As chief of staff, Zeng Yong attaches great importance to the safety of this trip to Banzhou. Needless to say, the identities of Yang Yan and Yang Bangxian, the rest of the entourage also shoulder heavy responsibilities. This time, Wang Youfu and Du Daquan also brought more than 100 skilled workers, agricultural technicians, doctors and teachers. In addition to Yang Bangxian's more than 80 personal guards, the original 100 people had suffered more than 10 casualties in previous battles, as well as a special company of the Perak Army and three caravan escort companies of the Nanyang Company. Although the three caravan escort companies are mainly engaged in business, most of the members are young and strong, and they are usually training, and they are equipped with firearms, so their combat effectiveness is not weaker than that of the regular army. This time, while Yang Yan returned to Banzhou to deal with affairs, she did not forget her business bank, and also brought with her all kinds of goods urgently needed by Miao Jiang.

A team of nearly 700 people and a large amount of cargo were enough to carry more than 300 large and small ships. Under Ouyang Xuan's gaze, they gradually drove downstream. The fleet will make a short stop at Jiading Mansion for supplies, and under the escort of the Jiading Naval Army, which is internally called the Third Division, it will sail straight to Hejiang County, Luzhou, and turn into the Chishui River in Hejiang County. After reaching the upper reaches of the Chishui River, which could not be navigated, the men and goods would be diverted to the land route and escorted to Banju by troops sent by Yang Wen. The 3rd Marine Brigade escorted the transport ships back to the Perak Army area. The reason why he did not go to Banzhou by water through Chongqing, and turned to the Chishui River in Luzhou, in addition to Yang Yan's desire to open up a new trade route between the two places, there was also a more important reason - Yu Xing made a move against the Thunderbolt army.

Yu Xing was the one who most wanted to see the Thunderbolt Army openly break with the imperial court. He knew that the important ministers of the court wanted to take Chengdu Mansion and Penghan Prefecture away from the Thunderbolt Army, but they were taking food from the tiger's mouth, and Ouyang Xuan could not agree. Yu Xing knows that the Thunderbolts are not the only ones who act arbitrarily, and that their collective decision-making has a strong basis of public opinion. Even if Ouyang Xuan agrees to give up the three places, it will definitely shake the foundation of his governance. The princes of the court knew about these ways of the Thunderbolts, and they thought that a single edict would bring the Thunderbolts to their knees. It is said that the Thunderbolt army, which can repeatedly defeat fierce generals such as Niu Ling and Liu Heima, is it easy to get along? This is also the reason why Yu Xing did not mix this time. As the former deputy envoy of Chengdu Road to pacify, he coveted the newly recovered anointed land. However, his appetite was much greater than that of those dignitaries in Lin'an, and he wanted all rather than shared.

If the Thunderbolt army refuses, the Lin'an side will definitely be furious and even declare the Thunderbolt army a rebel, and then he can raise the whole Sichuan army under the authorization of the imperial court to levy, and once the king who occupies the moral high ground arrives, there will be chaos within the Thunderbolt army, and even many people will take the initiative to join him. At that time, not only western Sichuan and even those powerful firearms will fall into their control, but then the Sichuan System and Placement Division will be stronger and stronger, and it will not be difficult for one party to establish itself as the king. As for whether the Thunderbolt Army would defect to the Mongolian Army in a hurry, Yu Xing had seriously thought about it. According to the information he obtained, the possibility of the Perak army defecting to the Mongolian army is extremely low. In his opinion, if he can't get Sichuanxi, then what is the difference between Sichuanxi in the hands of the Mongolian army and the Thunderbolt army? After repeatedly weighing the risks and benefits, he felt that it was still worth the risk.

