In the cool autumn breeze, Wang Renshou from Qi County, Hedong, also went along the rushing river towards Jingzhou upstream, and his journey was really not easy.

Along the way, the thieves and official armies intertwined, the feudal towns that invaded and annexed each other, and the local soil regiments that acted on their own under the banner made the entire Kanto land all the way to Lianghuai and Jiangdong almost a pot of porridge.

However, the greatest danger comes from the villagers and tyrants who erect trenches and forts to defend themselves, and almost every trip that is left alone in their vicinity will encounter unknown bad luck and accidents.

And in the cities where the refugees gathered, it was not necessarily safe, and many people who had no other place to live woke up under the eaves and at the base of the wall, and they would be inexplicably arrested and become new pawns driven by the local officials and soldiers.

And the outsider who lives in the skyrocketing prices of the inns and mansions, and has no followers, also has an unforeseen risk, but he has seen several times with his own eyes that the out-of-town traveler who traveled with him for a short time was taken out on suspicion of spying and never returned.

And Wang Renshou has also been interrogated more than a dozen times, if it weren't for the fact that he came from Taiyuan County and issued a pass on behalf of the Beixing Battalion, which was enough to be powerful and deterrent, I am afraid that he would also be trapped by these forcible seizure methods.

Despite this, when he was in Shouzhou City, he still inevitably lost his luggage and escaped by jumping out of the window, because the other party had no intention of colluding with the government, but privately sharpened his knife, Huo Huo discussed chopping him up to make a table of meat dishes.

Another time, when he was passing through the city, he had to draw his sword and kill people, because he was actually openly robbed by a scoundrel under the watchful eyes of the guards, and then snatched a donkey and fled through the pass, which is the biggest evil result of the corruption of the etiquette system.

The bigger bad news is that when he went through a lot of hardships and finally set foot on the land of Jiangnan, he came to defect and shelter according to the family's arrangement, and the candidates in several places where he obtained identity cover were no longer there.

Some of them were destroyed by the rebels, some were forced by the local government to fall down and the clansmen scattered, and some participated in the rebellion, and then were easily suppressed by the passing Taiping thieves, and the result of the death and wounding of the whole family.

This also made him deeply feel that the so-called big families in the south of the Yangtze River, the top of the family, may not be able to persist more durably than the small people in the face of the swarming arms in the troubled times.

Either they rely on one side of the force to seek refuge and be considerate, or they are in charge of the sword to protect themselves, and the great reputation and family business run by the so-called peaceful world will only become the first choice of all kinds of reckless people and careerists.

Therefore, he can only be a wandering Jianghuai scholar Wang Renshou at the moment, but fortunately, he found a lot of scholars with similar encounters and backgrounds during the journey, and even the existence of a family with him. And his presence is not conspicuous.

Wang Renshou only inquired a little, and knew that most of them came from Jiangsu, Chang, Hu, and Hangzhou in Jiangdong and Zhejiang, and some of them came from He, Lu, and other prefectures in Jiangbei and Huainan, and even from the coastal areas of Fujian.

Because after the collapse of the order maintained by the imperial court in the local area, almost everywhere was the rise of all kinds of forces, and the attacks and killings were rampant in the villages, coupled with the bandits who wandered and the roads were like cattle.

Under such a back-and-forth of stubble and the nuisance of harvesting and annoyance, even their middle-aged families and Yin Shi families, who can barely maintain, are really tossed and can't get by.

Although it is not that no one broke down and gathered together, or joined the wealthy family and the surname to protect themselves, but more people did not have this kind of credentials and hope, and could only escape before being included in the Guangtian property or coerced as a trench and cannon fodder.

And no matter how these Taiping thieves rebelled, rebelled, drove and killed officials and brutalized the wealthy families, they were notorious, but at least they were also strong forces that could not be defeated in Hunan, Jingnan, Jiangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang

Therefore, it is also possible to use strong hands and force to ensure the peace and tranquility under the rule, not to mention that there are enough ambitions and claims to overthrow the imperial court and fight for the world.

Since the righteousness and reputation of the court, which is now weakened, can no longer protect them, it is not surprising that they turn to the most powerful and decent of the thieves in the world.

At least the Taiping thieves are willing to be sheltered and received, but those who have a little knowledge and knowledge, or craftsmanship and expertise, and are still along the south of the Yangtze River, go to Xunyang to provide temporary resettlement points and means of transportation.

This alone has overpowered most of the thieves in this world, as well as the local forces that have swarmed in the local area. And as a convenience in a sense, any ship that travels between Jingnan and Lingnan is willing to take them on a short ride.

