In May, the caravan passed through Zizhou, crossed the Wangyuan Bridge, crossed the Shiling where the Jurchen army finally retreated, and crossed the reckless mountains that had gone through battles...... By the day of May 22, pass through the Sword Gate.

After more than a year here, many places have changed a lot. The road that can be widened in the mountains has been widened as much as possible, and the original places where the troops are stationed here have been changed to the nodes of business travel rest, rest, and staff office on the way - after the opening of the southwest trade situation, the road out of the customs is not enough, and the mountain road from the Sword Pavilion to ensure that a large number of tourists come and go, so a lot of staff to maintain order have also been arranged.

Most of these staff members are serious and vicious, demanding that people come and go strictly follow the prescribed path, and that they are not allowed to linger in relatively narrow places. They have a very loud voice and a rather rude attitude towards law enforcement, especially when they are arrogant to outsiders and ignorant people, vaguely revealing the superiority of the "southwesterners."

The scholars in the Izukawa caravan didn't think there was anything when they came, but they had been traveling in Chengdu for a while, and they began to discuss that these people were also "foxes and fake tigers", but they were a small official, and they were more arrogant than the big officials in Chengdu. There are also some people who secretly record these situations and prepare to publish them as Southwest Stories when they return home.

The general camp for wounded soldiers where Ning Ji had stayed had been converted into an epidemic prevention and quarantine station for foreign populations, and many civilians who came to the southwest had to undergo a round of inspections here - most of the subjects of the inspections were foreign workers, who wore uniform clothes, often led by some team leaders, curiously and cautiously observing everything around them, according to those scholars, most of these "poor people" were sold in.

Along the way, there are many memorial areas of the Southwest Campaign: what kind of battle took place here, what kind of battle happened there...... Ning Yi paid great attention to such a "face project", after the end of the battle, there were a lot of statistics, and in fact, in the whole process of the southwest campaign, every battle actually happened quite tragically, the Huaxia Army internal verification, research, compilation and then carved a monument in the corresponding place - due to the limited stone carving workers, this project is still being done, everyone walks a way, and occasionally can hear the sound of clanging.

In the process of the Southwest War, the Jiange Mountain Road was a mess, the road was damaged, and the transportation capacity was tight, especially in the later period, the Huaxia army grabbed the road with the retreating Jurchens, and the Huaxia army wanted to cut off the way to leave the enemy, and the Jurchens who were left behind were often fighting to the death, and there were hysterical fights on both sides, and the corpses of many soldiers were too late to collect and distinguish, even if they were distinguished, it was impossible to transport them to the rear for burial.

Later, after only roughly distinguishing the camps, they were burned together, and the ashes were buried in the ground or sprinkled in the mountains, which is why these soldiers have no graves elsewhere, and this mountain record is both their monument and their real tombstone.

Aoyama is fortunate to bury the bones of the faithful. For the records of this mountain, no matter which side of the people showed enough respect, when resting in the temporary residence at night, people would go to the nearby monument to pay incense and worship, and the smoke and dust would be curled up. Often, there will be people who burn paper money who are stopped by the patrol team, and even start a debate or scolding, and if they are scolded, they will be arrested and taken to the mountains and locked up for a day.

When the caravan stayed in the mountains, Ning Ji also went over to offer incense twice. He didn't like the incense, he preferred the form of sacrifice of cutting the pig's head meat and getting some wine to eat together, and a middle-aged scholar who was traveling with him saw that he looked cute, so he enthusiastically told him the steps of worshiping the gods and sacrificing the gods, the heart should be sincere, the steps should be accurate, and each way has a meaning, otherwise the hero here may be open-minded, but it will inevitably anger the gods in the future. Ning Ji looked at each other like a fool.

"I don't believe in God, there is no God in the world."

His contemptuous gaze was also very cute, and the middle-aged pedant earnestly taught: "Young man, young and vigorous, but you should not talk nonsense, have you seen all the things in the world?" How can it be said that there is no God? There is a god in the head three feet...... Moreover, if you say this bluntly, it is easy to offend others......"

Ning Ji said in his heart that there is no god in labor and management, and you still keep saying that God offends me, what should I do...... But after experiencing the events in the small courtyard last year, he knew that there were many fools in the world who couldn't make sense, so he didn't bother to talk about it.

The middle-aged pedant thought that his reaction was well-behaved and cute, and although he was young and vigorous, he was not like other children who casually argued against him, so he continued to talk a lot......

Along the way, people have various performances of the commemoration of heroes, and for Yu Ningji, except for some memories in his heart, he has not been touched much. At his age, it was not enough time to remember anything, so when he offered incense, he said to them, "I'm going out", left Jianmen Pass, and waved his hand back at the mountain. The leaves on the mountain ripple in the wind.