After learning of the contents of the Thunderbolt Army's reply to the official letter of the Lin'an Imperial Court, he was overjoyed and immediately moved the Thunderbolt Army to seize the personnel of the Thunderbolt Army's caravan, confiscate the company's assets, and prohibit the passage of the merchant ships of the Nanyang Company, on the grounds that the Thunderbolt Army did not comply with the imperial decree. It was known that this information was secretly passed on to the "Fire Fox" in Chongqing by Su San'er, the captain of the pro-soldier team. Upon hearing the news, the Perak Army caravan personnel rolled up and ran away overnight, and the merchant ships in the waters of Chongqing either sailed to Luzhou or Banzhou. The next day, when Yu Xing's minions went to seize and seal up, the Nanyang Company had already been empty. Rao was like this, and Yu Xing still plundered a large amount of goods, and there were several warehouses in linen alone. Because Yu Xing was extremely greedy, the Thunderbolt caravan did not focus on Chongqing Prefecture, but only set up a trading base to transit goods, and these goods that were too late to be transferred fell into Yu Xing's pocket.

After landing in a small town on the Chishui River, the Yang Yan brothers and sisters took a guard of 200 people to Banzhou first, while Wang Youfu and Du Daquan took their entourage and caravan to slow down under the escort of the Banzhou army who came to meet them, because the mountain roads here were really not conducive to the movement of the brigade. Although the land route is hundreds of miles closer than the waterway, the goods need to be carried on the backs of people and horses, and the road is rugged, although the time taken is about the same, but the transportation cost has increased a lot. Fortunately, this section of the road is a traffic artery between Luzhou and Banzhou, and there are no large bandits along the way, and the road is often maintained. But even so, it took several days for Yang Yan and his entourage to travel lightly and arrive in Banzhou City, and it was half a month before the team arrived in Banzhou City.

Not only is the flow of people more dense than before, the cries of vendors are much louder, there are fewer beggars, and even many new houses have been built, and the Confucius Institute in the city has also heard the sound of reading aloud. Although this scene is still far less prosperous than Chongqing Mansion, Jiading Mansion and Qiongzhou, it is also much more prosperous than the prefectures and counties along the way, which makes Yang Yan's brothers and sisters feel emotional. After resting for a day in the courtyard in the city, the Yang Yan brothers and sisters continued to Hailongtun, fifty miles away. It was the season when the cold wind was blowing, and the people along the way were still working in the fields in the frost and snow, and their faces were not without sorrow, nor did they have the usual dishes, but with a little joy. In this regard, the steward who came to Hailongtun to greet him said that the agricultural technology sent by the Perak Army tried to plant winter wheat last year according to the light and heat conditions, and obtained a bumper harvest, so that the grain was changed from one crop a year to two crops a year. Right now, people are hoeing and fertilizing the grass in the hope of a good harvest next summer.

When the father and daughter saw each other, they naturally sighed again. Yang Wen was relieved to see that the brother and sister were in good spirits and in good health, and he was even more overjoyed to hear that Yang Yan was pregnant. In his opinion, the Thunderbolt Army and Ouyang Xuan are one, and his grandson will of course be the master of the Thunderbolt Army in the future. What makes him even happier is that this year's experience has made Yang Bangxian from a childish half-grown boy to a calm and calm leader, with a trace of decisive heroism between his eyebrows, and his conversation and thinking level have also been greatly improved, which is very gratifying. "It's difficult to start a business, and it's even more difficult to keep a business", the Yang family was originally thin, and there was not much room for the choice of heirs.

Thanks to the large-scale firing of lime and cement, the construction of Hailongtun not only saved a lot of labor, but also greatly accelerated, in addition to the defense power has been greatly enhanced, but also built a lot of houses and warehouses. From the perspective of scale, Hailongtun is larger than many county seats, and it is not an exaggeration to call it Hailong City, so as soon as Yang Yan's suggestion was proposed, it was adopted by Yang Wen. In addition to helping with the construction of Sea Dragon City, the technicians of the Perak Army also promoted the development of the surrounding industrial and mining industries. There are now 17 lime mines, 9 coal mines, and 6 iron mines in Banshu alone, as well as a number of small-scale silver, lead, zinc, copper, and gold mines, as well as ironworks, foundries, and cement plants, but they are not large.