After a period of grinding, Lu Ming's movements seemed to change from grinding to thrusting, gradually increasing in force and depth—pulling out forcefully and thrusting in hard, the speed increasing.
Lu Ming's buttocks and waist arched high upwards, then slammed down heavily, like pounding rice in a mortar. Using the strength of his waist and the elasticity of Xiao Qiao's delicate body, he made Xiao Qiao's upturned buttocks sink deeply into the bed one moment and bounce high in the air the next!
"Eee...ah...I can't...ah...I can't...wooo...husband...ah...I'm going to die...ah...Xiao Qiao...I'm going to die...ah...so good..." With Xiao Qiao's moans, her head tilted back forcefully, her fingers gripping Lu Ming's arm tightly, her buttocks, unable to find support, twisted and thrust upwards uncontrollably, her toes on Lu Ming's shoulder pointed straight up, and then her whole body trembled violently.
Her taut hands lay limp on the bed, her head, tilted back, rested weakly on the pillow. Only her body continued to convulse irregularly, her throat churning with deep, shallow breaths—clearly the sign of reaching orgasm!
"Oh! I came! So good… ah…" Lu Ming let out a deep growl. Xiao Qiao lay limply beneath him, receiving the ejaculation. Only Da Qiao knew that her husband's semen had entered her younger sister's body, spraying towards her tender cervix. Thousands upon thousands of sperm were desperately swimming towards the uterus, vying to fertilize the egg Xiao Qiao had released!
After a long while, Lu Ming finally got up, looking at Xiao Qiao as he had ejaculated inside her. As his penis slid out of Xiao Qiao's vagina, a thick stream of white semen flowed out.
He mischievously raised Xiao Qiao's legs, letting the overflowing semen flow back in.
Xiao Qiao's face flushed crimson. Although it wasn't her ovulation period, and she didn't even know what ovulation was, the thick, abundant semen Lu Ming had ejaculated inside her gave her the illusion that she could become pregnant at any moment!
That afternoon, Zhang Tang, a native of Hongguyuan, whose father had served as the Assistant Magistrate of Chang'an and was now the Magistrate of Baqiao in Didao, received a message.
Lu Ming looked at the message with a strange expression.
The Western Han Dynasty was a golden age of talent, a time of intellectual ferment. Legalism, Confucianism, the School of Diplomacy, the Yin-Yang School, the Military School, and Huang-Lao thought, among others, all shone brightly in the court.
Zhang Tang, in particular, later became a capable minister, a quintessential example of a ruthless official, and a representative of Legalism.
Now, with the collapse of ritual and music, powerful local lords dominating the regions, and government orders difficult to enforce, a ruthless official was needed to pave the way and clear obstacles. Zhang Tang's arrival was perfectly timed.
There were many things he wanted to do, many things he planned to do, but without someone as talented as Zhang Tang, nothing could be accomplished!
Ba Bridge.
The "market" referred to by the Han Dynasty was a commercial district.
As a feudal dynasty, the Han Dynasty's emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce was not significantly different from that of later dynasties like the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing. Therefore, starting with Liu Bang, merchants' household registrations were separated from others, a system called "market registration." Those without market registration who engaged in business, or those with market registration who did not conduct business in designated markets, faced severe legal punishment. Han law stipulated a fine of two taels of gold, all considered stolen goods.
This meant that in addition to the fine, all illegally obtained profits and goods were confiscated as stolen goods.
All merchants and their workshops were concentrated in designated markets. The "East Market" and "West Market" mentioned in the Ballad of Mulan ("Buying a fine horse in the East Market, buying a saddle in the West Market") were named so because these markets were located on the northeastern and northwestern edges of Chang'an.
Chang'an served as the model for the entire country; subsequent urban planning was largely based on Chang'an.
Larger cities like Luoyang, Yicheng, Puyang, Xuzhou, and Xiangyang all followed this format.
And the capital of each prefecture basically followed the same structure.
Didao was no exception. As the capital of Longxi Prefecture, it was arguably the most prosperous place in the prefecture.
Didao's problem lay in its nine markets. Solving the nine markets would solve most of Didao's problems.
This made sense. These wandering knights, much like modern-day gangsters, weren't superhuman. They needed to eat, and to eat well and be well-fed, whether two thousand years later or now, they needed to collect protection money!
This was unlike Chang'an. In Chang'an, besides the nine markets, the inhabitants were either powerful nobles, relatives of the emperor, or high-ranking officials. These people could easily crush the wandering knights. Trying to collect protection money from them was suicidal.
If some arrogant scoundrel were to storm a nobleman's mansion demanding protection money, the nobleman's own servants and lackeys would easily teach the wandering knight a lesson, even without the government's intervention.
While Didao lacked the numerous noble families and powerful clans, it was predominantly populated by impoverished laborers who struggled to make ends meet. Demanding protection money from them was futile.
Therefore, the merchants and workshop owners of the Nine Markets were the true bread and butter of the wandering knights. The vast majority of fights and brawls in Chang'an each year originated from the Nine Markets' territory.
The dissolute young men and the descendants of noble families, even if they wanted to cause trouble and commit evil deeds, certainly wouldn't kill each other. As for the poor, bullying them would lower one's status and bring no benefit, and might even get one into trouble. The merchants in the Nine Markets were much easier to bully; most of the forced buying and selling, and the bullying of men and women by the sons of noble families each year occurred in the Nine Markets.
However, everyone knows the principle, but putting it into practice is far from simple.
A simple example: Lu Ming discovers a nobleman forcing a sale in a certain market, so he intervenes, only to find that the man is a descendant of the Dong family. How should he handle this?
Ignoring it is definitely not an option, as it would damage his prestige; but if he does intervene, he will be seen as cruel and ungrateful—a very troublesome situation.
However, Lu Ming is unlike others; he doesn't care about face or reputation.
Reputation is related to the likelihood and probability of others surrendering and capable people joining his cause.
As one moves further from the city center, the bustle begins to fade, and the streets become filled with ragged laborers pulling oxcarts and even pushing wheelbarrows.
Seeing these people, experienced travelers know they are not far from the Nine Markets.
The Han dynasty inherited the Qin system; not only were most of the laws revised based on Qin laws, but even the city layout and management remained largely unchanged from the Qin dynasty.
Of the Nine Markets, six were in the west and three in the east. While the western markets appear numerous, their influence was actually quite low, and their foot traffic was usually limited.
Even executions by the imperial court were conducted in the eastern markets, never in the western markets, because the western markets had too little foot traffic.