Chapter 2050: The Final Journey 18

In Panyu City under the rule of the Great Han, there had long been a division of the central part as noble, the east as rich, and the west as lowly, but in the western city, around the Arab quarter street and its surroundings, this was an exception. After the raging fire and hurricane had passed, only a scene of devastation remained. Though the Arabs occupied only a small corner of Panyu City, their influence on the city—especially economically—was far heavier than one might imagine.

During the several days of the "suppression of the rebels' chaos," some met with disaster falling from the sky, while others made windfall fortunes. Still others mourned as if they had lost their parents—not for the tragedy of the Arabs, but for their own lost streams of income. Especially those who had made their living supplying daily necessities to the Arabs, or who had grown rich taking foreign goods from Arab merchants—a great avenue of wealth, so abruptly and forcibly cut off.

Two blocks away from the Arab quarter street, following the main road and turning into an alley, one found row upon row of ordinary homes of the western part of Panyu. Of course, those who lived here were not the lowest stratum of commoners under Guangzhou's administration. Though life was hard, they at least had a piece of ground to call their own, whereas Panyu City was full of the despised who operated in gray zones and survived in the dark corners of gutters.

They could not even properly be called commoners—the government did not expect to collect much tax from such people, and their rights as citizens were hardly guaranteed. As for the households within the alley, in the eyes of the powerful and noble they were no different from those despised ones—merely nourishment for the prosperity of Panyu City.

As neighbors, they had been hit fairly hard by the "Arab Disturbance." Setting aside everything else, the sword and blade marks on the alley walls, and the white mourning bands hanging over a few doorways, silently spoke of grief.

When the city gate catches fire, how can the fish in the moat escape disaster? Only, compared to those whose homes were destroyed and families lost, the households in the small alley, being in a secluded location, had suffered relatively lighter wounds.

The second-to-last household at the back—a small gate, a small household, a single small courtyard. The gate was small, and the courtyard behind it gave the same cramped, constricted feeling: two or three rooms, one poultry shed, one well, a tree beside the well, and even the stove was set up under the eaves, its wall blackened into a distinctive pattern, with a neat pile of firewood stacked beside it.

This was clearly a well-kept household. One could tell it was not wealthy—the house and courtyard walls were built mainly of rammed earth, rather than the brick-and-timber construction already popular in the city.

From early morning, a single figure had been busy in the small courtyard—a young lady, not old in years, estimated to be around ten or so, thin of frame, but visibly nimble in her work.

Feeding the chickens, sweeping the floor, drawing water, then hauling a heavy sack from the house, sitting down beside the mortar, and taking up the wooden pestle to begin husking rice. Even in the city, not everyone could afford "commercial grain." Many families chose to buy paddy directly and then laboriously husk it themselves, not wasting the rice bran either—it could feed the chickens or start a fire.

It was not until near dusk that the small gate was pushed open. In walked a sturdy woman with rough skin and a broad build, the three-tiered food box in her hand seeming to weigh nothing at all.

"Mother, you're back!" The young lady, who had already husked several dozen catties of grain, immediately stood up, wiped her hands on her apron, and hurried forward to take the food box.

The sturdy woman looked around, her gaze finally settling on the young lady, and revealed an expression that was both pained and affectionate. "I brought back some meat and vegetables. Light the fire and heat them up, then eat with your brother!"

Hearing this, the young lady's face immediately broke into a beaming smile. Her nose twitched—the aroma from the food box was already stirring her taste buds—and she hurried over to the stove to get busy. The sturdy woman went to the water vat, ladled out water, and put it on to boil, muttering to herself, "Where's your brother?"

"He went out early in the morning, said he was going to the Arab quarter street to make a fortune. I couldn't talk him out of it."

Hearing this, the sturdy woman's brows immediately furrowed. Clearly, her bold son was a constant worry to his mother—the Arab quarter street was a den of danger, hardly a place a mere youth could brave. But soon, she silently sighed and ultimately said nothing more. Her son was fifteen now; it really was time for him to try becoming the pillar of this household.

The lingering aftermath of the "Barbarian Disturbance" still echoed through Panyu City, affecting everyone high and low. A household like this one had gotten off relatively lightly.

The son had gone to the Arab quarter street on his own initiative, clearing rubble and carrying away corpses to earn a few copper coins, and to try his luck—who knew, he might pick up some money others had overlooked. As for the mother, she had gone at dawn to work for the rich family in the ward, helping the maidservants wash vegetables and dishes. They were holding a funeral feast—the rich family's second son had died, killed in the "Barbarian Disturbance."

Tragedies and comedies like this were all too common in Panyu City that winter.

Everywhere in the city were the government's notices to reassure the people. Besides the standard official platitudes comforting the populace, they focused on explaining the cause of the disturbance, definitively characterizing it: the barbarians had risen in rebellion, killed officials and harmed the people, and the imperial court had promptly suppressed them.

As for what had actually happened—how many Arabs had died, and how many of them had been innocently caught up in it—that, along with the destruction of the Arab quarter street, was buried together in the dust of history.

It was easy to foresee that after this disturbance, the old situation of "Han and barbarians living peacefully together" in Guangzhou would never return—at least not for the Arabs.

Several hundred thousand Arabs had ultimately not been completely wiped out. How to deal with those who remained was undoubtedly a tremendous challenge for Guangzhou Prefecture and even Guangnan East Circuit. And the key issue was that Governor Zhang had been dismissed from office. Who would succeed him, the Emperor had not yet decided. The Administration Commissioner's office of Guangnan East Circuit was still in chaos, and the energy devoted to handling the aftermath was truly not much.

The old Emperor had once again personally visited the Arab quarter street. The former bustle and clamor were gone, leaving only a scene of ruin. Of course, those loathsome mosques had been thoroughly destroyed, and those Muslims who displeased him had collectively vanished. But faced with such a result, the old Emperor himself could not say what he truly felt.

Guilt was certainly out of the question. Rather, there was a sense of bewilderment—a feeling of insufficient control over the power in his hands. He had only told them to straighten out religious affairs—how had it turned into a humanitarian catastrophe of such cleansing proportions?

Regardless, the old Emperor's heart was choked with unease, and he was deeply displeased. And when he was displeased, it meant someone was going to be in trouble. When he returned to the Panyu traveling palace, Commissioner of the Palace City Zhang Bin hurried over to announce himself for an audience.

Facing the old Emperor's direct, unblinking gaze, he said crisply, "Reporting to His Majesty: the guilty minister Zhang Ji has died of illness on the road back to his hometown!"

Hearing this, the old Emperor's brows actually relaxed somewhat, and he replied, "I have taken note of it!"

"Does His Majesty have any further instructions?"

"Compile and summarize all the evidence of deceiving the sovereign and defying the law that you have collected. I have use for it!"

"Yes!" Zhang Bin's heart tightened, and he immediately acknowledged.

Clearly, Panyu City would not be settling down anytime soon.