With the pocket watches, silk cotton coats, water umbrellas, and tightly wrapped white paper, the Tian family caravan was much more relaxed, and left Madao Stone Fort the next day; Under the close supervision of the guards along the way, the caravan crossed the horse road checkpoint.

Tian Fangjun rode a horse and walked in front of the team, and in the jacket next to the saddle of the family guard's horse, three small iron boxes were carefully loaded, which were his treasures, and they had to be taken care of along the way.

The caravan came to the foot of Shiguan Tun Mountain, paid the tax casually, and it was still early, but Tian Fangjun used the excuse that he was tired from the journey, so he asked the guards to gather the caravan, and set up a tent not far from Zhao Wuliang's official store, ready to cook and rest.

Tomorrow, they will rush back to the Gravel Fort in one go, and Tian Fangjun will also go to find Tian Guanglin, who is Xiuxiu's second uncle, and he must tell Xiao Ye about the new business that Xiao Ye has brought to the Tian family.

A few glances looming near the official store, the Tian family caravan didn't care, Tian Fangjun also entered his tent with a big grin, and couldn't wait to pick up some powder in the small bucket filled with water; He was reluctant to pour a bottle of ice condensant into it, it was too wasteful.

As Xiao Ye and the Tian family's business in secret became closer and closer, Tian Fangjun had begun to face up to this ordinary military household, and it was very easy to help Xiao Ye a little favor.

When night fell, Zhao Wuliang's tax collectors packed up the money box and took the carriage back to Laoyangkou Tunbao; Shiguantun here now has to go to the back mountain for drafting, where to pick up stream water, not to mention the danger, the road is far enough, it is better to bring the water bag.

Shiguantun, which became deserted, even Zhao Wuliang and the others did not want to go, preferring to take a car to Lao Yangkou.

According to Zhao Wuliang, it is better to set up the official store in the north of Laoyangkou, which is close to the imperial store, isn't it just to collect two taxes, and it is a trouble to cover up.

He went back to Gansu Town this time, and went to the county order to say, anyway, this tax card was set up by the government, and there was only one road, and it was more than ten miles back, and there would be no merchants who dared to avoid the card from the poisonous weeds to evade taxes.

Seventy-eight years have passed since the reign of Renxuan, and the chariot of the Ming Empire, with the continuous breeding of moths on the ruts, began to falter, and the pace of movement slowed down.

But no one could have realized that a ninety percent new sturdy chariot would decay so quickly, so that the Jianzhou Wei between the white mountains and black waters in Liaodong, thousands of miles away, and the wild Jurchen, who was still struggling in the mountains and wilderness, would exert its strength one hundred and nine years later, and finally overturned this huge and heavy chariot.

The words go far.

The night was dark, except for the two bonfires around the Tian family caravan, there were guards on duty chatting, and the others had already gone into the tent to sleep after eating dry food.

In a tent closest to the stone mountain, two figures walked out, led two mules and horses from the tent, and walked away without saying a word.

Because Tian Fangjun had already said hello and saw the abnormal guards in the camp, he ignored the two people who left, just glanced slightly, and continued to chat and laugh with his companions around him.

Two heralds from Madao Stone Fort, carrying Xiao Ye's handwritten letter, pulled two mules and horses, and their figures quickly disappeared into the twilight.

The trade route is open, and the personnel exchanges will naturally be frequent, and under the strict guard of the Madao Stone Fort, the people going north can be seen at a glance, but in the caravan going south, there are a few people who can see it.

When Zhang Zichang, who was stationed in Shiguantun, rushed to the stone fort with a few henchmen, the dim lantern hung at the gate of the fort, and the two sergeants wearing khaki field uniforms could be seen at a glance that they were the sergeants of the Ximen Baihu.

Although Xiao Ye went to Madao Stone Fort, the set of military regulations he left behind was still strictly enforced by Zhang Zichang, so the only sergeants who could stay in Shiguantun were the original sergeants.

The sergeants sent by the Gravel Fort could not stand the drill of leaving early and returning late every day, and the sergeants who stayed in Lao Yangkou were squeezed out of Shiguantun unfavorably because they were Xiao Ye's old department.

Zhang Zichang's subordinates can lead five banner teams, but now he has only two and a half less than thirty people, and he has only received some grain from the gravel fort so far.

If it weren't for Zhang Zichang's secret confession, the hundred households in Ximen would have given half of the salary, and it is estimated that some people would have gone to the two workshop areas behind to earn money to support their families.

