Chapter 1025: The Tide of the Times - Haohao Tangtang (4)
In May, the advancing caravan passed through Zizhou, Wangyuan Bridge, Shiling where the Jurchen army finally retreated in embarrassment, and the vast mountains that experienced battles... By May 2
On the twelfth day, pass through Jianmen Pass.
After coming here for more than a year, many places have changed greatly. The roads that can be widened in the mountains have been widened as much as possible. The places where troops were stationed everywhere have now been changed into places for business travelers to rest and rest.
After the opening of the southwest trade situation at the node where the staff worked on the way, the road out of the customs was not enough. The mountain road entering the customs from Jiange had to ensure that a large number of tourists came and went, so a lot of work was arranged to maintain order.
personnel.
Most of these staff members are serious and fierce, requiring people coming and going to strictly follow the prescribed paths and are not allowed to stay casually in relatively narrow places. They have loud voices and a rather rough attitude towards law enforcement, especially towards outsiders.
The ignorant people are arrogant and arrogant, vaguely revealing the superiority of "Southwestern people".
The scholars in the caravan out of Sichuan didn't think anything was wrong when they came. They had been traveling in Chengdu for a while, and they began to discuss that these people were also "foxes pretending to be powerful". They were just small officials, but they were more powerful than the high-ranking officials in Chengdu.
Arrogant. Some people secretly recorded these situations and planned to publish them as Southwest experiences after returning home.
The General Camp for Wounded Soldiers where Ning Ji originally stayed has now been transformed into an epidemic prevention and quarantine center for foreigners. Many civilians who come to the southwest have to undergo a round of inspections here. Most of the subjects of the inspections are foreign workers, and they are uniformly dressed.
Their clothes are often carried by some team leaders, curiously and cautiously observing everything around them. According to the scholars, most of these "poor people" were sold in.
There are many memorial areas of the Southwest Battle along the way: what kind of battle happened here, what kind of battle happened over there... Ning Yi paid great attention to such "face projects", and there were a lot of people after the battle.
According to statistics, in fact, during the entire process of the Southwest Campaign, every battle was actually quite tragic. The Chinese Army conducted internal verification, textual research, and compiled it before carving monuments in the corresponding places. Due to the limited number of stone carving workers, this project is currently
Still continuing to do it, everyone walked forward, and occasionally they could hear the sound of tinkling.
During the Southwest War, the fighting on the Jiange Mountain Road was a mess, the roads were damaged, and the transportation capacity was tight. Especially in the later stages, the Chinese army competed with the retreating Jurchens. The Chinese army wanted to cut off the route and leave the enemy behind. The women who were left behind
Real people often fight to the death, with hysterical fighting on both sides. The bodies of many soldiers have no time to be picked up and identified. Even if they are identified, it is impossible to transport them to the rear for burial.
Later, only the camps were roughly identified and burned together, and the ashes were buried in the ground or scattered in the mountains. Therefore, these soldiers had no graves elsewhere. The records in the mountains are not only their monuments, but also their real tombstones.
Qingshan is lucky enough to bury loyal bones. People from all sides show enough respect for the records in this mountain. When resting in the temporary residence at night, some people will go to the nearby monument to offer incense, worship, and burn
There was smoke and dust. People who were burning paper money would often be stopped by the patrol team, and some would even start a debate or get into a fight. If they got too angry, they would be taken away and locked up in the mountains for a day.
When the caravan stayed in the mountains, Ning Ji also went there to offer incense twice. He did not like offering incense, and preferred to cut a plate of pig head meat, drink some wine and eat it together as a memorial. A middle-aged scholar who was traveling with him said that
He looked cute, so he enthusiastically told him the steps to worship the gods and pay homage. The intention must be sincere and the steps must be accurate. Every method has its meaning. Otherwise, the hero here may be open-minded, but he will inevitably offend the gods in the future. Ning Ji is like
They look at each other like a fool.
"I don't believe in God, there is no God in the world."
