The long and narrow Yishui River Valley, in the summer, the hormones fly clear, the two banks are more than Motegi and empty, some people pass by, then a hundred birds fly and gather, and the wailing is harmonious.

The road was very narrow, sitting on a mule and staggering, Lu Jia, who had always been known as the "No. 1 mouth of the Northern Expeditionary Army", had doubts about whether he was suitable to be a messenger.

Because the salt-carrying worker next to him kept talking for several hours, but he couldn't understand a word......

If it is said that although the language of the land of Sanchu is different, but after getting along for a long time, it can still be understood, after going deep into Yishui, the words spoken by the locals, whether it is the language of the Ba people or the dialect of the Bashu Qin people, are like a book from heaven......

Even if you are familiar with it, it is useless, this area is full of mountains and ravines, ten miles of different sounds, and eight miles of different customs.

The only person who could talk to them was the guide sent by Bashi, who spoke reluctantly.

"Does Lu Jun know why the people of Jingchu call salt 'salt'?"

When he arrived in Yanyang (Enshi, Hubei), while munching on a piece of salt, the guide asked Lu Jia this question in a very strong accent.

Lu Jia naturally knew, and said with a smile: "The south is not near the sea, and most of the words eaten are the well salt produced by Badi, or Ba salt, or salt Ba ......."

The guide pointed to the path under his feet and said, "Do you know why this road doesn't grow grass?" For hundreds of years, the Ba people have transported salt to Jingchu through this road, and there are always leaks. ”

This Ba man's eyebrows fluttered, but Lu Jia just smiled, of course, this is an exaggeration, in his opinion, it is not the missing salt that kills the weeds, but the salt Jia of the Ba Clan, which goes back and forth several times a year, and is trampled.

The products of Bashu are abundant, in addition to well salt, there are also Shu brocade, wolfberry sauce, bamboo cane and other commodities, in addition to taking the waterway of the Three Gorges of the Great River, there are also through the shoulder to carry the back, through the land to reach Dongting County, and then into Changsha, Nanjun. When the salt-carrying workers returned, they transported back the tung oil, lacquerware and other products from Chudi, and then sold them to all parts of Bashu.

Looking at the surrounding terrain, Lu Jia thought:

"In the twenty-seventh year of King Qin Zhao (280 B.C.), Sima Coo's generals of Longxi passed through Shu to take Chu and Qianzhong, and this is the road?"

At that time, Qin and Chu were in a big battle, and the main force of the Chu army was gathered in Nanyang Jianghan, and the rear was empty. After being suddenly attacked by Sima Cuo, the Chu army was caught off guard and lost Qianzhong County, which is today's Dongting County, and the king of Chu was so shocked that he could only make peace with Qin, and as a price for redeeming Qianzhong, he was forced to sacrifice Yong (now Zhushan, Hubei) and the area north of Hanshui to Qin.

Since Sima Cuo's army was able to take this road seventy years ago, then in turn, the Northern Expeditionary Army could also enter Pakistan from here!

After more than ten days of trekking, on the first day of the seventh month, he finally walked out of the mountains and paths and came to a big river.

The guide told Lu Jia that the river was called "Wujiang" (now Qianjiang, which has nothing to do with Wujiang Pavilion).

Lu Jia stood at the water's edge and looked upstream, the flow is rapid, the beach is many, the valley is narrow, it is said that walking against the current for ten days, you can reach the mysterious Yelang country, the wolf sauce of Bashu is transported to the Yelang country through this riverside path, and then transported to Nanyue by the Qiqi River......

But the mountain road goes south, and the place of Yelang is more mountainous than Bashu Dongting, and the sky is sunny for three days, and the ground is not three feet flat.

Heifu once asked Zhao Tuo to send people to explore, directly from South Vietnam to Ba through Yelang, the loss along the way is too great, Yelang is also very wary of outsiders, and will never allow the army to pass through.

The lower reaches of the Wujiang River are much more spacious and can be navigated, and the place where it joins the river is the end point of Lu Jia's journey: Tongxian (Fuling, Chongqing).

After traveling for a few more days, Lu Jia and his entourage came to the riverside, and suddenly felt that everything was suddenly bright.

