"Donghai Commandery Governor Yan Cui pays his respects to the Imperial Preceptor!"
"We pay our respects to the Imperial Preceptor."
After Jiang Hao got out of the carriage, the Governor of Donghai Commandery led a group of officials over to greet him. Jiang Hao nodded and smiled. "There is no need for such ceremony. This place is hundreds of li from Tancheng, the commandery seat. Sorry for the trouble of making everyone come all this way to receive me."
The governor wore a fawning smile. "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. It is our duty. Would the Imperial Preceptor care to rest in Tancheng for a few days before proceeding to Haicheng? We could properly entertain you as well."
Jiang Hao shook his head. "Haicheng is only a little over a hundred li from here. Going to Tancheng would be a detour. We might as well head straight to Haicheng and make preparations early, lest we delay His Majesty's arrangements."
"We shall follow the Imperial Preceptor's arrangements." Hearing Jiang Hao invoke the First Emperor, the governor immediately bowed in assent.
The party set off again and finally reached Haicheng two days later. Haicheng was roughly where Lianyungang would be in later generations, and it was also an important port of the Qin Dynasty.
In truth, the Qin Dynasty was not as backward as later generations imagined. Maritime trade had already begun, and the Maritime Silk Road had also been opened during this era. Langya, Haicheng, Guangzhou, and other places all had seaports. Xu Fu had set sail in search of immortals from Langya back then.
The Maritime Silk Road took shape during the Qin and Han dynasties, developed during the Three Kingdoms and Sui Dynasty, flourished during the Tang and Song dynasties, and transformed during the Ming and