As the Autumn Examination was approaching, the number of Confucian scholars in Bianliang had obviously increased, and scholars in long gowns could be seen everywhere on the streets.

The restaurants, brothels, theaters and teahouses were all bustling with activity. Scholars gathered in groups of three or five, reciting poems or composing couplets, or discussing state affairs, filling Bianliang with a literary atmosphere.

Since the Song Dynasty had examination halls in every state, the scholars who came here were basically from Bianliang and the surrounding areas of the capital. They had been to Bianliang many times in the past, so they were all familiar with the place and could go wherever they wanted. They could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys.

At this moment, Zhao Jun was walking outside the East Temple at the cross street. He had already walked through the inner city of Bianliang.

He had been to the Liao embassy on Chongmingmen Inner Street and witnessed the Liao people's arrogance and dominance. He had also been to East Street and witnessed the prosperous scene at the gate of Xiangguo Temple.

There are many beautiful girls in the night market. The aroma of food is wafting in the air outside Fan Tower. Standing on Tianhan Bridge, you can see Xuande Tower at the gate of the imperial palace, the government offices and mansions in the streets and alleys, and the white jade hands stretched out from the brothels swaying gently in the spring breeze by the Bian River.

The smell in the air here is full of sweetness and intoxicating.

Only Zhao Jun would occasionally look at the huge drainage hole on the shore in a daze when passing the Bian River Bridge.

Bianliang has a well-connected waterway, connecting to six or seven large rivers such as the Yellow River, Bian River, and Cai River. Once the rainy season comes, floods are likely to break out and submerge the entire city, so an extremely developed underground drainage system is needed.

The construction of sewers began here during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. By the time of the Song Dynasty, after the capital was established in Bianliang, the water system below had been crisscrossed and as dense as a web after a hundred years of repairs on the basis of the original thousand-year-old foundation.

It is said that an area about five or six feet below the city of Bianliang has evolved into an underground city, where the Ghost Market, Ghost Fan Tower, and Worry-Free Cave are all hidden.

A few days ago, it rained, and many bodies were washed out of the underground drainage pipes, all of which were taken away by the people from Kaifeng Prefecture. Zhao Jun happened to be in the outer city at that time and saw with his own eyes the mutilated bodies of several children lined up on the shore.

Parents who lost their children rushed to the scene after hearing the news. Some of them burst into tears when they recognized their children, while others showed complicated expressions of relief when they saw that their children were not among them. There were still many bodies that no one claimed, and the onlookers looked at them with sympathy.

Bianliang was too big, with tens of millions of people living in the outer city. Losing dozens or hundreds of children was never a big deal.

Not only children, but also adults, especially young women.

According to statistics from the Kaifeng Prefecture, over a hundred households have reported the case in recent years, but only a handful have been able to recover their lost property. Many more have vanished without a trace, like a stone thrown into the sea.

This made Zhao Jun sigh.

The above-ground city of Bianliang is prosperous, and the underground city is also prosperous, and they both have a bright future.

Zhao Jun found a teahouse opposite the East Temple where there was a lot of people. Apart from himself, he was surrounded by Di Qing and his team of five people who protected him. Not long after he entered, some more people came in one after another, and soon the teahouse, which was originally sparsely populated, was about to be full.

The window seats on the second floor are very popular and have been occupied long ago. There are still five days before the Spring Examination, and the teahouse is basically filled with candidates taking the exam, chatting together, discussing poetry and songs, and criticizing current social problems.

From time to time, people from the government office came and went downstairs, and soldiers patrolled the streets, making the already bustling flow of people even more crowded.

"What's going on these past few days? In the past, during the imperial examinations, the Kaifeng government would indeed send additional personnel to patrol the streets to maintain order. But they generally didn't send in the army. Why are there so many soldiers wandering around the streets now?"

"You don't know, these are soldiers from the Imperial City Division."

"Aren't the soldiers from the Imperial City Bureau supposed to just stand guard outside the palace? Why are they all out on the street?"

"The soldiers standing guard outside the palace have now been replaced by members of the Palace Guards. The soldiers of the Imperial City Guards are all on patrol in the streets. Anyone who dares to disrupt the city will be taken to the Imperial City Guards office."

"What's going on? Is the Imperial City Bureau in turmoil? When did they gain the power to arrest people? Aren't they afraid of impeachment from the Censors and the Imperial Censors?"

Several scholars sitting next to each other saw the soldiers coming and going outside the window, and some of them who didn't understand what was going on asked about it.

The Imperial City Administration had more than 5,000 people in Bianliang, at least 3,000 of whom were soldiers in public, and about 2,000 were spies, distributed in the streets and alleys, investigating all incoming and outgoing intelligence.

Because the Imperial City Division was essentially an army, according to Song Dynasty laws, the order of Bianliang City belonged to Kaifeng Prefecture. The soldiers of the Imperial City Division only had the power to protect the imperial palace, and had no other powers of search, evidence collection, arrest, and trial. It could be said that they had almost no power.

Even if a spy offends Kaifeng Prefecture when collecting intelligence, he may be arrested by the people of Kaifeng Prefecture. The detectives are like rats crossing the street, always afraid to see the light, so seeing this blatant behavior is puzzling?

"You may not know this, but the Emperor has issued an order that starting from the day before yesterday, the Imperial City Division will have the power to arrest people directly without going through the Dali Temple and Kaifeng Prefecture. Even if they arrest someone, they don't need to go through the Dali Temple and Kaifeng Prefecture for trial. As a result, all the soldiers of the Imperial City Division are now deployed to patrol the various markets."

"The Imperial City Bureau actually possesses such great power?"

"It is said that the Imperial City Department has a new Chief Secretary named Zhao, and there are rumors that he is a member of the imperial family."

"Can a member of the imperial family be in charge of the Imperial City Administration? Aren't they forbidden from serving as officials or generals in the military? How can they possess military authority like the Imperial City Administration?"

"Who knows? Maybe this person isn't from the royal family, but just happens to have the surname Zhao."

"But it sounds like a good thing. Back in Bianliang, every year during the Autumn and Spring Examinations, a large number of scholars poured into the city. Kaifeng Prefecture was short-staffed, and cases broke out everywhere. Now that we have the Imperial City Bureau to maintain order, it seems like a good thing."

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