While Luo Jing sent men to Zhao City to investigate Dong Zhongshu's identity and background, another party was also making its way there. Judging by their banners, they came from the Zhao Clan of Lingnan.
Lingnan.
This was a savage wilderness that struck fear into the people of the Central Plains at its very mention. Miasma abounded here, and everywhere stood towering trees that blotted out the sun, amid swarms of snakes, rats, insects, and ants. The people who lived here all wore their hair short, for it was simply too hot and humid. If they grew their hair as people did in the Central Plains, the only result would be disease brought on by bacterial growth.
Back when the Wu State abandoned cropped hair and tattoos for the splendid attire of All Xia, only the upper classes, who could afford to wash their hair daily, had been required to change. No such demand had been made of the common people, because it truly was impractical. Only now, after the climate of Wu Land had improved considerably, had the change become complete.
The court understood conditions in Lingnan, so it allowed the people there to wear clothing and ornaments suited to the local climate. They only had to don the splendid attire when traveling to the Central Plains for an audience with the Son of Heaven.
Across Lingnan's vast lands stood quite a few states. The largest and strongest was naturally the Kingdom of Lingnan, a state of All Xia.
For decades, the Central Plains had steadily supplied the Kingdom of Lingnan with its advanced culture and technology, allowing the kingdom to leave all the other barbarian states of Lingnan far behind in national strength.
Apart from the Kingdom of Lingnan, there were also many settlements founded by people exiled