His contemptuous eyes were also very cute, and the middle-aged scholar taught him earnestly: "Young man, you are young and energetic, but you should not talk nonsense. Have you seen everything in the world? How can you say there is no God?"
There are gods within the first three feet... Moreover, your blunt words can easily offend other people..."
Ning Ji thought in his heart that labor and management have already said that God is dead, what should I do if you keep saying that God is there and offend me... But after what happened in the small yard last year, he already knew that there are many idiots in the world who can't explain, so he didn't bother.
Went to talk.
The middle-aged academic thought his reaction was cute and cute. Although he was young and energetic, he was not like other children who talked back and argued casually, so he continued to talk a lot...
Along the way, people paid homage to heroes in various ways. For Ning Ji, apart from some memories deep in his heart, they didn't touch him much. At his age, he didn't have time to remember anything, so he said to them when he offered incense, "
I'm going out." He left Jianmen Pass and waved back towards the mountains. The leaves on the mountains rippled in the wind.
After leaving Jiange, it is still the territory of the Chinese army.
In the Southwest War, the Seventh Army's final decisive battle with the Jurchen West Route Army secured a large area of territory from Jiange to Hanzhong for the Chinese Army. In fact, it also created a lot of convenience for the shipment of supplies to the Southwest. Although it has been out of Sichuan since ancient times,
There are two roads, water and land, but in fact, neither the waterway from Yibin, Chongqing nor the land route from Jianmen Pass is easy to travel. In the past, Chinese military control could not get outside, and businessmen from all over the country were even more affected by life and death after leaving Jianmen Pass.
Although it is said that the greater the risk, the higher the profit, but in general it is not conducive to the entry and exit of resources.
At this time, the Chinese army has two more distribution points outside Jiange. One is near Zhaohua after leaving Jiange. Both incoming and outgoing supplies can be concentrated here. Although many merchants still prefer
Yu personally went to Chengdu to get the most transparent price, but in order to improve the transportation efficiency of Jiange Mountain Road, the horse teams officially organized by the Chinese government will still transport many ordinary materials to Zhaohua every day, and even began to encourage people to build some technologies here.
Small workshops with low content can reduce the transportation pressure in Chengdu.
Since the major development in Chengdu has only been a year, the layout of Zhaohua can only be said to have begun to take shape. A large number of people from the outside world gather in this area outside Jiange. Compared with the development area of Chengdu, this area is more
It looks dirty, messy and poor. Workers sent from outside often have to stay here for about three days. They need to pay a sum of money and have the doctor check whether they have diseases such as epidemics and wash themselves in hot water.
If your clothes are too worn out, you usually need to change them before bathing. The Chinese government will distribute a uniform set of clothes, so that after entering the mountains, many people will look like they are wearing the same clothes.
Ning Yi once complained at home that the clothes were not beautiful and looked like a prisoner, but the aunt pushed him back because of the cost.
Beggars in ragged clothes are not allowed to enter the mountains, but there is no solution. Many factories in the southwest will recruit people here cheaply. Once a "sale contract" is signed, the quarantine and clothing costs for entering the mountains will be borne by the factory.
You will bear it on your behalf and it will be deducted from your salary in the future.
"...Speaking of which, Zhaohua is quite conscientious."
The chatty scholar Lu Wenke and Ning Ji, who were traveling with him and said they had great potential, sighed: "Hua Xiajun helped me get a selling contract. Every household here has to have one. The contract is only for five years. Who wants the manufacturer to pay for it?"
Yes, if you work in the future to repay the debt and pay back the wages, and if you want to leave within five years, you can also pay a sum of money to redeem yourself. However, outside of five years, there are also ten or twenty-year contracts, with better conditions and promises.
Many, they will be signed for those who are capable...but there are also some with bad intentions. They will sign the contract for twenty years and get nothing in the contract. If they really sign it, it will be miserable..."
"Since the Huaxia Army has given a five-year contract, it should be stipulated that only this one can be signed." The middle-aged scholar named Fan Heng who had previously taught Ning Ji to worship God frowned when talking about this matter, "Otherwise, it will not be the same as taking off the contract."
