In the evening, Shangguan Peng rested early, and got up early tomorrow, and it is estimated that he will be busy all day, and some of them are tired. Before going to bed, Shangguan Peng instructed the shopkeeper to prepare dry food for nine people for ten days early tomorrow morning, in large quantities, and some braised chicken, sauce meat, and pickles. During the day, Shangguan Peng bought nine bamboo kettles, which were also filled with herbal tea, and some salt, sugar and other spices.

The next day, Shangguan Peng got up, yawned, and came to the inn hall, saw eight people, and beckoned them to sit down.

Let Xiao Er prepare everyone's breakfast, sigh and snort after breakfast, bring the camping equipment, and set off to Xishi to lead mules and horses.

I asked if I could ride a horse, asked for five horses, three mules, and paid a deposit of two hundred taels. After leading the livestock, Shangguan Peng turned over and got on the horse, waved his hand and "set off".

The mighty group of people went out of the south gate and dared to go in the direction of the vast lake, and Shangguan Peng's lake patrol career officially began. Walking west first, Nanshan City is less than ten miles away from the vast lake, and it took a while to come to the lake.

Shangguan Peng asked the guide, "Do you have a suitable place in your heart, report it first." ”

Zhou Jiutao stepped forward and said to Shangguan Peng, "Lord, there are two or three harbors within ten miles west of here, which are suitable for wharves, why don't you go and see them first." ”

Shangguan Peng nodded, "Let's go first." Zhou Jiutao rode a mule, walked in front of the head, and came to the first place after half an hour, it was a big lake bend, the mouth was a little small, if a wharf was built here, I am afraid that it would be easy to block the door when the wharf went out of the wharf during the war, and vetoed.

Continuing west, the second place, which is a little worse than the first, is not big enough and the mouth is small. Couldn't stop a few ships, and directly vetoed.

Continue to the west, the third place is not bad, the inner bend is big enough, the bend can also be, it is also suitable to build a water village gate, that is, the land village of the water army camp is not very suitable for a horse Pingchuan, no cover is not conducive to defense. For the time being, it could be listed as an alternative option No. 1. circled the map that Lian Shanwei handed to him.

"Is there anything else?" Shangguan Peng asked the guide.

Zhao Aren stepped forward and said, "There is an inner bend in the woods in front of you, but there are trees in the bend, which may not be suitable for parking boats." ”

"Okay, I'll have the final say, you lead the way first. ”

Zhao Aren rode a mule to lead the way, and walked about a bend in the woods, there was no way to walk in the woods, one foot deep and one foot shallow, and came to the shore of the lake. There is a large inner bend, that is, the lake is covered with thick branches, and it is difficult to see.

Shangguan Pengyun drafted and flew up, connected the dots on his toes on the book, and went up to the treetops of a big tree, looking into the distance, the mouth of the lake is quite suitable, and the lake is big enough, but it is full of trees and I don't know how to clean it up.

After getting off the big tree, Shangguan Peng jumped into the lake, jumped around on the branches on the lake surface to check, and found that these tree trunks were deeply rooted in the water, and if they were not cleaned up, they would grow in the future, and it would be very troublesome at that time, and it would cost a lot to clean up these trees, and it would cost money and food in vain, and it was not cost-effective. Just veto it.

Continue to patrol the lake to the west, walked for an hour and did not find any suitable place "Take a break, eat something" Everyone unloaded the foster care equipment, and the woodcutter went to Zuo to fetch dry firewood, lit a fire, baked cakes, and boiled water.

The bodyguards led the animals to a grassy area for them to feed themselves.

"Are there any robbers and bandits around here? Shangguan Peng asked, "It's very calm on the way, and the security near Nanshan City is good." ”

"There are no bandits in the vicinity of thirty miles, Nanshan County guards Nanshan County for generations, and regards this as their own private territory, and the bandits in this vicinity have been very hard to clean up, and after thirty miles, there are more bandits, and there are three no matter what, and strongmen are infested. Lei Yong slowly introduced the security in the vicinity.

"How big is this vast lake, has no one ever crossed the vast lake?" Shangguan Peng was very curious.

"No one has crossed it now, and there is a legend that a long time ago someone came up from the lake by boat, and there was a big island on the lake, and there was a country on the island. But no one can confirm it," Zhao Quan said as he baked the cake, "There are many villages near the lake that have such legends, and it should be true, but it is estimated that it was a long, long time ago." ”

"There was a saying among our village chiefs, it is said that the blonde and blue-eyed people who came were almost regarded as monsters, so no one believed such a statement, but it is said that the ancestors of the village chief's family exchanged treasures from those people back then, but no one has ever seen them. Ge Kang took the dry wood and added it to the fire.

"Blonde and blue-eyed" Shangguan Peng thought that they were Europeans, and there were also Europeans in this world? Others regarded them as monsters, but Shangguan Peng would not, he knew that there were different races, not to mention blond hair and blue eyes, blacks also had them, and if they were looked at by these people, they might be treated as charcoal.

"How far have we come this morning," Shangguan Peng looked around, looking at his surroundings.

"About fifteen miles" Zhao Quan raised his head and silently estimated.

"Try to choose within a radius of fifty miles, so that it is not far from Nanshan City, which is conducive to supply and support each other. Shangguan Peng thought about it.

After lunch, Shangguan Peng said that he should rest for an hour, and he was not in a hurry anyway. Take more breaks and avoid the noon sun, which is too hot.

found a shade, and everyone lay down horizontally, "Ge Kang, Zhou Jili, the two of you are fortunate, you are on duty for half an hour, be on guard, although it is still quiet here, but there is no big mistake in being cautious." Shangguan Peng arranged it.

Who is in the shade of the trees at noon on a hot day, close to the lake, with a cool breeze, and it is quite comfortable to carry the water vapor.

An hour later, Zhou Jili woke everyone up and started to hurry.

Along the lake, they continued westward for less than a mile when they encountered a caravan, and both sides were immediately on alert.

An old and serious Jianghu man walked out of the caravan, hugged his fists and asked loudly, "Dare to ask the hero on the other side is on that road, follow the friend dart game, and ask your friend to raise your noble hand." ”

Lei Yong got the signal and walked out, "Nanshan County guards the mansion and explores the shore of the lake." Rest assured. ”

Only then did the two sides let down their guard a little, but the two teams still put their hands on their weapons, for fear that the other party would be in trouble.

Wait until the meeting between the two sides is over, and walk away. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Is it necessary to be so nervous, I think it's okay, it's not so dangerous, don't make a fuss. Shangguan Peng's face was relaxed.

"My lord, you are a nobleman, you have not experienced the bloody wind and rain on the rivers and lakes, you don't know the way here, some caravans are people in places where people are in charge, and in places where no one is in charge, they are beasts, killing people and setting fires, slaughtering villages and destroying doors are common things. Zhang Xu rarely opened his mouth once, but the words he said were so heavy.

The other three bodyguards also nodded in agreement.

"The rivers and lakes are so dangerous, I have killed two wanted criminals, and I thought that the rivers and lakes were the weak and the strong," Shangguan Peng sighed.

"The rivers and lakes are not only the weak and the strong, but also the deceit and the heart of the beast. Lei Yong said to Shangguan Peng without warning.