The cavalry team composed of donkeys could only go halfway up the mountain, and there were hundreds of people who followed Xu Zi to Shangzhai first, most of whom were porters.

Last time, he had to bring enough military supplies, Xu Zixian didn't remember much about the events of that year, but he still remembered that it was quite difficult to supply Shangzhai.

Hundreds of people eat and drink Lazar on the slope of the cliff, which is equal to the cliff, and it is easy to see the hell.

The porters picked up supplies such as dry food, vegetables, and salted meat and duck, and they were sweating profusely along the way, but these mountain people were used to walking mountain roads and climbing many rugged mountain roads, and this little work at present did not make them soft in their hands and legs.

The mountain people looked at Xu Zixian and the others.

Wu Weisan and Jin Bao are just martial artists, but they are still officers with strong martial arts, and it is nothing to walk the mountain road.

Nan Anhou, the big man who was noble at first glance, actually acted as if nothing happened, walking and crawling all the way, with a relaxed gait, and there was no sweat on his forehead.

A group of civil officials, except for Mr. Xiao Fang, who was weaker and needed the help of a martial artist, the rest of the group of officials, although out of breath, did not take much effort to climb up......

Chen Zuocai wiped the sweat on his forehead and smiled at Chen Daojian: "I have to be grateful to the prince, when I forced us to participate in the training, I was still very dissatisfied...... Anyway, he is also a talented student, and he has passed the examination to raise people to the Beijing Division, and he has to run around with a group of martial artists in a short robe, which is really sweeping the floor. Only now do I know that I have gained a lot from persevering until now. ”

Chen Daojian pursed his lips and smiled, he is seventeen years old, his body has risen a lot, his body used to be thin and weak, but now he also looks strong and well-proportioned, if there is a basketball ball in this era, he will definitely be a tall and handsome young man who screams for girls, sweating on the basketball court and capturing the hearts of girls.

Of course, all this is also thanks to Xu Zixian, if there is no Xu Zixian, the current Chen Daojian is estimated to be still studying hard, and after a few years, he passed the exam and went to Beijing to catch the exam.

It is also possible to be stuck all the time, trapped in the fighting room, and it is difficult to stretch.

Now he is a good reader, and there are great Confucian teachings like Wu Shizhong, and he is also studying military and political affairs, and his insights are not comparable to those of the young boys of the year.

He also has the experience of boiling his body in the barracks, and his body is much stronger than that of ordinary poor scholars.

Of course, the scribes don't really learn to fight, and it is enough to have a stronger physique.

Fang Shaoqun was a little embarrassed on the side, and he said to Chen Daojian: "Prison, after going down the mountain, I will also exercise with you every morning?" ”

"Mr. Fang rest assured...... "Chen Daojian and Fang Shaoqun get along quite well, Fang Shaoqun likes this motivated teenager, and Chen Daojian admires the wisdom and strategy of Fang Shaoqun, and the two have established a preliminary friendship. Chen Daojian said to the other party Shaoqun quite seriously: "As long as Mr. is not afraid of hardship, at most two or three months, his body and energy will come up." It's one, you have to put aside the shelf of a reader, you have to be not afraid of sweat, and you have to endure the pain in your muscles and bones. ”

"Alright." Fang Shaoqun scolded with a smile: "I'm not a three-year-old child, since I said that I want to practice, I have to practice hard!" ”

Chen Daojian thought about it, the other party is a smart person, if he insists on the literati set, it won't work if anyone says it. If you want to practice, I'm afraid it's better than ordinary people.

The characteristic of a smart person is to do what he does, and he is half a bottle of vinegar to do everything and half a tone.

Xu Zixian turned his head to the other party Shaoqun at this time and said: "The road below is more difficult to walk, Fengqi, you have to suffer." ”

"What can you accomplish without suffering?" Fang Shaoqun is actually very unaccustomed to being taken care of, they are all men in the prime of life, they are like flying, and they are panting like oxen, but now is not the time to be hard, the road in front of him is really more rugged and difficult.

It is only how wide a person is, and the side of the road is a cliff that can turn people into broken bones and rotten flesh, in fact, it is not too high, only dozens of meters high, but it is composed of extremely steep mountain rocks, and if you fall all the way, you are afraid that it will really become a pile of rotten meat.

The other is a mountain composed of dense forests and shrubs, the road is very small, it is a mountain road slowly opened up by manpower, and under the feet is a mountain and stone path full of gravel, and there are many places so narrow that you have to pass sideways, and even have to climb some iron cables to pass.

The iron cable was also smashed into the mountain when it was first excavated, and even with these auxiliary measures, the mountain people were used to walking the mountain road, and there were always a number of people who accidentally fell to their deaths every year.

Lu Wenxian had to go to Shangzhai several times a year, and he had to climb to the top to observe the situation at Qishan Port, which was quite remarkable determination and courage for a civil official.

Xu Zixian also determined from this point that Lu Wenxian also wanted to solve the Qishan bandits, and those who had this determination were allies.

"This is Shangzhai."

Xu Zi exhaled a breath of turbid air first, although he had already entered the gate of martial arts, such a long trek made him feel a little tired.

Shangzhai is a large gentle slope, all around are bare, the firewood of the soldiers are solved by themselves, fortunately only 500 people are stationed, the dense forests around are cut endlessly, only the nearby forests have been cut down.

