Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 100 Rising Sun

There were direct passenger trains from Beipiao to Chaoyang. Although the old green trains were incredibly slow during this period, they were much more comfortable and faster than passenger trains of the same era, so people preferred to take the trains. However, most areas could only rely on passenger transport for travel.

On the third day, Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng got up early, ate a quick bite of food, and ran to the bus station to take a bus to Chaoyang (for testing).

Xiao Wei didn't want to stay in Beipiao for even a day longer. It was too miserable. He slept on a cold kang (heated brick bed) for two nights, and he was so cold that he couldn't even eat properly. He was just slumped over.

The main reason is that he is too young, so Xia Maosheng is hesitant to take him home to live, and Xiao Wei doesn't want to cause any trouble.

The bus, hauling passengers who were clearly overcrowded, roared away from the station, past a small earthen embankment and a few small bungalows. Xiao Wei sat in his hard seat, looking out the window at this unfamiliar city. After such a brief encounter, he truly never wanted to come back.

Several "supporting pillars" were installed in the bus to support the goods piled high on the roof. The carriage was crammed full and airtight. This is how it is everywhere in this era. This is the transportation situation of this era, a reflection of this era.

After another hour and a half of bumpy ride, the bus finally arrived at Chaoyang Station. We pulled in, got off, and found that the area was much more crowded. After all, it was a city now. Although it was a bit economically backward in this era, it couldn't hide the fact that it was a large prefecture-level city. You should know that Lingyuan City was originally separated from here.

Stepping out of the bus station, Xiaowei truly felt like he had entered a city. Although it wasn't as big as Fengtian, the feeling was more immediate. Busy crowds wearing cotton hats and thick scarves walked along the road, and round buses slowly drove by with their horns blaring. The city was warmer than the countryside, and there were many people riding bicycles on the road, with a string of bells occasionally drifting past.

Several tall locust trees stand in front of the bus station. The bus station is built with great momentum. Ten wide pillars on the front reach to the top, making this only a few-story building look very grand and solemn. Huge iron characters stand on the canopy and the roof, with a white border and red background, a style unique to this era: Long-distance bus station.

Iron railings, painted red and white, line the roadside to separate vehicles and pedestrians.

The city is mostly low-rise buildings, with bungalows lining the streets in dense rows. The tallest buildings in the city at this time are the South Tower and North Tower, which have a history of over a thousand years.

Like all cities of this period, the roads were lined with trees, and there were huge roundabouts and wide bike lanes.

Chaoyang is also a famous ancient city in Northeast China. It is the hometown of Murong of Gusu in Jin Yong's novel. The Murong clan of the Xianbei people established the Yan state during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. This family was also a tragic royal family in real history. They established and destroyed the Yan state, and then established it again. The Yan state was successively ruled by three generations and sixteen dynasties, and the capital was Chaoyang, which was historically known as "Dragon City".

This Yan is not the same as the Yan that Qin unified the six states, although they are geographically similar. The Yan of the Seven Hegemons of the Warring States period was the private fiefdom of the Ji family, and its capital was present-day Fangshan District of Beijing. At that time, Beijing was just a village under its jurisdiction. This Yan was quite powerful, at one point expanding its territory to the entire Liaodong Peninsula. At that time, Pyongyang and Seoul were both under Qin's control. After Qin unified the country, for some reason, it relinquished its control over that area, and Goryeo rose to power.

Historically, after the Han Dynasty, it was not until the Qing Dynasty that a complete unification was achieved again. Even the most powerful Tang Dynasty in between did not achieve this. The Yuan and Ming Dynasties came closest to unification, but the Yuan Dynasty only occupied territory without governing it, and there was hardly any peace from beginning to end. The Ming Dynasty nominally controlled most areas, but in reality, it was only a symbolic rule. This included the Northeast, which had garrisons but no soldiers, and the Southwest, which had generals but no guards. These places were actually controlled by clans, such as Liaodong under the Qing Dynasty, Goguryeo (most of Jilin under the Li family), and some countries in Southeast Asia today.

Between the Three Kingdoms period and the Tang Dynasty, the Han, Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di tribes fought each other across much of China, resulting in widespread bloodshed. It was the most chaotic and tragic period in history, so tragic that historical terms from that era are now forbidden words on Qidian.com, indicating that that period of history cannot be described. During that time, the Han people were referred to as "two-legged sheep" by the other five tribes, as if they were meant to be eaten.

In the 90s, Chaoyang, which was mainly an agricultural area, was a well-known poor village in Liaodong. It could be said to be the poorest area in the entire Liaodong region, without exception.

It wasn't until the rise of tourism that this land prospered, developing faster and better each time. Meanwhile, some previously thriving areas are now struggling and developing slowly. So, urban development is a bit like playing mahjong – you never know what cards you'll get. Early success doesn't guarantee future wealth; later success is overwhelming. Early winners only get paper money; later winners get real money.

There are a few things that must be said about Chaoyang, and as Chinese people, we should all know about them.

Chaoyang is where the world's first flower bloomed and the first bird took flight. It also has the title of "Oriental Buddhist Capital".

The Niuheliang Hongshan Culture site in Chaoyang shattered the Western world's theory that Chinese history is less than 4000 years old, pushing back Chinese history to 5000 years ago.

On a side note, the most famous historical figures from Chaoyang are An Lushan, Shi Siming, and Li Guangbi. The first two launched the An Lushan Rebellion, and were defeated by the latter. These three fellow townsmen plunged the Tang Dynasty into chaos.

Zhao Shangzhi, a famous general in the War of Resistance against Japan, was also from Chaoyang.

Xiao Wei stood on the side of the road, looking left and right, up and down, finding everything new and interesting. Although he had been in Fengtian for several months, he had only been active around Nanhu Lake. Although there were many people on Sanhao Street, it was completely different from the city in this natural state.

Xia Maosheng patted Xiao Wei and said, "What's wrong? Are you stupid?"

Xiao Wei felt a little embarrassed, smiled, and asked, "Where are we going?"

Xia Maosheng said, "We need to contact the personnel bureau and the labor bureau. Or let's find a place to stay first, since we'll be here for a few days."

Xiao Wei stretched his neck and said, "Have a cigarette. Or should we eat first? I'm hungry. I haven't been able to eat for days, and I'm really cold."

Xia Maosheng chuckled a few times, a little embarrassed, and handed a cigarette to Xiao Wei, saying, "Okay, I'll treat you to a good meal somewhere, then we'll go stay at the government office. I have a letter of introduction. Rest for a day, and we'll go find someone to do things for you tomorrow."

Xiao Wei looked around and asked, "Which way do I get there?"

Xia Maosheng pulled him aside and said, "Come with me. I know this place well. I've been here many times. There's a bone restaurant over here. The bones they cook are fucking delicious. I want to learn how to make them, but the owner refuses to teach me no matter what. Damn it."

This is Friendship Avenue. The two people walked north along the road. The municipal government and several other major bureaus are located in this direction.

After walking less than a kilometer, I turned right at the intersection and saw an old sign in the distance: "*Ji Bone Restaurant". Four red banners swayed in the wind at the entrance. It was a pretty impressive place. Back then, restaurants all hung such banners, but they weren't just hung randomly. Most restaurants only had two banners, so four banners were considered very impressive. The most impressive were those with eight banners. People didn't even remember their names; they just called them the Eight Great Banners.