After leaving the Sword Pavilion, it was still the territory of the Huaxia Army.

In the Southwest War, the final decisive battle between the Seventh Army and the Jurchen Western Route Army encircled a large area of territory from Jiange to Hanzhong for the Huaxia Army, and in essence, it also created a lot of convenience for the shipment of materials in the southwest. Since ancient times, although there are two roads of water and land in Sichuan, but in fact, whether it is to take the waterway of Yibin and Chongqing or the land route of Jianmen Pass, it is not easy to walk, in the past, the Chinese military can not manage the outside, and the business travelers from all over the country are even more life and death after leaving Jianmen Pass, although the greater the risk, the higher the profit, but in general, it is not conducive to the entry and exit of resources.

At this time, the Huaxia Army had two more distribution endpoints outside the Sword Pavilion, one of which was near Zhaohua after leaving the Sword Pavilion, and the materials that came in or went out could be concentrated here. Although many merchants still prefer to enter Chengdu in person to get the most transparent price, in order to improve the transportation efficiency of the Jiange Mountain Road, the horse team officially organized by the Chinese government will still transport a lot of ordinary materials to Zhaohua every day, and even began to encourage people to set up some small workshops with low technical content here to reduce the transportation pressure in Chengdu.

Due to the great development of Chengdu is only one year, the layout of Zhaohua can only be said to be the first hint, a large number of people from the outside world gather in this place outside the Sword Pavilion, compared with the development area of Chengdu, this side is more dirty, chaotic and poor. Workers from outside the world often spend about three days here, they need to pay a sum of money, the doctor checks for diseases such as the plague, takes a hot bath, and if the clothes are too worn, they usually have to change, and the Chinese government will issue a uniform set of clothes, so that many people look the same clothes after entering the mountain.

Ning Yi once complained at home that the clothes were unsightly, like a prisoner, but the eldest lady scolded him back with the cost problem.

The ragged beggars were not allowed to enter the mountains, but they were not without help. Many factories in the southwest will recruit people cheaply here, and once a "deed of sale" is signed, the quarantine and redressing costs will be borne by the factory, and then deducted from the salary.

“…… Speaking of which, Zhaohua's side is quite conscientious. ”

Lu Wenke and Ning Ji sighed: "Huaxia Jun helped out a contract for selling oneself, and every family that bought people here must have it, the contract is only set for five years, whoever wants the manufacturer to pay for it, will work to pay off the debt in the future, and pay it off according to the salary, and if you want to leave in less than five years, you can also pay a sum of money to redeem yourself." However, in addition to five years, there are also contracts of ten or twenty years, with better conditions and many promises, for those who have the ability to sign ...... But there are also black-hearted ones, signed for 20 years, there is nothing on the contract, and if they are really signed, it will be miserable......"

"Since Huaxia Jun has given a five-year contract, it should stipulate that only this one is allowed." The middle-aged scholar who had previously taught Ning to be jealous and godly was named Fan Heng, and he frowned when he talked about it, "Otherwise, it's no different from taking off your pants and farting." ”

"Who knows what they think, if you really want to talk about it, it's good that those people who have nothing to do can come here and sign a contract, what this piece looks like, you've all heard of it."

Several scholars got together to love to play dumb riddles, chatted for a while, and began to point out all kinds of problems of the Chinese army living in Sichuan and Shu, such as the problem of material access can not be solved, Sichuan and Shu are only in peace, difficult to enterprising, and later talk about the story of the Three Kingdoms, citing scriptures and scolding Fang Xuan.

A caravan of more than 100 people traveled all the way, and all kinds of people gradually formed small groups. There are five scholars like Lu Wenke and Fan Heng, and most of them get together to chat along the way. Ning Ji's identity is a little doctor with family roots, although he has always been a scumbag in the school in Zhangcun, but the foundation is not bad, there is no problem with literacy and writing, plus he looks cute, these scholars also treat him as the same kind, chatting nonsense, always calling him together, and from time to time someone will bring out snacks for him to eat. Although most of the scholars and scribes were poor, those who could travel around with the caravan at this time still had some possessions.

After entering the caravan, Ning Ji could not eat as happily as he did at home. More than 100 people walked together, organized by the caravan, and ate more than a big pot of rice every day, frankly speaking, the food in these years is really unpalatable, and Ning Ji can eat a little more on the grounds of "long body", but with the metabolic speed of his martial arts for so many years, it will be a little scary to really eat full.

