Anyone who wants to survive in the deep and wide Qilian Mountains needs to make a huge effort.
Even those who make a living by hunting will never go deep into the Qilian Mountains unless absolutely necessary.
In Qin Feng's view, Wu Huli has been sentenced to death. If even this cannot kill Wu Huli, it only means that this person's life should not be extinguished.
But at least so far, Qin Feng couldn't think of any reason why Uhli could escape.
For Qin Feng, this mountain pursuit battle accumulated valuable mountain combat experience, and he also drew a map of the eastern foothills of the Qilian Mountains. He also pushed Uhli into a desperate situation and completed his strategic intention.
Withdrawing from the Qilian Mountains now is undoubtedly the most correct choice. There is no need to continue to waste time with Ukhli.
Just as Qin Feng was retreating, Caoyun County in Qingzhou welcomed a group of distinguished guests.
Liu Hongyan, Xie Yun'er, and Princess Qiyang, under the protection of a group of elite soldiers, came to Caoyun County for a simple rest.
In order to avoid causing turmoil, the entire army stayed outside the city. Only a few elite soldiers disguised themselves as followers and followed the three women into the city.
Caoyun County is the largest county in Qingzhou, and because it is far away from the war, it is completely different from other counties.
Whether it was the lively street scene or the vendors coming and going, the three girls were extremely excited, and they suddenly thought they were back in Kyoto.
"Second sister, look, I didn't expect this small county town to be so prosperous and lively."
Xie Yun'er held Liu Hongyan's arm, her eyes gleaming, and even she had forgotten when was the last time she left Kyoto for a trip.
Compared to Xie Yun'er, Liu Hongyan was even more excited. The smile on her face had not stopped since she entered the city gate.
Although Caoyun County cannot be compared with Kyoto, everything here is extremely new and interesting to Liu Hongyan.
The three women walked together along the street. Liu Hongyan raised her hand from time to time and pointed at the vendors on the roadside.
"Yun'er, look, I've never seen these rouge and gouache before."
"Beixi County is on the border, and the temperature is much lower than here. Qiyang, didn't you say you want to buy some clothes to keep out the cold? How about trying the craftsmanship here?"
Although Princess Qiyang has seen countless big scenes, she is particularly happy to be in such a small town.
Just as the three women were excited, bursts of discordant sounds suddenly came from both sides of the street.
Only then did the three women realize that something was wrong. There were many residents standing on both sides of the street, pointing at the three women and whispering about something.
Considering that there were guards behind them and that Caoyun County was not far from the northern border, the three women didn't care and just continued to play on their own.
"Look, these three women are so handsome."
"More than just handsome? She is clearly as beautiful as a fairy! Looking at her clothes, you can tell she is not an ordinary person. No wonder she dares to show off."
"Hahaha, what can I do if I'm not an ordinary person? He dares to walk across the street in broad daylight. He really doesn't know the heights of the world."
Princess Qiyang's sharp ears naturally heard everyone's comments.
She raised her eyes and looked, and she found something unusual. Although there were many women on the streets of Caoyun County, they were either girls or old women, but there were no young women.
This is strange. Although Daliang attaches great importance to etiquette, he is far from imposing many restrictions on women.
As long as she is not married, any woman can go wherever she wants. Even if she is married, it is just for the sake of the reputation of her husband's family and to avoid going to a mixed place.
Caoyun County is so prosperous and lively, how can it be worse than some remote villages?
Liu Hongyan also noticed the problem. She paused slightly and turned to look at an old man selling pears on the side of the road.
"Old sir, why are there no young women on the streets of Caoyun County?"
"And...why are those people on the roadside pointing at us?"
The pear seller was not shy about it, and reminded him earnestly: "Aren't the three young ladies from the local area?"
"I'm afraid you don't know anything about Caoyun County?"
These words really frightened Liu Hongyan. Before this, her understanding of Caoyun County was almost zero, so naturally she didn't know what was so brilliant about this small county.
Seeing Liu Hongyan's puzzled expression, the pear seller stopped going around the bush.
"Nine out of ten beauties from Qingzhou are girls from our Caoyun County."
"There are outstanding people here. Not only the women are beautiful, but the men are also handsome."
Xie Yun'er, who was on the side, glanced around when he heard this.
Don't tell me, I didn't pay attention before, but now I took a closer look and found that the people from Caoyun County were much more handsome than the county residents I met along the way.
It is not surprising that the people of Caoyun County are "naturally beautiful" because the soil and water support them.
The more handsome you are, the more proud you should be. Why are all the women in Caoyun County hiding?
Everyone continued to listen to the pear seller's introduction.
"Since the founding of Daliang, there have been eight or not ten concubines in our Caoyun County."
"Whenever there is a talent show in the palace, the magistrate of Qingzhou will focus on screening women from Caoyun County."
"Logically speaking, it doesn't matter. As long as you enter the palace, for your mother's family, one person will be able to ascend to heaven."
"However, when the imperial court drafts, the wealthy gentry also follow suit."
Gentleman draft...
The three women looked at each other and immediately understood the deeper meaning.
As the saying goes, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. However, no matter what is assigned to you from above, below you will always find ways to seek personal gain.
On weekdays, these wealthy gentry are scrupulous about the law and naturally do not dare to blatantly bully men and dominate women.
But on the day of the draft, the wealthy gentry can kidnap beautiful women on the pretext of "drafting for the court".
As for these women, whether they went to the Yamen for selection or were taken back to their mansions by the wealthy gentry, it is impossible to say for sure.
Once they are privately possessed by the gentry, they will inevitably be molested. At that time, the gentry can easily take possession of these women as their own if they use both soft and hard tactics.
It is precisely for this reason that Caoyun County rejects the draft. Whenever the draft is approaching, any pretty woman will hide at home and refuse to go out on the streets.
It's no wonder that the people of Caoyun County were so surprised when they saw Liu Hongyan and the three girls swaggering through the city.
They have no bad intentions, they just simply don’t understand whether these three women have taken advantage of others, or they don’t know what the world is like...
At this moment, the pear seller kindly tried to dissuade her: "Ladies, if nothing happens, go back quickly."
"Don't wander around in the streets. Even if you are not locals, your beauty and looks will definitely be coveted by those scum beasts."
"When something happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave Caoyun County..."
