This strange procession was walking on the road leading to Lipandu. 【Full text reading】． Eight Li people carry salt as a trade commodity, and the crossers are fully armed - they may encounter Ming troops or bandits on the road, both of which are equally interested in making money.
There were already pedestrians coming and going on the road. When they saw such a strange team approaching, they all avoided the road from a distance. The farmers in the fields were not disturbed and were still busy with the final work before harvesting. The water in the rice fields had already Let dry. The rice is almost ripe. Personnel from the agricultural department accompanying the team are estimating how much rice can be harvested.
After walking for less than an hour, the county seat appeared in everyone's sight. In the two months since they came ashore, the Chuanchuan people have fought a fierce battle with the Daming local government in this city. However, except for a few personnel from the military team and communication team monitoring the county, this is the first time for most people to see this. It is the ruling center of Lingao County in the Ming Dynasty. The original tense atmosphere has disappeared, there are far fewer people on the city, the city gate is open, people are coming and going on the road, it is a bit lively. At the gate of the city, villagers set up stalls selling vegetables, chicken, duck and firewood. A peaceful scene.
Seeing their arrival, there seemed to be a tense feeling on the top of the city. Lu Rong, who was leading the team, saw an armor-piercing man looking around on the city wall. In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, the entire team did not approach the city gate and passed slowly while maintaining a distance. The farmers who were closing their stalls and preparing to run away breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that they had passed far away without making any mistakes.
According to several prisoners, their cave was more than a hundred miles away from the county seat, so they couldn't reach it in one day. Have a night's rest on the way.
"I didn't expect the road to be so deserted!" Mu Min exclaimed. There are few fields along the way, and most of them are meadows with large tracts of grass that are taller than a person's head.
"Is Lingao itself a remote small county?" Wen Desi was also in the team, but he participated in this operation purely out of curiosity and distraction. After the D-day, he was busy meeting to review documents and draft materials every day, making it more complicated than before. I was even busier in the past, and I didn’t even have time to do my favorite outdoor sports. I just took this opportunity to recover.
As for safety issues, he doesn't think there is any danger. He always wears stab-proof clothing and has a lot of anti-wolf spray in his bag. He also likes to play with and carry around long folding knives and a 1.2-meter-long Western half sword. For people, whether they are Chinese and foreign pirates, Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers, rural regiments, or bandits, they are all scum. Not to mention that the twenty or so people around here are all armed to the teeth, except for steel helmets-for the sake of portability, they are replaced with rattan helmets. This batch of products was finally produced after more than a month of research by the industrial department. The first batch of finished products were originally planned to be made in colonial style, but the products that came out were a bit different. However, after installing the leather suspension, it felt good to wear, and the suffix of the hat was sewn with a sunshade cloth commonly known as a butt curtain.
"It's strange. Since there is so much wasteland, why is no one reclaiming it? Those prisoners, whether Li or Han, are either tenant farmers or long-term laborers. It's not like there is no water here, and the land doesn't look barren."
"Lack of water." Wen Desi had never done farm work, so he still understood the basic principles.
"Nonsense, such a big river is short of water?"
"The water is still in the river, so it is useful only if it is poured into the fields. Irrigation is a big problem. You need to lift water, have channels, and build sluices..."
"Why not open channels?"
"Irrigation projects are time-consuming," Wen Desi explained. "It is too difficult for each household to dig their own irrigation canals. Water conservancy projects in all dynasties have been organized by the government. It requires a lot of labor and money."
"That's right, it's really not easy to do anything." Mu Min sighed, "Then what are you doing here? Isn't it good to stay in the 21st century? Why do you want to take risks in this time and space?"
Wen Desi laughed enigmatically. He was embarrassed to say that he wanted to be a god in this world. However, Mu Min obviously understood that mysterious smile as obscenity and curled her lips:
"It's so disgusting, you men are the most disgusting!"
Minglang, who was following far behind, saw his wife talking and laughing with the bandit leader Wen, and he wanted to rush forward and give Wen a machete first. These days have really depressed him. Ever since he learned that this place was Lingao in the Ming Dynasty, his family of four has been under semi-house arrest. The wonderful trip to Hainan as a family of four turned into a permanent trip to Lingao in the Ming Dynasty - these crazy bandits wanted to come to the Ming Dynasty, but their family had no such plans!
He also hates that his wife is nosy and has to go to some security group to help. She wears that ugly training uniform every day and goes to work excitedly. She doesn't count when she comes home very late. When she comes back, she blabbers about everything she saw. The family conveyed it again, and so did my father: At first, he was silent all day long. He listened to his wife talking too much, and I don’t know what kind of muscle was moved. He actually took the initiative to go to them and ask for a job arrangement-it was said that he was planning to be a naval consultant? ! Ming Lang thought he was getting angry when he heard this: Dad, an old Communist Party member and an old People's Navy, is now colluding with this group of people? As for his mother, she was originally a social activist. She became familiar with the women here within a few days of arriving at Bairen Camp. She was away from home every day. A few days ago, she was talking about setting up a women's welfare society and doing business.