It's just that after coming into contact with these so-called Jiangnan scholars on the same boat, Wang Renshou can't help but regain some confidence, because compared to the families of Shuliu and the poor scholars, most of them have limited speech and knowledge, and they are a little better than the private school students who have read the book of the rabbit garden.

If the Taiping thief was under his jurisdiction, and he was governed and maintained with such a good character, he was completely sure that with his talent and experience from the royal family of Qi County, he would easily stand out, and then get the opportunity to meet the high-level of the Taiping thief to impress the other party.

The most significant feeling and contrast on the river is from between the two banks.

On the land on the south bank of the river, the mulberry forests of the fields are neatly connected from the shore to the inland, and there are large traces of harvesting in between. Occasionally, you can also see the movement of water buffalo in the water network and ponds.

In Jiangbei, it is a typical dilapidated scene of barren grass, flooding roads and fields, and there is no lack of bones and wild fields between the absurd estuary, although it seems that the human tracks are more frequent than in Jiangnan, but they are basically running and fleeing on the road.

And when the boat is parked at night to rest, you will also see the sporadic fire in the north of the river and the noise sent by the wind. According to the bow of the ship passing by, it was the bandit officers and soldiers in Jiangbei who were robbing and killing the displaced people who fled and passed by.

In the few relatively peaceful areas, the people who lived in the port cities guarded by the so-called rebels were under the watchful eye and vigilance of the motley soldiers with swords and bows lined up on many walled towers.

In these places, there are also scholars who come to defect every now and then, and after more than ten people have gathered, they will arrange and entrust a boat passing by with a license to take it to Gangneung City.

But what can be seen on the river is the ferries that continue to travel between the two sides of the strait, and the Jiangbei displaced people who gather outside these ports and cities to be selected and screened, and then loaded onto the management area on the south bank to work and resettle.

Under the robbery and expulsion of the places along the way, they lost almost all their belongings, most of the old and weak women and children died, and some of the brave and strong people escaped, so that most of the remaining people were only a barely able to work limbs

Unlike these homeless people, who were only given thin porridge and barely maintained their mobility, the soldiers on the boat were at least given preferential treatment, providing a well-boiled but tasteless vegetable soup with a meal on the road, and occasionally a little freshly caught fish and shrimp in it, with a mixed dough for each person

It's probably just half full, and if it's not enough, you have to spend a few dollars to add another one. Although Wang Renshou has some spare money in his luggage, he is not too detached from the public to order a boiled fish or a plate of salt-boiled shrimp for himself.

And privately asked for a few more balls, and then distributed them to three familiar temporary travel companions on the same boat, which was just a meager reward and thank you for inquiring about the news during this journey.

Since the boat passed through Jiangzhou and now Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, and entered the territory of Hanyang, Ezhou, Hubei, the waterway has become busy and lively again, full of large and small ships and bustling wharf trestle bridges. It's as if the turmoil and riots that had taken place before had never existed.

And every men, women and children in the port city seem to be spurred and urged by invisible forces in a hurry, or their hands and feet are constantly rushing back and forth in their positions. Everywhere in Hong Kong, the most common ones are many large and small stalls set up in the open air.

The best of these are undoubtedly the tools, utensils and other iron products produced in the South China Sea, and occasionally three or five figures dressed in Shanyi can be seen, and their bodies are covered with shiny iron products.

Others were propped up in riverboats filled with iron pots and pans and other pans, and swayed to the north or east. Wang Renshou also saw a soldier on the ship go down, negotiate and talk, and then come back with one or more iron utensils.

"Cast iron pots and soup kettles are sold according to size,"

"The smallest five-inch cauldron costs thirty dollars, and the largest three-foot cauldron costs one hundred and fifty-five dollars."

"If you buy ten at a time, you can only pay ninety percent of the price."

"Is it so cheap."

He couldn't help but sigh.

As a son of the Wang Men of Qixian County, a big clan in Hedong, he is not a clansman who has not engaged in business, and he does not lack an understanding of market prices. For a certain kind of profit-seeking sensitivity, he soon realized the business opportunities and benefits in it

Such a thin, polished pot with ears can be picked up with one hand, but it is clear and strong when knocked on. It is used for cooking, but it is much more fire-efficient and quick-cooking than the kettles, retorts, pots, knives, spoons, etc., which he used in Hedong

What's more important is that this kind of round iron is obviously finely forged, the small round kettle can be used as a helmet, and the large pan is also quite a good shield for release.

But Wang Renshou still held back, took out the gold sheet he sewed in the jacket, bought a bunch of impulses and ** in one go, and took the opportunity to bargain with a supposedly iron pot, and continued to inquire about the attitude and strategy of the local Taiping thieves towards commercial activities.