Daxing City was first built in the second year of Kaihuang (582), and the capital was moved there in the third month of the third year of Kaihuang.
Only after continual expansion through the Sui and Tang dynasties did it become the Chang'an City of later times. Yet by the late Tang, even the imperial capital of the Tang Dynasty, where all nations once came to pay tribute, had likewise been ravaged into ruin.
Han Chang'an was not far away, but it had long since been left utterly dilapidated by war. Nothing remained of the invincible grandeur of the Han Dynasty; its countless palace halls had all become earth.
Wang Yan had seen Han Chang'an before, and he had governed there as well. Passing by its old site, he did not dwell on it much. He merely gave his usual thanks to his living father...
After seven years of continued construction and population migration, by the time Wang Yan arrived in Daxing, the city had already taken shape on a considerable scale.
After all, it was the political and economic center of a nation, where high officials and nobles gathered. Simply providing services for those people required a great many commoners. And the commoners' own needs required still more commoners to meet them, so the city naturally expanded.
Though less than ten years had passed, it had already developed into a major city with a population of two or three hundred thousand. From afar, its walls did not seem particularly imposing, but within, crowds flowed endlessly through its bustling, lively streets.
Yang Guang had no time to make arrangements for Wang Yan. While Yang Jian led the civil and military officials out of the city to welcome the returning army in triumph, Wang Yan had already entered the city ahead