Tan County.
A county under the jurisdiction of Lancang County.
Located a hundred li south of the County City, it was a typical basin plain surrounded by high mountains.
The Moku River, a tributary of the Lancang River, ran through the basin. Its own tributaries, in turn, benefited tens of thousands of common folk. Ponds, lakes, and reservoirs dotted the landscape. With verdant mountains and glistening waters in the distance, it could be considered a land of fish and rice.
Unfortunately,
that was all in the past.
Wu Dao's party traveled along the official road, entering the territory of Tan County.
Along the way,
they mostly saw refugees wandering the mountains and wilderness, their forms like starving ghosts. They gnawed on trees and ate grass, or turned to banditry, robbing travelers on the road. It was rare to see any semblance of a normal village.
As for the fertile fields,
they had long since been annexed and carved up by the local magnates, gentry, and various powers.