What's wrong with farting in your pants?"
"Who knows what they are thinking. To put it bluntly, it's a good thing that those people who have no wealth can come here to sign the contract. You have all heard of what this place looks like."
Several scholars gathered together to play riddles. After chatting for a while, they began to point out various problems faced by the Chinese army living in Sichuan and Shu, such as the inability to solve the problem of material inflows and outflows. Sichuan and Shu were only peaceful and difficult to make progress. Later, they talked about the Three Kingdoms.
stories, citing scriptures, and criticizing Fang Qiu.
The caravan of more than a hundred people traveled all the way, and various people gradually formed small groups. There were five scholars like Lu Wenke and Fan Heng, and most of them gathered together to chat along the way. Ning Ji's identity was a
Although the little doctor with a good family background was always a poor student in Zhangcun school, his basic skills were not bad and he had no problem with reading and writing. In addition, he looked cute, so these scholars regarded him as a similar person and started chatting with him.
Nonsense, always call him together, and from time to time someone will give him snacks. Although most of the scholars and scribes are poor, those who can travel with the caravans at this time still have some possessions.
After entering the caravan, Ning Ji couldn't eat as much as he did at home. There were more than a hundred people traveling together, organized by the caravan, and they mostly ate big pots of rice every day. Frankly speaking, the food in these years was really unpalatable, but Ning Ji could
He eats more for the reason of "growing up", but with his metabolic rate after practicing martial arts for so many years, it would be a bit scary to really eat enough.
His status as a doctor is a convenience. For such a long journey, most people can only walk on one pair of legs. After walking for several days, it is inevitable to get blisters. Moreover, if there are more than 100 people, some people will often suffer from sprains and other minor injuries.
Unexpectedly, Ning Ji relied on his medical skills, his attitude of not being afraid of getting dirty, and his cute face that was harmless to humans and animals, and quickly gained the favor of most people in the caravan, which allowed him to... get a lot of friends during his trip.
dessert.
Such a mentality is really inconsistent with the future status of "the best master in the world". Ning Ji feels a little ashamed when he thinks about it occasionally, but there is nothing he can do about it.
Mosquito meat is also meat, so what else can you do when you are away from home...
Along the way to Zhaohua, apart from showing off a lot of people's minor problems, these five scholars got along more with each other. The middle-aged scholar Fan Heng who taught Ning Ji how to worship God was relatively wealthy, and occasionally passed by cheap restaurants or
People from the food stalls would buy something to feed him, so Ning Ji had no choice but to tolerate him.
When walking behind a few people when marching, and often nearby when camping, there is often a father and daughter who are entertainers. Father Wang Jiang has practiced some martial arts. His body looks strong in middle age, but his face already has abnormal redness and lesions.
Now, I often show my shirtless body and practice stabbing my throat with an iron spear.
Hard training in external skills will make you miserable when you get old. This middle-aged entertainer actually has various problems, but these physical problems have accumulated for decades and are difficult to solve. Ning Ji can see it, but there is no way
, it’s like countless tangled threads, you need to be very careful which thread to pull first and which one to pull later. Many famous doctors in the southwest can treat it, but he has been practicing battlefield medicine for a long time. He is not yet fifteen years old at this time, so he can prescribe a prescription.
Zi can only kill the other party, so he doesn't say much.
The daughter of the entertainer is named Wang Xiuniang. She looks about seventeen or eighteen years old. She has dark skin, a well-proportioned figure, and strong thighs. She wears two braids and has not learned any advanced martial arts from her father. Originally, her father did not know how to perform arts.
The most important thing is somersaults, and you can turn a hundred at a time. In addition to somersaults, you can also play monkeys. The father and daughter brought a well-trained monkey named Wangsheng. They seemed to have made a lot of money when they went to Chengdu this time. They were very happy.
I am ready to perform all the way and return to Jiangnan.
