After Yu Wende and his entourage left the "Qing Garden", they rushed to the "Jing Garden" around noon. After having lunch there, they left Gao Jun and the other little guys behind, and set off again in the afternoon and headed south to Fanyang County. The prospecting team was going to spend the night there, and then pass through Yi County the next day, and then follow the road of Jinpi Pass, Feihu County, and Lingqiu Ancient Road, and enter Daizhou in the Northern Han Dynasty through Lingqiu. Because on the way to cross the northern foot of Taihang Mountain, the road is not very easy to walk. According to Chang Shengjun, it is estimated that it will take more than ten or twenty days to reach Yanmen in Daizhou. Coupled with the time of prospecting and returning in the local area, this trip will only take nearly two months.

Hearing that it would take such a long time to go back and forth, Yu Wende couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Now the blast furnace and the open hearth in the materials department have begun to be constructed according to the drawings he provided, although even if the furnace is built, it will definitely not be ignited until he returns, but as the designer of the furnace, he naturally does not want to be unable to attend the unveiling ceremony when the two furnaces are built.

Therefore, except for a small amount of time to visit Zhongyuanwaifu when they were resting in Fanyang County, the prospecting team basically did not stay in any town for more than one night. Basically, except for eating and sleeping, I am in a hurry. He even planned to require the prospecting team to travel no less than forty miles a day, as long as it was not enough, even if it met the town store, it would not be able to rest until the limit for the day was completed, even if it was to sleep in the wilderness.

It's just that his suggestion was too rigid, completely ignoring the situation along the way and the danger of sleeping in the wilderness, so it was strongly opposed by Zeng Zhilin and Yang Xin, the security directors of this expedition. Although Yu Wende is the third brother, because this trip needs to follow the arrangements of Zeng and Yang, Yu Sange's suggestion was not implemented in the end.

According to Chang Shengjun's suggestion, Zeng and Yang would rather take a detour and move along the official road. And as long as they can't reach the next town store before dark, then no matter whether it's late or not, Zeng and Yang will let the team stop and rest in the store, and will never risk sleeping in the wilderness to continue to advance. In addition to not risking the road, Zeng and Yang also insisted on implementing the rules set by the committee before departure, and contacted "Qingyuan" through the radio at a fixed time every morning and evening to report the day's jihua and the actual itinerary, which not only reassured the brothers at home, but also took the opportunity to check how far the shortwave radio communication distance in their hands could be. Although according to Lu Yue and Zhong Tao, the propagation distance of short-wave radios is quite long, it is also possible for the team's on-board station to travel thousands of kilometers with a long enough antenna. But this is a theoretical value after all, and the actual use will be affected by many external environments, although this trip is not thousands of kilometers, but two or three hundred kilometers are still available, just can be experimented. In addition to the caution of Zeng and Yang, Chang Shengjun, as a deputy, also played an important role in this trip by virtue of his rich social experience and familiarity with the way forward.

Zeng and Yang's cautiousness, Chang Shengjun's careful vigilance, coupled with the official guidance issued by Hu Zhi County, made the prospecting team not go very fast, but it was also safe in the territory of Liao, and nothing went wrong. Ten days after leaving the "Qing Garden", everyone arrived at the bottle-shaped temple, which was the famous Pingxingguan in the previous life. This is already the territory of the Northern Han Dynasty, and then go more than 100 miles to the southwest, you can reach Fanzhi County, and dozens of miles west from Fanzhi County is the destination of this trip, Yanmen County (Daizhou Zhishu).

The crowd walked for more than a day after passing the bottle-shaped barricade, and at noon on March 19, they entered a military fort between the bottle-shaped barriment and Fanzhi County. Because this is a military fortress, prospecting teams cannot stay overnight here. Therefore, after a short rest, everyone continued to travel west according to the instructions of the soldiers in the village, and went to a larger village more than ten miles away from the village to stay. This village is called Lijiazhuang, and there are nearly 200 families in the village, and most of the villagers are surnamed Li. When the prospecting team arrived at the village, it was already three or four o'clock in the afternoon, because he was afraid that he would not be able to make it to the next village, so Yang Xin decided to stay here for one night and leave the next day.

