We will rest for one day in Kuizhou City and continue our journey on the sixth day of May.
Zhang Shou was also very understanding of people and the world. He knew that Song Che had a difficult journey to Chengdu, so he gave 500 taels of silver in his own name as travel expenses, and also made up the road for Qin Huaiyu and Song Ling'er.
It is not easy for rich people to obtain power, but it is almost easy for powerful people to obtain money.
"Huaiyu, after this Jinxiu Conference is over, I will bring the private house business to Tanzhou and subcontract it to you as an agent. With the addition of Xiang embroidery, the private house will definitely sell well."
"Okay, okay..."
With two more companions, a mahjong table can also be put together.
There are many mountainous roads in the southwest. People need to push when climbing and pull when going downhill. Even with the help of Hu Dabiao and others, the traveling speed is not much faster.
The journey from Kuizhou to Chengdu is nearly 700 miles, and no matter how fast it is, we will have to arrive in early June.
There are many different roads in the mountain, and sometimes we can't find the right place to stay, so we have to set up tents on the spot. It's hot in summer, and there are many snakes, insects, rats, and ants. In short, this trip is destined to consume a lot of energy.
Time flies and it’s the end of May.
We can reach Tongchuan Prefecture in two days.
Since entering Tongchuan, the number of business trips has decreased significantly, and many checkpoints have been set up along the way. Anyone who cannot find a way out will be detained and arrested.
According to the postman, there were Miao bandits everywhere south of Tongchuan. Land transportation was almost cut off. Several prefectures were isolated by the Miao people. There were constant conflicts between officers and soldiers and Miao villages, and lives were lost almost every day.
You have to be cautious on the next road.
One day at noon, the scorching sun was really unbearable. There happened to be a forest ahead. Song Che wanted to go in to get some shade and rest, but unexpectedly, he had just arrived at the entrance of the forest when he suddenly heard the sound of a fight coming from the woods:
"Bang bang bang bang..."
The swords were interlaced and it was very noisy, like a group fight.
There is only one avenue going forward, and you have to pass through this forest no matter what.
Song Che asked Lin Yue and two bodyguards to stay and guard the carriage, while he took two fire gourds, took Hu Dabiao and four others, and infiltrated into the woods to find out.
After Xun Sheng walked about seventy or eighty steps, he saw in an open space in the forest, twenty or thirty officers and soldiers in armor, protecting a cart of goods, fighting with a group of masked men with their heads wrapped in cloth handkerchiefs.
Both sides had the same number of people, but the masked man's combat effectiveness was obviously higher than that of the officers and soldiers. After a confrontation, the officers and soldiers were suppressed and retreated continuously.
"Look at the costumes of these masked men... they seem to be Miao bandits," Hu Dabiao asked again, "Master Song, what should we do now?"
Song Che frowned. This place was only a hundred miles away from Tongchuan Mansion. It was too arrogant for the Miao bandits to dare to openly rob the officers and soldiers.
If even the officers and soldiers were robbed, who would dare to take this road in the future?
"Let's get as close as possible first. I'll blow them up first. Once their momentum is broken, you can rush out to help."
"Everything is up to the adults' arrangements."
Several people groped their way closer to the fighting area.
When he was only fifteen or six feet away from him, Song Che lit the fire gourd and threw it fiercely into the group of bandits.
As soon as the fire gourd hit the ground, it exploded!
"Boom!"
Three Miao bandits were knocked down directly, and four or five were stunned and disoriented.
"superior!"
Hu Dabiao and others took the opportunity to rush out and join the battle in the forest. When the officers and soldiers saw someone helping, they also fought back with all their strength.
Song Che threw the second fire gourd, completely destroying the Miao bandit's momentum.
The officers and soldiers became more and more brave as they fought, and in a short time they killed nearly half of the Miao bandits. Seeing that the situation was over, the Miao bandits dispersed and fled in a hurry.
As luck would have it, a bandit was fleeing in the direction of Song Che.
"Damn it, it turns out you were the one behind the sneak attack!" The gangster yelled at Song Che in pure Mandarin, and then came over with a machete.
Song Che retreated while shooting at the gangster. Taking advantage of his long-range advantage, he shot the gangster on the shoulder.
At this time, Hu Dabiao and others chased back. The bandit glared at Song Che and had to give up the chase, covering his shoulders and running away deep into the woods.
"Master Song, are you okay? Sigh...I was really careless. I should have left someone to protect you." Hu Dabiao was about to lead his men to chase him.
Song Che called them back. Suppressing bandits was a matter for the government. It was kind and righteous to help drive away the Miao bandits.
It's just that... through the brief confrontation with the bandits just now, he always felt that these bandits were not Miao people.
There is no difference in appearance between Liang people and Miao people, but their accents are completely different. The tone of the gangster just now was very standard Mandarin.
"If it hadn't been for the help of a few heroes, not only our lives would have been at stake today, but also our official banknotes would have been robbed by those Miao bandits. I can't thank you enough..."
The young general in charge of the escort came over and thanked him.
Song Che frowned again and asked: "Since we are escorting official silver, why don't you send more people?"
The young general said: "Actually, we already have a lot of manpower. This road used to be safe. But today, for some reason, so many Miao bandits appeared."
"Is there a seedling area nearby?" Song Che asked again.
The young general said: "There are none in the Miao area, but there are a few Miao villages in the direction of Niubei Mountain, but they have always followed the rules."
That's even more strange. Those Miao bandits just now were obviously well-trained and organized at a glance.
Robbery of official silver is a heinous crime. If this matter is reported to Tongchuan Mansion, these Miao villages may be slaughtered. Will the Miao people ruin their own villages because of this petty profit?
"It's not a good place to stay for a long time, it's better to leave as soon as possible."
Song Che returned to Linkou to meet the carriage and continued walking to the west, while the official team went in the opposite direction and headed east.
After walking out of the woods for about an hour, I suddenly saw a group of people galloping in front of the road, and the carriage quickly pulled over to avoid it.
"Uu——"
The leading young man suddenly reined in his horse. He was twenty-seven or eighty years old. He was dressed in silk and looked noble. There was a ruby token hanging around his waist, with the word "black" engraved on it.
Behind the young man were also followed by about twenty horse archers in uniform uniforms. They all hung tokens with the word "wu" on their waists. The material was not as good as the young man and was made of wood.
The young man stopped beside the carriage and asked in a commanding tone: "I heard that there were Miao bandits in the locust forest ahead. Have you seen them?"
"us--"
"We are businessmen passing by. If we encountered Miao bandits, we would have stayed far away." Song Che answered the young man one step ahead of Lin Yue.
Normally, no one else would know about the battle that took place in the woods except the officers and soldiers, the Miao bandits, and them. The officers and soldiers had gone east, and the Miao bandits had also fled. So how did the group in front of them get the news?
"You should have passed through the woods, right? Didn't you find any traces of the fight?" the young man asked again.
"Yes." Song Che said, "There are corpses."
"For officers and soldiers or for Miao bandits?" the young man asked.
Song Che said: "Miao bandits."
"drive!"
The young man immediately whipped up his horse and led the horse archer to gallop towards the woods.