His status as a doctor is a convenience. Such a long journey, most people can only walk on a pair of legs, walking for a few days, it is inevitable to get blisters, and more than a hundred people, there are often people who have a little accident such as a broken foot, Ning Ji relied on his medical skills, not afraid of dirty and tired attitude, and harmless and lovely faces, quickly won the favor of most of the people in the caravan, which made him ...... during the time of his travel. I rubbed a lot of snacks.

Such a mentality is really not in line with the identity of the "number one master in the world" in the future, and occasionally thinking about it, Ning Ji feels somewhat ashamed, but there is no way.

Mosquito meat is also meat, what else can I do when I go out......

All the way to Zhaohua, in addition to showing many people a small problem, these five scholars got along more. Fan Heng, the middle-aged scholar who taught Ning Ji to worship God, was relatively wealthy, and occasionally passed by cheap restaurants or food stalls, and would buy something to feed him, so Ning Ji had no choice but to endure him.

The father Wang Jiang has practiced some martial arts, and the body looks strong when he is middle-aged, but his face is already abnormally red, and he often shows his shirtless and practices iron spear throat.

——External skills are hard practice, and it will be miserable when you get old, this middle-aged artist actually has all kinds of problems, but this kind of physical problems have accumulated for decades, and it is difficult to solve them, Ning Ji can see it, but there is no way, this is like countless entangled threads, which one to pull first and then which one needs to be very careful. Many famous doctors in the southwest can cure him, but he has been practicing battlefield medicine for a long time, and he is not yet fifteen years old at this time, and he can only cure the other party by prescribing a prescription, so he doesn't say much.

The daughter of the artist is named Wang Xiuniang, seventeen or eighteen years old, with dark skin, well-proportioned figure, strong thighs, she ties two braids, and she didn't learn any advanced martial arts from her father - originally her father didn't know - the best skill in selling art is somersaults, and she can turn a hundred at a time. In addition to somersaults is monkeys, the father and daughter brought a well-trained monkey called Wangsheng, this time to Chengdu, it seems that they have made a lot of money, and they are happy to prepare all the way to perform and return to Jiangnan.

Performers can actually get bruised, but not long after leaving, Wang Xiuniang turned over and fought again, so she came to Ning Ji to help diagnose and treat. The foot is not bad, but since then, Wang Xiuniang often comes to harass Ning Ji, such as sending some wild fruits to Ning Ji after camping, and also sending some to others by the way, sometimes saying "Brother Aotian is so cute", she wants to pinch Ning Ji's face, and after a while, several scholars are also familiar with her, and they can talk to each other for a while.

Ning Ji only thought that he was cute at first, but after a while, he realized that this woman should have come to Lu Wenke, when she stood there and talked to Lu Wenke, her hands were always subconsciously twisted braids, and there were some twisting and pinching small movements, exuding the rancid smell of courtship...... Women are like this, disgusting. Not surprising.

Of course, although he understood this, he was not prepared to debunk the other party's attempt, but on the contrary, he was relieved. When the woman came over and twisted his cheek, he reached out and pinched the other person's cheek and pulled him away. Anyway, it's not herself who this woman wants to harm, and Lu Wenke doesn't seem to be a good thing, he doesn't care about the fate of these two guys.

……

The caravan stayed near Zhaohua for a day, and Ning Ji rubbed a half-full meal, and left the team in the middle to secretly eat a full meal, and then set off with the caravan to the east.

Out of the Sword Pavilion, after Zhaohua, there are two roads to choose at this time.

One is to go north to Hanzhong along the Jinniu Road along the territory of the Huaxia Army, and then follow the Han River eastward, so that you can go anywhere in the world. This road is safe and connected to the waterway, and it is currently the busiest road. But if you go east into Bazhong, you have to enter a relatively complicated place.

In the past, since the Huaxia army jumped out of the three counties of Hedeng, because of the lack of manpower, there was no too strong intention to expand behind the occupation of most of the Chengdu Plain, and later the Seventh Army occupied Hanzhong, and a large area to the east of Hanzhong was conveniently owned by Dai Mengwei under the instruction of the Jurchens. Of course, this is the Jurchens' behavior of giving eye medicine to the Huaxia Army, but in essence, it is blocked on the road out of Sichuan, but it is not the Huaxia Army that is uncomfortable today.

After all, with the momentum of the Huaxia Army last year, with the momentum of defeating the Jurchens, it is basically no problem to break through the Han River and fight to Xiangyang. The reason why Dai Mengwei was let go, on the surface, came from his momentum of "saving millions of Li people", so he raised his hand, but at the same time, the two sides also signed many contracts, including Dai Mengwei giving up control of Hanshui, never allowing to prevent the operation of the east-west trade route, etc., this is the bottom line of the Huaxia Army, and Dai Mengwei actually knows it.

