The functions of the post, station, and shop are different, such as changing horses, providing accommodation for official personnel, transporting supplies, delivering letters, and expediting military information. The biggest difference between 'Tang' and 'Pu' is that 'Tang' is a military outpost with garrisons, while 'Pu' has no garrisons; if there are more important military towns, they are also called 'Xun', such as the famous 'Songkan Xun' and Wujiang Xun in Guizhou......

Of course, there are some that still retain the name of the post, such as Chaotianyi and Laifengyi in Chongqing (that is, Bishan today). Anrenyi (now Neijiang) and Nanjinyi (now Ziyang) in Sichuan. There is also a place name that is still used to this day.

The Wuling Mountains are about 100,000 square kilometers, bordering two lakes in the east, Bashu in the west, Liangguang in the south, and Guanzhong in the north. It belongs to the eastern extension part of Yunwu Mountain on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the mountain system extends to the northeast and southwest, the peak maintains a certain flat surface, the mountain body presents the characteristics of flat top, steep slope and deep valley, and the highest peak Phoenix Mountain is located in Tongren area of Guizhou Province.

The Wuling Mountains are inhabited by different ethnic groups such as Han, Tujia, Yao, Miao, Dong and so on. At the same time, it is also the watershed of Wujiang, Yuanjiang and Lishui.

"It's still a step slower...... Qiao Youqing reluctantly slowed down, it was less than two kilometers away from the next post shop, which was not too far. Since the opening of post stations in ancient times, because they are all over the place, they also require a lot of expenses, such as the wages of post masters, post soldiers, and post men, horses, vehicles, repairs, and other operating expenses. As a result, some localities will appoint local wealthy families as 'catchers'. Kept running at the expense of others, and tacitly allowed them to 'make up for their losses with business'.

People who often travel from south to north, or businessmen who do business, all understand the 'unspoken rules', and generally many post shops will prepare rooms or small courtyards separately for 'business'.

Qiao Youqing turned over and dismounted, holding the reins, and before he could take a few steps, he suddenly heard a strange sound from the mountains in the distance, like a ghost crying a wolf, and like a strange bird crying; The horse snorted, raised its forepaw and ploughed the ground, as if it was very uneasy, Qiao Youqing touched its head to soothe its emotions.

But the voice did not stop to make sense, but flickered far and near, and the pitch came and went. Qiao Youqing didn't particularly believe in the words of 'ghosts on the night road' and 'spirits born in the mountains', he just thought it was the call of some kind of animal, frowned, and led the horse to continue walking.

didn't wait for long, there was a strange sound from the bushes on the side of the road, and Qiao Youqing frowned and waited. It seems that there are strange footsteps stepping on the dead branches and leaves in the forest, cautious and ready to go. It's like a beast peeking at its prey, which will suddenly burst out at any moment and deliver that fatal blow. Qiao Youqing was just about to take out his sidearm, when the high-pitched cry of a wild cat pierced the silence of the night, and the long tail echoed around for a long time. The footsteps slowly receded, and the mountain path returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

At this moment, the sound of someone talking came from the avenue behind him, and the chaotic footsteps amplified by the silent night. Looking back, there were several torches moving rapidly in his direction; Qiao Youqing simply stopped, touched the 'short gun' in his arms, and secretly became vigilant.

There are many wild beasts in the mountains, but sometimes man is more terrible than wild beasts.

Especially in the mountainous places, there are also many bandits, and the firelight is gradually approaching, and by the light of the torches, Qiao Youqing can see clearly that it is a pedestrian with three men and two women on foot and rushing to the night road. There were only three torches, and the two women held hands even when they were on the road, perhaps because they were afraid to embolden them, or perhaps because they were particularly in a good relationship.

When they saw a man and a horse standing on the side of the road, they were also unconsciously nervous and vigilant. A middle-aged man stepped forward to greet him: "May I ask if this brother is in a hurry?" ”

Qiao Youqing replied: "Exactly, it's unfortunate that it was dark before we arrived in Tangpu, and a few of them were also in a hurry?" ”

"Yes, it's a long way, and I have to travel overnight, but fortunately, there is a post shop not far ahead." The middle-aged man said.

Qiao Youqing nodded in response.

"This little brother, why don't we have a companion? My sister is in poor health, so I can borrow my brother's horse to use it......" The woman who looked a little more mature also began to talk.

Qiao Youqing replied: "Of course there is no problem, it just so happens that I can also borrow the light of your torches; Girl, please get on the horse! ”

The girl raised her slightly lowered head, glanced at Qiao Youqing, and did not speak. It was the woman who spoke before who rushed to say: "Then I will thank my little brother for my sister!" Let's get on the horse, little sister! ”

The woman climbed on the horse's back first, and then pulled the girl onto the horse. Originally, the middle-aged man was going to take the reins, but Qiao Youqing said, "It's okay, I'll just take it!" ”

After walking another distance, sporadic raindrops began to fall from the night sky, but fortunately, I could already see the lights of the post shop in front of me. At a glance at the scale, you can see that the post shop is not large, to be exact, there is no scale at all. The post shop is surrounded by a low wall made of earth, almost just over a meter high, and the wall is covered with a grass roof to protect it from the wind and rain, and the staffing of this kind of post shop will never exceed five people.

