With the influx of powerful families and influential figures from all over Jiangnan, Luoyang once again became bustling with activity.

These people, who had long lived in Jiangnan and were far from Luoyang, were also amazed by Luoyang's wealth and prosperous economy.

The variety of shops and novel products dazzled them, especially the ink, paper, imperial wine, and refined salt, which prompted them to make purchases.

Restaurants, teahouses, the Royal Opera House, the Martial Arts Hall, music halls, chess clubs, and other entertainment venues were also very popular among these people, and every day these places were packed with people.

However, many newcomers still made a lot of foolish mistakes because they didn't know the rules, and as a result, many of them were mercilessly ridiculed by the wealthy young men of Luoyang, just like at the previous sports meet.

In no time, the term "country bumpkin" was once again used to describe those people from Jiangnan, making them grit their teeth in hatred.

Like many people around Sili, many people from Jiangnan realized the importance of money after witnessing the economic circulation in Luoyang, and the idea of ​​starting a workshop arose in their minds.

With the allocation of trade quotas completed, people took the documents issued by the imperial court and headed to the three prefectures of You, Bing, and Liang, preparing to purchase grain and salt from nearby countries for trade with foreign nations.

As for other goods such as silk, tea, imperial wine, porcelain, glass, and pottery, they were purchased from nearby royal trading companies, and the royal transport fleet was rented to travel to the three border regions.

As a result, the Royal Trading Company made a fortune, and all the officials in the court were overjoyed.

By mid-September, the imperial order for trade had been sent to the three prefectures of You, Bing, and Liang, and then to various other places.

After a long period of fighting and plundering, the various tribes finally gained a brief period of peace. It was now late autumn, and the cattle and sheep were fat. The tribes began to organize their people and drive the cattle and sheep toward the border of the Han Dynasty.

As for the location of the trade routes, apart from Chengde, which was initially chosen for Youzhou, Liangzhou was set in the former Xihai County (east of present-day Qinghai Lake), and Bingzhou was set in the area north of Jiuyuan.

These three locations are all key points for the Han Dynasty to guard the four directions.

On the official road leading to Liangzhou, carriages and caravans were carrying large quantities of goods and supplies towards the city, making the road extremely bustling.

Just as everyone was heading west, a special group came from Liangzhou towards Luoyang.

At the front of the procession were Dong Zhuo, Guo Si, Li Jue, Fan Chou, and some young officers from the Liangzhou army, who had been summoned to the capital.

In the middle were more than a dozen carriages, each guarded by four fully armed Xiliang cavalrymen on both sides, preventing anyone from approaching or spying.

"stop!!"

At noon, when they were less than twenty li from Luoyang, Dong Zhuo suddenly ordered the marching troops to stop.

Dong Zhuo turned to Li Jue, Guo Si, and the others, and said in a deep voice, "Let's rest here for half a day, and then enter the city after dark!"

"good!!"

Li Jue and the others nodded in agreement.

Immediately, everyone dismounted, led the procession to the roadside, and sent a messenger towards Luoyang.

Before long, news of Dong Zhuo and his entourage reached Liu Hong.

Liu Hong then dispatched a troop of Imperial Guards to the west gate of Luoyang to replace the guards there.

As night deepened, Dong Zhuo and his men quietly entered the city, escorting the carriages to a secret prison in the West Garden.

Outside the prison, in addition to a group of Imperial Guards soldiers, Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, Dong Gan, and several key students from the medical school were also present.

Upon approaching, Dong Zhuo looked at the leading Imperial Guard and said, "The people are all in the carriage; they're in your hands now!"

"Alright! Thank you all for your hard work!!"

The Imperial Guard nodded, then waved to the Imperial Guard soldiers behind him.

The soldiers of the Imperial Guards also stepped forward, and when they got close to the carriage, they heard a series of "whooshing" sounds coming from inside.

A soldier lifted the curtain and looked inside. He saw four people huddled together, their hands and feet bound, their mouths gagged with a black cloth, staring at the soldier outside with terrified expressions.

These people were more than a hundred Jie slaves that Cheng Yu had purchased from Juyan on Liu Hong's orders. They were sent to Luoyang along with Dong Zhuo and others. As for their purpose, Dong Zhuo had some guesses, but he dared not tell anyone.

"Put them in jail!"

With a low shout from the Imperial Guard, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard did not delay any longer and dragged the Jie prisoners off the carriage and carried them into the dark prison.

After all the prisoners were taken into the prison and their identities were confirmed, Dong Zhuo and his men took their leave and found a house in the city that had been arranged by the intelligence agency.

Early the next morning, Dong Zhuo and his men left the houses and headed towards the official post station.

Although it was still early, there were quite a few pedestrians in Luoyang.

Shops opened early to welcome customers. Since most of the people in the city were workers in the factories in the north of the city, there are now many breakfast stalls on the streets of Luoyang.

Merchants from all over the country also frequented the various royal shops early in the morning to make purchases.

The cries of newspaper boys and breakfast vendors echoed through the streets.

On their way to the inn, Dong Zhuo and his men were also attracted by the bustling scene.

The group walked along, constantly looking around.

"Luoyang is really different. It's much more prosperous than Jincheng and Dunhuang. Zhongying, look, even the women on the street are more tender and beautiful than the women of our Xiliang!"

Hey, that skin is so white!

Li Jue led his horse, but his eyes were fixed on a woman in front of him. As he spoke, he couldn't help but wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.

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