Far north, in the vast forest, a group of people in rags wrapped tightly around their clothes. They set out with great vigour, a thousand-strong procession, and now there are less than a hundred left, and all of them are faltering, and not a single one of them is unwounded.

I don't know how long it has been, but if you calculate according to the number of days, it should have just passed the New Year. I don't know how many battles were fought, there were wild men, there were beasts, and many things they had never seen before. The cold weather can freeze people into ice cubes, and although they are tired, no one dares to stop and rest. Once seated, it is not known how many people will be able to stand up again.

Thorn carried an old man on his back, and tied the old man tightly to his back with a colorful tiger skin. He has a firm gaze and has always been at the forefront. The snow didn't reach the base of the thighs, and I had to exert all my strength with every step. Looking back, they hadn't even walked a mile since morning, and the fire they had lit last night was not far behind.

"Elder, take a break! We're almost there, hold on a little longer! ”

The elder on his back did not speak, his eyes were closed, and the snow foam on his mouth turned into water after breathing, and then froze again and hung on his beard, looking very strange. Thorn gently put down the elder and turned around and shouted. The crowd, who had long been exhausted, immediately sat down on the ground, refusing to get up again.

I grabbed a handful of snow, poured it into the water bladder, put it in my chest, and when it was warm, I aimed the water bladder at the elder's mouth and poured it in little by little. It's been several days, the elder has a high fever and still hasn't subsided, and everything he says is nonsense, but as a subordinate, he still has to listen.

"Ugh!" With a sigh of relief, the elder opened his eyes. This place is really evil, since half a month ago, they have not seen the sun again, and they can only judge whether it is day or night by the flickering light of the sky. As far as the eye can see, in addition to snow and pine trees more than a dozen feet high, there are endless mountains.

"Where is this? How far is it going? Hurry up and don't delay! After saying these words, the elder closed his eyes again and fainted.

The elder began to talk nonsense again, there was not a trace of life in his cloudy eyes, and the elder had lost his wisdom and shrewdness compared to the beginning. Thorn did not reply, but poured water into the water bladder again, and picked up a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth. Their food was long gone, they were lost, they were robbed by wild beasts, and now they can only survive on snow and tree roots.

When they set out, Su Ren gave them a map, according to the map, they had to first cross the border of the Han Dynasty, then cross the territory of the Huns, and finally enter this deserted place where no one had ever visited. This place is vast, twice as large as the lands of the Han and Xiongnu combined. Only by passing through here can they see the dazzling sky light and enter the immortal mansion without night that they want to enter.

Su Ren also suggested that they should set off in the spring, otherwise they would die miserably, but the elders couldn't wait. Now that Thorn believes it, Su Ren didn't lie to them, and the snow-white white bear he saw yesterday was in Su Ren's description. As the gatekeeper of the Immortal Mansion, the Divine Beast was very unfriendly to them mortals, so Thorn took a dozen people to kill the Divine Beast.

Stroking the snow-white fur without any impurities, Thorn didn't know how long he could hold on, these people behind him had said more than once that they wanted to go back, but none of them dared without the orders of the elders.

"Look, heavenly!" Suddenly, someone shouted at a loud voice, and like crazy, he got up from the snow and ran towards the north.

The thorn glanced up, and then couldn't retract his gaze. It was a splendid beauty, hanging in the northern sky, brilliant and beautiful. It's hard to describe his beauty in words or words, it's not what the world should have.

"Elder, we're here!" After saying this, thorny tears burst out of his eyes, and the emotions that had been suppressed for a long time instantly exploded. Picking up the elder, he shook vigorously: "We have arrived, we have finally arrived!" Look, Elder, look at that streamer, it's the glare that has come to pick us up from heaven! ”

The elder did not open his eyes, but lay in the bosom of the thorns, no matter how the thorns swayed, there was not the slightest movement.

"Elder! Elder! Thorn was stunned, the white qi that should have been on the elder's mouth was gone, and with a smile on his face, calm and serene, without any tyrannical appearance.

"Ah......h A long howl rippled in the gray-white sky, and people were so excited that they looked sideways, looking at the thorns and their hearts were cold.

Dong Zhongshu rolled over and opened his eyes. He couldn't sleep, and the situation of meeting Wen Dang made him very unhappy about the current situation in Shu County. As the Taishou of Shu County, how could the Wen Party be so relieved of Su Ren, not even the slightest majesty of Shangguan, let alone the management and restraint that should be there. These days, the whole of Chengdu seems to be a place where Su Ren does whatever he wants, and the Wen Party does not interfere at all.

"Hey......!" Dong Zhongshu sighed, turned over, grabbed a piece of clothing and put it on his body. Although the affairs in Chengdu had nothing to do with him, as a courtier, he hesitated whether he should report these things to the Son of Heaven.

I think that when the Son of Heaven summoned him, he talked eloquently, and the Son of Heaven was inexplicably excited. Before meeting Su Ren, he never thought that there was anything wrong with his knowledge, until that day he asked that sentence. Dong Zhongshu was very angry about Su Ren's answer, and he didn't argue with Su Ren because of his status, but he smashed something in the study for the first time.

