"In our industry, there is no tomorrow, and it's not bad to say that you can exchange your life for money. Lao Zhou, Lao Wang, and Xiao Li have been prepared for it for a long time. We are all the same, aren't we?"

After a moment of silence, the burly man spoke slowly, his voice heavy and helpless.

His name is Wang Shengkui, and he is the leader of a caravan. The caravan originally refers to the gathering of horse drivers and their teams of mules and horses. Later, it gradually evolved into a code for businessmen who use horses as their main means of transportation and trafficking. They belong to the latter group.

kind.

Moreover, they are not general caravans that travel long distances to traffic goods, but businessmen who specialize in cross-border trafficking and transactions.

Specifically, they mainly traveled between Chu and Yan. They, the Chu people, have lived in the northern Xinjiang for generations. Further north, across the Gobi, desert, and bitter cold snowfields, is the country of Yan.

At the beginning of the Four Kingdoms of Yan, Chu, Qi, and Wei, they were divided into the You Dynasty. Because of the feeling of the whole country fighting against You, the friendship of sharing the joys and sorrows, coupled with the long-term war, the people were in dire straits, and all countries needed to recuperate and recuperate, so the two countries had good relations and mutually opened markets and conducted business trips.

There were frequent exchanges. The Yan State was rich in horses, copper, iron and other metal minerals, while the Chu State was rich in silk, tea and other goods. The two sides exchanged what they had, forming the famous Tea Horse Road in history.

History books say: In the early days of Yan and Chu, there were ancient roads leading from the north to the south. Camel bells sounded day and night, and business travelers came and went like running water, day and night. It was called a prosperous age.

You can see the bustling scene at that time.

Organizations such as caravans and camel gangs also emerged at that time.

It's just that the success is a neighboring country, and the failure is a neighboring country. As time goes by, time is wasted, and the two countries have each recovered from the war. Moreover, after the emperor has changed several times, the old feelings have disappeared. How can we tolerate others on the so-called side of the bed?

As a result, frictions and disputes began to occur on the border between the two countries, and the relationship between the two countries gradually became tense.

In view of this, both countries began to restrict their respective business travel and trade, causing the ancient Tea Horse Road to decline and never regain its former prosperity.

Especially since Emperor Tianwu of the Yan Kingdom came to the throne, the relationship between Yan and Chu has become increasingly tense.

Emperor Tianwu of the Yan State was a man of great talent and great ambition. Since he came to the throne, he had strengthened his internal military forces, cut off domestic aristocratic families, sealed off frontier officials, concentrated power in the central government, and fought externally in the north and south. He drove dogs and soldiers to the snowy plains and drove Bai Fang to the east.

At the foot of the mountain, the hills and mountains were destroyed in the desert, and the worries of future troubles were settled.

On the contrary, the Chu State is located in the hinterland of the Central Plains, with a superior environment, fertile fields, rich products, and the people are rich and healthy. Wealth leads to extravagance. Therefore, Chu's literary style is at its peak, worshiping etiquette and music. From the government and the countryside to the rivers and lakes, the extravagant style prevails, emphasizing literature over literature.

Wu.

Since Emperor Jingrun of the Chu State came to the throne, he has also indulged in playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting, playing voluptuous games, building gardens and pavilions wantonly, being lazy in government affairs, and not cultivating military affairs, so the military affairs are weak.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Yan State and other neighboring countries, the Chu State was like a sheep on the side of a tiger, with fine skin and tender meat that everyone wanted to take a bite of, especially Emperor Tianwu of the Yan State, who frequently caused trouble at the Chu State's borders.

Emperor Jingrun was also aware of Emperor Tianwu's ambition. In recent years, he has been aggressively increasing troops and building fortifications in northern Xinjiang to prepare for the Yan Kingdom.

Prosperity means people suffer;

Death, people suffer.

