After a brief stay in Pingyao, Zhu Wencong's entourage officially arrived at the territory of Jinmen, just a step away from the Imperial Capital.
The Imperial Capital is not a place where ordinary people can easily come and go; the ancient household registration system (Baojia method) wouldn't even allow you to leave your village.
For regular folks needing to leave home for a while, first, they need to apply for a road pass from the local government office, while also preparing sufficient dry food.
Especially during times of disaster and war, large numbers of displaced people flood towards the Imperial Capital, but they can only wait to die outside the city gate.
Meanwhile, Westerners were also restricted in their freedom, required to stay near the Embassy District (Dongjiao Miniangong), similar to the foreign trade zone of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangzhou.