There are only two rooms available to them, and both are Chase bunks. The location is still in the corner of the back against the low wall, but Qiao Youqing knows that most places are like this, and it's not bad here, the two rooms can at least be lived separately by men and women, not like some places where men and women live together.

The rain outside seems to be getting heavier and heavier, and I wonder if she's listening to the rain outside the window like me? It had only been separated for less than a day, and Qiao Youqing remembered Zhao Huiyi again.

When they moved in, there were already two people sleeping on the Chase bunk, and they were snoring slightly. The three men who were in a hurry gathered together, and they didn't know what they were muttering to themselves. Qiao Youqing was bored, and he didn't feel sleepy at all, so he wanted to just go out to breathe.

As soon as he walked to the door, the middle-aged man asked, "Little brother, are you going out?" ”

Qiao Youqing said: "It's raining heavily,

I'm a little worried about my horses, go out and see ......."

The man said yes, he should go and see. After closing the door with his hand, Qiao Youmi went down the corridor to find the postman to borrow rain gear. The corridor was dimly lit by a single lantern, and as soon as he turned the corridor, he heard the door open. After taking two steps back, she looked at it, and she could vaguely identify that it was the elder sister of the two women living next door, and after she closed the door, she went to gently knock on the room next door Qiao Youqing where they lived.

Someone opened the door and welcomed her in, it turned out that she was just looking for a companion, Qiao You said secretly. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a small black shadow 'whoosh' from the rain into the hallway, and then briskly 'squeezed' the room where the two women were resting and slipped in.

Qiao Youqing hurriedly walked over, the black shadow should be some kind of animal, but it must have some purpose, otherwise how could it peep in the dark and wait for that 'sister' to leave before running out? Qiao Youqing felt that it should be coming for another girl.

The door had been opened a small slit, the lights had long since been turned off in the room, and it was completely impossible to see inside the room from the lighted hallway. But if you are in the room, you must be able to see the door, for example, Qiao Youqing's figure is reflected on the door and window at this moment. Fortunately, Qiao Youqing didn't hear an unusual sound, so he knocked lightly on the door.

Just as he was about to push open the door, he heard the girl ask in a low voice, "Who is it?" ”

This was the first time Qiao Youqing heard her speak, and immediately replied: "Girl, it's me, the two passers-by who lent the horse on the way." ”

Of course, Qiao Youqing also lowered his voice when he spoke, only to hear the girl say again: "It's you!" Is there anything wrong with you? ”

"I happened to pass by, and when I saw that the door was not closed, I came to take a look, girl, are you okay? Need help or call your sister back? ”

"No need...... You...... Come in and talk! She wanted to refuse, but she was worried that Qiao Youqing would cause trouble if she had too many things.

After entering the house, Qiao Youqing closed the door casually, and he expected that the guy must still be in the room. By the faint light that came in through the doors and windows, he searched around the corners, but found nothing. The square wooden table that should have been placed in the center was moved to a position close to the edge of the bed at this moment, and the girl sat on the edge of the bed, her hands on the square wooden table, and a pair of big eyes stared at Qiao Youqing vigilantly.

"Hello girl, contemptible Qiao Youqing, please forgive me if you disturb!" Qiao Youqing said.

"Hello Gongzi Qiao, my name is Yan Ling, I wonder if Gongzi Qiao is looking for something?"

Qiao Youqing looked left and right, and whispered: "Actually, I saw something running in, and at first I saw your sister go out, and I was worried that that thing would be unfavorable to the girl......

Yan Ling said: "Thank you Gongzi Qiao for your concern...... I didn't see anything running in......" She saw Qiao Youqing looking at the bed, and subconsciously moved her body to block his view.

She spoke with a dodgy gaze, a stuttering pace, and most of the time she didn't tell the truth. Qiao Youqing noticed something was wrong, lifted the hem of his clothes, and pulled out a dagger from his waist. Yan Ling was startled, thinking that he was going to do something bad, and when he was about to speak, Qiao Youqing 'shhh

Yan Ling hurriedly waved her hand and said hurriedly, "Don't ...... Don't hurt it, as long as you don't hurt it, I'll tell you what's going on! ”

Qiao Youqing stopped moving, nodded and said, "Okay." ”

I saw her gently pull open the quilt, and a black cat was hiding inside, and when she saw Qiao Youqing, she bared her teeth and demonstrated. It is larger than the average cat and looks more like a feral cat.

Yan Ling touched its head that had been wet by the rain and said, "Don't be afraid, Lingling, he promised not to hurt you!" ”

The cat tilted its head and pouted on Yan Ling's hand. Yan Ling then began to say: "That woman is not my sister!" I don't know the other men well! ”

Qiao Youqing was surprised, he had already seen that a few people did not look like ordinary people, but it was not easy for him to casually inquire about other people's secrets, which was a taboo for walking in the rivers and lakes. It's better to avoid getting into trouble, but he can't help but ask, "Then who are they?" ”