In the confrontation between the two countries, the unlucky ones are ordinary people like Wang Shengkui. As the friction between the two countries continues and the border is strictly closed, they, the caravans and business travelers traveling between the two places, cannot leave the country at will. Supplies such as salt, iron, food, etc.

It was even considered contraband and was not allowed to be trafficked at will. The Ancient Tea Horse Road also gradually declined and was occupied by bandits and weirdos. Naturally, they no longer had a good life.

Many people have been forced to change careers and change careers.

They are left with no other crafts and no other means of making a living. This is the only way to go.

Life must go on.

Therefore, half a year ago, they were a group of more than a hundred people, loaded with silk, silk fabrics, tea and other goods, and left northern Xinjiang for Beiyan. They followed the abandoned Tea Horse Road and went through untold hardships before arriving at Yan State.

Due to the closure of the two countries, items such as silk, silk fabrics, tea, etc. became in hot demand in Yan State, so they made a lot of money.

Of course, the price paid was not small. We encountered countless strange mountain bandits and dangerous places along the way. Many people lost their lives, including Lao Zhou, Lao Wang, Xiao An and others.

The caravan of one hundred people now only has more than fifty people left, and almost half of them died, which is not a tragedy.

Those who died were all relatives and friends who fought side by side with them. They were not family members, but more like family members. They went together, but could not return together. They could not even bring their bodies back and return them to their roots.

To say I'm not sad would be a lie.

But what can we do? Those who are alive must live;

Life must go on.

This is their fate and their sorrow.

"Uncle Qi, prepare the settlement expenses for those brothers. By the way, take an extra share from me and give it to the brothers' families. Set them up well and don't let them suffer any injustice."

Wang Shengkui looked at a man in his fifties and warned: "Although the brothers are dead, we are still there. Their parents are our parents from now on, and their brothers and sisters are our brothers and sisters."

, Their wives and children are our brothers, sisters-in-law, and children. We must take good care of them and not let the brothers underground feel cold."

"The boss is right, count me in too."

"count me in."

"Uncle Qi, count me in too."

…

The firm voices, one after another, represent hope and protection, as well as human kindness and warmth.

"Boss, look, there's someone here."

Suddenly, Sun Bo pointed at the fairy spring in the distance.

Wang Shengkui looked around and saw a group of people sitting around the Fairy Spring, cooking, talking and laughing. Among them was a child, running back and forth among the crowd. The laughter kept ringing, adding to the desolate Gobi desert.

It adds a bit of joy and vitality.

"Perhaps they are business travelers passing by and stopping at the Immortal Spring. But everyone should be careful."

Wang Shengkui warned, looking at the attire of those people and the fact that they had children with them, they should not be thieves and bandits. After all, who would come out to rob and bring children with them?

The Fairy Spring is the only oasis and water source within a hundred miles of the Gobi desert. The name and origin of the Fairy Spring are also very legendary.

According to legend, this Gobi was originally extremely desolate, without any vegetation or water sources. Even the most tenacious Populus euphratica and thorns could not survive in this Gobi. Therefore, this Gobi was devoid of any vitality and life. It was dead and desolate, hence its name.

beach.

Therefore, even when the Ancient Tea Horse Road was prosperous, the deserted beach was also a forbidden area for business travelers from Yan and Chu. Countless business travelers died in the Gobi desert because of crossing the deserted beach. There was one corpse every five miles and one skeleton every ten miles away.

An immortal riding an ox passed by here and saw a corpse for five miles and a skeleton for ten miles on the deserted beach. They were so miserable that they could not bear to see it, so they took their bags into their hands and poured water into a spring.

The name of Immortal Spring also comes from this.

Of course, the legend is just a legend after all, and it is unknown whether it is true or false. It is probably just one of the stories passed down from the heyday of the Tea Horse Road.

But it is undeniable that there are many strange things about Xianren Spring, such as the sweet and delicious spring water, the spring water never freezes no matter how cold it is, and the spring water never dries up no matter how hot it is.

Good luck, and so on.
Chapter completed!