For the future there will be a chance to work under the command of Ximen Baihu, these sergeants are quite hopeful, and the daily drills are continuous, that is, the guys who take advantage of the situation have been replaced with waist knives and long contradictory cards.

But in this way, the most important thing in Shiguantun every day now is to use the only ox cart to go to the Houshan Workshop District and pull a cart of water back, otherwise everyone will not even be able to drink water the next day.

Think about those Zhang family guards, when they left here, they forcibly took away the three water umbrellas, although they were some dilapidated water umbrellas, Zhang Zichang still hated the root of his teeth.

The sergeant on duty in the stone fort B saw the familiar earthy yellow uniform, and the joy on his face could not be hidden; During the day, although I saw more than a dozen tents set up at the foot of the mountain, I didn't expect that hundreds of families would come so soon.

The herald Wu Kun was Wang Ziliang's follower earlier, and he had met Zhang Zichang a few times, and this time they met and did not make a difference, and after the two met and said hello, they took out a letter from a hundred households.

Zhang Zichang is not very literate, that is, his own name, when he saw the letter that Wu Kun took out, which was stamped with the seal of a hundred households, he knew that it was someone sent by Ximen and a hundred households, so he hurriedly greeted him and entered the stone fort.

Last year, Gou Liangchen was still fighting for the stone fort of the title deed, but now no one cares, and in the empty stone fort, the black mill has lost its former liveliness.

Carrying the lantern, Zhang Zichang pushed over the letter handed by Wu Kun, "Don't be cold brother me, brother, come and read it,"

"Yes, read it to you," Wu Kun opened the raft with a smile, and squinted his eyes through the light, "Chief Banner Officer Zhang, I have my own heralds Wu Kun and You Xi, who went to Shiguantun to serve as sergeants, hoping to take care of them, and not interfere with what they do,"

"Another: There are 26 sergeants left in Shiguantun and Laoyangkou, and Wu Kun will bring the remaining food and salary this year," Wu Kun put the letter paper into the envelope when he read this. Such a confidential letter, Wu Kun can read it out in front of everyone, if Wang Ziliang knows, he may jump high.

"That's it?" Zhang Zichang's eyes widened and he looked at Wu Kun unwillingly.

"It's over, you still want Baihu to praise you a few words," Wu Kun smiled and stuffed the letter into Zhang Zichang's hand, pointing to the mule and horse next to him, "No, there are two water umbrellas on it, your three are about to be scrapped, Baihu let me bring a new one,"

"Oh, that's what I've been waiting for," Zhang Zichang slapped his face, hurriedly received the letter in his arms, and shouted loudly to a few sergeants to go to the mules and horses to unload the water umbrella; This time, he wanted to put the umbrella in a hidden place, and the province would be taken away by outsiders again.

As for those boxes of canned food, he didn't care, with food, he could buy food in Laoyangkou Tunbao, but if he wanted to eat without spending money, he had to wait until he had the opportunity to go to Madao Stone Fort in the future, where there would be a room to eat.

Wu Kun took the mules and horses to the original Jiazi Stone Fort, where there was a hidden fort where Wang Ziliang was treated, and the sentry was erected there, which was the main reason why he went up to the stone mountain.

The dark fort is in the southernmost corner of the stone fort, and now there are less than thirty people on the mountain, and with Zhang Zichang's care, it is naturally a good intelligence point.

With lanterns, Wu Kun and the others cleaned up the messy debris in this semi-underground dark fort, and were unloading the baggage and iron box on the back of the mule and horse, when they saw Zhang Zichang hurrying over.

Seeing the guarded eyes of the two, Zhang Zichang didn't say a word, took out his iron card from his arms, and handed it to Wu Kun; In the faint light, a big "West" mark on the back of the iron plate made Wu Kun relax his vigilance.

You Xi, who had been silent, let go of the handle of the gun at his waist, raised the corners of his eyes slightly, and continued to untie the rope on the horse's back with his head stuffy; His stuffy temperament is Wang Ziliang's favorite.

"Brother Zhang, it turned out to be my own person, but you scared me," Changing the appearance of businessman just now, Wu Kun came over and handed Zhang Zichang a small bottle with a sense of affection.

In the eyes of outsiders, Zhang Zichang inadvertently offended Xiao Ye because of Zhang Anlin's affairs before, it was this time that Xiao Ye suffered and took people to the grassland, and he didn't follow, so he was obviously not a close person.

No one expected that Wang Ziliang didn't know when he had developed Zhang Zichang into a member of the film team, with a salary comparable to that of 100 households.