In fact, entertainers can also fall and fall, but soon after setting off, Wang Xiu Niang stumbled again after somersaulting, so she came to Ning Ji for help with diagnosis and treatment. The sprain was not serious, but from then on, Wang Xiu Niang often came to harass Ning Ji, such as camping.
After that, she would give Ning Ji some wild fruits, and also give some to others. Sometimes she would say "Brother Aotian is so cute" and would pinch Ning Ji's face. After a while, several scholars became familiar with her.
, we can talk to each other for a while.
At first, Ning Ji only thought that he was cute, but soon he realized that this woman must have come for Lu Wenke. When she stood there talking to Lu Wenke, the "promising man", her hands always twisted her braids subconsciously, which made her a little twisted.
The little squirming movements exude the rancid smell of mating... Women are like this, disgusting. It's not surprising.
Of course, even though he understood this, he was not prepared to expose the other party's intentions. On the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief. When the woman came over to pinch his cheek, he reached out and pinched her cheek to pull her away. Anyway, the woman wanted to
It was not him who was causing trouble, and Lu Wenke didn't seem to be a good person. He didn't care about the fate of these two guys.
…
The caravan stayed near Zhaohua for a day. Ning Ji had a half-full meal and even left the caravan to secretly eat a full meal before setting off with the caravan to the east.
After leaving Jiange and passing Zhaohua, there are two roads to choose from.
One is to go north along the Jinniu Road to Hanzhong along the territory of the Chinese Army, and then follow the Han River eastward, then you can go anywhere in the world. This road is safe and connected to the waterway, and is currently the most popular road. But if
Going east into Bazhong, you have to enter a relatively complicated place.
In the past, the Huaxia Army jumped out of the three counties of Hedeng. Due to lack of manpower, they occupied most of the Chengdu Plain and had no strong intention to expand. Later, the Seventh Army occupied Hanzhong, and a large area east of Hanzhong was conveniently controlled by the Jurchens.
It belongs to Dai Mengwei. This is of course the Jurchens' act of giving eye drops to the Chinese army, but in fact, it is not the current Chinese army who is suffering from being blocked on the road out of Sichuan.
After all, with the momentum of the Chinese army last year and the momentum of defeating the Jurchens, it is basically no problem to penetrate the Han River and hit Xiangyang. The reason why Dai Mengwei was let go was superficially because he "saved millions of people."
To build momentum, he raised his hand, but at the same time, the two sides also signed many contracts, including Dai Mengwei giving up control of the Han River, and never being allowed to block the operation of the east-west trade route, etc. This is the bottom line of the Chinese army. Dai Mengwei actually also
Well aware.
This is the embarrassment of unequal strength. If Dai Mengwei is determined to "do whatever makes you unhappy", then the Chinese army will directly defeat him and accept millions or even millions of people. It may be very difficult to say
Tired, but if Dai Mengwei is really crazy, it may not be that difficult to endure it.
Dai Mengwei is not crazy. He is good at forbearance, so he will not play this kind of "I will hit you in the face to death" when it is meaningless. But at the same time, he occupies the business road, but even the tax is too high.
He can't accept it, because on the surface he resolutely criticizes Southwest, but he can't do business with Southwest directly, and every force that deals with Southwest regards him as a madman who can go crazy at any time, which is very uncomfortable.
It would be easy to say if the Huaxia Army only delivered some simple commercial artifacts to the whole world, but starting from the second half of last year, he and the whole world opened up high-end ordnance and open technology transfer. This is a matter that is related to the lifeblood of the whole world. It is necessary to gradually
The key moment in the picture.
For example, I, Liu Guangshi, am conducting an important transaction with the Chinese Army. What should I do if you stand in the middle and suddenly go crazy? For such a big thing, you can't just tell me to trust you, right? My transaction with Southwest is really a big deal to save the world.
Things are very important...
Dai Mengwei swayed the Chinese army, using the power of the Chinese army to check and balance the Jurchens, and then took advantage of the Jurchens to fight against the Chinese army. This series of methods was originally interesting to all the forces in the world, and they verbally supported it.
