The 7th Battalion of Chengying set off from Kangju City, traveled along the Mina River to Bukhara City, passed around the city, crossed the desert along the Wuhu Water, crossed the Lei Zhu Sea, marched for more than ten days, and came to a vast water area, which is the West Sea, which is actually a big lake, and also the western border of the Xia Kingdom. The residents who migrated from Guanlong and Shu cultivated fields and grazed cattle and sheep along the shore of the Great Lake, and Zhao Xingde also saw the border land Cangcheng often mentioned by Wang Tongdeng and Jian Cheng for the first time.

The city through which the Chengying camp passed was called Aconitum Cang. Backed by a saltwater swamp, the walls were not very tall, with a circumference of about two miles. The houses in the city are very small and dense, almost all of them are more than ten feet square, divided into two floors, the lower floor is storage, and the upper floor can accommodate five or six people temporarily. The streets of the city are intricate, and many of the roofs facing the streets are also covered with dish walls, so that if the enemy breaks into the city, the residents can rely on the streets to resist one by one.

There is only a small group of sergeants stationed in Cangcheng, and most of the errands of the lookout and garrison are undertaken by the regimental training battalion on the left in rotation. The savings of the nearby people are kept in the warehouse city, and each family locks the door, and every time the regimental training camp rotates, it is also the time of the market, and the nearby people drive the carriage to come and check the warehouse by the way. The new group practice also has to monitor the integrity of the seals of the warehouse doors of each household one by one before drawing and receiving. For a month after that, except for the owner of each storehouse with a household sign, no one else, even an army, was allowed to enter the city.

Zhao Xingde saw that this aconitum cang city was built in a non-round and non-square way, extending outward with many obtuse angles, and the shape was strange, so he couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Sima Junfang said with a smile: "This is the case in Cangcheng all over the country, when it was first built, the shade households were scarce, and it was enough to see the square, and then the population gradually flourished, the number of households gradually increased, and the number of households in the warehouse city was not enough, so let the newly settled shade households build warehouses according to the old city, add dozens of households this year, add dozens of households next year, the original city wall of the warehouse city demolished many door holes, and the rest became the walls of the new warehouse, and the new walls were built outside, and over time, the warehouse cities around the city are like this. ”

"I see," Zhao Xingde said with a smile, "I thought it was to facilitate the defensive regimental practice of firing arrows and crossbows to deliberately cultivate like this." He looked at the regimental training on the head of Cangcheng City, even if the Chengying battalion under the banner of the three armies passed by, this Cangcheng regimental training did not pay attention to it, and it seemed to be more cautious than the defense of Miyagi in Bianliang.

"Let me tell you," Kim Chang-tae said with a smile on the side, "the more remote the place, the more solid the family, these rich people, I am afraid that you will ask him for food and money." Even if it is the requisition of the army, if there is no law and government order in hand, and the state and county protectors draw the guard, they will not be able to enter Cangcheng. He paused for a moment, and then said, "This place is low-lying, and if it is built in a warehouse city on the high ground, some shade households have accumulated for several generations, and the household registration warehouse is not enough, so they dig down the cellar, and I heard that there are also those who dig two or three floors." "This area was an important transit point on the east-west trade routes, and as it flourished, the number of craft workshops gradually increased, and the craftsmen bought wool, felt, blankets, sweaters, and other goods from the surrounding nomadic tribes, and sold them to the merchants who passed by. Indeed, it can be called rich.

"No wonder the city wall is built so low," Zhao Xingde nodded, "It is to keep demolishing and building." But it's cheaper. "I have an intuitive understanding of the enrichment of the Xia country, even if the enemy army comes to attack, the people can resist it for a long time with Cangcheng.

Cangcheng is not easy to open the city, and the seventh battalion of Chengying can only rest at the post station next to it. Many sergeants from Guanzhong saw this small fortress-like city for the first time, and after talking for a long time, they began to plan how to capture this city.

About to enter the territory of the Hu people, the marching Sima Jin Changtai specially asked the soldiers to buy more ginger slices, dried onions and garlic, rice wine, black vinegar, salted soy sauce and other ingredients from Middle Earth. Looking at the disbelieving eyes of some sergeants, Kim Chang-tae said with a wicked smile: "When you regret it, don't blame me for being unpredictable." Zhao Xingde saw that there were a lot of exquisite silver boxes wrapped in fine forging in his bag, and Jin Changtai said: "When I arrived in Lumei Country, the famous tea in Shu was a good gift for dignitaries. It is also easy to carry, so it is naturally indispensable. Following the expedition of the 7th Battalion of Chengying, he had great hopes, that is, he could take the opportunity to travel all over the world, increase his knowledge, and have the opportunity to make friends with ministers and nobles, which will be of great help to his own business in the future.