"You, that letter shouldn't have been taken out, fortunately, they are all good brothers I chose, and they don't have a side eye, so it took a lot of effort for my boss, and in front of other people, a fire was burned," Zhang Zichang shook his head helplessly, "Fortunately, everyone knows that Baihu will not treat us badly, otherwise the wind will go out, and it will be difficult for you two to settle here,"

Carelessly, he put the small bottle into his arms, and Zhang Zichang carried the iron box into the dark castle with his hand, and inside You Xi was already starting to break the ground with a pickaxe.

Helping Wu Kun and the two of them work in the dark castle for a while, setting up the letter whistle, Zhang Zichang sat on the pile of rubble dug out, wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead, looked at the two heralds, and hurriedly began to tap his fingers, and couldn't help but touch his arms.

Under You Xiruo's gaze, Zhang Zichang pinched the finger-thick glass bottle and shone it at the light, unable to see what the powder in it was for, and was very depressed.

Soon, when Wu Kun used a charcoal stick to write a series of numbers on the paper, even You Xi, who had a stiff expression, diverted his attention.

"Report the movements of Gansu Town and Gravel Fort at any time, and pay attention to Lao Yangkou," with his own memory, Wu Kun quickly turned this string of numbers into a sentence, and the clear voice in the dark castle suddenly made Zhang Zichang, who was watching the excitement, stand up.

"Really, really?" Looking at the black iron next to the fire kang and the enlarged earmuffs in Wu Kun's hand, Zhang Zichang's body trembled slightly, and his eyes widened incredulously.

"Yes, that's right, we can contact Baihu at any time, and this is our military affairs," Wu Kun couldn't hide the smugness in his eyes, which made him enjoy Zhang Zichang's surprise very much, "Therefore, outsiders must not enter here in the future,"

"I know, I know, I'll arrange it," Zhang Zichang nodded calmly, "So, that kid surnamed Huang shouldn't stay, he's a good person, but,"

With a long sigh, Zhang Zichang gritted his teeth and stomped out of the dark fort, and walked towards the stone fort without looking back.

At most, give the Huang boy's family more bereavement, who let him have distant relatives with the Huang family, plus he has a flexible mind, so he has to guard against it.

Originally, I wanted to communicate with Wu Kun about the news I knew, but now I have to wait to turn back.

"Hey, I said, the powder in that bottle is going to be poured into a big bucket of water, and Baihu has explained," You Xi said a rare word to Zhang Zichang's back.

After dealing with the affairs of his sergeants, it was already early in the morning, Zhang Zichang was sitting in the courtyard of Baihu before, and the two henchmen, like him, were also looking at a large wooden barrel in front of him, which contained the clean water just now.

The cork of the vial was removed, and Zhang Zichang poured the white powder into the bucket carelessly, and gave the empty bottle to the sergeant next to him, who had been eyeing it for a long time.

"Si," in the sound of gasping for air, under the hazy light, the pure water that began to freeze made the eyes of the three people bulge out, and their mouths were open enough to plug their fists.

"Damn, it looks like we're with the right person," Zhang Zichang muttered to himself for a long time, to say that he used to be afraid of people's salaries, but now he doesn't think so.

The two henchmen also completely forgot all about dragging the corpse out to bury it half an hour ago.

"You two, pick a few loyal and reliable ones at dawn, go to the dark fort in the south, and report to Officer Wu Qi, you must obey military orders, I can give you both of you a good future, it depends on the luck of the two of you," Jumping and chewing on the ice cubes that seeped his teeth, Zhang Zichang immediately made a decision.

There are many smart people in the world, but those who can be called smart are the ones who seize the only opportunity.

Judging from the current situation, the letter post that can transmit messages for dozens of miles, and the powder that makes the water freeze in the blink of an eye, Zhang Zichang already knows that it is time for him to give up; The good things that a hundred households will get from the Persians in the future will never be the only one.

Ordinary military households can see Xiao Ye's good luck, but Tian Fangjun under the mountain can't see it.

Zhang Zichang got a new water umbrella, and Hu Shibiao in the tun also knew about it after dawn, and his family is now in Shiguantun, which is the only one who drags his family.

The vegetables in his warm cellar will soon be harvested, because there is no water source on the mountain, and they have been wilting half-dead for a while, and now they can at least be watered a little.

Hu Shibiao was also unlucky, after Xiao Ye went out to the grassland, the brocade guards of the brigade came to Shiguantun, but not only was the house searched, and a few silver tickets were copied, and even the water umbrellas in the warm cellar and the courtyard were unceremoniously taken away.

