Chirp ~ Chirp ~
Early the next morning, shrill whistles sounded around the motorcade.
This is a reminder to everyone to get up and have breakfast as the convoy will set off soon.
"Commander," a patrolling soldier came running over on horseback, "there's someone out front looking for you."
Ren Ning rode over and rushed over.
Not long after, when he saw the situation in front of him clearly, he couldn't help but look strange.
In the cold morning mist ahead, a neat row of people stood.
There were only a few people, just over a hundred. All of them had gray hair and their bodies were more or less mutilated.
It was the veteran guarding the mausoleum in Xiaotian Garden opposite.
Ren Ning even saw at a glance Tieguai Li, who was always promoting his eldest granddaughter, and Cyclops, who was blind in one eye.
When Tieguai Li recognized Ren Ning, his eyes were shining.
Ha ha!
He tapped the cane in his hand excitedly.
"Young man Ren, it's you? I didn't expect that you would become a security commander at such a young age. You have a bright future. Lao Li, I was indeed right about the person."
"That's right." One-Eyed Dragon has never dealt with Tieguai Li, and this time he rarely nodded in agreement, "He will definitely be the candidate for general in the future."
Before Ren Ning could reply, Tieguai Li grabbed his clothes and started promoting his eldest granddaughter again.
"Boy Ren, do you know now that my granddaughter has a statue of Wangfu? Look, as soon as you met her, you were promoted from an ordinary personal guard to a security commander who sends souls back home. If you marry her, you will definitely be promoted to To the level of a general."
"I'm excited. Why don't you stop by my hometown to propose marriage after you send the soul back to your hometown?"
He waved his hand in amusement, "The betrothal gift doesn't have to be too expensive. Money or land deeds are too vulgar. All you need to do is bring two betrothal geese."
Ahem!
Ren Ning had to pretend to be dead.
While wiping his sweat, he said a few words to Tieguai Li and asked about the situation.
It turns out that these veterans guarding the tomb came down the mountain specifically to see the heroes returning home.
Ren Ning was stunned and straightened his back. He took a step back and saluted with his hands in hand.
Veterans are much more casual.
They laughed and waved, some raised their knives, and some even raised their canes.
"Have a safe trip, brothers."
"You must go home safely."
"In the next life, we will continue to fight together on the battlefield."
…
Amid blessings, the convoy was quickly packed up.
Ren Ning got on his horse and saluted again to the veterans lined up in the morning mist.
With an order, the convoy began to roll forward.
Lei Er followed beside him on his fiery red Ben Lei. He silently glanced at the veterans who quickly disappeared behind the convoy.
"Old Ren," the two of them are both Guan Luping's personal guards. They have been training together for several months and have a close relationship. "You asked Ma Dali to leave last night?"
Ren Ning nodded, talked about Pingxicheng and the caravan, and finally said: "He will go to Pingxicheng to contact the caravan first."
Lei Er chewed something more in his mouth and said vaguely: "This is too weird."
"There are both coffins and ashes in our convoy. Aren't these the most taboo things for ordinary people? Is there anyone willing to travel with us?"
Ren Ning chuckled.
"I also asked this question last night. However, Ma Dalong mysteriously said that the other party would not dislike it, saying that we would know it when we arrived in Dingxi City. I just let it go."
In this way, the convoy headed east. Every two hours of walking, he would stop to rest and eat. In the evening, before nightfall, Ren Ning asked his soldiers to survey the terrain early and stop to rest as soon as they arrived.
In the afternoon of the next day, Pingxicheng, the capital, appeared far in front of the motorcade.
Ta-ta-ta-ta.
Two tall horses came running towards them. One of them was carrying a machete and had a full beard. It was Ma Dalong who left the night before.
Riding on the other horse was a woman.
The woman is petite but has a rough face. At first glance, he looks like someone who has been working hard outside for a long time.
"Commander," Ma Dali laughed and ran to Ren Ning, "Fortunately, I did not disgrace my command. This is Gu Shengnan, the head of the Gu family's caravan."
So young?
Gu Shengnan quickly put away the surprise on his face and handed over his hand like a man: "Gu Shengnan from the Gu family caravan in Pinghai County has met General Ren."
She explained: "Victory's victory, Nanmu's Nan."
Ren Ning nodded with a strange look on his face.