He still has a lot of people. But as various forces have actual interest exchanges with Southwest, most of them showed such worries when facing Dai Mengwei.
Don't be crazy, don't interfere, just shouting verbally is enough, but don't really mess around... No, how can you guarantee this to us?
Once the southwest has complicated interests with various forces, Dai Mengwei becomes an eyesore. The entire world has been ravaged by the Jurchens for more than ten years, and only the Chinese army defeated them. Now everyone is hungry for the power of the southwest.
Powerful, in the face of such practical benefits, doctrine is nothing. Sooner or later, the target of public criticism will become the target of thousands of people, and the target of thousands of people will end up in vain, as Dai Mengwei understands best.
So in the second half of last year, a rebellion broke out in Dai Mengwei's territory. A general named Cao Silong rebelled against Dai Mengwei and rose up, splitting some areas bordering the Chinese army.
Although this General Cao rebelled, he did not like the Chinese army next to him. Here he awe-inspiringly expressed his acceptance of the Wu Dynasty's orthodoxy, accepted the command of General Liu Guangshi and others, and called for order to bring order to the chaos and defeat all rebels.
Under the big and empty slogan, the only actual situation shown is that he is willing to accept Liu Guangshi's command.
Liu Guangshi spent money like water in the southwest, which made Mr. Ning smile. Regarding this matter, he sent a letter very helplessly, hoping that the Chinese People's Government could understand General Cao Silong's position and show his respect. Mr. Ning also responded to the letter, although
It's difficult, but since Party A's father has spoken, he must give him this face.
So between the Huaxia Army and Dai Mengwei and Liu Guangshi, another enclave similar to a free port appeared. Not only did Liu Guangshi's forces stationed in this place, but also people like Dai Mengwei, Wu Qimei, and Zou Xu who could not trade with the Southwest were secretly there.
There is room for some small actions in private. The goods coming out of the southwest may be able to obtain greater value if they are transferred here. In order to ensure his own interests, Dai Mengwei maintains this area well and the entire business road.
Public security has always been guaranteed, which is ironic.
"...Cao Silong is superficially Liu Guangshi's man. After rebelling against Dai Mengwei, he recognized Liu as his master. But in fact, we feel that he has always been Dai's man. Dai Gong is really a treacherous and cunning person..."
When approaching Bazhong, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng and others asked Ning Ji for advice and talked about Dai Mengwei.
When going to the southwest, most scholars would actually take the Hanzhong route. Lu Wenke and Fan Heng were quite cautious when they came because the war had just subsided and the situation was not stable. It took them a while in Chengdu to make some judgments about the whole world. They almost
A Confucian scholar who pays attention to traveling thousands of miles. After seeing the Chinese Army in the southwest, he also wanted to see other people's territory. Some even wanted to seek fame outside the southwest, so he followed this caravan out of Sichuan. As for
Ning Ji chose one at random.
"Dai Gong is now in charge of Ankang, and Shiyan is on the bank of the Han River. It is said that the people there are living a good life. Dai Gong has made great achievements in governing the world with Confucianism and Taoism, so we plan to go and see it with our own eyes along the way. Long
What are you going to do next, little brother?"
The main purpose of this caravan leaving Sichuan is to circle around Cao Silong's territory. It will stop when it reaches a county in the north of Bazhong and then consider where to go next. Lu Wenke asked Ning Ji what he thought, but Ning Ji didn't care.
: "I can do it."
"Then we might as well go all the way together so that we can have someone to take care of us." Fan Heng said with a smile, "We have discussed this journey and will detour from Bazhong to the north, passing the direction of Mingtongyuan, and then go to Ankang to board the ship and go east via Jingxiang.
Aotian is not very old, so it would be best for him to follow us."
"I can do it." Ning Ji thought that he could have a big meal after entering the city, so he didn't care about the distance for the time being.
On the afternoon of the first day of June, the team crossed the narrow and crowded mountain road and entered Bazhong.
Everything in the city was in chaos.