From the looks of things, I am the worst offender. I probably think he is of no use. He has not been assigned any formal job yet. He just works as a miserable "basic labor force" day after day, accompanying the local coolies. This time, his wife said she wanted to go to Li District to start work, and he quickly signed up. Xiao Zishan originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it, they were a legal couple, and it seemed unreasonable not to allow men to go.
In this way, he can be considered as following, but his wife is the "ethnic consultant" of the team. She is obviously a core member and has a much higher level than him, who is a backer. She has been with a few people who lead the team since she left. , studying work for a while, chatting and laughing for a while - he was very angry, and the consequences were serious!
During the lunch break, the communications team used the field radio to make a call to the headquarters in Bairen City to report that everything was safe. It was agreed before departure that the two parties would contact each other every three hours, and the expedition team would report its current arrival position. So that the headquarters can keep track of its movements. Everyone began to taste several field foods that had just been released by the agricultural department: "Jinhua Crispy Cake" which was made by Wu Nanhai himself but had a very strange taste, so-called "Japanese Rice Balls" with rice vinegar and dried plums, and another. There are walnut-sized things made of who knows what. The bamboo tube of the packaging has three Chinese characters for "Bing Liang Wan" written on it. It is said that one pill can be enough for a meal...
"What the hell is this!" Lu Rong ate a rice ball that was so sour that his teeth were about to fall off. Although this food was not delicious, it succeeded in dispelling his strong appetite after walking for a long time. The effect was achieved.
"Everyone, take a rest and get out soon." Just as he said that, he suddenly saw Mu Min slowly walking out from behind a stone and clapped his hands.
"I seem to have lost weight, and I feel less energetic when I fight——"
The journey was uneventful, but as we got closer and closer to Li District, the ground became more and more rugged, changing from gentle slopes to rolling hills and mountains. There are also fewer pedestrians on the road. Occasionally, I encounter Han Chinese hawkers carrying goods to Li District, and there are also Li people carrying goods out to trade. When I see them, I hide away. Lu Rong couldn't find a few people to ask about the situation ahead.
The progress of the team slowed down, and the survey team members would stop to correct the map from time to time. Some would even run out to pick up a few stones and pick some plants. At this time, everyone would take the opportunity to take a rest and relax their muscles.
The results of the exploration made them very excited: there are coal mining belts here. Although the quality is very poor, it is lignite with very low calorific value, and the reserves are not high, the coal belt should extend very far south. The modern Nanbao Coal Mine is Roughly in this direction. Lignite is not suitable for fuel, but it can be processed into very good fertilizer. The most exciting news is that there are many traces of limonite veins, and the burial is relatively shallow, so it can be mined in small-scale open pits.
"We have to open this trade channel as soon as possible." Wen Desi was very excited.
"The Ming army on the road is a problem." Lu Rong frowned.
Along the way, they encountered two Ming army checkpoints and a camp, but when they saw them passing by in full force, the soldiers guarding them ignored them. Wen Desi took the opportunity to observe the appearance of their future military opponents: the soldiers were all sallow and thin. , not to mention armor, not even a complete piece of clothing could be found on his body. I couldn't help but wonder: With an army like this, a few hundred people can actually guard the border of Li District. Either they have very strong fighting power, or the Li people The combat effectiveness is very poor.
"Well," Wen Desi nodded, "First negotiate the terms with the Li people. We will send technicians and they will be responsible for the mining. In exchange for the products, we will save the need to open another branch base."
After breakfast, according to what the prisoners said, this place is already on the edge of Li District, but Han merchants still come and go from time to time. Going further, you will reach Juti Village, where there is a Ming army camp called Nanlue Camp, which is used for guarding and surveillance. Entering Li District, you have to pass Fanbao Mountain, but the camp is full of Li soldiers. Although there is some interrogation and extortion, it is not a serious problem.
Wen Desi knew from the "Li Situation Briefing" given to him by the intelligence data group: Fanbao Mountain has a dangerous terrain, with only a mountain path wide enough for one person to pass through. This place is the main pass dividing the Han and Li sides. It is best not to travel through this place without safety guarantees. However, the Li caves of these captives were all on the north side of the pass. According to him, after passing Fanbao Mountain, there were mostly Li caves. Raw and cooked Li have different dialects and different living habits. They rarely interact with each other - they only unite together when they rebel.