When Dong Zhongshu calmed down and thought about it, he seemed to feel that what Su Ren said made some sense. Shinong industry and commerce are the four pillars of a country, and each performing its own duties can naturally make the people rich and the world prosperous. Dong Zhongshu knows this very well, but as the top-level scholar, no one wants his status to be challenged and sit on an equal footing with those low-level businessmen.

Lifting the pen, unfolding the bamboo slip, thinking about it and putting the pen down. He was a little afraid of reporting the matter in Shu to the Son of Heaven, with the temperament of the Son of Heaven, it might be self-defeating, but he wanted to meet this Su Ren, but he was in Jiangdu at that time, who knows who the Son of Heaven will believe in the end.

A figure flashed in front of the window, and Dong Zhongshu shook his head: "Something came in and said, a girl's house, why don't you sleep and run around so late?" ”

The door was pushed open, and Dong Qian walked in with a tray. Obviously, this is not her purpose, and the sword in her waist has betrayed Dong Qian's whereabouts: "The child saw that his father was not sleeping, so he sent some hot porridge to his father!" ”

"Really?" Dong Zhongshu naturally knew what his daughter was like, shook his head and sighed: "Okay, put it down and go to sleep, I still have some things to do!" ”

"Why doesn't my father sleep? Is it related to Wen Taishou or Su Ren? ”

Dong Zhongshu's face sank: "You don't need to ask more, go and talk to your friend Miss Zhuo tomorrow, no, you should say goodbye to Mrs. Sima, let's leave for Jiangdu!" ”

"So fast! Can't wait any longer? Dong Qian looked surprised.

"What are you waiting for?"

Dong Qian lowered her head and didn't speak, Dong Zhongshu waved her hand and motioned for Dong Qian to go out: "Go, don't go to see that Su Ren again in the future, we don't know when we will come back, maybe we won't see him again in this life." ”

"Oh!" Dong Qian was a little disappointed, but she was not stubborn, put down the tray and turned around and walked out of the room. She did not go back to her house, but walked around the courtyard, climbed over the courtyard wall and disappeared into the night.

The night was dark, and I couldn't see my fingers. There was no one on the street, and the sound of bangzi was heard in the distance, and it was knocked three times, indicating that it was already the third watch. Water Pattern Street is the main street in the north of the city. The people who live here are all Chengdu officials, even if you have money, don't want to squeeze in, although the courtyard of each mansion is not big, but it is a status symbol. The sign on the door of each house is specially engraved by the imperial court, and if you are dismissed, you can only move out, so as not to be laughed at.

It's only been three months since Chang Shi moved from the other Jiafu opposite to the Changshi Mansion, and he is very satisfied with the layout here. This was Mengji's mansion at the beginning, and as the overlord of Shu County, it was naturally the best. There is no shortage of money, and there is a little brother who can make money, and every month if he doesn't do anything, he will have 10,000 or 20,000 yuan in the account, which is very happy.

However, as the war between Su Ren and Chengdu merchants entered the white heat, Chang Shi became a little anxious. Enjoying the singing and dancing, he suddenly drove out all the prostitutes on a whim, leaving only Chang Yuan to stay in the lobby of Nuoda.

"What do you think Su Ren wants to do? Could it be that he is really ready to gather all the merchants in Chengdu into his Shuzhong Chamber of Commerce? If he controls all the merchants in Shu County, will he ......?"

The second half of Chang Shi didn't say anything, Chang Yuan didn't say a word, and stood beside Chang Shi in a proper manner.

"Oops! You give me an idea, do I continue to help Su Ren say good things, or do something else, can't you watch him gradually kick us away, it's been two months, no, I haven't come to us for two and a half months, right? ”

"It's two months and twenty-one days!" Chang Yuan corrected.

"I remember that when I was in warm water before, Su Ren had to go to the county government every few days to sit down, and it was the same when I came to Chengdu, and suddenly I didn't come, I always felt that this kid didn't take me seriously!"

"What is the master going to do?"

"No, the Zhuo family's business can't collapse, if there is no Zhuo family and Su Ren to contend with, Su Ren now has military power, and then control the merchants of the entire Shu County, he can really kick us away!"

Chang Yuan was still unfazed: "Has the master figured it out?" But don't forget, master, where are all the people who went against Su Ren now? Hou Jian, Liu Wen, Meng Ji, even if it is Tang Meng, they are now fleeing to death, and the rest of Tang Meng will not even get out of the gate. ”

"What do you mean......"

Chang Yuan stopped talking again. Chang Shi clenched his fists and slammed them on the table, and then lay down in the Taishi chair with a soft body, and sighed: "Hey! Forget it, let's be safe and steady, it is better than anything else to live this life peacefully, I heard that Su Ren's woman in Dujiangyan gave birth to a son to Su Ren, and tomorrow I will send someone to send some gifts over, even if it is a congratulatory gift! ”

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