After bidding farewell to Liu Bei and others smoothly, they passed through Ai (Yangquan), Yuci, and the Hu army finally arrived at Taiyuan County half a month later.

After several days of repairs in Taiyuan County, Wu Liang and others left the city again and headed southwest, arriving at Jinyang City two days later.

Jinyang City today is already a famous historical city.

Not only was the Northern Tang Dynasty, the capital of the ancient Tang Dynasty, located here, it was also the capital of Zhao during the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was also the capital of the Han Dynasty before it was fully established.

Even if it is not the capital of the country, it is always the capital and county seat of the feudal country here.

And as far as Wu Liang knows, in addition to the Northern Tang ruins he is exploring this time, there should be an existing ancient city here. This ancient city was built by Dong An, a retainer of Zhao Jianzi, the minister of Jin in the late Spring and Autumn Period. It went through the Qin, Han, and Three Kingdoms.

The Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties were finally destroyed by war in the fourth year of Taiping and Xingguo in the Song Dynasty (979 AD).

Even so.

Archaeologists of later generations still found some important cultural relics near the ruins of this ancient city, but most of these monuments can only be traced back to the Six Dynasties and the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

For Wu Liang now, the Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties are considered future generations that have not yet appeared.

It was even further away from the Northern Tang ruins he was trying to explore this time, so the archaeological discoveries of later generations had basically no reference value for him.

The only thing he needs to worry about now is whether the Beitang ruins still exist.

After all, although the immortal man from the Sairi tribe who met in the camel grave of Shanshan Kingdom had seen the ruins of this ancient city, it was already more than two thousand years ago.

After more than two thousand years, many things have changed.

What's more, Jinyang City is still a famous historical city. It later served as the capital and important city many times. There are definitely many people who have lived here, and it must have been rebuilt and renovated many times. This will definitely cause considerable damage to the relevant sites, and even

It may be that the ruins were directly leveled and rebuilt.

As a result, the difficulty of investigation is definitely not at the same level as previous tomb robberies.

Therefore, Wu Liang had already been mentally prepared before coming here. It was very likely that he would not be able to find anything this time. But if he didn't come to check, he really couldn't persuade himself not to worry about this matter. He didn't come here.

It can be regarded as an attempt to completely resolve this worry of mine.

…

As expected, strong traces of history can still be seen in Jinyang City at this time.

Its city wall was obviously expanded and repaired on the basis of the ancient city wall to form what it is today. It looks like a combination of ancient and modern times, much like the style of the ancient Xi'an city wall in later generations.

However, the scale is much smaller than the ancient city wall of Xi'an.

After all, the part of the ancient city wall left in Jinyang City today was built in the late Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, this place was no longer the capital of Zhao State, so the scale of the city wall was naturally not up to the level of the capital.

in addition.

In this matter, the city wall of Jinyang City is not like the ancient city wall of Xi'an that can be visited by tourists in later generations. This is a real war fortification, with city defenders guarding it 24 hours a day. Wu Liang and others have no special relationship.

Because of his identity, he could only observe it outside the city.

But the days are long.

Since Wu Liang has arrived in Jinyang City and plans to use it as a base to explore the ancient capital of the Northern Tang Dynasty, he must stay here patiently for some time to fully understand the customs and folklore here, and sift through these folklore.

Information that is useful to you, so you can deduce the direction of exploration.

This must be a relatively trivial and long process. Maybe I will spend the Spring Festival here this year...

As a result, the Hu army had just arrived at the city gate when they already discovered something unusual:

The guards in Jinyang City are actually very sparse, with only six soldiers in total.

Moreover, these six soldiers also looked careless. At most, they would only ask a few simple questions to newcomers, and even skipped basic inspections.

Fortunately, before Wu Liang entered the city, he specifically ordered his troops to find a secret place outside the city and bury the "sweat corpse" with the coffin in order to avoid inspection by the city's defenders.

Although under normal circumstances, even the defenders are reluctant to touch such unlucky things as coffins, they cannot be prepared for the fact that the defense level in some places is too high and they have to open the coffin to check. If these people accidentally discover this

The corpse inside the coffin was actually wearing jade clothes with gold threads. That was definitely not a trivial matter, and everyone in the Hu army would definitely be in big trouble.

at the same time.

There are also very few pedestrians leaving and entering the city at the city gate, giving people a very desolate feeling, as if Jinyang City has been completely ruined and has become a dead city with a sparse population.

Disease?

Typhoid fever?

Or is there some other reason that caused Jinyang City to become what it is now?

Wu Liang was naturally a little worried.

If Jinyang City is currently experiencing an uncontrollable epidemic, then it is obviously not a wise choice for them to enter the city now. After all, even Wu Liang does not have an effective enough method to ensure that the entire Hu army will not be affected.