He doesn't mind if the other person calls him Shengnan, Shengnan or Shengnan.
But he had mentioned the Gu family's caravan to Youmeng on the Xiliang grassland. What a coincidence that we met here.
"The leader of the ancient merchants, I have admired my name for a long time. However, I, Ren Ning, am not a general yet. I am just a general's bodyguard. Just call me the commander."
Gu Shengnan exchanged a few words of greeting and naturally responded.
The convoy did not stop, and the three of them turned around and headed towards Pingxicheng.
Ma Dali said from the side: "Commander, we have negotiated the relevant conditions. All the carriages of the Gu family caravan are ready outside Pingxi City. We can set off together tomorrow morning."
Ren Ning nodded and looked at the only female business leader in the entire Yunchui Empire with a smile.
"Shang Gushang, Lao Ma should have told you what kind of team we are. Are you really willing to travel with us?"
Gu Shengnan smiled and nodded, "Of course. With Ma Qianchang's help, our caravan has cooperated with the officers and soldiers of Yanjie several times. Every time we cooperate, it is quite pleasant."
The military discipline of Yanjie Fortress is strict, and the subordinate officers are powerful in combat and have an upright style. Asking them to accompany you to protect the caravan can not only ensure the safety of the caravan, but you don't have to worry about them committing theft.
This is much more reassuring than spending a lot of money to hire some bodyguards.
Ren Ning nodded and asked directly: "Then what exactly is your caravan transporting? If it is the empire's contraband..."
Gu Shengnan waved his hand quickly, "The Gu family are legitimate businessmen and never do anything that violates the laws of the empire."
She did not tempt Ren Ning, "Except for some livestock and furs from Xiliang, most of the others are stones dug out from Pingxi County."
Stone?
Ren Ning was really stunned this time.
"Ore?" he asked.
In Yunchui, the status of businessmen is not high.
Every long-distance caravan usually has one or even several powerful parties supporting it. Otherwise the caravan would not be able to go far. The funds needed to run a business trip are nothing. Just the customs clearance documents from various places along the way can block many small caravans.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the Gu family caravan can transport various ores.
Gu Shengnan understood what Ren Ning meant. She smiled and shook her head, "It's not ore. It's stone. Panlong stone is used to build houses and tombs."
Ma Dali, who was standing next to him, explained quickly, and only then did Ren Ning understand what these Panlong stones were.
It turns out that he has actually seen this kind of stone.
The entire Rock Frontier Fortress, including the large and small barracks inside, is built with this kind of stone.
The land in Pingxi County below is barren and has no special output. This kind of Panlong Stone can be said to be the only material available in Pingxi County.
It is as white as jade and as hard as steel. It is a good material for building houses, archways or tombs.
However, what really made this stone famous throughout Yunchui Empire was the name of the stone.
Panlong!
There is a dragon on this stone.
It's good stuff once you hear it.
Like many folklores, there is usually a myth behind a special name that is difficult to distinguish.
Ren Ning curled his lips secretly.
He had read countless stories in his previous life, and he could guess the legend behind this stone even with his eyes closed.
Just as he expected.
It's just that in ancient times, a poor man dug up this stone and found that there was a dragon coiled on it. The family prospered from then on, and maybe this family could become the leader of a country.
It doesn't matter whether the story is true or false, but it spread anyway, and from then on, the supply of this stone exceeded the demand.
Even the imperial palaces and imperial mausoleums as far away as the imperial capital were built with this stone.
If the emperor likes something, other high-ranking officials and local wealthy families will naturally flock to it.
Of course, if non-royal people use this kind of stone to build houses on a large scale, they are courting death, but it is still possible to use it to build tombs for their ancestors.
So it became a profitable business to dig out these stones and send them to the wealthy eastern and southern parts of Yunchui.
Ren Ning suddenly realized.
After all, the stones are used to build graves, so it doesn't matter if there are more coffins and ashes in the convoy.
As they talked, the convoy arrived at the foot of Pingxi City.
After setting up camp on the spot, Ren Ning and Lei Er personally visited the Gu family caravan to inspect.
The two of them walked around in a circle. The Gu family's caravan was also very long. Except for some livestock furs brought back from Xiliang, the rest were really white stones.
Ren Ning felt relieved.