Early the next morning, after Yang Xin got up, he came out of the house of the people who were staying overnight and found that the sky was a little gloomy, and it seemed that there were signs of rain. So, he found Zeng Zhilin, Yu Wende, Song Feiyang and Chang Shengjun, and planned to discuss with them whether to see if the weather changed before leaving. ,

After a short time, several people gathered at the house of the common people where Yang Xin was staying. After everyone found a place to sit down, Yang Xin said his worries, and then hoped that the brothers would express their opinions.

The first to speak was Yu Wende, he said: "I don't agree with the old twenty-five, although this day is a little cloudy, but it doesn't look like it's about to rain." We have been walking for more than ten days on this road, and at this rate, I am afraid that we will have to walk for four or five days to reach Yanmen. Add to that the time for prospecting, the time to contact local businessmen, and maybe even the time to organize mining, so I am afraid that it will take a month. Let's go back for another ten or twenty days, when will we get back to Liangxiang? After my brother found the iron ore mine last month, I promised my brother that the steel would be smelted within three months. But according to our current progress, I'm afraid that when the deadline I guarantee is reached, we may not be able to return to Liangxiang, let alone refine steel. When the time comes, I talk for a long time, but I can't do it, where do you tell my brother to put my face. ”

Seeing that the third brother was a little anxious, Song Feiyang hurriedly persuaded: "Third brother, don't worry, isn't the old twenty-five discussing with everyone, and he didn't say that he must wait for the weather to improve before leaving." Moreover, your visit to Beihan to prospect for ore this time is also for the sake of the team, and it is not for you to delay the time for steelmaking. Brother thinks that the eldest brother will definitely understand you, and will not blame you for not counting your words. ”

"That's it, that's it," Zeng Zhilin also explained, "Brother Twenty-two is right, they are all their own brothers, who can blame you." Besides, Brother Twenty-Five is also for the sake of insurance. After all, we are on someone else's territory, so we should be more careful. ”

Yu Wende waved his hand when he heard this, and said: "You always say be careful, be careful, but let's come along the way, don't say any bandits and robbers, even those officials and soldiers don't have much trouble with us, it's all smooth sailing." Yesterday, I also heard from a local villager that this place is less than 20 miles away from the next village, and it is only more than 60 miles away from the county seat of Fanzhi. Let's go faster, we can get to Fanzhi before dark. Even if we walk slowly, or if it does rain on the way, we can stop in the next village, and there is no need to wait here stupidly. ”

It can be seen that Yu Wende has made up his mind this time and must continue to move forward. This is completely different from his previous performance, he has never expressed any opinion on the itinerary of Zeng and Yang, whether he wants to or not, he can follow it, and he has never been a brother. The reason why it is abnormal today is that it is estimated that it has been suppressed for too long and needs to be vented. Second, Yang Xin's proposal is indeed a bit too conservative, and it is no wonder that the third brother Yu, who has always been good-tempered, is dissatisfied.

Because Yu Wende's remarks sound reasonable, and he is the third brother, some things can't be too face-saving for him. But the safety of the prospecting team cannot be ignored, so Yang Xin and Zeng Zhilin are a little embarrassed at this time. Therefore, both of them are eager to hear Chang Shengjun's opinion, and both hope that he can use his experience to provide reliable advice to the two.

So, Zeng Zhilin asked: "Captain Chang, you have more experience than us in this area, according to your opinion, should we leave or stay?" ”

Seeing Zeng and Yang looking at him together, Zeng Zhilin asked questions directly, and Chang Shengjun knew that they wanted to ask for their opinions. From Chang Shengjun's original intention, he supported Yang Xin's suggestion. With his years of experience, it will rain nine times out of ten in this kind of sky, and it will not be too light.

However, although he was called to a meeting and was the leader of the Ranger squad, he was still a subordinate after all. In his opinion, no matter how many masters argue with each other, it is not a big deal. After the argument, they are still brothers. But if his subordinate is mixed in the middle, he will be taboo. Although this is not a leading figure among the "Qingyuan" brothers, after all, he is the third in the ranks among the brothers, except for Uncle Li, the other masters in charge have to respectfully call him the third brother when they meet. But since the other two masters want to ask for their opinions, they can't help but speak. What's more, this great-grandfather is his immediate boss, and it is not okay not to respond to the other party's inquiries.