The dark green river is majestic, it is the rainy season, the water rises and falls, the four seasons change, unlike the high gorge Pinghu in later generations, the waves are not alarmed, you can see that there is a prosperous county at the confluence of the two rivers.

Lu Jia saw that there had been a carrying brother in and out of the city, the sound of pestles, shouting, in front of the stilted building, on the stone road, the endless flow of merchants Jia Lifu, every day deduced the hard work of loading goods, carrying salt and picking rice - they are the cornerstone of the Qing business empire of the widow.

But the person who came to pick up Lu Jia said: "The lord of my family is not in the county, but waiting for the honored guest in the fort on the other side of the river." ”

Lu Jia knew that this was Ba's territory, so he didn't say much, and then came to the ferry.

They led Lu Jia and his entourage of more than ten people to board the wooden sailboat waiting at the ferry, with tall white sails, slender men with oily and shiny skin, strong boatmen, boatmen rocking the rudder across the river, and pulling boats against the current to cross the dangerous beach.

When he finally arrived at the north bank of the river, as soon as Lu Jia looked up, he saw this Ba clan fortress (refer to Shenlong Mountain Ba People Stone City...... ）

Beneath the boulders, the green trees are surrounded and the terraces are like terraces.

On the boulder, the city wall is undulating, the watchtower stands in a forest, it can be described as Xiongguan Jinge.

At a height of several hundred feet, the mountain road is steep, and the slope of the stone slabs is very large, and if you walk, you have to climb for a while.

There is no need for Lu Jia to walk, and his own Bashi servants carry a sliding pole, which is tied into a stretcher with two sturdy long bamboo poles, and the middle frame is woven into a reclining chair with bamboo pieces, and the foot pedal hangs forward.

Lu Jia was still careless, he sat on something for the first time, but when he went uphill, his head was down, and his feet were facing the sky, which scared his heart to jump out.

Although the two Ba people in front and behind were very hard, every time he shook and looked at the cliffs on both sides, he was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, but he had to be calm.

"Isn't this Ba Chung's dismount for me?"

Fortunately, there was no danger along the way, and finally came to the gate of the walled city, where a group of Ba warriors stood here, this group of people carried willow leaf swords on their waists, embroidered with white tiger stripes, and had a unique hairstyle - in addition to the vertebral bun, most of the hair on the side was shaved, and it looked like a barbarian.

This is Ba Shi's private army, although it has been restricted by the Qin Dynasty and reduced in number, it is no problem to run rampant in Bazhong, which is also the reason why Lu Jia hopes to pull Ba Shi into the camp of the Northern Expeditionary Army.

Lu Jia looked left and right, but there were only more than ten people, but he was not afraid, straightened his clothes, and said in his heart: "In the past, Confucius once asked his disciples about their ambitions, and said: "Give, what is it?"

"Zigong said: Get plain clothes and crowns, so that between the two countries, soldiers who do not hold sizes, and food that rises to fight, make the two countries like brothers!"

"Therefore, Zigong is a pedestrian of Lu State, a out, save Lu, chaotic Qi, break Wu, and dominate Yue. Zigong made a messenger, so that the situation was broken, and in ten years, the five countries have changed! ”

Lu Jia studied Confucianism, although the poetry and books of etiquette and music are good, in this troubled world, the most useful thing is Zigong's lobbying skills.

"Today, the prince and the Qin court are facing off in the Central Plains, and they can only open the situation from the corners, I think like Zigong, relying on a three-inch tongue, can also make great contributions!"

He was ready, but the fierce Ba warriors in front of him all collected the willow leaf spears and retreated to the side, and no one walked over arrogantly, unreasonably demanding that he remove the sword from his waist.

This made Lu Jia think about the righteousness and strictness all the way, and it was suddenly useless.

"Is it Mr. Lu under the command of Marquis Wuzhong?"

On the contrary, a middle-aged man with a kind face and clothes that were no different from ordinary Qin people hurriedly came out, and after Lu Jia revealed his identity, he excitedly grabbed Lu Jia's hand!

