Changlu is located between Mount Tai and Mengshan Mountain, and has been the main land route from the SD Peninsula to the Central Plains since the Spring and Autumn Period. However, since the dredging of the Yishui and Yongshui rivers, boats and boats are far better than land transportation in terms of carrying capacity and comfort. As a result, this important transportation artery in the pre-Qin era gradually became deserted and gradually fell to the point where almost no one cared about it.

Today, however, there is a group of people walking through the usual path. There were hundreds of people in this line, dressed and of different ages, with soapy clothes and linen shirts, and dark skin, and they looked like lean men who worked outdoors all year round; There are also dozens of tall and sturdy men with shinings in their eyes, and their bodies are well-made fish scale armor, as powerful as eagles and falcons; There are also queues dressed in half-worn armor and listless walking, but dressed as officers and soldiers. And walking in the middle of the procession, the stars surrounded a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy like a moon, dressed in an ochre scribe's shirt and arm sleeves, dressed in a nondescript manner. However, this young man was complacent, smiling before speaking, although his appearance was not very handsome, but it gave people a refreshing and neat feeling.

This group of people is Zhao Min's team. Since Fei Guocheng escaped, the journey was unhindered, and it only took half a day to reach Nanwuyang County. This South Wuyang is also a large county in southern Thailand, and the city is high and dense. I don't know if it's because the Red Turbans are not strong enough, or because Nanwuyang is not at their strategic point, in short, since the resurgence of the Red Turban Rebellion, Feiguo in the south and Bian County in the northwest have all suffered the scourge of the Red Turban, but Nanwuyang, which is added between the two, no one cares. However, even so, the county order of Nanwuyang was frightened, and from then on, the city walls were repaired, trenches were dug widely, martial law was imposed on the city gates, and people were closely checked. As for letting him go out to suppress the bandits, it is absolutely impossible.

When Zhao Min arrived in Nanwuyang, he revealed his identity. Anyway, he is the prince of today, and he has the identity of the new king, no matter his status is much higher than his county order of 600 stones, so he naturally did not dare to make a correction, and hurriedly and respectfully let Zhao Min and others enter the city to rest. Zhao Min did not refuse, went into the city to rest for a night, washed away the dust, and the next day bluntly explained that he wanted to return to Beihai, and put forward a request for Nanwuyang County to send troops to escort him. The county order was embarrassed for a while, but fortunately, Zhao Min was not too much, and proposed that he only needed to escort the soldiers back to Gaixian County. As soon as the county order pondered, the left and right places were only separated by more than 100 miles, and it took only four or five days to go back and forth, and finally agreed to Zhao Min's request and sent 200 county soldiers to escort Zhao Min and his party on the road.

Zhao Min did this just in case. According to Ma Qier, because the Red Turban Army near Mount Tai has absorbed a large number of Taishan bandits, these people are not easy to control, so the canal generals of all parties almost all adopt the "free-range" method for them, that is, to designate an area, so that these guys who are also soldiers and bandits can cause harm in the area, anyway, out of sight and out of mind, as long as they can come to participate in the war when the time comes, the rest of the time is basically ignored. The problem is that the areas designated by the canal generals often cannot satisfy the appetite of these bandits, so the phenomenon of scurrying and committing crimes occurs from time to time. The road from Nanwuyang to Gaixian County is mainly mountain roads, sparsely populated, and it is not clear whether these bandits who do not listen to the call will wander to these places to do the act of cutting the path, so they ask for some soldiers from Wuyang County, which is also for insurance. As for the combat effectiveness of these county soldiers, Zhao Min looked at the rusty weapons in their hands and the vegetable-colored faces, and shook his head secretly. According to Zhang Han, they are a team that "can be defeated by a single charge", so if they really encounter the enemy, I am afraid that the effect of deterrence is far greater than the actual effect.

It wasn't until he walked on the mountain road leading to Gaixian that Zhao Min really felt why the scholars and merchants who came and went would rather take a detour to take a boat than travel through the mountains - this road is too difficult to walk!

Unlike the imaginary mountain trails, the road surface is not hardened, and there is not even a roadbed. Because the Tai-Yi Mountains are dominated by basalt and shale, the stone is brittle, so the local roads are directly paved with knocked gravel. However, due to the lack of sand nearby, there is only gravel and no filler on the road, just like the human body has only bones and no flesh, empty strength but lack of toughness, and there is no stability on it. You need to be very careful when walking on the road, if you are not careful, you will step on the gravel and break your foot; What's more, because of stepping on the rolling stones, the foothold is unstable, if it happens to be in the valley, it will fall down the mountain stream. Zhao Min has never walked such a difficult road, and he has to be careful all the way, so it is very hard. The first day was good, and I drove about 30 miles. But the next day, it was no longer possible, and after walking less than twenty miles, his calves were so sore that he could not support them, and he had to stop and set up camp.

The work of setting up camp was handed over to the 200 county soldiers in Nanwuyang, and Zhang Han was specifically commanded. Seeing that he couldn't finish it for a while, Zhao Min simply walked to a big tree on the side of the road, picked a stone at random and sat down, and rubbed his legs and feet, which were already sore.

Removing the shoes and socks, the legs are not very good, but the feet are obviously a little swollen. Especially in the heel, the skin is broken almost all around, and when I take off my socks, the skin and flesh are sticky, and it hurts to drill my heart. Zhao Min gasped in pain, raised his eyes to look at the guards who were standing upright, and saw that they were wearing helmets and armor, and they also walked down dozens of miles of mountain roads, but they didn't seem to be abnormal at all. Compared with the two, I can't help but feel ashamed.

At this time, Shao Qi limped over. Seeing his appearance, Zhao Min couldn't help laughing, there was finally someone who was worse than himself. But when I think about it, after all, people are a year younger than me, and there is really nothing to be proud of in this matter, it is nothing more than fifty steps and a hundred steps of laughter.