The embarrassment of unequal strength lies in this, if Dai Mengwei has the heart to "do whatever makes you unhappy", then the Huaxia Army will directly penetrate him and accept millions or even millions of people, it may be very tiring to say, but if Dai Mengwei is really crazy, it may not be so difficult to endure.

Dai Mengwei is not crazy, he is good at forbearance, so he will not play this kind of "I hit my head in your face" when it is meaningless. But at the same time, he occupies the business road, but he can't even collect too high taxes, because on the surface he resolutely criticizes the southwest, he can't do business directly with the southwest, and every force that deals with the southwest regards him as a madman who can go crazy at any time, which makes people very uncomfortable.

If the Huaxia Army only sent some simple commercial artifacts to the whole world, it would be easy to say, but since the second half of last year, he has opened up high-level ordnance and technology transfer to the whole world - this is a matter related to the lifeblood of the whole world, and it is a critical moment that must be slowly planned.

For example, I, Liu Guangshi, am making an important deal with Huaxia Army, what should I do if you are in the middle and suddenly go crazy, such a big thing, you can't just say that I believe you, right? My deal with the southwest is really important to save the world......

Dai Mengwei put the Huaxia Army together, using the power of the Huaxia Army to balance the Jurchens, and then cutting the interests from the Jurchens to fight against the Huaxia Army, such a series of means was originally interesting to all forces in the world, and there were still many people who supported him verbally. However, as various forces have actual interests with the southwest, most of the people have such worries in the face of Dai Mengwei.

Don't be crazy, don't meddle, it's enough for you to shout verbally, don't really mess around...... No, how do you promise us that?

Once the southwest side has complex interests involved with various forces, Dai Mengwei will be an eyesore. The whole world has been ravaged by the Jurchens for more than ten years, only the Huaxia army defeated them, and now everyone is hungry and thirsty for the power of the southwest. Sooner or later, the target of the public will become the finger of the thousand people, and the point of the thousand people will end up without a problem, Dai Mengwei understands best.

So in the second half of last year, a rebellion broke out in Dai Mengwei's territory. A general named Cao Silong, who opposed Dai Mengwei, rose up and split parts of the border with the Huaxia Army.

Although this General Cao is anti-Dai, he also doesn't like the Huaxia Army next to him. He righteously expressed his acceptance of the orthodoxy of the Wu Dynasty and the command of General Liu Guangshi and others, and called for putting things in order and crushing all the rebels.

Liu Guangshi spent money like flowing water in the southwest, smashing Mr. Ning's face with a smile, and he sent a letter very helplessly about this matter, hoping that the Huaxia People's Government could understand General Cao Silong's position and raise his noble hand. Mr. Ning also replied to the letter, although it was reluctant, but since Party A's father opened his mouth, this face must be given.

So between Huaxia Jun, Dai Mengwei and Liu Guangshi, there was another enclave similar to a free port, this place not only had Liu Guangshi's forces stationed, but also secretly Dai Mengwei, Wu Qimei, Zou Xu, and other people who could not trade with the southwest also had room to make some small moves in private. The goods coming out of the southwest, turning around this way, may be able to obtain greater value, and in order to ensure his own interests, Dai Mengwei has maintained this place well, and the security of the entire trade route has always been guaranteed, which is really ironic.

“…… Cao Silong is Liu Guangshi's person on the surface, and after reversing Dai Mengwei, he recognized Liu as the master, but in fact, we feel that he has always been Dai's person. The matter of Dai Gong is really cunning and cunning......"

When approaching Bazhong, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng and others pointed out the country to Ning Ji and talked about Dai Mengwei.

When they go out to the southwest, ordinary scholars will actually take the road of Hanzhong, Lu Wenke and Fan Heng were quite careful when they came, because the war had subsided, and the situation was not stable. Several of them were Confucian scholars who paid attention to traveling thousands of miles, and after seeing the Southwest Huaxia Army, they also wanted to see other people's territories, and some even wanted to seek fame outside the southwest, so they followed this caravan out of Sichuan. As for Ning Ji, he chose one at random.