"The envoy of Marquis Wuzhong can be regarded as coming, so that Mrs. Marquis Wuzhong can also go back to Nanjun......"

Ba Zhong behaved like this, Lu Jia didn't expect it, he felt that this person was cheating, and said solemnly: "Madame is also in this castle?" ”

Ba Zhong hurriedly explained: "The lady and the gentleman are all distinguished guests on the Ba Clan, and in another manor, I have arranged dozens of maidservants to wait, and they are absolutely fine!" ”

Lu Jia shook off his hand and sneered: "Madame was a guest at Ba Jun's place, and she stayed for several months, and she didn't return for a long time, Ba Jun, your family is really hospitable!" ”

Ba Zhong wanted to speak and stopped, and finally could only apologize: "Lu Jia, I really can't do it, the two armies are fighting in Jiangguan, the waterway is extinct, and the road of Yishui is remote and dangerous, Mrs. Wuzhonghou and the gentleman are all daughters, and I don't dare to let them go into danger." ”

Having said that, but the actual situation, Ba Zhong is bitter and can't say.

In the spring, Ye's mother and son entered Ba County from Hanzhong through Ba's caravan, but at that time, Heifu cheated to death, his whereabouts were unknown, and Qin Shi Huang personally patrolled the south.

Although the Hei clan has not given Ba Shi any benefits in the past ten years, but the wall is down and everyone pushes it, Ba Zhong also has to consider the rise and fall of the clan, he was frightened by his cronies at that time, and he was so confused that he intercepted the Ye family and his party.

Although it is true that as he said, he serves Heifu's wife and children with good food and drink, but he is also like a hostage......

After entering the summer, the situation has changed dramatically, seeing that Heifu is fighting vigorously in Jianghan, although the final victory or defeat with the Qin court is unpredictable, but it is already a major force that cannot be offended, Ba Zhong regretted it, so he wanted to send Ye Zijin to Jiangling as soon as possible.

But Ba Zhong never expected that he offended a woman who shouldn't be offended!

Mrs. Wuzhonghou, it's not simple......

has been in business for more than ten years, and Ba Zhong has never seen such a domineering, hostage-free woman who is still calm.

Ye Zijin was not noisy or noisy, and lived in Ba Shi Beizhuang with peace of mind, as if this was her house, and the people sent by Ba Zhong to monitor it, such as calling his own servants, commanding them to work, were not polite at all.

When you hear the news of your husband, shouldn't you cry and shout to go back? Why are you still not leaving?

What's even more excessive is that the Ye family also kept asking Ba Zhong for this and that on the grounds that the little gentleman wanted to grow his body.

Meat only eats good meat: the lips of the orangutan, the scorching of the badger, the covenant of the elephant, where can you have this thing if you want to eat?

The dishes are all treasures: Yanghua Zhiyun, Yunmeng Zhiqin, all have to be found thousands of miles away.

Last month, she even deliberately taught her son to smack his lips and cry that he wanted to eat Lingnan lychees, well, fresh......

Ba Zhong was also about to cry.

But what can he do? Ye's mother and son have become big people who can't afford to offend, so they can only notify Heifu to pick up people, and at the same time find a way to rely on Bab's extensive commercial logistics to offer everything one by one - he asked himself if his mother, the widow Qing, had never been so extravagant when she was alive.

After a few months, except for the dragon liver and phoenix marrow, everything that can be obtained has been sent, so it is always deflated, right? Ba Zhong also went to plead with Ye Zijin several times, and the adults have a lot, forgive Ba Shi for his offense, and go back to Nanjun......

But Ye was just in the curtain, holding his son and teaching him to read, and only threw a sentence in the middle of the ring.

"Ba Zhong, have you ever heard a phrase that my beloved often says?"

"What?"

At that time, it was already Heifu who occupied Jiangling, and after swearing to the Northern Expedition, the power was getting bigger and bigger, and seeing that the Ye family would not leave, the misunderstanding between the two families was getting bigger and bigger, and Ba Zhong was so anxious that he almost knelt down.

But in the curtain, only a sarcasm was thrown lightly:

"It's easy to please God, but it's hard to send God!"

……

PS: There is only one chapter today.