Therefore, after a little thought, he made up his mind to speak more tactfully, and only talk about the possible situations on the road, without giving conclusions. He hugged his fists to Zeng, Yang and the others, and said, "My subordinates have also seen the sky just now, and with the experience of my subordinates, I'm afraid it may really rain today." Of course, when it will be down and how big it will be, the subordinates can't say for sure. As for whether the team will be on the road now, everything under the subordinates is up to your lord's arrangement. ”,

Chang Shengjun said this sentence and didn't say it, Zeng and Yang understood that as a subordinate, he didn't dare to speak casually. Therefore, the two are no longer difficult for him. Zeng Zhilin thought for a while and said, "I think, it's better than this." Anyway, there is another village twenty miles from here, and even if it rains halfway, we should have time to go to the village to take shelter from the rain. So, let's continue to rush for a while, but before we set off, let everyone be prepared for the rain so as not to get drenched. ”

"Okay" Yang Xin saw that the matter had come to this point, and he didn't want to say anything more, so he had to agree.

Subsequently, all the members of the prospecting team went into action. On the one hand, prepare the carriage and horses, and on the other hand, prepare various equipment to protect against the rain. Yang Xin also specially told Song Feiyang to pay attention to the radio station on the carriage he was riding in, and never let the rain get drenched. This thing is a treasure, and if it breaks, it will be a delay.

After some tidying up, the prospecting team went out of Lijiazhuang and Xiangxia at one stop. As a result, after walking only ten miles, the sky became more and more gloomy, and it began to rain in a short time. At first, it was just a drizzle, but it soon became heavier and heavier, and eventually it became a torrential rain with gusts of cold wind.

Although everyone was wearing felt hats and robes, and Zeng and Yang were still wearing modern raincoats, in the face of such heavy rain, except for a few people sitting in the car, the others were quickly soaked. At this time, although it is already March of the lunar calendar and April of the solar calendar, the weather is not yet warm in this era without the greenhouse effect. In addition, when the cold wind blows like this, the taste is really unbearable. Even Yu Wende, who was sitting in the car and wrapped in a felt blanket, couldn't stand it, let alone those who rode horses.

At this time, Yu Wende was trembling, and he couldn't stop regretting it, regretting why he was so stubborn in the morning, refusing to listen to the advice of the old twenty-five, and had to hurry up. It's a good thing, I didn't go far before I encountered such a heavy rain. It was better to sit in the car, but the brothers and men who were riding horses outside were guilty, and they were afraid that they had scolded themselves countless times in their hearts.

Yu Wende regretted not being in the car, but Zeng Zhilin and Yang Xin outside the car didn't have time to complain about their third brother. At this moment, the two of them were discussing with Chang Shengjun whether to find a place to shelter from the rain on the spot, or speed up and rush to the next village.

Chang Shengjun looked at the surrounding mountains, and then at the soldiers who were still hurrying in the rain, and said to Zeng and Yang: "Two masters, according to the subordinates, let's continue to hurry." As he spoke, he pointed to the surrounding mountains and explained: "Two masters, please see, there are endless mountains all around, and the trees on the mountains are not lush enough in this season, so even if we hide under the trees, we can't play much of a role in sheltering from the wind and rain." This is less than ten miles away from the next village, and the subordinates feel that it is better for everyone to hold on for a while, and wait until they get to the village to rest and avoid the rain. ”

Zeng and Yang felt that Chang Shengjun was reasonable, so they urged everyone to speed up and rush to the next village to find a place to shelter from the rain. With the orders of Zeng and Yang, the speed of the team increased significantly, and everyone struggled to advance in the torrential rain, and the sentry arranged by Chang Shengjun took the lead in galloping away, and the huge horses' hooves stepped on the stagnant water, splashing clouds of mist.

After about an hour or so, the long-awaited village was finally revealed in the rain and fog. The sentinel had also come back to report that this village was much smaller than the one he had left before, and that it was only fifty or sixty households, and that because it was raining heavily, there was no sign of activity in the village from outside the village, and it was difficult to judge how many villagers there were, and it was estimated that there were three or four hundred people.

Hearing that there were only 50 or 60 households in the village, Zeng and Yang were a little disappointed. There were nearly 200 families in the previous village, and the prospecting team had to live in the homes of ordinary people, but the village in front of me was even smaller, so I was afraid that everyone would have to set up their own tents and sleep tonight. However, no matter how small the village is, it is better than everyone getting drenched in the rain. So, Zeng and Yang hurriedly beckoned everyone into the village, first find a place to shelter from the rain, and then talk about sleeping.

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