His original guards could still help him earlier, but now some of the guards saw that the situation was not good, and went to work in the two workshop areas to earn rations, and a few followed Wang Dali away, leaving only his family of four to stay in an empty tun.

But the three coptis trees in front of the temple in the land have now grown to the point that five people can't hold them, maybe in a few years, these three trees will grow together, and the wide and low-hanging canopy will be able to cover his small courtyard, at least the mosquitoes will not be visible.

Hu Shibiao, who is almost crippled, is still very happy to be able to stay in Shiguantun, Xiao Ye asked Zhang Zichang to bring this year's food and salary, which is enough for his family to eat and drink.

Hu Shibiao, who originally had the idea of moving to Lao Yangkou, got the food and salary handed over by Zhang Zichang himself, and knew that he couldn't leave, no matter how busy Xiao Ye was, he didn't forget him, forgot the warm cellar, he was content.

At dawn, as the sun approached, the temperature was soon so hot that people were sweating, and the Tianjia camp under the stone mountain began to be noisy, the cooks dismantled the tents, the saddles were loaded on the horses, and the busy guards hurriedly ate breakfast and continued on the road with the goods.

When Tian Fangjun arrived here, he stopped riding a horse, and got into the carriage, with a small bucket full of ice cubes next to him, and looked at the Analects with grace, and from time to time he came to chew an ice cube, which was very refreshing.

Last night, I picked up a little powder with my fingernails, it seems to be too much, and the ice cubes in the small bucket formed a porcelain pimple, which made Tian Fangjun's heart ache for half a night, but now he has learned well, and the powder is added to the water little by little, and the firmness of the ice cubes is not up to him.

After eating some dry food on the way, in the afternoon, taking advantage of the glow of the sky, the caravan came to the north bank of the Xilong River and stopped at the Qiantan Ferry.

When they arrived, the coptis trees planted by the merchants on the side of the avenue were only close to the riverbank, and they disappeared further south; The coptis trees planted by the gravel fort on the other side of the river are still far from here.

Looking at the vine grass on the other side of the river, Tian Fang Jun frowned again and again, if he asked the guards to split the vine grass to open the way, the speed of travel would be too slow; Without the sale of Coptis chinensis seedlings planted by Wang Dali, the Gansu Town Chamber of Commerce would have to find people from the mainland even if they invited them, and the time would not be short.

Fortunately, the branches were cut from the living Coptis chinensis tree, as long as it is with leaves, it can basically grow up when planted on the ground, but compared with special cultivation, how can there be so many branches that are easy to take, and I don't see the saplings on the side of the road, most of them have become a straight brush, and there is only the leaf on the top of the head.

After the guards tied up the cuffs of their clothes and trousers, and took the sickle to open the way, Tian Fangjun stomped his feet on the wooden pontoon, and after admiring the buoyancy of the rattan grass, he was about to turn back to the car to rest.

When he turned around, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few small round things in the green vines and grass beside the riverbank, half-sinking and half-floating floating on the water, looking at it strangely, Tian Fangjun suddenly became interested.

"Go, bring them here, watch out for the stinger," called a clever housekeeper, and Tabo Jun pointed to the ball in the water; The housekeeper, who had a bitter face, jumped off the vine grass with a wooden stick, and after a long time, picked two for the deacon.

Pinching the soft white ball, Tian Fangjun looked up and down, but he didn't know what it was, and with a force in his hand, he pinched it with a poof; A stream of water stains from the ball made Tian Fangjun laugh dumbly, isn't this the kind of water hyacinth in the south.

Throwing away the balls the size of eggs, Tian Fangjun turned around and was about to leave, but he still didn't take a step, and his eyes were once again fixed on the ball on the ground.

Business opportunities are everywhere, it depends on whose person's eyes are swept to see if there is any, this kind of inconspicuous water hyacinth, so that Tian Fangjun suddenly realized that in the northwest town where the water source is extremely unevenly distributed, this kind of water hyacinth should be of great use.

Then it depends on how big this thing can grow, thinking of this, Tian Fangjun took a deep look at the surface of the river, and the round balls that appeared from time to time under the broken leaves and branches made him more optimistic about his vision.

However, this kind of water hyacinth, which can grow up to the size of a wine jar and has a hard shell, when Tian Fang Jun realized that the business opportunity was coming, there were already passing vendors, and they began to pick and bring it to the road, and the sweet clean water inside was the best water source for long-distance travel.