Zhao Xingde complimented him that he would be able to revitalize the family business, but Jin Changtai sighed: "Wealth and danger are sought, what is this." He paused, with a mysterious look, and said: "If you can pass through the realm of the great cannibals, it is the sea of hot sand, and the realm is mostly the tribal vassal kingdom of Kunlunnu, where there are many treasures such as gold and night pearls, but there is a great shortage of salt, as long as you go deep into the humid and hot jungle, a lump of salt is enough to exchange for a piece of gold." The rich merchants in the hot sand sea all stored salt like gold. He shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that this trade route passes through the hinterland of the Great Cannibals, and has been controlled by them, which is too dangerous for us Xia people, otherwise, I will definitely give it a try." The glow of the campfire reflected on his face a longing for a mysterious and exotic land covered with gold.

"Jin Sima, are you still daydreaming?" Sima Junfang and Huang Zongdao opened the curtain and walked in, Huang Zongdao was holding a pot of wine sweat with the name of "hero's blood", which was the best wine in Western Xinjiang and was repeatedly steamed and brewed. "Yo, the rich man of the land is generous today," Jin Changtai said with a smile, thinking that Huang Zongdao was going to invite the two of them to drink, but Huang Zongdao stuffed the wine bottle into the marching bag full of various herbs, and said with a smile: "I will go out of the customs tomorrow morning, and I must always bring some water from my hometown." He paused, and then said: "General Anxi Military Division specially rushed to Wutou to send my battalion out tomorrow morning, General Duan is setting up a banquet to entertain General Xu, and let the marching Sima and centurion go." ”

Xu Wenhu, the general of the Anxi Military Division, is the pillar of the defense of Western Xinjiang, he has been in the western Xinjiang for 30 years, from sergeant to general, and has fought against the great cannibals, Turks, and Rus. He painstakingly managed the defense of Anxi, and the armies defended the isolated city in the desperate region, and fought against the Hu cavalry several times his size. He has a very high prestige in the Xia army. The sergeant followed him into battle, and his heart was steady, and everyone knew that he would not die in vain. Cangcheng, a border prefecture and county, was besieged by barbarians, and when he heard that Xu Wenhu led the army to attack the enemy, his morale was often greatly boosted.

In Zhao Xingde's eyes, Xu Wenhu is more like a craftsman who has worked all his life, and the deep wrinkles have made the scars that fell when he was young no longer obvious, although he tried to straighten his waist, his body and eye bags looked bloated. He didn't speak loudly, and as soon as he spoke, the officers could only all quiet down, so that everyone in the big tent could understand the old general's words, but his voice was still a little vague. To Zhao Xingde's ears, at least it was not as clear and powerful as the military orders he issued.

Kim Chang-tae said Mr. Seo is likely to retire within five years. Once he retires, it is an ironclad matter for him to be promoted to the Pillar State Government, and the number of people who elected him is likely to exceed hundreds of thousands. "The captains of the Protectorate Mansion are all in their prime, and most of the national policies formulated are sharp and safe. Most of the pillars of the Zhuguo Mansion are highly respected people, and the formulation of laws and regulations is biased towards holding on to the defects, and would rather lack than abuse. The styles of the two governments are very different. Kim Chang-tae said with a wine glass.

The centurions of the seventh battalion of Chengying took turns to step forward, and when it was Zhao Xingde's turn, he raised his wine glass and said respectfully: "Humble Zhao De, respect General Xu." When he spoke, all the officers exchanged pleasantries, but when it was Xu Wenhu's turn to speak, the tent was so quiet that it could be heard that a needle was falling.

Every time an officer toasts, Xu Wenhu is full of drinks, which is also a common practice in the army, otherwise he should retire. His eyes moved slightly, as if he hadn't heard clearly, and asked, "You are Zhao De?" She looked at him with interest.

"It's the last general." Zhao Xingde said, feeling that Xu Wenhu seemed to be staring at him for a while, before he said slowly: "This Chengying Camp was originally created by Taizu to collect the Guandong Jinjun. I am a meritocracy, and heroes don't ask about their origins. After arriving in the country of Lumei, let's be careful. After speaking, he filled the glass with wine, turned the wine glass and looked at Zhao De.

Zhao De hurriedly drank his wine and retreated, returning to his seat. Zhao Xingde was still groaning, Xu Wenhu seemed to be quite kind to himself, but these few words did not match the afterword, but it was quite incomprehensible.

At this time, when Wang Tong stepped forward to pay respect, Xu Wenhu was also quite kind to him, and said in a hazy voice: "You are Wang Tiegun, when he was leaving in Dunhuang, Prime Minister Liu Cheng also mentioned you to me." Anxi is thousands of miles away, and a strong general with ten enemies will exchange a hundred mediocre people who are indiscriminate, and I will not do it. As long as the ability is sufficient, the military merit should be as much as possible. He laughed and drank the wine from his glass.

The New Year is approaching, and there is occasionally a sound of ping-pong explosions outside the post house, and the guests and hosts enjoy themselves this night, adding a lot of joy.