hearing this, Gao Huan gave Erzhu a very high evaluation!
Because I learned it from Liu Gui.

Whenever the Northern Wei Dynasty was at war with foreign powers, even though the Erzhu clan had been exempted from taxes for a century, they would still voluntarily provide the court with a large number of fine horses, equipment, and provisions.

Emperor Xiaowen made a rule for the chieftains of these people who were not "dispersed from the tribes": every winter they had to go to Luoyang to pay homage and learn the court's rules and regulations. They could leave after spring. After all, Luoyang was too hot in the summer for these people who were used to the grassland climate. Their travel time was like that of wild geese, and these chieftains were also called "goose ministers".

Erzhu Rong's father, Erzhu Xinxing, would select many fine horses from his own ranch and bring them with him to Luoyang every winter. Once in Luoyang, he would give them to the powerful and wealthy. He was essentially a "luxury car wholesaler." Every winter, he would regularly give "local specialties" as a form of welfare to the powerful and wealthy in Luoyang.

This practice of not hoarding the tax exemption benefits meant that although the Erzhu family was wealthy, they were not targeted by powerful figures.

“You two brothers are outstanding individuals, especially Erlang, whose reputation for bravery has spread throughout the Six Garrisons and even the entire northern frontier. There is no need to be so reserved.”

"Since it's a visit, one should naturally observe proper etiquette."

Powerful clans like the Erzhu clan all had their own fortified villages and did not live in the city.

As Gao Yu and his group walked out of the city on their way to the Erzhu clan's territory, they certainly broadened their horizons!

In Huai Shuo.

The Lou family was already a top-tier wealthy clan, and the cattle, sheep, and horses on their ranches were counted by the valleys.

The Kerzhu clan was even worse!

Not only are they counted by valleys, but their cattle, sheep, and horses are even categorized by coat color, showcasing an extremely extravagant lifestyle!

"Such a powerful family, even my sister-in-law's family can't compare, can they?"

Gao Yu was truly shocked as he looked at the valley full of white horses before him. After all, the development benefits brought about by a century of tax exemption were indeed outrageous...

Gao Huan was also taken aback when he saw it. Such wealth was unmatched by any powerful family, not to mention Huai Shuo, even in the Six Towns.

The group arrived at the fortified village at a leisurely pace.

The gatekeeper servant clearly recognized Liu Gui, but when he learned that Liu Gui had come to visit Erzhu Rong with entourage, he was told otherwise.

"My husband set off for Luoyang a few days ago."

Liu Gui hesitated for a moment, then shook his head helplessly, "If that's the case... then thank you."

The three of them turned and left.

But at the door, I saw two little girls laughing and playing in front of me.

"Auntie, Auntie! Wait for me!!"

Both little girls were like exquisitely carved porcelain dolls; although they were young, it was clear that they would grow up to be beautiful.

Gao Yu looked at the two girls with curiosity.

The two girls looked at him curiously, then ran away playfully.

Liu Gui explained.

"The older one is Tianbao's daughter, and the other one is probably Wanren's daughter. Wanren should also be accompanying Tianbao to Luoyang this time."

Wanren was the courtesy name of Erzhu Zhao, and was Erzhu Rong's cousin, that is, his nephew.

"Judging from her goddess-like demeanor, one can tell that Erzhu Rong must be a handsome man."

"Haha, that's true. However, although Tianbao is handsome, he is still slightly inferior to you two brothers."

"Since he is not in Xiurong at the moment, let's continue our journey to Luoyang."

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(End of this chapter)