Guangyi Commandery's capital had a moat and drawbridge outside its walls. The city gates opened before dawn, and the drawbridge was lowered for the common people to pass through. Once night fell, the drawbridge was raised and the gates shut. Anyone who failed to make it in or out before the gates closed had to either spend the night inside the city or sleep outside it. There was no room for accommodation for ordinary folk.
It was said that when the Wu Dynasty had united the realm, the city gates were scarcely ever closed, day or night. But now that the world was divided among rival powers, especially in places like Guangyi Commandery, where military forces held their own weight, the sight of gates left open through the night had long vanished.
Outside the city was not completely pitch-black. Large pots of burning oil had been set up at intervals, their flames roaring, to prevent anyone from drawing near unseen by those atop the walls. A small squad was stationed outside the city at night, responsible for adding oil and feeding the fires. Soldiers entering and leaving the city after dark were raised and lowered in hanging baskets.
Since Niu Youdao had come to receive Shang Chaozong, Bai Yao brought him up onto the city wall to wait.
Seeing Niu Youdao looking around in every direction, apparently fascinated by the defensive arrangements outside the city, Bai Yao might have suspected him of being a spy sent to scout military intelligence if he had not known better. Little did he know that Niu Youdao, who came from an "archaeological" background, was merely interested in this kind of ancient nighttime defense system. Some things lost to the flow of time could never be seen again, no matter how much one excavated.
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