"Dai Gong is now in charge of Ankang, Shiyan, are on the bank of the Han River, it is said that the people there are living a good life, Dai Gong to Confucianism and Taoism to govern the world, quite a success, so we this way, also plan to see with our own eyes. What's next for Little Brother Long? ”

The main purpose of this caravan was to go around Cao Silong's territory, and when it arrived at a county town north of Bazhong, it would stop and consider where to go next. Lu Wenke asked Ning Ji what he thought, but Ning Ji didn't care: "I can do it." ”

"Then you might as well go all the way, so you can take care of it." Fan Heng said with a smile, "We have discussed this way, detour north from Bazhong, pass the direction of Mingtongyuan, and then go to Ankang to board the ship, and take Jingxiang to the east." Aotian is not very old, and it is best to follow us. ”

"I can do it all." Ning Ji thought in his mind that he could have a big meal after entering the city, and he didn't pick the distance for the time being.

On the afternoon of the first day of June, the procession crossed a crowded mountain road that was not spacious and entered Bazhong.

Everything in the city was in chaos.

A large number of caravans gathered in the small city, and outside the newly built simple inns, the shopkeeper with a towel on his back and the dusty woman with grease and powder were shouting and soliciting, and the stench of horse manure on the ground was unpleasant. For those who used to travel from south to north, this may be a symbol of prosperity and prosperity, but for those who have just come out of the southwest, the order here seems to be much worse.

"Look over there......"

On the way to the nearby cheap inn, Lu Wen Ke Lalaning's sleeve pointed to the other side of the street.

On both sides of the long road, there were rudimentary sheds, some of which were fenced off outside, looking like prison cells on the side of the street.

The shack was full of people.

Men and women with gray faces and ragged clothes, and half-grown children of one kind or another, spontaneously slumped under undivided shacks, some enclosed in fences. Some of the children howl loudly, suck their fingers, or chase and fight in a pigsty-like environment, and the adults look at this side with empty eyes.

Going to jail is not like going to jail, and it would be inaccurate to say that they are completely free.

"They are ......," Ning Ji frowned.

"That's what I said in Zhaohua, the beggars who can go over there are lucky, those people can still choose, sign a five-year contract, maybe pay off the debt in half a year, work in the factory for five years, and still have a lot of money left...... These people have nothing left in the war, and some people are outside, saying that they will bring them to the southwest, and the southwest is a good place, and the contract will be signed for 20, 30, or 40 years, and the wages will not be as good as they are...... How can it be? For the sake of the adults and children in the family, I can't only buy myself......"

"I think it's all Huaxia Army's problem!" Fan Heng, a middle-aged uncle, walked aside and said, "It is said that it is about the law and the contract, but in fact there is no humanity!" In Zhaohua, there is obviously a five-year contract, so it is not right to stipulate that all contracts are the same. These people went to the southwest, and the contract signed in hand was so bastard, the Huaxia army should uphold justice and change them all, so that all the people will support it! What Mr. Ning, I said when I was in the southwest, I am also a fool, if I handle this matter, it will not take a year, and it will be a good one, and the southwest will have the best reputation! ”

"Maybe it's for them to come by themselves......" Ning Ji looked at those empty eyes and whispered. He was compassionate, and when he saw that the enemy could be killed, he did not feel good when he saw such a look.

The market was noisy, and Fan Heng, who was criticizing Huaxia Jun, couldn't hear what Ning Ji said. Walking in front, a soldier named Chen Junsheng turned around and said, "It's not easy to transport people, you say...... Where did all these people come from? ”

This question seems to be quite complex and a little acute, and the five people on the road have mentioned it before, and may have heard some public opinion. When asked at this time, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng and the others were silent, and after a while, Fan Heng spoke.

"Go check it out...... And you know. ”

He gestured, and the group continued to walk forward. Ning Ji was a little curious, and when he approached the inn, he asked Lu Wenke, "Where are you going to see something?" ”

Lu Wenke turned his head sideways and said in a low voice: "In the past, it was said that most of the workers who entered the southwest these days were sold from Dai's land...... There are so many workers, there are certainly Dai Gong's here, but not most of them, no one can say clearly, we discussed on the way, we should go over there to have a look. In fact, Dai Gong was profoundly educated, although he was not on good terms with the Huaxia army, but at that time, the soldiers were in danger, and he saved millions of people from the Jurchens, but it was a great merit that could not be erased. ”

"Oh." Ning Ji nodded. If he met Dai, he would naturally kill him with a sword, and as for judging Dai's good or bad merits with these people, he would not do it, so he didn't have any more opinions.

Perhaps because of the sudden increase in passenger traffic, the newly built inns in Bazhong City are as simple as wild land, and the air is hot and stuffy with an inexplicable smell of. At night, when Ning Ji climbed on the roof and looked into the distance, he saw the messy sheds and livestock-like people in the market, and at this moment he really felt that he had left the place of the Huaxia Army.

I feel a little homesick......