A large wooden fence encloses a hundred acres of land, several large brick and stone buildings are quite conspicuous, the most eye-catching is the red flag at the gate of the camp, and the other is the wooden arrow tower.

There are also several sentry towers on the hill in the distance outside the wall, which are about ten meters high, and then stand on the hill, and look far away, the enemy is afraid that it will be discovered more than ten miles away.

A thin box army stood on the sentry tower and saw Xu Zixian and his party, but no one reported the alarm.

It wasn't until everyone approached the gate of the village that someone beat the big drum, and there was a rush in the village, and the dust was raised.

After a short time, He Shanhu, the deputy commander of Qipin, walked out in a shabby military attache robe, and behind him were hundreds of soldiers of the Xiang Army who were dressed in shabby clothes and had blank expressions.

Xu Zi took a look at it first, and most of the long guns, iron spears, and barrier knives in the hands of the soldiers were inferior and rusty.

"I've seen the Tongzhi Defense Envoy."

He Shanhu knew the rules, did not call Xu Zixian by the prince, and came out to greet him according to the official etiquette, and all the Shangzhai soldiers also bowed together.

"Gentlemen are exempt." Xu Zi stretched out his hand first, made a gesture of disrespect, and many soldiers of the Xiang army stood up straight in a mess.

"How long have you been here?" Xu Zi walked in front of a forty-year-old Xiang Jun first, the other party may only be in his early sixties, and it stands to reason that he is not even qualified to be a Xiang Jun.

"It's been two years." Lao Xiangjun's face twitched, and his expression was quite nervous.

"It's been too long, don't you want to be homesick?"

Of course, people in Shangzhai can't go down the mountain, the next time is not easy, if you want to be a deserter, there is nowhere to run, two years in such a place, think about it is terrifying.

"I want to ......" Lao Xiangjun's eyes were hot, and he said: "It would be good if I could transfer the defense back to Jianzhou." ”

"Let's go back to our own house." Xu Zixian said: "Xiangjun here will give you a note and son to ask for leave due to illness, give you a few yuan for travel expenses, go home for a while, and then apply for recruitment in Jianzhou, according to the practice of this dynasty, you will definitely be able to make up for it." If you don't want to be a soldier, just find some work to do, or you can do it. ”

Most of those who are in the army are homeless people, bankrupt peasants, or helpless people who are unable to pay taxes.

Very few people take the initiative to enlist in the army, most of them are in the above situations, or second-rate scoundrels who are unwilling to endure hardship.

Hang on the name of the box army, buy off the officials, and still do those things that bully men and women everywhere, and there are not a few such box soldiers.

The Xiang army is recruited for at least five years, and you can't leave without permission during the period, otherwise you will be treated as a deserter.

The original settling-in allowance has already been paid, and in recent years, I have also received a lot of military salaries, and few people who survived the most difficult period stay in the barracks.

According to the rules of this dynasty, those who return from illness in other places can re-enter the camp nearby, which is also a source of instability for fear of falling sick and falling into the van army.

Since it was able to be recruited at the beginning, as long as there is a name, of course it can be recruited into the camp again.

Trapped here in Shangzhai, there is no extra oil and water, there is no way to visit relatives, and there is no way to call relatives over, the food is poor, all of them are skinny, after listening to Xu Zixian's words, Lao Xiangjun almost cried, trembling all over, as if he wanted to ask Xu Zixian whether this was true or false, but he didn't dare to ask.

"This official is the Marquis of Nan'an, the Great Wei clan, Tongzhi Qizhou, the defense envoy, and the commander of Shangzhai." Xu Zixian smiled and said to Zhongxiang Jun: "If you are willing to leave, you can do the same way as this old brother, if you are willing, you can go to the signing room of the martial arts box to sign up now." ”

Xu Zi first pointed at Chen Zuocai and Chen Daojian, and said with a smile: "These two gentlemen are here to do this for you." ”

The eyes of many van soldiers showed a glint of hope, if they could get the passage fee and fake slips, and leave a ghost place like Shangzhai, it would be really good......

But most of the people are still flashing in their eyes, and the big guys are talking or not, isn't it just in their hearts?

Even if you say it, if you don't say it, everyone dares to return it?

It is very likely that this big man is the three fires who came to take office, gathered all the people who wanted to leave, beat dozens of military sticks, and stabilized the morale of the army when the flesh and blood were blurred.

Only the old man at the beginning was vague, and his eyes were hesitant, but in the end he made up his mind.

No matter how you can, you won't be killed, and you will be beaten dozens of times, so what?

If you miss this opportunity, you have to stay up for another three years to go home, if there is no hope, it is nothing more than a boiling word, if there is hope, this boiling word is like a tall boulder like Qishan, and the pressure is out of breath!

Xu Zi first entered the martial arts hall with He Shanhu and others, Lao Xiangjun took a few steps forward, took two steps back, and finally slowly walked towards the martial arts hall under everyone's attention.

"My lord, this trip is not appropriate, is it?" He Shanhu entered the door and said: "Shangzhai is rated at five hundred and fifty people, which is the elite selected from the villages, if the Qishan thieves attack, Shangzhai is the first line of defense, so the defense envoy commands the three villages, and commands the Shangzhai as usual." If you open the opening, one or two will have to leave, and the village will be empty in a day or two, I don't know how the adults will explain to the top? ”