A large number of caravans gathered in the small city. Outside the newly built simple inns, the waiters carrying towels and the prostitutes wearing makeup were shouting for customers. The smell of horse manure on the ground was unpleasant. For those who used to travel all over the place.
For people, this may be a symbol of prosperity, but for people who have just come out of the southwest, the order here seems to be much worse.
"Look over there..."
As everyone was heading to a nearby cheap inn, Lu Wenkela pulled Ningji's sleeves and pointed to the other side of the street.
On both sides of the long road on that side, simple sheds were erected, some with fences outside, looking like prison cells displayed on the street.
There are people in the shack.
There were men and women with gray faces and ragged clothes, as well as half-grown children of this kind. Some of them sat spontaneously under undivided shacks, and some were surrounded by fences. Some of the children howled loudly and sucked their fingers.
, or chasing and fighting in an environment like a pigsty. The adults looked here with empty eyes.
Being in jail is not like being in prison, and it is not accurate to say that they are completely free.
"They are..." Ning Ji frowned.
"This is what I said in Zhaohua. The beggars who can get there are considered lucky. Those people can still choose to sign a five-year contract. Maybe they can pay off the debt in half a year and work in the factory for five years.
There is still a lot of money left... These people have nothing in the war. Some people are outside, saying that they will be brought to the southwest. The southwest is a good place. The contract is signed for twenty or thirty years.
For forty years, my salary has not been even 10% of Zhaohua's... What can I do? For the sake of the adults and children in the family, I can only buy myself..."
"I think this is all a problem of the Chinese Army!" said the middle-aged uncle Fan Heng, walking aside. "They say they are talking about laws and contracts, but in fact they are inhumane! There is obviously a five-year contract in Zhaohua, then
Isn't it right to stipulate that all contracts are the same? These people went to the southwest, and the contracts they signed were so bastard. The Chinese Army should uphold justice and change them all. In this way, all the people will support them! What is Mr. Ning?
I said it when I was in Southwest China, and I was just a fool. If I were to handle this matter, it wouldn't take more than a year to restore it, and Southwest China would have the best reputation!"
"Perhaps we should let them come by themselves..." Ning Ji looked at those empty eyes and whispered. He felt compassion, seeing that the enemy could be killed, but it didn't feel good to see such eyes.
There was a lot of noise in the market, and Fan Heng, who was criticizing the Chinese army, could not hear what Ning Ji said clearly. A scholar named Chen Junsheng who was walking in front turned around and said: "It is not easy to transport people.
Hey, tell me...where do these people come from?"
This question seemed to be quite complex and a bit sharp. Five people on the road had mentioned it before, and perhaps heard some public opinions. When asked, Lu Wenke, Fan Heng and others fell silent. After a while, Fan Heng spoke.
"Go and take a look... and you'll know."
He had something to say, and everyone continued walking forward. Ning Ji became a little curious, and when he approached the inn, he asked Lu Wenke: "Where are we going to see what?"
Lu Wenke turned his head and whispered: "In the past, there was a saying that most of the workers who entered the southwest these days were sold from Dai's land... There are so many workers, Dai Gong came here.
Of course there are, but not most of them. It is difficult for anyone to tell clearly. We discussed on the way that we should go there and have a look. In fact, Dai Gong was profound in knowledge. Although he was not on good terms with the Chinese army, the war was fierce and dangerous at that time. He was from his daughter.
The real man's men saved millions of people, but this is a great merit that cannot be erased. We don't believe it if we use this to taint him."
"Oh." Ning Ji nodded. If he met Dai, he would naturally kill him with one sword. As for judging Dai's merits and demerits with these people, he would not do it, so he had no more opinions to express.
Perhaps because of the sudden increase in passenger traffic, the newly built inn in Bazhong City was as crude as a wilderness. The air was hot and filled with an inexplicable smell of shit. At night, when Ning Ji climbed up to the roof and looked into the distance, he saw the messy streets.
It was only at this moment that the people who looked like sheds and animals truly felt that they had left the place where the Chinese army was.