Shao Qi held a copper kettle in his hand and handed it to Zhao Min: "Fourth master, drink some water first." ”

Zhao Min nodded and took the kettle, took a sip and returned the kettle to Shao Qi: "How?" Can you still hold on? ”

The little guy showed a resolute look on his face: "The fourth master can do it, Ah Fu can naturally do it, and he can't lose the face of the fourth master!" ”

Zhao Min shook his head and smiled when he heard this: "Fallacy! When people live in the world, they put themselves first, then their relatives and friends, and then others. Everyone in the world needs to be self-reliant and then self-loving, how to lose face for others? ”

Shao Qi looked at Zhao Min with flashing eyes, looking dazed. Although the little guy is smart and clever, he hasn't read much after all, and he doesn't know what circle Zhao Min's words are about. Zhao Min smiled slightly, no longer dwelling on this topic. There is really no need to communicate with people more than 1,000 years ago about the equality of all people.

Zhao Min nodded with his chin at the coerced boatmen and fishermen who were squatting or sitting not far away, and asked, "They already know our identities, are they still emotionally stable?" ”

Shao Qi nodded: "Since I knew the identity of the fourth master Beihai King, I suddenly calmed down a lot. It was the ones who shouted the most before who were speechless. As he spoke, he raised his eyebrows, "As long as you still have brains, you must know that it is an extra grace to bring them." If it weren't for the kindness of the fourth master, who tied a stone and threw it into the river, how could they have a chance to make trouble? ”

After a long time in this time and space, Zhao Min gradually got used to the thinking of people in this era. In ancient times, productivity was low, materials were scarce, and only a small number of people had enough food and clothing, and the vast majority of people at the bottom were struggling to survive on the food and clothing line. In such a situation, dead people are really nothing new, and it will be news that no one died of starvation in any village this year. Especially in recent years, uprisings and rebellions have occurred frequently, and the imperial court has increased the amount of money year after year, and the people have struggled to make a living. Every winter and spring, there are homeless people who can't pay their taxes or have been affected by the war, and the bones of those who have died of cold and starvation can be seen everywhere on the roadside. Therefore, Shao Qi can't be blamed for being ruthless and not taking human life seriously when he speaks, but in this era, indifference to life is a completely common phenomenon.

Zhao Min shook his head and didn't speak. Shao Qi added: "Most of the people took the initiative to express their willingness to follow us after hearing about our identity. However, there are still a few stubborn people, although they are obedient on the surface, but I can see that there is still the reluctance of the boss in their hearts. As he spoke, he pointed with his hand: "That tall man is the first of them, and I have already instructed Deputy Lieutenant Zhang to pay more attention, and he may run away privately at any time." ”

Zhao Minxin said that it is common sense that people are unwilling to go with us, who is willing to abandon their families and children to follow you thousands of miles away! Is it just your name as the king of the North Sea? But thinking about it, I still subconsciously looked in the direction of Shao Qi's finger.

The seven-foot-tall man pointed out by Shao Qi with thick hands and feet was particularly conspicuous among the generally thin boatmen and fishermen. I saw that this person's face was gloomy, and there was a vague tyrannical air between his eyebrows, although he didn't say anything, he seemed to have a calm and resolute momentum.

No wonder it will attract the attention of others, you call it a mocking aura. Zhao Min said secretly, it seems that this guy is not an honest fisherman, and most of them are doing some business that is both a citizen and a thief. In this era, there are many people who usually fish, and there are many people who have the opportunity to encounter a lone cargo ship turned into a robber. After all, the government's control is weakening day by day, and most of the people who are begging for a living on the water are brave and brave, so it is not surprising that they do some business without capital in the absence of restraint.

Just as I was thinking about it, I suddenly heard a gong sound. Still dazed, a sound of breaking the sky sounded, and I saw that the tall fisherman suddenly had an extra feather arrow on his neck, and the arrow penetrated deep into his throat, tearing the artery between his neck, and the blood suddenly spurted up, spilling everywhere! The fisherman was not to die for a moment, and with one hand on his neck, he stumbled about, his mouth making a ho-ho sound, and blood splattered everywhere with his movements, as if it were a red self-propelled fountain!

Zhao Min didn't react for a while, a rain of arrows fell, and those unprotected fishermen and boatmen were hit by arrows one after another. It was like an explosion of the pot, wriggling in a pool of blood, screaming arrows in their hands and feet, running around like headless flies, and so on.

At this time, the composure of the military was suddenly revealed. I only heard someone in the guard shouting: "Enemy attack!" Don't mess around! All raise their shields! The guards around Zhao Min quickly took action, besieged the city, and protected Zhao Min and Shao Qi in the middle. The guards with shields on the periphery raised their large shields and erected them in front of them, and immediately heard the "thump" of arrows hitting the shields.

Zhao Min also understood that he had been attacked by the enemy. However, he couldn't figure it out, this place was hundreds of miles away from the enemy's Red Turban occupation area, how could there be an enemy? However, this is obviously not the time to investigate the reason, he listened to the dense rain of arrows, and asked anxiously: "What is the matter now?" ”

It was Cheng Xiang who replied, and most of the time when Zhang Han was not there, he was the leader. He said in a deep voice: "The enemy army is prepared, the situation is still unclear, and it is unwise to fight hard. For the sake of today's plan, we should first retreat to the camp, stand according to the camp, and then plan later. ”

Zhao Min didn't know how to fight, and when he heard that he made sense, he quickly nodded and said, "It's up to you." ”

Cheng Xiang got permission and ordered: "The big shield hand is on the outside, and the round shield hand is on the top." Circular array, move towards the barracks! As soon as the words fell, a "Woo! ”