"Yang Wanli, what's going on? Jinyang City suffered a great disaster?"

Wu Liang turned his head and looked at Yang Wanli. Before coming, he had ordered Yang Wanli to enter Jinyang City one day in advance to inquire about it, but he did not listen to Yang Wanli's report on this aspect.

"Nothing."

However, Yang Wanli had a relaxed look on his face and said to Wu Liang with a smile, "It was not like this when I entered the city yesterday. The gate of the city was very busy with people coming and going. The reason why there are few people today is because it happened.

On the winter solstice.”

"winter solstice?"

Wu Liang was stunned.

Calculating today is November 18th, it is indeed the winter solstice among the 24 solar terms. After a minor cold and a major cold, it will be the annual Spring Festival.

Although it is recorded in "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" written at the end of the Warring States Period, during the Warring States Period there were only eight solar terms in China: the Beginning of Spring, the Vernal Equinox, the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the Beginning of Autumn, the Autumnal Equinox, the Beginning of Winter, and the Winter Solstice.

But by the Qin and Han Dynasties, the name of the twenty-four solar terms had been established and promoted to be used across the country. It became an important culture that reflected seasonal changes, guided agricultural activities, and affected the food, clothing, housing, and transportation of thousands of households.

In later generations, there is still a saying that "the winter solstice is as big as the New Year".

Every household will eat dumplings to celebrate this day, or in some areas in the south, ancestor worship, banquets and other activities will be held to celebrate.

But in the late Han Dynasty.

It seems that there is no such thing as dumplings, and even if there is, it must not be popularized.

Because according to legend, the inventor of dumplings was Zhang Zhongjing, a famous doctor in the late Han Dynasty, a man who was called the "Sage of Medicine" in later generations.

During this period, there were constant wars, and the people often did not have enough clothes to cover their bodies. Many people could not bear the cold weather in winter, and their ears suffered from very severe frostbite. When Zhang Zhongjing saw this situation, he used mutton mixed with some cold-repelling medicines.

Put them together, then wrap them with dough into the shape of ears, cook them in a pot and distribute them to the people who are frostbitten. After eating this food, the people's whole body will become hot, their blood will flow smoothly, and their ears will soon become warm.

After some time, the patient's rotten ears also healed.

Because this kind of food looks like ears, people call it "Jiao Er" in a very literary way.

Later, various names such as wontons, laowan, bianshi, and fanjiao appeared one after another. In later generations, they were finally unified as "dumplings" and became an indispensable traditional food for family reunions during festivals...

In the author's hometown, many people still call dumplings Bianshi when speaking in dialect, which sounds very friendly.

Zhang Zhongjing was living in this era.

According to historical records, Zhang Zhongjing should be about forty years old now. If he had already invented the "Quhan Jiao Er Decoction" at this time, he probably would not have had time to popularize it in Taiyuan County, but after a few decades, Cao Pi

When he ascended the throne and established the Wei regime, there were already relevant records, but in the records, "Jiao Er" was already called "Wonton".

Let’s talk about the winter solstice.

As soon as Yang Wanli mentioned this solar term, Wu Liang almost understood the reason why Jinyang City is in such a good situation now.

According to the "Book of the Later Han: Etiquette": "Before and after the winter solstice, a gentleman is at peace and quiet, and all officials are in charge."

Even if it comes to this day, everyone will stay at home. Even the officials of the Han Dynasty will refuse official duties and be in a state of peace and quiet with the people of the country.

certainly.

"Book of the Later Han: Etiquette" also says: "Select capable people to play the drum, harp, sheng, and the rhythm of yellow bells to celebrate."

That is to say, some places will still hold some sacrificial activities on this day, but it is difficult to say whether it is a large-scale event in a region or a family sacrificial ceremony for some officials.

"It is the winter solstice, so this scene appears."

Yang Wanli replied.

"Understood."

Wu Liang nodded slightly, and then said to Yang Wanli, "First go and settle down in the house you have arranged for us in advance, and then you can buy some mutton, seasonings and flour. If there is no flour, other grain powders will be fine.

Mutton and pork are also acceptable. Anyway, buy them as soon as possible and let’s have a fresh meal today.”

"promise."

Yang Wanli responded, and then swallowed unconsciously, "Sir, what kind of fresh food are you planning to take us to eat?"

Everyone also looked at Wu Liang curiously.

Wu Liang usually doesn't cook much, but if he does it, he can always come up with something new that no one has seen before, and the taste is also very good, so as long as Wu Liang does it himself, they immediately become energetic.

"You'll know when the time comes. By the way, I'm buying some wine. Let's relax tonight."

Wu Liang said with a smile.

However, there was a trace of subtle sadness mixed in this smile.

I miss my loved ones even more every festive season.
To be continued...